By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Blalock]Marcus Blalock
Most people underestimate the powerful influence of books in our society. One of the benefits of books are that they offer an ageless means of communication but the fact remains that writing a book manuscript is a massive undertaking.
While some books speak directly to a target audience and make big profits in sales, others don't sell well at first, but later become classic works of literature. A book is more than just something for people to read during their downtime; it's a work of art.
A complete and published book is a testament to what a trained and brilliant human mind can do. However, it's a long process from the finished manuscript to the published work. The process involves developing the manuscript, proofreading, copy-editing and often numerous rewrites. There are also design and layout issues to consider before a book is published.
Beyond the content and physical book itself, there are also distribution and marketing considerations. This is an area where even the best authors are often clueless. However, it's essential that good marketing be in place for a book to reach its reading public.
The Development Of The Manuscript - Factors To Consider
Once you've successfully completed your manuscript, there is now the daunting task of marketing it and finding the right distribution channels. Although there are different routes that you can go in your distribution and marketing, they all lead to the same place - the bookshelves of your readers.
The traditional way to get published is to send your manuscript to multiple publishers. In order to do this, you research different prospective publishers and gather information about them. This includes comparing the benefits of each along with the disadvantages.
Another method is to self-publish your manuscript. Although this sounds attractive to many would-be authors, it also has its disadvantages. The main disadvantage is that you must bear all expenses related to publishing the book. Especially if you're new in the business, you may be surprised to find out just how much this is going to cost.
A good reason to choose a publishing house instead of self-publishing is the fact that they have the budget to promote your book. The cost for you will be less and they have years of experience getting books such as yours distributed.
As you work your way toward publishing, there will still be extensive manuscript editing for you to do. After you've found a publisher who is willing to publish your book, they'll request improvements to be made. You'll be working together with them to make these changes.
Actually, this stage is just as important as the initial writing phase. It will have a great influence on how your publisher promotes the book. This extensive editing may also change the book from what you had originally envisioned.
Why Good Editing Is Important
Your editing is what will shape the final book. In order to edit your book successfully, you'll have to hire professional proofreader to go over it with a fine-toothed comb. They'll be looking at your grammar and spelling, but also at the book's readability. Part of their job is to determine whether it's suitable for your reading audience.
The book's language should be appropriate and easy to understand. Ideas should flow well from one to the other and the book should be well organized. Like your publisher, your proofreader may make suggestions, and you should heed them and make the required changes.
Marketing is just as essential as editing. In order to generate book sales, your marketing should be highly targeted. You can send your book to reviewers who will write about it in magazines and other publications.
Reviews offer one of the best marketing methods for print books. In fact, an editorial review has been known to make or break a book.
Want to become a published author? �Discover how one man went from ebook publisher to NY Times Best Seller by scoring $5.8 million in free advertising from the media... visit: How Do I Get Published? Why are you still reading this? �Click Here Now:� http://www.optpages.com/howdoigetpublished/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Do-I-Get-Published?-Learn-How-To-Become-A-Published-Author&id=6699330] How Do I Get Published? Learn How To Become A Published Author
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tips On Where To Get A Book Published
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Blalock]Marcus Blalock
It never fails. Books do lots of things for us. They educate, inform and entertain. If it weren't for books, people wouldn't know nearly all they know about the world around them. Good books are good because of their content and context; they give people exactly what they're looking for.
Publishing houses are the connection between an author's written content and the reading public. If you want to publish your own book, the best way to get it to the widest readership possible is to approach a good publishing house. Today, you also have the more affordable option of publishing it by yourself.
Book Publishing Companies
Choosing a good publisher will make all the difference in terms of circulation and sales. You should spend considerable time researching your options before choosing one. A good publishing house should be able to release your written content in the same way that you wrote it so that its message is not distorted or hampered in any way. Some publishing companies take a more active role in editing and tweaking your manuscript.
Spend time researching and comparing publishing houses before sending your book. A good way to choose companies for comparison is to look at titles that are similar to yours. This offers you a good starting point for shopping for publishers.
Most publishing companies are categorized according to the type of titles they put out. Some specialize in children's books, some in non-fiction, and some have very specialized genres such as new age spirituality books or home improvement books. You should choose a company that's appropriate for the kind of title you've written.
Once you've chosen several good publishers, you should pitch your manuscript to them. Contact them and tell them why you believe they would be an ideal publisher for your book. Although your manuscript should be perfect in your eyes before you send it, there will always be changes to be made. It's your publisher's responsibility to guide the editing of your book until it's perfect for their audience. When they do this successfully, it improves their credentials and your reputation as a writer.
You should also consider making a deal with your publisher that gives you payment after you've achieved your initial sales goal. This is especially important for first-time authors who don't have as much funding or experience as established writers. After the sales, you can split the profits with the publisher.
Distributing Your Book
If you choose to self-publish, you'll have to find your own distribution company to get your book to as many retail outlets as possible. This is an extremely important step that publishing houses handle for you. When you publish yourself, it's up to you to handle it. You should have your book for sale at as many locations as possible both online and off. This is how you each the widest possible readership.
In conclusion, writing books is a great career and there are many who take it from a hobby to a living. If it's your first time publishing a book, the process can appear quite daunting.
However, take it one step at a time and don't get discouraged. See your difficulties and failures as learning experiences to help your next book become a success.
Want to become a published author? �Discover how one man went from ebook publisher to NY Times Best Seller by scoring $5.8 million in free advertising from the media... visit: How Do I Get Published? Why are you still reading this? �Click Here Now:� http://www.optpages.com/howdoigetpublished/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-On-Where-To-Get-A-Book-Published&id=6699334] Tips On Where To Get A Book Published
It never fails. Books do lots of things for us. They educate, inform and entertain. If it weren't for books, people wouldn't know nearly all they know about the world around them. Good books are good because of their content and context; they give people exactly what they're looking for.
Publishing houses are the connection between an author's written content and the reading public. If you want to publish your own book, the best way to get it to the widest readership possible is to approach a good publishing house. Today, you also have the more affordable option of publishing it by yourself.
Book Publishing Companies
Choosing a good publisher will make all the difference in terms of circulation and sales. You should spend considerable time researching your options before choosing one. A good publishing house should be able to release your written content in the same way that you wrote it so that its message is not distorted or hampered in any way. Some publishing companies take a more active role in editing and tweaking your manuscript.
Spend time researching and comparing publishing houses before sending your book. A good way to choose companies for comparison is to look at titles that are similar to yours. This offers you a good starting point for shopping for publishers.
Most publishing companies are categorized according to the type of titles they put out. Some specialize in children's books, some in non-fiction, and some have very specialized genres such as new age spirituality books or home improvement books. You should choose a company that's appropriate for the kind of title you've written.
Once you've chosen several good publishers, you should pitch your manuscript to them. Contact them and tell them why you believe they would be an ideal publisher for your book. Although your manuscript should be perfect in your eyes before you send it, there will always be changes to be made. It's your publisher's responsibility to guide the editing of your book until it's perfect for their audience. When they do this successfully, it improves their credentials and your reputation as a writer.
You should also consider making a deal with your publisher that gives you payment after you've achieved your initial sales goal. This is especially important for first-time authors who don't have as much funding or experience as established writers. After the sales, you can split the profits with the publisher.
Distributing Your Book
If you choose to self-publish, you'll have to find your own distribution company to get your book to as many retail outlets as possible. This is an extremely important step that publishing houses handle for you. When you publish yourself, it's up to you to handle it. You should have your book for sale at as many locations as possible both online and off. This is how you each the widest possible readership.
In conclusion, writing books is a great career and there are many who take it from a hobby to a living. If it's your first time publishing a book, the process can appear quite daunting.
However, take it one step at a time and don't get discouraged. See your difficulties and failures as learning experiences to help your next book become a success.
Want to become a published author? �Discover how one man went from ebook publisher to NY Times Best Seller by scoring $5.8 million in free advertising from the media... visit: How Do I Get Published? Why are you still reading this? �Click Here Now:� http://www.optpages.com/howdoigetpublished/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-On-Where-To-Get-A-Book-Published&id=6699334] Tips On Where To Get A Book Published
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Writer, The Author, and the Business Owner
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sandra_N._Peoples]Sandra N. Peoples
What is a writer? A person who writes things of course. An author is defined as the originator or creator of anything or one who writes literary works. A business owner is a person engaged in a commercial enterprise, occupation, company or calling. What do these three have in common?
The writer is in business because they author pieces of work. People generally refer to writers as people who create work for magazines, the World Wide Web, any other forms of content. A writer can be any person who possesses the skills to get people to comprehend what it is that they are trying to say.
The author is also a person who writes, but is mainly associated with having written a book.
The business owner can be a writer or an author because like it or not when you decide to write things for pay, you are starting a business.
A writer is an author and a business person, though many writers feel that they are not. And this is a huge misconception in the publishing industry. When you make the decision to be serious about your writing career you will want to learn how to be a business person as well. Which means that you will begin to invest in yourself. In your talents. In your career.
This is something that must be taught because if not, writers and authors will never take their businesses seriously and in turn will never see the kind of money they can truly make.
As a business owner, it is crucial to learn how to start and run a business, even if the vast majority of your time will be spent online.
You have to learn how to market your business, how to get customers, and the list goes on.
The writer, the author and the business owner all face the same issue: getting people to notice them and the product they have for sale.
Your book is a product that must be sold.
Your writing skills are services that must be packaged and marketed effectively.
Your business is a combination of products and services.
Once you learn to think like the entrepreneur that you are, you will start to see things take a dramatic turn for the better in your life.
Notice that this is referring to those who want to make a career out of writing. Not the people who are one hit wonders. Meaning, writing a book or publishing an article and never doing anything again.
This one time stuff is the reason why so many people's writing careers never take off. You can't do just one thing and expect to gain a huge following. Consistency is the key to success.
Now, a true writer has the ability to write more than just a book. They can write articles for magazines. They can write web content for others. Many choose to just focus on writing books, and that is fine, but a true writer can write anything.
So the question is, are you a true writer, or are you a one hit wonder? Is this your career or are you just an imposter.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Dr. Sandra Peoples is all for writers and teaching them how to monetize their passion. Check out her international blog http://www.allforwriters.blogspot.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Writer,-The-Author,-and-the-Business-Owner&id=6702100] The Writer, The Author, and the Business Owner
What is a writer? A person who writes things of course. An author is defined as the originator or creator of anything or one who writes literary works. A business owner is a person engaged in a commercial enterprise, occupation, company or calling. What do these three have in common?
The writer is in business because they author pieces of work. People generally refer to writers as people who create work for magazines, the World Wide Web, any other forms of content. A writer can be any person who possesses the skills to get people to comprehend what it is that they are trying to say.
The author is also a person who writes, but is mainly associated with having written a book.
The business owner can be a writer or an author because like it or not when you decide to write things for pay, you are starting a business.
A writer is an author and a business person, though many writers feel that they are not. And this is a huge misconception in the publishing industry. When you make the decision to be serious about your writing career you will want to learn how to be a business person as well. Which means that you will begin to invest in yourself. In your talents. In your career.
This is something that must be taught because if not, writers and authors will never take their businesses seriously and in turn will never see the kind of money they can truly make.
As a business owner, it is crucial to learn how to start and run a business, even if the vast majority of your time will be spent online.
You have to learn how to market your business, how to get customers, and the list goes on.
The writer, the author and the business owner all face the same issue: getting people to notice them and the product they have for sale.
Your book is a product that must be sold.
Your writing skills are services that must be packaged and marketed effectively.
Your business is a combination of products and services.
Once you learn to think like the entrepreneur that you are, you will start to see things take a dramatic turn for the better in your life.
Notice that this is referring to those who want to make a career out of writing. Not the people who are one hit wonders. Meaning, writing a book or publishing an article and never doing anything again.
This one time stuff is the reason why so many people's writing careers never take off. You can't do just one thing and expect to gain a huge following. Consistency is the key to success.
Now, a true writer has the ability to write more than just a book. They can write articles for magazines. They can write web content for others. Many choose to just focus on writing books, and that is fine, but a true writer can write anything.
So the question is, are you a true writer, or are you a one hit wonder? Is this your career or are you just an imposter.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Dr. Sandra Peoples is all for writers and teaching them how to monetize their passion. Check out her international blog http://www.allforwriters.blogspot.com
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Writer,-The-Author,-and-the-Business-Owner&id=6702100] The Writer, The Author, and the Business Owner
Thursday, February 23, 2012
How To Publish Books Using Online Sites
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marcus_Blalock]Marcus Blalock
Let me ask you a simple question: How you ever thought about publishing your own book using online sites? Whether you have or have not, just take minute to read this short article to educate yourself on the process of online publishing.
A recent research study shows that many different factors determine how a book will be received and what impact it will have on society. What the study shows is that how the book is written, slanted or selected can have a direct impact on the number of sales it achieves. This means that how you write, edit, format and market the book will have a serious effect on how readers will perceive it.
Various publishing methods exist and there is much discussion about which is the best. All agree that writers must carefully choose competent publishers who will help the author achieve their publishing goals. Otherwise the entire process is a waste of time and money. Online websites can now help you publish your book successfully without the pitfalls of traditional publishing.
Lulu.com - Benefits And Advantages
Lulu.com is a website that allows authors to publish books themselves. One of the main advantages is that it allows you to publish as many titles as you'd like in a short period of time. You can also develop digital media and publish eBooks. The benefits to using Lulu are many.
In addition to publishing your works, you can also scan old books and photo albums in order to preserve them.
Once you publish your book on Lulu, you can choose among publishing options to either have it publicly available or only available to those you choose to access it. You also have the option of releasing the book in digital format, print format, or both. If you choose both, your readers can also pick which format they prefer to receive your content in.
Marketing And Selling Your Book
Publishing is about more than just writing, editing, and formatting. There is also marketing to consider, and this step can be quite demanding. If you don't know how to handle your own book marketing, you could take a major loss on your titles. First time authors who fail at marketing their books often feel discouraged and many give up writing and publishing.
Lulu makes it easier for you to market and sell your book. After your book is published, you can choose groups to market it to. These niche groups have already been established on Lulu, so they give you a built-in audience. This is a great way to collaborate with other authors so that everyone benefits.
More Benefits To Publishing Online
Online sites really help when it comes to self-publishing your books. You can come up with absolutely any kind of book you want and it can be published. The only limit you have is your imagination. You can turn your old recipes or photo albums into published titles available to anyone.
As far as design and layout, they offer their own pre-made templates so that you don't have to start from scratch. This is another task that most authors find difficult to handle themselves. There are also platforms where you can automatically sell your book once it's published, such as Amazon.com.
When people are browsing books and they come across yours, they may find it hard to decide whether or not to buy. After all, you're not an established author. To make the decision easier for them, you can offer the first few pages of your book for them to browse just like in any bookstore. They get a chance to read a little and if your writing pulls them in, they'll buy.
For authors interested in self-publishing, publishing through online websites is easy and profitable. It's more than worthwhile!
Want to become a published author? �Discover how one man went from ebook publisher to NY Times Best Seller by scoring $5.8 million in free advertising from the media... visit: How Do I Get Published?. Why are you still reading this? �Click Here Now:� http://www.optpages.com/howdoigetpublished/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Publish-Books-Using-Online-Sites&id=6699352] How To Publish Books Using Online Sites
Let me ask you a simple question: How you ever thought about publishing your own book using online sites? Whether you have or have not, just take minute to read this short article to educate yourself on the process of online publishing.
A recent research study shows that many different factors determine how a book will be received and what impact it will have on society. What the study shows is that how the book is written, slanted or selected can have a direct impact on the number of sales it achieves. This means that how you write, edit, format and market the book will have a serious effect on how readers will perceive it.
Various publishing methods exist and there is much discussion about which is the best. All agree that writers must carefully choose competent publishers who will help the author achieve their publishing goals. Otherwise the entire process is a waste of time and money. Online websites can now help you publish your book successfully without the pitfalls of traditional publishing.
Lulu.com - Benefits And Advantages
Lulu.com is a website that allows authors to publish books themselves. One of the main advantages is that it allows you to publish as many titles as you'd like in a short period of time. You can also develop digital media and publish eBooks. The benefits to using Lulu are many.
In addition to publishing your works, you can also scan old books and photo albums in order to preserve them.
Once you publish your book on Lulu, you can choose among publishing options to either have it publicly available or only available to those you choose to access it. You also have the option of releasing the book in digital format, print format, or both. If you choose both, your readers can also pick which format they prefer to receive your content in.
Marketing And Selling Your Book
Publishing is about more than just writing, editing, and formatting. There is also marketing to consider, and this step can be quite demanding. If you don't know how to handle your own book marketing, you could take a major loss on your titles. First time authors who fail at marketing their books often feel discouraged and many give up writing and publishing.
Lulu makes it easier for you to market and sell your book. After your book is published, you can choose groups to market it to. These niche groups have already been established on Lulu, so they give you a built-in audience. This is a great way to collaborate with other authors so that everyone benefits.
More Benefits To Publishing Online
Online sites really help when it comes to self-publishing your books. You can come up with absolutely any kind of book you want and it can be published. The only limit you have is your imagination. You can turn your old recipes or photo albums into published titles available to anyone.
As far as design and layout, they offer their own pre-made templates so that you don't have to start from scratch. This is another task that most authors find difficult to handle themselves. There are also platforms where you can automatically sell your book once it's published, such as Amazon.com.
When people are browsing books and they come across yours, they may find it hard to decide whether or not to buy. After all, you're not an established author. To make the decision easier for them, you can offer the first few pages of your book for them to browse just like in any bookstore. They get a chance to read a little and if your writing pulls them in, they'll buy.
For authors interested in self-publishing, publishing through online websites is easy and profitable. It's more than worthwhile!
Want to become a published author? �Discover how one man went from ebook publisher to NY Times Best Seller by scoring $5.8 million in free advertising from the media... visit: How Do I Get Published?. Why are you still reading this? �Click Here Now:� http://www.optpages.com/howdoigetpublished/
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Publish-Books-Using-Online-Sites&id=6699352] How To Publish Books Using Online Sites
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
How to Find Great Content Ideas for Your Blogs, Books, Articles, Videos and Podcasts
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sumi_Olson]Sumi Olson
One of the difficulties people face in creating content for their blogs, articles, reports, videos and podcasts is coming up with exciting and original ideas on a regular basis. The pressure to find new, interesting content often deters people from continuing with their projects. This article looks at some proven stress-free strategies for finding great ideas for content that your audience will enjoy.
One of the most effective ways of finding content ideas that are relevant to your niche is go direct to your niche and see what topics that are being discussed. Your niche will have concerns, interests, questions and anxieties which they need or want to have addressed. By keeping track of the burning issues with which your niche is absorbed, you'll be provided with appropriate themes that you can develop for your publishing output.
Keep note of the topics categories that appear on niche sites and keep files with the same heading where you can drop ideas and content as you do your research.
So let's at look at the online and offline methods that will help you keep up with your niche audience:
Special Interest Forums
Your niche community congregates on niche forums where they spend time discussing matters that they find of interest. Many of you will have already become a member of these forum sites to help you develop relationships and raise your profile within the community. Take time to see what topics are coming up time and again in chat-rooms and use the questions or queries as titles for your new content.
For example, if you are interested in parenting issues, visiting sites such as mums.net or netmums, will give you a lot of information on topic themes for your publishing programme. Use the chat-rooms to find out the issues that are concerning parents and how the community is helping each other resolve them. You'll notice a pattern developing as parents of different experience levels discuss common issues such as toilet training, weaning, night-time sleeping, bed-wetting, sibling rivalry and so on.
This can provide you with a structure to work with - taking each topic as a specific theme, you can produce a series of articles, podcasts, videos, blogs and even a book.
Special Interest Magazines & Publications
Whether print or digital, these SIMs (Special Interest Magazines) are a great source of ideas for content creators. Look at the headings that they use and again think of them as folder categories into which you can pull together ideas. What sort of topics do they discuss in each issue? Use the articles and the letters pages as inspiration from which you can create new content of your own.
Use the SIM to find out who the leading experts are in your field so you can approach them for interviews and quotes. You can use this material to create new content and by using experts that are known in your niche, you add credibility to your brand.
LinkedIn
If you are creating content for business or professional market, LinkedIn is a great resource for content publishers. Use the Answers Centre & Group discussion areas as a supply of content ideas that have a real relevance to your target niche. The Question & Answers section is divided into category headings and sub-topics - again, something that you can adopt for your own themes and categories.
LinkedIn Members post questions to which they seek answers from the general LinkedIn community. Use the questions and the supplied answers as the starting point for your own material and even as case studies and examples. Again, if you find someone showing real expertise on a topic, invite them to take part in an interview (written, audio or video) on the subject which you can release as a video, podcast or transcribe into a longer article for release.
LinkedIn Members join Groups which are relevant to their subject interest and expertise. Here again, they share knowledge and experience which you can use as springboards to new content. You can use the discussion posts as an indication of what issues and concerns your niche is concerned with and create content that provides solutions and answers to match.
Google Keywords
As part of your traffic-driving strategies, you'll be using keywords to make sure your content is visible on search engine results but it is a valuable strategic tool which you can use to create targeted content for your niche.
Use the Google Keywords feature to see what sort of phrases and keywords appear when people search for websites in your niche. Seeing how people are phrasing their questions can be very revealing as it will show you what's on their minds. You can frame your content to reflect the implicit concerns that these keywords represent.
For example, if you are interested in dogs, on a general level, you can see that people are interested in dog illnesses, dog breeds, dog breeders, dog foods, dog behaviour and so on. Within those general themes, you can find that there are certain questions and keywords that appear more frequently - these keyword and phrases will reveal the themes from which you can create more focused and targeted content.
Blogs & Articles
Successful content publishers take note of other people's success and use it as an inspiration to develop content of their own. Articles and blogs can provide you with the germ of an idea that you can take further and add your own unique touch.
Use article directories and blog directories as a reference point - again, category and sub-category headings are useful starting points for general themes. From there, you can drill down and find out what topics are popular and to what degree. You will need to decide whether you want to add to an already crowded field or to make a name for yourself in creating content in an area that is less well serviced.
Your research will tell you whether those topics that have few articles and blogs are due to the difficulty of the subject. But the key fact about niche markets is that within that niche, there will always be people interested in content. If you can provide relevant, interesting, entertaining or informative content that meets this niche's needs, you will find your content will valued in this community. It's not size but quality that matters...
YouTube
Finally, YouTube is another resource that will provide you with a wealth of new publishing opportunities. Using the strategies discussed above, it will help you gauge what are the core topics that your niche is searching for. Use the download and viewing figures to see how popular a topic is but bear in mind that it will also reflect on the quality and standard of the video itself.
Use the advance search option to refine your search and look at how people are creating content within your niche. Subscribe to channels which offer content which is relevant to what you're looking for. Make sure that you're adding relevant tags to your own video content so that your own pieces appear more prominently on searches too.
Don't forget that your own videos can be turned into other forms of content - transcriptions can be converted into blogs and articles and extended into book form. You can also offer an audio version as podcasts. Cross-referencing your various publishing formats means that you can drive traffic to each format, raise your SEO rating (Search Engine Optimisation) and overall brand visibility within your niche.
Again, using YouTube in this way provides another opportunity to connect with experts who can provide you with content through interviews and collaborations.
Using the resources and techniques listed above, you will find yourself a continuous supply of fresh content ideas that will have a direct relevance to your niche. As you become accustomed to thinking laterally for content, you'll see opportunities arising from a wide range of sources. By becoming expert in sourcing ideas for compelling content, you'll free yourself from the pressure and anxieties that afflict other content publishers in your niche.
Sumi Olson is the author of the Amazon five-star rated, "How to Manage Your Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes A Day", and is an author, speaker and consultant on social media & business development. With 25 years' experience in book publishing, business development, online selling, sales & marketing, Sumi is expert in reducing overwhelm and turning insights into implementation.
If you want to satisfy your publishing or writing aspirations, meet your sales, marketing & management objectives, or achieve your social media & online marketing targets, then Sumi Olson can give you the tools and knowledge you need.
With a young family of her own, she's passionate about helping people create a great work-life balance through practical systems & processes so that they can spend more time on the things that matter in life.
Connect with her on Twitter (@sumiolson), LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sumiolson or visit [http://www.learningbusinessskills.com]http://www.learningbusinessskills.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Find-Great-Content-Ideas-for-Your-Blogs,-Books,-Articles,-Videos-and-Podcasts&id=6704373] How to Find Great Content Ideas for Your Blogs, Books, Articles, Videos and Podcasts
One of the difficulties people face in creating content for their blogs, articles, reports, videos and podcasts is coming up with exciting and original ideas on a regular basis. The pressure to find new, interesting content often deters people from continuing with their projects. This article looks at some proven stress-free strategies for finding great ideas for content that your audience will enjoy.
One of the most effective ways of finding content ideas that are relevant to your niche is go direct to your niche and see what topics that are being discussed. Your niche will have concerns, interests, questions and anxieties which they need or want to have addressed. By keeping track of the burning issues with which your niche is absorbed, you'll be provided with appropriate themes that you can develop for your publishing output.
Keep note of the topics categories that appear on niche sites and keep files with the same heading where you can drop ideas and content as you do your research.
So let's at look at the online and offline methods that will help you keep up with your niche audience:
Special Interest Forums
Your niche community congregates on niche forums where they spend time discussing matters that they find of interest. Many of you will have already become a member of these forum sites to help you develop relationships and raise your profile within the community. Take time to see what topics are coming up time and again in chat-rooms and use the questions or queries as titles for your new content.
For example, if you are interested in parenting issues, visiting sites such as mums.net or netmums, will give you a lot of information on topic themes for your publishing programme. Use the chat-rooms to find out the issues that are concerning parents and how the community is helping each other resolve them. You'll notice a pattern developing as parents of different experience levels discuss common issues such as toilet training, weaning, night-time sleeping, bed-wetting, sibling rivalry and so on.
This can provide you with a structure to work with - taking each topic as a specific theme, you can produce a series of articles, podcasts, videos, blogs and even a book.
Special Interest Magazines & Publications
Whether print or digital, these SIMs (Special Interest Magazines) are a great source of ideas for content creators. Look at the headings that they use and again think of them as folder categories into which you can pull together ideas. What sort of topics do they discuss in each issue? Use the articles and the letters pages as inspiration from which you can create new content of your own.
Use the SIM to find out who the leading experts are in your field so you can approach them for interviews and quotes. You can use this material to create new content and by using experts that are known in your niche, you add credibility to your brand.
If you are creating content for business or professional market, LinkedIn is a great resource for content publishers. Use the Answers Centre & Group discussion areas as a supply of content ideas that have a real relevance to your target niche. The Question & Answers section is divided into category headings and sub-topics - again, something that you can adopt for your own themes and categories.
LinkedIn Members post questions to which they seek answers from the general LinkedIn community. Use the questions and the supplied answers as the starting point for your own material and even as case studies and examples. Again, if you find someone showing real expertise on a topic, invite them to take part in an interview (written, audio or video) on the subject which you can release as a video, podcast or transcribe into a longer article for release.
LinkedIn Members join Groups which are relevant to their subject interest and expertise. Here again, they share knowledge and experience which you can use as springboards to new content. You can use the discussion posts as an indication of what issues and concerns your niche is concerned with and create content that provides solutions and answers to match.
Google Keywords
As part of your traffic-driving strategies, you'll be using keywords to make sure your content is visible on search engine results but it is a valuable strategic tool which you can use to create targeted content for your niche.
Use the Google Keywords feature to see what sort of phrases and keywords appear when people search for websites in your niche. Seeing how people are phrasing their questions can be very revealing as it will show you what's on their minds. You can frame your content to reflect the implicit concerns that these keywords represent.
For example, if you are interested in dogs, on a general level, you can see that people are interested in dog illnesses, dog breeds, dog breeders, dog foods, dog behaviour and so on. Within those general themes, you can find that there are certain questions and keywords that appear more frequently - these keyword and phrases will reveal the themes from which you can create more focused and targeted content.
Blogs & Articles
Successful content publishers take note of other people's success and use it as an inspiration to develop content of their own. Articles and blogs can provide you with the germ of an idea that you can take further and add your own unique touch.
Use article directories and blog directories as a reference point - again, category and sub-category headings are useful starting points for general themes. From there, you can drill down and find out what topics are popular and to what degree. You will need to decide whether you want to add to an already crowded field or to make a name for yourself in creating content in an area that is less well serviced.
Your research will tell you whether those topics that have few articles and blogs are due to the difficulty of the subject. But the key fact about niche markets is that within that niche, there will always be people interested in content. If you can provide relevant, interesting, entertaining or informative content that meets this niche's needs, you will find your content will valued in this community. It's not size but quality that matters...
YouTube
Finally, YouTube is another resource that will provide you with a wealth of new publishing opportunities. Using the strategies discussed above, it will help you gauge what are the core topics that your niche is searching for. Use the download and viewing figures to see how popular a topic is but bear in mind that it will also reflect on the quality and standard of the video itself.
Use the advance search option to refine your search and look at how people are creating content within your niche. Subscribe to channels which offer content which is relevant to what you're looking for. Make sure that you're adding relevant tags to your own video content so that your own pieces appear more prominently on searches too.
Don't forget that your own videos can be turned into other forms of content - transcriptions can be converted into blogs and articles and extended into book form. You can also offer an audio version as podcasts. Cross-referencing your various publishing formats means that you can drive traffic to each format, raise your SEO rating (Search Engine Optimisation) and overall brand visibility within your niche.
Again, using YouTube in this way provides another opportunity to connect with experts who can provide you with content through interviews and collaborations.
Using the resources and techniques listed above, you will find yourself a continuous supply of fresh content ideas that will have a direct relevance to your niche. As you become accustomed to thinking laterally for content, you'll see opportunities arising from a wide range of sources. By becoming expert in sourcing ideas for compelling content, you'll free yourself from the pressure and anxieties that afflict other content publishers in your niche.
Sumi Olson is the author of the Amazon five-star rated, "How to Manage Your Social Media Marketing in 30 Minutes A Day", and is an author, speaker and consultant on social media & business development. With 25 years' experience in book publishing, business development, online selling, sales & marketing, Sumi is expert in reducing overwhelm and turning insights into implementation.
If you want to satisfy your publishing or writing aspirations, meet your sales, marketing & management objectives, or achieve your social media & online marketing targets, then Sumi Olson can give you the tools and knowledge you need.
With a young family of her own, she's passionate about helping people create a great work-life balance through practical systems & processes so that they can spend more time on the things that matter in life.
Connect with her on Twitter (@sumiolson), LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sumiolson or visit [http://www.learningbusinessskills.com]http://www.learningbusinessskills.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Find-Great-Content-Ideas-for-Your-Blogs,-Books,-Articles,-Videos-and-Podcasts&id=6704373] How to Find Great Content Ideas for Your Blogs, Books, Articles, Videos and Podcasts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Final Proofreading Checklist for Your Book
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Celia_Webb]Celia Webb
Before you hit the send key and zap your book to the book printer, do one last check to make sure everything in this checklist is done.
1. Gutter space. The inside margin of each page (gutter space) can be difficult to read because it is tucked into the spine. If you are using Microsoft Word, set the gutter to 0.1 or 0.2. If you are using graphic design software, ask the book printer for a layout template and set the margins according to the template.
2. Page size. If you are uploading a document to be converted by the printer to a PDF, set the document page size to match the page size of your book. Otherwise the page count will change, text will get shifted, and text sizing may get altered.
3. Check bleed areas for any artwork which is intended to reach the page edge. Most printers require a 1/8-inch (0.125) bleed. This is to allow for the variance in the page cutting machine. It looks a little odd the first time, but extend the artwork out to the bleed margin.
4. White space. Books look better if there is sufficient white space to rest the eye. Keep a one-inch margin around the text block. At the start of a new chapter, move the text halfway down the page and center the title in the empty space above.
5. Artwork. Make sure pictures are in the.tif format to ensure a decent reproduction. Artwork should be at 300 dots per inch (dpi) in order to look good once printed.
6. Check file naming. Most book printers have specific file naming protocols for easier identification. Make sure your files follow the book printer's guidelines.
7. Double check the spelling on the front and back covers. It is very embarrassing to have a spelling error on your cover - particularly in your title. While you are looking at your cover, also make sure the ISBN and price are correct.
8. Check for consistency in typefaces. Thumb through your book and compare chapter titles, first letters (especially if you have used drop capitals), main text lettering, and any use of bolding or italics to be sure they are consistent throughout.
9. Run spell check one more time. Errors can creep in at any point in the writing and editing process. Run spell check again just to be sure you have caught any last minute erroneous additions to your manuscript.
10. Check for widows and orphans. In typesetting, words or short lines which are dangling either at the top or bottom of a column are termed widows and orphans. Neither one is desirable. These are usually easy to spot by flipping through the book. If you find a widow or orphan you can fix it by using any of the following techniques:
a. highlighting the text and turning on the option for Widow/orphan control now included in most word processing programs (next time make sure it is on from the start)
b. forcing a page break early
c. rewriting the paragraph
d. adjusting the page margins slightly
e. adjusting any hyphenation on the page
f. adding or resizing artwork, a figure, or graph on the page.
11. Paragraph formatting. Always indent paragraphs. This is a book, not an e-mail. Also, there should be no blank line space between paragraphs that relate to the same time and place.
12. Font size. Choose a font size of 10, 11, or 12 points. Too small a font size makes for difficult reading.
13. Lines per page. Lines spaced too closely together make a book difficult to read. Plan for no more than 30 lines per page in a 6- X 9-inch book and no more than 50 lines in an 8.5- X 11-inch book.
14. Page numbering. The first page of text should be numbered 1 and on the right-hand side as you look at the open book.
15. Check page breaks. Avoid using soft page breaks brought about by adding line spaces. Use proper page breaks (either CTRL-Enter or Insert-Break-Page in Microsoft Word) to start new pages. This will ensure a new chapter starts on a new page. If you have a full-page image, sandwich it between page breaks so it will remain alone on the page.
Performing these final checks on your book before you submit it to your book printer will give you the best possible result. Not only will your book look more professional, you will also save yourself money by not having to correct files you have already sent to the book printer. (Yes, they charge for that...)
Celia Webb, co-author of [http://www.amazon.com/Publish-Helpful-Publishing-Authors-Publishers/dp/0977957675]Publish Today! For more free articles on developing writing and editing skills, check out [http://www.pilinutpress.com]www.pilinutpress.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Final-Proofreading-Checklist-for-Your-Book&id=6709342] Final Proofreading Checklist for Your Book
Before you hit the send key and zap your book to the book printer, do one last check to make sure everything in this checklist is done.
1. Gutter space. The inside margin of each page (gutter space) can be difficult to read because it is tucked into the spine. If you are using Microsoft Word, set the gutter to 0.1 or 0.2. If you are using graphic design software, ask the book printer for a layout template and set the margins according to the template.
2. Page size. If you are uploading a document to be converted by the printer to a PDF, set the document page size to match the page size of your book. Otherwise the page count will change, text will get shifted, and text sizing may get altered.
3. Check bleed areas for any artwork which is intended to reach the page edge. Most printers require a 1/8-inch (0.125) bleed. This is to allow for the variance in the page cutting machine. It looks a little odd the first time, but extend the artwork out to the bleed margin.
4. White space. Books look better if there is sufficient white space to rest the eye. Keep a one-inch margin around the text block. At the start of a new chapter, move the text halfway down the page and center the title in the empty space above.
5. Artwork. Make sure pictures are in the.tif format to ensure a decent reproduction. Artwork should be at 300 dots per inch (dpi) in order to look good once printed.
6. Check file naming. Most book printers have specific file naming protocols for easier identification. Make sure your files follow the book printer's guidelines.
7. Double check the spelling on the front and back covers. It is very embarrassing to have a spelling error on your cover - particularly in your title. While you are looking at your cover, also make sure the ISBN and price are correct.
8. Check for consistency in typefaces. Thumb through your book and compare chapter titles, first letters (especially if you have used drop capitals), main text lettering, and any use of bolding or italics to be sure they are consistent throughout.
9. Run spell check one more time. Errors can creep in at any point in the writing and editing process. Run spell check again just to be sure you have caught any last minute erroneous additions to your manuscript.
10. Check for widows and orphans. In typesetting, words or short lines which are dangling either at the top or bottom of a column are termed widows and orphans. Neither one is desirable. These are usually easy to spot by flipping through the book. If you find a widow or orphan you can fix it by using any of the following techniques:
a. highlighting the text and turning on the option for Widow/orphan control now included in most word processing programs (next time make sure it is on from the start)
b. forcing a page break early
c. rewriting the paragraph
d. adjusting the page margins slightly
e. adjusting any hyphenation on the page
f. adding or resizing artwork, a figure, or graph on the page.
11. Paragraph formatting. Always indent paragraphs. This is a book, not an e-mail. Also, there should be no blank line space between paragraphs that relate to the same time and place.
12. Font size. Choose a font size of 10, 11, or 12 points. Too small a font size makes for difficult reading.
13. Lines per page. Lines spaced too closely together make a book difficult to read. Plan for no more than 30 lines per page in a 6- X 9-inch book and no more than 50 lines in an 8.5- X 11-inch book.
14. Page numbering. The first page of text should be numbered 1 and on the right-hand side as you look at the open book.
15. Check page breaks. Avoid using soft page breaks brought about by adding line spaces. Use proper page breaks (either CTRL-Enter or Insert-Break-Page in Microsoft Word) to start new pages. This will ensure a new chapter starts on a new page. If you have a full-page image, sandwich it between page breaks so it will remain alone on the page.
Performing these final checks on your book before you submit it to your book printer will give you the best possible result. Not only will your book look more professional, you will also save yourself money by not having to correct files you have already sent to the book printer. (Yes, they charge for that...)
Celia Webb, co-author of [http://www.amazon.com/Publish-Helpful-Publishing-Authors-Publishers/dp/0977957675]Publish Today! For more free articles on developing writing and editing skills, check out [http://www.pilinutpress.com]www.pilinutpress.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Final-Proofreading-Checklist-for-Your-Book&id=6709342] Final Proofreading Checklist for Your Book
Friday, February 17, 2012
Photo Book Deals - How to Get Deals for Publishing
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Edwin_Kaguri]Edwin Kaguri
There is currently a decline in the readership of American novel, picture books and auto biographies which is why many writers are constantly searching for the photo book deals. The traditional road to success in publication is filled with numerous road blocks which are the major factor that make it relatively hard for budding authors to succeed in the industry. Disappointment is inevitable when you choose this path so it is mandatory to expect it at some point. However, it is no longer logical to pass through this process when you can get photo book deals just by being self published.
This is a process that is moderately challenging and the things that you will require in order to succeed are: The photographs, copy, money and patience. The first thing that you should do when you want to get photo book deals is to compile the body of the particular work in question. The product is the most important thing to acquire which entails that you write the copy. After the project is complete, the next thing that you should do is to get confirmations from associates and friends with regards to the quality of what you have on the table. When you want great photo book deals, it is vital to take the views of knowledgeable people.
When you are still waiting for the feedback, you can put the query letter together with the best photos of the book. This is due to the reason that the photo book deals require creative minds and this is why your credentials should also be present. This shows a great level of initiative since you will be providing the would-be publishers with additional ideas that can actually work well for the entire project. After completing this, you can now send the queries to a number of publishers so that you can be eligible for the photo book deals that are available.
Set a deadline in which you will take the next course of action while waiting for the photo book deals. It is advisable to set realistic deadlines that you are gong to work with while at the same time preparing the cover pages so that they may appear the way you want them. The entire editing procedure is normally lengthy and when waiting for the photo book deals, you can do them yourself or even delegate the job to another competent person.
Edwin Kaguri is an experienced writer who has been writing SEO articles and blogging for a couple of years now.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Photo-Book-Deals---How-to-Get-Deals-for-Publishing&id=6707361] Photo Book Deals - How to Get Deals for Publishing
There is currently a decline in the readership of American novel, picture books and auto biographies which is why many writers are constantly searching for the photo book deals. The traditional road to success in publication is filled with numerous road blocks which are the major factor that make it relatively hard for budding authors to succeed in the industry. Disappointment is inevitable when you choose this path so it is mandatory to expect it at some point. However, it is no longer logical to pass through this process when you can get photo book deals just by being self published.
This is a process that is moderately challenging and the things that you will require in order to succeed are: The photographs, copy, money and patience. The first thing that you should do when you want to get photo book deals is to compile the body of the particular work in question. The product is the most important thing to acquire which entails that you write the copy. After the project is complete, the next thing that you should do is to get confirmations from associates and friends with regards to the quality of what you have on the table. When you want great photo book deals, it is vital to take the views of knowledgeable people.
When you are still waiting for the feedback, you can put the query letter together with the best photos of the book. This is due to the reason that the photo book deals require creative minds and this is why your credentials should also be present. This shows a great level of initiative since you will be providing the would-be publishers with additional ideas that can actually work well for the entire project. After completing this, you can now send the queries to a number of publishers so that you can be eligible for the photo book deals that are available.
Set a deadline in which you will take the next course of action while waiting for the photo book deals. It is advisable to set realistic deadlines that you are gong to work with while at the same time preparing the cover pages so that they may appear the way you want them. The entire editing procedure is normally lengthy and when waiting for the photo book deals, you can do them yourself or even delegate the job to another competent person.
Edwin Kaguri is an experienced writer who has been writing SEO articles and blogging for a couple of years now.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Photo-Book-Deals---How-to-Get-Deals-for-Publishing&id=6707361] Photo Book Deals - How to Get Deals for Publishing
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Why Choose Self-Publishing?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Terence_Tam]Terence Tam
Getting your idea into a printed book could be one of your greatest lifetime achievements. A publishing company can be a wonderful partner for a developing writer out to publish a book. The publisher can help target the perfect markets and work with the writer on writing the best book possible-and the easiest to sell. However, more and more people are turning to self-publishing as their preferred way of publishing a book.
There are many reasons people elect to self-publish. Among the most common is that self-publishers do not want to surrender control of their book. Publishers will want a say in the book's final draft, from an editorial standpoint and in designing the book's cover. From a business angle, publishers also want to exert control over the book's sales plan, pricing, distribution, and marketing, in order to maximize their profit. Many writers prefer to control their work themselves, on both the artistic and the business sides of publishing a book.
Beyond the control issue, there are other reasons a writer will choose to self-publish a book:
� Lower publishing cost.
� To maximize the earnings the book brings in. (Self-published authors can earn up to 70% of sales of books but only make 10-15% when they are contracted to publishers.)
� The writer loves the publishing business, and wants to be involved in every aspect of getting their book into the market.
� To maintain direct control of the customer list.
� To market to a small, specific demographic of readers, to whom the writer has direct access.
� Simple preference, to publish one's work by oneself.
It's also possible that a writer cannot have their book published by the "traditional" publishing industry. If an author is unknown, a publisher might not take an interest. If the topic the writer wants to publish a book about is obscure or controversial, the publishers might play it safe and not publish the book.
A case in point is Amanda Hocking, who has earned worldwide fame for selling over 1million books on the Kindle.Amanda Hocking wrote her first novel at age 17-and kept on writing more. She supported her writing career by working as a carer for people with disabilities. The truth is, she had written 17 novels but failed to interest any traditional publisher with her young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy books. Imagine writing 17 books and getting rejected every single time!
Each time she approached traditional publishers, she was told that the market was saturated with vampire books. But she still believed in her books, so she just kept on writing and believing that something good will come out of her efforts.
So while traditional publishing doors closed, she noticed the emergence of self-publishing and decided to give it a try. So on 15th April 2010, she self-published her first book in the My Blood Approves series and sold it on Amazon. This was followed by a second novel and sales started to pick up as she promoted it on the internet on various blog sites with the paranormal romance fans.
Amazingly, within 3 short months, the income generated from her book sales enabled her to quit her job. By the end of 2010 she had sold over 160,000 copies. The book had reached tipping point and word of mouth helped her sell an additional 450,000 books in January 2011 alone. She is one of the few authors who has sold over a million e-books on the Kindle to date.
Self-publishing is gaining popularity because it has gotten easier, and the success stories more widespread. Take time to do some research and learn more about the advantages /disadvantages of self-publishing to become a published author.
� 2011 Bookpal Australia Pty Ltd-All Rights Reserved Worldwide http://www.Bookpal.com.au/ is helping self publishers all around the world to successfully self publish and market their books with cost effective solutions to create bestsellers.. Get your free e-book on self-publishing or request a free consultation today valued at $150 at http://www.publishmenow.com.au
Terence Tam is the founder of Bookpal, he previously spent 6 years as an academic and was a contributing author for several academic books. Frustrated with the level of service he was getting with traditional publishers, he set up his own self publishing company to help other authors publish and market books with cost effective yet efficient solutions
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Choose-Self-Publishing?&id=6708487] Why Choose Self-Publishing?
Getting your idea into a printed book could be one of your greatest lifetime achievements. A publishing company can be a wonderful partner for a developing writer out to publish a book. The publisher can help target the perfect markets and work with the writer on writing the best book possible-and the easiest to sell. However, more and more people are turning to self-publishing as their preferred way of publishing a book.
There are many reasons people elect to self-publish. Among the most common is that self-publishers do not want to surrender control of their book. Publishers will want a say in the book's final draft, from an editorial standpoint and in designing the book's cover. From a business angle, publishers also want to exert control over the book's sales plan, pricing, distribution, and marketing, in order to maximize their profit. Many writers prefer to control their work themselves, on both the artistic and the business sides of publishing a book.
Beyond the control issue, there are other reasons a writer will choose to self-publish a book:
� Lower publishing cost.
� To maximize the earnings the book brings in. (Self-published authors can earn up to 70% of sales of books but only make 10-15% when they are contracted to publishers.)
� The writer loves the publishing business, and wants to be involved in every aspect of getting their book into the market.
� To maintain direct control of the customer list.
� To market to a small, specific demographic of readers, to whom the writer has direct access.
� Simple preference, to publish one's work by oneself.
It's also possible that a writer cannot have their book published by the "traditional" publishing industry. If an author is unknown, a publisher might not take an interest. If the topic the writer wants to publish a book about is obscure or controversial, the publishers might play it safe and not publish the book.
A case in point is Amanda Hocking, who has earned worldwide fame for selling over 1million books on the Kindle.Amanda Hocking wrote her first novel at age 17-and kept on writing more. She supported her writing career by working as a carer for people with disabilities. The truth is, she had written 17 novels but failed to interest any traditional publisher with her young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy books. Imagine writing 17 books and getting rejected every single time!
Each time she approached traditional publishers, she was told that the market was saturated with vampire books. But she still believed in her books, so she just kept on writing and believing that something good will come out of her efforts.
So while traditional publishing doors closed, she noticed the emergence of self-publishing and decided to give it a try. So on 15th April 2010, she self-published her first book in the My Blood Approves series and sold it on Amazon. This was followed by a second novel and sales started to pick up as she promoted it on the internet on various blog sites with the paranormal romance fans.
Amazingly, within 3 short months, the income generated from her book sales enabled her to quit her job. By the end of 2010 she had sold over 160,000 copies. The book had reached tipping point and word of mouth helped her sell an additional 450,000 books in January 2011 alone. She is one of the few authors who has sold over a million e-books on the Kindle to date.
Self-publishing is gaining popularity because it has gotten easier, and the success stories more widespread. Take time to do some research and learn more about the advantages /disadvantages of self-publishing to become a published author.
� 2011 Bookpal Australia Pty Ltd-All Rights Reserved Worldwide http://www.Bookpal.com.au/ is helping self publishers all around the world to successfully self publish and market their books with cost effective solutions to create bestsellers.. Get your free e-book on self-publishing or request a free consultation today valued at $150 at http://www.publishmenow.com.au
Terence Tam is the founder of Bookpal, he previously spent 6 years as an academic and was a contributing author for several academic books. Frustrated with the level of service he was getting with traditional publishers, he set up his own self publishing company to help other authors publish and market books with cost effective yet efficient solutions
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-Choose-Self-Publishing?&id=6708487] Why Choose Self-Publishing?
Monday, February 13, 2012
5 Ways to Publish Your Book: Self-Publish or Mainstream?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Vincent_Walsh]Vincent Walsh
For a writer that wants to see their book published, they can follow either the self publishing route or the traditional mainstream publishing approach. With self-publishing, there are a number of variations on the theme as described in this article, ranging from doing everything yourself, to handing your work over completely to an outsourcing company or various middling approaches with some use of external self publishing services.
(1) Mainstream publishing is the traditional approach to getting a book published. This route to publishing is hundreds of years old and consists of a writer, or their agent, sending a manuscript to an established big-name book publisher in the hope that the readers and evaluators at the company will like their book and offer them a publishing contract. For most writers on this journey, a rejection letter would be the likely outcome, if you were lucky you might get an evaluator's comments on your rejected manuscript as feedback. For the fortunate few who are accepted, a contract is offered along with a royalty typically in the range of 10% to 15% (sometimes based on the cover price, often based on the discounted price to a bookseller). An advance is often offered on anticipated earned royalties in the future which can vary from a few hundreds or thousands of dollars to millions of dollars for mega-authors or exceptional first-time authors with a best-seller to offer. The great advantage to the writer of mainstream publishing is that they can leave the production, design and marketing of their book to the professionals in the publishing house. Happy days.
In recent years, self-publishing has rocked the foundations of the big publishing houses. As the term 'self publish' indicates, the writer takes ownership of getting their work published and can choose a number of paths on the road to the eventual printing and distribution of their book.
(2) The least demanding route to self-publishing for the author, but the most expensive, is the total outsourcing approach. A writer contacts one of the many independent self publishing companies, almost exclusively web-based, and agrees a contract with them whereby, for a hefty sum ranging from many hundreds to thousands of dollars, the writer hands over their work (usually by emailing it) and lets the outsourcing company get on with the publishing. Cover design and page design for the book are left entirely in the hands of the professionals with often limited input from the author. Marketing and sales of the published book is left to the company along with arranging any publicity, distribution channels and allocating and registering the ISBN. Some outsourcing companies now also offer book promotion through Twitter, Facebook and other online social networks. Royalties to the author are usually more generous than with mainstream publishing and can rise to around 80% of the net profit. Notice that some of these contracts require an author to purchase hundreds of copies at their own expense.
(3) The most demanding route to self publishing is where the author takes all responsibility for the page and cover design, obtaining the ISBN, marketing, sales and publicity along with printing copies of the book. Clearly, this is also the least expensive approach offering the greatest royalty, which can be 100% of the net profit if the author arranges printing and then sells the copies through various channels such as eBay, website promotion and local sales.
(4) A hybrid way of self-publishing books is where the writer uses one of the free-to-publish websites such as lulu.com or blurb.com. The writer, on this path, designs the cover and book interior themselves but purchases the ISBN or marketing services from the website company. Or the writer may purchase the whole package: including book and cover design, ISBN, marketing and channel distribution. The author is still mainly responsible for local sales and using such promotional tools as Twitter or Facebook to promote their book sales. Royalties are often at the high end of around 80% net profits and paid to the author by the free-to-publish website company but still allowing the author to purchase copies of their book at print cost for selling locally or nationally by the writer at the cover price.
(5) A variation on the hybrid approach to self-publishing, and one in which the writer of this article has most experience, is where an author engages a self publish service-provider to design the cover and book interior, allocate the ISBN and then use the free-to-publish websites to self-publish their book on their behalf. In this case, the writer pays the self publish service-provider for services rendered - which will be much less than in option (2), typically around $300 to $400. Note that authors are encouraged to provide input to the cover design and the book design. Complementary copies for the author may be part of the arrangement between the two parties. Once the book is published, the service-provider then hands-over the web-based storefront, leaving the author free to manage book orders for selling locally or nationally. At that point, the author is in full charge of receiving royalties from the free-to-publish website and of the marketing and promotion of their book - although the service provider might also offer marketing and promotional campaigns (on social networking sites) to help the author with sales. Royalties are at the high end of around 80% net profits and paid to the author by the free-to-publish website company. Notice that the service-provider does not share in any royalties or book sale monies. A storefront, hosted by the free-to-publish website company, is an important tool in this approach and is under the full control and ownership of the author, the service-provider then has no input (unless requested by the writer) into the management and operation of the self publishing operation.
Each of these approaches to getting your book published has its own attractions and drawbacks for would-be authors wanting to see their book published. Clearly, writers must weigh-up their options and then take those first steps along what will surely be an exciting, and hopefully profitable, publishing journey: welcome to this brave new world. [http://www.rossendalebooks.co.uk]Rossendale Books Self-Publishing Services - we offer affordable book and ebook self publishing services and have helped many creative writers get their work into print using the self publishing route.
The mechanics and details of self-publishing can be viewed on our recent blog posting: [http://www.rossendalebooks.co.uk/self-publishing-blog/?p=183]click here
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?5-Ways-to-Publish-Your-Book:-Self-Publish-or-Mainstream?&id=6671903] 5 Ways to Publish Your Book: Self-Publish or Mainstream?
For a writer that wants to see their book published, they can follow either the self publishing route or the traditional mainstream publishing approach. With self-publishing, there are a number of variations on the theme as described in this article, ranging from doing everything yourself, to handing your work over completely to an outsourcing company or various middling approaches with some use of external self publishing services.
(1) Mainstream publishing is the traditional approach to getting a book published. This route to publishing is hundreds of years old and consists of a writer, or their agent, sending a manuscript to an established big-name book publisher in the hope that the readers and evaluators at the company will like their book and offer them a publishing contract. For most writers on this journey, a rejection letter would be the likely outcome, if you were lucky you might get an evaluator's comments on your rejected manuscript as feedback. For the fortunate few who are accepted, a contract is offered along with a royalty typically in the range of 10% to 15% (sometimes based on the cover price, often based on the discounted price to a bookseller). An advance is often offered on anticipated earned royalties in the future which can vary from a few hundreds or thousands of dollars to millions of dollars for mega-authors or exceptional first-time authors with a best-seller to offer. The great advantage to the writer of mainstream publishing is that they can leave the production, design and marketing of their book to the professionals in the publishing house. Happy days.
In recent years, self-publishing has rocked the foundations of the big publishing houses. As the term 'self publish' indicates, the writer takes ownership of getting their work published and can choose a number of paths on the road to the eventual printing and distribution of their book.
(2) The least demanding route to self-publishing for the author, but the most expensive, is the total outsourcing approach. A writer contacts one of the many independent self publishing companies, almost exclusively web-based, and agrees a contract with them whereby, for a hefty sum ranging from many hundreds to thousands of dollars, the writer hands over their work (usually by emailing it) and lets the outsourcing company get on with the publishing. Cover design and page design for the book are left entirely in the hands of the professionals with often limited input from the author. Marketing and sales of the published book is left to the company along with arranging any publicity, distribution channels and allocating and registering the ISBN. Some outsourcing companies now also offer book promotion through Twitter, Facebook and other online social networks. Royalties to the author are usually more generous than with mainstream publishing and can rise to around 80% of the net profit. Notice that some of these contracts require an author to purchase hundreds of copies at their own expense.
(3) The most demanding route to self publishing is where the author takes all responsibility for the page and cover design, obtaining the ISBN, marketing, sales and publicity along with printing copies of the book. Clearly, this is also the least expensive approach offering the greatest royalty, which can be 100% of the net profit if the author arranges printing and then sells the copies through various channels such as eBay, website promotion and local sales.
(4) A hybrid way of self-publishing books is where the writer uses one of the free-to-publish websites such as lulu.com or blurb.com. The writer, on this path, designs the cover and book interior themselves but purchases the ISBN or marketing services from the website company. Or the writer may purchase the whole package: including book and cover design, ISBN, marketing and channel distribution. The author is still mainly responsible for local sales and using such promotional tools as Twitter or Facebook to promote their book sales. Royalties are often at the high end of around 80% net profits and paid to the author by the free-to-publish website company but still allowing the author to purchase copies of their book at print cost for selling locally or nationally by the writer at the cover price.
(5) A variation on the hybrid approach to self-publishing, and one in which the writer of this article has most experience, is where an author engages a self publish service-provider to design the cover and book interior, allocate the ISBN and then use the free-to-publish websites to self-publish their book on their behalf. In this case, the writer pays the self publish service-provider for services rendered - which will be much less than in option (2), typically around $300 to $400. Note that authors are encouraged to provide input to the cover design and the book design. Complementary copies for the author may be part of the arrangement between the two parties. Once the book is published, the service-provider then hands-over the web-based storefront, leaving the author free to manage book orders for selling locally or nationally. At that point, the author is in full charge of receiving royalties from the free-to-publish website and of the marketing and promotion of their book - although the service provider might also offer marketing and promotional campaigns (on social networking sites) to help the author with sales. Royalties are at the high end of around 80% net profits and paid to the author by the free-to-publish website company. Notice that the service-provider does not share in any royalties or book sale monies. A storefront, hosted by the free-to-publish website company, is an important tool in this approach and is under the full control and ownership of the author, the service-provider then has no input (unless requested by the writer) into the management and operation of the self publishing operation.
Each of these approaches to getting your book published has its own attractions and drawbacks for would-be authors wanting to see their book published. Clearly, writers must weigh-up their options and then take those first steps along what will surely be an exciting, and hopefully profitable, publishing journey: welcome to this brave new world. [http://www.rossendalebooks.co.uk]Rossendale Books Self-Publishing Services - we offer affordable book and ebook self publishing services and have helped many creative writers get their work into print using the self publishing route.
The mechanics and details of self-publishing can be viewed on our recent blog posting: [http://www.rossendalebooks.co.uk/self-publishing-blog/?p=183]click here
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?5-Ways-to-Publish-Your-Book:-Self-Publish-or-Mainstream?&id=6671903] 5 Ways to Publish Your Book: Self-Publish or Mainstream?
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Writing and Publishing Today
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gini_Graham_Scott]Gini Graham Scott
The last year has been filled with uncertainty because of all the transitions in the publishing industry. As a result, many writers have been searching for new directions with the collapse of the economy and transition in the publishing industry to high-profile celebrity authors.
Meanwhile, things have gotten worse and worse for most writers. With the growth of e-books and reduced sales of books generally, royalties and advances from traditional publishers have gone down. At the same time, there has been an explosion of self-published books, which has created a tremendous clutter in the market place, and increased difficulty for writers in promoting their own books. Plus recently there are new rental programs, so instead of buying a book, readers can now rent a download of it from a library or online rental service. So that means even less sales for writers, unless some formula can be found to pay writers each time a book is rented or downloaded - perhaps like the music industry has done in the face of massive piracy.
Another problem for writers is that somehow you need to get that news story or something to attract public attention for people to buy your book. Using the social media can help, if you can get information about your book in a news feed or in a group interested in your topic. However, this process can take a tremendous amount of time, and just posting announcements often doesn't work, in contrast to sending a press release to the traditional media which blasts it out if your release is of interest - and sometimes a reporter or TV or radio producer may call to invite you to be a guest.
By contrast, with the social media, your news announcements can quickly disappear in news feeds or in wall postings, as others add their own announcements. Also, if you post in a group, such as LinkedIn, you get the best reception if you build up a relationship with the other group members by repeated postings and commenting on other posts. If you just make an announcement, it can often be ignored, or sometimes one of the long-time denizens of the group may blast you as an intruder. Then, others in the group may join in the chorus putting down whatever you are trying to promote. So, while the social media can be very important, it can backfire as well as being time consuming. Even so, like climbing a mountain, it can be worth doing, and eventually, you may figure out how to climb more quickly and get to the top.
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. is the author of over 50 books and a seminar and workshop leader, specializing in social trends, work relationships, professional and personal development, and writing, publishing, and promoting books. Her latest books include the complete guide to using LinkedIn to promote your business or yourself; the complete guide to writing, producing, and directing a low-budget short film, the truth about lying, want it, see it, get it! and enjoy! 101 little ways to add fun to your work everyday. She helps clients write, publishing, and promote their own books and find publishers and agents through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She also writes scripts and produces films for her own company Changemakers Productions and for clients. Her websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and [http://www.changemakersproductions.com]http://www.changemakersproductions.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Writing-and-Publishing-Today&id=6717143] Writing and Publishing Today
The last year has been filled with uncertainty because of all the transitions in the publishing industry. As a result, many writers have been searching for new directions with the collapse of the economy and transition in the publishing industry to high-profile celebrity authors.
Meanwhile, things have gotten worse and worse for most writers. With the growth of e-books and reduced sales of books generally, royalties and advances from traditional publishers have gone down. At the same time, there has been an explosion of self-published books, which has created a tremendous clutter in the market place, and increased difficulty for writers in promoting their own books. Plus recently there are new rental programs, so instead of buying a book, readers can now rent a download of it from a library or online rental service. So that means even less sales for writers, unless some formula can be found to pay writers each time a book is rented or downloaded - perhaps like the music industry has done in the face of massive piracy.
Another problem for writers is that somehow you need to get that news story or something to attract public attention for people to buy your book. Using the social media can help, if you can get information about your book in a news feed or in a group interested in your topic. However, this process can take a tremendous amount of time, and just posting announcements often doesn't work, in contrast to sending a press release to the traditional media which blasts it out if your release is of interest - and sometimes a reporter or TV or radio producer may call to invite you to be a guest.
By contrast, with the social media, your news announcements can quickly disappear in news feeds or in wall postings, as others add their own announcements. Also, if you post in a group, such as LinkedIn, you get the best reception if you build up a relationship with the other group members by repeated postings and commenting on other posts. If you just make an announcement, it can often be ignored, or sometimes one of the long-time denizens of the group may blast you as an intruder. Then, others in the group may join in the chorus putting down whatever you are trying to promote. So, while the social media can be very important, it can backfire as well as being time consuming. Even so, like climbing a mountain, it can be worth doing, and eventually, you may figure out how to climb more quickly and get to the top.
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. is the author of over 50 books and a seminar and workshop leader, specializing in social trends, work relationships, professional and personal development, and writing, publishing, and promoting books. Her latest books include the complete guide to using LinkedIn to promote your business or yourself; the complete guide to writing, producing, and directing a low-budget short film, the truth about lying, want it, see it, get it! and enjoy! 101 little ways to add fun to your work everyday. She helps clients write, publishing, and promote their own books and find publishers and agents through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She also writes scripts and produces films for her own company Changemakers Productions and for clients. Her websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and [http://www.changemakersproductions.com]http://www.changemakersproductions.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Writing-and-Publishing-Today&id=6717143] Writing and Publishing Today
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Getting Published and Finding a Mainstream Publisher
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gini_Graham_Scott]Gini Graham Scott
One question that I frequently hear from new authors is how do you get published by a mainstream publisher? Sure, anyone can get published these days through various print-on-demand and e-book publishing platforms, where you pay anything from nothing if you format your book properly to about $500 with many companies to set up and publish your book. You just have to write about 50 or more pages on something, put it in a Word document or PDF, and you are ready to go.
But the big divide in self-publishing comes between those books that sell well, say 10,000 or more copies - a very tiny percentage - and most of the rest which average around 150 copies. The other big divide is between the traditional or mainstream publishers and the vast majority of self-published books (or maybe more accurately self-printed books, since often the service printing your book becomes the publisher, since you use their ISBN number, rather than your own).
For many people the dream is how to bridge that divide? How do you find a mainstream publisher? It isn't easy - and it's become more competitive than ever, since agents and publishers are looking for authors with a platform - some way that these authors already stand out, such as by speaking, acquiring a large following in the social media, getting stories about them in the news, or being a regular guest on TV shows. But many new writers don't have that kind of platform. So what do you do?
I'd like to suggest a series of steps to break through.
1) Write a good book that's sufficiently new and different from what's already on the market. Plus write it well - and if you aren't a professional or naturally good writer, ask a professional to write and polish a proposal for you with a couple of chapters.
2) Build up a platform to show you can play an active and high-profile role in promoting your book. Look for speaking engagements, pitch yourself to the media as an expert on a topic so journalists and TV and radio show producers will ask you for your opinion on that topic - and keep a record of all your speaking engagements, quotes in the news, and TV/radio show appearances.
3) Before or while you are pitching your book to mainstream publishers and agents, self-publish your book (assuming it's a good book as noted in #1), and use that book to build up a good track record for sales, and promote yourself for speaking engagements and to the media.
4) Send out a query letter about your book to multiple agents and publishers and only describe it briefly with some information about you and how you can help promote it. Keep your query to about 300-400 words with no attachments. You can send the proposal and some chapters later to those who want to learn more.
5) If you don't immediately get a mainstream publisher or agent, use your self-published book to build your platform, and eventually you may do so well that you may find it more profitable to keep selling your book yourself. Or you may find a publisher interested in taking over your book - and you'll get an even better deal, since you have shown there is a market for your book and you have built a great platform for yourself.
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. is the author of over 50 books and a seminar and workshop leader, specializing in social trends, work relationships, professional and personal development, and writing, publishing, and promoting books. Her latest books include THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO USING LINKEDIN TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS OR YOURSELF; THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING, PRODUCING, AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM, THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING, WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT! and ENJOY! 101 LITTLE WAYS TO ADD FUN TO YOUR WORK EVERYDAY. She helps clients write, publishing, and promote their own books and find publishers and agents through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She also writes scripts and produces films for her own company Changemakers Productions and for clients. Her Websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and [http://www.changemakersproductions.com]http://www.changemakersproductions.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Getting-Published-and-Finding-a-Mainstream-Publisher&id=6717150] Getting Published and Finding a Mainstream Publisher
One question that I frequently hear from new authors is how do you get published by a mainstream publisher? Sure, anyone can get published these days through various print-on-demand and e-book publishing platforms, where you pay anything from nothing if you format your book properly to about $500 with many companies to set up and publish your book. You just have to write about 50 or more pages on something, put it in a Word document or PDF, and you are ready to go.
But the big divide in self-publishing comes between those books that sell well, say 10,000 or more copies - a very tiny percentage - and most of the rest which average around 150 copies. The other big divide is between the traditional or mainstream publishers and the vast majority of self-published books (or maybe more accurately self-printed books, since often the service printing your book becomes the publisher, since you use their ISBN number, rather than your own).
For many people the dream is how to bridge that divide? How do you find a mainstream publisher? It isn't easy - and it's become more competitive than ever, since agents and publishers are looking for authors with a platform - some way that these authors already stand out, such as by speaking, acquiring a large following in the social media, getting stories about them in the news, or being a regular guest on TV shows. But many new writers don't have that kind of platform. So what do you do?
I'd like to suggest a series of steps to break through.
1) Write a good book that's sufficiently new and different from what's already on the market. Plus write it well - and if you aren't a professional or naturally good writer, ask a professional to write and polish a proposal for you with a couple of chapters.
2) Build up a platform to show you can play an active and high-profile role in promoting your book. Look for speaking engagements, pitch yourself to the media as an expert on a topic so journalists and TV and radio show producers will ask you for your opinion on that topic - and keep a record of all your speaking engagements, quotes in the news, and TV/radio show appearances.
3) Before or while you are pitching your book to mainstream publishers and agents, self-publish your book (assuming it's a good book as noted in #1), and use that book to build up a good track record for sales, and promote yourself for speaking engagements and to the media.
4) Send out a query letter about your book to multiple agents and publishers and only describe it briefly with some information about you and how you can help promote it. Keep your query to about 300-400 words with no attachments. You can send the proposal and some chapters later to those who want to learn more.
5) If you don't immediately get a mainstream publisher or agent, use your self-published book to build your platform, and eventually you may do so well that you may find it more profitable to keep selling your book yourself. Or you may find a publisher interested in taking over your book - and you'll get an even better deal, since you have shown there is a market for your book and you have built a great platform for yourself.
Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. is the author of over 50 books and a seminar and workshop leader, specializing in social trends, work relationships, professional and personal development, and writing, publishing, and promoting books. Her latest books include THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO USING LINKEDIN TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS OR YOURSELF; THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING, PRODUCING, AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM, THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING, WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT! and ENJOY! 101 LITTLE WAYS TO ADD FUN TO YOUR WORK EVERYDAY. She helps clients write, publishing, and promote their own books and find publishers and agents through her company Changemakers Publishing and Writing. She also writes scripts and produces films for her own company Changemakers Productions and for clients. Her Websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and [http://www.changemakersproductions.com]http://www.changemakersproductions.com.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Getting-Published-and-Finding-a-Mainstream-Publisher&id=6717150] Getting Published and Finding a Mainstream Publisher
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Readers Against Indie-Publishing - The Wrong Battle Is Being Fought
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_C_Andrews]Benjamin C Andrews
Recently I've been following a discussion on the Amazon forums about how to avoid indie authors. When I saw the title, I frowned, and clicked into it to begin reading. Considering the title, negativity was expected, but it was pretty harsh at times.
It's no secret that the indie scene isn't regarded very highly in almost any medium. There are a lot differences when you look at the independent creations of art forms such as books, movies, painting and the like. In each scenario though, there is usually a higher body that the public looks to find the latest and greatest. In books of course, that is traditional publishing.
Back to the topic at hand though, the prejudice in the thread was quite apparent. Readers don't want to sift through low quality books, and want a way to remove them from what they see. Low quality isn't what was said though, they want indie books removed, and to only be able to see books from major publishers.
That's such a shame...
Yet there's also an argument that can definitely be made. However, it's being pursued wrong. The answer isn't to be able to remove all indie books from search results, but to change the KDP publishing standards. I think changing it as follows would be an effective approach for readers, Amazon, and independent authors alike.
First, break the publishing into two categories. Free, or for sale. Books published in the free category would basically be published just like all books are published on Amazon right now. There would be no standards, and a special area of the Amazon eBook store dedicated to free titles. Those who are publishing something for a small group of friends or family, or authors who want to offer any of their books for free would be able to publish them there, using the current system.
The major change would come in when the publisher in question chooses to have the book for sale. At this point, you'd do everything just the same as now, only the book would not go up for sale shortly there after. Instead, it would go into a review process. At this point, people may start saying Amazon isn't going to pay people to read books by independent authors, that there would be too much volume with everything added every day.
And that argument would be very valid.
However, there is a solution that could benefit all parties. Thanks to digital downloads, it's no longer a hassle to create and send entertainment. No physical copies required, just a few mouse clicks and you have it. This is the point that should be uniting Amazon, readers, and independent authors. The review process would involve sending free copies of eBooks to well established reviewers and bloggers, or other beta readers. They check them out for quality, both in terms of story and proofreading. Each book is sent to more than one reviewer, and their reviews are gauged. Should the quality meet certain standards, in each area of criteria, not an overall score, then the book is then published for sale on Amazon.
There may be some questions for readers at this point, such as why eBooks specifically, and how can Amazon trust the word of reviewers and bloggers on what to publish. How would it be set up, maintained, etc.. Those are all valid questions that would have to be addressed with the parties in question.
What I can say though is this. Amazon would lose nothing in providing free copies of the eBooks to reviewers. What they would stand to gain is a slough of material that would be easier to convince customers to buy. The current mentality with independent publishing seems to be make a handful of money from each, and do that with every author who publishes. Wouldn't it be much more effective though to have quality products people didn't have to question as much before purchasing? Some people say Amazon is making money off the deal, so they don't care. If that's true, they should care. They may technically be gaining money with the current system, but they are losing a lot of money that could be being made. The market for independent books is damaged, and damaged markets don't sell well.
This situation would help remedy that. By having Amazon partner with these reviewers, in exchange for money if they are willing or for other benefits such as exposure as an official Amazon partner, free books, or however it is worked out, the independent publishing world would see a boost.
Digital downloads are a great money maker, and offer the convenience of being sent to anyone Amazon wishes at no cost to them. This would encourage authors to expand into the eBook market if they currently only publish in print. eBooks are a growing trend, and Amazon recognizes that. The more digital downloads they have available, the more money they make without anything stored, packaged, and shipped.
There have been many beneficial reasons for Amazon to do this presented, but what about the indie author? What does he get out of it? What he gets is less anonymity, and a seal of approval. Those are two of the biggest hurdles for any independent author. Readers have been burned by a lot of sub-par works, stories that didn't even seem to be spell-checked or read through after being written. Every independent author has to struggle with overcoming those two road blocks. If your books were available with those two stigmas lessened, sales would be much more likely. More sales means more recognition, and more recognition means more readers. Amazon would then be able to promote indie works, leading to more sales for them, and authors alike.
At this point, I want to point out how exactly I would envision the review process working. The books would be graded, as mentioned, on different categories. A certain score in each category would be required, which would be determined after compiling the results of each reviewers scores and notes. It wouldn't be based on "did you like the story or not" but the quality of the writing, frequency and degree of errors, etc..
I'm not saying doing all this would be easy. Change rarely is. It's possible things will continue on as they are, but the market could end up irreparably damaged. Amazon, and probably many other businesses that offer independent publishing services, should consider how they want to approach their publishing game.
I'm Benjamin C. Andrews, an author sharing my writing knowledge with others. Visit http://magicjarpublishing.blogspot.com/ for more writing tips and tricks, and other quality information.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Readers-Against-Indie-Publishing---The-Wrong-Battle-Is-Being-Fought&id=6720577] Readers Against Indie-Publishing - The Wrong Battle Is Being Fought
Recently I've been following a discussion on the Amazon forums about how to avoid indie authors. When I saw the title, I frowned, and clicked into it to begin reading. Considering the title, negativity was expected, but it was pretty harsh at times.
It's no secret that the indie scene isn't regarded very highly in almost any medium. There are a lot differences when you look at the independent creations of art forms such as books, movies, painting and the like. In each scenario though, there is usually a higher body that the public looks to find the latest and greatest. In books of course, that is traditional publishing.
Back to the topic at hand though, the prejudice in the thread was quite apparent. Readers don't want to sift through low quality books, and want a way to remove them from what they see. Low quality isn't what was said though, they want indie books removed, and to only be able to see books from major publishers.
That's such a shame...
Yet there's also an argument that can definitely be made. However, it's being pursued wrong. The answer isn't to be able to remove all indie books from search results, but to change the KDP publishing standards. I think changing it as follows would be an effective approach for readers, Amazon, and independent authors alike.
First, break the publishing into two categories. Free, or for sale. Books published in the free category would basically be published just like all books are published on Amazon right now. There would be no standards, and a special area of the Amazon eBook store dedicated to free titles. Those who are publishing something for a small group of friends or family, or authors who want to offer any of their books for free would be able to publish them there, using the current system.
The major change would come in when the publisher in question chooses to have the book for sale. At this point, you'd do everything just the same as now, only the book would not go up for sale shortly there after. Instead, it would go into a review process. At this point, people may start saying Amazon isn't going to pay people to read books by independent authors, that there would be too much volume with everything added every day.
And that argument would be very valid.
However, there is a solution that could benefit all parties. Thanks to digital downloads, it's no longer a hassle to create and send entertainment. No physical copies required, just a few mouse clicks and you have it. This is the point that should be uniting Amazon, readers, and independent authors. The review process would involve sending free copies of eBooks to well established reviewers and bloggers, or other beta readers. They check them out for quality, both in terms of story and proofreading. Each book is sent to more than one reviewer, and their reviews are gauged. Should the quality meet certain standards, in each area of criteria, not an overall score, then the book is then published for sale on Amazon.
There may be some questions for readers at this point, such as why eBooks specifically, and how can Amazon trust the word of reviewers and bloggers on what to publish. How would it be set up, maintained, etc.. Those are all valid questions that would have to be addressed with the parties in question.
What I can say though is this. Amazon would lose nothing in providing free copies of the eBooks to reviewers. What they would stand to gain is a slough of material that would be easier to convince customers to buy. The current mentality with independent publishing seems to be make a handful of money from each, and do that with every author who publishes. Wouldn't it be much more effective though to have quality products people didn't have to question as much before purchasing? Some people say Amazon is making money off the deal, so they don't care. If that's true, they should care. They may technically be gaining money with the current system, but they are losing a lot of money that could be being made. The market for independent books is damaged, and damaged markets don't sell well.
This situation would help remedy that. By having Amazon partner with these reviewers, in exchange for money if they are willing or for other benefits such as exposure as an official Amazon partner, free books, or however it is worked out, the independent publishing world would see a boost.
Digital downloads are a great money maker, and offer the convenience of being sent to anyone Amazon wishes at no cost to them. This would encourage authors to expand into the eBook market if they currently only publish in print. eBooks are a growing trend, and Amazon recognizes that. The more digital downloads they have available, the more money they make without anything stored, packaged, and shipped.
There have been many beneficial reasons for Amazon to do this presented, but what about the indie author? What does he get out of it? What he gets is less anonymity, and a seal of approval. Those are two of the biggest hurdles for any independent author. Readers have been burned by a lot of sub-par works, stories that didn't even seem to be spell-checked or read through after being written. Every independent author has to struggle with overcoming those two road blocks. If your books were available with those two stigmas lessened, sales would be much more likely. More sales means more recognition, and more recognition means more readers. Amazon would then be able to promote indie works, leading to more sales for them, and authors alike.
At this point, I want to point out how exactly I would envision the review process working. The books would be graded, as mentioned, on different categories. A certain score in each category would be required, which would be determined after compiling the results of each reviewers scores and notes. It wouldn't be based on "did you like the story or not" but the quality of the writing, frequency and degree of errors, etc..
I'm not saying doing all this would be easy. Change rarely is. It's possible things will continue on as they are, but the market could end up irreparably damaged. Amazon, and probably many other businesses that offer independent publishing services, should consider how they want to approach their publishing game.
I'm Benjamin C. Andrews, an author sharing my writing knowledge with others. Visit http://magicjarpublishing.blogspot.com/ for more writing tips and tricks, and other quality information.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Readers-Against-Indie-Publishing---The-Wrong-Battle-Is-Being-Fought&id=6720577] Readers Against Indie-Publishing - The Wrong Battle Is Being Fought
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Are EBooks Taking Over Paper Books?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Irene_Lizarraga]Irene Lizarraga
The demise of paper books at the hands of their more modern digital counterparts have been announced as a done fact for years, but fact is, people still buy paperbacks and enjoy the feeling of picking a real book from the shelves of a bookstore. Are eBooks taking over paper books? Not really, but they are without a doubt giving them a run for their money.
Convenience
eBooks are clearly much more convenient than their heavy paper counterparts, as you can store thousands of digital editions on a palm sized eBook reader. However, paper books are still better in terms of surviving a sunny holiday on the beach, sharing their space with sand covered items and surviving the occasional glass of water falling on them. Lovingly wrapping a digital eBook as a gift is considerably more difficult than with a paper edition, which may be why paperbacks are still a favourite gift whereas digital editions seem to be more of a personal purchase. In terms of convenience, eBooks allow you to carry much more information on less weight, but they don't seem to be taking over paper books completely yet.
Green Concerns
If you are worried about the environment you'll probably be very aware of the fact that tons and tons of paper are burnt each year as publishers and editorials need to free up space on their warehouses. Digital eBooks are as green as you get, no trees need to suffer to create a digital edition of your favourite bestseller. However, you need to take into account the fact that the electronics used to create some eBook readers aren't so kind to the environment, and it's important to dispose of old equipment through suitable channels and not on your trash bin.
Revised Editions
One of the best things of eBooks is that they can be updated much quicker than paperbacks. This means if there's a typo, or new information makes the book incorrect the author can just modify the file and redistribute it. With a printed book that is often not possible or at least very difficult, and you'd need to buy the revised edition again. If you are into professional or technical literature you may find eBooks are actually taking over print books quite quickly.
Price
Price is a field where eBooks can really give traditional hardcovers a beating, as the cost of creating and distributing an eBook is much smaller than print. However, it's a pity that no more publishers pass on the savings to the consumers, sometimes fearing that people will opt for the digital edition and harm the sales of the hardcover version. Despite this, there are many free eBooks available either through online stores or downloads from the Internet, which makes having a library of eBooks much cheaper than actually filling your shelves with paper editions.
You can get free eBooks bundled with your preferred [http://androidereader.org/]Android eReader, from works that are out of copyright to information products designed to be distributed for free. This may be, in the end, what gives eBooks the ultimate advantage over traditional books that cannot be produced at such low costs as to giving them away for free.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Are-EBooks-Taking-Over-Paper-Books?&id=6724588] Are EBooks Taking Over Paper Books?
The demise of paper books at the hands of their more modern digital counterparts have been announced as a done fact for years, but fact is, people still buy paperbacks and enjoy the feeling of picking a real book from the shelves of a bookstore. Are eBooks taking over paper books? Not really, but they are without a doubt giving them a run for their money.
Convenience
eBooks are clearly much more convenient than their heavy paper counterparts, as you can store thousands of digital editions on a palm sized eBook reader. However, paper books are still better in terms of surviving a sunny holiday on the beach, sharing their space with sand covered items and surviving the occasional glass of water falling on them. Lovingly wrapping a digital eBook as a gift is considerably more difficult than with a paper edition, which may be why paperbacks are still a favourite gift whereas digital editions seem to be more of a personal purchase. In terms of convenience, eBooks allow you to carry much more information on less weight, but they don't seem to be taking over paper books completely yet.
Green Concerns
If you are worried about the environment you'll probably be very aware of the fact that tons and tons of paper are burnt each year as publishers and editorials need to free up space on their warehouses. Digital eBooks are as green as you get, no trees need to suffer to create a digital edition of your favourite bestseller. However, you need to take into account the fact that the electronics used to create some eBook readers aren't so kind to the environment, and it's important to dispose of old equipment through suitable channels and not on your trash bin.
Revised Editions
One of the best things of eBooks is that they can be updated much quicker than paperbacks. This means if there's a typo, or new information makes the book incorrect the author can just modify the file and redistribute it. With a printed book that is often not possible or at least very difficult, and you'd need to buy the revised edition again. If you are into professional or technical literature you may find eBooks are actually taking over print books quite quickly.
Price
Price is a field where eBooks can really give traditional hardcovers a beating, as the cost of creating and distributing an eBook is much smaller than print. However, it's a pity that no more publishers pass on the savings to the consumers, sometimes fearing that people will opt for the digital edition and harm the sales of the hardcover version. Despite this, there are many free eBooks available either through online stores or downloads from the Internet, which makes having a library of eBooks much cheaper than actually filling your shelves with paper editions.
You can get free eBooks bundled with your preferred [http://androidereader.org/]Android eReader, from works that are out of copyright to information products designed to be distributed for free. This may be, in the end, what gives eBooks the ultimate advantage over traditional books that cannot be produced at such low costs as to giving them away for free.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Are-EBooks-Taking-Over-Paper-Books?&id=6724588] Are EBooks Taking Over Paper Books?
Friday, February 3, 2012
Writing, Publishing, Creativity, and Thanksgiving
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Steve_Semken]Steve Semken
As Thanksgiving rolls around this year I am thinking about a talk I just gave to a group of writers. I was telling them about my decisions and struggles to become a writer myself, the efforts to write during breaks at work, the need to promote my writing and how I finally made the jump to become a publisher nearly twenty years ago.
I am constantly telling authors about the need to embrace rejection. About the need to take chances and connect with authors you really respect. I speak about how I am a self-published author and have not, for a day, or a moment ever regretted that decision. I am such a better book publisher because of self-publishing my work. I explain the trials of balancing work life, and passion. The lack of training I have as an author, a publisher, a marketer, or a business person has been a hurdle, but I have truly learned through the School of Hard Knocks. What inspires an entrepreneur is what makes for a good author: passion and drive. The ability to forge ahead with no attention paid to what might go wrong is vital. Any good sales person knows you have to wade through NO to get to YES.
People ask how long to make a novel? A short story? An essay? I say, as long as it takes to best tell it. People ask what I look for in a submission: I tell them lots of things, not too long, not too short, can I work them? Are they open to suggestions. They ask how many submissions I get a year? I say, lots. How many do I accept? None, I say to a crowd of moans and gasps, then I utter, maybe one every three years. I am asked what's an ISBN number? I reply, a unique number to identify a book (but in my mind, I have to admit I think to myself, who cares, what do you need to know that for? I am asked what books I wrote. I tell them and explain how I have had two books done by other publishers and lucky for me too, for these publishers taught me a lot about how to be a better publisher. I am asked what's a good topic to write about? I reply, something you know something about and have passion for. I answer lots and lots of questions. Why and what to do about e-books. Book design, letter presses uses, etc. and I always have a good time and joke a lot and confess things and keep people entertained. I do not do "talks" or speeches. I ramble about the publishing and writing world.
Finally I get to the most important questions of all and it is one I ask. I ask how many of you have experienced the individualized and silent thrill of writing? Been engulfed by the creative process? When lots of hands go up I know publishing has a bright future. When not many hands go up I get discouraged and become a cheer leader for the creative process.
I am thankful this Thanksgiving for being able to be a publisher and thankful for the talents of authors, the passion of booksellers and future of story telling.
The Ice Cube Press has been an independent Midwest Book Publisher since 1993. We started along the banks of the Kaw River in eastern Kansas. We have remained located in the Heartland of the United States, amidst Tall Corn Country, in Iowa. We use the literary arts to better understand the Midwest region. Our focus remains life and experiences in the heartland of the United States through all forms of writing: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, each a fine blend of both fact and fiction. We really do care about our passionate authors. To find out more go to our web page at [http://www.icecubepress.com]http://www.icecubepress.com, or like us on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/IceCubePress
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Writing,-Publishing,-Creativity,-and-Thanksgiving&id=6713167] Writing, Publishing, Creativity, and Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving rolls around this year I am thinking about a talk I just gave to a group of writers. I was telling them about my decisions and struggles to become a writer myself, the efforts to write during breaks at work, the need to promote my writing and how I finally made the jump to become a publisher nearly twenty years ago.
I am constantly telling authors about the need to embrace rejection. About the need to take chances and connect with authors you really respect. I speak about how I am a self-published author and have not, for a day, or a moment ever regretted that decision. I am such a better book publisher because of self-publishing my work. I explain the trials of balancing work life, and passion. The lack of training I have as an author, a publisher, a marketer, or a business person has been a hurdle, but I have truly learned through the School of Hard Knocks. What inspires an entrepreneur is what makes for a good author: passion and drive. The ability to forge ahead with no attention paid to what might go wrong is vital. Any good sales person knows you have to wade through NO to get to YES.
People ask how long to make a novel? A short story? An essay? I say, as long as it takes to best tell it. People ask what I look for in a submission: I tell them lots of things, not too long, not too short, can I work them? Are they open to suggestions. They ask how many submissions I get a year? I say, lots. How many do I accept? None, I say to a crowd of moans and gasps, then I utter, maybe one every three years. I am asked what's an ISBN number? I reply, a unique number to identify a book (but in my mind, I have to admit I think to myself, who cares, what do you need to know that for? I am asked what books I wrote. I tell them and explain how I have had two books done by other publishers and lucky for me too, for these publishers taught me a lot about how to be a better publisher. I am asked what's a good topic to write about? I reply, something you know something about and have passion for. I answer lots and lots of questions. Why and what to do about e-books. Book design, letter presses uses, etc. and I always have a good time and joke a lot and confess things and keep people entertained. I do not do "talks" or speeches. I ramble about the publishing and writing world.
Finally I get to the most important questions of all and it is one I ask. I ask how many of you have experienced the individualized and silent thrill of writing? Been engulfed by the creative process? When lots of hands go up I know publishing has a bright future. When not many hands go up I get discouraged and become a cheer leader for the creative process.
I am thankful this Thanksgiving for being able to be a publisher and thankful for the talents of authors, the passion of booksellers and future of story telling.
The Ice Cube Press has been an independent Midwest Book Publisher since 1993. We started along the banks of the Kaw River in eastern Kansas. We have remained located in the Heartland of the United States, amidst Tall Corn Country, in Iowa. We use the literary arts to better understand the Midwest region. Our focus remains life and experiences in the heartland of the United States through all forms of writing: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, each a fine blend of both fact and fiction. We really do care about our passionate authors. To find out more go to our web page at [http://www.icecubepress.com]http://www.icecubepress.com, or like us on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/IceCubePress
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Writing,-Publishing,-Creativity,-and-Thanksgiving&id=6713167] Writing, Publishing, Creativity, and Thanksgiving
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What Publishers Look For in a Query Letter
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Lively]Kathryn Lively
Having worked for several years as an acquisitions editor for a small press, I believe I have seen a few thousand, if not more, queries come into my e-mail inbox. That said, I am sure I have seen many examples of how not to write a query, as well as the rare few that inspired me to open the accompanying manuscript. If you are serious about submitting a book to a publisher or agent, and having said industry expert offer you a contract, you need the right hook that gets your book read and evaluated. It is not uncommon for editors and agents to pass on a project based upon a poorly structured query.
This doesn't mean, of course, that your query letter must be the e-mail equivalent of a knock-down, glittering Broadway finale complete with jazz hands and confetti. The query letter is the very first glimpse an editor or agent will see of you, so it's important to deliver one that is professional, simple to understand, and to the point. As you invest time in contacting multiple editors you may eventually catch on to certain quirks and red flags that help you determine what certain people like and dislike. I follow a number of agents on Twitter and pay attention when one vents his/her irritations regarding rhetorical questions in a query, among other peeves. This is a good way to tailor a letter to a specific person.
If you aren't sure how your target will react, though, you should at least hone your "elevator pitch" as compelling reading. Imagine you're in an elevator with the agent or publisher of your dreams. You have those precious seconds to convince that person to read and love your book. What do you say? This will serve as the heart of your letter.
What do publishers, editors, and agents look for in a solid query?
1) Your correct contact information. I can't tell you how many times I've received queries missing this pertinent info. If you attach a document to an e-mail, or if you compose in the body, you must include your legal name, your pen name where applicable, a phone number, and mailing address. Even in the Internet age, some in the industry still contact authors via the phone. It's always safe to offer somebody more than one option for communication.
2) Information about your book. This will include the title, the word count, and the genre. As a personal preference I believe it's important to present this data up front, because it allows the publisher/editor/agent to determine initially if the work does not fit the house's guidelines. The time an acquiring editor invests in reading queries is precious, and if one has hundreds to read weekly he/she wants to sort through them as quickly as possible. Don't waste somebody's time with a pages-long query that ends with little to no information on word count and genre, especially if you query houses where those genres and lengths aren't represented.
3) A synopsis of your book that is brief and best captures the story. You don't have to recap play-by-play action or delve into the psyche of your characters, just the facts here. Introduce the conflict and briefly explain what happens to bring the story to conclusion. Remember the elevator pitch.
As a personal aside, you may wish to avoid cliches and guarantees. Claiming that your book is the next "Twilight" or that Oprah will want to add it to her book club isn't likely to win you a request for a full manuscript. Sell the book on its own merits rather than compare it to something else. Show the publisher/editor/agent you are beyond compare.
4) A short biography. Focus on your writing history, particularly past credits and experiences. If you frequent writing conferences or are a member of an organization like RWA or SFWA, you may wish to note that as well. Show that you are active in the writing community and willing to sell yourself as a published author.
Before you do send off a query, have a fellow writer proof it for you. The last thing you want to send to somebody who may publish your book is a letter full of typos and grammatical errors. Good luck!
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on [http://www.turnthepagepublishing.com/self-publishing]self-publishing services and [http://www.turnthepagepublishing.com/self-publishing]freelance editing services.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Publishers-Look-For-in-a-Query-Letter&id=6726454] What Publishers Look For in a Query Letter
Having worked for several years as an acquisitions editor for a small press, I believe I have seen a few thousand, if not more, queries come into my e-mail inbox. That said, I am sure I have seen many examples of how not to write a query, as well as the rare few that inspired me to open the accompanying manuscript. If you are serious about submitting a book to a publisher or agent, and having said industry expert offer you a contract, you need the right hook that gets your book read and evaluated. It is not uncommon for editors and agents to pass on a project based upon a poorly structured query.
This doesn't mean, of course, that your query letter must be the e-mail equivalent of a knock-down, glittering Broadway finale complete with jazz hands and confetti. The query letter is the very first glimpse an editor or agent will see of you, so it's important to deliver one that is professional, simple to understand, and to the point. As you invest time in contacting multiple editors you may eventually catch on to certain quirks and red flags that help you determine what certain people like and dislike. I follow a number of agents on Twitter and pay attention when one vents his/her irritations regarding rhetorical questions in a query, among other peeves. This is a good way to tailor a letter to a specific person.
If you aren't sure how your target will react, though, you should at least hone your "elevator pitch" as compelling reading. Imagine you're in an elevator with the agent or publisher of your dreams. You have those precious seconds to convince that person to read and love your book. What do you say? This will serve as the heart of your letter.
What do publishers, editors, and agents look for in a solid query?
1) Your correct contact information. I can't tell you how many times I've received queries missing this pertinent info. If you attach a document to an e-mail, or if you compose in the body, you must include your legal name, your pen name where applicable, a phone number, and mailing address. Even in the Internet age, some in the industry still contact authors via the phone. It's always safe to offer somebody more than one option for communication.
2) Information about your book. This will include the title, the word count, and the genre. As a personal preference I believe it's important to present this data up front, because it allows the publisher/editor/agent to determine initially if the work does not fit the house's guidelines. The time an acquiring editor invests in reading queries is precious, and if one has hundreds to read weekly he/she wants to sort through them as quickly as possible. Don't waste somebody's time with a pages-long query that ends with little to no information on word count and genre, especially if you query houses where those genres and lengths aren't represented.
3) A synopsis of your book that is brief and best captures the story. You don't have to recap play-by-play action or delve into the psyche of your characters, just the facts here. Introduce the conflict and briefly explain what happens to bring the story to conclusion. Remember the elevator pitch.
As a personal aside, you may wish to avoid cliches and guarantees. Claiming that your book is the next "Twilight" or that Oprah will want to add it to her book club isn't likely to win you a request for a full manuscript. Sell the book on its own merits rather than compare it to something else. Show the publisher/editor/agent you are beyond compare.
4) A short biography. Focus on your writing history, particularly past credits and experiences. If you frequent writing conferences or are a member of an organization like RWA or SFWA, you may wish to note that as well. Show that you are active in the writing community and willing to sell yourself as a published author.
Before you do send off a query, have a fellow writer proof it for you. The last thing you want to send to somebody who may publish your book is a letter full of typos and grammatical errors. Good luck!
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on [http://www.turnthepagepublishing.com/self-publishing]self-publishing services and [http://www.turnthepagepublishing.com/self-publishing]freelance editing services.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Publishers-Look-For-in-a-Query-Letter&id=6726454] What Publishers Look For in a Query Letter
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