They've got it covered

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jul 28, 2005 by JACOB LUECKE THE GAZETTE

Unemployed and searching for a way to support his family, Tom Pedigo floated an unusual moneymaking idea to his wife, Cathy: Why not write and publish books?

"I looked at him and said, 'Are you nuts? We can't make money doing that,'" Cathy Pedigo said.

But six books and 12 years later, the Pedigos have shipped more than 100,000 of their self-help manuals to customers around the country.

More and more aspiring authors like the Pedigos are choosing to put their own cash on the line to get their books into print, with mixed results for local writers.

The publishing business gradually opened to the masses beginning in the 1980s as the industry computerized and publishing software became cheaper and easier to use.

When the Pedigos started writing in 1993, Cathy Pedigo studied and mastered computerized book design, Web page creation and Internet marketing.

The couple's business went online in 1996 with Tom's book on how to win pinewood derbies and Cathy's guide on making money from garage sales.

Book orders soared when Internet search engines listed their Web page first in response to queries about pinewood derbies or garage sales.

Sales from their Web site, http://winedge.com, account for 95 percent of the Pedigos' nearly $200,000 in annual sales.

There are as many as 60,000 independent publishers in the United States, said Jan Nathan, executive director of Independent Book Publishers Association.

Independent publishers include self-publishers and people who publish other authors' books.

Nathan estimates this group writes about 80 percent of the 10,000 new books that reach the marketplace each month.

She said only about one in five self-publishers survive for more than a year.

Some entrepreneurs quickly drop out after they learn that turning a profit can require a hefty investment.

A writer typically has to sell 3,000 books to break even, said Scott Flora, executive director of the Colorado Springsbased Small Publishers Association of North America.

Printing 3,000 normal-sized, softcover books, combined with hiring an editor and graphic designer, can push the upfront cost to more than $10,000.

But a book that goes for a second run can be more lucrative, because the writer won't have to pay for editing and designing again.

Flora said selling thousands of books takes much more than great writing.

"It's not a business where you can put it out there and wait for people to come to you," Flora said. "You have to be aggressive."

Flora said people need to think of publishing as a small business. He tells writers to put together a business plan before spending thousands of dollars on a book's first run.

"Some people think, 'I'm creating literature; I'm creating art,'" Flora said. "But they're actually creating a product to sell."

Colorado Springs resident Lise Fuller left a management consultant job to write books and home-school her son.

But she realized she still needed her business savvy when she started selling her first novel, a military romance about a photojournalist who is kidnapped by terrorists.

Fuller spent about $2,500 to print 200 copies of the novel. She sold most of the books at local military bases and festivals.

Having printed copies helped Fuller get book reviews. The reviews caught the eye of someone in the industry, and Fuller is negotiating a contract to have her book printed by an established publisher.

"The big advantage it gave me was I had something," she said. "I had a hard product that I could actually sell and actually market."

Using self-publishing as a gateway to finding an established publisher is the best bet for fiction writers. In general, fiction and poetry writers have less success as independent publishers than nonfiction authors, Nathan said.

"I would not do it again," said John Irwin of Fountain.

For about $1,000, Irwin had two of his fiction novels printed: a military story and a political satire. He ended up getting only a few copies of both books for that price.

He said the companies did everything they promised, but having printed novels did not jump-start his writing career.

"Self-publishing is for someone who wants to publish a book for their friends and family," he said.

Many fiction writers find it hard to turn a profit because they often rely on sales from bookstores, which can bag half of a book's sale price.

To avoid profit-gobbling bookstores and distributors, successful nonfiction publishers -- the Pedigos are a good example -- become experts in niche fields and then market their books directly to people interested in those topics, Flora said.

"Pinewood derby season, the phone is ringing all day long," Cathy Pedigo said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-1623 or jacob.luecke@gazette.com

TIPS FOR SELF-PUBLISHERS

Nonfiction and self-help books are better candidates for self- publishing than fiction and poetry books.

Develop a business plan for selling the books before they are printed.

Become an expert in a niche field and market books directly to people interested in that niche.

Try to sell the books independently; bookstores and distributors can take a big chunk from profits.