Writing and Publishing News from

I’m not going to spend as much time with you as usual today. The Matilija Press and SPAWN offices are buzzing with activity this morning as I strive to meet deadlines with my clients and the SPAWN Market Update and the SPAWN Catalog of Member Books and Services. We’re also preparing a statement on behalf of SPAWN with regard to the Amazon/BookSurge situation. In between it all, I’ll take my daily walk and my youngest daughter and I are taking my mother out to breakfast. (It’s too lovely out to stay inside all day.)

In the meantime, I want you to become informed about what is happening (or might happen) with Amazon and I urge you to take a stand. Read the articles, comments, etc. that Angela and Richard Hoy have collected at their site, follow the links they provide to Publishers Weekly and Wall Street Journal articles, for example, to determine how this might affect you. As far as I know, Amazon has not released a statement, but everyone else in the industry has. I’m still waiting for Amazon’s statement so that we, here at SPAWN, can comment on fact rather than the many suppositions out there. However, if the rumors are true, it’s best that Amazon and BookSurge are cut off at the pass and our friend, Angela Hoy is leading the charge.

Terms like “monopoly” and “anti-trust” are flying throughout the publishing kingdom. The State Attorney General’s office is apparently interested in becoming involved. This is, perhaps, as big as the decision years ago to make books returnable for booksellers. That decision has affected authors for years and the outcome of this issue will, too. Make it your business to become informed.

Here’s Amazon/BookSurge General—the Hoys’ “Clearing House of Information” regarding recent developments in the Amazon/BookSurge situation. http://www.writersweekly.com/amazon.php

I’d like to know your thoughts, fears, plan of action. PLFry620@yahoo.com

In America, we are accustomed to having choices. We can choose our mates, our lifestyles, where we shop, what we buy, where we work and which airline we fly, for example. As independent publishers, we can choose our book content, book printers, where to sell our books, which distributors/wholesalers to use, etc. Lately, however, thousands of travelers are finding themselves stranded in airports because of aborted flights. Those whose connecting flights are canceled feel like prisoners of the airports. What can they do except wait for the next available flight? They have no idea where their luggage is. They are usually strangers to the city. And no one can tell them when the next available flight to their destination might leave.

I had a small taste of this in Atlanta when on my way home (to California) from Nashville last week. I was among the lucky travelers. Even though my flight was cancelled and I found myself on standby (for the first time in my life), I arrived home only two hours off schedule. But my luggage didn’t catch up with me until a day and a half later. No harm done—but I’m concerned about future flights I have planned. The traveling picture, these days, is not a pretty one.

Now Amazon is causing many people to feel much like the traveler who has few options. It seems similar to a hostage situation. “Play our way or don’t play with us at all.” As I understand it, rather than ordering your POD book from you or your POD company, Amazon wants your digital files so they can do the printing with their partner, BookSurge. While some industry professionals are shrieking, “MONOPOLY,” others are saying, “I’m going to allow Amazon to print the books they sell and I’ll continue using my regular printer for the rest of my copies.”

Some people are feeling helpless against the Amazon conglomerate and others are fairly relaxed about the announcement and the possible ramifications. Many authors plan to use Barnes and Noble to a greater extent and will convince their customers to bring their business to this and other online bookstores.

The jury is still out as far as SPAWN is concerned. SPAWN, as most of my readers know is Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network. http://www.spawn.org We are collecting comments from industry experts and reading what Amazon has to say before we produce our statement.

If you’re interested in learning more about this situation, Publishers Weekly is writing about it. Angela and Richard Hoy at Writers Weekly and Booklocker have been very vocal with regard to this situation and they’ve been collecting comments from other industry professionals. You’ll want to visit their site and subscribe to Angela’s newsletter, Writers Weekly. http://www.writersweekly

If you subscribe to any writing/publishing newsletters, take time to read them this month. They’re bound to include information and perspectives related to this topic. I’m told that 50% of those enewsletters you subscribe to do not get read. Not good. How will you become more informed if you ignore the flow of information coming in?

I suggest that you read the pros and cons until you understand how this will potentially affect you and your projects, clients and/or members and then speak out. Let fairness to all prevail. Let’s rally for freedom of choice. Let’s hope that Amazon backs down in their threat to create a monopoly and that they offer the BookSurge project as an option.

What are your thoughts? PLFry620@yahoo.com.

If you’re an author or plan to become one, you really must shift from creative right brain thinking long enough to understand something about the publishing industry. The main reason I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book is to help with this education. You really must study the highly competitive, ever-changing publishing industry before getting involved. If you haven’t done so already, please sit down and read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. It doesn’t matter if your book is completed, just a sliver of a thought or somewhere in between, stop now and read this book. It could mean the difference between a successful project and blatant failure. Here are the figures—in 2006, around 76% of all books sold fewer than 100 copies. I venture to guess (and I’m sure that I’m correct) that those authors did not study the publishing industry before producing their books. If they had, they would have known whether or not their book was a viable product, they would have had reasonable expectations with regard to their role within the publishing industry, they would have known that a magnificent story or excellent writing isn’t necessarily going to guarantee their success in this highly competitive field and they would have been aware that promotion is their responsibility.

Don’t even think about entering into this industry without an education. You’ll be eaten alive. Read my book and learn the right way to go about writing, producing and selling your particular book. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

I’m home once again. I discovered that it’s not as convenient as I thought it would be to work while traveling. I packed my computer with an internet hook-up that works anywhere and anytime (except, for some reason, in Ohio). So what’s hard about stopping for a few minutes each day to add to my blog or respond to a client’s question? Well, I can tell you, it isn’t so easy to do when you are living without a schedule and when you are distracted by unexpected flight cancellations, meetings, sights to see and, most specially (as they say in the south), that great southern cooking.

I have to admit that I failed you—those of you who faithfully read my blog. And I apologize for not keeping up with it while traveling. But, while I was ignoring my responsibilities to the blog and in between the tours and eating fests, I was working with authors and budding authors. I was meeting with professionals and leaders in the world of publishing and I was gleaning information to share with you.

There are some major things happening within the ever-changing publishing industry. Much of it seems to be designed to further alienate the independent publisher and unknown author. But there are also organizations that are working very hard to protect us from the monopolies and conglomerate decisions. If you think that having your book accepted by a major publisher will protect you from disappointments and shabby treatment, you may be terribly wrong.

This industry caters to the elite few and, even if you enter into that elite realm, know that your days are probably numbered. Even if you land that contract with a major publisher, for example, your success may be just a flash in the pan—lasting no longer than a month or two.

Within the next few weeks, as my stack of to-dos dwindles and I have time to study the issues at hand (Amazon and BookSurge attempting to create a monopoly that excludes POD books, for example), I will be offering my viewpoint along with links where you can find additional information on this and other major industry topics.

In the meantime, I have dozens of books to ship, SPAWN members to contact with regard to the upcoming Los Angeles Times Book Festival, client work to catch up on, many newsletters to read and so forth.

The last phase of our 11 day trip was the PMA Publishers’ Affiliate Retreat in Nashville where 15 representatives from PMA affiliate organizations met for a day and a half to discuss you (the author) and your issues and challenges and how we can help you manage them. Stay tuned here, join SPAWN and read the SPAWN Market Update (in the member only section of the SPAWN website.) That’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network http://www.spawn.org.

Join your local/regional publishing organization. I will be posting a list of those organizations operating on your behalf in Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, the northwest, the Midwest and, of course, California in an upcoming article in the May 1 edition of the SPAWN Market Update. I’ll also be discussing some of the issues and resources, etc. that were brought up in the retreat right here in my blog, which I hope will go daily again soon.

Today, along with playing a major game of catch-up and trying to convince our kitties (Max and Sophie) that we still love them, we’re concentrating on getting our luggage back. Yes, Delta really did a number on us this trip. They managed to make each and every leg of our flight an adventure. I even got to experience standby for the first time ever when they decided to cancel our flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles yesterday. With this on our minds, yesterday, and because of our need to stay close to the gate in case they called our names for the next available flight, we didn’t dare venture out to replenish our snacks and water supply. We did get on the next flight without our own food and water. And we spent the next 4 hours waiting to be served even a glass of water. They served us the remnants of what was left on the food and beverage tray ½ hour before landing in Los Angeles. Sigh! We’re glad to be home. Just wish our luggage could say the same. They didn’t deliver our wayward luggage last night as promised and so we called this morning to ask about it. It is a little disheartening when you’re asked to describe your luggage and its contents in minute detail and when they want you to read to them your entire itinerary (canceled flights, changed flights and all). Despite the impression we got from the clerk at the Santa Barbara Airport—who said our luggage was on the next flight and would arrive in 45 minutes—these people don’t have a clue as to where our luggage is.

I had lots of book orders waiting for me at home. I’m going to the post office Monday, anyway, so you might as well place your order NOW for The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html If you have written a book, are in the process of writing one or are just thinking about writing one, you must have this all inclusive book!!

I’m here in Atlanta ready to work all day—if you can call talking about what you love “work.” I’ll present a 3-hour seminar on writing a book proposal this morning and, this afternoon, I’m speaking about the 2 secrets to publishing success. At the same time, the Spring Book Show is going on here at the Hilton Atlanta. It’s not too late to sign up to attend the seminars or the book show, unless you read this sometime after March 29, 2008. In that case, you missed it a good program. (The book show continues through March 30.)

I visited the book show yesterday and was reminded of the competition out there for authors. There are ballrooms full of books in every category and genre and on every subject imaginable. Seeing this many books in one place reinforces what I keep teaching and preaching about the importance of writing a book proposal before you start working on the book of your dreams to make sure that there is room for another book like yours or a really unique book. Before you write yours, you must know what else is out there and this is a mighty important part of the book proposal.

Well, I’m off to teach this and other elements of the book proposal today, in hopes of helping a few more authors succeed in this highly competitive field.

I promised a blog entry about earnings as an author and I promised it yesterday. Instead, I spent the day traveling and visiting with our hosts on the first leg of our trip. It is Thursday morning in Ohio and I am sitting in a lovely room overlooking Lake Mohawk in the tiny town of Malvern eager to continue relaxing and visiting with our gracious and multi-talented hosts. I spent 2 days packing and weeks thinking about packing and still, I forgot a very important item. I neglected to pack my new tiny mouse for my laptop. A mouse is on our list of things to buy today. I just can’t get used to the mouse pad on these little machines.

Here’s what I have to say about earnings as an author:

Of course, there is no exact formula for potential earnings as an author. It depends on so many factors. But this I believe: it is possible to earn more from a niche book than a mainstream book, particularly if you have a solid platform in your niche (gardening, death and dying, fishing holes in the northwest, parenting the autistic child, art promotion, etc.)

With my first self-published niche book, The Ojai Valley, An Illustrated History (360-page comprehensive history), I sold 1,000 copies within the first few months and a total of 2,000 by the end of the year. I paid my printing bill of around $25,000 within the first 8 months. This meant that I got to keep the money collected for the remaining 3,000 books. That was $15.95 for books sold retail and somewhere around $10/each for books sold through bookstores. The secret to this book’s “success” was its uniqueness. (And these numbers, to me, compute into “success” when you consider that Ojai was a city of only around 5,000 when the book came out. Yes, the valley comprised another 15,000 then and we do get tourists.) But this book was a one of a kind book. It addressed points of interest that people were actually interested in, it profiled people whose names were familiar and I did promotion in all of the right places. I had orders for about 500 books before the book even came out. This was a regional niche book and it was self-published.

For a traditionally published book, the author collects anywhere from 5 to 15% of (usually) the wholesale cost of books sold. For a niche (or even regional) book the publisher might sell a thousand copies during the first few months. If you get out and promote like crazy, you might manage to spearhead another 1,000 sales in your field of interest and you may be pulling a check of around $5,000 in the first quarter. Keep up the promo and exposure and, if this book is needed, unique to your audience, you may get a few more checks in this range.

If you go the fee-based POD publishing service route, it might cost you $8.00 per book to purchase copies of your book, plus your initial outlay. In order to get a larger rate of profit, you opt to choose the higher cover price on the book and it becomes harder to sell. Depending on your platform and the time you can spend promoting, you may sell anywhere from 100 to 500 copies in the first year. This is typical, actually. The average for most POD companies is 100 books sold total.

So here’s a possible scenario related to one hypothetical book that sells for $19.95. Self publish the book and earn $15,000 after you sell 1,000 copies. (That’s if your costs per book are around $5.00). Earn only around $3,000 to $5,000 with POD for 1,000 copies sold and around $3,000 for 1,000 traditionally published books.

For more about potential earnings as an author and for tons of information about how the publishing industry works, how to self-publish your book, how to work with traditional royalty publishers, etc. be sure to order your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

It’s official, the amazing organizers for the Spring Book Show and Writers’ Conference were told that the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta is off limits until the tornado damage is repaired. So rather than throw in the towel and cancel the event, they have found a new venue. Please join us at the Hilton Atlanta at 255 Courtland Street NE in Atlanta for the Spring Book Show and Conference March 28-30. Sign up at http://www.anvilpub.net/spring_seminar_2.htm

You can also sign up at the door. I’ll be leading a 3-hour seminar Saturday morning (March 29) from 9 to noon and I’m speaking on the 2 Secrets to Publishing Success for an hour at 2 that afternoon. All of this and the gigantic book show will take place at the Hilton Atlanta at 255 Courtland Street NE.

For those of you living and writing in Nashville, I’ll be at Borders West End Monday night, March 31 at 7. Again, my topic will be 2 Secrets to Publishing Success.

If you are new to or about to enter into the world of publishing—or if you have a published book that isn’t doing all that well in the marketplace, you won’t want to miss this presentation.

I get the question often from clients and colleagues, “When will you be speaking in my area?” I’d love to come and speak to writers and hopeful authors in your city. Just ask.

I’m usually busy writing, promoting my books and working with clients. This is how I spend my days. With our pending trip, however, which includes 3 events (one in Atlanta and two in Nashville), as well as some sight-seeing and visiting with friends along the way, I’m busy in a different way. We’re on countdown for our 11-day trip, so I’m involved in travel preparation. PLUS, we’ve invited 20+ people over for Easter brunch on Sunday and I’ve been taking time to spruce up the yard and plan the menu. I’ll be shopping, cooking and entertaining most of the weekend. Consequently, something has to give and I’m afraid that all of this will affect the blog.

While I will continue adding to my blog during these next busy two and a half weeks, it may not be every day and the entries may not be as in depth. Those of you who have come to depend on my blog for writing/publishing support and sustenance, I appreciate your interest and I will do my best to continue along this vein—time permitting.

In the meantime, come along with me and enjoy my journey.

This trip is a rarity for me. I usually travel several times each year to conference venues, but it is a matter of landing at the closest airport, taking a taxi or shuttle to the conference site—usually a hotel—and spending two days giving presentations, networking with authors and hopeful authors, attending the presentations of others, etc. Then I take the shuttle or taxi back to the airport and fly home. I don’t get to see the area except the part between the airport and the hotel. This year is different. This year, I’ve coerced Dennis into joining me for some of my gigs and we’ve planned to do some traveling between events. It just happened that I got an invitation to a publishers’ retreat in Nashville a week after the conference in Atlanta. Dennis has friends in Nashville. So after we are finished in Atlanta, we will rent a car and drive to Nashville and experience a part of the country we’ve never seen before. As I said, I’ll take you along with me. Hopefully, you, too, will enjoy the ride.

In the meantime, we have a housesitter who will keep the cats company and the flowers watered. All is well at the moment, despite the horrendous tornado that hit in the center of our plans (and those of many others) in Atlanta.

If you are an author or plan to be, order my book today—this is one decision you will not regret. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, $19.95.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
And keep an eye out for my announcement—any day now, I hope—for my new ebook The Author’s Repair Kit. This is a book designed to heal your publishing mistakes and breathe new life into your stalled or faltering book. The book is completed. I’m just waiting for my webmaster to install it at my website. http://www.matilijapress.com