Beware of Misinformation
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 31st, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

My entire career was spent at what would be called the major trade level of the publishing business. I was never directly involved with writers who wanted to become published authors, aside from those introduced to my staff and me by our editors. When I left New York and retired to Arizona I was pleasantly surprised at the number of writers interested in getting their work published. I was equally disappointed over the amount of what I call “misinformation” available to those unsuspecting writers.

I have tried over the past year to assist as many writers as possible through the dissemination of credible information. I have no preference to how writers decide to use this information. I am not an advocate of big trade publishing any more than I am self-publishing or print-on-demand, the choice is the writers. My problem is when companies use “misinformation” or the “omission of facts” to sell writers on their services.

Anytime a writer comes across a web site, or listens to a sales pitch where the person makes promises or even worse, guarantees, please walk away. There are no guarantees in publishing! Statements about the impact of a company’s ability to market and distribute your book should also be viewed with skepticism. Regardless of who publishes your book, its sale will depend largely on your ability to market on your own.

The first thing you need to do when reading or listening about what any company can do for you is check the credentials of the people making the statements. You want to know how many years experience in publishing do they have? And, at what level of publishing did they spend their time? Experience at a major trade level of publishing is not a prerequisite for solid information, but the combination of years and level of experience is one way to gauge the truth behind the words. Beware of misinformation!

 

The 7 Most Important Points for Writers
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 26th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

An author friend of mine recently wrote and asked for some words of advice about publishing that she could pass along to other writers, here is what I felt were most important. For anyone trying to decide how to publish and with whom, here are the 7 most important points to keep in mind.

For anyone writing and comtemplating getting published, here are your starting points. For anyone already published who may have missed a step or two, go back and evaluate where you are: Is your book selling? If not, find out why; rethink your position in the market. Be smarter than other writers who just want their book “out there.”

I’ve been involved with publishing for more than 25 years, this is not rocket science. You sell books by learning more about the business of book selling. Thank you Nadine for asking the right questions and making me think about the answers. Getting published is easy; selling books is hard.

 

Book Expo America
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 19th, 2006 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)

The infamous BEA starts soon, the showcase for the large publishers to preview their big titles for the remainder of the year. Also a chance to rub elbows with authors, booksellers, and presell as much as possible. The largest book trade show in the United States is usually held anywhere from mid-May to the first week of June in either Chicago, New York, Los Angeles or Washington.

If you’ve never had the opportunity to attend you should, it will give you an entirely different perspective on the business and open your eyes to the competition, both as an author and person who wants to sell book(s). I’m a bit jaded on the whole thing since I’ve attended so many as a publisher, but for any writer who wants to be an author, it’s worth the investment to see first hand what the marketplace has to offer.

Tickets, travel, and accommondations are never cheap for these things but again, if you want to be a successful author and learn to sell books, the BEA offers many great workshops, seminars, and the only chance each year to walk the huge aisles and view books of all kinds.

One day when my message is less challenging to the way the big publishers treat books and authors, I would love to make a presentation to as many authors as possible about the way publishers operate behind closed doors. Don’t be fooled by all the hype, publsishers are in the business of printing and shipping books, that’s why it is so very important that writers learn as much as possible about the business of publishing. That is why I’m here doing what I do, to help as many of you as I can learn to become successfully published authors. It’s quite a spectacle.

 

The Distinction Between Self-Publishing and POD
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 19th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

This is not my definition but that of the marketplace: anyone publishing a book on their own, without the assistance of a single company, who contracts with individuals to edit, design a cover, produce, and print a book under their own name, would be considered self-published. Print-on-demand publishers are companies that do everything under one roof on a large scale. They are criticized in the market for publishing anything regardless of the quality of the writing. This is why large chain bookstores refuse to buy any books published by a POD company.

I have no personal bias against POD companies, the marketplace has the bias, and these are not my rules but those of the industry. POD publishers have created their own problems, residing behind the first amendment, and for a price publishing anything by anyone willing to pay and refusing to recognize the quality. They are in the business of producing books, much the same way as traditional publishers with one very big exception; traditional publishers will not publish anything, they have standards. POD’s deserve a place at the table simply because they are in the business of publishing, however that doesn’t mean booksellers or other traditional publishers have to like it.

Even though the acronym POD simple means the ability to print-books-on-demand in small quantities, the industry has slapped those letters with a stigma that prevents complete legitimacy in the market. My own personal belief is not relevant because I know many of you are using POD publishers. Once again, that is fine as long as you go into the arrangement with your eyes open to the limitations, it fits the strategy you have for your book, and they are not making promises about their ability to distribute or sell your book(s).

POD publishers come in many varieties and sizes, any company that will take your manuscript and provide editing, cover art, production, and printing all in a nice one-stop package, is considered a print-on-demand publisher. Some are obviously more well known than others, but all any book buyer has to do is Google the name of your publisher to find out whether they are a POD company.

Since leaving New York three years ago what amazes me most is the amount of money unsuspecting writers have paid for services of these companies. Please do your homework, don’t pay a dime until you are sure this is what you want. And especially avoid anyone making guarantees about marketing, sales, or distribution. This is truly a buyer beware segment of the publishing industry.

 

There Is Nothing Wrong With POD Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 17th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

POD, also know as Print-On-Demand represents a large portion of the self-publishing market. What POD means is that you can order as few as 20 copies up to as many as you want, when you want them. The advantage of POD is you can order small quantities as opposed to a minimum of 100 or more, which is often the case with a digital or offset book printer.

As I’ve stated before, it doesn’t matter how you get your book in print as long as it fits the plan for your book. If you don’t have a plan for how you are going to sell your book, then you need to back up a minute and give that some thought. You must have a strategy in place for how, where, and to whom you plan to sell your book before you spend a dime.

There are limitations on POD publishers that you should be made aware. They cannot get shelf placement in the large chain bookstores, meaning the stores will not order a POD book. You will not be able to hold a book signing or make an appearance in a chain bookstore to sell your book. The marketplace may draw conclusions about your book simply because it is published by a POD publisher. All of these issues should be irrelevant to you as an author as long as it fits your strategy for how you plan to market your book.

The self-publishing industry is very much a “buyer beware” marketplace. There are plenty of companies that will gladly take your money and make wildly outrageous promises. Don’t be fooled, each venue has it’s limitations, just be smart, seek information, and send me an email if you have questions.

At a recent writers conference I foolishly asked a POD representative how many books in a year did they turn down? His answer was none! He explained that the first amendment would not allow them to turn down any book, regardless of the skill of the author. This helps to explain the marketplace’s reaction to POD publishers.

 

Self-Publishing is Okay
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 9th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

If you know what you want to do with your book and your goal is to “get it out quickly” then self-publishing may be the best route. However, it is the most difficult format to sell books. Why? Booksellers are reluctant to stock self-published books. Why? They do not have time to read each book they buy and they automatically question the level of editing, production, and author’s ability to write well.

Book buyers have this built in belief that self-published books are not up the level of titles published by a publisher. If a small press or large house published the same book the assumption is that the writing, production, and titles ability to sell at least meets a minimum standard. The general feeling is that self-published books are below a bookseller’s own standards for a successfully published title.

How does an author overcome this prejudice? By creating some demand for their book. How? Learn to generate publicity! Of course, generating publicty without having books in stores is a problem. The most effective way of overcoming this is to have your book in hand when you walk into a store and tell the manager you are going to be on a certain television show, local radio, or in the newspaper and of course you will direct your audience to the location of the store(s) where the book can be found. It’s tough, no doubt about it, and in the end you may sell only a handful of books. But there has to be a starting point.

Forget the notion that a larger publisher refuses to buy a self-published book. That is nonsense; larger publishers do not care who publishes a book, if they feel the title can sell on a larger scale with a wider distribution they will buy it. Plus the more publicity you can generate on your own illustrates your willingness to self-promote. This improves your chance of attracting the attention of a large publisher. Self-publishing is okay, if that is what you want to do with your book.

 

You Must Have Plans For Your Book
By Jerry D. Simmons | May 8th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)

Just getting published is not an acceptable answer to the question: What do you want to do with your book? Getting published is easy; there are many companies who are willing to publish your book for the right price. The tougher question is: What are the plans for your book? Do you want to give away as presents to family and friends? Do you want to sell a few copies at your speaking engagements? Or, do you want to sell a lot of copies at retail? If your answer is sell a lot of copies, then read ahead.

Selling books is hard! To do it well you must be willing to promote yourself and your book. Your unwillingness or uneasiness at doing this means your chances of selling lots of copies at retail are greatly diminished. Large publishers expect a certain amount of self-promotion on the part of their authors. Small presses must encourage and even demand authors self-promote. Self-publishing is all about self-promotion. If you haven’t come to grips with this idea, the time is now; self-promotion is part of the business of selling books.

The best method of self-promotion is generating publicity. If you didn’t get a chance to read Marilyn Haight’s tips on generating publicity last week, go back and do so. When publishers market books, they include three components: Advertising, promotion, and publicity. The biggest portion of the marketing budget is spent on publicity because they know that publicity sells books. You have to be willing to get in front of a TV camera, radio microphone, and newspaper reporter and entice them into talking about you and your book. In turn, you need to make sure you have copies in stores so those who read or hear or see you in the media can buy your book. It takes a coordinated effort, and the biggest obstacle is your uneasiness at selling yourself and your book.

 

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