[FRIAM] Book publishing advice needed

[Sarbajit Roy]

Having printed books in India on behalf of European and Australian
academics, my experience is if the print run is 500+ then the cost of
offset printing (on fairly decent paper) and perfect binding a softcover
book with approx. 250 -300 pages is about $3.50 per copy shipped to the USA.

500 copies seems to be the crossover quantity for digital versus offset
printed books.

On Sun, Jul 5, 2020 at 6:33 PM Eric Charles <eric.phillip.charles at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Probably make digital copies accessible for $5, and whatever the
> equivalent these days is for other media.
>
> I say that... but probably free at this point,  thats what i would have
> started with....
>
> At any rate,  it would be nice to have the copyright in principle.
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 4, 2020, 11:56 PM <thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Eric,
>>
>>
>>
>> If you had the rights back, what would you do with them?
>>
>>
>>
>> N
>>
>>
>>
>> Nicholas Thompson
>>
>> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
>>
>> Clark University
>>
>> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com
>>
>> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> *On Behalf Of *Eric Charles
>> *Sent:* Saturday, July 4, 2020 8:55 PM
>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <
>> friam at redfish.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Book publishing advice needed
>>
>>
>>
>> Nick said " the contract should explicitly say that rights revert to the
>> author when the publisher no longer maintains the book in print and
>> promotes it."
>>
>>
>>
>> I handwrote that into the contract for the book on New Realism
>> (presumably based on a suggestion from you). Alas, that's an almost
>> nonsensical insertion at this point. The company will maintain a website
>> that lists the book indefinitely, with it available for purchase from
>> various marketplaces such as Amazon and Google books. So it is "maintained"
>> and "promoted", at no cost, in perpetuity, and is always available, because
>> books can now easily be printed on demand in single copy. I expect nowadays
>> it might make more sense to say something like: "If the book sells no
>> copies in X years, in any medium supported by the publisher, then the
>> rights revert to the author."
>>
>>
>>
>> It has been nine years, and the book still hasn't sold enough copies for
>> me to see a penny.
>>
>>
>>
>> If I were writing a novel I would definitely either self publish or find
>> a firm that focuses on online publishing, and which returns a definite
>> marketing plan in return for their cut (there are firms that focus on
>> kickstarting novels, or other internet forums, for example).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----------
>>
>> Eric P. Charles, Ph.D.
>> Department of Justice - Personnel Psychologist
>>
>> American University - Adjunct Instructor
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2020 at 4:46 PM <thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> At the very list, the contract should explicitly say that rights revert
>> to the author when the publisher no longer maintains the book in print and
>> promotes it.  I often edited my magazine contracts to give only first
>> rights.  I agree with Tom, that copyright should stay with the author.
>>
>>
>>
>> N
>>
>>
>>
>> Nicholas Thompson
>>
>> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
>>
>> Clark University
>>
>> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com
>>
>> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> *On Behalf Of *Tom Johnson
>> *Sent:* Saturday, July 4, 2020 2:32 PM
>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <
>> friam at redfish.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Book publishing advice needed
>>
>>
>>
>> Another advantage of self-publishing is that you retain the copyright.
>> Ergo, you can license it to a publisher for an updated edition or just
>> distribution.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>>
>> ============================================
>> Tom Johnson - tom at jtjohnson.com
>> Institute for Analytic Journalism   --     Santa Fe, NM USA
>> 505.577.6482(c)                                    505.473.9646(h)
>> *NM Foundation for Open Government* <http://nmfog.org>
>> *Check out It's The People's Data
>> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671>*
>>
>>
>> ============================================
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 4, 2020 at 2:25 PM Jochen Fromm <jofr at cas-group.net> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks. Yes, self-publishing is an option. I am looking for an official
>> publisher mainly for one reason, namely that other scientists and
>> researchers can cite it, since I still cling to the illusion that someone
>> would actually do it. Normally self-published texts are not considered as
>> reliable or trustworthy sources. I didn't expect that finding a decent
>> publisher would be so difficult.
>>
>>
>>
>> -J.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -------- Original message --------
>>
>> From: Tom Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com>
>>
>> Date: 7/4/20 20:10 (GMT+01:00)
>>
>> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
>>
>>
>> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Book publishing advice needed
>>
>>
>>
>> Jochen:
>>
>> The deal being offered strikes me as a bad deal.
>>
>>
>>
>> Background:  I have been practicing and teaching about "Be Your Own
>> Publisher" for nearly 15 years.  There are, in my opinion, some major
>> problems with all publishers today.  It starts with control of the
>> copyright.  I think YOU should want to maintain control of the copyright to
>> your work.  It will depend on the contract, but many or most publishers
>> will try to lock down the copyright in their favor for all -- ALL -- forms
>> of your work in perpetuity and throughout the universe.  Sometimes quite
>> literally.
>>
>>
>>
>> Second, you should assume -- especially with a small publisher and you,
>> not being as well known  as Stephen King or Daniel Steele  -- the publisher
>> will do little if anything to promote your book beyond a mention in its
>> catalog and, maybe, some promotional links on Amazon.  Given that, a 5
>> percent royalty should be seen as a con.
>>
>>
>>
>> Third, given your computing experience, you should find it easy to format
>> and produce the book yourself.  I have used Lulu.com for years.  It is
>> especially good if you want to have both hardback, paperback and PDF
>> editions.  Again the advantages: you keep the copyright, you can set (and
>> change) the prices and to a degree the royalties.  Also, Lulu and Amazon
>> handle all the backend financial arrangements and administration and pay
>> directly and quickly.  I also use a very good, high quality digital printer
>> in Albuquerque for paperback editions.  It is Lithexcel
>> <https://lithexcel.com/services/print.html>.  It handles all the
>> printing (one copy to any number) quickly, along with all the fulfillment
>> and accounting. The folks there will also, for only $25, set up your book
>> in the Amazon inventory search engine.  Finally, there is Amazon's
>> self-publishing arm
>> <https://www.bookbaby.com/free-publishing-guides?utm_campaign=GOOSL31&utm_source=SITELINK&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=sNzCXe5z8_dc%7Cpcrid%7C238281756657%7Cpmt%7Ce%7Cpkw%7Camazon%20book%20publishing%7Cslid%7CcWU1oXIv%7Ctargetids%7Ckwd-362938383597%7Cgroupid%7C48812614458%7C&pgrid=48812614458&ptaid=kwd-362938383597&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0YD4BRD2ARIsAHwmKVnFci42apQ6vWUruvHuYX-FOum9VCF7bx83c_tSMHGoby8yylL_RTMaAjOEEALw_wcB>.
>> While Amazon might take a bigger slice, the control over all aspects is in
>> your hands.
>>
>>
>>
>> Here's the problem/challenge with all of these.  *YOU* have to do the
>> marketing/publicity/promotion.  But so what?  If you today sign with any
>> publisher of any size you will have to do the same thing.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope this helps.  Feel free to contact me with questions.  Also you might
>> want to see https://bit.ly/2ZvihKc
>>
>> Tom
>>
>>
>> ============================================
>> Tom Johnson - tom at jtjohnson.com
>> Institute for Analytic Journalism   --     Santa Fe, NM USA
>> 505.577.6482(c)                                    505.473.9646(h)
>> *NM Foundation for Open Government* <http://nmfog.org>
>> *Check out It's The People's Data
>> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671>*
>>
>>
>> ============================================
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon>
>>
>> Virus-free. www.avast.com
>> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 3, 2020 at 1:29 AM Jochen Fromm <jofr at cas-group.net> wrote:
>>
>> At one end of the spectrum there are the 5 big commercial publishers
>> Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon &
>> Schuster. They only publish stuff their agents select to make a lot of
>> money. There are also the big academic publishers like OUP, CUP, HUP and
>> MIT Press, which preferably publish strictly peer-reviewed content from
>> professors at Ivy League universities who made their PhD at the age of 20.
>>
>>
>> At the other end of the spectrum there are "predatory publishers" who
>> publish anything you submit as long as you pay enough money for it. Open
>> access books can also be very expensive. Publishing an "open access book"
>> at De Gruyter for example costs up to 8000 $. You pay for it so that other
>> people read it. It is basically some kind of advertising of your own work.
>>
>>
>> For my own new book I finally have an offer from a small publisher in
>> Washington D.C. who is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. They are
>> really small and offer 5% royalties. Should I accept this offer or wait for
>> a better one? It is the only one from more than 25 publishers I have asked,
>> and the publishers at the moment are flooded with submissions. :-/
>>
>> https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/mar/26/novel-writing-during-coronavirus-crisis-outbreak
>>
>>
>>
>> -J.
>>
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