Category: Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing versus…well, nothing

It sometimes seems that we, collectively, find difficulty in escaping the conversational vein of traditional publishing versus self-publishing as if the two were completely polarized. News, blogs, articles online and off have swarmed the topic for some time now, and its easy to get pulled into the polemics of strong ideas and outside interests. Change can be difficult to embrace because there is uncertainty. But there is also opportunity.

Self versus Traditional publishing. Is this really one versus they other? Of course not. The value of publishing comes through the course of sharing valuable, entertaining, and relevant information with others in a certain medium.

What is true is that the publishing industry has been fundamentally altered by the connections offered by the internet, from the production, publication, distribution, and marketing of your book. Not just a little different as we are finding out, but completely rebuilt. This is true not just in publishing but across the way we live. In entertainment, recreation, and business.

Publishing a book is a business – your business. Knowing what you know how will you approach the publishing and marketing options available to you?

Share this Post
Book Marketing, Networking, Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing: Books that sell in the digital age

This doesn’t speak at all exclusively to self-publishing/published authors. But, something every self-publishing author should take a moment to absorb: Building books that sell in the digital age

– Karl Schroeder


Share this Post
Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Networking, Self-Publishing

Ezines: Promote your Self-published Book

The digital age brings us a virtually unlimited number of ezines straight to our computer screens and finger tips, each with a specific niche or category. With so many free and competing factions most are voraciously hungry for content. Ezines are a great way to generate content AND promote your book (either before it is published by building a “name” for yourself) or after it is published.

Rather than seeking them out individually, you can place your articles into databases that ezine editors frequent for content. They use your article free of charge, and in exchange, include your biographical byline, which includes information about you and your book.

Here are some to check out:

http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com
http://www.connectionteam.com
http://www.netterweb.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.knowledge-finder.com
http://www.articlecity.com

Don’t send them the same article you published last week. Instead, write another chapter of your book first (since finishing your book IS the main goal, after all.)

– Karl Schroeder


Share this Post

Have fun and keep writing

Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing Advice Update: Google Book Settlement

To opt in or out? With court developments arising last week, the implications, at least as they stood, may be moot.

The AP released an article last week noting the Justice Department’s, deem of the current agreement as a threat to give Google the power to increase book prices and discourage competition, though it said a renegotiated settlement might obey U.S. copyright and antitrust laws.

In his subsequent adjournment order, US District Judge Denny Chin noted that “the current settlement agreement raises significant issues, demonstrated not only by the number of objections, but also by the fact that the objectors include countries, states, nonprofit organizations, and prominent authors and law professors.” However, “the proposed settlement would offer many benefits to society, as recognized by supporters of the settlement as well as DOJ…if a fair and reasonable settlement can be struck, the public would benefit.”

If you’re published and chose to opt-in. Still writing and have this topic on the radar, this is good news. While the settlement probably won’t affect any of us directly, that we are taking the democratization of important materials into collective is a step in the right direction.

Have fun and keep writing

– Karl



Share this Post

Choosing a Publisher, Self-Publishing

Self-publishing – Authors become the Gatekeepers

In a recent blog post, literary agent Nathan Bransford wrote of on-demand printing and distribution:

“No warehouses, no catalogs, no print runs. Online vendors, as we’ve seen, will sell anything. In this scenario, does the Author of the Future, especially one with a built-in audience, really need a publisher? Well… yes. Maybe.”

Bransford goes on to argue in favor of the author/publisher relationship, stating that the role of the publisher lies in the dirty work – copy editing, cover design, distribution, marketing, etc. We know that writing and publishing is often the easy part – the real execution comes in getting books effectively into the marketplace. That is where real self-publishing options stand out. Be prepared to pay for the services you and your publishing consultant determine best suited for your goals. In the long-run, you’ll thank your self. And so will the readers who have the privilege of enjoying your work.

Bransford: “But publishers would have to be extremely author-friendly — they would be providing a service, not relying on their traditional role as gatekeepers and distributors. Publishers won’t be able to rely, as they have traditionally, on the fact that authors need them in order to reach their audience, just as authors won’t be able to rely on publishers losing money on most of the books they publish.”

Keep your eyes and ears open. Self-publishing is on the way.

– Karl Schroeder


Share this Post