Many new and experienced authors are experimenting with publishing, printing and distribution options these days. Two of the most popular companies to be considered are CreateSpace and Lightning Source. But which one is best? It seems to depend on what aspect and/or service is most important to the author.
Susan C Daffron and James H. Byrd give authors a lot to think about in their articles. Check them out here:
Archive for the ‘Publishing’ Category
CreateSpace Versus Lightning Source
Thursday, August 8th, 2013Misconceptions About the Publishing Industry
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013I’ve been vacationing with family and, while the landlords of the place we’re staying advertised wi-fi, we can’t get it to work. I have felt crippled without it. Oh, I can stay in touch and field important questions and address or, at least, acknowledge most issues using my SmartPhone, but there are some things I just don’t have access to or don’t know how to access without an Internet connection to my computer. One of those things is my blog.
I hope my absence has been noticed. I’ve missed bringing you news, encouragement, perspective, information and tools you can use in your quest to write, publish and sell your book.
While chatting with various family members and visitors to our vacation spot, the subject of publishing has come up often. It’s interesting how uninformed the general public is about the publishing industry—as are most new authors. People presume that all one has to do in order to get published is to write a book and present it to one of the major publishers. People still assume that authors can fairly easily sell millions of books and make a lot of money. They believe that all published books have the same opportunity to be placed on bookstore shelves. They think that most books are sold at bookstores. They are aware of only a handful of traditional publishers. And they expect that because a book is published, it is a good book. I have to tell you that none of the above is true.
I had someone suggest to me that authors ought to think about hiring someone to promote their books for them. This person didn’t know that since the huge explosion within the publishing industry, there are hundreds and hundreds of people jumping on the bandwagon professing to be book publicists, as well as author’s agents, book editors, self-publishers, POD printers and so forth. You’ve heard the phrase, “there’s an app for that.” Well, in publishing, if there’s a need, there’s someone at the ready to fill it—for a buck.
I may not post to this blog again this week. So hang in there with me. In the meantime, post your comments here letting me know subjects you’d like to see me cover.
Blog Post Ideas Galore
Tuesday, June 25th, 2013Someone posed the question to me again the other day, “How do you come up with so many blog topics?”
I blog almost daily. This is blog number 1,849 for this publishing blog. I guess I am what you call prolific. But remember, I cut my teeth in this business as an article-writer. That’s how I made my living for many years. So I’m sort of self-trained in turning every idea, thought, occurrence, experience, etc. into a story, tip or essay.
My blog (and article) ideas come from the authors I meet, clients, friends, strangers, articles/book titles, comments I hear, interviews, my audiences/readers and colleagues. They emerge through questions from non-writers and sometimes from what isn’t said. I write from my experiences, my perceptions and my own curiosity. And using these prompts, I try to share, teach, preach and inform other authors who are just launching out with their first book-writing experience. Why? Because there’s a lot to know and to beware of and because I have a lot of information and resources you can use.
My NEW Newsletter for Authors
I’m currently working on an enewsletter for authors. I plan to circulate it once a month starting in July. If you’d like to receive the premiere issue next month, send me your email address and I’ll put you on the list. plfry620@yahoo.com
If you need help coming up with ideas for your blog posts or for magazine articles, I can send you my piece, “Where Oh Where Are All the Good Article Ideas.” Just send your request to the email address above.
The Birth of a Book Cover
All authors are interested in, if not intrigued by, book covers—or you should be. Here’s something you don’t see very often—the step-by-step process, with artists sketches, showing the development of the book cover for my new novel, Catnapped, A Klepto Cat Mystery. Visit Bernadette Kazmarsky’s website to see how this cover morphed from an idea to a beautiful and intriguing work of art. http://thecreativecat.net/featured-artwork-catnapped-book-cover/#.UcisJpzKSb4
Order Catnapped–a cozy mystery–at Amazon.com. It is a Kindle book.
Self-Publishing Versus Pay-To-Publish
Sunday, April 28th, 2013I had an unusual experience this week. I think you know that I often get inquiries—questions about aspects of publishing, book promotion etc. Well, recently, I received an email from an author who mentioned he was self-publishing his book. Now normally, I ask if he means true self-publishing or if he is planning to sign with a pay-to-publish company. I’d say that 95 percent of these authors are talking about pay-to-publish companies. And I have this urge to educate them and teach them what self-publishing actually means.
However, a few days ago when I received a question about self-publishing, I sort of threw in the towel. I assumed the author was referring to pay-to-publish—that he was planning to sign up with a “self-publishing” company. And I responded with a warning that he do his homework and choose the right company, etc. etc.
Come to find out, he was not considering a pay-to-publish company at all. He was planning to self-publish—establish his own publishing company. Now that was a surprise. You just don’t come across many authors anymore who are willing to go to the trouble of doing it all themselves or who use the term, “self-publishing” accurately.
So what is the difference between a “self-publishing” (pay-to-publish) company and true self-publishing? When you self-publish, you set up your own company, get a fictitious business name, order the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for your book, you hire a cover designer, you arrange for the printer and you put up all of the money. You are also responsible for promoting your book.
When you go with a pay-to-publish company, the general scenario is that all you have to do is present them with any manuscript and a chunk of money and they will present you with a book. You can pay extra for extra services, such as editing, a cover design and a marketing package. Most authors eventually admit that these add-on packages are not worth the money. These companies are usually run by printers and they don’t know much about professional editing and cover design and their marketing packages are generally generic and not worth the fees. It is always best that the author take control of the promotion of his/her book.
Most professionals recommend that the author maintain as much control and intimacy with their own books as possible. Hire your own professional book editor. Take charge of your cover design and always, always take responsibility for promoting your book.
So what are the advantages of self-publishing over going with a pay-to-publish company? Sometimes you can save a lot of money doing it yourself. You can produce a better quality product. You will have complete control and ownership if you do it yourself. And something I feel is very importance, if you self-publish, you will have a greater sense of intimacy with your project. You may not know how important this is until you begin the promotion process.
For MUCH more about book promotion, your options, how to create a marketing plan, which activities work best for which books, read my book Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.
If you plan to go out and give interviews, do public speaking, land radio gigs, do book festivals, present workshops at conferences, etc., order Talk Up Your Book as a companion to Promote Your Book.
If you need additional information about your publishing options and how to choose the right one for your particular project, read Publish Your Book.
Al by Patricia Fry. All available at Amazon in print, kindle and audio as well as most other online and downtown bookstores. Also purchase it here: http://www.matilijapress.com
Be the CEO of Your Book
Saturday, April 27th, 2013I had a lot of comments and requests to copy a recent blog post—the warning to authors about a way over-priced, ridiculous package one of the “self-publishing” companies was promoting. I hope this made a whole lot of authors stop and think before signing up for a publishing, editing or marketing program with any company.
Just because the company is well-known, does not mean it is ethical. Just because they say they love your book, doesn’t mean they have your best interest at heart. Just because your self-publishing company offers the opportunity, doesn’t mean it is a good opportunity.
Please, please, please check out the “self-publishing” company you are considering before signing up for anything. Do an Internet search using the keyword “warning” or “complaint” with the company name. Compare their services and prices with other companies. Never be so eager to get your book published that you make costly mistakes.
If you have thousands of dollars to spend on bogus marketing plans, you probably should be hiring a good book editor for your manuscript instead. If you are in such a hurry to publish your book that you will go with the first company you find, you might as well just put copies of your manuscript in paper shopping bags and sell it to passersby from a street corner. If you are not savvy as far as book marketing and if you don’t understand that it is up to the author to promote his or her book, you might as well put your manuscript in the paper shredder and find another pastime.
Before publishing, do an Internet search and pay attention to what you learn from it. Be smart. Be savvy.
Read Mark Levine’s book, “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing,” to find out how this attorney rates and ranks the self-publishing companies. You might be unpleasantly surprised. But this one step—followed up by an honest Internet search—might save you thousands of dollars and a lot of heartache.
Have your manuscript professionally edited, sign with a legitimate self-publishing company or do true self-publishing (establish your own publishing company), learn something about your responsibilities as a published author and you have a much better chance of publishing success.
To get a free e-copy of Mark Levine’s book, join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). By the way, SPAWN is a major networking organization and resource center for authors. http://www.spawn.org
And Read my book, “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” Yes, it includes information about the publishing industry, your options and how to make the right choice for you and your book. It goes into self-publishing (how to establish your own company), distribution, book promotion, self-editing and much, much more. http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html Also available at amazon.com in print, kindle and audio and at most other online and downtown bookstores.
Publish Your Poetry or Music
Monday, April 1st, 2013I received a call yesterday morning—yes, Easter—before the sun was up—from someone wanting information about publishing poetry and music. I thought you might be interested in some of the resources I gave her.
1: “Writer’s Market” is a directory listing magazines and publishers—some of which publish poetry. You can purchase it at most bookstores for around $30. You’ll also find it in your local library in the reference section.
2: There are online directories. Do a search using keywords, “directory publishers poetry,” “directory song publishers,” “Music publisher” for example
Here are some directories I located:
http://www.mpa.org/directory-of-music-publishers
http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/publisherlist.html
http://www.allureinc.com/music_publisher_directory.html
3: Find books of poetry and magazines using poetry—especially those in the theme of your poetry—contact those publishers. But first, before contacting the magazine or publisher, locate their websites and read their submission guidelines to learn whether they accept submissions and how they prefer receiving them.
4: I recommend two books for those who want to publish their poetry—“Poet Power” by Williams, and “How to Make a Living as a Poet” by Gary Mex Glazner.
5: Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). We are a networking organizations for authors, artists and others interested in getting their work published. When you join SPAWN, you have access to an online discussion group where you can discuss your publishing questions and concerns. We have two newsletters—one is free. Sign up here www.spawn.org. One is for members only. This monthly newsletter is full of industry news, resources and opportunities for authors, artists, photographers, poets and so forth. We also have 22 audio tapes for members to download. These are interviews with industry professionals.
To join SPAWN, go to http://www.spawn.org and click on “join/Renew.” Fill out the form and you can pay the dues ($65 year) online or by check. Follow the instructions.
Good luck with your projects.