Writing and Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | September 14th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The fact that someone completes a manuscript does not make them a writer with something worthy of publication. There is much more to publishing than throwing content together and having copies printed. In fact, anyone who thinks they can simply write, print and become successful does not understand the marketplace. Writers who are serious about their craft need an editor and mentor or publisher if they hope to have a chance at success.
Every indication is that the digital market is here to stay and according to the largest retail bookstore chain in the country will be the only reason book sales grow in the future. Any author with a print book who is hesitant to consider an eBook edition is missing a great opportunity. Certainly there are plenty of free and even cheap formatting programs which create digital files however the global market dictates professional quality formatting for your manuscript.
Do not under estimate the assistance a mentor or publisher can provide when you consider an eBook. Published content, whether in print or digital is still content and must be handled by someone with experience. Success comes at a cost and if you want to have the best opportunity to succeed, never shortchange your publishing options and or opportunities.
Surviving and Thriving the Changes in Book Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | September 14th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
On April 3rd, 2010 book publishing changed forever. Apple launched the iPad, a digital reading device that officially heralds the dismantling of the big publisher model that has been dominant for more than sixty years. A new bench mark has been created and a universal platform is now established that allows every writer, publisher and business to profit without having to rely on a major publisher.
Welcome to the new world of electronic publishing! There are three important trends in publishing today.
The first is that you no longer need a major publisher to be successful. You can be small and independent. You, the author, can retain all rights, ownership and control over your content and make a conscious choice to publish on your own.
The second is digital publishing is coming of age. eBooks are here to stay and their numbers and proliferation growing exponentially. Writers, publishers and businesses finally have an open and level marketplace for their content.
Finally, the days of traditional publishing are numbered. Another giant industry that dominated the 20th century is about to bite the dust.
From the day the first mass-market paperback rolled off the presses in the early 1950’s book publishing has followed a very simple path, print and ship. The business evolved from paperback in supermarkets, to hardcover in mega bookstores. Nothing really changed in the way the publishers conducted business for almost 50 years. Terms of sale, discounts and distribution remained fairly static and print on paper for mass consumption and entertainment was the cornerstone of traditional book publishing.
The first inkling of change came with the introduction of computers in the workplace in the early 1970’s. This was when people first started reading electronic files on computer screens and the first electronic books were produced. By the 1990, people were sending email and file attachments with tens and even hundreds of pages in length. And along came the Internet and graphical interfaces. By the year 2000, millions of people became adept and ever more reliant on computers and the Internet and document transmittal got easier and faster.
Electronic books (eBooks) broke on the scene in 2006 when Sony introduced their eBook Reader. Amazon launched the Kindle in 2007 and as the market for eBooks began to take shape as more and more independent publishers made significant inroads and achieved sales and financial success. In 2008 and 2009, the major publishers started paying attention and getting concerned in earnest as electronic publishing and eBooks began to occupy a significantly greater role in the publishing picture, so significant that they even began to pose a perceived threat to the traditional publishing business model.
The tectonic shift in the marketplace occurred when Apple released the iPad, remarkable and elegant book sized machine allows people to see books in color with ease and crystal clarity.
Suddenly the publishing world is turned upside down. With the Internet, marketing can be readily done by anyone. Big publishers and bookstores are no longer the only way for authors to reach the masses. In fact, they may no longer even be needed at all.
What will publishing look like in the next ten to twenty years?
Will bookstores disappear? Are the days of traditional publishing with paper books being sold in bookstores numbered?
Digital book publishing is going to change the dynamics of the industry forever in five major ways. The big publishing companies may not survive because the new technologies allow little people, the writers, the small publishers and the individual creative businesses to create value packed products, communicate and market directly to their target audiences, and profit handsomely from the change.
The marketplace for distributing and selling eBooks is wide open and not restricted by the largest players in the world. Distribution to large numbers of eBook buyers and sellers online is accessible to everyone and not currently limited nor restrained by a dominant group of traditional big publishers.
The cost of entry into the digital marketplace is a fraction of the cost of print and is affordable by just about anyone who owns a computer. Converting content to an eBook format compatible with all the leading eBook Readers is a tiny investment considering the possible return. While global distribution may require translation into foreign languages, there is no cost associated with printing, warehousing, shipping and handling of paper books.
Author royalties and publisher products are substantially higher than is possible if a writer were under contract to a large publisher and significantly more than what is possible as an independent author with a distributed print book. The Return-On-Investment for any eBook is a fraction of what it costs compared to print. The potential profit margin for digital content makes this an exceptional investment for the creator and provider of content.
Digital or eBooks can be created with rich interactive multimedia content. This expands the entertainment potential and possible enjoyment people can experience and opens up the realm of publishing in ways that have yet to be defined or imagined. The same technology will support a sixty or seventy thousand word text as readily as a 100 word children’s book filled with pictures and illustrations. Animations, video, or dynamic entertainment of any type that can be designed to be published, marketed and delivered on wireless communications systems anywhere in the world.
Pricing for digital content is more dependent on volume than margin. Print books must maintain viability as a single unit for sale and be priced to cover all fixed and future expenses. The pricing for eBooks and digital content is simple and basically just focuses on the upfront creativity and production costs. There are no future reprint, shipping or handling costs associated with the production of eBooks and digital content.
To date, the major publishers have argued that the economics have not been right for a major shift to the digital world. In fact, the fear of lost print sales has stymied the widespread introduction of older titles for release as eBooks. This fear is important and real. The big publishers are worried. As well they should be.
Digital publishing and eBooks threaten traditional publishing and the survival of the the six largest world-wide publishing concerns, like nothing they have ever seen before. How will they survive? Time will tell.
Going Digital
The digital market offers tremendous opportunities for independent writers, publishers and businesses large and small to profit from a digital publishing model that in effect becomes an extension of their own marketing.
However to succeed in the new world is not simply a matter of throwing content together and converting it to an eBook. Quality matters. Content matters. Value and the customers experience matters. There is a right way and a wrong way to proceed.
Until April few businesses had any opportunity to utilize publishing as a mechanism for marketing. But now, the digital world has provided a new and exciting way to market the product or service of any company, publisher and writer. The shift in the marketplace and technology makes quality eBooks and quality digital content by quality people and organizations the most sought out commodity that the industry will make available.
A quality reading and entertainment or knowledge experience is what will attract customers and solidify the brand of the publishing companies of the next decade and beyond.
Those that short change the quality element of publishing are the ones who will fail.
Those that focus on creating and delivering superb quality are the ones who will distinguish themselves, attract the public interest and the sales that go with it.
For any individual or company to survive and thrive in the new digital marketplace they will need to utilize the skills of book publishers and work to create eBook and digital content that delivers notable satisfaction and personal enjoyment. Nothing less will survive the scrutiny and instant communication that exists in the world of today.
The changing landscape poses big problems for the print-on-demand publishing companies that are proliferating across the landscape today.
Paper is getting to expensive to offer and deliver. The writing is on the wall. The book printing costs are reaching levels that people will not accept. Environmental impacts and waste disposal costs will eventually be deemed unacceptable. The days of unrestricted book printing are numbered.
The Apple iPad offers a suite of standardized formats for eBooks and rich multimedia content. The barriers to creation are diminishing with the relative ease with which eBooks and digital content can be created. The marketplace allows for such a quick and easy dissemination of ideas among people that quality creative works can be shared and delivered to the masses virtually overnight.
With the ever increasing sales of iPads and devices like it, the flow of electronic content will increase. The possibilities are endless and while the eReading devices continue to improve and drop in price the more widespread the market and potential for success. A critical tipping point is coming soon. The market potential is enormous.
The opportunity that exists for widespread market penetration via eBooks and digital publishing has never been greater. Some writers recognize this fact, few publishers and virtually no businesses understand the market in a way that easily indentifies the possibilities. For a small investment a company has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands even millions of customers.
There is phenomenal opportunity for individuals as well as business and companies to take advantage of digital publishing as long as they start soon and make it a part of an overall marketing strategy. Those that seize the moment will be able to take part in the future.
Giving Away Content
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 22nd, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
I’m in favor of an author offering free excerpts of their writing. This is especially important for eBooks and should be strongly considered with free chapters of their print book. Recently one of my newsletter readers asked the following.”Last month you convinced me that my self-published book should be available for Kindle. Now I’m wondering if I should make the first chapter available as a free download, in hopes of enticing people to read more. Is that the kind of question you might address in your newsletter? If so, I bet a lot of other writers would be interested in the answer as well! Not quite sure where the line falls between publishing and marketing.”
This is a great question and the answer is yes, every author with an eBook should consider offering as much as 20% of the content free. This coupled with a low price point makes the content more enticing to readers. The bottom line is you want to sell more eBooks and the best way is a (1) offer a free download for a portion of your book, and (2) set a low price point for novels, a bit higher for non-fiction.
In addition, marketing is always important. You are an author with a book and yet your audience doesn’t know you exist. How do you reach your audience? That is a question for the ages and there is no set formula. Successful marketing involves a number of components in the right combination based on the genre and distribution for each book. For independent authors it means lots of work via social networking and posting as much content free on the Internet as possible. Marketing is never easy nor quick; my suggestion is to always consult with a professional book marketer before you spend money and time. Let them help you establish a strategy and marketing plan. You save money by following their advice. It would be a wise investment.
Digital Demand is Growing
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 13th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Experts in the digital marketplace all say that the future price of eReaders will directly impact demand for eBooks. Once the price point goes below the $200 dollar level, the demand should increase exponentially. Now that the price has gone significantly under that magic $200 level, expect to see tremendous increases in the demand and sales of eBooks.
Ironically all the eReader manufacturers such as Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble proclaim they are having difficulty selling more eReaders simply because the list of available eBooks is small. For the independent author and small publisher this creates a tremendous opportunity to capture market share and generate sales. There is no doubt that window is open for new digital content and the time is right to add your book to the list.
Major publishers are reluctant to release a wider array of older backlist titles simply because they do not want to cut into their print business which is the lifeblood of the big publishers. This creates opportunities for authors and with the right distribution, beyond Apple, Amazon and B&N the better chance you have of making a name for yourself as an independently published author.
Global Market
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 6th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There are a variety of stories circulating the Internet about authors who have suddenly become “successful” with eBooks and in most cases were virtual unknowns. Luck plays a small part since we all know that being in the right place at the right time always helps, but each author was also tenacious and a pretty darn good writer. There are thousands of writers with as much talent as the ones we have read about but each possessed a strong desire to be successful, worked extremely hard and marketed their socks off.
All of these success stories have been circulated by Amazon, where the majority has made their mark. However not everyone can depend on one web site for all their sales. The answer is a much wider, global distribution for your content, especially eBook. To improve your chances of success you must cast a wider net and reach a much larger audience, regardless of how much traffic one web site receives. Who can afford to ignore fifty percent of the market?
Access to the market and reaching readers through global distribution is important to improving your chances of selling more copies and becoming a successful author.
Your Publisher Defines You as an Author
By Jerry D. Simmons | July 1st, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Writers who make a decision to publish independently in any format have plenty of choices. Since the eBook is a hot topic I receive lots of emails from companies touting their services. Recently I received a blind email from a consulting company offering to publish my book in an eBook format and offered me a whole list of added bonuses if I responded immediately. Obviously they purchased a mailing list and thought I would be a good candidate.
It seems the more that is written about the opportunities with digital publishing the more the competition for conversion from a vast array of people calling themselves publishers’ pops up in our inbox. The real decision for any writer is: who do you trust with your writing? Understand that your publisher is the one who defines you as a writer. Your publisher is someone you need to feel confident in their ability to maximize the potential for your writing.
Printing is not publishing, creating a Kindle edition and throwing it up on Amazon is not publishing. This is a business of creating content that offers the reader something special. Good publishing involves skills gained from years of experience in the business of making quality content better, more marketable and potentially bestselling. Publishers have experience with all types of genres, authors, marketing plans and distribution. They understand the nuances of the market for readers and books.
Today I’m fortunate to work with a group of editors, designers and marketers with unmatched experience and qualifications in New York publishing. The decision for writers is who do you place your trust in to make your writing the best it can be? Who do you want to be associated with as a publisher? Would you prefer working with a company who sends blind emails? Or do you think experience in publishing is a major factor? How successful do you want to be?
It boils down to choice and certainly who you decide to team up with regarding your writing is very important. If you feel you made a mistake with your print edition then correct that for the eBook and consider someone with experience. Publishing is perception and the logo on your published content sets the stage for much of what will follow. Publishing is about writing and selling quality content to share with the world.
Patience is a Publishing Virtue
By Jerry D. Simmons | June 29th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
The rush to publication is only warranted when (1) the timeliness meets an anticipated deadline, such as a court case or high profile event, (2) early release in advance of a competitive title with similarities, and (3) seasonal issues such as diet and exercise book in winter. Otherwise the rush to publish can be a problem.
Writers who have painstakingly worked for months or years on a manuscript and suddenly find themselves in a hurry to publish is not giving the process enough consideration. There is absolutely no need to rush a book out to the market unless it meets on the three criteria above. Rushing for the sake of getting a book on sale makes no sense and should be avoided.
Those writers with little patience for a publisher that takes their time is not giving production, sales or marketing the proper weight in the whole equation. Delays are sometimes necessary, the rule of thumb is get it right not get it in a hurry. The best recommendation is take your time and make certain all the pieces of the puzzle are in place before launching.
Remember—you only launch one time! Make it the right time.
True Value of Products and Services
By Jerry D. Simmons | June 18th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
My goal with every newsletter, article and blog is to inform my audience. Certainly I hope to educate writers about the business of publishing but invariably the wave of “scams, charlatans, snake oil salespeople and thieves” have become a tsunami and can sometimes drown out the honest voices simply because we refuse to take advantage or rip off our clients.
Having served my entire adult life in publishing it still amazes me to this day how many companies operate under such outright deception and distortion of facts. The sad fact in the “independent or self-publishing” business is that too many people make a living off promoting, marketing and selling products and services that simply do not work or have value in the real world of book publishing, marketing, distributing and selling of books. Writers MUST protect themselves and their writing.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when trying to determine whether a product or service has real value: (1) Never commit to a long term agreement with anyone! (2) Never pay for a product or service without knowing who is behind the product and service, what their background in publishing is and knowing whether they offer testimonials from satisfied customers that you can contact and objectively verify. (3) Web sites or email blasts that sell and promote without offering a legitimate telephone number that someone can call and ask questions should be avoided. (4) Companies that take days to respond to emails sent through their web sites are also to be avoided. (5) If it sounds too good to be true or offers promises and guarantees, consider them companies to be avoided.
There are never any guarantees in publishing, even for the biggest of the bestselling New York Times authors, there are no guarantees. Anyone making claims that sound too good, too easy, or too quick to possibly be true, run the other way, save your money and send me an email. I’ll be happy to offer you honest advice and feedback on whether or not the offer is legitimate.
Follow Your Dreams
By Jerry D. Simmons | June 17th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Merriam Webster defines publishing as: the business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature, information, etc. Writers who ask me for advice on the best way to publish their work get the same answer, follow your dreams. Obviously there are tricks to the trade and better ways of making an impression on agents, editors, publishers and even consumers. However the only thing that really matters is that writers follow their dream despite the difficulty.
There are no secrets, regardless of what the master marketers tell you and try to sell you; there are no short cuts to success as an author. If there were a set formula then the biggest publishers would have it figured it out and would be following it with every single title. Following your dream does not mean mortgaging your home or bank account for a chance to publish. Publishing is a business first and creative process second. The business and production side of publishing over shadows the art of creating content. Understanding this fact should be a guide as you decide which route to take.
The more you recognize the terminology and how the basic pieces of the business fit together the better informed you will be and of course the better informed the better chance to recognize the opportunities before you. The one size fits all in publishing does not exist and there are certainly advantages and disadvantages to each type of publishing, including being under contract to a major publisher. The more you read and stay on top of competitive titles in your category, learn the basics of the business, and continue to create content as the same time you are trying to figure it all out the better prepared and positioned you will be. The better prepared and positioned the better chance you have a becoming a successful author.
The Biggest Player in eBooks
By Jerry D. Simmons | June 14th, 2010 | 1 Comment » (Click to add yours!)
Sony introduced eBooks many years ago when they brought the with the Amazon placed eBooks on the map and now Apple will help all authors realize how to maximize the potential. They are without a doubt the game changer for the digital marketplace. The fact that Apple is spending large sums of money to advertise and promote the new iPad means they are willing to bet on the viability of reading and digital content. I truly believe the audience for eBooks is just now waking up to the fact that eReaders are going to become an important component in the technology needs for everyone who owns a computer or cell phone.
