The hills have dais Page 2

Quote: Lazzard @ March 28 2013, 11:53 AM GMT

Slightly hijacking the OP's thread - but if you visit the publishers web site, you can see how you would be drawn in.
On the surface they are offering zero-cost publishing!?
I'd love to know how they actually make their money, as it certainly won't be from book sales.

Perhaps their percentage from the inevitable sales to the author's friends are enough to keep them afloat.

Interesting comments gentlemen....and I can see where u are both coming from....as I say it was a just a bit of fun really.....next time I decide to put another volume together I will check out another publisher....it was just done for a bit of a laugh in the hope that some people would have a chuckle....those typos and grammatical errors are probably mine....but on the upside it hasn't cost me a penny and I haven't sold any to friends or family purely strangers....boz

Fair do's.
Did it really not cost you a penny?

It's a fascinating business model.
I guess they must have zero set-up costs, only incurring them when someone buys (I assume it's POD).
Then because they're charging such a huge price they make a decent mark-up on every sale - even if that is only a few copies.
To be a going concern they'd need a lot of books out there, though.

Yes....not a single penny...the only thing it cost me was the time and effort in putting the stories together which was the fun part and having my technological son to set it up...as he is in university it was pay back time anyway....I assume you chaps are writers too and like me...you just want to be read....boz

Well, I'm a screenwriter by trade, but I do have the ubiquitous un-published novel in the bottom drawer.
My agent likes it - as do a lot of people who've read it - and needless to say, I like it.
But publishing is really tight at the moment - they're incredibly picky about genre - but mainly they want to know what your next two novels are going to be.
I think it 's because, unless they strike gold, they only really make money on subsequent novels, if and when you build up some sort of fan-base - first novels can often be a bit of a loss leader.
But, quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to write another one - it was bloody murder!
So I'm muling it over at the moment.
There are an increasing number of Indie-publishing house which are a sort of half-way house, and of course, e-books have revolutionised things.
I'll probably still be having the same conversation this time next year!

Well Lazzard...if it is in the bottom drawer ....don't leave it there get it out there....it doesn't matter how many people read it...no one is going to read it in the cupboard....only one shot at life you get...the message is do it while u r alive and kicking....no one reads recycling any more....and if u can cheer just one person up ....then that's got to be worth something....I have now written 142 stories which I have self published and the volume count is now 28 finished one in progress....I write one story a week on a lunchtime over the five days....inbetween my busy work schedule....I am sad in that I laugh at my own jokes ...so do some of my clients...so I see it as a service which cheers people up...that to me is worth the world....money is fine but life is much more than greed....good luck with u r work...boz

Good to hear Lazard's muling it over - better than horsing around.

Quote: beaky @ April 6 2013, 7:37 PM BST

Good to hear Lazard's muling it over - better than horsing around.

Must be The Grand National on my mind...

I would bet that was the case...never mind ....muling around is better than being donkey hote in Spain....boz

Just checking any more readers or comments? Boz