Posts Tagged ‘art’
Publishers
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Self-Publishing Will Kill Your Reputation as a Quality Author
Self-publishing–a term often confused, skewed by greedy Vanity Publishing companies, and a stigma to the entire publishing industry. What do you think when you hear, “I am self-published?”
“That author wasn’t good enough to get a ‘real’ Publisher.”
“Their book probably wasn’t edited.”
“Their cover design is horrible.”
“They just wanted a quick fix, an easy road to get their book out.”
This is only a smidgen of the stigma true independent publishers have to fight from those in the “self-publishing” industry. The fact is, any company you pay to Publish your book, who pays you royalties, or who puts their logo on the back of your book – any company that handles the distribution of your book for you that is not a real book distributor – is not a self-Publishing Company. They are vanity, plain and simple.
Vanity publishing companies are known for poor quality, un-edited books that might be lucky enough to sell 50 copies. They make their money off the author one way or another, either up front with fee-based “packages” or by taking a huge chunk of the profits of each book sold, often pricing the book out of market range. Vanity companies give an author a book with their name on it, are often disguised as cheap or a good deal, but cut off all marketability to brick and mortar stores, as well as other marketing options.
Even worse, as my friend Sue Collier (co-author of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition) says, “And once you’ve got the Outskirts Press—or others of their ilk—imprint on your book, it’s like the kiss of death in the publishing world.”
Kiss of death? Really? Yes, really. Once you have identified your name with any of these quick-fix, high-cost, low-quality vanity publishers, traditional publishers won’t look at you twice. To them, you’re obviously not willing to do what it takes to Make Your Book a success. There are plenty of authors in the world, many of them very good, so traditional publishers don’t need to waste their time with those who publish via vanity.
Traditional publishers want authors with a following, a strong marketing plan and the drive to succeed beyond just uploading some Word files to a cheap printer or vanity publisher. If your goal is to someday get the traditional name on your book, you’d better run in the other direction as fast as you can – away from anything that even remotely resembles “vanity.”
So what about true Indie publishing?
Indie is short for “independent.” Independent means just that – you, your name, your reputation, your quality. Indie means you find the editor, designer, printer and distributor for your book. You file your own copyright, Library of Congress numbers and everything is registered in your name. You handle everything from start to finish. You have total control, the final say, on every part of the process. You keep 100% of the proceeds from book sales. And best of all, YOU control the decision to be traditionally published should a publisher become interested in your Indie-published book.
Does it really work? Yes it does, and I call it “Two-Track Publishing.” Agents and publishers actually look for independently published books that have a strong platform and have the possibility of big success. Here are a few couple studies for you:
Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive: Independently published her first book, The Barefoot Executive, and Thomas Nelson Publishers bought the rights to re-publish that book. Her now traditionally published book should be released in 2011.
Dr. Daisy Sutherland, author of Dr. Mommy’s Life Lessons, was “stalked” online by a publicist for Charisma Media and is now under contract for her next book for busy moms slated for release in 2012. She also received a higher than average advance for first-time author’s non-fiction book.
(Both of these authors were graduates of my Indie Ghost Publishing program, “I am Published!” They are real-life examples of the power of independent publishing.)
Just in case the above authors are not “real” enough for you, how about these titles:
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
Life’s Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown
And let’s not forget the Chicken Soup for the Soul series that was turned down by multiple traditional publishers who claimed it couldn’t possibly sell, but which led to the creation of Hansen House, an independent publisher started by co-author Mark Victor Hansen.
Don’t let vanity publishers fool you. All of them tout the above titles as being “self-published.” But they were not self-published through a vanity company. You will not see the same results if you choose to publish through a vanity publisher. These results only come through hard work and independent publishing.
About the Author
Kristen Eckstein, the Ultimate Book Coach, is an independent publishing expert. Her reputation is to “suck” books out of people’s heads and get them into print through Ghost Publishing–a term Kristen coined to define her exclusive done-for-you independent publishing program. Visit http://ultimatebookcoach.com/ today and learn how you can write a book in just 3 1/2 days!
Libraries, Publishers, Consortia
|
|
Soft Foods for Easier Eating Cookbook – Soft Foods for Easier Eating Cookbook – 9780757002908 9780757002908 $18.95 Soft Foods for Easier Eating Cookbook… |
|
|
Dream Dinners Cookbook Life just got easier! Simplify every meal with this Dream Dinners cookbook…. |
|
|
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings $14.97 This two-CD box contains all 41 recordings Johnson made, including 12 alternate takes, and each cut remains a classic. This set’s release in 1990 caused quite a stir, selling more than 500,000 copies, and, on the basis of endorsements from Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, introduced a great number of rock fans to Delta blues. Amazingly, Johnson built his enormous legacy on the strength of just two… |
|
|
Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Baby’s Favorite Rock Songs – Favorite Tracks from the Beloved Series Rockabye Baby transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies. Guitars and drums are traded for soothing mellotrons, vibraphones and bells, and the volume is turned down from an eleven to a two, Rockabye Baby is the perfect way to share the music you love with the litllest rocker in your life. Track listings: |
|
|
Loretta Lynn – All Time Greatest Hits $15.00 During a time when radio is glutted with manufactured country stars who never met a coal miner, wouldn’t know a cow patty if they stepped in one, and rely more on Pro Tools than professionalism, a spin through Loretta Lynn’s greatest hits is a refresher course on the bedrock of the genre. Lynn, now hitting on 70 and still playing rural venues in between her network TV appearances, may be the … |
|
|
The People vs. Larry Flynt $4.99 … |
|
|
Primera Bravo XR Disc Publisher – Standalone CD/DVD Duplicator – DVD-Writer – 48x CD-R, 18x DVD+R, 18x DVD-R – USB $3295.99 Primera, the world’s leading manufacturer of CD/DVD disc publishing equipment, is proud to introduce its new XR-Series of high-performance disc publishers. The XR-Series disc publishers, servers and software development tools are designed specifically for deployment in mission-critical applications that require fast and efficient disc burning and printing, rock-solid reliability and professional-quality recorded and printed CDs, DVDs Discs. |
