Publishing your first book?

[Gerardo]

I'm glad you all have appreciated this thread . I'm amazed how some of my threads start slow at the beginning and they suddenly grow after one night .

THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT HAS SHARED THEIR INSIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES .

The hardest part of writing a book is selling it to a publisher. Their main goal is to make some money, so you have to convince them that with your work they will.

First, can they produce the book inexpensively. If they need to dump hours and hours into fixing your crappy diagrams, probably not. If you can send them a CD with diagrams in EPS files and scripts in a .doc format, probably.

The biggest question you have to answer is "why would anyone buy your book?" What have you got that no one else has? If you say a bunch of unique models, you might as well give it up and self publish. If you have some notoriety in the field and can prove it, that might increase your chances some, provided they buy into your proof. Otherwise, what's so great about your collection? If you tell them that its a collection of the hardest and most advanced models ever seen, they will probably reject you out of hand. The number of people who can fold those things is vanishingly small, thus the number of customers smaller still. Moreover, there are already books from noted authors with complex models. What sets yours apart?

If you are lucky enough to score a publisher (it isn't easy!) be prepared to promote your work. It is expected, and you'll want to anyway, since its your book you'll be selling.

There are lots of houses that will help you self-publish, but you must remember that you'll be paying for the books which will sit in your living room/attic/basement until you sell them all.

Or you can contribute your diagrams to places like OUSA and the Tanteidan. There are plenty of them, and they always need new diagrams of high quality models. You don't get rich (you don't from selling books either, I still haven't reached minimum wage on my first) but you will become better known to the community.

Steingar: I consider your insights REALLY helpful, thanks! Would you please also share us your personal experience? I take it you have already published a book or more, right? So with the first or only one, did you sell it to a publisher or did you self-publish? How did you make up your mind? Regarding your tips on selling, whether to the publisher or as a self-publisher, how did you sell them? How did you demonstrate that your book was unique and had to be bought?

Those answers would be really helpful to me Steingar and I hope they can also be helpful to some other members .

[Gerardo]

Yep, i've only made one book... So far.

Diagramming the actual models was a little tricky, but it wasn't majorly hard. The hardest part was to put it all together, making sure every page number was right, and that every page itself was there! What did i do to make it happen.... Well, the main reason of making it was for other people to fold my models. I also had alot of support from my family. I started diagramming a few models, to submit to convention books, but when i had a few drawn up, i thought of the idea, and kept going until i had 11 models, and i then just couldn't wait to get it published, so i did!
I think it was worth it, because quite a few people have already folded my models, and it's given me the experience - So my next book will be 10 times better! To all you dreamers out there, i say stop dreaming and get down to work! When it was finally published, it was really awesome!

And that's about it... Anything else i should add?

Josh: I found the page where you sell your book . How did you get that site to sell it? Was it hard? Do they get a part of the winnings in exchange for selling it? Did you first finish it before communicating with the site or did you contact them first?

Thanks for all your feedback Josh. You've been really helpful .

[smarcelab]

There is another option, that is self-publishing your book in places like CreateSpace or Lulu (there are a couple more).
It's not costly, but it's a lot of work if you want to keep the cost low, as you have to be your own diagrammer, editor, designer, photographer, etc. You also have to be in charge of the promotion.
I just published a book using CreateSpace (Contemporary Origami Decorations). I think it is a good place to start for a first book, but only time will tell....

[joshuaorigami]

Yep, i've only made one book... So far.

Diagramming the actual models was a little tricky, but it wasn't majorly hard. The hardest part was to put it all together, making sure every page number was right, and that every page itself was there! What did i do to make it happen.... Well, the main reason of making it was for other people to fold my models. I also had alot of support from my family. I started diagramming a few models, to submit to convention books, but when i had a few drawn up, i thought of the idea, and kept going until i had 11 models, and i then just couldn't wait to get it published, so i did!
I think it was worth it, because quite a few people have already folded my models, and it's given me the experience - So my next book will be 10 times better! To all you dreamers out there, i say stop dreaming and get down to work! When it was finally published, it was really awesome!

And that's about it... Anything else i should add?

Josh: I found the page where you sell your book . How did you get that site to sell it? Was it hard? Do they get a part of the winnings in exchange for selling it? Did you first finish it before communicating with the site or did you contact them first?

Thanks for all your feedback Josh. You've been really helpful .

It was really easy. I asked Nicolas, and he kindly accepted. Yup, Nicolas gets 40% of each book sold, and i get 60%. I decided to ask him after the book was complete, because i hadn't made my mind up by then..

[LeafPiece]

I'm in the process of creating my first book (~30 original plant models). Joshua's right, the diagramming was relatively easy, but putting everything together in a comprehensive way is a pain. I will most likely self-publish when it's done. My only advice is to not let it be overwhelming. Just work on it step by step! Even little by little if you have to. I'm not even published and it's already been worth it to me for the experience .

[Brimstone]

My publisher found me. The publishing house asked me whether I'd make a book for them and I agreed.
The book is almost done now getting published middle of the year.

I din't know this, congratulations!!

[Brimstone]

I haven't published any books and nothing could be farther from my intentions, but i think i have something to add to this thread. A friend of mine is publishing a book and he asked me to proofread his diagrams, well even though he had thought the book was ready I found at least one mistake in every diagram (and sometimes many mistakes). I think this must be a common situation, since you diagram the models, you think every thing is crystal clear, but it is not so all the time. So before you send it to the publisher, make sure it has been proofread by at least 2 people.

[HankSimon]

You might also consider what Dave Brill and Marc Kirschenbaum have separately: You could publish single model booklets.

See: http://supplies.britishorigami.info/ind ... &cPath=2_3

- Hank Simon

[Gerardo]

Thanks for all the new information !

It's good to know we can count with that option Josh. Do you consider publishing a book can also be a very positive experience economically?

Best wishes with your own project LeafPiece, would you share a couple of comments as your project progresses?

That's really good advice Brimstone, it's something to have in mind with this kind of projects. And thanks for that other option Hank, I hadn't thought about that.

[joshuaorigami]

It's good to know we can count with that option Josh. Do you consider publishing a book can also be a very positive experience economically?

I guess so.

[LeafPiece]

Best wishes with your own project LeafPiece, would you share a couple of comments as your project progresses?

Sure, although it might be a while before I make any progress. Master's thesis comes first. I don't even get a break during the summer .

[steingar]

THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT HAS SHARED THEIR INSIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES .

Steingar: I consider your insights REALLY helpful, thanks! Would you please also share us your personal experience? I take it you have already published a book or more, right? So with the first or only one, did you sell it to a publisher or did you self-publish? How did you make up your mind? Regarding your tips on selling, whether to the publisher or as a self-publisher, how did you sell them? How did you demonstrate that your book was unique and had to be bought?

Those answers would be really helpful to me Steingar and I hope they can also be helpful to some other members .

I was approached by a publisher years ago, but rejected the deal (a set fee sans royalties). I recommended Nick Robinson, who put together a fine book. Of course, its his best seller and he gets no royalties! I think I swing the right way.

I was probably on my number 12 proposal when I got a bite. A proposal is a sample from the book. I usually use the introduction and representative diagrams. In my proposals I have always included models folded on nice paper. I always include a sales letter where I talk about how great my book is, and how it has things no other book has and why it will sell like hotcakes. I sent out lots of these things and got lots back. You have to grow a thick skin to be in the book business.

My publisher had put out feelers to the Origami community that they were looking for something like my book, and the feelers got back to me. I submitted a proposal to them, and they were very happy about it. Mine is small publisher in the San Francisco bay area. They sent me a contract, we talked about it for a bit, and I signed on the dotted line. I think it took them a year to print, mostly my fault as I hadn't really sent them anything in a useful format. My book sells a few hundred copies a year (I promote it at fly-ins all over the country) and I have done well with subsidiary rights. A good thing too, I just saw one of the offshoots, and they would have to pay me a lot to have my name on that thing. Fortunatley, they did.

I never even considered self-publishing. I am an academic, and self-publishing is like dating your sister. Just wouldn't do it. But that's me. Also, my books are on paper airplanes, which have very, very broad appeal.

As for how to sell, I think the proposal letter for the second book illustrates this quite nicely. First, I pointed out that the first book sold well and steadily. It has made back their investment and they are making steady profit out of it and likely will for years. There is nothing like a track record. Also, my prior experience meant I could give them a product they could easily use, and gave them specifics about how I would transmit my materials. I thing failed to deviate from that by even an iota.

Second, I pointed out that the Origami in the second book was unique from the first. They use different starting points (the first used a derivative of 8.5x11 paper, where the second uses only squares).

Then I used the word more. There was more Origami, including a set of flying birds, never before done in the English language. There was a whole section of stands, never done in any language.

But there was more. Short biographies of important airplane designers. And more, descriptions of how airplanes work.

You get the idea. I used my credentials as a certificated pilot to add value to my book. It worked, and it will work on book number three if I ever get cracking on writing it. If you can add value to your work, do so. It is something that can set it apart from other books, give it broader appeal , and help you sell.

I agree with josh.
How many models do you guys think is acceptable for a book?

Please forgive the disparaging nature of my comment, but this is a naive question. Publishers don't care about the number of models, they care about page count. Someone else talked about proofreading, which is enormously important. I have to thank Origami USA for mine, I have people fold airplanes from diagrams at Convention, which gives me a good proofread. Also, have someone proof your text. Nothing looks sloppier to an editor than bad grammar, spelling mistakes, and typos.

[Gerardo]

Thanks Josh, LeafPiece and Steingar for replying once again.

Steingar's last comment has been particularly helpful; I hope not just to me. You, as well as the others that have shared us their experiences, are giving me courage to try to make my own book.

By the way, I found a webpage were your first book is being sold. It really does look like an amazing book, regarding its content as well as the pages' diagramation.

[bethnor]

My publisher found me. The publishing house asked me whether I'd make a book for them and I agreed.
The book is almost done now getting published middle of the year.

anna--why didn't you say something? congratulations!

[origami_8]

Well, I'm a bit shy

As was mentioned before to publishers mostly the pages count.
My publisher has a fix page number of 64 pages per book. They wanted mainly simple but new models (the more the better, therefore short ones are prefered). My most valued diagram for my tessellation got rejected because of space issues and complexity
From 22 diagrams I've drawn 17 made it into the book. I guess I'll send the remaining ones to convention books.
The book only features original models of whom 4 diagrams have been previously published, the others are drawn especially for the book.
I will prepare a bookreview with photos of all the models as soon as I find enough time to do so.