Self-publishing

Self- publishing (also: self-publishing, self -publishing ) refers to the publication of a book or other publications by the author himself, for the self- publisher (also: self- publisher ) is so. According to the previous interpretation makes a self- publishing and the establishment of a commercially registered company for the publication of own publications necessary, which then, however nominally in turn acts as a " publisher " rather than " self-published ". But self- publishers can in German-speaking commercial application, inter alia, by publishers pay deal - since the 1980s indirectly by means of so -called ' publication subsidy publishers " and since about 2010 directly on the self-publishing platforms.

In addition to literary productions are on similar terms and volumes with recorded music, often made by home recording, distributed, self-published. For self-created video clips there since 1997 video-sharing websites, where images can be uploaded to the internet.

  • 2.1 accruals
  • 2.2 calculation
  • 2.3 Marketing & Sales
  • 3.1 Self- publishing individual authors 3.1.1 autobiographer
  • 3.1.2 PhD
  • 3.1.3 Professional authors
  • 3.1.4 Vanity publisher
  • 4.1 Literary Publications 4.1.1 Examples himself laid Bestsellers

Definition

Word origin

While the origin of the word " publisher " of " present " is what in book publishing and Others also the author of advance fees counts himself has submitted a " self- publisher " the cost when used for the preparation of a book, for example, the services a printing or publishing of a payment in availing.

" In his own name ... "

See the " Technical terms " a reference book of 1998 "Professional expertise for merchants in newspaper, magazine and book publishing ," says the keyword Self Publisher: " manufacturing and distribution of a work by the author in his own name and for its own account ."

" In his own name " means here is that the author, instead of a publisher's statement in the imprint or / and on the cover page of the book his own name or no name or " self-published " leads - a practice that is common today, in particular provided exclusively to the services of a printing company for the creation of a self-published book is resorted to.

Some self- publishers create for it sometimes trademarked unprotected, unused publisher name or sign, such as Erich Loest equal to its own publishing house for their publications to. The publishing house publishing dictionary of the author defines self- publishing as opposed to other encyclopedias and dictionaries without further explanation to self- publishers even exclusively as " established by the author publisher, where his works appear; Starting point for many mini- publishers ".

" At his own expense and take on the full risk "

In other definitions of self- publishing is mainly lifted that a book will be published at his own expense for production and distribution, and that a self- publisher bears the risk for the publication of a work itself. According to this definition of self- publishing also includes the benefit of service providers for self-published media or pay publishers, provided that the costs and risks shall be borne solely an author as principal of such a service.

In dtv -Lexikon ( 1980 edition ) states: "Self- publishing, distribution of literature, music or visual arts by the author himself work"

So true of the Association of German writers as self- publisher who is " self-funded " his work.

In the Hamburg Academy for Distance Learning (HAF ) states: "With Book-on -Demand you are self- publisher "

In book market college.de, an industry-related site - cooperation of book market and Uni -Online, it says: " When self- publishing, the author moves his work itself, pay the cost of production and distribution and bears all the risk itself "

The Austria Commerce defines self - publishing and self- publishing and the sale by the author ( Author), " which is why it can never be exercised by legal persons. Upon transfer of the copyright to someone else goes out the self publishing right for the duration and scope of the transfer. The exercise of self- publishing is the author of the exception as well as the literary activity and the pursuit of the fine arts from the scope of the Commercial Code. These activities need therefore in accordance with § 2, Section 1. Ziff.7 Industrial Code 1994 no commercial application. "

General

Self- publishers are to distinguish roughly according to whether they give rise to a literally self- publisher or a publishing house sign as a company and thus equal to a publisher contracts for services for the creation of its publications or assign the outset of their publications by eg Use pay publishers for offering "one-stop " all services for the creation of a publication.

Either way, authors or institutions as self- publishers to control the entire process of book publishing and irresponsible. In addition to writing or the selection of content they need to get the editing, the choice of features (font, paper, envelope, etc. ) as well as costing, advertising-effective public relations and marketing or so contract service providers. Especially for the production of self- publishers are service providers such as printers availed or pay publishers who, inter alia, as a so -called ' publication subsidy publishers " and since around 2010 appear in German-speaking as self-publishing platforms. Some self- publishers - see for example the section: autobiographer - can be created in the book trade for from the outset narrowly defined target group their works without additional connections.

Accruals

Something surrendered in self or self-publishing is in contrast to publication within a publishing house or a public publisher that lets content supervise generally in accordance with a closed- another contract, the work of an author by a lecturer (inspection, correction suggestions, etc.), its production (printing, binding ), distribution and advertising organized and the author a percentage of the retail price ( royalties ) not infrequently grants including an advance.

Even authors who use a regular subsidy publishing, are not self- publisher, as a subsidy publisher in the traditional sense, apart from the imposition of a pressure grant benefits as a regular publisher provides - but the boundaries between grant and pay publishers are fluid and there are no clear evidence of a demarcation.

Commission publishers in turn are solely responsible for the distribution of a publication and be availed mainly by academic institutions, government agencies, or libraries.

A special feature in turn forms the private printing of a printing unit is not commercially available, per se, to serve as the gift of a clearly defined from the outset, usually smaller target group is not rare and can enjoy later also highly collectible.

Calculation

An author who laid himself seeks in personal union is equal to a publisher ( s ) to bring a book project on the road and must therefore calculations do, how the costs will be for it even surpassed by the shoulder and possibly rewarded readings from it - which in turn into the relation to the willingness to pay an optional reader or consumer base of a self-published book is to bring. (Except from such a calculation are see Section self- publishing individual authors, inter alia, the autobiographer who want to bring only for private use their life stories in book form. ) Depending on the provider, printing processes ( offset printing or book-on -demand method ) and order screen for the release of a self-published book nothing (see Basic offers the free providers) have to be estimated several hundred or even several thousand euros for it.

Marketing & Sales

The sale of an article manufactured in the self- publishing depends, as in the economically -run publishers, not least from the marketing possibilities of self publisher and its networking with potential buyers and / or from bookshops. In an article in the Tagesspiegel on a PhD as a user of a payment publishing it means, for example to the fact that his thesis can be found on the as performance of a pay- publishing including assigned ISBN in bookshops, although he " but now become active and promote his book " must. Because, whether to use self- publishers printers or publishers pay for the creation of a publication, its requested services they are already pre-financed profitably with the contract. And according to the Hamburg Academy for Distance Learning (HAF ) are not least the printing costs among publishers pay publishers " not to the extent as the classic publishing rely on to make money by selling books. After all, they have already conceded a sometimes hefty sum of money by the author. "

For standard marketing tools, social networks, websites and blogs have become the authors that have the potential readership to be addressed. If the book should also be available for trade, and self- publishers can use it for a fee - in the self-publishing platforms usually included - equip with an ISBN number and register in the "List of Deliverable books" (VLB ). Without ISBN and registration in the VLB internal university publications or purely private books are produced for a fixed group of consumers in the self- publishing in general. Doctoral students of some faculties of political science are increasingly using pay publishers for self publishing their dissertations.

Self- publishers use for already existing copies of books mostly selling through a direct sales, for example, in connection with them of events such as readings or as part of a own site. This also applies to products manufactured in the book-on -demand method copies of books, for the self- publishers usually an " author discount" is given. In addition, some authors try the booksellers in their close vicinity copies of their work to offer for sale on commission.

From pay publishers in offset printing or book-on - demand process produced print editions of the retail book trade of their own accord are rarely of stores ordered, but they can unless equipped with an ISBN, as well as on the " online store " the bookseller there, be ordered via the internet or bookstores. E -book editions are " downloaded " per se exclusively by these " online store " or on e-books and / or the devices for specialized Internet retailers. Distribution through " online stores " can even without the representative of a publishing house to reach relevant target groups. In the first week of August 2012, about a third of the books were first published on the full 25 tracks e-book best-seller list of the New York Times, self-published. The new manufacturing process and " online stores " thus offer self- publishers - with correspondingly aggressive pricing on the part of the payment Publishers - the added advantage gained an indirect sales. This advantage is canceled imagined because of the particularly consequent enormous growth rates in this way new releases for the vast majority of self- publishers again almost.

Reasoning contexts

The information provided by the publishers to be different and not to prove, but the number of manuscripts submitted to them for review at any rate by far exceeds the number of adopted texts from publishers. To lay a publication itself thus is often the only way to publish anything at all. The reasons for the publication of a work published by the author are varied and are not always based on the previous rejection of a manuscript by a publishing house.

Self- publishing individual authors

Autobiographer

A large subset of self- publishers make people who want to record their life story in book form. They in turn are divided into "vanity publisher" but also those which with these have become to books autobiographies alone want to think about the family and their friends - they waive this usually also on the allocation of an ISBN and save yourself all the services with have to do marketing and sales. Sometimes use the autobiographer among the self- publishers as well as service providers who support them for a fee in the way of writing their life stories.

(See in contrast to this, the conditions deviating from a private printing. )

PhD

According to Gemma Pörzgen the Tagesspiegel from February 18, 2014 now also use graduate students of some faculties of political science in particular, the self-publishing platforms under the pay publishers for the self- publishing their dissertations, as that of a specialist publisher demanded printing costs in a case described alone for a 400 sided thesis would have cost 4,000 euros and would then have been to pay the cost of a copyediting. For a publication in law therefore allows the printing costs doctoral candidates cost a total of 10,000 euros after some " so-called academic publishers " " exploit long " its market position would have.

Professional authors

Even professional writers that can reference through the literature review, inter alia, on publications in recognized publishers and / or high esteem, sometimes have recourse back to the self- publishing their works or reasons (such as, inter alia, Frank Demant, Erich Loest and Armin Pongs ) equal to its own publishing house:

  • Provided that the book of author " out of print " and thus no longer be available in bookstores. Not infrequently titles are already been taken after one year from the publishing program, which is unfortunate especially for those authors who earn part of their income through readings and then no longer refer to available copies of their books and sell them to (see also Book Series offers of payment publishing division of Allitera Verlag or explicitly justified this label Edition headwind, under which a community of authors published their self-published titles );
  • As soon as a plant with high demands and low suitability for mass taste aims only to a small circle of recipients and therefore does not meet the economic demands of a publisher;
  • Unless it's an author to see the full content control and he is looking to avoid the sometimes over beyond the formal substantive interference by proofreading - or an author generally the publishers in the sense of correct contract is not (more) trusts;
  • Provided that they expect higher profits. Publishers reward usually with the percentages from the retail price. This proportion is for hardcover editions usually at ten percent for paperback editions at five percent. In absolute terms, this is dependent on the amount of copies sold a circulation, which in turn correlates among others with the use of the publishing of advertising material for the individual title. However, since the production of a publication in the self- publishing costs money and an additional high next to the writing of a manuscript workload demands, this approach is by itself very risky and should rarely come to fruition.

Vanity publisher

For authors who wish may see their work yet printed despite repeated rejection by the publishers, inter alia, from vanity necessarily mean we speak in English of "vanity publishers " and refers to the land they for self publishing their publications pay publishers in English as "vanity press ". Thanks to the book-on -demand process and the possibility for the production of e-books to their number multiplied in enormous growth rates.

Institutionally -related self-published

Among other scientific publications with a circulation for a while fixed but only small group of customers are to be calculated only rarely profitable for publishers.

Institutions responded in part to this problem by establishing their own publishing houses, such as the " University Publishing House of the TU Berlin" ( publisher's number 7983 ), the "Institute for Housing Policy and Urban Ecology eV" ( Publisher Code 89215 ) or a science transfer office like the " Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning " ( Publisher Code 87994 ).

Otherwise such publications of institutions (including libraries, universities ) as well as by the individual authors (among graduate students ) were often taken according to honorierende subsidy publishers claim for technical processing, then the manufacturing, marketing and - if necessary also on the assignment of Commission publishers - the distribution concerned. But here are self-publishing platforms as far more cost-effective provider in advance, create the title in the book-on - demand process and / or distribute as an e -book. (So ​​dissertations from universities is now also increasingly recognized in the form of digital online publications. )

Some institutions use but sometimes, for example, for a gift or gift in connection with a company anniversary, to which the target direction differing from the self-published privately printed.

Reception of products self-published

Literary Publications

The appreciation of literary publications self-published subject to the front hand to the same criteria as publications by publishers, ie whose success is measured by units sold and on the perception of the literary criticism. By these standards, there have been over the centuries certainly very successful self-published publications, and also more recently can refer to several titles published with him, for example, the self-publishing platform, Books on Demand, the bestseller lists have been him seemed. And see the following section, examples of self -laid Bestseller there are also some titles that were initially self- published and then taken over by regular publishers because of its resounding success.

But the lack of "elite" by a regular publisher as well as the associated lack of a deemed qualified proofreading also can provide the majority of "vanity publisher" or " amateur authors " as a self- publisher to let their publications usually miss any creditable literary text quality. So, for example, orders neither literary criticism nor the book trade by itself self-published titles. The Association of German writer concludes from the recording of a new member, who can refer only to self-funded book publications. The same applies to the application for inclusion in the database of authors of the Friedrich- Bödecker circle.

This skeptical attitude towards the Selbstverlegertum is quite in the economic interest of the established publishers. However, since now not a few publishers have made ​​savings just in the editorial as well (see section professional writers ) even take title by renowned authors in a short time from the program and thus force their authors to self- publishing outright, here stands perhaps at least a more differentiated view of Even from publishers. So " committed " in the meantime a community of authors under the label Edition headwind offensive for creating their out of print titles self-published and also experiences under this sign positive reviews.

Examples of self -laid Bestsellers

Below successful book titles are listed, of which at least the first edition was published in self-published:

  • Anonymous Author: The book without a name 2009 ( German Ex.: Luebbe Verlag )
  • Sergio Bambaren: The Dreaming Dolphin, 1996 ( Ex. German: Piper -Verlag)
  • EL James: Shades of Grey, from 2011, later editions: Knopf Publishing ( U.S., German Ex.: Goldmann Verlag)
  • Nele Neuhaus: The first volumes of the Taunus crime series, from 2009 List Verlag
  • Jonas Winner: Berlin Gothic, from 2011
  • William P. Young: The Shack, 2007, ( Ex. German: Allegria publisher)

Scientific Publications

Scientific publications in the self- publishing among scientists in particular have a low priority when it involves the usual scientific publication peer review is missing. Institutional self- publishers, however, renowned publisher groups and / or advisory boards are involved in the publication.

Vanity press Printer (publishing) Impressum Library Personalunion International Standard Book Number Travelling salesman Autobiography Title (publishing) Piper Verlag Goldmann (publisher) Samizdat
298664
de