Stone In The Surf Press
Welcome
Welcome to Stone In The Surf Press, a passionately Independent Publisher. My goal is to provide a portal for sharing my books, stories and experiences. I also hope to help other people who share the same passion and dream of writing and self publishing. Becoming an indie publisher is more than self-publishing, it's more than vanity press or being part of a giant POD conglomerate. It is a commitment to yourself to publish and share your work independent of the opinions, criticisms and negativity of the rest of the world. In this website I have pulled together many of my successes and failures at trying to turn my dream into a reality. And, a check list of the essential things you will need to become a successful indie as well.
You will also find my works that have made it into print, those that are coming soon and lots of works in progress. Feel free to ask questions.
Richard Neumann
"I was successful at a job I hated.
Imagine how successful I can be doing something I love."
Franchee Harmon 2006
More updates and a new Featured Indie - Jason Matthews!
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The Essential Elements of Indie Publishing
What brought you to this site is most likely the same reasons that I built it. You have a story that you want to share with the world and to do that, it must get published.
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There are hundreds of ways to get your book published, how do you know which one is right for you?
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How can you find out if people will be interested in your story?
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Are POD, Publish On Demand companies as good a deal as they claim?
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What will this really cost you?
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How do you know if you are being taken advantage of?
All very important questions. There is no single right solution, but there is a way to compare your alternatives and make an informed decision.
Everyone thinks their book will be a best seller, but the truth is a very small percentage ever make it. There are a zillion companies out there willing to take lots of your hard earned money with great promises and no guarantees. What if I were a fortune teller and I had the power to see into the future and tell you if your book was going to be a success. Would you pay $3,000 for that answer? That information would be great but that's kind of expensive. What if you could have that same information AND your own publishing company and your net investment would be less than $200. That seems a little more reasonable.
I have tried the POD's, I have tried printing thousands of copies, I have used many different means to distribute and fulfill my books. I have also made just about every mistake in the book and invented a few of my own. Finally I drew upon more than a decade of publishing experience working for R&E Research Associates, Over the Wall, and my own Stone In The Surf Press and combined that with a quarter century of finance experience to come up with a very simple way to understand the process, identify the key elements necessary to get a book published, compare the alternatives and develop a very affordable approach to creating your own indie publishing company.
What does it take to become a published author?
A few essential items;
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A finished manuscript
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A way to let the world know about you and your book
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An industry accepted means to distribute your book to bookstores around the world
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Actual books
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Forgetting what the word "NO" means
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A little elbow grease and a never ending supply of passion, persistence and patience
The idea is simple, to test the market to you will need a minimum of 100 copies of your book. Why? Because, when you walk into a bookstore or talk to that book reviewer and you tell them about your book, the first thing they will ask is ... do you have a copy? You can't promote and sell books unless you have actual copies.
Once your manuscript is completed, you leave the world of literature and enter the world of business. All businesses must weigh the risks and rewards of new products. They learn all they can about the marketplace and how the industry works. In the end it comes down to a lot of homework and a lot of faith in themselves. They first try to answer a few very critical questions, is there a market for their product and can they produce and deliver that product to market? What will it cost and what are the alternatives? These are the same questions an "indie" independent publisher needs to answer as well.
My goal is to help you get to the point where you can make the determination if your book has a market and give you a solid foundation upon which to build your own "indie" publishing company. Am I going to tell you that you will make tons of money or be on Oprah? No. Will you break even on your first 100 books? Probably not. But you will find the best way to see if your book has potential for a fraction of the cost of other alternatives. It will cost less and take less than sending 40 copies of your manuscript to publishers and agents in New York. And, you will have an actual functioning publishing company, books in distribution, a functioning website, marketing and yes, sales, something a POD can't provide.
This is not a "How To" site. You should consider this more like a "Shopping List" site. Ask yourself, "What are all of the essential elements I will need to publish my book?" The list is here. This also gives you some insight into the elements and a way to compare the cost of the alternatives. I say it a lot, but ask questions, learn everything you can and make informed decisions.
Harlan Ellison teaches - "cut to the chase". OK, here s0 it is. The single most important document you will ever need to become an indie publisher. If you use this check list, you can make sure you have all of the essential pieces necessary to become a published author AND you can use the Mini-P&L on this chart to compare the cost of doing it yourself versus paying someone else to do it for you. Each Essential Element links to a page with more information. Below the chart is a more detailed explanation of the why's and wherefores. Learn from my mistakes and successes. For a fraction of the cost of other publishing alternatives, you can become a published author.
The best thing is - this chart and the information is free! No hooks, no partial pages, no bull. I am not an affiliate of any resource I reference. My hope is, if you find this useful, you might buy one of my books to help support this site and my dream of writing and my passion for publishing. And when you are successful - let me know and I will add you to my Featured Indie's list.
I wish you the best of success,
Richard Neumann
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Why become an indie?
Because you can. All of the elements exist on the internet to make you a successful independent publisher. From an economic perspective it makes a great deal of sense. Being an indie will cost you a fraction of the cost of the alternatives. But, being an indie means you take responsibility for all aspects of becoming a publisher. From editing to production, distribution and most importantly, marking, sales and promotion.
After years of making all of the mistakes in the book and inventing a few of my own, I have boiled down the process of publishing into it's key elements. Consider this a "parts" list of the necessary items you will need. Just like a car needs four wheels, a frame, an engine, brakes, etc. There are many ways to configure and assemble the parts. A lot will depend upon how much you can or want to take on yourself and how much you are willing to pay someone else to do. The reason I built a chart is to provide a way for you to see what the costs of various options are and to give a framework for making your own comparison and intelligent decisions.
I recently received an email from a company boasting that they can set up and host your website for only $495.00. Sounds like a great deal. But, if I look carefully at my options, I can get the same thing and more from a provider such as GoDaddy for $40. That leaves me $455 to spend, which is enough to print 100 books, or buy advertising, do mailings, etc. It's all about researching your options and making smart financial decisions.
As much as being an indie is a labor of love, it is also a business.
This is not a "How To" book for $19.95 that will reveal the secrets of publishing. Frankly I don't believe there is a magic solution. I do believe that with a good check list, something that will point you in the right direction and a source for help, and a lot of hard work you can become a successful indie publisher.
A few Why's and a What's about the check list.
Why does my book have to be finished first?
Your story is the most important aspect of this process. It is what burns in your heart and soul. As Ray Bradbury says, we write because we know that if we don't, some part of us will surely die. Put all of your efforts into writing the best story you can. Once you start publishing, it will be a long time before you will be able to concentrate on your writing again.
Why is a webpage the second item on your list?
Websites are the best way for the world to find you and your book. With so many out there it takes a few months for the search engines to find and catalog you. It used to take a lot of highly specialized skills to set up a website. Not true today. Set up your site and while the world of spiders and bots are finding you, you can work on the other parts of becoming an indie.
Why do I need a distributor and to be able to offer returns for 2 years?
It's the nature of the beast. To be in bookstores around the world, you must first have a distributor that they will work with and they require that they have the ability to return books. Most bookstore don't want to deal with an independent and prefer to get their books from companies like Ingram and Baker & Taylor. Ingram and B&T don't want to deal with indie's either so you need a second tier distributor who has actual books in stock and can process returns.
Why 100 copies? That is a minimum quantity most printers will consider and that is economically viable. Printing is a world of volume pricing - the more you print the less your cost per unit becomes. By the time you send a case or two to your distributor, sell copies to friends and family, get copies of your book in local bookstores, send copies to reviewers and save some for book signings, you've just used up 100 copies. If you only want a few copies for friends and family, then an alternative such as Lulu is a much better solution.
Why not use one of those POD companies?
If you have no desire to do any of the work yourself and you have lots and lots of money, POD's do work. The chart will help you to make that comparison and decide for yourself.
What's in this for Rich?
I enjoy helping other writers fulfill their dream of becoming published. I am not an affiliate nor a sponsor of any of the resources I list on my site. If you find any of this helpful, please referrer your friends and other writers. If you'd like to contribute this site, please buy my books.
If you make it through the process and become an indie, please let me know and if you'd like, I will add you to my list of FEATURED indie's.
If you need help or have any questions - send me an email at rich@richneumann.com
I wish you the best of skill and success!
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