|
Anyone
can publish a book these days, but that
doesn't mean it's going to be a best-seller.
In fact, many authors make some fatal errors
when self-publishing, and end up unable to
sell the books they've spent thousands of
dollars to print.
This is
your book. The one that's been gathering
dust in a desk drawer or in the back of your
mind for years. You are finally taking the
steps to get it in print and live the dream.
But what is your dream? To give away copies
of your book to friends and family? If so,
be prepared to lose some money, but you'll
still enjoy sharing your hard work and
creative talents with people who care.
Is your
dream bigger than that? Do you hope to
establish yourself as an author in the
writing community? Would you like to create
a "buzz" around your new book, and perhaps
sell enough copies to cover your own
production costs, and then some? It's a
dream you can fulfill, but not without some
hard work.
The
Writer's Block is one way I hope to connect
authors interested in self-publishing to
some of the resources they will need. It is
a work in progress, and I am only just
beginning, so please check back from time to
time as I continue to add content.
Meantime, I would love to introduce you to
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the
award-winning author of the How-To-To-It
Frugally series of books for writers,
including "The Frugal Editor" and "The
Frugal Book Promoter".
Carolyn's first novel,
This is the Place, and
Harkening: A Collection of Stories
Remembered are both
award-winners. Her fiction, nonfiction
and poems appear in national magazines,
anthologies and review journals. She
speaks on culture, tolerance, writing
and promotion and has appeared on TV and
hundreds of radio stations nationwide.
She is an instructor for the UCLA
Extension Writers' Program, and has
shared her expertise at venues like San
Diego State's world-renowned Writers'
Conference, Dayton University's Erma
Bombeck Writer's Workshop, and SPAN's
(Small Publishers Association of North
America) annual conference.
Carolyn has graciously
agreed to allow me to use some of the
very useful excerpts from her books on
this site. These excerpts are just a
sample of some of the amazing
information Carolyn offers, and I would
highly recommend you click on the links
to the right to buy her books. I have
just begun reading "The Frugal Editor",
and it was after reading "The Frugal
Book Promoter" that I began to realize
my own dream of self-publishing and
reaching out to other authors interested
in doing the same.
Some
valuable advice from Carolyn
Howard-Johnson's "The Frugal Book Promoter":
1)
Lean to play the PR game. Carolyn encourages
authors to start on their publicity campaign
early. Your book may not even be done. Here
is why it is best - no mater where you are
in the publishing process - to start now: To
be effective, publicity must build. Best to
start now. Publicity is like practicing
piano. The more you do it, the better it
will play in Peoria and everywhere else.
What you know about publicity early on and
the exposure you receive now will work in
your favor when you go after an agent or
publisher.
2)Begin to make yourself an expert based on
something related to your book. A literary
author's expertise, as an example, could
easily include grammar or communication. You
are building a reputation.
3)
Build your media kit before you need it. A
well-designed media kit is a sales tool, but
it is also a resource. It makes it easy for
a reporter, editor or producer to write the
news story, review your book, do an
interview or write a feature story. Editors
today have more responsibility - do
more in less time - than they ever have. It
is only natural that they tend to favor news
that is supported so well it nearly writes
itself.
These are just a few tips from award-winning
author Carolyn Howard-Johnson. For more
information, or to purchase one of her
amazingly helpful books, click on the links
to the right.
|
|
|
Rebecca's tips |
|
Here
are
some things to consider if you’re thinking
about self-publishing.
There
are a growing number of Print On Demand (P.O.D.)
publishers out there. I’ve worked with a
couple. There are definite
benefits in working with a good P.O.D.
publisher, including the fact that they take
care of most of the technical details of the
printing, leaving you free to focus on the
creative process. Most P.O.D. publishers
offer book cover templates on their
websites, so you can click through and
choose colours and styles you like, then
simply drop in or send off your own artwork
or pictures, if you have any. Most P.O.D.
publishers will also allow you to supply
your own cover art, though this can be a
daunting process for anyone not experienced
with graphic design. This is why print on
demand works well for some self-publishing “newbies”.
P.O.D. publishers also format the interior
text of your book, so you can create your
work in a simple word program and then
e-mail it away, letting the publisher worry
about converting the text into a
professional format, with perfect margins
and fonts. You can also usually send digital
images which they will incorporate into the
book on the pages you have chosen - though
there is usually a fee for each image you
include. The larger Print On Demand
publishers usually have staff to help you
with everything from editing to marketing
and promoting your book, but remember, with
each additional service you tack on, your
fee increases substantially. The flat fee
for printing your book can sound quite
reasonable – some starting as low as $400.,
but that just gets the process started. Once
your book is ready, you’ll have to order
copies from the P.O.D. publisher, and this
is where things can get quite costly. The
cost per book is lowered if you buy a higher
volume of books, but one P.O.D. publisher I
know of is charging just over $8.00 per book
if you’re ordering up to 500 copies, so you
should be prepared to charge well over that
amount when you’re selling your book just to
break even on your printing and publishing
costs. Delivery costs (in particular from
the States if you’re north of the border
like me) also have to be factored in, and
can be quite high. Check on this before you
decide on a P.O.D. publisher so you’ll be
able to factor shipping into your budget.
P.O.D. publishing is a good choice for the
author who has a good chunk of cash to
invest in their book, but not much
experience in book design and layout.
If you
decide to work directly with a printer, you
will save yourself some money, but be
warned, the printer’s job is not to format
your text or edit your copy. They’ll expect
your book cover and manuscript to be
perfectly formatted when you send it to
them. To accomplish this, you will have to
find someone to work with who’s had
experience in page layout and graphic
design, (which again, you'll have to factor
into your budget) or consider doing what I
did – purchase the appropriate software and
teach yourself how to do it! It’s a big
learning curve if you’ve never done it
before, but great rewards come with learning
how to do what others would charge you
thousands of dollars to do. When working
with a printer, you design your own cover
and book interior, but remember, the printer
will print what you send, so there will be
little margin for error. If you make a
mistake, it will be there in black and white
(or colour!) for the entire world to see,
and there will be no one to blame but
yourself. The upfront costs when you’re
working with a printer may seem quite high –
be prepared to spend between $1500. and
$2000. or more, depending on how many copies
you’ll want. But on the upside, that cost
will include both the printing and the
publishing, and delivery to your door; and
the cost per book is much lower than with
P.O.D. publishers – just keep in mind
there’s a reason for that. The printer is
just there to print and ship the raw
material you send them. A Print On Demand
publisher will work with you a little more
to get the finished product you’re looking
for.
That
having been said, I work with a great
printer here in Canada – Friesens
Corporation in Altona, Manitoba,
and their representative here in the
Maritimes is wonderful. His name is Ron
Such, if you should ever want to look him
up!
I also purchased appropriate book
cover and page layout software, which again
is a big outlay of cash up front, but in my
case I plan to publish a number of books
over the next while, so over time my
investment will work in my favour.
You
have to decide what your needs are to
determine what will work best for you. If
you decide to go with a Print On Demand
publisher, do some internet searches and
some comparison shopping. If you want to
work directly with a printer, be prepared to
properly format your cover and manuscript,
or find someone who might be able
to help you do that. |
|
|
| |
 |
|
For about five cents a
day
The Frugal Book
Promoter: How To Do What
Your Publisher Won't
assures your book the
best possible start in
life. Full of
nitty-gritty how-to's
for getting nearly free
publicity, Carolyn
Howard-Johnson shares
her professional
experience as well as
practical tips gleaned
from the successes of
her own book campaigns.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Gremlins are out there!
They're determined to
foul your credibility
and to keep your book
from being published or
publicized. They --
resolved to embarrass
you before the
gatekeepers who can turn
the key of success for
you -- lurk in your
subconscious and the
depths of your computer
programs. Whether you
are a new or experienced
author,
The Frugal Editor:
Put Your Best Book
Forward to Avoid
Humiliation and Ensure
Success
will help you present
whistle-clean copy
(whether it's a one-page
cover letter or your
entire manuscript) to
those who have the power
to say "Yea" or "Nay."
|
|
|
| |
|
 The
Great First Impression Book Proposal:
Everything You Need To Know
About Selling Your Book in 20 Minutes or
Less
By award-winning author
and editing instructor Carolyn
Howard-Johnson. An e-essay delivered to your
mailbox by Amazon. Only .49 cents! Click
here
to order today!
"I'm taking this little booklet and having
it tattooed on my inner arm. It's going to
be useful to you, I promise. And if you
aren't a writer, and you know one, send it
on. They'll love it. "~
May Lattanzio
|
| |
|
