Monday, February 8, 2010
Is POD Publishing Right for You?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Start 2010 right: Publish your book
Xlibris is having a special offer this January for aspiring authors who want to see their book come to life.
Enjoy huge saving of up to $12,000 or a free upgrade on your publishing package. What's more, you get 10 books for FREE if you publish before January 16. With these fantastic offers, What better way to start the year right than to publish a book this month?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Should you Self-publish?
Many aspiring authors who have grown tired of trying to get an agent, let alone get their book published. With so many authors, a mountain of manuscripts and limited shelf-space, these authors have taken things into their own hands, going en-route self-publishing.
According to Bowker, the agency that assigns ISBNs and publishes the Books in Print database, self-published books have outnumbered traditional titles in production last year.
Self-publishing, just like traditional publishing, is not for everyone. However, it can be right for you. If you find yourself in any of these situations, then self-publishing just might work to your advantage:
• You know that your book has real potential but find it difficult to get an agent or a publisher.
Publishing power does not all have to be in the hands of major publishers – it belongs to the author. Moreover, major publishers just cannot see the next bestseller when they see one.
Self-publishing provides an opportunity for aspiring authors to not just launch their writing careers, but truly fulfill their dream of getting published.
Start your publishing journey. Receive your FREE book publishing guide.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
7Ds of Publishing
Outlined below are seven basic activities that may simplify the self-publishing journey. These tasks appear sequential but they may be done simultaneously.
This is the first thing a writer ought to do. Getting the manuscript printed is important but making sure that the story is interesting to the readers is even more critical. Right from the start and before working on the book, the writer must seriously study the themes people want to read.
A book’s market niche must be clearly spotted out. This allows the author to write effectively and tailor-fit the book’s overall package to the identified audience.
When the topic and the readers are already clear, the writer must dedicate quality time in writing the book. If it is best for the author to compose during nighttime, then writing should be done at night and not in the morning.
As a house needs interior designing, a book needs one as well. It entails not only designing the physical look of the book but also the flow of the contents. This needs careful planning and meticulous execution.
A book author may self-edit the manuscript but must consult professional editors to improve the copy and make it more appealing to the readers. A writer may think that the message is plain and written well but it could be unclear to the person reading it. Making the story as lucid as possible is an editor’s job.
A writer does not have go through the trouble of thinking about technical details in book publishing. Professional publishers like Xlibris can do the whole process with efficiency and excellence. The company offers different publishing packages depending on the author’s needs.
A book’s success doesn’t end when it gets published. It starts when it is promoted and distributed. Though marketing services are available from publishing companies like Xlibris, the book author is still the best person to market the self-published book.
image source: nymag.com/news/media/50279/
Monday, November 16, 2009
Published book reveals Raunchiest Men in History
Thomas Smith delves into this paradox in his self-published book, The Raunchiest Men in History. In this book, the author digs deep into the kinky lives of some of the world’s greatest men – from writers, poets, artists and even the clergy.
In The Raunchiest Men in History, Smith also reveals the rather shocking and scandalous sexual pathos among the clergy, some of which include Pius II, the great Vivaldi and Alexander VI. He also provides explanation behind this psychology in Freudian context. The book also recounts the author's sexually intense encounters as well.
The Raunchiest Men in History lets you in on shockingly steamy revelations from some of the world’s greatest men and provides a deeper understanding of the human psyche.
Do you have an interesting story to share? Publish it. Receive this FREE book publishing guide and start your journey to publication.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Pros and Cons of Book Publishing
Publishing a book always has its highs and lows. Whether you want to take the traditional route of publishing or choose to self-publish, a better understanding of how the world of publishing works can help you decide which publishing route best fits your goals.
TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING:
Going the traditional way works well for a person with an established status or a huge following, say a celebrity or a TV-radio personality. The moment a traditional publisher says yes to your book, you no longer have control over it.
Traditional publishing does everything for your book – from editing, layout, to printing down to marketing. This may be a good thing, but a downside to it is that you don’t have creative control of your book. You may find that your already-edited manuscript has but strayed from your original work.
Traditional publishing pays you to get your book out. You will get an advance, although it may be modest for a first-time author. They determine how many books to print and your book makes it to the bookstore. However, if it doesn’t sell in 30 days, the publishing house will forget you. Putting out another book with them may take a lot of convincing for them as well. And yes, your books will be returned to you, too.
Unless you get a good lawyer to arrange ownership rights to your book once it gets shelved, you waive your rights away. In terms of royalties, traditional publishing houses now pay only 10% at most of wholesale. (they used to pay royalties at 10% of retail.)
SELF-PUBLISHING:
A downside of self-publishing is that you have to pay to get your book published. Depending on the package, you may have to pay as high as $12,000 to publish your book with them. However, if you pick the right self-publishing company, they will give you a favorable return on your investment.
A great thing about self-publishing is that you get full creative control of your book – from the editing, cover art to marketing. You retain ownership rights to your book as well – after all, it is you who wrote your book.
Your book gets worldwide online distribution through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. Marketing and Distribution are perhaps the biggest blocks of self-publishing. Only very few distributors are willing to deal with self-published authors.
This implies that getting your book to land in bookstores can be tough. This is because self-published books are non-returnable, unless you push for an aggressive book marketing campaign. So does getting your book evaluated by established book review institutions. Another good thing about self-publishing is that you don’t have to worry about inventory or a pile of unsold books collecting dust in your garage.
But perhaps the best thing about self-publishing is that there is no one else to convince about publishing a book but yourself.
Publish a book today and enjoy 50% off on publishing services this November. Receive this FREE book publishing guide and start your journey to publication.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
When asked about Publishing
Question: Xlibris is a P.O.D. service. POD, a do-it-yourself method, stands for?
Answer: POD stands for Print-on-Demand.
Unfortunately, none of the players got the answer right. Wow, I surmise I could have been $1200 richer with that question. Who would have thought?
Interested to know more about POD? Read about it here.