Writing and Publishing News

Someone emailed me after my presentation Tuesday night to tell me that he’d heard me speak before and that he got more out of my talk this time than he did the last time. He figured it was either that I had more to share now or that he was at a place where he was ready to follow my suggestions.

How astute of him. It is so true; when an author is not ready to hear some of the hard truths of book promotion, for example, he or she will tune out any words of wisdom whether they are spoken or written. If it is a concept they are not ready to face, they will discount it. We’ve probably all done that with regard to many things over our lifetimes.

How often have you made a suggestion to a friend who was struggling? The friend may disregard your ideas and comments until one day, she comes to you and says, “I’ve decided I’m going to do such and such,” which is exactly what you’ve been suggesting all along. Only your friend believes this is a brand new idea that she came up with all on her own. We’ve all experienced this scenario. She could not even acknowledge the idea until she was mentally, psychologically and/or emotionally ready.

I see this type of a scenario played out with some of the authors I meet. They will not open up to the reality of what it takes to promote a book. They go out and listen to professionals talk on the topic. They purchase and read books and articles by experts in the field. They consult with people in the know. But they believe what they want to believe until they are finally ready to take in the truth of it. And sometimes authors don’t truly understand the magnitude and importance of book promotion until after they’ve produced a book and are faced with the hard realities.

If you plan to produce a book, I urge you to open your mind to the business of publishing. Put at least as much effort into understanding the publishing industry—including what it takes to promote a book—as you have the writing of the book. The more you understand about your publishing options and book promotion, the more apt you are to make good decisions on behalf of your book and the more successful you will be.

Disregard the concepts that make you feel uncomfortable before truly understanding the impact they’ll have on your success, and you could easily be one of the nearly 78 percent of authors who fail.

A good place to start understanding the publishing industry is by reading my book, “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” It’s at Amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio as well as at many other online and downtown bookstores. Or order it here: http://www.matilijapress.com

What does it take to successfully promote a book? Money or effort? Does it take a bankroll or time and energy? Do you get results from pursuing costly marketing programs or by using a little elbow grease?

I suggest spending your money to educate yourself about the huge process of publishing and marketing books. This might mean purchasing one or more good books on the subject, attending a writers’ conference that focuses on publishing rather than creative writing, subscribing to newsletters related to book marketing, joining publishing organizations and participating, taking a course or signing up for a workshop on book promotion, attending lectures, etc. You might pay as much as $350 for a conference or as little as 0 for a free subscription, for example.

And the next thing you really should arrange for, if you plan to produce a book, is time. It takes thought, planning, time, energy and effort to successfully promote any book. And who better to take on the promotional work, than the author? No one else cares as much about your book as you do. No one knows it as well as you do.

Sure, you can hire someone to publish your book for you. You can throw money at the publishing service and other companies who promise to use their various commercial tactics to sell copies of your book. Or you can maintain the personal touch and manage your own marketing program. You can pay for impersonal cookie cutter promotion or you can market to your true audience in a more personal, real way.

So what will it be, will you pay thousands of dollars to turn your baby over to strangers to raise or will you step up to the plate, take responsibility and do the right thing by your literary creation?

The major expense you should plan for is professional editing. If you don’t bother to have your book professionally edited, it could be that no one will be able to successfully promote it. It may not be as readable as you may think.

Another thing you must consider is your audience. So many authors today write for themselves. Then they wonder why they can’t sell copies of their book. It’s because they don’t know who their audience is.

Maybe you can see now why it is so important to consider the material you are producing before you decide to publish. Perhaps you are getting an inkling as to how important it is to write every word of your story or your nonfiction book with the reader in mind. If you simply write what you want—what is meaningful to you—you may not actually have an audience.

There’s more to consider, when writing a book for publication, than what pleases you—what feeds your soul. There’s more to producing a viable product than jotting down your story or your ideas. And there’s a whole lot more to successful publishing than writing checks for promotional services that you truly don’t understand.

Educate yourself. A good start in the process is to read my books. I’ve been writing the books and articles authors need in order to experience greater success for many years. If more people would read these and books and articles by other professionals, there would not be a 78% failure rate among authors.

You do not need to spend a lot of money to get your book published and for marketing services. What you need is an understanding of the publishing industry and how you can successfully fit into it. And then you are more apt to make better decisions on behalf of your book project.

Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author
Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author
Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.

All available at amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio as well as most other online and downtown bookstores. Can also be purchased here: http://www.matilijapress.com

There are opportunities and then there are opportunities. If you are an author or plan to become one and you are seeking ways to promote and sell your book, you must read this revealing post.

There was high drama around the SPAWN booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. A short distance from us were a series of five or six Author Solutions booths. Author Solutions encompasses several pay-to-publish companies including AuthorHouse, iUniverse and Trafford. Well, while SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) offered members space in our two booths to sell their books all day for one or both days of the festival at a fee that would cover our cost ($200 per day), Author Solutions had something entirely different in mind for their authors.

Each author could sit in one of their booths for an hour during the festival and sign books to give away for FREE. And do you know what Author Solutions were charging for the privilege? $3,999.00. Yes, you read it right. Each author paid nearly four thousand dollars to give their books away for an hour.

Granted, the author gets 75 of his/her books to give away, promotional material and a few other perks—none of which justify, to me, this outrageous fee.

If this is an example of their offerings and their fees, please, please know that this is beyond ridiculous. I mean, where’s the benefit to the author? I can see the benefit to the company. At the end of the day, they could be raking in something like $100,000. And their authors? Well, some of their books are now in the hands of people who may or may not care enough about them to even read them.

You know that I believe in exposure. There are hundreds of ways to get great exposure for your book without spending your life savings. While I do not recommend that a single author with a single or a few books sign up for a booth at a major book festival such as the LATFB or the Tucson Festival of Books, this is still a better option than the one Author Solutions offers. This will only cost you around $1,000 and you’ll have two full days of exposure and the opportunity to sell your books for 15 hours.

Why do I try to steer authors away from having their own booths at these large events? An unknown author generally cannot sell enough books to break even, let alone make a profit. It can happen, but not typically. Most likely, you won’t even have enough interest to consider the exposure aspect worthwhile.

Instead, partner with other authors or an organization that attracts a lot of people, such as SPAWN, and you will have the opportunity for much greater exposure and sales.

Are you considering publishing with a pay-to-publish (self-publishing) company? Do you know how to do the research necessary to protect yourself from exorbitant fees and ridiculous, worthless programs? Again, here’s the drill:

• Study the publishing industry so you understand what it’s about, what it involves, what your options are and how to make the best choices on your behalf. My book, “Publish Your Book,” is an excellent start. Available at Amazon in print, Kindle and audio as well as most other online and downtown bookstores. Also subscribe to publishing newsletters and magazines and join publishing organizations.

• Do an Internet search to check the reputation, complaints, praise for any company you are considering. Use keyword (company name) and “warning” or “complaint.”

• Read Mark Levine’s book, “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.” He rates and ranks several of these companies and explains the contracts. You can get the ebook version of this book when you join SPAWN. http://www.spawn.org

• http://www.pred-ed.com/pubwarn.htm This is a warning list for authors who are thinking about “self-publishing.”

Again, here are some additional warning sites:
http://www.todayswriting.com/poetry-scams.html (covers much more than just poetry.
http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings.php
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware

Don’t assume that just because a company is in business and they gush over your book that they are legitimate and really care about you and your book. Be pro-active on behalf of your book. Your success depends on it.