The Concierge Marketing Key Ring

Does Your Book Editor Have a Spirit Animal?

2017-11-10T15:37:00.002-06:00

If you have ever gone through the process of getting your book edited, you know it can be pretty vicious. Your precious words strung together as beautiful as a garden, only to be plucked, pruned, chopped down, and uprooted by an editor. It's painful, but necessary. It's grueling, but worth it. If you haven't gone through the process quite yet, here are some tips for you.

FOR THE AUTHOR...
When you are considering a book editor for your project, keep this simple idea in mind. They must be a LION who can oversee the field, guarding the whole thing overall. They must also be a FIELD MOUSE among the grass, making sure that every tiny thing is in order.

FOR THE EDITOR...
If you are an editor taking on this challenge, know this: A person who proofs websites or catches typos in a book they are reading is not a book editor. An editor must be able to define and hone a through line for the author. You must be able to look beyond the typos and make sure the book makes sense as a whole for the author's stated goals and intentions. It is not the same as editing a school paper, or a business plan. Books are another animal entirely!

Consider the amount of responsibility a book editor is taking on. You have prepared your story to the best of your ability. Hopefully, by the time you hand it over to an editor, you have exhausted all of your rewriting, and you don't have another thing to add. That's when your manuscript is in shape for an editor. As far as the editor goes, this is the most important element of book preparation. You have written a compelling story, but the editor has the job of polishing it up to a high luster. It's a huge responsibility -- and one that should be reserved for those who have experience with editing books.

THE APPROPRIATE BOOK EDITOR IS...

Not your mom (I know she would be brutally honest -- No, seriously, I know you are totally serious, she would not be nice about it. She would tell you the awful truth no matter what.).
Not your son's wife who works at a bookstore (I know she knows what makes a good book, but her next job could be selling clothes-- and that doesn't mean she is a fashion designer.)
Not your professor who is the head of the English department. (Simple, they work in 10 page increments. Not a book.)
Not your friend who catches typos in every book she reads. (That's proofing, not editing.)
Not your spouse who reads profusely and would tell you the truth. (Not if he doesn't want to sleep on the couch.)
Not your sister who is the editor of the town newspaper. (This is dynamic editing that only has to live for a moment. A book is static and will be around for years as is, for the most part.)
Not your daughter who is a student in creative writing. (She has her own style and may try to impose it on your book. Plus, she likely doesn't have the life experience to know what she doesn't know yet.)

But the real reason behind not using those people as your book editor? Because they love you. They care about how you feel. They fill in blanks they don't even consciously know they are filling in. The subconscious sympathetic reader says, "Oh I know what he meant." And that happens without them even realizing it. But a new reader doesn't know you. They won't know where to fill in blanks, and so things won't make sense and they won't know why. You know what else? When these guys realize the responsibility they have in polishing your book to it's best form, they might not be able to tell you what they need to tell you.

WHAT TO DO NOW...
You can hire a qualified book editor. After being involved with nearly 1000 books, we use editors we know and trust and have worked as book editors for years. We interview and interrogate and sample each new editor we consider. It's worth it!

If you are interested in editing someone's book, realize the weight of the responsibility you are undertaking, and make sure you are qualified to take on this important task. Do a few books as an apprentice with a qualified and experienced editor overseeing your work. Ask an author who is using a qualified book editor if you can observe their editorial notes and the whole process so you can see how it is done.

Bottom line, do your due diligence in finding a qualified book editor. And to those who wish to edit books: do your own due diligence, and know what you are getting into. It's too important to take lightly.

Have a good weekend!

Your Publisher Can See Your Hot Pink Polka Dot Undies!

2017-08-15T19:21:00.000-05:00

I often explain to my clients and prospects that during the writing, editing, and publishing process, they may feel as if we are rifling through their underwear drawer -- and it really does feel that way.
I feel it too. I often know way more about a virtual stranger than I want to know, but it is necessary because authors are sharing their inner most thoughts through their writing.

Call it the Bermuda [Shorts] Triangle, if you will. And if you don't feel like that, well, I say you aren't done with your publisher yet.

Here's a brief explanation ...

On the top tip of the triangle you should ask yourself one or more of these questions whether you are writing fiction, nonfiction or children's books:

Do I know enough about the topic to write this book?

Should I tell this story?

Is this story mine to tell?

This first point is something you will have to analyze from within. An author questionnaire that goes deep into your platform, your experience, your knowledge and your goals will help you determine the answer.

********

On the second point, ask this:

Will anyone care?

Will anyone buy my book?

The second point is answered by some good research. Is there a market for this book outside of your mom reading it and saying she couldn't put it down.

********

On the third point, it's personal and deeply hidden within from one's third grade teacher's glare. It's the thing that stops a lot of writers in their tracks. Consider these questions:

Am I paralyzed by the fear of using incorrect punctuation?

Will people be surprised/disappointed/judgmental about my grammar?

Will I be embarrassed by my horrible spelling?

This is the one we want you to stop worrying about. If you are hiring a qualified book editor, let them help you. Your job is to drive the car and let the editor be the mechanic. (P.S. We have book editors.)

********

Now, write your book and realize that you are in the same boat as every other author.

End of my Analogy Salad for today.

Ingram Spark Music-On-Hold

2017-08-15T17:41:00.000-05:00

Dear IngramSpark -
If I am taking the time to call you, I'm probably having trouble with something. Your website usually takes care of any issues I need to correct for all of my clients.

However, your Music-on-hold selection plays a couple of notes continuously, and I can feel my blood pressure rising and rising and rising. And I have consistently good blood pressure. Please, change it or answer the damn phone.

Thank you,
A customer

Epitaph for the Epigraph

2017-05-23T12:39:00.000-05:00

⚜

"The nice thing about quotes is that they give us a nodding acquaintance

with the originator which is often socially impressive."

Kenneth Williams, Acid Drops (1980)

_____________

What is an epigraph? It's a short statement (a quotation, an idiom, a poem, etc.) that comes at the beginning of text, but the words are written by a different author who is usually cited after the statement.

I am not a big fan of using famous quotes or epigraphs of any kind in books. Why? Because it doesn't do anything to further your voice as the author. It validates the person you quoted, and usually that's about it.

The worst thing that could ever happen to an author is that you get on a fabulous show, the interviewer reads your book, and during the interview says something like, "You quoted Winston Churchill at the beginning of Chapter 2. Tell us about that."

UGH!

Now you are in the position of telling the interviewer why you chose the Churchill quote, what it means to you, and how it relates to your book. What will the audience remember? The Churchill quote.

Why not use pull quotes (highlighted text pulled from the main body of the text) from your own insightful prose? You have ideas. You have profound thoughts. You have wisdom. Your words are valuable too, and you are the first one who should honor them. Why not celebrate your own wisdom and talk about that when given the chance? After all, you want that interviewer to say, "Mr. Author, at the beginning of Chapter 2, you said something profound. Tell us about that!"

_____________

"Craft your thoughts into such profound wisdom that

future authors will endeavor to quote you in their own books."

Lisa Pelto, CMI-Keyring, 2017

⚜

Would You Let Me Cut Your Hair? Be Your Attorney? Fix Your Car?

2016-04-27T11:03:00.001-05:00

In 2004, when I started my business helping people open their own micropublishing houses and publishing books, I had already assisted in the publishing of well over 150 books, audio books, and videos for trade distribution, corporate and non-profit publishers. To this day, 33 years into my publishing career, I strive to learn something new every day -- and my staff does as well. Publishing changes daily, and there are many options -- one of which is right for a specific author and book. Today, we have advised, published or fixed hundreds and hundreds of books in a myriad of different ways.

Experience, continuous research, connections, respect for the industry and respect for the profession are important to me, and they should be important to you. Experience and wisdom matter.

Why am I concerned? I'm hearing and seeing more and more potential for trouble every day...

I read an article a while ago that contained publishing advice from one-time authors on how to publish. A library had the authors on a panel to talk to would-be authors.
An illustrator who had never done anything other than illustrate a book stepped in to help a first time author.
I found a publishing blog where a first time author was dispensing advice on how to publish before their first book was even on the market.
In a course catalog for a community college, I saw another first time author giving a whole class after uploading one poorly designed and edited ebook, offering it on Kindle's KDP Select free promo where they had 20,000 downloads -- and 500 scathing reviews as a result.
I found another piece where a young professional and recent first-time author himself actually charged thousands of dollars posing as a publishing expert to publish another person's book (very poorly and with dangerous mistakes). He was eventually sued by the author for incompetence.

The problem: None of these people had actually ever performed the massive number of tasks publishing requires -- they had all used a "self publishing company" or an author services company similar to my firm to get published.

It's like...

I get my hair cut and colored by a trained specialist.

Doesn't mean I am going to open my own salon.

Or even...

I buy suits, dresses, slacks and tops at a department store.

Doesn't mean I'm a fashion designer that could whip you up an outfit any time soon.

Or better yet...

I have contracts drawn up for me.
Doesn't mean I am qualified to open up my own law firm.

OK, one more...

I own a car, which I drive every day.

Doesn't mean I'm qualified to overhaul your engine.

So, what should you do?

There are plenty of experts out there, folks. Do your due diligence when researching publishing and make sure the people you are listening to actually have first hand experience and real knowledge -- and that they have actually published more than just their own book through some POD house (and btw, make sure it is well edited and designed and doesn't look like it was done by their 19 year old first year design student).

And if you are an author dispensing advice, be aware that people may actually be spending real money -- actual hard-earned dollars -- based on what you tell them. Be honest with people and share your own story, but make sure they know that is just your own story and that you had assistance performing the actual publishing part.

Finally...Don't assume that "self publishing" means you have to do everything all by yourself. You don't. You can hire experts for work you don't know how to do yourself (hint: owning design programs does not make you an expert in them, nor does it make you a designer). Do your research, and be prepared to pay a fair price for the services.

Is Your SWOT Team Ready?

2016-04-26T18:52:00.003-05:00

What are Your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in Your Publishing Venture?

Putting together a business plan can be daunting, especially for creative types (i.e.: authors). Authors are often perplexed as to the inner workings of a business plan. Over the next few blog posts, I'll explain a few things that can help you dig deeper into the business end, without causing too much pain and anguish.

Here are some examples of SWOT items you'll want to examine:

STRENGTHS (usually in your control): These are things that you currently have that give you a unique selling proposition (an edge over your competition) that you can focus your marketing efforts on. Knowing your strengths helps you deliver a product that your readers and buyers will love.

Your knowledge of subject matter
Your platform
Ability to adjust timeliness to market
Features you are able to include
Financial resources
Time availability and presentation skills
Fans
Good distribution strategy

What else makes you and your book special and gives you an edge?

WEAKNESSES (usually in your control): These are things that you either need to overcome or accept. This isn't a job interview where you are going to say "My biggest weakness is that I care too much and work too hard." Dig down deep to know what weaknesses you currently have in your platform, your marketing, your book, and your businesses. Then figure out what to do about them.

Limited resources (time and money)
A narrow window to get your book out
Limited knowledge (or unknown author)
Poor product development
Too many book printed or not enough
Poor distribution strategy

What do you need to improve to make you and your product or service more viable?

OPPORTUNITIES (usually out of your control): Here, we are looking at what else could possibly affect you. Is your book about a person who could end up in the news? Did you write about how astronomy works when they could discover a new planet? Could your once crazy idea of an adult coloring book suddenly have a new market because some psychologist said it calms people better than valium?

Unexpected news pickup for you, your book, or especially, your topic
A law change in your favor
A celebrity is seen using it
Changes in product environment
The subject of your book becomes news
Sudden market interest and ability to scale

Are you keeping an eye on the world outside of your window for these opportunities?

THREATS (usually out of your control): Finally, have you tied your boat to a moving dock? Can something outside of your control have a significant impact on your success? Is someone else coming out with another book at the same time for the same niche audience (Hint: this could also be an opportunity)? Will the distributor that you are counting on suddenly go out of business with all of your stock in their warehouse? "Threats" is a hard one because you are testing the unknown, but it is valuable because it forces you to look outside of your own four walls. Cast a wide net here.

Time (election cycle noise during your launch)
Disorganized delivery methods for scaling up or down
Legislative changes not in your topic's favor
Change in the product environment (e.g. a book about a website craze that unexpectedly decides to change platforms a month after your book's release)
Financial market catastrophe
An endorser commits a heinous crime

Are you building time bombs or other features into your book that may cause early obsolescence? Are outside forces a significant factor?

An entrepreneur should always look at this analysis in depth before going into business, as well as assessing each area continuously. This is a dynamic process, with ebbs and flows; what is a threat today could be gone tomorrow. What is unseen today, could be an opportunity tomorrow.

Besides, it's kind of fun.

Favorite Post Replay: Don't Overdirect the Hairdresser!

2015-03-11T21:31:00.001-05:00

I am posting this again because it is so relevant now and always. It originally posted in 2011, but is one of my most visited blogs every year....

Rinse. Repeat. Don't overdirect the hairdresser. When you hire a professional to assist you because you have never done something before, listen to them (you are paying them after all). How do I know this is good advice? The first time I decided to change my hair color, I sat down and told my stylist exactly what I thought she should do. She suggested otherwise, but I insisted. As she predicted, it looked awful.

Embarrassed, I went to another salon and said "Who's best at short hair techniques?" They suggested Kimberly. I told her "I'm hiring you to look at my face, coloring and overall image and do what you think will be best." Then I trusted her to do it, and I continue to trust her to do what she thinks will look and work best for me, my image, changing hair color techniques, and my lifestyle.

The same holds true for hiring any expert...
Hire people you trust, validate them, and then trust them to do the job you hired them to do. It's hard sometimes, and the control freak that gets all those other projects done every day may not know everything that is required to do the job at hand.

That is why you hired an expert to help you!

Originally published August 11, 2011

Flawless Event Planning - Part 2

2015-02-27T09:21:00.000-06:00

Here are the essentials for booksignings and other events.

Your event is right around the corner, but what do you need to have with you?

Cart/Dolly
Table
Tablecloth
Poster or banner stand with a simple graphic (not a wall of text)
Easel (if bringing poster)
Books (be reasonable about the quantity)
Book stands
Cash box (with a "bank" based on how much you are charging. Set price so coins aren't needed.)
Credit card swiping device (Square, PayPal, etc.)
Any other collateral items you have, such as bookmarks, postcards, brochures, press kits
Reseller tax permit for the state you are selling in (in a folder is fine)
Optional: Original illustrations
Optional: Photos from the book
Tradeshow Kit*

*Tradeshow Kit: This is the holy grail. Here’s the scoop:

The tradeshow kit is a tackle box filled to the brim with what may seem like random items. Lisa, over her 30+ years of coordination and management of tradeshows, has compiled this list of items to put into a tradeshow kit. This kit includes the Things You’ll Need, the Things You Don’t Think You'll Need, and some Things You Don’t Even Know You’ll Need! These things interchange from show to show, but rest assured this kit should stay assembled and at the ready on a shelf or in your trunk, so you can grab and go for any event, planned or spontaneous! It has saved CMI many times, and it will save you – guaranteed!

Flawless Event Planning - Part 1

2015-02-18T09:22:00.000-06:00

Your event is coming up quickly! Are you prepared?

It’s exciting to take your book to an event where you’ll engage customers and hopefully sell them your book. You want to make sure that you have an exciting display and all of the tools necessary to do business.

What do you bring? This question has plagued authors all across the country for years. Here’s Lisa’s list from doing over 350 national, regional and local shows from budgets of $250 to $90,000. What she learned is to be prepared for the strangest things to happen! The items you bring along, and a little advance planning can make or break your show.

Know who is attending the show and how your product benefits them.
Know if your fellow exhibitors are your REAL audience
Know how you are going to follow up on your leads BEFORE you even go to the show
Have your spiel memorized, practiced, honed and perfected. And don’t change it from person to person!
Keep your messages simple and to the point for the audience you are seeking. Don’t try to be all things to all people.
Know how long it takes you to present your book to a prospective customer. (Learn how to stop talking and let them ask a question)
Know your goals
Know your budget and stick to it
Know who is in charge of the show itself: their phone number and name (It doesn’t hurt to bring a pack of Thank You notes and a couple of little gifts just in case.)
Don’t get hung up on little annoying distractions – be prepared with a Tradeshow Kit* so you don’t have to waste time hunting down minutiae.

Part 2 - Tune in next week for the essentials in packing for your events!

Agent Assisted Publishing v. Hybrid Publishing

2014-12-30T17:17:00.000-06:00

I just read an article entitled "What is Hybrid Publishing" on the BookDaily.com email newsletter. I'm scratching my head as to how they could be so free and easy in distributing misinformation to those seeking their wisdom. In the article, the author's agent couldn't sell her book, so the agent charged the author to "self publish" it for her, calling it Hybrid Publishing. No. I have seen so many agents entering the market lately, I just have to speak!

What IS Hybrid Publishing?

The term "Hybrid Publishing" has been around for a long, long time. Hybrid publishing is not DIY in your basement with a program you've never even heard of. It's not vanity. It's not subsidy. It's not POD. It's not just uploading it to Amazon. It's not having someone that worked in one area of traditional publishing helping you self publish. Hybrid publishing takes the best techniques and materials available for the given objective to build a better product and stronger platform. It requires professional publishing navigation, book shepherding, coaching, author services. Hybrid, just like in horticulture, is a selection process used for greater growth, a better yield, faster production, and protection from pests. I think the correlation fits darn well.

My first exposure to it was in 1993 at Publishers Marketing Association (now called Independent Book Publishers Association and I highly recommend it - www.ibpa-online.org) Publishing University -- and it seems that it was gaining respect and exposure even then. I didn't make it up, but that is what I call our publishing model here, and what should be done for every book -- that is publishing it in whatever manner is BEST for that book and that author.

Agent-Assisted Publishing is Dangerous

The traditional publishing model is no longer the norm, and underutilized (or unemployed) Agents are jumping on the bandwagon to assist authors who wish to publish their own work. Agent-assisted publishing is a scary thing and I keep seeing it pop up calling it Hybrid Publishing. I see lots of problems with this -- not the least of which agents don't usually know the sheer volume of tasks required because they have never done any of them. Just because they sold a title to Publisher A doesn't mean they have a clue how to actually publish a book. Just like when you buy a dress from a department store, the sales clerk has no idea how it was put together or what all went into it. Their job is sales. The agent's job is sales. They sell your intellectual property to a publisher, ideally. The agent doesn't do the editing, designing, setting up the publishing accounts, hiring an illustrator, finding an indexer, signing you up for distribution -- let alone setting up a book signing or publicizing. That's just not their job. Their job is to sell you to a publishing house domestically or beyond, or to a movie studio, or to some other type of entity.

Word of Wisdom:
Ask a lot of questions before entering into any agreement to publish with an Agent -- starting with have they done the process from A to Z more than that one time for their Grandma Edna's cookbook. And to the sales clerks out there -- don't try to sell yourself as Diane Von Furstenberg just because you sold a wrap dress at Nordstroms.

End of Rant. :)

An Attorney, an Accountant, and a Banker Walked into a Coffee Shop - A Business Story

2014-11-17T21:55:00.001-06:00

Back in 2004, Eric and I decided to take the plunge into the small business world. I wanted to work with the independent authors and publishers that I had fallen in love with throughout the 90s with my work with Jan and Terry Nathan and the #IBPA (then called Publishers Marketing Association), and we devised a plan. I explained that I wanted to "get authors where they can't get themselves" -- My husband and business partner asked, "Like a hotel concierge?" And thus, the light went off for Eric and it made sense to me, so WHY NOT Concierge Marketing Inc.?

At the time, "Concierge Marketing" was not a type of marketing -- that came several years later. Now, "concierge" is often used with "marketing". We captured the name that night in every possible variation.

Initially, we worked with artists and musicians too -- but I won't waste too much time on that, except to say that Seth Godin's "The Dip" helped me make the decision to focus solely on my authors and small publishers and refer the musicians and artists to other marketing experts.

My first client, Janie Peterson of Behaven Day Centers and Behave'n Kids Press, gave me extremely valuable advice. She said "Make friends with your attorney, your accountant and your banker. They are going to be close for a long time." So I went to the Small Business Administration's excellent full day seminar where I met one of each as they taught our class. I still employ the same people that presented that day, and I do consider these people friends (business friends). Janie has always been a trusted friend, and also a valuable mentor. Thank you Janie (and Roger)!

After I took the #SBA classes and another full day #SCORE seminar on taxes, Eric and I decided to go for it. The first official thing I did was to call the attorneys and start the process to incorporate.

The second official thing I did was to join the Omaha Chamber of Commerce on October 20, 2004. The educational and networking opportunities were fun, well run, and priceless. Worth every penny of membership and I highly recommend it to anyone opening a business in Omaha. I don't know about other cities, but our Chamber is top notch. Heck, in 2012 when a group of thieves tried to steal our copper cable in the building and we were down for the count for 9 days, the Chamber let me use their conference room and phones, and even allowed me to have Fedex and UPS deliver my packages to their offices. Last March, 2013, Concierge Marketing was honored as the @OmahaChamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Month and then nominated for Small Business of the Year in 2013.

On April 2, 2005, I was standing at the Starbucks at the Mall waiting for a press conference to begin for the National Sleep Week festivities, with Janie's Sleep Fairy, and the Nebraska Sleep Fair I had organized. Well, if that date seems at all familiar, it was the day Pope John Paul II passed away. Needless to say, no press thought my Sleep Fair was more important than that. Hmmph. That's the day I met Sandra Wendel, owner of Write On Inc. who happened to strike up a conversation at that Starbucks. Not only is she the finest book editor without question, but she has also been a wonderful mentor and friend. Concierge Marketing would not have been able to do what we have done without her. Thank you so much, Sandy.

Bottom line, I could go on and on and on about the people who have been part of my life and my vision. It takes trust, support, courage, humility, faith in your idea and your skills, and a lot of people to make the dream of owning a small business a reality. It also takes a sense of humor, and I can tell you we have laughed a lot in the strangest of situations. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do business with amazing, bright, smart, caring, thought-leading people who I admire and love -- as mentors, staff, friends, clients, and partners. I'm ready for the next ten years.

Humbly,
Lisa Pelto

A Decade is a Long Time... Or is it?

2014-11-17T01:42:00.000-06:00

On November 17, 2014, we celebrate 10 years as Concierge Marketing Inc.
I thought it would be interesting to look back at the publishing scene a decade ago. In looking at these things, it sure doesn't seem like 10 years has passed, but so much is different in publishing. One thing is for sure, a lot has changed in favor of the author!

Eric and I want to say thank you to all of those people and businesses who helped us along the way; to the mentors in all aspects of publishing, marketing and running a business; to the authors who sought us out and asked us to be part of their publishing journey; and to our family for your patience, love and support.

The top 10 books published in 2004 from USAToday

The Da Vinci Code/ Dan Brown.
The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston.
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.
The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven: A Novel by Mitch Albom.
The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide by Arthur Agatston
My Life by Bill Clinton.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.
Deception Point by Dan Brown.
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.

Who left us?

Julie Child, Pat Tillman, Ronald Reagan, Marlon Brando and Stieg Larson passed away

Top 10 Movies:

The Incredibles
The Polar Express
After the Sunset
Bridget Jones 2
Ray
Saw
The Grudge
Shall We Dance?
Seed of Chucky
Alfie

In other news...November 17, 2004 Headlines:

A megamerger between megastores, Kmart and Sears, joining forces. Tonight, the $11 billion deal...

Michael Jackson slapped with another lawsuit. Just how many people is he being sued by? Tonight. a look at the latest legal troubles for the one-time king of pop.

Studios Sue More Than 200 in Online Piracy Fight - Hollywood studios sued more than 200 alleged online movie pirates known only by their IP addresses Tuesday, seeking damages of up to $150,000 for each film offered or downloaded on file-sharing networks.

Thank you everyone -- We're looking forward to another 10 years!

BUZZ: Barnes and Noble Expands Nook into Print on Demand

2014-11-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

"Expands?" That's a stretch.
"Limps?" That's closer.
"Lamely attempts to worm its way into print." Ah, Perfect!

There is a lot of buzz out there with Barnes and Noble's announcement that they are expanding Nook's services into the print on demand arena. In my opinion, and a lot of other publishing experts too, they have never really gotten ebooks right yet, so I'm not sure this will be all that useful. Unconfirmed rumors are that Nook has employed the services of Author Solutions to provide these services, but no formal announcement by either party admits their involvement. The packages and language used by the new Nook site do resemble that of many of the Author Solutions companies.

The services outlined on their new site come down to printing services. Yes, there are illustration services at $275 to $360 each. Editorial services are offered with a required $399 Editorial Assessment, and then from 3.7 cents a word up to 8.1 cents per word. (Is that # of words in or out? Dunno.) Way above current market prices I find. Oh, and yes, there are hardcover options for printing -- but again, way above market prices elsewhere.

There is no distribution offered, The books will not be in the Barnes and Noble stores, nor any other store for that matter. From their own FAQ:

The NOOK Press print platform program is for you to print books for your personal use, and does not include selling those books through Barnes & Noble stores or BN.com. You may sell the books you print on your own, however.

And printing prices? Through the roof. While the simplicity of the site is appealing, and the instructions offered for book layout are very comprehensive, the costs of printing are some of the most expensive I have ever seen. I ran six sets of specs that we currently publish, and only four were even offered. Those four were from 20% to 70% higher than my current prices elsewhere! Orders can be placed for only 125 books at a time -- and Nook isn't sharing the shipping costs where I can find them, so who knows where that will put you.

Will Nook's new services be a hit? I don't see that happening. They are not competition for the likes of CreateSpace or Lightning Source's Ingram Spark because there is no option for any help with distribution. This whole thing is set up as a bad contender against maybe Blurb -- but Blurb is certainly my choice if I need a few high quality print books for personal use. At least they have paper choices. If Nook is using the same output services as Author Solutions, no thanks -- while the prices compare to Blurb, there is no way the quality will.

I certainly hope that the simplicity of their site doesn't fool newbie authors into spending thousands of dollars on this toe in the water attempt by Nook to expand into print. It's simple for a reason -- it doesn't offer much.

Lame.

Copyright, Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete

2014-11-13T23:43:00.002-06:00

Nearly every day someone tells me they want to send their book in for copyright protection, right now -- no matter what stage the manuscript is in. Of course the words they wrote that first night are magical and have never been strung together in just that way, so why wouldn't they want to protect them? They may have only written 3/4 of the manuscript, but they are using beta readers or requesting endorsements and they want to make sure they are protected. This is where you use a non-disclosure agreement, or a non-compete form -- not copyright.

The Good News: You are protected by copyright law the moment it is fixed in tangible form. You don't have to file anything, send anything in, or pay any fees to be protected. When you are all done and have a pretty book, send it in for registration at LOC.gov. In reality, all that is necessary to protect your work is that you place a notice of copyright on the work. Here are the instructions on that from LOC.gov FAQ:

The © symbol, or the word 'Copyright' or abbreviation 'Copr.'; The year of first publication of the copyrighted work; Identification of the owner of the copyright, either by name, abbreviation, or other designation by which it is generally known.

The Bad News: Putting this notice on your work will not keep anyone from walking over to their copier and making a copy of it for their use. You can't prevent that. But you can keep an eye out for pirating by searching and using various tools.

The Alarming News: Some of the biggest violators of copyright laws are authors. "Can I put these paragraphs in my book without asking the author?" Simple measure of this: Would this be okay with YOU if someone printed your main ideas in their own book without asking? How much of your text would be okay? Not much I'm guessing.

Read all the FAQ's on copyright here: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

It's Not That Much Work

2014-11-12T23:22:00.000-06:00

What scares me?

A person who is looking to hire me and during the first conversation tells me that what they are asking for is "Not that hard," "Not that much work," or "Won't take very long."

A person who has never published a book (or fill in the blank with whatever work the contractor does) and then proceeds to tell me how to do it.

A person who says "I'm the easiest person you'll ever work with."

A person who tells me they are bluntly and brutally honest during our first meeting.

A person who wants to make "a tiny little change that won't take more than a couple minutes." Forty-seven times.

These are sure signs to any contractor or service provider that trouble is on the horizon. If you are hiring a contractor of any type, these are scary to all of us.

Is it time for your story?

2014-11-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

Why are we seeing so many WWII and

Holocaust Memoirs these days?

Simple answer... It's time. It's important to capture stories while those who lived them are still around to tell us, in their own words, what they went through.

We have produced two Holocaust memoirs and are working on our third; we've done many WWII era stories -- some private family histories, some major releases. WWII stories are in the forefront right now because it is just that time in the cycle. These stories have to be told when it is time for that author and family, and not before. It's the same for biographies, family histories, and history in general. It's what we know now, what we didn't know then, what we should learn from it, and how to prevent bad things happening in the future by knowing what happened in the past.

There is no more vulnerable time in a person's life than telling their story when they don't know who might read it... so we help them organize their ideas and their goals prior to beginning writing to ease them into the writing process. It's a beautiful legacy to leave for the generations that follow. You have a story to tell, you have lessons we should hear, and you have the perfect time to tell it.

Here are some great WWII era memoirs/biographies we have had to honor to help publish:

Lusia's Long Journey Home

Bread or Death

Four Blue Stars in the Window

The Dust Covered Days of Dorie Archer

Searching for Stanley

Teen Topics

Letters Home: An American Reporter in China 1939-1944

United Press Invades India: Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent, 1944-1952

Book Marketing Summit Summary

2014-11-09T21:57:00.000-06:00

Well, we did it! We gathered, book publishing professionals and authors of all types, in one room and shared ideas. There is just something about hearing an author talk about their passion, and what is working for them, what they have tried and what didn't work as well. Sixteen people joined us for the first Monthly Book Marketing Summit at Swanson Library to exchange ideas. There are lots of writing groups, but I wanted something different: A meeting of published authors talking about marketing!

There were children's authors, non-fiction authors, and fiction, with greatly varied topics -- but the one similarity tying us all together is their desire to share a story with others. Some of the topics that were shared were:

Blogs, Facebook and other social media - The discussion was "Do they actually translate into sales?" The general consensus is that they don't work in isolation -- you have to use them concurrently and frequently.

Traditional print media - Newspapers, magazines -- risky for books because unit cost is low for an individual sale, Must have distribution through bookstores for this to be effective.

Publicity - Is it worth the trouble? The discussion was the full spectrum with one individual thinking it doesn't really work anymore, one person thinking it is the holy grail and the rest of the room happy to spend a few hundred to distribute a press release a couple of times a year.

Events - Book Festivals: (No general book celebrations in Omaha or the area; too snooty); Farmer's Markets: good for some types of books for the right author (but not for everyone and you have to be accepted); Craft Fairs: A lot of work, but can be lucrative with good placement.

Next Book Marketing Summit: December 10, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm - Millard Public Library

Critical Questions to Ask Yourself -- And Answer Before Publishing

2014-11-07T17:59:00.000-06:00

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

Who cares?
Who will READ this book?
What commitment am I making to those readers?
Who will BUY this book? (Are my reader and buyer the same person?)
Can I reach them directly?
What commitment am I making to those buyers?
What special features can (must) I add that might help me sell better?
What are my CRITICAL KEY WORDS in my message (the ones that are non-negotiable)
Are there significant dates and marketing opportunities that might affect my book's success?
How long and to what extent am I willing to support my book with my time and money?
What are my potential game changers?

Have a good weekend.

Book Awards, Seals of Approval, and Shiny Things

2014-11-06T21:44:00.000-06:00

Ok, admit it. You like shiny things. Things with bling stick out among the vast array of choices. We like shiny things too. Shiny things often come with someone else saying sparkling things about your book, and we like that too!

Are Awards Competitions and Seals of Approval Worth the Cost?

After decades of entering books, I have to say that experience with the award helps me make better decisions about them. If their Call for Entries says "Winners will be announced to the media in a National press release," I suggest Googling the award to see if they indeed did that last year! If their Call for Entries says you'll get additional exposure from winning, Google that too.

We find there are many fantastic awards programs that we enter frequently because they do what they say they will do. Here are a few of my personal favorites (and yes, we know there are lots more!):

Once a year competitions with approaching deadlines:
Foreword Reviews IndieFab (formerly Book of the Year): https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com

IBPA Ben Franklin Awards http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/

Eric Hoffer Awards http://www.hofferaward.com/

Next Gen Indie Book Awards http://www.indiebookawards.com/

IPPYs http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/ipawards.php

Global E-book Awards http://globalebookawards.com/

You can enter this one all year:

Mom's Choice Seal of Approval http://www.momschoiceawards.com/enter.php

Be aware that sometimes when you win, you have to purchase a license to use their seal -- they don't want just anyone saying they won their award, so they charge a fee to use it.

It's very simple really.

#1 Write a great manuscript

#2 Produce a great book

#3 Enter it and win lots of awards.

See it's easy! :) Do it! Enter something. You'll get good feedback on your book, and you just might win something shiny. And here's proof that shiny things make a difference...

_________________________________________________________________________________

5 Easy Ways to Save Money in Book Publishing

2014-11-05T16:10:00.000-06:00

The last 90 days have been jam-packed with authors who have come in with books that have been put together by their graphic-designer son, or a student, or themselves. There is an easier way to get the job done.

Do yourself a favor and take these 5 steps to save yourself time and money:

Write your book in MicroSoft Word. If you write it in anything else, convert it to Word. One space after a period. Set up paragraph indents (do not tab over) and do not put two spaces between paragraphs unless you are putting in some sort of time delay in your story. Do not format with a bunch of fonts in Word. Do not use grammar checker as your editor.
Use your own words. Words you actually might use. Don't pick a $10 word from the Thesaurus when a 10 cent word would be more understandable by more readers.
Have beta readers read your book for critiques. Do they like your characters? Do they understand your story? Does it seem feasible or believable? When you are done telling your story and making changes suggested by your beta readers, have a professional book editor edit your book. Hire professionals and pay them.
Have your book professionally designed. Do not ask anyone to lay out your book in InDesign if they have not used InDesign to layout a book before. Do not use Word to layout a book with lots of layout considerations, graphics, or other space-consuming formatting items UNLESS you are using a professional template. (See Joel Friedlander's Book Design Templates for Word if you are going to attempt this. http://www.bookdesigntemplates.com/).
Proof your book in "pages" before you print -- that means when it is all laid out and pretty. Look at everything and spend the time to focus on it for the potential reader experience.

Now. Write your book!

Your Book is Not An Engagement Ring

2014-11-04T13:03:00.000-06:00

After 30 years in marketing and publishing, I've learned a lot of things that fly in the face of conventional wisdom. Like, for example, a line (surprisingly!) doesn't start forming at the bookstore with your first tap on the keyboard... Or "you're not legitimately published unless a New York house publishes your book." Or a mention in Redbook, complete with cover graphic of your book, will result in 1,000s of sales. Yes, these ideas tend to disappoint...

But the most insidious thinking in book marketing is the

show-stopping, money-gobbling, time-wasting constant FEAR OF COMPETITION.

In my experienced, but humble, opinion, the only real competition in publishing is SUBSTITUTION. Are your prospective readers buying something other than a book to fill whatever the need warrants? Is Jane Doe buying a book to learn how to plant a garden or is she taking a class? Is John buying a book for entertainment on his trip or is he buying new sunglasses and a travel Scrabble set? Substitution is the only insurmountable competition because it's virtually impossible to predict and market to.

What's the fix? You can sell a lot of books by looking at who bought another book like yours. Think about it for a minute. What's your favorite kind of book to read? Memoir? Romance? Self Help? Adventure? Parenting? Do you just have ONE book that fills all your entertainment, educational, information-gathering needs? Hell no. You probably have dozens, if not hundreds in the same or a very close genre. People tend to gravitate to a certain type of reading to fit their mood at that moment. They get one nugget from a business book, or four days of entertainment from each novel, or one new strategy to try with their kids. Each book only has to offer that one nugget that brings value to the reader. That leaves a lot of room for everyone else!

Now, if you were in the engagement ring business, you could only hope to sell one engagement ring to that one customer (except in Hollywood, of course). That's cut-throat competition. Which one retailer, which one ring will win the honor of residing on that bride's finger for the rest of her life. Luckily, book marketing is the exact opposite.

What should you do now? The first person I call when we get a book to market is another author marketing to the same type of reader. You can coop marketing with them to cut your costs in so many ways. You can ask for endorsements. You can cross market. Get to know other authors in your genre and I vow that it will benefit you!

EVENT: If you are in or near Omaha and you would like to share marketing ideas with other published (or nearly published) authors, join us Wednesday, November 5th for the first monthly Book Marketing Summit. It will be at Swanson Library from 6-8 pm. Can't make this one? We'll have one each month, so like my page on Facebook for notifications of times and places.
https://www.facebook.com/events/760336264038625/

Focus Pocus!

2014-11-03T16:28:00.003-06:00

There is an old saying that the urgent often wins over the important.

Are you spending so much time flitting about chasing after every little thing that comes up that you are missing the biggest opportunities? Your overriding goals in publishing should help you focus on the things that matter. Set your goals realistically, measurably and reachable so you have a way to tell if your goals are being met.

I recently helped an author retrieve her publishing rights from a POD "self publisher". There were some legal documents she had to sign and some files she needed to get from the publisher. There was also the not-so-small detail of being paid the royalties she was overdue prior to cancelling. Rather than waiting until all the "I"s were dotted and "T"s were crossed as I recommended, she proceeded to cancel the contract ahead of the other items. Suddenly there were no royalties for that whole quarter in question. Trouble was, I could see through my own channels that there indeed were over $10,000 in ebook sales for that quarter. How much the royalty should have been was not clear in any of her paperwork, but I assure you that it was not "nothing." Now, with auditors, attorneys and accountants, everything is delayed for her, and her book is time sensitive.

Another author told me that she had already printed 3,000 of her hardcover book through Lightning Source because she knew there would be sales. Now she was in my office requesting help to sell the six-month-old book. So she has a garage full of books -- 2,920 of them! She had concentrated on getting a low unit cost for a book that had no readers or buyers, no distribution, no customers, no website, no marketing materials, no nothing. The list in the prior sentence should illustrate a few things she should have done prior to printing all those books.

Bottom line, really look at what you are doing now, what you are doing next, where you want to be a year or two from today, all while looking back at you did yesterday to see what worked. Are you focusing on the tasks that will bring you big sales today and in the future? Are you truly supporting your book? Are you focusing on building and strengthening the hive or just flitting around to smell the flower of the day?

Are You Publishing or Just Printing?

2014-11-02T07:36:00.002-06:00

Publishing is a business. and you need to think of it that way. Begin with a business plan, not just a marketing plan. You'll need to consider a lot of things when entering the publishing business, not the least of which is "Why am I Publishing". If you are taking your Word doc over to your neighborhood copy shop and having them print a few, that's just "Printing," it is not "Publishing." Publishing is the entire process of developing a product that can be marketed to an audience -- from writing something someone will want or need, to manufacturing, distributing, marketing, supporting. Printing is just a part of it -- but if that is all you need, that is all you need! (i.e. Your family's genealogy or your church's cookbook.) So, what do you need?

Over the next month, we'll help you answer these questions,

Forget for a moment that your own writing is involved -- I know it's your baby that you have slaved over for 10 years or 10 months or 10 weeks or whatever -- and think of it like you have invented a new flashlight. You would have to consider:

How you are going to develop it into a marketable AND manufacture-ready product? (Hint: editing, design, production --- printing is just a small part of this section)
How much it will cost to manufacture it and how does that affect my retail price? Is it feasible in my market to allow my costs to dictate the retail price at all?
Where and when in your consumers' "need cycles" are they most likely to seek information that might be offered in your book and where and how might they find you in the process? i.e., Do they need something to entertain themselves at the beach or are they trying to cook healthy or are they thinking about going to back to school? Each consumer goes through a decision-making process prior to deciding HOW they will inform themselves (or entertain or educate) before they go through the decision-making process of WHAT to buy to fulfill their needs.
How much will it cost to develop a distribution channel for it and how do I do that?
How will I handle the daily operations of my business? How will I actually take the orders, process the credit cards, invoice retailers, pack the orders, ship the orders, process returns, store inventory? Do I need envelopes/boxes/tape/labels? Will I maintain inventory? Do I need a fulfillment partner?
What kind of taxes do I have to collect and pay? What if I have an event in another state -- do I need to have a temporary tax license there?
How will I promote my product? Marketing, Advertising, Publicity and Visibility... Writing a business plan with a marketing budget is critical... and that's a blog in itself.

If you answer the questions above, you'll gain valuable information about the industry, because to publish a book requires that you:

Understand your options and what publishing entails
Are familiar with the terminology, and you understand what you are getting into
Develop a realistic budget -- budget your money and your time -- make sure you have both
Make a decision to either be a publisher, find a publisher, or just find a printer -- they aren't apples and apples or even apples and oranges. More like apples and flashlights.

You have a story to share -- be smart about it so it reaches its potential. Keep the ink flowing.

November - It must be time for writing something

2014-11-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

While writers everywhere are participating in NaNoWriMo, I decided I wanted to participate in a writing exercise of a different sort -- NaBloPoMo, a program run by Blogher.com (National Blog Posting Month) -- With it, I vow to blog each day in November with ideas for publishing, writing and marketing. Thank you for spending your time on my blog; I hope you find it useful.

Since November 17, 2014 marks the 10th year my company has been in business, it seemed like as good a time as any to get back to blogging.

I looked back at some of my previous blog entries about publishing, writing, marketing and running a business to decide what might be missing, or changed, since then. I decided that if a new author spent some time on my blog, they might find ideas that would help them make better decisions about publishing and marketing. Not bad, but I have more to say.

My goal this month is to provide marketing ideas for authors. Yes, some of them cost money. Yes, some of them require some effort besides signing up. And yes, some of them are bigger and better than others. However, my goal is to get you doing at least one thing each day to market your own book(s).

You might think my November 1 entry about future entries is kind of a cop out, and in a way it is. I always tell writers to just sit down and write something to get them started. I'm no different.

No matter what you are writing this month, remember that there are others exposing their thoughts, vulnerabilities, dreams, stories and lives. That should make it a little easier to share your own.

See you tomorrow.

3 Super Simple Ideas for Self Publishers to do NOW

2013-10-11T12:53:00.003-05:00

These ideas are so simple you can do them right now, even if you just have a working title:

Buy the domain name of your book title, your name (if it is unavailable, add "author" at the front. i.e. www.AuthorAprilKelly.com), and your publishing company name. Buy these in all the possible misspellings.
Capture your Facebook ID sooner than later. From your profile, go down to the bottom of the screen to "Create a Page" and follow the prompts.
Put Google Alerts on your title, your name, your topic and competing book.

Do a minimum of one thing to market yourself and your book today. (Yes, even on weekends.) That could mean mentioning it to someone at lunch, handing out a card, calling a prospective customer, commenting on a blog. Anything is better than nothing -- but do something every single day!