Tag: Malaysia

April 19, 2018

How much does it cost to self-publish?

Now that we’ve covered how long it takes to self-publish a book, how much does it actually cost?

Let’s take a look at the costs, based on the process that we’ve covered so far:

1. Writing

Unless you’re paying someone to ghostwrite for you, you shouldn’t have any expenditure here. Well, maybe about RM100 or so for paper, pens, and printer ink. But if you want to be that nit-picky, you can count the cost of electricity, internet, food, water, etc.

Expected cost: NIL

2. Editing

Editing costs depend on the type and level of editing required. Here are the various types of editing, in suggested sequence:

Developmental editing

This looks at the overall big picture of your novel. How strong is your plot? Is there a plot hole big enough to drive a car through? Is there enough tension? Are there any slow, boring parts? Does your story make sense? Is backstory a problem (either too much or too little)? How can we improve and polish this story until it’s not just ‘good’, but ‘exceptional’? It’s pretty hard to find developmental editing here in Malaysia, but the numbers we’re seeing online estimate anything from USD1,000–USD6,000.

What we do have in place of this, are writing mentors, foremost of which is Gina Yap Lai Yoong. Hang about the Malaysian Writers Community and/or Twitter to see when some of our writers are looking to pick up new mentees! Most of these come at no cost to you, other than putting in the hard work and probably belanja-ing your mentor to dinner once in a while. An alternative is to find a critique group or beta readers that have great story sense that you can trust to give you honest feedback.

Line editing

A line editor goes into the nitty-gritty of the manuscript, focusing their red pen on everything from specific words, to sentences, to paragraphs, to chapters. They look at strengthening your work in terms of style, flow, structure, and readability, besides the usual correction for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other basic/common language mistakes. Do your sentences flow well? Is your POV consistent? Do you flop between tenses? They may also help pick up obvious continuity issues—do you say A in Chapter 1 but then change it to B in Chapter 8?—though they won’t be going into the plot development itself. Line editing for a 50,000-word novel would range between RM3,000 to RM5,000 here at Teaspoon Publishing.

Proofreading

This is your final line of defence! At this stage, you’re pretty much just catching typos, concentrating on spelling, grammar, and punctuation, as well as other basic/common language mistakes. Proofreading for a 50,000-word novel ranges from RM2,000 to RM4,000 here at Teaspoon Publishing.

Some people tend to skimp on editing and jump right into just a quick proofread or do nothing at all. This isn’t really advisable, even if you’re an editor yourself, because it’s hard to find your own mistakes. It’s also really, really hard to tell if there are continuity issues or if things are confusing in your own manuscript because you know everything in your head. However, what’s in your head may not have all made it out onto the page in a way that others can understand.

If you’re really cheapskate (or you have really good friends), one way to save on this is to do a barter trade with your writer/editor friends, like I’ll edit your manuscript if you’ll edit mine. The results may not be really the best unless both of you are professional editors.

Expected cost: RM2,000 – RM5,000

3. Cover Design

A premade cover sourced online could cost about USD40 – USD80. An original cover could cost between USD100 – USD500, or more. We’ve paid between RM400 – RM750 for our covers. We recommend looking up Charis Loke Illustration and Magpie Designs!

Expected cost: RM150 – RM750

4. Formatting

Frankly, it’s not that difficult to format your own books—but it IS time-consuming, time that could be better spent writing your new book or doing marketing (ha). At Teaspoon Publishing, formatting generally costs RM60 per ebook format and RM100 for print layout (text only).

Expected cost: RM60 – RM280

5. Publishing

a) Online/ebook

The various platforms/distributors mostly take a cut of sales, generally between 30% – 50%. At the $0.99 – $2.98 price point on Amazon, they take a cut of 65% (I.e. you get 35% royalties on sales).

Expected cost: NIL.

b) Print

Printing costs depend on bulk. If you’re only printing 100 – 200 copies, you might want to check out these print-on-demand (POD) and/or book printing services:

Please note that we have not dealt with these services personally, but they have been referred to us or recommended on forums.
The higher quantity you print, the cheaper it is per copy.

OR, you can skip doing a local print run altogether and do POD with Lulu / CreateSpace / Ingram Spark. With this service, readers around the world can buy a physical copy of your book and have it shipped directly to their doorstep. You won’t have to pay anything upfront – the printing cost is taken out of the sales price & royalty paid to you. You can also print small batches of your book at their author price (cost of book + small markup for the printer)—but shipping from overseas is often the expensive bit.

Expected cost: ???

6. Distribution (for print)

This doesn’t appear in the timeline for self-publishing, but it’s a cost that you might want to consider if you want wider distribution if you decide to print your book. Most independent bookstores will ask you for a 30% – 40% “discount” on your retail price. This means that for every book you sell at RM20, they’ll pay you RM14 (30% discount) or RM12 (40% discount). This is how bookshops make their profits.

However, getting into chain bookstores (MPH, Popular, Times, Kinokuniya, Borders) normally needs you to have a distributor/agent. The only options we’ve come across so far are Inspiration Hub (30% royalty) and GerakBudaya (approx 55% discount). You’ll have to decide for yourself if this is cost you’re ready and willing to bear.

Expected cost: ???

Total costs of self-publishing

All in all, self-publishing an ebook may cost you between RM2,200 – RM6,000—and that’s not even including print! Yet 90% of this cost is from that one step you really shouldn’t skip: editing.

At Teaspoon Publishing, we believe in empowering authors to take control of their career. If you need a boost on your journey, check out our Publishing Hub to see how we can help!

April 5, 2018

How long does it take to self-publish a book?

One common question we’ve received is how long does it take to self-publish a book? This is usually tied to another question—what’s the process of self-publishing a book?

Here’s a very rough guide to the process of self-publishing a book, including the estimated time each stage would take.

1. Writing

Some writers can finish writing a novel in a month, some take months, even years. To make a meaningful estimate of the length of time it takes to self-publish a book, we won’t include the initial writing phase of the book in this estimate, assuming that the process we’re looking at will start at the point where the manuscript is finished and ready to be sent for editing.

2. Editing

Depending on the wordcount and the editor’s schedule, a full edit can take anything from a week to a month, maybe more. A good estimate for a 50,000-word book would probably be one to two weeks for the initial edit. After that, it would be wise to budget a week for writer’s meltdown and wallowing in self-pity, another two weeks for rewrites, clarifications, arguments over what to change and whether to change them, and maybe a fourth week for finalisation of the manuscript.

Best estimate: one month.

3. Cover design

Cover design can be done concurrent with editing, assuming you’re pretty sure you aren’t going to rewrite the whole book or give up on the project altogether. It also assumes that you’ve already decided on your title.
This stage really depends on your artist so this is something you’ll need to discuss with them. You could get a premade cover online which would probably be updated in three days OR you could get an artist to conceptualise something specific for you, which could take anything from one week to three months. Remember: the more customised and the more handmade/hand-drawn it is, the more time it will take.

Best estimate: one month, possibly concurrent to editing.

4. Formatting

Layout and formatting for a text-only book should only take two to three days per format. A manuscript with pictures, graphs, or diagrams would take longer to format.

Best estimate: three days.

5. Publishing

a) Online/ebook

Publishing online will only take a few hours of your time, assuming you have all the required materials ready (price, categories, back cover description, cover, formatted manuscript, ISBN, etc). Do also budget some time to review the converted file to make sure it’s up to standard before publishing. This is the best time to catch overlooked errors, typos, or formatting glitches, which would need a quick fix.

Best estimate: one to two days.

b) Print

Budget in at least two to three weeks for the printing process as the printer you send it to would have to review the files and get everything in order before starting the print run. If they need to send the files back to you for revisions, that would extend the time as well.
Best estimate: three days.

Total time: two-and-a-half to three months.

Do remember the time estimates noted here would vary for each writer and each contributor at every stage, and some stages may cycle back and forth several times. This estimate is also created assuming that the publishing of this novel is the sole priority of every contributor. This isn’t the case in the real world. Sending your novel to an editor doesn’t mean that they will be able to work on it right away. They may have other jobs they are currently working on that needs to be completed prior to yours, or they could be juggling multiple projects at the same time. The same goes for all the other stages, unless you’ve already booked their time in advance.

All in all, really proficient self-published writers can publish a new book every 3 months whilst traditional publishing generally takes 2 years from acceptance of the manuscript to final print. Our advice is to not rush the process as rushing may lead to sloppiness and more errors in your final book. You want a product that you can be proud of—and that takes time.

At Teaspoon Publishing, we believe in empowering authors to take control of their career. If you need a boost on your journey, check out our Publishing Hub to see how we can help!

March 15, 2018

How do I avoid being scammed by publishers?

Publishing is a very confusing business. Many new writers in Malaysia have been burnt by vanity publishers. They’re convinced to pay thousands of ringgit (usually around USD3,000) to print hundreds of copies of books that don’t sell. Instead of getting the marketing support they’ve been promised, they end up having to do it all alone. Then they complain that publishing and self-publishing is a scam and a waste of money. But is it?

The line between self-publishing and vanity publishing is sometimes blurred—and many often confuse the two. Vanity publishing used to be synonymous with self-publishing. However, vanity publishing in 2018 is part of self-publishing only where “independently” and “own expense” is concerned—in its current form, it straddles a strange mix between traditional and indie publishing.

What’s the difference?

With self-publishing, you publish the book by yourself, essentially doing everything a publisher is supposed to do on your own. To produce the best book you can, you’ll have to spend on editing and cover art plus printing costs. Whilst editing services and cover illustrations aren’t cheap, they shouldn’t cost you tens of thousands either.

With vanity publishing, you pay a company/publisher to publish the book on your behalf. Sounds the same, right? You’re still paying for services … and even better: someone’s going to do everything for you! However, most vanity publishers (at this time) do not offer value-for-money services. Some of the big vanity publishers out there that we are aware of are Partridge and Author Solutions.

What if cost isn’t a big factor for me?

We’re not saying that you shouldn’t engage them. If you do engage them, however, go into the contract with your eyes open and understand that you’re paying premium prices for services which may not really be the best.

Review all the options you are purchasing as part of the package and ask yourself if:

you are able to do this on your own, and/or
if you can outsource these services to freelancers at a much cheaper rate, with better outcomes/results.

So far, all this looks like it’s just about the costs and standards. The confusing part comes when the vanity publisher tries to disguise itself as a traditional publisher or is an offshoot/branch of a larger, established publishing house.

This is where poor, confused new authors sometimes get scammed.

How do I recognise a publishing scam?

If you receive an offer from a company to publish your book or “win” a contract but you have to pay them for it (or “invest in their business”), then this is a vanity publisher, or at least someone trying to scam you in the name of publishing. A proper publishing house, whether they’re a big company or a small press, will NOT ask you for a fee. Even an agent that decides to represent you will NOT ask you for a fee. A publishing house will negotiate to PAY YOU royalties and/or an advance and an agent will take a percentage cut of whatever price they manage to sell your manuscript for. If an agent doesn’t sell, he/she doesn’t get paid.

The rule of thumb is this: Money should flow towards the author—if it does not it’s likely a scam.

What often seems enticing about a vanity publisher is the promise of a larger distribution channel than you can get on your own. However, this promise usually doesn’t materialise. Yes, they have a network, but they aren’t invested enough to push your book through it. As their main goal is to make money off YOU, their job is done once they’ve convinced you to sign up and pay for their publishing package. They don’t care if you never sell anything because they’ve already made their money!

Also, because of the prices they charge, you end up having to sell your book for ridiculously high prices just to cover costs. We’ve seen thin, badly edited volumes published via vanity publishers sold at prices between RM40-RM55 when other self-published books of similar length and proportions (and better quality) were priced at RM20.

What do I do then?

If you ever come across a publisher that seems just a little dodgy or a deal that seems just a little too good to be true, do a quick search for reviews. You can also check out the Writer Beware website at http://accrispin.blogspot.my/ to see if anyone has complained about or reported them. The Malaysian Writers Community on Facebook may also have discussed some of these publishers before. If you don’t find anything negative, then feel free to make a decision based on your gut feeling.

At Teaspoon Publishing, we believe in empowering authors to take control of their career. If you need a boost on your journey, check out our Publishing Hub to see how we can help!

March 9, 2018

7 questions to ask before deciding to self-publish

Every writer’s dream is to be published. Obviously, getting a publishing contract is desirable: your publisher takes care of everything for you—from editing, cover design, and layout to distribution and marketing. It’s also somewhat like a unicorn: elusive and maybe non-existent, especially if you’re not based in any of the English publishing hubs of the world (New York and London). International publishing aside, getting a local publishing contract in Malaysia is even tougher—especially if you’re writing genre fiction in English.

Fortunately, there are other options now in the form of self-publishing, or indie publishing (whichever term you like using). The book industry has changed enough that it isn’t bad form anymore to be self-published. (It wasn’t bad form back in the 1900’s either!) Whilst the main thrust of Teaspoon Publishing’s Publishing Hub focuses on the ebook market, indie publishing also includes print and print-on-demand, which we’ll look at briefly in coming weeks.

Self-publishing isn’t for everyone. By self-publishing, YOU are in control of the whole process as well as the final output. YOU are also 100% responsible for sales and marketing and how it’s going to get into the hands of your readers. Before you take this very drastic step, you should ask yourself a few questions:

1. What’s my definition of success?

Everyone’s definition of success is different. For some, success is counted by sales numbers and money earned. Readership might be more important for some, even if they don’t earn much from their writing. For others, literary acclaim and book prizes might be the goal. Understanding what you want for your writing will help you decide if self-publishing is for you.

Until something drastic changes, the only way to get literary acclaim now is to chase for a traditional publishing deal so if that’s your motivation, you’ll have to keep submitting. If your primary interest is for your book out in the world for people to read, then self-publishing is a very viable option, provided you do the work.

2. What are my long-term goals for my writing and will it be helped or hindered by self-publishing?

If you’re very definite that you only want your book published via big publishing houses or your goal is literary acclaim, you might want to hold off on experimenting with self-publishing. Whilst self-publishing has gotten some authors good traditional deals (see Andy Weir, Amanda Hocking, EL James), if your self-published book does poorly, it might bias publishers against offering you a contract because the risks are higher for them. Just like a job interview, publishers will look at your publishing history (if you have one) so having a clean history might just be better for you.

Another consideration, especially for Malaysians, is how and where you want to sell your book. If you’re looking at the international market, it makes sense to indie publish your novel as an ebook with print on demand options. If you’re looking at the Malaysian market, your best bet is probably a print book, at least until more Malaysian readers catch on to the ebook reading trend.

3. Are my books suitable for self-publishing?

As strange as this sounds, the type of books you write can and do affect how well you do as an indie author. Certain genres do better than others as independently published novels, e.g. romance, sci-fi/fantasy, where readers often follow a favourite author brand rather than a publishing house.
If you need some help with market research, http://authorearnings.com publishes annual reports on the ebook market with data on genre sales by publisher type.

4. Is my craft ready?

This is a tricky question. As writers, we like to believe that everything we write is awesome and wonderful. However, we need to be both critical and objective about our work. If you work with an editor, beta readers, or a critique group, their input will help you decide when your work is ready to be released.

Self-publishing isn’t about doing away with the gatekeepers. It’s about making yourself your own gatekeeper. Releasing a book that isn’t quite ready or good enough will harm your career as you’ll put off any potential readers. Before you self-publish, please be sure that your book is the best that it can be, not according to your own standards, but in accordance with worldwide publishing standards.

5. Do I have a marketing plan?

Sometimes what makes a book (or any product) sell is not the book itself, but how it’s marketed and packaged. Once you have your novel ready, you also need a marketing plan. Putting your book up on Amazon but not doing anything to market it will not help you make any sales.

6. Do I have the resources to start this venture?

At the very least, you should have the resources to pay for a) a good cover, b) good editing, and c) printing costs (if you decide to print). If you’re not willing to spend money for at least the first two, you’re probably not ready to self-publish your book.

7. Am I ready to do the work?

Deciding to self-publish is really making the decision to do everything a publisher does with a team by yourself. It’s deciding to make your passion for writing into a business. True, you don’t have to (and can’t) do everything alone, but by committing to self-publishing, you’ll be the one hiring others to help you do the work.

If you’re not ready to commit to this level of work or do not want to make the necessary business decisions, then self-publishing is probably not for you.

At Teaspoon Publishing, we believe in Malaysian authors. We believe that you have a unique perspective that should be shared with the world. If you write fantasy, take a look at our Traditional page and consider submitting a manuscript during our reading period from 1 May – 31 July 2018.

We also believe in empowering authors to take control of their career. If you need a boost on your journey, check out our Publishing Hub to see how we can help you!

Up next: How do I avoid being scammed by publishers?