Nurture Your BOOKS™ Group discussion

Self-publishing, as defined by Wikipedia is "the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. It is generally done at the expense of the author. Vanity presses cater exclusively to this market niche, but authors may prefer to hire a printer directly, or use an e-book format."

Because there has been such a tremendous rise in Self-Publishing, I would really like to start a dialog about multiple aspects of the Self-Publishing journey.

Some potential Self-Publishing discussion topics are:

1. When is self-publishing right for you and your book?

2. What are the traps, scams & pitfalls to avoid?

3. Useful tips, hints and recommended companies & professionals?

4. Should you have a literary agent?

5. How much time should you put into promoting & publicising your book & when?

6. What kinds of expenses should you be saving up for?

7. How much time should you REALLY put into promoting your book?

8. Is it advisable to hire a professional to edit your work before you publish it?

9. Do you need a publicist?

10. How do you market your book to as many readers as possible?

11. Do you research your target audience (reader’s age, gender, etc.) before you finish the final draft of your book and make changes to better appeal to said target audience?

12. Should you start talking about your book, blogging about it, etc. --- BEFORE you have it published?

13. What are the benefits of having your book available in multiple eBook formats as well as or instead of in print?

14. How will you sell your books?

These are just a few ideas to get us started; please add your own questions & topics and feel free to comment and debate in a civilized manner. We all have different points of view and different perspectives on things, so let’s not allow any difference of opinion ruin this valuable dialog.
It would be wonderful if upcoming and brand-new, self-published authors, could benefit from your experience and your wisdom; lets help everyone make more informed decision, from the beginning of their self-publishing journey.


Thanks for joining in,
Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Nurture Your BOOKS™

I've conducted many pannels on this topic. So I'll leap into it with:

1. When is self-publishing right for you and your book?

You need to be able to market your work... If you can't "sell" your book then you shouldn't self-publish. You don't go to singing and people line up to buy your wonderful work - not at first.

First you have to get a name for yourself. You do this by connecting with your readers. At signings you will need to go up to people and give them a 2 line pitch about your book. You can also develope an online readership with short stories or reviews on Amazon or an interesting Blog. But this must come before you put anyting in print.

Then what would you recommend?

It is interesting that this subject has been brought up. I recently posted the following blog:

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Why you should publish with the Strategic Book Publishing Group

My fifth novel - Restored Hope - was published on July 7.

I absolutely love the cover and I am not easy to please, but the art department at Strategic Books worked with me until I got EXACTLY what I was looking for - you be the judge.

I have a book signing scheduled for August 5, and had the manuscript in on April 10 - but we ran a little tight on time so they are shipping the books to me - air freight - their cost - now who does that in this economy?

Every department I worked with - from editing to print layout to production management all the way to the top with contract management has gone above and beyond. This is an exemplary publishing house in a time when that type of business is unheard of. And believe me, I know - I have 5 books - the first two were not with them - but they are the ONLY publishing house I will ever use - and I do mean EVER.

If you are thinking about publishing a book - poetry, non-fiction, children's - whatever, I urge you to seriously consider the Strategic House - you can find them at http://www.strategicbookmarketing.com/ ..... and this is completely an unsolicited recommendation from me - I am getting nothing in return, but the knowledge that I am passing on some valuable information to people I care about.


AND if you'd like to know more about the new book, you can check it out by going to: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.c...

While doing some searches on Google, I found an interesting website called Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. They seem to have a lot of useful advice and information for writers in many genres.

They have a section of their website dedicated to exposing potential or real fraudsters in the literary world.

Here's the link to their Writers Beware section, if you are interested in learning more: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/write...

J. wrote: "DO NOT publish a novel without a professional edit. Keep away from vanity presses. The only sales you'll have are you and your mother. And your mother expects a free copy--signed! so, who's left..."


I both agree and disagree. Yes, a professional edit is a must - but not by just anyone who calls themselves an editor - or some English professor. An editor at a POD house without credentials is not good enough. A real editor should have bestselling or at least good selling books to their credit.

And J, I know you are hard on "vanity" publishing. But look at Eragon, and he is just one of the many who had success at the so called "vanity" or POD market.

I personally know a guy who did the vanity thing and is making $5000 a month off of two books. That's a lot better than the paycheck a mainstream publishing house gives a new author.

I decided to self-publish one genre of my writing as a way to get my feet (or typing skills) wet. I sell books at local fairs in summer and winter, and definitely don't make a profit. But I got three short stories published the year after starting in self-publishing, and this year I've even got an eBook professionally published. It feels like self-pub was a good first step for me, the beginning of what I hope will be a longer journey.

Set yourself up like a business. People will not take you seriously if you don't.

http://www.fonerbooks.com/POD.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_4835818_selfp...

Thank you all for the helpful advice so far...keep it coming! :-)

Which POD or self-publishing companies do you recommend or warn other authors to stay away from, and why?

I posted this question on LinkedIn and never got an answer. If I own the copyright on my book, can I still make changes after it has been published?

I want to sell documents of my as yet unpublished works from my website (super cheep). I plan to copyright them before I do that, but as they are as yet not edited by a professional, I need to know if I can still make changes after I've copyrighted them.

Ultimately, I hope to generate enough income to publish them as real books.

Anna wrote: "I posted this question on LinkedIn and never got an answer. If I own the copyright on my book, can I still make changes after it has been published?

I want to sell documents of my as yet unpublis..."

I don't see why you couldn't. Isn't that how we have "2nd Edition," "3rd Edition," "Now with new Afterword," etc.?

Just wanted to make sure. Ebooks are selling for ballpark $10 each. I figured I'd sell my documents for somewhere around $5 or so. Not sure. I'm constantly tweaking them. I've learned a lot since I got internet so I'm trying to improve what I've already written.

Anna wrote: "Just wanted to make sure. Ebooks are selling for ballpark $10 each. I figured I'd sell my documents for somewhere around $5 or so. Not sure. I'm constantly tweaking them. I've learned a lot si..."

I'm selling my eBooks for around $2.95/$2.99 (some sites require them to end in 0.99, for reasons I don't understand ... but whatever). If you go through Smashwords, which will provide you with a free ISBN, BTW, you can upload a new version without any problems. It retains the same ISBN and everything. I have been very happy with the service at Smashwords, which pays on time (without getting the Better Business Bureau involved, unlike another provider I tried) and has a variety of services that cost you nothing as an author. Among those services is setting your books up on Sony, Kobo, iBooks and a variety of other sales venues without you having to do all of the formatting and work -- so long as you follow Smashwords' style guide, which is really easy to do.

Yeah, I've looked into them. The only thing is, I like my fonts. Not that they're all that fancy but it's how I want it to look in a real book. That's why I want to sell my documents as a word document. People could load it onto their ereader (I think) from their computer if they wanted to.

Hey everyone. I have a question and I'm not sure if this is the place to post this but hear goes. My book, The Betrayal, will be out in March of 2011. Authorhouse is publishing it and I already have a store that will host a book signing for me. Any advice? How do I do a successful booksigning? I'm kind of nervous about it so I'll take all the advice I can get!

Thanks,
Sheila

Check Joe Konrath's blog, a Newbie Guide's to Publishing. He's got great advice there. Good luck!

Sheila wrote: "Hey everyone. I have a question and I'm not sure if this is the place to post this but hear goes. My book, The Betrayal, will be out in March of 2011. Authorhouse is publishing it and I already hav..."



Get the local paper to put the signing in their calendar and maybe have them do an article about "Local author has book signing" I published with Authorhouse. YOu are on your own with them and that is the difficult side of self publishing.

Jeff, You don't feel like you made a mistake going with them though, do you? I was telling Bobbie, my editor is not happy with me self publishing at all and wanted me to hold out for a traditional publisher but I'm not a patient person and that takes too long. Do you think they did a good job for you?

I even had a person tell me that anyone who self publishes is not a true author but I beg to differ. I am an author. Writing is in my blood. I'd love to talk with others who went with AH.

Thanks,
Sheila

I know there are more hoops to jump through with a big house publisher but then again there is the promotion and the book gets into Barnes and Nobel and other book stores. They won't touch a self published book. I was anxious and wanted to get the book out quickly. Make sure you have edited the book and when they send you the copy for proofing do so. I did not and there were printing mistakes.
I am re editing my book now and will attempt to go with a big publisher because I have had really good feedback with reviews.

Go to Living Beneath the Radar and check it out. Great cover.

Actually, there is a bookstore, The Book Warehouse, close to where I live that will not only stock my books in the store but is going to host a book signing. The manager of the store gave me a list of all Book Warehouse stores all over the USA and is going to help me get my book in all of them.

The manager of Barnes and Noble here said he would also stock my book in his store and host a book signing. He said he don't look so much at the publisher but rather the book itself. My book is a Young Adult, Paranormal and he said that genre is very popular right now and he liked my manuscript so he'll place my books in his store.

So its not impossible to get your books in brick and mortar book stores.

good advice!

I had an idea and wondered if my friends at Goodreads would be willing to help me out. Four months ago I paid to have a book trailer made. It turned out great. In the 4 months I have had 840 visits and 24 comments. I may have made some book sales through it – that’s hard to tell.

I asking if all of you would please click onto this site:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQorTk... , and, if possible, leave a comment. That would help me rise up the Youtube ladder. Additionally, I’m requesting that you share the website address onto your Facebook page, Twitter, blogs, etc.

I don’t believe that a book trailer could possibly go “viral” – that only happens to people who burp the Star-Spangled Banner. But it would be a great experiment. Obviously, this request is not completely altruistic – it’s possible I may get some sales out of it. But, we could then all help each other in the same way, since we are all in the same boat.

My thanks to those of you who do this and please let me know your book’s name (website, Amazon link- if you’re an Amazon Associate, etc).

Sheila wrote: "Actually, there is a bookstore, The Book Warehouse, close to where I live that will not only stock my books in the store but is going to host a book signing. The manager of the store gave me a list..."

Congratulations, Sheila! Kudos to you and the bookstores willing to support you.

Lauren wrote: "I had an idea and wondered if my friends at Goodreads would be willing to help me out. Four months ago I paid to have a book trailer made. It turned out great. In the 4 months I have had 840 visits..."

I gave it a like and a comment, hopefully you'll do the same for my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/ProphecyOfThe...


Prophecy of the Flame has been picked up for a movie: 100% of the proceeds from this movie will go to help homeless families with children. We are rallying support on facebook so the MPAA will give us a rating and we can take this movie nationwide. A LIKE on our page will really help!

Done! and thanks.

Lynn wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I had an idea and wondered if my friends at Goodreads would be willing to help me out. Four months ago I paid to have a book trailer made. It turned out great. In the 4 months I hav..."

Lynn wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I had an idea and wondered if my friends at Goodreads would be willing to help me out. Four months ago I paid to have a book trailer made. It turned out great. In the 4 months I hav..."
Lynn, I went to the site you provided, and as you requested, I clicked LIKE. Now, would you go to my FB Fan Page, http://facebook.com/pages/Author-Gera... , and click LIKE .

Congratulations on your movie success! My heart's with you. If you care to learn about me and my current thriller, please visit my blog, http://geraldggriffin.blogspot.com , and while there, if so moved, please leave a comment.

Gerald wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Lauren wrote: "I had an idea and wondered if my friends at Goodreads would be willing to help me out. Four months ago I paid to have a book trailer made. It turned out great. In the 4..."

Like... I can't comment on your page, though... you'll have to change the settings :)

I took a look at your book. If you are interested in getting help with publishing this on Kindle, please see the publishing company I launched earlier this year:

http://resilientpublishing.com/home/i...

I started Resilient as a way to help guide other self-published authors along the rough road to success as and indie.