Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

Your Book – Your Business Card: Upcoming New Horizons Telesummit Session with Self-Publishing Expert Wendy Stetina

You’ve finally freed yourself from cubicle land and become a consultant. The problem is, you’re having a hard time finding clients because you haven’t proven yourself. What if you could do have a business card that would tell potential clients all about your business? What if you had written a book about the very service you are providing to clients? Wouldn’t that make you the best resource? What if you could use your book as your business card?

As an author, you can enjoy the ultimate reach. Potential clients have  the opportunity to get an excellent snapshot of your expertise and familiarize themselves with your skills without you saying a word.

You can join Wendy Stetina (publishing industry expert and Outskirts Press Director of Author Services) on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 1:30 PM Pacific Time. She will be discussing the following:

  • How to determine if self-publishing is right for you
  • How self publishing differs from traditional publishing.
  • What is “print-on-demand” and why is it advantageous.
  • How much should you plan to invest?
  • How pricing and distribution works in the publishing world and how it will affect the retail price (and royalties) of your book
  • The self-publishing process and typical timeline.

The best part is – listening to Wendy and other experts at this telesummit is 100% Free! You can register HERE.

If you can’t attend, don’t worry, I’ll be there to take notes for you to use for future reference. I will post them to the blog very shortly thereafter.

DISCUSSION: How have you used your book to catapult your business?

Uncategorized, Weekly Wednesday Podcast

Wednesday Weekly Podcast: Trade Discounts and Why they Matter for Self-Publishing Authors

Today, we’re introducing our Wednesday Weekly Podcast. Our introductory topic will be trade discounts.

As a self-publishing author, one decision that you have to make (unless your publisher chooses for you) is how to price your book. One part of the pricing equation is determining your trade discount.

In today’s podcast, we discuss:

  • What is a trade discount?
  • What are the most common trade discounts?
  • What impact does a trade discount mean for your book’s distribution?
  • What impact does a trade discount have on a self-publishing author’s royalties?

DISCUSSION: What would you like to us to talk about in next week’s podcast?

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