What to do with a finished manuscript?
- Amanda Shellnut
- Nov 15, 2022
- 4 min read
Many writers say they write because there are words and ideas in their head, and they need to be let out. When the stars align, some of those writers even finish their work, and are left with a finished manuscript on their desk(top). Those writers find themselves with a common question: Now what?
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You Don't Have To Do Anything
Break out the bubbly, order a cake, take the day off. You wrote a book. That is amazing! A feat of dedication. You said you would, and you did. Be proud, I'm proud of you.
You can close out the file, make a backup (seriously, make a backup), and start on the next idea. Print the behemoth out, hole punch it, and save it in a 3-ring binder. Staple it together and hang it in a shadowbox on the wall. Above all else, take pride in what you created.
Print On Demand (POD)
Basic Printing
Personally, I suggest at least printing your work out. Having your idea neatly printed out in your hands is something magical. This can be done with a home printer (see if your printer supports "duplex" (front and back) printing), stapler, hole-punch, and a binder. Or, you can pay a company to print and bind it for you.
Office supply stores commonly offer a printing service with details found on their website, and an online tool to help determine price based on paper, page number, black or color ink, and binding style. One 90,000 word manuscript will cost approximately $20 with a 1-2 day turnaround. This is also an excellent way to have a hard-copy manuscript for editing.
Commercial Printing
Beyond basic printing for personal use, there are online Print On Demand (POD) services to help self-publishers sell their work. Print On Demand is exactly what it sounds like. Printers will keep a digital file (usually .PDF) on hand and only begin printing when a copy is ordered. This opportunity has revolutionized self-publishing by minimizing upfront print costs, and no longer requiring authors to meet minimum print requirements. This saves authors from having a bedroom full of unsold novels, while leaving room for ordering...
Author Copies
The "author copy" is a book, professionally printed and bound, sold directly to the owner of the work. Similar to basic printing, the author provides their work to a service that returns a printed and bound product. The difference is Print On Demand providers have the resources and equipment to create books of traditional trim sizes, and provide paper and hardback covers.
Author copies are also cheaper compared to books ordered from online stores, because the price only covers the cost of printing and shipping. This is a perfect option to print a small number of copies to keep, give away, or sell signed copies.
Distributors
Several (but not all) Print on Demand companies double as distributors. They advertise to indie authors as liaisons between the author and large online retailers. The sale process looks like this:
Because the distributor uses the Print On Demand model, the author avoids the upfront cost of printing. If a distributor requests payment to sell to retailers, carefully read their terms and conditions. The company could be offering additional self-publishing services, but distributors should make a profit from sales, not directly from authors.
Service Providers
Prices were gathered for an author copy of one black/white interior, 300 page, paperback cover, with 6"x9" trim size and economy shipping.
Companies are listed alphabetically only.
Pros
Offers free design programs to help authors perfect their interior layout and cover design
Adobe product plug-ins for simple integration
Wide range of services and book types/trim sizes
Among the cheapest shipping fees
Cons
File upload can be over complicated
Cover .PDF must be less than 20MB
Pros
Extensive selection of book styles, including comic books and graphic novels
One-stop shop of services for the hands-off author; including editing, design, and marketing
Free shipping on book orders
Boasts fast turnaround (up to 5 days)
Cons
Pushes bloated "self-publishing packages" that range from $1,090 - $2,890
Will print 1 book for $99, otherwise requires a minimum order of 25 books
Pros
The Books2Read program allows author to create "universal links" that showcase an author's entire anthology, and where the work is listed for sale
Free interior formatting
Can create automated End-matter (Copyright Page, Also By, Teasers, Author Biography, etc)
Offers an exclusive "set up fee" waiver for FindAway Voices (an audiobook service), and forwards metadata from the draft2digital account
Cons
Primarily focused on eBooks
Offering paperback books is new to the company (as of 2022)
Paperback books must have minimum retail price of $17.45
Pros
The largest selection of trim sizes we found
Upfront cost calculator
Hardback option to customize cover underneath dust jacket
Provides links to DIY resources
Cons
Pushes self-publishing packages ranging from $25 - $49
Limited printing information available before making an account
Pros
Free file conversion (.DOCX to .PDF) and browser-based cover designer
Author bio page on Amazon store
Access to Amazon ad campaigns
Able to customize book store pages
Cons
Offering hardback books is in a beta phase (as of 2022)
Listed books only distributed to Amazon
Cannot create discount codes unless enrolled in KDP Select (a 3-month exclusivity contract)
Book file upload system is known to be finicky
Pros
Provides links to other products and services to help indie authors from audio books to reviewers
Offers retail distribution as well as integration for Wordpress, Shopify, and an app to sell directly from any author site
Large knowledge base and publishing dictionary to browse
Uses bananas for trim size scale
Cons
Not much to complain about, a middle-of-the-road option
Encourages outsourcing work to a variety of sites instead of using in-house experts
Pros
Free browser flip-book with a sharable link
Free sample pack to test paper & print quality
Page count does not heavily impact print cost
Price quote provided before file upload
Post-upload formatting available
Cons
Page count based on "paper sides" (300 pages / 2 sides = 150 "sides")
Expensive delivery costs for slower turnaround
Formatting tool is complicated and visually overwhelming
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