Category Archives: Book Marketing

Posts about Book Marketing and Selling Books

With All the Hype, Is Self-Publishing Really for You? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself

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The dust is settling on 2010 self-publishing industry and the results seem promising. But are they promising for you?

You may have read some of the more compelling industry data published about e-books recently.

  • The sale of e-book readers continues to grow. Gartner, a leading information technology analyst firm, predicts that the global sale of electronic ebook readers will have reached up to 6.6 million units by the end of 2010. This will represent a 79.3% rise from 2009 sales figures of 3.6 million units worldwide. Further, if this rate continues, the global e-book reader sales is expected to reach the 11 million mark in 2011.
  • The sale of e-books surged after the Christmas sale of e-readers. According to Publisher’s Weekly, this holiday season, Simon & Schuster reported a 150% increase in e-book sales over last year, Random House reported a 300% surge, and Kensington saw a 400% jump over 2009. For the first time, USA Today’s Best-Selling Books top-50 list had more than two titles in which the e-version outsold print. Of the top 50, 19 had higher e-book than print sales. Is the surge sustainable? Kelly Gallagher of the publishing research firm Bowker, believes that the 9% e-book market could double in 2011.
  • Libraries saw a 200 percent increase in e-book checkouts. At the American Library Association Midwinter Conference (January 6, 2011), it was announced that libraries and schools worldwide were at the forefront of the e-book boom in 2010. More than one million new users signed on to access free e-books at ‘Virtual Branch’ websites, resulting in a 200 percent increase in e-book checkouts.
  • Some self-published authors are generating thousands of book sales a month. According to the Kindle forum, there is an increasing membership in the 1000 sales/month club. (The average book sells 200 or less in its lifetime.) It’s important to note that analysis of the data shows that 67% of authors in the club have three or more titles available. Four genres-romance, paranormal, thriller, mystery– occupy 50% of the sales.

One such author is L.J. Sellers. who took an aggressive approach to her marketing efforts, participating in forums, book review websites, and posting blogs all over the Internet. In addition, she sponsored numerous book giveaways. So a good book, good cover, good description, and low price are not good enough. It takes a major marketing effort on the author’s part.

In a recent blog post at Writer’s Beware, Victoria Strauss, advised writers to look at the hype in context. Among her comments on high-selling, self-published authors:

Many of these authors have multiple books on offer (i.e., they may be selling 250 copies each of four books, not 1,000 copies of one book), and/or are pricing them well below what larger publishers charge…. These success stories have to be considered in the context of the thousands of self-pubbed authors whose ebooks aren’t selling in large quantities.

So, with all the hype, is self-publishing really for you?

Let’s look at what it takes to write, publish, and sell your book successfully: advanced planning, time, resources, more resources, and tireless patience. Below are five questions to consider.

Are you willing to commit to the:

…planning to determine if writing and self-publishing is right for you? Realize a book is a commercial product. Are your goals realistic? Who will buy your book? How will you reach your potential readers? Who is your competition? How will your book be better or different? What are your realistic ROI expectations?Do your homework in advance and you will save a great deal of time, effort, and stress.

…time to write a high quality content? That means knowing your audience, supplementing “what you know” with appropriate research, and knowing how to tell a good story (for fiction and nonfiction). It also means carving out the time to do the actual writing or working with a ghostwriter.

…resources to produce a quality book? At a minimum expect to pay professionals to proofread your book, design an attention-grabbing cover, and format the interior pages. You want a timeless book you’ll be proud of forever.

…resources to create your platform? Must-haves include a website/blog, Facebook and Twitter presence, Youtube channel, and other social media sites appropriate for your book.

….practice of tirelessly and patiently promoting your book and building your readership? You can pay thousands of dollars to have self-publishing companies market your book, with no guarantees. The bottom-line, you must spend YOUR time and energy communicating with your readers-consistently and creatively. Marketing can seem daunting until you learn the efficient methods for promoting your book. Realize that building a fan base likely will take a year or more.

Before getting carried away by all the hype about self-publishing and e-books–and quitting your day job, take stock and determine if you are you willing to make the five major commitments for writing, publishing, and selling your book successfully.

For a decade, Patricia Benesh has been providing personal coaching and a range of “success-oriented services” to fiction and nonfiction writers at http://AuthorAssist.com. No matter what your writing level or publishing goal (traditional publishing, self-publishing), AuthorAssist helps ensure you are ready to publish and promote your book. Get complimentary feedback on your writing at http://AuthorAssist.com/complimentary.html.

Author: Patricia Benesh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Writing and Self Publishing For Profit

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Many authors will tell you that to write a book takes years and to get it published takes even longer.

But with today’s technology it’s possible to write and self publish as many books as you want. You can even turn self publishing books into your own online home business, because you can write books and self publish them all from home without the need for large print runs – or any print runs at all.

Today it’s possible to automate the whole publishing process so that all you have to do is write your next book while all the selling, printing and shipping is done for you. And you can also self publish your books as an eBook or audio download to open your books to a wider market and make even more money.

But first you need to write a really good book in order for it to be successful. So you need an original idea – something that makes your book stand out from all the rest.

So begin with an outline. Decide how many chapters you’re going to write (20 to 30 is a good starting point) and make a list of 10 points to cover in each chapter. Each of these points needs to be written up into one page length.

A good starting place for your book outline is the TOC (Table Of Contents). Most readers choose there books by the TOC so make sure it looks intriguing. You can use a sub-heading for each chapter in the TOC to further entice your readers to want to know more.

Then for each chapter list 10 topics that you want to cover. Each topic will be written into a whole page of content, so if your book is 20 chapters long with 10 topics in each chapter, this means you book will be 200 pages long.

Armed with your TOC and list of topics, begin writing. Just spend about 5 minutes writing for each topic. This will give you enough time to write quickly and productively without time to edit or correct your writing, and this is the best way to work.

If you want to write fiction, you need to create at least one cause and effect for each chapter. Every chapter has to have its own situation – something is caused and it creates an effect – that moves the story along. Make sure the ending of each chapter has a ‘cliff hanger’ to ensure that the reader wants to turn the page and find out more.

You also need to include developments in the plot and the characters. Use the situations to show your characters’ flaws. Try and create sub plots within the main plot to keep the readers intrigued.

Working this way by outline and planning your chapters and writing each page in a 5-minute burst, means that you’ll be able to finish writing your book in less than a month. It also means that once you’ve finished writing, you’ll have little or no need to edit your work.

You’ll write better when you write quickly and without editing as you go along.

To make sure you write even faster, turn off your spell/grammar checker when you’re writing. Just run it over your work when you’ve finished.

Then comes the time to self publish which is now quick and easy. You can self publish a book and have it available for sale worldwide in as little as 2 weeks.

Just imagine how many published books you can produce every year!

And best of all, you get to keep all the profit.

Ruth Barringham is succesful writer, author and publisher and runs two web sites for writers. Writeaholics.net is a web site for freelance writers and Self-Publish Worldwide is a website full of information on all areas of self publishing. So if your interested in writing or publishing, or both, visit these two web sites. You can also sign up for the free monthly newsletter at Writeaholics.net and receive the free eBook ‘Become a Freelance Writing Success’ when you subscribe, or download a free self publishing report at Self-Publish Worldwide. Or why not do both? After all – they’re free!

Author: Ruth Barringham
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Self Publish Your Book and the Profits Are Infinite

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For many writers, becoming a published author can be a confusing and overwhelming decision, especially when it comes to the question of whether to self-publish or not. And with today’s technology, it’s never been easier to self-publish a book.

But self-publishing is the same as any other business, in that the harder you work at it, the more profitable it can be. So to earn a living as an author, you need to be able to write books quickly and make your time as productive as possible. But first you need to decide whether to publish your books the traditional way through a publishing company or to publish your book yourself.

There are three things to consider when deciding on the best and most profitable way to publish your book.

The first consideration is time. if you decided to use a traditional publishing house, first you have to convince them that your book is worthy of publication more than anyone else’s, and this in itself can take several years and dozens of rejections before you find the right publisher.

Also traditional publishing houses will publish your book according to their own timeline. Books are scheduled to be published far in advance so it could be three years after signing a publishing contract before your book hits the market.

When you self-publish a book, the only time restriction on publication is your own. So you can either take your time and publish it one or two years later, or fast-track the whole process and have your book out on the market within a month or two.

The next consideration is control. Once you sign a publishing contract you’re signing away your copyright to your work, so your book then effectively becomes the publisher’s book. This means that as the author you will now have little or no say when it comes to your book title, design or cover. Yet marketing and promoting the book will till be your responsibility.

When you self-publish a book you become the publisher as well as the author so you maintain all control of the way your book is published, how it will look and who will distribute it.

The last consideration is profit. With traditional publishing houses, the authors have no up-front costs as far as publishing goes and instead are paid a royalty for every book sold.

Some royalty payments can be as low as 5% of the selling price and most are no higher than 10%.

Some authors are paid an advance payment of royalties as soon as their book is published, but they then have to wait several years before the number of sales grows over and above the amount of advance.

This is why profit is one of the biggest arguments in favour of self-publishing. All profits from a self-published book belong 100% to the author. So the more you market and promote your book, the more you reap the profits from the sales.

Let’s say you self-publish a novel and you sell 1,000 copies in a year. Of course with the right marketing, your book could sell ten-times that amount every year – or more. But just as an example, we’ll use a low figure of 1,000 copies.

So if you’re making a profit of say, $5 per book, the 1,000 sales will give you an income of $5,000 in a year. But of course the longer your book remains on the market, the more copies you can sell every year. Your name as an author will become known and if people buy one book from you and enjoy it, they’ll probably seek out more books from you.

So if you published a book every year and sold an extra thousand copies of each book every year, in five years time you could have a six-figure income every year. And the numbers I’m quoting are very low. The profit from your sales could be double or treble that quite easily.

And if your book was picked up by a book club that wanted to sell your book to its members, that could mean a single sale of 20,000 copies or more. You can imagine how much that would sky-rocket your income.

Or what about libraries? The sales achievable to libraries are phenomenal. For instance, there are over 114,000 libraries in America. What if you could sell just one copy of your book to even half of them!

And then there’s also the possibility of your book being chosen to go into a collection of condensed books, or Braille books, audio books, media interviews, movie deals…the list goes on.

Writing non-fiction books can be even more profitable. Whatever business you’re in, with a published book to your list of credentials, you’ll be seen as an expert in your field.

And there’s no limit to the number of non-fiction books you can write. The internet makes it possible for you to research and collect articles on any subject and then you can write it all up as your own book (as long as you write it yourself and don’t plagiarise).

You could then set up a web site and also sell essays, articles, reports, newsletters, eBooks and more.

You could also write articles for magazines using the information in your books, or allow them to print excerpts from your books, which would not only bring in extra income, but it is also great publicity for your books.

So you see, when you self-publish, the profits can be infinite.

About this Author

Ruth Barringham is succesful writer, author and publisher and runs two web sites for writers. Writeaholics.net is a web site for freelance writers and Self-Publish Worldwide is a website full of information on all areas of self publishing. So if your interested in writing or publishing, or both, visit these two web sites. You can also sign up for the free monthly newsletter at Writeaholics.net and receive the free eBook ‘Become a Freelance Writing Success’ when you subscribe, or download a free self publishing report at Self-Publish Worldwide. Or why not do both? After all – they’re free!

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ruth_Barringham

Author: Ruth Barringham
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Simple Book Marketing Tips That Will Make Your Self Published Books Sell Fast

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Authors, self publishers and book publishers can be very unhappy when they see boxes of books delivered from the printer, loaded onto pallets in their garage and not have any idea on how they’re going to sell them; don’t let this happen to you — be prepared. Self publishers need to have a good marketing plan to sell books and should be written prior to writing your book and in place a year prior to publishing your book. This article will provide you with easy, free, and cheap book marketing, promotion and publicity tips to get you headed in the right direction fast.

Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media. Mail a press release to at least 1000 print and broadcast contacts just prior to publishing your title and again and again after you publish; you can never send too many. Make sure your press release spells out the ‘who, what, where, when, and why.’

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly. Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Invest in press release submitting software and set aside time every week to send out a press release online to the press directories.

Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book’s website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases. Send out the same press release to the editor of your local daily newspaper every week until you are called for an interview or are written up.

Submit articles to online article directories that focus on your book’s topic to drive customers to your website. Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing. Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment.

Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers. Local radio shows and television appearances are good but are often forgotten within hours of the broadcast; make sure to make or get a copy of any television broadcast for future promotions. If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way.

Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer. Place free ads periodically for your book’s website on Craigslist in different categories to drive even more traffic to your website. I’ve not found that book signings sell many books for publishers and are often a waste of time; better to spend it elsewhere.

Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline. Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the womens’ market. Your sales letter or flier should include an eye-grabbing headline, the benefits to the buyer, the book features, book sales information and testimonials. Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets. Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don’t assume it’s already listed.

I’ve seen publishers lose a lot of money paying for expensive display ads, so beware if you do this; I don’t advise it in the beginning — get your feet wet first so you know what you’re doing. Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your website.

I hope this article has provided you with helpful tips to accelerate your book marketing and book promotion efforts. Yes you can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget, just be careful about your marketing dollars. Don’t delay another day if you’ve fallen by the wayside; make sure to focus on promoting, selling and marketing your book each and every day.

About this Author

For more information on book marketing tips and selling more books go to http://www.TwinPeaksPress.com founded in 1982, specializing in help for authors, self publishers, ebook and book publishers with tips, advice and resources, including information on media, library and other mailing lists, and press releases – online, wire service and offline distribution

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Author: Helen Hecker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Why Self-Published eBooks are Winners

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Myths abound about print books being the right kind of book and eBooks are on their last leg. These ideas spring from traditional publishing.

Hopeful authors have read it many times–that a true book, one that will bring you reverent kudos, must be in print and must be long. And it must have a top agent and publisher. Maybe true five-ten years ago. Like you, I believed it at first and went down that rocky road to get an agent, then publisher. Way too hard and took way too long.

My first rule. Write a short book first. Notice famous authors such as Ken Blanchard did. Second rule. Write a non-fiction, self-help book first, then a novel. You’ll experience more success with a non-fiction. Then, you can use the profits to stay the long haul for your fiction.

Follow my lead. First, I wrote print booklets or journals and sold them at the back of the room in seminars of the same name. This led to thousands of income each month. Then I read self-publishing books such as Dan Poynter’s. Right track. But, then I realized one can write a print and an eBook at the same time. And, you can sell either from your own Web site. Or, you can take a 50% or less royalty and sell from someone elses’s site.

Remember one great benefit of eBooks. The author gets by with little cost. You can send the books via email if you don’t have a Web site yet, and you can offer them as downloads at your site.

One great benefit of short eBooks. Your audience loves them. They don’t want to spend a lot of time reading. They want quick solutions in an easy to read format. They don’t want long books over 130 pages with too much extraneous information. Give them answers to their questions and you’ll have a fan for life.

The sad truth that no emerging authors wants to believe–that they can get the publisher to publicize, promote and market their book. Not true. It’s amazing how many bookcoaching clients really want to turn it all over to someone else. The problem is it’s way too expensive, and no one knows nor has more passion for a book than the author. It’s not money that rules, but a creative approach to sharing your wealth.

Another rule. If you can write a book, you can also write ad copy for the book’s introduction, the short “tell and sell,” the back cover, or the Web or email sales letter. You just need some coaching from a pro. Start a promotion savings account and spend a little to get the best words that will attract and give your audience enough information to make it easy to buy.

Join a telegroup that writes each week and exchanges files with each other. Of course make sure the bookcoach is savvy and knows how a saleable book is put together, knows short cuts to write fast, and clear, and gives you useful feedback to help your book grow and get born.

What’s your intention? To think it takes too much time, too much money and you aren’t much of a writer? If you can get by your resistances, you can learn how to write –well. If you put a little daily attention on your book project, you can finish it.

Take some small action today and feel powerful, because authors are a special breed-and the club is awaiting your good news.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of Write Your eBook or Other Short Book Fast and 10 others, she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, “The Book Coach Says. . .,” and “Business Tip of the Month.” at http://www.bookcoaching.com. Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com or Cullinsbks@aol.com Phone: 619/466-0622 — Orders: 866/200-9743

Author: Judy Cullins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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