Date: 2/25/13
Writer’s Name: Sheri Harrigan
Title: Quality Matters in the Long Run

In order to be a successful self-published author one must face reality. A self- published author bears the cost of every aspect of their career. As a self-published author I look at the expenses as an investment. Publishing books is a business and should be treated as such. Some authors do and some don’t. I believe in quality over quantity. There is no rush to publish a book!

One of the most costly expenses is editing. Depending on the edit and the type of edit, editing may cost between $200-$3,000. Proofreading is a part of editing but a manuscript needs more than that. Seeing that editing is so expensive some people skip this step and self- edit. That is not a good idea especially when editors don’t even edit their own work!

The manuscript has to be formatted after you type it out. You can do it yourself using Microsoft Word or the much fancier program InDesign ($600). Or you can pay someone to do it. Paperbacks and E-Books do not get formatted the same. So if you plan to publish both they have to be formatted separately. This can cost $125 or more for a paperback and $60 or more for an e-book.

Marketing and promotion is up to the author, unless you have a contract with your publisher who says that they will handle it. Marketing and promotion includes things such as a website, a logo, banners, postcards, bookmarks and business cards. Do you need them all? I say yes but it’s up to the individual author. Social Media is great to promote yourself but what happens when you are outside and someone asks where they can find you or your book. Customers don’t like searching for things and a sale will be lost. Depending on where you go or who designs your items expect to pay $100 - $2000.

In order to obtain paperbacks you have to have a printer. The printer you use depends on how many books you want. If you want a large print run then you may need a different company than the author who prints on demand. The cost of books varies depending on size, page length, colors and whether you want hard or soft cover books.

If you plan to ship out books or promotional items expect to pay those fees plus extra for security of your package. UPS, FedEx and USPS all offer a variety of prices for shipping. Check to see which one fits your budget and packaging needs.

Book covers are a must. Depending on the designer you may spend between $100-500 on a cover. And if you publish both print and e-books you need two covers. Beware of people claiming to be cover designers. You want someone who has experience.

Last but not least you have your miscellaneous expenses that are a must. The copyright is $35 for electronic registration and $55 for paper registration. It can be obtained from copyright.gov. If you print paperbacks you need ISBN numbers. The numbers can be brought from http://isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp. If you plan to publish more than one book then the best purchase is 10 for $250. 1 ISBN costs $125.

After looking over all the expenses and fees and you still want to be a self-published author great. But don’t skimp on any of the above things because you don’t have the funds. Like I said there is no rush to publish. Quality matters in the long run!

1/27/13
Sheri Henry-Harrigan
Title: Protect Your Work because No One Else Will!

When you have an idea you want to protect it as best as you can, especially if you feel it is something that people will like. This is where Copyrights come into play. We live in a litigious society so knowing this we have to do our best to protect ourselves. Copyrights are not to be confused with trademarks and patents. Each one is totally different. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs that define and distinguish you from someone else. The Nike symbol is a perfect example of a trademark. When we see it we know it’s Nike. Patents are protection for inventions.  I’m going to discuss what a copyright is. Why it is important (besides the obvious reason) and where authors can obtain one.

According to the US Copy Right Office a copyright is “a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S.Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.  Titles and character names cannot be copyrighted. So do not be surprised if you find a title the same as yours or characters with the same names as yours. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works (copyright.gov).  The protection is for you the author in case someone decides to steal your work or if someone says that you stole their work.

Filing a copy right is simple. When filing online do not use google to find the website. A lot of sites will pop up. There is only one website associated with the government. It is Copyright.gov. You do not have to register with the site to obtain a copyright. Once your work is completed then your work is copyrighted. Use of the @ is sufficient enough. Or you can do a poor man’s copyright where you send a copy of your work to yourself.  These methods do not protect you if lawsuits arise. The registration process is just to have physical proof that your work is protected in case something happens such as a lawsuit brought by you or against you. You can also pre-register your work.

Now that I have defined what a copyright is and where to get one, it makes perfect sense to obtain one. We work so hard to create songs, books, pictures why let someone else come along and steal what you worked so hard for. Any serious author knows this. If you are a new author or aspiring author I hope you take heed to this advice. $35 for a copyright will save you a headache and loss of money if someone decides to steal your work.

Writing isn’t a hobby for me. If it is for you then fine you may not want to invest in copyrights. But if you are writing because you enjoy it and see it as a career then you need treat your craft like a business! Protect your work cause no one else will!