| To help you on your journey, |
John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.. |
Life Application Ministries Publication
SELF-PUBLISHING
Life Application Ministries Publications - Self-Publishing Services
P.O. Box 165
Mt. Aukum, CA 95656
530-620-4641
LAMP@truthfrees.org
www.truthfrees.org
A. Information
It’s important to understand the costs of publishing your book. I hope this information proves helpful in making your decision on which way to go.
If you have been approached by a publisher to do your book then I would truly consider doing it that way, but do some research on it first. But for those of you who have not had this opportunity but want to get your book done anyway, we offer that opportunity now.
You will find that it is not easy getting a book published through a publisher, as the competition is so great and they don’t take “unsolicited” manuscripts. Every once in a while though, someone does break through and lands a book deal. It could be you, but in the meantime, get your book out there for as many to see as possible. This is how “The Shack” became a #1 best seller. He printed up copies of his book and handed it out to friends, etc., and it spread by word of mouth! Then a publisher picked it up, and it flew…
Please contact us for further information or if you would like to start getting your book out there for others to purchase and read! Below are some basic things offered by both publishers and self-publishing through LAMP.
PUBLISHERS
SELF-PUBLISHING
They do the editing
You have to do the editing
They create the book cover
You create the book cover and design
They promote and distribute to bookstores, advertise in paper, web, etc. One good thing is that they have an “in” with bookstores. Bookstores don’t want to take “walk-ins” they need to purchase through a distributor.
You have to promote and sell your books. One draw back is that it’s hard to get your book in a store; the bookstores want to go through a distributor like a known publishing company. However, if you have local bookstores – you may be able to promote your book through them.
They own the rights. And if you want the rights back, you have to buy back your own book for hundreds of dollars.
You own the rights.
They will request certain changes and modifications to your book before they approve for publishing.
You can write whatever you want, and in the style you want. (Many publishers want to change that)
You have to purchase back some of your books with the contracted amount. This total could cost $17,000 or more.
You don’t have to purchase anything except at $35.00 set up fee and a proof copy. Then you decide how many books you want to purchase.
Revisions cost
Revisions don’t cost
They do ask the author to get involved in promoting their book. Sometimes want to see a business plan.
You continue promoting your book the way you want, set up book signings, etc.
You need to get a publicist or do it yourself. This is NOT included from the publisher.
You need to get a publicist or do it yourself.
The royalties are very low as a first time author – sometimes as low as 5% return – around .80 per book! You don’t’ make much on your first book. Unless it becomes a #1 best seller. If it does, then they renegotiate the royalties and plan for future books.
The royalties you get are high; you make more money selling your own self-published book. If the book costs $2.75 to make, and you charge $14.95 – you make $12.20 per book in royalties!
Takes almost a year to get your book published from start to finish
Takes approximately 3 weeks to get your book ready for print and available by the public. (May take a bit more time if there is a lot of back and forth editing and creating.) You start getting your book into people’s hands right away!
B. What We Offer
Life Application Ministries Publications Service Information (Below lists the things we offer)
- Your book needs to be edited to the best of your ability before sending it to us. We review for minor grammar and punctuations and do not change the integrity or writing of the book.
- It needs to be submitted in a text format like MS Word.
- The ideas of your cover should also be included. (If you already have a cover picture and idea, please send it along with any verbiage. We will also work on the back cover to include "about the author," picture, about the book contents, etc.) We also have some templates that are quite beautiful when creating your book as well, we can look at those during the process. For examples of these templates, you can goto our books and DVDs page and see them there to view the booklets.
- If you want to add graphics, they need to be sent over separately, and labeled where they go in the book. (Be reminded, the book inside is in black and white so any pictures you send over will print as such, unless you desire otherwise. Keep in mind that this will increase the cost of your book.)
- A suggested donation of $200.00 is required upon receiving your book electronically. Others have paid up to $550 because they were so pleased with the work and savings they received from using our services. So the final donation is up to you.
- Once your book has been typeset and cover design created, we will submit it to you in PDF format for you to review for accuracy. This may take some time going back and forth but well worth the effort to get it just like you want it.
- We then submit it to the printer who provides you with a proof of the final product - this is the cost of the book, plus tax and shipping - usually around $8.00 - $15.00. Using this printer, you can print books as you need, there is no minumum purchase reqirement. They also put your book automatically on Amazon.com. The cost for each book is based on number of pages. The lowest is around $2.30 per book up to $5.50 per book determining on how many pages, or if the inside has color illustrations. You can order as you want, or send people to Amazon.com, where you will get royalties. You get all royalties, LAMP does not take any portion.
- We assist you in setting up an account so that you can order your books directly from the printer any time you want - this is called "books on demand." When the books are sold through Amazon.com, you don’t need to do anything, they do all the printing and packing and mailing, and you just sit back and collect your royalties. LAMP does not get any royalties coming from Amazon.com.
- Revisions are done free of charge for the first revision. This way, after publishing your book and you want to make some revisions, you can. The first revision is included in your original donation amount toward LAMP. You will need to pay the $8-15 for another proof, but that’s it.Then 2nd revisions and on would require a minimum donation of $50.00 each revision.
- For samples of books already produced through LAMP click here.
C. Carrying Your Books
Books that we publish for you that have the same vision and goals to achieving spiritual growth, we may want to sell on our website or at conferences. This will need to be agreed upon by both parties.
Compensation: To cover any costs, we agree to give royalties of 50% of the sale price of the book. This is actually a good royalty amount for authors. As in our research, some individuals only get 5% of the sale. We are in the business of helping you make the most out of your book, and only require fees to support us in our efforts to help you.
For more information, please contact us at LAMP@lifeapplicationministries.org.