Monthly Archives: September 2012

The first obvious issue for any reader of this article is the title, since it strays dramatically from the norm of using “versus” to separate the two mediums. The reason for my word choice is because technology now enables anyone to self-publish for very little out-of-pocket expense.

This still doesn’t imply that self-publishing is not loathed by the major print publishers and upscale indies, along with the agents who support them with submissions, but the rising presence of this electronic medium seems to have created a degree of acquiescence for the digital aspect of self-publishing. I want to reiterate that this newfound tolerance should not be considered akin to support, since the stigma assigned to self-publishing by the mainstream industry remains as strong as ever, and the purpose of this article is solely to try to provide a degree of clarity.

POD is Not Self-Publishing

Print On Demand is confusing to some people, who assume this to connote self-publishing. POD has nothing to do with self-publishing, except that it enables a self-published book to be converted into a hard copy–and at a heretofore unavailable low cost. A single copy in a paperback book, including cover artwork from a template, can be printed for as little as $35, with the entire process taking less than an hour. And an even much shorter time frame is available if the latest technology is used (the “technology” is essentially a sophisticated printer, which I seem to remember has a price tag of around $100,000).

A run of a few hundred copies or less of a book, depending on the purveyor, can reduce the cost to under $10 per unit. According to industry figures, the average self-published book (average in this instance refers to the mode or most common number), sells 41 copies. For someone bent on seeing his or her name in print, I think most folks would agree a single shopping bag full of books is indeed preferential to a garage loaded to the ceiling with them.

Major Royalty Publishers are Utilizing POD

Because of the high cost of distribution and warehousing of non-bestsellers, especially since gross retail sales for a particular title are usually far from a sure thing, it only makes sense that major royalty publishers have embraced the POD model. Publishers can produce an exact replica of a soft-back book on demand–and at a profit–and not have to keep the book in inventory awaiting a consumer buying decision that might never come.

From a business standpoint, the POD model for a soft cover (and probably hard cover in the not too distant future) makes all the sense in the world. This might mean that the few major book retailers still out there will be reduced to kiosks in the mall, and considering the high cost of maintaining large retail space, this dramatic change could occur quite soon.

So What about Self-Publishing?

Self-publishing is changing too. Authors are now being solicited (okay, badgered), via a constant barrage of POD options presented by the self-publishing houses, to buy the books the writers themselves wrote. Rather than once again creating a new business model, it’s much easier for a self-publishing company to access the convenience of POD and not view it as a competitive medium. Unfortunately, self-published writers unwittingly fall for their respective publisher’s constant solicitations and still end up with a trunk full of unsold books (which once again I guess is advantageous to a garage full).

Self-Publishing is Still Self-Publishing

Like leopards not changing their spots, self-publishing is what it is. And my advice is still the same for any writer who has run out of patience and tossed in the towel: self-publish as inexpensively as possible. With E-publishing, a book can be made available with an ISBN number or its counterpart for less than $100 (and closer to $50 in many cases, I’m told). If a hard copy is necessary, the POD element enables this starting at $35 for a single copy. But once an author, and particularly a novelist, elects the self-publishing option, the writer needs to be aware, if it should be desirable at a later date to ply the major royalty publishers, it could be like springing Bernie Madoof and introducing him as the guest of honor at your fundraiser.

Before Self-Publishing, Consider the Regional Independent Publishers

The advance from a major royalty publisher (the big six plus Kensington) for a heretofore unpublished author for a work of fiction is generally in the neighborhood of $20,000. There are, however, some very well-respected independent presses (this “indies” name you’ve been seeing) that are worth looking into after the big guys have sent out their rejection slips. The advances will be smaller, but still in the $1000’s in almost all cases, and a writer might have to do more grassroots marketing (although the majors are requiring this, too, and more so than ever).

Publishers Marketplace is the “Old Reliable”

Publishers Marketplace, via its newsletter Publishers Lunch ( here’s the link to sign up for the daily free Lunch), shows which agents are placing what with whom, and a writer can learn which indies to ply for a specific genre by checking the respective links. A writer can also Google the words “Independent Publishers” and create a list. The problem with this, however, is sifting through the vanity presses that disguise themselves as legitimate royalty houses. This is why I always suggest Publishers Marketplace as the first, and in my opinion, best resource for accurate, concurrent information. But before jumping on the indie express, and to take one more precaution against ending up with that garage full of books I always warn against, I also recommend that authors make a visit to the Predators and Editors Web site ( here’s the link ). This will be time well spent and enable one more snapshot of what can be lurking in the bushes, which can be something with the body of a lamb but with a head that immediately morphs into a hydra the moment the contract is signed.

A Final Word

In fairness to self-publishing history, there are indeed accurate tales about people who have self-published and been wildly successful. But to my knowledge, all had one of two things in common: phenomenal marketing created via a gargantuan Internet presence or a highly successful commercial advertising career. In the nonfiction market, those who made it were also the undisputed experts in their respective niches. Most of us mere mortals aren’t fortunate enough to fit any of these categories, and this is why I keep stressing to self-publish the absolute cheapest way possible, should this be perceived as the only option still available.

Robert L. Bacon, Founder
The Perfect Write®

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Author: Robert L. Bacon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You have done some writing and you had hoped of one day getting your stuff published. However, finding a publisher that wants to publish your writings can be a long and adventurous task. First you have to find a publisher that is even willing to read it and then you are at their mercy while they decide whether or not they think it will sell. The other alternative is to publish the books yourself, but you quickly find out that the costs for doing so are beyond your budget. So, what do you do? Do you try publishing some, with the hopes of selling enough to be able to publish the rest? Or do you simply produce an ebook and sell it via places before you produce a hard-copy version?

I personally think that producing an ebook version and then publishing it afterward, is a great thing to do. It’s best to start out this way so that you don’t invest a ton of money into getting it published. After all, you want to see if it sells first, right! Producing a digital version is the best way to do it simply because it’s inexpensive and can be published with the click of a button.

Of course, the way you market your new brilliant book, will have a huge impact on your earnings, but at least you can see how well it sells or could sell based on your efforts. By publishing your book digitally first, you can learn a lot from the process, while getting it done a lot quicker. You also could potentially make a lot more money than you ever could from the publishing route. You’ll be able to keep all of the profits by selling it on your own. And just think, you could also get others to sell it who have related sites, and you could give them a percentage of the sale! So, you’ll have an entire army working for you and no extra cost to you. If you create a good enough buzz and market it well, you could make a bundle.

However, once you get it going,  I would still publish the hard cover as well, for the simple reason that it’s going to open up more avenues and channels of distribution than you could ever get with an ebook. If you open the window of opportunity, you’ll be amazed at what can happen.

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Author: Matt Bacak
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Major music Label, and Indie music Label, who does what, and what are the differences? I get emails constantly asking me this question. Who does what, who doesn’t do what? Well the answer depends on the organization.

Generally the biggest two things that a major music label has that a indie music label does not have, is deep pockets, meaning a boatload of cash that they can invest into an artists career, they also have mass distribution outlets that just aren’t available to small indie music labels, and last but not least, they are very well connected with radio stations, and other heavy hitters in the music business industry.

So what advantage does an indie label have for attracting artists, and how in the world would a small start up indie label compete with the major labels? The answer is simple. For starters you need to understand that as an indie music label, your goal is not to attempt to compete with the major music labels, but to work with the major music labels. Think of yourself first and foremost as a independent label that is open to working with a major music label if it makes financial sense.

There are many small independent music labels in the music business that make very good money for themselves and their artists, and never work with a major music label.

But then there are times when you need a major music label, and the major label needs you. If you as a indie label have the ability to find, recruit, develop, and promote artists up to a certain level, you essentially have spent the time and effort finding and developing a profitable product that a major label will be interested in enough to invest some enormous cash into to make the product or artists more profitable.

The major label, and the indie label see joining forces and lifting the product or artist to higher level as joint venture with the intent of all parties involved benefiting from the partnership. Quite often many of the independent music labels are a mere extension of the major labels, think of the indie label as perhaps a branch office of the major label.

The independent labels essentially operates as a separate office that goes out and scouts for the next big thing, they then invest on a small scale developing the artists, maybe working with the artist to get a first CD completed, packaged, bar coded, maybe also the small independent label may also act as their own in house publishing company, and handle getting all of the copyright work completed, and then promoting the artist up to a certain level where there is a good buzz going on, and then the independent label may introduce their new artist to the major label and discuss a potential joint venture or partner situation to take the artist to a much higher level.

So as you can see, there is definitely a place for indie labels among the major labels. Essentially the indie label finds the diamond in the rough, then polishes, develops, promotes it, and makes it shine, then if the diamond needs a little extra boost, then the indie label may bring in a major label to invest some more resources to present the new shiny diamond to the world.

Brent Thomason manages TitleLoanGeorgia.com

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http://www.TitleLoanGeorgia.com

Author: Brent Thomason
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Words written for distribution and consumption in cyberspace are almost instantly available at the touch of a button, unlike physical books which require more physical movement and activity plus time to access, such as driving to a library, looking for a book in a stack of other books, and holding and carrying the book.

Online publishing is a very different medium than print publishing, and although it’s been around for about a decade, it has not replaced print publishing or made it obsolete. It is challenging print publishing though, especially in the arenas of educational textbooks and marketing and advertising. Computers are almost required for schoolwork now, even in grade schools. The costs of moving to online or e-texts for education are being given serious consideration and we may soon see the end of the forty-pound backpack full of heavy books.

Online marketing and advertising grinds out almost infinitesimal e-content, saving money on paper, television, and other forms of advertising and getting in front of many eyes per second. Online publishing is developing in innovative and interesting ways daily, interactive communities, virtual business, average and professional people blogging, webcasting, podcasting, and video casting, among many other mediums of communication. The possibilities are staggering.

There are many benefits and advantages of online publishing, which are challenging almost every kind of print media. The wide, almost instantaneous, easy, and cost-effective distribution of materials, faster results, and possibility for interactivity with e-publishing is hard to match with printed materials.

Electronic publishing includes media such as CD-ROMs, E-books, electronic journals, online newspapers and magazines, file sharing, podcasting, and collaborative software. E-books go back to 1971, to Project Gutenberg, the oldest digital library, a catalogue of digitalized full texts of books in the public domain. It now has over 28,000 documents in many different languages at http://www.gutenberg.org. Anyone who sits down at a computer with internet access can read “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, or “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, as well as see which are the most-read books and most-read authors as of yesterday, as of the last 7 days, and as of the last 30 days. E-book reading devices give readers instant access to books and magazines anywhere and everywhere, carrying one electronic device to be able to read literally unlimited numbers of texts without physically carrying or handling more than one item.

While there are some limitations to electronic publishing, like lack of a physical object in the audience’s hands and long shelf life, weak standards and controls in writing and reporting, and online media diluting traditional media and journalism, the future of online publishing is wide open. Interactive advertising, social networking, and new technology dominate currently and are quickly developing new e-media almost daily.

Martin Alan enjoys writing on subjects such as literature, online publishing, digital magazine, publishing software and self publishing. He also enjoys keeping up-to-date with the latest developments and innovations in technology and online marketing.

For more information on online publishing click here; http://www.yudu.com.

Author: Martin Alan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Karma? Fate? Fickle luck? Good fortune?

These are all theories on how things happen to us, the common man. It’s a debate that has stormed across the ages, and will never have a resolution. We’ll all stumble along, damning fate whenever we trip, and thanking our good luck when we shine.

So it is with my start in writing. Going traditional was simply dumb luck. Or one of those other choices. See, I never ached to have my books read. It isn’t something I yearned for over the last 54 years. But over those years, I was looking for a way to create. Playing the trumpet, singing, even tried my hand at genealogy. (That last isn’t quite up there in the creation scale, but trust me, there’s a lot of satisfaction in it.) Nothing seemed to do the trick. So, one day I just decided to try writing. That was a year ago. Didn’t know crappola about writing, publishing, or any of the rest. (Still don’t know too much.) But what I did discover was that it’s fun. Just plain ol’ fun. And so I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more. And after four months, I had a novel. I edited the snot out of it, lost sleep for a few days, and finally picked three publishers to which I would submit.

Now, unlike many of you who might be reading this, I hadn’t gone through the rejection thing. I’d heard the nightmares, of course, and had even read Stephen King’s account of his start, and how many rejection chits he’d received before he began his decades-long romance with the literary world. (That work is entitled “On Writing”, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone wishing to gain a bit of perspective.) So, I waited. The first rejection came back pretty fast. They were a blood and gore type site, and my story ain’t that. Fair enough. The second one was down my alley, and took my work. But when I wrote them a courtesy letter, telling them I’d also submitted to another publisher, they slid a rejection back down the tube faster than a Nolan Ryan fast ball. So, one remained. And I resolved that, given all the success stories I’d heard over the weeks about publishing “indie”, if I was rejected again, I’d go it alone. Even downloaded software to convert my story over to mobi. Had a cover artist picked out. The works. Then the letter came.

Congratulations.

And all that stuff about going it on my own flew out the window like it was chasing that Nolan zinger. So, now I have a contract, my work will be out in a few weeks, and here I sit, acting like I know something and spouting this and that.

Now, had I been rejected and gone indie, some things would be different. I’d be hustling to get my book converted (not too terribly difficult, and there are sites out there that will do it for a fee), get my cover done (ditto), and slap my book up on Amazon, Barnes& Noble, and Smashwords. I likely would have also gone to Createspace and done the print side. Then would have come the marketing. The Twitter, blogging, hob-knobbing, asking for reviews, asking for guest blogs, asking for author interviews…to be short, my next few months would be spent asking for something, mainly publicity. And you know what?

Two things are what.

Number one, that would be perfectly ok, because if you’re writing it, and believing it’s good, then you damned well better be prepared to TELL folks it’s good.

Number two, it’s absolutely no different when you publish traditionally.

Well, it’s a little different. My publisher IS setting up many of those afore-mentioned interviews, guest blogs, and so forth. But I’ll still have to work my butt off. I’m good with that. He goes to bat for me. He does that because he likes my book…and because when my book makes money, so does he. The down side to this is he has complete control over where and when my book gets published. I signed a contract saying so. A lot of folks have a problem with that, and I have to admit, it gave me pause. But after emailing quite a bit with the man in charge (His name is Tim C. Taylor), I felt very comfortable indeed with my choice. Now my book is due out in a little while under the Greyhart Publishing logo, and I’m a very happy boy.

So, you ask, what’s the bottom line? It’s simply this. We all do what works for us. Indie works. So does traditional. Will I ever go indie, if Tim doesn’t like something I do, or if it’s in a genre that doesn’t interest him? Absolutely. Do I have a bit less control since someone else holds the reins? Yeah, probably. But, I don’t care. My work load for getting my book out there is now far less, I can devote more time to writing, and it’s all good. Very good. So, see, it’s what is right at that moment, and for your particular situation. There is no right and wrong, no good and evil (except in our work). Both beasts can result in success, both in failure. That, in the end, depends on you.

Now, stop reading this article and go write something.

Author: Thomas Rydder
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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