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First, I'd call Author Solutions a conglomeration of subsidy presses: There's always a significant upfront charge, and there's frequently a suggestion that you're getting more traditional support than you actually do.

Second, while I'm certain that it's true that most self-published books sell fewer than 150 copies, it's equally true that most Big Six books never earn out their advances.

Third, maybe more important: Many--possibly most--self-published books, especially those created using true zero-cost support systems (Lulu and CreateSpace), may not be intended to sell lots of copies. (OK, so I do have a book on this, The Librarian's Guide to Micropublishing, from ITI, a traditional publisher.) In fact, Lulu's founder's motto has been "We don't want to sell a million copies of a hundred books, we want to sell a hundred copies of a million books."

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