Self-Publishing – Page 44 – Self Publishing Advisor

Self-publishing: The Control Game

Among the many advantages self-publishing presents authors over the traditional model is content control. Case study. I spoke with a published author at a recent conference about her experience with her traditional publisher. She handed me her book and paused. “You see my name’s on the cover,” she said. “But none of that is mine.”

Aside from changing even the title, the published pulled a full two-thirds of the submitted content for final publication. Talk about an incarcerating publishing experience.

We throw around the term non-exclusive quite about when talking about self-publishing contracts. A non-exclusive contract, in short, means that one person is in charge of the book – the author. Most self-publishing options hold non-exclusive contracts, but not all.

I was working to help one author transition publishers recently, and found this in his contract:

“While Section Six (6) of your Publishing Agreements states, ‘If I cancel, <publishing company> will have the non-exclusive right to produce, market, and sell my Title for one year following receipt of my cancellation notice,” <publishing company> has chosen not to exercise this right.”

This self-publisher’s contract maintains the right to sell your book without paying you, but then they tell you it’s not good enough to do that. Talk about insult to injury. But be sure to carefully read and understand your contract. Ask your publishing consultant if you have questions.

In the meantime, have fun and keep writing.

– Karl

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Signings, Networking, Self-Publishing

The Do’s of Pitching Your Self-Published Book to Producers

Here are 5 things to do when composing a letter to a radio producer to promote your self-published book:

1 – Do keep your letter short. No more than one page.
2 – Do include your hook. This is a 5-10 word sentence or phrase that should attract everyone’s attention about you or your book.
3 – Do format your letter so it’s easy to skim. Use bullet points.
4 – Do write your letter with the producer’s point of view. Re-read it as if you were the producer. Is it clear what you want and what value you offer to the radio listeners?
5 – Do be available to respond to interest immediately. These people are often on deadline and if you are the easiest solution to their problem, you’ll get the call.

Karl Schroeder

Have fun and keep writing…

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Reviews, Networking, Self-Publishing, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

The Dont’s of Pitching Your Self-Published Book to Producers

After your book is published, here are 5 things to avoid when pitching to a radio or television producer:

1 – Don’t pitch your book. Pitch an idea for a show.
2 – Don’t over promise. Be able to deliver what you say.
3 – Don’t be dull. Your letter has to communicate how vivacious you are.
4 – Don’t hide your message. Make sure it’s clear what you are suggesting.
5 – Don’t be annoying. Producers are busy. Bombarding the with correspondence or emails will hinder your chances for success.

– Karl Scrhoeder

Have fun and keep writing.

Networking, Self-Publishing

Self-publishing and Your Blog

When it comes to writing a book, nothing necessitates production like demand. Whether that demand is real or imaginary is irrelevant when it comes to motivation. Of course, “real” demand is certainly better in terms of promotion and readership. But “imaginary” demand also accomplishes the same goal — incentive for you to write a certain amount within a certain period of time.

You’ve found this blog. Do you have one and would like to share? If note, think about starting one. Short for web-log, blogs are online diaries that allow you to post content quickly and conveniently for the world to see. Each blog posting is time-stamped with the date and time of your entry. Other readers can post comments to your blog if you allow them to.

Blogs that are updated consistently and frequently are more popular than those that languish. There’s your demand. If you want a blog with “buzz” you will find yourself motivated to add to it every day. Even if you’re only adding a paragraph with every posting — those entries add up. Keeping ahead of your public’s expectations is a great motivator to write!

– Karl Schroeder

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Choosing a Publisher, Self-Publishing

Self-publishing: Rice, Corn, & Beans

Retailers like Amazon, blogs, online forums and countless other products of the digital world have introduced over the last decade a unique new element in the way readers find books: less expensive, open source consumer information. No longer are large advertising and marketing dollars spent on a small portion of books targeted at the largest audience possible through traditional brick-and-mortar outlets. At least not on the level of decades past when readers had no choice but to visit these stores to learn about and buy new books. What does this mean for how writers produce books?

To help explain, let’s take a look at the example of the bean farmer, corn farmer, and rice farmer, all three of whom farm all 3 crops to sell at the farmers market. However,

The bean farmer is better at bean farming.
The corn farmer is better at corn farming.
And the wheat farmer better at rice farming.

One day the bean farmer decides to turn his entire field to beans, and in result brings the best beans at a higher volume to the market. This farmer may only be serving those consumers who like beans, and will lose those that prefer corn and rice. But he will accomplish at taking in the whole bean market because his beans are the best.

Are a rice, corn, or bean farmer? In other words, how specific is your audience (the tighter the better) and how pertinent your content? Once this has been identified and the self-publisher search begins, look for one that has marketing services and support to most effectively reach those readers.

– Karl Schroeder

Have fun and keep writing!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: