This was really valuable, as I am pitching an anthology companion to an RPG. Hard numbers will be a big help.
By the way, the book box is completely destroyed, because it was dropped on my porch during a hurricane and got soaked, but the shredded paper inside provided extra moisture protection, and the book itself was fine. So, good call there!
I'm glad it was helpful, Randall. I'm so sorry to hear that your box was destroyed, but thankful that the book was undamaged. Maybe I'll use more tape on future boxes to double as a protective seal.
Thank you for sharing the whole process! I'm planning something similar for my Asian Writers Collective submissions, so this is super helpful. Congratulations! This looks amazing.
Thanks, Tiffany. Great to hear! I hope it's useful and applicable information for your upcoming project. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Good luck putting it together!
Great breakdown on the process, Winston! I was really curious how you went about editing since I am absolutely terrible at finding my own mistakes. Thanks for being so open about putting this together and congratulations on your success!
Thanks, Victor. Yeah, the editing process was super interesting and was a great learning experience for me. I want to try to distill those thoughts into its own post for a future article. I hope this was useful in some way!
Thanks so much for sharing all this. I've learned so much just observing this anthology come into existence. You've really done a wonderful thing here and it was a lot of fun working with you!
It was great working with you, too! I did go through Reedsy for the cover. There were 4 artists being considered and I chose Eoin because he was willing to stick closest to my budget. It did end up going over but mostly due to taxes and fees, plus Reedsy takes a cut of the profits. All things considered, I was happy with the quality and experience. Hopefully that answers your question!
Thanks for the info. You probably mentioned the Reedsy before, but I wasn't sure. I'm new to that platform and will look for someone for my next book. Still figuring out how it all works...
Yeah! Good luck, Victor. I really liked it because it allowed me to build the specifications I was looking for and then had the artists offer their best prices, and I ultimately got to choose which one I wanted to go with.
Great breakdown post! Thanks for sharing, Winston. It was fantastic to work with you! I’m looking forward to seeing the next anthology and what Storyletter does in the future!
A great breakdown of what it takes to independently publish a book in the US today. My only question in the costs section, is where mention the cost of paying for 3 ISBNs- I had thought that it was possible to get cheaper ISBN rates by buying in larger numbers at once (even if you don't have the actual titles named or planned yet). Of course, I may be wrong, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Congrats again and good luck with book sales!
Hey Chris, great question. I purchased 10 ISBNs for $300 from Bowker 2 years ago, so I used 3 of those. Hopefully my math was right, but that’s how I arrived at that cost. Thanks again for contributing and for your support!
This is super cool, thank you for sharing! And thanks for sharing the bit on cost. I think it's important to be transparent about costs of publishing—especially on your own.
May I ask who designed the cover? I think it looks great.
This was really valuable, as I am pitching an anthology companion to an RPG. Hard numbers will be a big help.
By the way, the book box is completely destroyed, because it was dropped on my porch during a hurricane and got soaked, but the shredded paper inside provided extra moisture protection, and the book itself was fine. So, good call there!
I'm glad it was helpful, Randall. I'm so sorry to hear that your box was destroyed, but thankful that the book was undamaged. Maybe I'll use more tape on future boxes to double as a protective seal.
Thank you for sharing this process! I joined Substack after your project was well underway, but I've found it fascinating!
Hey J. Martain, I’m happy you joined. It’s been such a pleasure working on this project and getting to know everyone. Thanks for sticking around!
That's wonderful. I definitely want to be included in your next anthology.
Thank you! Once it is announced, please submit! I look forward to reading your work.
Thanks!
Fantastic, great to get the inside scoop on your process, Winston.
Thanks! I'm glad you found it interesting, Troy.
that is so cool! I always wanted to be part of an anthology. Some day.
Thanks, Alicia! Please submit to our next open call. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
This is awesome.
Thanks, Michael! I'm so happy you think so, too!
Thank you for sharing the whole process! I'm planning something similar for my Asian Writers Collective submissions, so this is super helpful. Congratulations! This looks amazing.
Thanks, Tiffany. Great to hear! I hope it's useful and applicable information for your upcoming project. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out. Good luck putting it together!
That's so kind of you, Winston. Thank you!
Great breakdown on the process, Winston! I was really curious how you went about editing since I am absolutely terrible at finding my own mistakes. Thanks for being so open about putting this together and congratulations on your success!
Thanks, Victor. Yeah, the editing process was super interesting and was a great learning experience for me. I want to try to distill those thoughts into its own post for a future article. I hope this was useful in some way!
Thanks so much for sharing all this. I've learned so much just observing this anthology come into existence. You've really done a wonderful thing here and it was a lot of fun working with you!
You're welcome, J! Thanks for all of your support. It was a honor to work with you and to publish your story!
Great walkthrough! And congrats on the finished project
Thanks, Vanya!
Thank you, Winston. The book is quite beautiful. Wonderful job! It was great working with you.
You mentioned the cover cost and I was wondering if that was through someone at Reedsy?
Congratulations on the project!
It was great working with you, too! I did go through Reedsy for the cover. There were 4 artists being considered and I chose Eoin because he was willing to stick closest to my budget. It did end up going over but mostly due to taxes and fees, plus Reedsy takes a cut of the profits. All things considered, I was happy with the quality and experience. Hopefully that answers your question!
Thanks for the info. You probably mentioned the Reedsy before, but I wasn't sure. I'm new to that platform and will look for someone for my next book. Still figuring out how it all works...
Yeah! Good luck, Victor. I really liked it because it allowed me to build the specifications I was looking for and then had the artists offer their best prices, and I ultimately got to choose which one I wanted to go with.
Great breakdown post! Thanks for sharing, Winston. It was fantastic to work with you! I’m looking forward to seeing the next anthology and what Storyletter does in the future!
It was so nice to work with you, too! Hope to read more of your work in the near future.
A great breakdown of what it takes to independently publish a book in the US today. My only question in the costs section, is where mention the cost of paying for 3 ISBNs- I had thought that it was possible to get cheaper ISBN rates by buying in larger numbers at once (even if you don't have the actual titles named or planned yet). Of course, I may be wrong, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. Congrats again and good luck with book sales!
Hey Chris, great question. I purchased 10 ISBNs for $300 from Bowker 2 years ago, so I used 3 of those. Hopefully my math was right, but that’s how I arrived at that cost. Thanks again for contributing and for your support!
This was such a great insight (and project!) - thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Harvey! So glad you found it insightful.
This is super cool, thank you for sharing! And thanks for sharing the bit on cost. I think it's important to be transparent about costs of publishing—especially on your own.
May I ask who designed the cover? I think it looks great.