The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author - Chapter 12

The Tears and Triumphs of a New Author Chapter 12

After spending hours on the Internet checking self-publishing websites, we compiled a short list of five possibilities, which included Authorhouse, X-Libris and I-Universe.
As I was scrolling through the web pages, I found a page that read, “ don’t sign with Authorhouse until you read this”.
It turned out to be a page from the website of a publishing company called Dog Ear. They had a whole section of their website dedicated to comparing all of the packages of the top self-publishing companies side by side.
We found that each company offered multiple publishing programs from “bare bones” to “all the bells and whistles”.
The Dog Ear website compared the packages and prices of their various programs to that of their competitors. Just looking at the prices published on the various websites, it looked like Dog Ear was offering a pretty good deal.
Each website had a link to request more information and I sent my name and phone number to each company.
I soon received calls from each of them, eager to explain their services, programs and prices.
When they discovered I was not signing up immediately and that I was shopping several different publishers, I was informed that they were conducting a year-end close out (this was in September) and they could give me a special deal if I acted quickly. Imagine my surprise!
I soon started receiving e-mails detailing the “specials” and follow-up phone calls.
I have never been a hard-ass when it comes to buying something. I look at the product and the price and if it’s what I want and reasonable, I get it ---- if not, I don’t. But I soon found that if I shared with one publisher what I was offered by another, the deal became sweeter.
After a week or so of negotiations, I decided on Authorhouse. They are the largest company and offered the most for my money. I wound up with their most expensive, fully loaded package for $600 less than the website price.
The only company that would never negotiate the price was Dog Ear. Their price was the lowest in the beginning, but by the time negotiations were over, it was all about the same.
I saved EVERY e-mail, especially the last one that detailed all that was to be included at the final negotiated price.
One detail that is not included in any company’s package is the price they will charge you, the author, to purchase your own book for resale. Dog Ear was one that used their price as a selling point and I had negotiated a two cent per page plus $1.28 for the cover.
In my final pitch to Authorhouse, I said I would take their package if they would match that price. After several days, I received an e-mail confirming the price.
We had a deal.
It turned out that Authorhouse had a separate department for each phase of the process, selling the package, building the book, marketing, book orders, etc, and I discovered that in many cases the right hand was not aware of what the left hand was doing.
Thank God I saved all those e-mails with the details of our final negotiations.
They came in handy later on.