Tag Archives: eBooks

Two Roads Diverged – Understanding Traditional and Self-Publishing Differences

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The publishing world has experienced change over the past several decades as all industries have, but the next 10 years will be a cocoon altering it into a different species altogether. Many major print publishing houses have either merged, or acquired smaller houses, and the net result is that there are fewer traditional channels for getting your book published. However, this only means that the nature of the challenge of getting a book published has changed. It does not mean that the challenge has become insurmountable.

The traditional publishing path of the past has been described similarly by many sources. Write a book, send query letter and/or book proposal to agents, get picked up by an agent, get sold by agent to a small-to-medium-size publisher, pray that your book takes off and garners attention from a big publisher who pays you a six-figure advance in return for the rights to your book.

Nathan Bransford, a literary agent with Curtis Brown, discusses going from small presses to big publishers. I agree with many of his points on the difficulties of being recognized by a big publisher. His advice is very similar to my premise, if your book is really good, well edited, designed, printed, distributed, and promoted, it will succeed.

Today, the traditional publishing path is in upheaval and turmoil. The economic downturn has caused many small publishers to shut their doors or, at best, significantly decrease their new release budgets. The emergence of the Kindle, Nook, and other Ebook readers has stirred things up. Publishers of all sizes are more carefully scrutinizing new authors, primarily seeking to invest in less-risky authors with established platforms. Gone are the days of a publisher investing marketing dollars to help an author develop their platform.

The new traditional publishing path is emerging as more of a partnership between author and publisher with the responsibility for marketing and publicity resting on the shoulders of authors. If you bring a viable manuscript to the table with a sound marketing plan and/or platform, the publisher will invest in editing, design, printing, and distribution, the rest is up to you.

The exciting game-changer for the unknown author is the advent of affordable self-publishing options. Self-Publishing should not be confused with the deplorable practice of Vanity Publishing where an author is charged seriously inflated prices for editing, design, printing, and/or marketing services while giving up 80% or more of profit and/or rights to their material. True self-publishing is where the author handles editing, design, printing, distribution, and marketing for their book or hires professionals to assist with the process while experiencing control, speed to market, ownership of rights, and max profitability.

The self-publishing path has existed since the dawn of time. Dan Poynter lists 155 best-selling books that started out being self-published. In the past, the editing, design, and printing of a book could easily run $15,000 or more because of minimum print runs of 5000 being required. With the advent of print-on-demand merged with distribution channels, the cost of the entry toll on the path of self-publishing has diminished significantly. And publishing a Kindle version of your book doesn’t require an investment of money whatsoever.

I’m not preaching against the traditional publishing model. I cut my teeth in traditional publishing. My family was in the traditional publishing business for nearly 25 years. I started at the bottom in the warehouse of a traditional publisher picking and packing orders. I eventually worked my way up to running a subsidiary of this same publisher. Throughout my career, I kept seeing countless numbers of authors turned down because we simply didn’t have the budget to add them to our production schedule. When I was asked to take over the helm at Yorkshire Publishing, I studied the self-publishing industry in great detail. I became passionate about being a part of an author-empowering movement to publish and promote quality books that otherwise may have been unrecognized without modern advances in the self-publishing industry.

The old-school mindset that says to avoid the stigma of self-publishing is quickly becoming a whisper in the wind. More unknown authors are starting out self-published for the first time in history. I believe self-publishing is the democratization of the publishing industry. Any unknown author now has a chance.

In my seminars and workshops, I tell authors to treat their book like a business. If you want a real chance, you must treat your book like a big publisher would. When naysayers point to the statistics that say self-published books average less than 200 units sold, I can rebut with a missing link in the formula and Poytner’s list. Remember, if your book is really good, well edited, designed, printed, distributed, and promoted, it will succeed, regardless of the road taken in the yellow wood of publishing.

Todd Rutherford is the Vice-President of Yorkshire Publishing, a firm that provides services to self-publishing authors. If you need a writing coach, ghostwriter, editor, designer, printer, distributor, publicist, or marketer for your book, contact Yorkshire Publishing for a free consultation – 918-394-2665.

Author: Todd Rutherford
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Get Self-Published Today

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Getting your book published is easier than you think. I will explain the methods and why you should consider self publishing & marketing.

Traditional Method:
1. Copywrite your book (forms, fee of $35 and up)
2. Send your manuscript to publishers and agents (copies and mailing costs)
3. Hope somebody reads it and calls you back
4. Negotiate your contract and sign your deal

Traditional Method draw backs are:
1. You may never get a call back
2. Agent percentage
3. Negotiating a contract (attorney fees)
4. You may be asked to make rewrites by your agent or publisher
5. Publishers promote high profile authors not 1st timers
6. Your book will be in direct competition with the high profile authors
7. If your book doesn’t sell, agents and publishers might consider your work unsalable and will hinder you in ever getting another book contract.

2nd Method: Hire a company in the business of helping authors get published. Packages range from $1500 to $13,000. They can take of everything acting as your agent to get your book to publishers.You will have to make sure that your book gets reviewed, a good cover, and effective targeted marketing to your particular genre in order to succeed.

Self Publishing and Marketing EBooks Electronic EBook methods such as the article you are reading are already selling. Books online and the electronic devices for reading them are selling now.This is the future.

Self Publishing and Marketing Benefits:
1. Complete control of your product
2. Published instantly (your book offered to the whole world instantly!)
3. No Agent or Attorney fees
4. Reach a much larger audience to make money sooner
5. Attract offers for a book deal (Publishers pay attention to online sales) Get Self-Published Today and start making money with less effort and cost than the traditional no-guarantee way.

Click on the link below for a FREE Writers Newsletter plus a FREE 32 page Ebook entitled “Product Launch Inferno”.

My name is Mike Mirage. I have over 22 years in the computer consulting business and I found a way to help people get self published today! For more about writing and selling ebooks with an easy course with real help and guidance please follow my link here: http://squidoo.com/getselfpublished.

Author: Mike Mirage
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Cheap And Easy Book Marketing – A Self Publishers Quick Guide

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It’s one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that’s saleable, viable, and marketable. Assuming you’re a self publisher or book publisher and you’ve already published your book, you need to immediately implement a strong, no-holds barred, book marketing and promotion strategy to sell your books fast. Your book selling, book marketing, and book promotion planning should begin before the manuscript is completed.

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.’ Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media.

Make sure you have at least one good press release, written in AP style, which you can send out for the lifetime of your book. Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. 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.

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. 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.

Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets. 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. Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book.

If your book solves a problem, focus on this in your marketing. 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.

Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing. Offer to trade writing a monthly column in a trade publication in your books’ genre, in trade for display ads on the same page. 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. 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. Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don’t assume it’s already listed.

Arrange to speak at local, regional and national events that relate to your book topic; bring books along and have an associate sell them at the back of the room. Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or for thousands of copies offer a specified amount above book production costs.

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 promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline.

The success of any book marketing effort depends on a good book and just plain hard work; its been done many times before and you can do it too. With well chosen book marketing and book promotion, online and offline, you will reap the profits you deserve for your efforts by way of the Internet and in your mailbox. 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.

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
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Birth of A Golf EBook

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I would like to welcome my friend Dennis Krall to my author site. I met Dennis through a Christian Internet Network. Dennis recently published a Golf Ebook. I asked him to share his story with you. I hope you enjoy reading this post from my friend.

I have been an avid golfer since I was 13 years old and have worked hard to improve my game over the years.   I read golf advice and tips from most of the golf magazines and talked with playing companions and other golfers to learn all I could about building a good golf swing.  The internet became a high tech media for lessons and drills to lower my handicap.  The only problem was that many of the tips were complicated and made changes to parts of my game that I did not feel comfortable changing.  I became very selective in the advice that I incorporated into my golf game.  I began to look for advice that made sense to my game and tweaked the parts of my game that needed help without tearing down the rest of my swing, as well as my mental outlook toward golf.  I enjoyed reading about golf advice and was willing to share information with my golfing buddies if they were having problems and were interested in what I found worked for me.

 

I retired from my job as a civil engineer  in 2010 and determined that I wanted to spend time with my grandson and playing golf in addition to my teaching responsibilities at my church.  It was about the same time that my wife and I discovered James L. Paris’ Christian Internet Income web site and discovered that we might be able to turn our hobbies into money making opportunities via the internet.  We quickly started auto content blogs that provided the potential for advertising income.  We also learned to develop websites of our own that we could better control the content and the ads.  This made good sense to us, but we had to start building traffic to our web sites.  We did this through blogging sites that shared our common interests (golf in my case).  I also expanded my reach by writing articles about golf that I posted on my web sites and submitted to Ezinearticles.com.  I enjoyed sharing knowledge that I believed in and that had worked to improve my golf game.  I shared my site with friends and acquaintances on social networks and continued to look for ways to expand my following on the web.

 

In late August, 2011, my wife and I listened to a training session from Jim Paris on writing EBooks.  We decided that it made sense for us to write and publish our own books and advertise them on our web sites.  We found out that we could bypass publishers and use on line EBook stores to publish and advertise our books at no cost to us and without taking large portions of the profits from the sale of the books.  Being an author sounded intriguing but also frightening, but we quickly learned that we had knowledge in our field that people would have an interest in if we could find a way to advertise to a large group of people that shared our interest in the topics we wrote about.  So on October 24, 2012, “Golf Tips and Advice That Work” was published.

 

I want this book to be helpful to new and experienced golfers.  Ii is written to make good common sense and not confuse the golfer as it advises how to correct swing problems.  I have chapters on purchasing the best clubs and golf balls and how to hit specialized trouble shots.  I give tips on mental confidence and how to practice and plan your round.  I have only included tips and drills that have worked for my game and I feel will work for yours.  “Golf Tips and Advice That Work” is about 24 pages long and can be purchased through Amazon for $4.99.  It is also available for loan for a limited time through Amazon’s KDP Select program.

 

My wife and I have been married 34 years and have an interest in Bible study guides and history and hope to publish future EBooks in these areas.   You can find the link to my book at my websites:

http://lefthandedgolf.us

http://hittingthegolfbvall.com

The Difference Between Digital Books and Ebooks

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Most people today, don’t know the difference between a digital book and an ebook. In fact, many people think they are one and the same. They couldn’t be farther from the truth. They are entirely different species of the same animal.

Digital books

Digital books, sometimes also called electronic books or PDF books, are scanned, digital facsimiles of standard printed, published books. You can think of them as enhanced copies of the actual hard or paperback books we have come to know and love.

When we are talking about the digital version of newer publications, they are pretty much identical to the original. When talking about old or even ancient publication, they are much better than any original you would find on the shelf of your local library. Since they are facsimiles of the original printing, this really increases quality and helps overcome the problems of many older books, such as yellowed pages, stains, see-through or onion skin type paper, colored paper, brown inks, etc. These are scanned pages, not ‘copied’ pages, and the quality of print truly represents a better quality than the print of the original book.

The great majority of digital books come in PDF format, though Amazon offers a Kindle edition, Mobipocket offers the MOBI version, then there is the plain TEXT format, as well as many others.

Digital books are usually far less expensive than their hard or paperback counterparts, and there are hardly ever shipping costs, unless they are delivered on a CD (Compact Disk).

Ebooks

Ebooks are digital books too, but they were designed and written for the internet. Many, if not most ebooks were never officially “published” at all, unless you count posting something on the internet as publishing.

Most ebooks were meant to be written quickly, with little or no expenses except for possibly distribution. The majority are short, almost always less than 100 pages, usually under 50 pages. Some ebooks are literally slapped together in a matter of hours. Often they are little more than several short reports combined together.

Many ebooks are self-help books, or manuals of some kind, though there are some ebook works of history and fiction to be found if you look for them. More often than not, they have little or no literary value, their intentions being the distribution of facts, instructions and/or ideas.

Sometimes you may come across the ebook version of a hard or soft cover book. It will even be called the “ebook version” of whatever book. But if you look closer, you will find that this ebook version is almost always far fewer pages than the original. You may as well call the “ebook version” the “condensed version” of the book.

Though you will find many ebooks in PDF format, much like digital books, but many come as various generic interactive applications. But don’t let the initial attraction of interaction fool you. Even if this sounds like high tech education at first, you will find that there is not much to the promise of interaction. It just disguises the fact that these books are short, technically no more than a few pages, with little to no real practical, and even less academic value.

Last but not least, ebooks are often free or cheap, though you will occasionally find some specialty instruction “programs” costing hundred of dollars.

Conclusion

Technically, ebooks are digital books, though practically there is a big difference. Personally, I usually prefer a digital book to its ebook cousin.

By Thomas A. Retterbush

After a long, hard walk on the wild side, I’ve finally become a legal, honest, successful citizen and social media geek, living in SA, Texas. I have dedicated my life to proving, that success of one’s hopes and dreams are possible no matter how far you have fallen, how low you’ve sunken or what rock you’ve crawled out from u. If you read my story on the first page of my Digital Book Supersite, at http://assetebooks.com, you will realize that, if I can do it, ANYBODY can.

Author: Thomas Retterbush
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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