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 One of the drawbacks to the salon though is that the fashion magazines at the drying table are incredibly out of date.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!

A Glimpse into Traditional Publishing

Over the last couple of days, I've been contacting some of our Wheatmark authors to say hello and see what they were up to.

Most often this is the conversation I have:

ME: Hello this is me, how are you? How is your book doing? What are you working on?
THEM: Weeeeellll ... I haven't really done much with the book because it isn't selling and I don't have the money to hire someone to do publicity ...
ME: (Sounding very much like a TimeLife Books Series commercial from the 1980s) Have you tried using the techniques in our FREE book marketing workbook?
THEM: No.
ME: It's awesome. I'll send it to you!
THEM: Thanks!

There is another trickier topic the authors and I have talked about: Traditionally publishing a book.

Seen as the Holy Grail to many self-published authors, traditional publishing promises the sparkling literary lights of New York and L.A.

Or does it?

Many self-published authors aren't familiar with what it really means to traditionally publish a book. They assume that shelf space at the local Barnes and Noble will open up, a marketing department will be thrown behind them, and movie studios will clamber to option their book with Natalie Portman starring in the main role (possibly while the author sits by the pool drinking mai tais).

And sometimes, this happens.

Mostly though, it doesn't. The initial thrill of being chosen will wear off quickly as the author realizes they've lost control of the rights to their project, or that the book will be minimally released, not supported by the company's marketing department, and then find their title canceled not too long after. And! They'll still be called upon to work on the marketing of the book. Exhausting!

But for those seeking the challenge, expense, and potential heartbreak at a shot at best-seller status, I want to direct you to a fantastic blog entry by Jessica at BookEnds, LLC, a literary agency.

Their post entitled The Anatomy of a Book Deal is a great eye-opener to what it takes to be published and how the process works!

Check it out!

Attention Wheatmark Shoppers!

The mall parking lots are crazy packed, the Lands End coat you were going to get your mom is back ordered, and you can't remember what shoe size your Uncle Larry is-- it's holiday gift giving time again!

Personally, I love finding fabulous items at bargain prices to add to my collection of fabulous items purchased at bargain prices ... but not this time of year. I'd much rather sit on my couch breaking up dog fights over NylaBones than brave the consumer insanity that tends to occur this time of year.

That's why buying books at Wheatmark to knock out my Christmas list seems like such a great plan. They'll love them ... but if they don't, they can always return them for something else!

For my brother the earth science geek, Chad Widmer's awesome book on raising jellyfish.


For my husband in law school, one of our series of Arizona Law books from Don Loose.

For my dad, James Best's book, The Shopkeeper, because he'll enjoy the western tale.

And for my mom, Milton Lipson's adorably illustrated children's book, Two Arizona Black Birds, because she'll love reading it to her preschool class.

Just remember, if you're going take my advice for gift giving, make sure to order books in time for Christmas (online or by phone 888-934-0888 x 100)! Hardcover books need to be ordered by December 3rd, color books by December 5th, and paperbacks by December 8th!

Beating the Editing Drum

We can't say it enough. In fact, we mention in as Mistake Numero Uno in the introduction of our free downloadable book marketing workbook. So I'm going to say it again!

When publishing a book, it is vital that what is inside the book is the best that it can be. After months of work, why sell yourself short by not having it professionally copyedited? The money you spend on a service like this is well worth it, in my opinion.

There is nothing more frustrating that picking up a book and finding error after error within the text. It reduces the author's credibility and it reduces the reader's enjoyment.

In order for an independently published book to be successful by any measure, there are steps that need to be taken; one step being that it must be able to compete on a similar quality level as a traditionally published book.

The cover look, the typeface used (we heartily recommend not using Times New Roman for your interior font ... or Papyrus ... or all caps, italics, and underlines -- yes, we've been asked) are all important for the initial pass by your readers.

But up there on that list is not driving your reader crazy with text corrections that could easily have been caught with a pass through of a copyediting pro.

Give your book the best possible chance: hire someone. Seeing a book through to completion is hard work. Seeing an errant "t he.." after completing that book is even harder.

Cut yourself, and your reader, some slack and make your book the best it can be.

Get copyediting. "You're readers'll thank use..

See? I told you it was important.

Angry Booksellers, Angrier Bookmakers, and the Indie Art of War

Book industry trade publications are not generally known for their attention-grabbing headlines, and booksellers are not generally known as war-mongering hot-heads, but this morning’s PW email greeted me with one of the most intriguing subject headings this book marketing chick has seen in quite a while: "Angry Bookseller’ Speaks Out at GLIBA."

Read the article and you’ll learn that Publisher’s Weekly isn’t above sensationalizing an email subject heading in order to increase their open rate.

Read the comments following the article and you’ll find that there appears to be a growing disconnect between indie booksellers and indie publishers/authors.

While I don't think so-called "Angry Bookseller" Carol Besse (co-owner of Carmichael's Books and outgoing GLIBA President) could rightly be labeled as anything more than perhaps mildly perturbed (at least not based on anything revealed in this little article. I mean come on, there were no chairs thrown, no hair pulled – I've seen angry – this is not angry; this is maybe miffed), her "call to arms" (in preparation for war against Amazon.com) did manage to catch the ear, as well as the ire of some indie publishers and indie (ie: self-published) authors who feel they’ve been too long ignored by their bookselling brethren.

Rather than argue as to which literary indie group has the most to be angry about, let's just assume that these days there are plenty of problems to go around in the independent literary community, and it sounds like everyone has more than their fair share.

What was it SunTzu said in (what could be considered his best book on the subject ever) The Art of War? Ah, that's right (thanks Google): "Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems."

Or something like that.

Point being -- maybe the problems that indie publishers, indie authors, indie distributors, and indie booksellers are facing individually, might collectively present a big fat opportunity.

Maybe, if we all put our indie heads together, indie publishers and authors could work with indie distributors and booksellers to form mutually beneficial relationships.

Maybe we could even involve the likes of the indie book and publishing associations such as Independent Book Publishers’ Association and SPAN; and indie print reviewers like Foreword Magazine and Midwest Book Review; and while we're at it we could include the indie book blog-o-sphere, etc. to bring readers' attention to those lesser-known, but deserving, self-published & indie-pubbed titles.

Maybe in this war of indies and locals versus big-boxes and online giants, the best defense for all of us indies is a collective, customer-focused and value-rich offense.

I'll take my comments off the air…