Infinity Publishing: Examining the Author/Self-Publisher Relationship

Welcome, Muffin readers! We have an interesting interview today with these two ladies. We're interviewing Author Advocate, Laura Pici, with Infinity Publishing and author, Katherine Blanc, who used Infinity for her book. According to their website, Infinity Publishing has been the leading innovator in print-on-demand book publishing since 1997. They have worked with over 4,800 authors and published over 6,000 titles. We hope this interview will shed some light on a company that may be a great choice for you if you are considering self-publishing.

Also, Infinity Publishing has created a special deal for WOW! readers. They are giving away $319 in FREE services with the purchase of our special WOW! Women On Writing publishing packages, which starts at $1097. Infinity Publishing is offering a package that includes publishing your book, e-book conversion, extended distribution, fifteen extra printed copies, a guest blogging opportunity, a marketing consultation, and marketing materials. This offer expires at midnight, February 29, 2012. If your book is not yet ready to publish, just submit the signed agreement by February 29, 2012, and you have until April 30, 2012 to submit your manuscript. Now, on to the interview.

Katherine Blanc

WOW: Welcome, ladies. We are so excited to have you here today! If you could each share a two to three sentence bio with us, just to give us a bit of your background before we get started, that would be super.

Laura: I started at Infinity nearly five years ago and have worked with over one thousand authors at all stages of the publishing process. My role now as an Author Advocate is to guide new authors prior to submission of their book and make sure they are well-informed and well-prepared for publication.

Katherine: I have spent most of my life surrounded by cartoons and other interesting characters. My father-in-law was the late Mel Blanc, known as the “man of 1000 voices” including most of the Looney Tunes® characters for Warner Bros. My husband, Noel Blanc, carries on his father’s tradition.

WOW: Thanks, ladies—Katherine, what an exciting family to marry in to! You decided to self-publish your book, Gold Mountain Girl, with Infinity Publishing. Why did you choose to self-publish, and why did you choose Infinity?

Katherine: Gold Mountain Girl is a novel of historical fiction, set in 1901 in Southern California’s last Gold Rush days. I felt that it had a small target audience; so rather than approach traditional publishers, I decide to self-publish with Infinity. I chose Infinity over competing self-publishers because it ranked highest overall in the book, Top Self-Publishing Firms by Stacie Vander Pol.

WOW: Thank you for sharing the title of that book with us. It looks like a great resource, and I’m sure many readers would be interested to read Ms. Vander Pol’s book! What was the process like with Infinity Publishing?

Katherine: The process was simple and user-friendly. After completing Infinity’s straightforward, no-nonsense publishing agreement, I formatted my manuscript in Microsoft Word and sent it via e-mail. Then, by phone, a wonderful lady named Michelle Shane (I call her my “publishing angel”) walked me through the rest of the process. Chris Master designed the book jacket, which was better than I’d anticipated it could be!

WOW: It sounds like you had a terrific experience! Have you had any special challenges with marketing or distribution because of your choice to self-publish? What are some strategies that have worked for you?

Katherine: Infinity handles the distribution, including online retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble and Infinity’s own store. I also paid a small extra fee to include Ingram’s distribution, which allows brick-and-mortar bookstores to order my books.

As far as marketing: that pretty much falls on the author’s shoulders. I could have done more to “push” my books, but I’m a bit shy about self-promotion. Fortunately, people enjoy reading my book, so it has gained its own little following via word of mouth.

But more aggressive authors can have huge sales if they arrange personal appearances, conduct seminars, and use social media.

WOW: Thanks for the tips, Katherine. Now let’s turn to an Infinity Publishing Author Advocate to get the lowdown on how to get started with Infinity. Laura, can you describe two or three of your most popular packages that authors often purchase?

Laura, Author Advocate

Laura: Because e-books have been increasingly popular, any package that includes an e-book is popular right now. We offer a variety of print, e-book, and audio programs. It really depends on the needs of each individual author and their book. Having more than one product available allows our authors to be more visible in the market and have greater success reaching all types of customers. It also keeps a book current and valid in today’s ever-evolving book market.

WOW: That makes sense--authors AND readers have many different needs these days. It's nice to have different formats to reach everyone. What’s the process like on your end when an author buys one of your packages?

Laura: Our process is very hands-on, so each new package receives attention from every part of Infinity’s team. Each author starts with an Author Advocate, such as myself, who provides them with in-depth assistance prior to their submission. Once the book is submitted, the in-house representative serves as that book’s coordinator throughout the process and assigns the ISBN, the interior of the book is formatted and laid out by the editing department, the graphics team custom designs a cover for each book, and the production department prints, binds, and packages book proofs and orders. Our entire process, from receipt of the manuscript all the way to publication date, takes approximately three to four months. Through it all, we make sure the author is always involved and in control of their book.

WOW: That is very important—especially if you are self-publishing! To both of you, why do you think many authors are choosing self-publishing today?

Laura: In today’s publishing world where choices abound, I believe that authors choose Infinity for our quality products and service with a personal touch. We do our best to make sure that authors have a positive and successful publishing experience. We offer simple, yet high-quality, packages that provide our authors with attractive products and great distribution to some of the largest book outlets in the world. Infinity authors retain the rights to their book; however, we treat that book as our own, always working to make the book (and author!) as successful as possible.

Katherine: First of all, the number of traditional publishers is shrinking dramatically. This means that more manuscripts are submitted for fewer acquisitions. Secondly, e-book sales are soaring, and Infinity has a great e-book publishing program. And finally, the old image of self-publishing as “vanity” publishing is disappearing, and the quality of published work is increasing (although I strongly recommend having your manuscript professionally edited–something I didn’t do the first time, but will DEFINITELY do for my revised edition!).

WOW: Thanks for sharing your opinions. You have great insight into today's publishing world! What is the first thing an author should do if she is interested in working with Infinity?

Laura: Call me! (smiles) Really, contacting one of our Author Advocates is the best way to get started because we possess the knowledge and materials you need to publish with Infinity. We can answer any question you might have and make sure you’re fully knowledgeable about Infinity’s packages and services. Of course, you can also always visit our website, www.infinitypublishing.com.

Katherine: Contact them. Even if your manuscript is huge and intimidating (like my friend Craig Tennis’s 400+ page tome: Show Business is Faux Business), they will make the process a lot less painful than if you tried to do it yourself.

WOW: Is there anything you would like to add about your work or experiences?

Laura: After years of working in publishing, I can honestly say that now is an amazing time to be an author. There are so many options and so much potential, even if you’re not a big name with a big publishing house. I suspect things will only continue to get better, and that’s why being with an author-friendly place like Infinity is so exciting right now.

Katherine: I’d like to add that Infinity is much more than a “self-publisher”; I think of them as my publishing partner. The true self-publishing process is a nightmare—trust me, I did it once. You have to buy your own ISBN number and bar code, do your own formatting, work with a print broker, and find your own distribution. Then you have to store a ton of books in your garage. Yuck!! Let the pros at Infinity handle it instead. They’re an all-in-one publisher—they even do their own printing. Not many other companies do that.

WOW: Thank you for your time and sharing your experiences, Laura and Katherine. Muffin readers, if you have questions about Infinity Publishing, you can leave them in the comments or contact info@infinitypublishing.com. To schedule a time to talk to someone, go to this link: http://schedule.timetrade.com/S9Z26. Don’t forget to check out the special deal for WOW! readers, too!

interview conducted by Margo L. Dill 

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4 comments children's book, Infinity Publishing, Margo L. Dill, self-publishing, self-publishing explained

Straight Talk About Self Publishing: An Interview with Miles Nelson of Dog Ear Publishing

With traditional publishers publishing fewer titles per year because of dwindling profits and the growth of digital media, many authors are considering their publishing options.

Some writers are frustrated with the difficulty of acquiring representation by an agent, and others are unhappy with the advance, royalties, or contract terms from a traditional publishing house, and then there are others who want more control and a larger percentage of their book sales. Those writers are the ones looking into self-publishing options with one primary goal in mind: to get their books into the hands of readers.

But how do you go about self publishing your book? What do self publishers do for you?

To help you navigate these tough choices and to give you a better understanding of your options, we've invited Miles Nelson of Dog Ear Publishing to answer some of our questions on the subject. Out of all the self-publishing companies, Dog Ear Publishing is the least expensive and the most upfront with their costs and process. Their site offers excellent information to help you compare various services. Writer's Digest featured Dog Ear Publishing as a "Get Smart Self-Publishing Resource" in their March/April '09 issue.

Interview by Jodi Webb

WOW: Welcome, Miles. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today about self publishing! First, take us back to the unlikely start of your business. How do a geologist, astronomer, and graphic designer come together to create a self-publishing company?

Miles: Our bios make it sound like we came from completely different places in order to start Dog Ear Publishing. Actually, the three of us spent years in the traditional publishing and graphic arts industry. Our experiences include marketing of books for publishing companies, purchasing books for a bookstore chain, and producing books for some of the largest publishers in the country. However, in 2004 my partners and I decided to strike out on our own in the self publishing industry that, at the time, felt like the Wild West. And we've enjoyed every minute of it.

WOW: Well, if it isn't the Wild West anymore, do you think self publishing is the future of the industry?

Miles: It's difficult to predict what will happen to traditional publishing as their profits decrease and new technologies challenge their models. However, I remain comfortable in saying that the future includes both traditional and self-publishing industries. Traditional publishers, because of shrinking profits, technological advancements and amazing industry twists, will face a much more challenging future. I am confident that self publishing, including Dog Ear Publishing, will continue to grow as more authors become familiar with self publishing's strengths such as ownership of work, speed of production, and profit potential. At Dog Ear Publishing, for example, we take advantage of cutting edge technologies and industry trends. We embrace trends like e-books, and already produce e-books with four major readers--Kindle, Sony, Apple, and Barnes and Noble's Nook.

WOW: Tell us about your typical client...are certain books, topics or authors more natural for self publishing?

Miles: A typical self published author falls into one of the following general categories:

1. The author that remains hopeful that they'll eventually be traditionally published but doesn't want to wait any longer in getting published.
2. The author wants to maintain ownership and control over their material.
3. The author that wants to profit from their work and isn't satisfied with the traditional publishing payment model.

I feel that any author is a good fit for Dog Ear Publishing. Our services are flexible to meet the needs of all authors.

WOW: What are the advantages of self publishing?

Miles: Advantages to self publishing include the author's maintaining control and ownership of their work. I'm always impressed with the passion an author has for their work. I'm often told that their book is their baby. An author wants the finished book to be perfect and they want it to be their own.

Another big advantage is time. Self publishing enables the author to be proactive. They decide when to publish as opposed to waiting for a traditional publisher to "accept" their manuscript. This can be very empowering to an author. By the way, self publishing doesn't shut the door on whether an author can traditionally publish. In fact, self publishing their book may even accelerate the process or even open doors that, for the most part, are completely closed to first time or unknown authors.

Self publishing is a perfect option for books with extremely limited market potential. We've done a number of books that have regional or even smaller market appeal. A traditional publisher would find this sort of book unappealing if the potential for sales is too small.

Lastly, a big advantage to self publishing is profit potential. An author choosing to self publish is like a small business owner. Many authors to a lot of work in marketing their books. As a result, many of them profit from their efforts.

WOW: Do you have a vetting process or do you accept all clients?

Miles: Generally, we accept all works from authors with a few minor exceptions. Remember, this is self publishing, the author owns the rights to their work. It isn't our place to judge whether an author should be published. We leave that to traditional publishers. By the way, it is interesting to see more and more traditional publishers getting into the self publishing market either by partnering with a self publisher or by purchasing their way into the market.

WOW: The industry is definitely reimagining itself. How much say does a Dog Ear author have about when a book is released, title and cover design, size of book, size of the run, etc.?

Miles: The author has complete control over the look of their book and the timing of their publishing date. Remember, the author owns the book. They get to decide how the book's interior and cover will look. Additionally, the author decides on the retail price. Author control and author ownership are the names of the game with Dog Ear Publishing.

WOW: Do you provide any marketing or promotion for your authors?

Miles: Dog Ear Publishing provides marketing assistance. For example, we can develop online marketing campaigns to drive traffic to an author's website. We build these websites and equip them to sell and fulfill orders. In addition to marketing, we also provide tools to assist authors profit more on each sale.

WOW: Can you tell us about some of your best-selling books or authors?

Miles: Success is all in the eye of the author. Each author has a different measure for success. In terms of sales success, I have a feeling this is what you are interested in; we published a book by Jim Johnson on treating your own rotator cuff injury. He sells thousands of books a quarter.

[Editor's note: you can see a list of their published titles here. Including a book from one of WOW's friends--Moira Allen of Writing-World.Com!]

WOW: That's impressive! I wouldn't mind selling thousands of books a quarter and keeping the majority of the profits, no less. And one final just-because-I'm-nosy question: how did you come up with the name of your company?

Miles: Our name gets a lot of attention. You "dog ear" a page of a book that you want to remember. Thankfully, we were feeling very creative the day we came up with our name. The dog on our website is named Chooch and is owned by one of my partners.

WOW: I have a feeling a lot of readers will be "dog earing" your company. And say hello to Chooch for us!

To learn more about self publishing, read these helpful articles on the Dog Ear site:
Choosing a Path: Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing
Self-Publishing Explained
Compare Self-Publishing Companies
The Publishing Process
How to Write a Book Marketing Plan
Amazon Sales Rank Explained (Great explanation, finally!, of what those Amazon numbers mean.)

The site also has so many useful resources and sections including: "Author Kit," which contains information on pricing your book, parts of a book, and manuscript format; "Publishing Basics," which contains information on how to publish a book, how much it costs, ISBNs and barcodes, On-Demand publishing, and copyrights and permissions; and even a section for writing resources and a recommended reading list of books about self-publishing.

You can also sign up to receive a free report: The Five Things You Must Do Before Publishing.

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2 comments advantages of self publishing, Dog Ear Publishing, Miles Nelson, self publishing, self-publishing explained