This little Self-Publishing Guide has it all. Denise Hamilton of Ink Tree Marketing has put all her book marketing and publishing experience into this straightforward and comprehensive guide. The cost is quite reasonable for the amount of information that's packed in to the guide. You'll find it a very helpful addition to your resource list if you are considering self-publishing your book. The author sold 250,000 copies of her book without taking a single workshop or seminar, and with absolutely no training or experience. Learn More about this guide.
Arbor
Books
Arbor Books takes a different approach from every other print on demand company: they
tell authors that in most cases POD is not the way to go.
If you manage to get
past their discouraging, but bluntly practical remarks, they offer a variety of
services such as editing, formatting and marketing. Despite the promotion
challenges that POD publishers and authors face, Arbor Books has in the past
managed to mount some high-quality publicity campaigns and can boast a relative
amount of success for their authors.
Of
course, there are reasons for their success - and in their case, success comes
at a price.
The future of POD
Our first
surprise was their belief about the future of print on demand publishing. Joel Hochman of Arbor books says that
"POD will come under real threat from electronic publishing or eBooks.
Just as the iPod is sweeping through the music industry. I think the days of
POD are numbered."
Does this
mean that they're getting ready to close up shop and go to work for
FedEx/Kinko's? Hardly. But they do spell out their opinion of print on demand
quite clearly. For example, Hochman said this about the advantages and
disadvantages of POD:
{quotes}The
advantage is that people with no money can get their feet wet with little
startup capital.{/quotes}
"The
disadvantages are many: bookstores refuse to carry 98% of POD books and most
reviewers ignore POD titles. The profit margin is not great the way POD plans
are set up, and for most serious people looking to market and distribute their
books, POD is not the way to go. Most clients would be better working with an
experienced book packager and going with traditional self-publishing and
printing."
Are you serious about writing and publishing a book?
Wow!
They're saying that if you want to succeed as a self-publisher, you should
avoid using a print on demand publisher. Instead, spend your money on
"traditional" self-publishing and printing, which means using an
offset printer to print 2500-5000 books at a time. Generally, the cost per book
for a standard paperback will be near $1 per book, versus between $2.50 and $6
(or more) per book through print on demand publishers.
[Ed.
note: be careful when reading any POD publisher's pricing structure. When they
say that the author pays for the printing costs, they mean their printing costs, not yours. A book that costs them $3.00 to
print may cost you $6.00 or more after their markup. Be sure to check with your
publisher on these details, since most POD publishers use Lightning Source to
print their books.]
Their
advice for a first-time author about using POD: "Avoid it. There are
better options. It is important not to be under funded when planning on a
self-publishing venture."
Here's
where we get to the heart of the matter, and is perhaps the key differentiation
between Arbor and other POD publishers. Arbor books' focus is on Marketing and not strictly on publishing.
Many POD
publishers will print anything for anyone. Arbor, on the other hand works with
only about 35% of the clients who contact them. The reason is simple: they want
to work only with serious writers who see this as a business and not a hobby.
Marketing
to Arbor is everything, which is why it will cost you $5,000 or more to for a
comprehensive package.
Although
they handle all types of books, they're clearly not for everyone. Their mission
is to "turn clients into savvy businesspeople capable of fully marketing and
selling their books through stores, libraries, the Internet and direct
sale."
They work
with their clients to appear on shows such as "The View," "Good
Morning America," "O'Reilly," ABC, FOX and CBS news and many
other venues.
{quotes align=right}Recently one of our clients was acquired by Simon &
Shuster who advanced her $30,000. Her original self-published book sold 5,000
copies. That was enough to get a mainstream publisher interested in her. A
recent pet food book we worked on sold 80,000 copies and has a marketing deal
with a major pet food company. Another title received a Top 10 Books of the
Year Award from the Los Angeles
times.{/quotes}
The
upside of working with Arbor is that you'll have a better chance of selling your
books. They recommend that you have your book professionally edited, and they
won't print a book with a poorly designed cover. The downside for many
first-time authors is the cost.
As with
most print on demand publishers, you can expect the process to take between two
and three months from start to finish. Some POD publishers are faster, but
perhaps not as thorough.
With
Arbor as your print on demand publisher, the question isn't whether or not you
want to publish - it's whether or not you're serious about marketing your book.
Hochman adds: "We offer this service only for people who have no other
financial option. Our clients are reviewed by major newspapers and television
programs. We are head and shoulders above anyone else offering self-publishing
services. Marketing is the key. Custom packages, original hooks. Staying away
form cookie-cutter strategies."
Does
Arbor have the formula for self-publishing success?
This little Self-Publishing Guide has it all. Denise Hamilton of Ink Tree Marketing has put all her book marketing and publishing experience into this straightforward and comprehensive guide. The cost is quite reasonable for the amount of information that's packed in to the guide. You'll find it a very helpful addition to your resource list if you are considering self-publishing your book. The author sold 250,000 copies of her book without taking a single workshop or seminar, and with absolutely no training or experience. 
If you manage to get
past their discouraging, but bluntly practical remarks, they offer a variety of
services such as editing, formatting and marketing. Despite the promotion
challenges that POD publishers and authors face, Arbor Books has in the past
managed to mount some high-quality publicity campaigns and can boast a relative
amount of success for their authors.
