Doris-Maria Heilmann's Blog, page 78

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Tagged: Facebook timeline, Huitsuite, mobile platform, public “likes", social media platform, Tweetdeck, Twitter account

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/how-to-become-a-self-publisher-step-by-step-explained/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/becoming-your-own-publisher-book-production/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/how-to-organize-printing-or-print-on-demand/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/distribution-of-your-print-book/

http://www.bookpromotion.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-self-publish-a-book/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/12-tips-for-your-crowdfunding-project/

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10119891-82/self-publishing-a-book-25-things-you-need-to-know/

http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/the-economics-of-self-publishing-an-e-book-part-1-0513/

http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/the-economics-of-self-publishing-an-e-book-part-2-0613/

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Published on August 03, 2013 21:37

How Much Does Self-Publishing Cost?

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How Much Does Publishing Cost?

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Launching a book is like starting a company. Putting together a quality book involves not just writing it, but also setting up a marketing strategy, and get editing, book formatting and cover-design for your book. See how much professional services will cost you to produce a high-quality book of about 65.000 to 80.000 words.

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SOCIAL MEDIA, MARKETING & PROMOTIONS

This is mentioned as the first step as marketing of your book and establishing an author platform can and should start before your book is even finished. You certainly can do some of the marketing yourself, for example your social media presence. Professional help should include an author interview, articles about you and your book, help with marketing campaigns, advertisements and most important of all: first establishing a book marketing plan and the author’s platform / brand. 111Publishing is offering all this for $159 for 3 months. Media publicists can get you radio spots and press articles/interviews for anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000 per month.

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EDITING

Once you’ve written your book, editing is important. Every writer needs at least some type of editor. She/he will evaluate and critique your manuscript, suggest and provide revisions, make sure that everything flows and is consistent, and shape it into a smooth, workable piece. If you write non-fiction consider also a fact-checker, to make sure there are no errors or broken links. 3-5 manuscript pages/hour for a manuscript page that’s approximately 250 words, will cost you, according to the Editorial Freelancers Association:

$45-65/hour based on the experience of the editor. Spell-check, get beta-readers or use inexpensive editing software to prepare your manuscript before you hand it over to an editor, who charges by the hour, in order to save editing time. However there are many professional editors, who charge you less and charge you by the page, sometimes even starting from $2/hour.

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COPY-EDITING

Once your manuscript is in good shape, the next thing you need to do is hire another editor called copy editor or line editor to go through and catch spelling mistakes and adjust for grammar, punctuation and consistency. Costs are approximately $20-50/hour.

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COVER DESIGN

Readers and even book reviewers judge how a book looks on Amazon, B&N or Kobo online sales pages or on bookstore shelves. For phone users, a thumbnail of the cover is probably the first thing a reader sees. It’s important that your cover design is optimized for print (TIFF) and digital (jpeg) thumbnail sizes, and how it looks on an e-reader or mobile device. Get lots of tips for cover design on Joel Friedlander’s website. If you are a professional photographer you might use your own images, or you might need to buy a license to use certain images. If you are lucky, you might find free images. Some e-book cover designers even sell pre-made cover designs for as low as $50.

But if you want to hire someone to make a custom cover design, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $1,500. The higher end is for award-winning designers who have done very professional covers for big, traditional publishing houses.

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PRE-PUBLICATION REVIEWS

There are many resources for authors to get professional reviews. Sites like Kirkus, Blue Ink, and Publishers Weekly all sell review packages for indie or self-published authors. There’s also a great list of bloggers that you can reach out to for reviews for your book. 2012 review costs by Kirkus are $425, BlueInk Reviews $396, Publishers Weekly PW Select $149. More reviewers can be found in our former blog posts. You certainly can ask top authors in your genre if they would review your book and then use their comments/reviews as a blurb on your books cover.

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E-BOOK and PRINT FORMATTING

This is pre-publishing task that you should leave up to a professional, unless you are very tech-savvy, and learned html programming, as free programs, such as Sigil, Calibre or Pages don’t deliver always great conversions, especially if the text is not pre-formatted. If you’re looking to hire an expert, you can find print-on-demand conversions for as little as $150 or as much as $500 and over to convert your manuscript from Word or InDesign. Higher costs are if your book has a lot of pictures, is highly illustrated or if your original file is in PDF, which is more complex to convert.

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ISBN

An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is necessary for a print book, upload it to Apple or you want to see it in libraries. A lot of third parties sell ISBNs, but if you don’t purchase your own ISBN you may not be listed as the publisher of your own work! Never buy it from someone else than the authorized seller in your country (Bowker for the USA).If you plan on selling your book in e-book format and don’t want to use Apple online retail, then you do have the option of skipping the ISBN, which will be $125 for one ISBN and $250 for ten ISBNs.

ONLINE RETAIL DISTRIBUTION

You can do this yourself by following the instructions to get your books distributed into the various retailers, which is easiest at Amazon, B&N and Kobo. There are service companies, among others:BookBaby, Autorems (for Apple only) or eBookpartnership. They all charge only a small yearly fee and your books’ revenue is 100% yours.

Never use a third party as they do take a percentage of each book sold – mostly between 10% and 15%, and if your book is successful you might loose quite a bit!

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PRINT DISTRIBUTION

A proud moment for every author: to discover their book in a bookstore or library. However, be aware that bookstores take high commissions 40-50%, and even have the right to return unsold books – unless they are printed in demand (which bookstores take only for pre-ordered books).

Many large US book distributors won’t take you on before you have at least five to ten books in print, and they charge a fee for their distribution, usually 20-30%. As an author-publishers with at least 3 books you might be better off with Lightning Source / Ingram and CreateSpace combined – also due to the print on demand possibilities that both companies offer.

Lightning Source connects you with the world’s largest distribution channel of book wholesalers and retailers. In addition to distributing books through their parent company Ingram Books, they print to order, which means, your book is printed and ready for shipment in 12 hours or less. With over 30,000 wholesalers, retailers and booksellers in over 100 countries your titles will gain the maximum exposure. They work with over 28,000 publishers of all sizes around the world. They deliver digital, print, wholesale and distribution services through a single source, and makes it easy for you to reach more customers in more places.

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GETTING YOUR BOOK PRINTED

For small amounts of print books an author is better off to have it POD, (printed on demand), done by CreateSpace or by Lightning Source, who are also the distributors. POD is produced only after receiving orders.The printing might be higher priced, but you can decide on discounts and there will not be any returns from book stores for unsold books, which can be costly. On the other hand, readers cannot find your book in stores, but have to order it there or order online. However, you save high upfront costs for printing.

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FAZIT:

You might also consider trading services with other authors, in order to get the help you need for your project and to save money. Or you could consider to raise funds through crowd funding, such as Kickstarter or Indogogo. As an author your can do some of pre-publishing, but spending money on quality editorial services will set your book apart from the majority of (self-) published books. It takes consistent, quality production over time. Don’t ever fall into the ‘overnight blockbuster’ mentality. Think of yourself as a writer who will never stop producing quality books.

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Self-publishing costs money. If you want readers to buy your book, you will need to make an investment in order to produce a quality product, above and beyond your beautiful writing. And don’t fall into the trap of the so-called “Publishing companies” or “Self-Publishing” providers, who offer you a bundle of services. Stay independent and carefully check out each pre-publishing provider, get in touch with their author customers to learn about their experience and compare editing, design and printing prices.

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Read also:

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: beta readers, book cover design, book launch, copy editing, crowd funding, editing, pre-publishing, self-publishing

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Published on August 03, 2013 07:08

How to Prepare Your Book for Reviews

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A great book review can sell hundreds of books, but it can sell a lot more: an excerpt can be posted on your book’s cover, on your website and even on your Press Releases and on the inside dust cover – when you received it before print or after, when you reprint. Midwest Book Review, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal or Booklistonline.com, their reviews all go to the libraries!

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What is involved in preparing a book kit before sending it out to a reviewer?

A reviewer, who had already agreed to read it, that is. You need a plan for both, pre-publication and after publication reviews to submit your book to reviewers in an organization, a library, a magazine or a newspaper company.

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Do your homework and research

Find out which reviewers, journals, libraries, and companies require in order to mail in your manuscript BEFORE the book goes into print. Then, find the reviewers, journals, libraries and companies requiring that you mail in the book AFTER it’s published and read careful their directions. The address list below is for self-publishing authors only. Assemble a kit which includes: a cover letter, testimonials, book excerpts, a marketing plan, Advanced Copy Review or book copies, but always according to the reviewers submitting-rules.

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PRE – Publication Reviewers:

Horn Book Magazine

56 Roland Street, Suite 200

Boston, MA 02129

www.hbook.com

Kirkus Reviews

VNU US Literary Group

770 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

www.kirkusreviews.com

Publishers Weekly

360 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10011

www.publishersweekly.com

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POST Publication Reviewers:

Midwest Book Review

278 Orchard Drive

Oregon, WI 53575

www.midwestbookreview.com

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Midwest Book Review for sample gives priority consideration to small publishers, self-published authors, academic presses, and specialty publishers. To submit a book for review they require:

Two finished copies of the book (no galleys or uncorrected proofs).
A cover letter
A publicity release or media kit

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There are certainly many more reviewers, the above mentioned are only a small selection.

You have done your homework and selected the reviewers you want to submit your ARC (Advance Review Copy) or finished book (Published). What is your next step?

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To prepare ARC’s:

At an office supply shop buy a package of Heavy Duty Report Covers. These covers come with a front and back side, metal fasteners and holds up to a three inch capacity of paper (part of your manuscript). Make sure that the box indent shows on the front cover. Here you place your author’s information, Title of book and your name. This ARC represents you and your book. It’s the first thing that a respective reviewer will see!

Never send out an ARC without a proper cover letter, a letter tells the prospective reviewer who you are, the book’s title, and what the author is sending to that particular reviewer. Print out at least three testimonial reviews from (from well-known writers or editors) who had already read the book, each testimonial on a separate page.

Include the first three chapters of the novel. Staple them together. Include a picture of the cover done by a professional graphic artist. A professional looking cover always helps the author. In your cover letter offer them a jpeg and TIFF version as well.

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It is not impossible to receive a book review from one of the above mentioned prestigious journals!

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These same steps can apply to well-known libraries, private reviewers and newspaper reviews IF the author does his/her homework and the research first. Write ahead of time to individual reviewers and make sure they want to review your book and if it’s in their favored genre. Find out if the review is FEE based. Some reviewers, organizations and on-line groups charge to review. Make sure you understand the directions and follow them to the letter.

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Always make sure you send them the material as specified in their directions. ARC’s, media kits, cover letters, testimonials, book location, publisher’s name and address, release date, and the ISBN number.

Write into the inner book cover, “NOT FOR RESELL.” That means that the reviewer can’t sell your book or ARC. Do specify what you want done with your ARC’s or books. Suggest they give it to the local hospital, charity or a school. When sending out your books for review, always include always your author’s business card and always SIGN your book and date it.

Getting your book reviewed is not impossible. However it requires paying attention, planning and following instructions. Keep these in mind and your next book review will turn into a success.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Hyper Smash

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Tagged: Advance Review Copy, ARC, galleys and uncorrected proofs, how to get book reviews, how to prepare for a book review, media kit, past print book review, pre-print book review

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Published on August 01, 2013 20:58

How to Reduce Email Spam Complaints

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Get an Email List Already. That was the tenor of the article “Why Email Marketing Benefits Your Book’s Sales“. Did you install an email opt-in list in the meantime?

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Lori Taylor wrote in a recent article:

“Ask any serious blogger the biggest blogging mistake they have made. All of them will tell you the same thing. Their biggest regret is failing to set up an email list as soon as they started their blog. These days, you can’t hide behind any excuses. Money is not an issue – nor is it difficult to set up a list. MailChimp is free if your email list is under 2,000 email subscribers, while you can try out AWeber for just $1. Adding a sign up form to the side bar of your blog is simply a case of copying and pasting some html code…

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When it comes to reaching your readers, and creating a relationship, absolutely nothing is as cost-efficient as email marketing. Email provides you the most direct line of communication for conversion to sales. Unlike other forms of communication that are difficult, and often inconvenient to personalize, email newsletters are a breeze. If you use a professional email marketing service provider, you can automatically add the recipient’s name to every newsletter for that extra bit of warmth.

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Benefits of email marketing:

It’s simple and easy to use.
Can be personalized.
It’s low cost.
Functions round the clock.
And produces much faster response.
Quicker, wider reach

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I often sign up for newsletters, but also unsubscribe many of them: When email addresses are solicited to receive a “free” e-book or report. However, when I get from then on a “newsletter” every dayto my mail box, containing no news at all, just soliciting books or other products, then I regularly click on unsubscribe.

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However, some people don’t click on unsubscribe, they click on SPAM …

Why do people mark legitimate email messages as spam? After all, they subscribed for it in the first place … Some of these email subscribers will click “spam” whether they signed up for your list or not. Maybe it’s because they think the email messages are not interesting, or they don’t have time for shopping, or they have got dozens of emails to read and respond right now.|

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Use double opt-in

Or you have used single opt-in instead of double opt-in. Single opt-in will accept new subscribers immediately after the form is submitted. Double opt-in lists include an interim step, which usually involves an email being sent to the subscriber’s email address first. Once a link in the email is clicked (confirming that the email address is valid), the subscriber is added.

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So, how can you avoid to have your newsletter/email put into the spam filter? Author Pam Neely gives these tips in her blog:

Use double opt-in

Double opt-in has been proven to reduce spam complaints. It’s also been shown in sev.eral email industry reports that double opt-in will increase click-through rates.

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Don’t email too often to your subscribers

Two emails a month should be enough, unless you send out daily deals to your readers, e.g. for free books.

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Make it easy to unsubscribe

A time-pressed subscriber doesn’t want to have to hunt for the hidden unsubscribe link in an email message. They definitely do not want to fill out a survey about why they’re unsubscribing. Make it a one-click unsubscribe.

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Segment your recipients

Segmentation works best when it is based on past purchases, but it doesn’t have to be that complex. Even asking for basic product category interests at sign-up can help. Asking people whether they prefer text or email is also easy to do.

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Fulfill the promise of your sign-up box

You know that the #1 reason people sign up for emails is to get freebies or discounts. A free chapter, free report or list of valuable links?.

Read more at Pams blog:

http://pamneely.com/category/emailoverload/#sthash.KrLLsW0J.duf

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/

Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: constant contact, email campaign, email list, email newsletter, email subscribers, MailChimp, monthly newsletter, opt-in form, unsubscribe

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Published on July 31, 2013 20:38

How to Create an Email Signature

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“Never send out an email without your author’s signature!” You might have heard this advice before, but: do you use the gains of e-mail signatures to market and promote your books?

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Every day you send out dozens of emails to friends, business colleagues, your lawyer or accountant, potential readers or editors … Email signatures (a.k.a. sig lines) are powerful, low-cost, high-return marketing tools (a virtual business card or ad) for writers. But very few authors use this free way of getting the emails recipients attention to their books.

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Create a hyperlink to your author’s website or blog, or you can hyperlink to your Amazon.com author page. If you are not yet on Amazon or other online retailers, link to your Social Media presence.

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Gmail makes it real easy to create an email signature

Email signatures can be added under “settings” in your email service. At Gmail it is the small tool icon on the upper right part of the your email page. Click on it to come to the “settings” page and scroll down to Signature: (appended at the end of all outgoing messages). When you click on the link underneath, that says “Learn More” you will find tips and samples for email signatures, and how you can create signatures for the Gmail app for Android, the Gmail app for iPhone and iPad, and mobile web browsers.

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Use http:about.me

Your email signature should answer who you are, what you do, and how you can be contacted. In times when people are overloaded with information, use an email signature that is minimal and does not require much space. When using About.me, you can place all your information, including an image, in one single link. You will be surprised what a great and attractive tool it will be. Best of all: You can link your blog to About.me and always show your latest posts to visitors.

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Authors should use the gains of their e-mail signatures to market and promote their books. It does not cost you a cent – or a penny.Yet an email signature shows you care about the way you communicate. If you have an email signature, you are constantly sending people your “passive” marketing, which is spreading the word about you, your brand and your books. Create your email signature right now, immediately after reading this post!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: author's email signature, Email signature, Gmail settings, hyperlink to your authors website, Use http:about.me

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Published on July 30, 2013 21:17

How to Become a Successful Writer? WRITE !

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Even the shyest author, who would never speak at writer conferences or to a group of book lovers at a library, can write his or her way to success. I am not talking about your next book, which is certainly important, as your readers want to get more books from you, once they discovered you as an author.

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So, what else can you write to become successful?

write short stories that you can sell (or give away) on Amazon
write articles for newspapers and magazines
write regularly blog articles
write guest blog

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OMG, I hear you saying, the day has not enough hours… to do all this…

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Write short stories

In a former blog post I explained “why you should split your book apart and sell each piece separately” and “divide it in chapters which you can sell to magazines or to web publishers”. To use a chapter or two for a short story means no work at all, but you certainly could change or shorten it a bit. Offer these short stories for download on your website – this way you get the email of your readers. Install an opt-in email form and offer your readers at the same time to sign up in order to get regular info about free stories and new book releases.

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Very important: Don’t just give the story away. Write a short bio or add an about.me link, including your website, info about all your books and their sales link at the end of your short story. This way, readers meet the author (you) and get to know your books and might one order right away with the help of the link they find in the short story.

Upload short stories to Wattpad, Red Room, Goodreads or Booksie.

Why short stories? With all the distractions from other, flashier forms of entertainment it can be a struggle to set aside an hour or two and a find a quiet spot to read a book. Short stories can be read in 20 minutes- while enjoying lunch break, riding the bus or standing in a queue.

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Markets for Short Stories: Authors who are aiming to supplement their income have to find markets at magazines, on Duetrope.com or offer their books to Amazon for inclusion into “Kindle Shorts”. Stories between 2,000 and 5,000 words are most market-able, however there is demand for all lengths. Duetrope is an award-winning, free writers’ resource listing over 4150 current Fiction and Poetry publications, updated almost daily.

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Write articles for newspapers and magazines

Be smart, and sell your magazine articles over and over again. As long as the markets don’t overlap, you can sell exactly the same article as many times as you like and, in this globally connected marketplace, it is easier than you think. However, you can only sell first rights, either print or electronic, once for the same piece. After that, unless you change the article significantly, you must offer it as a reprint for a lower fee.

If you change the article, you can sell it again for first rights. For example, you can turn a 600 word piece about traveling with a dog (a chapter of your memoir book) for a dog lovers magazine, into a similar length article for a regional newspaper and then a dog food website (e-rights). Then tweak it into an 900 word article for a national newspaper. Make make some minor changes and shorten the piece a bit for a travel or and airline magazine. Each time, you are able to sell it for first rights. Continue to sell it, however look also out for new markets in other English language media overseas.

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Steven Raichlen’s brilliant coup: He wrote an article for Huffington Post Foodie Paradise: 10 Great Places to Eat in Martha’s Vineyard. In a salute to some of Steven Raichlen’s favorite local bars, restaurants, coffee shops, lobster shacks, and ice cream parlors on Martha’s Vineyard, he had his characters visit the same places which he usually patronizes with his wife. He writes in this article: “I hope you’ll discover them by reading “Island Apart”. And then he gives even a link to his book on Amazon, explaining that it is now available in paperback.

Writing this article, Steven Raichlen was able to mention his book to a million readership FOR FREE, as the famous Huffington Post is a blog-empire, newspaper and online news aggregator, is also ranked the most powerful blog in the world by “The Observer” and is number 42 in “The Guardian‘s” Top 100 Media List.

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Why Blogging is #1 in Gaining Readers

“Blogging is not only fun and a way to interact with your readers, but it is an important part of your social media presence”, says Edmund S. Lee, a famous content marketing specialist: “Did you know that blogging is part of a complete social media strategy? The number one reason you need to include blogging as part of your marketing strategy is because it will gain you more readers and also more customers.” He explains further: “There are a number of reasons why blogging brings an increase in website traffic and in customers. The first has to do with the art of search engine optimization, aka SEO, which means a higher ranking on Google”.

I might add: especially if you post your blog headlines regularly on Google+. And your blog gives your readers a reason to come back to your website on a regular basis. They will naturally see you as someone who provides value to their lives, which builds trust between you and your readers.

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Write guest blogs

To get the most of your guest blogging, look for a blog with an audience that’s similar to yours, but preferably with a huge readership. This way you can greatly increase the number of your visitors. A smart move is also to look for book reviewer blogs, as they are mainly read by book lovers. At the same time you make friends with the reviewer and chances are very high to get your own book reviewed. Check out a former post about guest blogging etiquette.

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It’s called content marketing …

Writing articles should become your standard operation procedure, no matter if blogs, articles for print or online – free or for a fee. Write and sell articles to newspapers, magazines and online. Reselling your work makes good business and time management sense, it cements your brand and gets your name and your books titles to a large audience. And even if you give away your articles (in exchange for email addresses of your readers) you gain something very important: Contact to your readers (and maybe reviewers) and future customers.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Article Marketing, back links, blog comments, content marketing, Forum, Guest blogging, guest posts

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/188-children-s-books
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/109753-matching-kids-to-books
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/71883-great-middle-grade-reads

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Published on July 29, 2013 18:51

Use the Dog Days of Summer to Meet Readers

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Nova Scotia South Shore Beaches

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July and August are not the best months for book sales - at least not compared to November and December. Quite a few authors are feeling the summer slump. Author Marla Madison wrote a great blog post about it and gave seven useful tips, how you can overcome the Dog Days of summer.

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Starting with “Take a break without guilt.” to “Try something new to market your writing.” and five more ideas, how you can improve your writing and develop plans for fall. Read the whole article and all the comments here.

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Today I received an email from a client who worried about dwindling book sales and lower rankings on Amazon. My suggestion: “Don’t stress yourself with rankings and sales – what is needed first, is a wide and strong basis in terms of establishing quality connections with readers and – very important – potential reviewers. It is much easier to receive reviews from someone you “know”, such as “real” people – or through solid Social Media connections.

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Social Networks

Authors need more followers, especially READERS (not fellow writers) on all Social Media sites. I am talking about at least 2,000 on each of these sites! Those who do not follow, even when you re-tweet them, un-follow after one month. Un-following 25 people per days is free. See Just Unfollow.

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On Goodreads for example, it’s even more easy: you can load Facebook, Twitter and Google+ followers over to Goodreads with one click. No matter which campaign you create – Book Giveaways on Goodreads or free KDP days on Amazon – it is crucial to have lots of followers first, who know you and will help you to let your message go viral.

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I just read recently an article by a publicist “Are you ready for publicity?” who does not accept any customer who has not at least 5,000 followers on all Social Media sites.

Do you use Hootsuite.com? Or any other site to automate part of scheduling tweets, thank you notes, welcome new followers etc.? This frees up time to interact personally with more of your followers.

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Reader Communities / Groups

There are quite a few communities / groups on Google+ and on Goodreads, where you can make connections and later! offer reviews of THEIR books – you might get the favor later reciprocated.

Let’s assume you are the author of children books, you could join these GOOGLE+ Communities:

Children’s book lovers – Google+ http://bit.ly/17NMxho
Books for EDUCATIONAL learning – Google+ http://bit.ly/13pUC7w
Readers Meet Authors And Bloggers – Google+ http://bit.ly/13S37g1

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How to find Goodreads Groups:

Click on the link Groups, on top of the site.

Type into the search function: children or young readers for example, and there are hundreds of pages!!! with groups to join, such as these:

Write and then copy/paste a friendly introduction and even include a link to your website or blog. You don’t need to spend so much time on these groups, just a nice introduction and from time to time peaking in, or exchange some thoughts and see what people are talking about.

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To invite more friends on Goodreads:

click on Explore (top right), you will see “People”, click on it, then you will see:

“Meet People”

top users

top readers

top reviewers

most popular reviewers

best reviews

online now

most followed

Invite from these sections people to follow or friend.

You can send out 25 invitations a day according to Goodreads, which means per month 750 invitations! And each one is just a click! If only half of them follow, this means more than 300 new reader friends per month. However, usually 95% become followers/friends on Goodreads, when you invite them.

Once you have more than 1000 followers/friends you can relax and just sit back, as people come to YOU! I get about 20-30 friend-offers from Goodreads every week, sometimes lots more and don’t have to look for new followers anymore. You can just choose and pick : )

Being busy during the slow summer months, working on your author platform gives you an advantage for your higher book sales in fall and winter. That’s happening for sure, when days are getting shorter and people are more at home, reading. and the holidays are rolling in.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 815 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Tagged: Dog Days of summer, GoodReads, Hootsuite, invite friends and followers, JustUnfollow.com, more followers, Social Media sites, social networks, summer slump

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Published on July 28, 2013 21:08

What’s better: 8,390 Competitors or more than 1,5 Million?

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Listen to Audio Books

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“8,390 audio books are on sale at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes”. Compare this number with more than 1,5 million print / e-books that are offered alone on Amazon. I stumbled over this sentence, when I read through the monthly Amazon KDP newsletter.

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In a former blog post: “Turn Your Book Into a Cash Cow” I wrote already about the many benefits of audio books which let you multitask, and are a great way to listen to books while driving long distance, walking the dog, or laying on the beach. And certainly a wonderful way for blind people to easily enjoy books. Audio-books can be listened to on an iPod or iPhone / SmartPhone or MP3 player, even on most e-readers such as Kindle and Nook.

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Olga Khazan wrote on Forbes.com “Now, 37 percent of people say they have listened to an audio book, and the medium continues to become an important substitute for old-fashioned reading.”

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University of Memphis professor Arthur Graesser, who studies learning and cognition points out: “We are more likely to stick with a book that we’re listening to, than one we’re reading, which would also improve our chances of retaining what’s in it.”

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Bestseller author goes audio book

Bob Mayer, a very successful author of more than 50 books, explains: “Initially, as I learned how to use ACX, (Amazons Audio Book Company) I moved slowly, with only one other title going live that month. Since then, though, as I saw sales accelerate, I began putting multiple titles into production. Just recently, my 27th title went live.” Read more about his audio book publishing on the ACX blog.

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Use your manuscript in several ways

Re-purpose your manuscript and make more out of it than just a book and an e-book. Why

not additionally create an audio-book from your novel or even from non-fiction? Audio-books

are becoming more and more popular! Your readers can listen to your audio-books, which can easily double their book consumption because they are using time that previously was not available and turning it into valuable “reading” time.

.

There are three ways of producing an audio-book:

You do it all yourself. If you are on a very tight budget you can make audios with some relatively inexpensive equipment.

You use a narrator who is specialized on audio books and who gets a percentage of royalty after production of your audio-book (for which they charge too).

You organize a professional production and keep all your royalties for yourself…

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At ACX is the whole process for authors in detail explained, including case studies, how much you will earn, contract samples and how to promote your audio-book. Check it out before you start your project!

More libraries were lending e-books and audio books last fall than the year before (76% vs. 67%). As there is not much competition in audio books, you have a good chance to get into libraries. Most audio books are priced from $8.00 and up, which also means more royalties for you as an author.

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<><><><><>

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Tagged: ACX.com, audible.com, audio books, Audiobook Creation Exchange, create your own audio book, excellent audio performers, listen to audio book, narrator specialized in audio books, voice-over artist

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Published on July 27, 2013 19:49

Do You Want 8,390 or 1,5 Million Competitors?

.

Listen to Audio Books

.

8,390 audio books are on sale at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Compare this with 1,5 million print / e-books. I just stumbled over this sentence, when I read through the monthly Amazon newsletter.

.

In a former blog post: “Turn Your Book Into a Cash Cow” I wrote already about the many benefits of audio books which let you multitask, and are a great way to listen to books while driving long distance, walking the dog, or laying on the beach. And certainly a wonderful way for blind people to easily enjoy books. Audio-books can be listened to on an iPod or iPhone / SmartPhone or MP3 player, even on most e-readers such as Kindle and Nook.

.

Olga Khazan wrote on Forbes.com “Now, 37 percent of people say they have listened to an audio book, and the medium continues to become an important substitute for old-fashioned reading.”

.

University of Memphis professor Arthur Graesser, who studies learning and cognition points out: “We are more likely to stick with a book that we’re listening to, than one we’re reading, which would also improve our chances of retaining what’s in it.”

.

Bestseller author goes audio book

Bob Mayer, a very successful author of more than 50 books, explains: “Initially, as I learned how to use ACX, (Amazons Audio Book Company) I moved slowly, with only one other title going live that month. Since then, though, as I saw sales accelerate, I began putting multiple titles into production. Just recently, my 27th title went live.” Read more about his audio book publishing on the ACX blog.

Use your manuscript in several ways

Re-purpose your manuscript and make more out of it than just a book and an e-book. Why

not additionally create an audio-book from your novel or even from non-fiction? Audio-books

are becoming more and more popular! Your readers can listen to your audio-books, which can easily double their book consumption because they are using time that previously was not available and turning it into valuable “reading” time.

.

There are three ways of producing an audio-book:

You do it all yourself. If you are on a very tight budget you can make audios with some relatively inexpensive equipment.

You use a narrator who is specialized on audio books and who gets a percentage of royalty after production of your audio-book (for which they charge too).

You organize a professional production and keep all your royalties for yourself.

.

At ACX is the whole process for authors in detail explained, including case studies, how much you will earn, contract samples and how to promote your audio-book. Check it out before you start your project!

More libraries were lending e-books and audio books last fall than the year before (76% vs. 67%). As there is not much competition in audio books, you have a good chance to get into libraries. Most audio books are priced from $8.00 and up, which also means more royalties for you as an author.

.

<><><><><>

.

If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 820 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Tagged: ACX.com, audible.com, audio books, Audiobook Creation Exchange, create your own audio book, excellent audio performers, listen to audio book, narrator specialized in audio books, voice-over artist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

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Published on July 27, 2013 19:49

5 Laws Writers Should Adhere

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E-Book authors, bloggers or internet writers: do you know how to stay on the right side of the (copyright) law? You don’t have to be legally trained or a lawyer to understand the laws that govern internet content and blogging. Here are the most important ones:

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1. Use of images from other websites and blogs

You do not have permission to use just any image you find on the internet. But how can you legally use images? You can simply buy royalty-free images and not have to worry about copyright. Or you can ask for permission to use it when you find an image you like on someone else’s website. A sign of good manners and a thank you to the creator is to have a link to his site and/or giving him credit.

Another great source to find free images is to visit the Creative Commons photos on sites such as Morguefile or Flickr. These photos do not have copyright restrictions and show Creative Common attributes, such as “share” or “non-commercial use.” No matter which photos you use, it’s still polite and shows professionalism, to link to the original web page or give credit to/naming the photographer.

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2. Disclose paid endorsements

Bloggers and internet content writers must be open with the fact that they are being paid to use, promote, or review a product. Do not claim to be an objective third-party when you are not. Make it perfectly clear which information is editorial and which is advertising. This also means labeling links that drive to your Amazon affiliates, or building a page that explains all of your affiliates and relationships. Hello BookBub and others in this field!

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3. Deep linking and framing

It may surprise bloggers and internet content writers whether deep linking is even legal. Deep linking is where you write a blog post and then link to another website in that post. However, you don’t link directly to the homepage: you link to a page buried on the site. From the perspective of a blogger, it makes more sense to link directly to the page that you are referring to than it does to link to the home page, and then hope the reader can find the information you are referring to.

On the other hand, deep linking and framing are such accepted SEO practices that there is no reason you should worry that someone might sue you if you deep link to their site. In fact, most people encourage the practice since it brings exposure to their site.

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4. User-developed content

Comments, reviews or guest posts on your blog, you do not own the content: – the original author owns it. The best way to deal with this issue is to create very clear terms on how you will manage user-developed content. State in your site’s terms of use: you will take the liberty to do with the comments as you please, or that you will remove them if someone requests it. You also can require a minimum amount of information so you can avoid anonymous comments or that you will delete comments if and when you close your blog. If these terms are stated clearly and openly, you shouldn’t have much of a problem when it comes to the law and user-developed content.

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5. Protect visitor’s private information

Privacy on the internet is a huge issue and people are worried that their identities will be stolen, bank accounts will be drained or that the government will watch their internet path if they don’t protect their privacy. What is your responsibility when it comes to your user’s information? Of course if you run an e-commerce site, you need to protect their information with secure pages. But what if you are simply collecting an email address? Have a clear privacy policy on your website. It could be as simple as “We promise never to rent, sell or share your email address.” Or it could be more elaborate, with an entire page dedicated to it, depending on how much information you collect.

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However what should you do when someone steals YOUR internet content?

If you are creating compelling content, someone might take it and uses it on their site. Sometimes they do it without knowing that they are breaking the law. They may even give you credit and link to your website. If you want to protect your work, send them an email and let them know that what they are doing is copyright infringement. If you are dealing with a reasonable person, they will probably apologize and take your content down. If you’re dealing with somebody who does not comply, you might consider pursuing legal action which might be difficult and expensive – if you did not register the copyright for your content.

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Register and you will receive compensation for legal costs etc.

How can you protect yourself from plagiarism? Invest $35 in your book and obtain a registered copyright. You will then be able to command a higher claim from a thief of your content/images: you can collect “Statutory Damages” plus all your Attorney fees.

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You can usually discourage people from taking your content by putting a copyright symbol on the footer of your website so it appears on every page, also your work is protected by copyright law the moment you publish it. Even if you don’t have a copyright symbol, you are still protected.

On the other hand: some authors consider the value of spreading their work through copying to be worth more than protecting and defending their rights.

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Resources:

http://www.jeremynicholl.com/blog/2011/06/13/the-10-rules-of-us-copyright-infringement/

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus71-ftcs-revised-endorsement-guideswhat-people-are-asking

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter6/6-c.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_aspects_of_hyperlinking_and_framing

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright/copyrightarticle/hypertextlinking

http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch9.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/what-every-writer-needs-to-know-about-copyright/

http://baneromics.blogspot.ca/2010/06/user-created-content-wins.html

http://ucc-usa.org/what-is-user-created-content/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/01/re-blogging-vs-copyright-infringement/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/outsmart-thieves-of-your-content-part-1/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/outsmart-thieves-of-your-content-part-2/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 815 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.