Posts tagged ‘publisher’
Authors Who Market: Offering Author Solutions to Promoting and Publishing Books
Recently, Tribune-Review ran a piece in their publication called “Market Savvy Authors Can Take a Nontraditional Way to Audience,” in which Rege Behe explores the emerging benefits of self-publishing (and self-promoting) a book as opposed to blindly submitting your manuscript to publishers who may not even read your potential bestseller.
Essentially, your potential to spread the word about your book (and earn higher royalties per copy sold) with self-publishing is only limited by your enthusiasm to personally market your book and tap into any valuable connections you may already have.
For example, Ray Goss could use his experience in radio to market his self-published book, while others such as Lisa Genova (author of Still Alice, originally through iUniverse) or Barbara Burstin (author of Steel City Jews: A History of Pittsburgh and its Jewish Community, 1840-1915) have self-published only to receive rave review from some of the best magazines in the world, leading to traditional publishers scrammbling to sign them for another book.
Reporter Behe does mention the stigma of self-publishing, too, as its method is shunned by the hyper-literary-minded and even some bookstores; but given the lack of editorial and design control imposed by traditional publishers, not to mention the significant cut in royalites you earn with traditional publishing houses, may overwhelmingly overturn this negative sentiment toward companies like Author Solutions, Inc. (and Wordclay) in the very near future.
Because bookstores are perhaps slower to adapt to the changing publishing industry, self-published books may have a harder time reaching their shelves. That said, Behe also offers some tricks of the trade when marketing your book online. For example, creating an author Web site with your book details and order information will not only act as a base of operations for the writer, but also allow Internet surfers to stumble upon their book naturally when searching on different keywords. Combine your Web site with social networking and perhaps some book giveaway promotions, and BOOM! your chances for success just skyrocketed in the publishing industry!
The Point: Self-publishing with companies like Wordclay, iUniverse or AuthorHouse (all Author Solutions brands) can indeed be more beneficial to authors, especially emerging authors, than endlessly (and sometimes fruitlessly) seeking a traditional publisher to back you, even if your book has great potential!
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Market savvy authors can take a nontraditional way to audience
Former iUniverse Author Lisa Genova Signed by Simon & Schuster for Still Alice
It’s no secret – one of the major goals for self-published authors is to achieve some literary success and then get picked up by a major traditional publisher. Recently, former iUniverse author Lisa Genova did just that, and her story has invigorated the publishing headlines with new life.
But why would an author want to self-publish and then republish with a traditional publisher? For starters, some desire the recognition and established respect of a traditional publishing imprint. Traditional publisher will also help you promote your book with trusted media contacts, since their profits are staked on book sales primarily. Not to mention how convincing a hefty financial advance when signing over the copyright can be.
Rejection after rejection by traditional publisher for her novel Still Alice, but undaunted, Genova decided to show the industry that her work would sell in the book market by self-publishing with iUniverse. Of course, soon after the book was published, copies sold like hotcakes, and the infamous publishing house Simon & Schuster approached her for a book deal soon after her initial publication.
Now, after more than twelve weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers List, Genova can definitely call herself a self-publishing success story, having already appeared on CNN.com to speak about her book and the advantages of print-on-demand companies nowadays.
Long story short, like Genova, you can also approach traditional publishers with the same strategy and mentality. If you want to demonstrate your marketability and financial value in the publishing industry, there’s no better way than giving the publishers tangible evidence in the form of a great design and sales figures.
Read more about Genova’s experience and book here>>
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
Words of Belief Announces Winners of Holiday Story Writing Contest
Back from the holiday week with a bang, Words of Belief has selected its winners and finalists for the Holiday Story Writing Contest they hosted in the previous months. Out of hundreds of submissions their judges received, only 15 were pulled for publication in their coming anthology, Tis the Season: Selected Stories of Contemporary Fiction and Nonfiction.
So please join us in congratulating the grand prize winner, the editor’s selection, as well as the 13 other finalists who will appear in Tis the Season:
Grand Prize Winner: Tyler Powell, for his story “Churchmas Eve”
Judges comment on Powell’s “Churchmas Eve”:
When reading the stories submitted to the Wordclay holiday short story contest, a theme among the submissions surfaced. What do the holidays mean? This question was a common theme that the stories explored and even attempted to explain. There was one story that embodies the search to find meaning in the holidays versus the shallow commercialization of the season.
Tyler Powell’s short story, “Churchmas Eve,” successfully distills the struggle of keeping spirituality in Christmas. However, Powell’s story is a complex menagerie of characters, all of who are at odds on how the holiday should be celebrated.
Jeanette, the overbearing mother, wants to observe the strictest definition of Christmas. She wants no gifts, Christmas lights, or carols. Her son, Bobby, like any kid, wants a version of the holiday that is more festive and embraces contemporary traditions. And Larry, Jeantte’s husband and Bobby’s father, is stuck in the middle. Larry concedes to his wife’s demands for a stern interpretation but he longs for Bobby to enjoy Christmas as well.
Regardless of the internal struggle between the main characters, Bobby finds his own meaning for Christmas. Bobby’s interaction with a homeless man helps him realize what the holiday means to him, personally.
In the end, Powell has a created a classic story that explores the internal and external conflicts surrounding the holidays. This is why “Churchmas Eve,” is a successful, endearing story.
Click here to preview Powell’s story>>
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Editor’s Selection: Judy Nickles, for her story “I Was Hungry”
Judges comment on Nickles’ “I Was Hungry”:
Judy Nickles’ “I Was Hungry: A Very Kate Christmas” was a very pleasant surprise. I’m a big fan of historical fiction, and when it’s done well, it transports you, body and soul, to the author’s chosen place and time. Such was the case with this story. (more…)
POD Rising: Is Print on Demand the Future of Publishing or the Latest Fad?
As Sara Nelson pointed out in her Publishers Weekly Blog The Summer of POD, neither traditional publishers, nor independent presses are above approaching POD companies such as Lightning Source or Amazon’s BookSurge when there’s high demand for a title.
Simply put, publishers can approach POD printers when their inventory runs short. Instead of waiting for a massive print-run, POD printers can store a digital file of the book, which can be printed as each copy is sold. Which means, should you purchase a copy of a POD book online, the printer only needs to print your individual copy only, shipping your order the same day.
Theoretically, this not only saves traditional publishers money on physical warehouse storage space, but also ensures anyone who wants a copy, actually receives a copy in merely a few days time. In a word, POD printing allows indie presses to curtail the risk so often associated with standard printing, like:
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Going out of print because you’ve run out of copies
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Running short on titles during hot market trends
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Warehousing unsold copies of out-dated books
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Potentially wasting resources such as paper and labor
And it doesn’t seem as though POD is losing momentum. In fact, POD companies seem stronger and healthier than ever before. As self-publishing becomes a more viable and respected option for even established authors, and traditional presses begin to come around to the advantages of the print-on-demand process, the future of books has never been brighter.
Now, the smallest press can partner with The Perseus Books Group Constellation or even Author Solutions Publishing Serives Group, where publishers can basically request an affordable POD option for some of their titles and rush orders. “Out-of-print” is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and print-on-demand is definitely gaining acceptance.
The Point: Saving time, money and energy is the ultimate goal of POD, and though traditional publishers may be hesitant to the change, bother readers and authors should expect a print revolution that can benefit everyone!
The Series Publication Sequel: How Print-On-Demand Can Benefit Literary Magazines and Trade Periodicals
For those of you who haven’t yet read the comments on the Periodical and ISSN blogs, Valya is thinking of starting a journal, and she’s wondering if Wordclay, a free print-on-demand publisher, is the right choice.
Who can blame her? The idea of a print-on-demand periodical is a relatively new concept, even though I’m not sure exactly why. To me at least, it just makes sense to order as many copies of a journal as you need, so you aren’t out hundreds of dollars on unused copies that end up collecting dust in your cramped office.
Still, Valya has questions, and I aim to answer them.
Valya: “You say, ‘You can always pay a small price for the Stock Cover Art and submit artwork with directions for our professional designers.’ What if I want to design my own cover with my own photography? Is there an acceptable format that I can send to you to have printed?
Justin: You can design the complete cover if you are capable of doing so. You can also contract your own designer to lay it out for you. The exact specs for each of our formats are in the FAQs toolbox. The best formats to use when sending the cover would be a layered .psd file or .tiff file, and if possible a PDF of the full cover as well.
But unless you’re an experienced designer, I don’t recommend laying the cover out yourself. The whole concept behind Wordclay is DIY publishing through being affordable.
Not only will you devote tons of time to laying out a cover, or perhaps tons of money hiring a designer (and you’ll still have to pay Wordclay a custom quoted fee to use the cover you provide anyway), but often times the smallest formatting error can throw the whole design off for the printers.
For example, you may miss a trim line or you may not leave enough room for the imprint or barcode – what then? Your cover looks only half as good as it could have – that’s what.
That said, the two best options (in my opinion), are either (more…)
Serial Publications: What’s an ISSN? And Can Wordclay Accommodate Your Journal Publishing Goals?
First and foremost, let’s define the ISSN and the ISBN to avoid confusion.
An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is a simple eight-digit number that identifies periodical publications like literary journals, trade magazines and other serial publications.
But an ISBN is a 13-digit number used to identify monographs (or books) that are expected to have an individual life apart from a periodic appearance. The author, subject and genre could all be the same, but a divergence in primary or secondary title will call for an ISBN.
Now check out this definition of serial publication:
“A publication, in any medium, issued in successive parts, usually having numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued with no predetermined end. But this definition excludes works intended to be published in a finite number of parts. The ISSN is applicable to the entire population of serials, whether past, present or to be published in the foreseeable future. Serials include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, directories, etc.), the journals, series, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies.”
Essentially, if you want a standardized identifier of a trade or literary series that universities and libraries around the world can reference, then an ISSN might be useful. The flip side of the ISSN, though, is that if any change occurs within the title or the general management of the serial publications, then a new ISSN would be required for coming (altered) issues.
If you’re confused with all this book identification mumbo-jumbo, we recommend visiting http://www.issn.org/ where you can drop a line to the ISSN International Centre.
That said – here’s what I would do.
Fresh Products Help Authors Self-Publish Independently: Claim Space on Amazon and Kindle, Be Your Own Publisher and Sport a Winning Logo
Before the ground thaws and you finally decide to wash the dried salt off of your car, there’s a time when you begin to wake yourself from your winter comatose and feel your way to the computer, blinded by the light reflecting off your sun-starved skin. But when your eyes begin to focus on your screen, be sure to brace yourself. Wordclay has fresh new products sprouting in the Services Store to help you shift into high gear with more ways to self-publish independently and successfully.
If you’ve procrastinated all winter, kick winter’s butt out the door. Now’s the perfect time to plan your DIY book project. It’s Spring, things are fresh and new and there are more publishing options than ever in Wordclay.
First, there’s a new way to publish: Be your own publisher. You can still use Wordclay’s free publishing (more…)
Must-Read Insider Tips of How to Get Your Self-Published Book into Your Local Barnes & Noble
Sara Kelly says:
As a member of the Wordclay team, I hear it again and again: now that I’ve published my book, how can I get it on the shelves of Barnes & Noble or Borders? Well, as a former employee of a Barnes & Noble, here’s what you’ve been waiting for – a peek inside the cutthroat world of your local chain bookstore.
OK, so I spent most of my shift shelving books, not choosing the next bestseller, but two main tidbits of advice come to mind that may help you in your pursuit of fame, glory, redemption, the Nobel Prize, or simply the enjoyment of selling a few books:
1. Returnability isn’t just a weird word. Bookstores really do appreciate returnability (Retail Return Insurance), and it is the number-one tool to invest in if you want your book on the shelves. No one wants to be stuck with 100 copies of anything, even if it is the next Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code or Tom Cruise tell-all. Returnability makes things easier for a bookstore when trying to set up a book signing or similar events. If a few books don’t sell, no problem, they can just send them back to the publisher.
2. Put on your happy face and remember to brush your hair. Community Relations Managers are incredibly busy people. They organize all in-store events, such as author appearances, book clubs and storytime events for children as well as directing the store publicity. They are also the main point of contact for local schools, educators, literary groups and arts groups. (more…)
