Archaic? You bet. And still, the vast majority of New York houses embrace the model; and authors scramble to enter into these medieval contracts for the “prestige” of being “under contract.” Authors literally give their rights and souls away for the “honor” of being published by a “real” publisher. Here’s the truth: it’s very,
very difficult to get a deal that has any bones to it today. For every Tim Ferris breakout (The Four-Hour Work Week), there are 10,000 wannabes that have books fall on their written faces. Unless you, dear author, land in the top five percent, your big time publishing experience will most likely be one big time let down, sucking wind. Deals are hard to come by; every major publisher is downsizing and editors are downright fearful. We suggest you breathe deeply and consider your options.

The New Big Four Is there hope? Is there an out? Could there be a better way to get published? Absolutely, and we are here to show you why and how.
More and more authors are opting to go solo, creating their own publishing houses. Why—simply this: It’s about quality; it’s about timing; it’s about control; and it’s about money.

The quality of the books published by mainstream publishers has changed. Paper is thinner; interior designs are iffy; and editing is so-so. The reality is, today’s savvy author can create a better product, make money, and have a good time in the process. And not gasp for air.

Authors want input on how their books look and what they say. With a traditional publisher, cherished titles morph; and decisions about how the book will “look” are made without the authors input or OK. Control flies out the window.

Messages and timing are always critical—unless a book has been “fast-tracked” by a publishing house…meaning it’s being pushed to get out What’s What in Publishing Today within a few months—expect a book to be published 18 months after it’s accepted by the publisher. Eighteen months is a long time—when you want your message out now. Your hot idea could be obsolete by the time your printed word appears. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Finally, the money issue can be shocking. Traditional publishers pay between 10 and 15 percent royalties on the net or retail price of the book— it’s all in the contract—contracts after the year 2000, leaned toward the net number. Why is that important? Simply this: the average non-fiction book sells fewer than 6,500 copies. At the end of 2009, reports coming from New York indicated that overall sales for mid-list books (not the Jim Collins, Tim Ferris type of books) were in the 3,000 to 4,000 range. This won’t seed your retirement nest egg.

Indeed. The old days, are, well, old. Dinosaurian. The new model of author, as publisher, has birthed. And we think it’s a very, very good thing.

Reprinted from “Rick Frishman‘s Sunday Tips”
Subscribe at http://www.rickfrishman.com and receive Rick’s “Million Dollar Rolodex”

Although vampires are always popular, the Next Big Thing may be…mermaids. Really?

Apparently so. USA Today points to a slew of recent mermaid books, including Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale, Lost Voices, Fins Are Forever, Dreamland Social Club and Ripple. They also note that Stephanie Meyer, creator of the massively successful Twilight novels, says she is moving from vampires to mermaids.

A quick search of Amazon.com reveals dozens of new and forthcoming mermaid books. There are mermaid conventions (MerCon 2011 debuted this past month in Las Vegas) and even a mermaid camp where women can get in touch with their inner mermaids.

So mermaids are the coming thing…what does all of this mean to you, as an author?

I would never suggest that you write about something just because it is trendy. Writing about a subject in which you have no interest can be tedious, and that tedium is likely to show in the quality of your work. Worse, if you manage to churn out some serviceable prose that becomes successful, you will be stuck writing books you do not like for an audience you do not respect. However, if you are into mermaids this is your chance.

Dust off that mermaid romance you wrote five years ago and stuck in a drawer. Find the notes you made for a mermaid historical novel and get to work. If you have an interest in mermaids, this is your time.

Non-fiction writers may also find opportunities in the mermaid trend. Existing books, such as the self-help title, A Survival Guide for Landlocked Mermaids and the children’s book The Girl’s Guide to Mermaids may draw more attention. Photographer Mark Anderson’s is preparing a book version of his M: Mermaids of Hollywood app for the iPhone and Ipad with its photos of 60 celebrities as mermaids.

If you are a mermaid fan, now is the time to get your book ready for the world.

But, you say, you have no control over returns since Ingram and the bookstores return them at will without selling them. On the contrary, there are many things that we as publishers can do to eliminate returns.

The first thing to realize is that bookstores do not sell books — they display them. Any marketing they do involves promoting major titles or special events to entice people into their stores. It is up to the authors and publishers to create awareness of their specific titles. Similarly, most distributors utilize commissioned sales representatives whose income depends on selling books that are not returned, i.e., those promoted by publishers and authors. They understandably spend their time selling those titles.

Furthermore, marketing books is not simply a function of promotion. An integrated marketing mix also entails producing a saleable, properly priced product that is distributed to the right people at the right time.

Promotion is a multi-faceted marketing technique that is more complex than conducting a campaign of booksignings, media appearances and press releases. It involves finding and implementing the proper and timely balance of publicity, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling. When books are marketed properly, they remain sold.

A properly developed, non-returnable title is one that has a unique point of difference. That means it is demonstrably different from competitive titles in a way that is important to the marketplace. It is an adequately researched topic that meets an identifiable market need and is published with a good title, in the right size, with the most desirable binding and in the highest quality possible.

Of course, it must be competitively priced. Too often publishers base their title’s price on its cost. They multiply their printing cost by eight and round it off the next highest ” $ .95.” On the other hand, readers do not care what your costs are. They are looking for information or entertainment and will choose the lowest priced option (that may or may not be a book) that meets their needs. A non-returnable book is priced according to its value to the reader.

Appropriate distribution will reduce returns, too. Perhaps the most significant point to consider here is that books distributed to buyers outside the traditional bookstore markets are typically sold on a non-returnable basis. By marketing to these segments you can expend the same amount of effort to develop, price and promote a title but perhaps avoid the debilitating effect of returns.

What are these non-traditional markets? There are three major special-sales categories. The first is Special Distribution that entails selling to discount stores, book clubs and catalogs; not only the major clubs but also those dedicated to selling books in your genre. John Palmatary marketed his book It’s AboutTime to the club at http://www.christianbookclub.co.uk as did Victoria Kinnear with her children’s learning books to the club at http://www.kidsonlinebookclub.com. Jerry Labriola, author of Murders at Brent Institute, proved that fiction could be sold to libraries during his tour of New England.

A second segment is Commercial Sales. Marketing to this target involves selling books to corporations to use as premiums, gifts or incentives. For example, Rita Ippoliti approached parachute equipment manufacturers to use her book Falling Into Place as a premium. You might also consider selling your title to associations. Mark James (www.barronpublishing.com) is currently marketing his book Estate Planning Success(tm) for Pennsylvania Residents to the National Association of Financial and Estate Planners to resell in their bookstore.

The third classification is Niche Markets, or significant groups of people sharing a common interest in your title. Greg Drambour demonstrated an example of this technique by contacting spiritual centers and approaching targeted magazines and newsletters to review his book The Woodstock Bridge.

A common proverb says If it’s to be, it’s up to me, and this is especially true in book marketing. Authors and publishers cannot rely on anyone but themselves to market their books. If we do this properly we can reduce returns and at the same time increase our revenues and profits significantly.

Brian Jud is an author and creator of the Book Marketing Battle Plansä directories for special sales. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001; (800) 562-4357; brianjud@bookmarketingworks.com or visit http://www.bookmarketingworks.com

What Do the Bookstore Rankings Mean?

For those of you who don’t know, having a lower ranking is better. Like having a #1 ranking on a bestseller list, having a lower ranking on a bookstore site might mean your book has sold more copies than the higher-ranked titles…depending on several varying factors, like time on the market and number of copies sold over a certain period of time. You can’t use bookstore rankings, which were designed to tempt buyers into buying the more popular books, to gage your book’s sales. It just doesn’t work. Each bookstore has their own database criteria to move books up or down in the ranks. Some reconfigure their rankings hourly, others daily, some weekly, monthly, etc. Some bookstores claim “Customers who bought this book also purchased xyz book”…when only one copy of that book has been sold.

One bookstore employee told Author Al that, if his ranking was consistent, that meant he was selling a consistent number of books. What the bookstore employee didn’t tell him is that it could also mean he is consistently selling zero copies. If your book moves up or down in the rankings, it could simply mean that several new books were added to that particular store that day, or that several books were removed from the store that day. If your book is in the millions on Amazon.com, and suddenly jumps to 500,000…that might mean you’ve sold one book. You can read an in-depth article on what the Amazon rankings really mean here: http://www.fonerbooks.com/surfing.htm

Author Al said he knows of at least five sales of his book. Here’s the problem. There have been seven sales reported to him by his publisher and distributor. So, he’s actually been notified of more sales than he can prove occurred. But, still, he insists that his analysis of the bookstore rankings is proof that he’s being ripped off.

Well-Meaning Friends’ and Relatives’ Faux Purchases

If a friend or relative insists they’ve purchased a copy of your book, yet that sale never appears in your author account, ask to see a copy of the receipt or the book itself before accusing your publisher or distributor of theft. We’ve heard from many authors who, after accusing their publisher or distributor of theft, learned their relatives had lied about buying a copy of their book. I thought this was sad the first time I heard of it. Then I heard the same story from another author, and another, and another. Well-meaning friends and relatives sometimes fib about buying a copy so as not to hurt our feelings. I now give away free copies of my books to my relatives and never ask them to buy copies. I don’t want to put them in a position of needing to lie to me if they just really aren’t interesting in spending money on one of my books.

“New and Used” Copies on Amazon?

And what about all those “new and used” copies of your book almost instantly appearing on Amazon.com? Are those stores stocking your book? Did all those people really buy your book and put it up for sale? Unfortunately, no, they didn’t. Those ads are usually placed by small, online bookstores that have an account with Ingram. Any bookstore with an Ingram account can post listings of Ingram books for sale without buying any copies up front. If one of their customers orders a copy, only then will they order a copy from Ingram.

Ingram Reports vs. Ingram Payments

If you’re a POD author, and if your POD publisher uses Lightning (owned by Ingram), Ingram will pay your publisher for any sales around four to five months after Ingram sells those copies. However, Ingram reports sales monthly to your POD publisher. When a bookstore orders your book, that sale should show up on your publisher’s monthly report from Ingram around the first week of the following month. The exception to this would, of course, be if the bookstore failed to pay Ingram for some reason, or if fraud is suspected with the order. Your POD publisher probably won’t credit your author account for the Ingram sales until they are paid by Ingram. And, most publishers, especially the large POD publishers, won’t be able to provide you with Ingram’s sales numbers until they actually appear in your account. (You can imagine how difficult it might be for a POD publisher with thousands of authors to manually look up sales that haven’t been paid and posted to their author accounts yet.)

Ingram Reports vs. iPage

Ingram’s offers an online ordering area for bookstores called ipage. Ipage shows the number of copies of a particular book in stock as well as limited sales numbers. Sometimes, authors have access to ipage through a friend in the industry or are shown this information by a bookstore clerk. However, not all online bookstore sales appear on ipage. For example, amazon.com sales are not included in the ipage system. Ingram’s monthly reports are more accurate than ipage. Ipage is not all inclusive and you should never use ipage to estimate your total Ingram sales.

Even without the fibbing relatives, quirky bookstore databases, and smaller bookstores selling books not-in-stock, you can still test your POD publisher’s sales reporting and your distributor’s reports.

How to Test Your Publisher’s Sales Reports

What is a sure-fire way to prove that your publisher or distributor is not reporting sales to you? It’s quite simple. Order a copy of your book from an online bookstore, order a copy from your local bookstore, and order a copy from your publisher’s website. (Or, obtain copies of receipts from friends and relatives who have ordered your book through these avenues.) If you’re using a good POD publisher, the sale from their website should appear instantly in your author account. The sales for the other online bookstore and your local store should appear in the Ingram report provided to your publisher at the end of that month. They should be logged to your author account four to five months later, when Ingram pays your publisher. There could be a lag, of course, of a month or two if Ingram is reporting the sale only after the bookstore pays for that sale. But, immediately after a direct purchase from your publisher’s website, and within five months of any bookstore sales, you should have a pretty good idea if things are working correctly.

Incidentally, if your POD publisher doesn’t immediately credit your author account for sales occurring through their own website, you should shop around for another POD publisher. (Publishers who “hold” royalties on credit card orders for weeks or months for possible credit card fraud should always be avoided!)

If you do find something amiss, you should ask before accusing. Your publisher may simply have a database error in their system. As anyone with even limited computer knowledge knows, all is takes is one wrong keystroke for things to go awry in a database. Mistakes do happen, and most mistakes are honest mistakes.

If something is wrong with your sales numbers, it’s likely your publisher, not Ingram, is the one who is intentionally or unintentionally making the error. We’ve been doing business with Ingram for several years now. Having published hundreds of POD authors, we’ve had to check their system constantly, simply because authors have questions about their books’ sales. Ingram has processed tens of thousands of single-copy bookstore orders for us and we’ve never found a discrepancy in their reporting.

Don’t Assume

Most authors assume that having their book move up in the bookstore rankings means they’ve sold lots of books. This usually isn’t the case. They also assume that when Aunt Betty said she bought their book, she was telling the truth. Unfortunately, some Aunt Betties would rather tell a fib than hurt your feelings by admitting they didn’t buy your book. New POD authors also often assume that finding a list of “new and used” copies of their book for sale online means those bookstores are stocking their book. Again, that’s just not the case.

Don’t Make False Accusations

While every author is entitled to request accurate reporting on their book’s sales, serious problems can arise when an author uses false assumptions like the ones above to start accusing others of theft. When this occurs, authors may lose their publishing contract and, depending on how abusive the author becomes, may even be blacklisted in the industry. Let’s face it, salvaging a relationship when one party has falsely accused another of illegal activities is almost impossible.

Test your publisher’s sales’ reporting system first. Ask questions in a non-confrontational manner. While there are unscrupulous POD publishers out there, most are honest. Chances are you simply don’t understand the way the publisher’s, distributor’s or bookstore’s system works. Whatever you do, don’t make accusations if you don’t have the facts to back them up.

The POD publishing industry and virtual bookstores are still trying to find their place among the traditional printing presses and brick and mortar stores. They change their database all the time, not only to improve their business processes, but also to tempt customers. You can’t assume that your book is selling just because bookstores have found clever ways to make it appear to potential buyers that your book is selling.

Angela Hoy is the co-owner of WritersWeekly.com and Booklocker.com. WritersWeekly.com is the free marketing emag for writers that features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday. Booklocker.com, is rated the top POD Publisher by attorney Mark Levine. Mark’s book, The Fine Print, analyzes the contracts and services of 73 top POD and ebook publishers. Read more here: http://www.writersweekly.com/books/1804.html. Booklocker.com can publish your paperback or hardcover book in 4-6 weeks for only $217.

One author wrote to me last week complaining and claiming that inflated bookstore prices and high shipping costs were to blame for his low book sales. However, his book is the same size as many others in his genre, has the same list price in the bookstores as many others, and also has the same shipping costs. So, why are so many books selling so much better than others? No, it’s not the bookstore costs, and it’s not the shipping costs. It’s the book itself and it’s the author’s marketing prowess.

If your book is poorly written, poorly presented, doesn’t have a good hook or receives bad reviews online, your sales will suffer. If you’ve written a book for yourself instead of for a specific audience, you may soon discover that your book will not sell well, regardless of your writing skills and marketing savvy. It’s best to have a target audience in mind before devoting months or years to a book manuscript. Likewise, if you aren’t willing to market your book, if you wait for buyers to find you instead of seeking them out, and if you spend more time making excuses than pounding the virtual pavement, you can’t blame outside factors on low book sales.

If a book is good, and it’s marketed effectively and aggressively, it’s going to sell. The plain fact is this: If someone wants a book badly enough, a $1 or $2 difference in the price isn’t going to make a diddly doo of difference. They’re going to buy that book. If your book isn’t selling, it’s a good idea to talk to potential customers and ask them 1. if they didn’t buy your book, why not? and 2. if they did buy your book, would they recommend it to a friend? Why or why not?

Only through this type of market analysis can you determine why your book is not selling as well as others in its genre, size and price-range. And, don’t take the word of only one customer. You’ll need a wide variety of opinions before you can be sure of the reason for your book’s slow sales. Only then can you seek to remedy the situation and find new ways to attract future fans.

Angela Hoy is the co-owner of Booklocker.com, Inc., an author-friendly POD publisher that takes no rights, pays high royalties on a monthly basis, and treats authors like people, not numbers. Booklocker.com is happy to work with the parents of child authors! She also publishes WritersWeekly.com, the free marketing emag for writers, offering paying markets and freelance jobs every Wednesday at no charge.

Pursuing and winning book awards will give you another opportunity to reach out to the media, booksellers and agents. Awards create interest in your book, which can lead to more sales and other opportunities.  A book award may cause someone to stop in their tracks and consider picking up your book in a book store.  A book award can give you an edge and sometimes that’s all the difference you need to propel your book into bestseller territory. If you win you can say you are an “award winning author.” Doesn’t that sound better? Of course it does, and you get a little magic that comes from a third party endorsement because an authority says your work is worthy, and that’s priceless.

Most awards charge a fee to enter. Not all awards have a category for your genre and not all of these will work for every book.

Here’s a list of my Top 22 book awards worthy of your consideration.

Entering the Book of the Year Awards should definitely be on your end-of-the-year to-do list. Check it out here http://www.bookoftheyearawards.com/

Check out the National Book Critics Circle Awards and enter by December 1 http://bookcritics.org/awards/award_submissions/

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction boasts that the prize is the world’s most important literary award.  http://www.themanbookerprize.com/

The Newbery Medal was the world’s first children’s book award. Enter before December 31 http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyapp/newberyapplication.cfm

Enter to win the Caldecott Medal before December 31 for your Children’s picture book http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottapp/caldecottapplication.cfm

IACP Cookbook Awards deadline is October 29. Check out how to enter http://www.iacp.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=745

Hugo Award deadline is March 26, check out science fiction’s most prestigious award details http://www.thehugoawards.org/about/

Strive to be nominated and win the Nobel Prize in literature. Who can nominate? Professors of literature and of linguistics at universities and university colleges to name a few. (Another reason it pays to keep the ties your alma mater!) http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/nomination/

The Edgar Allan Poe Award for books submission deadline is August 15. See how to submit your book http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=Edgars-Info

FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year submission deadline is June 30 https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=22298&categoryid=74822

Enter to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction before February 2 http://www.pulitzer.org/how_to_enter

The National Book Award deadline is June 15. Learn how to submit your book here http://www.nationalbook.org/nbaentry.html

Submit your work by October 31 to win the Stonewall Book Award. Click for details http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/stonewall/index.cfm

The Deadline for the Autumn House Press award for fiction is June 30. Check it out here http://www.autumnhouse.org/contest-submissions/

Enter to win the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award deadline is December 17. Click for more details http://www.pw.org/writing_contests/hemingway_foundationpen_award

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction deadline is October 31. Check out how to enter http://www.pw.org/writing_contests/award_fiction

Get your book nominated for a Quill Award http://www.thequills.org/

Voting for the Indies Choice Book Awards ends March 31 http://www.bookweb.org/icba.html

Get your cook recommended for The Discover Great New Writers award http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/for_publishers/discover_program/discover_program.html

The Nautilus Book Award seeks books that make a difference and inspire. The deadline is February 25 http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/Guidelines_for_Entering.html#How_to_Send

Enter your ebook to win Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards by June 30 http://awardsforebooks.com/

With book trailers being an important part of all book marketing strategies be sure to enter your book trailer in the Moby Awards. They are looking for the best…and worst book trailers. Deadline in April.

http://www.mobyawards.com/

Here’s a service where you can enter several book festivals at the same time for about $50 per festival. This is absolutely the best idea.  Just do it. www.diyconvention.com. http://bookfestivals.com/PORTAL/library/entry_form.pdf

The National Indie Excellence Book Awards competition selects award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in dozens of categories. April deadline. www.indieexcellence.com

Have you written a business book? The Axiom Business Book Awards celebrate excellence in business book writing and publishing by presenting gold, silver and bronze medals in 20 business categories. They have a year-end deadline http://www.axiomawards.com/

ForeWord Reviews sponsors the Book of the Year Awards. It’s open to all independently- and self-published books released that year. There are sixty categories, and in each category a gold, silver, and bronze winner. The deadline to enter is January. Check out: www.forewordreviews.com

Need another reason to enter? Jim Cox of Midwest Book Review says, “The fact is award stickers help to convince buyers to purchase. I’ve seen this happen with librarians — when faced with two competing titles and a limited acquisition budget the librarians will take the one that won an award, any award, over the title that doesn’t have an award to its credit. I’m confident that this same phenomena works for bookstore patrons browsing the shelves as well.”

The bottom line, book awards do matter. Enter a few and let me know how it goes. If you know of another book award I should check out, please send me the details.

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.book-marketing-expert.com  or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist

Book fairs and festivals are held every season around the world so it’s a fairly easy task to locate one to promote your book. As an internet book marketing specialist, I am the first to impress on authors the new and powerful marketing avenues open to all authors on the Internet – from book websites to book trailers to social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. While these are fantastic tools when used properly, authors should never overlook opportunities to meet the reading public face-to-face.

Book fairs usually want speakers. By volunteering to speak, the author not only gains great exposure but can also add that appearance to their resume and press releases. But plan ahead; dates for panel participants, speakers and autograph sessions are arranged months in advance.

Book fairs are excellent places to interact with fellow authors, publishers, network with book industry leaders, locate the help you need such as a publicist or book editor, and learn what’s new in the marketplace. For more information about book marketing visit http://www.book-marketing-expert.com and for upcoming book events on C-SPAN2 visit: http://www.BookTV.org. For a great blog about book fairs by the LA Times go to http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/book-festivals/

Here’s a list of upcoming book fairs and events that are worthy of your attendance in 2011.

1. Harlem Book Festival, July 23, 2011, West 135^th Street, NYC www.qbr.com/

1. The Atlanta Black Book Expo, August 6, 2011 at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, GA. http://www.abbexpo.com

1. Decatur Book Festival, Sept. 2-5, 2011, Decatur, GA,  largest independent book festival in the country. Since its launch, more than 600 authors and 190,000 attendees have attended this event in downtown Decatur. http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/Community/index.php

1. Fall For the Book Festival, Sept. 18-23, 2011, George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, Fairfax, VA., sponsored by George Mason University, Fairfax County Public Library and Barnes & Noble. Attended by more than 150 authors. http://www.fallforthebook.org

1. Baltimore Book Festival, Sept. 23-25, 2011, attracts more than 100 authors.  www.baltimorebookfestival.com/

1. Sonoma County Book Festival, September 24, 2011, Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, CA. attended by thousands of book lovers. http://www.socobookfest.org

1. West Hollywood Book Fair, October 1, 2011, at West Hollywood Park, more than 180 exhibitors expected. http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org

1. Frankfurt Book Fair, October 12-16, 2011 in Frankfort, Germany. Considered the biggest book show in the world. www.book-fair.com

1. Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word October 14-16, 2011, War Memorial Plaza, Nashville, TN, attracts more than 200 authors from throughout the U.S. http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/festival/current.php

1. Texas Book Fair, October 22-23, 2011, State Capitol Building, Austin, TX, established in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, a former librarian, more than 45,000 attend. www.texasbookfestival.org/

1. Kentucky Book Fair, Saturday, November 12, 2011, Frankfort Convention Center, attended by up to 5,000 people including 150 authors http://kybookfair.org/

The bottom line: Make it a priority to visit a book fair in the coming weeks and months. You’ll be glad you did!

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, CIA Officers, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, LA Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at http://www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist

“I received a form rejection letter for a series of books I pitched to a large book publisher a couple of year ago. I just got back from Barnes and Noble and, guess what? That same publisher just launched a new series and used all my book ideas!”

We get these types of emails frequently at WritersWeekly.com. It’s a disturbing trend and one that we should all keep in mind when pitching our ideas to the masses.

Unfortunately, you can patent new products, but you can’t copyright or patent new ideas. Any magazine or book publisher can “steal” your idea and assign it to another writer. In fact, they can steal your idea and write the article or book themselves. As nasty as it sounds, it does happen. And, with so many writers on the market, editors and publishers would prefer to assign good ideas to their steady stable of freelancers rather than hire an unknown (you).

So, what’s a writer to do?

WHEN AN EDITOR/PUBLISHER STEALS
If you have a really good idea, it might be prudent to write the article before pitching it. While I never recommend writing on spec, some ideas are just too good to pitch to potential thieves without some protection. We all know when we’ve written that one outstanding piece, or had that one idea that we just knew was going to sell. If the article is already complete, you have a better chance of selling the piece. If the piece is already complete, chances are they’re not going to hire someone else to rewrite it. Second, if the article is already written and includes statements from all your sources, it will be much easier to prove they stole your material later if they use your sources for a different article. And don’t forget to copyright it! So, while it’s impossible to prove someone stole your idea, it’s pretty easy to prove if someone rewrote the same article and used the same sources.

What can you do if someone steals your article or book idea? Unfortunately, not much. If you’re not positive they stole your idea and can’t prove it, spreading rumors about their alleged theft can get you into lots of legal trouble. If you’re positive they stole your idea, article or book, you need to let them know you’ll be telling the online writing community to watch out for them. If you alert enough of us about their unethical behavior, it could make a serious dent in the quality of the queries coming into their office.

WHEN A COLLEAGUE STEALS
When I wrote How to Publish and Promote Online with MJ Rose, we interviewed many industry insiders about ebooks and print-on-demand. After the book was complete, we sent copies of the ebook to all the contributors. Before we could blink, one of those contributors wrote a book that was so similar to ours that it made our stomachs turn. Yes, that person stole our idea, and had our entire book to use as a reference. What could we do? Nothing. But you can bet they got no favors or publicity from us after that stunt. And, whenever a member of the press mentioned that person was being interviewed for an article we were to appear in, we let them know what the idea thief did. More than one reporter told me they’d dropped them from their list of sources.

WHEN A FRIEND STEALS
Think your trusted friends won’t steal from you? Think again. Just last week I found a new writing newsletter online that is so similar to WritersWeekly.com that I felt grossly violated. The sections are almost identical. It is published by someone who I thought was my friend. No, what they’re doing isn’t illegal. But, it is very unethical. Let’s face it. If your friend were very successful at something would you launch a copycat publication? No, of course you wouldn’t. Not only would it make you a louse, but it would also be really stupid, especially if your friend had been helping you promote your products to a list of 70,000 writers.

So, what can I do? Nothing. But, you can bet that person won’t be getting any future favors from us. They more than bit the hand that was feeding them. They chopped the whole hand off and ran with it. This isn’t the first time a “friend” has betrayed me and copied my books and ezine. Unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last, and it could likely happen to you, too.

While the unethical behavior of idea thieves may be legal, you don’t have to sit back and allow yourself to be violated. There are perfectly legal ways of dealing with idea thieves. I’m not a vengeful person, and I’m sure you aren’t, either. But, if you sit back and let people violate you, they’ll keep stealing from you and others until someone teaches them a hard-earned lesson.

Most people who must resort to stealing for a living don’t stay in business long. (Just look at all the firms on our Warnings pages that stole from writers and then went out of business!). Their lack of creative skills prohibits them from succeeding in an industry where creativity is required for survival. The kindest souls are always blessed with the best creative sparks and they will always succeed while the idea thieves will ultimately fail.

Angela Hoy is the co-owner of Booklocker.com and WritersWeekly.com. WritersWeekly.com features new freelance jobs and paying markets for FREE via email every Wednesday. Booklocker.com publishes print on demand and electronic books and pays the highest royalties in the industry.

I hear tell that the industry is in a state of emergency, and has been for years.  Apparently, people aren’t reading as much as they used to.  Ebook sales are climbing, but as digital books are usually cheaper to purchase than printed books, some publishers feel that books are not being sold for what they are truly worth.  Physical bookstores are struggling to stay in business while more readers are opting for the convenience and lower cost of ebooks.  Borders filed for bankruptcy; Barnes & Noble went up for sale.  Publishers are laying off employees and aren’t willing to take as many chances on new authors, making it more difficult for authors to get their work out there.  As a result, there’s an “indie revolution” happening, as independent authors who have been rejected by traditional publishers are taking it upon themselves to find other means of publication, like subsidy and self-publishing.

I’m an indie author myself, and I’ve picked up on the disgruntled and determined tone floating through my corner of the indie universe.  “Traditional publishers are the uppity enemy and we don’t need ’em!  We’re finding our own ways to get things done.”  Yet, in all of the buzz and words of doom circulating throughout the industry, there’s something valuable that is in danger of being lost, if publishers and authors are not careful.

You see, what bothers me the most is the notion that people aren’t “reading” anymore.  I believe that authors must take into account that while there may be increasing methods for people to acquire the information that they want and need, people are still going to go after the information, ultimately.  There was a time when no one had the option of listening to the radio, turning on the television, going to the movies, or browsing the Internet, as that kind of technology wasn’t around before books.  So, yes, someone today may choose the option of taking a few hours to watch a documentary instead of using those hours to read a book on the same subject, but the detail to be seen here is that the hunger for information is still there.  Humankind searches for knowledge; humankind searches for entertainment.  That’s what humans do.  But when humans turn on their televisions or click on their e-readers, what kind of content are they being provided with?

Of course publishers and booksellers must take a look at how they do business and the methods that they use as the tide in the industry changes, but they should pause to ask themselves, “Wait, what are we really looking to produce?”  They have to think about their consumers, as the people who are buying books don’t mean to merely buy them.  They mean to read them.  If publishers get into the habit of putting out loads of flashy or fad-driven but poor quality product, with the meager intent of making quick sales, then their plans will backfire.  It’s not that people no longer desire to read, but they do desire literature that is, in fact, worth reading.  Though it may sometimes take a while for consumers to catch on, they eventually realize when they are being presented with product that wasn’t thoughtfully produced, and they will consequently stop buying so much of it.

Now, I am not against fads.  We are human beings, and every so often, we need something fresh, catchy, and exciting to spark our interest.  Keeping up with fads is enjoyable, but when they fizzle out, as fads inevitably do, people are still going to long for what is timeless.  Matters that remain true to the human condition throughout generations will never get old.  When it comes to literature, humankind will always long for a well-told love story, as love never goes out of style.  Humankind will always long for accounts about conquering fears or triumphing over enemies; about the sorrow resulting from death and the joy resulting from birth; about degeneracy and righteousness, peril and pain, purpose and hope.  Someone needs to provide humankind with these accounts, attentively and intelligently.

The book industry is in danger of losing the vital core in the essence of literature if writers fail to view themselves as servants.

Yes, a writer creates because creativity is in his blood, and even if he has no audience but himself, he will create anyway, because something internal tells him that he has to.  Yes, a writer naturally learns how to cater to himself, to love what he’s written, but when his work is published for more people to see, his motives cannot remain self-serving.  The writer has now brought his work out before humanity, and if he has any true character, he will consider the needs of the people he is presenting his work to.

Publishers, booksellers, and writers would do well to see themselves as servants of the people they, well, serve—not only figuring out how to get people to buy, buy, buy, but seriously asking themselves, “How can we be of help to society, to humankind?”  Indeed, people often need literature to remind them of the incalculable value of life, so publishers and authors who want to be excellent servants won’t indifferently subject their readers to uninspired filler-content in order to get to a book’s “good parts.”  Otherwise, the art in literature is lost.

Writers needn’t be so busy scrambling to produce what they think will sell that they fail to respect the actual human beings who will be affected by the products.  Audiences are more than screaming fans or faceless wallets; they are hearts, minds, and lives who will, in due course, recognize it when what they are being served is nonsense, something with no significant value to humanity.  I would even encourage us indie authors not to get so caught up trying to put the uppity “powers that be” to shame that we lose the essence of our art, dishonoring our audiences as well as the truth of our own genius because we are not thoughtful about the quality and benefit of what we create.

We don’t want to lose our worth, the worth found in our brilliance and in the significance of what we produce for the world, and in order for us to be truly great writers, we must be servants of all.

Author, editor, and speaker Nadine C. Keels of Seattle, Washington is best known for The Song of Nadine, the lyrical poetry seen in two of her books and heard in her spoken word presentations on both local and national platforms.  Nadine has written two novels, Yella’s Prayers and World of the Innocent, and a reference for writers entitled Write Your Genius, Genius!: A Rather Quick Guide to Book Writing.  Nadine has served as editor and co-editor for a number of titles, and she is the founder of Prismatic Prospects, a communication company based in Seattle. Find Nadine online at www.prismaticprospects.wordpress.com.

Which Should You Attend?
Any publishing event can be worthwhile and exciting, but the first step is for you to evaluate what you want to get out of it. The first reason you should attend is to learn. Begin by researching possible conference/s, trade shows, and publishing events. Look through writer’s publications (Writer’s Digest, Poets and Writers) or reference guides (The Encyclopedia of Associations is excellent) and pick the shows you think you might like to attend. Then talk to others who have attended. Check the Conference website and note the Purpose and Who Should Attend sections. Does it seem like a fit for you, your book? Also check the Exhibitors List. Do the majority of them interest you? And last but not least, if you want to meet editors, agents, or publishers, will the ones that suit you be in attendance?

Go? Don’t Go?
After you have narrowed down your search, dig in deeper and ask: “Does the criteria fit me, and what I want at this time for me, my book, and my education in the independent publishing industry (not two years from now…NOW)?” Then think about the “return on investment” for you to attend, given the outlay of money, time, and energy. Do you have the budget (i.e., for registration, special events, after-hours events, speeches and workshops, accommodations, travel, per diem)? If you can answer all of these with “yes,” then you are ready to hit the road!

Advance Preparation
Unless you are going for the sheer joy of being around the literati and squeezing in some good schmooze time, decide what you want to accomplish. Make a checklist.

1. Make a plan – What sessions do you want to attend, what exhibitors do you want to visit, what after-parties, if any, will you attend, what speakers do you want to hear, do you just want to network? Make a plan but make it organic so it can change.
2. Take care of yourself pre-conference. Don’t run yourself down before attending. Shows are exhausting enough.
3. You can’t do it all. Expect that. Then expect a miracle.
4. Make appointments, if that is your goal, well enough in advance to get on people’s calendar.
5. Study the showroom floor so you know how far Exhibit Area A is from Exhibit Area D. Map out where you want to be, then you can wander in and out of Exhibit areas and not get caught in the morass of noise, presentations, and activity.

Once There
Obviously, your arrival time depends on the size of the show and whether or not you have to travel to get there. If it is the former, and, if you can, get in a day early just to get grounded. Know how to get to the venue. Driving to Book Expo of America on LA’s Highway 101, in the wrong direction, during rush hour, can jangle a person’s nerves. Once there, check your ego at the door. No explanation needed here. On the Exhibit floor, check your plan and the Exhibit floor plan; change it according to your interest level, so you can leave time for chance encounters. For planned meetings, never be late and whether orchestrated or not try not to monopolize anyone’s time, nor they yours. Your time is your currency; spend it wisely, as you can always connect with them at a later date. While you have them in your clutches ask lots of questions, then listen. Oh, and leave “I know” out of your vocabulary, just for these few days (“I know” it is tough!). Get their business card. Either immediately, or after each 5 interactions or so, find a spot, sit, and make notations, promises, etc. on the back of each card. This will pay off immensely for you in the long run.

Remember that you are there to learn, not to sell yourself, your platform, or your book. That said, have your platform (your 30-second elevator pitch), business card, galley, manuscript, book at the ready in a professional looking bag. If you are going to pick up material, give-aways, or galleys, make sure you have carts or bags that you can carry or pull easily. Over-zealous and over-loaded attendees look like sherpas and don’t make a good impression. Also, get your badge scanned, or give a vendor your business card, only if you really want all that material (please, save a tree).

If parties are on your agenda, get invited and go. Take any and all invitations from publishers, if they interest you. If you drink, be moderate unless Gluttony is the name of your book, then have at it!

Say “Thank you!” to everyone from show room staff, News Room personnel, folks working the booths, concierges, publishers, editors, and peers, and mean it.

Show up, wander, and engage the energy on the floor. And most importantly have fun!

Follow Up
Once you are back home, spread out those cards that you collected, and cull them. Find the most pertinent and contact those people first. Keep it short. Remind them of your encounter, what each of you promised, and when you will or will expect them to deliver. If someone contacts you, respond, even if you are not interested. Be clear and concise in your communication and expectation. Do not be flip.

Now, feel great about what you have just accomplished. You experienced something new. You learned. You made valuable contacts (and they met you). And you are building lifelong friendships in an exciting industry in which you are passionate.

Lin A. Lacombe is Past President and Vice President, Marketing of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA) and past VP Women’s Nat’l Book Assoc..  A literary publicist and President of Communications Consultants in Sausalito, CA, she is a speaker on her one of her favorite topics:  “Your Book: From Passion to Publicity.” Email llacombe@earthlink.net or http://www.frompassiontopublicity.com

Photo by Petr Novák, Wikipedia. (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons