Category Archives: Publishing Books

Books are an excellent and inexpensive way to reach your target. Whether or not you want a career as a writer, or you want to launch your products through writing, your book will launch you. Readers regard authors as experts. Anytime an author writes, is quoted, or publishes, people tend to lend credibility. The pen is mighty and powerful in launching careers and products; a truth that applies to novels, references and how to books.

Your book could be about you, your product or solely your message. Whatever the subject matter, the book should highlight your expertise in an area, your message and any related products. Why write a book? Some of the following purposes may help you find the answer:

• You have a message no one else has made known.
• You are an expert in a field where no books exist (highly possible in a niche).
• You know how to do something that you wish everyone else in the niche could do.
• You want to build instant credibility.
• You want to change an industry practice.

Successful authors have written to meet some or all of the above personal and professional goals. I wrote my book ISP Certification-The Industrial Security Professional Exam Manual because I had passed a test that many others feared to take. Our field has well over 10,000 eligible professionals, but only a hundred were certified at the time. I wanted to demonstrate to others that though they may already have the required experience and know how, I could lead them to the hurdle the confidence obstacle. I wanted to take the mystery out of how to study for and take the examination and instill confidence that moved professionals to certify.

Incredibly, like my story, many books were not offered by traditional publishers for various reasons. You may have received rejection letters from traditional publishers. If they are about a specialized book for a small amount of customers, the rejection may not be about your material, but the market. For example, the letters I received over the years are now communicating something new. They weren’t rejecting my books or ideas on merit; they just didn’t fit their business model. As an author, the books that I write do provide value. As a publisher, I realize that I do provide value to the community. Continuous and growing sales, repeat customers and mail from satisfied professionals prove that there is room and need for niche publishers.

As a result of publishing, you could not only provide a valuable service, but could be contacted for writing assignments, consulting and teaching opportunities. However, self publishing is labor intensive and isn’t for everyone, but if you have the time, manuscripts and energy, maybe you can start your own publishing company. If not, consider submitting manuscripts to other indie publishing for consideration.

What’s your message? Do you have a burning desire to instill confidence? Do you want something changed and are you able to articulate the path to change? Can you help someone improve their professional standing? If so, you may be ready to write and publish “The Book on (your subject here)”.

Jeffrey W. Bennett, ISP is the owner of Red Bike Publishing http://www.redbikepublishing.com.

Jeff is an accomplished writer of non-fiction books, novels and periodicals. He also owns Red bike Publishing. Published books include: “Get Rich in a Niche-Insider’s Guide to Self Publishing in a Specialized Industry” and “Commitment-A Novel”.

Jeff is an expert in security and has written many security books including: “Insider’s Guide to Security Clearances” and “DoD Security Clearances and Contracts Guidebook”.

See Red Bike Publishing for print copies of:
Army Leadership
The Ranger Handbook
The Army Physical Readiness Manual
Drill and Ceremonies
The ITAR
The NISPOM

Author: Jeffrey Bennett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
White Coat Hypertension

The impending release of the Apple iPad and the restructuring of the pricing system for e-books will change the game, and publishers, authors, and consumers will need to adjust in the new digital publishing world.

Impact of the iPad
When the iPad lands in the hands of consumers in the Spring of 2010, the publishing market will change overnight. By all accounts, the full-color iPad will be an upgrade over the black-and-white Amazon Kindle, its closest competitor, as well as the Sony eReader, and the Barnes and Noble Nook. Apple’s iPad, essentially a larger version of the iPod Touch, will retail for as low as $499, and its iBook application will place customers clicks away from a virtual bookstore. Additionally, Apple has already pushed for new e-book prices, a move welcomed by publishers who have complained about Amazon’s $9.99 e-book price for some time.

Publishers Come Aboard
There is no longer any question about the lasting appeal of digital publishing. Publishers who are not planning for dual programs in print and electronic publishing will be left behind by those that do. The new price deals with Apple, which will make e-books slightly more expensive to consumers and therefore slightly more profitable for publishers, should make the decision to jump into e-publishing a lot easier for publishers. And the benefits for publishers are very real. E-books eliminate expensive printing and warehousing costs, and supply problems (such as out of print books) simply do not exist.

The Changing Role of Authors
In the past, the path to success for authors was usually via a publishing house. However, authors that embrace digital publishing will largely be able to control their own path. Authors now have the option to turn to electronic self-publishing. And this isn’t a bad thing. Because the same cost-saving advantages of e-publishing exist for authors as they do for publishers, authors can write and self-publish electronically at low costs. Authors will be able to control their work and their profits to a degree that didn’t exist just a short time ago.

Where Does This Leave Consumers?
Ultimately, the big winner in the coming digital publishing world will be the consumer. True, the cost of an e-reader is fairly expensive at the moment, which creates a very real barrier between publishers and its customers. However, it is very likely that the prices of e-readers will begin to drop due to heavy competition. The $499 price for the iPad, which many thought would be considerably higher, is a good indication that prices should begin to drop in an effort to entice more buyers. Once customers have an e-reader, they’ll have immediate access to a full range of titles at low costs, even with the eventual price change from the current Kindle standard of $9.99.

What It All Means
In the end, the impact of digital publishing and how publishers respond to it will be guided by consumers. If people want to read e-books, they’ll cast their votes by spending their dollars. Publishers will be forced to respond to the demand if they want to stay in business.

Martin Alan enjoys writing on subjects such as literature, digital publishing, digital magazine, publishing software, sharing sites 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
How to choose a blood pressure monitor

The world of “Big Publishing” is shrinking! For some, this is horrible news. I was recently talking to someone who had a book contract for her non-fiction book, and she was on cloud nine…rubbing shoulders with other authors and would-be authors at cocktail parties, etc. Then the economic slump hit and she got the bad news that the publisher was no longer going to publish her book.

What to do?

The book was essentially written, but it still needed editing, cover design, typesetting, printing and ultimately publishing and distribution. This seems like a great deal of work for anyone, but especially to a writer who has just “birthed” a book and now has to face all these questions.

Fortunately the loss of some of the big name publishing companies is paving the road for smaller presses, and a concept called Print on Demand (POD) Self-Publishing. There is still a little bit of a bias against self-publishing, but it is quickly diminishing.

People are finding that there are folks out there who want and need the information that they are providing. What was once called “vanity press” is now being viewed as “independent publishing” or “indie publishing”.

Caution: If you plan to just get a book published, you can do so, without an editor, without a graphics designer, and without setting up a publishing business. The question you should ask yourself, however, is whether or not this is the best way to represent yourself and your work.

Any future author wants a book that they can be proud of. This means you should look at your book as a piece of marketing material. You wouldn’t send out a brochure without having it proofread, edited, and professionally typeset, would you? Most of you will answer, “No,” because you understand how important it is to put your best foot forward. What if this is the only thing a potential client will ever see? You want it to be your best.

Let’s face it; everything we do is a business in some form or another. To put out a good book, you have to set aside some money for the production of the best work you can possibly publish. The people you hire are in business to provide editing and proofreading services, typesetting services, graphics design services, and printing services. All of them are in business to make money.

Beware the “free” or “low cost to you” printing and marketing offers. You really do get what you pay for. Most of those companies lure you in, making you believe that they are just like the “big guys”, but in truth, they’ll take your money, charge you a pretty high fee for a few copies of your book, and then leave you high and dry. You’ll discover that they never intended to prepare any type of marketing or distribution program for you. You may even discover to your horror that you have signed away your rights to publish your book anywhere else.

Self-Publishing is an excellent way to get your book published. Just make sure that you are smart about how you proceed. Working with a business that specializes in printing, editing, graphics design, publishing, and hopefully marketing, fulfillment, and storage in addition to merely publishing your book.

It’s not enough to get it published. It needs to get into the hands of your readers. Search out a full-service solution that is financially reasonable for you, but provides the benefit of printing and distributing your book without requiring that you store 20,000 copies in your garage.

Kathleen Birmingham is a ghostwriter of hundreds of articles, lesson plans, newsletters, and books. Currently she is creating a book coaching writing system to help business owners and other people get their ideas out of their heads and down on paper. For more insight into her philosophies on the business of writing, visit her at:

http://www.kbwrite.com

Copyright – Kathleen A. Birmingham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Author: Kathleen Birmingham
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

There have been many times where a new technological development have brought about predictions of the demise of an older technology. It was widely proclaimed that television would kill radio and the movies. Some also said that the emergence of online stores and commerce would kill traditional physical retailing. Along the same line of thought, many predicted the end of physically printed magazines and newspapers with the advent of digital publishing of these media. None of these predictions have as of yet come true, but the growing presence and benefits of digital magazines and newspapers is a fact.

Readers of newspapers and news oriented magazines have always wanted to know what’s going on in a current and accurate fashion. Of course they like to be entertained as well. Print media has done a good job with this, but it can’t compare to digitally published media that is distributed via the internet. With the prevalence of the internet, readers want to know what’s going on NOW, not yesterday or even many hours ago. Very importantly, many readers today don’t want to hear just from reporters or editors, but from other readers as well. This doesn’t mean just a reader opinion piece, but where the readers themselves become the source and contributors of the news.

Along this line of thought, readers today also want news and information media to be very reader relevant and interactive. They want to be able to “search” the publication for relevant information, not just rely on static tables of contents, indexes or summaries. Most of these reader demanded attributes require the media to be truly interactive on a real time basis. This can only be accomplished via digital publishing.

As for the entertainment factor, digital newspapers and magazines are far superior to the printed versions. On line media provides the ability to publish multimedia content, including audio, video, and interactive graphics and photos. Many readers get great entertainment value from the ability to actually publish their own news pieces and article “talk backs” (on line reader opinion pieces).

Even for magazines that are not necessarily a news publication, digital publishing provides many similar advantages and benefits. Imagine a travel magazine where the readers can actually experience destinations via video, audio and interactive content such as 3D maps. Any specialty magazine can utilize the same digital technology, such as fashion, hobby and activity magazines. Of course, the prior mentioned benefits regarding currency, reader interaction and relevancy all apply here as well.

Then there are the business and financial advantages to publishing magazines and newspapers digitally. There are no print run costs or physical distribution costs. It is definitely more “green” to digitally publish as you don’t use paper to print or fuel for delivery vehicles. There is a marketing advantage as well, as more and more readers are online more and more of the time. Your publication needs to be online to have effective visibility and accessibility. This is especially true with the rapidly growing use of hand held device that access the internet.

Therefore, while print media is not dead and may never be, for the above reasons, it is crucial that a newspaper or magazine publish digitally in order to be successful and grow.

Martin Alan enjoys writing on subjects such as literature, online publishing, the digital magazine, publishing software, sharing sites 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
Pressure cooker

These stages can be run in parallel and obviously the priority/cost of conversion between front and back list and individual titles should be considered.

Basic conversion of existing titles to digital

• Ensuring you have digital rights for all of the text, photos, illustrations, maps etc.
• Conversion of your PDF/InDesign/Quark print files to ePub,.mobi etc.
• Uploading and distribution of digital titles to the numerous online eCommerce websites.
• Marketing the digital versions of the book.

Content digitisation and workflows

• Conversion of your content to a simpler way of storing and accessing it such as an XML database.
• Changing your workflows so the content databases can be edited and products created directly from them.

Maximising the value of your content i.e. getting your content out to more people and in more formats.

• Re-packaging your content involving re-designing products to suite digital devices.
• Licensing and providing access to your content for other uses.
• Using your content in marketing to help create and keep communities interested in your products.
• Build or create links into online communities where your content can be marketed. As you gain access to online communities interested in particular subject areas this can then help influence your publishing program.

The Implementation of your Digital Product Strategy

There are various different stages that you should assess when looking at your digital strategy.

Research the general market and your market

The first thing you need to do is look at the following:

• Market – what’s out there already, how is it being sold, what price point, numbers etc etc
• Innovative ideas – these are often in different products, but look at what’s moving forward in your subject areas.
• Your market – assess what your target market is, how they buy/download, what technology they use etc.
• This will give a great overview of what areas to assess within the strategy development.

Mature your ideas

Firstly look at the ideas you have already for your titles. You, as the publishers of the books know the titles the best and often have a great grasp for what their readers will enjoy, and thus buy. Often it’s a lack of confidence to go forward with these ideas or not knowing how to complete the ideas is where the sticking point is. However if you’re creating your digital strategy in-house, actually getting something written down can really help you move forward and stop just talking about it.

What are your long term and short term aims?

You need to have a clear understanding of what you’d like to do, where you’d like to start and generally the speed / direction of where you’d like to go with digital products. Then you can start working out what they’re going to be and when you need to develop them.

Define a product strategy / Action Plan

Once key decisions have been made about the best way forward for your digital products, you should develop a strategy, this could include:

• A written document detailing a product strategy that you can move forward with within your timeframe / budget. This will overview the type of products (technologies – i.e. Kindle, ePub, apps etc), the content of potential products and distribution lines etc. This could be created in something as simple as excel for each of the titles and the product types you intend to create.
• A digital product schedule to help you understand the long term and short term priorities.
• Detailed product walkthroughs, technical documentation etc to enable you to send to our external development company for the different types of digital products you have decided to create.

Linking in with website / marketing

Once you have your digital product strategy in place don’t just leave it there, careful consideration needs to be made for distribution and marketing. Look at how to use your website and marketing activities to best promote your digital products.

We are entirely focused on delivering a range of digital services to publishing companies and authors. We’re great at creating effective social media campaigns, but we also like to think we’re pretty good at digital product development, web design and other online marketing activities too.

Discover what digital marketing topic we are currently talking about on our LJ Interactive blog.

Visit our website at www.ljinteractive.com to discover how LJ Interactive can help your publishing business

Author: Stuart Surman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How Electric Pressure Cookers Work