If you have ever felt that self-publishing is similar to jumping out of a plane without a parachute, have no fear! "The Self-Publishing Manual" is your parachute! On your way to "landing" your first published book, you will learn everything you need to know.
I think of Dan Poynter as the ultimate "how-to self-publish" expert! He will teach you all the tricks of the publishing trade. As an author of more than 80 books, he also has a proven track record of success. He will convince you that you too can succeed.
The strength of this encyclopedic reference is the author's experience in publishing. Dan Poynter is also on the leading edge of technology. He welcomes the new era of book publishing and prepares writers by giving a "New Book Publishing Model."
If you are looking for a complete reference on writing, printing, publishing, promoting, marketing and distributing your new book, look no further. Whether you just have the concept for your new book or have already advanced to the promotion stage, the information you will need to make your efforts more successful is here!
The "Your Book's Calendar" section is like a true gift for the busy author. This section is vital to keeping your goals and progress in check. It will allow you to digest volumes of information in small sections. You can start with what you have started to accomplish, check the suggested readings and then check off your goals as you reach them.
I especially enjoyed reading the section on professional reviewers. The glossary of publishing terms was so revealing. The "resources for publishers" section was detailed and informative.
This source book also has a companion web site. You can find information kits, great book promotion mailing lists, links to useful Web sites and hundreds of downloadable documents.
If you are still searching for an agent, sending out manuscripts to publishers, or writing those endless query letters, it may be time to take off that seat belt which is trapping you in that airplane seat! Then, read this book and jump! There are people who want your book. There are people who need your book. Believe it! Then, free fall to success!
~The Rebecca Review
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Is Self Publishing For You?
OK, so you've got this manuscript hidden away on a shelf somewhere. Should you self-publish?
I have self-published three books and have a fourth on the way. Technology has radically changed the face of the publishing industry. Self-publishing has never been easier and it is more affordable than ever to publish your own work. And there are good / honest self-publishing houses out there such as ours, Dog Ear Publishing
. All this is the good news.
The bad news is that self-published works still bear a heavy stigma. Many people consider the POD (Print On Demand) industry to be the same as Vanity Press. They are not the same, but honestly speaking, there is still a lot of "crap" out there that is self-published. Many newspapers and magazines will not even review a self-published book. We sent press releases to over 100 newspapers for our 1st wine book. Only three smaller and regional papers expressed an interest.
So, is self-publishing for you? If you are willing and able to edit your own book, or pay to have someone do it for you, then self-publishing may be for you. The biggest question you need to answer is whether you are willing to do your own marketing and order fulfillment. Marketing is hard – especially for fiction books. Order fulfillment means maintaining constant access to your books, shipping materials and your computer.
What many authors fail to realize is that publishing is a business – a tough, competitive business in an industry that increasingly faces competition from the internet and other less expensive mediums. Did you know that Borders Books may not survive the current economic crisis?
I was in a Borders book store recently and the store manager was perched on a ladder, scanning the top shelf and reading off book ISBNs to another clerk. The clerk would punch the ISBN into the register and tell him how many of the books had been sold. I watched as he raked the books off the shelf into a waiting trash can down below. Your "art" is, I'm sorry to say, someone else's product and if that product doesn't sell, well… you get the idea.
Here are some painful stats. There are 12,000 bookstores in the US. 3 out of 10 books will sell well. 4 books will break even. 3 will not make any money. Only 10% of major publishing house books will earn enough to recoup the author's advance. In today's economy some publishing houses are not even taking on new books. It is tough out there.
If, however, your goal is to have your book read, this is a much harder question. Many self-published authors find, after having gone through the process, is that what they really want is not so much to be published as to be READ. So, if you are not willing to invest a considerable amount of time marketing and publicizing your book, then think twice about self publishing.
Questions to ask yourself:
How much money / time you are willing to invest in the effort? (For a 200 to 250 page book, plan on spending $700 to $1200 with your publisher just to get the book into print.)
What are your strengths, weaknesses and limitations? (If you hate rejection, then marketing your own book is probably not going to work out to well for you. Best to figure this out ahead of time.)
Are you capable of editing your own book? (Can you spel and punktuate? That is the cwestion.)
What are your true objectives? (If you want to give copies of your favorite recipes to your grandkids, or record your family history, have a niche book that you intend to self-market, or merely want to see your name in print, by all means look into self-publishing. If, however, your plan is to be the next Tom Clancy or Dean Koontz, you better have a well developed marketing plan.)
More to follow on the ins and outs of self-publishing.
Happy Writing!
Bob
Article Source: http://writerspassage.blogspot.com
I have self-published three books and have a fourth on the way. Technology has radically changed the face of the publishing industry. Self-publishing has never been easier and it is more affordable than ever to publish your own work. And there are good / honest self-publishing houses out there such as ours, Dog Ear Publishing
. All this is the good news.The bad news is that self-published works still bear a heavy stigma. Many people consider the POD (Print On Demand) industry to be the same as Vanity Press. They are not the same, but honestly speaking, there is still a lot of "crap" out there that is self-published. Many newspapers and magazines will not even review a self-published book. We sent press releases to over 100 newspapers for our 1st wine book. Only three smaller and regional papers expressed an interest.
So, is self-publishing for you? If you are willing and able to edit your own book, or pay to have someone do it for you, then self-publishing may be for you. The biggest question you need to answer is whether you are willing to do your own marketing and order fulfillment. Marketing is hard – especially for fiction books. Order fulfillment means maintaining constant access to your books, shipping materials and your computer.
What many authors fail to realize is that publishing is a business – a tough, competitive business in an industry that increasingly faces competition from the internet and other less expensive mediums. Did you know that Borders Books may not survive the current economic crisis?
I was in a Borders book store recently and the store manager was perched on a ladder, scanning the top shelf and reading off book ISBNs to another clerk. The clerk would punch the ISBN into the register and tell him how many of the books had been sold. I watched as he raked the books off the shelf into a waiting trash can down below. Your "art" is, I'm sorry to say, someone else's product and if that product doesn't sell, well… you get the idea.
Here are some painful stats. There are 12,000 bookstores in the US. 3 out of 10 books will sell well. 4 books will break even. 3 will not make any money. Only 10% of major publishing house books will earn enough to recoup the author's advance. In today's economy some publishing houses are not even taking on new books. It is tough out there.
If, however, your goal is to have your book read, this is a much harder question. Many self-published authors find, after having gone through the process, is that what they really want is not so much to be published as to be READ. So, if you are not willing to invest a considerable amount of time marketing and publicizing your book, then think twice about self publishing.
Questions to ask yourself:
How much money / time you are willing to invest in the effort? (For a 200 to 250 page book, plan on spending $700 to $1200 with your publisher just to get the book into print.)
What are your strengths, weaknesses and limitations? (If you hate rejection, then marketing your own book is probably not going to work out to well for you. Best to figure this out ahead of time.)
Are you capable of editing your own book? (Can you spel and punktuate? That is the cwestion.)
What are your true objectives? (If you want to give copies of your favorite recipes to your grandkids, or record your family history, have a niche book that you intend to self-market, or merely want to see your name in print, by all means look into self-publishing. If, however, your plan is to be the next Tom Clancy or Dean Koontz, you better have a well developed marketing plan.)
More to follow on the ins and outs of self-publishing.
Happy Writing!
Bob
Article Source: http://writerspassage.blogspot.com
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