Print Versus Digital
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 4th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
This is a question I get most often—why do I need an eBook when I have a print book? The answer is because it provides you with an entirely new market. An eBook is nothing more than a new format for your writing, much the same as a hardcover is a different format from a trade or mass paperback. Different formats provide new audiences since some eBook readers are not print readers and vice versa. If you must choose one over the other at the moment the eBook has advantages in open markets and distribution while the print does not.
The same concerns for eBooks exist as they do for print, mainly you must create a professional product that is packaged, priced and positioned for the market. There are already tons of companies offering low priced everything for eBooks and the same principles that hold true for print hold true for digital—buyer beware! In publishing you never want to rush and you absolutely never want to buy on price. In addition you must be knowledgeable about who is handling your content. Are they reputable? Were they recommended? Do you know anyone that has used the services of the company or person? Do they have a contact number in case of problems? Are they located in the US? And the list goes on and on. Due your research, network, and trust the company or individual handling your writing.
Book Reviews and Awards
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 14th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
One of the best ways of gaining notice for your writing is through book reviews and awards. However just like anything else you can go overboard. After receiving half dozen reviews your maximum potential will have been reached. There is no need to continue with another dozen or more, it’s a waste. After the first couple of reviews if you are not getting the acclaim you hoped then there is no reason to continue. It has been my experience that reviewers tend to think alike so a good review rarely becomes a great review.
Book awards are similar but again, you can go overboard. Entering contests where the fee is more than one hundred dollars in hopes of winning first place makes no sense if you’ve never achieved more than an honorable mention. Face the fact that your book is good but not great and it may not be first place potential. That does not mean you will not sell copies, it simply means that someone somewhere felt other titles were better.
Timing always plays a part in reviews and contests. Any reviewer who just read a fantastic novel and follows with your book will only compare you to the great writer and the rest is self explanatory. Same for awards, you might just enter a contest in a year when there were dozens of really good books and your novel may not have made grade. It is part of the business and in no way takes away from what you have achieved—writing a book you are proud of. Keep writing, the more you write the better you will become.
Publishing Transformation
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 13th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
There is a transformation in the future for the publishing industry. The retail sector, especially the major bookstore chains are under intense financial pressure due to falling sales. The beginning of this debacle started more than a decade ago but the smartest people in publishing are just now catching on. If the major bookstores close their doors then a major shift will occur on the retail side of publishing.
This will impact the business model the major companies operate under and will give birth to a major transformation in publishing. For writers this means two things: (1) content is now and will always remain king so the more content you create the better, and (2) not only will major publishers give strong consideration to the marketability of the title and author but to the level of publishing knowledge the author possesses. The reason is evident, they cannot afford the time or resources to hold the hands of worrisome authors.
If you have not started to school yourself in the basics of how the business operates it would be a good idea to get going. There is plenty of information available but only one book. I know because I wrote it and now sell it at this web site exclusively. You need to understand what goes on behind the scenes and how you as an author can help your publisher sell books. It’s not difficult but important, as much as reading your category competition and visiting bookstores (while they exist) on a regular basis. It is the market knowledge you need as well as a good personality and professionally edited content.
The Importance of Having Access to the Market
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 12th, 2010 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Imagine for a moment you bought a new car for your family and wanted to take it out for a spin. As you head down the street of your neighborhood you notice the roads to the main city streets are blocked and you have no way of getting to the grocery or pharmacy, your access is blocked. Then you discover that your particular model of car has been restricted to the local streets of your neighborhood and nothing further. This is the same problem authors have when they publish and lack access to the market. You are destined to driving the back streets.
Certainly you can walk to the grocery or drug store, which will take longer and you may encounter bad weather. Walking long distances can also create other problems but eventually you may get to where you want to go. Certainly the lack of transportation is a problem if you hope of moving beyond your local neighborhood and venturing out to another city or state. The time and effort required to get to your final destination may be beyond your capability. You have a perfectly good car in the garage but have limited access to the services you need for your family.
Distribution or access to the market for published content is key to having any opportunity at selling significant quantities of your work. Publishers that utilize the print-on-demand model may provide you with a car, but it will be restricted to back roads. The major booksellers will never allow your POD book in their stores. This is limited access to the market and a major problem that most self-published authors face in today’s marketplace. The same scenario holds true for eBooks. A simple PDF file is great for downloading to another computer but in the real market for eBooks, again, you are limiting yourself to the back roads.
If your published work is not allowed direct access to booksellers via direct sales to book buyers working for those booksellers, your chances of becoming a successful author is handicapped. Distribution comes in two forms: access and availability. Here is a description of each.
(1)Access to the market is described as a sales group or distribution company selling your title to book buyers of established and recognized booksellers for the purpose of ordering quantities for their stores or catalogs. These titles are often stocked for quick and easy fulfillment and placement onto store shelves and online catalogs.
(2)Availability means your book title is being entered into a database with the millions of other book titles making it available for sale should a consumer walk into a bookseller and special order. This is the type of distribution used by the print-on-demand companies which in essence is not distribution or access to the market.
The same process is at work for digital content in the form of eBooks and Audiobooks via MP3 files. The biggest difference is that print book distributors are heavily influenced, subsidized and dependent on the major print book publishers. In the digital field that is not the case, at least not yet, digital distributors have no dependence on the biggest publishers. This makes distribution of digital content much more accessible for the independent author.
Regardless of whether you decide to publish in print or eBook format, without access to booksellers you cannot sell significant quantities of your work. Whether the seller is a brick and mortar store or an online retailer, library or school, if you do not have the ability to expand your readership through access to those that actively market and sell product then your audience may forever remain small.
My recommendation for authors is they consider all formats for their published work: trade print, eBook and Audiobook. At this time the market for the eBook has tremendous opportunities for the independent author over either of the remaining two formats.
The market for publishing is changing rapidly and in order for authors to maximize their opportunities and in turn their potential, they must stay informed. The difficulty with the print market has been obvious for many years yet we all tend to think of print when discussing publishing. The business of printing books and shipping to booksellers is anachronistic and outdated way of thinking. As the market for print continues to decline the barriers to entry continue to grow. Not the case with eBooks.
The digital marketplace is new, vibrant and growing rapidly. With over 760,000 new print titles being published each year compared to 50,000 eBook titles the competition is less and access to the market is open and available. The window of opportunity for any new market is small and the time for eBook publishing is today.
How to Convert Your Manuscript to an eBook
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 12th, 2010 | 4 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The eBook market is exploding with the introduction of the Apple iPad and now Google is making plans for a competitive eReading device. The time to enter the market with your own eBook is now! The process is simple, there is only one step required to convert a manuscript into an eBook.
Have your manuscript converted from its original Word document into the style formats of the leading eReading devices by a professional eBook formatter. There is no need to worry about margins or page numbers, an eBook will be formatted to fit a particular style compatible with a multitude of market leading electronic reading devices.
The reading devices that are on the market today require that eBooks available for download must be compatible with the formatting style adopted by that particular eReading device such as the Sony Reader or iPad from Apple. Currently there are over nine various formatting styles that fit a wide assortment of eReading devices. Unfortunately the industry at this point has not agreed upon a universal formatting style compatible for all eBook readers.
Do-It-Yourself formatting is possible, however, if you are not familiar with the various styles for eReaders then it is not recommended you attempt the conversion on your own. If your eBook is not properly formatted to fit the particular style of eReader then the consumer will not be able to download to their device and the potential sale would be voided. This is an obvious problem for the author and eventually will result in your eBook being eliminated from the online catalogs of all retailers. The cost of converting a word document to the top formatting styles is inexpensive compared to the time and frustration of trying it on your own.
Professional formatters who have experience with these styles make the process simple and inexpensive. The cost of converting a manuscript into an eBook is dependent on the length and various components of a manuscript. The price more than compensates for the potential problems you may encounter if you attempt to convert on your own and lose sales.
In addition to the professional formatting of your Word document the other consideration is that your cover be easily read and identified by category on a computer screen. If your title is not easily recognizable by the category from which you write and easily understood by title and sub-title you stand a very good chance of missing a sale. Considering working with a professional who can guide you on how to properly price, package and maximize the marketability of your title.
In some cases the original print cover may need only a slight variation in font, color or style. In other cases an entirely new design may be necessary. Since eBook covers are not as demanding from a consumer standpoint as a printed cover, prices are much less expensive. The visual component of your eBook cover as viewed on a computer screen is critical to your success.
Once your original manuscript in a Word document has been converted to the top eBook style formats and cover is evaluated online, you will have a marketable eBook ready for distribution. Demand for the top professional formatters is high and most word documents can be converted within 30 days, in some cases that may run into 60 days. It all depends on the demand at the time the submission is made. The total cost of converting a simple Word document containing your manuscript into a marketable eBook with a complete new cover design will be a fraction of the cost of a similar print comparison.
The eBook market is growing rapidly, the time for the independent author to take advantage of the opportunities is now. An eBook provides unpublished writers and published authors with a new market for selling content. An eBook is a new format for publication with a completely different audience. These are but two of the advantages that independent authors have when creating an eBook.
Fifteen Points for Marketing Your Writing
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 12th, 2010 | 4 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Marketing published content whether print or digital is similar to cooking. In order to create great dishes you should follow a recipe. Marketing of published content requires a combination of advertising, promotion and publicity combined with variables that take into account format, price, category and any other unique component of the book. Regardless of who publishes your work or how it is published, marketing is essential if you hope to have any chance at selling copies.
When the big New York publishers develop marketing plans for their titles they start with expectations from the editors and evaluate what is possible considering budget and sales potential. Once the framework is outlined they go about cooking to the recipe and combining the necessary components to make the book as successful as possible. Each book is different, there may be similarities but overall the marketing plans contain individual pieces that fit the particular title.
For authors with limited budgets and time to promote their writing, there are fifteen key pieces for marketing your writing:
1) Take advantage of web sites that offer free author profiles, most notably www.NothingBinding.com. Any site that provides a free platform giving you an opportunity to post your photo, author bio and other aspects that an audience may find interesting is worth taking part.
2) Some sites also allow for free excerpts of your manuscript or book as well as free articles of interest that has a direct tie-in to your writing. Provide sample chapters and always post the most dramatic scene, leaving the reader wanting more.
3) Book reviews are one of the best ways of sharing what others think about your writing. Reviews are not meant to express what Aunt Millie or your neighbor thought but rather what professional book reviewers think.
4) Readers like bookmarks and they are one of the best and yet most inexpensive way of putting your book title in front of a potential reader. They are also more likely to hang onto an attractive bookmark as opposed to a business card. Writing pens are okay but not as important as a bookmark.
5) Never underestimate the power of video or audio. Big publishers send authors on book tours so readers can see and hear their favorite authors speak. Create a program around your writing and be informative and creative. Then record on video and post to web sites and You Tube. The web site www.NothingBinding.com allows authors to post video and audio for free.
6) Another terrific way to promote using multi-media is with book trailers, professionally produced they are in essence an advertisement for your book. Prices vary but you can get a quality job for a lot less than you imagine.
7) Social networking is the buzz, everyone is doing it and yet some of us still don’t understand the relevance. The fact remains, you have to do it. If you aren’t on one of the major social networking sites you miss out on meeting fellow writers who just might help you promote your book on their own web site or social network. Reciprocal promotion works if you can build a network via social media.
8) Blogging is another one of those activities that if you are not participating you are missing out. It seems that everyone is blogging and you need to find a way to post relevant content to your blog. If you are writing an Irish love story perhaps you blog about Ireland and the majestic land it is or how visitors to the Irish countryside can enjoy certain attractions. The point is to share your writing and become someone who loves writing about a subject that relates to their work.
9) Subscribe to Google Alerts. Back to the Irish love story, you would want Google to send you daily alerts which will list information about Ireland. Then you can link to the article and respond to what the author had to say. By offering your unique perspective to an article that appears on a prominent web site you have a chance of getting your name and book title in front of readers that may never have heard of you.
10) Be willing to give your book away as a promotional item. You can accomplish this in a small group setting or even radio interview. A free book is a great way to promote your writing and if you publish on your own and not with one of the print-on-demand companies your printing costs are minimal.
11) Change your email signature on all emails so your title and web address are prominently listed. If you are emailing on a regular basis, even to family and friends, it doesn’t hurt they know the title and where to purchase. Be careful, do not say where all books are sold, be specific and if your title is only listed on Amazon then say that.
12) Issue press releases through your social networks and the press release services that are available. These services have access to hundreds of contacts that you have no way of communicating with so utilize what they offer. If you do not feel confident in writing your own press release then there are a multitude of services that can do that for you.
13) Keep your status as an author updated on all writer forums or chat rooms that you visit and contribute to. Don’t aggressively try and sell your writing or you will get criticized and shunned. Be subtle, provide answers to questions based on your experience and throw out a notice about your blog, profile on www.NothingBinding.com or the occasional press release. Be helpful rather than self-centered and it will go a long way.
14) Become an expert. If your book is the Irish love story then become an expert on Ireland and write about it, share what you know and become the local expert on Ireland. Whatever your category, find a way to share what you know with others and you will make fans of readers who may just buy your book.
And finally…
15) Price your digital content aggressively which means under what the major publishers price their own eBooks and you will go a very long way to selling volume that makes sense. You cannot compete head-to-head so don’t try. Be smart and price accordingly.
Those are your top fifteen key pieces of marketing digital content. If those weren’t helpful enough, I’m going to offer you two more:
1) Associate yourself with a digital publishing company that can distribute your content globally and has great reputation for quality content. It’s important the company markets their brand, which is key in independent digital publishing.
2) If all else fails, admit your weakness and consult a professional marketer who can work within your budget and create a plan that fits your title.
Marketing isn’t difficult, it’s getting the right pieces in place that can make an impact and hopefully get you noticed and your content purchased. Marketing takes time and consistency, even more so than money. Once you get the momentum going you have to keep it moving forward, otherwise you start from scratch at the beginning of the line once again. Best of luck and remember, answers to many marketing and publishing questions can be found free at this web site.
Seven Reasons Why Every Author Should Have an eBook
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 12th, 2010 | 2 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Ask anyone and they will tell you that book publishing is about printed copies. It has been the standard for decades and even though the eBook has been around for more than ten years, they only represent about 5 percent of total book sales. So why should any writer or author seriously consider an eBook version of their work?
The print book business is handicapped for the small publisher and independent author. The marketplace is not equal competitively because the largest companies have all the advantages and will continue to dominate as long as they can afford to subsidize falling unit sales. In addition, most small publishers and independent authors do not have direct access to booksellers and even when they do, placement fees are prohibitive. These are the problems with the print book business.
The digital or eBook market is a bit different and here are the seven reasons why every author should have an eBook edition.
(1)The biggest hurdle for the burgeoning digital market is lack of availability of titles. The largest publishers have decided to delay release of major books from bestselling authors so not to damage sales of their hardcover editions. They also have refused to release their entire backlist catalog of older titles for fear the lower priced eBook will cut sales of the printed versions. These are all reasons for eBook market placement by small publishers and independent authors as quickly as possible. It’s not always best to be the first to market, but it’s best to get in when the opportunity exists, and that is now.
(2)The cost of an eBook entry to the market is a fraction of a printed book. Industry analysts have said that the average cost of getting a manuscript printed from one of the large print-on-demand (POD) companies is $2,300. That includes all fees, services, products, marketing packages and any other item they can sell the author. To avoid print and ‘go digital’ you can convert a Word document with a manuscript into eBook format, compatible with all major eReading devices for a fraction of the cost of print. This includes any necessary changes from a printed to digital cover. Basically the total cost of going from manuscript to eBook is a fraction of the cost of a new print book.
(3)In the print business, merchandising a book within a retail book setting is key to sales. Publishers know that placement in key areas within a store is critical to success. However the placement fees for prime space within a store is astronomical and well beyond the capability of the average small publisher. For eBooks the merchandising consists of titles being grouped within categories alongside all other titles published within the same genre. There are no current merchandising or placement fees associated with eBooks. That doesn’t mean there won’t be such fees in the future. Right now, the print industry grandfathers titles already on the market which would exempt titles placed in eBook online catalogs from having to pay any possible future placement fee. That’s another reason to get into the market quickly.
(4)Content size is meaningless in eBooks which are viable as a product with as few as 10,000 words. Such short manuscripts are absolutely not possible in print. This opens up all kinds of possibilities for short fiction, such as short stories and quality content in non-fiction from individuals not inclined to write a 50,000 word manuscript. Anthologies were never popular in printed editions for a variety of reasons, yet today with an eBook the market for anthologies is wide open. Another soft category for sales was poetry, yet with eBooks, the size of the content is not important; it’s the quality of the writing and poetry is now seen as another possibility within the wide range of content applicable on an eBook.
(5)Pricing of eBooks provides the small publisher and independent author with advantages over their larger New York competitors. That’s because the big houses have tremendous overhead that has to be accounted for, in addition to healthy royalties for digital editions, to authors and agents. Not so in the eBook market where the small company can price aggressively and undercut major competitors without impacting margins like those found in print editions. It’s virtually impossible to price well under competitive titles in print, but eBooks are like unchartered territory where you can do just about what you want with pricing and make up for it in volume.
(6)Access to sellers of eBooks is open to any small publisher on equal terms with all other publishing companies. In a nutshell, distribution for the printed book is controlled by distribution companies who work almost exclusively with the large New York publishers. This is not so with eBooks where most of the distributors are ‘tech people’ who happen to be interested in distributing a product that has the potential to sell. Certainly Amazon is grounded in the print side of publishing and will continue to make it difficult for small publishers, Barnes & Noble is struggling and Borders Bookstores is strapped for cash and sales. The bookstore experience is fading much the same way of the eight-track tape and Beta for videos. As the market changes so must we and as of right now the eBook is the most attractive way to publish.
And finally…
(7)It’s the right way to launch new material into the marketplace for consumers of reading material. For writers who are still trying to decide how to publish or launch their career, consider this fact: there were over 760,000 new titles being published in print last year. The best guess on new eBooks is only about 50,000. Now go back and read again all previous six reasons why you should publish an eBook and I’ll even add one for you—in publishing the more you can blaze your own trail and separate yourself as a writer from all the other writers in the world, the better chance you have of finding an audience and making a name for yourself as an author. Even though the market for the eBook is still small, I’d much rather take my chances against 49,999 other eBooks than I would against 759,999 other print books especially when I cannot price aggressively, gain access to booksellers and pay 75 percent more for a print book than an eBook.
It would be unfair to make you think that an eBook edition of your writing is suddenly going to be a huge success and sell tens of thousands of copies. However you have a much better chance of that happening in an eBook than you do a printed version for all the reasons mentioned above. This digital market is just getting started and there will be nothing but more opportunities ahead. Recently an author asked me for the negative side to publishing an eBook and to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t think of any!
The whole point is that writers need to find a market for their writing, a place to share their story or message with readers. The digital market is not the perfect answer to the dilemma of selling books, but it provides a legitimate opportunity that is not available in the print side of publishing. As eReading devices with new and enhanced technology enter the market the number of eBook readers will grow. It’s predicted that in 2010 with the launch of the iPad, there will be more than 15 million consumers of eBooks. That represents a three-fold increase over last year.
I’ve been in publishing since graduating from college in the late 70’s and during that time there have been five major events in my career. The tremendous opportunity available to authors with the emergence of the digital market and eBooks is certainly one of those five. Make no mistake, this is a profound event in publishing, the big companies are going through major internal changes that quite possibly will shake them to their foundations and change the way they publish books forever.
We are entering a new phase in the history of the printed word, one that may start the demise of the printed book. Not the total elimination of printed books but the continual decline of the print side of publishing. The future is digital in the form of eBooks. Print will remain a part of, but will not be in the dominant position it has held up to now. This change will take years but it is coming and the time to capitalize on the opportunity is now—today. If you have not considered an eBook, then change your thinking. There is no better time to get into the market. Make your eBook part of your overall publishing program, but don’t avoid and don’t delay.
Content and Marketing
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 11th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
If you are a serious writer just starting out and have dreams of earning a living from your writing, then concentrate on two things: (1) writing and creating new content, plus (2) marketing yourself and your writing. Leave everything else alone for the moment. Success as an author is not possible without an audience. The only way to build an audience is to market and write. You must be able to create new content and deliver to your fans. Trying to figure out ways to build revenue from your writing without an audience is the cart before the horse. Becoming a successful author begins with content and marketing yourself and your writing.
Three Steps to Profitability
By Jerry D. Simmons | September 16th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
In November of 2005 I wrote an article titled “Who is Making Money in Publishing?” Since that time the market has changed dramatically. There are still only two groups that are making the really big money and they are (1) mega bestselling authors, and (2) major retailers such as the mass merchants that sell more than books. However the strategy of the independent author has evolved and I can see many more ways to be profitable on your own as an author than five years ago.
Step number one to profitability is you absolutely must work with a professional mentor who can advise and guide you through the process. It is critical that your book be (1) packaged properly, i.e. the cover; (2) priced to the market and not at the level valued by the author, and (3) perhaps the most critical, is market and category positioning. The single biggest mistake of the New York publishers is placing a book in the wrong category and positioning it improperly which typically means a title will fail to sell copies.
Step number two to profitability is the marketplace today is ideal for the independent as long as they understand the opportunities that are available. This step is a great reason to work with a professional mentor. Someone with decades of publishing experience can provide insight and spot opportunities the lone writer may never discover. The price is worth the result!
Step number three to profitability is help making in making key decisions. Once the decisions are made on the package, price and market position the key is deciding which format is best to launch a career. Would it be print? Or digital? Or both? The answers vary according to the author and their goals. Print is more expensive and distribution has many obstacles. Digital is still new but growing however the cost of entry is much less expensive and the distribution is wide open. Finally launching in both formats needs to have a very specific purpose otherwise is makes no sense to launch in both.
The investment in a professional publishing mentor is a few hundred dollars and will return benefits for a very long time. You are only a first time author once and you can only launch a book on time. When you ring that bell it can never be un-rung. Think about your career and seek help.
First Step to Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | September 15th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The multitude of options that writers have for publishing their work can be overwhelming. Of all the decisions that need to be made the single most important is selecting a mentor or publisher that will work with you and offer professional guidance. Signing with a company offering the lowest price is the most common mistake writers make. Success as an author is based on the image and perception you create for your writing and that publisher will define your work.
If you decide to go it alone then at the very least consult with a mentor who is a publishing professional before doing anything. Making decisions without all the information is a huge mistake and may cost you thousands of dollars and hours of time not to mention a badly published book. Publishing on your own without experienced guidance is a bad idea.
Publishing independently requires investing in a quality product, print or digital, which maximizes your potential to become a successful author. Never, ever try and cut corners or purchase the least expensive service. Spending a few hundred dollars more for being associated with a quality mentor or publisher is in the best interest of all quality writers. Don’t shortchange yourself unless your personal writing goals do not extend past friends and family. If you truly want to be taken seriously as a writer then focus on producing a quality product.
