Tip of the Month:
Have you published a new edition of your book, or written a
completely new book?
Go to Worldcat and look up libraries that hold
the first one in their collections. Then notify the collection
manager (or acquisitions librarian) of each library that the
new one is now available.
Contact each librarian individually by name. (Do not spam
librarians!) Be sure to mention that the library already has
one of your books, and where they can order the new one.
Lead Story: Books are NOT Dead, but...
Educators and politicians often lament that young people don't
read enough, preferring TV and online entertainment.
But a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts says
that "literary" reading is growing, not shrinking, with 112
million readers:
http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/ReadingonRise.html
Likewise, many in the publishing world fear that the printed
book is fading away, as more people read in digital form.
But books are not dying either:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8501
But bookstores ARE dying as more and more readers buy books
online. This trend is virtually certain to accelerate in a
time of economic crisis and high fuel prices. Why drive to
a bookstore when you can browse online from the comfort of
your home or office, saving time, money and natural resources?
Likewise, the traditional publishing industry practice of
printing and warehousing thousands of copies of each new
book is fading away, as "Print-on-Demand" grows more and
more popular.
The traditional publisher's habit of overprinting, then
giving up big discounts to wholesalers and retailers who
return unsold books for pulping is wasteful, inefficient and
environmentally unfriendly. It will be replaced by more and
more authors self-publishing POD books -- then selling them
directly to readers.
Watch for dramatic changes in the book world this year. Some
will result from short-term factors triggered by the global
economic crisis. Others are coming after decades of unsound
business practices by mainstream publishers and booksellers.
But at the end of the day, the book itself is very much alive.
And everyday people are still reading them. Only the methods
used to print and deliver books are destined to change.
Podcasting: Revolution or Fad?
A podcast is like an audio book, except shorter -- usually just
a chapter. And usually they're free, intended to attract book
buyers. Podiobooks.com says that 45,000 podcasts are downloaded
daily.
Podcasting also benefits from the current trend toward delivery
of more and more "reading" material to portable devices, such
as the mighty iPod... and now the iPhone or Google Android.
For success stories of self-publishers who used podcasting to
land publishing deals, see the following article:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1872381,00.html
Snow Signs with Wiley & Sons
The Book Industry Study Group is pleased to announce that Danny
O. Snow has been signed as a contributor to its upcoming
publication Print on Demand For Dummies (R), due out in May 2009. The book is being published in partnership with John Wiley
& Sons, publishers of the popular 'For Dummies' (R) series, and
will be available exclusively from the BISG Web site.
Reminder: Snow to Speak in NYC
"Print Publishing in 2009's Digital Landscape" is the topic of
an upcoming panel by Danny O. Snow at the 2009 Publishing
Business Conference, March 23-25 at the New York Marriott in
Times Square.
Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg of NPR, plus a host of book
industry leaders will deliver a diversity of workshops and
panels on the hottest trends in today's fast-changing
publishing world.
Subscribers to this newsletter can get a free pass to Snow's
panel Visit http://www.PublishingBusiness.com then select
"EXHIBIT HALL + 1 SESSION." Use the discount code Snow09
to get a freebie courtesy of U-Publish.com.
Please feel free to forward copies of this newsletter to your
fellow authors and publishers. This is a fre@ resource that is
available to anyone in the book world upon request. We don't
accept paid advertising, endorse or guarantee products or
services, nor accept fees for mentioning them without full
disclosure. See http://www.u-publish.com/monthly.htm to join.
Quotation of the Month:
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to
better." -- Richard Hooker (1554–1600)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Savvy Self-Publisher, January-February 2009
Tip of the Month:
WeRead.com is a new social networking site for book lovers. It
could prove especially helpful to authors and publishers for two
reasons: a) most books sold by Amazon.com and Lulu.com are now
listed in its catalog; and b) it is now integrated with Facebook,
allowing FB users to recommend books to their friends.
For those unfamiliar with today's social networking phenomenon,
imagine that you have published a book and joined Facebook.
With WeRead, you can "chuck" (recommend) it to your circle of
FB friends, and ask them to do likewise. Each of your friends
has a separate circle of other friends who might be interested
in your book. Each of those in your friend's circle has more...
and so on and so on.
Facebook has more than 80 million users, so a "viral marketing"
campaign for your book could potentially reach a huge audience.
If you have a book on Amazon or Lulu (or both) you can join
Facebook and install the WeRead application at no cost. Build
a circle of friends, then chuck your book(s) to them -- and ask
them to do the same. Who knows? Your book might interest many
friends-of-friends who would otherwise miss it.
For more tips on using Facebook as a book promotion tool, see
the item from SPAN following later in this newsletter...
Lead Story: Are Bookstores Doomed?
On January 5, Borders appointed Ron Marshall as its new CEO,
as well as replacing other key executives.
The company's stock, which first tanked in March 2007, had
recently fallen to as little as 38 cents per share, down from
a 52 week high of $11.20. It soared to a whopping 59 cents
on the day following the announcement. (NYSE: BGP)
If Marshall can rescue Borders, he'll earn our applause.
But this would not, however, change the sorry state of the
conventional bookselling industry in general. To counter-
paraphrase McCain, "the fundamentals are NOT strong."
Return policies (stocking books on spec) are wasteful and
unfair to authors and publishers. Shipping the same book
five times between printer and reader is insane. Focusing
on a handful of trendy bestsellers at the expense of less
commercial books with legitimate literary merit is a shame
for everyone.
As Poynter and Snow have said for years: booksellers need
to remember the lessons learned in the music business
(Napster, iTunes, etc.) to survive. Book sales will
increasingly happen online, period. Books will move more
and more directly from author to reader, period. e-Books
will play an increasingly important role, period.
The upcoming re-release of millions of out-of-print and
backlist books by Google Book Search will intensify the
pressure on "brick and mortar" booksellers to catch up in
a changing world.
A few years ago, chain stores could argue "but we have
millions of loyal customers." (Just like Tower Records,
circa 1999.) Today, that claim rings increasingly hollow:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/weekinreview/28streitfeld.html
But bookstores might survive with in-store printing, or
possibly following the old Sears "catalog store" model
that lets customers browse in the store, then place
orders for shipment to their homes. However, using stores
as mini-warehouses (supplied from maxi-warehouses) will
soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
We hope that Ron Marshall is successful in bringing
Borders back from the brink of ruin. Either way, we
also hope that the struggles of Borders will help drag
all mainstream booksellers (kicking and screaming if
neccesary) into the 21st Century.
Reminder: News to Use:
The Small Publishers Ass'n of North America (SPAN) has published
a good primer on how you can use Facebook to promote your book:
http://www.spannet.org/article-applequist-facebook.htm
(Ad) You can also join SPAN with a *huge* "new member discount"
courtesy of U-Publish.com. To get the discount, you must apply
using the following link:
http://www.u-publish.com/services.htm
Snow to Speak in NYC
"Print Publishing in 2009's Digital Landscape" is the topic of
an upcoming panel by Danny O. Snow at the 2009 Publishing
Business Conference, March 23-25 at the New York Marriott in
Times Square.
Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg of NPR, plus a host of book
industry leaders will deliver a diversity of workshops and
panels on the hottest trends in today's fast-changing
publishing world.
Subscribers to this newsletter can get a free pass to Snow's
panel by sending an e-mail message to newsdesk@u-publish.com
by February 1. Please put "March Event" in the subject line.
Visit
http://www.PublishingBusiness.com for more information.
CreateSpace Now Offers Previews
Got a book in progress? Want feedback from readers before you
go to press?
Createspace.com now allows you to upload a public
or private preview, and invite up to 100 people to preview it,
rate it, and send feedback to five questions of your choice.
Professionals use "focus groups" to fine-tune other products
before public release. Why not fine-tune your book? Many
publishers circulate bound galleys to reviewers months before
publication, but this can be a slow and expensive process.
This is an effective way to "workshop" a manuscript without
paying to print and distribute advance copies. Or use it to
get "blurbs" (endorsements) from readers that make good
advertising copy -- especially if they are VIPs or experts in
your field.
As an added benefit, after you have evaluated the feedback
from early readers, revised your manuscript and are ready to
go public, you can also use Createspace as a POD printer that
accepts orders from the public, prints and ships your book,
then pays you a royalty on each sale.
Please feel free to forward copies of this newsletter to your
fellow authors and publishers. This is a fre@ resource that is
available to anyone in the book world upon request. We don't
accept paid advertising, endorse or guarantee products or
services, nor accept fees for mentioning them without full
disclosure. See http://www.u-publish.com/monthly.htm to join.
Library Downloads Jumped 76% in 2008
Library patrons checked out 5.3 million e-Books (plus audio
and video) in 2008, using Overdrive.com's delivery platform:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6626593.html
Stephenie Meyer was the most downloaded author at libraries
with her book "Twilight."
As Publishers Cut Back, Self-Publishing Is Better than Ever:
It was hard to land a traditional publishing contract BEFORE
the global economic crisis of 2008. Now it's even harder --
but self-publishing is easier and more effective than ever
before!
In his highly informative post below, David Carnoy covers most
of the latest options in the POD and self-publishing landscape:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10119891-82.html
This report is highly recommended as a "quick start" roadmap
for authors who want to self-publish in 2009. For the advanced
course, get the upcoming 2009 edition of our book, which will
address many of the same options in greater detail.
Workshop for Texans:
THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING WORKSHOP SERIES, Saturday Jan 17,
Houston. $45 registration includes lunch. Call 713-937-9184
or e-mail rita.mills@comcast.net for details. Bring your
marketing materials for the free display table. RSVP by 1/13.
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.
Quotation of the Month:
"The [wise] reader... is capable of reading between these lines
what does not stand written in them, but is nevertheless implied."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
WeRead.com is a new social networking site for book lovers. It
could prove especially helpful to authors and publishers for two
reasons: a) most books sold by Amazon.com and Lulu.com are now
listed in its catalog; and b) it is now integrated with Facebook,
allowing FB users to recommend books to their friends.
For those unfamiliar with today's social networking phenomenon,
imagine that you have published a book and joined Facebook.
With WeRead, you can "chuck" (recommend) it to your circle of
FB friends, and ask them to do likewise. Each of your friends
has a separate circle of other friends who might be interested
in your book. Each of those in your friend's circle has more...
and so on and so on.
Facebook has more than 80 million users, so a "viral marketing"
campaign for your book could potentially reach a huge audience.
If you have a book on Amazon or Lulu (or both) you can join
Facebook and install the WeRead application at no cost. Build
a circle of friends, then chuck your book(s) to them -- and ask
them to do the same. Who knows? Your book might interest many
friends-of-friends who would otherwise miss it.
For more tips on using Facebook as a book promotion tool, see
the item from SPAN following later in this newsletter...
Lead Story: Are Bookstores Doomed?
On January 5, Borders appointed Ron Marshall as its new CEO,
as well as replacing other key executives.
The company's stock, which first tanked in March 2007, had
recently fallen to as little as 38 cents per share, down from
a 52 week high of $11.20. It soared to a whopping 59 cents
on the day following the announcement. (NYSE: BGP)
If Marshall can rescue Borders, he'll earn our applause.
But this would not, however, change the sorry state of the
conventional bookselling industry in general. To counter-
paraphrase McCain, "the fundamentals are NOT strong."
Return policies (stocking books on spec) are wasteful and
unfair to authors and publishers. Shipping the same book
five times between printer and reader is insane. Focusing
on a handful of trendy bestsellers at the expense of less
commercial books with legitimate literary merit is a shame
for everyone.
As Poynter and Snow have said for years: booksellers need
to remember the lessons learned in the music business
(Napster, iTunes, etc.) to survive. Book sales will
increasingly happen online, period. Books will move more
and more directly from author to reader, period. e-Books
will play an increasingly important role, period.
The upcoming re-release of millions of out-of-print and
backlist books by Google Book Search will intensify the
pressure on "brick and mortar" booksellers to catch up in
a changing world.
A few years ago, chain stores could argue "but we have
millions of loyal customers." (Just like Tower Records,
circa 1999.) Today, that claim rings increasingly hollow:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/weekinreview/28streitfeld.html
But bookstores might survive with in-store printing, or
possibly following the old Sears "catalog store" model
that lets customers browse in the store, then place
orders for shipment to their homes. However, using stores
as mini-warehouses (supplied from maxi-warehouses) will
soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
We hope that Ron Marshall is successful in bringing
Borders back from the brink of ruin. Either way, we
also hope that the struggles of Borders will help drag
all mainstream booksellers (kicking and screaming if
neccesary) into the 21st Century.
Reminder: News to Use:
The Small Publishers Ass'n of North America (SPAN) has published
a good primer on how you can use Facebook to promote your book:
http://www.spannet.org/article-applequist-facebook.htm
(Ad) You can also join SPAN with a *huge* "new member discount"
courtesy of U-Publish.com. To get the discount, you must apply
using the following link:
http://www.u-publish.com/services.htm
Snow to Speak in NYC
"Print Publishing in 2009's Digital Landscape" is the topic of
an upcoming panel by Danny O. Snow at the 2009 Publishing
Business Conference, March 23-25 at the New York Marriott in
Times Square.
Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg of NPR, plus a host of book
industry leaders will deliver a diversity of workshops and
panels on the hottest trends in today's fast-changing
publishing world.
Subscribers to this newsletter can get a free pass to Snow's
panel by sending an e-mail message to newsdesk@u-publish.com
by February 1. Please put "March Event" in the subject line.
Visit
http://www.PublishingBusiness.com for more information.
CreateSpace Now Offers Previews
Got a book in progress? Want feedback from readers before you
go to press?
Createspace.com now allows you to upload a public
or private preview, and invite up to 100 people to preview it,
rate it, and send feedback to five questions of your choice.
Professionals use "focus groups" to fine-tune other products
before public release. Why not fine-tune your book? Many
publishers circulate bound galleys to reviewers months before
publication, but this can be a slow and expensive process.
This is an effective way to "workshop" a manuscript without
paying to print and distribute advance copies. Or use it to
get "blurbs" (endorsements) from readers that make good
advertising copy -- especially if they are VIPs or experts in
your field.
As an added benefit, after you have evaluated the feedback
from early readers, revised your manuscript and are ready to
go public, you can also use Createspace as a POD printer that
accepts orders from the public, prints and ships your book,
then pays you a royalty on each sale.
Please feel free to forward copies of this newsletter to your
fellow authors and publishers. This is a fre@ resource that is
available to anyone in the book world upon request. We don't
accept paid advertising, endorse or guarantee products or
services, nor accept fees for mentioning them without full
disclosure. See http://www.u-publish.com/monthly.htm to join.
Library Downloads Jumped 76% in 2008
Library patrons checked out 5.3 million e-Books (plus audio
and video) in 2008, using Overdrive.com's delivery platform:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6626593.html
Stephenie Meyer was the most downloaded author at libraries
with her book "Twilight."
As Publishers Cut Back, Self-Publishing Is Better than Ever:
It was hard to land a traditional publishing contract BEFORE
the global economic crisis of 2008. Now it's even harder --
but self-publishing is easier and more effective than ever
before!
In his highly informative post below, David Carnoy covers most
of the latest options in the POD and self-publishing landscape:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10119891-82.html
This report is highly recommended as a "quick start" roadmap
for authors who want to self-publish in 2009. For the advanced
course, get the upcoming 2009 edition of our book, which will
address many of the same options in greater detail.
Workshop for Texans:
THE BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING WORKSHOP SERIES, Saturday Jan 17,
Houston. $45 registration includes lunch. Call 713-937-9184
or e-mail rita.mills@comcast.net for details. Bring your
marketing materials for the free display table. RSVP by 1/13.
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.
Quotation of the Month:
"The [wise] reader... is capable of reading between these lines
what does not stand written in them, but is nevertheless implied."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
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