Time to do Something!

ThailandTom

I spent a total of five years and nine months studying graphic design after leaving university due to a variety of factors without a degree, however I have experience, knowledge and a national diploma in this field of work. I have been working on something recently but it is still in it's infant stages. I want to try and combine my graphic design skills with my poetry to create a book that is both visually appealing and verbally. However, I do not fully know how to go about getting it ''out there'' so to speak. i am not being cocky but I know I have the ability because it is the one thing I am good at, but I have always sold myself short according to my teachers at uni and college. Any advice on how to establish a name for myself in the world of publishing suh a thing and design would be highly apprecative, tom

MindGate

Two ideas. Not big ideas, but extra things you can do to make some extra cash after you already have the book on the market.

I don't know how into technology you are, but you could create an Ipad book app (like Richard Dawkins did in his new book, "The Magic of Reality").



Or, with the new Kindle coming out, you could even make a colored Kindle book. I'm not sure about that, though.

ThailandTom

cheers mindgate. I have contemplated creating an ibook instead, yes it would be cheaper and sell for less, but maybe there would be more purchases. I could design the book pretty easily with a lot of time and 100% effort, but i would not know how to go about getting it produced as an ibook.

Brian

Tom,

I recently published my first book on the Kindle marketplace. It wasn't nearly as hard as you'd think. They give you all the publishing tools you need.

ThailandTom

Hey cheers for the link Brian. If I need some help can I PM you at anytime as I have never before tried to publish a book. Cheers Tom

Brian

Yeah, absolutely.

federica

It's apparently impossible in the UK to publish a book without a literary agent. I should know, Ive been trying for nearly 2 decades....@Brian, I might also take brazen advantage of your good and helpful nature.... :dunce:

zombiegirl

my guess is that this is what brian is eluding to?
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

ThailandTom

Yea I looked into kindle and it won't work for me as my book would heavily be illustrative and kindle only allows for black and white images

@federica, I myself no longer live in the UK, or as I call it now-a-days 'that rock'.

federica

That's how we refer to Gibraltar...I guess it's a size thing....!

I wanted my work illustrated too, as it's a book for kids..... :-/

zombiegirl

https://www.createspace.com/pub/l/books_dtp.do?rewrite=true&ref=475912&utm_id=4990&cp=70170000000AyBg&ls=Amazon&sls=DTP

what about this? i honestly can't tell you anything about it, but it was a link provided off of the kindle link provided. might be worth a look anyways.

ThailandTom

Hey thanks Chloe. I will take a glance

@federica, sorry you lost me with the whole Gibraltar thing

Anyway, my wish for my book to contain pages such as this, so kindle is out of the question really...

dorje

@ThailandTom

Maybe you might want to try the iTunes store to publish an iBook instead?

Brian

my guess is that this is what brian is eluding to?
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

That's definitely it. That's where I started.

Floating_Abu

Thanks @Brian

@ThailandTom that's wonderful - that you want to do something now. Put the energy in, you won't regret it! Good luck!

Abu

zombiegirl

@ThailandTom np. hopefully that createspace thing will work out for you. i watched their little informative video and it appears that instead of publishing a bunch of books upfront, they publish them one at a time based upon orders... which is an interesting thought, but definitely requires some more investigation. it's also nice that they mentioned that you reserve the right to later sign with an actual publishing company. but my spidey senses tell me there must be a catch somewhere though... like low profit, heh.

ThailandTom

lol, yes low profit. To be honest just getting a first book out there with even a smallish percent of the profit margin would be okay for me. That image I did agggggges ago and I would REALLY like to change the typography. I am pretty busy at the mo working on this logo design and T-shirt company for an old friend, so do not really have the time. Although this book of mine WILL get published somehow...

@abu, cheers. I will put the energy into it because it is one of my few skills to b be honest. I am just trying to think of concepts that will appeal to readers of poetry/illustrations in these times. I am kind of a dark writer when it comes to poetry.

Floating_Abu

Good luck Tom and good on you

MindGate

The new Kindle Fire is going to be in color. But if you don't want to do that, make it a general Ebook then. The Nook is in color.

Also, email this guy:

philipdefranco@gmail.com

He is a guy looking for graphic designers to make cool shirts and posters to sell. He has a "news" show on youtube with 2 million subscribers. He is looking for people like you.

sobergirl

Thanks for sharing..stunning. The picture, the words..you have a gift, thank you for giving us a glimpse.

ThailandTom

And thank you for your comment. Also thanks for the email address mindgate, maybe something will become of this. When do you think/know that kindle will be in colour because that would be great?

zombiegirl

@ThailandTom they are already selling the kindle fire.

Cinorjer

I spent a total of five years and nine months studying graphic design after leaving university due to a variety of factors without a degree, however I have experience, knowledge and a national diploma in this field of work. I have been working on something recently but it is still in it's infant stages. I want to try and combine my graphic design skills with my poetry to create a book that is both visually appealing and verbally. However, I do not fully know how to go about getting it ''out there'' so to speak. i am not being cocky but I know I have the ability because it is the one thing I am good at, but I have always sold myself short according to my teachers at uni and college. Any advice on how to establish a name for myself in the world of publishing suh a thing and design would be highly apprecative, tom

If you want to send me a message I can give more detailed answers to your questions, but I have several publishers right now selling my own books and stories in both epublish and paper format, and the short answer is: first write and illustrate the book, and then send query letters to every publisher you can find on the web. Then write another while the first makes the rounds. Publishers want to see finished products. After you've finished and edited and revised your project, then and only then worry about where to send it.

You can also start getting into the field of book cover design. There is a real need for that. Publishers have great writers but need original, eye catching designs to go with the novel. So go to an online small press publisher, take a look at some of the covers, make up a few samples and query if they'd like to see your work.

Most of my sales come from various epublish formats anymore, from nook to kindle and such. But, there is still a place for paper publishing, so also research by going through the library or bookstore, looking for similar books to what you want to do, and make note of their publishers.

Cinorjer

@ThailandTom np. hopefully that createspace thing will work out for you. i watched their little informative video and it appears that instead of publishing a bunch of books upfront, they publish them one at a time based upon orders... which is an interesting thought, but definitely requires some more investigation. it's also nice that they mentioned that you reserve the right to later sign with an actual publishing company. but my spidey senses tell me there must be a catch somewhere though... like low profit, heh.

Almost no publishing company prints a bunch of books anymore and then tries to sell them, but use "print on demand" technology instead. The days of getting a contract and big advance from a publisher and seeing the local bookstore stock dozens of copies are over for beginning writers.

But it is a golden age for writers using selfpublishing and electronic format. Createspace and other services will let you create your own book and publish it on the web. Of course, it is then up to you to market your book, get people to review it and post the reviews on your website, and join online groups to get your name out there. A lot of selfpublished stuff shows people still learning, but then a lot of big name published stuff is uninspired drek, also.

As for profits, very few authors get to do it for a living, even the ones picked up by big name publishers. First comes the fame, and only then does the fortune follow. But don't mistake selfpublishing for vanity publishers. You either pay to publish yourself and take all the profit, or the publisher pays you royalties (rarely do you get an advance payment anymore). You NEVER pay the publisher! Not one cent for editing service, or preorders, or whatever. Those publishers exist to take your money, not publish your books.

ThailandTom

blah, ebooks seem to be all portrait! Mine and is being designed as landscape. Looks like somebody has a lot of tweaking to do!

ThailandTom

Thanks a bunch Cinorjer, I have found a great site with a list of 50+ private press publishing companies, mainly UK ones. I have written out a letter detailing my style of poetry and that it is combined with graphic design, but also that I would be interested in book cover design. I am simply emailing the same letter to many of these publishers, tweaking a few things sometimes to make it more personal.
One question, so far I have had one reply which is to be expected as not much time has lapsed, but he stated that he could not afford to pay for a cover design, but would be interested in a submission. If i do submit something, how do I safe guard it from being used without my knowledge etc?

Cinorjer

Worrying about someone taking your work and not paying for it is common for people starting out, but you'll soon discover there is no need to worry. No publisher is going to risk a massive lawsuit to steal what they could buy from you for literally pennies per word. Keep all email and letters of course, but that's good practice for any potential business transaction. You want to make sure you're not offering the same poem to two different publishers at the same time, for instance, and you want to keep track of who declines so you can send them something else or keep from resending the same work.

The secret, such as it is, is perseverance and spreading your net as wide as possible. Send different poems and stories and artwork to different publishers, keep looking for new publishers, and keep creating new work, try out different styles once in a while, and try to improve on your craft.

ThailandTom

Thanks again Cinorjer. I have had as of yet two replies, one saying basically no (I have yet to subit anything to anyone), and the second said that I could submit some poetry and I would have to design my own book cover (no problem for me, that would be hella fun)! The thing is, I want to actually design the pages, is this a possible with publishers because I am aware they have art directors... And your advice on casting my 'net' far and wide is a gem, cheers.

Cinorjer

Big companies have their own art director. Small companies consist of a couple of overworked people who do everything because they love books. To be a publisher, you need Adobe and a library of clip art and a program that lets you create a pdf file formatted so that the printer will accept it. A lot of work goes into the formatting stage, and special designs take a lot of time. So first get someone interested in your book, then ask if you can do some special page design, but be prepared to offer up your help in actually doing the formatting to their specifications.

Worst case, if you are shown to be active in promoting your book and it sells a few copies and makes the publisher a few bucks, then the next one, they will be more eager to work with the author on special requests that cost them time and effort.

ginab

I found a couple more companies you may want to check out:
xlibris.com
iuniverse.com

AMH

federica, I didn't know you had a book. I have half a novel andsoem other writings. I would love tomake that part of my career. I used to say that I had half a novel before this phrase I used for my divorce. I am workign on positive thinking which is a big switch from my cynical punk days but basically I got really good at managing my time and my kids and going to an excellent group when I couldn't keep up with teh interference I was getting. So I I am trying so hard to catch up on practical so I can do more writing work again.

Kinda off topic, I write fiction and am focused on telling the story but some amount of pay would not hurt.

BeachHouseGuy

local shows, and send to publishers, on the web, and maybe proffesionals? :]

ThailandTom

Tried lots of things so far, emailed around 80+ publishers with a query letter (no subsnissions), and three replies that are dead enders. The only thing I have right now is some T shirt/logo design on the back burner, and a pretty good up and coming band of a an old friend of mine wants their logo changed soon.