Has anyone tried to sell a book before? Book seller experts? I could use advice.

[SabahTheLoner]

I'm writing a few fictional books right now and I'm very particular about how the books are to be written. I've been writing dozens of paragraphs and then going back through the whole thing to edit it at least once a week. I think I want to sell one of my books under a pen name and I'm wondering the best way to go about this.

Right now I'm looking at Amazon's self-publish program, which is mostly free and the writer receives most of the royalties. Is this a good deal?

I could also use advice for basic advertising/self-promotion, especially since the book strives to be untraditional and unique in language. And advice on pricing. I don't want to undersell myself or make the book silly expensive. Should I price a book on how thick it is, per page? Or what it contains?

Also I would like to ask how many pages you like a novel to have. 150-200, over 200, something like that? Or does it not matter as long as it's a good read? I'm a little worried about writing the book a bit short especially since I have a tendency to hasten the pace at times.

 

[Shimi]

I'm afraid I cannot be of help in regards to publishing a book. However, I do know a thing or two about purchasing them.

Pricing varies on a number of things such as paper quality, hardcover or paperback, notability of the author, publishing house, etc. I'm under the assumption that you have no prior published works, you're writing under a pen name (meaning even less notability), the book is self published and will likely be a very low quality paperback work or digital. The book is fictional so it holds no real value in its historical significance. It's also safe to say there will be spelling errors.

Given the factors above I'd say you're book should be priced no higher than $3.99 and even that is a very optimistic total.

As for page count, this is your work! You're publishing it yourself which I think is fantastic, so it is up to you to determine how long it will be! Now that being said from what I have noticed, any work of fiction under 150 pages is typically a children's novel. If that's what you're going for then great! But if it's anything other than a children's book I would suggest getting it over 250 pages. Of course there are other variables and you could be writing a short story for all I know, but this is what seems to be the general consensus.

Best of luck!

 

[Vinayaka]

I'm writing a few fictional books right now and I'm very particular about how the books are to be written. I've been writing dozens of paragraphs and then going back through the whole thing to edit it at least once a week. I think I want to sell one of my books under a pen name and I'm wondering the best way to go about this.

Right now I'm looking at Amazon's self-publish program, which is mostly free and the writer receives most of the royalties. Is this a good deal?

I could also use advice for basic advertising/self-promotion, especially since the book strives to be untraditional and unique in language. And advice on pricing. I don't want to undersell myself or make the book silly expensive. Should I price a book on how thick it is, per page? Or what it contains?

Also I would like to ask how many pages you like a novel to have. 150-200, over 200, something like that? Or does it not matter as long as it's a good read? I'm a little worried about writing the book a bit short especially since I have a tendency to hasten the pace at times.

Tough deal. I self-published 3 books almost 20 years back. Amazon wasn't in existence then so the game has changed. Anything for free or almost free is awesome. I assume their program does the bar code thing, and registration with your national library. (I'm in Canada so it may be different) . So once you get your book, done, it's time to market it. Yes, you can hire people at considerable more cost, or you can do it on your own. Depending on your personality, this can be a real tough sell. If you're kind of shy and introverted, it' seven tougher. You have to sell yourself, like some used car salesman. Just getting a few people to read it can be difficult. People will assume it's poorly written just because it's self-published, and no other reason. In some 90% of cases, their assumption is correct. Tons of people think they can write, but they can't.

So my advice would be to do it all, join writing groups, in real or on line, get feedback, do feedback or editing for others, All that and more. And worse yet, don't expect much. You will hear comments like, "The last thing the world needs is another book." This isn't totally inaccurate either.

In the real publishing community, it's elitist, exclusive, and tough. Self-publishing is about your only option, so go for it.

 

[columbus]

t now I'm looking at Amazon's self-publish program, which is mostly free and the writer receives most of the royalties. Is this a good deal?

Have you looked for something resembling an online forum for authors and writers? I am sure there's lots.
I have a friend who used to do exactly what you want, professionally. She lead people who had written something through the process. She doesn't do it anymore, because website development paid so much better. Part of the problem she had with publishing books was the large amount of online resources available, making a lot of what she did for authors for cash available for free.
So she only got the dumbest authors

But I believe that the stuff is out there, people sharing information freely. You just need to look for it.
Tom

 

[Skwim]

Also I would like to ask how many pages you like a novel to have. 150-200, over 200, something like that? Or does it not matter as long as it's a good read? I'm a little worried about writing the book a bit short especially since I have a tendency to hasten the pace at times.

No longer or shorter than necessary to tell the story.

.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

It's getting close to NaNoWriMo (if you decide to plan for it) If you've never done the challenge I highly recommend it. The website gives you lots of tools, networking, advise from established authors and encourages you to push your boundaries.
One month. 50,000 words.

 

[wizanda]

Is this a good deal?

Just used www.Lulu.com, which is very easy to use, and publishes on multiple sites for us at the same time (Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble NOOK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo and Everything Else).

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'm writing a few fictional books right now and I'm very particular about how the books are to be written. I've been writing dozens of paragraphs and then going back through the whole thing to edit it at least once a week. I think I want to sell one of my books under a pen name and I'm wondering the best way to go about this.

Right now I'm looking at Amazon's self-publish program, which is mostly free and the writer receives most of the royalties. Is this a good deal?

I could also use advice for basic advertising/self-promotion, especially since the book strives to be untraditional and unique in language. And advice on pricing. I don't want to undersell myself or make the book silly expensive. Should I price a book on how thick it is, per page? Or what it contains?

Also I would like to ask how many pages you like a novel to have. 150-200, over 200, something like that? Or does it not matter as long as it's a good read? I'm a little worried about writing the book a bit short especially since I have a tendency to hasten the pace at times.

I dunno about Amazon. It sounds too good to be true. My advice is to check the fine print.

Subsided publishing is a better bet imo, but you need to fork over cash to get the ball rolling. Still, check the fine print on whatever publisher to choose.

My advise is to get one that does editing as well. That way you can just write without having your work look like a dog if it's printed forthright.

Best of luck

Btw 300 pages seems to be the best maximum. Give or take.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I imagine you need to establish yourself, and it will be a lot of work. Work with other people to get your material into circulation. Your work has to be good enough to get people on board. For example can you convince a storyboard artist to illustrate? Can you get actors to perform? Publish in multiple forms of media: plays, columns, youtube, short stories to establish a background/resume. You have to create work and inspire, but you are looking for people the whole time. Search for people who will critique and will take interest. Once you have proven you are a serious writer and can point to all the work you have done and the people you have worked with, you can partner with people who are established authors and publishers. Instead of just sending a book (cold sell) to publishers you can show them how good you are and that you are a sure bet.

 

[Augustus]

Now that being said from what I have noticed, any work of fiction under 150 pages is typically a children's novel. If that's what you're going for then great! But if it's anything other than a children's book I would suggest getting it over 250 pages.

Of Mice and Men, Heart of Darkness, Breakfast at Tiffany's, A Christmas Carol, The Old Man and the Sea, A Clockwork Orange are just a few of the novels I can think of that are well under 200 pages. My copy of Heart of Darkness is even under 100 pages.

A good story is a good story whether it is 80, 180 or 880 pages long.