How Book Design and Book Marketing Will Keep Your Book Alive

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Too many authors spend all their time on writing, then scrimp on book design and book marketing. They hope that their publisher will handle all the details of book design and book marketing, so that they can just sit back and rake in the millions year after year.

Then, if these same authors decide to self-publish, they’ll quickly get lost in the morass of print on demand publishers and the time and money sink hole of self-publishing. In fact, most authors would rather die than think about book marketing, or spend money on book design.

Facing your book marketing competition

In 2005, around 172,000 books were published with an ISBN number, according to Bowker, which compiles publishing statistics. An ISBN number will get you into Books in Print, and allows your book to be distributed to bookstores and online sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. According to some sources, nearly one quarter of these books were printed by Print on Demand (POD) companies.

I’d estimate that number to be much higher, as many small publishers are having their books printed by Lightning Source, which also provides printing for many of the larger POD companies.

Additionally, Lulu Press, who publishes over 1500 books per week, says that only about 5% of their books get an ISBN number. That’s another 80,000 or so books circulating in the market each year, although most of Lulu’s books are only sold through Lulu Press on their web site.

The definition of “Best Seller” has changed

It only takes 300 book sales to get on Lulu’s all-time top 100 bestsellers list. 300 books! For some people, that can be attained simply by selling books to their extended family. While AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, and other big players in the POD market might print more books with ISBN numbers, their sales records aren’t much better.

Some sources estimate that the average book sells no more than 150 copies, and other sources put that number at below fifty copies. In many cases, authors end up losing money on their books, which is why Lulu Press is so popular. At Lulu, you can upload your book interior and cover (you do all the design work), and have a book on your doorstep within days – all for the “cost of printing” (which is highly inflated, by the way).

The services and prices of POD companies vary widely, which is why we’re in the final stages of creating a comprehensive guide on self-publishing. It can be a confusing morass of information and data, with many unsubstantiated claims. The truth shall be revealed.

Will you be one of the winners, or part of the majority?

Will your book be dead before it hits the streets? If you have any intention of selling more than 50 books, then you’ll have to invest time – and money – into the production and marketing of your book. Here are the basic steps you’ll have to consider:

1. Write a great book that’s got an audience.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to assume that people will read their book just because it’s “good.” People will read a book if it is either applicable to their lives (non-fiction), or if it really is a damned good book (fiction). Even then, you’ll have to market your book. “How to sell a book” or “How to market a book” are two of the top questions we get, and search engine analysis shows that these are frequent search terms. If you haven’t written your book with an audience in mind, then you’re down to three legs on your four-legged marketing stool.

2. Spend some money on book cover design and book editing.

The second leg of book marketing is the interior and exterior design of the book. People do judge a book by its cover, so if you’re not spending some money on getting an outstanding cover, you’re losing sales. Then, people will open the book and read the intro or first few pages. Is it well-written? Easy to read? Is the interior book design clean, consistent, and well-implemented. I’ve seen many POD books in which the margins were too small, the fonts poorly chosen, and the images fuzzy. Who’s going to buy a book like that?

There are many great book cover designers. Then for editing, contact Charity at Mighty Pen Editing for your editing needs. Don’t scrimp on the editing because you WILL make mistakes (trust me on this – there are probably a few in this article).

3. Choose a good quality publisher.

Lulu Press is great if you just want to print a few books for your friends, or create a low-cost galley to send to editors, agents, or distributors. You’ll often be asked to send a “galley” of your book, which is simply a printed copy of your book with a blank cover. Lulu Press is great for creating galleys at minimal cost.

As we’ll show you in our upcoming comprehensive guide to self-publishing, which POD company you choose depends on your intentions and desires. If you want to have your book professionally edited and the cover professionally designed by your publisher (instead of outsourcing to some unknown person), then companies like Cold Tree Press might be a good choice. Other companies offer a varied level of marketing packages. Personally, I’d rather stay away from having these publishers market my book, and instead go to a good book marketing expert or media specialist.

But, there are a few small publishers (like Cold Tree Press or Arbor Books) who have excellent book marketing packages, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars (you get what you pay for!).

4. Take a “no holds barred” approach to book marketing.

If your book is your life, or is a major part of your business marketing plan, then spend some money on publicity and book marketing. Too many people, especially business people, write a book, put a page up on their web site (and on Amazon), and hope that they’ll get some sales. Your book is like a 250 page business card, and it should be used accordingly.

If your book is your life story or a novel, you still need to spend some money on marketing, although your approach will be different. Definitely check out a media relations specialist (Marika Flatt at http://www.prbythebook.com ) or Book Marketing Specialist (Penny Sansevieri).

5. Use the Internet to market your book.

The old ways of marketing books, such as book tours, are dead and gone. Sure, you can still do them, but if you really want to sell books, you’ll have to go online – and not quietly.

Use techniques such as blogs (blogging), Podcasting, and Videocasting (something like online infomercials). Be sure to check out the advanced book marketing teleseminar series at http://www.writeandpublishyourbook.com. You should also learn how to do a Virtual Book tour (a class Penny Sansevieri will be teaching through Write and Publish Your Book).

So, write a great book, find a good book cover designer and book editor, work with a quality publisher, market the heck out of your book, and use the Internet to market your book with podcasts, blogging (an author blog), videocasts, and virtual book tours.

Good luck. Good writing. Good selling.

If you’re a writer or solo entrepreneur, then you need to visit the Publishing and Self-Publishing website. Tips & resources for writers; advice on publishing or self-publishing, and relatively unbiased media relations assistance. Check out our Avanced Marketing teleseminars on Podcasting, Self-Publishing, Publishing and Marketing for writers and solo entrepreneurs.

Author: Sid Smith
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Retire, Think, Write and Publish!

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“Sheila,” an office supervisor for 32 years, spent most of her time overseeing the work and training of hundreds of employees.

Her superior management skills, combined with the frequent education she received through her company’s personnel training program, gained her high marks and a career for which to be proud.

She resigned from her job one year ago, taking early retirement to see the world and enjoy life.

But quickly, Sheila realized she was going to need more money for the next thirty or more years of her life of retirement and besides, she was becoming bored.

She began searching for something to do that would be interesting. Something that would make use of her existing skills while working on her own for the first time in her life.

“I wanted to add to my retirement income while making my new life the priority − I realized the importance − and the difference − between earning for a living and earning to make a life.”

A flyer posted on the bulletin board of her favorite coffee shop resolved the question of what to do. The local library was offering a one-day seminar on how to write and publish a book.

With some helpful and new information on today’s world of self-publishing, Sheila quickly realized that combining her work skills and love of learning, she had found the answer.

For many people moving into retirement, the idea sounds good. Write a book and get it published. People from a variety of back grounds − from teachers, lawyers, waitresses, store clerks to stay-at-home moms − have discovered the joy of taking others into their personal worlds of fiction and nonfiction. Today’s success stories typically hinge on understanding not only how to write, but how to get their books into the hands of the reader.

Here are some considerations for how today’s book-writing market has changed and how to move into the exciting, new world of authoring.

The traditional book publishing system is rapidly changing. For new book authors who are not famous, the old days of big advances and hefty royalty payments are simply gone. Those days rarely existed, anyway!

Anyone who enjoys roaming a book store will still see traditionally published books (Random House, Prentice Hall, etc.) in stores, particularly if they are authored by famous people − “stars.” But the Internet and Print On Demand or POD, e-book and audio books have brought tremendous changes to this industry − completely overhauling book writing, publishing and promotion.

Books have always had four stages: writing, manufacturing, distribution and marketing. But today’s independent publisher, must do their own marketing and must be directly involved with manufacturing and distribution, too.

Publishing is rapidly evolving − with the addition of the Kindle, iPhones, iPods and other means to distribute and read books. Successful independent authors can now make sure their books are accessible by formatting their books to these and other book reading systems. Some books are even published as WIKIs, web pages or collections of web pages that allow readers to make changes and add information, themselves, keeping the information constantly updated.

New authors like Sheila are finding the future of publishing is now, and it revolves around self publishers who have a few hundred dollars to spend and technical skills that lead them into digital printing, online marketing and distribution.

The person who still wants to see a traditional publishing imprint on their book, who may still want to be a part of the traditional publishing industry, can simultaneously publish on their own while finding an agent and/or publisher to take their work, as well.

So what does this boil down to?

At the Saturday seminar, Sheila learned that she can write and distribute a book far more quickly than in the old days of publishing. And that she can sell her book like crazy, and start making some extra money to add to her retirement. And she doesn’t have to be rich and famous any more to be a successful author. This is particularly true in the world of nonfiction.

Book writing is actually a small business and there are many important steps to take. But once the new writer follows a solid book plan (for writing, production, distribution and marketing), they have the opportunity for success by following these suggestions:

  • Write on topics for which you have passion and knowledge; books that will sell to your friends and colleagues.
  • Keep a small inventory of books on hand – forget printing and warehousing large numbers of book. The new writer can even consider writing e-books in multiple formats or recording their own audio books.
  • Don’t worry about selling your books in bookstores – they are a lousy place for selling most books (unless the author is famous).
  • Promote your books (preferably eBooks) on the Internet with Social Networking.
  • Promote offline through speaking and selling books (or CDs) at the back of the room.

New authors will find plenty help online. At the Saturday seminar, Sheila learned about some of today’s legitimate self-publishing gurus, including John Kremer and Dan Poynter, both pioneers in the field of self publishing.

Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, tells his students that he has his own philosophy about publishing, a guidance system that has served him well:

“I am dedicated to selling my books − not just for the money, or the prestige, or whatever − but because I don’t believe in wasting my time. If I’m going to write or publish a book, then I’m going to do my best to make sure that anyone and everyone who might benefit from the book gets chance to read the book.”

Susan Orr-Klopfer, journalist and author, writes on civil rights in Mississippi. Her newest books, “Where Rebels Roost: Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited” and “The Emmett Till Book” are now in print and are carried in most online bookstores including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “Where Rebels Roost” focuses on the Delta, Emmett Till, Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Amzie Moore and many other civil rights foot soldiers. Both books emphasize unsolved murders of Delta blacks from mid 1950s on. Orr-Klopfer is an award-winning journalist and former acquisitions and development editor for Prentice-Hall. Her computer book, “Abort, Retry, Fail!” was an alternate selection by the Book of-the-Month Club.

Author: Susan Klopfer
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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PyroMarketing – The Secret of Book Marketing Success

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Book marketing professionals know the secrets of success that drove the sales of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life to a chart-busting best-seller and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” into a huge cinema phenom. Those of us in the business understand that sales of both blockbusters were driven by techniques outlined in a new book called PyroMarketing by Greg Stielstra who gained fame in book publishing circles when he served as the marketing director for The Purpose Driven Life, the best-selling hardcover book in history.

PyroMarketing embraces an idea that really has been in use for some time – niche marketing. That tool is well-known and used every day by book promoters but Stielstra lays out the niche marketing principles with a new, crystal clear message that is so compelling that it is a must-read for anyone who wants to promote an idea, service or product.

In a nutshell, PyroMarketing involves finding the “driest tinder” (customers most apt to buy), touch it with a match (customers experiencing a benefit), and fanning the flame (customers’word-of-mouth marketing), and save the coals (keeping a record of customers).

As a book-marketing expert, Stielstra found the driest tinder when the Rick Warren organization tapped into the Christian faith community in America to market The Purpose Driven Life. An initial six-week campaign for Purpose Driven Life involved 1,200 people who read the book each day, listened to sermons each Sunday, and met with friends each week in book study groups. At the end of six weeks, 400,000 people were intimately familiar with the book. Within four months, 2 million books were sold. More than 5,000 churches signed up during the fall 2004 campaign.

“From the first campaign and for the next couple years,” explains Stielstra, “it seemed that for every book sold at a discount to someone in a church-based campaign, five more books were sold through retail stores. By focusing on the driest tinder within the church and encouraging them to spread the word, we were rewarded with many more sales to people beyond its walls. Fanning the flames didn’t just double the campaign’s impact, it multiplied it by a factor of five!”

In an exchange I had with Rick Warren, the author emphasized that his personal pre-existing contacts with pastors and church leaders was key in creating initial interest in his book. That very limited, specific market was the driest tinder, the book study groups was the match which produced customer benefits, and ministers and study group members talking up the book was the all-important fanning of the flame. The bookkeeping function of saving the coals by recording customers into a database is a sometimes-overlooked step which promises to deliver repeat customers.

Early on film producers wouldn’t touch “The Passion” and so Gibson employed PyroMarketing techniques to generate $500 million to become the top-grossing R-rated movie of all time. By the fifth day alone, the film had earned $125 million in box office receipts against only $45 million in combined production and marketing costs.

While it is amazing when you look at the success of Warren and Gibson, PyroMarketing techniques are not a collection of hidden secrets suddenly discovered. In my own practice, I find it helpful to re-evaluate all my processes to make sure all elements are followed and to look for new angles to pursue. Part of this constant evaluation of how I meet customer needs involves keeping up on what’s going on in marketing, promotion, public relations, and publishing. To accomplish this I am reading constantly to keep pace and better understand how my colleagues are thriving. That’s why I recommend anyone read Stielstra’s book, PyroMarketing: The Four Step Strategy to Ignite Customer Evangelists and Keep Them For Life. I have experienced success promoting authors using the same basic principles Stielstra spells out in his book and found that discussion to be a very helpful check-point.

In book marketing, a book cannot be promoted without first identifying who the readers are in advance of a single sale. When we find the reasons why that reader will read that book, we then craft the most effective message to be conveyed to the information sources that reader relies upon. We don’t bombard the market with propaganda but send out promotional information to selected streams that reach specific persons. That approach has always worked and always will. Salesmen know that you can’t sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo because he has no need of one, but you’d have a shot at selling him thermal underwear.

So in drawing up a promotion plan for a client, I first find the niche(s) the client can go after and determine how that specific media can be pursued. Getting media coverage is all about creating interesting angles. I try to find out everything I can about the author using a questionnaire that even asks about fraternities or sorority membership, roommates in college, and other tidbits about them personally and about the book itself.

To successfully market a book, Westwind Communications determines who will read it and then targets that media directly. By way of example, one of my clients has published a book of poetry. Now the average person won’t buy a collection of poetry. However, certain people love poetry. So we aim our book marketing efforts for this client to poetry magazines, poetry web sites and poetry societies who are the “driest tinder.”

The reason most authors seek book reviews is that the people reading them represent the “driest tinder.” You don’t read book reviews unless you are looking for a book to read or give. So, it makes sense to target reviewers at media outlets. Furthermore, people will tell their friends about a book review they read in a magazine or newspaper, see on television, or hear on the radio because the media is a third party, disinterested source disseminating the information. That’s why getting book reviews is so important in starting the “word of mouth” every successful author desires. The challenge is that these reviewers are bombarded with hundreds or thousands of books every year and it takes skill to cut through the clutter to get a book reviewed.

For any author, we make sure galleys and the finished books are sent to the reviewers at major publications and broadcast outlets. We write and send press releases, pitch letters in an electronic press kit, and make follow up phone calls to media outlets encouraging reporters and reviewers to write about our client’s book. Being reviewed by The New York Times, Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and USA TODAY are major goals. In fact USA Today has 4.3 million readers every day. Furthermore, it gets more notice from the other media than the other four newspapers combined. That’s a major reason why we will make a concerted effort to get our authors noticed by USA TODAY.

We also contact national magazines and others that may be interested in the author’s personal story. Sometimes the media is more interested in the author than the book itself and that is just one more angle we’ll use to promote our client’s book. We contact TV and radio outlets. Every day thousands of interviews are conducted on TV and Radio stations across North America and several hundred are with authors. We have developed relationships with many producers over the years and those contacts combined with well-thought-out pitches produce results.

I regularly attend major media events in New York City for face-to-face meetings with journalists, editors, writers and producers from top national magazines, newspapers and radio/TV programs. I have successfully pitched such media outlets as 20/20, Prime Time, CNN, People, Good Morning America, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Dateline NBC, The View, Oprah’s O magazine, Cosmopolitan, Fox News, Good Housekeeping, Newsweek to name a few.

Details on Stielstra’s PyroMarketing approach are given at http://www.pyromarketing.com.

Scott Lorenz, is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with individuals and entrepreneurs to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz has handled public relations and marketing for numerous authors, doctors, lawyers, authors inventors and entrepreneurs since 1980 and is an integral part of the strategy for many authors in their own book marketing. Learn more about Westwind CommunicationsÂ’ book marketing approach at http://www.westwindcos.com/book or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.

Author: Scott Lorenz
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Top Ten Reasons Why Your Book Marketing Strategy Is Not Working

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The publishing business has changed dramatically in the past few years. Today, nearly anyone can publish a book it seems. Hundreds of thousands of new books hit the shelves every year. But very few people are successful at all in regards to marketing their books, with the average number of sales being around 200 over the life of the author. Marketing books is a real challenge for many people. In my work with hundreds of authors, I have identified 10 primary reasons why a book marketing strategy may fail.

1. THE BOOK AND/OR THE AUTHOR ARE INVISIBLE

Today the Internet is the primary source of information for book buyers. But even those who buy books in the ‘real’ world use the Internet to do research before buying in the real world.

Book buyers, while doing their research, will NOT search by your name or your book’s title. They will instead search using a very generic phrase like ‘children’s book’ or ‘thriller’ or ‘spy novel’.

It is a fact that hardly anyone goes beyond page three of search engine results. Authors who hope to be visible to the book buying public must be on one of the first three pages for the GENERIC SEARCH TERM (like ‘children’s book) that describes their books. If you are not on one of the first three pages for that generic term, you are virtually invisible to nearly all book buyers. If you are invisible, nothing else you do in regards to marketing your book will matter much.

2. THE AUTHOR MAY BE USING THE WRONG APPROACH

If you are using book marketing ideas and book marketing strategies that USED to work (when bookstores were the primary book outlets) those marketing strategies will most likely not work much at all in an Internet. In fact, you will likely fail.

Today, Internet sites have taken center stage in regards to being the primary book outlet. To be successful in regards to selling books today, you must have traffic to your book marketing site, and you must have a lot of it. You must know how to convert that traffic into book sales. All the traffic in the world will not matter if it does not convert to sales.

3. THE AUTHOR LACKS AN EFFECTIVE SEO STRATEGY

In the ‘old days’ (just a few years ago) the strategy was to tell as many people as possible that a book existed and wait for sales to come in. This ‘yell and tell as many people as possible’ strategy simply does not work today, as the Internet is search engine driven. Telling a lot of people is very hard work, is very expensive in regards to both money and time, and relies on huge numbers to produce small results.

In today’s Internet environment, the potential book buyer begins by typing a generic phrase into a search engine, in essence saying ‘Here is what I’m looking for’. Book sites are then indexed by the engines based upon how important they appear to be in regards to the generic phrase entered and in regards to how that particular site stacks up against the competition for that generic phrase.

SEARCH ENGINES decide who is important and they decide who ends up being seen by the book buying public. Think of a search engine as a yellow page directory. You will only be listed in THIS one-of-a-kind gigantic online yellow page directory if you understand and follow the SEO rules given you by the engines. If you don’t know and understand the rules, you will be at the end of the listings. And, if you are at the end of the listings, no one is going to find you, as they will likely look at just the first three pages.

4. THE AUTHOR IS PRESENTING THE WRONG MESSAGE

Book buyers are interested in one thing, and one thing only – WHAT YOUR BOOK WILL DO FOR THEM.

Often authors like to talk about other things. But the book buyer is not really interested in the author’s history, how the author came to write the book, what lead the author to write it, how the author struggled. They want to know what this book will do for THEM. You must speak to THE BUYER’S NEEDS SPECIFICALLY. The author must do this. If not, they will have a visitor, but not a book buyer.

That desired message must be communicated to the book buyer in less than 30 seconds. You must know what your target market profiles really want, and you must provide it more effectively than the competition. If you are not saying what the potential book buyer wants to hear, they will never buy your book. Your book marketing strategy must speak to the needs of the buyer.

5. THE AUTHOR IS NOT COMMUNICATING A STRONG BRAND

When the Internet shopper goes to the engines, the shopper is presented with millions of authors and author sites. You may look very much like everyone else. Your book may be ‘just another book’ to that shopper. What are you telling that potential buyer that NO ONE ELSE is saying? Without a sharply researched, one-of-a-kind brand that speaks directly to the needs of buyers, as THEY perceive those needs, you WILL appear to be just like everyone else. A great book marketing strategy must communicate a strong brand.

6. THE AUTHOR IS NOT POSITIONED PROPERLY

Type a generic phrase such as ‘children’s book’ into the Google engine today and you will get over 30 million listings. Every one of those pages is presented to that potential book buyer. Your book is just one of those millions of listings. As an author, YOU know your book is not like all the rest, but the BOOK BUYER does not, unless you have taken a strong marketing position. An effective book marketing strategy must position you in relation to the competition.

7. THE AUTHOR IS NOT USING EFFECTIVE CALLS TO ACTION

All marketing sites are websites, but very few websites are marketing sites. A book marketing site must be sharp and clear, clean, and it must brand the author and position the author better than the competition. There must be a logical, step-by-step map for the visitor to follow and there must be compelling calls to action in all the right places. If you do not do this, you might end up with visitors but remember: a visitor is not a book buyer and won’t become a book buyer without a sharp brand, proper positioning and a strong call to action.

Anyone can build a website. But a website is just another website. A book marketing website, on the other hand, should be a results-producing machine and should produce the results you seek. An effective book marketing strategy will incorporate effective calls to action in all the right places on every page of the website.

8. THE AUTHOR MIGHT BE BORING THE BUYER

Most authors are not boring. But do remember always that the attention span of the searcher is very short. There are millions of competitors and competing websites, just one single click away. You have just a few seconds to present YOUR brand, YOUR position and the primary reason why someone should buy YOUR book. A good book marketing strategy will deliver a powerful and compelling message in just a few seconds.

9. THE AUTHOR’S APPROACH MAY BE PERCEIVED AS SELLING, RATHER THAN TELLING

An effective Internet marketing strategy can be compared to fishing. When fishing, no one jumps into the water, jams the hook into the fish’s mouth and tries to force it to bite the hook. This is what many book selling strategies are like – they are ‘in your face’ sales messages.

If you yell out your sales message, attempting to jam your really great book hook in their mouths, don’t be surprised when they swim away. (Think about how YOU feel about spam, pop up ads, Twitter-blab and commercials). It is a fact that no one likes to be sold. Internet shoppers do however love to find what they seek.

Instead, in this environment, you must offer irresistible bait instead, through the use of effective marketing language. The shopper (or in this case, the fish) will then come running, they will tell all their friends and they will bite your book hook willingly. A great book marketing strategy does not sell, but rather entices the visitor to action.

10. THE AUTHOR’S EXPECTATIONS MAY BE SET TOO HIGH

* Don’t put up a book marketing website and believe people will magically just show up. They will not.

* Don’t put up a book marketing website and expect people to buy. They will not.

* Don’t put up a book marketing website and believe you are finished. You are not.

As regards real world businesses, building success takes years and a great deal of effort. In the Internet environment, building your online store may take just as long – perhaps longer. It will require a lot of ongoing effort to make it succeed. The Internet is not a magic bullet. A real world business may have a few competitors just down the street. Your Internet business has millions of competitors, all right next door, just one click away.

Today, the whole world is your potential book buyer base. But this will not matter if you don’t learn how effective book marketing strategies work in today’s Internet environment. If you are not getting good results, don’t complain. Get some help. Visit the free publicity focus group at http://www.freepublicitygroup.com. There you will find a free, no cost, no obligation individualized personal marketing strategy analysis. This analysis will answer all your questions and will provide rock solid solutions to your marketing challenges.

Don McCauley is a marketing strategist with over 30 years of experience. He helps individuals, small businesses and professionals create low cost publicity and marketing campaigns to increase sales. He demonstrates how anyone can develop a massive marketing and publicity campaign for little or no money by utilizing cutting edge strategic marketing and publicity resources. The goal is alway to produce bottom line results

Don serves as facilitator of the Free Publicity Focus Group. He is an author and currently writes for regional and national print and electronic publications. He serves as host of The Authors Show radio program, a production of eBroadcastMedia.com. He is an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional and is Web CEO University Certified. Prior to establishing his marketing and publicity consulting business, Don spent many years as a marketing manager and trainer for several large US corporations. He has also personally built three highly successful service businesses from scratch across three different industries.

He spent 8 years as marketing director of a regional corporation. During this time he was responsible for developing, implementing and managing marketing and publicity campaigns.

More information is available at http://www.freepublicitygroup.com. He can be reached by email at don@freepublicitygroup.com

Author: Donald E. McCauley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Dreams, Books, E-Books, Writing and Other Random Thoughts From My Publisher’s Life

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The start of random thoughts: I recently spent three days as a faculty member at the Midwest Writing Center in the Quad Cities and lots and lots of ideas floated through my mouth for both wanna be writers and established authors. The field of being a writer is truly vast and inspirational. Someone could be out of work and yet, the thrill of writing, of sharing their story causes their face to light up. Someone could be overburdened with rejection slips from submitting their writing to publishers, yet, what do I say to them, “Be glad you got the rejection letter, truly, speed ahead, look for the letter that says ‘yes.'” Much as reading a tarot card deck, each symbol is at once positive and negative. As is the quest to be a published author.

More random still: Most everyone I meet, most everyone I have not met wants to write a book. A retired financial executive wants to write their life story. A medical doctor wants to write a novel and on and on. When E-book publishers talk about something other than an E-book they refer to these other things as “real” books. When a paperback is opened it’s easy to read, it’s portable and it always turns on. When a book has been treated with respect it has a lower outside margin fit for the fingers to hold the page. When an A and a T are joined together with a ligature, this is tradition steeped in practicality not a mark meant to rub off the page. When a natural, sixty pound paper is read off of the eyes want to say thank you.

Randomness gone random: A new author wants to know the average book contract terms. I want to say, write your book first. A beginning author asks who will edit my work? Will they alter what I have to say? I want to plead, “I insist that you coax the most imagination out of yourself as you can. Be a writer, enjoy the process.” A struggling author asks if maybe they shouldn’t switch genres entirely, I want to beseech them to find the “flow” of creativity. To turn your fiction into 51 percent fiction and 49 percent nonfiction. And vice versa. I want to say, come to a spot in your story and then pause, consider and think through all the options, SURPRISE yourself and your reader.

Ask me my final advice and I’ll say, enjoy the process of the writing first and foremost. Then enjoy the editing process. Then enjoy the marketing process. But first, enjoy the writing or nothing else will matter.

The Ice Cube Press has been an independent Midwest Book Publisher, since 1993. Our focus remains life and experiences in the heartland of the United States. To find out more go to our web page at http://www.icecubepress.com

Author: Steve Semken
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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