Keep Publisher or Self-Publish?

Sargentodiaz

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What would you do?

I have a publisher who has released two of my three historical novels – and will accept the 4th as soon as I've finished it.

The contract calls for 15% royalties on paperback sales and 40% on e-book. As part of the contract, they provide a cover, edit the manuscript, and publish it on their site, as well as Amazon.com, Smashwords, and other websites. Their web page says:

“We naturally require all Bluewood authors to actively market and promote their book(s), and we go the extra mile to help them become successful sellers. “

In other words, they don't prepare press releases – unless pushed and then provide them in pdf. format – nor send them out to media contacts, and do not have or seek reviewers for the work.

In other words, other than providing a “professional” name as publisher, they do little that I cannot do myself!

So far, the sales suck basically because nobody knows about the novels or has any idea of whether or not they're any good.

My question is this: I have another historical novel I feel has the nugget of great success as it's about a historical figure of heroic proportions. He was a soldier during the Spanish rule of Mexico and one almost no Mexicans know of. He rose from almost nothing to become governor of California, in spite of his place in society and then, when removed from that position for unfair reasons, continued to do his duty, look out for those under his supervision, and generally display characteristics any one would be proud of. With the right marketing, even in English, I think this could be a most successful work in Mexico and among the Mexican-American community.

Should I submit this to my current publisher? Or seek another publisher for it? Or self-publish it?

And, one more question – how do YOU go about getting reviews for your works? I have a massive list of book reviewers, both bloggers and media outlets. Yet, none I've contacted have responded with a request to review either of the two published works.

Would anyone here like to read and review one or both of them?

Thanks for your responses.
 

Alice Xavier

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Oh god I sure wouldn't. Looked up this Bluewood operation and... they take 85% print/60% ebook for amateur covers, featuring it on their free-CSS-template-powered website (which probably has abysmal traffic), and posting it up on Smashwords for you? That site that's there so that authors can easily post and distribute books themselves? Yeah... you can do all that just as well (actually better) and keep all the royalties for yourself if you self-publish. And I'm sure that you can update your own blog more than once a year, too (Bluewood's last blog post was from November 2012).

If you're willing to put down some decent cash, you can hire out a really nice cover. Gather up some beta readers and whatnot and do whatever you need to do to produce a good quality book and send it to market.

I'm a self-publisher at present (not the rah-rah-trade-pub-is-dead type though - I'd love to go trade pub with my not-erotica projects), so maybe I'm biased, but I wouldn't ever dream of forking a portion of my books' earnings to this sort of press.

If you're more comfortable working with a publisher, I'd look for another, more established and reputable publisher, but if I were you, I certainly wouldn't go with these guys.
 

Old Hack

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This Bluewood?

I don't see what they do for you that you couldn't do just as well for yourself, as far as a digital edition goes. If they produce an offset print edition and get it into bookshops then that's a biggie; but if they depend on POD for the print editions and have no real print distribution then again, where's the advantage to you?

How many books have you sold? If you're happy with your sales and with the editions they've produced, then stay with them; especially if you're reluctant or intimidated by the work required to self publish effectively. But in your position, I'd cut my ties with them.
 

PortableHal

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I'd never heard of Bluewood Publishing until today so I wonder if there's a financial advantage to being on their site. Having seen their covers, I'm not impressed and wouldn't be enticed to give them my credit card.

In other words, I agree with Alice and Old Hack. Unless you're excited by the idea of self-publishing, I think you might want to approach another publisher first, especially one that specializes in historical fiction. Check out their covers, check out their contracts, and contact a few of their authors first. I've found my fellow writers to be very open when discussing their sales and happiness with small publishers.
 
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Sargentodiaz

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Self versus Traditional Publishers

I've had books and short stories on Amazon.com for a least 8 years – both Kindle and CreateSpace paperbacks. Until recently, I've had almost no sales. Then, four days ago. I checked my bank statement to discover a modest, but nice, deposit from Amazon. The problem is, I don't know where the money came from.

I can only guess that it came from signing up for KDP Select.

On the other hand, I've had a “traditional” publosher – a small house – for about 3.5 years and what I got from Amazon is far more than I've earned from them – ever!

So, what do I do with my next novel? It's going to be a historical fiction saga and I think it has the possibility of doing very well if I can direct it to the right audience.

So, keep with my present publisher – who really does nothing for me – or release it self-published? What would you do?
 

veinglory

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It is hard to directly compare two different books with one apparently under-performing publisher representing all of non-self-publishing. At the end of the day you have to try and find the best approach for each manuscript. I would also suggest setting up a data base and putting you actual sales and profits from each book into it so you can really see how they are performing.
 

Beachgirl

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So, keep with my present publisher – who really does nothing for me – or release it self-published? What would you do?

Why do those have to be the only two options? If you feel it's a solid story with a lot of potential, why not try to get an agent who can market it to the best publisher for it?
 

Old Hack

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It's trade publishing, not traditional publishing.

Without knowing who your trade publisher is we can't really advise you. But by the sound of it, whoever they are they're really doing badly for you, and if that's the case, if I were in your place I would not submit another book to them.

There are all sorts of things you could consider. You could look for an agent, or for a better publisher. You could work out how to self publish more effectively, in order to increase my sales. Or you could consider whether it's your work which is the problem, in which case your best route might be not publishing anything else until your skills have improved.
 

TheCuriousOne

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My partner's just received some unexpected money from Amazon as well, no idea where it's from, but he's not enrolled in KDP select and uses other platforms as well.

Sounds like your publisher is not doing that great. If I were you, I'd consider self-publishing if you do better on your own, or applying to other publishers after doing some homework and going for the ones who have a better track record. I'm new to writing, and I have no experience of agents, but it's also an avenue you can consider. Good luck!
 

Laer Carroll

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Amazon has a reporting mechanism you can use to discover when and in what market your books sell: US, UK, Japan, etc.

You should also get reports automatically mailed to you by Amazon every time they make a sale. Those are monthly reports as I recall. Usually the money will show up in your bank within five days of getting an email.
 

Sheryl Nantus

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Your publisher, according to your blog, is Bluewood Publishing - which seems to be a pretty small house that appears to do nothing other than print books.

You might want to consider other publishers for your future works - there are other publishers out there that can do much better for you. If you do continue to self-publish you'll have to put work into it to be successful. It all depends on how much time and work you want to put into promotion other than letting your publisher do the work.

Good luck!
 

Little Ming

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I've had books and short stories on Amazon.com for a least 8 years – both Kindle and CreateSpace paperbacks. Until recently, I've had almost no sales. Then, four days ago. I checked my bank statement to discover a modest, but nice, deposit from Amazon. The problem is, I don't know where the money came from.

I can only guess that it came from signing up for KDP Select.

On the other hand, I've had a “traditional” publosher – a small house – for about 3.5 years and what I got from Amazon is far more than I've earned from them – ever!

So, what do I do with my next novel? It's going to be a historical fiction saga and I think it has the possibility of doing very well if I can direct it to the right audience.

So, keep with my present publisher – who really does nothing for me – or release it self-published? What would you do?

You asked a similar question about a year ago, and I think the answer is still the same: only self-publish is that's what you really want to do. But I don't understand why you're not considering other publishers. The choices are not only incompetent-publisher vs. self-publishing.
 

Old Hack

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Ah.

Sargentiodiaz, we ask our members to start just one thread per subject. I'll merge this with your previous thread. Please don't start another. Thanks.