For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers
What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?
I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lynn Tincher, Author on
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Right now, my biggest challenge is making sure the publisher has my book cover right! Long story...
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Permalink Reply by Bill Frank on
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We'll have to hear the story of your book cover.
Working with your publisher is partnership. It takes collaboration to produce the best book product you can. What has been your experience working with your editor at the publisher? What tips can you give others on working well with a publisher?
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Permalink Reply by A.R. Grosjean on
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I think my biggest challenge is still getting my books in bricks and mortor book stores but I've learned how to get around that. Whenever I can, I do a little traveling. Go someplace I've never been to and just talk to people off the streets. I hand them my business card which now I go through Kinko/FedEx for a basic look and tell them who I am. Everyone is very fascinated about meeting a published author. My website hits have picked up considerably over this so it seems to be doing something lol.
My sales have even gone up a bit so if you have the same problem I'm having, don't stress out, just start talking to people. One of those people may be someone in a big world who could get you through that open door that seems to close just when your bog toe reaches the threshold.
I'm not giving up, neither should anyone else here! We made our dream of becoming published come true, let's not let it end there!
Thanks!
Amber
http://www.argrosjean.com
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Permalink Reply by carol stanley on
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Amber...try more internet marketing..It is amazing..also I like the solution you came up with..and it is always good to talk up your book...carol www.spectacularlifeaftersixty.blogspot.com..."For Kids 59.99 and OVer"
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Permalink Reply by albertasequeira on
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I have a question I hope others can answer for me. I've been asked to do my second speaking engagement at a teenage AA meeting and a rehabilitation center. Both are in Littleton, NH and it's a four hour drive from my house. My first on was in Falmouth, MA and it was about 1/2 hour from home. My daughter had been a patient there twice so I didn't charge. In fact, I called and asked to speak.
I'm thrilled having the opportunity to do this. My husband died (1985) and my daughter (2006) from alcoholism. My second book that is almost completed is Please, God, Not Two about this loss.
Has anyone traveled to speak somewhere? I'd like to get some money for the event and don't know how or when to start requesting it, and how much, when I accept the invitation.
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Permalink Reply by L.E. Coleman on
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The biggest challenge for me is coming up with enough capital to promote and market my books the way I want to. I beleive everything hangs on marketing and advertising. We may have something really special to offer our readers but if we can't get the word out, drive them to our websites and book signings, we'll see minimal results. A specialized targeted plan is needed since there's so much competition out there. ( I personally don't like using the word 'competition' because I beleive there's an audience for every one of us and enough money to earn a decent living--perhaps even more than we can imagine.) 'If we write it, they will come' but they have to know about it first.
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Raising capital is vital to any business—especially a burgeoning publishing company. Marketing is key to a book's success. It doesn't have to cost mega-bucks, however. One can start with the little things; first among them is deciding on which distribution channel will produce the fastest return on investment.
Some authors like Amazon as a distribution channel. Amazon requires less discount from publishers to sell books than the bookstore trade. Amazon is a promotion vehicle in addition to being a distribution channel.
Others prefer to sell directly to customers in volume. Those publishers identify large corporations and/or charities that would benefit from using one of their books as an incentive. Volume selling requires a steeper discount than either Amazon or the bookstore trade, but the benefit is selling one large order to one single customer.
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Permalink Reply by Thomas DeWall on
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I have been a writer without anything to sell for a long time and recently I have begun writing something that I feel is good enough to market. The thing that is on my mind right now is that I would like to start looking for an agent or make some submissions but I have not yet put the work together into a unified body and I could do a lot more writing before I did that.
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Thomas,
If you are seeking an agent, then you need not have a completed work to begin contact. Most agents work from a query letter. A query letter gives an overview of your book, its audience and its marketing plan. I recommend buying a book to learn how to successfully write a query letter. Mary Embree's THE AUTHOR'S TOOLKIT, Patricia Fry's THE RIGHT WAY TO WRITE, PUBLISH AND SELL YOUR BOOK, and Michael Larsen's HOW TO WRITE A BOOK PROPOSAL are three good examples. Michael Larsen also has a book titled HOW TO GET A LITERARY AGENT. Michael is a literary agent himself.
Even if you decide to self-publish your book, writing a good query letter will help guide your publishing company.
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Lynne,
If being published by a traditional publisher is your goal, you can break the cycle of the Catch-22 you describe. It's true. Publishers don't want to recognize new authors UNLESS the author is brought to them by an agent they know and respect. Finding an agent is the key, therefore. See my earlier posts about books on writing a book proposal and finding an agent.
As you know, I'm not a big proponent of being published by a traditional publisher. Self-publishing can be the solution for many authors. Self-publishing is the fastest way to get a book to market; best for maintaining control over your book; and most profitable. If you think your book has a market, then self-publishing will help you find that market.
One of my favorite stories is about John Grisham. Grisham started out as a self-published author. He began by selling books out of the trunk of his car throughout the South. Bookstores began to buy from him and his books began appearing on the sales data the New York publishers read. After seeing his first book climb the local sales chart, a large NY Publisher flew south to sign Grisham to a contact and the rest, as they say, is history.
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Hi Bill,
That's where I'm at with my second book....agent, traditional publisher or self-publish? I go back and forth. I have a lot of author friends who self-published.
I'm writing about my loss of a husband and daughter from alcoholism. I've talked in a AA rehab that my daughter went to, I'm scheduling, (per request), to talk to a AA teenage group and a rehab in Littleton, NH. I'm contacting the director of the schools in our area to talk to the children, young up to college. I'm now teaching Writer's Workshops in Learning Centers, Senior Centers and local libraries. I've been asked to teach them for the town of New Bedford with their social organizations.
I've grown since my first book. The first is an emotional memoir about the loss of my dad and his lessons in life (there's more to it). It was published by PublishAmerica. It's a heartwarming story but not something that I can grow with regarding talking in large crowds and getting known.
This second book is different. It's leading up to being two books, due to the amount of pages (close to 600). It's something that can lead me to conventions, talking in schools, AA organization or anywhere requested. With my first book (2006), I had no experience in anything accept I wrote a book. Now, I've advanced in many fields, hopefully, to catch the eye of an agent or publisher with my speaking.
An agent could help me open doors to publishers, take a 15% cut, and the same for the publisher, then there's the distributor.
You gave the Self-Publishing benefits. What is your opinion with self-publishing "this" book? My book would be available in months for me to present after my speeches.
A traditional would have me waiting 18 months to two-years. I'd be doing talks with no book to present.
I'd appreciate your input.
Thanks
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Actually, your situation and your book are ideally suited for self-publishing. You want to have your book ready for your speaking engagements which requires speed to market. Self-publishing is the fastest way to get your book to market. What's more, you retain more control over the look and feel of your book with self-publishing.
Some people labor under the misconception that if a book is self-published it will not be attractive to a traditional publisher. The opposite is true, in fact. Publishers are unwilling to take a chance on a new author. They look for authors with a "platform." (A platform means the author has a way to reach his audience—a radio show, a weekly column, an active website, or something similar) The financial risks of publishing a new author's book are too high.
If, however, you self-publish a book and sell it, you are establishing an audience. You are also developing a sales history. Traditional publishers will find both very attractive.
When the time comes for a traditional publisher to pay an advance to a self-published author, it generally results in a higher advance because the publisher is paying for real results, not the promise of results.
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