POD – Page 6 – Self Publishing Advisor

Guest Post: Ask the Book Doctor

Style advice for the self-publishing author…

Q: When mentioning an album name in my book, like song titles, do you lowercase conjunctions (and), prepositions (of, for), and articles (a, the), even when they appear capitalized on the album covers?

Actual cover: Wheels Of A Dream

In my book: Wheels of a Dream

A: You have hit on a style issue. Advertising, labels, and such often capitalize things at will. Advertising style is not the same as Chicago Style.

Chicago Style, the standard for the book publishing industry, has specific rules for when things should be capitalized, written out, abbreviated, or punctuated. It says, in part, the following: “In title capitalization, the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that) are capitalized. Articles (a, an, the) and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor) are lowercased unless they are the first or last word.

What you have in your manuscript, Wheels of a Dream, is correct as far as capitalization goes, but I’m not sure if it is an album or a song title. Chicago Style calls for putting quotation marks around the title of a song, but it calls for italicizing the title of a long musical composition, such as an opera or an album.

Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at http://www.zebraeditor.com

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-published Book Review of the Week: “Rolling with the Punches”

Rolling with the Punches
Jamie Kerrick
(2010) ISBN 9781423754471
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views

Living in a small town in Kentucky, Joey Douglas always knew he was different, but he just couldn’t explain it. When he tried to talk about his confusion, his dad always said “Roll with the punches.” Joey didn’t even know what that meant but he would soon find out. Joey always had a fascination with female movie starts and singers. He would pantomime them behind closed doors in his room. He felt he could really relate to these entertainers.

Readers will follow Joey as he learns to navigate the system and not tell anyone how he really feels. He’s looking for love in all the wrong places. After traveling to Europe to study and having the time of his life, he is now moving to New York. What a strange and exciting place. Here was a place where one could be openly gay, yet Joey still had difficulty coming out. He was lost. His family didn’t know what to do with him or how to help him, so they sent him to a priest- oh yes, the priest helped him okay- they were sexual together and then the priest acted like nothing happened which only confused Joey more. Alcohol was his redeemer and at least for a few minutes or hours it helped him forget. Yet those he knew and thought were his friends continued to use and abuse him

The author has great insight into what it is to be different, the disgust of others; the affection and the times you can’t even figure out where you fit into the world. His vivid descriptions of what goes on in Joey’s head are incredible. Readers will get the opportunity to see what it’s like to be gay in our character’s mind and how he uses comedy to avoid others paying attention to him. What I read between the lines is that regardless of your gender identity, everyone wants to be loved and love. Does it really make a difference who we love?

Joey’s dad, whom never understood him, was dying of cancer- Joey didn’t know what to say, but his dad finally said he “knew” and was proud of him. After his dad’s death Joey had to be there for his mom and his decision was to take her to movies and Broadway shows, an outlet for both.

From my psychological point of view, this was both humorous, yet very important. Do we ever really look at how someone feels or what their concerns are? We are so caught up in “us,” we don’t give others a second thought. I have discussed this book in my Psychology classes (college) since many of my students are GLB. All want to read it. I think all the general public needs to read “Rolling with the Punches” – walk in their shoes for just a few days and then see if you still feel the same.

Book Marketing

Scheduling Book Signings in your Area

Scheduling book readings and signings for your book is a great platform upon which to launch your marketing campaign. As with many things “self”, self-published book authors will need to do a bit of leg-work upfront organizing those efforts. The same is true for all authors, regardless of when or how you published.

It’s never too early to start. (Marketing for late American novelist’s new book, Pale King, has already begun, even though the release date isn’t scheduled until April 2011.)

Tip: Start Local and start independent. Check www.indiebound.org to locate stores in your area. Talk to store buyers about their general qualifications for stocking and scheduling, and then with your self-publishing service provider about lining those up during the pre-production phase of your book.

Here is a list of independent bookstores from http://www.indiebound.com in my neighborhood.

Untitled — Indie Bound Store Locator Tool

Self-Publishing

By virtue of the term: Self-publishing

Digital democracy. iTunes changed the record business forever. Blogs have reshaped the landscape of traditional print news. YouTube challenged the way television and advertising CEO’s communicated with the viewing public. Who would have thought even ten years ago that a majority of users would value a user-generated encyclopedia over Britannica?

Technology has quickly and powerfully changed the way we think, enjoy, communicate, and create. Across each industry one thing holds – a democratization effect – where artists make the rules.

On-demand and digital self-publishing is equally shaking things up. As the WSJ notes, “once derided as ‘vanity’ titles by the publishing establishment, self-published books suddenly are able to thrive by circumventing the establishment.”

“Playing God” in his book Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven, former Yankee pitcher opted to self-publish in order to maintain his content control. A wise move that is rumored to have been opted into a movie project reuniting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Choosing a Publisher

Book Copy Values & Pricing in Self-publishing

The royalty percentages your publisher pays on retail is an important, somewhat complicated, and too often overlooked consideration when selecting among the many self-publishing service providers available.

Royalties are only one of many pricing considerations to make during the production and book pricing phase. Examine also whether or not you earn a royalty on copies of your book that you buy directly.

Here is where many self-publishing companies play the smoke and mirror game.

“How great is this!?! We’ll even pay you royalties on copies you buy directly!”

Sounds good – getting money from yourself on books you buy for your yourself. Wait…

Here is my advice: Always calculate the exact dollars and cents it is costing you to buy your book, and if you receive a royalty for it, simply include that amount in the calculation. Book publishing the right way requires some math. A good publisher will offer a variety of resources for you, including a dynamic pricing calculator and personal book publishing representative to help explain those pricing specifics.

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