Category: Publishing

Publishing Basics Indies Should Know

Posted on by CMPR

Today there are millions of books published every year.  Everyone has access to the tools to publish.  However, if you don’t know how to use them properly, you could lose money and time.  For the next few weeks we will provide information on publishing basics and other tricks of the trade you need to know.

Choosing a Publishing Method

Writers have many choices when it comes to selecting a publishing method.  They can:

  1. Query agents to get presented to traditional publishers
  2. Submit directly to indie presses that accept unsolicited submissions
  3. Partner with a hybrid publisher that will handle all of the details, but writers help pay the costs of production
  4. Self-publish through Amazon, Book Baby, Ingram Spark, or Lulu
  5. Self-publish using their own editing/design team and upload the title to selling platforms on their own

Publishing Basics

No matter how you choose to publish, you will save time and money by remembering a few publishing basics.

Editing:

There are three major types of editing, Developmental, Copyediting/Line editing, and Proofreading.

  • Developmental is what helps put the book together into a cohesive narrative with a rich plot and characters.
  • Generally, copyediting is for making sure the narrative is consistent, gramatically correct, and that there are no glaring mistakes. It’s jarring to read a book with a protagonist named David, and then later he is referred to as Daniel, oops.  It happens.
  • Proofreading is for catching those typos, commas, double words, missed words, and other smaller details.

Cost: $30 – $75/hr, depending on the type of editing.  You will find editors earning much more, but your can find legitimate help at more reasonable price points.

Design:

Jackets are designed with a front cover first and then a full spread to wrap around the pages.  Interiors are also designed and digitally typeset.  If you have a table of contents, your interior designer will help paginate correctly.  Some people try to use AI tools to generate jackets.  There are also tools on Ingram Spark and Kindle Direct Publishing that can help you DIY.

Cost: Jackets $750 and up; Interior $1,000 and up depending on the length of the book and how complex the interior is.  If you do your own research you may find less expensive designers for different genres.  Then there is Fiverr, but that’s a mixed bag.

Copyright page: 

Please go to the bookstore or your shelves, and look at the interiors of other books published by traditional companies.  Copy their format so your page looks professional.  Sign up for an identifier with the Library of Congress (LOC) so a librarian will know how to shelve the book.

Cost: Free.  You do not have to pay for an LOC number and researching format will only cost you time.

Other publishing basics include getting ISBNs and bar codes for printed books.  Everything you need to know about these things you can find at Bowker.

Compare your book to the ones that catch your eye in a bookstore, so you know your book presents a professional package.  All titles require publishing basics and if writers decide to skip them, book buyers will know.

For more information on How to Publish check out our blog page and search “publishing” and “self-publishing”

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain

Tips for Promoting Your Fall Books

Posted on by CMPR

Calling all writers! 

Are you ready to start promoting your fall books?  If you publish frequently you may remember how 2020 went.  The newscycle was super fast and everyone was distracted by stories about politics and the pandemic.  Well in 2024 we don’t have the pandemic to worry about, but it’s “take two” in November and it could be brutal for books seeking mainstream attention.  However, I do have some tips and strategies that can help.

Start Promoting Your Fall Books Now

The time is now to start promoting your books for fall 2024.  To take advantage of holiday shopping season, publishers release way too many books. If you start pitching your book and you want to be on podcasts in September, this is your month.  The rule is to prepare and execute your media campaign two to three months ahead of publication.  If you have extra time and your book can be printed and sent to reviewers now, then start going after publications and longer leads as soon as you are ready. 

Some examples are:  Foreword Magazine, City Book Reviews, and Publishers Weekly.

Taboo Words in Marketing This Fall

Do not use the eight letter word that begins with “e” and ends with “n”.  Sorry to be mysterious here, but this post will not see the light of day if I use this word or individual names pertaining to the two opposing sides. (Hint: we have to choose one in November) 

Unless your work is about the event or related stories, do not write about social issues, politics, or the words and names I mentioned.  If you do have a topic related to social issues and you want to post on a Meta platform, then you will have to go through their identification and validation process. 

Here is an interesting document called the Hatch Act, which is a set of rules for content and social media for federal employees.  

Another source is theMotherhood.com which breaks down guidelines for marketers by platform.

Market to Niche Audiences via Niche Media

Dig deep for potential niche audiences that might love your book.  You may find a sweet spot in the news cycle that works, but in lieu of that try breaking down your book into multiple topics and subject areas.  This way you can look for media and influencers that cover topics like religion, parenting, video games, mental health and wellness, horses, pets, and more. Writers need to target an audience they know has an interest in a topic relating to their books.  Find out where these people are and focus on the media that can reach them.

For more book marketing tips check out these blog posts:

Publicizing a book? What to expect & when

How To Talk About Your Book for the First Time on Social Media

Amazon’s Order Policy Will Affect Indie Authors and Publishers

Posted on by CMPR

A recent article in Publishers Weekly (Amazon Stands by Books) came and went without a lot of fanfare, but independent authors and micro publishers should be paying attention.  The article is about a drop in sales due to changes in Amazon’s order policy, which the company says is a result of a cut in the warehousing of products.  However, Amazon assures publishers that they stand by books and are not planning any moves to relegate book sales to third party sellers.  For the bigger publishers, this may be comforting, but for independent presses, and authors who publish and distribute through Ingram, there may be a problem.

How Ingram Works with Amazon

Ingram is a wholesaler.  If you print books in quantity, you may have a distribution partner or you may warehouse the copies in another way.  Orders placed directly to Ingram will be fulfilled according to the terms you have set.  If you are a Print-on-Demand publisher, then Amazon and other retailers will populate your title on their sites when you select “global distribution” as you upload your title to Ingram Spark.  An article that goes into this more deeply can be found here.

How Indies will be Affected

In the past Amazon often ordered a small quantity of print books for new titles without a distribution partner.  A dedicated sales rep could increase that number, but many indies cannot afford to pay for one.  Also, having a partner does not guarantee you will get a bigger order. 

Now, Amazon may order zero copies of a new title, unless there is a pre-order demand.  In that case Amazon may only order the number of copies required to fulfill those orders on release date.  If that happens any additional orders will take “1 – 3 weeks” to fulfill, while Amazon waits on a new bulk order.  If their algorithm does not predict many sales soon, it is possible that Amazon will not stock additional copies until an order comes in. 

Unfortunately, a traditional book distributor is not going to solve this issue either.  Recently we have been told by indie presses that there is “nothing that they can do”.  Amazon makes their decisions and they can’t be refuted. In these cases authors are linked to the market through a “middle man”.  They have to wait in the dark  for something to change.   

While this is happening, there could be second-hand sellers on Amazon offering the book as “in stock”.  They may appear as “trusted sellers”.  Some of these people could have received a review copy for free and they are turning it around to earn a few bucks.  The books could have associated shipping costs and delivery dates of several days or more.  It looks bad to prospective Prime book buyers who are trained to get their products in two days or less.  It could deter people from purchasing.

Solving Amazon’s Order Policy Problem

The most direct way for Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers to solve the problem created by Amazon’s order policy is to publish directly to their KDP platform in paperback or hardcover.  If you do this after your title has been uploaded on Ingram Spark, your Amazon upload will overwrite Ingram’s.  You can still link your ebook to your account, even if you published that format through Ingram only.  

This method ensures that Amazon will have a vested interest in your book being available on their site.  Amazon has become your printer for the format you uploaded.  Your terms selling directly on the platform will be 60/40 in your favor, the book will be Prime eligible, and you can participate in direct advertising.

For independent publishers who print in quantity and have a distribution partner, the solution is murky.  Like so many inequalities in life, POD is a lower-class option because it is, for lack of a better word, “down market” publishing.  The reason small and micro presses pay distributors is to raise their status.  In some cases these relationships make them eligible for the advantages afforded to the bigger companies.  The question is, does this relationship truly elevate a book’s status?  Is there even enough room to consider titles from small presses?

Without traditional distribution, indie press books may not be eligible for certain awards.  Also, larger media outlets such as USA Today will not consider any POD books for review.    There are over one million books published every year.  This number it too high for media outlets to cover everything that is released.  Traditional distribution may provide some access to what the Big Five publishers can do.  It will not solve the ordering issue.

What Can Authors Do?

The first thing authors need to accept is that publishing your book is Step 1.  You may think you are done, but your work is just beginning.  Authors will need to come out of their comfort zones and become entrepreneurs who have platforms and marketing plans.  In the words of one of our clients, practice “shameless self-promotion”.   

Also, authors need to consider whether they want to work with a traditional publisher, a hybrid, or do it solo.  Make it a priority to find trusted sources who will explain how things work for indies. The divide between indie and big five publishing has only gotten wider over the last few years.

A friend of mine used to say “growing older isn’t for sissies”.  Well, writing and marketing a book isn’t either.  There are no shortcuts; it takes time, costs money, and there is no single path to take.  Be informed, prepared, and patient. 

How Bookstores Work

Posted on by CMPR

All new authors want to see their books in bookstores.  Although you do need to have books available for orders, setting your sights on attracting booksellers to your title may not be the best use of your time.  Here are some things you need to know about how bookstores work.

Book Distribution

If your book is available for wholesale purchases on Ingram or in your garage, you can sell to the trade (stores).  But did you know that IF a store wants to stock your book, they might only stock one or two copies at first?  You may be convinced that without bookstores you can’t succeed, but there has got to be a better way.  If you get fifty stores to buy one or two copies you have distributed 50 – 100 books.  For an indie author or press, that method is a ton of work for not so much of a return.

Author Events

Publishers worked around the small orders by setting up big author tours, where a store would normally purchase about 20 copies for a lesser known author’s appearance.  Getting the buyers in the store to purchase them, well that’s another story.  If only two people attend an event, then most of those copies go back to the warehouse.  Big publishers pay for shipping to and from the bookstores and they take returns.

Discounts and Other Protocols

Bookstores require a wholesale discount.  On Ingram, that means discounting your book by 55%.  Ingram gets 15% and the bookstore gets 40%.  Also, you will be asked if you accept returns.  If you do not, then you will not sell wholesale copies to traditional stores.  Amazon is a different story.

Merchandising

Five stores each order two copies of your book.  Where will the copies be?  On the shelf?  Spine out?  How will people see it?  This is where merchandising comes into play.  There are several different options for shelving books including spine out, front cover facing, tables, end-caps, and displays.  All, except for spine out, usually cost money that comes from a publisher’s marketing budget.  It depends on the size of the store and how they choose to merchandise.

Don’t get me wrong, I love bookstores and I’m a browser who might see your book on a shelf–spine out.  But, when you are starting out as an author, especially in the indie world, think of alternative ways to get your books to readers.  You will be dwarfed by the big publishers and authors if you try to start out in the traditional retail marketplace.

Highways and Car Trunks

Here are a couple of examples of authors doing it differently:

E. Lynn Harris was a maverick in many ways.  He wrote ten best-selling books and you know how he started?  He sold books out of the trunk of his car.  A couple of decades ago, Harris was building his army of readers on the ground.

Michael Connelly used to meet a guy on the highway in California.  Michael would sign a couple of hundred copies of his latest hardcover so they could be sold to collectors.  This was a way of marketing and selling to a niche audience that would not be able to find a pristine, cello-wrapped copy in a store.

For more information about bookselling check out our blogs:

“When Promoting a Book is Also About Selling a New Idea”

“How Many Books Should You Be Selling?”

Get Ready to Promote Your Fall 2021 Book

Posted on by Claire McKinney

The glory of working in retail  is that you always need to think six months ahead of when your product is going to be ready.  Books are products and you want to have an opportunity to make noise leading up to the holiday shopping season.  Here is a list of things you should be doing right now to promote your Fall 2021 book.

Digital Platform

Is your social media strategy and online profile up to date?  To promote your Fall 2021 release,  you should have a plan to market yourself and your work on your social channels.   Create or polish a content calendar, and make sure you have a clear schedule of how you are going to market your content and when, leading up to the publication.

If you are not subscribed to a scheduling platform like Hootsuite, now would be a good time to set that up.  On Hootsuite you can schedule content in advance so you can make sure you are keeping to your calendar.

Review Copies for Publicity

Are you going to use digital galleys or print review copies, or both?  I recommend printing some review copies for people who still like to have a physical book.  Physical copies of the book are great for Instagram influencers.  They will often take a picture of your book when they receive it and tag you in the post.  Now you have a new, original image to use on your own digital platforms.

Lead-Time to Publicize your Fall 2021 Book

If you want reviewers and other media entities to cover your book, you need to allow four to six weeks for pitching and follow up.  When you are asked for a review copy, you need to prepare to be patient.  It can take up to three months for the book to be read and reviewed.  Sometimes you can get faster results, but in general the lead time for books is three to four months at minimum.

Interviews for online publications, radio, podcasts, and television can be pitched with a shorter amount of lead time.  But if you want to feel confident about the amount of coverage you are going to get, it is still a good idea to allow up to two months to get responses and schedule interviews.

For more information on when to publish check out our blog including this infographic on when to publish your book:

When should you publish your book? An Infographic