Self-Publishing – Page 28 – Self Publishing Advisor

Copywriting Services in Self-publishing

More important than copyright registration for many self-publishing authors is professional copywriting assistance. That’s right, a writing service for writers. This is a step to be completed during the pre-production or production phases of your book in preparation for publication and marketing efforts.

The back cover copy and author biography is second only to a dynamic cover when it comes to motivating a reader to buy. Many talented fiction, non-fiction, children’s book authors are wonderfully just that—talented fiction, non-fiction, etc. writers. Writing sales copy is a different skill all together. It is the art of using words to create hype about a product and convince consumers to spend money. The fact is, most authors of any genre are capable of generating decent sales copy, but don’t like the idea of having to justify or brag about their hard work. Sales copy is an important element in getting books in reader’s hands. The good news is with this service, others can do that work for them.

Look for this optional service when researching and partnering with your self-publishing choice. The content should not be entirely out of your control though. Make sure you can submit your book summary and author biography draft to your publisher who will employ its professional staffers to rework it into shiny, packaged sales copy. Do also make sure you have the option to review and approve the final copy (your content control should not be limited to just your manuscript).

You can then continue to use the powerful copy on your webpage, on your book’s back cover, in media, and virtually anywhere you find a productive venue as your book promotion efforts unfold.

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing Guest Post: Ask the Book Doctor

The book doctor shares usage advice for the self-publishing author. Always have your work professionally edited, but why not save your editor some work…

Q: Once in a while the word “sits” comes up in our [southern city] writers group, and another member (in her seventies) and I (at eighty-three years) always wonder what is right. When she and I were growing up, the word “sets” was used for an object, not “sits,” as it seems to be used these days. An example is this: A potted plant sits on the windowsill. In my day and age, it would have been this: A potted plant sets on the window sill. Could you please straighten us out once and for all?

A: I’ve found that southerners more than others confuse the two words “sit” and “set.” I hope the following sets the record straight:

Set means the following:
1. place something: “Please set the flowers on the table.”
2. cause somebody to be something: “After a hearing, the judge set the prisoner free.”
3. cause something to begin doing something: “His smile set my heart at ease.”
4. apply fire: “The camper set fire to his refuse.”
5. concentrate mind: “He set his mind to finding an answer.”
6. arrange something for use: “Hunters set traps in the woods.”

The definitions go on, but to sum up, “set” usually shows action that is done to something (a direct object).

Sit means the following:
1. rest with weight on buttocks: “The children always sit in the same places.”
2. be placed: “The trash still sat where we left it.”

Again, the word has other definitions as well, but unlike “set,” “sit” does not, indeed cannot, take a direct object. We cannot sit something down; we must set something down.

In the example of “A potted plant sits on the windowsill,” the verb “sits” is correct. If you wanted to show the action being done TO something, the correct verb would be “set,” as in this example: “I set the potted plant on the windowsill.”

By the way, using “set” for “sit” in a character’s dialogue would be a great way to show that the character is from the South.

What’s your question about writing or publishing? Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at http://www.zebraeditor.com.

Choosing a Publisher, Self-Publishing

Copyright and Copywrite in Self-Publishing

Many authors often confuse the terms copyright and copywrite. Both are important elements in quality self-publishing and your publisher should offer both.

Let’s start with copyright – often the source of a deeper misconception. Some may be under the impression that copyright registration is a must prior to submitting their work to a publisher. That is not the case. Protecting your work is a good idea and should be on your radar, but actual registration is not necessary prior to submission.

The Basics: Copyright law provides the creator of a work (manuscript in this case) exclusive rights to control who may copy or create derivatives of that work. When do those exclusive rights take effect? The instant that creative effort is placed in tangible form – the first sentence put on paper. This specific protection was originally drafted under what is commonly known as The Berne Convention (for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works), an international agreement governing copyright law. This agreement has been signed by nearly every major nation including the United States.

So what does official registration with the US Copyright office accomplish? Protection in the event litigation concerning the creative work, or book, arises, the likeliness of which is rare.

Publishers should offer official registration with the US Copyright Office nevertheless. Make sure yours does. It’s a good idea to let them take care of that process through their professional services. Here is how it works: once your book is published your publisher will likely have you submit the required forms to complete the registration process with the Copyright Office on your behalf. Your copyright is registered on the date the Copyright Office receives all the necessary information, regardless of how long it takes them to mail your Copyright Certificate to you. Keep in mind it is taking the Copyright Office roughly 12 MONTHS to mail the certificates and this is a timeframe outside the control of any publisher.

If you have already applied for a copyright don’t wait for that to become official to begin working with your publisher. Remember, your work is already protected, and readers are ready for your book now.

There is a work-around for concerned authors called the “poor man’s copyright”. Simply mail a hardcopy version of your work in a sealed envelope to yourself and keep for your records. The sealed document will contain proof of ownership in a stamped and dated form. This is not a substitute for registration, but provides a measure of temporary protection.

Side note: Titles cannot be copyrighted.

Self-Publishing, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-published Book Review of the Week

Self-published book review of the week: Public Schools are Archaic

M.R. Ussery EdD & S.R. Pargman

$11.95

For four hundred years, education has been mostly unchanged. “Public Schools are Archaic” is a discussion of the modern failings of public education and the problems that plague them. WIth ideas on how to modernize and fix what plagues our educational systems, Dr. M. R. Ussery and S. R. Pargman give readers plenty of thoughtful solutions and make for quite the fascinating read. “Public Schools are Archaic” is not a read to be missed by those concerned with education.

Reviewer: Willis M. Buhle

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Self-Publishing

The Amazon Experience

Amazon is the single largest book retailer available, and the company model couldn’t be friendlier in helping self-publishing authors publishing through a POD publisher/distribution model. Whether you’re published or still in the writing or production process, prepare these Amazon options to maximize your books sales.

Amazon Search Inside the Book: This is the online equivalent to flipping through your book on the shelf. An optional feature, “Look Inside” provides icon over your book’s cover image, and allows readers to browse through portions of your interior content. Amazon claims that books utilizing this option see considerably higher sales over those that do not. Pretty intuitive.

Amazon Key Word Submission: One of the best user features Amazon provides comes in allowing readers to browse instantly by category or ‘key words.’ Imagine being transported instantly around a bookstore the size of football fields without having to use a map or ask an employee for directions. This is the experience Amazon customers find in typing in a simple keyword or phrase. (Few readers browse titles by author, and even less so for first-time authors.) They key is determining around 10 top keywords to tag your book with in order to provide the widest exposure possible.

Amazon Kindle: The Kindle is everywhere, and for good reason. It is a revolutionary digital reading device that allows individuals to purchase books anywhere, anytime, and instantly. One source noted that Kindle owners, on average, buy 3x more books than non-Kindle owners. Kindle editions must be submitted through special formatting, which some POD publishers offer, and will see listing everywhere books are sold throughout the Amazon site.

And finally, email, call, and knock on the doors of everyone you know who may contribute a credible review of your published book and have them post those on your book’s Amazon listing page.

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