Tag: Kelly Schuknecht

Book Doctor, from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “The Book Doctor talks ‘Copyright’ Protection”

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

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[ Originally posted: June 2nd, 2010 ]

Self-publishing affords author the advantage of 100% content and property rights control, which makes copyright protection an important element to consider when choosing your publisher. Bobbie the “Book Doctor” Christmas shares some helpful tips…

Q: When I send my manuscript to readers or agents, should I put the copyright c in a circle on the title page, on every page, or anywhere at all? Should a date be there also?

A: I tend to trust people and therefore do not put a copyright mark on my manuscripts, because the laws of copyright protect us—that is, we own the rights to all our intellectual property the moment we create it. Also, agents and publishers who see a copyright mark may think the person who sent the manuscript is un-knowledgeable or paranoid, because it is not necessary to officially register the copyright until the work is laid out and ready to be published in book form.

If, however, you feel more comfortable marking your manuscripts with a copyright mark, the traditional method for showing a copyright is to use the symbol c in a circle or write the word “Copyright.” Either form should then be followed by the year and your first and last name, all on one line. It should appear on the title page only, and because it is not standard to have a copyright mark on a manuscript, there is no standard for where on the title page to put it. I would probably put it two lines below the name of the author on the title page.

Do not, however, go to the trouble of registering the copyright with the government until the book is about to be published. The content will no doubt change between the time you write it and it gets published, so wait until the book is in its final form before paying to register the copyright.

– by Bobbie Christmas

I’ll be honest with you here:

After decades of working in the self-publishing industry–as an author myself and as an advocate for other authors–copyright is still hard.  And messy.  And confusing.  For Americans at least, it shouldn’t be–the basic principles of copyright were determined (and governed) by the United States Constitution and other international copyright agreements, and have therefore been around a while.  For the the most part, after all of my experience, I feel like I can muddle along on a day-to-day basis, repeating the basic definition to myself:

Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. This is usually only for a limited time. The exclusive rights are not absolute but limited by limitations and exceptions to copyright law, including fair use. A major limitation on copyright is that copyright protects only the original expression of ideas, and not the underlying ideas themselves.

(Thanks, Wikipedia.)

The thing is, despite having a fairly solid understanding of what my own “original work” and “intellectual property” looks like, there are a swarm of details like the one Bobbie addresses above that end up being so complicated I can’t memorize all of the details.  And because copyright laws are serious–and I want to respect both my own work as well as the work of others–I want and even need to have full command of the necessary information to honor copyright requirements.

copyright

Which is why having the right resources on hand to turn to is important.  A good copyright resource, like the Owl at Purdue for grammar and academic writing requirements, will be detailed and thorough, easy to navigate, and always just one click away.  It really does take a load off when you’re in a pinch and need to know the answer right now.

When it comes to resources on copyright, I have a few recommendations:

  • Poets & Writers has a website dedicated to “Copyright Information for Writers” which strikes just the right balance between simplicity and responsiveness.  You have the option of starting a “Topic,” or essentially posting your own query to the P&W community for responses.
  • UW Copyright Connection may just be the most successful resource at breaking down the various complexities of copyright for authors looking to answer specific questions. The Connection looks and feels much like a Wiki–only it’s dedicated to authors, so there’s no need to skim through the white noise of irrelevant information to find the answers you need.
  • The Book Designer has a series of good posts about copyright, including one titled “Self-Publishing Basics: The Copyright Page” that specifically addresses, well, the copyright page.  It addresses Bobbie’s comments above, and then fills in some of the white space around them.
  • The Huffington Post is also getting into the copyright game by addressing the self-publishing author’s unique relationship with copyright.  Check out the article, “Legal Issues in Self-Publishing: What Authors Need to Know” for more information.
  • Wikipedia.  It’s less of a cop-out than you think, trust me, especially if you’re looking for the historical background to certain copyright restrictions.  Sometimes the why is buried in the how it came about, and knowing the reasons for a restriction often make it easier to live within. Wikipedia also has a page dedicated to Authors Rights.

Thanks for reading.  If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.  ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive 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, kellyschuknecht.com.

ebooks, Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 7.18.2016

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

In some cases, an article’s title can mislead, and in other cases, an article’s subtitle can reveal a whole lot more than expected.  This is certainly true of a July 11 article by Aaron Pressman in Fortune, which at first glance might seem to be a bad-news memo but in actual fact is rather packed with hopeful news for the indie author.  The subtitle?  “But growing sales of self-published e-books may offset the drop.”  So in other words, readers continue to read, books continue to sell, and the only change that matters is that self-publishing authors get both a larger slice of the total market and a larger slice of their own royalties (as well as all of those other benefits to going solo).  According to Pressman, 11% drop in e-book sales reported by traditional publishers is in large part the result of the Big Five publishing houses attempting to curb online retailer Amazon’s influence over the market by controlling (read: boosting) their own e-book prices.  Not only is this ploy failing, but it’s failing rather quickly–leaving a real demand amongst avid readers for affordably-priced e-books to fill the gap.  And self-publishing authors, as Pressman documents, continue to step up.  For more of Pressman’s fascinating article, follow the link!

Pretty insane, right?  Not according to Jennifer Blanchard in her July 12 article for the Huffington Post.  According to Blanchard, death is set to come for us all–and just dreaming about being the author she’d always wanted to become wasn’t cutting it.  (“[Y]ou probably thought I was going to say I’m doing it because I’m dying and want to rush and get my books out there before I kick the bucket. And well, you wouldn’t be totally wrong.  I am dying.  But so are you.”)  At the time she made the decision to publish 9 new books, she already had 5 self-published through Amazon and was making $30-$40 a month.  She articulates her dream–and the dreams of many unpublished authors out there–for success as wanting “the big time”:

 I want a huge catalog of self-published books, nonfiction and novels. I want a massive, raving fanbase full of ideal readers who buy all my books. I want a traditional publisher to come to me with a million-dollar book deal. I want Hollywood knocking down my door for the movie rights.

But, she says, she and her dreams were not “aligned.”  She was “playing small.”  And so Jennifer Blanchard decided to change things–and within months of making a public commitment, she was raking in the dividends.  “I became an Amazon Best-Selling author,” she says, and “In June, I sold 1,007 books. In a 30-day period.”  All without changing a thing about how she writes and what she writes.  The only change, Blanchard reports, is that she chose to write and publish more books.  “I created this kind of success because I decided to. Plain and simple,” she writes.  For the entire story, click here.

“A self-published book took the top slot on the most recent iBooks bestseller list,” reports John Maher in this July 14 update for Publisher’s Weekly.  The book in question is Kendall Ryan’s Hitched, Volume 1.  Hitched, the first title in Ryan’s “Imperfect Love” series, took the #1 spot on this week’s list for all ebooks sold through the iBooks Apple store–a truly impressive feat, when you think about it.  It’s not the only  self-published title to make the top 20, with the second volume of Hitched making #15, but it’s the only one to break the top 10.  Billie Taylor’s self-published novel Just Friends sits comfortably at #13, Brenda Rothert’s His at #16, and Find Me by Laurelin Paige holds its own at #18.  Whether or not this wonderful showing for indie authors can be attributed to the trends in ebook sales documented by Aaron Pressman, above, remains unclear–but you can bet this list will continue to demonstrate a strong showing for indie authors of all brands over the coming months.  You can find the original list here.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive 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, kellyschuknecht.com.

Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Uncategorized

Six Steps to Hosting a Successful Book Reading Event!

As an established author, one may come to notice a seemingly inevitable plateau or decline in book sales as time goes on. There are ways, however, to re-engage your fan base and reinvigorate your marketing strategies. One terrific, simple way to do this is to arrange a book reading at your local bookstore, library, coffee shop, university or school, etc.

It is important–whether or not your book is hot off the press–to keep your audience engaged, but also to keep yourself actively engaged in promoting and selling your book. Not only do fans of your work want to see you in person, a book reading can also drum up potential fans who would not have otherwise heard of your piece!

So…the question you may have is, how does one prepare for a book reading?

Come Prepared

  1.  Pick 4 or 5 captivating passages to really draw in your audience. Practice reading these passages to friends, to a mirror, or even to your cat if you feel so inclined. If you want to utilize the camera feature on your smartphone or computer, you can even film yourself to see how your performance will appear to others.

Be Confident, Comfortable, and Relatable

  1.  A great way to relate to your potential readers is to provide your personal reasons for writing the story, or the inspiration behind it. Make sure to come up with key talking points if you’re going to take this approach so that you can talk freely without a  script–appearing confident and comfortable will further inspire people to give your book a chance!

Keep Your Audience Engaged

  1. Make sure to keep a close eye on your audience: if you’ve only made it through some of your material but notice that the crowd is getting restless or checking their phones, change gears and do a Q & A to keep them actively participating. If you’re too busy staring down at your script or book, you’ll miss important body language cues that could help you gauge where you should direct your attention, or perhaps encourage you to take up a more captivating tone or to make better eye contact.

Don’t waste a precious opening by reading out a long list of names, thanking those who helped you publish your book and risk putting your audience to sleep–instead, lure them in, grab their attention, answer their questions, THEN thank whoever you need to thank.

Anticipate Obvious Questions

  1. Don’t fumble when people ask you “What does the title mean?” or “Was the character inspired by a real person?”, etc. etc.

Also, repeat the questions to the audience, you want everyone to know what you’re responding to, not just the person posing the question.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative with Location

  1. Remember that bookstores are not the only places to find potential readers. There are a myriad of potentially relevant locations for you to speak at which could span from a woman’s shelter to a community garden to a prison, etc. etc. If your book is about long distance hiking, try a local gear store. The key is, start close to home!

Get the contact information for whatever venue you’re looking to speak at: manager’s name, phone number, and email are great places to start! Describe how your book reading could benefit the business by drawing in customers, resonate with the store’s target customers, increase the likelihood that those there for the book reading will also shop at the store after the event.

Advertise Your Event!

  1. Make sure to publicize your event: flyers, social media posts, mention it in your blog, send a press release to local shopping guides or community calendars.

Remember above all else, it is not up to book stores to sell books, but authors themselves! Be active in the process of marketing and selling your book and the success of your book sales will reflect your hard work!

book reading
[ book readings are a great way to drum up interest in your book! ]

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line atselfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive 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, kellyschuknecht.com. 10:00 AM
from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “Self-Publishing: The New Black”

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

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[ Originally posted: January 28th, 2009 ]

Last Friday I happened to run into a new friend at a coffee shop down the street from my home. She also works in the publishing industry as a consultant, but more on the traditional model side. We enjoy running in to each other and talking shop.

This last run-in she mentioned a new author for which she’s providing ghostwriting and consulting services. Amy was evidently reserved in progressing with the project and I pressed for a bit more information. As it turned out, this particular author Amy was working with has a timely book topic on the table with a pressing eagerness to see it published; and with business savvy, the author wanted to see an attractive return on investment.

“Okay, what concerns do you have?” I asked. Amy first responded that shopping for an agent to pick up the book would push the timeline way back, and then between the agent’s and then the publisher’s cut, what could she reasonably expect to provide as an incentive to her author.

I couldn’t help but smirk. With self-publishing, authors retain exclusive control and full royalties, while having their books published in full-service style – start to finish – in around 12 weeks. Amy’s look was one of almost disbelief. When I mentioned all of these things along with the advantage of unlimited on-demand, international distribution offered by the best full-service self-publishing options she was noticeably, informed.

If you are an author, or publishing professional, revisit this question: What are your publishing goals? For many authors, the most important goals are:

1) Keeping 100% of your rights and creative control to your book
2) Keeping 100% of your author royalties
3) Setting your own retail price, profit, and author discount
4) Publishing a high-quality book that is available worldwide

I hope that helps. Keep writing…

– by Karl Schroeder

When we think of the expression “___ is the new black” in 2016, we envision something entirely different from what Karl intended back in 2009–thanks in large part to Jenji Kohan’s hit Netflix Original Series, Orange is the New Black, now four seasons strong on that video streaming website and renewed for at least another three.  The series, based on a memoir released in 2010, follows a seemingly unexceptional 30-something woman as she enters a woman’s penitentiary for a crime committed in her youth–but of course she’s not the point.  She’s the audience’s excuse to fall in love with all of her wild and wonderful fellow prisoners, learn their backstories, and so on.  And without the limitations of broadcast television, the show’s producers are more than a little on the nose with their depictions of sex, violence, and abuse.  All of this has made the show a worldwide phenomenon … and sidetracked the original reference implied by “___ is the new black” in much the same way that “Kleenex” has come to replace “tissue” as America’s word of choice, in the face of an overwhelmingly popular product.

But you’re not here for a long analysis of Orange is the New Black or even, it must be admitted, Kleenex.  You’re here because you want to know what has happened since 2009 to update our undestanding of self-publishing.  And the expression, not the show, is my avenue into that subject.

The expression “___ is the new black” traces its roots as far back as the end of WWII, and the tasteless few who managed to be flippant about wearing anything other than the standard-issue colors of economic depression and institutionalized grief–or in other words, anything other than black or a very dark grey.  According to Wikipedia (and other sources), the term was most often used in the 1980s, when mass consumer culture began to offer the average Westerner a glut of affordable options in fashion and home design.  When you can wear clear plastic shoes instead of black leather, you know you’ve crossed some sort of cultural Rubicon!

In titling his original post “Self Publishing: The New Black,” Karl was deliberately aligning self-publishing with these trends in order to demonstrate its rapid rise to viability as a competitor to the traditional publishing platform–a full year before the inspiration for Jenji Kohan’s television show was released into the world.  And he was right: like Kleenex, like Orange is the New Black, self-publishing has shot through the roof in terms of popularity.  And the similarities go farther: all of these things (Kleenex, OITNB, and self-publishing) have become household terms due to their popularity.  Almost everyone will know what you mean if you mention one of them.  As products of a capital market, they have staying power.

There are implications to the original usage of “___ is the new black” that I’d be more than willing to retire.  Namely, implications that the subject in question–self-publishing–is faddish and therefore will fall victim to the rapidly-changing dictates of popular fashion.  (And c’mon, we’re always going to need Kleenex.)  It’s not such a bad thing that the expression is now most often associated with an instant cult classic of a television show that shows no signs of losing its devoted audience … but even if it did, self-publishing isn’t going anywhere.  In fact, every round of data and statistics released by Digital Book World and other organizations tracking self-publishing indicates that indie publishing is here to stay!  There’s never been a better time to get on board.

Thanks for reading.  If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.  ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive 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, kellyschuknecht.com.

Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 7.11.2016

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

“If the Internet allows people to share their unadulterated ideas, what are zines still doing here?” asks  Dillon Pilorget for The Oregonian on July 10, tracing the history of these “small, self-published magazines” back through the 1970s punk movement and the birth of mass-marketed science fiction and its doppelganger, fanfiction, in the 1930s.  They were, as Pilorget writes, one of the earliest forms of self-publishing, making room in beloved genres for the unsavory or the uncensored–in other words, for creative license without editorial oversight.  Before, Pilorget notes, the internet rendered such literary misbehavior accessible to the average person.  But, he continues, “the medium is perhaps as strong as ever,” and cites his experiences at “the Portland Zine Symposium,” held on July 9th of this year.  Pilorget reports on his conversations with zine makers Quinn Collard and Meilani Allen, as well as Powell Bookstore’s zine procurer, Kevin Sampson.  Well worth a read, I’d think–and you can catch the full article here.

We all know this story: a book is self-published, author uses substantial market savvy to push it into new readerships, and through a series of unlikely events, the book is discovered by a literary “talent scout” and published through a traditional Big Five publisher, leading to world-wide sales and general success.  What we’re not quite so used to, however, is the author in question being anything other than North American, with the rare exception (my current favorite exception to everything being Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin’s The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep).  But as Rachel Deahl reports in this Publisher’s Weekly article on July 8th, we have a new entry to the global self-publishing-to-traditionally-published market: Diary of an Oxygen Thief, originally self-published in Amsterdam by an anonymous British author in 2006.  The book, which Deahl describes as “detail[ing] the travails of a broken-hearted, alcoholic, and bitter misogynist (who is also an unreliable narrator)” was recently picked up by Simon & Schuster, but the real work was done and the real groundwork laid, Deahl says, “due predominantly to the marketing efforts of its anonymous author. He pulled off a savvy publicity campaign that prioritized, above all else, getting the book’s title shared on social media.”  The book’s rise to “respectable” sales in the traditional publishing market does not, in point of fact, prove that real success comes after transitioning away from self-publishing–it proves, rather, that “savvy” and social-media rich marketing by a self-publishing author is what makes or breaks a book’s sales.  Oh–and sometimes, the generosity of a good friend.  For the full article, follow the link!

Actress and self-publishing author Louise Linton is having a rough time in the public eye after the publication of her memoir featuring somewhat terrifying adventures in the heart of Africa, as Michael Schaub writes for The Los Angeles Times in this August 6th report.  Perhaps the politics of her situation are partially to blame for the negative press she’s receiving–after all, she’s dating Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump’s hedge-fund manager and campaign manager, Steven Mnuchin, during one of the most linguistically violent and controversial electoral battles of recent memory.  Or perhaps we might attribute the book’s negative reception to the very real necessity for authors to write what they know, and for authors of privilege (white or otherwise) not to steal the limelight away from the underprivileged peoples they ostensibly write about, especially when those people are embroiled in an ongoing conflict that–as in Linton’s case–is treated without full understanding.  Schaub quotes one particularly acerbic reviewer as saying, “If you’ve read the [T]elegraph excerpt and have at least half a brain you can see the string of every possible stereotype of life in Africa: jungle canopy, vines with killer 12-inch spiders, orphan girl with AIDS, rebel soldiers and so on and so on. […] This is 2016. We all know better than cling on to that drivel.”  The moral of this story for self-publishing authors may be manifold, but I think it’s safe to say one should trade neither on stereotypes nor on celebrity to sell a book.  As self-publishing authors, we have the opportunity and therefore the responsibility to color outside the lines, bringing voice to those who lack one, and taking the time to represent the unrepresented–and well.

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive 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, kellyschuknecht.com.