Great information Darcy. Do you have any recommendations for an offset printer? Also, with offset printing it would seem the burden of distribution is more on the author/publisher than it would be by using IngramSpark and POD. Any thoughts on either?
Also, yes! If you offset print, you might think about distributing to Amazon through the Amazon Advantage or Fulfilled By Amazon programs. For those, you set up an account and send books to the warehouses at Amazon’s instructions. I’ve not done this, so I can’t help you with the ins and outs.
Many people go overseas for printing and the best thing there is to get recommendations. The Swing HIgher Facebook group is mostly indie children’s book publishers who offset print and are happy to recommend a printer. Because they offset print, there’s also lots of chatter about doing craft fairs and in-person events (https://www.facebook.com/groups/swinghigher
Thank you for the information, Darcy. I have a meeting on Friday re: a book contract. There's a lot of variances on pricing for writing and illustrating a picture book for 4-8 yr olds. I'd love guidance, if you're consulting 1:1.
Congratulations! Book contracts can vary widely! And I”m not doing consulting for that. Basically, the advance can range from $1000-10,000 advance. Pay attention to the royalty rates. As the author of a picture book, it may be 5% of list price; Illustrators will get 5% also. You want calculations based on LIST PRICE, not 5% of NET. List price is what’s on the book. NET is 5% of profits after they take their your expenses. And then, read and understand everything! Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for changes; they’ll acommodate when they can.
Thanks, Darcy! I've been using POD too, but wondered how you got your books listed with Titlewave/Follett? Our school's librarian told me they order their books through Titlewave, but my books aren't showing up in their catalog. Is it because I don't allow returns?
Yes, it's a problem. Do you have an Ingram rep? If so, ask them to resend the metadata. If you don't have a rep, you can still point this out to Support, but it's slower. OR, you can go directly to Follett to update the metadata. That is, they would still order from Ingram, but you update metadata when it's not accurate. This is, as you might expect, totally a pain and not an easy process. It's hard to find the right contact person and hard to follow through. Why is nothing easy? Start with Ingram--they should be sending the metadata and it should be right!
Thanks! No rep, but I'll try contacting IngramSpark. I've messaged Follett a couple times, but haven't been able to get a response. I have almost a dozen titles at this point, but none of them are showing up on Titlewave, so it's definitely frustrating.
Do you have returns enabled on all of your titles?
Great information Darcy. Do you have any recommendations for an offset printer? Also, with offset printing it would seem the burden of distribution is more on the author/publisher than it would be by using IngramSpark and POD. Any thoughts on either?
Also, yes! If you offset print, you might think about distributing to Amazon through the Amazon Advantage or Fulfilled By Amazon programs. For those, you set up an account and send books to the warehouses at Amazon’s instructions. I’ve not done this, so I can’t help you with the ins and outs.
OR, you might want to find a true distributor. Simon & Schuster does indie distribution sometimes. Here’s an IBPA podcast video about that: https://youtu.be/TqnX8Wy2Qx4?si=azZFa113buXapyfU
Thanks for both responses!! Very helpful!
Many people go overseas for printing and the best thing there is to get recommendations. The Swing HIgher Facebook group is mostly indie children’s book publishers who offset print and are happy to recommend a printer. Because they offset print, there’s also lots of chatter about doing craft fairs and in-person events (https://www.facebook.com/groups/swinghigher
Thank you for the information, Darcy. I have a meeting on Friday re: a book contract. There's a lot of variances on pricing for writing and illustrating a picture book for 4-8 yr olds. I'd love guidance, if you're consulting 1:1.
Congratulations! Book contracts can vary widely! And I”m not doing consulting for that. Basically, the advance can range from $1000-10,000 advance. Pay attention to the royalty rates. As the author of a picture book, it may be 5% of list price; Illustrators will get 5% also. You want calculations based on LIST PRICE, not 5% of NET. List price is what’s on the book. NET is 5% of profits after they take their your expenses. And then, read and understand everything! Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for changes; they’ll acommodate when they can.
Thank you, Darcy, I appreciate your experience and information.
Thanks, Darcy! I've been using POD too, but wondered how you got your books listed with Titlewave/Follett? Our school's librarian told me they order their books through Titlewave, but my books aren't showing up in their catalog. Is it because I don't allow returns?
Yes, it's a problem. Do you have an Ingram rep? If so, ask them to resend the metadata. If you don't have a rep, you can still point this out to Support, but it's slower. OR, you can go directly to Follett to update the metadata. That is, they would still order from Ingram, but you update metadata when it's not accurate. This is, as you might expect, totally a pain and not an easy process. It's hard to find the right contact person and hard to follow through. Why is nothing easy? Start with Ingram--they should be sending the metadata and it should be right!
Thanks! No rep, but I'll try contacting IngramSpark. I've messaged Follett a couple times, but haven't been able to get a response. I have almost a dozen titles at this point, but none of them are showing up on Titlewave, so it's definitely frustrating.
Do you have returns enabled on all of your titles?
Mine are all No Returns.