Archive for the ‘Publishing Industry’ Category

Posted on June 2, 2009 - By Sharon Lindenburger
“Poynters” from Dan Poynter

I recently attended a day-long workshop with publishing guru Dan Poynter. Dan has been in this business for a long time. He knows the book industry well and is a stalwart source of guidance, particularly to authors who choose to self-publish. He now has two versions of The Self-Publishing Manual–Volume 1 and Volume 2. Both volumes are invaluable sources of information for authors.

As well, Dan’s site, www.parapublishing.com is a resource every author should have in his/her internet address book.

During the workshop, there were several “Poynters” that I felt were really important. The first is Dan’s insistence that a non-fiction author have a well-honed understanding of exactly who his/her audience is. This kind of targeted understanding enables the author to segment the audience and also, in terms of money, find the right sources of special sales, i.e., groups, businesses, and organizations that might be natural markets for buying multiple copies of your book—-and what author doesn’t love to make a bulk sale!?

Another “Poynter” I particularly like is Dan’s concept of simultaneous publishing. This is an ideal strategy for an author who wants to begin with self-publishing but then to create the possibility of getting the interest of a trade publisher. Poynter recommends an initial print-run of 500 books–well-written, well-edited, and well-designed. You would send the first few copies out to agents or publishers.

“When you send a manuscript to an agent, he/she will treat you like a writer among other writers. When you send him/her a well-written book that you’ve run the first 500 copies, he/she will treat you like an author. It’s a different level of perception and can work in your favor,” Poynter said.

You would then use the rest of your 500 print run to send the book out for reviews, to seek distribution, special sales, and other markets that could help establish you as a credible expert in your field, thus creating the demand for your book which you would then market in a variety of ways–literally selling greater numbers of the book before your second print run is even off the press. This is an infinitely better strategy than having thousands of books sitting in your garage.

I am in the process of creating a Resources page on my site. I will include the link to Dan’s site from there. His advice is well worth heeding, especially if you choose to self-publish and you want your book to do well.

I felt particularly gratified when Dan emphasized the importance of getting professional editing help with books, as ALL books need to match and even exceed the standard of the name-brand publishers. That’s what I do as a book coach (Dan calls individuals like me “book shepherds”)! I help you create a professional, well-written, well-presented book–a book that will grow your expertise and bring more money and opportunities into your life.

Posted on January 12, 2009 - By Sharon Lindenburger

Digital or not, your book content still has to be goodPublishing experts, book coaches, and editors are frantically trying to “read the market”. We all want to figure out where the industry is going and what’s going to happen to books.

One trend that’s being flagged are the indicators coming from various publishers that they will be getting more and more involved with producing books in “digital” format. Digital reading tools such as Kindle are becoming quite popular and enable book lovers to acquire almost all genres of books at considerly lower prices than the traditional bookstore price.

Some people are also predicting that E-books sold by authors directy off websites will be making a comeback. E-books were popular for a while, then seemed to peak and lose some steam, largely because of their sheer numbers. Many of them were of poor quality, often with glaring spelling and grammar errors (which looks unprofessional).  As a result of the increase in e-books and the quality issues, e-books lost ground in credibility for awhile and many authors who wanted to create a quality book reverted to the traditional physical book.

Now it seems that e-books are rebounding, because authors realize that trade publishers are reducing the number of books they will acquire.  So for an author with a great book idea and a limited budget, the e-book option looks attractive again.

But no matter in what format your book is published, one thing remains crystal clear. Your content has to be good. It doesn’t matter if your book is a Kindle book, a digital download from a publisher’s site, an e-book you sell off your own site, a self-published physical book, or a POD book–the standard of your writing needs to match the publishable standard of trade publishers.

If the digital world is going to explode in book publishing, as is predicted, the lower costs of producing such books is going to lead to thousands of more books all vying for readers’ attention. The only way to stand out from such a crowded field is to have great content and to write it well.

If you’re a prospective author with a book in mind, focus first on your content, on what it is you have to say that will be valuable to your readers. Make that content as strong and interesting as possible. Make it uniquely your voice. Convince your readers that your book deserves to be read.

Digital or not, it has to be good.

And as a post-script to this posting, I have to say that in my view no matter how “digital” the book industry becomes, there is always going to be room in readers’ hearts for physical books, and publishers are going to continue to publish physical books. Indeed, the ability to get a publisher to publish your book will become even more of a gold standard than it is right now. If you can get a trade publisher to publish your book in an economy where publishers are reluctant to take a risk on new authors, then you have distinguished yourself from your competition by that fact alone.

Posted on November 11, 2008 - By Sharon Lindenburger
Is a recession a good time to write and publish a book? Yes!

I’ve been getting emails and phone calls from prospective authors wondering if this is a good time to write a book. They are worried about the economy being in a recession. They’re concerned that if they do publish, people will be less likely to buy books. They’re worried about not having the resources to market the book.

While it’s true that bookstores are likely to see some downturn in overall sales as anxious consumers look for ways to cut back, it’s still the case that bookstores continue to operate and people still do love to buy and read books. Reading is something that goes on no matter what the economy is doing.

It may be that publishers in a tight economy will be more wary about who they choose to publish and advances for new authors may be even more modest than they already are, but publishers are still going to be looking for good books.

If you decide not to pursue a trade publisher and instead choose one of the many ways of self-publishing your book, you may be concerned about expending the costs of that when times are tight. And yes, to do a quality book and to market it well will cost you several thousand dollars. But let’s put this into perspective. It can equally cost you thousands of dollars to run a full-page or half-page ad in a newspaper or magazine or to buy some radio spots.

Magazine ads and radio spots are short-lived.  A magazine could give your ad a shelf life of a month or so, a couple of months at the most. The radio stations might give you a few plays over a couple of weeks. With a newspaper, it’s usually a one-shot thing on one specific day and that’s it (unless you pay even more to buy a series of ads.) But a book has a much longer shelf life. It can be the calling card for your business or your expertise for a lot longer time than any kind of advertising. So if your resources are tight and you’re wondering what strategy can help promote your expertise the best, consider sharing your words with the world in the form of a book, rather than spending your resources on a bunch of “sell copy”.

One of the things you need during a recession is staying power, the ability to hang in there in a tough economy. A book can help you do that. Not only does a book have a longer period of effectiveness, it also positions you as an expert/authority of your content. Authoring and publishing a book definitely gives you an edge over competitors who do not have books published.

Posted on September 17, 2008 - By Sharon Lindenburger
A glut of books? Is there any hope for YOUR book?

Last night I listened to a teleseminar delivered by Mark Tauber, Senior Vice President and Publisher at HarperOne. Mr. Tauber had lots of interesting things to say, as he provided tips to prospective authors who hope to publish with HarperOne (or with any other publisher!)

He talked a lot about the need to make your book stand out from others and how difficult that is to do.  He pointed to the huge changes in the publishing industry–leading to trends such as the growing need for an author to have a “platform” (i.e., a media presence, a speaking career, some area in which they are well known), the 90-day window to make a book sell well (i.e., you only have three months to get decent sales before you are overtaken by other books), and the huge increase in books in the self-help empowerment area. Tauber mentioned that over 176,000 books were published in the US alone last year. I’m not sure if he meant non-fiction books or all books, but I think he meant non-fiction.

I could just imagine the thoughts going through the heads of many of the prospective authors on the call. “If the competition is that high and so many other authors (such as Arielle Ford who hosted the call) have such great contacts with famous people who will help market their book, what chance do I have?”

I have a firm and unshakable belief that every good book can find its readers IF certain conditions are met:

• If the author has a passion for the topic and deep knowledge of the topic

• If the author has the courage to write the book with a strong voice that reflects the author’s passion

• If the author seeks out good advice about the creation and organizing of the content, and then learns how to prepare an equally passionate proposal

Tauber said one particularly wonderful thing last night. He said that there are always going to be people who have original things to say, an interesting perspective to present, a way of imparting wisdom in a fresh way that can capture the attention of publishers and readers.

So, instead of worrying about the “book glut” out there, focus on your own content, what you love about it, what you are passionate about, what words of yours do you want to meet the world, and then tell that story with all the passion, love and commitment inside you.

The pathway to a successful published book is, as Tauber says, not a walk in the park. But it IS do-able. Don’t be one of the discouraged. Instead be one of the encouraged….and go for it.

And know that you don’t have to do it alone. There are people like myself, and other book coaches out there, who can help you uncover your greatest publishing asset–your own passionate writer’s voice that speaks your own wisdom.

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