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Even More Writing on the Road to Self-Publishing

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.

We’ve discussed writing to publish (in some form) everyday, and great resources like Yahoo Groups and Google User Groups to help accomplish that. It doesn’t matter what; just the act of writing is inspiring and moving in the direction of book publication. Perhaps you even subscribed to a group or two, or at least reviewed a few to become comfortable with the new medium.

There are also a couple of additional options for writing online. These options accomplish the goal of writing publicly but add the additional incentive of “demand.” Both also create great marketing tools for promoting books, especially for those self-publishing authors when on sales in the ever growing online marketplace.

The first option is a “blog.” If you’re reading this chances are good that you’re blog experience is already there. Do you have a blog of your own?

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. And you are open to comment on other interesting or related blogs.

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.

The second option is an online newsletter, or e-newsletter. If you vow to distribute an e-mail newsletter on a consistent basis (let’s say once a week), you’ll be motivated to contribute new content to each newsletter before distributing it.

 

i hope that helps. Have fun and keep writing!

Sincerely,

Karl Schroeder

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More Writing on the Road to Self-Publishing

We’ve been discussing the benefits of the Internet in writing and self publishing, and even promoting your book as Kelly mentioned on Monday.

The fact is, the Internet appeals to instant gratification—in a good way. There is something empowering about being able to compose an original story, or the start of a new novel, and upload it for a virtually unlimited audience to see within minutes.

It is important to play that card smartly though. Here are some notes for consideration.

Be sure to upload your writing in an appropriate forum, preferably in a place where it will provide long-term promotion assistance down the road and where you trust the people to provide worthwhile feedback, rather than pilfering your ideas for their own.

Writing online is no easier than writing offline. In fact, it may seem harder at first. But trust me; the extra effort is worth it later on.

If you are seeking instant feedback on your writing from other people, I would suggest participating in online writing groups and forums. Yahoo offers “Groups” specific to a wide array of writing subjects. You can access the Groups section by going to the Yahoo main page at http://www.yahoo.com

Google offers groups also, and you can find them on the Groups link on Google at http://www.google.com

By conducting a subject or category search from either of these venues you can find a number of possible groups in which to participate.

I recommend you spend some time exploring Yahoo and Google groups. Register for an account with the one you like best. Don’t necessarily start writing online yet. That comes later. Instead, just look around and become familiar with the “environment.” It may be foreign to you at first.

Have fun and keep writing!

Sincerely

Karl Schroeder

https://selfpublishingadvice.wordpress.com

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Obama and Publisher Make News in Self-Publishing

Denver saw the Democratic Nation Convention come and go last week, with several exciting events that many were fortunate to be a part of – some planned and others much more unexpected. One of those unanticipated occurrences transpired into what has become an interesting development in the self-publishing book world.

 

Author Robert Kuttner’s recently released book entitled, “Obama’s Challenge,” published by a small, liberal east coast publishing house were distributed across Denver throughout the week of the DNC.

 

In an decision that sparked almost immediate news, the book’s publisher also handed out coupons that can be redeemed through an established on-demand book seller.  The company’s president explained the decision by stating, “This is about a publisher’s commitment to its author to get one of a very few pro-Obama books out into the marketplace in the shortest amount of time.” 


It may come as no surprise that the decision invoked friction from several independent brick and mortar stores, along with traditional powerhouse, Barnes & Noble, who, following the event, decided to stock the book exclusively online—most likely a decision to compete with the consumer convenience of instant, on-demand fulfillment through virtual retailers.

 

Barnes & Noble’s reaction comes at time when book sales are moving in the direction of increasingly popular online storefronts like Amazon, where a large portion of self-published books are experiencing growing success.

 

An exciting, portending event for the authors everywhere, especially self-publishing authors.

 

Have fun. Keep writing.

 

Sincerely,

Karl Schroeder 

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More Pricing information for the self-publishing author

We recently discussed the importance of book pricing in self-publishing. Let’s now take a closer look at trade discount. What is it and what should you know about it?

Trade discount is the percentage of your retail price that you offer to the publishing trade for distributing your book to retailers. The “publishing trade” consists of wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Instead, everyone involved with your book after the publisher all the way to the reader falls into the “publishing trade” circle, and they all take a piece of the trade discount.

Obviously, the larger the trade discount, the more money there is to split up among the parties involved. Standard trade discounts have ranged from 50% – 70%.

Most publishing companies do not offer any information about their trade discounting policies up-front, nor do they give the author any say in the matter. Ask your publisher. And make sure you to keep 100% of your profits.

Depending on your distribution goals, look for the flexibility to establish a trade discount from 0% – 55%. A 55% trade discount will generally result in an industry standard 40% retail margin, which is what a typical book retailer seeks when considering whether or not to order a book. So in addition to availability on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble’s, and Borders websites, among other online sales channels, your book can be published at the retail margin that bookstores and chains are looking for.

Have fun and keep writing!

Karl Schroeder