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What Is Self-Publishing – A Guide For Beginners

Sales System Coach — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:30:02 +0000

For book authors, the term ‘self-publishing’ almost always prompts a sense of important decision-making. This is because one of the most important decisions a book author must make, is whether to try and get their book published via a traditional publishing route, or self publish. Technically, self-publishing is the practice where authors publish their own books and other content without the help, assistance, and mediation of third-party publishers.

Currently, self-publishing accounts for only a minimal percentage of the entire publishing industry (with respect to sales). However, it is fast becoming more popular as an option for numerous book and content authors. Because the publishing industry is obviously changing its landscape, it is expected that more and more authors will choose to self publish in the future.

Self-publishing is not an entirely new practice. In fact, it has been around, though in different forms, ever since the start of the publishing history. These days, self-publishing is logically increasing thanks to the ongoing advancement of modern-age publishing technologies. With the emergence of desktop publishing systems, xerography, the Internet, and print on demand, self-publishing has become a clear phenomenon in the changing publishing industry.

Many observers note that self-publishing is getting more attention these days. This can be attributed in part by the emergence of different cultural phenomena, like the proliferation of various independently-owned media channels, the emergence and popularity of the DIY movement, and of course the now very popular practice of blogging. Now, anyone can opt to self-publish.

What makes self-publishing a very attractive option and prospect among authors? In practice, the absence of traditional publishers serves as a key distinguishing characteristic. The author decides to fulfill this role instead. Because of this, he or she is able to assume full control over the editorial content. The author also assumes key roles like arranging the printing, marketing, and distribution of the printed or finished output. It can be a tedious job but there is an aspect of fulfillment and satisfaction that can be obtained in terms of quality and potential revenue.

Without the third-party publishers, self-publishing authors are directly exposed to the risks and challenges of publishing. People may not be fully aware of it, but publishing is a really tedious and challenging activity. Third-party publishers have editors that approve content of authors’ works. They decide whether the material is fit for publishing or not. Of course, editors would give a go-signal to content that has the potential to create a commercially favorable impression among book readers. As a commercial enterprise, traditional publishing houses generally only approve for printing materials that they think will be commercially viable and profitable.

Without the use of professional editors to provide an objective input to the work, an author may be at risk. Some authors don’t have sufficient experience or business skills to know what type of content would appeal best to the current commercial market. On the plus side, the absence of third-party publishers and editors can mean more creative freedom and the creation of highly original content. Many authors like the idea of having their book published exactly as they have written and envisioned it, without minor revisions and major alterations. This question does need to be carefully considered and approached in a serious manner, however, as more often than not, ignoring the commercial reality of the marketplace could mean that your highly original book will fade into oblivion before anyone ever gets a chance to sample your creative talents. It is important to remain open to criticism and consider various other sources of input from people around you before making any final decisions.

Are authors, then, bound to make more money through self-publishing? It really depends. In most cases, self-publishing authors incur losses because they not only have to assume all the financial aspects of printing, releasing, marketing, and distributing their book, but they can also become blinded to the cost of creating a "labor of love" (i.e. the extra time and effort invested in making sure that your book is exactly as you would like it to be). If the book does not sell well, the self-publishing author could be in trouble, although with modern technologies like print-on-demand and digital downloads, the financial risk can be minimized. The upside, of course, is that if a self-published book does make the big time in a commercial sense, the author will then enjoy a considerably greater share of the revenue. like any business, you need to view your book as a "commodity" and assess the strategic risk of getting into self publishing as a way of getting your product into the market place.

If you do decide to go down the self-publishing route, here then, are just some of the things you should be looking into:

• The number of copies can influence what kind of publishers you should approach. For example, if you want to produce about 25 to 500 copies, then print-on demand publishers would be suitable. You can also consider vanity publishing. Vanity Press means that you write a book, the vanity publisher then prints it for you but you have to pay them upfront for the number of copies you want. Usually vanity publishers have a minimum numbers of copies to print—some require at least 100 copies in one run.

• When looking for publishers that will handle the technical aspects of your book, look for those that can provide service and assistance in areas like book layout, printing and production demands. When shopping around for a publisher, ask for samples of the books that they have published before. Ask them questions about printing. There are some printers or publishers that cannot handle a specific layout or that have limitations. Make sure that the publisher you choose can handle your specific design and book layout.

• Design and book format can help your book stand-out. If this is your first time self-publishing a book, look for a mentor that can help you with the process. Some self-published authors use the services of a professional book designer to assist in layout and make their book design standout.

• As a self-published author, be prepared to assume all the expenses. Make sure that you are familiar with all the various costs and expenses that will be incurred in the process and have these written up in a financial projection spreadsheet so you can plan and budget for it. Become familiar with printing costs and how these will vary depending on the number of copies and services you will require. As well as printing costs, you also need to consider things like photography, copy editing, requesting the International Standard Book Number which will make your book uniquely identifiable, and so on.

• Distribution is another important thing you need to prepare for. In traditional publishing, publishers generally cover the costs of marketing and distribution of the book. But since this is self-publishing, you need to identify how you plan to distribute your book and who will receive your product. Some bookstores will only take some copies initially to see if they will sell. If they don’t you then have to get your books back. You can also explore online sales and set up a sales page website with e-commerce capabilities for accepting orders and processing payment.

• Marketing is important in any kind of book selling. Apart from publishing, you also have to carry the marketing and promotion of your book. You can hire a publicist to do it for you or you can do it yourself.

With all of these additional things to consider, what can self-publishing give you in return? In a traditional publishing arrangement, an author can expect to get about 8% of royalties, while with self-publishing you can expect to get about 30% – 50 % of the returns depending on your marketing strategy. Apart from that, of course, you also get to retain control over most aspects of publishing and distribution.

I hope you have found the above information useful and that it has given you better insight into the potential benefits and advantages of self-publishing.

For more help on how to create your own profitable information products, check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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The Self Publishing Boom

Sales System Coach — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:20:02 +0000

Before the boom of the internet world, traditional publishers were the kings of the publishing world but now, there are many online publishing companies like Cafepress, Lulu, Createspace and others that will help you to publish your book online. The main characteristic of the boom of the Self Publishing industry is that the traditional publisher is notably absent in the circulation. Some traditional publishers will tell you that they don’t have enough budget to print your book, or just simply reject your manuscript. Compare this to self publishing, where you are the editor of your own book.

Several new online publishers have sprung up in recent years where they will not only help to produce your book, they will also print them, ship them, distribute it, and ultimately profit from your writing. Self-publishers are distinct from this model, as the author himself or herself pays for the printing. Successful self-publishers control the benefits of the services of print-on-demand. Self-publishing outlets such as Cafepress, Lulu, Createspace and others then will print-on-demand the quantity of books that customers need and they will also ship it, as well as collect payments from the customers who place orders on their sites.

As a self-publishing author, you have little to worry about but waiting to collect your profits from the publishing outlets. You are also the one who ultimately decides how much you will charge per book in the marketplace. Additionally, self-publishing services like Cafepress, Lulu, Createspace and others can accept and upload your digital contents like Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, text files or even Rich Text Format files. The format, size and design of your publication is specified by the book author.

Something to look for when considering online self publishing services are that you may not be charged for submitting your product until there’s an actual order placed. Then, you will be charged for the service, which includes the base price of the printing on demand. You do have control over the final price that will be charge to the buyer before shipping, however.

Other types of self publishing services charge you upon submission to print immediately and don’t get involved in the marketing aspects of your book. The author is also the marketer. Additionally, they may also control how much each book will be charged to buyers.

Other additional service charges you need to consider when looking at online self publishing services include cover design, reviewing and proofreading your manuscript, as well as indexing, promoting and marketing your book, and registering for an ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

Self Publishing offers clear advantages and benefits over traditional publishing. You can be in business with just a computer, an internet connection and a valid email address to upload your manuscript. You don’t need to walk or drive to the publishing office just to submit your manuscript. So, get your book written, then do your research before you self-publish your manuscript.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing Tips – Useful Book Writing Tips

Sales System Coach — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:10:04 +0000

If you have decided to go down the self-publishing route, then you have to prepared to handle everything. A self-published author has to deal with all the different aspects of book production, from writing and editing up to marketing and distributing the book. It is an intensely demanding job and you need to be prepared to handle this.

Additionally, you will need to prepare yourself against prejudice. Self-published authors are often mistaken as being “rejects.” There are many people who view self-published books as being second-rate. It is up to you, therefore, to prove the cynics wrong!

Here are some tips on what you can do to help change their minds:

The first tip is to set realistic and achievable expectations. Don’t set expectations that you know are beyond what you can achieve. There is a fine line separating wishful thinking and realistic goal-setting. Do not expect to get rich from your book sales. Take things a step at a time. The first step is to actually make some sales. Then, you can set your sights on getting rich.

Be prepared to face tough competition. There are many people who could be writing about the same topic as you. You can choose to write something that you are passionate about, since having an interest in the subject can be a great inspiration for effective writing, but remember that there is also the reality of the marketplace. What you are passionate about may or may not be something that enough people out there are prepared to pay for to read about in a book. You should balance passion with commercial feasibility, and look for a niche in your area of interest that has the potential to deliver positive and profitable results.

Readers lose interest if a book is disorganized and the events described within it are not properly connected. Organization is crucial. Writing an outline helps to make your book flow and in an organized way. Once you have written and reviewed your outline, you can then decide on the major areas that you would like to focus or highlight in your book. These major areas could then also become the chapters of the book.

When writing book chapters, make sure that you give them good titles. Your chapter titles should grab the reader’s attention easily and drive their interest in continuing to read your book.

Also to keep your book organized, you can use sub-headings and bulleted points. Giving your book a systematic feel can make things easier for the reader’s eyes. If you want to use pictures or illustrations in your book, make sure that they fit in the style and don’t disrupt the flow of your book. Photographs and illustrations are meant to increase the reader’s understanding and supplement the text, not distract the readers from it.

Good writers rarely do marathon writing sessions. Marathon writing usually doesn’t create great material in a short period of time. Of course, there are writers who may find this style highly effective, but it is not a good style for everybody. You can achieve far more with your writing and get better quality results by developing a methodical approach of writing in short, powerful bursts with a consistent daily routine. In other words, try to set an hour or two each day around the same time, where you get your writing done.

Another thing that you should be aware of as a writer, is to avoid the practice of editing whenever you see something wrong. This is called premature editing. Save all editing for the end. This is something that most successful writers do. Keep your writing momentum going and save the editing for later.

Another thing that you can do to make things easy for your readers’ eyes is to pay special attention to the format of your book. Make sure that the words are not compressed. Don’t put too many words on a line. Normally, try to keep lines to about 50 to 60 characters, spaces included. About 250 words per page should be enough.

Also use spaces adequately. Nothing is more terrifying than reading a page where everything is text, text, text and no spaces at all. But also be conscious of using spaces in the context of presenting your writing.

A writer who decides to take advantage of self-publishing may be assuming all of the tasks involved alone or, decide to hire somebody to help them, but they should never disconnect themselves from others. There are many writers who would be able to finish writing their manuscript faster if only they had the support of their loved ones and family. Part of the writing process, therefore, is to ensure that you work in an environment that supports your goals, commitment and creativity.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing Tips – How To Earn $30,000 A Month

Sales System Coach — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:00:02 +0000

The combination of current economic and business climate factors with modern emerging information technologies has helped to influence many aspiring book authors to look more carefully at the option of self publishing their book. Even more experienced writers are now beginning to publish their own content because they are not feeling satisfied with pursuing a traditional publishing arrangement.

Before you decide to self-publish, however, just be aware that, although the potential to earn a significant income from book sales is very real and many are doing it, the road is fraught with challenges, difficulties, frustration, disappointments and extremely tough competition. If you want to earn $30,000 a month or more from self-publishing, here are some useful tips to take into consideration:

First, make sure that the book you are planning to write is helpful to your readers. It is easier to make money creating a useful, practical "how to guide" that address the immediate needs of your audience, than to self-publish a literary novel that focuses on your talent as an original writer. You have to think not only of a particular topic that will be useful to your readers, but you should also do sufficient market research to determine whether the topic is commercially viable and whether you can offer something better than all the other writers who have published books on the same topic you are planning to write about. Don’t write a book that you are not sure will be helpful to readers. I am not saying that fiction books are not helpful to others, but if you plan to build a profitable business selling books, then it helps if you start off by focusing on what the market wants to buy, not on what you want them to read.

Next, you must identify your target audience. Are you going after the under 5 years old, or the teens or the adults? Who do you think will be your immediate target audience? Are they professionals, paraprofessionals, or just ordinary individuals? What kind of readers do you think would make an easier market for your book writing skills? Are you targeting readers of Harry Potter novels or readers of business marketing concepts?

The next step is to plan exactly what type of book you’re going to publish. Become familiar with the pros and cons of using different publishing avenues like Print-On-Demand, Vanity Publishing, electronic books (e-books), etc …. This will have a major influence in things like book layout, book design, book size, page formatting, typesetting, whether you will include illustrations or not, and so on. To research this area more deeply, check out some of the more helpful websites about self publishing by searching for keyword phrases like “self publishing”, “self publishing strategies”, “engaging in self publishing”, “tips in self publishing” or, “how to self publish my book”. If you are considering creating an electronic book that can be purchased and downloaded over the internet, then check out useful resources like How To Write And Sell Books and e-Books.

After you have worked out all of the above, you then need to make decisions about book pricing. To do this successfully requires carrying out research in the market place (i.e. what are people paying for similar books?) and creating feasibility models and financial projections using different pricing points and sales forecasts. You don’t want to price yourself out of the market, but you also don’t want to sell it below its real value. Finding the ideal price range for your book can be quite challenging. You want it to be affordable, but it also needs to cover all your costs and leave you with a profit.

To earn $30,000 or more per month with a self-published book, you need to know exactly what the figures break down into for things like costs per unit, variable costs, fixed operational costs, profit margins, quantities of books that need to be sold per month, per week and per day, range of distribution (e.g. globally via the internet, or specific to a region or community) and the size of your market. For best results, use conservative figures in your projections rather than more optimistic ones.

If you can make the numbers in your projections work using bad figures, then you have a more realistic chance of achieving your financial goals, than using hopeful numbers that require you to stretch your expectations beyond what is reasonable to make the numbers "fit" with what you want.

For example, if you think you could sell your book for $30 and that each sale will net you $15 in profit, then you would have to sell 2,000 copies of your book each month to earn $30K ($30,000 / $15 net profit per unit). This translates to over 460 copies per week, or around 65 copies per day.

Using more conservative figures, however, I would suggest you re-evaluate your financial estimates for the above using a sales figure of $15 per book, and $5 in net profits per sale. Now, to make $30k per month, you will need to sell 6,000 units per month ($30,000 / $5 net profit per unit). This means selling over 1,380 book copies per week, or almost 200 copies per day.

Now, ask yourself how you plan to move this number of copies per day. What would happen if, instead of selling 200 copies per day of your book, you only managed to sell 3 copies per week? Asking hard questions like this can help you not only to prepare for dealing with disappointment, but, more importantly, it can fire up your brain and help you come up with creative solutions and unique strategies for ensuring your success.

For example, you may end up deciding that instead of writing just one book and then hoping against hope that it will sell 200 copies a day, you will create a series of books on the subject and build up a "brand". Once you know the process for creating, producing and promoting one book, you will have an existing channel for moving additional titles, so you may decide to revise your figures and plan to achieve $30, 000 per month by selling 5 or 10 different titles, instead of pinning all of your hopes on just one book. Additionally, by following through on this idea, you will see the importance of implementing strategies like list-building (so you can promote you new titles later to existing customers who have purchased your previous books), using the same content in different media formats (e.g. converting your book into an audio book), and so on.

Earning $30,000 per month in self-publishing is not impossible. It requires planning and determination.

I hope you have found the above information useful and I wish you great success as a self-published author.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing On A Limited Budget – Marketing Tips

Sales System Coach — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:50:03 +0000

Self-publishing a book is something that requires balance in all aspects. It requires good promotion and marketing for a book to be known in the market and therefore, increase its sales. But how could you have a well-rounded marketing plan if you have limited resources? Most self-published authors have to work with a limited budget.

There are simple steps that you can do to start promoting your book in a cost-efficient way. Here are some things that you can easily do.

• Maximize the internet. You can start talking about your book in blogs. You can also start joining discussion groups about books. There are readers and book enthusiasts that are eager to discover good self-published book. There are different websites that posts book reviews online. You can ask them if they would like to do a review of your book. This would give your book an opportunity to be rated and promoted at the same time. Bu you have to remember to be conscious when posting about your book, you do not want to sound fresh out of the Yellow Pages. You can answer their inquiries and at the same time provide some information about your book. You can even create your own website.

If you can’t afford to pay a web design company to build you a web site, or you don’t know how to build a professional quality web site but would like to have your own online presence, then two excellent resources you may want to look into are The Complete Website Building Guide (for building a website), or How To Start A Blog Video Tutorials (for building a professional blog).

• Another cost-efficient way to promote your book is to attend writer conventions, conferences, and other related networking events. Just make sure that you have business cards with you and that you are ready to take contact information from other people who you may want to contact later. If you feel that there are no conventions or any events that you can go to, then why not bring the event to you and your book? You can organize book talks, whether it is a small or a big event, the important thing is that you have done something. You can talk to colleges and libraries if it is possible for you to host readings or local literary events. You do not have to spend a lot of money to host activities.

• Another easy marketing tip for self-publishing authors is to write a press release. A press release should contain the description of the book, written in a way that would draw the interest of different media outlets. If you have no experience in writing press releases, then there are many websites that can help you write press releases. Use prweb.com to submit your press release

• Do not underestimate the power of online distribution, you can have your book in Amazon or any other similar websites. This will help you promote your book.

• Also, do not forget that nobody could spread the word faster than friends, relatives and family. Make sure that they read the book and promote it for you. Good news spreads fast through word-of-mouth.

• Another fact is that there are some people who are very excited on knowing that you are an author, so they will buy a book and put it into their shelves and actually say that they know the writer. There is nothing wrong in taking advantage of that way of thinking. So make sure that you have a business card anywhere you go. Also include the book information in your book, so they will get the idea that you are an author.

Marketing and promotion is not something that you can do successfully overnight. Whether you are into self-publishing your book or a publishing house is doing it for you, there is nothing wrong in maximizing your book-promoting efforts. Just remember that promoting a book successfully is something that requires patience, persistence and enthusiasm.

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing Can Create Best Sellers

Sales System Coach — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:40:03 +0000

Book writers and authors know that self-publishing requires a great deal of effort, as well as the responsibility for assuming most of the costs. The payoff, of course, is in the satisfaction of seeing your book hit the bookstores, and, hopefully, even creating a positive return on your investment.

Through the years, many people have avoided investing in self-published books. Many assume the content of self-published works to be amateurish or lacking in literary quality. Thus, it is very rare for self-published books to become best sellers. However, it is not impossible. In fact, numerous books that are now regarded as classics were originally self-published by their authors.

Here is just a list of some of these books. Hopefully this will provide new authors with inspiration and sufficient proof that choosing to self-publish your work does not meant that it will lack in commercial appeal, or be of lesser quality:

‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ is a compilation of inspiring stories written by different people from various backgrounds. The book was compiled by motivational speakers Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield. The first book was an unexpected success and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. The massive support by readers prompted the publication of succeeding volumes. The book is now one of the most successful book series ever published in the field.

Tom Peters’ ‘In Search of Excellence’ is seminal management material that is has been designated by history as being among one the most widely read books to date. The book points out effective management insights and guidelines for corporations and businesses. Robert Waterman co-authored this book. After being published way back in 1982, this book still enjoys huge sales up to this day.

Irma Rombauer’s ‘The Joy of Cooking’ has set the trend for cookbooks in the US long before current famous chefs have hit the bookstores. The book was originally published in 1936 and was able to sell up to 18 million copies worldwide. The book was self-published by the author in 1931 before Boobs-Merrill Company picked it up for a greater commercial printing run.

‘Celestine Prophecy’ discusses several spiritual and psychological ideas that can be traced back to ancient Eastern Traditions. Author James Redfield told his first-hand views and experiences in trying to understand nine spiritual insights found in a discovered old manuscript in Peru. This book about one’s journey towards spiritual awakening has already sold more than 20 million copies since 2005 and has been translated into more than 34 different languages.

Matthew Reilly’s ‘Contest’ is a novel-thriller that took Australia and some parts of the world by storm in 1996. The book was initially rejected by almost all major Australian book publishers until the author decided to self-publish it.

‘The Christmas Box’ tells of a story that is specifically for children, who are said to comprise the spirit of the season. Author Richard Paul Evans self-published the book in 1993. In 1995, a commercial publishing house took up the publishing aspects of the novel.

As you can see from the above, self-publishing is responsible for having brought many great books from great book authors to light. Those best sellers were once underrated and rejected by commercial publishers, but their authors believed in their potential. Now they are part of the industry’s history.

So, what then are some of the things you should be looking into if you decide to go down the self-publishing route?

• The number of copies can influence what kind of publishers you should approach. For example, if you want to produce about 25 to 500 copies, then print-on demand publishers would be suitable.

I hope you have found the above information useful and that it has given you better insight into the potential benefits and advantages of self-publishing.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing A Book

Sales System Coach — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:30:02 +0000

Are you a frustrated book author? Anyone can take the chance and opportunity to successfully author a book. In some cases, non-writers are also able to produce and sell some of the best sellers. Do you want to give it a shot? It may not be an easy task but you can always try self-publishing.

Self-publishing is when a writer or author decides to publish their own book. They are opting to not use third-party publishers and traditional publishing avenues to get their book published. To many beginners, this could be exhausting and highly risky because all costs will have to be assumed by the author. There is also no guarantee that readers will buy or read your book. A self-published book author could end up not being able to recoup their investment, or even lose all their capital.

Some writers get into self-publishing to satisfy their dreams of becoming a real book author. To many of these authors, losing money is secondary to the satisfaction of seeing their books make it to the bookstores. However, with proper guidance and an effective marketing strategy, self-published books could also sell like hotcakes and become the next best-seller.

How can you do it? You can start by paying attention to your content. Here are some ways on how to create and write interesting content for your self-published books.

First of all, develop a list of bankable ideas that could be the subject or focus of your book. Anyone can easily self-publish anything they want. You could always talk about your own experiences or write using your own expertise. However, if you plan to self-publish with the aim of turning a profit, then you should start by considering your own book more as a sellable commodity, instead of as a piece of great art.

Research the market and look at what is selling in the subjects you are planning to write about. Analyze the current best-sellers list and visit the websites of leading book publishers to see what they are promoting. If possible, run an online survey to find out what kind of questions your readers want answered or what types of subjects they would be interested in reading about.

The most controversial and interesting issues of the day might already be the subject of a number of popular selling books. If you’re a beginner, it would wise to stay away initially from areas where there is fierce competition. Accept the fact that other people’s books on the same subject could be better than your own.

How can you get your readers’ attention? Aside from focusing on interesting subjects, you can decide to stir a little controversy. If you are not good in creating an instant scandal, you could try out planning a different and impressive marketing campaign for your book. But before you go that far, finalize your content.

Try to condition your mind that you are after sales and not shallow fame. If you make good sales, you will achieve both, so dream of reaching for the sky instead of just the ceiling. You could strategically write books that your target audience or readers are surely to find most useful and valuable.

Treat your book as a physical product. Pay close attention to quality. One of the main challenges and setbacks of self-publishing is that you have to edit and critique your own work. Commission a third-party person to do this task for you professionally. You will gain valuable insights from this experience and it could help raise your product to a whole new level of commercial interest. You should put up a "checks-and-balances" process wherever possible to make sure that you are not buying your own hype and hopes.

Lastly, don’t put an astronomical price tag on your book. The more affordable you make it, the better its chance will be of being bought and read by readers. You can always offer a few copies at a deeply discounted price in return for testimonials that you can use, then raise the price later, once you have created sufficient "social proof" to justify the increase in price.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing – Understanding The Downsides

Sales System Coach — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:20:01 +0000

We have all heard how great self-publishing is, how it can give you control of your book and at the same time increase your profits. But can something really be this good? Are there any downsides or disadvantages of going into self-publishing? The answer is yes, everything has its pros and cons.

Everything is in Your Hands

If you have decided to go for self-publishing, then you should be ready to multitask. Compared with traditional publishing, they have editors, printers, layout artists, cover artists who are available and ready to work for them anytime. But in self-publishing you have to handle all of this. If you cannot do it all, you have the option to get or hire somebody who can. It will cost you more, of course. But even if you outsource, you will still need to oversee it and make sure that it meets your standards.

Time can be a major problem for some self-published authors. There are some writers who have part time day jobs and will need to fit self-publishing schedule to their time. Even marketing and promotion falls into your hands.

Costs

In traditional publishing, the writer can get as much as 5 to 10 % of the sales. But in self-publishing, you can increase the profit to as much as 50 %. The downside is that you have to subsidize everything beforehand. It is a risk. You can spend about $5,000 for self-publishing, but you cannot guarantee that you will recoup any of your investment.

Most of the times, you will need to get a distributor since book sellers are not really that willing to buy books directly from the author. The author will then have to give discounts to the distributor and the bookseller, and this will diminish your expected 50 % profit. Another problem that needs to be taken into account in the planning process, is what happens if the books don’t sell that much. Aside from less profit, some bookstores will return the book and ask for a refund. Many self-publishers would be advised to draft a contract that would not allow returns and refund, especially if retailed at a special or discounted price.

Competition can be tough. Readers may not flock to buy your book. You will need to give them a reason to buy your book over buying other books dealing with the same topic. Here is where marketing and publicity become crucial. And you will have to spend on that, too.

The Reputation

Another problem that self-publishers encounter is the reputation and credibility of being self-published. There are some readers who do not regard self-published books highly. Sad to say, some people are extremely biased against self-published authors, thinking that just because major publishing houses have refused the author, it means the book is not good enough.

The Writer

They say that a book is like a writer’s own child. It would be difficult to criticize and disparage your own kid, right? Because authors have to do everything, including editing, it can be difficult to be objective all the time. They can protect parts that are not really important or aesthetically weak. They can have difficulties letting go of some parts which are totally insignificant. That is why we have editors. But if an author decides to be his own editor, then there can be biases.

Self-publishing is a risk, you can spend a lot of money but the returns could be low. But, come to think of it, everything is a risk. And risk is part of success.

So, if you believe you have something worthwhile to share with others and that self-publishing may be the best option for getting your creation out into the world, then best of luck and go for it!

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing – Three Self-Publishing Models

Sales System Coach — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:10:04 +0000

With the emergence of modern copiers and sophisticated printing technology, many authors are now opting to get into self-publishing rather than to stick to conventional third-party printing. The reason is obvious. Authors like the prospect of having to stick to their own creativity and style, without the need to please and fill the standards of publishers and editors. In terms of revenues, self-publishing is also promising greener pastures compared to the conventional kind of publishing.

Not known to many, self-publishing has been around even during the start of the industry’s long and winding history. The practice has taken several forms through the years. These days, there are three major kinds of self-publishing that are adapted by authors, namely, vanity publishing, subsidy publishing, and true self-publishing.

In reality, vanity publishing is pejorative. The practice is that a publisher contracts with an author without giving much regard to the quality as well as marketability of content. The term is called such because in this arrangement, publishers are basically appealing to an author’s vanity, which mainly is the desire to become a fully-fledged published author. This kind of self-publishing is usually most attractive among new writers.

Vanity presses exist under the guise of subsidy or joint venture presses. However, in this arrangement, the author agrees to shoulder every cost of publication. He also agrees to take all the existing risks. Publishers have nothing to lose in vanity press deals. They would earn money from the fees they would collect from the authors (yes, the authors pay publishers fees for publishing their work). Many experts are advising writers to stay away from such presses.

In reality, many writers/authors are willingly and knowingly entering such deals because they are in principle putting more importance on having their work commercially published rather than on gaining profit from it. To some, vanity press is a stepping stone, more of a springboard into the tight publishing industry. Experts believe most published materials through vanity presses fail commercially because content is criticized by skeptics, distributors, and even readers. This could be because the quality is not judged by an independent body prior to massive printing.

Subsidy publishing is almost like vanity publishing only that in this arrangement, the publisher agrees to contribute some to costs, specifically in adjunct services like editing, warehousing, distribution, and in part, marketing. However, such adjunct services are most of the time minimal. In the long run, the commercial publisher possesses and owns the book, but the author gets royalties for every copy sold in the market. It is also a standard practice that subsidy publishers keep some rights in the book. Lastly, authors are given minimal say and control over other production aspects like cover design.

True self-publishing is the best option among all three. This is real self-publishing. In this setup, the author takes care of everything, from writing content, marketing, storage, distribution, and all other publishing aspects. Every right to the book is owned by the author. The books are registered as the author’s intellectual property, with the author getting all the right to enjoy the proceeds from sales.

In the long run, true self-publishing is deemed most cost effective because the author could have control over variable publishing factors. He or she could also enjoy more freedom in terms of style and earning.

Web Business Builder

Self-Publishing – The New Frontier Of Literature

Sales System Coach — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:00:03 +0000

Smart marketing and an entrepreneurial spirit have propelled many self-published books to become best-sellers. Modern examples are ‘Life 101’ by Peter McWilliams and John Roger, ‘What Color is Your Parachute?’ by Richard Bolles, and ’50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth’ by Julie Bennett and John Javna.

Self-publishing, according to many in the modern literature sector, has been afflicted by a so-called stigma of amateurism. However, this attitude is regarded nowadays as a thing of the not-so-distant past. The reason being, that many self-published books have proven time and again that they can be deserving of praise and respect from even he harshest book critics.

Within some of the more entrenched and conservative publishing hubs and conventional literary centers, this kind of stigma may still surround self-publishing, but to many of those who are willing to embrace change and progress, it is becoming more of a timely wake-up call for numerous trade houses, writers, and book agents alike.

To some experts, most writers today still do not fully realize how advantageous self-publishing actually is. The practice could potentially stand to become a way of making good and timely content more available and accessible to the masses. To some writers, print-on-demand (POD) is very unlikely and self-publishing is offering much more opportunities, especially for first-time writers and book authors.

As always, authoring a book or written material for the first time can mean going through a baptism of fire. Getting into self-publishing arrangements can be a tough decision to make. Many new writers still prefer to first try a more conventional approach to getting published, which consists of initially approaching an agent, waiting patiently for responses, and then possibly dealing with the harsh and bitter reality of rejection. Self-publishing can be a ticket to getting published without having to undergo the normal ordeals of publishing. It is not surprising that more writers and authors are deciding to self-publish despite all the risks and challenges involved.

Most self-publishing arrangements call for authors to assume full or a greater part of the publishing costs. Some publishers may be willing to give assistance and facilitation, but these will incur a variety of fees and service charges. If you are planning to self-publish a book or manuscript, don’t enter into any self-publishing arrangements with your eyes shut just because you really want to see your work published.

Many professional writers are also now encouraging more beginners to consider self-publishing. Their argument is that self-publishing helps to empower writers about marketing ideas, platform building, promotional strategies, and provides practical life experience on what it takes to manage the process of getting a book written, published and sold. Some experts say that it is the author’s responsibility to not only breathe life into their books, but also drive interest in getting them read. According to this point of view, therefore, if a book doesn’t sell, it could be inferred that the author is not really trying. This statement can be considered especially true for self-publishing authors.

In summary, self-publishing can be a viable way to create, achieve and maintain a highly successful book writing business or career. The world of publishing is undergoing major changes and self-publishing may just evolve to become the new dominant paradigm. Achieving success with self-publishing can be challenging, but it is an option worth considering, especially for aspiring authors with limited financial resources, or for those who tried more traditional publishing routes and have not yet found success.

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