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Looking to Sell Your Book for a Good Price?
Looking to Sell Your Book for a Good Price?
Marshall Masters

Many self-publishing authors plan on eventually selling their
book to a large publisher at a good price. The fast track way to
achieve this goal is to push up the market value of a book with a
push v. pull strategy. This article shows you how to do exactly
that, using a simple Internet strategy that any self-publisher
can afford.

PUSH v. PULL EXPLAINED

Books with push like Harry Potter push customers through the
doors, and the registers go kachink, kachink. With self-
published titles, booksellers must pull customers through the
door and that costs money. Put yourself in their shoes. Giving
preference to books with built-in push makes sense.

Remember this formula: push stacks chips on your side of the
bargaining table and pull sweeps them away. With a transferable
Internet presence strategy, you can stack chips to the ceiling
just like the big boys do.

WHAT THE BIG BOYS ARE DOING

The push is on with major publishers to build market value for
their intellectual properties with the Digital Object Identifier
(DOI) system.

A DOI is a permanent Internet address for your book. No matter
how many times ownership of a book changes hands, the DOI
Internet address is permanently bound to the book, just as
tightly as the binding. This is why hundreds of big publishers
have registered over 16 million intellectual properties with the
DOI system with millions more on the way.

Who fueled the creation of the DOI system? Computer experts?
No. From a market asset valuation standpoint, that makes as much
as sense as going to a Sushi Chef for a vasectomy. (Better idea
- get the Sushi afterwards!)

Rather, it was senior publishing executives and their financial
gurus who pushed for the creation of the DOI system. When you
sit down at the bargaining table with a DOI, you'll be talking
their language.

PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS

The Internet is like an elephant, it remembers everything and it
can remember a lot! You can always include your email address or
your web site address but these things point to a business
identity - not the work, itself.

Use the same DOI on every web page, ezine article, review, blog
post, etc. and it becomes a 24/7 market value builder that
follows the work. If something changes, like your email or web
site address, one simple update is all it takes. No more
annoying "page not found" or "no such e-mail recipient" errors.

Use your DOI the right way, and every little stitch of web
presence marketing you've done becomes one more chip on
bargaining table. Remember, the big guys speak DOI.

DOI BENEFITS ARE IMMEDIATE

Getting good book reviews is so miserably hard these days,
especially for self-published authors. What if your book finally
gets that fabulous review you've hoped for long after
publication? Will it be orphaned from the book marketing
information you've already published on the Internet? No.

One quick update of your DOI and everything that it references on
the Internet will immediately begin broadcasting your fabulous
review to the online world.

START ADDING MARKET VALUE TODAY

Each day, try to add more market value to your book. A blog post
here, an ezine article there. These things cost nothing, and yet
they can push huge amounts of sales-generating traffic at your
book.

As a self-published author, you've got to keep your eyes on what
the big guys are doing, and when you can emulate them on the
cheap, you do it!

WHEN TO GET YOUR DOI

The best time to register your DOI is after your books are
available for purchase on Amazon.com and other online bookseller
sites. This way, you can create menu options in your DOI that
link to online bookseller pages for immediate sales results.

Be sure to ask your publisher or vanity press if they offer a DOI
service. One that does is Your Own World Books (Yowbooks.com).
Their Author Advantage program includes a transferable DOI.

If your publisher does not offer a DOI service, that's OK. As
the copyright holder, you can register your DOI with an
independent DOI hosting service like DOIeasylink.NET. The annual
cost of a DOI is comparable to one-month web site hosting fee.
Plus, you get a 1-page Internet response page and descriptive
menus with multiple Internet links.

USE A DOI TO HIT CRITICAL MASS

If you remember only one thing from this article, let it be this.
Think like the big boys. Use this strategy to add more market
value by continually broadcasting information on the Internet
with your DOI. Eventually, you'll hit critical mass. People
will buy your book, and large publishers will see this and be
impressed!

DOIeasylink.NET: We Add Value to Your Book Learn More: http://doieasylink.net http://dx.doi.org/10.2122/doieasylink Marshall Masters, President http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/marshall.masters Marshall Masters is a publisher, self-published author, radio personality and Internet technologist. His published titles include Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru, Gold Fever, Indigo- E.T. Connection, and Orange Blossom. He founded DOIeasylink.NET to make the DOI system available to self-publishers and small presses. Drawing upon his decades of consulting experience with notable firms such as AT&T, Oracle, HP, Lockheed and Sun Microsystems, he created a simple, affordable DOI solution self- publishers and small presses.

Successful Self Publishing-February 2007
Successful Self-Publishing
Issue 2: February, 2007


Inside this issue:
How to get your book into stores.
Pitching your book to retail bookstores and chains can be a time consuming and frustrating process. In this issue, we help prepare you for increased chances of success. Read more.

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How to get your Book into Stores

Getting your book successfully onto the shelves of a bookstore is easier said than done. Major bookstore chains are notoriously difficult to win over. Even smaller bookstores, where your chances of reaching the person with the purchase authority are more likely â€" are still very choosy and cautious. Especially when presented with new books from unknown authors.

Without the representation and backing of a major publishing house, you will be entirely responsible for every aspect of this process. Promoting your book to stores is not complicated. But it can be a long and disheartening process that requires persistence, staying power, determination, conviction and total
belief in the ‘great read’ quality of your work.


Identify your targets
The key to successfully selling into a bookstore is to start small. Identify and target smaller local bookstores and boutique stores specific to the topic of your book. Aim to saturate your entire local market place. Having a measure of regional success will also help in convincing larger chain stores that your book is a worthwhile commercial product, suitable for a national and even an international marketplace.


Develop and prepare your pitch
Initiating contact and approaching bookstore buyers in the right way is essential. Sending an initial ‘sales package’ followed up by a polite phone call, is probably the most effective platform for getting your foot in the proverbial door. The package should be based on a carefully developed sales letter, accompanied by a complimentary copy of your book.

By sending a package through the post, you are allowing the bookstore buyer time to absorb and consider your book and proposal. When you call a week later, you are then ‘warm calling’ rather than cold calling â€" as they have already had initial contact from you. They are a lot more likely to be receptive and interested. Getting your sales letter right is vital. Keep it at two pages maximum, and ensure it contains all the following core points:

* Introduction: introduce yourself and your book, and state that your reason for contact is to enquire as to their potential interest in purchasing your book
for stock.
* Book summary: a short (one paragraph) summary of the core plot of the book
* Book commercial impact: state who would want to read your book (target audience) and why (USP)
* Your credibility: clarify any background and experience you have in writing, or your specific experience and authority in the subject matter.
* Pricing proposal: put forward your proposal for the retail price of the book, and bookstore commission or preference for outright purchase.
* Business development: state that you are engaging in a comprehensive marketing programme for promotion of the book, and that the marketing plan is available for them to review.
* Guarantee: state that you will offer a full refund for books purchased outright, that do not sell within a specified timeframe (8-10 weeks)

Know what the bookstores want
Referencing to your marketing plan within the sales letter is important. It indicates your proactive and professional business approach to the sale of your book. Bookstores will want to know what you are actively doing to promote your book. They do not like to sit on dead inventory. If they feel confident that any books they buy from you can be promoted and sold through marketing and promotional activity directly driven by you â€" they are more likely to purchase.

Create strong relationships
The founding principle behind successfully selling anything is by establishing genuine and positive human connections. Taking the time to initiate and
cultivate lasting relationships with bookstore owners and buyers will dramatically increase your chances of getting your book on their shelves.

Even if initially, they feel your work is not right, by presenting yourself as a professional and credible author and self publisher â€" they are significantly more likely to be open to being pitched on any subsequent projects you may develop. Even if they do say no the first time, keep the relationship open and positive. Send a short follow-up email or letter thanking them for their time regardless. It could pay dividends in the future.

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This article has been written by Terence Tam, CEO of Book Pal, a self publishing and book printing company based in Brisbane, Australia. Terence is a self publisher himself and is a keen supporter of experienced and budding self publishers. He also specialises in print on demand books. Terence can be contacted at terence@bookpal.com.au . Also, please visit http://www.bookpal.com.au

The importance of writing articles
If you want inbound links to your site one way to do this without paying is writing articles and post them in different sites that allow you to submit articles. Writing articles is one of the best ways to promote your web site. It is one of the best ways to build the relations, credibility and to help get people to know more about you and your area of expertise is to write articles. One advantage that you can get with writing articles is that if your article get submitted it is an automatic inbound link to your site without having to add a link on your site to them. People are always looking for good articles for their websites, blogs and newsletters. By submitting your articles and allowing others to publish them free of charge you begin to develop credentials in your field and essentially "brand" yourself through your name. Make sure you submit your article on the right category and also make sure you write the articles according to their terms. If you don't follow the terms then you won't have your article publish. It is through well written articles and keeping your visitor wanting to learn more that you will see more traffic on your Web site. More traffic means more profit for you. By having lots of articles on lots of web sites around the world, you automatically rank above average on search engines because of your link popularity. All those links in the resource box back to your site can make a big difference in search engine ranking. Need traffic? Write an article. Need sales? Write an article. Need Your Name branded? Write an article. Writing newsletter articles can do all of these and more. So start writing articles Now!

Ngullen Rivera ownes an <a href="http://thearticleoutlet.com">Article Directory</a> where you can submit articles and find more than 25,000 articles for your content site: http://www.thearticleoutlet.com

One Author’s Solution For Publishing Creative Writing Output
It has never been easy to have your creative writing output accepted by traditional publishing houses. Witness these famous masters of fiction who were all obliged to take the route of shelling out hard cash to have their debut novels printed. Alexandre Dumas D.H. Lawrence Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Rice Burroughs George Bernard Shaw Gertrude Stein James Joyce John Grisham Mark Twain Mary Baker Eddy Rudyard Kipling Stephen Crane Upton Sinclair Virginia Woolf Walt Whitman William Blake Zane Grey John Grisham, incidentally, sold copies of his first novel “A Time to Killâ€� out of the boot of a car which at the outset was his sole 'vehicle' for distribution… And it is getting tougher all the time â€" even for established authors. It can be doubly frustrating when you’ve written something that you are desperate to see in print; something you want other people to read. There is always recourse to the expensive vanity publishing houses but I wouldn’t take that route come what may. Would you? Imagine my surprise then when I stumbled across the perfect solution for publishing creative output that you cannot place elsewhere. I have a string of traditionally published titles currently selling in bookstores world wide but I have an almost equal string that I have never been able to get into print. That is until now… The little known but highly reputable POD (print on demand) source I have discovered requires an initial membership fee that covers UNLIMITED titles â€" perfect bound with ISBN and free shipping to customers In a nutshell: Instead of requiring you to place an initial order for 10 to 100 books, this innovative publisher provides the first copy of your book free of charge and then prints-on-demand and ships when they receive subsequent orders from you and your customers. This website featured in the resource box below is well worth a visit especially if you are still struggling to get your first book into print. You could have your own personal library up and running in next to no time.

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction hard copy titles to his credit. http://howtoproducts-xl.com

How to Break into Print Publishing
How To Break Into Print Publishing
Copyright 2005, Michael LaRocca


The big question. Do you submit directly to the publishers, or do
you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal
evidence I've heard, it can work either way. The bottom line is,
if a publisher reads what he can sell, he'll buy it. It doesn't
matter if it comes from an author or an agent. The trick is
getting him to read it. That's always your focus.

Some people swear by agents because they're the ones who will get
you larger percentages and advances. I've decided I don't care
quite so much about that. In the case of a new author, I
sincerely doubt that'll happen anyway. I'd hate to lose my first
sale because some greedy agent asked for too much money. Not that
I believe that'll happen either.

There are also those who swear by agents because many publishers
won't look at an "unsolicited manuscript." That's true enough.
They ain't got time. They're using agents as a preliminary
screening process.

Someone recommended that once you've selected some potential
publishers, phone each one and ask how they would like to be
approached. Ask whom specifically you should address your work
to. Then you can honestly call it a "solicited manuscript."
(Always be honest in your correspondence.)

If this doesn't work, because you can't call or the secretary
refuses to cooperate and tells you things like "we only accept
material from reputable literary agents," then mail your query
letter, bio, synopsis, and sample chapter(s). They can only say
no, or they can say your query looks interesting and they want to
see the rest of the manuscript.

If you hook a publisher this way, odds are the publisher will
like for you to have an agent. So this is when you call one,
after you've hooked the publisher. The agent gets 15% for doing
practically nothing, so he'll take the job. The publisher will
become more interested when your agent phones saying he's (or
she's) looking after your interests in this matter.

The most important step is to get your presentation looking as
professional as possible. No mistakes. None. Zero. Nada. The vast
majority of rejections aren't because the story is bad, but
because the Acquisitions Editor concludes that it'll be too much
work to make it "ready to read." With new authors, publishers
usually lose money. Advertising, print inventory... don't ask
them to invest a great deal of editing time as well. They won't
do it. It's just that simple.

** THE SELECTION PROCESS **

The most important part of getting your error-free manuscript
published is choosing the right market. The best way to do this
is to read books that are aimed at the same target audience as
your own. If you want to approach publishers directly, look at
who published those books. Preferably one who publishes lots of
books in that genre, not just one or two authors. Their marketing
machine is already positioned to announce your manuscript to your
target audience, and they want more books of the type that you
write. They are your best bet.

(HOWEVER, keep in mind that you don't want to be exactly like those
authors. Then you're competition. You want to target the same
readers but with something different than those currently targeting
them. Does that make sense? No? Then we understand each other.)

Some authors thank their editors. If you're going straight to the
publishers, note the editors' names and use those, preferably
after a phone call to ensure the editor still works there. If you
can, just phone the publisher and tell whoever answers the phone
something like "I'm writing a letter to so-and-so, and I want to
be sure I'm spelling the name correctly."

If you want to approach an agent first, look in the
acknowledgements sections of those books. Some authors thank
their agents. Look up those agents and start with them. Tell them
how you found them. This might impress them by making you seem
professional, or it might not, but it can't hurt. You know they've
got a track record in your genre. They know how to sell to
publishers who are aimed at your target audience, so let them do
it.

http://www.allaboutliteraryagents.com/articlep1003.html offers
some additional advice on selecting an agent.

Whichever method you use, go in fully prepared. Meaning, work
through all the steps below before you submit anything.

** OVERVIEW **

Your aim is to convince someone who not only does not know you,
but does not want to know you, and has read too many bad books,
that your book is different. For this you need a cover letter,
bio, synopsis, and sample chapter(s) of such sublime wit, wisdom
and genius that even the most jaded and cynical editor can take
pleasure in it.

Take your time. Don't just whip up something in a day and send it
out. You're probably looking at a one or two year gap between
acceptance and publication. So in the grand scheme of things,
taking the time to make your presentation really shine won't
matter. EXCEPT, that it'll ensure you get published in the first
place.

Every publisher has "writer guidelines." Get them. Read them.
Follow them. They're using the process of elimination to get out
of reading these submissions. The first step in that process is
to bump off everyone who can't follow the guidelines. Don't be
one of them.

** PREPARING YOUR QUERY LETTER **

This will be the first impression they get of you. Make it a good
one! Edit that letter as hard as you would a manuscript, and make
it perfect. Make it good writing. Sum up your book in such a way
as to make the recipient of the letter say, "Wow, I want to read
this."

The first page of your book, along with the jacket text, are what
usually determine whether a browser buys your book or puts it
back on the shelf. As you write your query letter, think of what
you'd put on that book jacket, and work that concept into your
letter.

Never address your query letter To Whom It May Concern, Dear
Editor, or any of that. Get a name. When you find the books that
you really like, and are searching them for potential publishers,
call those publishers. Ask who edited those books. If you want to
approach the publishers directly, write to those editors.

You can find advice on writing your query letters etc. at:

www.adlerbooks.com/
www.allaboutliteraryagents.com/article1002.html
www.fearlessbooks.com/PublishingGuide.html
www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/writing_marketing_fiction
www.wga.org/craft/queryletter.html
www.writergazette.com/articles/article299.shtml
www.writing-world.com/query/query.html

The "query letter clinic" in the 2001 WRITERS MARKET is well
worth reading. If you're not going to buy the book, go to the
library and read that section of it.

(I don't know if it's in subsequent editions, since I live in
China, but I hope it is.)

With a simple bit of good writing, and we all know you can do
that since you've already written and polished your manuscript,
you'll make it past this first hurdle. The editor reads your
letter, sees nothing in it to stop him from continuing, and has
no choice.

What would stop him? Typos. Grammar. Spelling. Boredom. Or
anything that says "I write so much better than Stephen King that
he's not fit to hold my jock strap. Buy my book and we'll both
get rich."

** WRITING YOUR BIO **

Don't lie. That's the first rule. The second rule is, don't
forget any writing credits. List everything relevant you've got.
Publications in decent magazines or newspapers. Credits in TV,
films, theaters. Any literary prize you've managed to get in
adulthood. The fact that you're a Professor of English or an
editor on a sports journal.

If you have no literary background, no education, or no
respectable publications, but you spent fifteen years in solitary
confinement in a Siberian Work Camp, that might indicate that you
have a story to tell. But if you're writing about cuddly koalas
to entertain the under-five crowd, this piece of information may
be more than anyone needs to know.

You can list your credits either chronologically or from most
impressive to least impressive. Just whichever puts you in the
best light. You want to look like you're already a successful
author. You don't want to sound arrogant, but you do want to
sound confident. Keep it to a single page. You don't want to
waste anybody's time. They don't have enough. (Who does?)

If your bio is so bare of details that it's more of a liability
than an asset, forget about it. Maybe your "bio" equals only a
sentence or two, in which case you can work it into your query
letter instead of a separate document.

Your goal, remember, is to get that editor to read your synopsis
or manuscript. To judge it on its own merits. If he reads your
writing and rejects it, you gave it your best shot. Try a few
more, and if they all reject it, then think about improving your
writing. But you don't want that editor to stop reading your
submission before he gets to your writing. So, take the time to
do the query letter and bio correctly.

** WRITING YOUR SYNOPSIS **

To quote one agent, "There is no such thing as a good synopsis."
And how can there be? How do you sum up 50,000 or 100,000 words
in a page or two? I'll tell you how I do it. Very badly.

Having said that, this is your first chance to show the publisher
that you can write. Some publishers want a minimal amount of
information on first contact (query letter, bio, synopsis).
Others want to see the first chapter or two as well. Nobody wants
to see the whole manuscript at first, except those who say so in
their writers' guidelines. If you include sample chapters, the
chance of them being read depends largely on the quality of your
query letter and synopsis.

Keep your synopsis short, two pages maximum unless the writers'
guidelines say differently. Shorter is better. Pick out the theme
and the strengths of your book and, in as clever a fashion as
possible, relay these qualities in a brief chronology. The
chronology is less important than the theme because, in truth,
your only hope with a synopsis is that your theme or concept will
strike a chord with the editor or agent reading it.

If your story is funny, your synopsis should be funny. If it's a
romantic story, then your synopsis should be a romantic synopsis.
You're a writer, and here's where you can be creative.

A lot of the great works of literature do not have easily defined
stories, just fine writing and good characters. If you have no
story, then you have to sell your idea. The synopsis must have
fine, clear writing. Say how your book starts, how it ends, and
what's interesting in the middle. This isn't the time for cliffhangers.

Your sample chapter should do the main talking, but your synopsis
should offer up those clever memorable sound bites that will
linger in the editor's mind and convince him to read the sample
chapter.

** PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT **

Did I mention that your manuscript must be flawless? I'll mention
it again. Your manuscript must be flawless. Especially be sure
that the first chapters, the "hook" which you will submit, will
be the type that grabs the reader and makes him/her/it wonder
what happens next.

Beyond that, some mechanics:

If the publisher you're submitting to lists all this information
in its guidelines, you're in luck. Do what they say and they'll
read your manuscript. Fail to do so and they'll set it down
unread, even if you're the next John Grisham.

Remember, they're budgeting their time and trying to get out of
reading this stuff. Once they read it, they'll be fair. (If not,
you don't want them.) If it's good solid writing, you're in. But
until they get to the writing, they expect the worst. If you'd
seen some of the crap that comes their way, you'd be just as
pessimistic. But in the end they do love good writing or else
they'd quit that job.

If the guidelines don't tell you how to prepare the manuscript,
consider the information below as a "generic template."
Otherwise, ignore my guidelines and use theirs.

Fonts - UK publishers prefer Courier New 10pt, US publishers
prefer Times New Roman 12pt. Both are trying to ease their
eyestrain, so don't be fancy.

Paper sizes - This one's easy. Letter (8 1/2" by 11") in the US,
A4 in the rest of the world.

Binding - US publishers prefer none at all. UK publishers prefer
that you punch two holes in the side and use simple brass
fasteners to hold it all together -- ugly but effective.

Use one type of paper throughout your presentation, preferably
plain white. (If you have personal stationery that's not too
funky, you can use that for your query letter.)

The title need not appear on the beginning of every chapter, but
it's a good idea to put it on each page, along with your name and
the page number, in case the manuscript is separated or mislaid
at the publisher's.

Double-spaced text, unjustified right margins, one-inch margins
all around. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (or self
addressed envelope with IRCs) of the appropriate size if you want
your manuscript back.

Package it so it's easy to open but not all wrinkled and nasty
when it arrives at your publisher's office. No folded manuscripts
hastily stuffed into a manila envelope. No envelopes that scatter
hundreds of little brown paper shavings all over the desk.
They're opening far too many of these things, and anything that
looks "amateur" gets bumped unread.

** PUBLISHER LIST **

http://www.chinarice.org/howtogetpublished.html contains the
websites of almost 100 publishers. I recommend visiting this after
you've gone through the selection process, from books you read
and/or from a book such as WRITERS MARKET.

** AGENT LIST **

Here's some advice from the Agent Research and Evaluation
website. They define an agent as:

"...someone who makes a living selling real books to real
publishers. No one representing himself as an agent should also
claim to be a book doctor, an editor-for-hire, a book
'consultant' of any kind. They shouldn't charge any type of
'upfront' reading fee, marketing fee, evaluation fee or any other
fee apart from a commission on work sold.

"With the possible exception of certain MINIMAL office expenses,
legitimate agents NEVER handle [the expenses connected with
submitting manuscripts] as an upfront cost. Only as a billable
expense after being shown to have been incurred.

"Remember, real agents live off the commissions they make from
selling their clients' projects. Scammers live off up-front fees
for unnecessary, inadequate, or non-existent services."

This is excellent advice. Anyone can call himself an agent, get
himself listed somewhere, and tell every author who sends him a
manuscript "This is excellent. Send me some money and I'll sell
it." Then he can pocket the author's money and do absolutely
nothing.

Agents work for a percentage of your sales. It's usually 10%-20%.
An agent's source of income must be the books he sells. If the
author pays him before he closes a sale, where is his incentive
to close the sale?

Insist that your agent send you copies of all rejection letters.
A great agent should offer this without you asking, and those
rejection letters shouldn't all be undated "Dear author" or "Dear
agent" letters that don't mention you or your agent or your
manuscript by name.

Your agent should also involve you in the selection process
without you asking, even if that just means telling you "I'm
sending to this, that, and the other place." Don't let him/her
send your gothic romance to a children's publisher, etc.

If your agent is sending your stuff to the right places and it's
still getting rejected, you've done all you can do, except write
better.

http://www.chinarice.org/howtogetpublished.html contains my
resources for finding an agent in the US or the UK. If you've
been reading my other advice, you're already talking to other
authors. If you know one who's made it into print, especially
one who writes in your genre, ask which agent (and which
publisher and editor) he or she used.

** WARNINGS **

Once you have narrowed down your list of prospects, visit the
following sites to learn about the latest scams and such:

Bewares Board
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forum/index.html

Editor Report
http://www.geocities.com/editorreport/

National Writers Union
http://www.nwu.org/nwuhome.htm
Be sure to look at "Writer Alerts"

Preditors and Editors
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors

Writer Beware
http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/

Michael LaRocca's website at http://www.chinarice.org was chosen by WRITER'S DIGEST as one of The 101 Best Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. His response was to throw it out and start over again because he's insane. He teaches English at a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, and publishes the free weekly newsletter WHO MOVED MY RICE?

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Successful Self-Publishing
Successful Self-Publishing Terence Tam Issue 1: January 2007 Inside this issue: Developing a marketing plan for your book. Discover how a carefully structured marketing plan can make the world of difference to the commercial viability and success of your book project. Read more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Developing a Marketing Plan for your Book A marketing plan is a business development document designed to help you identify and plan out the actual activities that will promote and sell a product or service. It is a crucial planning tool that provides focus and check-list type clarity. Marketing programmes attempted without the backup of a proper plan, often fall victim to an unstructured, ad-hoc approach and money down the drain. Why should you develop a marketing plan for your book? A book may not seem like the kind of item relevant for the development of a marketing plan. This is definitely wrong. Your book is ultimately a product. It is a commercial item that must be promoted and distributed to a pre- targeted marketplace. Approaching the sale of your book in this professional and business-like manner is the best platform to realise any kind of commercial success. Core components of your marketing plan The marketing plan for your book does not need to be an elaborate, 20+ page document full of graphs and market research analysis. This will be your marketing plan, for your book. It does need to be a clearly written and sharply presented professional document, suitable for bookstore buyers/managers, publishers and distributors to review. However, it only needs to reflect the fundamental essentials that will influence the potential commercial success of your ‘product.’ Goals and Objectives Establishing clear goals and objectives for the commercial success that you would like to achieve from your book is the first step in the development of the overall marketing plan. Think of these goals in terms of numbers. How many units of the book do you aim to sell and over what period of time? Taking into account your estimated retail price per book, how much revenue (money made before costs and tax) and profit (money left after costs and tax) do you anticipate from your unit target? Target Audience: Who exactly are the people most likely to be interested in reading your book? Create a picture of this person in your minds eye, and describe this profile within the plan. Are they male or female readers? What age? What kind of social or economic background do they come from? What level of education are they likely to have? Unique selling proposition (USP): You now have a profile picture of the type of person most likely to read your book. Now, clearly define this next essential question â€" why would this person want to read your book? Does the book address important social issues such as politics, economy, health, war or religion? Is it going to evoke strong emotive response? Will it capture the minds and hearts of the audience? How? In what way will it strive to achieve this? The qualities that will entice your target audience are the qualities that make your book unique. These unique characteristics form the foundation of your USP. They are the core messages that should be openly and clearly emphasised in all your promotional and selling activity for the book. Study the back covers of books in your local store. How does the text describe the book? What unique statements does it emphasise to capture and hook your attention? These back covers may appear to be simple synopses, but they use the essential principles of a USP. Promotional Activities: What promotional activities will you implement to generate publicity and public awareness of your book â€" especially among your selected target audience? Will you use media, through public relations or press advertisements? Will you look for speaking or networking events relevant to your book topic? How much of a role will the internet play? Do you plan to host a book launch event? Developing a marketing plan is your opportunity to think precisely about what strategies and activities you will engage in, and structure them in a tangible form. A marketing plan also gives you the best forum to plan out the specific details for each individual activity - such as timeframes and dates, costs, essential contacts and suppliers. In summary, a marketing plan is not a ‘quick and easy’ document. It requires thought, research and planning. Developing one really should be approached as a project in its own right. I guarantee however, that the time spent will be a worthwhile investment in the commercial success of your book. It will represent all your hard work in a professional fashion, and create a strong business impression. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terence Tam is the CEO of Book Pal and is a self publisher himself. His vision is to help both experienced and budding authors self publish their books. Book Pal also prints print on demand books to help the author print the number of books they require. Please visit www.bookpal.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terence Tam is CEO of Book Pal, a company specialising in self publishing and book printing Australia wide. He is a self publisher himself. His company also excels in printing print on demand books.

Self-Publish Your Book With National Distribution
Many writers struggle with constant rejection from the publishing world. A rejection, though a part of the industry, is difficult for writers at any stage in their career. You pour your heart and soul into a book, along with hours of work, only to hear a publisher indicate that it isn?t what they are looking for at this particular time. Many books that were otherwise snubbed by traditional publishing houses have gone on to be very popular. How? It?s simple. Self-publishing is an avenue that many new, or rejected, writers pursue.

When you hear self-publishing, perhaps you think about writing a book and taking it to a printer, paying for copies and doing all of the footwork to get your new work listed with major bookstores. But, thanks to the internet and an innovative new approach to publishing, that?s no longer the case. Sure, you still have to pen the book yourself but leave the printing up to someone else. A growing number of POD (print on demand) publishers are stepping up in search of the next bestseller. Print on demand is a term used to describe a publisher who handles all of the printing aspects, but on an as-needed basis.

The best self-publishing companies offer a variety of programs with the majority of them handling the issuance of an ISBN number and getting your book cataloged with all of the major online bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, etc. In addition, when a book is issued an ISBN number, it can be ordered at any bookstore. Your book may or may not be physically stocked at your local shopping mall, but the bookstore inside will have the capability to order it as requested. As your new title is listed nationally with every major bookstore?s catalog, it will steadily surface globally as well. A year after your book is released; don?t be surprised if search engine results show that it is listed with major online bookstores across the world, including Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc.

With print on demand publishing, or self-publishing, you will have to pay a fee to get your book in print. Longtime publisher iUniverse (http://www.iUniverse.com) offers publishing packages starting at $499.00 and up. In exchange for the startup fee, the company issues a printed version of the book while the author retains all electronic rights to the work and a 3-year contract with a 1-year automatic renewal. A generous 20% royalty is offered on the sale of every book with quarterly statements mailed to the author.

If you have been turned away by traditional publishers, or simply want to retain full control over your book, it?s cover design and content, self-publishing may be the way to go. If you have never been published, it is difficult to find a traditional publisher. With self-publishing, you will have documentation of your previously published work and royalty statements to show its success. Once your book is published, get out there and promote your work. It?s the best way to take your career from new to permanent status.

Daphne is a Writer, Business Owner, Motivator and Self-Starter and full-time Mom. She started Passion Parties by Daphne in the Summer of 2005 as a hobby while working full time. It has since become a full time passion for her and hope to quit her full time job soon. She enjoys writing articles about small businesses and family and tries to motivate other women with the same desire. She can be reached at 1-877-TOY-DIVA <a href="http://www.daphnespassion.com" title="http://www.daphnespassion.com" target="_blank">http://www.daphnespassion.com</a>

Publishing Success Steps
Even if your best friend owns a top publishing company, giving you an immediate "in," this does not guarantee publishing success. First, you have to write a quality book that has a clear target audience. And your book must answer a common problem or need that audience shares. Then you have to develop a marketing plan, and stick to it for at least two years. Let's begin with the process that should commence before you write your first word. Begin by reading A LOT. Read both books you passionately love and books you can't seem to make it past page five. Then figure out what the author did in the book you loved, and what was wrong with in the book you couldn't finish. Write down these points so they are crystal clear to you. Read other people's books for inspiration and to discover what you should avoid as a writer. The next step is to plan out your book. Narrow down your subject, and then divide it into chapters. Each chapter should address a specific aspect of the problem your book is going to solve. In each chapter, break the specific aspect down into several parts. This will help your readers take in your information a bit at a time instead of overwhelming them with every bit of information clogging up the pages until they feel like they're about to go blind. It's not quite spoon-feeding the information to your readers, but it's close. The next two steps are obvious. Write your book and then revise it. And then revise it again. And perhaps again. Of course, writing is extremely hard, and writing a book can seem like an impossible task. There are many books out there that give you guidelines to help you become familiar - and even love - the process of writing and revision. Find a number of books about writing. Better yet, find a number of books about writing the specific type of book you aspire to write. These can serve as roadmaps on your writing journey. Once you've written your ebook and revised it at least twice, show it to someone else whose opinion you respect. If you're lucky enough to know a good editor, see if you have something to barter for him or her to go through your manuscript. Or join a writing group and let the other members critique your work. Then take all these ideas from other people, and revise your manuscript one last time. And then stop! Put down that pen! Get your hands off the keyboard! One of the most important steps to actually producing a book is to know when to stop writing and tinkering with it. You've finally written your ebook! Pop open the bubbly! Give yourself a night out on the town! Okay, now that this necessary celebration is out of your system, what do you do next? How to turn your ebook into Profits Ebooks are a revolutionary way to publish your book without incurring the costs of print production. All you need is a relevant and targeted subject and some inexpensive software, and you can transform your manuscript into a book. The problem, in terms of actually seeing any profits from your ebook, is that the market is overwhelmed with ebooks, and many of them are not worth the time it takes to download them. Just because the ability exists to easily produce an ebook, doesn't make it good writing. Make sure your book does not simply rehash old material. You will injure your credibility as an author by claiming to offer valuable new insights and disappointing your audience with material they've read a zillion times before. So spend enough time writing and revising your book to make sure it's of the highest quality and presents the most current information. A good book will eventually sell itself; false claims about your book will make it extremely difficult to sell any future books you may write. Assuming you have determined that you do indeed have a quality product that answers some question or need of your target audience with NEW information, how do you know how much to charge for it? Rule number 1: Set a price for your book equal to its value. An under-priced book will only give the impression that your book isn't worth very much. To figure out a fair price, estimate how much time you put into creating it and how difficult it was to transform the necessary information into understandable and engaging writing. Figure out how much your time and effort is worth, and then price it accordingly. The goal is for you to be adequately compensated for your talent, your time, and your effort. Once you've figured out a price that is high enough to convey the value of the book, but not so high as to be out of the reach of your target audience's mean budget, then it's time to offer it for sale on your website. To attract sales, you will need to develop a promotional campaign, particularly if you are an unknown author. There are multitudes of books about self-promotion that will guide you in your efforts. Choose a plan that is both creative and professional. Learn how to write a catchy yet informative press release, and send copies of your ebook to sites that specialize in ebook reviews. Learn how to write powerful sales copy, or hire someone to write it for you. This is an essential. You absolutely need excellent sales copy to sell your book. Make sure the copy includes all the reasons your target audience needs your book, and the benefits they will derive from buying it. Use graphics in your promotional materials. Beautiful graphics have the power to instantly convey the quality and value of your ebook. Graphics can also convey the amount of valuable information the book contains, and your careful attention to detail. Professional graphics sell professional books. They reassure the customer that the product is what it claims to be. Consider excerpting chapters for articles. You can offer these tidbits for free on your website as a sort of demo of your book. Include an order form for your ebook at the end of the excerpted articles. Finally, when you set-up your download link, make sure to simplify the process. It's a good idea to offer a few bonuses that make your book even more enticing to purchase, but make sure the bonuses are valuable and high quality. Too many bonuses that are basically a load of useless stuff will compromise the impression your audience has of your ebook. The goal is to convey to your audience that they are getting a quality product for a good deal. That means applying restraint, especially when it comes to adding bonus items. Too much free stuff offered diminishes your credibility. Make sure your book is a quality product. Make sure it is relevant and current. Develop an effective marketing plan that includes excellent sales copy and excerpted articles. Then offer your book for sale, and wait for your audience to discover you!

I am the owner of E-Books Download , I sell ebooks and software and templates and lots of digital downloads.... http://www.e-booksdownload.com

Write a Non-Fiction Book First to Sell More Than You Ever Dreamed!
Why do people buy non-fiction books? Most readers buy books to solve problems or help with fulfilling a need. For example, when I started speaking for a fee I went out and bought a couple of popular books about speaking. Browsing in the bookstore, I was attracted to Lilyan Wilder's book "7 Steps to Fearless Speaking" I read the back cover. I noticed she could help with 7 easy steps. I skimmed the table of contents, read a few lines and immediately liked her easy to read style. It went in my purchase basket. Because I wanted to hear from several authorities on the subject, I picked up another book by Nido R. Qubein, "How to Be a Great Communicator: In Person on Paper, and on the Podium." His cover design was white with clean lines and a personable picture of him on the front. His style of writing was not as easy to read but it still went in my purchase basket as well. Which brings us back to my original point; people buy non-fiction books to solve problems. To identify your targeted market, pinpoint a problem they have and the solution of course. Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Usually a general category problem applies to all types of markets. • Hobbies. Is your tennis game, golf game, bridge game as good as you'd like? Are you considering taking up horse-back riding? Want to improve your computer skills? What ever the case may be, your desire to improve or change your level of performance is considered the problem. • Health. The first thing you do when your doctor diagnose your cholesterol is high and you need to lose 20 pounds. You go look for a book that will walk you through step by step to lose weight or lower cholesterol. You turn to someone that has solved the problem to learn from their experience. • Mental State. Are you feeling stressful about the economy? Are you noticing unexplained physical symptoms possibly related to stress? Once again, you have a problem and you are looking for a solution in book form. Someone who has outlined easy steps or ways to de-stress in our society. • Personal Finance. Worried about lay-offs, down-sizing, retirement? Books that offer financial solutions to economic problems during shaky times are guaranteed to succeed. • Marketing. We live in a competitive society. Small business owners and managers everywhere need a growing database of customers and clients. Therefore, they seek out how to books that offers solutions on improving their advertising copy, improving their business image or their website. Each of the problem categories describes a problem and a need for a solution. The main goal of your marketing plan is to identify the problem your book solves and then present the solution. The more intense the problem and the easier you can make your solution, the more readers will seek out your book. Your task becomes to re-structure your knowledge into bite-size reader solutions. Appeal to the masses, by letting them know what's in it for them and how easy the solution is with your book. For example, let's consider the book title I mentioned earlier about speaking. The title could have been: "How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking" instead of "7 Steps to Fearless Speaking" The latter is more appealing because it alludes to only 7 steps to my solution. Don’t put it off any longer. If you wait, you can be this time next year without fulfilling your dream of writing a successful book. You have the solution. Now write it down. While you're at use the tips above and write a book that sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours. ==================

© Earma Brown, 11 year author helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Send any blank email to iscribe@writetowin.org for free mini-course 'Jumpstart Writing Your Book' or visit <a href="http://www.writetowin.org">Write a Book</a> for more book writing tips.