Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sherri Rosen Speaks About Writing, Self-Publishing, Publicity, etc.

How many of you enjoy sex? Spirituality? Relationships? How many of you know anything about these 3 subjects? If you feel you do, write about it. Write about what you know, about your personal experiences, your truth, find your voice! Have you had your book published? Have you done your own publicity on your book? Are you a good self- promoter? Ask yourself these questions. Your responses will tell you how to take action.

One of my very first books was “How To Satisfy A Woman Every Time And Have Her Beg For More!” It was a self-published book that came out in l98l. I came along in l99l, the author hired me, and the book was on the New York Times bestseller list within 6 months and stayed on for 63 weeks. Author made millions of dollars. Got a big book deal from Penguin. Another book “Stopped Getting Dumped”, self-published. We got so much publicity for that book that it ended up being sold to Plume Books, an imprint of Penguin, for an excellent deal. I share some of these stories with you because this is where hard work and magic come in. You just never know and it’s important to think outside of the box.

My style is working with the author and/or publisher as a team. We will work with an author if we believe in his/her book. With the hard work that we put into publicity, we have got to love the book and the author. We have integrity and we won’t lie. We can turn a yes into a no. When I was working on “How To Satisfy” I kept calling the producer of a national radio show in Washington, D.C. once a month. Many months later the producer said “If I hear How To Satisfy one more time I am going to scream.” There was silence and then I said to the producer, This is my job. This is what I do.” He told me to have the author in studio 3 days later. We also place authors in areas they have never been before. One of our clients was big on the college circuit and we weaved radio and television into her tour, which was something she had never done before and it was a success. We are relentless in our follow-up. We are assertive, not aggressive. There’s a big difference.

Hire a publicist at least 3 months before the book comes out. Do it to plan strategy, pull together a press kit. Many book reviewers need to receive the book at least 3 months before the pub date. If you don’t feel confident as a self-promoter than I highly recommend you hire a publicist. Don’t do it yourself! You have gone through the painful process of writing the book, so don’t mess it up by ignoring the publicity end of it. There are all types of publicity with someone out there to match your budget. If you don’t have a good feeling when you speak to a publicist on the phone, try someone else until you find someone that resonates with you. Find someone who is just as excited about your book as you are. Many publishers will not spend the money on publicity of your book, especially if you are a first-time author. For those of you who are working with a publisher and would like them to put some money into publicity of your book, offer them a detailed proposal of what you would like to do. Don’t hesitate to hire an experienced publicist to consult with on putting together a dynamite proposal. The proposal is a sales pitch on why they should spend money on your book. Many publicists like myself will work with authors on putting it together. If you don’t want to hire a publicist for a full campaign, then just use his/her services to assist in putting together the press kit, in making it as professional as possible and to attract the attention of whoever is receiving it. You must remember that many producers and book reviewers receive hundreds of press kits every day and you want to make yours standout.

Whether you are a self-published or a published author, we suggest that you learn as much as you can about the publishing industry. How to do that is to obtain referrals of creditable individuals in the industry. You can find out this information on the Internet, going into bookstores, and finding out what agents sell what genre of books. Who was the editor that worked on the book. Many times you will find the info in the acknowledgement section. If self-published, ask around to people who have gone through the experience. Obtain referrals, speak to these people and get educated. Checkout their websites, whether it is a publicist, agent, publisher, book proposal expert. Take a look and see what is going on. This may take time but it will save you money and save you from making many big mistakes. Even if you have to spend money for one-hour consultations with professionals in the field, do it, because in the long run you will save money and save yourself from making big mistakes.

You can boost sales with minimum dollars by scheduling some events in your hometown, where you can sell the book yourself. Try to relate your presentation of your book with a local event that is going on, or a holiday event that is happening. Last month we had Valentine’s Day and if anyone had a relationship or sex book, two months prior the author needed to approach bookstores. Look in your local newspaper to see any events that are going on that you can be involved in with your book. And remember, this is investment in your future. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to visit and contact us at www.sherrirosen.com http://www.sherrirosen.com

Sherri Rosen Publicity LLC has been in business in NYC for over 9 years. We have an eclectic clientele of authors working in relationship, how to, spirituality, sexuality, and also offer manscript development.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Advice on Self-Publishing

A few people emailed me for advice on self-publishing and I decided to write a small guide. There is a huge hype now days with self-publishing and companies are making lots of money from thousands of people who want to see their books in print.
My experience with self-publishing has been an OK one. Would I advise one to self-publish? Sure, as long as your expectations are not too high. Keep in mind you will not make money out of it. It is better to see the world of POD (publish on demand) as a hobby, but nothing else. The royalties in self-publishing are so low that you actually have to sell thousands of books to make money.

I put a lot of effort into my self-published book, writing and promoting it. Writing is hard, but promoting your book is even harder. When you choose a self-publish company, make sure you read carefully what they offer you. The company I chose is iUniverse. What I like about iUniverse is that if you choose a package that includes the evaluation, they will tell you what is wrong with your book. You then get a chance to work harder on your book and re-submitted to them. If you have the budget, I will advise you to buy editing services, such as line editing. This is what I did to correct the grammar and spelling errors. Self-publishing is expensive and you will not make much money out of it. It is only a hobby.

Many self-publishing companies offer several services, depending on how much money you want to invest in your book. Keep in mind that you will not make much money out of self-publishing. If you are a very talented writer and you think you have an amazing book, I advice you to keep looking for a traditional publishing house to publish your book. I tried to publish my book with a traditional publishing house, but trust me it is really a ‘mission impossible.’

Other traps to look for in self-publishing: there really is no need to keep pouring money into your book. There are many companies out there who will do anything for your book for a large sum of money. IUniverse for example, offers expensive editing with the help of skilled people. After a few thousand dollars that you invested in your book, you can get the label ‘Editor’s choice’ and if you sell five hundred copies, you get a chance to see your book re-published by a traditional house. It sounds very promising, but trust me from my experience, to sell five hundred copies is a really hard thing to do. Many people are still very skeptical buying a self-published book.

I worked very hard at promoting my book. Here are some ways to do it: send it to reviewers, distribute printed postcards with the information on your book, tell all your friends about it and advertise it as much as you can on the internet or anywhere else you can.

I put together a list of self-publishing houses that you should look at: iUniverse, AuthorHouse, Infinity Publishing, Llumina Press, Aventine Press, etc. Of course there are some other companies out there, some more expensive then others, but those are the ones I would recommend. I do not recommend the really cheap self-publishing companies, such as LULU, because they do not check the content of your book. They will print just about anything for money. If you think your book is fantastic and needs no additional work, then you can publish very inexpensively with them.

There are a bunch of places where you can send your book for review. BookConnector site has been a great help for me in finding internet sites that do book reviews. They have a huge list with places where to send your book for review. You should not pay for a book review! Book reviews should be free of cost. I had very positive experience with most of the review sites, except for one, from where I got a bad review. Try to read other reviews first from where you choose to send your book to, see if they give decent reviews. Some places might scrutinize your book too much and you really don’t want that for publicity. In the writing business, opinions can differ so much from one person to another, so you really need feedback from a lot of people before you decide if your book is good or not. If ten people gave you good reviews and one person gave you a bad review, you might tend to forget about the later one. Otherwise, I really had a good experience with reviews, so I definitely recommend you to send an email query first to ask for a review.

If you believe you have a fantastic book, you can also try to send it to local newspapers or radio stations for interviews. But really, try to query the place first to see if they want to accept your book.

Self-publishing is a great hobby and unless you have a passion to write and promote your own book, you will not be able to succeed much. A traditional way of publishing is definitely the key to success, but it really is almost impossible to get in.

Article by: Manuela Anne-Marie Pop

Should You Self-Publish Your Books? Signs That You Should

Are you an author who has a book that you would like to see published? If so, have you received multiple rejection letters from both large and small publishing houses? If you have, your first thought may be to give up. Of course, it is your right to do so, but did you know that you do have other options? One of those options is to self-publish your own book.

Before examining if self-publishing your own book is right for you, it is first important to familiarize yourself with self-publishing, namely what it is. Self-publishing involves writing, developing, and selling a book without the assistance of a third party publishing company. Book authors are responsible for writing a book, editing a book, and finding a company to print the book, as well as selling the book. Self-published authors typically sell their books on their own websites or they approach retailers, both on and offline.

As for whether or not self-publishing a book is the right option for you, there are some signs that you will want to look for. A few signs that self-publishing may be your best option are highlighted below for your convenience.

Sign #1 – You Have Received Multiple Rejection Letters

What it is first important to understand about the publishing process is that few authors receive offers from publishers on their first, second, or even third try. In fact, some authors try as many as fifty times or more to get just one book published before they receive an offer.

As a good rule to set for yourself, be sure to send your manuscript to as many publishers as you possibly can, especially those that are looking for what you have, such as an environmental themed children’s book or a science fiction novel. When there are no more publishers left, consider self-publishing.

Sign #2 – Despite Rejection Letters You Still Believe You Have a Good Book

Self-publishing is a wise choice for many, but for others it can be a costly mistake. Before deciding to go ahead with self-publishing a book, it is important to make sure that you are fully behind your book. Do you honestly and truly believe in your heart that you have a good book on your hands? If you do, self-publishing may be for you.

Sign #3 – You Have a Book with Limited Readers

When many of us think of publishing a book, we automatically think of captivating stories. Fiction books are not the only types of books written, although they do typically tend to have the largest audiences. If you have written a how-to book or a guide on a specific area that is likely to only draw in a limited number of readers, self-publishing may be your best option. Many well-known publishers tend to stay away from books that only have small target audiences.

Sign #4 – You Want to Retain the Largest Profit

Self-published authors stand the best chance of making the biggest profit. This is because publishing fees are not taken out of their profits. With that said, it is important to remember that self-publishing is not free. You will have to pay to have your books developed in print, but that fee is typically smaller than the cut that many well-known publishers take. There are always ways that you can save money with self-publishing, like by printing on demand, as opposed to a large quantity of books on hand.

Of course, it is important to remember that just because you want to make money, it doesn’t mean that you will. If you want to make the most money with a self-published book, you have do to the proper amount of marketing.

As a reminder, it is important to remember that there are a number of pros and cons to self-publishing. With that being said, self-publishing may be the best option for you. If you truly believe that you have a book that will sell, you are encouraged to closely examine self-publishing, as you have nothing to lose by doing so.

from: taykts.blogspot.com