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mentioned, my goals were meek. I didn't expect to become the next John Grisham. However, I thought that selling 1000 copies or so would be attainable. I would earn a few thousand dollars each year and at least be able to pay for my family's vacation trips. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

By the time all of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances were dried up, so were my book sales. My first novel sold a whopping 75 copies, and I was still about $800 in the hole. You not only have to recoup the publishing costs, but the unit costs (including shipping) of each book as well. These types of publishers use POD (Print on Demand) technology, so you can order as many (or as few) copies as you wish at one time. Unlike traditional printers, this eliminates the risk of having 500-1000 copies of your book collecting dust in your garage or attic. Here are the facts: Your book could be listed on 100,000 websites, but without a marketing stategy, this will be meaningless. I mistakenly thought that this would sell the book. The problem? Thousands of other would-be novelists are listed, too. You must market it yourself, which creates another problem. Most brick and mortar bookstores won't touch a subsidy or self-published title. Even the few that do will stick your book on a shelf or table with other "local" authors. Then it will gather dust for the next 6 months until they call you to pick it up because nobody bought it. The store may be gracious and allow you to have a book signing. You may even sell a few, but after their 40-50% off the top, you'll be lucky to break even on the gas it took to get there in the first place. In addition, every marketing plan I've seen to date would end up costing far more than what the author would earn, save for going door-to-door like a Fuller Brush salesperson! The publisher makes the profit by selling you books to re-sell yourself, and thus far, very few writers have been successful doing it this way.

It has been said that the aforementioned type of publishing will one day replace the traditional houses. That may very well be, but in order for that to happen, bookstores and libraries must be willing to embrace the talents of unknown, unestablished writers. Unfortunately, just as there are bad writers right here on Helium, there are likewise bad novelists, and this creates a paradox. Until subsidy houses begin to weed out poorly-written submissions, they will continue to suffer from their questionable reputation. In addition, they must either foot the bill to market promising material, or have agents on hand who will promote your work for a reasonable percenatge of sales. I would gladly pay a higher publishing fee if I knew that the marketing would be done for me. Unless authors have thousands of friends, they simply can't do it on their own.

Unfortunately, until the day arrives when subsidy houses stress quality over quantity, the aspiring author's only option is the traditional route. And those odds are anything but favorable.

Learn more about this author, Patrick Sills.
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