In this week’s podcast, professional writer and editor, Lillie Ammann (http://www.lillieammann.com/) discusses the different ways an author can publish his or her book. This is the first part of our series on publishing in general and self-publishing in particular. Click here to be directed to the Author Blast Podcast at Authors On The Net. garcinia cambogia g complex
Public Appearances - Show Up to Show Off Your Self-Published Book
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Angie_Kelly_Pheifer]Angie Kelly Pheifer garcinia cambogia g complex
“Did you ever feel like the whole world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?” asked comedian George Gobel in 1968. But you’ll be surprised at how relevant that question becomes for your self-published book. garcinia cambogia g complex
Most self-publishers leave it up to the author to market their book. So, you’ve got to have a plan - a marketing strategy. However, when you’re promoting your book, you don’t want to end up “brown shoes” in a “tuxedo” world; you want an appropriate method of promotion. But where to start? garcinia cambogia g complex
While a great marketing plan consists of a marketing mix, a good way to get started is by jumping right into the network of public appearances, during which you can connect with your potential audience and pave the way for future success. garcinia cambogia g complex
Before you start making calls and introducing yourself, think about what kind of public appearances will work best for you when reaching your targeted audience. There’s a great deal to consider, including book signings, readings, speaking engagements, book trade shows, conferences and conventions, book festivals, and television and radio interviews.
What’s your book about, and what groups will be interested? What promotional methods will be most effective? What actions might be less fruitful than others? Read the rest of this entry »
Apparently, more and more authors, especially unknown authors, are willing to give social media and the concept of “going virtual” a try. Dr. Bill Guillory, a good friend and long-time customer at ZDocs, invited me to co-author his latest book, How To Become a Total Failure: 10 rules of highly unsuccessful people. As one of our publicity tactics, we plan to give the book away for free for 2 months. I’ll let everyone know how it works.
Here’s a link to read about another author, Charles Sheehan-Miles, employing the free book tactic. Click here to go directly to the article.
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of authors both on this blog and at our new association, Authors On The Net, inquiring about how to publish poetry books. I actually think self-publishing is a good option for poetry books as most poetry books are highly niche products. For example, we helped Irv Cohen publish his nostalgic books of poetry and he found a nice market in retirement homes and sold 200 books. Michelle Huggins created a very nice hardbound book, 8″ x 4″ to fit nicely in women’s purses and sold all 100 books at a single book signing. She netted $1,000 in just one day. I usually steer authors away from hardcover books, but in the case of poetry, if it costs you $13.00 to make one book and you can sell it for $25.00, then that is not a bad strategy. A hardcover books makes the book look more valuable and if someone really wants it, they’ll pay for it. Poetry books are great for coffee tables.
In any case, when I found Angie’s article on Poetry Publishing, I thought I’d share. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »
Lately we’ve been working on a book of quotes for a client and it’s the first time in seven years I’ve been asked to gild the edges of the paper, which means to put gold leaf on the edges of the book. Bibles are usually done with gold gilding. The company I found to work with is Indianapolis, Indiana (http://www.libertybookandbible.com/home.asp) Here’s a video from their site showing how gilding is put on a book.
Thanks to Lillie Ammann, one of our associates at Authors On The Net, a free association for authors, I was alerted to Joe Wikert’s post about Authors On The Net. You can see Joe’s blog by clicking here.
I actually found Joe’s site month’s ago and have been there off and on. One of the tactics we discuss on Authors On The Net is to use online PR services to let people know about your book. On Wednesday last week we launched our first Press Release using PR Web and that morning Joe put up a post about AON. For the next three days we had about 10 new members joining each day. I’m excited to see what happens over the next couple of weeks. To see the section on using press releases, click here.
One goal authors have when using the Internet is that you hope your book goes “viral” which is simply saying you hope bloggers and other people online and offline interested in your topic will talk about you.
If you are a frequent visitor to the ZDocs’ Blog, you will know that we have tracked the progress of Diana Derval’s self-publishing journey. Diana has had great success with her book and one of her goals was to use her book as a way to grow her speaking and coaching business. She is now quite busy working with large organizations and helping them with managing their wait-marketing campaigns. Click here to listen to her interview.
A visitor to the ZDocs’ Blog today inquired as to how best to publish her poetry book. When I’m asked this question, I start off by asking what the author’s goals are. Knowing what your goals are will help you decide how to spend your efforts in publishing your book. For example, if your goal is to become a world-famous novelist, getting published by a mainstream publisher is a great goal. It might take years to accomplish your goal, but your overall satisfaction will be greatest when you accomplish the goal you set out for yourself. On the other hand, if you have a business book that compliments your coaching business, then self-publishing is, in my opinion, the best way to publish.
Brian Scott, in his article “Should I Self-Publish Or Pitch My Book To A Publisher?” addresses some key points regarding this question that most authors struggle with. Read the rest of this entry »
A visitor to the ZDocs’ Blog asked, “Would you happen to know how many books are sold internationally, all titles, all genre’s, fiction, non-fiction, all languages, you name it?” I haven’t been able to find the information he’s looking for yet, but I did come across the following article.
New York, NY, May 22, 2007: The Association of American Publishers (AAP) (http://www.publishers.org/main/IndustryStats/indStats_02.htm) has today released its annual estimate of total book sales in the United States. The report, which uses data from the Bureau of the Census as well as sales data from eighty-one publishers inclusive of all major book publishing media market holders, estimates that U.S. publishers had net sales of $24.2 billion in 2006.
Trade sales of adult and juvenile books grew 2.9 percent to $8.3 billion, a compound growth rate of 3.7 percent per year since 2002. The strongest growth in this category came from adult paperback books whose sales rose 8.5 percent on last year to a total of $2.3 billion. Adult hardbound books also had a strong year growing by 4.1 percent to $2.6 billion.
Sales of titles for children and young adults (juvenile) fell by 2.0 percent and 0.6 percent for hardbound and paperbound respectively. Over the longer term juvenile books are still performing well, with compound annual growth rates of 5.9 percent for hardbound and 1.6 percent for paperbound.
After a bump in 2005, sales of audio books fell 11.7 percent to $182 million, however, compound growth since 2002 still looks healthy at 6.2 percent a year. Religious books had a difficult year with a 10.2 percent fall in sales in 2006. Compound growth is still strong at 7.5 percent per year. E-books saw a 24.1% increase in 2006 at $54 million, with a compound growth rate of 65% since 2002. Religious and E-Book data were compiled in cooperation with data received from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and International Digital Publishing Forum respectively.
Mass market paperbacks saw growth of 4.6 percent in 2006 reaching $1.1 billion. Sales through book clubs fell by 3.0 percent to $640 million.
Educational titles had a mixed year; sales of K-12 products (El-Hi) fell by 5.8 percent to $6.2 billion. Higher Education titles did better with sales of $3.5 billion, up 2.8 percent on 2005.
For additional information: Tina Jordan, AAP New York (212-255-0200 ext. 263, tjordan@publishers.org).
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’smore than300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.
For a complete list of the preliminary estimated book publishing industry net sales for 2006 prepared by Management Practice Inc, click here
A few days ago I introduced author Joan Ranquet. Last week I had the opportunity to interview Joan about her new book, Communication With All Life: Revelations of an Animal Communicator. Besides explaining what an animal communicator is and does, Joan shares some interesting insights into publishing and promoting her book. To listen to Joan’s podcast, simply click here. Some highlights of the interview are:
If you are interested in being interviewed on Author Blasts, all you need to do is join Authors On The Net (it’s free) and sign up. Currently we are doing one interview a week.