people often asked how they can get published, and many assume that there is only one way – getting a publisher to accept your manuscript. Due to advancing technology and evolving trends in the publishing, bookselling and reading worlds, there are now many options. John Kremer, whose weekly (free) ezine on book marketing is always worth a read, has produced a list of eight ways to get your book into print:
"You have eight options in publishing a book:
1. Self-publishing. Getting your own printer, publishing your book, and marketing it. That's how I've published six editions of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.
2. Set up your own publishing company. For example, my company: Open Horizons.
3. Print-on-demand printer. You self-publish but you use a POD printer to produce copies 1 to 100 copies at a time. For example, Lightning Source or AdiBooks.
4. Print-on-demand publisher. You pay a POD publisher to publish your book. For example, iUniverse, Lulu, Xlibris, Infinity Publishing, etc. For example, Infinity publishes John Kremer's Self-Publishing Hall of Fame (also available as an ebook download from BookMarket.com).
5. Sell rights to a small publisher and let them publish and promote your book. For example, New World Library, Santa Monica Press, etc. I sold the rights to High-Impact Marketing on a Low-Impact Budget to Prima Publishing (now part of Random House).
6. Sell rights to a large publisher and let them publish and promote your book. For example, Simon & Schuster, Random House, etc. I sold rights to The Complete Direct Marketing Sourcebook to John Wiley.
7. Self-publish your book only as an e-book. For example, my new ebook on distribution: Book Marketing 105: Choosing a Book Distribution System — This vital mini-guide includes criteria for deciding how you will distribute your books. Also includes complete information on 30 book distributors, 4 library distributors, 89 book publishers who also distribute for other publishers, 3 sales representatives to the chains, 27 bookstore wholesalers, 34 library wholesalers, and 23 Spanish-language wholesalers. Plus a sample book distribution contract. Ebook download, $30.00.
8. Blog your book. Rather than publishing your book on paper, you could simply blog it using a free or paid online blogging service. I'll be doing several books like this in the coming months."
John adds that he could write a book about each option. Each has pros and cons, and apart from major strokes of luck each option needs some (actually, quite a lot of) knowledge to get the best result for you. The option you choose will depend on your objectives, your personality and the book(s) you want to publish. As John points out, he has used different options at different times.
You will hear stories of being stung - or completely screwed - by hard nosed or (at worse) amoral operators, be they mainstream or niche. You will also hear stories of happy experiences and successes ranging from the modest to the headline-grabbing.
Some of it is luck, most of it is about hard work, research, and contacts. There is masses of information – much of it honest and helpful – on the net and on bookshelves; there are lots of people in the publishing, writing and selling worlds who are generous with advice and concrete help.
The aggravating facts are that no-one but you can make the decision; that whichever route you go for, it will mean lots of work; and that before you talk to anyone in the publishing world it's essential to have done your initial research. t the very least, this means snooping around bookshops, online or 3D, to see what's already out there, and to see what the fashions are in book design, hot topics and so on.
You can sign up for a free sub to John Kremer's book marketing ezine at http://www.bookmarket.com
Launching LANDING
The first of our delectable Mersey Minis is launched.
Everyone turned up, and drank, and ate, and listened, and clapped, and chatted, and bought books, and queued for Deb's signature, and stayed for more wine and food and chat, and had to get turfed out so the BBC could go home.
I crawled home on hands and knees, no longer capable of standing upright. Not from quantities of vino (evening's total was three glasses of water and one of Asda's orange&grapefruit) but just complete knackeredness.
Am really chuffed that lots of friends and most favourite brother in law made sterling efforts and got through the building site that is Liverpool to join us.
Will reflect more, but not till I get back from Transylvania. Taxi due in 3 hours with plenty still to do. eek.
London Book Fair
These massive events are not a great draw for me. I always dread going, and I always find at least one really useful/interesting/amusing person there, often several. There are always ideas sparked, sometimes a real winner of a spark. I always come back exhausted but happy. I still dread going to the next.
Yesterday I dragged myself out of my pit at 4.30am to get to Earl's Court for 9am, so I was in a commuting daze before I started, and headed straight for the first available source of coffee. A woman grabbed the spare seat at my table, and we swapped condolences on lack of sleep (she has a small child with early rising tendencies). This bright spark, who works for the BBC, met all the criteria mentioned, so I could, at that point (9.23am) happily have gone straight back home after a good day's work.
However, there were people to see and books (about 3,549,721) to drool over, so we had a busy day meeting and drooling, with not enough stops for tea. The best meetings were the chance ones, and it will be fun to see what comes of two, in particular.
I left at five for another meeting, with a charming and enthusiastic and amusing fellow called Graham, and then slid back to Euston for the last meeting, this one purely social, with another amusing and charming chap called Nigel, whose daughter has just finished her first novel.
After waving goodbye to Nigel, I fell to my knees and crawled back to the station, on to the train, into a seat designed for a humanoid with no need for sleep, and slept. I was woken periodically by a pain in my neck - metaphorical, caused by whingeing infant opposite, or physical, caused by alien-designed seats that encourage head to fall sideways, foreward or backward at unhelpful angles. Not altogether bad, since it meant I woke up just in time to hear the warning of arrival at Runcorn, rather than a rude awakening at Lime Street, where my car wasn't.
This morning I have a stiff neck and bags-for-life under my eyes, but a sheaf of eager little business cards jiggling about on my desk for attention. And a stolen book (thanks, Hodders) in case my eyelids stay open for more than 3 seconds tonight.
Yesterday I dragged myself out of my pit at 4.30am to get to Earl's Court for 9am, so I was in a commuting daze before I started, and headed straight for the first available source of coffee. A woman grabbed the spare seat at my table, and we swapped condolences on lack of sleep (she has a small child with early rising tendencies). This bright spark, who works for the BBC, met all the criteria mentioned, so I could, at that point (9.23am) happily have gone straight back home after a good day's work.
However, there were people to see and books (about 3,549,721) to drool over, so we had a busy day meeting and drooling, with not enough stops for tea. The best meetings were the chance ones, and it will be fun to see what comes of two, in particular.
I left at five for another meeting, with a charming and enthusiastic and amusing fellow called Graham, and then slid back to Euston for the last meeting, this one purely social, with another amusing and charming chap called Nigel, whose daughter has just finished her first novel.
After waving goodbye to Nigel, I fell to my knees and crawled back to the station, on to the train, into a seat designed for a humanoid with no need for sleep, and slept. I was woken periodically by a pain in my neck - metaphorical, caused by whingeing infant opposite, or physical, caused by alien-designed seats that encourage head to fall sideways, foreward or backward at unhelpful angles. Not altogether bad, since it meant I woke up just in time to hear the warning of arrival at Runcorn, rather than a rude awakening at Lime Street, where my car wasn't.
This morning I have a stiff neck and bags-for-life under my eyes, but a sheaf of eager little business cards jiggling about on my desk for attention. And a stolen book (thanks, Hodders) in case my eyelids stay open for more than 3 seconds tonight.
grrrr sound of grinding teeth between laughter
Pointed at this brilliant site I was laughing, out loud, on a Monday morning, when I should be en route to the London Book Fair but due to circumstances I shall not relate for entirely personal reasons am 24 hours late leaving for London.
Please come back to this blog after watching the 5-minute stop-frame animation (nearest concept I can find to describe it) of Miranda July's kitchen sink (well, fridge and stove) comedy-drama. She is either a genius (probably) or has a publicist of remarkable talent. What I really envy is how clean her cooker is. Mine is newer, dark green (hides dirt better) and still not as squeaky. Congratulations, Miranda. Hope you sell a shed-load.
Please come back to this blog after watching the 5-minute stop-frame animation (nearest concept I can find to describe it) of Miranda July's kitchen sink (well, fridge and stove) comedy-drama. She is either a genius (probably) or has a publicist of remarkable talent. What I really envy is how clean her cooker is. Mine is newer, dark green (hides dirt better) and still not as squeaky. Congratulations, Miranda. Hope you sell a shed-load.
Semantics
Some sweetly literal soul queried the use of the term 'bookmaker' at the head of this blog.
I was being a bit of a punster there, dear heart. I don't stand by the rails hoping the favourite in the 3.30 at Haydock falls at the last. What I do, what we do as a team, is create, produce, generate, manufacture books. Bits of paper with ink on, cut, sewn together and glued between bits of cardboard and wrapped in shiny jackets to educate, inform and entertain the great reading masses.
Well, a modest segment of the reading masses. We're still waiting for the million-seller, I freely confess. Never believe a publisher who mutters about quality rather than quantity. We might like waving a posh book at booksellers, but we still want them to sell in truck loads.
The best seller is just round the corner. I can feel it in my lovely bones.
MERSEY MINIS ARE COMING
The first volume of Mersey Minis – our five-volume series of delicious little books – will be launched on 27 April; it is on press at the printers in Verona, as I write.
Volumes 2-5 will be published every two months after that - in June, August, October and December – and Vol.3 will be a wildly special little number, all new writing, with 20,000 copies given away (ie free) in Liverpool and Merseyside on the 800th anniversary of King John's charter: 28 August.
For lots of news and a guide to the competition (and how you can enter), hit the Mersey Minis link opposite.
WOW! What a bargain!!!!
Copied from Amazon's site just now:
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Product Promotions
Save £0.02 when you spend £100,000.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.co.uk. Enter code M7575XH9 at checkout.
******
Is someone at Amazon having a larf? Have they just had their payrise requested turned down flat?
hoho.
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