Tag: Self-Publishing

Choosing a Publisher

Self-Publishing – A Growing Industry

Did you know that over 40% of all book sales in the United States last year took place online, through e-retailers like Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com? More and more people are becoming comfortable with (and even accustomed to) shopping online. What’s more, consumers are more likely to purchase lesser-known and self-published books, according to Inc. Magazine.

What does this mean for the self-published author? With the convenience of on demand-printing and full-service self-publishing options: Good things. Selling books online is more cost-effective than selling through a typical bookstore, and that means more money in your pocket. Again, make sure your publisher lets you set your own retail price, royalty, and discount to take maximum advantage of shifting consumer trends.

Just something to keep in mind as you write and investigate the publishing options best in-line with your goals.

Have fun and keep writing!

Karl Schroeder


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Self-publishing Advice and the Book Doctor

The Book Doctor expounds on usage: “which” verses “that”

Q: In a former column, someone asked for the rule about when to use “which” and when to use “that.” You answered like this:

“I could give you am involved and boring rule, but one quick-and-easy way to remember when to use ‘which’ and when to use ‘that’ is this: If the word can be eliminated, but the following information cannot, you probably mean ‘that.’ If any word can be eliminated, eliminate it and write tight. (Example: I told Jan that I liked fish. Better: I told Jan I liked fish.) On the other hand, if you have the urge to put a comma in front of it, you probably mean ‘which’ (Example: The fish, which had been caught three days earlier, had a distinct odor.)

This isn’t a rule on when to use “that,” it’s a rule that eliminates the use of “that” from all writing!

A: Thank you for your reply, but I am tempted to say: “That is simply not true!” Look at these examples:

The shoe found in that corner was the clue to the murder.
The fact that she was always late did not mean she did not care.

I stand by my original statement that (!) words that (!) are unnecessary should be deleted. Writers who keep their writing pithy eliminate unnecessary words and employ powerful ones.

Keep me on my toes, though. I like it.

Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, 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.



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Book Promotion, Self-Publishing

Author Value in Self-publishing

Self-publishing exists. It’s not right for everyone, and the only option for some. For many like former Yankee pitcher, Fritz Peterson, self-publishing is the way to go.

Peterson’s 2009 publication, Mickey Mantle is Going to Heaven recounts baseball and humor in a light applicable to readers of all generations. You may recall the rather shocking news Peterson and fellow pitcher Mike Kekich made in the early 70’s. Check out this interview in which Peterson discusses his desire to self-publish in order to keep 100% of his content rights and preserve the essence of his story and message.


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Choosing a Publisher

Pricing Advantages in Self-publishing

Last week we discussed book pricing among the biggest advantages in self-publishing.  Book pricing can actually be more complicated that it would appear on the outset, and worth discussing in a bit more length.  Let’s start with trade discount.

The “trade discount” is the percentage of your retail price that you offer to the publishing trade for distributing your book to retailers. The “publishing trade” consists of wholesalers, distributors, and retailers—not your publisher. Everyone involved with your book after the publisher all the way to the reader falls into the “publishing trade” circle, and they all take a piece of the trade discount.

Obviously, the larger the trade discount, the more money there is to split up among the parties involved. Standard trade discounts range from 50% – 70%.

Most publishing companies do not offer any information about their trade discounting policies up-front, nor do they give the author any say in the matter.

Look for a publisher that offers authors the flexibility of setting your trade discount from 0% – 55%. A 55% trade discount will result in an industry standard 40% retail margin, which is what a typical book retailer seeks when considering whether or not to order a book. So in addition to availability on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble’s website, Borders.com, and the many other sales channels—your book can have the retail margin that bookstores and chains are looking for.

 

Cheers!

 

Karl Schroeder

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing on the Road to Self-publishing

The Internet is great. Really. There has been perhaps no more organic, democratizing invention in the world since Gutenberg’s printing press. How empowering is the ability to compose an original idea, or start a new novel, and upload it to a website for the world to see within minutes.

If you are like me and find great pleasure and power sharing your writing with the world, be sure to bring it to an appropriate forum, preferably in a place where it will provide long-term promotion assistance for itself down the road. You also want to post where you trust the people to provide worthwhile feedback, rather than pilfering your ideas for their own or criticizing your writing for the sake of self-promotion.

Where do you start?

The answer depends upon what you hope to achieve, and the way in which you want to “spread the word.” Writing online is no easier than writing offline. In fact, it may seem harder at first. The extra effort is worth it later on.

If you’re seeking instant feedback on your writing from other people, I would suggest participating in online writing groups and forums. Yahoo offers “Groups” specific to a wide array of writing subjects. You can access the Groups section by going to the Yahoo main page at http://www.yahoo.com

Google offers groups also, and you can find them on the Groups link on Google at http://www.google.com

By conducting a subject or category search from either of these venues you can find a number of possible groups in which to participate.

I recommend you spend some time exploring Yahoo and Google groups. Register for an account with the one you like best. Don’t necessarily start writing online yet. That comes later. Instead, just look around and become familiar with the “environment.”

Then, down the road you’ve accomplished two things in one – established a platform or presence in your market and generated content to bring to your self-publishing option for production into a book.


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