Self Publishing Today

I interviewed fellow Today.com blogger Jans, who has published two books with Lulu.com

Did you consider any other methods of publishing before choosing Lulu.com? Why did you settle on them?

I never considered another way to publish my books. I was a professional riding instructor at the time and I used Lulu.com to supply my trail riding guidebook to my students. I also published 2 calendars with them, to use as publicity for my horseback riding business. I also wrote a family history book, which I published through Lulu and distributed copies among the family. During the time I published with Lulu I did not actively advertise my books. With Lulu you had to advertise heavily to get any sales at all.

That’s a great example of where self-publishing works perfectly - for small print runs with a ready-made local audience. Why are you now considering the Amazon alternative?

I am considering finishing up a work of fiction and if I publish it I might go with Amazon this time, because they will do the advertising for me. Amazon has a self publishing unit that operates like Lulu but has different layouts, book types and prices. The books look to be of a higher quality than Lulu.

I wasn’t aware Amazon did any advertising for their writers.  I’ll have to research that!  Any tips for authors considering following your example?

Get a following of fans before you publish your book. Start a blog and interact with your visitors. Write for Associated Content and develop a following. When you are ready to publish your book you will then have a group of customers waiting for it already.

That makes sense.  Writers outside the US might find HubPages a better bet than AC (which only pays US residents).  I would add - write/blog about subjects that are relevant to your book, because there’s no point creating a customer base that likes (say) chocolate and then trying to sell them a book about custard.

Thank you Jans for providing the interview.  Dear readers, please check out Jans’ blogs, All The Creatures and All the Creatures At Today.com

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