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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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Theresa,

Another great resource for you may be Ebony Magazine's list of Black bookstores:

http://www.ebonypages.org/blackbookstores.html
I've been reading all the responses and input on this topic, and it's an amazing amount of information. Thanks for starting the topic, Bill.

As both a publisher and an author, I have found that bookstores just aren't the places to sell books because a sale isn't a sale until all the returns have come in. I have discovered "Beyond the Bookstore" by Brian Jud to be an invaluable resource in marketing outside of bookstores.

One of the things I encourage our authors to do make a list of things, places, etc. in your book which they might be able to use as a tool. For instance, one of our authors wrote a book set in 1943 about a deaf child who receives help from the John Tracy Clinic. She got a rousing endorsement from the President of the John Tracy Clinic. Since the book's release in July of this year, she has sold over eight hundred copies outside of bookstore sales. This is just by using topics from her book.

At any rate, I just wanted to put in my two cents worth here!

Again, great topic!

Dawn Carrington
Editor-in-Chief
Vintage Romance Publishing
www.vrpublishing.com
Hi, Dawn. Thank you for the kind words. I agree with you. Bookstores are a lousy place to sell books. Brian Jud's book, "Beyond the Bookstore," is great reading for authors and publishers alike. I recommend all authors and publishers subscribe to Brian's free newsletter, too.

Your story about the John Tracy Clinic is a great example of thinking outside the box. I recommend to authors to think of people within their area of specialization to read, review and recommend their book. For instance, I had an author who wrote a book on the 1986 Libyan War. I encouraged him to think outside the box for potential reviewers. His list included Colin Powell, Arnold Schwartzkof and John Warner (then Secretary of the Navy).

Think big. Sending review copies to important people is the least expensive form of marketing an author or publisher can do. And, good reviews sell books.
Hi All,

I found a published book give lots of opportunities beyond just from the sales of the books in bookstores. I noticed the body lauguages and expressions of surprises or respects when I give my autographed copy of my book - " 4 Steps To Financial Freedom " to people I meet.

Knowing the right people in the distribution industries is very important to your sales. You want the biggest distribution networks you could ever get. Just imagine selling a book a day in 100 networks of distribution will create quite a good amount of money if calculate it in econmical sense.

At this moment, I found the greatest challege is to find trustworthy unknown distribution networks in country like India, China, etc. How do you ensure that the money from the sales of the books is credited into your bank account without leakages?

Yours Sincerely
Sean Toh
Author of “4 Steps To Financial Freedom”
http://www.creditplushealth.discovermangosteen.com/
http://seantoh.com/
http://creditplushealth.com/
Hi, Sean. Your situation is unique and intriguing. Most authors and publishers think of distribution within their own country before they think international distribution. Finding the correct distribution partner in a foreign country, particularly in countries with notorious reputations for respecting copyright, requires research, patience and reference checking.

One way to short cut the process is to contact other publishers in your field that distribute their books in the countries you want to distribute in. Ask them for recommendations on which distributors they use.

Referring to the International Literary Marketplace is another way to research which foreign distributors your competitors use.

Continued success for your book. You have a topic that is "evergreen."
Hi All,
I wanted to let you know that I had made it through my new adventure on Thursday afternoon with being a speaker at the Emerson House which is an alcoholic center in Falmouth, MA.

I spoke for 45 minutes to 30 women about having lived with and lost a husband and a daughter to this disease. The girls had a shocked expression on them when they had heard that I had lost two. I never had such a gratifying experience after seeing them lifted with hope. Many sat there crying.

When I was done, they all came over and hugged me. It gave me unbelievable comfort. What a gift from God. I left them with gifts and they all lit-up.

One of the gifts was leaving two of my books to keep at the Emerson House for everyone who goes there. I had passed out my bookmarks and asked them to email me when they got home. I wanted to keep in contact and support them the best that I could. It was stressed that their counselors and meetings came first.

I also left my new poem The Demons in a clear two-side frame with a picture of Lori and her father. I had the poem made up at Staples on a postcard style to give them. Prayer cards were left, rosaries and the rosary pamphlet. They were in line grabbing everything.

The director said she had never seen the women sit absolutely still during a whole meeting, and especially, for this length of time. They were glued to me. She must have thanked me five times for coming and I did the same for her having allowed me to speak.

She said it was one of the most powerful talks that she had ever heard given at the Emerson House. That was the best news. I wanted it to be powerful and it was.

As for strength, I broke down crying coming home from the sadness that I had picked Lori up from there February 2006 with her having had the same hope. It had been her third and last stay at a rehab.

It was agonizing to have seen the girl's trash bags at the house filled with their clothes in the hall. That's how a lot of them transport their clothes to stay. I felt Lori all around me and could picture her coming down the stairs to see me. The lump in my throat was ready to burst.

Her first anniversary is coming up November 22nd so this only added to my emotional state. A Healing Heart had been published sixteen days before her death.

I think I found what my future is supposed to be all about. I'm asking the director to spread it all over about me speaking. I want to speak at AA meetings, Al-Anon and the rehabs. She's calling the men's rehab in Woods Hole to see if I can go there. It will happen if she recommended it herself. They are all connected. My husband and I may become a team to talk at the AA meetings.

If one person can be saved than this will all be worth it. Lori wanted to be a counselor so I'm taking her place. Funny how things turn out. We never know what God has planned for us.
Bless you Alberta, my heart truly reached out to you as I read your reply above.
I was the daughter of an alcoholic and it really damaged my life. The inspirational thing is that somehow we manage to move forward and i have written a book called 'Searching for Mooneyes' which I hope will help others to see that there is a way forward in life even though a primary carer is so addicted and sick.
We are as you say all connected and I wish you every success in your endeavours to help people who have gone through pain due to Alcohol abuse.
Much love to you
Whitefeather ( see me also at www.freewebs.com/soul-evolution, I have used hypnotherapy and regression to rid myself of old pain and have a truly remarkable , happy and fulfilling life. I have used all the lessons my father unwittingly told me to now help heal others and that for me means so much.)
Hi Angie,
Thank you for writing me. My poor daughter, Lori, had to be suffering so much and I never knew it. Sounds crazy, huh? I had no idea that she was an alcoholic until two years before she died. All the time she played with it during her teen years, I figured it was a "teen stage" trying to fit into the group.
How foolish of me after losing a husband from it. He had left before I saw the real alcoholic signs with him.
I'm so proud of you getting on your feet and helping others. Lori wanted to be a counselor but couldn't help herself. I hope to take her place for that during 2008.
I'll visit your site.
Alberta
Hi Alberta, its somehow so incredible in this day and age that we have so many young people destroying themselves through lack of self esteem and addiction, all i can say is that there are some sprits who seem to draw suffering to themselves and its so hard for the loved ones that try to help them see them go downward and get worse, somehow we trust our inner core and get through and by having experienced the pain of our relative we can then turn to others and perhaps try to help them.

I am a true believer in karma and the fact that souls incarnate to learn particular lessons, you might like to read about hypnotherapy and regression, its a fantastic tool for healing people who seem to be on a mission to self destruct, it can take time to get them to the healer but the magic is real once they want to make the changes.

I wish you so much joy and happiness in 2008, and though the road may seem long and hard sometimes when you look back at all you have achieved then its a huge reward to know you had hand in helping people when they were too frail to cope with themselves.
many blessings and please be in touch again soon
Angie x
Hi Angie,

I have to believe that time heals. I will never get over losing Lori. None of us do. Why should I? She was a part of me.

It's my faith in God that will pull me through. I'm writing my second book, Please God, Not Two about my life living with and losing my husband and daughter from this killer.

I'll read more on your site. I wish you and everyone a great New Year.
I too believe it is faith and hope in God that brings us through. I am so thankful we have Him to cling to when times are tough and even when times are good!.

Isn't it great He also gives us the gift of creativity to write from our hearts those things that can express what we truly believe!

God bless you in your writing!
I will pray for you.
Please pray for me too in the release of my book this next month!

Shirley Kiger Connolly
your mail reminds me the Mahabharta In this epic for the Hindus Draupadi a character prays to Lord Krishna to give her pain so that she will remember God
well I have lot of pain , no need to pray him to give me pain .
I hope God will help all of us to give success in writing
padma

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