Self publishing advice from writing to marketing and everything in-between.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
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
Good advice? Probably not, but good for a laugh.
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– Karl
Editorial Q&A from an established Self-publishing consulting source:
Q: I would like to know of a book or Web site that shows complete sentences in which a specified word is used. I have a good vocabulary and know how to use a thesaurus, but I’m fearful when it comes to promoting a word from my cognitive vocabulary to my active vocabulary; i.e., actually using a word I know in a sentence I write. (For example, I stepped out on a limb to use the word “cognitive.”)
A: First, never use a word in your writing that you wouldn’t use in casual conversation, and you’ll never go wrong.
Next, if you never stretch your own vocabulary, you won’t grow, so after the first caution, I’ll add my favorite source: American Heritage Dictionary. It often, but not always, uses words in a sentence.
A third warning: When you look something up in a thesaurus, be cautious, because each word has its own connotation, and choosing a word from a list does not ensure that the exact meaning you intend will be relayed to the reader. One of my clients for whom English was not a native language, for example, wanted to impart excitement, so after referring to a thesaurus, he wrote, “Oh, no!” he ejaculated. Yes, the sentence and word use are both technically correct, but Americans more often use ejaculate to mean something other than exclaim, so the word choice was less than ideal. It did give this editor a chuckle, however.
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.
This post won’t find its place among my direct self-publishing and book marketing tips, but an recognized advancement in the publishing world worthy of mention.
Coming off a recognition as #268 on Inc. Magazine’s top 500 fastest growing privately held US companies, self-publishing option, Outskirts Press, was recently placed among Inc.’s “Best of the Best” as determined by a panel of leading adventure capitalists. Only 5 of the original 500 made the list.
The top five Inc. Magazine “Best of the Best” companies as identified by the panel of venture capitalists were Kiva Systems of Woburn, Massachusetts; SkullCandy of Park City, Utah; Centro of Chicago, Illinois; Outskirts Press of Parker, Colorado; and Enalasys of Calexico, California.
– Karl
Self Publishing Advisor 