YOU PUBLISH A great site for the novice. If you want an overview on book publishing, this is the place. I recommend this site for getting through the basics.
Lulu.Com is a great Print On Demand service. It is an excellent resource for low cost print runs and a source for publication information. Check it out. Also great for product testing.
Getting Endorsements from Celebrities or authors you like.
Jordan McAuley is the author of The Celebrity Black Book and the Founder of http://www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com located in West Hollywood, California. His exclusive online database provides accurate celebrity contact information including the best mailing address, agent, manager, publicist, production company, and charitable cause for over 54,000 celebrities and public figures worldwide to fans, businesses, authors, nonprofits, and the media.
Visit Make Your Book Famous! at http://www.makeyourbookfamous.com for 21 audio presentations by 14 of today's top book marketing and book publicity experts.
Brenner Printing and Mailing
A great place for quality printing; whether you are producing comics or high gloss brochures.
Print On Demand.Com
An online resource for print on demand printing. This site deals with the equipment used in POD.
ISBN
As the U.S. ISBN Agency, R R Bowker is the exclusive US source of publisher prefixes and accompanying ranges of ISBN numbers for eligible publishers.
BLITZprint
Blitzprint helps authors fulfill their self publishing dreams without costly package purchases, royalty agreements, or contracts.
Here are some great tips from my good friend the Book Coach - Judy Cullins:
How to Write eBook Chapters that Transform Readers into Clients
How to Write the Book that Brings your Audience Running for your
Business Services
First, think a short book. Think 3-5 chapters. Your audience wants her problem solved. She wants how to’s, short and easy. Audiences don’t have time to read 200 page books. Think an eBook for easy delivery. Your audience can download from you website.
Finally, give this book away to your potential clients as you would a business card.
Within your five chapters or less use the question and answer device for the middle of each chapter. Show how you’ll solve your readers' challenges. Use a stimulating hook at the beginning and “read the
next chapter for these benefits” at the end. Now you’ve engaged your readers so they will finish the book. That means they will become your 24/7 sales team for word-of-mouth success.
Write the last chapter telling your story. Tell how and why you got into your business. Share how unsuccessful you were in the beginning until you discovered the magic ingredients that finally brought you the clients you wanted.
Share how you developed your techniques and what they meant to your clients. Always include the benefits your customers get when they use you.
Remember, all clients who use you get more value than they ever thought possible. They tell the truth in their testimonials, so be sure to include those along the way. And remember, testimonials work
so much better on your back book cover than anything else, so include them. What others say about you has a lot more clout than your own words will ever have.
Toward the end of this final chapter, remind your audience about your offer. If you don’t, you’ll lose a chance at great clients coming your way.
For example, "Right now, before you leave this information that will make you a star in your business niche, call Jodi right now to set up an introductory phone session to get focused on your project, and follow your intention with action. Without action, your project will just rot like garbage. Now is the time to take action. Here’s the telephone number and link to get you started right away. And, if you act now, you’ll also receive Jodi’s free report on "xxxx."
Depending on how you use your self promotional, self-published eBook, this could be the most lucrative piece of writing you'll ever do, and will actually make you a best seller along with what’s really important, enough clients to create ongoing wealth.
How to Use Your Book as a Foundation on
Which to Build Your Business
By Adam Witty
=======================================
A book is not just a book. It's a marketing tool. If you create a well thought out book marketing plan and follow through, you will build a solid foundation on which to build your business.
If you are wondering if you can do well with your own book marketing plan, let me assure you that you can. You wrote a book, didn't you? Now it's in print and you are a published author. (Congratulations by the way, that is a great feat!)
Once you are published, your credibility becomes unquestionable. Once an author, you are perceived as an expert and an authority. How else could you have made it into print? Being an author is one of the most powerful forms of credibility anyone can obtain.
So if you are all of that and a bag of chips, why aren't you raking in the dough as much as you thought you would? Your book has to be marketed, that's why. People have to know it's there, so scratch your head, click you pen, and create a book marketing plan that can't lose.
The problem with a book is that it is difficult to make a significant amount of money, unless of course you become a best selling author like Stephen King. Then your books will literally sell themselves. But you are not there yet, so in the meantime consider this: Even if you are making $15 profit per book, you would have to sell 10,000 copies a year just to make $150,000/yr.
Trust me; it is not easy to sell books, so you need to be creative with how else you can use your book as a marketing tool to benefit your financial portfolio. Use your credibility to your advantage and set yourself up for some additional sources of money, all from you book, and you'll do just fine.
Think of it this way: You are giving out a great deal of information in your book for a retail price of say, for example, $20. How much information is in that $20 package? If your normal consulting fee is $100/hr, how many hours of consulting are you giving out for $20? Can't some of that information be pulled and broken down into say, for example, seminars? (The light bulb just turned on, didn't it?)
Your book should serve as the cornerstone of content for your business. Those content pages can be turned into many other ancillary products and services that make you money, such as:
==> Teleseminars (doing this on just one subtopic contained in your book in which you could charge 2-5 times the price of the book would bring in some good money, think if you did all of your subtopics individually)
==> Audio Books
==> E-books
==> Special Reports
==> Mentor/Coaching Programs
Again, be creative with your book marketing plan, get yourself some traditional gigs, offer additional products and services online, etc. and you will be one well-paid author.
One more thing -- make it FUN. Good luck to you!
=======================================
Maximize Book Sales: Ask Three Critical Questions That Tap Into the Psyche of the Book Buying Consumer
By Adam Witty
=======================================
Let's start with a fact: Consumers are selfish. They have one mantra, "What's in it for me?" We live in the world of "me" so if you want to sell something, you best cater to the "me" in everyone. If you want your book sales to be all they can be, you must target your audience effectively. With rising gas prices and cost of living, it's a tough feat to convince a consumer to give up their hard-earned cash to purchase your book. You have to present them with a need for your book. No need, no purchase.
How do you do that? You start by narrowing down your audience. You must target a specific audience and communicate a specific need to that audience if you want to have any good measure of book sales. The same messages don't apply to all. Different ages, different genders, different geographical locations, different income levels, different education levels, etc., all have to be considered when targeting your audience. It is very rare that one message can be blanketed across all genres.
Let's consider the typical consumer shopping for a book. The three most important elements of your book to a consumer are:
1. Book Cover Designs
2. Book Titles and Subtitles
3. Back Cover Copy of Book Jackets
How do consumers interact with these elements when shopping for a book? Well typically, a consumer will give your front cover a 2 to 3 second glance. If you win her interest with your dazzling front cover, she will pick the book up, turn it over and look at the back cover for a 20 to 30 second glance. If you win her interest again with your ever-so-clever back cover, she may at this point open the book to the table of contents. This can be third time is a charm and she buys or strike three, you're out. She either just put your book in her cart to purchase or she just put your book back on the shelf and moved on with her life.
Obviously you want her to put your book in her cart and buy it. And lots of other consumers as well. So make it happen!
Ask These Three Critical Questions That Tap Into the Psyche of the Book Buying Consumer:
1. Who is your target audience? As already stated, few books appeal to every reader. Because we live in an age of specialization and targeted marketing, it is best to have a clear picture of your most likely reader and cater to them. Write your book to this specific audience and you will generate more sales.
2. What is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your book? With so many messages out there already, what message does your book contain that has not been said before? What is unique about your book? What makes it stand out above and beyond others like it? Be able to clearly state the unique message that your book will deliver. Remember, as with any type of sales, you bait the hook to suit the fish, not the fisherman. How are you catching this fish?
3. What are the benefits of your book? Again, consumers are selfish and reluctant to spend money on a book without knowing what is in it for them. You must convince them that your book is not only worth their money to buy it, but also their time to read it. Your book must make a consumer feel that they need to read it because it will influence their life in a positive way.
If your book successfully answers the three questions above, you are one giant step closer to marketing and sales success.
This is Jan Payne;
Empowering YOU...
to Attract Possibilities!
