Publishing Pro

Marketing Tip: Define Your Sub-Culture

2011-12-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

Focus, focus, focus: Rookie authors have a tendency to think their books are for "everyone." This is a mistake. If your book is for everyone, you won't know who you are writing for or where to aim your limited marketing efforts. To counterbalance this, I teach my customers to define their "reader" as an individual (or a couple or a family) in great detail. This helps authors focus their books, which helps them in both the writing and marketing phases of the project. I use the example of Senator Charles E. Schumer, who (I learned somewhere) has defined a fictional family of four as his target constituent. He knows the names of each member of the family, their ages, their interests, their occupations, and their schools. He knows where they live, what their house looks like, and the family income. Thus, he always knows who he is working for. It's a great concept.

Robbyn D. Wood, a fellow artist at the Cottonwood Center for Arts in Colorado Springs, suggests a slight expansion of this concept, at least for the marketing stage. She suggests that authors define a "subculture" they are trying to reach, a concept than can help fiction authors as much as non-fiction authors. The idea is to reach out to this subculture--by getting members of the target subculture to preview the book, for example--in hopes of creating a buzz within the subculture. The buzz then has a chance to expand within the subculture--and to spiral out to related subcultures--and help the book. For example, one of our customers is working on a historical fantasy about the origins of the Celtic people. With this concept in mind, the author might start with a subculture of people who play or enjoy Celtic music, study Celtic culture, or feel drawn to Celtic culture. This could spiral out to a larger category of people drawn to Irish, Welsh, or Scottish culture. It's focused but expansive. I'm giving it more thought.--The Publishing Pro

Why Successful Authors Need to Be Great Speakers

2011-12-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

A Toastmasters Event: I'll be moderating a panel discussion called "Why Successful Authors Need to Be Great Speakers" on January 13, 12:05 to 1:05 PM, at Penrose Library, 20 N. Cascade, in Colorado Springs. It's the main feature of a regular (though offsite) meeting of Downtown Toastmasters and includes the following panelists:

Cynthia Nimerichter, motivational speaker and author of Related by Marriage: Delicious Domestic Days
Barry Thomsen, author of many books, most recently The Smart Guide for Business Startups, and member of Currently Speaking Toastmasters Club
John Tubiolo, marketing consultant for Mother's House Publishing, sales trainer and performance coach, and author of three books, including Successful Selling Made Simple.

The public, especially current and wanna-be authors, are encouraged to attend.--The Publishing Pro.

What I Learned from Publishing My Own Book

2011-12-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Part I: I wrote From Rome to Jerusalem: A Non-Jew on the Way because I had something to say, but I also wanted to use it as a laboratory of sorts. First of all, I wanted to learn if what I tell my clients makes sense, is useful, and works. Second, I wanted to use my book to test some services I had not experienced before. Here's what I have learned so far:

Build your Table of Contents before You Begin to Write: For years, I've advised authors to write from a coherent table of contents. It worked for me. I skipped around a bit, but a working table of contents enabled me to do that without getting confused. Having the structure in place before I began enabled me to know where I was and how far I had to go. The final table of contents was a bit different than the original, but 90 percent of it was what I started with.

Don't Get Hung up on Copy Editing your First Draft: I'm a notorious self editor, but I was able to drop my perfectionism and complete a credible if imperfect first draft fairly quickly.

Use a Blog to Get Early Feedback: I created a book blog to test the waters. The first thing I did was create a "Contents" page, which contained my (surprise) Table of Contents. Then I added the first draft of each chapter, one by one, to the main page and linked it to the Contents page. In this way, early readers could peruse the entire book. I didn't get as much feedback as I would have liked, but the structure worked great. I still like a blog, with pages added, as the starter website for many of my customers. A blog is free and it's easy for Do-It-Yourselfers. Once I published the book (on Smashwords), I unlinked the chapters (which were now two or three versions back) from the Contents page. The blog is still there, and I intend to use it for news and comment about the book.

Links on the Blog Version Were Counter-productive: The book needed a glossary. Because you can, I suppose, I linked the appropriate words on the text to the glossary. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but Smashwords advises not using too many links on ebooks, which meant I had to unlink the words from the glossary. My effort here was wasted. At least, I learned how to global de-link my files in Word. That was useful.

Smashwords Has a Good System: Smashwords seems to have its act together. The two books, the Smashwords Style Guide and The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide are invaluable. The latter is useful, even if you're not publishing with them. The downloads are free. I like their business model. They charge nothing for setup, taking a distribution instead. Some authors might prefer competitors who do the reverse, charging for setup but taking no distribution, but the Smashwords approach means they have a stake in helping authors sell their books. I like that.

Setup Takes Some Doing: Some people claim that setting up an ebook, especially in the ePub format, takes just a click. Not from what I've seen. It takes a bit of work, though the work is more in the nature of simplifying a file rather than making it more sophisticated. With that said, a DIYer can prepare files for Smashwords with the help of the Smashwords Style Guide.

Planning Helps: With my current equipment, it appears that preparing a book for Smashwords first may be more efficient from an editing/production point of view than preparing a book for print first. This depends some on the book; books with complicated formatting may not be eligible for Smashwords at all. And it depends upon software. More recent versions of InDesign have a "export to digital editions" feature that makes it relatively easy, though not seamless, to move a book from print formatting to ePub formatting.

And that's what I know so far. More later. The Publishing Pro.

You're an Author? You're an Expert.

2011-11-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

So do something about it: Join HARO (help-a-reporter-online), a free service that emails you summaries of what reporters are working on and what experts they want to interview. They email a long list of summaries three times a day, so be prepared to clean your inbox. Also, make sure your service isn't treating the dispatches as Spam, as Gmail did for me. Thanks to The Smashwords Book Marketing Guide for the tip. Even if that's all that were the only tip in it, it would qualify as a "best buy." (It's a free download.)--The Publishing Pro..

Our Smashwords Experiment Continues.

2011-11-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

From Rome to Jerusalem now available: Our test of Smashwords is moving right along. My memoir, From Rome to Jerusalem: A Non-Jew on the Way is now available from Smashwords for $9.95. You can also sample 20% of the book before buying (or not buying).

Book Publishing Faced a Fork in the Road ...

2011-11-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

... and went both ways: It is interesting to watch how eBooks are evolving. On one hand, eBooks are turning into multimedia items that soon will not resemble books at all. In fact, they won't be. Amazon's latest Kindle (Fire) has become more than a book reader. It is in fact a cheap competitor to the iPad with the ability to process a variety of entertainment and educational formats. Books now have a tendency to become, well, movies. On the other hand, the very complexity of migrating material into various eBook formats has led to entrepeneurial businesses like Smashwords and Bookbaby, which are making text-heavy files (read: books) almost stupidly easy to produce and distribute. Thus, there could be more text-heavy books--such as novels and non-fiction works with simple format--than there have ever been before. This is a continuing irony. Even as the traditional book business--with its traditional publishers, traditional printers, and traditional bookstore distribution--seems to be collapsing, more titles than ever are being published. That's all thanks to technology, both the tools that make professional preparation easier and the ones that make delivery of the content more efficient and less risky. If you've got a lot of nerve, this is a great time to be in publishing. The Publishing Pro, LLC

New Service Coming from The Publishing Pro

2011-10-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

eBook Preparation for Smashwords.com: Publishing Pro will soon be helping authors prepare their books for Smashwords.com, a publishing and distribution platform for eBooks. We have chosen to work with Smashwords, at least for the time being, because they have been in business since May 2008 (an eternity in this business) and because their publishing model allows you to build one file, a somewhat simplified Word file, that their software converts to usable files for the various eBook devices and platforms (iPhone, iPod Touch, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, among others). Having to format individual files for all of these outfits is a burden that only large publishers can tolerate.

The downside of Smashwords, and similar providers, is that the process works best for books with simple formats: novels or non-fiction books without graphics or complicated typography. Still, this covers quite a bit of territory.

In general, authors need to get used to the idea that they do not control how their eBooks appear to customers. That's because eBooks, with the exception of those in the PDF format, are more like websites than books in that appearances are determined more by the device and the user than by the author, publisher, or printer. (This is why printed books will still have their place.)

Smashwords does take a percentage of any sales, though a reasonable one. Competitors--Bookbaby.com, for example--take no percentage but make their money by charging authors for file preparation, corrections and changes, and other services. Both approaches have their advantages. For now, we prefer the Smashwords model because it gives authors more control, especially over the minor (and sometimes not so minor) fixes that they are prone to. It also forces Smashwords to care about your book sales; otherwise, they do not make any money. We rather like that.

At this point, we are completing two test projects: One is my memoir, From Rome to Jerusalem, and the other is Pathway to Freedom: Applying the Teachings of the Buddha by Lucinda Green, Ph.D. We expect to have those up and running this month. After that, we will begin guiding other authors through the initial account setup with Smashwords, much as we do with Createspace, and (when asked) handle the initial file preparation. Goal is to have most customers able to handle their own accounts. File preparation costs will be small, probably $75.00 for books with simple formats. The Publishing Pro.

What Goes on the Back Cover?

2011-07-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Don't be shy: The first thing I like on a back cover is the author's bio and photo. Many authors resist this, I suppose for the same reason that many people resist having their picture taken at all. However, if you are writing a book, you need to ready to promote your brand. And guess what? You are the brand. What kind of photo? Well, it needs to be something that suits your brand. If your brand is formal, then your photo should be formal. If your brand is casual, then your photo should be casual. By the way, while some authors are resistant to the whole concept, some authors get it so well they put a photo of themselves on the front cover--and it works!

The second thing I like on the back cover is a selection of testimonials. These can be difficult to get before you even publish a book, but it is not impossible. You just need to start early and locate appropriate individuals who are willing to do this for you. A few rules of thumb.

Get as many as you can: You will only be able to use three to five on the back cover, but you can use additional testimonials inside the book, on your website, and in your promotional literature.
Professional diversity helps: Combine credentialed endorsers (PhDs, for example) with those who might represent your readers.
Geographical diversity helps: If you plan to identify endorsers by place, make sure they are not all from your hometown.
Get their comments in a letter or email: The Whole Earth Catalog, I believe it was, used to tell its readers not to think about "writing a review" but to just write down some comments in a letter. They got great reviews this way. Go and do likewise.
Get their permission: Send them the edited version of the testimonial you plan to use and get their permission to use it, even in email. Confirm the spelling of their names, title, and location.
Use names, if possible: Of course, this is preferable to anonymous testimonials. However, in the case of testimonials from children, it's common to identify them only by age or grade. The Publishing Pro.

What's Most Important about Your Cover?

2011-07-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

It may not be the image: Many rookie authors, not to mention graphic designers, think the most important element of a cover design is the image. The more clever and complicated the better. (And, not coincidentally, the more expensive.) A cover photo or illustration is important, even essential, to some covers. In this category, I think of Romance novels that rely on bodice-ripping illustrations to get the buyer's adrenalin going.

Nevertheless, in my world, an illustration is rarely required and almost never the most important element on the cover. What is? It could be the title, the subtitle, or the byline.

The byline: If you're a famous author, the smart publisher will make your name the biggest, brightest, and easiest-to-read element on the cover. If you're not, skip to the next item.
The title and byline: These two items dance together. If your title is sufficiently descriptive, it should dwarf anything else on the page. If your title needs help from a subtitle to describe who the book is for and what it will do for them, the title should remain the largest element (otherwise, booksellers and buyers may become confused about the actual title), but the subtitle should gain more prominence and perhaps pride of place at the top of the cover. If your title and subtitle are particularly strong, and they should be, your publisher may opt for a "type solution"; that is, no image at all. Before you write off this approach as boring, go into a bookstore (if you can find one these days) and check out all the mass market paperbacks and note the simplicity of the cover designs. They are mostly type solutions; most of the type is big and blocky and all caps. And then remind yourself that these are the books that sell the most.

Whether you use and image or not, your title and subtitle (or byline, if that is the most important) needs to be easy to read from ten feet away or as a thumbnail on a computer screen. Over-illustrated covers can be impossible to decipher from a distance or in miniature.

Cover images, along with backgrounds and color schemes, are secondary elements that essentially create the right environment for the most important elements: your title, subtitle, or byline.--The Publishing Pro.

Does Your Book Proposal Have Curb Appeal?

2011-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

It better have: I just read a post on msn.com that suggested prospective home buyers form an opinion on a home in 15 seconds--before they even go inside. That's the power of curb appeal. Your book proposal needs "curb appeal" as well. That's why I recommend concise on-the-point proposals. You have 15 seconds to impress an editor. Think you have more? Think again. The Publishing Pro.

Before You Write Your Memoir ...

2011-06-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

... think twice: Memoirs are wonderful. They aren't the easiest books in the world to sell, but everyone should write one. Okay, almost everyone, but mostly everyone, sometime. If you have been thinking about writing a memoir, here are some questions to ask yourself.

Is it the right time? There is a right time. If you're too old or frail to put pen to paper or to promote your finished book, it may be too late. If the subject matter is too fresh in your mind--if you have too many resentments, too many scores to settle--it may be time to put your memories in a journal but too early to put them in a book meant for the public. Memoirs are not for the young, the young being those who haven't live long enough to make peace with themselves and the others in their lives. I recall a workshop in which a psychologist--I can't remember his name--pointing out that people do not fully mature until they work out their "parent stuff." Everyone has parent stuff, no matter how good their parents were, and it doesn't usually get worked out until the thirties (and then only if you're particularly precocious). Until it happens, you're probably not ready to write your memoir.
Is it too much? It doesn't have to be. One of the mistakes people make is trying to do too much in a memoir. When you're 85 and set off to tell the story of you're entire life, you could easily wind up with a 1,000 page book, which may be too expensive to put together and too intimidating for anybody to read. Good memoirs have a focus--something besides "my entire life." Mine, From Rome to Jerusalem, is about a religious transition that took a lifetime. Someone else could write a memoir about a specific time in their lives: their war experiences, their career, their struggle with breast cancer, and so on. Another format that works well for families is a compendium of stories. A bonus is that the order of the stories is not critical. They don't even need to be chronological, which tends to make the project easier to write and complete. Another terrific memoir, especially to pass on to your descendants, is the equivalent of an "ethical will." Such a memoir would be organized around specific traits or values you find important instead of a chronological walk through your life. The other decision you could--and should, I would argue--make is to write a memoir of a specific length. I like 50,000 words because it produces a book of around 160 pages, which is long enough to be taken seriously and short enough to be inviting.
How do I treat the people in my life? Good question, one you'll have to resolve. When I wrote my memoir, I kept going back to the idea that this was my story. This helped me keep the focus on my feelings, my thoughts, and my behavior rather than that of my family, friends, and colleagues. Realizing I could damage someone's reputation by writing the truth as well as an untruth, I watched what I wrote (keeping in mind that this was, again, my story) and then shielded the identity of most characters as an added protection. The Publishing Pro.

Marketing Tip: Write Articles

2011-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

It will build your brand: One of the things you can do to promote your book is to write articles for blogs, newsletters, and magazines. Here are my suggestions for making this strategy work for you:

Focus on your core market first. Let's say you have written a book about your hobby, building model railroads. Instead of contacting general interest magazines, or large circulation magazines, or good paying magazines, you should contact organizations, groups, and publications with a specific interest in model railroads. The size of their circulation and the absence of any payment are less important than their focus on your market.
Send proposals, not articles. Don't send completed articles. In most cases, you'll be wasting your time. Instead, send short proposals that include a working title, a brief summary of what you want to write and what it will do for their readers, and some information about yourself (including, of course, the fact that you are the author of a related book.) If you are corresponding by snail mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope. If the editor is interested, she will tell you how long to make the article and how to adapt it for her audience.
Build your brand. When you write these articles, you're not promoting your book so much as building your brand. In fact, talking too much or too directly about your book probably won't work, even if it is possible. The editor might decide to work with you because you have written a book on a related subject, but probably the most you'll get is a mention of the book in your bio. However, writing this article will build your credibility, which will help you get more assignments and help your book sales down the road.
Propose articles related to your book subject. To gain any benefit for your book, you must propose articles related to the subject of your book. However, they do not need to be excerpts from your book or even closely related. They could be variations from a related workshop you are doing--or would like to do.
Put it on your blog. If you must write articles before you get an assignment, put them on your own blog. If you land an assignment based on one of your blog articles, make sure you inform your editor before pursuing the assignment. The Publishing Pro

Make Sure the Price Is Right.

2011-05-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Most authors guess too low: This scenario is all too common. I have a fair amount of success getting authors to hit what I call the optimum book size, at least when I meet with them early in the process. As I said in an earlier post, one template is the 160-page small format book. Not only is it a Goldilocks size for most readers ("not too big, not too small ... just right"), the numbers work. You can set a retail price at $20.00 and make money, even if you do a little discounting.

But now the trouble comes. As we near publication, my author goes into Barnes and Noble, sees the same size book selling for much less, and announces "I've decided to set my retail price at $12.95."

Sigh. So I go through the drill.

You are not competing with bookstore books: The books in those stores are printed in mass quantities, thousands at a time. Your book is printed maybe 25 copies at a time. You cannot compete with them on price. If you listened to what I told you, you are not in Barnes and Noble. You know it is dangerous. You know it is unlikely you will sell any books there--and if you do, you will lose money.

You do not price books by weight: I know your book looks like it is less valuable than that 600-page tome you saw selling on the Barnes and Noble remainder table for $5.95. That book is on the remainder table because nobody wanted to read it, never mind that Random House published it. You do not price books by weight. If Intel priced computer chips by weight, they would sell a million of them for the price of a bag of sugar.

You price books based on what you can do for your reader. Sure, there will be price resistance at some level for you book, but yours will save your readers thousands when they buy a used car. Are you telling me it is not worth $20.00?

Your retail price reveals what you think your book is worth: If you set your retail price at $13.95, your buyers will think they got a $13.95 value. If you set your retail price at $20.00, your buyers will think they got a $20.00 value.

You discount from your retail price, but set your retail price at the right value: Your retail price allows you to give wholesale discounts that work financially. (If you set your retail price too low, you might well lose money selling to booksellers.) Your retail price also allows you to set retail discounts that work psychologically. Consider: If you set your retail price so low that you cannot discount it anymore and your customer buys the book for $13.95, she will think she got a $13.95 value. If you set your retail price at a comfortable $20.00 and the customer buys the book at a discounted $13.95, she will think she bought a $20.00 book and saved $6.05.

The mathematics are obvious. The psychology of authoring is a harder nut to crack. The Publishing Pro.

Plan for the Right Trim Size and Book Length.

2011-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Size Matters: I like to meet with (potential) customers before they sit down to write. When I don't, they often show up with a manuscript that is the wrong size. Yes, there is a wrong size. While it is true that sometimes a book needs to be as long as it needs to be, as some might say, more often authors deliver the wrong size manuscript because they failed to plan.

What is the wrong size? It's a size that is not right for your readers, your purpose, or your budget. (For simplicity sake, I'm your project does not involve a color interior. That's an added complication.)

Your readers: There is an optimum size for your readers, whether they are children, teens, or adults. If there are too many words, they might not pick up your book at all. If they do, they might not finish it. If there are not enough words, your readers might not take your work seriously.

Your purpose: Here's where trim size gets important. If your book consists entirely of words, you can plan for a smaller trim size than you would want if your work was heavily dependent upon images.

Your budget: I put this third, but it's essential for everyone who is not independently wealthy.The optimum size is the one that enables you to make money on every sale. Your unit printing cost, which in the print-on-demand world is determined by trim size and number of pages, must be such that you can comfortably set your retail price at five times your unit printing cost. If your book is too long, your unit printing cost will be too high and you won't be able to set a high enough retail price to do business.

For a ballpark idea of what I'm talking about, let's say you are planning a non-fiction words-only book for adults. Therefore, all things being equal, I would advise you to produce a manuscript of approximately 50,000 words, which will fit into a 160-page book in a small format (5.5"x8.5", typically). This book will cost you less than $4.00, including shipping at CreateSpace, a unit cost that will enable you to set a retail price of $20.00.

As I said, this is ballpark. The small format 160-page model is not right for every book, but the principle is. There is an optimum size for your book. With a little planning, you can come in right on the money. The Publishing Pro.

Work for Hire: Use a Legal Template?

2011-04-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

It depends: After I advised an author to put her arrangement with her illustrator in writing, she asked me if she should pay for a legal firm's work-for-hire contract template. If you asked me this question, my answer would be the same as the one I gave her: "It depends."

If you're looking for maximum legal protection, pay for and use the template. The downside is that resulting document could be offputting and confusing to your illustrator. It is, after all, written in legalese. So ...

If you're just looking to clarify your arrangement with your illustrator, you might want to write a "memorandum of agreement" in plain English. This won't provide you as much legal protection as the legal template, but it is a written agreement that a court would consider, and it might be a friendlier way of dealing with your illustrator.

What you do want to do is cover the bases, specifying that you are commissioning such-and-such a work product from your illustrator for such-and-such a compensation, in return for which the illustrator will surrender all rights to the created work.

What you don't want to do is nothing (and a verbal agreement with a handshake isn't much better than nothing), even and especially if your illustrator is a relative (as is the case for the person who asked me this question,).--The Publishing Pro.

Questions Could Be Your Marketing Answer.

2011-03-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Why Not? James Schneiter, author of The Last Quarter: A Middle School Story, has posted a list of interesting questions about his book on his website. He did them as what I would call "teaser questions," intended to intrigue the website visitor enough to buy or at least sample the book. This is a smart technique and reminded me that there are at least two other ways to use questions to promote your book.

Discussion Questions: If you expect your book to get picked up by neighborhood book clubs or classroom teachers, you better have a set of discussion questions available. Put them on your website. Point to them in the back of your book. Note in your publicity that "discussion questions are available."
Interview Questions: If you want to get interviewed, prepare a set of interview questions. Talk show hosts, especially on the radio, need good interview subjects but they rarely have time to read books. If you get them a set of twenty questions, you'll have a much better chance of getting that interview (not to mention being prepared to answer the questions).

Teaser questions. Discussion questions. Interview questions. Why not do all three?--The Publishing Pro.

Use a Blog to Beta Test Your Book.

2011-02-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

It's easy: I've been trying to sell would-be and existing book authors on using blogs for years. You can use a blog in a variety of ways as an author.

You can build an audience on your chosen topic before you officially publish.
You can test out characters, concepts, approaches, and ideas before committing them between book covers.
You can share chapter drafts with your friends, family, and fans--and get the bugs out.

I'm trying the last approach with my new memoir. Using my blogging tool's ability to create pages, I've set up a "Contents" page that will allow visitors to step through the book chapter by chapter if they want and make whatever comments they'd like. Within reason. If they're inappropriate--perhaps selling real estate instead of saying anything relevant to the topic--they'll get bounced. Other than that, I'm expecting a little help in eliminating typos, booboos, memory errors and the like. Check out From Rome to Jerusalem. See you there. The Publishing Pro.

How Do You Price Your Ebook?

2011-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

Nobody knows ... yet: With printed books, publishers generally used a multiple of either printing costs or preparation/printing costs. The multiple varied--and some books could naturally carry a higher price than others--but the idea was to have a price that took into consideration the preparation/manufacturing costs and provided a cushion for necessary discounting.

Ebooks have thrown the industry into a tizzy. Because there is no manufacturing cost, the idea of a multiple based on that is out the window. And what is the per book cost anyway? Nothing? Or next to nothing? So do you sell the books for free?

Apparently, some authors think so. Especially, new fiction authors. It's common for them to sell their "books" for 99 cents. Does this work? It doesn't make sense to me, but some authors swear by it.

Let's step back and think about this for a minute.

First, is an Ebook worth less than a printed book? On the face of it, why should it be? If the content is the same, shouldn't it have the same value? Well, the answer is a little more complicated than it appears to be. For example, some Ebooks have a poorer content, thanks to the inability in some cases to carry images the way a book can or to carry any images at all. On the other hand, some Ebooks have a richer content, thanks to the ability in some cases to carry sound, video, widgets, and links between words, phrases, and images. In this case, the searchable and more entertaining Ebook ought to be worth more. So why should an Ebook cost less than a printed book--just because it's an Ebook.

Second, what is your book worth? Is it really worth only 99 cents? If someone buys your book for 99 cents, what are they going to think it's worth--besides 99 cents?

Third, what are other people charging for their books? I'm just going to ignore this one, because other people don't know what they are doing, at least the ones charging 99 cents for their books. They might as well be selling pencils on a street corner.

Here's what I suggest.

If you have a printed version of your book, charge no less than 50% for your Ebook version than for your printed version. You don't have to cover printing costs, but you need to be wary of underpricing your work. If you have the courage, charge only 25% less. If your Ebook has much more to it than the printed book--additional media and features to the point where it's not really a book any more--all bets are off. You could charge more for it, but you probably won't. I'd just like to see you try. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Now You Can Get Reasonable Book Fulfillment ...

2011-01-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

... with one downside: Many of our customers are not in a place where they can fulfill their own book orders. They don't have the time, the desire, or the physical capacity to run back and forth to the post office. We've wanted an inexpensive solution for them for a long time--and we didn't have one. Until now.

CreateSpace.com, which we have begun to use for customers, has an "eStore" option. Their eStore option is not to be confused with the "bookstore" common to most print-on-demand vendors. This one allows you to sell your book from your own website but have the order fulfilled by CreateSpace. They collect the money, print the book, ship it out and return about two thirds of your selling price to you. (Considering that they print the book, this is a good deal and much more attractive financially than what you can get from a traditional fulfillment house.)

The downside? You don't get the customer contact data. If this is important, and it should be if you're looking at your book customer as a potential repeat customer, you're better off taking orders on your website with the help of a PayPal account and somebody's footwork to the post office. The Publishing Pro.

Printing Prep: It's Complicated ...

2011-01-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

... Sometimes: Maybe even usually. Printing has always been a field of landmines, especially for those unfamiliar with the territory. In the "old days"--maybe fifty years ago--the industry was fairly stable but staffed, by and large, by journeyman typographers and pressmen who needed significant training to do their jobs. On the other end, publishers and editors were professional middlemen between the printers and authors. Beginning in the fifties, things began to change, slowly at first.

Printing technology began to change from the centuries old "hot type" systems (so named for the way in which type was created out of molten lead) to "cold type" systems that created type on paper and film. The upshot was that you didn't need a four-year apprenticeship to engage in sophisticated in printing. You still needed talent and training, but parts of the process began to be handed over to publishers and editors.

With the advent of computers and phototypesetters, editors (or production staff within publishing houses) could create their own pages of type, paste them up the way they wanted them, correct them as needed and send them off to the printer, where the pages would be turned into negatives, set into forms, and installed on offset presses.

Adobe's development of the Portable Document Format (PDF) has enabled editors and publishers to bypass the pasteup process entirely, giving them more control of the process. Even amateurs, using common programs like Microsoft Word and PDF creators less expensive than Adobe Acrobat, can create printable documents, albeit with less precision and more difficulties.

Digital printing, basically copyprinting, has made short-run and on-demand printing both possible and economical for many publishing applications, including authors publishing their own books. (Traditional printing methods require much waste in the "makeready" phase of the process, which makes printing of 100 books, never mind a single copy, uneconomical.)

Add to that, the reality of people now doing much of their reading--of websites, books, or magazine--on electronic devises and we have seen a revolution in printing and publishing in our own lifetimes.

However, I have seen something like a circling back to "expertise" in the very recent future. Digital printers, a key instrument of publishing access to DIYers, are becoming more demanding in what they expect from publishers (be they "traditional" or "self"). The interface between author/publisher and printer, which had been becoming easier, is showing signs of becoming more difficult. The process increasing requires upgrades in hardware (to the latest operating system), software (to the latest publishing and PDF creation software, which will run on new operating systems and meet printer's and/or electronic distribution standards), and the ability to keep up with accelerating developments in both printing and electronic publishing technology.

This may or may not be a conspiracy of sorts between the makers of operating systems, the makers of publishing software, and printers and distributors.

But it does seem to be a fact. --The Publishing Pro

Let's Get Real: Pseudonyms Have Their Uses.

2010-12-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes: At one of my workshops, a would-be author asked me what I thought about pen names. Knowing that he was thinking about writing an exposé and wanted to hide in the bushes, I said, "Not much." Of course, I sympathized with a whistle blower who just wanted to protect himself. It's just that books don't sell themselves. If you (as author) don't do it, no one else will. At least not in the real world.

Still, I was jumping to conclusions, not so much about this guy but in general. Just because you choose to write under a pseudonym doesn't mean you are anonymous. For example, the banker who puts on an orange wig, whiteface, and a red rubber nose in order to entertain at children's parties is wise to do so as "Chuckles" rather than as "Mr. Charles Morgan," even if parents know who he is outside of his get-up. He's not anonymous, but the pseudonym separates his clown persona from his banker's persona. In the same way, you can build your brand with a pen name.

Moreover, just because you remain anonymous doesn't mean you can't represent your book. It's trickier. though, because you have to find ways to be "visible" without being "identified." You might find yourself interviewed in the shadows or with your natural voice changed electronically.

What you can't do, at least in my world, is write a book and put it out there, thinking somebody else is going to sell it for you.--The Publishing Pro.

Do It Yourself Typography: Justified vs. Ragged

2010-12-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

It's a conspiracy: Justified paragraphs are still more common in books than ragged-right paragraphs, but you almost never used to see ragged-right paragraphs anywhere except in ads.

Today ragged-right paragraphs are something you should consider for your book, especially if readability is your top priority. Ragged right paragraphs are easier to read because the spacing between the words is the same on every line. If the ragged-right paragraphs are not hyphenated, an option not usually entertained for justified paragraphs, they are even easier to read.

Even so, most books today seem to be done with the traditional justified paragraphs.

Here's a secret of sorts. The reason justified text became the standard is that it made journeymen printers (who had served four-year apprenticeships) indispensable. Linotype operators (and before that, manual compositors) needed years of training in order to quickly determine the proper amount of space between words for every single line. It was quite a skill. If the standard had been ragged right, the space between each word would have been the same for each line and anybody who could type could have done the job. To raise the skill level a notch, linotype operators (cleverly, some would say) didn't use the QWERTY keyboard that everybody else in the English world was, and still is, used to. Instead, they used a keyboard unique to linotype machines, which increased the need for specialized training. Anyway, people got used to seeing justified paragraphs and so today most authors still think justified paragraphs are “the way” you have to do a book.

Fair disclosure. My grandfather was a journeyman compositor (typographer) and linotype operator, and my father was a journeyman compositor. My father had to change careers because computers made it much easier to create justified paragraphs. With a click of a mouse, any fool can do it now, but that doesn't make justified paragraphs any easier to read.--The Publishing Pro.

What Kind of Agreement Do You Make with Your Illustrator?

2010-12-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

Put it in writing: If you commission artwork for your book, you should: 1) do so on a "work for hire" basis and 2) put in writing. In response to a question from a customer, I did some research and have decided that this advice is a little too general.

A work-for-hire arrangement, where your intent is to buy the artwork outright and upfront, is simpler in the long run than royalty, shared proceeds, or partnership deals. This is why I recommend it in most cases. Because of its simplicity--the artist does the work and gets paid--I haven't heard any stories about authors and illustrators or photographers coming to blows over the work-for-hire results. However, because copyright law favors the creator of a work, you are at some risk if you don't dot your i's and cross your t's. Apparently, to be safe, you should agree in writing with the artist that you will own all rights to the commissioned artwork once you pay for it. Moreover, you should make this agreement before the artist actually begins the work.

Although I have favored an informal memorandum of agreement, you would be safer with a more formal agreement with, sigh, the requisite legal language. I did find a Work for Hire Agreement template--it's only one-page, which qualifies in the legal world as a simple form--on the website of Lloyd J. Jassin, a New York attorney specializing in publishing law.

Note that this form would set you up to own all of the rights of the artwork. In my world, I want to be friendly with my vendors. Thus, I wouldn't want to restrict the artist from using the work in a way that might benefit me or at least do me no harm. For example, I certainly would allow the artist to show off the work as a sample in a portfolio, brochure, or website. I might even allow the artist to make prints of the work for sale, perhaps for no more than credit on the back of the print. However, it appears that those secondary arrangements are best made after you've safely acquired all the rights to the artwork. The Publishing Pro.

Why Should You Self-Publish?

2010-11-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

... even if you "don't have to": Let's face it. Many authors self-publish because they can't find anyone else to publish their book. This is especially true of fiction authors. That's okay. It's reality. However, it does put you in a negative frame of mind. Let's look for positive reasons for self-publishing. In fact, let's say you have a book--or an idea--that you know will interest a traditional publisher. Why should you self-publish?

You're in a hurry. One of the problems with traditional publishing is that it takes a long time. Good publishers work from a three-year (or even five-year) plan. If they like your book, they'll plug you into the plan--and you may find yourself scheduled for two or three years down the road. You might get lucky and be published within a year, but it's unlikely. In a good scenario, with a finished manuscript, you can expect to wait eighteen months for your book to be published. When you self-publish, you can set your own timetable. If your ducks are in a row, you might get into print within 90 days.

You want control. When you sell your rights to a publisher--this is what you do in a publishing contract--you lose control. Of everything. The cover. The editing. The look. The dimensions and size. When I was an acquisition editor, my job was to tell a prospective author how to write the book we needed. Some authors are fine with that. Some are not. The better fit your book is for your business, the more you have to lose by ceding control. This is not to say that publishers don't care whether their authors are happy or not. They do. They will try to please you--within limits. The limits are usually worked out ahead of time. Just remember: When they crunch comes, it's their project. Not yours. When you self-publish, you can do the book your way.

You want the financial benefits. When you self publish, you take all the risks and reap all the gain. In the old days (twenty years ago), self-publishing was all risk and very little gain. You had to sink a considerable amount of money just into printing your book, to the point where there was little chance you'd recoup your investment. Not so today, not because your chances of selling hundreds of copies are any better but because you have to invest almost nothing into inventory. Twenty years ago, you might have to sell out of your initial printing of 2,000 copies in order to break even. Today, my customers break even (that is, cash out of pocket) when they sell between 100 and 200 copies. With those numbers, you don't need the traditional publisher to get you into the game. In fact, the traditional publisher would be taking the money that you would be making as a self-publisher once you pass that 100-200 copy threshhold.

You know you're going to have to promote your book anyway. First-time authors almost always think the traditional publisher will market their books. This may be the primary reason why writers seek out publishers. Unfortunately, traditional publishers do not market individual titles. Instead, they use their economy of scale to market their list of books to their coherent customer base. This happens to work, at least for the publisher. The bad news is that the traditional publisher can't do much to market an individual title. Except for the predictable best seller, a book cannot generate enough revenue to justify anything more than its temporary position on the front list (in catalogs and the website) and a press release mailing. That's about it. Publishers expect their authors to make most of the noise about their individual books. So ... if you are going to have to promote your own book, you might as well self-publish--or at least come up with a better reason for finding a publisher than your unwillingness to promote your own book. The Publishing Pro.

Plan Your Revisions.

2010-10-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'll help: Technology--specifically publishing software like Quark or Adobe InDesign and POD (print-on-demand) technology--makes it easy and relatively inexpensive to revise your book once it's published. In fact, it's so easy, you can get carried away doing revisions and become distracted from the business of authoring, which is to say, marketing. However, I do think it is wise to plan your revisions, and I've devised a mechanism for doing that.

If you are a full-service customer, I will waive my normal fees for changing up to 20 pages (regularly $1.50 per page) and for uploading files to your online printer (regularly $25.00 per upload) for a revision uploaded at least 90 days after your initial printing and again for a revision at least one year after your initial printing. (You will still need to pay any fees charged by your printer.)

Here's my thinking. If you wait 90 days after your first printing, you might want to make minor changes based on feedback from your readers and you might have gotten some juicy testimonials that you didn't have when you first printed your book Then, again, after a year, you might need to update some basic information: your contact info, website addresses, promotional material at the back of the book, or your back cover. If you don't need to make any changes, that's great. If you do, this seems like a reasonable schedule to me. And if you need to do it more often and are willing to pay the regular prices, that's okay too. The Publishing Pro.

Consider These Three POD Companies.

2010-10-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

They each have different advantages: And disadvantages. I see no reason for the average self-publisher to take anything but the POD (print-on-demand) route. You can print books as you need them, reducing your inventory risk, and the prices are surprisingly low. Here are three POD companies (websites) worth looking at.

Lightningsource.com. I've put several books up on LightningSource. They're quality is good; they even promise archive quality paper that meets library standards. Their base prices for black-ink-only interiors are not as good as those of CreateSpace, but they offer quantity discounts that reduce your costs whenever you're printing more than 50 copies at a time. If you print 250 copies at a time, the discounts get really serious. Sometimes, they even offer sales. Their prices for color books are surprisingly low. Their service is good, with customer-service reps that you can talk to, and excellent turnaround times for printed books (a week). I also like that they don't pretend to be anything but a printer, even though they are owned by Ingram, a major distributor. LightningSource is a good choice if you value quality and plan to sell most of your books yourself. (You can open a "wholesale account" with LightningSource, but I haven't recommended that any more than I recommend that my customers sign up with any other distributor.)

CreateSpace.com. CreateSpace gets my attention mainly because they are owned by Amazon and offer a seamless way for your book to be distributed by Amazon, with the result that you get a better deal than if you signed up separately for an Amazon Advantage account. They also offer an "eStore" option that lets you use your website to send book orders to CreateSpace to be fulfilled. Obviously, you don't make as much if you fulfilled the orders yourself, but it's a decent deal and a great one for author-publishers who don't want to be bothered with running to the post office all the time. Their base prices for black-ink interiors are less than those of LightningSource, but they don't seem to offer quantity discounts. And their color prices are higher. Also on the downside, they don't promise to use archival paper and their printing may be done by different vendors, with varying quality the result. We're not sure about their service yet, but that Amazon and eStore option is quite attractive. (They too offer an option for getting into bookstores, but the return hardly seems worth it.)

InstantPublisher.com. I'm looking at this one for one reason. If you need to run a few pages of color in an otherwise black-ink book, InstantPublisher is worth looking at. They charge color prices only per color page used. LightningSource and CreateSpace will normally beat their prices, but in this instance InstantPublisher might be the solution.--The Publishing Pro

Copy Editing: So You Think You Can Do It?

2010-08-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Don't try this at home: Some authors know they need a good copy editor. However, too many don't know what a copy editor does, or don't value the work, or think a friend can do it for them. In my world, copyediting is the most difficult aspect of putting a book together. As an aside, I don't consider it the most important: I'd put the planning (determining the audience, the message, and the structure) ahead of it. However, it is the most difficult, at least for me, by a long shot.

Let's get some terms straight. When you say you need an "editor," what do you mean?

If you're looking for someone to help you shape your manuscript into publishable form--by advising you about your readership, your content, and your structure--you might be looking for someone calling himself or herself an agent, a writing coach (or consultant), an editing coach (or consultant), an acquisition editor, a substance editor, or a plain old "editor." When I ran the editorial department at an independent publishing house, my title was "editorial director." However, my job could have been defined as "acquisition editor." I helped find, develop, and shape books into publishable form.

If you already have a publishable manuscript--and don't need someone monkeying with the substance--you almost certainly need a copy editor. This is a professional who cleans up the grammar, removes redundancies and writing tics, checks spelling and punctuation, establishes consistent capitalization, and so on.

Many authors tell me they don't need a copy editor because they've had someone, or several someones, "look at it." If you really don't care, go for it. However, you probably will care when your readers and friends begin pointing out boo-boos, tics, characters whose names are spelled different ways or whose names change altogether, and so on. (For some reason, the same friends who won't read an early draft for you seem to be the ones who take particular delight in reporting problems after the book is published.)

Copyediting is not for amateurs--a category that can include fellow writers, English professors, journalists, bloggers, tech writers, the severely anal member of your book club, and others who think (with good reason) that they know their way around the English language.

While some aspects of self-publishing lend themselves to the do-it-yourselfer, copyediting is not one of them. For one thing, you shouldn't copyedit your own work. You've been through the manuscript too many times; you're jaded; and you're not objective. For another, it's just, well, hard.

It's hard emotionally, at least is is for me. It's a rather intimate exercise, forcing you to spend hours inside the brain of someone else. I can only do it for about an hour at a time.
It's hard technically. You have to be familiar with myriad grammatical rules and their variants, spelling (and when to look up a word), and style issues. Much of copyediting is about consistency, which requires relating all the details to the whole. Whereas good page-making software forces consistency with style tags, there is no such tool for copyediting. The copy editor is on her own.
It's hard artistically. For me, copyediting is akin to sculpting. You use your technical expertise to carve away what doesn't belong and expose what is good. The result should in some ways (at least in the best sense) look more like the author than the original manuscript.

Below are my practices. Your copy editor doesn't need to do what I do, but he or she should follow some sort of professional protocol and be able to explain what it is.

I follow a master style guide.The Chicago Manual of Style is incredibly complex, but it is the gold standard for the book publishing industry.
I follow a master dictionary. My current one, Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, Ninth Edition needs to be updated.
I create a supplemental style sheet. Publishers typically create an in-house supplement to their master guide (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style), but I've found I need to create one for each book. The supplement itemizes any style variations from the master; lists peculiar spellings; lists proper names of people, places, and organization (to enforce spelling consistency); capitalization peculiarities; abbreviation issues; and so on.
I do a sample edit before proceeding. I use this to get feedback from the author. This helps me determine how aggressive or lenient to be with my copyedit and identifies any issues that need to be noted on the supplemental style sheet.
I give my edited copy to the author for their amendments and approval. Eight years ago, when I bought the book-production business that evolved to The Publishing Pro, LLC, copyediting was done in pencil, with author amendments written over the top. The approved changes then had to be transferred to the electronic file. Today I do my copyediting in Microsoft Word, with the "tracking on" so that authors can see my edits. I then produce a clean version--with the changes accepted, the tracking turned off, and the clean file checked against the "tracking" file. This catches more mistakes and nits, with help from Word's grammar and spellchecker. I give both the clean file and the "tracking on" file to the author, encouraging him or her to use the clean file for author alterations or corrections, which should be highlighted in color.
I review the author alterations. The idea is to make sure they conform to the established style and that no errors have been added. At this stage, I go with the author's wishes unless there are obvious problems.
I read the page proofs on hard copy before sending them to the author. This is the place where I choose to read the book on hard copy, which is the best way to catch small errors. However, I consider this more of a continuation of the copyediting phase than a proofreading. The copy editor shouldn't be a designated proofreader (a different function), for the same reason the author shouldn't.

Proofreading: Copyediting needs to be distinguished from proofreading. The former is done on Microsoft Word; the latter is done on page proofs (hard copy, preferably). Proofreaders are not reviewers and should not critique the book; they are not copy editors and should not try to tweek the writing. Doing either tends to do more harm than good. Every alteration introduces the possibility of an error, either a major one or a minor one that undoes the consistency established by the copy editor. Ideally, proofreaders should have a copy of the same style manual and dictionary as that used by the copy editor. This is not always possible, but they should definitely have a copy of the style supplement. They should mark typos, outright errors, punctuation problems, and capitalization that seems to violate the established style. They should also mark apparent typographical errors, text-flow problems, and inconsistencies with the established design .The Publishing Pro, LLC

Don't Sell Yourself Short.

2010-07-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Price your book fairly: Most new authors instinctively charge too little for their book. Why? Several reasons come to mind.

Competing with bookstores: New authors automatically compare their book to what's in the bookstores. This is understandable, but it's a bad idea. The books in the bookstores are published mainly by the major New York publishers and niche publishers big enough to work the bookstores. Their press runs, and therefore their costs per book, are much lower than yours. You're not in that league. Don't pretend you are. If you do, you'll lose.
Bad math: Some authors--more than I would like to think about--don't seem to know that if your book costs $6.00 to print and you set a retail price of $8.95 (because your book compares to one in a bookstore), you can't give bookstores a 40% discount and make money.
Chasing volume: New authors seem to think that reducing the price will sell more books. Maybe, but maybe not (surprisingly.) If you put a low value on your book, your prospective customer will as well and may not bother. For argument's sake, let's say this is true. Is it worth losing money to sell more books (see "Bad Math")? Is the customers who buys your book at $8.95 as valuable as the customer who buys your book at $19.95. (The answer is "no." The customer who buys your book at $19.95 is more committed and more likely, for example, to attend a workshop of buy your next book)
Low book-esteem: New authors tend not to put a high enough value on their books. If your instinct is to charge $8.95, that tells you're potential reader that you think the book is not worth $19.95. If you stick with $8.95, they'll believe you.
Failure of nerve: Finally, authors may want to charge more, but they are just afraid. I get it. There is a psychological barrier to overcome. However, I suggest you overcome the barrier before--not after--you write the book.

Before you publish--or even write--your book, plan it out. Decide on its trim size, number of pages, binding, and color requirements. Know how much it will cost to prepare and print. Then decide on the price. If you are going to a Print-on-Demand outfit like Lightning Source, figure to charge at least five times the unit cost for one book. If a book will cost you $4.00, be prepared to charge at least $20.00. If you aren't comfortable doing that, don't do the book--or be prepared to explain to yourself why it's worth doing even though you will lose money.--The Publishing Pro.

File-Sharing Sites Are Stealing E-books!

2010-06-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

But you can fight back: I knew there was a danger of people stealing your E-book--customers talk about it all of the time--but I thought the phenomenon was limited to people passing a PDF to their friends. However, it turns out that people are posting books on file-sharing sites, including books lifted from Kindle. Meredith Greene, a book reviewer and self-published author, details the problem and suggests both a legal and a marketing response in the Sacramento Book Review. Check it out. The Publishing Pro.

How Do You Define Publishing Success ...

2010-06-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

... in a changing world? I'm in a funny place. On one hand, I am optimistic about what you can accomplish as an author, precisely because of changes in technology. On the other hand, I often find myself struggling not to rain on a customer's expectations. Having been in the business for thirty-plus years, I am amazed at how many authors assume they will sell thousands of their books. Possibly, I think, but not bloody likely.

Only a small percentage of the books published in a year--we're talking one percent or less--have sales of 5,000 or more. The rest, well, the average a few years ago was 500 copies sold. It's less today. And that's just counting traditional publishers, not the self-published folks that are my bread and butter. The POD (print on demand) outfits report that their customers sell on the average fewer than a 100 copies of their books. My customers get very depressed when they hear this, and they are certainly not alone. If you read almost any commentary, you'd swear we were in the dark ages of publishing.

So why am I excited? Because the changes in the world of publishing make it easier--not more difficult--for you to succeed with your book. You just need to know how to think about success. Here are the questions I recommend that you ask yourself.

Did you get your book into publication? It is much easier today to get your book published than it was twenty years ago. Much easier and much faster. Sure, you have to publish it yourself--but it's not that expensive, it's fun, and you control everything about it.
Did you make a profit? Some authors don't expect--or even want to--make a profit. If they are honest about it, more power to them. They can certainly succeed in losing money. Other authors expect to make a living on their first book. I tell them that it is good to have a lofty goal, but "don't quit your day job." The odds of being able to live on the proceeds of your first book are minuscule. (However, your odds of being able to live on the proceeds of your writing increase with every book you publish, especially if they are related.) I prefer to take the practical road and am more or less insistent that my customers expect to--and work at--making a profit. If customers follow my coaching, they should be able recover their expenses somewhere between 100 and 200 books sold. After that, it's all gravy. Nothing wrong with gravy. Nothing wrong with a lot of gravy.
Did you further your work? A book supports your work; it is not the work. If you do it right, a book is just one way of carrying your message to your customer. If you do it right, you'll make a little money outright, you'll gain credibility, you'll create customers for new products (perhaps but not necessarily books) and services.
Did you expand your world? Did you make new customers, new friends, new contacts? Did you get new ideas, learn new skills, gain new information? A book ought to do those things for you.
Did you have fun? Book publishing ought to be fun. Truth be told, some aspects of publishing are, let's just say, less pleasant than others. However, publishing is hard for would-be authors mainly because they don't know the ropes. Once they become familiar with how it works, they rather like playing on the ropes. The Publishing Pro.

How Do You Handle Returns? You Have 3 Choices.

2010-05-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

They're all bad: With my favorite on-demand printer, Lightning Source, you can open a "wholesale account," which makes your book available to distributors, bookstores, and other resellers through the Lightning Source system. It's tempting because Lightning Source is owned by Ingram, a major book distributor, which makes you think they know something about book distribution.

None of my customers has yet tried the wholesale account, perhaps because I discourage it. Book distribution is not for the faint of heart. It's expensive, risky, and ineffective, Other than that, it's fine. With this post, I want to talk mainly about risk, which has to do with "returns."

When you open a wholesale account with Lightning Source (or most other distributors), you will be asked how you want to handle returns. You have three options:

No returns: This is the least risky option. Bookstores can't return your books, to you or the distributor. That's good for you. On the other hand, bookstores hate this option. If you choose this, count on them to not order any books from you unless someone walks into the store and asks for your book. In that case, they might order one. One.
Returns okay--deliver. If you approve of returns, you'll get more orders. And returns. If you choose this option, you will pay a significant extra handling charge to have the books returned. And ... you may get them back damaged. Too bad.
Returns okay--destroy. If you approve of returns, you have another option. You can tell your distributor to destroy the returned books. This seems silly, except that experience has taught many publishers that so many of the books come back damaged that it's smarter to destroy the books and save the extra shipping and handling costs. In this case, the distributor may send you the covers to prove that the books have been destroyed. The fact that this option even exists should tell you something about how risky the business is.

If you must play the distribution game, we recommend Option #1.

However, there is some potentially good news in play. The Book Espresso Machine, which can be installed in bookstores and libraries, allows booksellers to print a copy of a book "on demand." This means the bookstore doesn't have to keep your book in inventory but can still sell it through its on-demand channel--and you get bookstore sales without worrying about returns. It's a win-win. That hasn't happened in the bookselling world for a while. The Publishing Pro.

Turn Your Permissions Problem into Opportunity.

2010-05-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's networking: I love almost everything about book publishing, but I have to acknowledge to my customers that the permissions game--that is, covering yourself by asking permission to use any material you want to quote--is a pain in the p'toot. It's mostly time-consuming paperwork, combined with the dread that you might not get permission to use an important quote--or, worse, be asked to pay for it. The person on the other end--the one who will give you permission--probably isn't having any fun either. (I speak from experience.) The only reason you go through this process is because it's the ethical thing to do (or, if the ethics aren't driving you, because it could keep you out of some big-time legal trouble).

Unfortunately, this sort of honesty isn't particularly motivating to authors. Quite the opposite. I was working through this dilemma with a would-be author when she pointed out that many of the people she was quoting were potential allies that she wanted to meet. In other words, they were "key contacts." It dawned on me that all of us could be looking at the permissions-gathering effort more as an opportunity for networking than as a strategy for staying out of legal trouble.

Think about it. When you quote somebody and give them credit, you're plugging their book and their work. Usually, they are going to be glad you're doing so. Moreover, chances are better than average that they will have a natural interest in what you're writing about. Asking permission to use their material is a great excuse for making contact. Of course, they may turn you over to the publisher to complete the paperwork, but by then you've accomplished two things: 1) talking to an important contact and 2) finding out where to go for written permission. The Publishing Pro.

When Should You Publish Your Book in Print?

2010-04-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

It's a different world: Thanks to Kindle, iPad, and other E-readers, micro-publishers are asking themselves when, if ever, they should publish printed editions of their books. Here is our take.

1) Publish your book as a printed edition when your book has legacy value. If you're doing a memoir, a scrapbook, or any kind of history, print it. One of the values of "hard copy" is that it survives in a way that other media does not. Think of all the important material you stored away and can no longer retrieve easily or at all on such things as ...

reel-to-reel tape
vinyl
16 mm film
8 mm film
super 8 film
8-track tape
8-inch floppies
5-inch floppies
3 1/2-inch "floppies"
cassette tapes
zip drives

2) Publish your book as a printed edition if it is a "literary" (word-based) work. If you've written a novel, print it. The genre won't survive except in print. Devices like the Kindle won't survive as pure book readers. They will all evolve into multi-media devices, which will no longer be "books."

3) Publish your book as a printed edition if you need something physical to sell at your presentations. Giving presentations--and selling your book afterward--is your single most effective bookselling strategy. If you expect people to walk away from your presentation and download an electronic copy of your book from Amazon or Apple, keep dreaming.

There are good reasons for publishing your book as an E-book. By doing so, you can reach an international market more easily (because you don't have to ship physical copies); you can take advantage of the ability (in some formats, for now) to hyperlink; and you can reach those who simply choose to read books on electronic devices. However, even if you publish your content as an E-book, consider publishing a print edition as well for the above reasons. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Charging Sales Tax for Your Book

2010-04-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's a pain: Depending on your state, you maybe required to charge sales tax on (some, perhaps in-state only) sales of your book and forward said revenue to your state. First, you'll need get a sales-tax license. Then you collect the required tax. Then you fill out a form, on some schedule, and forward taxes to your state and/or local government. It's an annoying but a mostly minor inconvenience--and you may then be exempt from paying sales taxes on your printing. That's the way it is in Colorado, according to our CPA, and that's what we do. Check with your own accountant. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Take These Ten Marketing Steps ...

2010-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

... before you finish writing your book: Rookie authors--and some veterans, I'm afraid--think that book marketing begins after the book comes off the presses. Wrong, wrong, wrong. In fact, book marketing is front-loaded. What you do after the book is printed is continue all the good stuff you began much earlier. Herewith are some ideas:

Plan the project. Before you begin to write, define your reader, determine how you will change his or her life, settle on a working title and subtitle that capsulize what your book is about and who it is for, and write out a Table of Contents that will make your reader want to buy your book.
Compile your key contacts. Throughout the process, you should be compiling a database of "key contacts." Divide these into four categories: contacts who will get a complimentary copy of your book automatically (keep this list small); contacts who will be sent a press release and a review copy request form (if these contacts ask for a copy, then and only then will you send them a copy); contacts who will be sent a press release without a review copy request form (you won't be offering these contacts a complimentary copy); and, finally, contacts who will be notified that your book is published and how they can purchase a copy.
Create and use a blog. Do this anytime, the earlier the better. You can create and use a blog for free and even make money, potentially, by opening it up to Google ads or the like. Use the blog to show samples from your book, to talk about writing problems you're trying to solve, to publish related opinions or articles. Try to attract people to your blog and give them the opportunity to comment. In this way, you're building your audience. To create a blog, check out Blogspot or Wordpress.
Create and use a website. Websites are not free. You'll have to pay for a domain name and a website host. However, you do not need an expensive website designer. Some website hosts offer templates, similar to the blogs, that enable you to set up a website without much or any programming experience. In addition, if you do this, you'll be free to add your own material to the website without going through a "web administrator." Your websites and blogs should all link to each other.
Write about content related to your book. Notice, I didn't say "write about your book." You can, but it is more effective (and far less annoying) to present yourself as an expert in your subject and note that you are the author of a forthcoming book more subtly, like in a bio.
Give presentations.The best way to sell your book is at presentations. However, you should not wait until your book is published to begin. You need the practice. You need to build your reputation as a speaker, workshop presenter, and expert in your field. When you speak, you can work in the news that you're working on a book. Again, be subtle. For example, distribute a handout relevant to the presentation that happens to be a chapter of your forthcoming book--and says so.
Use your cover. Get your cover designed early and use it on your blog, your website, and your promotions.
Create your publicity package. This should include a one page press release about your book, a simple "review copy request form," and a list of 20 questions to give prospective interviewers. The materials should include an image of your book and yourself.
Gather testimonials. Once you have a working manuscript, begin to invite likely candidates to read your book and give you a testimonial. You can use some of these on the back cover of your book--testimonials make the best back-cover copy. You can add additional testimonials to the website, promotional material, even the back of the book.
Offer discounts to pre-publication buyers. Two months or so before you get your book printed, tell your prospective customers they can get a signed copy of your book at a discount if they order it early. Ask for checks. I recommend that you don't cash them until you know for sure when you will have books in hand.

You can do much more than this. The point is to begin now. Don't wait until your book is printed to begin marketing. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

How Do You Name Your 'Publishing House'?

2010-02-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

Two considerations: Someone in a discussion group asked how to name her "publishing house, given that she was self-publishing. Here's how I answered:

Usually, I advise authors to invent a name for their publishing house, less to mask the fact that the book is being self-published (it's not the stigma it used to be) than to give the impression that the book is not a hobby but a business, which it ought to be, after all. Occasionally, authors are so well known that they are better off naming the publishing house after themselves (e.g. Joe Blow Enterprises), but this is an exception. Here are two considerations for coming up with what is sometimes called a fictitious name, a trade name, or a book imprint.

First, don't use "books" in your publishing name unless you want to restrict yourself to publishing books. I coach people to think of themselves as a "brand" that communicates content via various media, not just books.

Second, consider the degree to which you want this name to define your content. You can go either way with this, depending on your objective. For example, "Health Communications" suggests a certain subject matter. On the other hand, "JCR Publishing" offers much more wiggle room.

The Publishing Pro

How Do You Talk about Others in Your Memoir?

2010-02-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's ticklish: I'm writing my memoir, and I realized early on that I was going to have to decide how to talk about other people (and institutions) in my life. Here's how I made my decisions.

First, I clarified my purpose. If my memoir was to be a tell-all book (an exposé) or vehicle for settling scores, I was going to need a team of lawyers in my corner. Fortunately, my purpose was to explain my long transition from one of the world's great religions to another. The memoir essentially was to be about me, not about others.
Second, I had to address the memory problem. Unlike some memoir writers, I have no lifetime of diaries or journals to work from. I have to go by my memory, which is flawed at best. I didn't know how flawed until I got a package of photos from my sister. Until then, I had the "memory" that my parents never threw me a birthday party. In the package of photos was photo after photo of me, at various ages, in front of friends and a birthday cake, blowing out candles. It was my sister, a year younger than I, who didn't get much in the way of birthday celebrations. Memory is about the present--one's resentments, one's values, one's vision of oneself--as it is about the past. I would need to be very careful about what I said about others and I would need a disclaimer about this memory thing. .
Third, I looked at my values. One set of my values had to do with a 12-step program that puts considerable emphasis on protecting the anonymity of others, focusing on one's own issues instead of others', and behaving in such a way that you don't injure them, even out of good will. This intensified my conviction that I had to focus on my own behavior, that I should not identify others by their real names, and that I needed to be careful about what I said about anyone. While these rules applied to most people and institutions, I made some exceptions. One was to name the institutions or organizations that appeared on my resume. This seemed reasonable. Another was to name my family, which also seemed reasonable (as long as applied the other principles). Finally, the other exception was to name the leader of the religious community that I belong to now. This had to do with the values of this particular community, which insists on honesty and disclosure of our affiliation.

Having made those decisions, I find that the process of writing this memoir is easier, more enjoyable, and more rewarding than I expected it to be. You might think that the decision to pull back on what is said about others would neuter the book. Not so. Because I am focusing on myself--the good, the bad, and the ugly--the memoir is forcing me to confront my life in a deeper way and is more disclosing than it might have been otherwise.

You will come to your own decisions about how to talk about others in your memoir, but I hope this review of how I went about making my decisions is useful. The Publishing Pro.

Send Press Releases Online

2010-02-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

Worth a try: One of my Linked-In colleagues suggested having a look at PRLog, a free online service that will upload your press releases and make them available to search engines. I haven't tried it and can't vouch for it, but my tipster says it's easy to use, effective, and the price is right. The Publishing Pro.

Design Your Own Novel With Microsoft Word.

2010-01-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

A new one-on-one class: We don't recommend that authors do their own production work unless they meet several criteria. Novelists are more likely than others to fit a couple of those criteria. For example, their interior design is almost always simpler than that of non-fiction authors. Also, their projects tend to be more financially challenged, needing more pages than non-fiction works (which makes professional preparation and printing more expensive) and having a more elusive buying point (which makes revenue less predictable at best).

Even so, not all novelists should take this on--you need some computer savvy and a genuine interest in doing it. However, if you want to try it, we've come up with a one-on-one course that will give you a good start on designing your own novel with Microsoft Word. The text, that is. The cover is another story. The class has the following elements.

Achieving Balance: Style, Readability, and Space
Preparing Your Manuscript: Dashes, Spacing Mistakes, Ellipses and More
Defining Your Page: Margins, Headers, and Footers
Defining Your Basic Fonts: Font Styles and Uses, Font Sizes
Defining Your Paragraphs: Line Length, Line Spacing, and Justification or Not
Defining Other Elements: Chapter Headings, Indents.
Getting the Bugs Out: Widows, Orphans, and Other Bad Breaks
Getting to the Printer: The Trouble with Word.

The class takes place in my studio at Cottonwood Center for Arts, costs $100, and takes about three hours. If you're interested, call 719-630-0783 for an appointment.

The Publishing Pro

Use a "First Edition" to Sell Advance Copies.

2010-01-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

A publishing technique borrowed from printmakers: Thanks to novelist and artist Anne Flint for asking me how to go about creating a first edition in this world of on-demand printing. I hadn't thought about it, but the following made immediate sense.

Before you print any books, decide the number of books in your "first edition." Let's say 50.
Begin promoting your "first edition" to your most likely customers. Ask them to pre-pay, in which case you will give them a discount and, once the books are printed, send them an autographed and numbered "first edition" copy. Specify the number of copies in your first edition.
When the time comes to print your first books, go ahead and print whatever you need. It must be at least 50, if that's what you promoted, but it could be more. No need to add any printed indicator on the copyright page that this is a first edition.
When the books arrive, sign 50 copies (if that's what you promoted) and number them adding an FE after the number (e.g., 1/50 FE, 2/50 FE, etc.). The numbering system is the same one used by artists to sell numbered prints. The FE is one way to indicate that the copy is a "first edition." This way, you can do another run of signed and numbered copies, but you won't add the first-edition indicator after the number.
You may want to reinforce that your customer is getting a "signed and numbered first edition" with a little insert when you send him or her your book.

Offering a discount and an autographed copy to those willing to send you money before you even print your books is a well known technique for getting early orders and funding a first printing. You're just leveraging this technique by numbering the copies and specifying that a certain number of books are the first ones off the press. I like it.
The Publishing Pro

Nowadays Books Are Not Written in Stone.

2009-12-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

They are works in progress: When most books were printed thousands at a time, books had a quality of permanence about them. In truth, you'd probably only get one shot at getting your book right. With today's technology, books are much different. You can change a book at the drop of a hat, at least if your changes are not major, and it won't cost you much.

This means a couple of things: First, you don't have to be perfect, something you would have tried (and failed) to achieve in the old days. Second, you can look at your first printing as a starting point instead of an end point. You can get your book out there, knowing that doing so is precisely what helps you make it better down the road.

I don't think you should go crazy with the concept and change your book every week, but I do suggest you make simple changes to your book every year. Here are some small (though not necessary minor) changes to make once a year for a simple update.

Publisher's info: If your address, phone number, or website have changed, make it current. This is the single most important update.
Typos: Your readers probably found a boo-boo or two after printing. Even the best proofreaders miss about 50% of the errors in a book. A standard practice is to have two proofreaders go over a book at two proof stages. This should catch about 95% of the errors. In your second printing, assuming you don't make many additions, your fixes will bring you even closer to perfect.
Website addresses: Websites are terrific resources, and authors like to list them in books. Unfortunately, they are quite fluid. Check them all if you're doing an update. Ditto for any physical addresses on your resource page or elsewhere.
Cover copy: If your book has been out for a year, you might have acquired some new testimonials to add or use as replacements on the back of the book. You may also wish to update your biography or photo. If you've acquired a blockbuster testimonial from a big name, you might even want to excerpt it and put it on the front cover.
Coulda said it better: You may have identified sentences or paragraphs that you'd like to change. Here's where you need to be careful. The more changes you make, the more new errors you add. Also, the more changes you make, the more work you create for your designer and the greater expense for yourself. My advice is to be conservative with these changes--unless you've decided to pop for a "new edition," a marketing phrase that promises many changes and a new reason to buy the book. Think in terms of doing a simple update every year and, if your project warrants it, a new edition every two or three years. Where the simple update might cost $200 in fees from your designer and printer, the new addition might cost three or more times that.

The Publishing Pro.

Will Apple's "Tablet" Kill Amazon's "Kindle"?

2009-12-10T08:45:00.000-08:00

Maybe: I wouldn't bet against Amazon, but Apple's decision to take a 30% discount for its Tablet sales instead of the 50% that Amazon gets for Kindle sales will change the game. Amazon was being greedy, taking a wholesale discount instead of a retailer's discount. Publishers didn't like Amazon's approach, with good reason. Amazon will either need to go along with the smaller discount or live without the books from the smarter and more disciplined publishers. The Publishing Pro.

Are Printed Books Going Away?

2009-11-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Some Thoughts on Kindle and Other E-Readers: New technologies usually do not destroy old technologies, though they may force them to reinvent themselves. Until television came along, radio was the main source of scripted entertainment. When television came along and stole that role, radio became a source of musical and unscripted entertainment. Kindle--and its competitors--won't destroy the printed book, but it will change things. Other thoughts.

Each medium has its own advantages and disadvantages. E-Books promise greater portability (especially for porting around many books at a time), the ability to skip from part to part through hyperlinks (a huge potential advantage), and quick access for both locating, buying, and retrieving a book. Printed books have familiarity, physical presence on a bookshelf or coffee table, an archival advantage ("recorded" files have tended to get lost in technology transitions), and they don't require batteries. If you lose a printed book, you lose a book. If you lose an E-Reader, you lose a library. Printed books are an object that you can pick up and hold. You can pick up and hold the E-Reader, but the E-Book left unprinted is an idea rather than an object.
Look for E-Readers to become the way textbooks are delivered and read. They solve the "backpack problem" and may reduce student expenditures on school books.
Look for E-Readers to become popular with travelers. However, vacationers may prefer their "beach reads" to be in cheap paperbacks.
Look for E-Readers to be popular with those who hyperlink and for books that need to be hyperlinked.
Look for reading habits to change. Fewer will read the entire book. More people will scan books and jump from hyperlink to hyperlink, the "new book" equivalent of channel surfing. Short stories--or "books" that don't need to be read in their entirety--might became more popular than novels. The classic text-only novel needs to be printed. In any case, reading won't disappear. However, grammar and careful writing is in big trouble.
Look for E-Books to become multi-media rather than a single (text) medium. E-Books will evolve--or "devolve," depending on your point of view--to movies and interactive games.
Look for standalone E-Readers to disappear, instead becoming integrated as a feature in other devices (e.g., cell phones and notebook computers). For this reason, I would expect Adobe Reader and other cross-platform readers to outlive single-purpose and proprietary E-Readers. The Kindles of the world might have to evolve into mult-media and/or cross-platform devices.
Look for the velocity of publishing to increase. More books will be published. Fewer will be read in their entirety. And most of them will be lost as formats come in and out of existence. (Printed books will have a survivability advantage.)
Look for a technology solution that will help publishers and authors avoid going through wholesalers, instead selling E-Books directly to customers by transferring an E-Book from the publisher's device to the customer's device (and collecting payment in the bargain.)
Don't look for E-Readers to solve your "marketing problem." You will still need to persuade potential readers to buy your book, whether they do so from you directly, from a bookstore, or from an E-Book vendor. That part of the equation won't change.

More later. The Publishing Pro.

Who Taught Me What I Know ...

2009-10-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

... about publishing? Most of what I teach about publishing came from three different human resources.

William J. Burns: He is the publisher of Resource Publications, Inc. and was my boss when I worked there from 1984 to 2002. He understood that writing is a creative, introverted process. Authoring, on the other hand, is a creative, extroverted process. The "writer" who can't make the mental and emotional transition to "author" is of no use to a publisher. She won't be able to get out of her mental attic, interact with potential customers, and enjoy the process of selling her book. I resisted this idea for years, but I eventually "got it" and began looking for natural authors and writers who could make the transition from writer to author. Today, it is the centerpiece of what I teach my customers. In fact, I try to train them to begin thinking like authors before they even write their book.
John Huenefeld: After many years working for publishers, mostly in the marketing area, John built a business teaching independent niche publishers how to succeed. He was particularly good at defining how the "publisher" orchestrated each of the four key functions (or departments) of a publishing house: editorial acquisition, marketing/sales, production, and business. Because we implemented many of his suggested best practices at Resource Publications, Inc., I credit John with teaching me much about how publishing is supposed to operate. Today, I teach my self-publishing clients to think like real publishers, even if the four key departments are only in their heads.
Peter Drucker: I never met Peter Drucker, but I realized only recently that one of my best ideas came from him. He taught both for-profit and non-profit businesses to identify their "primary customer," which is not as easy as it sounds. For example, is the primary customer of a school district the student, the parent, the community at large, or someone else? It makes a difference. Moreover, if members of the board, the administration, and employees have different ideas about who the customer is, the district will be dysfunctional (which may explain a lot about the average school district). To help people decide who their primary customer is, Drucker would ask: "Whose life do you most intend to change with your business?" It's a powerful concept that I have embedded in my practice. I now start my publishing workshops by having authors define who their primary customer is and to clarify how they intend to change this person's life. The Publishing Pro

Anthologies Can Be a Good Way to Go ...

2009-09-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

... but they are a complication: I have a couple of clients who are thinking seriously about putting together an anthology. This can be an exciting approach because instead of one author you have 10, 15, 20 or however many contributors you've enticed into the project. These contributors can wind up being both author-promoters of the work and buyers of (multiple copies of) the book.

That's the good news. The bad news is that working with multiple contributors increases the administrative complexity of the project, and that complexity will fall on your shoulders. You've gone from "self-publisher" to "publisher" and "editor." You've graduated into the world of herding cats.

You'll save yourself a world of hurt if you make your contributors sign a simple contract, specifying the following:

The nature of the book: Provide the working title, a description of the reader, what you are trying to do for the reader and how you are changing your reader's life.
Their task: Tell them how many words you want, when you want it, and in what format. You might give them questions to address in their work, a working title for their chapter, or other suggestions. You might ask for a bio and photo to be used in the book.
The editing process: Tell them if and when they will be able to see copyedited copies of their work. It is reasonable to show them a copyedited manuscript, though you may not want to give them the absolute right to approve changes. Generally, you should not promise to show contributors a copy of the page proofs.
Your rights, their rights: Tell them what rights you are buying. It's simplest to buy all rights, but it's friendlier to buy limited rights. This may mean just the right to use their contribution in the book, or on your website, or your blog. In any case, you need to be clear. Your contributors must also warrant that what they write belongs to them and has not come from any other source without permission.
Their compensation: Spell out whether they are doing the work gratis or being paid in some fashion. Compensation could include money, books, or something else. For small publishing operations, it is reasonable to ask contributors to do the work gratis (especially for limited rights) and perhaps to offer them a copy of the book.
Their discount: You want your contributors to order books from you, so give them an incentive. For example, the right to buy books from you at 50% off.

This will help keep you out of trouble, especially with your friends. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Consider Selling Ads in Your Book.

2009-09-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it makes cents: Scott Mares, author of The Complete Book of Cyclocross, sold ads in his first edition and sold more for his second edition (just now available). The ads make sense in his book. They add credibility, a sense of participation by cycling vendors, and value to the book for readers. Oh, and they helped fund some of his upfront costs.

You don't see this as a rule because sometimes ads aren't appropriate or just aren't available. However, if ads make sense for your project, be sure you do the following. Have your advertisers sign a simple contract, specifying the following:

Ad specs: size; color; bleeds available or not; position. you promised any.
Artwork specs: file format and size and deadline
Cost: free, or specific $$s, or barter for goods, services, or other concessions. Specify the limits (e.g., for the life of the edition, for so many books sold, etc.), when payment is due, and any extra charges that apply (e.g., design charges if you have to create the ad for them)

You may be tempted to make these arrangements on a handshake, but getting everything in writing will clarify expectations and help keep you out of trouble. The Publishing Pro, LLC

How Do You Protect Your Copyright ...

2009-09-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

... when you are using a pen name? A would-be author emailed this question to me. The answer is fairly simple: You register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, in which case you identify both your pen name and your real name. However, using a pseudonym makes it exponentially harder for you to market your book, so you'd better have a good reason for going that route. Click here for some discussion on reasons why you might--or might not--want to use a pen name. The Publishing Pro, LLC

When Should You Design Your Own Book?

2009-04-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Or at least consider it: You should consider designing your own book when some or all of the following are in play:

When you have nothing better to do. Maybe you don’t have an important golf game to get to, but you do have a book to represent. You can find any number of people to professionally design your book for you. But you can’t—no matter what certain vendors will tell you—find someone to sell your book as well as you can. That’s where you should put your energy. On the other hand, if you’re doing that and still have tons of time on your hands …
When you don’t care what your book looks like. I’m assuming that you’re not a professional book designer, in which case your design and page makeup won’t look as good as a professional's. This sounds self-serving—because I do book design—and it is. I can spot a DIY job from a hundred yards—even it's a good one. However, you should know that, as a general rule, I place professional book design lower on the priority list than other factors, such as identifying the right readership, having a strong message, planning your book's shape and size correctly, writing your book clearly, and getting it edited well. On the other hand, having done all those things well, do you still care if your book doesn’t “look” completely professional?
If your design requirements are simple. Actually, this mitigates the second point. If your book requires a simple design—let’s say you’re writing a novel—you will have a much easier time coming up with a professional design and professional-looking pages than if your book is complex.
If you will enjoy it. If you’re the type of person who will enjoy the book design process, then it’s worth considering. If you know it’s going to be a pain …
If you have the talent for it. If book design appears to be up your alley—you need to be something of an artist with a love for words and an eye for detail—then it’s worth considering, especially if you think you might do this again.
If you have no money to outsource the job. Now that printing can be done in small quantities or even on-demand, you can get your book printed for almost no investment. However, you still have to prepare your book for printing—and that can cost a few dollars. If you don’t have it, you might consider doing your own design and page makeup, especially if some of the above factors are in play. Check first, though. A good design, especially if your book is simple, might not cost as much as you think.
If you can get good advice or coaching. If you take on your own book design or page makeup, you can increase the quality of your work by learning how to do it, either by investigating the rules of the road or getting yourself a coach. You can also get someone to help you come up with a design that you implement. The Publishing Pro.

What Does It Mean to Be a Self-Publisher?

2009-03-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

Just the basics: If you're a self-publisher, it means that you're the publisher. All that means--and it's a lot--is that you own all the publishing rights to your book and you're in charge of everything.

If you're a self-publisher, it doesn't mean you are a vain, ego-driven crummy writer. It doesn't mean your book isn't good enough to be published by a "real publisher." It doesn't mean you are supposed to do your own editing, book design, page makeup, and printing. It doesn't mean you would be any good at those things if you tried. You just have to do them yourself--or find somebody to do them for you. At your direction.

Being a self-publisher is a little like building your own house. You could do everything yourself, but you'd have to be able to do your own architectural design, materials buying, excavation, masonry, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and finish carpentry. And you'd need tons of time. On the other hand, you could farm out some of the jobs. You might even hire a general contractor to do most of the coordinating work yourself. But you're still in charge. You should be overseeing what the house looks like, what kind of materials its made of, and how good the workmanship is. Because you're paying the bills, and it's your house.

That's what it means to be a self-publisher. The Publishing Pro.

Next Workshop: March 4

2009-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

How to Publish Your Own Book: Next workshop is scheduled for April 1, 7 to 9 pm, at Black Cat Books, 720 Manitou Ave, Manitou Springs, CO 80829. The Publishing Pro.

Have You Heard of Twitter?

2009-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

The latest in social networking: Twitter is designed to help people stay in touch with each other. It's limited to very short text messages--much like what you would send on cell phone (one way to use twitter)--and a little weird. Who has time to tell people you just enjoyed a cup of tea? And what good does that do? However, Joseph Liberti, one of our customers, thinks it's the bees knees for authors. I'm trying it out. Click here to follow my twitter. The Publishing Pro.

PayPal Makes It Easy ...

2008-12-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

But be careful: If you'd like to take credit and debit card orders for your book(s) but don't want to pay the freight for a credit-card merchant account, PayPal is a viable option. PayPal has several plans available, which can be both confusing and helpful. And you should also be aware that there are many complaints on the web about PayPal, most from merchants rather than consumers and many of the complaint sites seem to be supported by a competing merchant provider. Several of our clients are using it to take credit card orders and like it. One of them, Scott Mares (author of The Complete Book of Cyclocross) found that Yahoo web hosting made PayPal a particularly convenient option for his bookselling site. The Publishing Pro.

In Tough Times, Publish.

2008-12-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

... Or perish: The old expression from academia applies in the business world today. Even though the world seems to be constricting, this is a good time to publish. In fact, publishing may be the difference between your success and failure. Here's why:

In tough times, people want help. In fact, they are desperate for it. If you've got something to say that will change their lives, say it now--when your audience is most interested in listening.
In tough times, you have to be better. You can't be lazy. You must be focused. You have to know your audience, know what they need, and know how you can meet that need. In tough times, you are more likely to produce a great book.
In tough times, your book can be the difference in your business, ministry, or work. The right book builds your credibility and your brand, gets you more business, makes you desirable as a speaker, and is a profit center in its own right. The right book may even make you attractive to an employer.
In any times, publishing a book--if you do it right--is low risk. Nowadays, you don't have to dump your money into inventory. You can print as you go. Moreover, you can adjust on the fly.

Let us tell you how to make your project a success, especially in these times. The Publishing Pro.

Join Our Author's Meet-up!

2008-12-21T09:45:00.000-08:00

Reach your audience: I'd like to form a Colorado Springs "authors' meet-up" This would differ from a "writers' group," which typically focuses on the introverted part of the publishing process. Instead, we would focus on the extroverted side of things--the selling, the marketing, the reaching out to your audience--what I call "authoring." Early feedback suggests that we charge a modest fee, maybe $5.00 for would-be authors and $1.00 for anyone who brings their published (traditional- or self-). The reason for the distinction is that published authors would be able to share their experience, strength, and hope. We've settled on the first Monday of the month, time and place. still to be determined. This is a great opportunity to get free coaching and support, both from me and participants. Contact me if interested. (If you are interested in this sort of thing but live outside of the area, let me know. There are virtual ways to meet.) The Publishing Pro.

Do-It-Yourself Typography: Double Space

2008-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's a New Era: In the typewriter era, good style required you to put two spaces after a period. Typewriters used "monospaced" fonts, meaning that every letter or glyph took up the same width. With monospaced fonts, two spaces after a period looked better and we're needed to set off a sentences from each other. When we moved into the computer era, more than two decades ago now, most fonts in common use are variable-width. These fonts look better when you use only one space after a period.

Even so, a surprising number of people keep to the habit of inserting two spaces after a period. This either makes more work for your desktop publisher, who will eliminate them, or will leave your book looking a little amateurish if your desktop publisher doesn't better than to eliminate all those extra spaces.--The Publishing Pro, LLC

Do-It-Yourself Typography: Serif and Sanserif

2008-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

The Basics: In typography, regular fonts fall into two major categories--serif and sans-serif. "Serifs" are little nobs or slight ornamentation on the ends of letters. Fonts that don't have these bits are called "sans-serif," from the French sans meaning without. Here are a few rules of thumb:

For printed works, use a serif font like Times New Roman for your body text. It will be easier to read as text than a sans-serif font like Arial.
For online works, use a sanserif font for your body text. For reasons that have something to do with light, sans-serif fonts read more easily on current computer screens.
If you want to use more than one font family, use (for a printed application) a serif font for your body text and a sanserif font for display or non-body text applications (e.g., chapter headings, subheadings, and the like). This works because serif and sans-serif fonts are so different from each other that your choice will look deliberate. On the other hand, if you try to combine serif (or sans-serif) fonts from different families, it will look like you don't know what you are doing.
In general, you don't want too many font families in your book. For most purposes, two font families are plenty. You can get more than enough variety from variations in style (i.e., Roman, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic, Large Caps, Small Caps, Underscoring, and the like). The Publishing Pro, LLC

If You Recycle, Are You Really Saving Trees?

2008-01-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

It Seems Logical: If you print a book, you need paper. If you use virgin paper for your book, you have to cut down a tree to make the paper. Therefore, you are reducing the world's forest. Well, not really, as it turns out. "Pulp" trees are faster growing than lumber trees. Like Christmas trees, they are planted and cultivated. Farmed. The more paper you use, the more trees get planted. This excerpt from a story by Sally Herigstad in MSN MONEY, says it well enough.

We've all heard: Recycle paper and save the trees. But according to James
Wetzel, a professor of environmental economics at Virginia Commonwealth
University, the end result of all that recycling is fewer acres of timberland,
not more. More than one-third of paper pulp now comes from recycled sources.
"Alas, one result is a decrease in demand for pulpwood -- thus the price of
timberland falls," Wetzel says. If timber companies sell fewer trees for paper,
they find more-profitable things to do with the land, like sell it to
developers.
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," Wetzel says. "If you want
people to plant more trees, they need a reason. In 30 to 50 years, they will
harvest those trees."
Shredded paper may not make it into recycled paper, anyway. Anca Novacovici,
founder of Eco-Coach, says, "Shredded paper cannot be recycled with regular paper because the fibers are cut short. Therefore it is demoted to a lower-grade material."

To me, it still makes sense to recycle paper when you can because it saves (maybe) some energy. It just doesn't save the forests, so don't lose sleep over printing your book when recycled paper isn't practical.--The Publishing Pro, LLC

Smart Publishers Don't Market Individual Books ...

2007-08-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

... they market books: New authors--and some experienced ones--think publishers exist to market their individual books. While this seems logical, book publishing doesn't work this way in the real world. In fact, it doesn't make financial sense. A very modest project--a small book with a press run of 2,000--might cost the publisher $10,000 for editing acquisition, production, printing, order-taking and fulfillment, administration, and marketing. If the publisher expects to make a profit, only about $1500 (15% of the total costs) can be allocated to marketing--and that includes the book's share of marketing department salaries, catalog, website, exhibits, customer service, and directly allocated marketing expenses such as press releases. Only for really large projects is there any money at all for and individually tailored marketing or publicity campaign.

This doesn't mean that traditional publishers do nothing for a book. What niche publishers bring to the table is a large basket of customers interested in books in a given area. Travel, for example. They have a marketing system--catalogs, websites, customer service, telemarketing, package stuffers, trade exhibits, and so on--that reaches travel customers. They plug each new book into the system and can usually count on some percentage of their existing travel customers being interested in this new book. And this new book then will generate a few new customers who might be interested in some other travel books already published by the company.. It's a relatively efficient system--and the way most niche publishers make money, if they make money.

Does this mean your book will get no individual attention? No, but you're the one that will have to give it that individual attention. Your publisher will expect that. Most publishers try to make this clear--though I've noticed that many authors don't seem to hear the message and become resentful when they realize they have to do "all the work." Like it or not, this is how the business works. If you can make your peace with it, you can take advantage of your publisher's infrastucture to become quite successful.--Ken Guentert, The Publishing Pro.

Marketing Tip: Write Yourself a Book Proposal

2007-08-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Don't write a book without one: If you're on the hunt for someone to publish your book, you'll send prospective publishers a proposal. If you're smart, that is. (If you're not smart, you'll send them all a manuscript that they'll throw in the wastebasket.) Writing a book proposal is a good exercise--even if you're planning to publish your book yourself. The reason: the book proposal is your primary planning document. Here are the basic steps:

Write a short description of your target reader. Instead of using generalities, describe a specific person, or couple, or family. Depending on your book, relevant details might include their appearance, their age, their marital status, their family size, their income, their needs, their desires, their values. If you can picture an actual person in your mind, more’s the better. (Note: if your book’s buyers will be different from your book’s readers--the case for children’s books, for example), you might have to split this exercise in two.)
Write a short summary of your message. This is best phrased as how you will change your reader’s life. This is a powerful concept. The change you promise may be modest—maybe you are a mystery writer who only wants to entertain someone sunning herself on a beach—but the more significant the change you can promise, the more likely you are to find readers and the higher price your book can command. If you can’t promise to change someone’s life, why do you expect anyone to buy your book?
Decide on a working title and subtitle. Generally, the title and subtitle should clue your potential editor and reader into what your book has to say and to whom. Be descriptive rather than poetic How to Make a Million Dollars Selling Widgets is a stronger title than Widgets Gone Wild. If you must be clever and creative with your title, your subtitle definitely will need to the do the descriptive job. As in: Widgets Gone Wild: How I Became a Billionaire Selling Widgets.
Write Your Table of Contents. Again, your Table of Contents should be descriptive. The purpose is to clarify (for yourself, if you’re self-publishing, and ultimately for your readers) where you are taking your readers and what you will do for them. Your Table of Contents is an extremely powerful marketing device, one that may determine whether someone buys your book or not. Writing a good one—it’s basically an outline—also will make it easier for you to finish writing your manuscript. And it will definitely help you stay on track.

That’s it. Now you’ve got a proposal that defines your book from the ground up.--Ken Guentert, The Publishing Pro.

Tips for Finding the Right Publisher ...

2007-05-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

.... and avoiding the wrong one: While we're big fans of self-publishing--or do-it-yourself micro-publishing--we recognize that most authors dream of finding a publisher who will make them a million bucks. Well, that's pretty tough, but there's nothing wrong with having a dream and pursuing it. Here are some tips that will make it easier.

Consider self-publishing before--or while--you look for a publisher. Prospective publishers will look more favorably on you if you have established a track record of being able to sell your work. You don't have to sell thousands of copies to impress a publisher--a few hundred, steady sales, or a profitable project will do. On the other hand, if you think you can find a publisher who can sell your book when you can't, you are dreaming.
Identify likely publishers from the get-go. Go to the library or online to identify prospective publishers in such resources as The Writer's Market. Look for publishers who express some interest in what you're writing about and who you're writing to. For this, we prefer smaller "niche publishers" to larger "trade publishers." The former have a stronger focus and are more likely to be interested in your book and to keep it in print for a longer period of time. Skip the publishers who look only at manuscripts submitted by agents--unless of course you are using an agent.
Write a good proposal. Your proposal should contain a descriptive working title and subtitle, a coherent summary of what you are saying, who you are saying it to, and how your book will change their lives. Include a descriptive Table of Contents that shows where the editor where you are taking your reader. You will send this proposal, along with a short cover letter, and however many chapters (usually one, two, or three) the particular publisher wants to see. Publishers almost never want to see the entire manuscript. (If you want, you can have a competent copy editor work over your manuscript. However, if your content is clear, this is probably not necessary. Unless you are submitting literature, the acquisition editor is unlikely to care how well you dot your eyes and cross your tees. That will be taken care of later.}
Follow up. If you've submitted your manuscript to a big New York publisher, you probably won't get anywhere by telephoning the publisher and asking for the editor. However, if you've submitted your manuscript to a small niche publisher, you have a good chance of talking to someone who might be interested in talking to you about your project--especially if you've done your homework and targeted likely publishers.
Check 'em out. If you've managed to interest a publisher, you then need to decide if this publisher is really right for you. The temptation will be to go with anyone who is interested--because chances are there will be only one--but one bad marriage is not in your interest. You still have the option of going it alone. Make sure:

The publisher publishes in your area of expertise. If she doesn't, why is she interested in your book?

The publisher has a track record. If your publisher is just starting out, he may have no idea what he is getting into and probably doesn't.

The publisher has a clear way of marketing books like yours and/or to readers like you intend to reach. Don't expect your publisher to pull out all the publicity stops for your books. Generally, it doesn't work that way. Successful publishers are good at marketing multiple products--books, for example--to customers eager to buy more than one item for them. Look at your potential publisher's catalog, website, events, and exhibits and ask yourself if your book makes sense there. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. At least ask your potential publisher, again, why she is interested.

The publisher seems to care about building relationships with authors. If he doesn't seem interested in your work, he probably isn't all that interested in you or your book that much either.

If the fit feels right, you have something more important than a contract. If it doesn't feel right, the best contract in the world won't make it right.

Ken Guentert, The Publishing Pro.

Contract Issue: Buying Your Books from Your Publisher

2007-05-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

Making Your Contract Work For You, Not Against You: If you find a publisher for your book, you should be able to buy that book from your publisher at a substantial discount. Typically, the publisher will offer you something like a "trade discount," which is to say a price that your publisher would sell books to resellers. In fact, you are a reseller, perhaps your publisher's best one for your book. The more books you buy at this rate, the better it is for your publisher. For this reason, smart publishers will encourage you to buy more books at a time by giving you deeper and deeper discounts (within reason) the more books you buy. Your discounts should be stated plainly in your contract, as a percentage of the list price or something equally direct. Look for discounts on the order of 40% off the price (or 60% of the list price, same thing) for buying a handful of books to 50% or even more for buying hundreds of books at a time. Do not accept a contract that refers to a generality like the right to buy copies at a "wholesale price" without any specifics. We've heard of such things, where publishers turn around and make the authors buy books at maybe a 10% discount, the same one they give their own internet buyers. Most publishers aren't this dumb, but apparently some are. (Note: One of the downsides of On-Demand Publishing is that the discounts to authors don't come anywhere close to what I'm talking about above.)

Two other suggestions:

First, consider asking your publisher if you can commit to buying a large quantity of books (1000 or more) off of a press run. If your publisher is agreeable, you'll get your deepest discount this way.
Second, get the right to buy books against your royalties. If you aren't getting a cash advance against royalties--more typical than getting one--ask to get an advance in the form of books. Of course, this will reduce (or eliminate) your cash royalties down the road. On the other hand, if you can sell your books, this is financially advantageous. Here's how it works. Let's say you have accumulated $1000.00 in royalties payable somewhere down the road. Let's say you have the right to buy your book, which has a $20.00 list price, at a not-all-that-generous 40% discount or $12.00 each. Your publisher lets you take 83 books worth $996.00 at your discount (83 times $12.00) against your royalties owed. You turn around and sell those books at the list price, thus your $996.00 royalty taken as books converts to $1660.00 (83 times $20.00). Of course, you've got to sell the books--but that is the name of the game. It's a good deal.

--Ken Guentert, The Publishing Pro.

Marketing Tip: Forget about Selling to Bookstores ...

2007-04-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

... As Your Primary Strategy: Most first-time authors that I meet have a misconception about how books are sold. They think books are sold mainly through bookstores. They can be forgiven for believing this. After all, bookstores are the place where it is easiest to see books being sold. And seeing is believing. And the other piece of this belief is that authors want to believe their books will be sold in stores. If you’re an author, nothing feels more like success than walking into a big chain store and seeing your book on the best-seller table.

Obviously, some books are sold in bookstores, but I am not enthusiastic about any but large and knowledgeable publishers following a sales strategy that relies principally on bookstores. Here’s why:

First, selling to bookstores is unlikely to be profitable. In order to get your books into bookstores, you must sell them at a substantial discount. If you sell to them directly, you will probably sell them for 40% off of your list price. And then you will need to set up an account for them, invoice them, collect payment, and deal with returns. If you sell to bookstores indirectly through a distributor or wholesaler, you will do so at 50% or more likely 55% or more off of your list price. If you are a self-publisher, starting out with a small press run, you will find it almost impossible to make money at these discounts. Even if you are an independent publisher of several books, able to do standard runs of 2000-5000, you will find the economics of bookstore selling difficult at best and a strategy engaged in as a secondary rather than a primary revenue stream.
Second, selling to bookstores is risky. If you sell to bookstores directly and set up accounts with them, they will expect to return unsold books. This is something you may be able to live with, at least over time as you build up your business and your account base. However, if you sell to bookstores indirectly through distributors, returns are a killer. Here’s what happens. When your book comes out, your distributor asks you to send them a quantity of copies, let’s say, 1,000. Now you think you’ve sold 1,000 copies. You haven’t, whether your distributor buys the copies up front or on consignment—because your distributor retains the right to return unsold books to you. You ship 1,000 books to your distributor, who ships them to one or more warehouses. The warehouses then distribute your books to stores. However, the stores usually will not put your books on the shelves unless one of two things happen: 1) you give them a monetary incentive to display the books (this is called a “retail display allowance”) or 2) people are coming into the stores asking for your book. The latter only happens if you’ve done some publicity or taken other marketing steps that drive people into the stores. Assuming you haven’t been able to afford to pay stores extra money or to spend thousands of dollars on a national publicity program, the bookstores now send your unsold books back to the warehouse, which sends your unsold books back to you. What’s more, thanks to all the handling, a large percentage of the books may be damaged and not saleable, at least at the list price. And to add insult to injury, the distributor may tear the covers off and send you only the covers (to save shipping costs) so that you can’t even sell the damaged books at a discount. Now you’ve spent extra money on books you can’t sell and on shipping that did you no good.
Third, bookstores (especially general-interest stores like Barnes and Noble) are not an effective way to market your book. Bookstores are infrastructure, a place where customers can find books. Of course, there is some marketing involved, especially in the way bookstores display books. And that’s one reason why it’s important to pay attention to your cover design. The problem is that bookstores, especially the general ones, do not do an effective job or reaching your particular customers. They attract all kinds of customers, few of whom are going to have the remotest interest in your book. They are highly inefficient that way. (On the other hand, if a bookstore has a focus—travel, for example—and you have published a travel book, the match is better. More about this some other time.) Moreover, if they do attract the right customers, and even when the right customer buys your book, you don’t have this customer’s name. And you can’t sell them something else or talk to them about your work—unless this customer contacts you.

This is not say that it is impossible for a small publisher to succeed with a strategy of selling to bookstores. Here are two of my favorite stories about two authors who “succeeded.” (Their names are fictional.)

Joe Miller printed five thousand copies of his first book, a hard-copy compendium of inspiring stories. This was a rather large run for a first-time author, but Joe was both energetic and smart. He figured out how the bookstore business worked. He hired a distributor, put together a publicity plan, and managed to sell most of his press run through bookstores. I thought he was rather successful. However, when I talked to him a couple of years later, he had a new strategy—enlisting the aid of corporations to buy editions of his book to be given away for publicity purposes. Not a bad strategy, actually. I asked him what happened to his bookstore efforts. “Oh, I gave up on that,” he said. “With tons of hard work, I managed to get rid of my books. But the discounts to distributors and bookstores were so high, I didn’t make anything.”
Bill Scarpelli created a small publishing house with a list composed entirely of his own photo books, which he sold mainly through bookstores. He was planning more books in the same vein. I was impressed. “Well, it’s taken a tremendous amount of work,” he said. “And capital. The worst problem is that it is so uneven. Sometimes the money pours in. Sometimes there is nothing. I’ve had to declare bankruptcy twice.”

And those were successes! The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Copyright Permissions: A Publisher's Headache

2007-01-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

Don't Quote Me: At The Publishing Pro, LLC, we firmly believe that publishing is fun. And easy. Mostly. That is, until we're asked, "Do I have to get permission to use this quote?" At that point, we throw up our hands and admit to the author-publisher that, well, maybe this aspect of publishing won't be a barrel of laughs. The best we can do is make it easier. A little. Here's the deal. If what you want to quote is in the "public domain," you don't need to obtain permission. In addition, if your use of the quotation is considered "fair use," you don't need to obtain permission either. If you go to the fair-use statute in the U.S. Code, you might think that it is not all that useful. It is rather general, purposely ambiguous, and meant to apply to any number of situations. The reality is that a legimitate copyright holder usually gets to determine whether your use of the material constitutes "fair use." The upshot is: the only safe road is to get written permission from the copyright holder to use the material the way you want to use it with the credit line (and payment, if any) that the copyright holder wants. Yuk! Typically, most authors and publishers are happy for the bit of publicity that comes from being quoted and credited, but you can't count on it. To be safe, you need to ask. If you decide, as many authors do, that you can bypass this step because you "know" there won't be a problem, you are on your own. The Publishing Pro, LLC

PublishAmerica: POD with a Difference

2007-01-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Think Before You Sign Up: We had a client call us up, excited because she had been offered the opportunity to publish with PublishAmerica. She wanted to know if it was a good idea. PublishAmerica is an interesting outfit, one of those hybrid companies that combine aspects of traditional publishing with print-on-demand (POD) technology. Most of these outfits skew more to printing, charging a "set up fee" of several hundred dollars (mainly for setting the book into pages) and paying a "royalty" for each book sold and sent out to a customer. PublishAmerica skews more to traditional publishing in that it doesn't charge a set-up fee, boasting that it is a traditional publisher in that respect. In addition, it pays a royalty for books sold and even an advance on royalties (though the "advance" is usually a rather cute $1.00). We were intrigued with the lack of a setup fee, especially since they provide some copyediting and compose the book into pages, and wondered how they could do it. Here's how they make out. First, the copyediting and page composition services are quick and dirty. Second, unlike most other print-on-demand publishers, PublishAmerica buys all rights to a book for seven years, locking in potential sales, including author purchases at a very low discount of 20% (or 30% for high volume purchases). Third, they get authors to give them key contacts, who are then offered discounts on the books, effectively locking authors out of sales they might have gotten themselves. Fourth, they aren't picky about which authors they accept, because they can count on selling a couple hundred books to authors and their customers, enough to make a profit on each customer, and enough to do very, very well as a company, thanks to persuading thousands of authors to join the fold. We admire the model, but we advised our client to stay away. She can do better on her own. And so can you. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Your "Work" Is Not Your "Book."

2006-12-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Marketing Tip: If you come to us with a book project, part of our spiel will be that "your work is not your book." Once you "get" this, you will have an easier time thinking about your marketing task ahead. Here's why. To be successful, you must first have a clear idea about what your "work" is. Your "work" is a term that combines your purpose, your message, and your goals into one word. Let's say your "work" is to save the endangered bumpkin. Your coffee-table book, The Bumpkins of Burma: The Last of a Breed, supports your "work" (saving bumpkins), as does your bumpkin blog, your bumpkin website, your articles about bumpkins, your public-relations efforts, your workshops on bumpkin-saving, and the bumpkin-watching tours that you lead twice a year. You realize that your "marketing" is aimed at promoting your message--save the bumpkin--and you never miss an opportunity to use these various channels to promote your message. When you do this, you notice that there is a certain synergy in your efforts. For example, you find that Bumpkins of Burma not only gives you the chance to promote your blog, your website, your workshops, and your tours but seems to be generating more interest in you as a presenter and in your projects. Moreover, you find that you have something to sell every time you appear somewhere, even when you appear for free, and suddenly you start to like this idea of synergy. Surprisingly, this principle works for fiction authors, too. In other words, the "work" of a poet or novelist is the poem or novel, which can be delivered in person (through readings), on tape, in multi-media, online, and in a hundred other ways--as well as in a book. But the book intensifies the synergy. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Priority Mail: The Best Thing Since the Three-Cent Stamp

2006-12-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Shipping Tip #1: Okay, sending a small package by Priority Mail will cost you $4.05, which seems like a long way from the three-cent stamp. But here's why it's a good deal for book shippers: You get to use their free envelope! If you go out and buy a decent envelope for your book and then try to save money by shipping the book media rate, it will have cost you about as much as Priority Mail and your package won't arrive as quickly. So what's the point? Within the States, we almost always ship book orders by Priority Mail. If we're concerned about delivery, we add on their delivery confirmation service.

Shipping Tip #2: Don't forgret to add a shipping charge to your mail orders. For a single book, you'll want to make it $5.00 or more (to cover Priority Mail). I'm not a big fan of this, but you can set your shipping charges higher so that you can set your book price(s) a bit lower. Just don't forget to have a shipping-charge schedule. Otherwise, any profits on selling your book will disappear. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Don't Sweat the Royalties.

2006-12-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

Other Things Are More Important: Book royalties are a nifty idea, just because they are a way for a publisher to share a book's success with the author. Which is as it should be. However, while nice, royalties aren't that nice. Here's why:

You won't get that cash "advance": Okay, you might, but probably not if a) the publisher doesn't give advances and b) if you are a first-time (published) author. If you do get an advance, keep in mind that you are getting an "advance" against royalties owed to you down the road. This will delay any further payments made to you.
You won't see any money for a long time: Maybe three years, maybe never. Your contract will tell you how and when your royalties should be paid. This varies with the publisher. However, royalties are paid on books sold, and this will be calculated according to periods of time, a quarter to a full calendar year, and then made payable on some schedule. In other words, your royalties for sales in calendar year 2007 might not become payable until July of the following year. In addition, your contract might even absolve the publisher from paying cash royalties at all under some conditions--for example, if your project does not make a profit. In this case, you won't see any cash royalties (see below for other options).
Your royalty percentage doesn't matter: Okay, of course it matters. Just not as much as you think it does. The reality is that a smart publisher can only afford to give you so much of the pie. Think about it. If your publisher goofs and gives you a royalty share that is so high she loses money on the sale of every book, she quickly will stop selling your book (or go out of business, in debt to you). On the other hand, if he gives you a stingy royalty, so much so that he makes a terrific profit on the sale of each book, he will be more likely to work hard selling your book. Which is best for you? The stingier publisher.

In practice, this means that you shouldn't worry too much about the royalty terms your publisher gives you--assuming the publisher is a good fit for other reasons. Here are four things that are more important:

Get a good deal on books you purchase: You should get something comparable to a bookstore discount, 40% on orders of small quantities with an increasing discount for larger orders. Try to get a discount for large orders of at least 50%. If you're buying copies right off of the first press run, you might be able to negotiate an even even deeper discount.
Get an advance in copies of your book: While most publishers will not give you an advance against royalties in cash, they will usually be happy to give you advance against the estimated royalties for a year in the form of copies of your book. Usually, the value of these books will be calculated according to the discount schedule you negotiated above. This is a win-win deal. Your publisher makes out because she is eliminating some of her long-term liability (your royalties) with books that she might have printed at $2.00 a book and given to you as a royalty at a value of $10.00 a book. You make out because you are getting a book worth $10.00 to you--but without paying any cash at all--that you can turn around and sell at a retial price of, say, $20.00. If you can sell your books, you've just doubled your royalty. Like I said, it's win-win.
Get the right to buy books against royalties: Related to the above, make sure you can always buy books against royalties owed, even if not otherwise payable in cash. It's a good deal.
Make sure you get your rights back: Publishers do not keep in print books that do not sell at a certain level. To protect yourself from a book going out of print, make sure you can get your rights back if a book is taken out of print. In many cases, you might not be able to get all rights to revert to you. However, you should be able to guarantee that you can continue to print an edition of your own in the event the publisher discontinues the book.

The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Ultra Short-Run Book Printing Now Available

2006-11-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

At the Business of Art Center: We now have the capability to print ultra short-runs (e.g., 25-150 copies) of books and have done so several times. For maximum efficiency, the books should be either 8 1/2" x 11" or 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" format, but they have color covers, either black and white or color interiors, stapled or "perfect" binding. They look and feel like "trade" (bookstore) books. The unit cost is more than the unit cost of a "regular" short run (200-1000 copies), perhaps double, but this is an alternative if you only need a few books, if you want to "beta test" your book before doing a larger press run, or if you want a more lucrative alternative to "on-demand" printing. For more information, call 719-685-1861. Ext. 31. The Publishing Pro, LLC

What Discounts Should You Give to Bookstores?

2006-08-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Rules of Thumb: Note the question. What discounts should you give ...? You're supposed to set the terms for various classes of customers, and then you let the customers (the stores) determine whether they want to play ball with you. However, your terms need to be in the ballpark. Use the following as a rough but reasonable guide:

20% discount--to resellers who buy a single copy of your book at a time, payment made if possible with their order. Large bookstores (e.g., Barnes and Noble) will order books for their customers (special-order) from you on this basis. They pay the shipping. (Generally, resellers don't make money on this discount. They are doing a service for their customers.)
30% discount--to resellers (though not distributors) who agree to sell your books on consignment. Payment is made after the sale by the reseller, practically speaking on their timetable. You pay the shipping. With this deal, resellers accept a lower-than-normal discount in return for not having to tie up their money on inventory.
40% discount--to resellers who order multiple copies at a time. This is the standard in the bookselling business. Normally, you would set up an account for these booksellers and invoice them for whatever they order. Usually, they pay the shipping. However, they expect to be able to return books that they don't sell--and they will.
50% discount--to resellers who order multiple copies at a time, pay for shipping, pay upfront, and agree to no-returns. This not standard, but it is a deal I would accept as a publisher in a second--because of the upfront payment and the no-return agreement. And if I were a bookseller--and confident of my sales--I would love it as well.

The discounts may seem high, but retailing is a tough business. Retailers need that 40% discount (at least) in order to keep their shelves stocked. And you're almost always better off selling your books direct to your readers. The Publishing Pro.

Do You Need an ISBN?

2006-06-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Maybe: If you think you might sell your book through resellers like Amazon.com or regular bookstores, you should get an ISBN. You only need one ISBN per book, but you'll need to order a minimum of ten numbers for about $275.00. Sorry about that; it's the way it works. You can order your set online at www.isbn.org. An ISBN is a unique number that helps booksellers make sure their customers get the book they wanted instead of a different book with the same or similar title or the wrong edition of the book the right book. At The Publishing Pro, LLC, we do not provide our customers with an ISBN and strongly recommend that they get their own. The extra cost is worth it. We've heard too many horror stories from newbie publishers who thought it convenient or money-saving to use an ISBN owned by a quasi-publisher, a printer, or a well-meaning friend trying to save them money. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Try Google Book Search.

2006-05-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Marketing Tip: Google is testing a new program called "Google Book Search," which uses Google's powerful search engine to help people find the books they are looking for and where they can be purchased. While you should not confuse Google Book Search with marketing, it is a useful marketing tool that you would be well advised to use if you can. There are restrictions. For example, you need to be the rights holder to the book in question, which should not be a problem for self-publishers; have an ISBN number and a bar code; and a way that people can order your books. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Extremely Small Print Runs Can Be Useful.

2006-05-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Micro-Publishing Is Fast! We've often told people to not let the necessity of doing very small runs stop them from publishing. In fact, we find that our customers can arrange to recover their out-of-pocket costs after selling only 200 copies of an initial press run of 500. However, some customers have good reasons for printing even less--but they still want their book to look like a trade book (that's a book that would look respectable in a bookstore). No matter. Here at the Business of Art Center in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where we call home, we just helped a business executive complete a book--from light edit to finished copies--in a little more than a week. He only needed enough copies to circulate to a corporate board of directors, but he wanted it in a hurry and he wanted it to look like it belonged in Barnes and Noble. We did the prep at warp speed, printed the project on our juiced-up copier, and hustled it over to a local binder for professional (perfect) bookbinding. It looked great. This is not normally the way to go, but it is a useful when you need to impress an important but small group of readers, as he did, to print review copies some weeks in advance of your final press run, or to hedge your bets by testing the waters with a very small press run. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Try an Email Newsletter.

2006-04-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

Don't re-invent the wheel: Thanks to spam and the required tools to prevent it, we've lost our infatuation with email. Still, email newsletters are cheap and useful ways to communicate with some folks, specifically those who want you to communicate with them. For this purpose, we use and like the online newsletter tool from www.constantcontact.com. With relatively little technical expertise, you can set up professional looking newsletters and other publications in no time. However, what we really like is the way it manages our email lists, including taking care of opt-ins and opt-outs. We also like the way it tracks response to our publications. It's relatively inexpensive, even free if you have less than 50 addresses. And they have a free trial period. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Is Print-On-Demand a Good Way to Go?

2006-04-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Not If You Plan to Be Successful: "Print on Demand" (POD) is a new technology provided by vendors who store your book digitally and print off copies as they are ordered, one at a time if necessary. It's a nice technology that can reduce your risk, but it also reduces your chance of making money or recouping your investment. If you're a first-time novelist determined to get into print and haven't the slightest inclination to sell your book, even to your friends, it might be the way to go. On the other hand, if you've got a business reason for publishing your book, it's a dud. We especially dislike the illusion that you're getting some kind of marketing effort when you work with a POD. Rather than running my mouth about, I'll just send you over to Ron Pramschufer's Publishing Basics blog for more than you every wanted to know about the subject. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Your Cheapest Way to An Internet Presence ...

2006-04-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

Start a Blog: Everybody who is thinking about publishing a book or who has already published one should have an internet presence. No, it doesn't have to be difficult or pricey. In fact, it can be easy and free. The easiest way is to set yourself up with a "blog." All you do is go to a site like blogspot.com (the one we use) and set up your site. You don't need to buy a domain name. You don't need to pay a fee. You pick your site name, something like yourname.blogspot.com. You select and customize a template. And you have at it. True, you need some comfort with the internet but not much technical know-how. If you can write, you can blog. (To be honest, not being able to write doesn't seem to prevent people from blogging--just the rest of us from reading.) A blog, short for "weblog," is a versatile tool. With a blog, you make dated entries into what amounts to a journal. Use it to explore ideas for your book. Use it to expand on ideas in an already published book. A blog is an internet site, so the world will be able to browse your site and interact with you if you let them. This can be a terrific way to collaborate with contributors, readers, and potential readers. A blog is probably best used in relationship to your website, but if you don't have a website and want to generate an internet presence, start yourself a blog. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Hone Your Speaking Skills!

2006-04-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Join Toastmasters International: We always advise would-be authors and publishers--at least the ones who want to be successful--to get away from their computers and to give speeches, workshops, seminars, or other presentations. If you're going to do this, we strongly suggest that you join a Toastmasters International club as a way of spreading your wings, honing your speaking skills, and developing relationships with interesting people. Every club has a different feeling about it, but all have more or less the same structure. They all welcome guests, which is how you'll find one that is comfortable for you. Don't expect a quick fix for promoting your book. Do expect to grow professionally and personally--that's actually TI's mission--and to have fun. And if you're in Colorado Springs, you might try "Downtown Toastmasters" where The Publishing Pro hangs out. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Just Do It!

2006-04-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Circulating One Book Is Publishing: Many, maybe even most, would-be children's book authors get discouraged when they find out how difficult it is to get published. And then, because they have a misperception that self-publishing is expensive, they simply give up their dream. What we tell would-be children's authors is to "just do it! At whatever level you can." Self-publishing can be expensive. But it doesn't have to be. In fact, if you are doing your own illustrating and writing, you can create your book on Microsoft Word and get one copy printed and bound. With a bit of expertise, you can produce a "one-off" that looks quite credible. If you circulate only that one book and that one book is enjoyed by one child, you've accomplished something. In fact, we think this is a good way to start. Instead of printing only one book, maybe you print 10 books that you circulate to parents, teachers, and children that you know. You are publishing! Moreover, if you follow up, you can get valuable feedback that you can use to adjust your "next edition." Keep doing this, with your first book or the next. And another thing: you can use your copyprinted books, especially after adjustments based on customer feedback, to send to potential publishers. The main thing is not to give up but to publish in whatever way you can. And then to keep going. The same principle works for other types of books. The Publishing Pro, LLC.
.

You Are an Author, Not Just a Writer.

2006-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

"Authors" Connect With Their Audience: As a "writer," you need to be an introvert, comfortable sitting at your computer and communing with the creative power in your own head. As an "author," you need to be an extrovert, meeting and greeting and cultivating your audience. People who "have a book in them" often relish the introverted work (the writing) and stall out at the extroverted work (the authoring). To help would-be self-publishers get over this, we like to suggest that they not confuse their mission, their message, or their work with the "book." The book is just a tool, like the telephone, for communicating with your audience. Other ways of communicating with your audience include: presentations and workshops, radio interviews, casual encounters, telephone conversations, websites, articles in magazines, and newspapers, email correspondence, snail-mail letters, postcards, artwork, and so on. We don't say this to minimize the book project--we would never do this--only to put it in perspective. Your book is one way to get your message across, a way that is synergistic with all the other ways of getting your message across, but only one way. Once you understand this, you will spend more time and energy on the other ways of getting your message out there, which will have the beneficial effect of making your book more successful. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Do You Need an ISBN?

2006-02-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, Maybe: ISBN stands for "International Standard Book Number." It's a ten-digit number, soon to be thirteen-digit, that is a unique identifier for your book. It's important because your book may have the same or similiar title to other books in the system. Without the ISBN, customers may wind up with the wrong books. Therefore, you need one if you are planning to sell your book to resellers (bookstores, distributors, wholesalers, Amazon, etc.). You don't need one if you know you are only going to sell your book directly--to family, to workshop participants, online from your own website, etc.

Generally, it's a good idea to get an ISBN. If you're book is published by a traditional publisher, the ISBN will be provided by the publisher. As a "self-publisher," you will either do without, get your own set of ten ISBNs, or use an ISBN from a vendor who provides some publishing services but is not a true publisher (an on-demand printer, for example). The Publishing Pro, LLC, does not like the practice of providing an ISBN when a company is not truly publishing a book. This practice creates confusion, adding to the impression of the author that she has been published by an outside publisher when she has actually been sold a set of editorial, graphic, or printing services. While we have nothing against providing such services--that's what we do, after all--we do not like our clients to leave us with the impression that we are their publisher when we aren't. The impression won't help them be successful. Therefore, we send clients direct to the ISBN Agency where they can use their credit cards to order a set of ten ISBNs (standard delivery is about $250, including the registration fee). Not all countries make you order ten ISBNs at a time, but the U.S. agency does, probably because they would lose money selling you one number at a time. On the other hand, we like our clients to be thinking about doing their second and third books, in which case they won't have to re-order their numbers. The ISBN is used to create the bar-code on the back of the book, something you can order through the ISBN agency. However, we provide bar codes and our clients can bypass this service. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Don't Discount Amazon Advantage!

2006-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Reselling That Works: The Publishing Pro, LLC, does not encourage most micro-publishers to play the bookstore game. (We'll explain why in a separate post.) However, one "bookstore" that can work for the micro-publisher is Amazon through its "Advantage" program. While Amazon takes a steep 55 percent discount and makes you pay the shipping in its Advantage program, they treat you well otherwise. Your first advantage is just being there. Thanks to the wonders of search engines--the Internet's in general and Amazon's in particular--this is one place where customers can find your book and order it with a credit card. Your second advantage is that Amazon is conservative about ordering books to put into its inventory. (In the beginning, when they order in onesies and twosies, this will feel irritating and expensive. But trust the process--it's a good business practice all around.) Third, they pay you immediately, depositing your share right into your bank account if you want. That's really nice, a huge advantage over other distribution systems. Don't rely on Amazon Advantage to make your project works--Amazon may not even accept your book--but it's worth applying for as a nice supplement to whatever else you're doing. You will need an ISBN #, a bar code, and a suggested retail price that takes into account the discount. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Your Key Contact List ...

2006-01-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

... Is Your Best Marketing Tool: As you begin to work on your book, you should be building your "key contact list." Divide your list into four categories, as follows:

Contacts Who Will Receive a Complimentary Book Automatically: Keep this list short, reserved for contributors and the occasional person who you know will do your book some good in some way.
Contacts Who Will Receive a Press Release and a Review Copy Request Form: Include logical book reviewers, experts in your field who might might give quality referrals to your book, potential bulk purchasers, textbook adopters, media contacts who might interview you or request an article from you or ask you to do a presentation, etc. After your book is printed, you will send them a press release accompanied by a review copy request form. If they request a book, you have identified someone genuinely interested in your book. Send them one. Then follow up to make sure they received it and ask them when they will be looking at it and when then might review it (or whatever). This list can be as long as your contacts are good. However, keep the emphasis on quality--contacts who have a logical interest in your book and the capacity to help you in some way.
Contacts Who Will Receive a Press Release Only: This list is for contacts who should know about your book but who, for whatever reason, are both unlikely to buy a copy or do something useful with a review copy. (This is somewhat of a catch-all category for contacts who don't fit into categories #2 or #4.)
Contacts Who Will Be Sent a Flyer, Postcard, or other Ordering Device: This list is for anyone you know who might actually order a copy of your book.

Creating this list is worth whatever effort you can put into it. Begin to create it as soon as you start thinking about your book. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

Write a Book Proposal ...

2006-01-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

... Even If You're Self-publishing: If you're looking for a traditional publisher, you don't want to send out your manuscript. With rare exceptions, publishers won't read it or even look at. Some publishers want to receive one to three chapters--so they can sample your writing. What virtually all of them want is a simple proposal that gives them a clear but brief summary of what your book is about and who will want to read it. The proposal is so useful that you should do one for yourself--even if you are planning to self-publish your book and before you get down to serious writing. The proposal will help you clarify your thoughts and help you avoid serious mistakes. Here are the elements of a good proposal:

A Working Title: A good working title is "descriptive" rather than "clever" or "poetic." E.g., How to Make a Million Selling Widgets rather than Widget Goes to Home.
A Working Subtitle: This should also be descriptive. If you've gone for a clever rather than descriptive title, your subtitle definitely needs to be descriptive.
Summary: If your subtitle and subtitle are communicating what your book is about and implying who it is for, you'll only need a paragraph. If you need more than a paragraph to communicate the gist of your book, your idea may be too complicated to sell. Your book will be strongest if it can claim, with some justification, to change your reader's life in some way.
Reader/Buyer: If your intended reader and intended buyer are different, you'll need to make separate paragraphs about them. In any case, these are the people whose lives will be changed in some way by your book. It will help your writing if you can visualize your reader (and buyer) as an individual, real person from a real place with real values, concerns, and needs.
Table of Contents: Again, you need to be descriptive rather than clever. You want your editor or your reader to know exactly where they will be going in the course of this book.

That's really it, but, in a way, it's everything. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Relax and Just Write

2006-01-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

Our favorite quote about editing: Molly Wingate of Wingate Consulting with whom we're collaborating on writing seminars, encourages would-be writers to not worry about grammar and style as they are doing their rough drafts. "Why edit the snot out of a paragraph you are eventually going to delete?" she said at our last seminar. The Publishing Pro, LLC

The New World of "Micro-Publishing"

2005-10-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Small is bountiful: At The Publishing Pro, LLC, we're beginning to favor the term "micro-publishing" over "self-publishing." Actually, both terms have meaning. "Self-publishing" refers to the practice of an author publishing his or her own book. "Micro-publishing," as we use it, refers to the practice of planning projects that are viable with very small press runs. In the "olden days" (maybe ten years ago), publishers generally thought they had to sell thousands of books before a book project went into the black. With the advent of short-run printing technologies, including but not limited to "on-demand" technologies, that has changed. At The Publishing Pro, LLC, we often work with projects that become viable at runs of between 200 and 1000. Some projects work at much smaller projects. The planning is exactly the same as it is in traditional publishing. In other words, it's basically a four-step process. First, you develop the concept. Second, you estimate how many books you can sell--and where you might sell them. Third, you calculate the cost of a logical press run based on your sales estimate. Fourth, you use a formula to determine a price that will generate a profit on your press run. If the numbers don't work, you repeat the cycle until it works or you ditch the project. And whether you are a "self-publisher" or a publisher of other author's material doesn't matter. The Publishing Pro, LLC.

What's Your Break-Even Point?

2005-09-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

3,000 or 300? Scott Flora, executive director of the Small Publishers Association of North America, was quoted in the Colorado Springs Gazette (July 28, 2005) to the effect that a writer has to sell 3,000 books to break even. Whoa! we said. If you're assuming that you're going to a high-end full service book preparer and that "break even" means recovering the costs of your time as well the direct costs of getting your book into print, this may be true. We think this is unfairly discouraging to people who should be getting their books into print and the market. At The Publishing Pro, LLC, we typically try to help authors develop projects that will "break even" after you sell 200-300 books. And by "break even," we mean that you will recover your cash out of pocket costs for editing, book design, typesetting, and printing. Moreover, we rarely see the necessity to print 3,000 books at a crack. With digital printing available and economical, we usually recommend in the area of 500-1000. The Publishing Pro.

The Upside of Traditional Publishing

2005-09-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

And the Downside: At the Publishing Pro, LLC, we are not down on traditional publishing. We especially like "niche publishers" (publishers, usually small, with a well defined market) and much prefer them to the glamorous New York trade houses. You get someone to pick up all, or at least some, of the publishing expenses, someone who can reach a specific market (in the case of niche publishers), and the benefit of their editing, design, and marketing expertise. However, you need to be aware of the downside of traditional publishing. First, it takes a long time to find someone interested. Months, maybe years. Second, you lose control of your project--its shape, its design, its schedule, its shelf-life. While publishing is something of a partnership between publisher and author, it is an uneven one. The publisher is the senior partner; you are the junior partner. This isn't bad; if it weren't this way, publishers would be weak and there would be no point in working with them. However, it does limit your control. The Publishing Pro.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

2005-09-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Assume Your First Book Won't Be Your Last:: A common mistake of the first-time book writer (of both fiction and non-fiction) is trying to make the book do too much. As a result, the project will begin to feel cumbersome, too long and too complicated. The mistake comes from the assumption, however subconsciously, that the first book will also be the last. In the case of people at the end the their lives, either because of age or illness, the assumption is understandable. Even so, acting "as if" you will write another book will produce a better book--shorter, more focused, more readable--and make it more likely that you'll finish the project. And maybe another. And another. The Publishing Pro.

Looking for a Shopping Cart?

2005-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Increase Your Orders: If you're publishing your own book, especially if you have more than one, you might invest in a shopping cart along with a credit-card merchant account. For years, we've used and been satisfied with the shopping cart provided by http://www.securenetshop.com/. You'll pay a around $300 a year, depending on how your billing arrangements, but it's relatively simple to set up, has a merchant gateway (so you can add automatic credit- card processing if you want), has great flexibility, and has been trouble free. Some ISPs, like http://www.crystaltech.com/, are now providing shopping carts as part of their webhosting service. We haven't tried it, but because it works at no added cost, it's worth a look. As an alternative, if you get your book produced by The Publishing Pro, LLC, you can have a free web page with a shopping cart link and we'll ship the book for you for a regular trade discount (20%). You can get more extensive--and pricier--services from various On-Demand Publisher/Printers.

How Many Can You Sell?

2005-02-21T13:49:00.000-08:00

First Things First: Usually, the first thing would-be self-publishers want to know is how much it will cost to produce their book. This is not a bad question to ask; you'll have to figure this out sooner or later. Before you get to that question, though, you should answer a more important question; namely, how many books can you sell (or otherwise distribute)? The answer to this question, however tentative, will determine how many books you should print and, therefore, help you determine what your project will cost. The good news for self-publishers is that you do not need to sell a thousands of books to make your project work. In our average well planned project, authors can "break-even" (recoup their out-of-pocket investment) when they sell around 200 books. And they are doing so. If you need to break even or make a profit and you can't imagine yourself selling at least 200 books, you might want to rethink your project. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Too Big for Your Britches

2005-02-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Too Many Pages: We like would-be self-publishers to touch base with us before they get too far into creating their books. If they don't, they are likely to make some costly mistakes. One of the most common is creating a book that is too big to be financially viable. Some projects can be large. We worked with a business consultant who wrote a manual for his client base that evolved into a 600-page hardcover book in a large format. The cost was daunting, but the project worked because the consultant wanted to and was able to sell his book for $175.00 each. On the other hand, you'll have a tough time making a project work, at least financially, if your manuscript is several hundred pages long and you can't see yourself selling the evntual book for more than $20.00. Talk to us first. The Publishing Pro, LLC

Introducing The Publishing Pro, LLC

2004-12-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

Our company has changed its name from Graphics West to The Publishing Pro, LLC, and moved its offices to the Business of Art Center, 513 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, CO 80829. The new name better represents our mission of making publishing accessible and rewarding to everyone. To reach us via email, go to the website and use the contact form.

Writing Your Book Is the Easy Part

2004-07-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

One big vote for self-publishing: Advice from Seth Godin, business author. First, write a better than average book. Then get over the notion that writing it was the hard part. Followup, which is to say "marketing," is the hard book. Godin, author of several successful tradition (i.e. printed) books as well as the most widely read e-book in history (Unleashing the Ideavirus), is a fan of self-publishing. The only reason to go to a publisher "is if you need credibility or prestige," he says. The advantage of self-publishing is that it's "faster, more fun and more likely to succeed." That is, if you do the marketing. From Book Marketing Update, #233, June 30, 2004. Email your comments.

Trade Publishers Are Best for Novels

2004-05-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

The novel approach: Ordinarily, I tell authors that self-publishing and traditional publishing have roughly equal but different advantages and disadvantages. Which way to go depends on you and your circmumstances. One exception. In the case of novels, the business advantage definitely goes to the traditional "trade" publisher. That's because novels are sold mainly through bookstores--and that's a tough business for anyone, especially the novice self-publisher. If you can find a publisher comfortable with novels and bookstores, go for it. The same does not hold for poetry, by the way. Email your comments.

Here's a Short-Short Run Book Solution

2004-05-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

Need 20 books professionally produced? Suppose you present workshops and would like to updgrade your current workbook. You've avoided doing so because you only need 20 or so copies at a time. Here's a solution. Let GRAPHICS WEST design your workbook for you and then print it as needed using photocopying technology and sturdy Fastback binding. We can print and bind 1-99 copies, usually overnight. Moreover, using this technology, we can make quick changes that allow you to customize your workbook for every workshop. The same technology makes great children's books and family histories. You can even get foil-stamped hard covers that look super! Contact me for more info.

The Truth about Hardcover Books

2004-05-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

Save Thousands of $$$: Many would-be self-publishers think their book needs to be "hardcover" in order to be taken seriously. This is not so. Go into any bookstore and you'll find that many books, even most books, are paperbacks. There is a good reason for this. Getting your book printed in hardcover (or "casebound") will cost anywhere from two to five times more per copy than the same book printed the same size with a paper cover. Yet, you will won't be able to charge twice as much for your hardcover book, let alone five times as much. The economics don't work. If you expect your book to have a long shelf-life, consider doing a hard-cover edition for libraries and some premium sales (e.g., autographed copies). But don't mortgage your house getting thousands of copies. Instead, do what smart publishers do and order a "split run," in which case you get 2000 (for example) sets of interior pages printed at one time with 1500 sets (for example) bound with paper covers and 500 copies bound with hard covers. You can even overprint interior pages, have the printer store them, and decide later how you want them bound. Let us help you make wise decisions about your printing. Email me. See Graphics West for more info.

On-Demand Printing: An Option for Some

2004-05-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's Magic, Almost: If you are thinking about self-publishing your book, you may hear something about "on-demand" printing. New technology has made it possible for suppliers to load a digital file of your book into a computer and print out a single copy "on demand." Moreover, the output can be good enough to put into a bookstore (depending more on the preparation than the on-demand technology). Sound too good to be true? It's not. The books look good, and the technology means you don't need to invest an arm and a leg on a load of books that you might not be able to sell. The technology is almost magic. That's the good news. The bad news, if you can call it that, is that the business of book-selling is not magic. On-demand printers, if they're smart, structure their deal so that they make out whether your book sells or not. Thus, they charge you a variety of set-up fees, essentially preparation fees for creating the digital file of your book, and then they keep a large portion of any sales (80% is typical), returning the remainder to you. In this respect, on-demand printers act like publishers, although their return to you is a little larger than the standard royalty. Still, if your book takes off, the small return means that you won't make back your set-up fee for a long time. Fortunately, on-demand printers part company with classic publishers in that they buy only limited rights from you. Thus, if your book takes off, you can take back control of the process, get your books conventionally printed at a much lower unit cost, and make your bundle. Another thing to watch: on-demand printers often promise to get you into various distribution channels: Amazon.com, wholesalers, and the like. This is a useful service that novice publishers often confuse with marketing. It isn't. More about that another time. Please email any comments. See Graphics West for more info.

Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing vs. Hybrids

2004-04-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

The term "Publisher" is getting more and more confused. In the traditional sense, the publisher is the business entity that owns the rights to a book and gets it into circulation by editing it, typesetting it, getting it printed, storing it in inventory, marketing it, taking orders for it, and getting it shipped to the customer. If the publisher is the same as the author, it is called "self-publishing," which is a rather new and growing phenomenon. Until recently, it was more common for someone else (a publisher) to buy rights from an author (in return for some payment, often a royalty against sales) and pay the costs of getting the book manufactured and to market. Now, with the popularity of self-publishing, businesses have developed that are hybrids, bearing trappings of both fee-for-service businesses and publishers. These hybrids may charge you (as author) a fee for certain services (copyediting, book design, page makeup, and publicity services are common) but provide a publishing infrastructure common to publishers (getting an ISBN number, manufacturing books, taking orders, and shipping) and then pay you with what amounts to a royalty on sales. The result is that these hybrids are (publishing) service businesses dressed up to look like publishers. They are not necessarily a bad deal, as long as you remember that you really are the publisher and are the only one that is going to make your book work. Email your comments. More info at Graphics West.

Business Card As Order Device

2004-04-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Business cards are relatively inexpensive, sometimes even free. (See Vistaprint.) They don't have to be standard format either. Mary Schroder, one of our clients, created a business card for her book, Nicholas Creede and the Amethyst Vein. Instead of personal information, it tells you how to order her book. She's inserting one into every copy. Please email me your comments. More publishing information at Graphics West.

Author vs. Writer

2004-04-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Key to success: To be successful in publishing, you need to make the transition from writer to author. The difference? As a writer, you are an introvert, interacting with your own imagination. You are creating the word. As an author, you are an extrovert, interacting with an audience outside of yourself. You are spreading the word but also changing and improving your work based on the feedback you get from your audience. Think about it. What good is a story or a book without an audience? Publishers look for authors because they know that authors are far more likely than writers to sell their work. Please email your comments. For more info, see Graphics West.

When You Can't Afford to Wait ...

2004-04-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Self-publishing can be big business. Even USA Today has noticed. See "Self-publishing will spur book industry to modernize" by Laura Vanderkam (USA Today, Mar. 23, 2004). One of the reasons. Traditional publishing takes time. Once you sign your agreement, you'll need to wait an average of 12-18 months before your book comes out. Some authors can't wait. If your manuscript is complete, you can self-publish a credible-looking book in a month or two. Thanks to Ray Hill, author of the newly minted Emotional Traps: How a Little Logic Can Change Your Life for the clip. Email your comments. See Graphics West for more info.