Publishing: Open Season

One of my monthly indulgences is a professional pedicure. There is a salon here in Tucson that I prefer going to because they do a great job for not too much money. One of the drawbacks to the salon though is that the fashion magazines at the drying table are incredibly out of date. I actually found one in the stack from 1997!

In order to not fidget and smear my nails, I generally strike up conversations with the people around me and this past weekend was no different. I was chatting with this nice lady next to me and we did the standard oohing and aahing over each other's color choices and then settled in for the "getting to know you" chat ... where do you work, blah blah blah.

She happened to be an English teacher and was very interested in Wheatmark and what our company did. She had no idea that the independent publishing industry had progressed so far as to make it possible for a classroom of kids to potentially publish a book.

I talked to her at length about what we did, told her about other companies that she might want to look into, and wrapped up the conversation.

One of the last things she said to me was, "I want them to realize that being a writer is like playing an instrument: not everybody gets to be a rock star."

"Wait!" I said. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! With modern publishing services like ours, you do get the chance to be a rock star, well at least a potentially famous author! It's up to the writer and the reader, not a publishing house that decides who gets to be published. It's really cool!"

It always amazes me how excited people get when they find out that publishing has become such an available process. I know families that have used Blurb to publish their family blogs and given them to grandparents for unique Christmas presents and authors who have used such sites as Lulu to upload a Word document and make a nearly instant book.

Publishing service companies are not created equally and different ones offer different levels of services. For example, Wheatmark is where you go if you are serious about being an author and want the utmost levels of service available to you before, during, and after the publishing process. The thing they all have in common though, is that you don't need an agent to help you shop your manuscript to a traditional publishing house in New York that may or may not choose your book and give you a nominal sum of money only to turn around and only sell it for a few months.

The new world of publishing makes it open season for authors. And yes, you CAN become a rock star of the book world. The best part is you get to do it on your terms with your book and have full artistic control.

And that truly rocks.

You can learn more about what it takes to become a successful self-published author by enrolling in our free minicourse on the Wheatmark homepage. Already ready already? Fill out our Project Assessment Form and see if Wheatmark is the right company for you!

Kindle It's On Fire: Make Your Book Available to Kindle Users

What is a Kindle?

Kindle is Amazon’s version of an electronic document reader. In other words, it’s a little gadget that allows you to read books on it without having to buy a physical copy of the book.

Amazon allows you to buy e-versions of the book specifically formatted for the Kindle reader device.

The Kindle allows direct downloads from the Amazon site of books, newspapers, and other text documents. The downloads are done wirelessly, so you can add editions to your reader easily.

Readers like the Kindle for several reasons. First off, the Kindle is very portable. You can load several books, magazines, and newspapers on a Kindle and avoid having to take bulky texts with them. Secondly, the Kindle allows for speedy downloads. Why not quickly download what you want to read instead of having to make a trip to the store or wait for shipping? You can have it NOW. It’s the ultimate in instant gratification.

Why should your book be made into a Kindle version?

More and more, readers are turning to electronic readers for their book purchases. For example, Wheatmark author James Best has sold more Kindle versions of his most recent book, “Leadville” than actual copies. It is smart to offer up formats to books that people are using!

Another reason to have your book formatted for Kindle is that it gives your book credibility. If you look at the bestsellers, they all have Kindle versions. Make your book look like a bestseller by simply offering a Kindle version!

Authors do receive royalties on Kindle sales and your Kindle-version book sales do count toward your Great Expectations tally.

Jump into the technological mainstream with a Kindle version of your book today!

Can Your Readers Find You? Provide Author Contact Info

When you publish your book you are entering a conversation with your readers. Because you are starting a conversation, your readers--your conversation partners--will want to get in touch with you and provide you with valuable feedback that will move this conversation along.

You should add your author contact info to your book so your readers could get in touch with you!

We as book publishers receive lots of requests from readers to pass messages on to our authors, which we do as a courtesy to you. This is proof that your readers need to be able to contact you, otherwise it's just a one-way conversation.

What should you include as contact info?

The single most important contact information you should include in your book is the link to your website. For example, you could say, "To contact Jane Doe, visit her website at http://www.author-janedoe.info." Naturally, the website would list either phone, email address (email forms are great!), or even a post office box, depending on what level of information you feel comfortable with. Unless you are selling something, email contact should be enough. If any of your contact information changes later, you won't need to update your book, just update the info on your website.

You don't have a website or blog? You should have one, but for now include your email address in your book. If you don't want to give out your personal AOL email that you use to keep in touch with your family and friends, create a special email address just for your readers. For example, your book would say, "To contact Jane Doe, email her at author_janedoe@hotmail.com" or another email address. (Then think about having your own blog or website.)

Where to include contact info?

The best place to include your website or email info is on the back cover. Everybody looks at the back cover when they read a book. Just in case, do include it on the copyright page as well.

Your readers want to get in touch with you, and it would be rude not to let them!

How to Make Money by Publishing a Poetry Book

Here's the honest truth about publishing a poetry book for financial gain: poetry is likely the most difficult genre to market, so it is a very difficult way to make money. Frankly, there are better ways to make money than by publishing a book, but publishing a poetry book in most cases is definitely an expense, not an investment.

Unless, of course, you use your poetry book to make money a different way....

Let me tell you how to make money by publishing a poetry book:

I am thinking of my friend Mike Jones, a mortgage lender with Tucson Mortgage Company, LLC in Tucson, Arizona, who shared this idea with me over coffee as we discussed marketing ideas. In his spare time he enjoys making music and writing poetry and has talked of publishing a poetry book.

Does he want to publish a poetry book for financial gain? You bet! But does he expect to sell lots of copies of his book? Well, actually, he plans to give away copies of his poetry book for free to all his clients.

He will give it to people who already pay him money for his services.

Think about it. Let's say your realtor, banker, lawyer, business coach, mortgage broker, or pest control guy gives you a beautifully bound, designed, and written book as a thank-you gift for your business. The book happens to be a poetry book (but it doesn't matter what genre!), and was written by the person giving you this book. The back cover has a large picture of the person including a blurb that mentions what he or she does for business.

Because you value the service of this person, you will put that book on the shelf with all your other books. If you read it, great, but you do not have to read it, that is not the purpose of the gift. It will be forever on your shelf as a three-dimensional ad reminding you of your broker, realtor, pest-control guy, whoever! You will have a connection with him that his competitors do not have with you (his book on your shelf), and ultimately you will end up using his services more, therefore giving him more business.

That's a great way to make money with a poetry book, and smart marketers like my friend Mike know this. You see, they want to sell themselves and their services, not necessarily their book! Similarly, when you publish a book, especially a poetry book, think of ways to you can sell yourself, not your book!

If you're a business person and you want to be in front of your customers in a creative way (on their bookshelf), and you do not YET have a book written about your expertise, but you like writing poetry, what are you waiting for? Turn your poetry into a marketing tool now by publishing a poetry book!

Grael Norton on Publishing Insiders Show

If you missed it yesterday, you can listen to Penny Sansevieri's interview with Grael Norton, a publishing consultant with Wheatmark, on the Publishing Insiders show on BlogTalkRadio. Click on the play button to hear the latest episode or visit the show's website here.

Publishing Insiders Radio Show to Feature Grael Norton

Grael Norton, a publishing consultant with Wheatmark, will be interviewed by Penny Sansevieri on The Publishing Insiders show tomorrow, February 17, at 4 pm Pacific time (7 pm EST).

The show airs live on BlogTalkRadio and you can hear it by accessing the site here.

Grael will also be a featured presenter at the Arizona Book Publishing Association's "Realities of Publishing" annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona (February 28, 2009).

Come, see us at the conference and make sure you tune in to BlogTalkRadio tomorrow!

Your Monday Pep Talk

I'm arriving late to the "Man on Wire" party since I had to Netflix it.

For those who haven't seen it or who have never heard of it, "Man on Wire" is a documentary about Philippe Petit's lifetime obsession and final triumph over wanting to string a high wire between the Twin Towers and walk across it.

Crazy, right?
First off, who really has that much interest in wire walking?
And second, who is willing to risk legal troubles (it is not legal to wire walk without permission on national landmarks) and your life to do it?

The interviews with Petit in the film are amazing. His energy and enthusiasm for what he is doing is inspiring. His dedication to his passion borders on obsessive ... wait ... it IS obsessive!

But what you learn throughout the film is that not only will he not be deterred, but he convinces other people to help him on his crazy journey. He practices constantly, his life is seemingly lived for his one purpose alone: to wire walk across ridiculous spans, in particular the World Trade Center in New York. He lets nothing stop him to get to his ultimate goal.

It made me think about our little publishing world at Wheatmark.

For all those authors out there that are striving to fulfill their dream of being published, Petit is a great figure for inspiration. Despite criticism of what he wants to do, he continues. People tell him no, he is not deterred. Everyday he works on his craft and everyday he makes plans and contacts to help him fulfill his dream.

That is what authors should strive for! Writing out of passion is difficult because you put yourself and your ideas out there.

You ask for feedback, and sometimes it isn't positive. You must continue!

You try to get your book published through a "traditional" publisher (or 20) and are rejected. There is a way, do not be dissuaded!

When you believe passionately in your work it makes it easier for others to believe, so continue to fly your work's flag as high as you can!

Petit made his walk between the towers in 1974. He taunted death. He taunted the NYC police department. He did it hidden under tarps while hidden in the night. He did it.

You can do it, too!

Thankfully, Wheatmark won't make you create an illegal fake ID and hide for hours waiting for the guards to disperse. We offer publishing services to any author ready to make their dream a reality. So don't stop writing. Don't stop revising. Don't stop trying to make your dream a reality!

Now go have a cup of coffee and get back to your passion!

Hardcover or Paperback?

At some point you have to decide if your book will be published as a hardcover or a paperback.

Here are some pointers:

Who is your target audience?

If you have written a family history or a memoir to be passed down through the generations (and your expectation is that you won't sell many copies), then a hardback edition is a great option. Hardcovers are very durable and can last throughout the years as they’re moved from family to family.

How much do you think your readers will be willing to pay for your book?

Hardbacks can be pricey. There is no question about it. Realistically consider the list price of your book as a hardback as opposed to a paperback. It may be smarter, from a sales perspective, to make your book a paperback so you can price it more competitively.

If you are leaning towards the hardback over the paperback, ask yourself why.

If you are publishing a book of poems that you believe should be honored by a glossy dust jacket for posterity because it is your life’s work, I humbly ask you to consider a paperback. The cost benefit of the paperback and the potential for future sales will likely outweigh the “glamour” aspect of the hardback soon enough. My Norton's Anthology of Poetry from college makes a fantastic door stop on a breezy day.

Are you going to need to make revisions in the coming years?

Many business books and other nonfiction niche books will need to be updated as the culture or technology changes. Hardbacks are expensive for readers. If you predict updates in the future, consider a paperback so that your readers will be more likely to buy the updated version.

Is your book gigantic?

If your book is more than 500 pages, you’ll want a hardcover. Paperbacks tend to fall apart at this size. The drawback is that a hardback will be heavier and harder to lug around, but most readers would rather build up their biceps than try to keep together a folder of loose pages.

What we at Wheatmark have learned about printing in hardback vs. paperback.

The dust jacket concept is not one most readers appreciate. When people pick up a book, they are looking for the content inside and not looking to hold the pieces together. The jackets, although pretty, end up ripped off and tossed aside. Also, many of the readers we’ve asked say they don’t enjoy lugging around hardbacks; they only buy them when they’re deeply discounted -- to the point of being less expensive than the paperback -- or when it’s an author they just can’t wait to read.

Before going for the flash of a hardback, consider the list price difference and how your readers will use your book in the future. Often, the smart money is on paperbacks!

Font on your face ...

Recently I was part of a brief discussion on Twitter, the social networking site, about the right types of fonts to use in books.

Fonts are important. They influence how easy your book is to read, but they also influence the mood of your book. For example, if your book is a drag-out bloodbath of a book that includes murder and, well blood baths, and maybe snarling dog teeth, you probably don't want to use a frilly cursive font for your chapter title or dropcap fonts.

Fonts are so important that one of our book editors included in her profile bio on Twitter: "Ask me why you shouldn't use Times New Roman."

Fonts can do a lot for a book.

If you are looking to keep your book as short as possible, let your book designer know. There are beautiful body fonts available that have just a slightly more narrow kerning (the space between the characters) that can save you pages in a really long book.

If you want your book to be padded just a wee bit, there are fonts that can add some pages by just having a more open p or o!

We have, in the past, been asked to create books that have very, very fancy and overused cough cough papyrus cough cough fonts as the body font. We strongly urge our authors to rethink this.

Cool fonts that stand out from the pack are super for drawing the eye on the book page to a chapter title or header. We don't recommend them for the main font throughout though as these fancy "display" fonts are hard on the reader eyes and patience.

As you look around you, every sign -- big or small -- has used a font. Even if the signmaker chose a piece of notebook paper and a marker, that was a design choice that was born from the need to communicate quickly.

Talk with your book designer about what you'd like to see and they will often offer you samples of pages in different fonts to help you decide what will work the best for your book!

Are You Writing Your Memoir? Read This.

Writing a memoir is a great way to share your personal stories with your family, friends, and the general public. Everyone has a valuable story to tell. But telling it can be tricky.

Have you ever sat with someone over coffee or a meal while they went on and on and on and on about people you don’t know, will never meet, and wished you could just duct tape their mouth shut? Well, that’s how your reader may feel if your memoir is simply a play-by-play of your life with no thread connecting it to your reader’s life. At least with a book, they can close it and as Dorothy Parker once quipped, toss it across the room “with great force.”

So how do you keep a reader interested?

Don’t start from the beginning. Unless your birth was hilarious, was in the balance of life and death, or some other standout situation, then no one else wants to read about it. Common experiences are not fodder for memoirs. I was born. I died. What of it? What readers really want to know is what happened in the middle parts.

Decide who your audience is. Everyone says, “Potentially, everyone!” Wrong. Think about your real audience. If you are a doctor, will other doctors be reading it? Is it a legacy project for your family to keep for the next generation? Are you going to present it as a “how not to live” story?

If you are writing for your family then stories about family events, quirks, and history are perfect. That story about the day you "borrowed" your father’s new car and drove into town only to have it stolen by hooligans and you had to walk home in the cold and tell him about it? That would make a great story to tell your family, particularly if it helped illustrate a character’s defining traits. Was your dad a laid back guy who didn’t notice the car was missing for weeks? Or was your dad a tyrant? Were you afraid to tell him and thus paid the neighbor’s kid five bucks to tell him for you?

That same story, though, has no business being in a book for doctors unless it somehow ended with you crashing the car, breaking your leg in three places, and while in the emergency room you met a cute nurse and your career path was forever decided.

Map out your best stories. It is sometimes hard to tell who your audience is going to be. Outline your best stories: you’ll know them because they are the ones people listen to raptly, laugh at every time, or say, “Wait ‘til you hear this!” before you even begin. Again. Keep in mind who your audience is.

Don’t try to cram it in all at once. So after looking at your stories, you realize you are a multifaceted personality! Now what? Consider writing two books or split your memoir into parts. The parts don’t have to be by date ranges. They can be by topic. Consider structuring your memoir around your stories. Are they about love and relationships? Are they career oriented? Are they about family? These are perfectly natural ways to split up your memoir.

Don’t lie. At Wheatmark our authors often invoke the name of the queen of all media in hushed tones heavy with implied fantasies and goals for their books. Well, the chances are slim to nil, but what if you DO end up on Oprah? Remember what happened to James Frey, author of “A Million Little Pieces.” They found him out. David Sedaris, celebrity memoirist, was quoted in an article when doing publicity for “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” saying that a memoir is the last place to look for truth. However, you should keep in the truth realm. The truth is often far more interesting than fiction anyway. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be writing a memoir. You’d be writing a novel, right? Right.

Basic writing skills are still required. It is your life. But you need to work within the familiar framework of grammar, tense, and storytelling. When you tell your stories, make sure that you're writing in past or present tense and that you are consistent. Also, no matter what your plan is for your project, have it professionally copy edited. There is nothing more offending to readers than poorly edited text. A professional is trained to catch all the tehs, and other mistakes that will separate your independently published book from the traditionally published ones.

Commit to a draft copy. Allow yourself room to tell the story properly. Don’t worry about the length to begin with. Get the story down. Hand bits out to friends and interested parties for feedback. But first, write yourself out. Get every thought down with reckless disregard for whether it is interesting or good. Through this process you may discover that your book is something altogether different, is two books, is a comedic history not a serious retelling of your life, or that you should leave out the part of a Aunt Mabel cheating on your Uncle Sal because he still doesn’t know about it yet.

Use images. If you tell a story about your sister Rhoda’s giant nose, it would be really great to include a picture of Rhoda so your audience can see it. Adding images to a book will cost a little more, but this is your history. Tell it right, show it right, then publish it once. Has your life’s motto been “No regrets?” Well, this isn’t the place to skimp!

Set a deadline. This gets really important for our more mature memoirists. How to put this delicately … you’ll want to aim for a publishing deadline that you’ll be around for. Some writers find it helpful to outline their book first and then fill out the “bones.” This is a great way to keep on task. Maybe set a word limit you’ll try to reach for the day, week, or month. Then stick to it. It will help you feel you’ve accomplished something, even if the next day you delete it all.

Publish it with Wheatmark. Well, of course! We’ll make sure your memoir is a sight to behold. A beautiful cover, expertly designed interior, and availability on major online book retailer sites such as Amazon, B&N, and will be orderable from an bookstore. Not to mention our own bookstore site! Your life story is important, and so is the publisher you choose. You can find cheaper, but you won’t find better!

The Best Books Begin with Good Writing & Editing

I work in marketing, so you may not expect that I'd chime in on such things as plot and character development, grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, etc. But, the most basic truth about book marketing is, a poorly written and edited book is both difficult and embarrassing to market.

If you are hoping to see some success with your book, take your time with the editing process. And don't just make sure you've dotted your "i's" and crossed your "t's," have someone else--ideally someone qualified in such matters--take a thorough look at your manuscript.

For frequent and fascinating discussions on the nitty gritty of writing and editing, I urge you to visit The Blood-Red Pencil Blog. And remember, a book is judged not only by its cover, but on its insides too!

Happy Publishing!

How to Determine What's Copyright Protected

Planning to quote extensively from someone else's work or looking to republish a book that's (hopefully) in the public domain? Here's a quick tool you can use to determine what's protected by copyright, what you need permission for, and what's in the public domain. (Thanks to Michael Brewer at the University of Arizona Library.)

Nonexclusive Publishing Contract: What It Means to You

Wheatmark's publishing agreement is nonexclusive. What does it mean to you, the author?

In short it means you are not locked into an exclusive contract; you are free to cancel or publish elsewhere at the same time.

Let's say you have been publishing your book with Wheatmark for a while, and you have an opportunity to get thousands of copies of your book printed cheaply by a different printer, say, a printer in Hong Kong or even one in the United States. You still want to keep selling your book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble using Wheatmark's book distribution system, but you just don't want to pass up the opportunity to get thousands of copies for a better price. The good news is that you can do both: publish your book with Wheatmark and have extra copies printed by different printers. Because our publishing contract is nonexclusive, you have the freedom to do so.

Now, what happens if, some time after you publish your book with Wheatmark, a New York publishing house calls you and they want to publish your book?

Most likely they will want you to sell your book to them in return for exclusive rights. They would want to make sure that no other publisher or printer would be able to sell or print your book. This, too, is possible when you are publishing your book with us: you can cancel the publishing agreement with us at any time.

When you hear nonexclusive, think freedom!

New HarperCollins Non-traditional Publishing Imprint

In a sign of things to come, HarperCollins announced that it's starting a new imprint that will not pay advances to authors... nor will it take returns from booksellers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the new operation "also likely won't pay for more desirable display space in the front of bookstores, a common practice. Instead, the as-yet-unnamed unit will share its profit with writers and focus much of its sales efforts on the Internet, where a growing portion of book sales are shifting."

I'll bet that this is the first of many new imprints at traditional publishers that will follow this model.

Meanwhile, I can't resist quoting Robert S. Miller, the founding publisher of Hyperion (who'll be leading the as-yet-unnamed HarperCollins imprint), who was himself quoted in Friday's New York Times:

“The idea is, ‘Let’s take all the things that we think are wrong with this business and try to change them,’ ” said Mr. Miller, 51. “It really seemed to require a start-up from scratch because it will be very experimental.”

Methinks Mr. Miller need not reinvent the wheel.

If he's looking for successful models to emulate, he might check out the self-publishing services and independent presses that have been selling via the Internet (mainly using Print-On-Demand technology) for oh, about ten years now!

To read the full New York Times article, click here.

Better Writers: Better Books!

This morning I received an email from an author that really made my day. It was from Matt Arnold, author of An Open Universe and Crossroads. The gist of the email was this:

Since publishing my novels, I've made it a habit on occasion to search through the Wheatmark bookstore and have ordered at least a half a dozen books by fellow authors. Most of them have been amongst the best books I've read and it feels good to support other authors who have self-published. I've exchanged emails with a few of the authors and we've read each other's novels....

Now, in the business of self-publishing you sometimes hear the charge: If you publish anything, surely you must publish a lot of bad books, too!

As a professional self-publishing service, we publish books that our authors want to publish. We focus on finding great authors. It's true, within certain limits, we will publish what they write... And, as seen form the quote above, it appears that better authors invariably write better books!

Check out each other's books in your genre. You will likely agree with Matt and find books that will make it to your top-10 list as well!