"DogEar boasts a more transparent and responsive process. DogEar claims to be the only self publisher "offering a financially viable model for self published authors. While it admits to higher up-front costs, it says that this is balanced out by lower printing costs and higher profit margins. One unusual aspect of its business plan that might prove attractive to authors is that DogEar does not pay royalties; instead, it only charges for printing, allowing authors to keep the profits from their work." I took a look at their site and the Compare the Competition Page is quite nice and refreshing. The specs are pretty typical of the books produced in the trade category at any of the self publishing companies. Self publishing costs are derived from the web sites and companies listed.They admit to higher costs than say a Lulu but tout that their costs are on average $300 less than most subsidiary/self-publishing firms. This information is directly from their website. With their quoted package you get:
- 6X9 trim size, 150 pages, one color interior, 4 color cover, 5 interior images- Paperback or hardcover
- ISBN and bar code included,
- Library of Congress Control number
- Custom cover and interior
- PDF or laser proofs delivered to author,
- 100 additional paperback units purchased- Available at Amazon and most major online retailers
- Available through major distributors like Ingram and Baker and Taylor- Available for order at over 25,000 retail bookstores.
Let's start with the numbers... more in-depth comparisons will follow below. Here's how the major self-publishing companies stacked up as of January 2008.
Self publishing companies - Dog Ear Publishing:
Every publishing service outlined above is included in this package - no hidden fees or chargesDog Ear Publishing is based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. All Dog Ear operations are based in the United States. Dog Ear Publishing allows authors the complete freedom to set their retail price and profit at any level. Dog Ear has the lowest per unit costs of any publishing company. With Dog Ear, you receive 100% of your Net Sale (no other major self- publishing house offers that level of profit for authors.)Basic Publishing Package - $1099 (hardcover or paperback)Printing Services - $4.28 / unit (any number of copies) x 100 units = $428Total Expenditure: $1,527
On Royalties:
"Book Royalties"
We don't call them that, because we let you set your OWN profit margin - the only money we receive from sales of your book is the printing cost (and some handling & freight fees). You may price your books at any price you wish and make as much or as little profit as you like. That is NOT the case with ANY of the other self publishing companies.
More info and a nice Compare Publishers menu can be found here. As always, any author should price and compare the services before selecting a POD company. We should always get the best value for the buck and that means not getting screwed out of your hard earned money in the process. --cannegardner
4 comments:
Cheryl,
Companies like Dogear are a refreshing change to what we have been experiencing up to now with author solution companies. They are clear and concise about the fact that they are offering a print set-up and any services an author needs to go about selling their books.
Refreshing in a sense that the company are not pretending to be something they are not, 'a publisher' or 'a self publishing company'. I think over the coming year or two, we will see more of this kind of approach.
In many ways, a company offering these kinds of services, who describe themselves as 'a self-publishing company' is an oxymoron! There is no such thing as a self-publishing company, unless of course they are publishing their own books! The key to all this is who the ISBN has been registered to.
It is a welcome change from the spin authors are given from many large POd publishers.
Looking for c.anne.gardner ...
Cheryl - thanks for posting on Dog Ear! I'm one of the owners and wanted to 'meet' you and chat about our shared industry - I was reduced to stalking you via your blog as your contact information seemed elusive...
Anyway - thank you for the post, but more significant, thank you for taking the time to review the books both here and on Amazon. Your reviews and comments are welcome.
Ray Robinson -Dog Ear Publishing
rayr@dogearpublishing.net
I am currently using Dog Ear Publishing and am waiting for a final proof. A couple of things that concern me is that the total payment is required up front which means they have no incentive to get your book published quickly. Changes can take 2 - 3 weeks, even minimal ones. I receive e-mails saying when to expect the proof but don't receive it on the day they tell me it will be sent (when I finally received the last proof, not all the corrections had been made). Also I paid for a personalized web page on the Dog Ear Publishing site but I was unable to find a page for any authors although I found some pictures of some books. I sent an e-mail to Dog Ear asking where I could find this. The response was "We simply load the book to our website – titles section. However, this isn’t a page that receives any real traffic. Our website isn’t designed to promote author’s books. The primary focus of our website is to promote our services to perspective authors looking to our company to publish."
This was disappointing as I was hoping to promote my book on their site which I thought is what I paid for. It was one of the criteria I was using to compare self-publishers. Outskirts does provide this but I was put off by their contract which says "as is" meaning they have no responsibility to produce a book without any errors made by them and there is no recourse if they do. As this is my first publishing experience I have nothing to compare it to but I have several other novels to publish and I'm not sure if I will use Dog Ear again. I'll see how the rest of the process goes.
Excellent Article! Thanks very much for the info, and I will be writing my own (admittedly simplified) article on this shortly. As for my professional works, I will be taking your advice and "standing on the shoulders of giants," so to speak.
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