Ebook Reviews

Have you joined the ranks of aspiring authors ready to take the next step to self publishing in the digital age of publishing? If so, congratulations! But wait, before you rush off to press, there are some things you should do to prepare your book for successful self-publishing. The preparation step of the self-publishing process includes everything you need to do to your book manuscript before you deliver it to the book printer. This includes deciding your publishing goals.

For example, is your book a personal family history book that you plot to sell to a few friends and family? Or do you plot to mass-market your book to the world? After deciding your market then you should avoid the following common mistakes:

1. Failure to write a Business Plot

This is where your book publishing journey should start. You don’t have to start with a 15-page document. But do make an outline of all the costs that you will encounter in the self-publishing process.

Outline your costs before publication, after publication and everything from the beginning costs to the shipping price of mailing a book. This is the time you choose whether you should print a small amount of books for family or set up a small publishing company by buying a block of ISBNs.

2. Failure to get ISBN Numbers.

An ISBN number is what identifies you as a book publisher. Currently, it is the only way you can be considered a self-publisher in the publishing industry. At the time of this writing, no one can give, assign or sell you ISBNs except RR Bowker, the U.S. ISBN agency.

3. Failure to invest in Book Editing.

Don’t cut corners here. Invest in your book; get it professionally edited. Copy or line editing will bring your manuscript up to professional standard. Don’t settle for just having your family member take a look at your manuscript.

4. Failure to hire a book designer for book layout.

The book layout is what structures the content of your book and makes it look like a book. Again invest in your book project; this is not the time to settle for anything less than a professional look. If your book looks sloppy, it will limit its success in the market.

5. Failure to make bound galleys for reviews.

Bound galleys, limited run book proofs, are often unedited and used to get book reviews before the publication date of your book. Also, bound galleys do not have a laminated full color cover.

6. Failure to get your book proofread.

Beginner publishers skip this step in preparing their book for publication. Professional publishers know not to skip this step. A book full of errors can cost you in sales later on–including loss of respect for your vital message.

Proofreading is not the same as editing; only done after the book designer formats or lays out your book into pages. The proofreader looks at word breaks and sentence layout. Some minor corrections missed in the first line edit may also be made.

7. Failure to invest in cover design.

75% of 300 booksellers reviewed (half from independent bookstores and half from chains) recognized the look and design of the book cover as the most vital part. They agreed the jacket is prime real estate for promoting a book. On that note, your book cover design has fantastic importance. It can cause your book marketing campaign to fail or succeed. So, I encourage you to get your book cover professionally designed.

Are you ready to publish your book successfully? Did you consider all your options including a business plot and book cover design? Fantastic! Now that you know how to set up your book for full speed ahead self-publishing, go ahead take the plunge. Don’t wait any longer. Start today. Your audience is waiting for YOUR unique message and viewpoint. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

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Self-publishing provides a wonderful opportunity for any author who wants to take control over the publishing process and get their words into print. But because self-publishing is so simple to accomplish with a few bucks and some typed pages, many authors make mistakes along the way.

As a former bookstore owner, I have seen it all. A steady stream of authors used to parade through the store with their books and I could instantly tell when a book was self-published on a budget. From low-quality cover design and lack of editing to unreasonable pricing and an absent marketing plot, at least 90% of the authors I encountered made some major mistakes.

You can avoid new author pitfalls by preparing to be successful. Following are some guidelines to get your started on your journey.

Quality Matters

Successful self-publishing starts by producing a book that looks like it is hot off the press from Random House or another major publisher. The cover should be professionally designed and the text should be thoroughly edited by a pro—not your spouse, friend or business partner. Your book is a reflection of you. It should be impressive from start to end. Cutting corners with design and editing will surely be reflected in book sales.

Pricing Considerations

Some of the print on demand (POD) companies force authors to set unreasonable prices for their books. A standard bookstore will expect to buy your book at 40% off of the retail price and Amazon.com takes a whopping 55% discount. The price for your book should be reasonable for your target audience, yet still leave room for you to make a profit.

For example, if your book has a retail price of $20, a bookstore will buy it at 40% off which comes to $12. In order for you to make a profit, you should be able to buy wholesale copies of your book for less than $12. Unfortunately, some publishers lure authors in with low set-up fees, but make up for it in higher per-book costs.

Conversely, I have seen 100-page trade paperbacks with a retail price of $25 or higher. Unless the subject matter is highly technical or specialized in an industry that can bear this kind of pricing, it will be hard to convince consumers to pay such a high price for a small book. When researching publishing help, inquire about the buy cost of your books and how the retail price will be set.

Placing Your First Order for Books

When researching the minimum order requirements of book publishers and printers, consider how many books you need. Your buy price for books will always be lower when you order in large quantities. But, if you order thousands of copies, you will need a climate-controlled place to store them and plot for selling them.

I advise authors to order enough books for one year. This means that you must tabulate how many you believe you can sell. If you are a professional speaker and can pre-sell books to companies and associations, you may be able to commit to several thousand copies. If your book is more of a leisure activity for you and you will be selling them out of the trunk of your car one at a time, it probably doesn’t make sense to order thousands at a time.

Make a list of potential sales opportunities and how many you reckon you can sell over the course of a year. Also, if you’re serious about marketing your book, plot to send out at least 100 review copies to media professionals. Book reviews sell books and authors should be willing to give books away in order to gain valuable publicity. One mention in a local newspaper can translate into a flurry of book sales. Expand your reach to online media, bloggers, radio show hosts, television and trade journals and you will uncover plenty of opportunities.

Marketing Starts BEFORE You Publish

The largest mistake an author can make is to wait until a book is in print to start the promotion process. When it comes to the media, a book is most relevant in its first few months in print so timing is critical. There are literally hundreds of book marketing strategies that you can start to tackle straight away. Here are a few to get you started:

*       Get known online through your website and/or blog. Add content related to your book and of interest to your target audience.

*       Leverage the power of social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Participate in one or more of these sites to gain exposure.

*       Write fascinating articles and make them available for reprint through sites like www.ezinearticles.com and www.IdeaMarketers.com. Make sure to include a brief author bio that mentions your book and include a link to your website. Offer articles for reprint to as many websites and print publications that you can find that reach your target audience.

*       Question your family, friends and peers to help spread the word. Question who they know who might be able to help. Perhaps your aunt Jane has a friend who is a book reviewer for a major newspaper. Or your sister may know the host of a talk radio show. You won’t know until you question.

*       Get on the speaking circuit. Place together a couple of speeches related to your subject matter and pitch them to your local trade and community associations (chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, specialty associations). When your audience likes what you have to say, they will naturally want to buy your book. If you delight in speaking, you can expand beyond your local community and even get paid to travel and speak to audiences around the world. (By the way, the fact that you are a published author is going to open doors of opportunity for speaking engagements. If you want to refine your skills, consider joining a local chapter of Toastmasters.)

Your book can become the best business card you have as it will allow you to uncover opportunities beyond your imagination. But, if your book isn’t professionally produced and you fail to develop a book marketing plot, those opportunities could pass you by. Do your homework before you take this major step so that you can prepare yourself for a fantastic journey.

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