Tag: self-publishing

 
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Simple Steps Lead To Successful Books

Like most first time authors, I figured that once the word was out that I’d written a book, the world would beat a path to my door wanting to buy it. I’ll admit I gave little thought to marketing until the day my first printing of Handbook To A Happier Life was delivered. In a panic, I called a published author I knew and asked, “What do I do now?” She suggested several books about book marketing, which I bought immediately. I was on my way.

Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)

Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.

The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That’s important. Consistent action will make all the difference.

There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed “Handbook To A Happier Life” and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.

I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action – keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!

The Best Business Card You Ever Had

“Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card.” That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.

Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.

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Consider Self Publishing in Ebook Format

Today, more than every before authors are presented with publishing opportunities that have never existed before. This is not to understate the hard work that authors have to go through to get recognition, write great books, and make a full time living from their passion of expression. However, it is to say that today, due to advances in communications technology, authors can now get their books distributed much easier than they could a decade ago. One very popular way that authors are distributing their work is digitally through ebooks. Digital books are gaining so much popularity that even some of the most popular authors in the world have used it to distribute their books. Stephen King for example published ìRiding the Bulletî exclusively in ebook format. When this ebook began distribution over Barns and Nobel and Amazon.com there was so much demand for the download that the servers of these two book giants slowed down almost to a halt. People that wanted to download the ebook were put in a large queue with the hundreds of thousands of other who downloaded the ebook as well.

Itís not only big name authors that are finding success in ebooks. We at Ebook Architect have been helping authors create, market and sell their ebooks online for years now with great success. Many of these people are first time authors and are often amazed with the success of their ebook sales. Below are some of their ebook writing tips.

Donít underestimate the power of the Ebook

Ebooks are still looked upon as unpopular by many authors who have not yet taken the time to learn about the success within this industry. For example, while the traditional publishing industry growing at the sluggish rate of 5% a year the digital publishing industry is growing at rates between 30% -50%. This means that the opportunities within the publishing industry are growing at a fraction of the rate that opportunities within the digital publishing industry are growing.

To set up an ebook you donít need to be a tech wizard

Setting up your ebook from the idea conceptualization stage to the selling stage canít be completed overnight but it is definitely something that can be done by anyone regardless of your technological background. If you can use a word processor then you can create and sell an ebook online. While it is recommended you set up your own website, it is not necessary. There are outlets such as amazon.com, EBay and Lulu.com to name only a few sites that allow you to post your ebook on their servers.

Setting up an Ebook site is virtually costless and you keep 100% of the profits

With traditional publishers youíll be lucky to see 10% of the profits from your book. With ebooks however, you keep 100% of the profits minus the fees required to set up the site which are minimal. Here is the fee breakdown for ebooks vs traditional books

Ebook vs Book cost
Ebook = Free to create an unlimited number of copies
Book = Approximately $1500 for 200 copies of a 200 page soft cover book

Rights and profit
Ebook = You keep 100% of the profits and rights to your ebooks
Book = You get 10-40% royalty (usually about $2-$5/ book)

With the above examples it is easy to see that for first time authors ebooks make a lot of sense. The risk associated with publishing an ebook is much lower than it is with distributing a soft or hard cover book. Likewise, as an ebook author youíll keep virtually all of your own profits.

If nothing else, it is something worth consideration. Ebooks may not replace traditional paperback books, but they certainly are gaining popularity at a rate that should make all authors stop to think about how they could use ebooks to their advantage.

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Book Shepherds: Who are they? What do they do? Should you hire one?

A new breed of publication consultants has grown up right alongside the flourishing self-publishing population to serve as guidance counselors through each phase of the complicated process. Though self-publishing is largely considered a DIY endeavoróhence the designation self-publishingóthere may be many advantages to using a professional book shepherd (as book consultants have been dubbed by self-publishing guru Dan Poynter) that makes hiring one well worthy of consideration.

As anyone who’s courageously ventured into the arena of self-publishing knowsóor soon willóthereís much more involved in the process than simply sending your manuscript off to a printer, dropping off review copies at a handful of bookstores, and kicking back and waiting for the revenues to roll in. ‘

To the uninitiated author journeying alone, the critical decisions that need to be made along the way can be overwhelming, frustrating, and even downright daunting.

Fortunately, a new breed of publication consultants has grown up right alongside the flourishing self-publishing population to serve as guidance counselors through each phase of the complicated process. Though self-publishing is largely considered a DIY endeavoróhence the designation self-publishingóthere may be many advantages to using a professional book shepherd (as book consultants have been dubbed by self-publishing guru Dan Poynter) that makes hiring one well worthy of consideration.

But, just what exactly is a book shepherd? In practice, many of the professional services book shepherds provide include either direct assistance with or advice on cover and interior book design, manuscript editing, printer brokering, forms filing, production, distribution, marketing, and publicity. Some shepherds work within fully staffed one-stop firms that will ferry your book through production and beyond; others work autonomously and will often refer you to experts in the areas they don’t handle.

The Benefits of Hiring a Book Shepherd

”Collaborating with a good book shepherd can increase your chances for publishing successóin more ways than you might think. here’s a bit of a misconception about what a book shepherd does, says Ellen Reid of Smarketing-Infinite Possibilities, hat itís all about book production. Thatís a component of what we do, but itís not the entire reason to hire a book shepherd. ‘

Reid likens her consulting approach to playing the role of a creative director at an ad agency or the producer of a film, and she revels in the creative aspect of her job. First, she assembles a creative team of resources for each of her clientsóa copywriter, an editor, and a cover and interior designeróthen she oversees every aspect of design, production, and distribution.

Book shepherds can save authors time and keep them from making the major mistakes that self-publishing rookies are apt to make. elf-publishing is not a simple business, says Simon Warwick-Smith, president of Warwick Associates and former senior VP of marketing for a large U.S. book distributor, nd people can either spend a few years learning about it, or they can go to someone who’s been there who can tell them what to do.

‘Cynthia Frank, book consultant and president of Cypress House, who has 20 years’ experience in the business, shares Warwick-Smithís philosophy and uses a similar approach. Frank asks her clients to describe their definition of publishing success so that she can help them reach that levelówhether itís achieving a good sales ranking on Amazon.com or using their first book as a stepping stone to a traditional publishing contract. Next she asks her authors to perform a self-assessment, honestly representing their weaknesses and strengths regarding aspects of the business, so she can formulate a comprehensive plan that will align their definition of success with the concrete steps to making it happen. ‘

‘If my client is not good at marketing, for example, and all of his capital is tied up in inventory, says Frank, hen there’s no money left over for marketing, and heís heading for trouble. I help my clients see where theyíre coming up short in the planning stages.’

Book shepherds also help their clients get up to speed quickly on the ins and outs of self-publishing. here’s so much jargon in our industry, and if somebody is just starting out, their eyes will be spinning in their head, says Frank. e explain the different registrations and distribution methods and help them decide whether their books should be sold in bookstores, specialty shops, or gift and stationery stores, for example.”

Planning ahead, experts agree, is of the utmost importance. Self-publishing is, in effect, a small business, and it deserves to be treated as such right from the start. Most shepherds strongly advise authors to prepare a formal business plan for a self-publishing venture before they even begin writing the manuscript. ftentimes we see people go into self-publishing with no more forethought than they would use to order a meal at a fancy restaurant, says Frank.

Sometimes, too, a book shepherd has connections and proven strategies that can benefit the aspiring author. ‘ve developed relationships with national distributors, says book shepherd Gail Kearns of To Press and Beyond, nd if the product is great and the price is right, I can usually get the books into the hands of distributors. We also have some creative ideas for marketing that donít cost a lot of money. ‘

In essence, a good book shepherd can save an author time, money, headaches, andóone hopesódisappointment.

How to Get the Most from a Book Shepherding Session

But don’t plan on using a book shepherd to hold your hand every step of the wayóunless of course, your pocketbook is bursting at the seams. With hourly rates ranging from approximately $50 to $150 and up, depending on the services you use, the fees can pile up quickly and eat up a good chunk of your budget.

It’s much more prudent to do a lot of homework up front, advises Barbara Denise Files, author of two self-published books including her latest, Ballet Secrets for Skaters: How to Hone Your Artistic Competitive Edge.

‘Files enjoyed a positive experience working with book shepherd Marilyn Ross, co-founder of Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN), and she attributes much of the collaboration’s success to the fact that she did a lot of research before she even called Ross. didnít just pick up the phone and say, ëYou know, I think I might want to write a book,í Files says. ‘

After formulating a business plan, Files did a background check on her prospective coach by monitoring her newsletters and submitting some questions to Ross via the internet. Satisfied that Ross really knew her stuff, Files gathered her materialsóa mission statement, some demographic information she’d compiled on her target audience, and ideas for how to serve themóand developed some specific questions for Ross to answer during their consulting session: Should she write one book, or should she divide her information into a series? How could she best market her niche publication? How many copies should she have printed in the first run? And the all-important: What should the title be?

For Files, using a coach enabled her to make better-educated choices: hen you’re a self-publishing author, there are a lot of crucial decisions you have to make, Files says. book shepherd acts like a sounding board and using one gives you access to professional feedback.

In order to make your book shepherding experience cost-effective, Files recommends networking with other self-publishers on Internet forums, joining writers’ clubs, taking a class, and reading books on self-publishing so you can learn the rules of the road before hiring a consultant. ake the call only after you have a specific plan and specific questions to ask, says Files, otherwise, youíre going to end up spending a lot of money and time asking basic questions without receiving much direction on your project. ‘

Working with a book shepherd is like most experiences in life, according to Files, who says, he more you put into it ahead of time, the more you’ll get out of it.

Shepherds’ Tips on Self-Publishing Success

‘1. elf-publishing is an expensive business that has an all-or-nothing aspect to it. I don’t recommend trying to publish on a shoestring. If you canít afford to do it right, just donít do it. (Simon Warwick-Smith)’

‘2. irst I tell my authors that it’s critically important to plan ahead. There are 120,000 new books per year on the market, a market that is glutted with books, and one needs to know how to approach that. Donít think about marketing, sales, and promotion after youíve printed your book; get expert help on the cover, the content, and the page design. (Simon Warwick-Smith) ‘

3. ire a professional book cover designer. The cover is hugely important real estateóit has to scan well into black and white, it has to have integrity at 1Ω inches tall, it has to be clear at 10 feet tall, and it has to fit into its genre and stand out in quality. (Cynthia Frank)

4. pproach your book-publishing venture like you would a business plan: Plan out what you are going to do yourself and what you are going to hire others to do. I don’t think itís a good idea to do everything yourselfÖor to hire everything out. (Cynthia Frank) ‘

5. The look and feel and the copywriting on the cover are the most critical components. They speak for the author and give the book its best chance for success. (Ellen Reid)

6. If you’re really going out there to play in this $2.2-billion industry, youíve got to have the same level of product that the traditional publishing houses put out. (Ellen Reid) ‘

7. If you do it all yourself, your book will look like you did it all yourself. (Patty Weckbaugh of Casa Graphics)

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