More Authors Take The Initiative in Book Marketing

According to the firm Author Marketing Ideas, the myth of the publisher as marketer is declining, as a growing number of authors realize that marketing their books is part of their job. Whether they are working with traditional publishing houses or self-publishing, more authors are taking the initiative to market their own books. 

AMIBookMarketing

The trend includes well known writers, such as Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and author David Mamet who decided to self-publish his new book. He told The New York Times earlier this year, “Publishing is like Hollywood — nobody ever does the marketing they promise.” So of his new book he says, “I am going to promote the hell out of it, even though I’ll probably make my own mistakes.”

Award winning children’s author Sherrill S. Cannon say that “Writing ‘The End’ is just the beginning for me as an author; once my book is written, I move into sales mode.” Cannon has written five successful children’s books and relies on social media to connect with fans and boost sales. “My publisher Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency and their sister company Author Marketing Ideas have helped me tremendously and given a huge boost through services such as video book trailers and press releases. But as an author my job is also to be proactive. I blog and guest blog as well as enter contests and submit my books for reviews.”

“Authors such as Sherrill Cannon are what we see more and more as the new normal,” says Ellen Green, Vice President of Author Marketing Ideas. In addition to offering traditional book-marketing services, AMI also hosts educational webinars for authors who want to market their books on their own. To educate and empower every author, AMI also has a “Free Tips” page on their website.

If statistics about the rise of self-publishing are accurate, there’s a whole lot of book-marketing going on. According to the book data company Bowker, the number of self-published titles increased 59 percent last year, topping 391,000 books, The authors of each of these books is engaged in some form of self-marketing. 

LINKS

Author Marketing Ideas

 

Writer’s Digest Publishes 2014 Guide to Self-Publishing

2014-guide-to-self-publishingWRITERS. Because new resources for self-published authors continue to be introduced, many books about self-publishing are outdated soon after they are published. To correct this problem, Writer’s Digest has introduced a “Guide to Self-Publishing” that will be updated yearly, much like the company’s popular “Writer’s Market,” and “Poet’s Market” books.

In fact, “The 2014 Guide to Self-Publishing” by Robert Lee Brewer  is the first new market book Writer’s Digest has published since they published the 2008 Screenwriter’s Market in 2007.

Whether you plan to publish a print or digital-only version of your book, “The 2014 Guide to Self-Publishing” can help you find the most cost-effective, efficient ways to get the job done. You will learn how to evaluate the indie publishing landscape, create your own marketing plan, and design professional-looking books, The book also includes insights from successful self-published authors.

The 2014 Guide to Self-Publishing lists hundreds of publishing companies, freelance editors, freelance designers, conferences and organizations for networking, and other resources that can help you succeed. The listings include contact information, rates, services, and specialties.

The pay rate chart can help you negotiate with any freelancers you hire to help you with editing, design, or promotion.

LINK

2014 Guide to Self-Publishing

Writer’s Digest Shop: 2014 Guide to Self-Publishing

 

E-Book Excerpt Helps New Writers and Publishers Understand Plagiarism

The popularity of blogging, e-book publishing, and content marketing has attracted many aspiring authors and untrained freelance writers who may not be fully aware of what constitutes plagiarism.  If you are new to publishing, this lack of knowledge could be damaging.

BeginningWritersAnswerBookFor example, one recent plagiarism case involved self-published “author” Jordin Williams who had hired a ghostwriter through the online freelance marketplace odesk.com. Without Williams’ knowledge, the ghostwriting freelancer plagiarized works from romance writers Tammara Webber and Jamie McGuire.

In the “Beginning Writer’s Answer Book” published by Writer’s Digest, editor Jane Friedman outlines four forms of plagiarism:

  • Inserting parts of someone else’s work into your own without citing the source
  • Submitting work done by someone else with your name on it
  • Paraphrasing someone else’s words and trying to pass them off as your own
  • Taking an article that you have sold the rights to and reusing all or parts of it in a new work

Information that can help you better understand the rules of quoting and when you need to seek permission from a book publisher is included in an e-book excerpt from the Answer Book entitled “What Are the Rights of Others?.” The excerpt can be downloaded for $5.99.

For $15.99 you can download the complete Beginning Writer’s Answer Book. The 452-page guide includes 29 chapters on topics such as formatting and submitting your work, selling nonfiction work, writing and selling articles, starting a freelance career, providing photographs and art with your writing, and using a pen name.

The guide also covers copyright basics and publishing jargon. The chapters at the end of the book answer questions about specialized fields such as: writing poetry, children’s books, scripts, and songs; writing for newspapers; and self-publishing.

In the Writer’s Digest Shop, you can find hundreds of books and webinars, including a list of free articles on topics such as how to publish a book (traditional publishing vs. self-publishing) and how to write a query letter.

LINKS

Beginning Writer’s Answer Book, edited by Jane Friedman

E-Book Excerpt: What Are the Rights of Others?

About Writer’s Digest: Free Advice—Articles about Writing

Digital Book World Webcast to Discuss Multi-Platform Storytelling

DBWLogoWRITERS. Digital Book World is a year-round platform for consumer publishing professionals and their partners, including agents, booksellers, and technology vendors. Digital Book World offers a range of educational resources and networking opportunities — online and in person.

On Tuesday, August 13, Digital Book World is hosting a webcast entitled, “Think Outside the Book: Multi-Platform Storytelling and Digital Publishing.” Scheduled for 12 pm ET (9 am PT and 5 pm GMT), the webcast will explain why digital publishing is the perfect format for transmedia storytelling.

The content is designed to appeal to:

  • book publishers (large and small)
  • book app developers
  • authors
  • booksellers
  • artists
  • people who embrace technology
  • people who hate technology

Transmedia experts Connie Watts and Jen Olson will discuss how book enhancements such as video, music, narration, pop-ups, games, interactive maps, and 3D objects can be strategically used to give readers more context or provide multiple entry points into a story, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. For examples, enhancements can be use to add more context around a fictional Elizabethan kingdom or liven up a golf book with local news clips from a golf tournament from the 1970s. 

Watts and Olson will explain how to use transmedia as a marketing tool, highlight strategies for collaborating with authors, and suggest techniques for connecting with children and other readers with short attention spans. They will point out that whether we like it not, digital book enhancements are here to stay.

Connie Watts and Jen Olson are the principals of WiredBallyWho, a transmedia publishing company that helps authors, business leaders, and non-profit organizations rethink their approach to traditional book publishing. They also work with artists, photographers, and musicians who want to share their talents through transmedia projects.

Tuition for the webcast is $27 for Digital Book World members and $45 for non-members.

An individual membership to DBW costs $99. Along with discounts on webcasts, online courses, and books, members get on-demand access to all webcast archives and featured audio and video and downloadable resources such an e-book formatting checklist and SEO best practices guide.

Future webcasts and courses include:

  • Webcast: Print to Digital, Digital First, Simultaneous First: What’s Your Strategy? (August 22)
  • 4-Week Course: Metadata Best Practices and Industry Certification (Begins August 19)
  • 4-Week Course: Metadata and the Future of Publishing (Begins September 16)

LINKS

Webcast: Think Outside the Book: Multi-Platform Storytelling and Digital Publishing

About Digital Book World

About WiredBallyWho

 

Kobo Writing Life Platform Streamlines Self-Publishing Process

KoboLogoWRITERS.To avoid the extra step of converting your manuscript from a Word or RTF document into an ePub file, you can now create and edit your book directly within the Kobo Writing Life self-publishing platform. Kobo’s WYSIWYG text editor helps ensure that the layout and formatting of the file will accurately translate the way you intend. If you do need to tweak or update ePub file that is automatically created from your text, you can do so without conversion tools and additional editing software.

“We built Kobo Writing Life by listening to what authors need and want in a self-publishing tool, and we continue to introduce improvements and updates based on their feedback,” said Mark Lefebvre, Kobo’s Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations. “Kobo is the only international eReading company to offer authors an open self-publishing service that is author-centric. We help them connect with a global community of readers by making it as easy as possible to create, edit, and publish their work.”

At no cost to the author, Kobo Writing Life titles are published using an intuitive self-service portal. The submission process takes mere minutes, with books published within 24 to 72 hours.

Authors receive royalties of 70 percent on e-books priced between $1.99 and $12.99 and 45 percent for items priced lower or higher than that range.

To help promote and market your work, you can set your book price to “free” at any time without restrictive exclusivity agreements or hidden transaction or download processing fees.

The Kobo Writing Life portal is currently available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch.

Since Kobo launched the self-publishing platform a year ago, more than 17,600 authors have used KWL to publish more than 100,000 titles. The e-books are available in 184 countries and 54 languages. Kobo Writing Life titles represent more than 10 percent of the company’s unit sales.

Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services. It offers more than 3.5 million e-books, magazines, and newspapers to millions of customers in 190 countries.

Kobo’s family of e-readers includes the Kobo Touch, Kobo Mini, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura HD, and Kobo Arc. Kobe offers free e-reading applications for Apple®, BlackBerry®, Android®, and Windows® products.

LINKS

About Kobo

Kobo Writing Life

 

Outskirts Press Offers Flat-Fee Self-Publishing Package for Fiction Writers

OutskirtsPressIf you have finished writing your novel — and can’t wait to see it as a published book — you might be interested in the new One-Click Fiction publishing package from Outskirts Press. For a flat, upfront fee of $3,779, you will get a start-to-finish range of consulting, design, formatting, publishing, printing, and marketing services. The services included in the One-Click Fiction publishing package are available a la carte, but you can save money by purchasing the services in the One-Click bundle.

Here are just a few of the services included in the One- Click Fiction package:

  • Dedicated team of service providers, including a Publishing Consultant, Author Representative, Book Designer, and Personal Marketing Assistant
  • Professional copy editing and cover scribing (writing copy for the back cover)
  • Custom designed book cover and interior
  • Paperback edition
  • Official copyright registration, Library of Congress number, barcode and private label ISBN
  • Electronic, digital and mobile editions, including Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook editions
  • Press release distribution
  • Unlimited distribution on demand to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Book-A-Million and scores of the world’s top booksellers!

Outskirts Press offers self-publishing and book marketing services for writers and professionals who want a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books while retaining 100% of their rights, 100% of their profits, and 100% of the creative control.

Outskirts Press introduced their “One-Click” service in 2012 with a One-Click Publishing package for speakers wanted to build their credibility through authorship. Outskirts Press later expanded the service to authors of children’s books. That bundle includes full-color custom illustrations. Now fiction writers with a ready manuscript can benefit from substantial cost savings on full-service support.

LINKS

Outskirts Press

Outskirts Press: One-Click Publishing for Fiction

Bookbaby Offers Free Guide on Printed Book Design

CoverPrintedBookDesign101WRITERS. Before self-publishing a printed book, check out Bookbaby’s  free guide: “Printed Book Design 101: How to Turn Your Manuscript into a Retail-Ready Printed Book.”

Written by self-publishing expert Joel Friedlander, the guide emphasizes that even if you publish e-books, you may still need some physical copies of your book to sell at readings or other events to give to family, friends, or reviewers. Plus, many people still prefer reading books in printed form.

Even if you plan to outsource the cover design and interior page design, you must know how to instruct the designers and evaluate their work.

Professional-looking printed books are far more complex to prepare than e-books, says Friedlander.. Some details to consider when preparing a book for print are fonts, margins, design templates, and printer specifications.

In Printed Book Design 101, Friedlander walks you through the whole process. He explains how to:

  • Pick the perfect typeface
  • Use book-interior-design principles to enhance the readability of your book
  • Catch the reader’s eye with a well-designed cover

The guide lists common components of a printed book and suggests how to avoid some of the most common mistakes self-published authors typically make.

“It’s very important to make sure you book is put together properly,” writes Friedlander. “Influential people you may be relying on for your book’s success — such as bookstore buyers, reviewers, award committees, agents, and others — are going to notice whether your book conforms to the standard book–trade practices.”

Friedlander is the author of the “A Self-Publisher’s Companion — Expert Advice for Authors Who Want To Publish” and publishes a blog on on his own website TheBookDesigner.com.

Bookbaby offers a wide range of editing, cover design, ebook conversion, book printing, distribution, and website services for self-published authors. The company’s P&E (printed and ebook) Package provide a $100 discount when you add an ebook to your order for printed books.

LINKS

About Bookbaby

Bookbaby: Printed and E-Book Packages

Free Guide: Printed Book Design 101

Joel Friedlander: The Book Designer

A Self-Publisher’s Companion