I received the following email last week: Since my initial entrance into the World of Writing, as I like to call it, I have not generated any sales for my four novels, including the one we, (my wife and I) paid a POD Company $650.00, for what turned out to be a rather bogus list of media outlets and bookstores with which to try and get my latest novel into. I am not looking … [Read more...]
Why All Books Should Be Non-Returnable
Bookstores have a long history of ordering too many books and then returning them for a credit, often damaged and at the expense of the publisher or self-published author. At other times, the books are simply destroyed (or sold to a big salvage bookstore), again, at the expense of the publisher or self-published author. It is my strong opinion that bookstores, like other … [Read more...]
Will You Write My Life Story?
Here is an excerpt from a real email I received last week: "I don't know anything about the publishing business and I'm not a writer but I have a great story to tell! How do I go about speaking with professionals about writing my story for me and then getting it published?" We see this type of inquiry a lot and most people with a "story to tell" are surprised when they … [Read more...]
Is Your Publisher Upselling You?
We get junk faxes all the time from self-publishing firms. Somehow, we ended up on their lists and they send us fax after fax after fax (and spam, too) announcing books that have nothing at all to do with our audience of writers. It's unfortunate, because the vast number of faxes they're sending out to the same list makes it obvous that other recipients are probably doing the … [Read more...]
How to Test Your Publisher’s Sales Reports
Last week, we heard from yet another author (I'll call him Author Al) who is accusing his distributor of theft because his Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com rankings moved. A few years ago, another author claimed she was owed millions because her Amazon ranking was...in the millions. As you've probably guessed, this is a common problem. New authors often try to use … [Read more...]
Don’t Fool Yourself About Poor Book Sales
Authors can come up with some pretty creative reasons to convince themselves of why they're book isn't selling. When you know as many authors as I do (more than 800) and you see the variety of successful and not-so-successful marketing techniques used today, there really are only two excuses for poor book sales...bad marketing or just a plain old bad book. One author … [Read more...]
Your Child, Published Author
With the affordability of print-on-demand (POD) publishing, there is something you can do to encourage creativity and communication with your child, while teaching your child about the publishing process and giving their self-esteem a boast as well! As a parent, we are always thrilled when our children take an active interest in their own education. Heck, we are even … [Read more...]
What To Do When Someone Steals Your Ideas
"I queried a major magazine and included a list of interview sources. They rejected my idea but, one year later, they just published the article I pitched to them, and they used my sources!" "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 … [Read more...]
Selling Advertising Space In Books
Don't you wish companies would offer you money to include an ad about them in your next book? Most of us would love such an infusion to our writing income. A question about this coveted practice arrived in my in-box just this week. Wendy wrote in with the following: "Several years ago, my first health-related book was released. I am in the process of updating the … [Read more...]