Hi, everyone!
Thanks again for all your warm wishes this week, when I’ve posted my big news – that a paperback version of Shizzle, Inc is finally available on Amazon.
I have mentioned in that post how happy I was with its quality, and a few of you have asked for the photos of the actual book. I’m not a great photographer, so this is the best I can do:
This is only one variation of the finishes you can have – glossy cover (you can choose matte) with cream pages (you can choose white). I don’t have another version to compare, but I’ve found another blog which compares glossy and matte covers.
It feels great – solid, well-made, the same quality you would expect from any bookstore. I really like the paper – it feels great to flip a page or to hold it open, and I’m once again happy with my layout. I was worried that the margins are too small, but it looks fine, again sort of industry-standard.
I’ve ordered 50 copies to gift to my family and to start pushing onto the local bookstores. It will take a month to get here, and yet the shipping cost is still more than $100! My next step is to try and get it into US brick-an-mortar bookstores, if anyone has any advice on how to do that via emails, please let me know!
Ana Spoke, author 
It looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing your progress. it is very encouraging and inspiring.
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Thank you so much for letting me know that, Candice!
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My pleasure! Keep up the good work.
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It looks amazing! Thanks for your inspiring post. Wish you luck for your future works:)
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Thank you, Amir!
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You’re most welcome!
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I’m impressed. I mean it in the best possible way when I say it looks like a regular book. 🙂
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I know exactly what you mean! Thank you 🙂
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Good luck Ana 🙂
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Thank you, Jack 🙂
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😉
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The book looks great!
The problem with getting it into a B&M shop, though, has to do with returns and sell throughs. Most bookstores won’t take a book they can’t return for credit after a certain period of time in case they don’t sell the copies they order. With an unknown author, especially one out of country, this becomes even more difficult since you won’t be there to do signings or any type of local promotion.
You might look into a distributor, although the last time I checked most of the bigger names won’t look at you without several books in your catalog. Indie stores, where you can develop a relationship with the owners would probably be your best bet. Maybe offer to do Skype Q&A sessions or send signed bookplates/bookmarks or something to increase the awareness?
In any case… fingers crossed and all the luck in the world to you!!
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Thank you! I may have to concentrate on sequels and getting reviews – maybe then my query letter will get their attention…
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Congratulations! What could be more delightful for a writer than to get published! Now marketing will be a challenge, but I am sure you will enjoy it.Perhaps it will be a story of it’s own! Best wishes and congrats again!!^^
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Thank you! I’m already marketing – have you seen my Super Duper resource list?
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Heh. I have that post bookmarked. 😉
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Awesome 🙂
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Thank you for taking and sharing pictures – it does look really great. The rip on the cover came out so well. I’m impressed! 🙂
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Thank you, Claire! I still can’t believe I’ve summoned it into physical form 🙂
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If you have any luck getting your book into bookstores, I hope you share your success and how you managed it. That’s a nut I haven’t figured out how to crack yet.
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I share all my secrets 🙂
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We’re counting on it. I know a writer who tried to put his book in an indie bookstore. When they saw it was published via CreateSpace they refused to take his book because of CreateSpace’s connection to Amazon.
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Really clever design for the cover. I love it!
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Thank you very much! I did it myself 🙂
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Looks like a book, same as any other book. 🙂
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I know! Amazing 🙂
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Looks fantastic.
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Thank you, Isabella 🙂
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It’s looks fantastic! I like it in the gloss. It does it justice. The cream pages are rich looking and easier to read. Great job Ana! I don’t know the in’s and out’s of getting a book into a store over here but I be willing to go to them and ask for you. Plus we have the small individual owned stores around that would be more receptive to an new author. Whatever I can do to help. Let me know. I think the paperback will sell well once it gets into stores.Just by word of mouth of patrons and owners.Why are shipping costs so high? Because your in Australia? Or the weight of the books? Just wondering.
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Thank you, Olivia! I’m very hopeful for the word of mouth…
The book weighs a pound or so, so 50 of them is over 20 kg shipping weight, and Australia is on the other side of the world, although it doesn’t feel like it 🙂
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The book looks so amazing! Good luck with pushing your book to further places like bookstores 😀 I love hearing about your progress 🙂
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Thank you!
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You’re welcome 🙂
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If you have any local bookshops, try there. We have a few in town and they uniformly have a local writers section. I haven’t inquired yet how to get on the shelf but I’m assuming a local proprietor would be more willing to work with you directly than a chain would.
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As for how to do it over the pond, um… Clueless, but eager to see you figure it out. 😉
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Haha, leaving the hard work to me, eh?
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Well, in my defense… you do it really well. 😉
Been thinking about the local shops a bit. I’ll be back in Atlanta next weekend and am planning to check them out. Specifically, how they stock those local author shelves. I’ll let you know what I find out.
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That would be awesome! And thank you again 🙂
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My problem is that local stores are Australian, and I doubt Australians would get this book, it’s so specific with Anerican pop culture references…u will still try, though!
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Yay! Congrats!!
There’s something to be said about holding the end result of all that hard work in your hands. 🙂
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Thank you, Jon – it was unreal. I mean, the electronic version has been out for three months, yet it was a thrill all over again 🙂
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Congrats! Love your cover, front & back. I’m getting ready to upload my debut onto CS, and I can’t wait to hold it in my hands! I’m going with cream pages, too, I understand they’re thicker. But I’m doing a matte cover, as the feel of gloss bugs me.
Getting into B&M stores is hard for an indie, as others have pointed out. Do you have the option to get extended distribution with Create Space in the U.S.? Then at least it would be available online at Barnes and Noble. That’s our big chain here.
I’m wondering actually how much print sales would be as a percentage of copies sold. Great for giveaways, though, and as a comparison to encourage buyers to click and buy the ebook.
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Thank you, Karen, and congrats to you too! Cream also seems easier on the eyes, at least to me.
So far no sales registered on CS, but they are behind for a month, so it will be hard to tell. True to form, I will post all stats 🙂
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The way CreateSpace works, you can’t do expanded distribution of a novel this size unless you make the list price >$15 or so. That’s too much for a fiction paperback. So I think Ana’s banging-down-doors approach is the only option.
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I’m confused! I’ve selected extended distribution and there was no error or warning?
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Oh, I just looked. Your print edition is only 250 pages. Yay small margins! My book is 400 pages, and so my cost per book is almost twice yours. The way it worked out for me, I couldn’t do expanded with a list price less than $14, and even there, my margin would be $0.
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I see! Good to know – I was talked into small margins by the interior designer, I thought personally larger margins and more pages are more impressive. Yay for the designer 🙂
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Everything I’ve read in newsgroups and such leads me to believe small, independent book stores might take your book on consignment (no money up front, you take back what they can’t sell). But that the chains only buy from distributors, and the system of discounts and buybacks basically makes that impossible with the high cost-per-book of a print-on-demand approach like CS. I know an author who does have a deal with distributors and she had to get massive quantities printed in China for the economics to work out.
As a point of reference, my sales are breaking down 31% print, 16% KU, and 53% Kindle. I’m curious whether your split is similar going forward.
One other point about print: A lot of my readers simply cannot get it. I’ve had readers in South Africa, India, and Argentina all fail to find a way to get a print copy economically. Thank goodness for e-Books!
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Thank you for that! I’d love to know where/how to print a thousand cheap copies…good for her!
Will update on sales of paperbacks as soon as I have any 🙂
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Many B&M stores won’t take a CreateSpace novel. The best policy appears to be, create a CreateSpace novel for Amazon distribution, then pop over to https://www.lightningsource.com/ and create a novel there for distribution to stores. If you used your own ISBN at CS rather than taking their free one, then the LS book can have the same ISBN so sales will be linked for bestseller lists etc.
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Awesome, thank you! I did get my own ISBN, this is the first reason it appears to have been worth it 🙂
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Looks great. Well done, Ana. You should be very proud.
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Thank you, David! I’m besotted with it 🙂
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Did you purchase an ISBN or use the free one from Createspace? The reason I ask is that there are more than a few independent bookstores in the US which will not stock a Createspace book simply because it is an Amazon company. However if you do have your own ISBN, then you may want to reach out to Steven Capps at https://stevencapps.wordpress.com as he is trying to build an author support network with specific interest in the brick and mortar side of the business.
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I did, I did buy my own! Was not sure why, but it was a vague idea that things like this will come up. Thanks again, Allie, I will contact him!
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It looks fantastic! I used them for my first book and you’re right, they do quality work. Congratulations!
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Thank you, Kelly! I might try a matte cover at some point, but otherwise could not be happier 🙂
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Ana:
A couple of weeks after your book appears on Amazon, you can submit the text to Kindle. Other e-book outlets are available. Concentrate your sales online, which will eliminate shopping costs. At $2.99, you should be able to realize some profit from your book.
Dean
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That’s a good looking book. I must say, self publishing services have advanced well beyond the days of yellow-paper paperbacks. That’s stunning quality work. Congratulations.
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Thank you, Marcos 🙂 This is my first one, no prior knowledge, and yet I’m stunned 🙂
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Looks great. Must be such a good feeling to hold the hard copy. Congrats.
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Thank you, Nic – it’s kind of surreal 🙂
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Well done Ana, keep up the good work. Book looks fab.
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Thank you so much, Susan 🙂
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Cover & book looks fantastic! I’ve heard a lot of good things about CreateSpace.
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Thank you! I might try Lightning Source in the future, if that helps getting books into brick and mortar stores, then I will have something to compare…
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Oh, and thank you 🙂
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