A few descriptions to get us all on the same page:

Traditional Publishing: Large or small press. The author signs a contract giving the publisher the right to publish their book for a period of time. The publisher may or may not pay an advance. The author earns royalties on book sales. No money passes from the author to the publisher. The publisher pays all the costs of publishing. Publishers arrange some marketing, and make sure books are available to distribution channels. Author earns a small percentage per book sold. The publishing house makes the final decisions on everything connected to the published book.

Subsidy (Vanity) Publishing: The author contracts with a publishing house for a fee. The publisher handles editing (in some cases), cover art, formatting of the book, etc. The author pays part or all of the costs of publishing. Authors earn royalties on book sales. The author handles marketing. Most books are not available to distribution channels. Book prices are often extremely high. Author earns a percentage on each book sold. The author has input on publishing decisions, but often finds that any deviation costs extra.

Self-Publishing: The author IS the publishing company. Author is responsible for all editing, cover art, formatting, etc. The bulk of self-publishing is in ebook, with some POD printing for paper books. Author is responsible for all marketing. Authors earn more per sale than with a traditional publisher, but have full responsibility for distribution. Distribution channels will not handle self-published books, so they are rarely found in stores. Author makes final decisions, paying all costs along the way.

POD: Print on Demand (POD) is not a publishing method, it is simply a printing method. With POD, books are printed as they are sold. There is no storage, no inventory. POD printed books typically have a higher retail cost. All publishers use POD at times, even the big NY publishers.

Join us at 7 pm ET tonight, to join the discussion.

If there is time after the topic workshop, we will open the room for any questions you may have.