Monday, October 25, 2010

Cory Doctorow on self-publishing

I heard an interesting interview with Cory Doctorow about self-publishing on NPR's All Tech Considered today.  Some of the things he does to step outside the box of a traditional publisher:
  • publishes his work online using a Creative Commons license
  • uses Facebook and Twitter to build an audience
  • creates an online community to edit for typos and give tips on packaging and shipping
  • sells copies at traditional book stores
  • provides print-on-demand with Lulu, four different covers
  • gives attribution to readers if they fix a typo, providing their name in a footnote
  • solicits donations
  • sells limited-edition hardcovers, hand-sewn, with an SD card audio book and extra material bound into the book
  • sells audio CDs
  • sells stories for a commission on a mutually-agreeable subject
  • supplements his income with deals to write a novel
Doctrow states that he will make as much money, or more, as he would with a traditional publisher for his short story collections.   He thinks he will net $70,000 to $80,000 on his new book of short stories.