Changing the eBook Game
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 15th, 2010 | 4 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Two weeks ago Apple introduced the iPad which shook the eBook business to its core and ignited a firestorm over the future of the digital marketplace. Last week one of the largest publishers in New York, Macmillan settled a dispute with Amazon over pricing of their eBooks effectively allowing the company to price above $9.99. These two events have suddenly changed the outlook for eBooks and instantly provided tremendous opportunities for independent authors.
Apple overnight made the market for eBooks more viable as a form of content delivery since the publishing industry holds the company in such high esteem. The book business is very old school and sometimes it takes a major event to open the eyes of New York publishers to the possibilities. Apple provided that eye opener. Amazon was a player and the Kindle opened some doors, but nothing like Apple and their new iPad. Suddenly everyone is taking a second look.
The big New York companies have been fighting with Amazon over the pricing of their eBooks since the Kindle was introduced. Today, for a hardcover priced at $28, Amazon sells the eBook for $9.99 and then pays the publisher $4.01. For each unit sold, Amazon was paying publishers $14.00 and as a result was trying to force the publishers to lower their price for all eBooks. The big publishers have refused. Amazon desperately wanted to seed the market with low priced eBooks and sell more Kindle’s; that strategy will now change.
The New York publishers have always felt that the pricing for their bestselling titles should be closer to the hardcover price, in effect raising the price for most if not all New York published eBooks. This opens the door for the independent author and publisher to price in a manner that will undercut their bigger competitors in a market that is already comfortable with $9.99 and below. This is something the print market has forbidden simply because of the cost of paper, printing and handling. This is a major event in the emerging market for the sale and distribution of eBooks.
As a result of these two significant events, every author should take steps to secure eBook distribution. Even though the print and eBook markets are the same, many of the major retailers for book sales look at both print and eBooks the same, which means the advantage of distribution for your eBook under a publisher banner is necessary to gain full market advantage of the distribution opportunities.
I would be happy to help you distribute your unpublished or published book as an eBook and provide the independent author with a market boost. Distribution of eBooks is a fraction of the cost of print and the economics make it much more advantageous for every author. The marketplace is getting ready to explode and if I can help you find a market for your eBook please contact me immediately. The window of opportunity may be small.
Getting Book Distribution Into Bookstores
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 15th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
For most independently published authors, the idea of having their book placed on the shelves of a major bookstore is the ultimate. The major retail chains have a system of inventory where new titles arrive and unsold are returned, every title is guaranteed to sell or face removal. The window of opportunity to sell a newly published title is ever so small, perhaps six weeks at most. While bookstores place newly arriving books onto store shelves they take the unsold ones off and send them back to the publisher. Each megastore carries around 120,000 unique titles, but only 25-35,000 are newly published, the rest are steady sellers called backlist titles. Due to the volume of new titles arriving daily, stores are forced to constantly turn their inventory. If you are fortunate to get your title placed you must have a marketing plan that will hopefully drive the consumer to your particular category and find your individual title. It’s a good idea to have a plan to make that happen before you seek publication and distribution. Bookstores are one sales channel but not necessarily the ultimate.
Book Reviews
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 12th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
An important part of marketing is having an objective source read and comment on your book. Book reviews offer the consumer an objective opinion about a book. The web site, www.Nothing Binding.com offers free book reviews for any author. As that site continues to grow, they need more good book reviewers. You don’t have to be an author to review one of the books, they welcome writers and readers. In exchange for a free copy of a book, reviewers are asked to promptly read and then write a book review. Authors helping authors with book reviews is but one small part of how independent authors can help grow our market. You don’t have to be an expert to write a book review, you just have to be a reader.
Publishing Myth
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 11th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Publishers are constantly looking for product. They cannot depend on manuscripts to walk in the door. Assistants read websites, blogs, newspapers, and magazines, anything that offers an idea or introduces a writer of interest. From that point they pursue the idea or writer in hopes of turning something as small as a blog into a book. One of the biggest myths is that a New York publisher will never publish a book that was independently published. This is absolutely not true! Publishers don’t care how or when a book was published, if they feel the book has potential to make money, they will publish it. It’s about revenue, not who published first.
Video is Important for Authors
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 10th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Publishers have been sending authors on book tours for almost as long they’ve been printing books. The reason is to sell books, of course, but it’s also very important for authors to meet their audience. Book tours are designed to introduce an author to their fans and create new members to that audience. It’s cost prohibitive for small publishers and independent authors to take an extensive book tour. However, an author can achieve the same impact and reach a much larger audience with a well made personal video.
We live in a video age; YouTube has proven the importance and interest in video. Book trailers are great, but beyond the budget of most authors, so what’s the next best thing? A do-it-yourself version. Find a friend with a digital video camera, sit down in a comfortable pleasant setting, look into the camera and talk to your audience about your book. This is what you do for agents at conferences, why not do the same for your readers around the world? Keep it short, 60 seconds is good, but no more than 2 minutes. Viewers hate long rambling dissertations about authors and their books. Keep it to the point and make it interesting. Your message has to convince the listener they want to buy your book. What could be easier, yet as effective?
An author can post their personal videos on the web site NothingBinding.com for free. Why not take advantage of the free publicity? You never know who may be watching.
You Have Choices When You Publish
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 9th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Now that you’ve invested in a professional freelance editor, studied competitive covers, and decided how to design your interior, it’s almost time to go to press. Before you do, consider a few things. Print-on-demand technology is wonderful, cost effective, easy, quick, but it has limitations. Publishing is about perception and picking the wrong company to publish your work can be a huge mistake.
Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with publishing under a POD company, but the perception will forever be that your writing is of poor quality. I’m suggesting you consider the alternatives. For ease of getting your manuscript from paper to print, nothing beats the print-on-demand publisher. However, this is not your only option, you have more choices in how you publish today than ever before. Consider all options before you make a decision.
For a free Guide to Publishing visit www.IndiPublishingGroup.com, also for information on publishing your writing as an eBook, contact me through this web site. You are only a first time author once and you can only launch your new book one time, making mistakes can be a disaster.
After Editing Your Book, Focus on the Interior Design
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 8th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
The interior look of your book is almost as important as the cover. When a consumer picks up a book, glares at the front cover, then turns it over to read the back cover, the next step is for them to open the book. If they do this, you are on your way to a sale. However, if the interior of your book looks less than professional, guess what? Chances are the consumer will not make a purchase. Interior layouts for every book must look like a professional book formatter created the design. Yes, the interior is a design. There are certain qualities you want, they differ by publisher, but the look has similarities. The next time you visit your favorite bookstore, open up some titles in your category and check them out. You might be surprised the things you never noticed.
My Manuscript is Professionally Edited, Now What?
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 5th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Once you’ve invested in the services of a professional editor, your next decision is—how to publish? Are you seeking an agent for possible acquisition by a New York publisher? Are you submitting to small traditional publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts? Are your intentions to publish on your own, independently? Whatever your decision make certain you examine every option. There is a publishing guide available at www.IndiPublishingGroup.com , simply provide name and email address and it will be sent free. The most important point is to publish to your personal goals. Do not let friends, family or colleagues convince you to publish contrary to what you want as a writer.
Regardless of how you decide to publish, it’s very important that you focus on the package. A great package will say “success.” New York publishers spend lots of time on making sure the package is right. For all they do wrong, they know how to package books. The cover must fit in with your category in every way. Including colors, font size and type, placement of the title and author name, images, and everything else associated with a good book cover. You find the best packages in the national bookstore chains. Visit and browse, what you see is what you emulate. This is important. If your book looks like a title that does not fit the market, regardless of where you sell copies, the consumer will be skeptical. So your book is extremely niche oriented? That’s fine, it still has to look like it fits into the marketplace like a professionally published book. You’re selling the image as much as the content. Books are judged by their cover.
Publishing Without Editorial is a Bad Idea
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 4th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Writers should publish their manuscript according to their own individual goals. Some want to set the bar as high as Oprah, a major motion picture, or the New York Times bestseller list. All fine as long as that goal is grounded in reality. Meaning, authors must understand the market for their books. They need to recognize that books are published according to a set pattern, a formula, that encompasses many parts. The biggest problem with most Independently published books is that they leave out many of these parts and the result is a book that does not fit the market. The biggest omission is failure to work with a professional freelance editor, before publication. It doesn’t matter how much money you spend on marketing or top quality production, if your book is not edited, your marketing will not be effective.
The Market for Independently Published Books
By Jerry D. Simmons | February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The six largest New York based traditional trade publishers have a built in distribution channel for their titles. The small independent press and self-published do not. The big guys promote their books through that channel because it’s established and provides easy access. For the Independent authors, it’s neither established nor easy. How do we overcome this obstacle? One way is by establishing a gathering place, a community, that is free to all writers and authors, where books can be shopped by consumers, agents and editors.
There are many online locations to sell books, the idea is not to try and reinvent the wheel, the point is to showcase the Independent Market for books, authors, and writers. Our marketplace is fractured into a million little pieces and predators roam the web selling a variety of products and services aimed at giving the Independent author better access to the traditional world of bookselling. That is not the approach at the web site Nothing Binding. We understand the market for books, have years of big New York publisher experience and we are designed to serve the Independent author and publisher. It’s free so check it out.
