I remember being told by a friend in publishing that publishers don't like finished articles because they justify the fact the author only gets 1/10th of the book cover price through various stages, including all the work the publisher did with layouts and design, indexing, illustrations, etc... Then there is the marketing and distribution costs, of course, which you would have either way. Doing it all yourself will mean you getting a higher percentage of return, at least, which normally goes to all these other outsourced costs. Especially if you have a large enough print run.
common era wrote:
I have that book (kindly lent to me by Holy McGrail) so I must drop them a line. I am determined to get this book out there! I doubt that a publisher will go with the bespoke leather binding I had done as it would cost too much, but you never know...
They do slide-in bookcover/dustjackets which look very similar to those bespoke ones. I've had one I've used over and over. Just take old diary out and slide new diary in. You can buy them wholesale if the book is a standard size, set a profit margin on them, and sell them as a seperate gift item.
This site is american but you get the idea:
http://www.renaissance-art.com/catg96/category.aspx?source=ga&kw=leather+book+cover
This site has plain ones at the bottom
http://www.scaramangashop.co.uk/medium-leather-notebook/prod_36.html
I seem to remember there are competitions for the best self-published book of the year, in various categories, at least, here in Edinburgh. The authors get publishing deals, as well as prize money that recouped their costs. Book sales/popularity is one of the standards they use for judging, as well as all the other stuff you obviously have down, looking at the quality and content.
