These are exciting times for writers. Modern techniques and new technologies speed our writing and expand our wares. There was a time when writers were rarely published in more than one edition and then those editions were limited to hardcover, softcover and mass-market paperback. Editions. Your printed “pBook” consists of words and black/white illustrations on…
Author Archives: Dan Poynter
Get Your Book Into the Chain Stores
With chain stores: it’s the author, not the book. One way to get into the chains is through the backdoor. Go to a local chain store and offer a mini seminar on your subject. We used to call these “autographings.” Then you must turn out the crowd. Remember, the store is only providing the venue….
Covers Sell Books
Packaging is everything. Each year, corporations spend more than $50 billion on product packaging and design. $50 billion, not for the products themselves or for the wrapper but $50 billion just for the design of the wrapper. Everyone judges a book by its cover. No one reads the book before they make a buying decision….
Selling Foreign-Language Rights
When you write a manuscript, you are creating a Work. The Work may be published in several different formats (editions): hardcover, softcover, audiotape, eBook, magazine condensation, newspaper serialization, movie, translations, etc. These are called “subsidiary rights.” By having your book translated into other languages, more people will benefit from your message, you will gain a…
Increasing Sales without Expanding Inventory
How can a new, one-book author-publisher reach quantity of scale? How can he or she increase sales? One way is to carry other books on the same subject, but you do not want to pay for them and a 40% discount is not enough. Instead, look for other books that compliment your book. Think: “If…
Adding Stories to your Nonfiction Book
Use anecdotes in your book. Readers remember the stories. Professional speakers have long known that their audiences not only love stories, but the yarns also amplify their message. In fact, days later, the stories (and their points) may be all audience members recall. Stories are used to illustrate a point just as effectively in nonfiction…
Know When to Call a Ghostwriter
“Writing is the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” —Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of the United States. You do not have to be a writer to be an author. According to a recent New York Times article, “On any given week, up to a half of the books on any non-fiction best-seller list are written…
Beware of Working Titles
Be careful what you make permanent. Working titles are dangerous. They can become too familiar to us while being misleading or meaningless to potential customers. Choices, a Teen Woman’s Journal for Self-awareness and Personal Planning was a hot seller and spawned a publishing company as a subsidiary for the Girls Club of Santa Barbara. The…
Be Grateful for a Bad Review
Reviews are the least expensive and most effective form of book promotion. More than 300 titles are published each day. There is no way anyone can know and rank them. That is why bookstores, libraries and readers rely so heavily on book reviews. Reviews sell books. Occasionally a book receives a negative review. The reviewer…
How to Find a Publisher
Perhaps you would rather a publisher handle the production and distribution of your book. The secret is to match your manuscript to the publisher. Better publishers specialize in one or two niche markets. They know their subjects and do not have to send your manuscript out to a reader for evaluation. They also know how…