"Roundheads and Ramblings"
self-publishing
|
Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 9:33 AM
 A week or so ago, I dropped some hints that this blog would be invaded by pirates on July 6th. The invasion is getting closer, so it's time to reveal the identity of the suspect.
Helen Hollick is a British writer who, like me, writes about two
different historical periods. I first encountered her as the author of
several wonderful medieval novels set in the time of the Anglo-Saxons
and the Norman invasion of England. Now her titles include a pirate
series -- books that still have a strong historical basis but provide
rollicking adventure and just a hint of fantasy.
 Helen was born in North East London, England, and started writing pony
stories as a young teenager. She moved onto science fiction and fantasy
and then discovered the delight of writing historical fiction.
Published in the UK and the US with her books about King Arthur and the
1066 Battle of Hastings, Helen also writes a series of historical adventure
seafaring books inspired by her love of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Helen still lives on the outskirts of London with her husband, Ron,
adult daughter Kathy and a variety of pets, including a dog, a cat, and three
horses.
To celebrate the re-issue of her books by a new publisher, she will be doing a blog tour in July. She'll be here on July 6th to do a guest interview with me. We'll be discussing her recent decision to enter the world of self-publishing after a career spent with traditional publishing houses.
To introduce you to Helen's favorite pirate, here is the book trailer for The Sea Witch Trilogy:
For the next couple of weeks, I'll be introducing you to each book in the trilogy. I'll also have an announcement about a give-away connected to her July 6th visit. Stay tuned.
If you'd like to learn more about Helen Hollick, here are the links to several of her blogs:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HelenHollick
|
|
|
Posted on Thursday, June 16, 2011 9:19 AM
It's time for me to get back to work on my new book, The Road to Frogmore. I admit I'm a hopeless procrastinator, and it's all too easy to put aside a major task for the sake of nit-picky little details. I can spend hours looking for just the right illustration for a blog post or searching for the perfect YouTube video. But today, I'm ready to write. One of my characters is pounding on the door of my imagination and demanding to have her say.
 For those of you still seeking words of wisdom on self-publishing, I have stumbled across a pertinent and encouraging post from a traditional publisher. So please go to http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/06/05/good-day-sunshine-for-writers/ and read what Alan Rinzler has to say about the advantages of self-publishing. He has encouraging predictions for a future in which self-publishers and traditional publishing houses work together to improve the reading experience of all of us.
I'll be back tomorrow with another new blog feature -- Civil War Fridays. |
|
|
Michele DeFilippo: Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2011 5:59 AM
Today, Michele takes some of the questions self-publishers face concerning formats and printing options. Please welcome her and feel free to ask questions.
Book
printing has its own jargon which can be intimidating if you’ve
never worked with it before. And the
complications are increasing every day, with the current buzz about e-books
dominating the news.
As technologies evolve and options increase, it’s
getting more difficult to figure out exactly which printing (or rather,
dissemination) method is best for your book. Having an expert on your side
before you take this important step can make a world of difference.
There are presently three ways to get your book into
the hands of consumers: Offset printing (ink on paper); digital printing and
print-on-demand (ink or toner on paper); and e-books (nothing on paper). The
best choice depends on how you sell books, who your target audience is, and how
they (not you) prefer to read.
(1) Offset Printing (ink on paper): this method offers
the lowest unit price possible when manufacturing books. To achieve the savings
though, it’s necessary to print 1,000 to 3,000 books and arrange for storage
until they are sold. Once the only method of book printing, today this choice
makes the most sense for anyone who knows they will sell a large quantity of
books in about a year. (If your time frame is longer than that, the cost of
storage and the time value of money begins to erode the savings.) For example,
authors who sell books at the back of the room during presentations, authors
who have signed up with a distributor, or authors who have a substantial number
of pre-publication orders waiting will benefit most from offset printing. The
quality of ink on paper printing (assuming you have chosen a competent printer)
is excellent. There are virtually no limitations on the type of design that can
be accurately reproduced using this method.
(2) Digital Printing and Print-on-Demand: Here’s where
the terminology gets a little muddy. Digital printing can mean ink-on-paper
printing in small quantities, or it can mean toner-on-paper printing in small
or one-at-a-time quantities. Printers don’t often explain the difference, so
it’s important to ask which method is represented on any quote you receive.
Either way, these methods cost more per unit than offset printing, but the
publisher can order books in smaller quantities or even one at a time as they
are sold. If cash-conservation is your primary concern, these methods are worth
considering. The ground is always shifting on price, but generally speaking,
500-700 digital books cost the same as 1,000 offset books, so once a steady
stream of sales is established, another look at offset printing is warranted.
The quality of toner-based digital books is almost indistinguishable from
ink-on-paper books…if your book is the typical black and white interior with a
color cover. Full color photo books are best printed with ink on paper. If you
plan to print with toner, be sure your designer knows this up front. Solid
black text will reproduce well, but large areas of light-gray (such as
sidebar boxes) may not print evenly and should be avoided if possible.
(3) E-books: You thought you were confused before?
Well, join the club. The field of e-books is changing so rapidly that it’s
difficult for everyone to keep up. With about a dozen file formats and just as
many devices on the market (some that will be extinct in as little as 18
months), what should an author do? Don’t listen to the buzz…listen to your
readers. At present, e-books are about 2.5% of all book sales, and this figure is
expected to rise to 5% by 2014. A surprising statistic, given all the attention
devoted to e-books. For this reason, it doesn’t make much sense to release a
book ONLY in e-book format, no matter how much the perceived savings may be. No
business that hopes to survive can lock out 95% of its potential market.
One way to make your book available in all the e-book
formats is to post your title on Smashwords.com. They will convert your
book to all of the common e-book formats for free and take a small commission
on every book sold. Apple just signed an agreement with Smashwords to offer
their books on the iPad, which is just icing on the cake. After all, it’s not
very useful to have an e-book file without a sales outlet. Unfortunately,
Smashwords doesn’t protect e-books. Their point of view is that DRM (digital
rights management) reduces sales. This may be true, but if you’re concerned
about piracy, then it may be better to work with e-book conversion services who
can make sure your book is only readable to those who actually buy it.
Our advice: For most new self-publishers, the way
forward is to keep abreast of new technology while remembering that old habits
die hard. Most people still like to curl up on the sofa with a book, even if
they do sometimes read on electronic devices when they are on the go. Releasing
your book in print and e-formats will satisfy everyone. When your e-book begins
to outsell your print book, you can always stop printing.
 Michele's company, 1106 Design (http://1106design.com)
works with authors, publishers, business pros, coaches, consultants,
speakers . . . anyone who wants a beautiful book, meticulously prepared
to industry standards. Top-quality cover design, beautifully designed
and typeset interiors, manuscript editing, indexing, title consulting,
and expert advice. All available from one convenient source. All offered
with our most important service, hand-holding. Prompt, personalized
service. Satisfaction guaranteed. We’ll take better care of you and your
book than any “self-publishing company.” How may we help you? |
|
|
Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:23 AM
April is going to be a
very busy month for me. Lions
Leaders Weekend, the year's most important public relations event for Mid-South
Lions Sight and Hearing Service, takes place on April 8th and 9th. As the incoming first vice president of
that organization, I'll be involved in preparations as well as hosting. The
next weekend involves three days of State Lions Convention in Chattanooga. Then comes a chance to get away for a
short road trip with my husband — time to relax and indulge a bit. It leads me,
however, to an invaluable research opportunity and a few days of access to
documents I've been hunting for a long time. Then it's Easter, and the month is about over.
I'm looking forward to
it all. Details are set,
reservations made, maps assembled, and plans laid. Even the house and cats are taken care of. We're lucky to have wonderful house/cat
sitters, who just take over, keeping the house lived in, dealing with mail and
newspapers, administering meds to the 16-year-old cat, and endlessly
entertaining the younger ones. No one will even know we're gone — except for my
faithful readers and followers here in internet land. And here is where I need
help, since I won't have much free writing time.
April is wide open
with slots for guest bloggers. I'm
particularly looking for articles that offer tidbits of advice to new
researchers, writers, and self-publishers. Your experiences, your successes or catastrophes, your
accumulated wisdom: all can provide helpful suggestions that my readers need.
Here are some guidelines:
1. Blogs should fall
into the range of 600 to 1000 words.
2. They must contain
information that readers can use — not just blatant self-promotion of your own
work. You may, however, provide links to
your own works or website.
3. They should be
well-edited. I reserve the right,
however, to make spelling/grammar /punctuation corrections as necessary.
4. The blogs must be
signed and should provide contact information in case a reader wants to get in
touch with you.
5. Small illustrations
are welcome, if submitted as separate files in .jpg or .gif format. You may
also send your own picture if you would like to have it included.
6. You must be willing
to allow further publication of your materials in a proposed e-book of tips for
new writers.
7. I will promote you
and your writings during the month.
In return, I will expect you to link to my blog or website, so that your followers can find the blog.
8. The deadline for
all potential blogs will be Wednesday, April 6th. That will just give me time
to put you on the schedule and let you know when your article will appear.
|
|
|
Posted on Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:21 AM
 I've been asked by
several people to reflect a bit on the virtual launch party I held for the
release of my new Civil War novel, Beyond
All Price. For those of you I am meeting for the first time, I am a retired
history professor, now fulfilling a lifelong dream to become a novelist. Because I wanted to have my book
available by the beginning of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the Civil
War, I decided to self-publish the book.
Like most
self-published and print-on-demand authors, I have complete responsibility for
promoting and marketing the book.
If I didn't call attention to it, no one else was going to. I also happen to be a firm believer in
the future of the e-book, so it seemed particularly appropriate to have an
e-party. It was also cheaper, of
course, and a bit less congratulatory, to use the internet for the book's
introduction, rather than just holding a small party for the folks I knew.
Here's how I went about it.  My publishing imprint
is Katzenhaus Books, and the company website was already up and running at
Vistaprint. I wanted the launch to
be connected to that site somehow, but at the same time separate and special.
The answer was a second site, opened for just a four-month period, that could
be linked to the company materials when needed. I started planning the party in July 2010, just as soon as I
had finished approving the final proofs for both the paperback and the Kindle
editions. The party itself was set
for September 15-17.
 The party website
had many pages, starting with a
welcome page that set a festive tone with balloons and confetti. The book itself had its own page, with
pictures of the cover, the cover blurb, an excerpt, and links to the company
website, including the ordering information. Next came a fun page--what's a
party without a few games? There were some bad jokes, a mystery puzzle, and a
cartoon cat video, among other oddities.
Refreshments were easy.
Visitors found a revolving buffet table with pictures of the food on
offer and the recipes if they were
really hungry. All the items on
the buffet were dishes from the novel. Door prizes and give-aways had their own
page, which also included an opt-in box, so that I could begin to create a
dedicated e-mail list.
 The real key to the
success of the party, however, came from my invited guests -- seven authors and
seven internet experts who wrote about writing. I interviewed the authors about their books and their
similarities to my own work; the bloggers wrote articles about their own
specialties -- everything from creating a website to the value of visiting
their settings, proofreading, punctuation, and the future of the publishing
industry. Each one had a page that
was featured for an 8-hour period during the launch. There the guests could post their own picture, pictures of
their books, list their internet addresses, and invite followers. All these materials were accessible for
the entire launch period and for a month afterward through list of guest links.
I cannot begin to
praise my guests enough. They not
only took the time to write their articles; they also publicized the launch for
me on their own blogs, websites, and social networks. When a well-known author
twittered a note saying "I'll be appearing at this book launch at this
time at this URL," their fans
and readers came to visit, and learned about my book along the way. Their help was invaluable!
Questions remain,
however. Was it successful? Would
I do it again? What would I
change? Well, for starters, I found out the party lasted too long. I thought I was cutting back from the
only other online launch party I had seen -- one that ran for an entire 7-day
period. Mine started on Wednesday with a respectable number of visitors. The visits
peaked around noon on Thursday, and limped through Friday, falling off to near
nothing by Friday evening. I
should have stopped Thursday night. The fun and games page was not particularly
popular. People who took the time to visit the site wanted to know about my
book or what my guests had to say.
They didn't come to be entertained by other means. The opt-in box was
badly placed. It should have been
at the front of the site, not buried in the back. On the plus sign, people loved the recipes from the book and
reacted well to most of my guests.Who doesn't love food?
 Sales were slow but steady through the first
two days. I didn't sell as many
copies as I would have liked, but those who ordered the book were new
customers, most of whom I would not have met if it had not been for the launch
party. And sales continued at the
same pace for several weeks after the actual launch. I also gained new Twitter
followers and Facebook friends. I'm glad I did it, and when my next book comes
out, I'll probably do it again.
Honestly? I had a blast! |
|
|
