Independent Publishing, Part One : Daria DiGiovanni

My friend, author/writer/interviewer Don Smith just published the first article in a four-part series examining the pros and cons of self-publishing for SVT Publishing, with a little help from Alexandrea Merrell, Director of Orndee Omnimedia and the author of the book Rules for Republican Radicals. Visit the SVT site to read the whole thing, but here?s an excerpt:

On a recent episode of??Conversations with Friends and Creators,??I joked with writer Daria DiGiovanni that self-publishing used to be for local authors, persons wanting to sell a limited run of cook books for charity, or the insane guy who had proof President Ronald Reagan was really from another world.

But now self-publishing?has morphed into a different beast called ?independent publishing.??It was time to focus talk about why some writers have decided to skip the traditional route and take the ?my way highway? and share their creative tomes with the world.

Alexandrea Merrell, Director of Orndee Omnimedia, talked with SVT Publishing about self-publishing/independent book niche and she responded very openly and honestly about it. Orndee Omnimedia is a boutique, public relations and content creation firm that specializes in niche publishing, visual media, and gaming projects and personalities.

QUESTION:?Let?s cut to the chase, why do people self-publish?

ALEXANDREA MERRELL: The vast majority of people self publish because they can?t get a regular publisher to take notice of their

Alexandrea Merrell.

Alexandrea Merrell. Image Courtesy of Orndee Omnimedia

book and for some it is simply down to logistics.

QUESTION:?What have been some of the trials that self-published writers face?

ALEXANDREA MERRELL:?The downside of self-publishing or (independent publishing) is that it is very difficult to sell a self-published book because the author does not have the marketing mechanism.

Yes you can sell on Amazon, Kindle and etc., but without the marketing department and marketing dollars, you are just one title in hundreds of thousands.

Why would a reader pick your book if they have not heard of you when they have so many choices?

For some people (people who have brand names) self-publishing (as long as they hire an editor, cover artist, and etc.) can be a great way to keep the lion?s share of money. However, many self-published books are poorly edited and are nothing more than vanity books.

What many first time writers do not understand is that an author, even the well-known authors, only makes pennies per book sold. The vast majority of authors (even those with old companies behind them and name recognition) must have an outside source of income such as a spouse, speaking gigs, and products.

Many first time writers post their book on Kindle and expect to get rich.

The average self-published book only sells 120 copies.

Tags: Alexandrea Merrell, authors, Conversations with Friends and Creators, Don Smith, featured, Orndee Omnimedia, publishing, self-publishing, social media, SVT Publishing, Writing

Category: Blog, Writing

Source: http://www.dariadigiovanni.com/independent-publishing-part-one/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=independent-publishing-part-one

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