Category: Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing, Uncategorized, Wendy Speaks

HUGE MISTAKE: Using “Traditional” Business Cards as a Coach/Speaker

Today’s post is by publishing industry expert, Wendy Stetina.

You’re an AMAZING speaker. You know how to work the room when you’re in front of an audience. Once your  presentation is over, though, you make a HUGE mistake. This one is really big, but no one told you what you were doing wrong: you hand out a business card. That sounds harmless enough, right? Not if you’re a coach or speaker.

A business card can’t portray the true value of a speaker’s knowledge in their field. Last week, I presented at Kathleen Gage’s New Horizon’s Telesummit on the topic “Your Book – Your Business Card“. If you haven’t published a book, you are doing your business (yourself) a great disservice. Think about how easy it will be to attract/retain clients and book speaking gigs if you had a published book —

  • Your audience can get to know more about you and your business
  • You can share your expertise with your target customer and others in your field
  • Coaching is intangible. A book allows the client to touch the coach via the book.
  • A well written content rich book will validate the author as an expert. Experts get to charge more.

Okay, I’m sold. I know I need to publish a book to build my business. How can I get started? If you decide to self-publish, it’s not as difficult as you think. There are some companies that offer self-publishing packages for coaches and speakers, including Outskirts Press. Packages like these are designed for busy professionals that are always on the go. If you think self-publishing is right for you be sure to choose a self-publisher that can accommodate your marketing and distribution goals. Truthfully, creating the actual book is the easiest part. Make sure that you are maintaining the rights to your material and that you have control over your retail piece and your trade discount.

Some authors don’t want to pay to publish their books. In cases like these, you may consider going the “traditional” publishing route. Remember that you will be selling your rights to the book, but you will still be responsible for promoting your book after the process is complete. Also, publishing your book this way could take months or even years (if it’s accepted).

It is important that you weigh the pros and cons of each option and decide which one works for you.

ABOUT WENDY STETINA:
Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction, or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Wendy Stentina can put you on the right path.

 

DISCUSSION:As a coach or speaker, how have you used your book to build your business?

Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

Your Book – Your Business Card: Upcoming New Horizons Telesummit Session with Self-Publishing Expert Wendy Stetina

You’ve finally freed yourself from cubicle land and become a consultant. The problem is, you’re having a hard time finding clients because you haven’t proven yourself. What if you could do have a business card that would tell potential clients all about your business? What if you had written a book about the very service you are providing to clients? Wouldn’t that make you the best resource? What if you could use your book as your business card?

As an author, you can enjoy the ultimate reach. Potential clients have  the opportunity to get an excellent snapshot of your expertise and familiarize themselves with your skills without you saying a word.

You can join Wendy Stetina (publishing industry expert and Outskirts Press Director of Author Services) on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 1:30 PM Pacific Time. She will be discussing the following:

  • How to determine if self-publishing is right for you
  • How self publishing differs from traditional publishing.
  • What is “print-on-demand” and why is it advantageous.
  • How much should you plan to invest?
  • How pricing and distribution works in the publishing world and how it will affect the retail price (and royalties) of your book
  • The self-publishing process and typical timeline.

The best part is – listening to Wendy and other experts at this telesummit is 100% Free! You can register HERE.

If you can’t attend, don’t worry, I’ll be there to take notes for you to use for future reference. I will post them to the blog very shortly thereafter.

DISCUSSION: How have you used your book to catapult your business?

Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

Bookstores Are In Trouble and What this Means to Your Self-Publishing Marketing Plan

Borders is headed toward Chapter 11 Bankruptcy THIS MONTH.

Barnes&Noble has laid off several employees — including someone very important to self-publishing authors — the Small Press Director, Marcella Smith.

Whether this comes as a shock to you or it’s old news, traditional bookstores are in a bit of trouble right now. With the rising popularity of online book buying and affordability of e-readers, buyers are “turning their backs” on the big players in the bookstore game. As a self-publishing author, this is important for you to know as you will want to know whether to include brick and mortar bookstores in your marketing plan.

I’ve talked to several authors who were initially under the impression that once their book publishes, it is automatically available in traditional bookstores. That is not at all the case. If I’m speaking with an author who wants to explore the possibility of getting their book onto the shelves of their local bookstore, I typically advise that that the following “guidelines” must be met in order to have a chance of success with that goal:

  • You must set your pricing with an offline-friendly trade discount. This is usually between 50-55%.
  • Your book must be fully-returnable. The “insurance” plan for this can cost you $500+ per year.
  • You must have an on-target marketing plan with an already proven sales system.

The reality of it is, many self-publishing authors books never make it onto the shelves of a traditional bookstore. Trying to reach this goal can cost  you a great deal of money (less royalty and yearly cost) and time (you may have to re-submit your book multiple times to be considered).

What can you do if you aren’t able to meet the receiving bookstore’s rigid requirements? Well, the good news is – not all is lost. You can still be very successful at online sales. Plus, with both Borders and Barnes&Noble falling upon hard times, there are much better ways to use your marketing skills and/or dollars — including planning things like a Virtual Book Tour or Global Book Tour (to name a few).

Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

Quick Question – What is Self-Publishing?

That’s a powerfully loaded question…

The simplest way to define it is: self-publishing is the act of getting your own book to print, distributing it, and then marketing it. That said — there are some authors who prefer to create their own books from the ground up. While this can be done – is it always the most feasible option available? Not usually.

Authors can also decide to hire the services of a self-publishing company, which some incorrectly label as “vanity presses”. A vanity press is an outfit that offers little to no support for the author and actually allows them very little involvement in the process of making their book. Naturally, authors should be very careful when dealing with such companies because they may not end with what they are looking for in the end.

However, a full-service self-publishing company will keep you involved in the process and offer support before, during, and after you publish your book. The biggest reason why an author would choose to go this route is if they need assistance creating their book. All authors are not cover designers, book blockers, and marketers. So, they enlist the expertise of a team who knows the book publishing industry inside and out. It’s honestly no different than paying a plumber to fix your toilet. Sure, you can research, study, and practice fixing it yourself. But, do you really want to commit all of the time required to do it?

DISCUSSION: Have you worked with a company to publish your book or did you do it all yourself?

 

Book Marketing, Self-Publishing

Books a Million: Marketing in the Digital Age

It was nearly a year after Google was founded that they saw even their first mention in the New York Times, as a mere parenthetical. In fact, most major online companies—Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, even Amazon—began in relative obscurity.

In today’s instant gratification, online world that dynamic seems almost backward, especially when as publishers and authors we often conceptualize a big-launch book publication as a measure of success. The big launch is what we’re used to. Think Harry Potter.

It can be helpful to plan major marketing events around your book launch. But, in today’s marketplace and through the long-tail effect, it’s time to take a different approach. There are virtually millions of books published every year, a massive increase in volume from just a decade ago, thanks in large part to POD and full-service self-publishing. Book marketing has changed as well. Think long-haul. With a bit of work and support, you may be surprised what success you find not one day or even one year after publication.