Category Archives: Self-Publishing

Blog posts about Self-Publishing

Self Publishers’ Guide To The Best Cheap And Easy Book Marketing Tips

Posted on by

Whether you’ve just published a book or have a book that isn’t selling, now is the time to get to it; start marketing today! 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. Your book selling, book marketing, and book promotion planning should begin before the manuscript is completed.

Your book press release should not be written as you would a sales letter or flier, it should be written for the editor and tell about your book in a factual way, no opinion or glowing remarks. 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 you have at least one good press release, written in AP style, that you can send out for the lifetime of your book.

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly. Make sure your press release spells out the ‘who, what, where, when, and why.’ Learning to write and use powerful optimized press releases can often drive tons of traffic to your website while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords.

Don’t underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales. 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.

Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book. Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your website. If your book solves a problem, focus on this in your marketing.

Get as many testimonials about your book, as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books. 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. When you get a nice write up or feature about you and/or your book, have it laminated and set it up on an easel at trade shows.

Every day it’s important to focus on a variety of marketing approaches. 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 not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book.

Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don’t assume it’s already listed. Submit articles to online article directories that focus on your book’s topic to drive customers to your website. Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment.

Build a web site that provides another avenue for ordering, a virtual online press kit and link exchanges with sites that relate to your topic. Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline.

It’s important to publish a website that focuses on your title; you’ll be able to refer editors and customers and all interested parties to your book information with the click of a mouse. 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.

Make sure to do some serious marketing and promotion every single day, no excuses. 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. One of the biggest problems self publishers and book publishers tell me about is the hundreds of books they have in inventory they haven’t set up a marketing plan for; don’t let this happen to you — get prepared now.

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

Author: Helen Hecker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
White Coat Hypertension

A Few Pros About Self Publishing

Posted on by

• Creative Control – Design your own cover or let us help you!
• Financial Control – Determine the number and type of books you want!
• Inventory Control – Order when you want to and when you need to!
• Competitive Pricing – (as in VERY affordable – compare for yourself!)
• Fast Turnaround – As quick as 7 days!

You can develop your manuscript on your time, at your leisure, at your own pace, right at your PC and then simply upload and wait for your professionally bound, bookstore quality books to arrive. You determine the amount you want to publish and you determine the amount of money you feel you can spend at any given time. Again, many authors publish a hundred or so books at first and then find themselves ordering hundreds more.

Creative Control –
You may have a favorite literature category, you like to read and there are scenarios you have never seen written in your genre, then you’ve most likely experienced frustration. Now you are left to ponder and to speculate. The reason your favorite sub-genre has been ignored is money matters in book publishing companies of today.

A great example is fantasy fiction literature. Until a few years ago, the number of fantasy books (i.e. Dragon books and Warlock books) that had been published could be counted on two hands. Without saying there’s current development of ebooks. And ebook sales are only getting bigger. A large collection of fantasy fiction literature has entered the marketplace and is available or in some cases free of charge. Some offer their ebooks free of charge.

Why are all these bizarre and wonderful sub genre literary selections appearing? The new “e” platforms [electronic] platforms allow authors to self publish their creative works, as we know them in the literary field. These writers have about 100% freedom to write about virtually anything that comes to their creative mind. Do not feel left out. Start writing. Write until you’ve put down all your ideas, then edit. Your goal is to get self-published to an ebook format to share on the world-wide web. Then think about publishing in normal book form. Note, before ebook formats – self publishing became easy and affordable for almost anyone. However, the editors in publishing companies made the decisions on what choices we had to read. Now, readers and authors can make those decisions.

*** Self-Publish! ***

The Internet and companies like Amazon have made this all possible with their self publishing platforms. They allow writers to publish their ebooks on their websites and gain access to large numbers of potential readers. This particular business model has become very successful. Publishers are scrambling to try to figure out how they will survive in the age of digital books.

If you are an author who has an agreement with a traditional book publisher, I am sure you have had issues with their editors in making changes to your creative work. Moreover, I bet you have some wonderful manuscripts lying around that no one would purchase. With the self publishing options of today, you can publish your manuscript without a publisher or editor who changes your book in a fashion you are not satisfied.

Retaining creative control of your content is but one of the many advantages of self publishing your ebook. Remember you have control with self publishing.

Some of today’s top selling authors are still with traditional publishers, but this will change soon. The superstar authors of tomorrow are likely to be self published authors.

Author: Kim G Lain
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How to choose a blood pressure monitor

Self-Publishing – How to Know If It’s Right For You

Posted on by

Frustrated writers often ask, What about self-publishing?

It has never been easier or more profitable to self-publish the right works for the right reasons. For the wrong reason, self-publication is as much a dead end as ever.

Let’s get the wrong reasons out of the way first. For a novelist who thinks the big publishers just don’t know an obvious New York Times bestseller when they see one, self-publishing is probably going to be a disappointment.

Now that we’ve cleared away a minority of those who are thinking about self-publishing, let’s talk about who it can work for.

Who can self-publish profitably?

  1. Nonfiction writers, such as Internet marketers, financial advisors, health and diet experts, may appreciate getting the entire profit from their books, rather than just royalties. These books can be either print or ebooks — or both — and can be sold from the author’s website or through affiliate marketers.
  2. Business owners, especially those who sell their goods or services over the Internet, can publish ebooks quickly and inexpensively and use the ebooks as incentives. The ebooks could also serve as a sampling of the entrepreneur’s approach and style or as a handout for a class or workshop.
  3. People who give public speeches and other events can market print-on-demand copies of their books.
  4. Authors of books that reach a very small niche audience, such as a family history or ghost stories of a small town, can publish print on demand, with no upfront fee and all the production costs included in the per-copy price. I heard a story a few years back about a literary agent picking up a self-published local history while on vacation. She then called the author to offer representation and ended up selling the book to a big publisher. It doesn’t happen often, but a well-written book that fits its niche just might make the leap.
  5. A marketing genius, such as science fiction author Scott Sigler, can write an exciting novel, podcast it as a free audio book, and parlay the popularity into a contract with one of the big publishers. It doesn’t hurt to come up with a basket full of great marketing ideas along the way.

Some things self-published authors should keep in mind

  1. 1. One of the things a publisher has traditionally been responsible for is marketing and publicity. A self-published author (and more and more these days, a traditionally published author as well) is responsible for marketing and publicity.
  2. If you want to sell your self-published book through your neighborhood or online bookstore, you’ll need an ISBN number (ISBN.org). You don’t need an ISBN to sell the book in private transactions. How to get an ISBN is outside the scope of this article, but you’ll want to decide before you print the cover.
  3. Publishers have traditionally provided editing, fact-checking, proofreading, page layout, and design. There’s a natural inclination for any writer (including me) to finish a book and say, “That’s a wrap,” and assume there is nothing else to be done with it. But a book riddled with inconsistencies, factual errors, and typos undermines its own credibility. An unprofessional cover suggests an unprofessional book. Self-published authors make a wise investment in a good editor, proofreader, and designer.
  4. There are many new means of publication and distribution on the horizon for authors with information to share or a story to tell, as determined by the needs of their audience and limited only by their own imagination.

The bottom line

The arrival of print-on-demand and ebooks means that publishers no longer have to keep hundreds or thousands of copies of a book in inventory. It means that the book can be written in one place and printed closer to its delivery place, saving on shipping and handling.

An ebook doesn’t have to be printed at all, but can be sold as a download, eliminating shipping and handling altogether.

Self-publishing can be one of an array of possibilities for a writer’s work and the best option for some kinds of projects. It’s worthwhile for every author to give it a look.

About the author:

Jan Bear gives tips on communicating in the English language at http://www.writeatlight.com Sign up for a free weekly newsletter, English for Communicators.

Author: Jan Bear
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Canadian crossborder shopping

Self Publish Your Own Ebook

Posted on by

Have you ever realised that all of us are constantly sharing our knowledge and information on a daily basis? We do it without realising that these could be valuable information that some one is looking for. Every moment, people around the world are seeking information on something or the other. These information are available at libraries, magazines, books and periodicals. Today, the Internet is the latest source of information.

How about sharing your information and knowledge and getting paid for it? Learn to publish your knowledge and have readers respond quickly. For this you will have to also learn to market your e books without sending any money.

E book serves in many ways:

Customers, especially from International, do not have to wait for the shipment to arrive.

E books can be downloaded, printed and read without having to spend much.

You do not have to go selling, like a salesman with a brief case.

Customers get privacy. Books on religion, personal hygiene and sexual topics can be downloaded and read without having to buy it at a store.

Start by writing on any subject you are good at. Start by just noting down points that come to your mind. You can always edit them later. Visit various sites and forums to find out what information people are seeking. Perhaps you have some of the answers.

Very soon you will start wring articles that can be published. Once you learn the art of writing you can compile all your information into one e book which you can market online.

This is very profitable way to earn money on a part time basis, without having to make personal sales calls to bookstores and libraries. There is no need to meet any schedules or be accountable to anybody. Over a period of time you will enjoy creating more e books and have fun generating more money for yourself.

Self publishing ebooks

Author: Shasi Nair
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

Writing For The Spiritual Market

Posted on by

The last decade or so, we’ve seen a huge surge in spiritually based books. They’ve sold so well (both fiction and non) that most of the big houses have some sort of spiritual imprint, running the gamut from Christian Fiction to Buddhist texts to New-Age works a la Hay House, etc. I’ve seen a host of such manuscripts. Many of these come from counselors of a wide variety; many are scholarly; some from writers on a spiritual path. The majority of these have things in common: either they beat you over the head with their “revelations” (which needs no discussion-we’ve all had this experience!) or they’re free-form, just shy of stream-of-consciousness. And while that may indeed be the manner in which we receive the essence of spiritual inspiration, it still must be translated into book form in order to be publishable, and to be accessible to the market-readers.

As with all true gems of knowledge, inspiration, even Truth (and isn’t this why all writers write? To convey some bit, no matter how big or small, of something learned along the way), the success lies in the telling.

Now, I’m not here to proselytize for or against any religion, spiritual bent, or path, but rather as a writing coach to help writers fashion their works into true and viable books. Often the lessons along the way seem quite difficult, and oddly, the “spiritual writer” seems to have the most conflict with accepting criticism and revision, as if to do so would mar the pristine nature of the work.

All writers have that fear to some extent. The spiritually based ones tend to take it to the extreme. After all, if the inspiration came from God, Spirit, The Universe, whatever you may call it in your belief system, the idea is “who am I to question?” I may have missed something, but I never heard God say, “To edit is of Satan.” Although, of course, many writers would attest to that in general! But in fact, the editing itself can be as creative a process as the initial inspiration. It’s all in how you go about it.

This mindset, although seemingly mundane, is the point of creating a work that readers can grasp and utilize. Remember-you yourself are not your only audience. Yes, you are a vital one to please (that is a lot of why we write). But if you want someone else to actually read it, you must bring the work into a recognizable form, and one which others can grasp.

As a book editor, I see a ton of such works that go all over the map. In other words, the organization is off. Many need a much narrower focus. The ideas, while they may indeed be unique, go from Texas to Nebraska and back without ever crossing the Red River. E.g., you can’t follow their path to save your danged life. Without a sharp focus and tight organization, the reader is catapulted all over the pages, unable to find the thread of the theme around which everything about the book must be weaved. Each chapter must build upon the previous, so that your reader’s understanding and knowledge begin to grow from within. And that holds true for fiction and nonfiction.

I edited a wonderful book by Gerald Morton, Never Alone in the Back, which is a collection of stories from an EMT about emergency calls he’s worked. It also weaves his personal spiritual path, and its evolution, through these stories, the inner mirroring the outer, if you will, just as in a beautiful novel. It was tricky making this work, but Morton is a brilliant writer (he’s had both fiction and non published by Traditional houses), and he never misses a beat. Nowhere is the reader confused as to how these stories relate to each other and the broader theme.

When Randy Mitchell wrote Sons in the Clouds, he didn’t shy away from the work I gave him. We focused on novel development and the elements of great fiction. He plunged in, and revised and revised, producing a beautiful book that fires on all cylinders, and which just happens to have an underlying Godly theme. Is it spiritual fiction? Yes. But first and foremost, it’s a great read. And that novel has just been nominated for Global e-book award.

While I’m not in the habit of touting writing how-to books, a great resource exists for a more in-depth study of this. Spiritual Writing by Deborah Levine Herman with Cynthia Black, discusses some of these points, as well as the marketing end of things-i.e., the various genres within the spiritual market, where yours might fit, and how to identify it.

The main point here, however, is that writing a spiritually based book is not terribly different from writing any great book-from a novel to a manual on child care. All of them need inspiration at the core. All require good writing. And all must have the elements that make up a good book-theme, focus, organization and structure, pacing, flow, vivid characters, showing/creating versus telling, substance, voice, etc. You don’t get a cosmic get-out-of-editing-free coupon just because you claim God as the co-author (just ask Morton or Mitchell, referenced above). Besides, I’ve never known God to be a sloppy Creator OR Editor. We’re pretty much the ones who create the mess. And we have the God-given intelligence, combined with the resources available, to clean up that mess. The process is still about writing, editing, revising, rewriting-where, of course, as in everything, the devil is in the details.

Susan Mary Malone ( http://www.maloneeditorial.com ) is a book editor who has helped over 30 authors get their books published with traditional publishers, with edited books featured in Publishers Weekly & has won numerous awards. See her blog at http://www.maloneeditorial.com/blog/

Author: Susan Mary Malone
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Anti-angiogenic Food