Publishing Basics... for the self publisher

ASK RON: “Why should I let SelfPublishing.com help me publish my book?” – Part 2

Ron Pramschufer — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:51 +0000

Affordable book cover design and text layout by qualified, experienced designers. I’ve written on this subject from time to time over the years and always end up with a small amount of heated emails from high priced designers but literally hundreds of emails, thanking me for removing the cloud that often surrounds this subject.

Creating a Manuscript that is “Designer/Layout Friendly”

Peri Poloni-Gabriel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:50 +0000

As a book designer, when estimating an interior the first thing I do is look to see if the manuscript has been created with “style”. Not if it is fashionable, but if “style sheets” or “styles” were used for various kinds of text. When using a word processing program such as MS Word or Pages for Mac the default style is Normal. You can see this on your toolbar or in the format menu. If you manually highlight type and change the size, boldness, font, etc. the style will still be Normal but you will have overridden the typical normal formatting manually. A better and much more “designer friendly” way to get consistent, heading, text and other formats throughout your manuscript is to use “styles”.

The Best Advice I’ve Learned On Mastering a Concept Worthy of a Story

Rebecca Berto — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:29 +0000

Five words that will change your entire outlook (or freshen it up, even for seasoned authors) on crafting a novel or screenplay: "Story Engineering by Larry Brooks." I’m focusing on “Concept” today. And I’m lucky this was the first section in Story Engineering. Really. It seems so simple, right? A love story. Except that’s not a concept. It’s an idea. And this explanation is exactly what saved my story.

The Down-and-Dirty on Publishing’s Over-Promoted Technology

Peter Bowerman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:17 +0000

In a recent year, Xlibris, one of the big names in POD (Print-on-Demand), celebrated paying out their one-millionth dollar in royalties. The prior year, they helped authors publish more than 7,000 titles and sell over 300,000 books. Impressive, huh? Well, let’s do the math. $1 million for 7000 titles comes out to an average royalty of $149 each. Not exactly worth bragging about…

It’s Not the End of the World

Phil Whitmarsh — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:16 +0000

The fortune cookie read, “you will find success this year.” Where will success be found? When will I find it? Will I find this “success” before the predicted end of the world next December? I don’t buy it. Any success worth finding is worth earning. This goes for all of us here at selfpublishing.com and it goes for all of the author/publishers that we’ll serve this year … and the next … and the next.

Look Beyond the Bookstore to Sell More Books

Brian Jud — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:05:06 +0000

“Total unit sales of print books sold through the outlets whose sales are captured by Nielsen BookScan dropped 10.2% in the six month period ended July 3, 2011…” (PWDaily, July 8, 2011). This is a trend that will continue, according to publishing experts. Combine that with the demise of Borders and the outlook for trade sales of print books is not brilliant. The good news is that there are two areas in which you can generate sustained growth in your sales and profits: ebooks and non-bookstore marketing.

Does Your Ghostwriter or Editor Need to be an Expert in Your Field?

Kerry Zukus — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:05:35 +0000

I’ve ghosted books on nearly every conceivable subject. The first question every new ghostwriting client asks is, “Are you an expert or do you know anything about [fill in the blank]?” My answer is usually always the same: “No.” So how do I do what I do? Furthermore, why do these people hire me nonetheless?

Chicken or the E-gg? Five Points About Print vs. E-Book Editions

Phil Whitmarsh — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:05:35 +0000

Welcome to the Coach’s Corner! If you have your ear to the self publishing blogosphere, you’ve heard the constant buzz on the subject of publishing printed books vs. e-books. If you’re going to self-publish a book this year, there are five points you need to consider as you consider your publishing options.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

Gail Kearns — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:05:32 +0000

A majority of booksellers agree that the cover design is the single most important element of a book. The truth is, a book is judged first and foremost by its cover. If you want your book to have a fighting chance among the more than 700,000 new books published each year, your cover must trigger an instant response. And it's not just customers who are influenced by your book cover. A well-designed book can help you secure positive reviews, establish your credibility as an expert in your field, win awards and hopefully generate many book sales. That means your cover must be designed compellingly. How is that accomplished?

Legalized Plagiarism: The Bar Drops Again

Joyce Griffith — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:05:23 +0000

I was intrigued by Amazon’s generosity towards the self-publishing market. They’ll put my little self-published book together for me? For free? They’ll sell it for me and take just 35% of the sale price? In the time it takes to chew a stick of gum, I’d ordered Kindle Fire and was ready to roll. I downloaded a lot of free books and some low-priced ones. Just to be fair to the paper people, I ordered a couple of “real” books that my real estate client might like. What a disappointment!