How
many books have you published/self-published?
My
husband and business partner, Tom, and I have
personally self-published 13 books. After making
them successful and milking the best places
to sell them, we sold the rights to five of
them to major publishers. This freed up cash
to move on to other writing projects. Over the
almost three decades we've been in business,
we've helped thousands of authors produce and
sell millions of books.
What
was the biggest challenge with your first self-publishing
experience?
We
began self-publishing in 1977, so legitimacy
was a big issue. Most self-published books back
them were really shoddy looking and not generally
accepted. It was also very difficult to get
distributors.
What
is the best kind of book to self-publish?
Nonfiction
is much easier to promote than novels or poetry
because with nonfiction you have a hook for
news stories, etc. Try to self-publish something
for a tightly niched audience, such as a book
on puppy training, coin collecting, or yoga.
Then there are ways to find and penetrate your
specific market. One of the most difficult books
we published was titled Creative Loafing because
it appealed to virtually everybody.
What
do you feel are some of the most common self-publishing
mistakes?
Authors
don't realize that self-publishing is a business!
They may love to write -- but not to promote,
do bookkeeping, or fill orders. You must be
prepared to market! Also, many authors try to
publish what they want instead of determining
before they write if there is a need for their
book. You must check out the competition and
somehow make your book different and better.
Describe
the ideal candidate for self-publishing.
It
is a person who likes to be in control and has
an entrepreneurial passion for what he or she
does -- someone who is enthusiastic about publicity
and promotion and willing to follow up, follow
up, follow up. This is a very exciting business.
Books change lives. But a self-publisher must
be willing to roll up his or her sleeves and
make things happen.
What
are your thoughts on POD publishing? Can you
personally recommend any POD publishing companies?
Print
on Demand definitely has its place. If you're
doing a genealogy, church cookbook, chapbook
of poetry, autobiography, or some other book
with limited appeal, this is probably your best
answer. It's also good for keeping a backlist
book in print that only sells a few hundred
copies a year. And POD is fast. If you need
a few copies for advance blurbs, to submit to
book clubs, or for excerpting this, is a quick
approach. But you pay a lot per book. For that
reason, and because most bookstores won't accept
a POD book, if you are serious about selling
your book and having a commercial success, traditional
publishing is usually the way to go.
I've
dealt with two POD companies that I have a lot
of respect for: DeHart's Printing Services (http://www.deharts.com)
and ColorCentric Corporation (http://www.colorcentriccorp.com).
What
has been one of your most successful book marketing
techniques?
Book
reviews that we write. Reviewers are busy, and
a few are lazy, so we make it easy for them
by creating our own (glowing) review. While
major review sources like Publishers Weekly,
Library Journal, The New York Times, etc. won't
use them, many smaller newspapers and magazines
will. Publicity levels the playing field. As
self-publishers we can't afford big advertising
budgets, but we can make use of free publicity
over and over again.
Do
you feel it is important for an author to have
his or her own web site?
Absolutely!
The Internet will play an ever-increasing role
in selling books. You need to provide a lot
of free content on your site, such as a chapter,
synopsis, tips articles, etc. And be sure your
promotional material is top-drawer. Make those
who surf to your site hungry for what you have
to offer. Of course the best site in the world
is useless unless you or someone you hire adds
metatags: a provocative title, description,
and keywords so search engines and directories
can lead surfers to your site. And put your
web address (URL) on all your printed materials.
Also place articles about your subject area
on other appropriate sites -- with a bio and
links back to your site. This is another excellent
promotional activity.
Any
general advice for authors?
Oh,
yes. Educate yourself! Read books, go to seminars,
join area writing and publishing groups. You
can save yourself a lot of money if you learn
how to do things before you make costly mistakes.
And it's just more fun to share your woes and
triumphs with others in a similar situation.
Gods blessing.
Contact
Information:
She
can be reached at 719-395-8659 or Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com.
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