Michael Grass House 

What is micropublishing?

Micropublishing is a lean style of book creation. It takes advantage of all the new self-publishing tools available to create marketable books. It focuses only on places where books sell without incurring costs -- on Amazon (and similar online book venders), on Kindle (and similar ebook venders), and on the author's face-to-face sales. 

Micropublishing avoids the old brick-and-mortar bookstores. Even best-sellers get only six weeks on a bookstore shelf before their covers are ripped off and they're shipped back to the warehouse -- with all the associated costs subtracted from the author's royalties. 

Micropublishing avoids inventory. Instead of printing thousands of books that fill up the author's garage, it uses print-on-demand printers that are automatically linked to major distributors. Books get printed just as they sell. Moreover, the quick turnaround and lack of inventory mean that authors can revise and update their books whenever they need to. Books never go out of print because they're not "in print." 

Micropublishing is fast. Where old-style publishers take about two years to get a book to market, micropublishers can do it in as little as two weeks. 

Micropublishing keeps your costs down. You pay only for the services you need. There are no gimmicky bookmarks, sell-sheets, and fridge magnets. There are no distribution contracts. There are no services for getting your books into stores. There are no cheques or stamps. All payments are electronic.

Micropublishing saves all the profits for the author. You split the profits with nobody.

Micropublishing is not vanity publishing. Vanity publishers imitate traditional publishers. They control the process, limit the author's choices, and take a huge chunk of the profits. Vanity publishers try to sell the dream of becoming famous. Micropublishing is about authors simply and inexpensively getting their books out for sale.  

Romance novel uploaded to Kindle in January 2011. By January 2012, it had sold 18,000 copies.

Illustrated book for special needs youth uploaded to Amazon has become a classic with occupational therapists.

Why should you publish a book?

• to deal once and for all with rejection letters from publishers
• to add to your website or resume
• to share your professional expertise 
• to further your career
• to raise your status in your profession
• to give your writers group some goals and projects
• to share your stories and memories
• to sell products at events
• to make part-time income

Who should publish a book?

• fiction writers with polished but rejected manucripts
• young workers eager to find a way to stand out from the pack
• business owners and self-employed professionals wanting to showcase their abilities
• retired professionals with a lifetime of expertise that needs to be shared
• caring-sector professionals who want to give their clients a voice

What works as a micropublished book?

• genre fiction (e.g., young adult, romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, comedy, mixed-genre)
• how-to and professional books
• training manuals and guidebooks
• inspirational fiction
• niche cookbooks
• children's chapter book series
• life skills books
• any book that targets a niche market that mainstream publishers ignore

How to get started

Please inquire by email or telephone first and tell us a little about your book. Provide any or all of the following:

• a brief synopsis of your book (or idea, if it's not written yet)
• a table of contents (for nonfiction books)
• a description of your target audience and market
• your goals with this book
• a description of what you need from Michael Grass House (e.g., publishing, editing, layout, a presentation to your writers group, etc.).