Christian Living

THE PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS OF A SELFPUBLISHER

by Henry Jaegers
12/02/24
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THE PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS OF A SELF-PUBLISHER

By Henry Jaegers

 I have a Story to Tell.

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ZZ1GH4pWuoAzkXO_OuICt1BTpS5zJDV/view?usp=sharing

 It has been over 20 years since I published my first book. I was so inexperienced and had to borrow my son's word processor to type my first manuscript. I did not have a computer, nor did I have any idea how to work them.

 Well, after 20 years, I have learned a great deal about the advantages of having a computer and I have become close to an expert on the available opportunities. Especially, how to find various programs that enable a blind person to write books. In the past 20 years, I have published over 40 books, and I have four that I am in the process of completing

 I am a former pastor and I write books to help others understand and enjoy reading the Bible. So my objectives for writing may be different. But I want you to avoid some of the major problems that I experienced in trying to find someone to publish my books. I am sure that this is a common problem for all beginning authors.. I discovered that there were two kinds of publishers. Traditional and Self-publishers. I chose self-publishing because I did not have sufficient capital to purchase 50 to 100 books at a time, and I was not sure that after all that investment, that anyone would purchase them

 So I chose self-publishing as a more practical solution.

 The first publisher did not give me much help. I had to figure out how to design a cover. After I began, I discovered that the publishing company decided how I should apply for a copyright page. I paid over $100.00 to purchase a copyright. Later the copyright people told me that I could write my own and I did not have to pay for it.

 Next, I discovered after I paid over $ 1000.00 to publish my book, I still needed to find ways to purchase copies for myself. I had to purchase 10 books in order to reduce my price to $10.00 each.

 On top of that, I needed to be careful that my books contained no mistakes. The publisher charges $130.00 every time that I need to make a correction.

 All of that was necessary for me to publish a book that I had no idea who would buy them. They offered many services and gave me hope that they would help to market my book. I will not tell you the name of the publishing company because they all operate on the same principles.

 Later I came across a new company, that took a more personal approach in helping me to understand and properly format my book. They were still higher in their prices, but they helped me to put together a PDF document. They did a professional job on my cover, and now I had a more attractive book. But it cost me $225.00 to design the cover. I still had to buy a minimum of 10 books to keep the price to $10.00 each

owerhat time, the publisher issued a lawsuit against Amazon for charging lower printing costs. I decided to purchase 20 books and try to have a book signing at the local bookstore. I was so excited. I purchased an ad in the newspaper and called 30 of my friends at church, and they all promised to be there. I even provided a free candy bowl to attract more people to my book signing. Finally, the day came, and no one but my mother-in-law showed up. None of my friends came to the book signing. I learned from that experience not to be disappointed when people do not keep their promises.

 So, now I have twenty books that I could not sell. I decided to take them to work and leave a few copies in the breakrooms to arouse interest. The next day, when I came to work, my supervisor said that I had to remove my books because they interpreted my efforts as marketing my book. When I went to retrieve my books, the people on the night shift took them before I arrived at work.

 Finally, I decided to give the remaining books away for free if they promised to read them. Everyone enthusiastically received my book, but when I later asked them how they enjoyed them, the reply was, that they did not read them at all. So there went my writing experience.

 But I should not be surprised because, before I started self-publishing my books, I read an article that says that no one purchases or reads self-published books. But I reasoned that my book is different. Does my story echo with some of my otherself- publishing friends? But I have good news. The story does not end here.

 About the time when I was publishing my last book, someone told me about a project that Amazon had started. It was a publishing company called "Create-space. There was no cost to publish my books. If I happened to have some mistakes, all that I had to do was to correct them in my manuscript and re-submit it (At no additional cost to me. They also offer a cover design to create your own covers, and they assist you in the process (again, at no additional cost. You can publish your books as Kindle, Paperback, or Hardcover. In pricing your book, they have a minimum amount that you must charge. For instance, My book that used to cost me $10 , now costs e about $3.00. And I don't have to order multiple copies. When I do, it costs less on shipping so I save money that way.

 It only takes about 48 hours before I can purchase my books and they arrive within 5-7 days. Now you may be asking, why would anyone want to publish any other way? It's because no one ever told them about Amazon's publishing services. They also assign you an ISBN for each of your books. The name has been changed from Create-space to kdp.amazon.com.

 Now I want to give you briefly, the sequel to all of this.

 I have decided that since I am writing Bible study books, I no longer am concerned about making money through book sales. No one knows who I am, so why should they purchase my books?I am more concerned about people reading my books. I have discovered a unique way to get people to do this. I manage about six online groups on which I conduct bible studies I put each chapter into individual studies using quality audio voices. There are about 100 people that I minister to each week. Christians have expressed that they are growing spiritually through these messages. Sometimes I slip in a Zoom message to give them a taste of reality. But I am also improving my communication skills.

 I am very comfortable with no people purchasing my books. In fact, I am surprised when anyone does. I hope this message will be a blessing to someone, and maybe inspire someone else to be a Christian writer. Besides sharing this message in writing, I'm sending it as an audio as well for those who like audio messages better. Writing without the expectation of receiving anything, is a great way to "Layup treasures in Heaven.