The Dark Side of the iPad

Steve Jobs has done it again. Wooed all of us with another Wow device with the introduction of the iPad last week, a new color ebook, email and web browser tablet that many critics say will go head to head with Amazon's Kindle.

And Kudos to Jobs for bringing another technological marvel to the market, but there is a darker side to the iPad.

With the launch of the new iBooks app for the iPad, five of the largest book publishers, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster had signed up to provide e-book content for the new tablet.

And one of the major reasons they jumped on board so quickly is because the iPad gives them the opportunity to sell their books between $12.99 and $14.99 whereas Amazon limited their highest priced titles to $9.99.

The dark side to all of this is greed. These publishers are going against the natural laws of the market by forcing a higher price for ebooks on an already well accepted market price of $9.99.

One of the major reasons for the attractiveness of the Kindle is the $9.99 price for mainstream book titles. For the price of one hardcover book, a Kindle owner can have three major titles. I know many Kindle owners who have filled up their Kindles to capacity because of this low price and I know of others who easily spent upwards of $300 plus on Kindle titles.

These publishers are following the same path as the music industry – attempting to raise prices beyond what the market has deemed the comfortable price point. And they are using the same lame excuses – the publishers claim the low ebook prices are hurting hardcover sales; the music industry claimed the low price of downloadable songs cut into their CD sales.

Both are false. Many young people do not read books today preferring to get their content on video games, the Internet, ebook readers or on mobile devices. The older generations buy fewer books because of the high price of hardcover titles and wait for the paperback versions.

The trend is clear – sales of ebooks and electronic content are exploding; sales of print books are decreasing. This is the reality of the market, but the book publishers refuse to accept this.

Instead, they see an opportunity with the iPad to further preserve and hopefully bolster their failing business model – to give the booksellers as many printed titles as they want on consignment and allow them to return what they don't sell at no cost to the bookseller.

They believe the higher ebook price will cause people to buy the hardcover version. I don't think so. I believe they will only decrease sales of both versions. The $9.99 and lower price point will prevail.

The iPad pricing model is also bad news for mid list and back list authors because with the higher ebook prices only the major titles by the bestselling authors will sell, again closing the door to many unknown authors with good content.

If Amazon raises the prices of their books to be in line with these publishers, it will turn the ebook business model into the failing print book model – where publishers depend on bestsellers to support their businesses and publish fewer and fewer unknown authors.

And Jobs – he supports the higher ebook price because Apple will make 30 percent of each book sale on the iPad. The following from The New York Times on 1/27 sums it up:

"Mr. Jobs credited Amazon with pioneering the category with the Kindle, but said 'we are going to stand on their shoulders and go a little bit farther.'"

Remember that when you decide to purchase an iPad.

A Bookcoach can Better Market Your Book

By Judy Cullins

When authors think of their audience buying books they think of bookstores. This myth sends authors taking the long, arduous road to seeking out an agent, a publisher, hoping their book will become a best seller. It won't. Why?

Because you are not famous, your publishing support amounts only to a three-month book tour, billed against your sales. Your book's shelf life at Barnes and Noble or other brick and mortar bookstores is about three months too. And, you the author must promote it full time to receive less than 50% of the profits.

Another reason bookstores disappoint the author is that most people go into the store to browse. They want fiction, some non-fiction, but they aren't sure what. If your book is shelved among more popular authors, potential buyers will pass it by for the well-known name.

Marketing guru, John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, says "I'm glad I don't rely on retail 'brick and mortar' bookstore sales for my income, but it will be nice to add that icing on the cake into my cash flow again."

Before his updated version this year, John has sold 45,000 copies of his book in three years. He is a marketer par excellence. He uses non-traditional marketing strategies; his web site, his ezine which offers tips, products and seminars, specialty stores, foreign markets, libraries, and back of the room sales from speaking engagements.

Because John is a recognized name, he gets a lot of shelf space in the bookstore - cover side out. For your lesser-known book, only your spine will show and after three months of initial placement, your book will fade away unless you put on your promotion hat to get customers to the store.

In one book coaching session, a new client thought he wanted to sell to the bookstores. I asked him who was his particular audience. He said business people. What kind of business people? Do these people go to the "brick and mortar" bookstore for a business book? Or, will they be more likely to subscribe to online business ezines or visit a business Web site for specific kinds of business books?

Your book coach knows that online promotion is the cheapest, easiest, and most profitable way to sell books.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Seventy percent of US adults haven't been in a bookstore for the last 5 years.
• Bookstores sell only 45% of all books sold.
• Bookstores return non-sold books to the author-think of the Starbucks people dripping their coffee and scone on your book.
• Bookstores will take 90 days, even a year or more to pay you for your total book sales.
• Bookstores only order two or three copies at a time because of limited shelf space.
• Bookstores buy only from a distributor or wholesaler.

Why the big push to get a wholesale or distributor and get into the bookstore?

These people represent so many other authors don't you wonder how much attention your book will receive? They exact healthy fees, around 55%. That leaves a small profit for the author, and remember, bookstores, distributors and wholesalers don't promote your book!

After her distributor went belly up and she lost $160,000, one author said she would rather have more control over her priceless products. She distributes them all herself now through various venues that suit her personality.

Authors spend a lot of time and money chasing the improbable, when the "golden egg" of self-publishing and self-promotion is right in front of them. In my opinion, I'd sell my books everywhere except the brick and mortar bookstore!

Book and Internet Marketing Coach Judy Cullins helps businesses get all the clients and sell all the books they want.

Author of 11 business books including How to Write your Book Fast and Advanced Article Marketing, a 3-Book Special.

Judy offers free articles and eBook "Book Writing and Marketing Tips" with monthly ezine subscription at http://www.bookcoaching.com

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Publish and Sell Helps Writers get Published

Today we have an interview with Henry Hutton, a good friend of mine who is helping revolutionize the publishing industry with his self publishing agency, Publish and Sell Enterprises. Known in publishing circles as The PublishingGuy, Henry has also created an online newspaper called PublishingGuy's News Update offering the latest news in the dynamic publishing industry - Anthony

1. What made you start Publish and Sell?

I’ve always had a passion for helping authors realize their dreams, and the revolution in publishing - especially with sites like Lulu.com and Createspace.com, along with POD - has enabled millions of authors the opportunity to see their book in print. We quickly learn, however, that publishing is not the hard part. Selling is.

Our goal at Lulu was to change the world of publishing and by turning it on its head. With our free publishing tools any author could publish their work into a printed book or ebook and make it available for sale to their buying audience. Although that in itself is a great achievement, it doesn’t get the author to the goal line, and authors quickly realized that publishing their book was the easier first half of the publishing process.

Generating sales is the biggest challenge to overcome.

Fortunately, while at Lulu I witnessed two sides of the independent publishing phenomenon:

1. Authors that published their book and waited for sales to happen, and

2. Authors that aggressively marketed their books using free social networking sites. 

Needless to say, the authors in the former group faltered while the authors in the latter group, even through trial and error, achieved moderate - and often surprising - success

My goal is to help authors better position themselves for success by not only making the best publishing choices, but by making smart marketing choices. In today’s Internet world, every author can identify, find, interact with, and sell to their audience much more efficiently and economically.

2. What makes Publish and Sell unique? Are there other companies like Publish and Sell?
I consider Publish and Sell Enterprises as a self-publishing agency. Although you can find many companies that offer author services similar to ours, those companies typically work with specific printing and distribution outlets.

I do things differently. I examine the needs of the author - the genre of their book, the audience that they’re trying to reach - and determine the best path to take in terms of publishing and marketing. Some authors might be best served by Lulu, while others might be served through Booksurge, and still others should go directly into the Kindle. I’ve learned over the years that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to author services, and forcing an author’s square book into a round publishing and marketing hole is asking for failure. 

3. Do you think there is a large market for your services?
There’s no doubt about it. A large percentage of authors that attempt the free publishing sites - Createspace, Lulu, Wordclay, etc. - never finish the publishing process. Furthermore, an equally large percentage that do publish never sell more than a couple copies. With a little hand-holding I’m convinced that many authors can do better. They just need to be educated and pointed in the right direction.

4. How does Publish and Sell work?
When an author contacts us we walk through their situation - including the “completeness” of their book, the genre, the market - and assess the overall strategy for reaching a successful outcome. This is a completely interactive process with the author.

We then put a plan and timeline together that reflects the publishing and marketing activities that will be required to accomplish our goals.

5. What challenges do you see for Publish and Sell?
There are a few significant challenges we face. First of all, since every author is different it’s hard for me to accurately predict resource needs. Will I need another ghost writer in three months or another cover artist? So far, however, we’ve done a good job managing our resource needs.

Secondly, as you know, the publishing world is rapidly changing. A few weeks ago Lulu changed their retail distribution program, and just last week Createspace began offering author services. It’s imperative that we stay on top of these rapid developments so that we can properly advise our clients regarding their options.


Lastly, it’s critical that authors make the proper choices when it comes to social marketing. Although there’s an abundance of free networking and social media tools, some may not be suited for the book’s genre, its market, or even the author’s personality. Some sites go in and out of favor, so it’s our job to stay on top of these changes and try to anticipate the trends that will work to the author’s advantage.

6. Are authors successful using your services?
You’d have to ask those authors, but I think it’s fair to say that they’re more successful than they would have been without my services. Especially when it comes to marketing, I can only educate and show them the best way to present themselves online, build and interact with their audience, and influence that audience to buy their book. At the end of the day the book must deliver. 

7. What advice would you give to authors considering self-publishing?
Do it, and don’t wait. You’re only harming yourself if you do. I’ve seen too many authors that have waited years to garner a publishing deal, without success. By self-publishing, authors - especially first-time authors - will better understand the process and challenges of publishing. They’ll learn what works and what doesn’t, and actually become better positioned - through the self-publishing success - to get picked up by a traditional publisher. Or, alternatively, they’ll find their niche and remain as a self-publisher to maintain control over their book and income. It can be a win-win, but you won’t know if you don’t try.

Thousands of people are self-publishing every day. Their book is being purchased, it’s being read, and the author is receiving feedback. Yes, sometimes the feedback is negative, and sometimes the book wasn’t as good as it should have been. If that’s the case, it’s better to have a small self-publishing failure (that you can quickly recover from) than a failure with a traditional publisher. That’s almost impossible to recover from.  Take advantage of every learning opportunity that self-publishing provides.
 

8. Do you think self-publishing could be a path to commercial publishing?
Definitely! We saw this happen all the time at Lulu. Publishers would look at our top seller list and contact those authors. It made their job easy, because these authors knew the process of publishing, they knew their target audience, and they knew how to market to that audience successfully. That’s a publisher’s dream come true. 

9. What do you think will be the future of publishing?
The most interesting and immediate dynamic the industry is facing is ebooks. Devices like the Kindle and Sony Reader have made it easy and convenient to purchase and read books. These ebook readers are still a little too expensive for the mainstream market, but I’m confident that in time they’ll achieve critical mass and revolutionize the reading and publishing landscape.

For example, I love printed books, but now that I have a Kindle I very rarely buy a printed book. For one thing, the ebooks are always cheaper. Furthermore, I feel that - in a very small way - I’m saving a few trees every time I opt for an ebook. I don’t need another book sitting on my bookshelf anyway - I’ve got too many already!

Lastly, ebooks provide many advantages to authors. Although it takes a little time and effort, an author can publish their book as a Kindle ebook for free. Just go to http://dtp.amazon.com and follow the instructions.

Talk about removing barriers to entry. Upload and publish today, and your book is being purchased and read by your audience in no time. Oh, and you’re receiving royalties in no time. In tomorrow’s world, ebooks will be an author’s best friend.


10. What do you enjoy the most about Publish and Sell?
I enjoy working with authors, and every author’s situation is different. No two poetry books are alike, nor are any two novels alike. That keeps things fresh, along with the fact that the publishing industry and its associated technologies are changing almost daily.

Also, as much as I dream of being a novelist, I can’t seem to write for the long haul. I am a musician, so I have a lot of songs that I’ve penned - along with some poems and short stories - but after a couple pages I’ve run out of things to say.

So I admire authors. I admire the varied processes by which they write, and I’m envious of the way that an author’s thoughts seem to flow uninhibited from their mind and into their manuscript. This capability - to tell a story, to invoke emotions, and sometimes even change the life of your reader is, frankly, astounding.

For more information on Publish and Sell Enterprises and how Henry can help you publish and market your work visit his site at http://www.publishandsell.com or call him directly at 919 247-1832.

You can also find Henry on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/henry.hutton, on Twitter at @PublishingGuy and on Linkedin at http://www.linkedin.com/in/henryhutton

Self or Commercial Publication - Is There a Difference Anymore?

Editor's Note: We have a guest blog by best selling author Jeremy Robinson, who I refer to as the author's author. I followed Jeremy's career when he started as a self-published author, watched him create ingeniously unique marketing events for his books and finally land a lucrative three-book contract with a traditional publisher, Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. He is an inspiration to all aspiring and just-published authors.- Anthony


By Jeremy Robinson

So what is the difference between being a self-published author and an author with a commercial publisher. Being a self-publisher for three years, this was a question I often wondered about. NY publishers and authors are very quiet about the inner workings of publishing and in some ways it felt like this secret society that you had to become a part of to learn the truth. In a way, that's true, because I didn't really know until I was in the club, so to speak.

I should mention that this is MY experience. I am a professional interior and cover designer and have hired editors for my books. Because I tried to treat the process of self-publishing as much like a publisher as I could (going so far as to start a small press), you will not find those typical self-publishing/big gun publishing differences in my perspective.

But I'm happy to talk about it and let YOU in on the secret. First, I'll start with the differences, because there aren't that many and, honestly, they're not nearly as important as the similarities.

1. You get paid an advance. Most of the time. Which is nice. It says, "Hey, we think your book is going to sell X amount of copies and we're so sure of it, we're going to pay you in advance for those copies". Wow! What a shot in the arm. But its not as grand as it sounds. Odds are, as a first time author your advance will be far less than you need to live on for a year, so don't quit your day job. And then there is the pressure to actually sell what was expected of you...which can be a lot harder than you think.

2. This is the big one, distribution. Your books, if the publisher is doing their job, will not only be available to brick and mortar stores, it will also be on the shelf without you having to lift a finger. Deep breath, smile, and sigh. Ahhhh.

3. Royalties. As a self-publisher I was accustomed to making $4.00 per book sold. That's now at $2.50 for hard covers and something like $.65 for mass markets. So to make the same amount of money, I need to sell roughly double the amount of books, which is, again, harder than you think.

And that's about it. There are other obvious differences, like working with an editor that's been in the business for a while, and a team of artists at a publishing house, but that experience is totally different from person to person, and for me, hasn't been too different than what I'm used to in my own self-imposed system of publishing.

As for what has not changed (despite how much I wish it would) is this: marketing. When I got the catalog from the publisher with PULSE in it, I looked at the list of marketing that was going to be done for the book...and you know what I saw? Everything I have always done for my books. Meaning, I would still be doing them...and that was it. There would be no marketing beyond what I could manage on my own.

If you're an author, you might be aghast right now. But you shouldn't be. This is life for most newbie authors. Many choose to do nothing and let the book sell from the shelf on its own, but I wouldn't suggest this.

You must act like you're still trying to prove yourself as an author, because you are! Getting a big publisher is just the first step in having a career as an author. What happens after that, once again, largely depends on the author's action or inaction. So, what hasn't changed is that I am still spending insane amounts of hours marketing. I created my video trailer. I hired a narrator to podcast my previous novel, Kronos, an inserted ads for PULSE. I'm active on my blog, website, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Youtube and Goodreads. I had multiple contests. Wrote and released press releases. Booked radio shows. Scheduled signings. And a slew of other things I have mentally blocked.

In fact, I would suggest you not think about what is different between self-publishing and commercial publishing. If you get a publishing deal, great, but don't think you've "made it." You're still a long way from that. I'm still a long way from that. So stay focused on what remains the same. Keep your desperation. Your drive. And maybe you'll get a second book deal when the first is done.

For more on me and the novels, please visit www.jeremyrobinsononline.com - Sign up for the newsletter while you're there!

PULSE is now available.

Buy from Barnes&Noble

Buy from Amazon

"Jeremy Robinson's latest novel, PULSE, ratchets his writing to the next level.  Rocket-boosted action, brilliant speculation, and the recreation of a horror out of the mythologic past, all seamlessly blend into a rollercoaster ride of suspense and adventure.  Who knew chess could be this much fun!"
-- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST ORACLE

The eBook Market Just Blew White Hot

By Anthony S. Policastro

If you thought the eBook market was hot before, it just went super nova with Smashwords newest distribution to "major online retailers, the first of which is Barnes & Noble and their various properties including Barnesandnoble.com, Fictionwise, and their eReader app."

Like the other 2,600 authors on Smashwords, I received an email Friday evening from Smashwords owner and creator, Mark Coker announcing the new distribution arrangement.

"To put everything in perspective, we're developing a process that will enable

your books to receive widespread retail distribution within days or weeks of

publishing on Smashwords. Some of what we're doing here has never been done

before, so like I said above, please be patient as we work together to pioneer

the brave new world of ebook distribution," wrote Mark Coker in the email.

In addition, Barnes & Noble just ramped up its eBook efforts and currently has more than 700,000 eBook titles listed on its site and it hopes to surpass one million books within the next year. The book retailer will also be the exclusive eBook provider to Plastic Logic's upcoming eReader device - an eight and a half by eleven inch device with a touch screen and wireless capabilities for downloading content. AT&T will be the wireless carrier for the reader and this means users in Europe and parts of Asia will be able to download content. The Kindle's wireless feature works only the United States.

All of these developments could be a paradigm shift in the eBook market because Barnes and Noble is opening its arms and accepting the work posted on other commercial eBook sites. They are clearly scooping up as much market share as possible to compete against the Amazon Kindle. (See the related article below in The New York Times.) Even their pricing model is similar to Amazon's with major titles selling for $9.99 - the same price as the Kindle. Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol is featured on Barnes and Noble eBook site as a preorder for $9.99.

What's more significant is that you can download a book from Barnes and Noble and read it on your iPhone, iTouch, Blackberry or PC or Macintosh by simply downloading the B&N eReader software for the particular device. And they announced they will be adding additional devices. Kindle books cannot be read on the Blackberry or on a PC or Macintosh. This move could pull market share from the Kindle.

It will be interesting to see how the eBook market evolves in the next few months or years with these two titans battling for the same market share on an equal playing field. If Barnes and Noble keeps its pricing in line or lower than Amazon and stays a step ahead of the technology, they could be the winner.

Smashwords photo is the official logo of Smashwords.com. The photo of Plastic Logic's new eReader is from Plastic Logic's website.

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• Irex partners with Barnes & Noble to challenge Amazon's Kindle (digital.venturebeat.com)
• Barnes & Noble Plans Online Bookstore to Battle Amazon (nytimes.com)
• EBooks: Sony Announces Wireless Reader and Partnerships with More Booksellers & Libraries (readwriteweb.com)
• Barnes & Noble to Distribute Smashwords Ebooks (smashwords.com)

Should There Always Be a Free Lunch?

Image by gwydionwilliams via Flickr

By Anthony S. Policastro

I recently received a comment from a reader named Pepe on my earlier post Would You Pay $26 for an ebook? about the price of ebooks. I was impressed at what he said because he is a reader in favor of the author.

Here is what Pepe wrote:

"I think that 10$ is too much for having a book with drm, indeed for a book with drm I wouldn't pay more than a dollar.

Otherwise, if a get a book at a small price, provided it's without drm, and provided at least more than 50% of the price goes to the author I would pay for it, gladly, even these 10$ if the book really pleased me and is a long one."

He believes at least fifty percent of the book price should go to the author. And he has good reason.

"But this is even expensive, lot of people paying this amount will consider they have the right to give it away freely, and this is not good for the author, so why not sell them really cheap, let say 2 or 3$ and convince people that they should pay for reading it because that way the author will be able to produce more of these books they really enjoyed?

I think this is really possible, there's money for the author, for the online editor and people will be happy knowing most of the money they pay goes to whom really deserves it."

Like many authors, Pepe believes that Internet users should change their mindset in the belief that digital products on the Internet should be free.

Whether you believe it or not, there is a cost to someone to create the book, upload it to an ebook site and promote it so that readers may buy it. The cost may not always be physical, but it is a cost in time - time the author could be using to write the next great American book or just spend thinking of something new to write.

We need more readers like Pepe.

The Future of Publishing is Really the Future of Reading

Cover of Brave New World

By Anthony S. Policastro

I recently came across a very interesting article by Clive Thompson in Wired Magazine about the future of reading.

Here are some of the points that struck me as highly significant:

• People should start thinking about the future of reading rather than being always preoccupied with the future of publishing.
• Every other media that has gone digital has been transformed by its audience with the ability to comment on the content.
• Books need to be set free digitally to improve book discovery. It may also spawn a class of "professional readers" whose commentary is so informative that you would pay to download their take on a particular book.
• Programmers are already working on XML-like markup languages that would link every chapter or significant passage of a book to a unique URL address. Then you can easily examine the contents of a book with a few clicks.
• A few authors have given away digital copies of their books and found they end up selling more print copies. (I'm one of the those - both of my novels are free as digital downloads.)
  

It's a brave new world out there for books, but the publishing industry is moving like a snail to embrace these new technologies. But that's Ok because others will do it before them and reap the benefits along with us readers.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Digital books will by transformed by their readers (lib.uiowa.edu)
• Thinking "instead about the future of reading" (jwikert.typepad.com)

Simon & Schuster Doomed to Failure in eBook Venture

By Anthony S. Policastro

Simon & Schuster will now sell its most popular titles as eBooks on Scribd.com. Great news! A major publishing house is going digital.

But they are doomed to failure.

They think readers will pay 20% off the list price of a book's most recent printed version, according to an article in The New York Times on June. 11.

So a printed Simon & Schuster title that lists for $26 will sell for $20.80 as an eBook and a $15 paperback's eBook version will sell for $12.00. Lots of luck Simon & Schuster. You would have better luck selling ice cubes on the North Pole.

Most people won't even pay $10 for an eBook. The reason is that they do not perceive the value the same as the printed version.

With a hardcover or paperback, you can feel and smell the value in the design of the cover, the layout of the type, the feel of the paper, and its ubquitious portability. You don't have to worry about a battery going dead or the sun being too bright to read the book.

An eBook has none of those characteristics and publishers will never convince the public, and they have tried, that eBooks cost as much to produce as their printed cousins.

In my last post, I asked the question, Would you pay $26 for an eBook? about Google competing with Amazon in the eBook market.

What stuck out in my mind was that publishers were embracing the move because they could charge what they wanted for eBooks on Google since they could not set prices on Amazon's Kindle. The article was updated a few days later with new information that Google will also set the price of eBooks similar to Amazon.

So Simon & Schuster, if the two largest forces on the Internet know that eBooks have to be priced much lower than their printed versions, why do you think a 20% discount will work?

Your new venture is doomed to fail unless you lower the price of your eBooks.

Here's my suggestion:

Price your major titles at $8.88 for the eBook version. The price is lower than Kindle's major titles and readers don't have to shell out $359 for the Kindle. In addition, three eights is traditionally lucky and fortunate and that luck and good fortune may come your way.

As long a major best sellers are priced on the Kindle at $9.99 and free and lower-priced eBook sites are popping up like weeds, why would anyone pay $20 for an eBook?

What do you think?

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• Scribd Create Content Store (personanondata.blogspot.com)

Would You Pay $26 for an ebook?

By Anthony S. Policastro

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Google has announced that it will sell ebooks to consumers - competing directly with Amazon.

The Times reported,

"In discussions with publishers at the annual BookExpo convention in New
York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that
would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to
consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com,
which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device."

I applaud Google for taking on such a challenge because it is not healthy for anyone when one group or organization monopolizes a given market. And Amazon clearly wants to dominate the ebook market with its ebook reader, The Kindle, as it did with printed books.

However, the Times also reported that publishers were happy about the announcement because publishers,

"...have expressed concerns about Amazon’s aggressive pricing strategy for e-books. Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best sellers for $9.99, far less than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers. In early discussions, Google has said it will allow publishers to set consumer prices."

It seems to me that publishers are happy because they will be able to charge $26 for an eBook through Google - the same price they command for a print version.

Well, they will have another rude awakening because most people who buy ebooks don't believe they should be the near or the same price as a printed version. Just take a look at all the commercial ebook sites whose titles average $15 or more. Their ebooks are not selling.

Part of the success of the Kindle is that the average best seller is priced at $9.99. People who have Kindles feel like a kid in a candy store whose dad just said, "Get anything you want."

The $10 price is the sweet spot of pricing for ebooks. If prices increase significantly, then it is no longer a sweet deal.

What do you think?

Ten Things Every Writer Can Do to Ensure the Success of His/Her Book

By Stacey Cochran

Thanks so much, Anthony, for letting me guest blog at Writing is About... I am currently in the midst of a 45-Day Blog Tour to promote my new novel CLAWS, and I need all of y’all to head over to Amazon, buy a copy, and write a review. That, more than anything else, will support the success of this book.

Which leads me to the topic of my guest blog here today:

Ten Things Every Writer Can Do to Ensure the Success of His/Her Book

1) Edit the Hell out of It. This should be the first step after completing your manuscript. My usual timeline is to spend about 3-6 months after the first draft is done, revising and tinkering to make sure I’ve got it as tight as can be. Then, I put it in front of my critique group.

2) Join or Create a Critique Group. I organize the 1000+ member group Raleigh Write to Publish, which hosts dozens of events for local writers every month. In addition to this large group, I also belong to a small “workshop” group that meets every couple of months to knock around one another’s latest works in progress. Not every writer works well in a group like this, but I’ve found the feedback (and accountability) of having a steadily meeting group for the past two years invaluable to improving my work and keeping me on track as a writer.

3) Create or Hire a Designer to Do Your Book Cover. With CLAWS, I worked with a graphic designer friend whom I’ve worked with on two previous book covers. I went to her with the initial concept, the mountain lion eyes embedded in black, and she came up with the font and design. A book cover should explain to a reader in a split second what the book is about; aim for iconic imagery and plan to use your cover in other forms of promotion like press releases and book trailers.



4) Create a book trailer. I designed a book trailer for CLAWS that has received over 100,000 views on YouTube.





While this alone won’t sell a single copy, the name of the game is exposure and if tens of thousands of people are watching you, buddy, that’s exactly what you want to promote your book. The keys to YouTube trailer success is: a) keep it short (mine’s under twenty-five seconds), b) make it shocking and entertaining, c) avoid slickness and pretension. One of the most successful YouTube marketing campaigns in the past two years involved a blender company that did short “Will It Blend?” videos where they tossed cell phones, chunks of wood, children’s toys, etc., into their blender to see what would get destroyed.

5) Blog Tour. Every writer working today can do a blog tour. It costs nothing, yet it gets your book seen by hundreds of people. All you have to do is ask people, agree to help them in some way, and stay organized. I think 30 or more days is essential to have meaningful exposure, but maybe two weeks is all you’ll need. Find your comfort zone and stick to it.

6) Cover blurbs. No matter where you’re at on the publishing totem pole, I guarantee you can find a handful of writers who are better known than you who will endorse your book. Sure, you’ll get the occasional person who claims for “moral reasons” they can’t blurb your book, but it only takes 2-3 good blurbs to convince readers that your book is worth checking out. For every ten rejections, you’re likely to get at least one positive response. So plan accordingly and don’t be shy about sending folks a copy of your book in the mail. It costs a little money to make a little money.

7) Design a website or blog and make it meaningful. I have two websites: staceycochran.com and howtopublishabook.org - the StaceyCochran.com site is where folks can find out info about me and my personal life. You can also see what book I’m currently promoting. The howtopublishabook.org site is where I give back to the community. This site has been visited by people from more than 120 countries around the world, regularly draws a couple thousand so-called “unique visitors” per month, and it’s the place where I post interviews I’ve done with publishing professionals (agents, editors, authors, publicists, etc.). I designed the site around the phrase “How to Publish a Book” and it currently sits atop the Google page rankings for this phrase. A lot of people search this phrase every day on the Internet.

8) Give back and help others. I have built my career on the notion that what others have to say is more important than what I have to say. Through my TV show and through the more than 200 author events I’ve done the past three years, I have tried to give other people the spotlight. Part of this is by necessity but another part of it is that I truly believe that we are all better off by sharing the floor and giving others a chance to succeed. Many writers think that helping others somehow compromises their own chances at success. By and large, these writers never succeed. The more willing you are to help out folks, the more folks will want to help you out.

9) Start a TV Show. In this day and age, anyone can set up a camera in their house, record themselves, and put it on YouTube. If you’ve got a strong Public Access TV station in your town, you may even have access to multi-million dollar equipment. The first year of my TV show I interviewed mostly local self-published authors, but something happened in year two. Word got out to publishers. Since then I’ve interviewed seven #1 New York Times bestselling authors, and it’s gotten my name circulated around every major publishing house in New York. Without a doubt, starting my own TV show (which began with a point-and-click 100-dollar digital camera) has given me the greatest boost of any one single thing I’ve done in my career.

10) Wash, rinse, repeat. If your current book tanks and you only sell a few dozen copies, don’t worry. Go back to the drawing board, write a new book, and try to repeat all of the things you did well, while improving on the things you didn’t do so well. No single attribute will serve you better as a writer than inner drive and persistence. Personally, I think if you’re doing what you do for a purpose larger than yourself this will help to sustain you through the lean years.

Thanks so much, Anthony, for the opportunity to guest blog here today at The Writers Edge. And thanks so much for all that you do for writers in our community.

Will eBooks Fail?

By Anthony S. Policastro

I was intrigued by Evan Schnittman's new blog Black Plastic Glasses and his post "Why ebooks must fail" because it contradicts what is happening all over the Internet - ebook sites are popping up like weeds.The miracle grow for ebooks is the launch of the second generation Kindle, the Stanza book reading application for the iPhone and ebooks being the preferred reading format of the younger generations who grew up on computers.

As print book sales have tanked in the past few years partly because young people don't read books anymore because they are on their cell phones, video games, and computers, the ebook has gained in popularity because it can be read on these devices. So what I see happening is an increase in ebook sales as print book sales dwindle.

I think Evan is right that ebook sales cannot sustain the publishing industry as a stand alone only book version and that will never happen because people - the market - will always want a printed book no matter what their age.But, I don't believe ebooks will fail - they will replace print book sales with real sales, not the virtual sales that publishers have used for the past 100 years. And I say virtual because the bookstores really hadn't purchased the book shipment until they write the check after their 90-day waiting to sell period is over. So the publisher really doesn't know the true sales number until the 90 days are up and as we know it's usually 50% of the original shipment.

So what I see is a paradigm market shift in the format of the content. The older, traditional book market prefers the printed page, while the younger book market prefers the digital version. If anything, the ebook will get the younger generations reading books again - something they do not do because the Internet, video games, and cell phones are more intriguing than the printed word.

I find myself on the computer more than I'm reading a printed book and usually have to remind myself to pick up that novel. I enjoy both digital and printed books.

The challenge facing the publishing industry is to create a business model that will help sustain them in the eBook market. One way could be a combination of print and ebook offerings to capture each market segment. And the eBook segment may just work because its volumes and subsequently its profits will be higher than the print version market.

What do you think?

Have You Ever Read an Ebook?

Now's your chance.

With the explosion of ebooks and electronic book readers, Read an E-Book kicks off the international literary event Read an Ebook Week (http://www.ebookweek.com) this Sunday (March 8) to raise awareness of ebook reading.

During the week-long event, ebook authors around the world will offer their ebooks at deep discounts, or even free, to generate excitement about ebooks.

Read an E-Book Week is a not-for-profit week set aside to inform the public about the pleasures and advantages of reading electronically.

Authors, publishers, vendors, the media and readers world-wide have joined the effort and promote ebooks. The organization welcomes anyone to help in this worthy event. For more information on how you can help visit their website at http://www.ebookweek.com/ebook_promotions.html

And by the way, both of my mystery thrillers, ABSENCE OF FAITH and DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM are FREE this week to support ebook week. Click here for your free download(s).

So You Think You Can Write a Book?

By Anthony S. Policastro

The Jenkins Group, an independent publishing services company, says four out of five people they surveyed said they believe they have a book to write. Even fewer actually sit down and write a book and even fewer get published. Many established literary agencies in New York and elsewhere get upwards of 500-email and snail mail book queries a week and less than one percent of them are considered for representation.

So how do you get published with those odds?

It is easier than ever to get into print with the magic of print on demand and do-it-yourself publishing web sites like Lulu.com, Lulu is one of the few sites where it is free to upload your manuscript, design your cover or pick a pre-designed one and publish your book complete with an ISBN number and distribution on Amazon.com. There is no minimum number of copies to purchase, no hidden, we gotcha fees, and no secrets about how much you will make on each sale, what Lulu makes and what print and distribution costs amount to for your book. You keep all your rights and you set the price and the royalty.

A recent article in The New York Times reported, “In 2008, nearly 480,000 books were published or distributed in the United States, up from close to 375,000 in 2007, according to the industry tracker Bowker. The company attributed a significant proportion of that rise to an increase in the number of print-on-demand books.”

So what are you waiting for? Change your odds of getting in print. Go to one of the self-publishing online sites and publish your work! What? You’ve done that already? Okay, now comes the hard part - the marketing and promotion of your work.

If you wanted to sell homemade jewelry on the web, you would put up a web site complete with a storefront and check out cart and sit back and hope one hundred or more orders a day came your way. Now, would they? Most likely not. You have to promote your site, its market advantages like price, quality, brand, and ensure you are reaching people who are interested in buying homemade jewelry.

It’s the same when publishing a book. If you write a romance novel or a technical manual on how to tune the engine of a 737 you have to reach the right market with your message. One of the great advantages to using Lulu is that you can choose between doing everything yourself or buying the marketing services of publishing professionals from Lulu.

Here a few cool tricks I use to market my Lulu books . And they are free. Go to Google Blog Search and search for blogs pertaining to the subject area of your book. When you find some, read a few posts and leave a comment with a link to your book on Lulu or to your web site. This takes time and you must leave a comment with some substance for it to work. But if you hit the right blog with the right audience, it’s like winning on a slot machine in Atlantic City. One post increased traffic to my site by six times in one day! You can also do a search on Google, but you will get mostly web sites and often you cannot leave a comment.

Offer a free download of your book for a limited time. After all, if someone is willing to read your entire book on a computer screen they must be pretty interested in your work. What usually happens is if they like your book enough, they will purchase the print copy out of convenience since it is easier to read a book in print than on a computer display. This is also helpful when you send out press releases – you can direct the media to download your book for review. This is the preferred method of distributing your electronic version to the press and reviewers. If you attach a copy to an email, press people most likely will not open it for fear it may contain a computer virus or Trojan horse.

By the same token, send emails with links to your book to people involved in your book’s subject matter and ask them to review your work and write a short review. Mention that you can include their comments in your book if they want.

If you want to market your book as an eBook check out Smashwords. It’s free to upload your book and you make 85% of the price you set. The most significant advantage of Smashwords is that the site automatically converts your manuscript into ten different electronic formats so that your book can be read on a standard PC, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader or Palm Pilot. Readers can also view your work directly on the site using a web browser or standard word processor.

If you have never written a press release, Lulu offers an excellent template that walks you through the process so you can produce a professional release that the press will read and hopefully follow up with you. I used to be a journalist and it was nearly impossible to read every piece of mail that came into the office. But a professionally written press release always managed to get read.

And if you want to write your next book rather than market your current one, you can easily purchase Lulu’s many marketing and distribution services created and offered by professionals in the publishing business.

If you are considering self-publishing, my good friend and colleague Henry Hutton just started publishandsell.com, a supermarket of author services that will greatly help you navigate through the complex world of self-publishing. He is also one of the founding members of Lulu.com and extremely knowledgeable about the industry.

Just keep in mind you are the best sales person for your work – you are closest to the content and you are passionate about what you wrote or you would not have made the effort to create a book.

Future Trends of Publishing

I was recently a guest blogger on Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog with a post on the future trends of publishing. Here are the first few paragraphs. Click on the link below to read the rest of the story.

I recently caught a broadcast on my local NPR station from American Public Media about the troubled book publishing industry.

The most recent trend is that bookstores are ordering more books than they could ever sell because they are trying to compete with online book stores. They fear, according to the report, that if customers cannot find what they are looking for, they will go home and order the book online. Their fear is justified – after all, the average big box bookstore like Borders can stock approximately 100,000 titles while Amazon can list millions.

While book publishers may be rejoicing over increased orders, the orders are really a double-edged sword because the bookstores can return any books they don’t sell after 90 days.

To add to the problem, some bookstores are returning books before the 90-day window, waiting a week and then ordering more books. Now they have another 90 days to pay for the books and whatever they don’t sell they can return without losing a dime, according to the broadcast. More evidence that the publishing industry’s consignment model no longer works. Add to that decreasing book sales and you have a formula for disaster.

You can read the rest of the story by going to Joe Wikert’s blog.

SIMPLY WAIT: THANK YOU! from Patry Francis

I just received this email from Karen Dionne of Backspace and one of the wonderful people who helped organize THE LIAR'S DIARY BLOG DAY on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

"In the end, very nearly 400 bloggers helped move her novel from a ranking of 55,000 on amazon at the start of the day, to #1 in Mystery, 375 overall by evening. Those statistics prove the day was a success, but we knew it would be even before the day began because we could see the groundswell of support, feel the sense of community.

Canada's National Post did a story about our effort on the 29th, and the next day, told us it was their third most-read online article EVER. We're hoping that others in the print media will now come on board. What took place was a remarkable demonstration of the power of the Internet community, and deserves to be told. And of course, we hope Patry's sales continue to soar, and more important, that her recovery goes smoothly."

And don't forget to read Patry's thank you on her blog, SIMPLY WAIT: THANK YOU!