Post by Caprice on Jan 26, 2010 18:43:04 GMT -5
I self-published with Xulon about 9 years ago. I have a long list of reasons why I would never do business with them again. If you're thinking about using them, please let me email you in private with the details. I'm not out to drag their name in the mud.
I did have to pay and I think they are overpriced. That's opionion though, and some of the other options available now just weren't available to me back then. I did NOT give up my rights. All they got from me is non-exclusive print rights which are completely revocable at any time and which I intend to revoke very soon because I eventually found a small independent publisher (Splashdown Books) to whom I sold my print rights. If eventually getting your book sold to a traditional publisher is improtant to you, then be sure to read contracts VERY carefully. Publisher paying you is MUCH better than you paying them. Seriously.
But self-publishing does have its place. Depending on what you can do yourself, there are SO many better choices out there for self-publishing. I like www.lulu.com because I can handle all the inside formatting myself and they let me set my own retail price. If you can do covers, you can self-publish totally for free with Lulu. For cover help, I recommend www.accurance.com. Other good self-publishing choices (those that offer packages of services) are outskirtspress.com and www.infinitypublishing.com. (I haven't used these last two, so caveat emptor).
Yes, Xulon offers distribution through Spring Arbor, but this isn't the advantage it sounds like. I still could not get signings in Christian Bookstores because the store computers always showed only one copy "in stock" and they were absolutely forbidden to do backorders, even though it is printed on demand and takes no longer than an "in stock" order. Yes, Xulon also allows returns, but what good is that if they can't order more than one book at a time anyhow? If you want to be in Christian bookstores, Xulon really isn't your best bet.
Beware of any print-on-demand company that is all geared toward selling you marketing plans and kits and not geared toward selling BOOKS. If you self-publish, all the selling is your own responsibility no matter where you go. But you need to see whether they are working as hard to sell books as they are to sell authors overinflated hope. Look at what services you actually GET for the price you pay and look at how much they intend to charge CONSUMERS (not just you) for the final book. If your book is similar in length/genre to a known author, how much extra are people going to be willing to spend to buy YOUR book than the known name?
Sorry if this hijacks the thread. Feel free to email me if you want more details about my experience with Xulon.
I did have to pay and I think they are overpriced. That's opionion though, and some of the other options available now just weren't available to me back then. I did NOT give up my rights. All they got from me is non-exclusive print rights which are completely revocable at any time and which I intend to revoke very soon because I eventually found a small independent publisher (Splashdown Books) to whom I sold my print rights. If eventually getting your book sold to a traditional publisher is improtant to you, then be sure to read contracts VERY carefully. Publisher paying you is MUCH better than you paying them. Seriously.
But self-publishing does have its place. Depending on what you can do yourself, there are SO many better choices out there for self-publishing. I like www.lulu.com because I can handle all the inside formatting myself and they let me set my own retail price. If you can do covers, you can self-publish totally for free with Lulu. For cover help, I recommend www.accurance.com. Other good self-publishing choices (those that offer packages of services) are outskirtspress.com and www.infinitypublishing.com. (I haven't used these last two, so caveat emptor).
Yes, Xulon offers distribution through Spring Arbor, but this isn't the advantage it sounds like. I still could not get signings in Christian Bookstores because the store computers always showed only one copy "in stock" and they were absolutely forbidden to do backorders, even though it is printed on demand and takes no longer than an "in stock" order. Yes, Xulon also allows returns, but what good is that if they can't order more than one book at a time anyhow? If you want to be in Christian bookstores, Xulon really isn't your best bet.
Beware of any print-on-demand company that is all geared toward selling you marketing plans and kits and not geared toward selling BOOKS. If you self-publish, all the selling is your own responsibility no matter where you go. But you need to see whether they are working as hard to sell books as they are to sell authors overinflated hope. Look at what services you actually GET for the price you pay and look at how much they intend to charge CONSUMERS (not just you) for the final book. If your book is similar in length/genre to a known author, how much extra are people going to be willing to spend to buy YOUR book than the known name?
Sorry if this hijacks the thread. Feel free to email me if you want more details about my experience with Xulon.
