Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

E-book Revenues Soar and Publishers Take Notice

There’s no denying technology is playing and will continue to play a vital role in how authors and publishers present and market your books. The latest eBook Survey of Publishers, conducted by Publishers Weekly (PW) magazine and Aptara, is testament to the power e-books now wield in the publishing world as a whole.

According to a June 5 article in PW, the number of publishers who made more than 10 percent of their annual revenue from e-books doubled from 18 percent of publishers polled in the 2011 e-book survey to 36 percent of publishers in the April 2012 survey.

This shift is important because that magic 10 percent of revenue is the benchmark many publishers use to determine what aspects of their business are significant money-makers. With more than one-third of publishers now acknowledging e-books as a vital part of their revenue stream, its clear the digital world is poised to be a game-changer. Although most publishers have not yet made the leap to going full-digital on their entire catalog or issuing new releases in a solely digital format, it appears the majority are leaning much more heavily on virtual books as their customers’ buying habits change.

Of course, this doesn’t mean there’s no more room on the bookshelf for a hardcover or paperback book. A physical copy is still the preferred and first method for publishing books, and most publishers issue in this format before going digital. However, the growth of e-book profits means authors must consider multiple formats in order to appeal to a wider audience and make buying as convenient as possible for as many readers as possible.

So, what do you think lies in the future for publishers? Share your thoughts and predict the trends in the Comments section.

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: The Keya Quests

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, 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 to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review by Midwest Book Review:

The Keya Quests

Glenn Skinner

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773625

It is natural to be suspicious of powerful people who claim to be your liberator. “The Keya Quests: The Battle for Shivenridge” follows the tale of Keya and her Black Sword. With Shivenridge under assault from Lord Randar, Keya must stand against him, curse, and prophecy in order to find peace for Shivenridge and her own world as well. A work of epic fantasy for those who enjoy the high fantasy nature of swords and sorcery, “The Keya Quests” is very much recommended reading.

Kelly Speaks

BookExpo America 2012 – Recap

BookExpo America (BEA) 2012 took place June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City. BEA is the largest annual book trade fair in the United States. The event features major publishers from the US and abroad. Attendees are typically authors, librarians, and book purchasers. This year’s event featured several new events, including Digital Networking Cocktail Hours, streaming of favorite BEA events, and a refreshed BEA Education Program. A few highlights from the event this year included the following:

If you missed BEA 2012 (or just really loved the event), you can stream live events by clicking this link or visiting http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/. Next year’s event will be held June 4-6, 2013 at the Javitz Center in NYC. For more information, please visit http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Vice President of Outskirts Press.  In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

Free Authors Copies in June

Hello aspiring and published authors. My name is Jodee Thayer, and I am the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. Starting this week, I will blog every Tuesday about self-publishing topics. My goal is to educate authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Most of the information I share will be related to self-publishing in general, but I will occasionally share exciting news from Outskirts Press. This week, I have exciting news to share.

In June, all new authors will be eligible to receive two times as many free authors’ copies with their respective publishing package. To receive the promotion, authors simply enter the promotion code “June2X2012” into the shopping cart during check-out when purchasing The Diamond or Pearl book publishing packages: both of which deliver a unique ISBN, standard interior formatting, professional cover designs, and availability through major online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

For authors choosing the most popular “Diamond” publishing package, this promotion delivers 20 free paperback author copies when the book is published. Authors publishing full-color books with the popular “Pearl” package will receive 10 free paperback copies. Visit http://outskirtspress.com/promotion.html for all the promotion details.

  ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in   sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager of Author Services   for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department   is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants;   together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the   book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your   career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist   seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Jodee Thayer can put you   on the right path.
Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

The Challenge of New Book Discovery May Not Affect Self-Publishing Authors

As a self-publishing author, one of the biggest challenges you may face is getting new people to learn about you and your book. After all, experience suggests that successfully publishing a book involves 20% of your efforts toward writing and 80% of your efforts toward marketing.

At any rate, on sites such as Paid Content (and even at BEA), book discoverability is a “hot topic” of sorts. In a recent article, they cited statistics from Codex Group to drive home the point that the decline of available brick-and-mortar booksellers has contributed to increased difficulty for authors to get new readers to discover their books. It seems that this mainly applies to traditionally-published authors. Why? Well, the decline of the brick-and-mortar booksellers seems to level the playing field, so to speak. With more readers turning to eBooks and online book shopping/browsing, this allows authors who have self-published to have a reach similar to that of authors who typically enjoy a strong bookstore presence.

How amazing is that? All authors have an equal opportunity for reader attention. Who would imagine such a possibility? Self-publishing authors can now use online book marketing methods — such as virtual book tours, social media, and videos to enhance their online visibility and increase reader interest in their books. Even something as simple as sprucing up their Amazon sales page can help.

At this point, I’m not understanding all of the fuss, unless you don’t want the playing field to be leveled…What are your thoughts?

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.