DIY publishing for your nonprofit: How to make it happen

This is the second of a two-part series. Also see:

• Part 1: 6 business reasons for nonprofits to publish a magazine

Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, educators, Web publishers.

By Lindsay Oberst
Socialbrite staff

Yesterday we invited you to think about whether a print magazine might make sense for your nonprofit or social enterprise — and we use a broad definition of magazines here to include a print newsletter, whitepaper, special report, annual report, event keepsake or a catalog of fundraising merchandise and so on.

Now that you’re sold on the idea, or are at least considering it, how do you make it happen?

The first thing you need to consider is how much time, money and effort you have available to take on the project. Do you already have people who can write, design, produce and perform other required tasks? Or do you want to offload some of the work to a contractor or publishing firm?

In the past, only large organizations with large audiences and budgets could produce a quality publication. But print-on-demand technology gives organizations of any size the ability to produce print publications in whatever numbers they need in a cost-effective way. Whether it’s a regular magazine, a one-time publication or any other printed product, the possibilities are only beginning to be explored in the social good sector.

To get the work done, you’ll likely want to consider on-demand technologies using a combination of staffers, freelancers or agencies (yep, like Socialbrite). And that’s what we’ll cover for the bulk of this article.

Another way to go is to find a custom publishing company to take care of everything for you, for a price. Custom publishing companies handle everything — even billing, if your magazine charges a subscription. A good place to look for these companies is the website of the Custom Content Council, a group of companies offering publishing services to commercial and nonprofit organizations. You can also do an online search for custom publishing companies and compare offerings. Many companies offer nonprofit discounts, such as Dazzle Printing, which offers a 10 percent discount and free proofreading to all nonprofits.

Choosing to self publish: The DIY option

Self publishing allows anyone to have a magazine without an established third-party publisher. (And by the way, there may be occasions when you want to self-publish a short book.) It’s become easy to publish a magazine using vendors, including MagCloud, FeedBrewer, Issuu, Calameo, Mstand and Scribd. Let’s summarize what they have to offer.

MagCloud

MagCloud handles the printing, distribution and shipping of your content. They enable you to publish a beautiful magazine-format publication in print or as a digital version. For print, they can produce runs as small as one and as large as 3,000.

What’s great about this vendor is that they offer tips and other help on their blog. They also offer publishing templates, which are especially useful guides if you haven’t tried to publish a magazine before. The company, which services customers in the United States, Canada and UK, can also recommend people you can turn to for design and more. Sometimes customers post calls for help on the MagCloud Facebook page, which are answered by the community.

Andrew Bowell, managing director of MagCloud, said he would guess hundreds or thousands of nonprofits have used their services. He believes nonprofit-created, magazine-style newsletters are a great idea for creating community and for raising money.

Bowell said MagCloud is “as simple as YouTube to use,” and underscored its efforts to make the service as user-friendly as possible.

Five of the many nonprofit publications that have used MagCloud:

1. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reference centre for psychosocial support publishes a quarterly magazine that features stories from National Societies around the world providing psychosocial support to people after disasters, conflicts and other dramatic events. Each issue focuses on one particular area, such as recovery, violence or children affected by war.
2. The Lance Armstrong Foundation is another nonprofit using MagCloud to publish Livestrong Quarterly, an online, print and print-on-demand publication.
3. An example of an interesting, one-time publication is a photography magazine, which was created as a fundraiser for the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti earthquake relief.
4. The Northern California National Speakers Association publishes a 20-page color magazine called Professionally Speaking (last issue: spring 2010). The nonprofit’s president, Ian Griffin — who used to work at HP, the company that runs MagCloud — told me he created the magazine mostly to make the members aware of MagCloud.
5. Also, while it is not a magazine, one project created using MagCloud that is worth mentioning is a calendar called Men of the Stacks, which raised more than $20,000 last year to benefit the It Gets Better Project. (Here is another sign that producing a calender could be a good way for nonprofits to raise money.)

Bowell said nonprofits, or any publisher, can raise the price if a project gets successful, such as the Men of the Stacks calender, and 100 percent of the markup goes to the nonprofit. They also offer a discount for nonprofits: Normally it costs 20 cents per page to produce a print product, but nonprofits are charged 15 cents per page.

A 24-page magazine costs a little under $5 per copy to produce with MagCloud, or about 20 cents per page, and shipping costs extra. That’s a price tag that could discourage large print runs, so nonprofits may want to consider finding sponsors/advertisers, offer highly targeted magazines with one-time production runs or offer print as an option to people who want it. MagCloud does, however, publish digital, iPad-optimized issues for free. It’s also good to know that it’s possible to target only your members and/or donors by establishing a password for them, which they can use to download your magazine online.

“Because we focus on magazines, I think people only think of us and magazines, but our services could be used to create endless possibilities,” Bowell said.

FeedBrewer

The multi-platform publishing company FeedBrewer can turn your content into print and digital products. They also offer a variety of technology, design and strategy services. While the company began by producing printed products, they have shifted their focus to content that can be displayed on e-readers, tablets and mobile devices without having to buy expensive software or build a mobile development team.

They are currently promoting their ebook services under the name Book Brewer, which CEO Dan Pacheco told me would be a great way for nonprofits to raise money. He said nonprofits could curate their content into a ebook and use the proceeds as a new way to fund-raise.

Despite the company’s shift, FeedBrewer is still able to print PDFs. The price for their services beyond printing depends on what needs to be done, but they generally charge $95 per hour for development and $50 per hour for project management. Pacheco said they typically offer discounts for larger projects.

The University of Texas at Austin Journalism school uses FeedBrewer to publish their academic journal.

Issuu, Calameo, Mstand, Scribd and Virtual Paper

Issuu allows you to upload PDFs or other documents and flip through them, magazine-style, on a webpage or in an embeddable format. This is a good service to use if you want to present printed content online. The company offers a clean design and ease of use for its customers. Many nonprofits use Issuu to show off their magazines, including the nonprofit museum Mystic Seaport.

You can upload documents for free, or you can opt for the pro version, which provides ad-free, detailed statistics, advanced customization and more.

Calameo is similar to Issuu. It also lets you upload documents for free, and it gives you the option to embed rich-media content to your publications such as videos and audio.

Mstand calls itself a public newsstand that also allows you to present magazines online for free in a flippable, embeddable format. What makes this company different is that they allow you to incorporate social media sites alongside the viewer. The American Immigration Lawyers Association uses this site to display its magazine, Voice.

Scribd is the most popular document sharing site. Most of the uploaded documents are articles and writings rather than full magazines. With this tool, you can also embed content and upload for free — and charge a price for downloads if you’d like.

Virtual Paper (which seems to have a branding problem — it’s at docpit.com and has the browser title Virtual Kiosk) offers services for digital publishing, including mobile and iPad apps, at a cost. With the other three digital viewing options mentioned above, you might wonder why you’d choose a service that isn’t free. Maybe because your project requires more advanced options, including multimedia content, printable coupons, advertising and subscription tools and more. Virtual Paper also offer product managers, technical teams and consultants to their clients. Girl Scouts USA uses them to produce digital and printable catalogs.

If you’re trying to raise awareness through your magazine, you may want to upload your publication to all of the free websites mentioned above. And if you’re looking for more information about publishing a magazine, MagazineLaunch has many articles and listings that may be of help to your organization.

Will you consider publishing a magazine for your nonprofit?

Related

• Self-publishing a book: Tell your story in print (Socialbrite)

• Guide to publishing a successful ebook (Socialbrite)

• Directory of resources on creating media for nonprofits (Socialbrite)

The post On-demand magazine publishing, simple & cheap appeared first on Socialbrite.

Lulu, Author Solutions, CreateSpace, Blurb make publishing your book a breeze

Target audience: Nonprofits, NGOs, educators, small businesses, journalists, photographers

By Kim Bale
Socialbrite staff

Updated Sept. 20, 2010, with new stats and services

With more people turning to ebooks or digital readers like the Kindle or iPad rather than turning the pages of a softcover, the publishing industry is evolving quickly. In 2008, for the first time in history, more books were self-published in the United States than were published the traditional way. According to Bowker, the agency responsible for assigning ISBNs, 288,355 traditional book titles were published last year, down a smidge from the year before. By constrast, 764,448 self-published “on demand” titles were produced last year, a dizzying 181 percent increase from the prior year.

Clearly, authors have found alternate ways to get their books on the shelf.

Inexpensive online print-on-demand services now allow anyone from nonprofit organizations to photographers to publish a story book, flip book, photo album or other publication — without the hassle of finding an agent or publisher. Sometimes, you can even make money at it. While in a traditional paperback publishing deal the author keeps just 8 to 9 percent of royalties, under most self-publishing agreements authors keep 70 to 80 percent of their profits.

Compose your work, upload the files, set the price, and you can have your masterpiece printed and mailed to you, or make it available online for sale to the general public. Print On Demand websites like Lulu, Author Solutions, CreateSpace (formerly BookSurge) and others make it easy and relatively affordable to guide your book from conception to printing, with new services available to boost your marketing efforts.

Whether you’re a nonprofit, NGO, educator or small businesses, your organization likely has a good story that can be told, accompanied by photos, between the covers of a hardover or softcover book. If it sells well, it could even bring you a modest revenue stream. But think of this chiefly as a polished way to promote your organization’s brand or your own personal brand.

Self-publishing might seem like a daunting task, though the tools are more accessible than ever. Most companies request you upload your work via Word document or PDF, and they offer a variety of services to help you add images and fine-tune your book for the printing press.

Tips for the first-time self-published author

Here are our tips to help take the worry out of self-publishing:

• Do your research. You’ve written your book, now who’s going to read it? Whether you’re composing a detailed history of your organization or giving advice on how to grow a start-up, it’s important to understand your audience. If you know exactly who will be reading your copy, you have an advantage. Find out what it is they need to know, and tell it in a compelling, engaging way. If you’re aiming for your book to hit the best-seller list, it’s not a bad idea to read up on your peers and competitors already in the marketplace. Too many books of the same topic in the same space could mean overcrowding – find a unique angle and stay ahead of the pack.
• Choose a service. Now that you’ve identified your audience, a host of POD (print on demand) companies are waiting to help you publish. Each company has its own set of services to offer, so shop around and choose one that fits your needs:

1. Lulu offers four publishing packages ranging in price from $369 to $1,369. Lulu walks you through an a la carte process step by step and connects you with designers, editors and marketing professionals — at no charge — if desired. Or you can opt to choose the binding, create your own cover and simply pay for the costs of printing and number of copies, whether you’re printing for an audience of one or 1,000. At Lulu and similar sites, each time a purchase is made, a printer at a printing facility makes an individual copy that is shipped to the buyer, usually in 24 hours or less. No money changes hands until a book is published, authors set the prices for books, and the royalty rate excluding production costs is 80 percent, meaning you get to keep the bulk of the income from sales.



2. Author Solutions is the parent company for well-known brands like AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Wordclay and Xlibris. Each brand offers slightly different services such as extensive professional consultations, competitive publishing packages and marketing materials designed to generate buzz about your title. Author Solutions gives authors access to editorial services, illustrations, book and cover design, publicity, promotion, distribution, online sales and bookstore sales. Over the past 13 years, more than 85,000 authors have self-published almost 120,000 titles through Author Solutions, making them a leader in the industry. In many cases, authors pay an up-front fee of $300 to $1,600, book prices are set by the services, and royalties range from 10 to 25 percent, meaning you get only a small slice of any income generated — for example, $2.04 on the sale of a $15.95 book.
 
3. HP BookPrep enables publishers to digitize any existing book and turn it into a virtual asset that can be sold over the Internet and printed on demand. Head to HP BookPrep.
 
4. Blurb lets you create professional-looking photo books, text books, cookbooks and “blog books” for a low price, starting at $12.95 per copy (softcover, minimum 10 copies). Head to Blurb.com.
5. Scribd allows authors to upload documents to their library of e-books for free, lets authors set the price of their e-books and retain 80 percent of royalties from sales. Head to Scribd.com.



6. PayDotCom is an ebook provider that relies on affiliate marketing. It’s free to sign up and members can sell one product at no charge, with additional listings costing $29 and commissions split 50-50 between vendors and affiliates. Head to PayDotCom.
7. Amazon’s CreateSpace offers packages starting at $299 and provides you with the benefit of being listed in their highly trafficked marketplace. You can upload your completed PDF file for immediate release or use their professional services to fine-tune your copy and ready it for publication. CreateSpace will assign your book an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and you will become part of a growing community of talented authors looking to swap stories and share tips and advice. To list your book with Amazon, you must go through the Amazon Advantage page to register; it cost $30 per year to join the program.
 
8. Smaller publishing houses: You can find a number of other publishing houses online or in your community. For example, Rexi Media, a start-up that helps managers enhance their public presence, self-published the book Better Beginnings (200 pages) through the Ohio-based POD service 48HrBooks and sells it online for $19.95. Café Press (which caters to shorter articles and stories) and ColorCentric and Llumina Press are three more micro-publishers; you can find an extensive list of print-on-demand publishers at Bookmarket.com. This option requires more market research and knowledge of how the design, publishing and distribution industries work, though it can be rewarding knowing you’ve published a book unlike most others in the marketplace.

• Register your book. You’ll want to register your book for free at the Bowkers mega-directory Books in Print. This is the master list of all books available anywhere, which bookstores and libraries use.
• Calculate your costs. Your expenses will vary based on which services you’ve rendered and can range from a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars. Once you’ve chosen your publishing company and a package that fits your needs, tally up the costs and make sure you’re getting sufficient bang for your buck. Printing more copies will give you the benefit of bulk rates, and with the right marketing tactics, it could pay off for when you hold an event with lots of foot traffic.
• Find distribution channels. Now that you have your book, you’ll want to find venues for people to find it. One good choice is IndieReader, a site where readers can find original self-published titles.
• Don’t forget marketing! Publishing your book is half the battle, so pay attention to distributing and marketing your finished product. If you’re personally handing it out to your colleagues and friends, marketing labor and costs will be low. If you’re trying to reach the masses, however, it’s important to obtain adequate publicity through marketing and advertising. Each self-publisher has professionals that will help you get an ISBN, list your book on various websites and push it to desired bookstores.

The self-publishing movement has just begun to take off, so identify your most valuable content and decide how you can package it in a way that highlights your organization’s accomplishments and appeals to existing and potential supporters.

Have you self-published a book? What was the experience like? Please share what you learned.

Related

• Publish a successful ebook: 7 e-publishing services (Socialbrite)

• 6 business reasons for nonprofits to publish a magazine (Socialbrite)

• Self-Publishing at the Commonwealth Club of California (TheBookDesigner.com)

• Self-publishing Boot Camp

• Self-Publishing, Author Services Open Floodgates for Writers (PBS.org Media Shift)

• Blurb for Good: Make a Book, Make a Difference (GOOD blog)

The post Self-publishing: Tell your story in print appeared first on Socialbrite.