A-ha!

Build Buzz For Your Book

"Recovering publicist" Sandra Beckwith will be hosting her online book publicity workshop from June 2 to 27. The workshop is designed to help authors build buzz around their books.

Got a book coming out you want to promote? Do you want to launch your new book with the greatest excitement possible? Are you selling a book that you know deserves more media attention than it's getting? You need "Book Publicity 101: How to Build Book Buzz," a dynamic online course taught by a veteran publicist and author.

Offered June 2 to 27, the class is taught in a forum format, with lessons and homework assignments posted online in a private, password-protected forum. The highly-interactive course covers:

• How to announce your book professionally and successfully to the press and other key communities;
• Why and how you must create a book publicity blueprint that makes the most of your available resources;
• How to craft the most compelling media materials needed to generate results;
• The single secret most authors don't know about generating ongoing media exposure;
• The most effective and cost efficient publicity tactics;
• How to generate book buzz online using virtual book tours and other techniques;
• Radio and TV producer hot buttons; and
• How to bring an energizing new level of creativity to your publicity efforts

Students receive instructional materials and resources and complete weekly assignments that help them discover how easy it is to create book buzz. Student interaction on the forum offers fresh perspectives and new ideas for all participants while one-on-one instructor guidance and input takes your work to the next level. A free-for-all Q&A corner lets students get answers to questions not covered in the course materials, making this a highly-personalized learning experience for nonfiction and fiction authors.

The class is taught by Sandra Beckwith, a recovering award-winning publicist, publisher of the free e-zine Build Book Buzz and author of three books, including two on publicity topics.

Registration is $179 and limited to 20 students.

Click here to register, send course inquiries to Beckwith at sb@buildbookbuzz.com

Help us plan Publishing 3.0

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Blog to Book to Blog

And back again.

The intersection of print and online publishing is where we live (WME Books, WME Blogs). So we are very proud and excited to share this conversation from our blog-buddy Toby Bloomberg's blogtalkradio show entitled Creating and Promoting Books with Social Media/Web 2.0. Toby's guests (she calls them rock stars) are book publicist Nettie Hartsock and our own Sybil Stershic, who blogs at Quality Service Marketing and wrote Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care.

Just click the play button and get ready to learn.

Note: Because there is so much great information in the show covering both book- and blog-related topics, I'm going to cross-post this on A-ha! and WME Blogs, so please forgive. I think you'll want to listen to it more than once anyway ... and take notes!

Toby also blogged about the show and provided lists of tips from both Nettie and Sybil. Here's a taste:

Nettie: "Ask not what a blogger can do for you, ask how you, your book or your product can benefit the blogger and its readership ..."

Sybil: [on applying the "3 Rs" from her book to how authors should treat reviewers] "Reinforce their helping you with appropriate reciprocity (such as linking to their blog or website on your blog)."

There's more on Toby's blog and much more in the interview, so I'll get out of the way.

Note 2: In the interest of full disclosure (and maybe a little shameless self-promotion), Sybil is one our authors and her book is one of our best sellers since it's release last October. And she REALLY "gets" the whole blog to book to blog marketing concept.

We also have a connection to blogtalkradio, John Havens (VP of Business Development). John is co-authoring a book on business transparency with another of our clients, Shel Holtz, for Jossey-Bass and it's IABC book series. WME is acting as their agents.

Writing Your Book: Begin at the Beginning

I've had a number of people ask me how to get started writing their book. For instance, a lot of people, when they find out what we do, say, "I've always wanted to write a book, but I don't know how to get started."

The easy way is... to start. The hard way is... to think about it day after day, and to put roadblocks up, like saying, "I don't know how to get started."

Truth is, putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard is the best way to begin. If you have the idea already, great. The words will flow and you'll have your introduction or chapter one in no time.

What seems to hold people back is the worry that - they aren't good enough to write a book. That writing a book is a hard task, or a long task, or an arduous task. In reality, it's a task. Much like anything else. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Just like the book... a beginning, a middle and an end.

Sometimes I suggest doing a little bit of research. Visit Amazon and see if there are millions of other books on the same topic. That will tell you to make sure you have a new approach or a unique view to write about - one that will set your book apart from the millions of others on the same subject.

Next, visit a Barnes and Noble store and look for books relating to your topic. Don't limit yourself to books about the actual topic - expand your horizons and look at books about relating topics, or books about the opposite topic. In other words, check out your competition.

Don't ever believe your idea is so original that you have no competition. Even Harry Potter has competition.

Do you know what that is?

Thinking you're so original, so unique, so special that readers will want only what you're writing, is a recipe for failure. The key is to write what you know, but also, to know who else is writing it.

So, get started. Today is the best day to begin...

Google's Unbound Conference Tells Publishers "Embrace the Change"

On January 18th, Google brought together "thought leaders and publishing industry veterans who are taking advantage of our increasingly digital world—from blogs and social networks to print-on-demand and online access." It was an "all-day love-fest for book publishers", as Kevin Newcomb over at Search Engine Watch notes, with Google "trying to persuade publishers that [it] could be their friend, and not a book-stealing upstart that just won't follow their antiquated publishing standards." There is a lot of fear in the mainstream publishing industry of Google's BookSearch. 

The conference included many luminaries of the new media, including Chris Anderson (author of "The Long Tail"); author and marketing guru Seth Godin, Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing (and according to Godin, the Michael Jordan of data overload skill, and Tim O'Reilly.  The innovators from the Institute for the Future of the Book, who blog at If:Book, thought that through the conference Google was taking a sort of a carrot and stick approach, telling them that giving away content will, in the end, lead to more sales, while making it clear to mainstream publishers that that if they don't embrace this change it will happen without them.  As Seth Godin closed during the conference (based on one account): "In five years you're either going to be the center of the universe, or you're going to be ... Pluto."

I've found a few more links out there discussing the Unbound conference.  I'm sure there will be more, but thought I'd collect those I found for you here (with some money quotes):

• Publishing Unbound, Google-Style over at Galley Cat.
  
  • "...what especially hit home was how publishing is not best served by a conglomerate approach - because how can one model be applicable for education, science/technology/medicine, non-fiction and fiction? Answer: it can't.")
• Google opens dialogue with book publishers over at CNET News.com.
  • "At "Unbound," the tech-savvy authors, publishers and analysts more or less agreed that to grow and profit in an increasingly digital world, the publishing industry will have to expand its boundaries."
• Free is the New Paid over at On the Turning Away.
  • "As befitting the zeitgeist, the power of the user will dictate the future of the publishing industry. Three segments are emerging in today’s publishing world – printed works, print-on-demand and inventive entertainment – in which authors create personas through multimedia channels, all of which are marketed by search, social communities both on and offline and workflow. The challenge for publishers will be to leverage these channels to create books that users will engage."
• Change is Now, and Free Sells over at The Long Blonde Tail.
  • "The time for (big) change is now. For an incredibly conservative, slow-to-adapt, traditional industry, this is no small feat."
• Four posts over at WebMetricsGuru, who blogged about each session here , here, here (Seth Godin) and here (Cory Doctorow).

Why Publishing Costs So Much: Part II

Today, following up yesterday's start of Why Publishing Costs So Much, we'll look at those fixed costs. Dave has outlined the details nicely.

Costs of Publishing: Fixed Costs...by Dave Young

Administrative Costs include reading manu­scripts and returning those not suited to the publisher's needs. When a good manuscript is identified by the first reader, it is passed to an editor who must read it and convince upper management, which controls the flow of cash, to allot the up-front money needed to publish the book. The editors need offices and salaries.

Assuming a go ahead, the editor must interact with the author while preparing the book for publication. All of this takes time and must be done in a facility that requires light, heat, rent, phones, etc. All of which costs money.

The editor must obtain ISBN and Copyright forms, complete them, and file them with the proper agencies. Eventually, the publisher will send copies of the finished work to the Library of Congress.

To be sure all the above happens on a rea­sonable schedule, while other books are also in process, the publisher must establish a job file to track progress and location of the elements (e.g., manuscript, data file, printing plates, approvals, etc.) during and subsequent to manufacture. Also, it will be necessary to establish procedures and paperwork to see that everyone gets paid for their contributions and that money owed the publish­er as a result of book sales is collected. All this costs money.

While the editor is at work, several things must be done, and each has associated costs. The book's cover must be designed. This involves preparing artwork, selecting appropriate typefac­es, and layout of the cover elements all of which affect eye-appeal and sales. Words must be written and illustrations prepared for the book jacket and inside-jacket flaps.

Why Publishing Costs So Much: Part III

This is the last part of our series on Why Publishing Costs So Much, written by my colleague, Dave Young. Today we'll look at Variable Costs.

Variable Costs...by Dave Young

Book manufacturing has its costs, too. Book printing is generally done on large printing presses, some sheet fed, others fed by rolls of paper (web presses). They're large, costly to buy, and must be operated by skilled craftsmen. The press occu­pies space that must be rented, heated, and otherwise maintained even if the press is not operating. Consequently, owners of these large presses try to keep them busy 24 hours a day by selling their services to several customers, just as a restaurant tries to keep its tables filled with paying customers.

A publisher must get in line to use a press. Then, if something delays the early stages of publishing, such as an author refusing to make requested changes, everything downstream of that event is affected. If the publisher cannot get the work to the printer on schedule, the press may sit idle at the publisher's expense. Then the publisher's book is moved to the end of the line, disrupting promotion and delivery sched­ules. Delays cost money.

In addition to assuming the risks of schedul­ing, the publisher must pay for several print­ing costs. Plates must be made. Press time must be paid for. Paper must be ordered in time for it to be manufactured, then it must be stored prior to printing. All of the elements used in publish­ing a book must be kept track of so that if a second press run is required (don't you wish!) these items can be found quickly and reused. All that costs money.

Printed paper is not much good until it is bound into books. The bindery folds the press sheets into signatures, typically 16 pages of text each. The signatures must be trimmed, then gathered in sequence and sewn (or glued) to the book's spine. (The process is only slightly dif­ferent for per­fect binding used when mak­ing paper­backs.) Cov­ers, wrapped around cover boards, are printed sepa­rately, assembled, possi­bly em­bossed, then wrapped around the signa­tures.

Large publishers do the book printing and manufacturing in-house. Smaller publishers act as contractors, managing the entire process and farming tasks such as printing and binding to specialty companies in the same way that build­ing contractors hire carpenters, plumbers, elec­tricians, and masons. Like a good juggler, they must have several balls in the air at one time if they're to make a living.

But, we're not done. The finished books must be packed in cartons ($5.00 to $10.00 each) and those books don't just jump into the boxes. Somebody's got to put them in there, seal the boxes, then move them into storage, perhaps in another town, until the books are shipped to the stores, creating more labor and storage fees.

Meanwhile, with the other hand, the publish­er is advertising the book to book dealers and taking orders. Advertising in catalogs, which must be printed and distributed, and advertising in space ads, which are printed and distributed by others, all cost up-front money.

Copies of the book are sent to reviewers, who may or may not review it. Still, the publish­er must write, edit, and print cover letters to include with the individually packaged and mailed reviewer copies. That mailing must be attractive, and the packaging is unique to the book.

Orders must be solicited from major dealers. That usually means more printing, mailing, and possibly even paid sales staff to call on the dealers.

Major distributors, who fulfill orders to libraries (a large market), must be catered to as well. They will require sample copies for their own review before placing orders. And take a hefty share of the profits for the privilege of distributing each title.

Distribution (fulfillment) will require paper­work to assure sending the right quantities to fill orders, packing slips, and invoicing. Dealer support services may include designing, printing, and distributing sales aids, like signs and flyers.

Returns must be planned for. Dealers accept copies on the condition that after a certain num­ber of weeks they may return the remaindered copies for refund. That's more handling, book­keeping, and warehousing. On average, 20% of books shipped to dealers are returned.

At this point, the publisher must find ways to unload the returns and unordered copies of the book. Storing them for a rainy day is out of the question; storage isn't free. They may be sold at a price below the cost of manufacture just to free up the warehouse space, which has ongo­ing costs.

Traditional publishers know the ropes yet they often fail to earn enough from a book's sales to cover the up-front costs. It's a gamble. But, profes­sionals win a few more than they lose so, in the long run, they remain profitable.

Why Publishing Costs So Much

This week I'm presenting a series of posts on Why Publishing Costs So Much.

A respected colleague of mine, who has been in the book business a bit longer than I, and who has seen times change dramatically over the years, wrote this and gave us permission to use it on this blog.

Dave Young is an editor living here in Rochester, NY. If you would like to connect with him, after reading this excellent article (to be presented in three parts), please visit the RPCN website and click to his name. His contact information is there. If he gives me permission to, I will include his email address in the second part of this series.

Now, let's see Why Publishing Costs So Much...by Dave Young:

There are four ways to get a book published: sell the manuscript to a traditional publisher, use a vanity press, work with a print-on-demand publisher, or print and sell it yourself.

When an author approaches a traditional publisher, and finds that the publisher wants to buy the manuscript outright, then award the author only a tiny percentage of the sales re­ceipts, there's often the urge to go elsewhere. What could possibly make a publisher want to take such a large percentage of the sales reve­nue?

Come to think of it, what could be so hard about self publish­ing? The manuscript file is in your computer, all you have to do is format it, get copies printed, and sell it.

Over the years several companies, called vanity presses, have offered to help authors. They'll professionally print, bind, and deliver to your garage hundreds of books (for thousands of dollars). "Surely," you're probably thinking, "I can sell the books via the internet or at meetings where I'll read and promote my book." Then again, what if you don't?

Other companies point out the high up-front costs of printing books in quantity and offer printing on demand (POD) as an alternative. They prepare the book for printing and, when you need ten books, they print ten books. Twen­ty years ago, you couldn't do that, but today's digital printing and binding equipment makes on-demand publishing possible. When you contact a POD publisher, you will discover it will often cost from eight to ten thousand dollars before the first book gets printed. Why? We'll talk about that tomorrow.

Of course, there's the option of doing it all yourself. You've got a computer and a printer, why not?

Before you choose, let's look at some of the details that get swept under the carpet when you make broad, general statements like those I've made in the paragraphs above.

Johann Gutenberg invented moveable type in 1455; that made book publishing practical. His invention started what has become traditional pub­lish­ing. Authors sold their manuscripts to publishers who had the skills and capital needed to manufacture and sell books. It's worked for 550 years.

The introduction of computers in the 1970s changed a lot of things, but traditional publishing is still alive and well. It's what the big publish­ers use to produce and distribute books.

The costs of publishing

When a traditional publisher produces a book, there are several costs involved. Some costs occur only once per book. These are fixed costs such as editing and cover design. Other costs vary as the quantity of books varies. Print­ing, binding, packaging, and distribution are examples.

Tomorrow we'll cover a quick overview of the fixed and variable costs associated with publishing any book, regardless of who publishes it. Stay tuned.

Podcasting Book Deal

We're excited to be involved in the forthcoming book on podcasting announced yesterday by our friends Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz. Yvonne acted as their agent (how's that for Authors Helping Authors?) and she's blushing over the nice things they wrote about her in their blog announcements.

The book will be called “How to Do Everything with Podcasting” and published by McGraw-Hill as part of its “How to Do Everything” series.

You'll be able to follow the progress of their work in their podcasts at For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report, as well as a new blog devoted to the book (coming soon at www.podcastingbook.net). You can start by listening to their podcast recorded Thursday on location at the New Communications Forum in Palo Alto, California.

(Neville and Shel podcasting from New Comm; photo by Phillip Young)

Nicholas Sparks has struck again!

If there are any Nicholas Sparks fans out there like I am, then you'll probably share in my excitement when you hear that his newest novel has been released. If you are like me, then you're not about to wait for the book to come out in paperback. That would be pure torture! You'll buy the hardcover version and read it cover to cover, unable to pull yourself from it until it's finished. Unfortunately, following the completion of the book, you'll experience an intense sense of sadness, not only because his books have a tendency to make you cry, but also because you know that you'll have to wait at least a year until he releases another book. Nevertheless, the long awaited book is well worth the wait and I personally have never been disappointed.

I had planned on doing a review on his latest novel that was released in October, At First Sight, but would rather share my thoughts on the author's writings in general. I am a fanatic when it comes to this man and own every book that he has ever written. I literally run out and buy the book the second it hits the shelves and if I am unaware of a new release and see the book sitting there in front of me at the store then the surprise is even better! There are very few authors who have captured me with every single novel they've published. Many times I will choose an author's work because I have read a previous book by them that I enjoyed, or because they were suggested by someone to me. Often I tend to be disappointed. If you love one of Sparks' books you will enjoy them all. Just ask one of his fans!

I truly love the way that Nicholas has incorporated his family life into his stories. A couple of his books are based on actual family members. The characters of his novels are all named after his children: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie and Savannah. His novel, Three Weeks with My Brother is a very personal account of his life that I thought was very touching. It was nice to get to know the author on a more personal level and it gave me great insight into how this man creates such amazing stories. The struggles that he has faced in his life have definitely left him with something to write out.

"None of my characters are rich or famous, and the situations they find themselves in could happen to anyone".
Nicholas Sparks

I typically do not read love stories anymore. I used to read Jude Deveraux books faithfully but grew tired of the same love story. Girl meets boy, he hates her-she hates him, and then they fall in love and live happily ever after (something along those lines). I prefer reality! So, If you are looking for a love story without all of the mush (the fairy tale, never going to happen in a million years love story) then pick up any one of his books and prepare to be swept.