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 albertasequeira on
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HI Deborah,
I came across your email and have to remark on it. I also went to B&N in one location and the manager refused to bring my book in. Why? because it was from PublishAmerica. She saw the name and gave it right back to me. I offered to bring the book in on consignment and take any back if it didn't sell. No deal!
Here is what you have to do. Don't stop asking because ONE B&N or Borders says no. It goes by the manager of the store.
I went to another B&N at a high interstate section an hour away, and she not only gave me a book signing, she kept 10 signed books on hand to sell. She told me, if they sell, they will order more. I went on vacation to Orlando, Florida last February and called B&N requesting a signing while I was there. It was five minutes from my resort. It took 3 weeks requesting it but they let me. I now have 32 books on their bookshelves.
I've had one location of Borders say no and yet another one is carrying the book. So, keep going to different ones.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Harrison on
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Good luck to you with your books. I am Amandah and I am trying to help my poor Disabled Hubby get his book sold before we go any further. We live in the uk and here its very difficult getting known . We went self publsihing (Never again ) The money we have wasted well never mind I guess its a learning curve, I am hoping that some one some where will buy the book and help us do a re print as Hubby ownsthe rights etc. If anyone can give us any advise this would be great Thank-you Its hard on us as neither of us drive to we are unable to get out to schools and say look here is a local author with a kiddies book. I am listed on Google and amazon uk. regards Amandah
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Permalink Reply by D Tyler Brown on
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Hey, I'm sure my biggest challenge is like most authors...that is, avoiding distractions that keep you from writing and meeting those deadlines. I have all the knowledge and information available to write this next manuscript, but I keep allowing people to interfere. I feel like
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Hi D,
I instruct Beginning Writer's Workshops and we talk about this. I'm not sure what is distracting you with your writing but I know mine is emails. I have the habit of getting up and going to them the first thing in the morning. Instead of ignoring anything that doesn't need an urgent reply, I do. The next thing I know it's lunchtime.
Most authors I speak to say they ignore the emails until 3pm. This is easy for retired people making their own time with writing. If your working that is another story. When you think of it, what is that important within emails that can't wait.
An author told me that a writer has to be dedicated to getting it completed. Put a half hour a day in no matter what. Once you do, you may have an hour or two with writing before you know it. The first step, start it.
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Permalink Reply by Michaela Riley on
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My biggest challenge has been getting my Publisher to let me submit revisions for my book they printed with typos and grammar errors. I was told a professional editor would make any necessary corrections and they didn't. Their reply the book is marketable the way it is!
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Marlena Corcoran on
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My publisher sent the manuscript to an editor who INTRODUCED errors. More were introduced by the editor herself: a native speaker of German who was convinced she could improve my English. And the two books I published with them are designed to improve readers' English. I try not to think about this.
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That is horrible! Is there any way to correct this?
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Michaela,
Does PA send you a form to fill out on the internet with your corrections. This is the email address that I send to the support team and they send me the form: support@publishamerica.com.
Try it.
Alberta
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Hello Alberta, Yes I received the form you describe but I am always told the same thing. My book is fine the way it is and it was my responsibility to edit it before it was sent to print. If I sell more books they might let me submit revisions. I guess I will have to be the one to buy more books...Michaela
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I was extremely lucky with PublishAmerica. I was highly embarrassed after the first print that I found close to 20 or more spelling errors after going over it; friends pointed them out. PA had offered to check for them but after three editors, I thought it had been clean.
I must have had three request for changes and they did everyone of them, including changing the back cover with it stating my book was a novel when it was a memoir.
No author likes mistakes in their book(s). I didn't think it gave a good first impression of me being a first-time author.
I feel for you Michaela! Yes, our books are marketable that way but it doesn't say much for us as authors. We want pride in our books. That's why we pay editors. I would have been sick if my books stayed out that way for readers to see. I did a book review for someone and it was shocking on the tons of spelling mistakes. It took away from me enjoying the book.
Marlena, I can't understand an editor changing your writing to improve the German English. What happens with the English people? Another author I know had the same problem. They kept trying to change her wording (it was fiction so it was written to how it would sound). She finally insisted that they keep it HER way.
I've come to the conclusion that we have to STICK to what we want and demand it. If they promise to edit it, they should. I go to an editor OUTSIDE of the publisher before getting one.
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Publish America is my publisher also. I am extremely happy they published my book but I am still having a difficut time with getting the corrections made. I have decided to pay for someone to edit my book and then ask again for a reprint. You are right it is hard for an author to see their work printed in a way that is not as good as we would like. My friends also pointed out the errors, some of them have been fixed but how do you market a book that is not what it should be. I guess we are all passionate about this subject, together we can help one another work through the challenges. Have a great day!
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Permalink Reply by June Austin on
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By far the biggest challenge I have also faced is with regard to the supply chain. From what I can tell, the attitude towards self publishing here in the UK is a lot warmer than in the US, but even so it has still beem a struggle. It was not until the second edition of my book was published in May 2007 that I started to make any real headway. My publisher had seen the potential that the book has, but was waiting for me to make the right moves. When I started then to approach libraries and book stores on a national rather than just local basis that was the cue he had been waiting for. When several said that they would not order unless it was on sor (sale or return) I asked him if there was anything that could be done re this, and he agreed to ask Gardners, the largest wholesaler here in the UK to take it on board. There are only a handful of other POD books in the whole country that have this distinction and even now, 6 months later, when I ring book stores a lot of them do not believe me until they log onto the wholesalers website and see it with their own eyes.
After the announcement was made though I contacted the independent author advisor at Waterstones (our largest book chain) Head Office and he emailed me a spreadsheet of contact details for all 330 odd of their stores, which I rang one by one over a period of 4 months or so, until I had managed to get stocked in almost half of them. A large proportion of them, I have since though discovered, although they told me they would be ordering, did not actually do so. Around 2o or so other stores have failed to sell the copies they did order and have returned them to the wholesaler. I am still though 6 months later stocked in almost 100 of their stores and to date have sold around 100 copies through their tills. It may not be a lot to show for 6 months work, but it is still 100 book sales that I would not have had, and as time goes on, I can be sure that the stores who do have stock are selling their copies and will continue to re-order. It is only a matter of time I feel before it is taken on one of the lower tiers of what they call core stock, which means that stores will no longer need to go through Gardners as the book will be stocked in their own centralised warehouse.
Borders though have been a different kettle of fish entirely. I managed to get stocked in my local store by doing a talk there, but other stores have either refused to stock it, saying that I have to go through Head Office (despite the fact that I have been told at least twice by the Buying Department that this is not true), or that they promise to order copies and then don't. I have given up trying with Borders now then as it became obvious that my time would be better spent concentrating on stores that were more amenble.
Unfortunately because so many stores who promised to order failed to do so, the wholesaler had way too much stock, and so 2 weeks ago they sent 70 books back, books which I will have to pay for, not straight away, but in a few months time when they bill the publisher. I have to though somehow find a way to sell these, which is not easy when I also work four days a week, in a retail environment which is not condusive to making calls even at lunch time. I have managed to get a few sold direct to various independents, and on Friday, which is my next day off, plan to ring some branches of a Christian book chain, which seems hopeful.
The local paper are also printing a piece about me tomorrow which should help shift some. The first reader to contact me tomorrow wins a free copy while everyone else can get £2 off with free postage. I should get at least some interest with a bit of luck.
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