Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized

“Traditional” Self-Publishing and Print on Demand – What’s the Difference?

Your garage is full of books. Your basement is full of books. The trunk of your car is full of books. You’ve self-published a book, huh?

Historically, that was the case. Authors would order many copies of their book and keep them all around. They would often sell them on the streets or exercise other methods to “get rid of the inventory”. For a while, though, self-publishing authors have been able to take advantage of advances in the publishing industry to offer Print on Demand (or POD).

POD affords authors freedom from carrying loads of inventory in their home or vehicle. Authors also save money with utilizing such a solution. Though the cost per book may be a bit higher, resulting in lower royalty payments, self-publishing authors don’t have to worry about such a large upfront cost (to purchase books for their inventory) or having a lot of books on hand that won’t sell. With POD, your books aren’t printed until a customer orders them.

While some authors may be advocates for self-publishing in the “traditional” sense, POD makes sense for authors who are cost-sensitive or risk-averse. There is very little risk factor involved with POD. The only risk you really assume is wondering whether anyone will buy the book that you invested money into publishing.

DISCUSSION: Do you prefer POD or “traditional” self publishing? Have you experienced both? Share your story in the comments.

Uncategorized

Why Should a Self-Publishing Author Build a BRAND that has SWAG?

As a self-publishing author, you have to constantly work on both building and maintaining a BRAND that has SWAG. If you’re missing the mark, you may not be tapping your audience. Success as an author depends not only on writing a quality book (which is VERY important) but also how you are able to connect with your audience.

What’s in a BRAND? It’s more than a name. It’s your identity. It’s how the public views you. It stands for:

B oldness (You have to be able to say things others are afraid to.)

R elevance (Are you talking about the things your audience wants to hear about?)

A nd

N otable (Are you saying things that are “newsworthy”?)

D edication (Are you dedicated to yourself and your audience?)

What is SWAG? This isn’t the SWAG that normally comes to mind. This is SWAG:

S ophisticated (Are you offering high-quality content? Big tip: proofreading is important.)

W orthy (Are you doing anything to deserve the notoriety you’re seeking?)

A nd

G rateful (Are you appreciative for your audience?)

The above checklist will likely prove helpful when determining if you are relevant to the community. As a self-publishing author, checking your BRAND for SWAG will be paramount to success — especially in the online space.

Networking, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

5 Reasons Some Self-Publishing Authors have no Online “Street Cred”

You’re following the advice you’ve been given on self-publishing blogs such at this one. You’ve started a blog and are updating it regularly. You’ve got a small following on Twitter, Facebook, etc., but are you still feeling like no one’s really listening to you? Well, first off, it can take a while to get to the point where you have a “true following” because people are still feeling you out. They haven’t really gotten to know you, and they don’t know if you’ll be around for a day, week, month, year, etc. So, know that time can be your biggest enemy when you first get started. Once you’ve overcome the time barrier (usually after about 3 months or so), there may be another reason you aren’t getting noticed online.

Here are some of the top reasons that no one is listening to you online:

  1. Everything (or mostly everything) you post online is a request for people to buy stuff. People don’t like being sold, and that’s the quickest way to shut down interaction between you and your audience. Let them buy from you because they like you, not because that’s all you ever talk about online.
  2. You don’t provide anything of value. Have you ever heard of the acronym WIIFM? If not, it means “What’s in it for me?” By nature, humans are selfish, and if you aren’t giving them what they need/want, you’re useless and not worthy of their time — online or otherwise.
  3. You don’t play well with others. Could people feel put off by what you saying online? Are you being derogatory or insulting in any way? Make sure you are being sensitive to the issues of your audience and worse yet, don’t get into online arguments with others.
  4. You’re off when they’re on and vice versa. Are you posting at a time when your audience is actively online? Are you sleeping while they’re browsing? Unless you are scheduling your updates (which is highly recommended), you are missing your audience. You want to be most active when they are.
  5. You’re not connected with the right people. Are you missing the boat altogether? Make sure your audience knows that you’re out there. It’s fine to connect with others who may be outside of that demographic. However, you want to make sure you are reaching the people who could buy your book.

All of the above can be summed up into one simple sentence: Be where they are when they are, be nice, and give them what they’re looking for.

DISCUSSION: Have you ever missed the mark on connecting with your audience?

 

Weekly Recap:

Quick Question – What is Self-Publishing?

5 Things to Look For in a Self-Publishing Company

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

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week: A Chronicle of Endylmyr by: Charles Hall

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to get exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if they don’t know about it? Paired with other book marketing efforts, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us let the community know about a great book. So, without further adieu, here’s this week’s book review:

A Chronicle of Endylmyr book cover

A Chronicle of Endylmyr: The Witches of Endylmyr

Charles Hall

Outskirts Press (2010)

ISBN 9781432750282

Reviewed by: Tracey Rock for Reader Views (2/11)

A Chronicle of Endylmyr: The Witches of Endylmyr tells the story of The Eastern Khan who sets out to possess all known magical relics so that he may control the entire world. He already has obtained some of these artifacts, but knows that he must possess them all for the magic to work completely. So, he sends his most powerful legions to various communities, including Endylmyr to find them – killing anyone or anything that gets in their way. Those under attack soon form an alliance as they begin to realize that they do, in fact, have some of the artifacts that possess magic. Former mercenary Gylfalin, along with his cousin Pendaran – who has a magical falcon for a companion, form the allies of various parts of the world to battle against Khan. They know that hope for victory lies with magic that no one really knows how to use. As Khan’s legions move closer in on them, Angmere, a wizard historian, finds a clue in an ancient tome that foretells the tale of three witches that could be the key to their victory and defeat of Khan. One of the scholar’s daughters, Gwynyr, unites with two other women in their group, Hellwydd and Hilst, to form the trio described by Angmere’s scribe as the Endylmyr witches, in a last attempt to save their people.

A Chronicle of Endylmyr: The Witches of Endylmyr is a very interesting story and has a great premise. I felt the book was a bit long and it started to lose my interest in places – mostly because the book starts out strong and then in the middle it is a bit drawn out, but then it picks up towards the end. For those who enjoy fantasy novels, this one will be a good. The characters are well formed and there is plenty of action. The magical aspect of the storyline is intriguing and not over the top. Before you know it, you will feel transformed to Endylmyr and a part of the story.

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).