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.
Views: 9108
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by SusieSunshine on
-
Thank you, Alberta. I do enjoy all of the process. I love to stay busy. Just overwhelming sometimes. But that too is life. *smile*
-
Permalink Reply by Bill Frank on
-
Good news! Dr. Joe Webb spoke at GraphExpo this year and had this to say about publishing. "Small publishing grows and grows and grows" between now and 2017.
Dr. Joe Webb is a leading authority on the printing industry. Graph Expo is the largest print-related trade show in the US.
For anyone in publishing, this is good news. Dr. Joe is typically very accurate with his predictions. He sees a convergence of technology, readership patterns and printing trends leading to his conclusion.
-
Permalink Reply by padma narayanswamy on
-
my biggest challange is selling my book
-
-
What are you doing to sell your book now? What has worked well for you? What are you comfortable doing to sell your book?
-
Permalink Reply by Kris Williams on
-
Hi, Bill. I have several big challenges. First, my publisher does not give discounts to stores if I chose to do book signings, so I would lose money rather than make a profit by doing so. My second is that I am not ready for a press release due to personal difficulties and that makes it tough for me to promote my book. Third is that I do not have any reviews as of yet, although a friend gave me a tip on that.
-
-
Hi, Kris. It's great that you have a publisher. Is your publisher a traditional, royalty-paying publisher? At what price do they sell books to bookstores? List price? Typically, publishers offer a 40% discount to bookstores. At what price does your publisher sell you books? What discount do they give the author? Does the same discount structure on your book apply if you tell the publisher you're using the books for review copies? Review copies are books sent to various media to have the media write reviews (hopefully positive reviews) for the book.
Press releases have become really inexpensive and authors can post them themselves. I don't know what your resources are, but you can send out a Press Release that can be viewed by the media over the Internet for as little as $49.95. There are three main resources for sending out press releases electronically: BusinessWire (prohibitively expensive), PR Web and Transworld News. Depending on your objectives with the press release determines which service you use. BusinessWire, for instance, is best served to reach the news organizations that are more traditional such as news agencies, newspapers, radio and TV. Transworld News, on the other hand, is better suited to reach the news sources on the Internet.
I've used all three. Recently, I selected Transworld News for a client because they had a $499 for 12-months' worth of press releases. I can send as many press releases as I want during that 12-month period. Each press release is optimized for search engines. I used the service and was consistently number one or two on Google News.
I don't know what tip you received from your friend, but the best way to get reviews is to send out review copies of your book. Think of all the media you'd like to write a review of your book and send them a review copy. It's a numbers game. The more you send out, the higher your chances of getting someone to review your book.
Review copies are the least expensive way to generate interest in your book. To send a review copy costs only the price of the book and shipping. Most review copies are send Media Mail, the Post Office's least expensive shipping method. I was sending a 5.5 x 8.5 trade paperback with 144 pages for $2.19 using Media Mail before the rates went up. The same book would ship for slightly higher now.
-
-
Hi, Bill. Thank you so much for your help. I will get you the specific information for your questions about the publisher, etc. My publisher is traditional royalty paying but does not give discounts to stores. It does, however, give discounts to the authors and they actually run specials on this.
Right now is not a good time for a press release. I really do not want that publicity at this time. On the other hand, I would like to just be able to further my book through the internet resources, if it is possible to do one and not the other.
I don't think that I have to pay for the press release because my publisher handles that.
I am looking for places or companies to send my book to for reviews. Which would you recommend? I will try that by buying copies for reviews and sending them out "Media Mail." My book is only 53 pages so maybe it would not be too expensive.
I will get back to you as soon as I can with the answers.
Thanks again,
Kris
-
-
Hi, Kris. That's good news that your publisher will offer discounts to authors for books. Without those discounts, it would be hard for you to generate interest in the media to review your book.
It's difficult to recommend which companies or places to send review copies of your book without knowing the genre of your book. The first place to start is to look within your book. Do you positively mention any companies or products in your book? If you do, start with those companies for bulk sales of your book. Next, do you mention any specific places in your book? For instance, is your book set in a particular city or locale? If it is, contact those cities or locations (tourist bureaus, chambers of commerce, etc) to purchase large volumes of your book.
The size of your book (page count) is not as important for Media Mail as the weight of your book. Media Mail moves by weight. Yes, having fewer pages will lighten the book, but the difference between 53 pages and 144 pages is minimal.
-
-
Thank you again for all your wisdom. I am still looking into this. I do not mention any specific companies or landmarks per say, in my book that we actually visited. There are at least none that I can remember. The part that is non-fiction is all the states and many of the cities I have described, as well, of course as the people. "Windwalker" begins in PA, crosses to the West Coast and back, depicting several events that were native to their territories. In that sense, the poems are primarily emotionally based, borderlining on fantasy, therefore not "structurally" based on a particular entity.
-
-
You say you mention cities and states. Consider the different city and state tourism boards as potential buyers of your book. Consider how to market the book to the various agencies in each location. Perhaps they'd be interested in purchasing your book to promote their area/region to potential tourists.
-
-
Bill,
Hi. I recently moved from the east to west coast. I am finally getting settled and was able to locate my contract for the questions you had asked me earlier.
My publisher does not give out discounts to the bookstores but to the author it varies according to whatever the special is that they have going. All copies ordered by the author are 20% discounted up to 20 copies, and after 30, a 30% discount applies. If an author orders more than 30 copies, he or she can sell them for his/her own profit.
I'm not sure how to go about finding the media that I would like to send my book for a review. You said to maybe send it to a tourist burea? Do you have any other suggestions? I haven't kept up with the discussions because I have been so busy but I will also check into them to see what tidbits you had to offer for the other writers.
Thanks again and happy new year!
Kris
-
-
Hi, Kris. Welcome to the West Coast!
Media interested in reviewing your book might include publications that review poetry. You might also consider Midwest Book Reviews. Contact Jim Cox at Midwest Book Reviews. He has been sympathetic to self-published authors in the past.
My suggestion of contacting tourist bureaus in cities along the path your book travels may be an opportunity.
If your poetry is spiritual, as one of your earlier posts indicated, you may try sending review copies to publications that review spiritual books. Also, if you are looking for distribution for a metaphysical poetry book, you may contact New Leaf to become your distributor to the New Age and metaphysical bookstores.
Book Marketing Bestsellers
About
Recommended Website
Music
© 2024 Created by John Kremer.
Powered by
