Archive for July, 2008

7 Common Mistakes That Stamp Unprofessional On Your Self Published Book And How To Avoid Them

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
self publishing
Earma Brown asked:


Have you joined the ranks of aspiring authors ready to take the next step to self publishing in the digital age of publishing? If so, congratulations! But wait, before you rush off to press, there are some things you should do to prepare your book for successful self-publishing. The preparation step of the self-publishing process includes everything you need to do to your book manuscript before you deliver it to the book printer. This includes deciding your publishing goals.

For example, is your book a personal family history book that you plan to sell to a few friends and family? Or do you plan to mass-market your book to the world? After deciding your market then you should avoid the following common mistakes:

1. Failure to write a Business Plan

This is where your book publishing journey should begin. You don’t have to start with a 15-page document. But do create an outline of all the costs that you will encounter in the self-publishing process.

Outline your costs before publication, after publication and everything from the beginning costs to the shipping price of mailing a book. This is the time you decide whether you should print a small amount of books for family or set up a small publishing company by buying a block of ISBNs.

2. Failure to get ISBN Numbers.

An ISBN number is what identifies you as a book publisher. Currently, it is the only way you can be considered a self-publisher in the publishing industry. At the time of this writing, no one can give, assign or sell you ISBNs except RR Bowker, the U.S. ISBN agency.

3. Failure to invest in Book Editing.

Don’t cut corners here. Invest in your book; get it professionally edited. Copy or line editing will bring your manuscript up to professional standard. Don’t settle for just having your family member take a look at your manuscript.

4. Failure to hire a book designer for book layout.

The book layout is what structures the content of your book and makes it look like a book. Again invest in your book project; this is not the time to settle for anything less than a professional look. If your book looks sloppy, it will limit its success in the market.

5. Failure to create bound galleys for reviews.

Bound galleys, limited run book proofs, are often unedited and used to get book reviews before the publication date of your book. Also, bound galleys do not have a laminated full color cover.

6. Failure to get your book proofread.

Beginner publishers skip this step in preparing their book for publication. Professional publishers know not to skip this step. A book full of errors can cost you in sales later on–including loss of respect for your important message.

Proofreading is not the same as editing; only done after the book designer formats or lays out your book into pages. The proofreader looks at word breaks and sentence layout. Some minor corrections missed in the first line edit may also be made.

7. Failure to invest in cover design.

75% of 300 booksellers reviewed (half from independent bookstores and half from chains) recognized the look and design of the book cover as the most important part. They agreed the jacket is prime real estate for promoting a book. On that note, your book cover design has great importance. It can cause your book marketing campaign to fail or succeed. So, I encourage you to get your book cover professionally designed.

Are you ready to publish your book successfully? Did you consider all your options including a business plan and book cover design? Great! Now that you know how to set up your book for full speed ahead self-publishing, go ahead take the plunge. Don’t wait any longer. Start today. Your audience is waiting for YOUR unique message and viewpoint. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.



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Seven Ways To Sabotage Your Self Publishing Success

Saturday, July 26th, 2008
self publishing
Sanyika Calloway-boyce asked:


The book business is a billion dollar industry; however grabbing your slice of the pie will require skills far beyond simply writing well and conveying your message clearly.

So, if you’re thinking about becoming a published author read this before you power up the PC and prepare to pen a masterpiece because there are a few (17 that I’ve found) landmines to watch out for on the road to self publishing success.

Following are seven of the primary reasons many authors fail. Is your book is positioned to fly or flop?

1. Publishing books with unprofessional covers. Despite of what your Mom might have told you, people DO judge books by their covers and if your cover does not look like it was professionally designed it won’t sell as many copies as you’d hope.

Take the time and do the research on a quality cover designer who will help you bring your book cover to life professionally and affordably.

Here’s a great way to get a surge of inspiration - even if you never intend to see your book in the bookstore - go to the section in the bookstore that you would find your book and get ideas from the covers that are already there. Jot down the titles and go online to see which of them are top sellers and then model their success for your book.

2. Printing in larger quantities then they have proven they will be able to sell. The book business is more a marketing and promotion business than it is a publishing business. No matter how great your book might, you’ll face financial frustration if you blindly print 5000 copies on the “hope” that they’ll sell quickly.

Without advance marketing and pre-sales promotions it’s very easy to overestimate the initial quantity for your first order. So as soon as you have a quality cover designed you want to use that visual representation as way to promote your book, generate buzz and best of all gauge your first print run size.

3. Paying large amounts for services upfront to “save” money. Many first time authors believe that they will save money by printing a large quantity of books all at once. In fact, that is only partly true. If you print 5000 copies of your book to “save” $1.00 per copy on printing but only sell 1000 copies, you may be loosing more than you save if you haven’t factored in the additional money you need for marketing and promoting the remaining 4000 copies.

To keep your initial “savings” from actually costing you future sales, consider working with a Print-on-Demand printer that will allow you to purchase smaller quantity print runs. While it might seem like you’re paying more per copy the reality is you’re making a more financially sound business move.

4. Working without a coach or mentor. Information is great, but too much information can actually lead to inactivity. Have you ever been so blown away by a great idea that you didn’t know where to begin; so you did nothing? It happens to the best of us. That’s why most often it’s not more information that will lead to your success, but a structured plan and accountability to see it through.

Tiger Woods is arguably the world’s best golfer. He has broken records and sent golfers 20 years older packing. He’s focused and determined to win, and despite all of his success he still has a coach. His mentor isn’t necessarily a better golfer than he is, but a person who understands the game and can see things from a different vantage point to offer him tips, advice and coaching for maximum success.

5. Not testing a title before it’s printed. Often when we have a great idea we can become so attached that we loose objectivity. When I wrote my book, “Teen Money Tips: Simple Steps For Banking, Saving & Making Money” my original title idea was “Get In The Driver’s Seat: 7 Keys To Making The Most of Your Money” it was cute and cleaver but it didn’t give the reader an instant indication of what the book was actually about.

After testing the title with more than 50 potential purchasers in my target market the results were in overwhelming favor of “Teen Money Tips,” a title that I though was too boring. But I had to remember it didn’t matter what “I liked” if the intended audience wouldn’t buy it.

Boy, am I glad I listened because my market has rewarded me time and again with a steady stream of book sales!

6. Writing books they think people “should” read. The famous 12-step program operates on the sole belief that a person must first admit they have a problem before they will truly work towards recovery.

If your book addresses an issue that people “should” be concerned about, but that they don’t know about, don’t care about or are to afraid to take action on, then it might not be the best investment of your time or resources to be the first one to write the book.

Writing for established markets that have proven to be willing to pay for information and a solution to their problem will enrich your life and theirs.

7. Waiting until the book is completed to market it. I’ll admit that writing a book can seem like a single focus task, and it should be at times. But authors must never loose sight of the fact that books are written to be sold. If no one knows about, or anticipates your book’s release, then your initial sales will be low and disappointing, making it difficult to cover the initial investment and even harder to play catch-up.

Movement encourages success, and very few things guarantee movement like having advanced marketing for your book. Book announcements, virtual book tours and bundled book bonus offers are just a few things that you can do in advance to market your book and boost your bottom line.

There are many other reasons that first time authors don’t reach their full potential. I’ve been there so I understand what it’s like to be long on enthusiasm and ideas, but lacking a full understanding of all the nuances to be successful as an author. That’s why I’m passionate about helping aspiring (and even previously published) authors write, publish and promote their way to self publishing success.

By avoiding the “Seven Ways To Sabotage Your Self Publishing Success,” you’ll experience the upside of self publishing:

• Controlling your own work • Pocketing more profit • Credibility as an Author • Expert status

And many more benefits much sooner; which is the whole reason you decided to become a self published author in the first place!



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There Has Never Been a Better Time to Self Publish Your Own Books

Monday, July 14th, 2008
self publishing
Ruth Barringham asked:


The sad news for the book publishing industry is that book store sales are down. One of the biggest book publishers have recently reported that their book store sales are down by a whopping 10%! This is all scary news for publishers and most of them have already started evasive action against this down turn in sales.

Some publishing companies have already gone out of business while others have started cutting back on the number of books they publish. And even others have stopped accepting new book manuscripts altogether.

But if you were considering self publishing your own book, don’t be disheartened because all this news of lower book sales is great news for the self published author, or anyone thinking about self publishing.

You see most self published authors never see their books available through book stores, unless customers order it. Some self published authors never expect to see their books sitting on book store shelves and have still become millionaire authors.

The trend in book sales now is that more and more people are buying their books online. Online book stores will happily list self published books on their web sites because they don’t need to stock them so if they don’t make a sale then nothing is lost.

You see most self published books are sold by POD (Print On Demand). This means that unless someone specifically orders a copy of your book - through a book store or an online store - your book isn’t printed.

So self publishing through POD means that you don’t have to keep a huge stock of you books and they can be sold all over the world automatically.

But how many book sales can you get using POD publishing?

Well, that obviously depends of the popularity of your book and how well it’s marketed.

And with all the big publishing companies struggling to make sales now, you may wonder what hope there is for the self published author. And there answer is that there is more hope than ever for the self published author to prosper.

You see the problem with the big publishing houses is that they have so many overheads (stock, premises, staff, transport, etc) that they need to make huge book sales to survive. So if they publish a book they need to feel reasonably confident that they will sell tens of thousands of copies.

Whereas the self published author will be happy with less sales.

If you want to look at it as dollars and cents consider this:

If you self published a book and sold it through online book stores, libraries, etc and you sold only 2,000 copies per year. To a publishing company that would be disastrous. But to the self published author who is earning around $10 or more per book , it is good news, even with so few sales.

And if you wrote several books and sold 2,000 copies or more of each book every year, you’d be earning in excess of $100,000 a year. And remember that selling 2,000 books a year is actually very low sales, and you could easily sell twice that many.

And the more books you write, the more book you can sell. We all have favourite authors and will usually buy all the books they write. So if you could write and publish several books and build up a loyal fan base, then the number of books you could sell is unlimited.

But don’t take my word for it. Self publishing a book costs very little and is easy to do. If you know the steps to publishing a book, know which companies you can use to help you and know how to market your book with minimal effort and outlay, then you could write book after book and feel safe in the knowledge that every one of them will be published.

So take advantage of the of the currently publishing climate and start publishing all your own books.

Can you imagine how great it would be to work at home as a self published author and wave goodbye to the 9-to-5 rat race forever?



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Free Co-op Mailing Listing Service Helps Book Publishers & Self Publishers Sell Books

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
self publishing
Helen Hecker asked:


Publishers know they can save a lot of money joining others in joint or cooperative mailings. Co-op mailing is not a new concept or idea, but finding other publishers who want to mail to the same lists isn’t easy.

A free service is helping publishers sell more books through cooperative mailings with other publishers. Publishers submit listing information, as to what kind of mailing they want to do, the nature of the books or items they want to promote, and contact information. DVDs, audiobooks, CDs, software and other items work easily here too. The information is published each month free in a newsletter for entrepreneurs and publishers - ‘Helen Hecker’s Biz Hotline.’ We aren’t involved in helping with any arrangements you decide on. We only help you find others who are interested in joining with you by publishing the information in the newsletter, free.

You arrange with others and send out your fliers in co-op mailings to, for example, public libraries, independent bookstores, new age bookstores, children’s bookstores, hospitals, hospital gift shops, elementary schools, high schools, college libraries, college newspapers, colleges & universities, various departments in elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities, to medical libraries, military libraries, museums, and Christian and religion-related lists, etc.

You arrange with others and send out your press releases to daily newspapers, editors, travel columnists, health columnists, medical columnists, weekly newspapers, major magazine and trade publications in the genre field of the book - business, health, medical, disability, travel publications, etc. I’ve mailed several of my own press releases, successfully, in one business-size envelope third class ( bulk mail) for many years, promoting several of our books, videos, DVDs, titles and services and reaping a ton of orders for us in return. We’ve had thousands of write-ups -articles, items and features in many publications over the years. I think the envelopes are opened in the mail room and the editors never see the envelopes that press releases come in. Also they’ll never know if it arrived by priority mail, first class or third class (bulk) mail.

For many years I ran a sideline fee-shared cooperative mailing service to help our publishing company branch and other publishers, promote titles and sell more books through press releases to the print media (newspapers and magazines, for example) and news releases to the broadcast media (radio station talk shows, TV shows, Oprah, Today show, Good Morning America, etc.) Also we sent fliers to libraries, schools, hospitals, hospital gift shops, newspapers, independent bookstores, new age bookstores, etc.

The costs to do a co-op mailing are established by you and your co-op partners, for the amount necessary to do the mailing, then divided up and paid for well in advance of the mailing. This would include the cost of buying and printing #10 business-size envelopes, the cost of renting the labels, postage cost determined by the weight of the piece and other factors, and cost for the mailing house to do the mail out. All fliers are shipped directly to the mailing house with instructions on the box as to which mailing it’s for. The lead person gives them instructions so they know the boxes are coming.

We’ve always had good results from cooperative mailings and many others have reported they have too. Publishers need to know what markets their genres fit into. No two books or products are exactly alike. So one can’t compare the outcome for titles of books in mailings others have done, to their own titles and potential outcome.

Doing co-op mailings is a good way for book publishers, self publishers, (entrepreneurs and other types of business owners too) to distribute their press releases and fliers, and to save a lot of time and money. And this free cooperative mailing service is a good way for you to find other publishers with the same marketing goals.



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Book Marketing Tips For Self Publishers And Self Publishers-To-Be

Sunday, July 6th, 2008
self publishing
Helen Hecker asked:


If you’re already a self publisher or planning to be, you can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget - thousands have done it; be careful about your promotion and marketing dollars and don’t plunge into unknown waters — test, test, and test. It’s one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that’s saleable, viable, and marketable. In today’s publishing environment, a book’s success depends greatly on the right marketing plan.

Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book’s website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases. Send out at least 10 press releases to the print and broadcast media in your area every month. When picked up by wire services, a press release can easily end up generating hundreds of mentions for your book.

Your book press release should not be written as you would a sales letter or flier, it should be written for the editor and tell about your book in a factual way, no opinion or glowing remarks. Send out the same press release to the editor of your local daily newspaper every week until you are called for an interview or are written up. Mail a press release to at least 1000 print and broadcast contacts just prior to publishing your title and again and again after you publish; you can never send too many.

Don’t underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales. Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly.

Be your own publicist and send a press release along with a review copy of your book to publications in your book’s genre and to book review magazines. Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the women’s’ market. If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way.

It’s important to publish a website that focuses on your title; you’ll be able to refer editors and customers and all interested parties to your book information with the click of a mouse. Offer to trade writing a monthly column in a trade publication in your books’ genre, in trade for display ads on the same page. Give away one of your books in a charity raffle at a local function to get more exposure for your book.

I’ve seen publishers lose a lot of money paying for expensive display ads, so beware if you do this; I don’t advise it in the beginning — get your feet wet first so you know what you’re doing. Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing.

Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your website. Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer. Your sales letter or flier should include an eye-grabbing headline, the benefits to the buyer, the book features, book sales information and testimonials.

I’ve not found that book signings sell many books for publishers and are often a waste of time; better to spend it elsewhere. Place free ads periodically for your book’s website on Craigs List in different categories to drive even more traffic to your website. When you get a nice write up or feature about you and/or your book, have it laminated and set it up on an easel at trade shows. Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets.

The success of any book marketing effort depends on a good book and just plain hard work; its been done many times before and you can do it too. Make sure to test, test, and test some more before you lay out large sums of money. With these book marketing tips you’ll be well on your way to conquering the world of self publishing and book publishing.



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Self-publishing Vs. Co-publishing?

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
self publishing
William Dorich asked:


Self-publishing transforms a writer into an instant publishing technician. This carries the risks of simple mistakes costing thousands of dollars.

Financial risk is the main reason most publishers will not produce new titles. Publishing, like other businesses is based on profit. Some authors are willing to take the risks of financing the production of their books and do the marketing and distribution themselves. This is usually referred to as “Vanity Press.” I have designed, produced and published over 100 titles in both Self and co-publishing arrangements and self-published 5 books of my own, learning from the school of hard knocks.

Self-Publishing carries the greatest risk but also the most financial reward. Co-publishing removes those financial risks and mistakes that can be costly, therefore, the author needs to approach co-publishing understanding that they will share in the profits which are negotiable and are about a 60%-40% split with the author receiving the larger portion.

Most of the risk can be eliminated by considering co-publishing as the best option for authors who are willing to make a financial commitment and do the extra leg work on their title and to join forces with publishing professionals who will hand-hold them through the entire publishing process. Co-publishing is a more harmonious relationship in which the author participates in all of the decision-making.

The Co-publisher’s Responsibilities

The co-publisher has the experience and publishing background they are willing to share in exchange for a portion of the profits generated by your title. These professionals typically oversee supervision of copy editing, book and cover design, book packaging, printing, internet marketing, publicity, mailing and distribution—all of the important aspects that make a book a success.

Author’s Responsibilities

The first question you need to ask yourself… is your decision merely ego? If that is the case there are numerous self-publishing websites that will produce a few hundred books for $500.00 and you can pass them out to your friends and relatives.

But if you are seriously wanting to co-publish and market your title the first thing you need to do is concentrate on producing a clean double-spaced manuscript and a financial investment in the book.

The author needs to assist in defining his or her market. A list of names of experts in your field or subject who can be helpful in promoting your book is an asset. The author should determine interest groups or organizations where guest appearances can be made. A book in print opens doors that could not be opened any other way. A book can get you on talk radio and television. Researching these contacts is vital for the success of your book. As a result of a book in print, there are many situations where you can be called upon as an expert in your field. An English language version of your book leads to foreign translation rights.

I have found that each book succeeds to the degree of effort the author puts forth on his or her own behalf. Co-publishing means working in tandem, not just subsidizing production.

For more information about Self or Co-publishing visit: www.gmbooks.com, click on Do You Want to Publish…



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How To Be A Successful Self-Publisher

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
self publishing
John Abate asked:


The only way to keep up with the latest about Self-Publishing is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Self-Publishing, it won’t take long for you to become an influential authority.

Even if your best friend owns a top publishing

company, giving you an immediate “in,” this does not

guarantee publishing success.

First, you have to write a quality book that has a

clear target audience. And your book must answer a

common problem or need that audience shares. Then you

have to develop a marketing plan, and stick to it for

at least two years.

Let’s begin with the process that should commence

before you write your first word. Begin by reading A

LOT. Read both books you passionately love and books

you can’t seem to make it past page five. Then figure

out what the author did in the book you loved, and

what was wrong with in the book you couldn’t finish.

Write down these points so they are crystal clear to

you. Read other people’s books for inspiration and to

discover what you should avoid as a writer.

The next step is to plan out your book. Narrow down

your subject, and then divide it into chapters. Each

chapter should address a specific aspect of the

problem your book is going to solve. In each chapter,

break the specific aspect down into several parts.

This will help your readers take in your information a

bit at a time instead of overwhelming them with every

bit of information clogging up the pages until they

feel like they’re about to go blind. It’s not quite

spoon-feeding the information to your readers, but

it’s close.

The next two steps are obvious. Write your book and

then revise it. And then revise it again. And perhaps

again. Of course, writing is extremely hard, and

writing a book can seem like an impossible task. There

are many books out there that give you guidelines to

help you become familiar – and even love – the process

of writing and revision. Find a number of books about

writing. Better yet, find a number of books about

writing the specific type of book you aspire to write.

These can serve as roadmaps on your writing journey.

Once you’ve written your ebook and revised it at least

twice, show it to someone else whose opinion you

respect. If you’re lucky enough to know a good editor,

see if you have something to barter for him or her to

go through your manuscript. Or join a writing group

and let the other members critique your work.

Then take all these ideas from other people, and

revise your manuscript one last time. And then stop!

Put down that pen! Get your hands off the keyboard!

One of the most important steps to actually producing

a book is to know when to stop writing and tinkering

with it.

You’ve finally written your ebook! Pop open the

bubbly! Give yourself a night out on the town!

Okay, now that this necessary celebration is out of

your system, what do you do next?

How to turn your ebook into Profits

If you base what you do on inaccurate information, you might be unpleasantly surprised by the consequences. Make sure you get the whole Self-Publishing story from informed sources.

Ebooks are a revolutionary way to publish your book

without incurring the costs of print production. All

you need is a relevant and targeted subject and some

inexpensive software, and you can transform your

manuscript into a book.

The problem, in terms of actually seeing any profits

from your ebook, is that the market is overwhelmed

with ebooks, and many of them are not worth the time

it takes to download them. Just because the ability

exists to easily produce an ebook, doesn’t make it

good writing.

Make sure your book does not simply rehash old

material. You will injure your credibility as an

author by claiming to offer valuable new insights and

disappointing your audience with material they’ve read

a zillion times before. So spend enough time writing

and revising your book to make sure it’s of the

highest quality and presents the most current

information. A good book will eventually sell itself;

false claims about your book will make it extremely

difficult to sell any future books you may write.

Assuming you have determined that you do indeed have a

quality product that answers some question or need of

your target audience with NEW information, how do you

know how much to charge for it? Rule number 1: Set a

price for your book equal to its value. An

under-priced book will only give the impression that

your book isn’t worth very much.

To figure out a fair price, estimate how much time you

put into creating it and how difficult it was to

transform the necessary information into

understandable and engaging writing. Figure out how

much your time and effort is worth, and then price it

accordingly. The goal is for you to be adequately

compensated for your talent, your time, and your

effort.

Once you’ve figured out a price that is high enough to

convey the value of the book, but not so high as to be

out of the reach of your target audience’s mean

budget, then it’s time to offer it for sale on your

website. To attract sales, you will need to develop a

promotional campaign, particularly if you are an

unknown author.

There are multitudes of books about self-promotion

that will guide you in your efforts. Choose a plan

that is both creative and professional. Learn how to

write a catchy yet informative press release, and send

copies of your ebook to sites that specialize in ebook

reviews.

Learn how to write powerful sales copy, or hire

someone to write it for you. This is an essential. You

absolutely need excellent sales copy to sell your

book. Make sure the copy includes all the reasons your

target audience needs your book, and the benefits they

will derive from buying it.

Use graphics in your promotional materials. Beautiful

graphics have the power to instantly convey the

quality and value of your ebook. Graphics can also

convey the amount of valuable information the book

contains, and your careful attention to detail.

Professional graphics sell professional books. They

reassure the customer that the product is what it

claims to be.

Consider excerpting chapters for articles. You can

offer these tidbits for free on your website as a sort

of demo of your book. Include an order form for your

ebook at the end of the excerpted articles.

Finally, when you set-up your download link, make sure

to simplify the process. It’s a good idea to offer a

few bonuses that make your book even more enticing to

purchase, but make sure the bonuses are valuable and

high quality. Too many bonuses that are basically a

load of useless stuff will compromise the impression

your audience has of your ebook. The goal is to convey

to your audience that they are getting a quality

product for a good deal. That means applying

restraint, especially when it comes to adding bonus

items. Too much free stuff offered diminishes your

credibility.

Make sure your book is a quality product. Make sure it

is relevant and current. Develop an effective

marketing plan that includes excellent sales copy and

excerpted articles. Then offer your book for sale, and

wait for your audience to discover you!

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about Self-Publishing.



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