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BACK COVER
by R. René
Published in 2002
64 pages
5.5 " x7.5"
Contact
Date of birth?
Summer 1959.
Is there a difference
in reader response to books as opposed to zines?
As a novice to
book production I can only say that the zines I've done were for
a different reason than the singular book I've done. The zines I've
done were a response to a need for a sense of community among people
who read them but were isolated geographically or otherwise. There
are some segments of the "reading audience" that are overwhelmed
with reading choices. Zines can fit in tiny [mental] spaces more
easily than books.
How do you decide
the price of your books?
I've used a range of prices on the one book I've done.
For a cover price, I finally went with what some "expert"
or another described as the necessary mark up to accommodate standard
retail sales. I printed that price on the cover, i.e. cost of production
plus some odd percent retail mark-up. Frankly I forget what it was.
I then created other price scales for other kinds of sales-- because
the book I wrote is a bit odd in its format and targeted readership.
For instance, it would work as a handout in certain educational
settings. Part of deciding to produce the book included being willing
to give away lots of free copies. (Note: free
copies still available. Contact
me.)
I think one of the biggest
mistakes I made, and I'm almost too embarrassed to admit this but
I will do it for the greater good, is that when contacting book
stores, I initially told them what I would sell the book to them
for, rather than doing follow up and finding out what mark up they
would need if they were interested. Oh, well. I just try not to
cringe when I imagine the folks who received my early sample mailings
thumbing through the pages, glancing at the "price scale"
I sent and pitching it all into the waste bin. I only wish they
knew I was being ignorant, not arrogant.
What goes into
choosing a cover? Back cover blurb?
If I'd had less
limited resources, and if I hadn't been so intensely in "do
it all myself mode," I might have paid for professional help
with the cover. But I didn't go at it in a vacuum. I did look at
other covers. I read some design stuff. I did some quick self-training
(ha) in Photoshop. I saved the first draft cover I did because it
was SOOO horrible, just to remind myself how much work it had taken
to improve it at all. In contrast, I have loved the end result of
almost every single zine cover I've worked on. Book covers are way
different, but I really had fun working on this one despite the
pitfalls. The back cover blurb is the hardest 35 words I've ever
written and I don't really like how it turned out either. Next time,
I'd have someone else do it. Again, this is an odd little book,
very hard to summarize. When I read the first review of the book
written by someone else, I was amazed at her ability to describe
it. How is it that someone else can describe what I've written better
than I can?
What's your editing/refining
process?
I'm usually pretty
fearless and merciless with editing my own stuff. The book I self-published
is as short as a children's book, so editing wasn't a huge job in
terms of tracking volumes of verbiage. Two things of value I have
learned from others: (1) do not be fooled by passages, chapters
and sentences that you are personally enamored of. Some of "your
best stuff" still doesn't work. Be willing to trash it joyfully.
If the only reason you're keeping something is because "it's
so good," be willing to examine that, and (2) repeatedly ask
yourself, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?" You
have got to be willing to delete, refine and change your own writing.
You have to be willing to hear what others say about your writing
and to ignore the impulse to defend your created words, BECAUSE
this person is a reader and is sharing a perspective that you as
the author simply cannot experience yourself. This is one of the
few areas I feel fairly solid in.
I have written a basically
full length novel and the editing there (ongoing) is very physical.
Sometimes I lay pages and chunks of pages on the floor to try to
see what I'm doing, where I'm going. I have a lot of conversations
with the characters while I'm falling asleep to get their input
on needed changes and direction. As far as actually making the changes,
I work on a laptop so when I'm hesitant to change the actual document
I'm working on, I just make a duplicate and chop away at that --
knowing I've still got that older version. It gives me the freedom
to just go at the needed changes, try new things. I don't think
I've ever gone back to the prior version of something and decided
it was better. Dealing with this novel is going to be very interesting
because I'm fairly certain there is one entire character and several
pages missing. Small changes are easy if you're being open-minded.
Big edits are more like archaeology.
What was your print run and how much did it cost? How did
you raise the money to publish?
2000 copies. Duh. More a lack of understanding how many that is
(despite cautions from those who've gone before me) than actual
optimism. I cannot recall, without looking it up, what the exact
cost was. I ended up with a small grant that contributed to both
some of the printing and some of the distribution (postage, etc.)
costs. Sorry for the vagueness. I think it ran $1.25 copy? Can't
swear. Quit caring. It's not a commercial venture. I'd put aside
funds for awhile before deciding to try self-publishing. Went with
a Canadian printer that I really, really liked. Hignell. Old company.
Great support and service. Kind and patient with amateurs like me.
What have you
done to promote it?
Not enough. Direct
mailings to bookstores. (Not effective.) Review copies to targeted
groups, individuals, etc. (Somewhat effective.) There are probably,
I dunno, 300-400 of the little suckers in circulation. I created
"pre-messaged" postcards with the book cover on them and
stuck them in every book. I put up a very basic website. One of
the barriers I finally stared down in deciding to publish this book
was promotion. I realized I was hesitating because I did not mind
losing the bucks if the book just didn't sell well, but I did not
want to lose the money because I suck at promotion. I decided I
was willing to risk that I could do promotion. I'm fairly certain
I overestimated myself. A wise man counseled patience, so I'm going
with that philosophy now.
How can people
get your book now?
That's a good point. They can basically only get it through me,
although I know there are a handful of individuals who actively
promote it when the opportunity arises. Like I said, no cost copies
are still available. Check out book info at: www.softkickpress.org
or email me direct at: seamouse@televar.com.
The postage is on me as long as my stamps hold up.
What will you
do differently next time, if anything?
Produce a more
normal book. By that I mean, a book that is not a hybrid of fiction
and educational materials. I consider this book worth doing and
worth sharing but I'd just as soon give it away and get it out there
where it can benefit individuals who read it. It's an advocacy type
of book. Next time, I'd do straight fiction or straight non-fiction.
It might be creative in format or fringy in content, but it'd have
a less narrow audience. I would do some things on a slightly better
timeline. I'd consult with other people more. Start with fewer copies.
Get artistic help with the cover. I'd use the same printer.
Why are so few
women self-publishing books?
This is such a
loaded question for me. Even the "regular" publishing
industry is male dominated. Historically, women have provided the
social-familial supports that have allowed guys to "go out
and do stuff." Generally speaking, women still bear a greater
burden of managing other people's lives than men do, which simply
leaves less time. And huge numbers of women are in the "regular"
workforce these days on top of that. Still, I wouldn't attribute
women's lesser presence in self-publishing to only those factors.
I don't really know the answer. It seems women have created a larger
presence in other art forms than in writing. There could be something
to the required self-promotion aspect of self-publishing that is
more generally difficult or unappealing to women. It could be there
is a lack of networking that provides what women writers are looking
for or that women are not accessing the networks that are growing
around self-publishing books. There is less web use by women than
by men. I am aware of the self-publishing "movement" largely
via the web, not through other mediums. All of these things and
more could be contributing factors. Quite frankly, with all the
other creative, active, "big project" things I've designed
and done, I'd never even thought of self-publishing a book until
I landed on the No Media Kings website by chance. I mean, it just
never, ever crossed my mind.
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(Psst! We're continuing
the discussion on women publishing books over here.)
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