VictorDLopez

Although I have published seven college textbooks to date as well as trade books on computer software through traditional publishers, I have never tried to publish my short fiction or poetry through traditional publishers because of the limited size of the market, judging it a poor use of my time to try to query small presses and magazines. Consequently, although my poetry and short fiction has appeared in some college literary magazines and two anthologies (the latter or questionable merit), I opted to self-publish three books of short stories, individual short tories and a book of poems as an indie author. These were fun experiments and a useful learning process. I also self-published two general reference works on intellectual property though I had a contact offer from a traditional publisher for the first book as well--mostly because I wanted to offer the books at one-fifth the cost that the traditional publisher would have charged. And these have actually sold fairly well considering I do no paid advertising to speak of for any of them (other than occasional free book giveaways).  
          	
          	I actually regret self-publishing my science fiction short stories as I believe I could have had them published through a traditional publisher if I had simply been willing to put the time and effort into sending out the required queries and waiting months on end for a response. Once self-published, no major publisher will touch them as reprints, which is unfortunate because I think they could have found a market. 
          	
          	Recently I completed my first novel which had been on my back burner for more than a decade. Now I am in the process of querying agents which itself can take months to obtain a response and will delay publication by at least a year. Most traditional publishers no longer accept direct queries from unagented authors for fiction (some that do are vanity presses masquerading as small presses). I miss the freedom of self-publishing. I'll try to build my patience reserves.

VictorDLopez

Although I have published seven college textbooks to date as well as trade books on computer software through traditional publishers, I have never tried to publish my short fiction or poetry through traditional publishers because of the limited size of the market, judging it a poor use of my time to try to query small presses and magazines. Consequently, although my poetry and short fiction has appeared in some college literary magazines and two anthologies (the latter or questionable merit), I opted to self-publish three books of short stories, individual short tories and a book of poems as an indie author. These were fun experiments and a useful learning process. I also self-published two general reference works on intellectual property though I had a contact offer from a traditional publisher for the first book as well--mostly because I wanted to offer the books at one-fifth the cost that the traditional publisher would have charged. And these have actually sold fairly well considering I do no paid advertising to speak of for any of them (other than occasional free book giveaways).  
          
          I actually regret self-publishing my science fiction short stories as I believe I could have had them published through a traditional publisher if I had simply been willing to put the time and effort into sending out the required queries and waiting months on end for a response. Once self-published, no major publisher will touch them as reprints, which is unfortunate because I think they could have found a market. 
          
          Recently I completed my first novel which had been on my back burner for more than a decade. Now I am in the process of querying agents which itself can take months to obtain a response and will delay publication by at least a year. Most traditional publishers no longer accept direct queries from unagented authors for fiction (some that do are vanity presses masquerading as small presses). I miss the freedom of self-publishing. I'll try to build my patience reserves.

VictorDLopez

I have always been concerned about the high cost of college textbooks since publishing my first textbook in 1993. The problem has only gotten worse over the past three decades as publishers merged and competition was stifled. I published an article in a peer-reviewed academic journal more than a decade ago on the subject, detailing the reasons and possible solutions relating to curbing high textbook costs, including some government efforts at regulation that came to naught. (See “Legislating Relief for the High Cost of College Textbooks: a Brief Analysis of the Current Law and its   implication for Students, Faculty and the Publishing Industry” Journal of Legal Studies in Business, Vol. 15  (2009).) 
          
          A major consideration for me in selecting my current textbook publisher, Textbook Media Press, was their willingness to offer quality textbooks at a fraction of their competitor' prices. Consequently, the third editions of my Business Law: An Introduction (1st. edition originally published by Irwin/Mirror Press and then McGraw-Hill) is currently selling from $39.95 to $64.95 in various print and electronic versions( (C) 2020). And my more comprehensive Business Law and the Legal Environment of Business, Third Edition, is selling from $39.95 - $74.95 in a variety of online and print versions (C) 2017). A companion textbook  for use in short-courses, HR training and as a supplement to all traditional business law/legal environment courses, A Primer on Immigration Law and Compliance, sells for the unheard of price from a major textbook publisher of $5.95 - $11.95 in either eBook or paperback versions ((C) 2019). All include instructors’ manuals and test banks. In comparison, the competing textbooks most widely used in colleges and universities for business law and legal environment courses sell for around $250. Alas, the low price precludes the use of armies of sales representatives to personally push my titles to colleagues who adopt them largely through word of mouth.

VictorDLopez

Good Afternoon,
          
          If anyone is interested, Book of Dreams and Of Pain and Ecstasy are now both available through Smashwords until July 31 in any eBook format for 25% off. You can find the appropriate coupon codes by clicking on either book through my profile there at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/VictorDLopez (The discounts do not apply to books purchased through Amazon or other retailers--only through Smashwords.)
          
          Although my Intellectual property book is not available through Smashwords, the soft cover version of the book is available through the end of July at 30% off the current $16.95 list price through CreateSpace. (The book is available at https://www.createspace.com/3646606). The  coupon code for the 30% discount at checkout is K4GW7HNM.
          
          Please note that the 30% discount code for the Intellectual Property book is only valid for books ordered through CreateSpace and not through Amazon, Barnes and Noble or or any other retailer. (I have no way to provide discount codes other than through CreateSpace  and expanded distribution retailers can set their own price.) The discount can be applied to any quantity of books purchased through CreateSpace at this time. 
          
          Have a wonderful summer everyone.