New Book Shows How A Waiter Serves Up A Course Of Effective Self-Publishing
By Marshall Chamberlain
John Grisham self-published "A Time to Kill" when no one wanted to take a chance on a legal mystery. According to Dan Poynter and Danny Snow in their book, "U-Publish.com," author James Redfield sold 100,000 copies of "The Celestine Prophecy" out of the trunk of his car before Warner coughed up $800,000 and made it into the number-one-bestseller of 1996. It's sold over 5.5 million copies to date. There have been dozens and dozens of blockbuster, self-publishing success stories. Thousands are in the dynamic process of unfolding right now because advances in modern technology have provided the cost-effective means for success. Chamberlain says, "Writers, journalists, college faculty, scientists, poets... From romance and mystery to memoirs and thrillers... business and research papers to journal articles and cookbooks... All subjects and genre... anywhere in the world... anyone can self-publish if they have fire in the belly. They can get their shot." Mark Ortman, in "A Simple Guide to Marketing Your Book" (Wise Owl Books, 2001), claims 150,000 new books are published annually. Estimates range around 4000 that are self-published with the kind of serious promotion it takes to achieve effective exposure; and only the deity knows how many books and professional works are actually written-completed-but unpublished. Dan Poynter, the acknowledged guru-father of self-publishing, estimated in his "Self Publishing Manual" (Para Publishing, 1999) that 8000 new small publishers have been coming into the business each year. Jan Nathan, Executive Director of Publishers Marketing Association, indicated in the October 2001, "PMA Newsletter" that a Book Industry Study Group/PMA Report of several years ago credited small publishing with as much as seventy-five percent of industry sales. "Creative Self-Publishing in the World Marketplace" reveals the nitty-gritty of what, why, how, when, and how much-what's involved in successful self-publishing and how to do it on a shoestring. The author takes the process from final edit of a work, using many examples from his own journey, through the myriad steps of creating and implementing a powerful promotion plan. Chamberlain shares the detailed, self-publishing learning experiences that cover a two and a half year saga-one comparable to earning a PhD and completing a dissertation. He says, "Friendly software, cheap communications systems, drastic changes in book manufacturing technology, and the dynamic maturation of the Internet work together to level the publishing field of play... I taught myself, and did it waiting tables as my only source of income." Ironically, the book is the natural extension of performing "due diligence"-developing a credible business plan. Initially, Chamberlain was driven to write what turned into a three-book series of Sci-Tech-Mystery-Thrillers-but that's another story. Finishing the first edit of Book I, he decided to take a break before the second edit, and ended up falling headlong into the detailed business planning that became "Creative Self-Publishing in the World Marketplace." Released in its present form, the book is a living example of creative self-publishing. Offering a unique "Working Paper Edition"-a "pre-release version"-available as a PDF, E-book or a hard copy "Report Booklet," the publisher gives immediate access to the guts of the book, without the glitz, six to nine months ahead of the traditional trade paperback. Chamberlain says, "If an E-book's good enough for Steven King... and he can sell 400,000 copies in 48 hours, I guess it will work well enough for us to get the book in the hands of the thousands and thousands of serious writers who don't realize they can take the bull by the horns and publish on their own. Now all we have to do is get the word out."
This pre-release edition of "Creative Self-Publishing in the World Marketplace" is offered exclusively through the publisher, THE GRACE PUBLISHING GROUP. Author and publisher background information, a complimentary review "Mini-Book," and an explanation of purchase options can be found at the publisher's Web Site, www.gracepublishing.org.
Marshall Chamberlain may be contacted at http://www.gracepublishing.org authors@gracepublishing.org.
Marshall is an "Affiliate Author" of The Grace Publishing Group, Ft. Myers Beach, FL., author of "Creative Self-Publishing in the World Marketplace" (Grace 2001); he is actively engaged in offering self-publishing workshops, classes and coaching in Florida, will speak at writer/small publisher organizations and conferences, and pursues radio and TV appearances. Reach him at authors@gracepublishing.org
