My road to self-publishing

I started writing my first novel Hui Gui eleven years ago, 1998, when I was a librarian with Scarborough Public Library in Toronto. Hui Gui, which literally means returning home in Chinese, is a novel about events in Chinese and Hong Kong history in the 60 some years leading to the return of Hong Kong to China by the British in 1997, as told through the lives of one Chinese landlord's family. I took the workshop at Humber School for Writers that summer of '98, and decided to continue with the correspondence program in the following winter. I was very fortunate to have Isabel Huggan as my mentor. That was the beginning of the writing of the formal manuscript of Hui Gui.

Having a manuscript accepted for publication by a publisher is a rare happening. I had a couple of prospective breaks, through my agent, which came to nothing, and finally, in 2005, I decided to go the self-publishing route.

Self-publishing a book is a big venture, a major decision. It involves a financial commitment, and a lot of preparations and time. There are four main components to self-publishing. Looking back, I must say I surprised myself at what I did to publish my first book.

I. Compliance -- a term I hadn't picked up at the time I was complying with these initial requirements. This involved obtaining an ISBN, applying for the Catalog-in-Publication (CIP) data, getting a barcode. At the same time, I registered the title with Bowker for entry in Forthcoming Books in Print, Books in Print, and Canadian Books in Print. For publisher, I coined the name BTS Publishing House, using the first initials of the names of my three sons.

So far, everything was easy to achieve, at minimal cost. I read a couple of books on self-publishing in Canada, did net search (mostly Googling) and the compliance part was completed in a short time.

II. Production -- cover design, interior layout, negotiating a printer

This component can involve big bucks. I was lucky that one of my sons is an architect and designer. He did the cover design and interior layout, free of charge for his mother. I hired University of Toronto Press to print.

A point of note: most readers do not look for the publisher when they pick up a book at a bookstore. They just look at the cover, the title and the author's name. In other words, it makes no difference to the reader in general whether the book is published by Random House or Penguin, or a no-name like BTS Publishing House. However, I thought having University of Toronto Press as printer would look good and impressive on the copyright page. Most importantly, I was looking for a dependable printer, with high quality print work.

Next I had to decide on the number of copies to be printed, usually anywhere between 1500 - 3000. The more books printed in one print run, the cheaper the cost of each book. But, at the same time, you don't want to be stuck with boxes of unsold books.

The next big question is: What is the use of publishing a book if it's not read? That's when Distribution and Marketing come in.

III. Distribution -- If you have a distributor, you've got it made, halfway.

In the summer of 2005, as the book was going to print, I contacted Hushion House. I read about them in Quill & Quire. I met with Bill Hushion in Toronto. He saw a galley copy, and agreed to distribute my book. Initially I was very lucky that they signed with me. They put me in their Fall, 2005 and Winter, 2006 trade catalogues, which reached most libraries. They were able to place the book in major bookstores, such as Chapters/Indigo stores across Canada, and the World's Biggest Bookstore in Toronto. I had no idea I was lucky in finding a distributor so quickly at the time. I did not know know how hard it really could be to get a distributor. Without one, I could have put it on www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca myself, but since Hushion House was my distributor, they posted it on those websites. Once the book was on 'amazon', a lot of other online bookstores were able to list it as well.

Internationally, the book made its way to many online bookstores abroad. And, because of the subject matter of the novel, I approached Chameleon Press in Hong Kong, and they took my book for distribution online as well as placed it at a bookstore chain selling English language books in Hong Kong, called Bookazine.

IV. Marketing -- a very important factor in selling your book.

This is one area that requires a lot of effort, and you can spend a lot or a little, depending on your budget. However, it is to a great extent the author's responsibility to promote a book, whether it's published by someone else or self-published. I hired a publicist for three months, August to November, 2005. She was able to put me on numerous TV and radio interviews, such as Rogers daytime, in various cities in Ontario, City TV's early morning show in Toronto, and the Rafe Mair Show in Vancouver, since I told her I'd be in Vancouver during a certain time. She also arranged book signings at some Chapters/Indigo stores in Ontario. A press release was posted on PRWeb.

In addition, doing your own networking can produce good results. Because of the subject matter of my novel -- China, Hong Kong -- I contacted Fairchild TV in Vancouver, and they actually did a half-hour show on me and my novel Hui Gui, taped in Vancouver and Toronto, and aired just before Christmas, 2005.

I approached public libraries in and around Toronto, and got into various library reading programs. Because of the distributor's trade catalogues sent to libraries, many public and academic libraries in Ontario and other provinces in Canada now have copies of my book.  In addition, many academic libraries in the U.S., such as at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, also have holdings of my book.   

To reach U.S. libraries, I mailed sales pamphlets to U.S. libraries, introducing my book. One of the most visible results was finding 10 copies of Hui Gui currently at San Francisco Public Library.

I notified the North York Mirror, my local paper, and they did a phone interview with me and an article in the paper.

I coordinated some book promotion with personal trips. On a personal trip to Hong Kong, I was part of a panel presentation for my book. This was arranged by my Hong Kong distributor Chamelion Press with the Women in Publishing Society in Hong Kong. As well, I left a couple of copies of the novel at the Hong Kong Public Library. On a subsequent visit to Hong Kong, I found the book in their Asian studies collection. On another trip to Taipei, I stopped at a couple of book distributors, and they bought some copies of the book for distribution in Taiwan.

Space Ads -- I ran space ads in BC Bookworld and the Globe & Mail (Saturday Book Review section), but only once in each, as they were expensive.

Book Awards -- I submitted my book for consideration for a book award in ForeWord Magazine, and was nominated for their Fiction Book of the Year Award, 2006. My book was also selected as one of six novels discussed in a feature article in one issue of Foreword Magazine. This is a popular and respected magazine featuring and promoting independent publishers.

Legal Deposits -- It is necessary to send two copies of every published book to Library and Archives Canada, which I did. I also sent two copies to Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. for depositary purposes. And for posterity.

What happened to Hui Gui

Everything was going well till Hushion House declared bankruptcy about a year after the publication of my novel. That was when I realized how hard it really was to find a distributor, especially for fiction. To this day, Hui Gui is still selling at Chapters/Indigo, but not many copies are left, as most copies that Chapters/Indigo bought from Hushion House have been sold. Their fiction buyer said they could not buy directly from the author or a private source. They had to go through a distributor. At present, I have no Canadian distributor for Hui Gui.

I contracted APG Sales and Fulfillment in the U.S. to distribute the book to www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and other online bookstores, so the book is still available and in stock.

I did it my way 

Since its publication in 2005, Hui Gui has sold well over 1,500 copies. It has made its way to numerous academic and public libraries in Canada and the U.S. It has been reviewed by some media. Students have used it for book reports. It has been on book club reading lists. It is not a bestseller, but it is accessible to anyone and everyone, through the book market and libraries. What matters is it is read and appreciated. And I'm still waiting for a movie producer to lay eyes on its attractive cover (designed by my son Sam) and pick it up.

My second novel, The Heart of the Buddha, will be published on October 1, 2009, by Emerald Book Company in the U.S. That's another story....

Update on Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 04:41PM by Elsie

The Emerald Book Company was an imprint of the Greenleaf Book Group, which published The Heart of the Buddha. The novel came out in October, 2009. It has received many very positive reviews, and is available at select Chapter/Indigo bookstores in Canada. It is also available from major online bookstores. 

In 2011, an Indian publisher, Timeless Art Book Studio, offered to re-publish The Heart of the Buddha for distribution in the Indian subcontinent, which includes India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan! It is set for release at the end of 2011. My novel about Bhutan is going home!

My road to self-publishing has taken a turn towards the "being published" destination!