Weekend Writers Cafe - Who Wants To Write A Book?
Welcome. The cafe waiters await your orders for our signature chocolate mud cake and the beverage of your choice. Grab a chair and sit back.As usual, anything writing, blogging or business related goes. Don’t limit yourself to my question. It’s just to kickstart the discussion.
Share your progress, questions, trials and successes? Need help? Just ask. Someone is bound to have a suggestion.
What’s the best way to get a book published?
Everyone has at least one book in them, right? How about you? My problem is I have too many ideas for books. I’m working on one right now. I asked some colleagues via the wonders of Skype about the best format or approach.
- ebook
- mainstream publisher
- print on demand (POD) publisher e.g. www.lulu.com
- other variations?
One colleague suggested I should first of all decide on my desired outcome from having the book available e.g.
- speaking engagements
- to be seen as an authority on the topic
- as a launching pad for workshops
- other outcomes?
All interesting thoughts… What are your experiences or thoughts? Do you think a print book has more “credibility” than an ebook? What benefits do you see from writing a book on your area of expertise?
Let’s share some tips as I’m sure most of us are itching to write at least one book. I know some of you are way ahead with a few under your belt.
Let’s talk… let’s brainstorm… let’s write a book.
Catch me on the web - Yvonne Russell
www.growyourwritingbusiness.com
www.smallbizmentor.com
www.homebiznotes.com
Hello, Yvonne and everyone! So good to see the Writer’s Cafe open, and to see Yvonne getting on so well after her recent struggles.
I had my book printed by iUniverse - self-publishing. It was more of a personal issue, I have always wanted to have a book published. It was not a bad experience at all. The company works with you, doing several proofs, and the process went quickly. I chose the $400 package which included some editing, a marketing kit, about 20 copies of the book, and best of all, iUniverse took care of having my book listed on over 250 websites (online booksellers).
This process worked for me because it was fast, easy, and affordable. My book is NOT in bookstores, but that is ok with me. I am proud to say that my book, The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Guide to Successful eBay Selling, bounces in and out of the top 10 eBay books on Amazon.
The best thing about having a published book on Amazon is that it is an accolade you can add to your name. Whether I am a guest on a radio show, a guest blogger, writing an article, or applying for freelance work, I can sign my name, “Suzanne Wells, author of….” and include the link to my book. The published book gives you credibility. No one really even cares that it was self-published.
I’m happy to answer any questions. But now, I am checking out the delicious Mud Cake!
Suzanne Wells
Hi Suzanne
Wow… in the top 10 eBay books at Amazon is quite an achievement. Congratulations!
Having the book listed on Amazon also saves you having to worry about keeping stock and posting it out.
Your approach sounds like a good compromise between a mainstream publisher and doing it all yourself.
How does it work if you want additional copies (after the original 20) of your own book for prizes, for others to review or for giveaways? Do you buy them at a discounted rate?
Thanks for sharing these insights and experience.
Yvonne,
I don’t think there’s one best way to get a book published. There are a number of factors that are important in deciding the best way for a particular book. I explored some of these considerations in the Self-Publishing Primer.
If you expect to sell thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies of your book, are willing to wait several years for the book to be published, and don’t mind giving up control, a mainstream New York publisher may be best … if you’re fortunate enough to write a book that falls into the tiny percentage of submissions that a publisher deems marketable.
If your book is more a niche book than a mass market book, you may want to consider a small press (an independent publisher not affiliated with any of the six mega-corporations that own all the big publishing houses).
If you want to leave a legacy for your family and share a few books with friends/colleagues, POD may be a good choice.
If you want to have control of your work (as well as total responsibility), are willing to take some risks, have a platform (speaking engagements, an easily identified and reached target market, expertise within a subject area …), then self-publishing might be your best bet.
Authors need to study the options and determine what method best meets their goals. One important thing to understand is that so-called POD publishing or publishing with a “self-publishing company” is subsidy publishing, NOT self-publishing. Publishers own their ISBNs, and if you use a subsidy publisher, the ISBN will be theirs … giving them control of the future of your book.
Lulu.com does offer an option that lets authors/publishers use their own ISBNs so you can self-publish with Lulu. However, the unit price will be a big obstacle to making significant sales. As far as I know, none of the other “POD” or “self-publishing” companies allow you to use your own ISBN.
I’m a fan of self-publishing - most of my editing clients self-publish, and I consult with authors considering or planning to self-publish. However, it is not appropriate for all writers and all books.
RE: e-book vs. print books: I recommend my clients publish both paperback and electronic editions. That simply expands your market. I never buy print books, for example, so if your book isn’t available as an e-book, I won’t (actually can’t because of vision) read it. On the other hand, there are a lot more people who won’t read e-books than there are people who won’t read print books. Limiting yourself to one or the other will cut a segment of your potential readers.
Even readers who prefer print sometimes like to buy e-books to save money. I know people who buy and read e-books first, then if they really like the book, they may buy the print edition to get it autographed.
For a book that is coming out in a few weeks, I suggested the author offer a free e-book with a pre-order. The price is the book is fairly steep, and there are a lot of photographs throughout. Readers can get a book immediately and see the photographs in color. Then they will receive a print copy when it is published. Readers get a good deal, and the author has money coming in before he has to pay the printer.
Think this post is a book yet?
Let’s hear from somebody else now.
Lillie Ammann, Writer & Editor
A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye
http://www.lillieammann.com/blog
210-344-5554
Hi Lillie
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience so generously. Interesting about the ISBN’s. I’d been reading about that.
The difference between self publishing and subsidy publishing also gets the old brain cells thinking.
I like your idea of publishing both and ebook and print version. My colleague and mentor at Know More Media is also taking that approach with his soon to be released book Visionary Blogging.
Copyright issues are no doubt a big consideration too e.g. if you want to resell the book in a different form such as an ebook.
Lots of food for thought from both yourself and Suzanne.
Thanks for joining in the conversation.
Hi, Yvonne and Lily. Yes, if you want additional hard copies of your book thru iUniverse, you just order them at a discounted rate. These are good to have at speaking events, trade shows, etc.
A marketing tip - these are coming to me now that I’ve had some coffee (it is 9 AM in the US), YOUTUBE. I posted this video a few weeks ago, and have seen huge traffic to my website and my book sales are up.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YK2OaDhVfks
Of course, you will want to use StumbleUpon to promote your book. All of these things work together. For example, I made the video, stumbled it, had my friends stumble it, etc. Offer to do guest posts on blogs whose audience may be interested in your book. Network on Facebook with groups who contain your target audience. Give away free excerpts as downloads. Make some podcasts with helpful info, an mention your book. Give them a taste, and they will want more.
Write a few follow-up ebooks (really short reports), and link to your Amazon listing - such as here-
http://www.ebaysellingcoach.com/ebooks.html
My short eBooks are really spin-offs of my first book.
You really have to be everywhere and cross promoting ALL the time. I feel overwhelmed by the internet sometimes, there are so many possibilities.
My goal/plan is to develop an audience thru all these different sites - youtube, facebook, yahoo groups, my blog subscribers, my forum - so that when I come out with something new, all it takes is a few mass emails and blog posts, and my digital products start selling. It takes work and patience - and time.
Hi Suzanne
More fantastic information. This is so energizing. Did I mention I love the Writers Cafe?
I’ve preposted a post with your YouTube video at my Home Biz Notes blog for March 31st.
You’re really onto the marketing… good stuff… sounds like the marketing part could be a book in itself for you.
I have missed the Writer’s Cafe! I have about 10 books in my head right now - I guess another will fit. The marketing part is the most fun for me. All of these things can piggyback off of one another. Such as writing articles, stumbling them, posting them on Digg, linking from ebooks and downloads, forum and group posting - the marketing can consume your whole day if you let it. Link from this to that and the other, and a potential customer can’t help but find you.
Forums are another great place to promote - there are just oodles of forums out there, and they are all so topic specific. The trick is to join, casually chat a bit for a few weeks, and then when the opportunity presents itself, you can post helpful information and mention your book or blog. Marketing is an art - and relationships are important. You don’t want to burst on the scene with “Hello, I am here, buy my book!” That is almost as much of a turn off as spamming.
I also just put my book on Amazon’s Kindle - which took about 10 minutes. If you have a published work with an ISBN, you should definitely put it on Kindle - it is free and another way to put yourself out there.
Hi Yvonne
It’s good to be back here. Sorry I couldn’t make it last week - I was busy over Easter.
The book topic is fascinating and you’ve got some great responses here from those who know. I’m going to bookmark this for future reference for sure.
I’ve got two books in the pipeline (but quite a long way back), one based on materials I’ve already written on the blog, and one new material which will take me longer. Both keep on slipping as I get caught up in other things.
I’m planning to publish through Lulu and go for the e-book and print options as Lillie suggests - with a reminder to self that I’m going to scour her site when I get closer to the final stage.
Joanna
Great to read these ideas and updates by Yvonne and others.
I’m writing two books about blog improvement. Both will be made available first as e-books and then as printed books, probably through Lulu.com or a similar site. I’m excited to get them done and released. I never thought they could require so much energy and time!
I’m doing them as print books for the folks who won’t touch e-books - even among bloggers I’ve talked to quite a few who say they’d much rather have a real book in their hands.
Hi, Yvonne and everyone,
Felt the excitement of you all (with Lillie, Joanna, Suzanne and Easton) as you talk about your books - published or about to be published. Wow, I better start catching up - oh, no, not with the publishing or writing but with the reading, that is. (e-books, included)
But first, let me swallow this delicious mud pie.
A great weekend to everyone!
Princess
Hi Suzanne
I’d love to see you write something on marketing. You are a natural at it.
Have you had much response from your Kindle listing?
I’ve heard mixed reports about the Kindle unit itself, but apparently Amazon can’t keep up with the supply, so adding your book to Kindle is a great idea.
Welcome back Joanna.
The dual formats seem to be the way to go for a lot of people. What made you choose www.lulu.com over others?
Hi Easton
Great to have you join the conversation. Another vote for dual formats.
I’ve had people say that PR wise they’ve found a hard copy seems to add credibility. It would also be useful for workshops or to have for sale at speaking engagements.
I look forward to your upcoming books. Be sure to keep us posted when they are released.
Hi Princess
Keeping up with reading books can be a challenge. There is some great information out there.
I guess it’s a challenge to those of us who want to write a book, to make sure it stands out from the crowd, both content wise and marketing wise.
Virtual book tours are another effective way of marketing.
Hi Yvonne!
This is a really informative discussion.
Personally, I think publishing an e-book is the easiest followed by self-publishing. The downside to these approaches is that you are responsible for your own marketing. (I’ve lurked on a lot of Absolute Write forum discussions…)
Not too long ago I would have said that I didn’t want to write a book, but lately I’ve been longing to work on some of my own writing projects. It seems that I’m always writing something for someone else (have to pay the bills), but have little time to write for myself.
Hi Laura
Lots of valuable information being shared here, for sure. Marketing is a huge aspect of writing a book, so great to see some tips on that as well.
What sort of book would you like to write, Laura?
How about other Writers Cafe visitors - what type of books do you have bubbling away, in the ideas stage or well underway?
I’d also love to hear from those who have already been published.
It’s so great to see such an outpouring of ideas, experience, information and advice, from one conversation, one suggestion. This post and the great commments are already an excellent resource which I will be linking to for future reference. And don’t you love the way bloggers share so much? And it all came from your asking a good question and being willing to consider a different question in reply, then asking more widely and being willing to listen. Congratulations!
Hi, Easton and Laura, good to see you. Easton, I had no idea you were the blog “man.” Now, I’ve got to spend all weekend reading your information! You should have told me you were THE EXPERT!
I agree, I will pick a regular printed book over an eBook any day. I enjoy the experience of relaxing with a good book, cup of coffee, and spending the afternoon becoming engrossed in a new subject. But, when it comes to “how-to” eBooks, you can’t ignore the demand from the market. We live in an instant society, and people want information NOW, without delay.
I really consider my eBooks as short reports. Something I would write in an email to another person with questions about a topic I am familiar with, or what I would put into an article. In fact, that is how I became involved in selling eBooks - so many eBay sellers were asking me the same questions over and over again. eBooks were just a better way to answer FAQs than sending long email replies.
Hi Des
Thanks for stopping by. I agree that bloggers are amazingly generous with sharing.
We have a great crowd who visit the weekly Writers Cafe, as you can see from all the information in the comments.
Hi Suzanne
Yep! Easton definitely has some great tips on blogging know how. Check out his new blog at Visionary Blogging
I like your approach to providing ebooks as short reports.
I’m like you. I prefer a print version. Even with an ebook, I print it out before reading it.
Yvonne, mainly because I’ve bought some products from Lulu and been impressed by the service. It looks like a service I can get to work without too much difficulty. But I haven’t researched all other possibilities.
I have a client who’s going to publish through CreateSpace mainly because you can get listed in Amazon. When I looked at the site the publishing and formatting guidelines looked kind of tricky though. Anyone else used them?
I’m also interested in Blurb for the future - a different kind of book (not even dreamed up yet, never mind written)
Joanna
Hi Joanna
I’ve heard good reports about Lulu. If you publish through companies such as Lulu, I’m assuming you still own all rights to e.g. do an ebook version etc.
Being able to repackage the information is a big part of the writing/marketing/business strategy for an author.
Re listing at Amazon - Suzanne may be able to tell us more as she already has her book listed there, but I think you can do this yourself too. I don’t think you need to go through a specific publisher.
The link you left for Blurb certainly looks very interesting.
Sounds like you have some interesting projects on the go.
What sort of book would I write?
I guess the short answer is: a book that would make a difference.
QUESTION for those who have offered an email and print version of the same book (or would like to) -
How do you handle the links prevalent in ebooks, when you do the print version?
I have a couple books in my head. Well, ideas anyway. In the end, my dream is to be mass published and a well known author. Yeah, I know, but it’s a dream, why not dream big. I’ve never really pursued it, though so I have found this weekends cafe very helpful. Like Joanna, I am bookmarking this for that day (whenever it is) that I actully pursue my dream.
Hi Debbie
Definitely a good idea to draeam big. Pleased you’re finding the Writers Cafe helpful. We have a great crowd of talented writers hanging out here.
Spread the word.
Hi Yvonne and everyone! I was sick this weekend but hey the cafe is always open, right?
I love this topic. Initially I didn’t want to be published either until I started ghostwriting for others. I was happy for clients’ success but realized that I wanted to write books for me. I have two in the works and have decided that I will pursue self publishing also. I like Lulu (cost efficient, easy to use, print & ebook options) but a recent client used i-universe so who knows? Traditional publishing is difficult and as an unknown author if you’re lucky enough to get a deal you still have to do your own marketing. Self-publishing allows me to maintain control and if a book does well, it can lead to a traditional deal (happened for a friend of mine). Ideally, I would love to be on the Best Seller’s list and end up on Oprah’s couch discussing my novel, but I suppose that dream is shared by many.
Hi Karen
It’s never too late to visit the Writers Cafe.
Interesting how many people come to wanting to write their own book after doing ghostwriting.
Looking forward to seeing you Oprah.
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