FAQ’s About Ekklesia Group
How do I know if I should print-publish or just e-publish (electronic downloadable files)?
How do I market my book?
How do I choose between National Distribution or Personal Distribution?
What kind of profit can I expect from POD publishing?
How do I handle tax issues?
How do I know if I should print-publish or just e-publish (electronic downloadable files)?
Answer: You have to go into this process with your eyes open. The publishing/distribution industry is a very competitive monolith. It is hard to break in and be the next “best seller” or even a well-known author. If you are seeking to grow as an author and get a few experiences under your belt, self-publishing will give you an unparalleled experience.
If you have a story, real or fiction, a teaching or an idea that you want to disseminate personally that could grow it into a livelihood, ministry or a diversification of things you are already doing, self-publishing is for you.
If writing is a hobby, or you do not intend to market your book or share what you have in an intentional way, self-publishing may be too much to mess with. Ekklesia Press can provide the service of E-books or just plain PDF documents that can be downloaded. The process is minute but you will have the means to share what you have easily and inexpensively.
Answer: Ekklesia Press is a work in progress. As we market our other books we are opening markets and awareness about our press. Our contacts become your contacts. In addition, our Website approach will attract traffic to your site, which comes with the publishing package. The sites are linked which will increase traffic flow.
Our press is directly connected with Ingram Books the world’s largest book distributor. Or press will be advertised with; Spring Arbor, Baker and Taylor, and other distributors and wholesalers. When you publish through us, all these companies will pick up information about your book. Some may begin stocking your book immediately.
As a part of the Publishing program of Ekklesia Press we also get your book on to major seller sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other web sellers. In addition we register your site with major and minor search engines to get your book out there and seen.
Unlike most POD publishers, Ekklesia Press has a vested interest in your book being marketed and successful. We have tied our success to yours, meaning we don’t pay ourselves and then leave the rest up to you. We work with you.
How do I choose between National Distribution or Personal Distribution?
Answer: It all depends on how you want to market your material. If you are a pastor or professor and there are lost of people under your tutelage you have a natural market to sell your material. If you do not think your material would have a national appeal, then the same applies.
If however, you are writing about a subject that has national appeal, or maybe you travel a lot for your work and can do some national marketing, the National Distribution plan will fit your needs.
Neither scenario hems you into doing business one way or the other. And just because you start with the Personal Distribution plan does not mean that you can’t switch to the other plan if your work takes off.
There are decided advantages to either plan. With the personal distribution there are lower costs and if you are a public speaker you can sell your books directly and reap very high profits. However the national distribution plan, though more expensive, will reach a much wider audience. Combined in it is a website that will help give you not only a return on investment but a good profit as well.
What kind of profit can I expect from POD publishing?
Answer: It depends on the subject matter, marketing and which outlet is selling most of your books, let me explain.
If a book is sold to a distributor (Ingram, Baker & Taylor and Spring Arbor) it will be discounted 55%. While the printing of a book cost is usually 1/3 of the list price, your profit will be difference between the discount of the distributor (55%) and the books cost.
For Example: Let’s say the books’ list price is $16.95 while its printing cost was $5.04. The distributors purchasing discount of 55% off the list price would mean that they would pay $7.63 for it. Therefore, your profit on this sale would be $2.59 per book. This amount is the difference between $7.63 (the distributors 55% discount) and $5.04 (the print cost). This would be 5%profit.
If you sell your books direct to a local bookstore or do a consignment, the discounting is going to be roughly 30% off the list price
For Example: Our example has been a list price of $16.95. In this scenario the bookstores is 30%, which would be $11.86 (the sale price). $11.86 minus the cost of the book ($5.04) would render a profit of $6.82, which would be a 26% profit.
If you sell your book on your website your profit is going to be much higher.
For Example: Lets say that you sell the book for a lesser price than the list. In our last example the book listed for $16.95. Lets say you were to sell it for an even $14.00. The difference between book printing cost ($5.04) and sale price ($14.00) is $8.96. This is a 44% profit!
These are most of the scenarios that you will be involved with in publishing through a POD (Print on Demand). Lets put it into perspective. Lets use the examples above and show how this might look after selling just 400 books. Lets say that the distributors, who have the largest audience, sell 60% of your books. Your website and personal contact account for about 25% of the books sold. Then you’re able to get another 15% of your books sold by direct placement in bookstores…
Distributors Direct Sales Local Bookstores
Demographic: 60% 25% 15%
Quantity Sold: 240 100 60
Profit Per Book: $2.59 $8.96 $6.83
Extended Totals: $621.60 $896.00 $409.80
Accumulative Sales: $1927.40
Books Sold: 400
Profit Averaged Per Sale: $4.82
The above figures are arbitrary estimations of sales numbers and demographics of sales. Your book may sell much differently. My first book has sold differently than this scenario. I published a book that was not going to be popular concerning a subject that is tough (religion and politics), thus the dynamics of my books sales was completely different than the industry norms demonstrated above.
How do I handle tax issues?
Answer: You will need to consult your tax-preparer or see the state tax office in your area about setting up a tax number. Ekklesia Press does not withhold taxes.
