Source: http://selfpublishingresources.com/eleven-questions-for-today%E2%80%99s-indie-publisher-2/

Your name: D’vorah Lansky

Your website: http://BookMarketingMadeEasy.com

Your bibliography: Connect, Communicate, and Profit: Build Successful Business Relationships Online Book Marketing Made Easy: Simple Strategies for Selling Your Nonfiction Book Online Promote Your Book with Teleseminars: Simple and Affordable Ways to Turn Your Message Into Money

1. What is your background? I have a Master’s Degree in education and have taught in various places around the globe.  When my son was born I began marketing online, that was 1994. This led to many speaking opportunities and the publication of my books.

2. What led you to self-publishing? I like the control I have over to project so I can set the pace. With so many options available an author can accomplish a great deal while retaining the rights to their book.

3. What have you found to be the biggest challenge in self-publishing? Sifting through all the offerings and finding the best book cover designer, editor, etc. Some of the programs where you pay someone to do it all sound appealing. Since I am quite proficient in online marketing I don’t need the support with building sites and social media, so still looking for the right match.

4. What has been the biggest surprise about self-publishing? That an author can write a book and publish it. I thought publishing a book was a huge mystery and rare occurrence. I was delighted to find out that this is not the case.

5. What inspires you? Being around kind, positive, giving, successful people.

6. Describe your writing process. I use the “gatherer” style of writing. I like to outline my project in word or as a mindmap. I then plug in subtopics, idea, resources, etc. Next, I open up word and pop each page/idea onto it’s own page. I format the text so that everything is uniform and then I dig in and begin writing. I like to set a goal for number of sections I’ll work on during each writing session. Sometimes I’ll print off these pages and attach them to a clipboard as I often enjoy sitting in bed and writing first thing in the morning.

7. How do you stay disciplined? I actually am quite disciplined and have to force myself to go to sleep or go have fun, away from the office! To me,work, writing, marketing, meeting people, networking, IS fun!

8. What is your favorite self-marketing idea? Setting up and participating in an online Virtual Book Tour. I was inspired by the book tours of Dana Lynn Smith and Joanna Penn and set up what ended up being a very successful 21-day virtual book tour. If anyone is interested in gathering ideas for their own tour there are lots of tips and ideas right on my tour page and on my blog at http://BookMarketingMadeEasy.com

9. What advice do you have for burgeoning self-publishers? Set up a WordPress blog the foundation of your online platform. Begin promoting your book and developing your author platform when your book is just a glimmer in your eye. In this way you’ll have a strong foundation and solid relationships with people who will support you when it comes time to promote your book as well as a place for people to come to to find out more about you and your book.

10. When you’re not writing what do you do for fun? I enjoy going to the bookstore, playing cribbage, hiking, quilting, dancing, and reading.

11. What project are you currently working on? I actually am working on two projects.

1) The Third Annual Book Marketing Conference Online. Fifteen sessions with top book marketing experts.

http://BookMarketingConference.com

2) A course on Relationship Marketing for Authors that Shelley Hitz and I are teaching together.

http://www.greetingcardsforauthors.com/ecourse/

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Source: http://selfpublishingresources.com/the-business-of-publishing-four-rules-that-will-almost-guarantee-you-success/

Written by  Sue Collier

Most writers I speak to are quite passionate about the craft of writing. The business of publishing, however, is another story for many of them. But once you commit to self-publishing—if you do it right—you are no longer just an author. You are a publisher running a business.

Here are four rules to follow that will go far in ensuring you are a success:

1. Make it easy for people to do what you want them to do. This applies to individual consumers, trade customers, publicity people—everyone, everywhere. Remove the roadblocks, and you’ll have better results.

My long-time mentor and co-author of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5^th Edition, Marilyn Ross, has had extraordinary success applying this rule. It got her a feature in Modern Maturity (now known as AARP The Magazine), which at the time had a colossal circulation of 22.5 million. Here’s how it happened: Marilyn, who was promoting her book Country Bound! Trade Your Business Suit Blues for Blue Jean Dreams, scrutinized the magazine carefully to find a column that gives readers useful information. Then she wrote a piece on the five dos and the five don’ts about moving to a smaller town. She made it effortless, following the format in the magazine, adhering to the word count and other guidelines. There was nothing left for the editor to do, which made him quite happy. Such customizing can land you valuable magazine space as well.

2. Follow up. The squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease. It is constantly proven to us that we get results we never would have achieved because we continue to ask for the sale, stay visible, and be politely persistent about PR. There is a rule of seven in business. What this means is that people must hear about you seven times before they are moved to act. Calling a reviewer or a producer a couple of times then giving up is like ordering a beautiful steak dinner and walking out before it is served.

3. Apply the 80/20 rule. This says you’ll get 80 percent of your results from 20 percent of your efforts or customers. In essence, it means determine what’s working and focus on that priority. Don’t waste time on marginal paybacks. Spend 80 percent of your time pursuing the most profitable 20 percent.

4. Ask for what you want. This is perhaps the simplest rule yet the most ignored. A person will usually accommodate your wishes, assuming they are reasonable, and you let the person know what it is you want. So often we neglect to communicate our desires. Want a pleased customer to write a customer review on Amazon.com? Ask for it! Want to speak at the next annual convention of an association that parallels the topic of your book? Request to be on the program. You get the idea.

(Portions of this article have been excerpted from The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition, by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier. Writer’s Digest Books, 2010)

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Source: http://www.sideroad.com/Information_Product/environmentally-friendly.html

No doubt about it -– publishing uses a lot of paper. Over the last three years, the Green Press Initiative estimates that US book publishers have chewed up about 60 million trees. That’s just for books and just in the United States. When you add in other printed information products, such as booklets and newsletters, and bring in other countries, it’s clear that publishing creates an environmental issue that can’t be ignored.

What You Can Do to Help
An obvious remedy is to e-publish instead of printing on paper. While that will help ease some of the environmental impact, it’s still not perfect. Many customers download e-books, then print them out for easier or more portable reading. (I know I do.) And sometimes, e-publishing just won’t achieve your info product goals.

So if you really need to produce a print product, here are some environmentally-friendly options.

Choose Environmentally-Friendly Papers
There are basically three types of material for making paper:
1. Virgin fiber, which is made from fresh trees
2. Pre-consumer waste, which is composed of the scraps generated at the paper mills during the paper-making process
3. Post-consumer waste, which is the material you put in your recycling box

Virgin fiber is less than ideal, especially from old-growth forests, as trees are constantly harvested to create it. Many paper companies now certify certain *stocks as “old-growth free” so if virgin fiber is unavoidable at least try to find one of these certified types.

Recycled paper is an environmentally better choice, and these days recycled paper is often comparable in price, quality and appearance to virgin *stocks.

Admittedly, there’s been some debate about the recycling process. Some critics claim that the chemicals used to de-ink and bleach post-consumer waste only create new and different environmental problems. It’s true that toxic byproducts are created by recycling paper, however, many experts say that bleaching recycled paper takes up to 75% less chlorine than bleaching virgin fiber.

So, while recycled paper isn’t perfect either, it’s still better than virgin *stock. You save one tree for every 90 books you print on 100% post-consumer recycled *stock.

Pay Attention to the Bleach
The whiter the paper *stock, the more chlorine is needed to bleach it, so choose papers that are less bright. For book publishing, papers that are less bright are better anyway because they’re easier on the eyes for long periods of reading. If you do want a brighter *stock, look for papers that are certified “elemental chlorine free.”

Choose Uncoated *Stocks
Uncoated paper *stocks are easier and less expensive to recycle than coated *stocks. If you go with an uncoated *stock, you’ll also have a much greater variety of tree-friendly papers to choose from.

Ask Your Publisher to Participate
If you’re not self-publishing and are therefore not involved in the actual printing of your book, tell your publisher that you’d like to follow earth-friendly practices. Green Press Initiative offers a letter you can download and send to your publisher at http://www.greenpressinitiative.org

Let Readers Know
Let your readers know you support and use environmentally-friendly printing practices. In the United States, if you print on recycled *stock, you can display a recycled content logo from the American Forest and Paper Association. In Canada, if your chosen *stock contains at least 50% recycled content, with a minimum of 10% post-consumer waste, you can display the Environment Canada EcoLogo.

Jennifer Tribe is the president of Juiced Consulting, a company that helps business owners turn their expertise into money-making information products like books, special reports, teleclasses, and audiotapes and CDs. Jennifer holds a degree in journalism and has worked extensively as a writer and editor. Her articles on information products have been published in Management Magazine, Home Business Magazine, BusinessWoman Canada, and other leading publications. Subscribe to her free e-zine, Infopreneuring Strategies, at www.juiced consulting.com.

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Source: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/your-straight-forward-guide-to-publication

Don’t you wish someone could tell you how close you are to getting published? Don’t you wish someone could say, “If you just keep at it for three more years, you’re certain to make it!”?

Or, even if it would be heartbreaking, wouldn’t it be nice to be told that you’re wasting your time, so that you could move on, try another tack, or simply write what brings you personal pleasure, with no other aim in mind?

I’ve counseled thousands of writers over the years, and even if it’s not possible for me to read their work, I can usually say something definitive about what their next steps should be. I often see when they’re wasting their time.

No matter where you are on your own publishing path, it’s smart to periodically take stock of where you’re headed, and revise as necessary. Here are some steps you can take to do just that.

RECOGNIZING STEPS THAT AREN’T MOVING YOU FORWARD
Let’s start with five common time-wasting behaviors. You may be guilty of one or more. Most writers have been guilty of the first.

TIME-WASTER #1: Submitting manuscripts that aren’t your best work

Let’s be honest. We all secretly hope that some editor or agent will read our work, drop everything, and call us to say: This is a work of genius! YOU are a genius!

Few writers give up on this dream entirely, but to increase the chances of this happening, you have to give each manuscript everything you’ve got, with nothing held back. Too many writers save their best effort for some future work, as if they were going to run out of good material.

You can’t operate like that.

Every single piece of greatness must go into your current project. Be confident that your creative well is going to be refilled. Make your book better than you ever thought possible—that’s what it needs to compete. It can’t be good. “Good” gets rejected. Your work has to be the best.

How do you know when it’s ready, when it’s your best? I like how Guide to Literary Agents Editor Chuck Sambuchino typically answers this question at writing conferences: “If you think the story has a problem, it does—and any story with a problem is not ready.”

It’s common for a new writer who doesn’t know any better to send off his manuscript without realizing how much work is left to do. But experienced writers are usually most guilty of sending out work that is not ready. Stop wasting your time.

TIME-WASTER #2: Self-publishing when no one is listening

There are many reasons writers choose to self-publish, but the most common is the inability to land an agent or a traditional publisher.

Fortunately, it’s more viable than ever for a writer to be successful without a traditional publisher or agent, primarily due to the rise of e-books and e-readers. However, when writers chase self-publishing as an alternative to traditional publishing, they often have a nasty surprise in store:

No one is listening. They don’t have an audience.

Bowker estimated that in 2009, more than 760,000 new titles were “nontraditionally” published, which included print-on-demand and self-published work. How many new titles were traditionally published? About 288,000. And none of these numbers take into account the growing number of writers releasing their work in electronic-only editions.

If your goal is to bring your work successfully to the marketplace, it’s a waste of time to self-publish that work—in any format—if you haven’t yet cultivated an audience for it, or can’t market and promote it effectively through your network. Doing so will not likely harm your career in the long run, but it won’t move it forward, either.

TIME-WASTER #3: Publishing your work digitally when your audience wants print

E-books have become the darlings of the self-publishing world, and for good reason. They’re easy to create, require little investment, and can reach an international market overnight. They also allow you to experiment, to have a direct line to a readership, and to see what effectively grows that readership.

But it won’t do you a bit of good if your audience is still devoted to print. If you don’t know what format your readers prefer, then find out before you waste your time developing a product no one will read or buy.

Rework this maxim as needed for your particular audience (e.g., don’t focus on producing print if your readers favor digital).

TIME-WASTER #4: Looking for major publication of regional or niche work

The cookbook-memoir that your local church ladies produced this year is probably not appropriate for one of the major New York publishers.

That may seem obvious, but every year agents receive thousands of submissions for work that does not have national appeal, and does not deserve shelf space at every chain bookstore in the country. (And that’s typically why you get an agent: to sell your work to the big publishers, which specialize in national distribution and marketing.)

Now, if those church ladies were famous for producing the award-winning Betty Crocker recipe 20 years in a row, we’d be onto something with a national market. But few regional works have that kind of broader angle.

As a writer, one of the most difficult tasks you face is having sufficient distance from your work to understand how a publishing professional would view the market for it, or to determine if there’s a commercial angle to be exploited. You have to view your work not as something precious to you, but as a product to be positioned and sold. That means pitching your work only to the most appropriate publishing houses, even if they’re in your own backyard rather than New York City.

TIME-WASTER #5: Focusing on publishing when you should be writing

Some writers are far too concerned with queries, agents, marketing or conference-going, instead of first producing the best work possible.

Don’t get me wrong—for some types of nonfiction, it’s essential to have a platform in place before you write the book. The fact that nonfiction authors don’t typically write the full manuscript until after acceptance of their proposal (with the exception of memoir and creative nonfiction) is indicative of how much platform means to their publication.

But for everyone else (those of us who are not selling a book based solely on the proposal): Don’t get consumed with finding an agent until you’re a writer ready for publication.

And now we come to that tricky matter again. How do you know it’s that time? Let’s dig a little deeper.

EVALUATING YOUR PLACE ON THE PUBLICATION PATH
Whenever I sit down for a critique session with a writer, I ask three questions early on: How long have you been working on this manuscript, and who has seen it? Is this the first manuscript you’ve ever completed? And finally: How long have you been actively writing?

These questions help me evaluate where the writer might be on the publication path. Here are a few generalizations I can often make:

• Most first manuscript attempts are not publishable, even after revision, yet they are necessary and vital for a writer’s growth. A writer who’s just finished her first manuscript probably doesn’t realize this, and will likely take the rejection process very hard. Some writers can’t move past this rejection. You’ve probably heard experts advise that you should always start working on the next manuscript, rather than waiting to publish the first. That’s because you need to move on, and not get stuck on publishing your first attempt.
• A writer who has been working on the same manuscript for years and years—and has written nothing else—might have a motivation problem. There isn’t usually much valuable learning going on when someone tinkers with the same pages over a decade.
• Writers who have been actively writing for many years, have produced multiple full-length manuscripts, and have one or two trusted critique partners (or mentors) are often well-positioned for publication. They probably know their strengths and weaknesses, and have a structured revision process. Many such people require only luck to meet preparedness.
• Writers who have extensive experience in one medium, then attempt to tackle another (e.g., journalists tackling the novel) may overestimate their abilities to produce a publishable manuscript on the first try. That doesn’t mean their effort won’t be good, but it might not be good enough. Fortunately, any writer with professional experience will probably approach the process with more of a business mindset, a good network of contacts to help him understand next steps, and a range of tools to overcome the challenges.

Notice I have not mentioned talent. I have not mentioned creative writing classes or degrees. I have not mentioned online presence. These factors are usually less relevant in determining how close you are to publishing a book-length work.

The two things that are relevant:

1. How much time you’ve put into writing. I agree with Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule in Outliers: The key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

2. Whether you’re reading enough to understand where you are on the spectrum of quality. In his series on storytelling (available on YouTube), Ira Glass says:

The first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good. It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambitions, but it’s not that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer. Your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you. You can tell that it’s still sort of crappy. A lot of people never get past that phase. A lot of people at that point quit. … Most everybody I know who does interesting creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste [and] they could tell that what they were making wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be.

If you can’t perceive the gap—or if you haven’t gone through the “phase”—you probably aren’t reading enough. How do you develop good taste? You read. How do you understand what quality work is? You read. What’s the best way to improve your skills aside from writing more? You read. You write, and you read, and you begin to close the gap between the quality you want to achieve, and the quality you can achieve.

In short: You’ve got to produce a lot of crap before you can produce something publishable.

KNOWING WHEN IT’S TIME  TO CHANGE COURSE
I used to believe that great work would eventually get noticed—you know, that old theory that quality bubbles to the top?

I don’t believe that any more.

Great work is overlooked every day, for a million reasons. Business concerns outweigh artistic concerns. Some people are just perpetually unlucky.

To avoid beating your head against the wall, here are some questions that can help you understand when and how to change course.

1. Is your work commercially viable? Indicators will eventually surface if your work isn’t suited for commercial publication. You’ll hear things like: “Your work is too quirky or eccentric.” “It has narrow appeal.” “It’s experimental.” “It doesn’t fit the model.” Possibly: “It’s too intellectual, too demanding.” These are signs that you may need to consider self-publishing—which will also require you to find the niche audience you appeal to.

2. Are readers responding to something you didn’t expect? I see this happen all the time: A writer is working on a manuscript that no one seems interested in, but has fabulous success on some side project. Perhaps you really want to push your memoir, but it’s a humorous tip series on your blog that everyone loves. Sometimes it’s better to pursue what’s working, and what people express interest in, especially if you take enjoyment in it. Use it as a steppingstone to other things if necessary.

3. Are you getting bitter? You can’t play poor, victimized writer and expect to get published. As it is in romantic relationships, pursuing an agent or editor with an air of desperation, or with an Eeyore complex, will not endear you to them. Embittered writers carry a huge sign with them that screams, “I’m unhappy, and I’m going to make you unhappy, too.”

If you find yourself demonizing people in the publishing industry, taking rejections very personally, feeling as if you’re owed something, and/or complaining whenever you get together with other writers, it’s time to find the refresh button. Return to what made you feel joy and excitement about writing in the first place. Perhaps you’ve been focusing too much on getting published, and you’ve forgotten to cherish the other aspects. Which brings me to the overall theory of how you should, at various stages of your career, revisit and revise your publication strategy.

REVISING YOUR PUBLISHING PLAN
No matter how the publishing world changes, consider these three timeless factors as you make decisions about your next steps forward:

1. What makes you happy: This is the reason you got into writing in the first place. Even if you put this on the back burner in order to advance other aspects of your writing and publishing career, don’t leave it out of the equation for very long. Otherwise your efforts can come off as mechanistic or uninspired, and you’ll eventually burn out.

2. What earns you money: Not everyone cares about earning money from writing—and I believe that anyone in it for the coin should find some other field—but as you gain experience, the choices you make in this regard become more important. The more professional you become, the more you have to pay attention to what brings the most return on your investment of time and energy.

3. What reaches readers or grows your audience: Growing readership is just as valuable as earning money. It’s like putting a bit of money in the bank and making an investment that pays off as time passes. Sometimes you’ll want to make trade-offs that involve earning less money in order to grow readership, because it invests in your future. (E.g., for a time you might focus on building a blog or a site, rather than writing for print publication, to grow a more direct line to your fans.)

It is rare that every piece of writing you do, or every opportunity presented, can involve all three elements at once. Commonly you can get two of the three. Sometimes you’ll pursue certain projects with only one of these factors in play. You get to decide based on your priorities at any given point in time.

At the very beginning of this article, I suggested that it might be nice if someone could tell us if we’re wasting our time trying to get published.

Here’s a little piece of hope: If your immediate thought was, I couldn’t stop writing even if someone told me to give up, then you’re much closer to publication than someone who is easily discouraged. The battle is far more psychological than you might think. Those who can’t be dissuaded are more likely to reach their goals, regardless of the path they ultimately choose.

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Source: http://www.go-publish-yourself.com/archive/articles/self-publishing/jacksonc.php

Written by: CF Jackson

With the large increase of books being published by self-publishers, and the up-rise of print on demand, there is still a lot of death taking place in the publishing industry. Thus far, 175,000 books have been published in 2005.

Are you a part of this population? There are many aspects that make up these individuals. However, let us target just three that are undeniable to anyone reading this article.

As in anything we do, a large portion of it is about taking risks. Are you a risk taker? You’ve completed your manuscript or just published your novel; it is time to open the entrepreneur portion of your brain.

Risk takers do not mind the possible end result because the thought of success in pure motivation. Many writers and authors remain reclusive within the safe haven of their creativity. What makes this ideology costly? It is the slow return on their investment.

Are you wondering if you fit into this population of authors? Sure you have published your work for the whole world to read, even critique. But that is just the beginning of this venture. What makes you any different than the other hundreds of thousands of writers and authors?

Sure you can play it safe and hope your extraordinary opportunity hits you over your head. Why not become a risk taker and take it by authority?

Becoming a risk taker you must be:

— persistent

— creative

— passionate

Another obvious bludgeon death is the lack of knowledge.

Yes it is lovely to remain in your creative world and just produce book after book. Can you imagine leaving all the other hoopla for others to sort out?

No one whose a true business person would dare allow themselves to walk blind in their business. Prime examples are Oprah, Donald Trump and Bill Gates. However, many writers and authors are just that, blind.

In order to be successful, you need to be savvy on all levels in the literary industry. If you are not, just like buying a car, you are going to get taken every time. Do your homework, rather than relying on third party hearsay. Why would you find knowing unimportant? For example, POD (print on demand) writers. Many have shouted foul play. The pitch is knowing the short and long term of POD. Before signing any contract, may it be for a car, house, student loan, or what have you, the rule of thumb is to know what it says. If you do not know, you will swing at a curve ball because the only pitch you anticipated was the fastball.

To become knowledgeable:

— ask questions

— take the time to research

— make sure you understand

Lastly, the beast of all beasts, is marketing. It is amazing how many authors who are not marketing exhaustively.

This reverts back to the second point of lack of knowledge. Too many authors belief that a publisher will sign them and they will promote and market their book. Happy to inform you, that is not always the case.

This is your business and these publishers have invested enough in you, such as, advance, printing, and a brief promotion run. After this, it is the author’s job to build a website, create news releases, get interviews and so on.

There are many authors and writers out there with published works who are at a lost. Many assume self-published authors must deal with marketing and promoting. If no one has informed you, allow me: that is not true. All published authors, in any realm must market themselves.

How else will your book or novel sell without getting out to the masses? Your readers?

To market, you must:

— think-outside-the-box

— market everyday on some level

— address all angles of your novel or book

— have a user friendly website

Take a look at where you are and where you desire to be in this literary world. Determine if you are killing your publishing career.

This is going to be a challenge, but you have to have enough energy, passion, and juice to make it past the trying moments.

As a writer or author, make sure you are multi-dimensional. You are becoming an entrepreneur, so know where your hats are and when to wear them.

C.F. Jackson is the author of the ebook The Self-Publisher’s Little Black Book: The Resource Book to Self-Publishing for Writers, Authors and Poets: http://www.thepublisherslittleblackbook.com This author has been Nominated Atlanta Daily World Reader’s Choice for Author of the Year – 2005 for the suspense fiction novel, Won’t Be Denied. Visit http://www.cfjackson.us to learn more about this author and or contact.

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Source: http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book-marketing/publishing-your-book-for-mobile-readers/

Written by: Aggie Villanueva

There was a time when we only needed to format and publish our book manuscripts in print form and eBook versions for simple e-readers such as the Kindle. That day is gone.

If we don’t want to ignore a huge population of readers, we now must think beyond print and electronic pdf galleys. We also need to include apps in our publication formats (interactive eBook applications). Interactive eBook apps have already become one of the preferred reads for the under-30 reading population, and has spread quickly to all ages.

Until recently this was done mostly for children’s books, but more and more non-fiction and how-to books are published as apps to take advantage of the interactive capabilities that lends itself so readily to teaching. And you need look no further than Vook applications to see how popular this format is for fiction too. You may have even purchased some of the wonderful children’s eBook apps or Vooks for your own family.

But the best way to get a truly interactive eBook is to hire someone to format it as an app that is recognizable tosmart-phones, Apple and Android compatible mobile devices, iPads etc. This is a completely different platform and used to be too expensive for the average writer like me. But I’ve found a company who made it affordable, Digi-Tall Media, the company formatting, finalizing, helping me to distribute and assisting in marketing. Because they are affiliated with eighteen other distributors they pack some marketing power. And they have additional web presence with their online storefront.

As always, I’ve retained all rights as the self-publisher of this upcoming book. Owner Victoria Freudiger is patiently and caringly working with me as she formats it as a print, electronic eBook (for Kindle) and an interactive application she will upload for me at the Apple iTunes Store, Apple Bookstore and Android compatible apps sites. Entry Way Publishing, also Victoria Freudiger’s company, designed my book cover. The e-Book craze hit this seasoned company early on. They’re frontrunners with a great deal of knowledge and energy they’re now putting into creating interactive eBook apps too.

You can also simply Google something like “format eBooks as interactive apps” to get a list of companies that createtheseapplications. As you shop around you’ll find that creating an interactive eBook app nowadays can be comparable to the cost of professional editing and cover design, and varies into the very high end. With Entry Way Publishing I didn’t have to break the bank to break into this publishing format.

There are several ways to keep down the cost. Authors need not pay to create a mini-movie out of their books, animated to the hilt like a Disney classic.Non-fiction eBookapplications such as my how-to, in my opinion, are more effective with the simplest of interactive components.

My upcoming eBookapp, uses page-embedded videos and simple animations forhyperlinking readers to online pages with contests, updates, discussions and much more, and of course all the other eBook functionalities. Animation can be useful within most genres, used sparingly, also true for a little music and/or narration where appropriate.

The simple eBook format we’ve come to love is fantastic for the purposes of an e-reader such as the Kindle or even the Apple Bookstore. It hyperlinks us directly to web pages and reference material, allows us to bookmark and keep digital notes, see the notes of others reading the same passage, and many other popular conveniences. And now there’s a new book frontier to come to love, as millions already have.

Most of the publishing world has just recently joined us in the reader demand for simple electronic books, but doesn’t yet grasp the demand for interactive eBook apps as equally mandatory. Our industry and be slow to change. It’s up to authors to let them know we petition our books also be released in this format when called for, along with the print and eBook versions,or we’ll do it on our own.
Personally, I prefer to do just do it myself (hiring my own choice of pro’s. You know the old saying, if you want something done right…

If you’ve had experiences with creating apps of your books, such as I have with Digi-Tall-Media, please let us know. We’d love to have you share your story here.

Published at Thomas Nelson before age 30, award-winning author Aggie Villanueva is now a self-published multiple fiction & nonfiction Amazon/Kindle category bestseller, for The Rewritten Word and Rightfully Mine. Aggie founded Promotion á la Carte, author promotional services and 6 months later was voted #2 at Predators & Editors in the Promotion category. She teaches author promotion and rewriting across the Web, and is also a critically acclaimed photographic artist represented by galleries nationwide, including Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ.

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Source: http://www.letinfohelp.com/article/book-marketing/7-Steps-to-Successful-Publishing.html

The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It causes the creative juices to flow and the eyes to light up. But wait – before you begin the publishing process, know about the seven most important steps you need to know before publishing your book. Make sure that you take every step into careful consideration so that your road to success is an easy one:

1. Know why you are writing a book. Are you writing your memoirs for the family, are you writing a community cookbook, are you writing a book of regional interest or are you writing a national bestseller? All of these goals are valid, but each goal has different implications for your business plan. Know why you are writing and know that you can create that bestseller if that is your goal.

2. Treat publishing as a business. You are passing beyond the realm of author into the exciting world of publishing. You are not just a writer, you are about to become a publisher who wants to produce a profitable book, and you want to keep the profits for yourself.

3. Write a business plan. Being aware of the business aspect of publishing is not an end in itself – you need to formally write your plan. It does not need to be a fifty page document with every accounting possibility recorded, but it should outline all of the costs that you will encounter from obtaining the necessary funds to knowing the price of mailing a book. The business plan needs to account for future expenses as well as pre-publication expenses.

4. Plan for publicity and marketing. You must plan for the publicity and marketing of your book. You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it. You don’t want to print books that sit in your garage. You want to print books that will sell, sell, sell!

5. Write about a subject that you know well. Don’t write about something that you can’t talk about without effort. Write about a subject with which you are very familiar and that excites you. Writing the book will establish you as an expert in your field, so choose the topic that causes everyone you know to come to you for advice. The publicity will then be so easy that you will love being the “star”.

6. Know who will buy your book. So many authors think that “everyone” needs and should buy their books. Not so. Perhaps “everyone” needs their books, but not “everyone” will want to buy. Research and know WHO will actually WANT your book and market, market to them. They will buy!

7. Look for non-bookstore markets and do not be afraid of the large discounts. Bookstores are a hugely important market for most authors, but they are far from being the only place to sell books. There are many non-traditional markets that buy books in large quantities with no returns. This is a great market – sales made are guaranteed sales not consignment sales. Do not be afraid of the larger discounts when you make those large volume sales. The books you sell are actually SOLD.

Think how much more pleasant a journey is if you know which fork in the road will lead you to smooth driving and which fork in the road will lead you through potholes. Knowing the most effective publishing steps before you print will make your publishing career fun and profitable.

Copyright © 2003 Ink Tree Ltd.
Ink Tree Ltd. Helping writers publish, market and sell books! If there is a book inside you – profit from it. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way. Publish your own book with one-on-one expert help from publishing professionals who have created numerous bestsellers and sold hundreds of thousands of books.
Phone: 1-866-500-8733 or 403-295-3898 Email: info@inktreemarketing.com
Web: www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com

Ink Tree Ltd. is a book marketing firm that helps writers publish, market and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way.

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Many of us have heard the term “residual income” many times before. It simply means getting paid over and over for the effort you have put forth one time. In sales, I may sell a product that a customer will need over and over for many years. I can expect to earn residual commissions for that one time effort.

Imagine now, writing your own book and earning on-going royalties for many years off of that effort. Now I know the thoughts that are going through your mind, “Yeah, that would be nice, but I’m certainly no John Grisham.”

Well, you really don’t need to be in order to make an incredible living at writing and publishing. Sometimes, all it takes is a great idea. Here’s an example—Cindy Cashman took a simple idea and made over $1 million from marketing her book, Everything Men Know about Woman by Dr. Richard Harrison (her pseudonym). Here’s the funny part: All 96 pages of the book are completely blank! Women were buying her book by the caseload to give out to friends. Cindy has made enough off that one idea to completely retire.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul books have been one of the most popular series around and they are nothing more than a compilation of individual heartwarming stories. The authors, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen don’t have to write a word. For them, it means gathering these true stories under a particular theme and then having them edited.

I’m currently reading a book a friend recommended entitled Conversations with Millionaires. In it, the authors Mike Litman and Jason Oman interview several millionaires to find out their wealth producing secrets. Here’s the interesting part: The whole book was originally recorded on the Mike Litman radio show. The show was then transcribed to book format and has become an international bestseller since!

Everyone has an idea or story that could be published. The challenge is learning to market your story.

I spoke with Dan Miller recently and he reported his trip to the annual Mega Book Marketing University seminar in California proved to be very beneficial. The seminar is designed to help those who are interested in publishing information, market their books. Anyone who is interested can get this year’s audio of The 2005 Mega Book Marketing University at a fraction of what it cost to attend the actual event.

For a link to the Mega Book Marketing University seminar, please email jonthan@careercalling.com!

About the Author

Find out why Dave Ramsey recommends the program that we teach. Visit www.careercalling.com!

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Source: http://www.letinfohelp.com/article/book-marketing/8-Advantages-of-Publishing-Your-Own-Book.html

As an aspiring or an established entrepreneur, you are an expert in something, but does the rest of the world know? You have a wealth of information, experience and knowledge that you can package into a book that will benefit others. This truly is the information age and people want to know what you know.

1. A book will give you unbelievable credibility which increases the respect you will receive from customers and business associates. Wouldn’t you be more likely to purchase widgets from the business person who wrote the book on widgets? New customers are more likely to take advice from, or purchase the services/products from, an established author. Many consultants increase the levels of their business simply by writing a book on their area of expertise.

2. The typical business person might run into roadblocks when seeking media recognition and publicity for their product or service because the media tend to see this kind of exposure as advertising. However, books receive exposure in the form of reviews or features all the time. Books make great print stories and authors make great featured guests on radio and television shows. Sure beats pulling together an advertising budget.

3. Writing a book gives you instant expert status. If you wrote the book, you are now seen as the authority on that subject by others. And you are! You will have now proven that you know what you’re talking about. You will show, in writing, that you know your business area inside and out.

4. Most entrepreneurs love to hear that publishing a book can easily lead to increased fees. People will pay more to work with an established expert then someone who seems less established in a business. Your book has just given you instant added credentials. It would be nice to add “author of…” behind your name, wouldn’t it?

5. If you are not already a consultant, a book along with your proven expert status could bring you new consulting opportunities where you can bill for your time to educate, speak to and work with other companies and individuals helping them succeed through what you know.

6. If you have a service business or you are selling products already, a book will allow you to add a product to your existing business. Expanding your line is never a bad thing and will open up all kinds of doors in your marketing plan.

7. If you aren’t already on the internet (and you should be, but that’s another article), you can add online marketing to your marketing plan with your book. There are loads of places to sell your book online and having an information product to offer will give you a second stream of revenue with huge potential.

8. Expanding your marketing opportunities and focusing on opportunities for residual income is what you should be focusing on as an entrepreneur. Quit trading your hours for dollars and start working smarter.

Your own book will be a complement and a supplement to your current business. It will also mean an additional source of revenue added to your bottom line. I’d be willing to bet that you’ve thought of writing a book at some point in your career. Almost every single person has. Use your passion. Take your knowledge, package it and sell it. People are willing to pay for what you already know.

Copyright Ó 2003 Ink Tree Ltd.

Ink Tree Ltd. Helping writers publish, market and sell books! If there is a book inside you – profit from it. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple way. Publish your own book with one-on-one expert help from publishing professionals who have created numerous bestsellers and sold hundreds of thousands of books.

Phone: 1-866-500-8733 or 403-295-3898 Email: info@inktreemarketing.com

Web: www.moneyinpublishing.com or www.inktreemarketing.com

About the Author

Ink Tree Ltd. is a book marketing firm that helps writers publish, market and sell books. Learn everything you need to guide you from Idea to Book… to Success – the fast, easy, simple waywww.inktreemarketing.com

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