Hooray! Your dream of holding your book in your hands is beautiful, but if it just hangs floating up there, it won't happen. You need to turn this dream into a goal with a plan.
Step 1 - Define Your Priorities (and be honest)
Sit with each question and write out or discuss with a loved one your answers to these questions.
Don't skimp on this! Defining your expectations will help you choose what avenue to take.
- Why do you want to hold your book in your hands?
Take time to sit with this question, and be honest with yourself.
Then be as specific as possible describing why this dream is important to you.
Writing a book is an emotional experience! That is a good thing! Blush and gush and cry all you want as you answer this question!
It is an honorable dream.
So the question is: Why do you want this dream to come true?
Okay, we have uncovered the emotional aspect of your dream to hold your book in your hands. I want us to now shift - put on a different hat if you will - to a more practical set of questions that will help us plan for making this dream a reality.
-How many people do you want to read this book?
Just you? Your family? Your sphere of friends? The globe?
There is no right or wrong answer, and you don't have to say "Well, I SHOULD say..." - nah! Go with your gut feeling, your honest, desired expectation. There is no shame in wanting to be the only person to read it, and there is no shame in wanting people from around the world to read it!
So, the question is: How many people do you want to read this book?
- If this book is for more than just you, will you charge people money for this book?
The moment money comes up, many feelings might arise. We can go deep on this question and start cranking out a spreadsheet, or you can just simply answer yes or no.
So, the question is: Are you expecting to sell this book?
- What is your timeline?
Tomorrow? 3 months from now? Next year? 5 years?
I hate to break it to you that if you expect to hold your book in your hands tomorrow, you better get hoppin' to Staples right now!
The thing about planning your timeline is that you must be realistic and accept that things will 95% of the time take LONGER than you hoped. Accept that now.
Say it with me! "This may take longer than I first thought."
Your timeline will be affected by your budget (we'll get to that in a minute.)
Your timeline will also be affected by your Hold-In-My-Hands option of choice
So, the question is: When do you hope to hold this book in your hands?
- What do you mean by "Book"?
You might think this is a silly question, but your definition of what a book in your hands feels like will determine A LOT of factors.
Close your eyes and picture yourself holding your book.
Is it hard cover? Paperback? Kindle ebook? A stack of pages wrapped in brown paper and jute twine?
I want you to be aware of the possibility of your dream come true feeling off-kilter, because if your deep little heart of hearts really truely wants to hold your book as a hardcover with a dust jacket, it might feel dissapointed holding a Kindle ebook.
I want you to be aware of that possibility.
Or maybe you're thinking, "This is silly! I would feel my dream is complete if my book were printed on napkins stained by coffee spills! I don't care HOW it gets done, I just wanna HOLD it!"
So, the question is: What kind of book do you want to be holding?
- What is your budget?
No Option will be free
Unless you come across a blank notebook in a trash can and hand write the story - your dream of holding your book in your hand will cost SOME amount of money to format and print.
It's your choice what your budget is.
I don't want you to be shocked and play the victim when you see what some options may cost.
I also don't want you to go into debt or get swindled!
I also don’t want you to plan on selling a million copies, go buy a yacht, and then despair if your book only sells 100 copies.
Please, read a business book before buying your yacht.
(Business Made Simple is a good place to start)
If you choose to sell your book, you are choosing to start a business.
I want you to look at your priorities, look at what you can afford, and make the best choice for your situation with rationality and without panic or resentment.
So the question is: How much money are you willing to spend to hold your book in your hands?
Congratulations!
You have just decided some important factors that will help determine the next steps!
You've mapped out your quantity, timeline, and budget.
Now we can look at some Hold-a-Book-in-Your-Hands options for you to choose from!
Some of these methods are ones I have personally tried and some others I have not tried, but want you to be aware of so that you can make choices based on your own prioreties and expectations.
Staples or your local print shop
Effort scale: Low
Price scale: Low
Time scale: Low
If you are prioritizing low effort, speed, and time then perhaps printing at Staples or your local print shop is best for you!
This is how I held my first novel I wrote in high school in my hands. I chose the spiral bound option with black backing and a clear plastic front cover.
Photo books Shutterfly - also Snapfish and Mixbooks
Effort scale: Low
Price scale: Medium
Time scale: Low
I have made hard cover children’s books for friends of mine using this method! It was really special to give these as baby shower gifts.
I use Shutterfly. Other companies like Snapfish and Mixbooks are similar. You can look for various sizes, cover types, and watch for sales around holidays.
Print on demand
Effort scale: High
Price scale: Low/Medium
Time scale: Medium/High
Print on demand means that a book is only printed if it is ordered.
This is the method I used for my book I Did NOT Choose This Adventure. The start up costs for this method included commissioning my friend Harpley to illustrate, my editor Megan to comb through the manuscript, and someone to help me format the file to upload it into Lulu. Then publishing the book was free, but when a copy is bought a portion of the proceeds goes to Lulu for the printing and shipping, and the rest comes to me.
Ingram Spark, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, and Lulu are just some options for this method, and include various sizes of paperback and hardback books.
Next here are some options that I have not tried, but they do exist.
Vanity publishing
Effort scale: Low
Price scale: High
Time scale: Low/Medium
Vanity publishing is when an author pays a vanity publisher to print a required quantity of books. They might design the cover and offer editing. Some fees can add up to $1,000 - $10,000, and then you are responsible for selling and distributing the copies.
If you are considering this option, PLEASE understand that vanity publishers have a reputation of sometimes taking advantage of authors. If you are considering this method, do extensive reserach into the company and look at reviews.
Hybrid Publishing
Effort scale: Low
Price scale: High
Time scale: Medium/High
Hybrid publishing is when an author and a company share costs of producing and distributing a book. They are a combination of self publishing, vanity publishing, and traditional publishing. Again do your research and read reviews before choosing a hybrid publisher to see if they fit your goals.
Ebook
Effort scale: Low/Medium
Price scale: Low
Time scale: Low/Medium
I would someday like to publish an Ebook, but I have not yet. Resources like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or Draft2Digital are options for publishing Ebooks with global distribution capabilities.
There are tons of other resources out there on YouTube (Like this channel) or the ReedsyBlog has a great library of posts of how-tos or about comparing companies like Ingram Spark and Amazon KDP, etc.
If you know of other options, please let us know in the comments! We can help each other out!
Ultimately, the choice is yours for how you want to accomplish your goal of holding your book in your hands. I want you to feel empowered to make the choice for your unique situation.
I hope this was a helpful exercise in finding out your own priorities and looking at options that can get you to your goal!
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