The New Publishing Paradigm

As a writer who has been published by houses like Doubleday, Hay House and Harper San Francisco in my non-fiction life, and who has constantly been told, "You're a wonderful writer, why don't you write a different book?" in my fiction life - I am pleased to announce that none of us needs an agent or a publisher any more. It's the most wonderful, most liberating thing that has ever happened to writers since the invention of the home computer.

The illusion about the big publishers is that you will make tons of money and, while they take the bulk of the profits from your book, the publishers will do all the work to sell it. WRONG. They will take the bulk of the profits - and then you get to fight with them over covers, and you get to do all the marketing yourself, and you get to wait two or more years before it comes out. They give it three weeks to become a best seller after which you get to buy all the copies back from them. Most of the time you just get rejected. Unless you are really famous already I would suggest the new alte
ative.

Today, largely thanks to Amazon.com, and their digital development, you can write about what appeals to you. If it appeals to you chances are other people will be interested in the information so you can probably sell at least a few hundred copies. You can publish it digitally at Kindle Direct Publishing, Smashwords.com and Pubit - which is Barnes and Noble's Nook publisher - and earn some money. I publish at all three. If you need paper books you can self-publish on Amazon at Create Space. I recommend Amazon because there are so many scam artists out there. Lulu.com, Cafepress.com are reliable as well. If you use Create Space Amazon will carry your paper books - with Lulu and Cafepress that's harder if you want to make a profit on your books.

The great problem is marketing. I say that because most of the "opportunities" for marketing are costly and ineffective. But there are a number of things you can do and I will touch on a few of them here.

Have a great cover. Covers like movies are a visual art. They need to suggest the contents of the book without words. If your book is about an anthrax attack on New York - which my novel Tranquillity Initiative is - you need to suggest the New York Skyline - and something that says it's about biohazards. If you are writing a book and writing for public speakers - as my book "How To Write a Book That Positions You As An Expert In Your Field" is, you may want to suggest that it is a book for speakers by having a microphone in the background. If you can figure out how to make your title into a benefit statement that's ideal. Benefits not features are the best sellers of everything.

Pictures of you - if you aren't famous - are not recommended unless they are pictures of you doing what the book suggests. Covers are sales visuals and you need to make certain you know what you are selling and that your visual sells it. Too many words can't be read - so titles should be as sparse as possible. If you need to explain the title, it isn't a selling visual.

You need to be visible on the internet. You need to find the blogs that interest the readers who would be interested in your book and make comments often - if the comments regularly get good responses that's good for you. If the blogger will allow it put your name with a tag line after it. Right now my tag line on Huffington Post is Author of Tranquillity Initiative. That drives traffic to my book. I comment on Huffington Post every single day multiple times.

There is a HUGE difference between local networking success and the web. You may be very famous in your group and that will be good for paper sales at the back of the room - you may be invisible on the net. Make certain that you spend a number of hours every single day building name and expertise recognition on the web in the area you are writing about. Get as many followers as you possibly can on the social media and be visible on that media - not just selling your books - but commenting and participating.

I spent quite some money getting access to reviewers before I realized that reviewer lists are available for free (if you are willing to do the research) and reviews don't always translate to profits. Always ask everyone you know to review your writing and figure out how to post the reviews and teach them how to do it. Even if you send your paper book to a reviewer that does not mean they actually review it. Half of the people who asked for books for me did not review it even after I had written them a follow up letter. Reviews are important - particularly good reviews - but don't expect them to translate into sales. Reviews helps sales once you have driven the buyer to the book, they do not drive sales in and of themselves. That comes from your visibility on blog radio shows, on You Tube, on your own blog, on the blogs of dozens of other people. The more you work on the web, the higher your profile, the better your sales (like everything else)

Pricing is important. Books listed for under $5.00 sell better than books listed for more than $5.00. Books listed for $2.99 sell better than books selling for $5.00. I sell a ton of short stories for $.99. What you want is to make your book an impulse buy rather than a thought process. On the net it's a numbers game. The more you have up, the more you sell.

Those $9.99 prices that the big guys charge - that's there to support their over priced paper book prices. I have read huge complaints about the price charged by a major publisher for a digital book. You don't want to make an enemy of your followers by over charging.

The other HUGE benefit of digital publishing is that it lasts forever. Unless you're already famous your books have a bookstore life of a few weeks at best - unless you are already famous there is a real possibility they will get as lost in a book store as they do on the net. But if you can develop a digital market and a digital following your books will be up and selling forever - your children may get royalties. Unlike paper books there is no shelf life in the digital world.

Try breaking in with short books - and short stories. My book "Tranquillity Initiative" was 93,000 words. My book "Relentless: the Search For Typhoid Mary" was 52,500 words both are priced at $2.99. My short stories like "The Awakening of Susan Smith" which I wrote under the name Joan Austen because it's a different genre tha
I usually write in - is 2,500 words. It sells better because I only charge $.99 so I make up in volume what I lose in amount.

Non-Fiction sells better and easier than fiction. How Tos sell really better. My book "How To Write A Book That Positions You As An Expert In Your Field" consistently sells 5-10 times better than my novels. Of course my novels are where my heart is.

The new publishing paradigm is a feast for people who want to break into writing without waiting to become famous enough for the big publishers to notice them. It's open to everyone and it's really fun and exciting.