Additional Stories for October-November 2008

To Blurb or Not to Blurb?

A recent article by William Leith discusses the pros and cons
of putting "blurbs" (endorsements) on the cover of your book:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/22/advertising

Danny O. Snow adds that blurbs DO make a difference when the
endorsement comes from a recognized expert in your field, a
celebrity with name recognition, or a dash of humor. Jim
Cox of Midwest Book Review once wrote "I'd review Dan Poynter's
laundry list if he were to publish it!" A witty phrase like
this is almost certain to attract readers:

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/jimcox/may_05.htm

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Bill Tancer says that "How to write a book" is the 62nd most
frequently asked how-to question on the Internet:

http://www.borders.com/online/store/ArticleView_click

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Tools for Agent-Hunting:

Jim Duxbury (http://www.lulu.com/cdbooks) recommends:

http://www.agentquery.com

Dan Snow adds:

http://www.everyonewhosanyone.com

Remember that you can self-publish while you are looking for an
agent... or a conventional publisher. Use early book reviews to
demonstrate the book's appeal. More importantly, use your sales
records to prove public demand; NOTHING attracts agents (and the
publishers they approach) like objective proof of commercial
potential. If you get a good offer, sell out. If not, you're
already in print with a growing readership.

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Ad: Prove Your Market Before Printing in Bulk

Special services for U-Publish.com visitors help you prove the
market for your book BEFORE you invest in bulk printing:

http://www.u-publish.com/special.htm

Don't get stuck with a garage full of unsold books! Test your
book's public appeal at little or no cost before placing big
print orders.

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A Book Inside

For a nice complement to U-Publish.com (book and newsletter),
visit Carol Denbow's blog:

http://abookinside.blogspot.com

Danny O. Snow will be interviewed by Carol on November 1.
Please tune in!

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News to Use:

Record a video of yourself defining a word that holds special
meaning to you. Then upload it to:

http://wordia.com

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Vote for Our Site!

Please help get U-Publish.com back in the top 101 sites for
writers by sending a message to
writersdig@fwpubs.com with
"101 Best Websites" in the subject line. Thanks!

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Quotation of the Month: The ultimate bad book review!

"The covers of this book are too far apart."
-- Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

The Savvy Self-Publisher, September-October 2008

Tip of the Month

If you have a book in production during October, November or
December, use a 2009 Copyright date rather than 2008. This way,
in January your book won't appear as if it's "last year's" book
when it's actually still fresh and new.

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Lead Story:
Booker Prize by Phone: a Lesson for the Future

Britain's oldest and most prestigious literary award will be
posting extracts of leading books to cell phones starting
September 9. Both text and audio will be available. FMI:

http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/16085

Why is this important to writers? Because it's the wave of
the future! We all love traditional tree-Books made of paper
and ink... but e-Books made of bits and bytes are here to
stay. Moreover, we predict a growing trend toward reading
on multipurpose, handheld devices. Why?

-- Who wants to sit in front of a desktop computer for hours,
reading a book?

-- Laptops are portable, but most are fragile and weigh more
than a book.

-- The mighty iPod can now display text, but the screen is
tiny.

-- Will millions of people pay $200 to $300 (plus the cost
of books) for single purpose devices, and books in formats
that don't work elsewhere?

Enter the iPhone and its ilk: it's a phone, a PDA, an
e-mail device, a Web browser, a TV... and now an e-Book
reader.

Fictionwise has released eReader 1.1, the first of several
upgrades of the eReader software for the trendy iPhone:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6587044.html

Last year, half of Japan's top ten sellers were "cell
phone novels" meant to be read as text messages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_novel

If the staid, traditional old Booker Prize recognizes
the trend, so should we. For years, Poynter and Snow
have held that e-Books are virtually guaranteed to play
a growing role in the book world, and that portable,
multi-purpose devices will prevail as the leading
vehicle for delivering them.

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Freebies and Discounts

Thanks to the popularity of our book and Web site, we are
now pleased to offer a growing number of free and discounted
services, exclusively for U-Publish.com readers:

http://www.u-publish.com/services.htm

Please check back periodically for new specials, coming soon!