This week on #SolutionsWatch, James is joined by Tom-Oliver Regenauer, a self-taught publisher whose German language self-published books now regularly outsell major publishing houses in Germany. He discusses how and why he started Regenauer Press, how he self-publishes his books, how others can join the self-publishing revolution and produce actual print books that evade the digital censors, and how he used his skills to publish the German translation of REPORTAGE.
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5 Best Print-On-Demand Books Services
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REPORTAGE (English website for English book)
I’ve been self-publishing for years. I sent Ryan some of my books. Maybe I’ll send them to the Jameseseseseseses at some point.
I’m wondering if a Spanish translation is also being planned?
Just considering that there are large sections of the American South West where whole neighborhoods of people only speak Spanish, but they also buy books, a Spanish translation would reach a whole group of people the English version would never reach.
Also, if these events are being held in Mexico (in English) it would be nice if the people who are actually providing services for the event, who only speak Spanish, could be included.
(I’m going to stop there on commentary of these events. I have opinions. But I’ll leave that alone.)
A Spanish Translation would include a lot of people who tend to be excluded or marginalized because of the language barrier.
But they’re also living in the United States.
Thanks for covering this topic James.
There are some upsides to signing contracts with publishers (mostly in the realm of streamlined established marketing frameworks and not having to handle printing/shipping logistics for those of us that do non-POD self-publishing, so convenience)
There are also a lot of downsides to working with big publishing companies. As Tom mentioned, creative control (and not being censored/pressured to be less controversial) is a big one. Also, for me (I self-publish but I go beyond POD to interface directly with printing companies) being able to have direct control over what type of binding and paper is used for the book is big (as my books are for hands on practical use in the garden, food forest and kitchen and I want them to be able to take a beating and hold together).
Also, publishing companies are invested in the concept of “intellectual property” (as they claim to own a piece of each author’s creative worth after contracts are signed) so this can result in petty legal proceedings.
Then I think it is worth highlighting (though it may be obvious for some) that publishing companies only give authors pennies on the dollar for each copy sold, where as if you self-publish all of the profit after printing and other expenses go right to the author.
Also, I would like to re-iterate that while POD self-publishing is easy, but not necessarily the most financially lucrative way to self-publish.
If you write a book and have all the graphic design / cover art figured out, you can save up enough dough (and/or crowd fund it) go right to book printing companies and pay for a printing run of a set amount of book to be delivered to your home (that is what I did).
If you do that, are working with a printing company that handles higher volume printing runs and can only afford to like 200 or 300 copies to be printed you will be able to get a book printed (with top quality material) for a pretty good price. However, if you manage to save up enough for a 500 or 1000 unit printing run the cost drops significantly and authors get a significant opportunity for making good money on each book sold.
I did that, and I paid extra for a section handsewn binding, which is text book quality (so the book can lay open flat while reading recipes and take a beating).
All of that requires negotiating, diplomacy, lots of emails and a large investment up front, but it is a method of self-publishing that takes you leaps and bounds beyond the profitability and materials quality of most POD self-publishing companies/methods.
So POD is great for convenience, creative control and less logistics head aches, but self-publishing via signing a contract directly with a printing company opens up the potential for much more room to make good money on each copy of the book sold.
There are upsides and downsides to both approaches.
For my next book I will likely do a hybrid combination approach of both (so I have access to the benefits of both approaches).
Yeah, you also have the vanity publishers you can use, but that’s where you tend to find things being a little less reputable.
For me, I do PoD because I have no desire to be famous and all that. Maybe I’ll make my money back one day, but that’ll be it.
Although, I will say, the only significant difference between doing a print run and doing print-on-demand is that you have premade physical copies. Then you have to get them somewhere. If you really want to make money off your books, it’s like making money off any other art: 90%+ of the work you’ll do is advertising yourself.
@Vienticus Prime
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences on this topic.
RE: “the only significant difference between doing a print run and doing print-on-demand is that you have premade physical copies. Then you have to get them somewhere.”
That is a big difference for me, as having them is a sort of currency that has intrinsic value. Unlike fiat, which only has value as long as people believe in it and keep biting into those juicy matrix steaks, printed books (especially ones that contain information that empower the reader to feed themselves without centralized systems) retain their value permanently (and sometimes their value goes up exponentially).
I invested my time and energy researching for, experimenting, writing, formatting and printing the book and I transformed that investment into a physical format.
POD self-publishing (having books printed one at a time by corporations in far away places and shipped to people) is a lot easier, but when geopolitical or economic dynamics get dicey, the continued viability of that means to make money is up in the air, physical books that you have premade on the other hand, remain accessible and able to be sold by you (either locally or abroad if shipping remains possible) regardless of larger geopolitical and economic happenings.
When it comes to the getting them somewhere aspect, I have found there are tons of ways to sell books locally (and most of it is as you say advertising yourself in some capacity). I go to local shop owners and give them a copy of my book to read, most of them come back and are interested in having the book on their shelves (some of them get really excited and place it on a display right near the cashier with heirloom seeds I give them to give to each person that buys a book). I also do in person talks at horticultural society meetings, prepper groups, preserving groups and schools. Each one of those events sells many books without shipping being required. Then there are local book stores. Lots of possibilities for selling books without having to ship them if you do a printing run.
It is also possible to do a printing run, then send like 50 books at a time to distributors that ship online so you don’t have to package each one (you can do Amazon if you want, but there are other less slimy options too). That way, you can ensure top quality printing materials, make more on each sale than POD allows and have the physical format of your investment available to you at home for selling locally when ever you want to.
Do you mind if I ask what percentage the POD service you use takes from each sale?
I also like having a bunch of physical copies of my book around so I can do fun bartering exchanges like these:
https://substack.com/@gavinmounsey/note/c-168395989?
and this
https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/embracing-the-gift-economy-as-an?r=q2yay&selection=cd72b9b4-d9b4-405e-b388-1afcf08541c6&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web&aspectRatio=instagram&textColor=%23ffffff&bgImage=true
Being able to trade a copy of my book with an organic baker for a bunch of oat cakes or trade a copy of my book with a musician for some of his albums really makes my day. I feels good to boycott the matrix steak economy when I can and just do an exchange between creators/artists directly when it is possible, POD puts too many middle men the mix for my liking.
Though, I suppose you could just POD a bunch of books and have them shipped to your own place for instances like that, but ya, I just like cutting out as many middle men as possible.
That said, again, I see the upsides of the POD method so I will likely do that as well in a limited capacity in the future to supplement my non-POD self published book sales and reach.
Wenn Sie doch nur 35 Jahre alt wären, Herr Regenauer.
I put my 6 year work into a computer paper spiral bound format and sold it out of my van for about $12@copy when I was living in my van in Hollywood in the 80’s. The big wall for me was being right brain smart and left brain challenged :-/
Hope your excellent work helps lots of young folks who want to get their ideas out to the world. And mostly to influence the wonderful habit of book in hand.
WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID (song)
https://old.bitchute.com/video/lMHyu4q52X3Y/
And incase anyone needed another reason to avoid POD “self-publishing” on Amazon
https://archive.org/details/chatbotgeneratedscamamazonbooks
Check out the kinds of garbage books yours will be presented along side on Amazon. Chatbot generated nonsense and scam books flooding every niche and genre, very pretty front covers with total garbage on the inside, dumbing people down.
People will have to wade through a swamp of “A.I.” generated garbage and then search through all that muck to find your diamond in the rough on there.
I know is it convenient and everything (and many people I know still think I should be selling my book on there) but that for me (along with all the other things that make Amazon a soul eroding corporate war racket supporting cesspool) is a tough pill to swallow.
A curious thing came to mind recently, thanks to an editor. Recently I have stated how important an editor is. CQ an editor extrodinaire gave me thought to that well greased wheel Corbett promoted, understanding propaganda. With the help of past editors I’ve come to the conclusion science fiction may be the finest form of propaganda in communication. Credit must go to Doubleday editor John W Campbell from whom I borrow some ideas that where present in 1960. Yes 1960; the things you read or hear today are just a continuation of the science fiction imitating or replacing the natural occuring paradigm/paradox of life. English [; It’s not fixed by any means], determiners form the paradigm . Science fiction may be the finest, factual form of English literature.
In many ways, science fiction is a much more difficult type of literature to write; it puts severe demands on the author than does the conventional story- partly BECAUSE it is not conventional. It is , many times , the author’s aim to communicate to the reader the emotional attitudes entailed in an entirely different set of conventions– a task sometimes beyond the author’s ability, and many times beyond the ability of the average American citizen to grasp.
Oriented from birth in a culture that holds certain values as NATURAL OF COURSE TRUTHS BEYOND QUESTION , a story deliberately based on a culture which holds other truths is going to cause considerable mind stretching ….the list is long…Corbett documentaries ….and most modern, post WW2, as evidenced by the stories found in mass media don’t enjoy mind–stretching new viewpoints……
So, can science fiction be like text books, essays, ect. – for fun, for entertainment? It’s not your summer-vacation-snooze type of fun. It’s more like the roller-coaster or mountain climbing type, it presents a real mental challenge. It demands active participation–not spectator type watch–what–those–characters–are–doing. Some science fiction requires flexibility, the ability and willingness to stretch muscles, and twist yourself into unusual positions in getting to truth, where the author is trying to go. This equal flexibility of Science fiction is not just a matter of gadgets and new machines– it’s equally, a problem of human attitudes and emotions, some of which, seems, at first once-over-lightly, imposible. That NOBODY could believe such things.! That NOBODY with an intelligence could accept such attitudes…Are you coming? No pun intended.
Well, history shows that the actual range of what– people–can–accept without the slightest trouble is rather more extensive than our current culture [1960–2025] acknowledges.
The first non-school book I ever read was Earth Abides by George Stewart in 1954 when I was 12 years old. Hooked me on sci fi forever through my 30’s.
Ironically I lived in Berkeley in 1968 near the flatland that his negro wife was from in the book.
From The Well Of Souls to Stranger in a Strange Land, like mini acid trips. One book’s story was men and women disappeared from each other’s reality and they eventually communicated using a pyramid structure in their living room. Another, Gray Beard was the title I believe where people were unable to reproduce and at the end the protagonist is in a canoe or boat and they hear a baby crying close by…
No bling, no killing, no flashing lights, etc. Just great writing that took/takes people on wonderful journey’s into their imagination. Very different perspective from today’s nonsense or need for eye candy.
Here we are I a linear time still promoting the same ‘ol same’ol game being played out on humanity. Have we gotten anywhere? Let’s see…65 years or more and what is being presented? Right here right know? Same ‘ol same ‘ol it appears. Let’s point out a few. Thanks to authors Lloyd Biggle Jr. (1960) and Damon Knight (1959). This may sound familiar.
1959
There are fewer and fewer people that have to be put away in madhouses– not because of any improvements in therapy, but because the analog/ digital techniques are getting better and better. The guy who would have been hopelessly insane fifty years ago now has a little man inside his head, steering him around, making him act normal. On the outside he IS normal; inside, he’s a raving madman . Worse still, the guy who would have been just a little cracked fifty years ago– and gotten treatment for it– is now just as mad as the first guy. It doesn’t matter any more. We could all be maniacs, and the world would go on just as before.
Well, it’s a peaceful world , anyhow. Sure it is or will be, but…No war, no murders, no theft, no crime at all. That’s because everyone of them has to have a policeman inside his skull. Action begets action in psychiatry as well as in physics. A prison is a place to get out of , if it takes you a lifetime. Push one plunger down , another will rise. Because there’s no escape from the repression of the Guardians ( old NWO) except a further retreat into insanity. And eventually point is reached where no amount of treatment can help. What are they going to do then?
What’s new under the non- spinning sun?
Thanks E.J. hope we can grasp what you mean wisdom..
Somehow I just don’t understand why you “replied” to me when nothing was about me or what I said. You could have just posted another comment hey?
>>Thanks E.J. hope we can grasp what you mean wisdom..>>
???
E.J.
I’m replying to you now. Before, as I was submitting this essay above in two parts as It is rather long or a bit windy. I was avoiding the Umpires call of too many characters in any one comment… And getting a delay of game call. Between the posting of the first and the typing of the second , you responded to the first.and the order of reply and response got out of order. Truly a one in a million coincidence. It’s truly all your fault . The umpire is calling a balk on you and I am now proceeding to first .
Your antidotal story contains an intrinsic wisdom, shaped by age, time in the games and experiences. Experiences form our world views. The spotlight is awfully brite right now and the glare is blinding our insights as to how we begin, ascend to the midlife and age out with our dignity intact… Play ball !!!
Perhaps some discipline on your need to use so many words could be looked at? 🙂
Back in the day my lead guitarist sent a post card from some place he was at on vacation and this was printed on the front:
“Forge simple words children can understand” as inspiration to my song writing but…
If someone self-publishes a book, and someone named in the book sues for defamation, can the print shop be held liable?
Aw
Generally no.
Very cool episode. Great to have Tom-Oliver Regenauer on again – one of the best voices in the alternative media here in Germany! Weiter so 🙂
I also agree, that self-publishing is a very cost-efficient way of spreading analog (and also digital) media – me and my band have been doing that with our music – however it’s much harder to get a broad impact without certain platforms/distributors. Those are, unfortunately, usually not very open to certain topics and viewpoints, that oppose mainstream voices.