Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 229
May 16, 2011
Readers' Reprise
This blog's subtitle is "Reading, Writing, and Publishing".
And, even though the most recent results of our Survey show Reading with only 6.25% of the vote for topics on this blog, I thought it was time for, at least, a short recap of some of the things said here about Reading and Readers.
The post, Book Bloggers ~ Just for The Love of It :-), has this quote:
""Book bloggers love to read books and to recommend them to their own followers. There are scores of avid bloggers in every genre, out there reviewing thousands of books and interviewing hundreds of authors every year. They do this for pleasure, and are a very diverse crowd…"
It also has links to places to find Book Bloggers.
The post, BestsellerBound Forums ~ Your One-Stop Place To Connect :-), has this quote:
""BestsellerBound is a place for independent authors to connect with readers….Readers, this is a place to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it's like to be a working author and to support them on their path to literary success…."
One of my comments on the site said, "There are 53 separate forums at BestsellerBound….for all the major genres; forums about social networking, and many problem-solving forums."
The post, What Kind of Feedback Do Writers Need? What Helps Them Most?, begins with a bit of out-of-date info on how to get your name and bio in my book. Well, the book is already published :-) But there's also a discussion on what writers need from readers and what readers can learn about what they have to offer writers. There's also a great list of quotes about "criticism".
In the post, Do You Write For The Reader or Should You Write For Yourself?, I do a bit of exploration of what I call the Meta-Reader–the reader inside the author…
I will write more posts about Reading and Readers but I thought I'd let new folks discover these four posts and, hopefully, have a few regulars re-discover them :-)
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Tagged: BestsellerBound, blog, Book Bloggers, Notes from An Alien, read, reader, Readers, reading
Self-Publishing Book Distribution ~ A Little Less Confusing :-)
In our last post I detailed the confusing landscape of how Notes from An Alien is being distributed.
One of the nicest things was that my POD (print on demand) publishing company was working behind my back [read that as I hadn't made myself sufficiently aware of their methods] to make sure more than the original four companies have my book for sale.
One of the strangest things was the wide difference in the price of the book at different outlets.
Both the nice and the strange had light shone on them with the usual speedy reply from FastPencil support:
"Ingram is a wholesaler who has contracts with lots of retailers… actually most retailers use Ingram. That's how your book is available to anyone who has access to Ingram. We also use Ingram Digital so your book will get into lots of online ebook channels as well as the standard Amazon, B&N and Apple—with whom we have direct channels. The reason you see so many different prices is because each retailer gets the standard 40% discount (print or 30% ebook) and they decide how much of that they want to keep and how much they pass on to the customer as a price discount. You still get the same royalty no matter what they charge. FastPencil keeps track of all the purchases and they filter through to your reports and quarterly check."
So, even though this explains why some are lower than the $12.33 retail price I put on the book, it doesn't explain why a few are more expensive.
I'm not going to trouble FastPencil with another email because, basically, I think the answer is that some outlets are looking to make a killing.
It still seems very odd that someone thinks a 126-page paperback should cost $28.00 but, since I never have had an overabundance of respect for money, and, since I still get my royalty, they can have their ill-won profit, if some readers really think the price is fair…
On a slightly different note…
I'm currently at page 87 of yet another read-through of the book and, so far, I've spotted five small mistakes. While this bothers me, a friend who's a former publisher said that's actually not so bad.
Not so bad? When an editor and about six authors and a small multitude of readers never caught those mistakes??
I word to the wise:
Get absolutely as many eyes on a manuscript as humanly possible. Then, get a bunch more!
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Book distribution, distribution, FastPencil, Notes from An Alien, Print on demand, publishing
May 13, 2011
Self-Publishing Book Distribution ~ The Weirding Way…
So, my book got published through FastPencil on the second of May. The wide-distribution deal I made had me published on the FastPencil site and getting the highest royalties there. I set my own prices on the book.
They have also distributed the book to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, and soon, the iPad. My understanding is that folks can order the book at any of those places and FastPencil fulfills the orders and collects the royalties. I get paid quarterly.
The link to the iPad is to a search page. The book, as of this writing, is still "pending" there.
Ingram is a special case. They themselves are a major book distributor and having a book listed with them is critical if you want bookstores and libraries to be able to order the book.
What I've learned, though, is that those places are not the only places my book is available.
Because of the Ingram listing ( I think, but I need to do more research…), my book is also available through other vendors.
I set a print price on the book of $12.33 and Amazon followed suit while Barnes & Noble immediately listed it at $9.54. Both places stayed with the $.99 I set on the ebook.
BooKnackrh has the print edition at $10.42, The Book Depository has it at $12.36, and brandnewgoodsus has it at $13.86. All three of those places are listed on the Amazon page…
IndieBound's site had me enter my Zip Code and a bookstore near me lists it at $12.33.
Powell's Books has it at $13.75 <<( This store feeds in comments and reviews from the GoodReads site :-)
AbeBooks has listings for Books Express at $18.18 and Stratford Books at $9.71.
Alibris has the same two retailers: Books Express at $27.40 and Stratford Books at $28.55!!
I may never find out how Alibris and AbeBooks can list the same outlets carrying the book at such different prices…
In fact, I need to send a link to this post to FastPencil and ask them to explain how so many places not in our contract are carrying the book and why the prices vary so much and whether I can expect royalties from all of them.
I'll let you know what FastPencil says :-)
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Tagged: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book distribution, FastPencil, GoodReads, Ingram, Notes from An Alien, self-publishing
May 12, 2011
When A Manuscript Turns Into A Book ~ Very Strange . . .
I published Notes from An Alien on May 2nd and the copies I ordered arrived today…
Having lived with the book in note form, then outline form, then various forms of manuscript hadn't prepared me for how strange it would feel to hold the published book in my hands…
I'd held books I published in my hands before and it was always a good feeling. This time, though, the book seemed like it was someone else's. Of course, I had a "co-author" on this book, Sena Quaren, but that wasn't why the book didn't feel like "mine". It all goes back to how the book was written…
When I wrote the poems that became a book, I'd experienced the feeling many authors describe of "wondering who actually wrote the words".
With Notes from An Alien that feeling was magnified. "Something" wrote this book and even if that something resides in my mind, I'm unfamiliar enough with it to have felt not only that the book "wrote itself" but also that the book made demands on me, countered most of the creative intuitions I had during the writing, made me do things I didn't particularly relish–yet, I had to agree that the book's own logic was better than mine, had more integrity…
Now that the book exists in physical form, I'm learning about the wild and woolly realm of book distribution. More on that in the next post…
So, as I explained before, even though the book is for sale, I'm still giving it away for free.
You can buy it at FastPencil and Amazon in print and ebook; Barnes & Noble (print and ebook); and, soon, through Apple's iBookstore.
And, you can discuss the issues the book raises in the virtual world, Second Life, and in our online Forum…
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
Take Part In Our Reader Survey
Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: alien, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, FastPencil, free book, Internet forum, Notes from An Alien, Second Life
May 10, 2011
What Is Soul? & Does Every Artist Have It?
My dictionary has, for its first definition of "artist": "A person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination."
When I check the root meanings for "soul" I find this first: "spiritual and emotional part of a person" plus "animate existence"; then there are a bunch of languages sources in a row, tracing its history to this interesting meaning: "of uncertain origin".
No doubt the soul has always been a bit hard to nail down but it seems to appear that folks with "sensitivity and imagination" are clearly tuned into the difficult to describe qualities of soul.
I read a guest post from Haley Whitehall on Elle Beauregard's blog called, On The Soul of An Artist.
Haley says: "Even when they are feeling the least creative, artists have something in common—they look at the world differently. They see the world as a place to express themselves….Writers can take English classes and artists can learn from professionals how to paint. People can learn the skills but if they do not have the soul of an artist nothing original will come of it. They will not look at the world differently."
To me, that last sentence is extremely telling: "They will not look at the world differently."
I wrote a comment to Haley about her post which said:
I think the distinction between "education, training, and talent" and "the way of perceiving life" is critical when deciding if one is a true creative artist.
I do think there's a discernible difference between talent and creativity. A talented person can follow a pattern of making art and produce some extremely valuable work. A creative person will infuse any talent they have with the Soul that makes it much more than valuable work…
What are your thoughts and feelings?
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
Take Part In Our Reader Survey
Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: artist, artist's soul, creativity, Elle Beauregard, Haley Whitehall, soul, soul of an artist, writer
May 9, 2011
"Sucky Experts" and Literary Goblins
Our last post referenced a blog article that cautioned self-publishing authors against "subsidy" publishers masquerading as "Indie" publishers.
Today, I'm going to direct you to a post by Ollin Morales called, Telling Someone They "Suck" Isn't Advice–It's Just Plain Evil.
He begins the post with these words:
"The more a writer makes her way through the world of blogs and books on writing, the more she will encounter a rather unexpected challenge to her writing career: experts who are eager to tell her that she sucks."
I must be particularly lucky in that regard but I certainly know many folks who have had the experience.
He goes on with:
" It's almost as if these 'Sucky Experts' enjoy seeing a writer's hopes and dreams dashed all to pieces. They'll focus on all the negative aspects….There are even some Sucky Experts who will tell you you're just not gonna 'make it'. 'Give up now', they say, 'because your dreams will never come true'."
I urge you to read the whole post because Ollin is quite good at detailing the why of this negative tirade: these sucky experts want your money…
Of course, this type of approach has been in use by charlatans for as long as there have been things to sell.
It's even prevalent in certain "religious" movements.
It even occurs in the dating scene.
I'm going to give you a mild challenge to entice you to read Ollin's whole post by listing the three beliefs he indicates as the foundation of this approach to making you part with your money (or body, or soul). See if you can supply a rationale for these beliefs (even though it's an irrational rationale), before you go read Ollin's explanations:
"One belief is that self-punishment and self-hatred is the only way to success."
"The second belief is scarcity."
"The third belief is in absolutes."
I find this particular part of his post quite fascinating:
"Sucky Experts think that they're giving you 'tough love' in order to make you 'stronger'. But what these Sucky Experts fail to recognize is that life is already bringing writers down. Life is already giving us TRUCKLOADS of tough love–tough love that should be defeating us, but somehow we've managed to be stronger for it."
There is more, and it really is worth any writer's time to read the whole post; including all the intriguing Comments :-)
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Tagged: Courage 2 Create, experts, Ollin Morales, tough love, writing advice, writing blogs, writing books, writing help
May 8, 2011
Self-Publishing ~ Potential and Perils
I've recently read two blog posts that highlight some of the benefits and cautions of self-publishing.
The first is from Roz Morris: I've had near misses with agents and publishers – should I self-publish?
I encourage you to read the whole post, primarily because this lady really knows her way around the traditional publishing scene. But, for those who don't like to click links, here are a few excerpts:
"I know a number of writers who have excellent, interesting novels that are not getting published. Perhaps they cross genres, or they're too edgy to be literary and too intelligent to be genre. In all likelihood if those writers were submitting those same novels to the market 5 or 10 years ago they would have landed a publishing deal. But publishers don't want them any more."
"The major publishers sell to book stores, and they want to make bulk sales to chains. They want titles that will sell in quantity. Not something 'interesting' that will sell one or two copies per store."
"Conventional publishers have narrower tastes than the book-buying public. Much narrower."
"Self-publishers are now more credible than we have ever been. We must keep that credibility. We must aim for the highest possible quality. That means getting professional help with the editing, proofing and design, so that the book can hold its own against the best of conventionally published titles."
Now, some of the perils on the road to self-publishing from Joel Friedlander in his article, Subsidy Publishing: Proceed With Caution.
"[An] author went with Balboa Press. Do you know it? This is part of the gradual co-opting of the independent publishing houses by pure naked greed in the form of an alliance with subsidy king Author Solutions. They see all the money authors are paying to publish, they see every day how desperate writers are to get a contract with a publishing house. They decide to cash in, and Author Solutions is only too happy to help.
"Author Solutions owns the AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris and Wordclay imprints. It calls itself 'the world leader in indie book publishing' despite the fact there is nothing even vaguely 'indie' about the company or the books it produces."
"Now there's nothing intrinsically wrong with paying for publishing services. That's how I make a living, along with a lot of other professionals. But there's a bait and switch involved here. Writers are sold by manipulating the dream they have of becoming successful published authors. But the truth of subsidy publishing has nothing to do with selling books."
"…if you look at the 'packages' that these companies offer, you soon realize you will be spending thousands of dollars to get into print, and that's before all the upsells kick in. And before you start buying your own books."
Again, I urge you to read the full article.
My company, FastPencil, only requires you purchase one copy of your book, at the publisher's cost, to have it for sale on their site. You set the royalty.
They do have editing and consultation services for sale but they are certainly not part of the "deal" if you don't want them.
Tread carefully in the arena of publishing, whether traditional or self-driven…
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Tagged: Author Solutions, Balboa Press, iUniverse, Joel Friedlander, Roz Morris, self-publishing, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris
May 6, 2011
Free = Sales ~ Give It Away & Sell More…
Cory Doctorow makes a credible claim in his Forbes article that his giving books away has increased the sales of the very same books.
I've mentioned this strategy in three other blog posts: The Author's Platform ~ Community of Interest, Writer, Agent, Publisher ~ Changing Hats…, and Self-Publishing Can Be Just As Creative As Writing.
Since I want to encourage you to read the whole Forbes article, I'm going to give your some of the more interesting statements:
"I've been giving away my books ever since my first novel came out, and boy has it ever made me a bunch of money."
"As long as gained sales outnumber lost sales, I'm ahead of the game. After all, distributing nearly a million copies of my book has cost me nothing."
"There's no empirical way to prove that giving away books sells more books….[but] What is certain is that every writer who's tried giving away e-books to sell books has come away satisfied and ready to do it some more."
"I'd rather stake my future on a literature that people care about enough to steal than devote my life to a form that has no home in the dominant medium of the century."
"By being in the middle of electronic publishing, by watching what hundreds of thousands of my readers do with my e-books, I get better market intelligence than I could through any other means."
"This 'market research' of giving away e-books sells printed books. What's more, having my books more widely read opens many other opportunities for me to earn a living from activities around my writing, such as the Fulbright Chair I got at USC this year, this high-paying article in Forbes, speaking engagements and other opportunities to teach, write and license my work for translation and adaptation. My fans' tireless evangelism for my work doesn't just sell books–it sells me."
So, have I convinced you to go read the entire Forbes article, Giving It Away?
Even if you don't want to read the entire thing, what do you think of the excerpts I've shared??
And, if you go read the whole article, I'd *love* to hear what you think of it :-)
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Tagged: book marketing, book promotion, Cory Doctorow, Forbes, free book, free books, Giving It Away
May 5, 2011
Author Platforms & Email Lists…
As I went through the process of writing the book I recently published ( use the link in the right side-bar to buy it or get a free copy :-), I began sending out various incarnations of the book: first clean draft, second clean draft, ready for the editor draft, after the editor draft, after the Review Office draft, "final" draft, "Final" draft, and, finally, the Real Final Manuscript.
I sent them out freely and got some feedback (there seems to be never enough of that) but, most importantly, I saved everyone's email address.
There are very few of the now over 140 folks who've received some form of the book whom I know. I have little information on who's actually read it or what they think of it.
Still…
I have a list of people who were curious enough about my book to let me send them a free copy with no strings attached.
Some "experts" of book promotion and building author platforms will tell you what I've done is insane. Some will wonder what good it could do. Some will see that I've built a powerful tool to stay in touch with folks who have already shown some interest in my work.
When I feel it's the right time, I will communicate with my list of somewhat interested people, ask them what they thought, let them know what I'm up to, give the folks who only got a first draft a free copy of the final manuscript, encourage those who've read it to bring their ideas to the forum I've created, and encourage those who haven't yet read it to do so…
So…
I've been doing something that many folks with more experience than me have said is important–building an email list.
The fact that I've done it differently than many of them might have counseled me is something that time will have to test for its worthiness…
Have you built an email list?
Have you thought about building one?
Do you know of other ways to create an author platform?
I hope you'll share your thoughts and feelings in the comments…
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: author platform, book, book marketing, book promotion, email list, feedback, manuscript review, self-publishing
May 4, 2011
Survey Results from Those ISBN Folks…
ISBN? That's the International Standard Book Number and the folks at Bowker supply those handy bar codes.
The Survey, Essential Facts, was tabulated for the year 2009 and I feel most of the results are still close to the same, within a few percentage points; but, with the changes in publishing that are swirling around, they may not remain the same for long.
The full survey (which is at the link up there that says Essential Facts) has many more numbers then what I've put in this post. I chose what I thought my readers would like to know but I encourage you to look at the whole survey:
43% of Americans ages 13+ bought a book
The average age of a book buyer was 42
58% of book buyers were female
64% of the books purchased were by females
30% of books purchased were by Baby Boomers
66% of Fiction books purchased were by women
50% of the dollars spent on Fantasy books were by men
3 out of 10 Fiction purchases were either Romance or Espionage/Thriller
59% of books purchased were Paperback
15% of books purchased were 'as a gift'
20% of books purchased were through E-Commerce
13% of books purchased were because of the author's name
What do you think of those numbers??
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
Take Part In Our Reader Survey
Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: bar code, book, books, Bowker, fiction, International Standard Book Number, ISBN, Paperback
