BookSurge is owned by Amazon.com and few retailers
want to help support a direct competitor. It is also important
to think about the implications of having your retail, wholesale
and print resource contained within the same company - it means
you lose options and control. Amazon can dictate your wholesale
discount, your retail price AND your print cost - not much in
the way of freedom of choice.
To see overall what I believe is important in choosing a company
to self-publish your book, click here.
Now we'll get more in-depth with BookSurge.
The specs are pretty typical of the books produced in the trade
category by all self publishing companies. Information and self
publishing costs are derived from the BookSurge
web site and contract.
- 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 - not just choices
from existing templates
- 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.
(click here
to see the Dog Ear breakdown - our total cost for this package
and options is $1,327, our per unit book printing
price is $4.28, and you get 10 free author copies
of your book.)
BookSurge
BookSurge doesn't offer truly anything unique - the site is well
built. BookSurge publishing packages range from
$799 to $5,402.
For $799 though, you don't get a custom product, and remember
your book cannot be on Barnes & Noble.com, Borders, etc.)
You cannot have a hardcover. You do not have complete freedom
to choose your retail price. You cannot set your wholesale discount.
These last two items mean you have no control over your profit.
BookSurge will force you to a specific retail
price and pays two different royalty rates. 35% is paid for sales
through Amazon.com, 10% is paid elsewhere. For this example, you
will be forced to a $15.95 retail price. Your printing cost will
be 50% off of the retail price for purchasing 100 units.
The variety of choices increases as you spend more money ($799,
$1,367, $2,587, and $5,402). In my opinion, the $1,367 package
has the greatest number of features and really offers the most
complete control, but so as to not overprice BookSurge
services (creating an unfair comparison for their services) we
will use the $799. It is also the most similar in features and
services to the other Basic package offered in the industry and
by Dog Ear Publishing.
Standard Paperback Publishing - $799
Custom Cover - $499 (note, a cover image charge does not apply
with this service)
Library of Congress Control Number - $75
Proofs - NA (not applicable - digital proofs are free)
Printing Services - $7.98 / unit X 100 units = $798 (printing
this book at Dog Ear is only $4.28 per unit)
Total Expenditure- BookSurge: $2,171
($844 MORE EXPENSIVE
THAN DOG EAR - and your book isn't available at Barnes & Noble
or most other retail outlets)
BOOK DESIGN and PRODUCTION- Comparison
Dog Ear develops a unique design for both the cover and interior
for every book. The design is custom (literally from the ground
up) for each and every book - no 'templates' are ever used. Dog
Ear provides a Design Sample using your manuscript and allows
you complete freedom to revise what our team has built. No other
publishing services company provides this service FREE
OF CHARGE - only Dog Ear. Every one
of our books are designed and built by professionals with long
histories and lots of experience - from the traditional publishing
industry. Your book is being built the same staff that
creates books for Harper Collins, Prentice Hall, Simon & Schuster,
Wiley, Penguin and many other of the worlds most successful publishers.
AUTHOR PROFIT - Comparison
It's author profit that is the true weakness
of the BookSurge' programs - at Dog Ear Publishing,
when you purchase your own books, they are over $1 LESS
EXPENSIVE per unit, with that money going straight to
your pocket.
Your author profit when selling to distribution partners
other than Amazon - your per unit author profit
from each sale is over $2 MORE with Dog
Ear.
Imagine what these numbers do to your profit over the life of
your book.
CONTRACT - Comparison
The company's contract is very aggressive. I see a number of
items that gives pause:
1) You DON'T OWN the output files ever - We believe that you
hire a self-publishing firm as a contractor...we perform services
for you, and you have paid us and should have full rights to everything
we produce (you wouldn't let your plumber tell you you don't own
the sink he installed, right?) - but - that's NOT the case with
many self-publishing companies, including BookSurge... note this
clause in their contract:
"we will own all right, title and interest in and to the
materials created, provided or used by us in the fulfillment of
obligations in this Agreement (including Source Files), including
all Intellectual Property Rights therein."
The above clause is far worse than in most other contracts though
- with BookSurge you only get a limited license to use the image
of your cover. What if you want to seek out other (better) book
printing prices? This wording (or rather not allowing you to have
your files) is designed to keep you from searching out more economical
print resources.
2) Another note of concern - again from the contract - is that
you may not sell your book direct to consumers at a competitive
price (for example at the discounted price at which Amazon may
sell the book):
"4.2 Pricing; Legal Title. We or our affiliate will be the
seller of record for each physical product of your Title (each,
a "Book") we or our affiliate sells to a customer (each,
a "Customer") through any Amazon Property. We or our
affiliate will have sole discretion in setting the selling price
to Customers for all Titles made available for sale on the Amazon
Properties. You will provide a List Price for each
Title, which will be at or below (a) the price at which you list
or offer that title via any other sales channel; and (b) the price
at which you sell such Title in printed form to customers through
any distribution method.[emphasis added] For the
purpose of this Agreement, "List Price" means the list
price that you submit to us per individual Title."
Remember - BookSurge tells you what your List Price will be -
and, when they discount the book on Amazon, you may NOT COMPETE
and sell the book direct to consumers for even the SAME price.
Conclusion - if you don't intend to sell anything other than
just a few copies of your book (and not through Barnes & Noble
or other retail stores) then BookSurge has a plan available on
the market. There are other competitors who offer options at the
$199 level, many that are better than what BookSurge offers. If
your book is something that you think you may sell at least 100
copies of, and you want available in both Retail and Wholesale
accounts - then make sure you take in to account the items listed
above.
Other Items to Watch For from Self-Publishing
Companies
(another reprint from our main comparison page)
Corrections Charges
You've got to watch corrections... Remember that it costs money
each time your publisher has to go back into your file and change
something - that's standard for every self-publishing outfit around.
But - you should be able to resubmit your manuscript to them just
before it goes into "layout". Also make sure that you don't get
charged for making corrections that were THE PUBLISHER'S FAULT
in the first place (called Production Errors). This is unfortunately
a common practice amongst less trustworthy self-publishing outfits.
Advertising Gimmicks or "Don't New York
Times Ads Work?"
Only targeted marketing sells books... Expensive
ads work for Grisham and Clancy - but the rest of us have to think
"Targeted".
REVIEWS sell books, not ads - unless your last name happens
to be Grisham or Clancy... Bookstores buy based upon marketing
dollars thrown at them. Keep targeted! Work book-signings and
readings!
Targeted Search Marketing sells books.
Book signings sell books.
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