A Challenge To Make A Difference

We want to challenge you to help us make a difference in the world of Christian self-publishing. The average self-published book sells roughly 100 copies - yeah, you heard that right - before it disappears into the publishing world's version of crickets chirping. That means if you or someone you know bought that $4,000 highly recommended self-publishing package to publish your book, you effectively paid $40 per book on a $3 per book royalty, you'll need to sell over 1,300 books just to break even. That's the kind of math that leaves authors disappointed and disillusioned with self-publishing. It's time to do different. It's time to do better.

There are many talented Christian writers with great book ideas that could make a difference in many lives, including yours and mine. But they don't understand how self-publishing works, how to navigate it, and what their options might be. You shouldn't have to max out your credit cards, or take out a home equity loan and spend thousands of dollars for the privilege of selling 100 copies of the book you worked so hard to write.

Both you and they need better information on what you're getting into and have more control over the process. We want to help make that happen. We want to use our experience to make a difference with up-and-coming authors like you who want to self-publish their work. So, we're going to pull back the curtain on self-publishing and show you the nuts and bolts of how it works.

At Rising River Media, our goal is to empower you to control the process, make better decisions, and get more bang for your publishing book, even how to publish your book for free (yes, there is a way!). For example, do you know the ten basic things that nearly every self-publishing package includes, depending on the price of the package? Here they are:

The Ten Usual Basics

  1. Manuscript Review
  2. Cover Design & Production
  3. Interior Design & Production
  4. ISBN Registration
  5. Bar Code
  6. Graphics Formatting
  7. Proof Copy
  8. Initial Book Order
  9. Copyright Filing
  10. E-Book Conversion

In our video podcast series, "Pulling Back The Curtain On Self-Publishing" we're going to walk you through each of these ten basics in detail. For starters, did you notice that text editing and marketing are not on the list? But they're often two of the costliest services in self-publishing! Yes, we'll talk about those, but how a publisher handles and prices these ten items determines the basic cost of the package. And remember, the person selling you that package is probably getting a commission. The bigger the package, the bigger the commission.

At Rising River Media, we don't do packages or commissions. We offer a basic "cost-plus-fee" service along with this piece of free advice: "It costs more to fix a mistake than it does to do it right the first time." Let us help you do it right the first time. So, yes, we're going to pull back the curtain and show you how to save money on all of these. By the time we're done, you're going to know how to be your own publisher, or at least how to avoid overpaying someone else to be your publisher.