Fifteen Points for Marketing Your Writing
By Jerry D. Simmons | October 12th, 2010 | 13 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.
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.
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.
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.
