As a catalog of options, Mark Levine's book occupies a unique position in your library of self-publishing manuals. However, he leaves out one important option and he neglects some essential economics of self-publishing.
First--the important option: Becoming your own publisher via Lightning Source Inc., a subsidiary of Ingram.
What is LSI? They are a POD (and recently offset) printer. I emphasize they are only a printer, not a publisher. You have to become a publisher yourself to use them. This is not free.
Business License ............. $ 236
Ficticious Name Application ... $ 28
Ficticious Name Ad ........... $ 39
Bank Account ................. $ 100
ISBNs ........................ $ 270
(block of ten; need one for each title and format)
SAN .......................... $ 75
(You only need one.)
LCCNs ........................ $ 0
pcn.loc.gov (one per title regardless of format; best version when available)
Altogether, you'll spend about $750 getting ready to do business. Contrast that with, say, Outskirt Presses Diamond Plan of $999. So far it sounds like a bargain but there can be hidden costs. For example, interior formatting can cost you the price of Adobe Acrobat, and cover formatting can cost you the price of Adobe Photoshop. If you only have one book in you, going the Outskirts Press way may be more cost effective. If you plan to publish lots of books, the software expenses become mitigated.
At LSI you are also on the hook for title setup:
Cover
Perfect Bound: $50
Hardcover w/DJ: $75
Interior
Based on page count: ~$39
(272 pages)
Proof Copy $30
Print costs per book:
Wholesale Direct
Hardcover w/DJ $11.09 $11.63
Perfect Bound $ 4.44 $ 4.98
Why is this option so important? They are used by most of the Self-publishing companies listed in Levine's book. They are owned by Ingram, the biggest book distributor in the U.S. book market. They allow any author to compete on the same playing field as iUniverse, Outskirts Press, and the rest of them.
Second--the missing economics: While Levine does discuss discount rates, he does not adequately show how it impacts the bottom line. For that let's compare and contrast LSI and Outskirts Press.
LSI:
Pub company startup costs: $750
(one-time)
Paperback Title Set-up: $119
(each title)
Total $869
Cost per book: $ 4.44
(wholesale)
Discount rate: 50% (should get you into most stores)
SRP: $16.95
Discounted Price: $ 8.48
Operating Profit: $ 4.04
(Enough to cover marketing, et al.)
Outskirts Press:
Pub company startup costs: $ 0
Paperback Title Set-up: $999
(each title - Diamond Plan*)
Total $999
Cost per book: $ 7.32
(wholesale)
Discount rate: 50% (should get you into most stores)
SRP: $16.95
Discounted Price: $ 8.48
Operating Profit: $ 1.16
(Not enough to cover marketing, et al.)
[I have the above spelled out more clearly and in more detail in a 98-slide PowerPoint. I'll happily share same with anyone if you'll email me at efulsang@comcast.net.}
I have two titles published through LSI under Aarhus Publishing. I have sold about 150 copies in the last year or so. Self-publishing is kind of like the gold rush days of the mid-1800s. The easy money was made by the lucky few that got in early. Thereafter, the reliable money was made by the equipment vendors (who sold $1000 shovels), saloon keepers, and prostitutes to the late comers. Note how Levine's categorizations (outstanding, pretty good, and to be avoided) parallel the gold rush days. Go to an equipment vendor and you can get what you need but you'll pay dearly. Go to a saloon keeper and you'll feel better but spend your grubstake. Go to a prostitute and you'll feel better, spend your grubstake, and catch an STD. I could not help but wonder if Levine's favorite, Bookpros, was merely an equipment vendor with four categories of shovels starting at $6000. I also could not help but wonder if I'd been able to afford the $40,000 shovel would I have sold more than 150 copies of my books. Maybe I would have just dug myself in deeper. Self-publishing is no panacea to the barriers to entry that have been emplaced by the conventional publishers.
--Ejner Fulsang, author/publisher of "A Knavish Piece of Work" and "A Destiny of Fools" Aarhus Publishing
