Cheri Speaks

Who Needs an LCCN?

So, you’ve heard the term LCCN, but you’re not too sure if you need one.

That’s understandable. To determine whether this is something you need – let’s start by defining the acronym. LCCN standards for Library of Congress Control Number. Wait, that’s not a real definition! You’re right – that was fairly vague. The control number is an identification number (similar to the ISBN) that an author acquires before publication. The number is printed on the title page of the book and (traditionally speaking) is often very helpful when marketing your book to libraries.

But do you absolutely need one? The long and short answer is a firm no. Will libraries not accept your books if you don’t have one? Not likely. It’s very true that libraries very rarely “order” self-published books. Does that mean you should you take libraries off your radar? Not necessarily – there are still more creative ways that you can include libraries in your book promotion strategy. You can donate a copy (or copies) of your book. You can host book readings at your library. The possibilities are essentially limitless, but you must be creative and not rely on a library to come after you.

Have any of your included the library in your overall marketing plan? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING:
Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.
Cheri Speaks

More About Using an Imprint

A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the benefit of using your own self-publishing company under your own ISBN and what’s called an imprint.

Some self-publishing authors prefer to secure their own ISBNs for full control over how their books are identified, discovered, and sourced. Using an imprint means designating your Publisher Name as the publisher-of-record for your book. Many authors who produce textbooks must print under their own imprint and ISBN for those special service wholesalers to do business with them.

This imprint also lets your book stand alone in the sea of books available. For instance, if you are using a self-publishing company that publishes many science fiction books and an author opts to bypass copyediting and has a less than appealing cover, an author may not want to be associated with that book, though they want to utilize the services of the publisher. Publishing under your own self-publishing company is ideal is ideal in cases like this.

If you decide to publish under an imprint, we recommend that you thoroughly research the name of your company to make sure that there aren’t any duplicates on the market.

Many companies, such as Outskirts Press, can assist author with the hassles handling book orders and inventory, sales/accounting, etc. but allow the author use their own imprint (publisher name). This will give it more credibility in the marketplace and can become the name under which the author publishes further titles.

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING:
Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.
Alternative Marketing Methods

Alternative Marketing Methods at BEA

Yesterday, one of the events at BEA was “Surprising Marketing Practices from Around the World and What We Can Learn from Them“. We have been discussing these for the past two weeks with our Alternative Marketing Methods Series. Learning about each of these methods will help you and your book stand out from the crowd.

Though I didn’t attend BEA this year, I do want to share some interesting marketing methods that we will be discussing over the coming weeks:

  • Post an ad on Craigslist. Craigslist is a fairly under-utilized marketing tool available to authors. Posting an ad is relatively simple, free, and gives you quality exposure to potential readers.
  • “Host” a YouTube reading/signing. You can read your book in a brief video and post it to YouTube. You can then put up a PayPal link so that readers can purchase the book for a discounted price. You can send them a signed copy of the book when they order.
  • Host a Webinar. Everyone is an expert at something. Why not share your expertise with the world and gently guide them to purchasing your book? These can be planned for and hosted at any time. There are many free webinar services available that can be found using a Google search.
  • Have a Twitter party for your book. If you are active on Twitter, this is a fun and creative way to promote yourself and your book. Pick a #hashtag, plan the time/date, and tweet away!

Do you know of any other creative book marketing strategies? Did you attend the BEA and get information about new strategies that you are focusing on implementing? Please feel free to share them in the comments.

Uncategorized

What is the BEA?

As a self-publishing author, it is important that that you stay on top of new and creative ways to showcase/promote your book. One good way to do so is by attending conferences/seminars that are dedicated to the publishing industry. BEA (Book Expo of America) is running all this week, and there many events planned for the authors and representatives there.

Here’s a list of the BEA happenings (taken directly from the BEA website):

Monday, May 23
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Big Ideas at BEA Conference
9:30 am – 5:30 pm Global Market Forum: Italy
12 Noon– 5:00 pm CIROBE Remainders Pavilion (NOTE: Only the Remainders Pavilion is open during this time, the rest of the Exhibit Hall opens Tuesday, May 24)
1:00 pm– 5:00 pm Press Room Hours

Tuesday, May 24
8:00 am – 9:30 am Children’s Book & Author Breakfast
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Press Room Hours
9:00 am – 4:30 pm Big Ideas at BEA Conference
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibit Hall
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibitor Meeting Rooms
9:00 am – 5:00 pm International Rights & Business Center

Wednesday, May 25
8:00 am – 9:30 am Adult Book & Author Breakfast
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Press Room Hours
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Big Ideas at BEA Conference
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibit Hall
9:00 am – 5:00 pm Exhibitor Meeting Rooms
9:00 am – 5:00 pm International Rights & Business Center
4:00 pm APA Audiobook & Author Tea

Thursday, May 26
8:00 am – 9:30 am Adult Book & Author Breakfast
8:00 am – 3:00 pm Press Room Hours
9:00 am – 3:00 pm Big Ideas at BEA Conference Sessions
9:00 am – 3:00 pm Exhibit Hall
9:00 am – 3:00 pm Exhibitor Meeting Rooms
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Self Publishing Saturday, Uncategorized

Self Publishing Saturday: What Happened this Week?

On weekend mornings, I enjoy nothing more than reading the paper to find out what has happened this week (now I primarily read the news online) in one place without searching many places. With many “tweeps” (Twitter slang for “people”) using paper.li to put together information, you can keep track of things pretty easily. What if you don’t have a Twitter account? What about the sources the things that weren’t mentioned?

Here we aim to feature things that are going on in self publishing so that you don’t have to find out on your own. Plus, we want to share other resource with you so that you can be well-advised on the publishing process.

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s digest (pickings are rather slim this week…).

Have you written something our readers can benefit from this week? Post a link in the comments.