Production will be the biggest expense of any self-publisher. It is, therefore, essential to look for ways to save money and cut down costs

Typeset your own book yourself. One way to cut down on your production costs is to layout and typeset your book yourself. You can buy any desktop publishing software available in the market. While learning the software depends on your computer proficiency, furnishing the publisher with a diskette of your ready-to-print book will reduce your costs and shorten the printing time.

Choose the right printer. Not all printers are right for the job. Look for a printer prints book on a regular basis. Avoid the commercial printer, who may print a few books a year. Instead, go to a book manufacturer that specializes in book printing. Book manufacturers are usually better equipped to handle the task, giving you better results, and often at a better price. You can find a listing of book manufacturers at the LiteraryMarketplace.com http://reference.infotoday.com/lmp/us/services.asp 

Print your book in soft cover. Avoid the hardcover at the moment. Soft cover books are cheaper to print. Less cost may mean better margins for you. You can also offer your book at a lower rate, which could improve your volume.

Use a standard book size. Hold on to your dreams of creating books in "special" sizes. Stick with what's fairly standard -- whether it's a 5-3/8" x 8"; 6" x 9"; 8-1/2" x 11", etc. - otherwise, you'll be paying more than you want. You can even save more money if you print your book in the size that your chosen book manufacturer specializes in. Your book manufacturer may be able to run your printing faster with less paper spoilage if you tailor your book size according to their specialty.

Limit your orders. Prepare a realistic projection of how many books you can possibly sell. While volume-printing orders may mean lower unit costs, you do not want to be stuck with too much unsold inventory. Besides, you can always do a second printing of your book, which often costs less in the absence of set-up charges (unless you changed your book specifications).

A key part of self-publishing is getting your books to the hands of your customers, and this involves expertise and know-how in distribution and marketing. You do not want to print 2,000 copies of a book you consider to be groundbreaking, only to languish in your basement! You need to do a lot of market analysis, careful planning, budgeting and persistence to recoup your investment and profit from it.

Market Analysis

To help you shape your marketing and distribution strategies, the first step is to know the consumers' book buying behavior: what makes them buy a book, where do they usually buy books, and what attracts them to a particular book.

Check out the publications offered by the Book Industry Study Group at http://www.bisg.org , particularly their Book Industry Trends 2001 (prepared by BISG and the Fordham University's Graduate School of Business Administration), and the 1999 Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing (prepared by the NPD Group). One interesting result of the 1996 version of the latter study showed that over 44 percent of adults purchasing books base their decision on subject, and approximately 24 percent on author's reputation. Price (2%), cover art or endorsements (2%), and having a book on the bestseller list (less than 1 %) are considered marginally important.

Another publication worth reading is the American Book Buyers Study, sponsored by Publishers Weekly and the Book Industry Study Group. Their 1997 study showed that 59 percent of their respondents planned their purchases before they went into the store, while 40 percent made impulse buys. Confirming the findings of other studies, the study showed that 63 percent of respondents found bestseller lists to be of little importance to them in making a buying decision; only 23 percent said the book jacket or cover was important; but 66 percent thought the information and copy on the inside flaps and back cover was important.

You may also want to check out the American Booksellers Association at http://www.bookweb.com  for bookselling news and research statistics. One of the charts they present is that of the Category Share of Consumer Purchases of Adult Books, where they find that religious books grew by 173 percent from the period 1991 to 1998, compared to the 4 percent growth of general non-fiction (biography/autobiography, non-fiction crime/true adventure, humor/jokes, military/war & history). Knowing how particular subjects fare can give you a realistic view of the sales potential of your publications.

Marketing Strategies

There are hundreds of ways to market your book. The key is to be creative and plan on doing some hard work promoting it. According to industry insiders, marketing (including selling expenses and promotion) should be about 13 to 16 percent of net sales. You therefore have to choose which marketing strategy will yield greater immediate visibility and sales with less cost.

The first step is to create a detailed and realistic marketing plan for the book. Your plan should include strategies to get your books into the hands of buyers - whether wholesale buyers, retail account buyers, or consumers. According to Thomas Woll in his book "Publishing for Profit," your marketing plan should contain the following details:

• Marketing budget 
• Sales goals for year 1 and 2 
• Specific marketing targets for this book 
• Marketing strategies (including direct response mailings) 
• Publicity strategies (i.e. bound galleys to pre-reviewers; review copy plans; publicity releases; author tours and interviews planned; feature stories planned; press/publication parties) 
• Author questionnaires 
• Book exhibits 
• Advertising plans (trade advertising such as booklists and library journals; consumer advertising in magazines, catalogs, and newspapers; support advertising in bookstores such as Borders and Barnes and Nobles) 
• Author seminars, lectures, speaking engagements 
• In-store promotions (brochures, counter packs, posters, etc) 
• Library promotions 
• Wholesaler promotions 
• Textbook and/or school adoptions 
• Special sales prospects 
• Sub-rights sales prospects (book club sales, reprint sales, foreign rights, audio rights, serial rights and other rights) 
• Premium sales prospects 
• Mail order catalogs 
• Specialty outlets

Of the above strategies, getting publicity for your book should be your first step in marketing your book. Publicity is the most effective but relatively inexpensive way you can promote your material. The media is always on the lookout for fresh content, and you as a self-publisher and author are in the best position to offer that content. Establish and build on your relationships with the media: it is important that they see you as an expert in your field that they can use for their stories or article contributions. 

Getting publicity entails three main approaches:

• Sending book to book reviewers for review in various newspapers, magazines, journals and online publications 
• Writing feature stories about your book, and sending them to newspapers, magazines and online publications 
• Going on book tours, book fair appearances, in-store book related events, radio and TV interviews.

Another key component of your marketing plan should be Internet marketing. With the increasing number of customers buying and discovering books online, you need to map out your online strategies. You can list your book at various Internet bookstores for wider visibility and exposure. You can also follow the lead of many authors and self-publishers who create their own web sites to promote themselves and their books. You can also spread the word using newsgroups, listserves, chatrooms, and discussion forums, as well as opt-in email newsletters.

Publishing yourself can be a rewarding experience and can launch a whole new career for you. If you like to write, book publishing can be a worthy goal.