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JD WRITES
JD WRITES
.........
Hi everyone!
Lots of news and new resources this issue. I've been updating the front
page of the site every few days with news and resources, so be sure to
check it out regularly.
New resources include a couple of new Print
On-Demand companies, some contests and lots of publishing news sites to
keep you informed.
This week I'll be appearing at a 'salon'
at the wonderful Bucks County Writers Room in
PA on October 13.(http://www.writersroom.net).
Anyone in the Philadelphia area should check
out this treasure of a resource.
Then on Sunday, Nov 2, you can see
me in NYC at the DIY conference (http://www.DIYConvention.com).
Also, catch my latest article in the current
(November) issue of Writer's Digest's Special
issue "Writing Success". The article is called
"4 Ways To Market Fiction".
Keep writing,
Julie
P.S. To order my ebook 21st Century Publishing: An Author's Introduction
to Print On-Demand Book Publishing, check out this page:
http://www.booklocker.com/books/817.html
NEW THIS WEEK
***
Q&A -
e-Booklets
This
week Marshall writes:
Hello,
I have written a 38-page booklet...It has several checklists
and is illustrated with my own original cartoons. I have copyright for
it and have an ISBN for it. I would like to do my own marketing and I
believe there is a market for it because nothing similar is in print. It
could be sold in either floppy disc, CDRom, or e-mail format. Do you
have any suggestions for getting it on the market?
Marshall
Hi
Marshall,
Producing an e-book is relatively simple. You can produce it in
different formats, but the most common is PDF. This is read using Adobe
Acrobat Reader, which almost every computer in creation has somewhere on
its hard-drive. It allows you to send a 'snapshot' of the pages so that
the reader sees the page exactly as you intend, regardless of what
computer or size of monitor they are looking at. You need Adobe Acrobat
5.0 to create PDFs that are 'locked' (that readers cannot print or
alter), or you can do slightly less-well-protected versions using the
free trial software at Adobe's site: http://www.adobe.com/acrofamily/main.html
Another format that I really like is Microsoft's Reader. It can be
used on PocketPCs and most of the e-book reading I have done has been in
this format. It allows the reader to resize the text, which is a good
thing in my opinion. Again there is free software online for creating
books from Word files (http://www.overdrive.com/readerworks/)
but you will need to pay for the version that lets you include copy
protection
For technical details on producing e-books, this e-newsletter is
quite good: http://wz.com/arts/CreateSelfPublishedeBooks.html
It's a bit heavy on advertising but has some good information.
On the issue of copy protection, people's opinions differ. Some would
never dream of letting people have a copy of a book that could be freely
forwarded. Others consider that it's all good advertising - the more
people who hear about it, the more who will eventually buy it. (Note:
It's still illegal for people to send your e-book to someone else, even
if you don't implement copy protection, so you can appeal to their
better nature on the copyright page!).
For distribution you have a number of choices. You can go with a
company like Booklocker, Bookbooters.com or 1stBooks.com that will post
your book at their site and handle all the sales for you. If it were a
printed book, I would tell you that you have to list your book with a
company like Amazon, so that readers can buy it from a company they
already know and trust. However, e-book publishing doesn't have
400-pound gorilla like that. You may or may not wish to use a third
party to host/distribute your book. If you have the technical savvy and
inclination, it is relatively easy to set up shopping cart software at
your own site. Most web hosts offer this option. Along with their
shopping cart program you will need to subscribe to a get credit card
processing service such as CCNow or MerchantAccount. There is some basic
information here: http://www.bcentral.com/articles/workshop/115.asp
and you will often find discussions of various merchant accounts/credit
card processing companies in discussion forums for self-publishers.
Another payment option is to use a service like PayPal.com or eCheck.
These require people to sign up, however, rather than just entering
their credit card number. Unless you know your readers are likely to be
members of Paypal already (like everyone on ebay) this can be an
obstacle. I use this at my site, for my e-book, but that's because I
don't expect the majority of my sales to come through there and I can't
be bothered with the hassle of setting up a merchant account and paying
big commission and other fees. If I had lots of products to sell, or was
planning to sell my ebook exclusively through my site, I would
definitely get a shopping cart and merchant account.
On the issue of marketing, it sounds like you know who your audience
is and have a good idea where to reach them. Even though this is an
e-book I'd recommend getting hold of some of the heavy-weights of
self-publishing how-to books: Dan Poynter, the Ross's "Jump Start
Your Book Sales", John Kremer's "1001 Ways to Market Your
Book"... These are all good for inspiration. For information
promoting online, try Angela Hoy & MJ Rose's "How To Publish
and Promote Online" from Booklocker. It has been a best-seller for
a few years now.
The most important thing is to be enthusiastic about your book and
mention it wherever you go, online or off. Send out press releases, join
discussion forums and put your book info in your signature file, become
an acknowledged expert in your subject field. Send special offers to
groups that you think will be interested in your book, offer to give
talks...
I'm giving a talk on Sunday and I'm currently making up a stack of
CD-Roms to take with me so that I can sell copies of my e-book right
then and there - even though I still send people to Booklocker, online.
I don’t want to take the risk that they'll lose the impulse to buy
while on the drive home!
Anyway, this is a sketch of some of the things you could be thinking
about. I hope it's helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Julie
***
Q&A -
Xlibris vs. iUniverse
Hello,
I am curious about is your experience working with
Xilbris. Would you
recommend them for my book of literary criticism (poetry and fiction).
ALSO YOUR opinion ABOUT iUNIVERSE, since they are far less expensive.
Devdeep
Hi Devdeep,
I think Xlibris is one of the better POD companies. The price of
their books is a little high (but not much higher than other POD service
providers).
It is important to remember with any POD service provider that you
are making compromises in order to cut down on cost and hassle. You do
not have as much control over the layout as you might like, the price of
the book will be higher than if you funded a 2000 copy offset run, and
there are obstacles to getting your book into bookstores. On the other
hand, they provide a serviceable, professional design, they take and
process orders, and you don't have to spend money buying books to
re-sell.
As with any self-publishing venture, my best advice would be to
educate yourself about the publishing and bookselling industries. Don't
expect too much from any self-published book and don't expect a POD
company to do for you what a publisher might.
I do not recommend iUniverse. They take rights, and I don't think
they do enough for you to earn those rights. They do no more for you
than any other POD company, yet they expect a cut of the money if you
sell print or subsidiary rights to an established publishing company, as
if they were an agent or publisher.
Best wishes,
Julie
***
Q&A -
Web Hosting
Hello,
I'd like to have my own website, but don't
want to pay a fortune.
Can you recommend some hosting sites that
are quality, reasonably priced, and allow you to add/edit freely?
Thanks!
Debra
Hi
Debra,
As I see it, you have a couple of choices. There are many web hosts
who will give you complete control but that might be a little more
freedom than you are looking for. These hosts provide space on their
servers and not much more. You will probably need a program like
Microsoft FrontPage to help you create and maintain your site (unless
you want to learn the ins and outs of HTML and web administration.
Doable but probably not what you're after).
My web host, Cedant.com, is pretty much like that. I upload my files,
they provide server space, that's it. They used to have an HTML editor
at their site but I don't think they do anymore. I use MSFrontPage to
make creating and administering my site easier. This service only costs
$7.95 a month.
I started off with my first website at a free web host: geocities,
which became Yahoo. There are loads of places like this. They offer you
a relatively small amount of webspace for free and usually include page
editing software that is easy to use. Angelfire, and homestead are two
other free services that spring to mind. Usually with a free service you
cannot choose your own domain (for example, my site is now at www.julieduffy.com
but it used to be at www.geocities.com/jwordsmith
- a little less easy for people to remember. In addition free services
usually subject your viewers to pop-up ads, which can spoil the look of
a site.
When you say "add/edit freely" I should point out that most
web hosts put a transfer limit on your site each month. The more
information you upload (or users download) the more it will cost you.
Having said that I get several hundred hits each day and have yet to
exceed the transfer rate on my ultra-cheapo basic-program hosting fees
(my web company must hate people like me!), so I don't think it's
something you have to worry too much about yet.
What will you be using the site for? Is it important that is has a
professional veneer? If so, steer clear of the free sites, get yourself
a domain name and an HTML editing program and learn a little about
website administration (not too much is necessary). If it is simply a
first site, somewhere to 'play' online, post some writing, get a feel
for the web, by all means use one of the free sites, learn all you can
and have fun. You'll probably outgrow them in time - as you want to do
more flashy stuff and introduce more functions to your site - but it's a
cheap way to learn.
When it comes time to upgrade to paying service, you can research
current service providers ratings at a consumer opinion site like
epinions.com. That's where I found out about Cedant.com. (I get nothing
for mentioning them!).
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Julie
***
NEWS & UPDATES
http://www.julieduffy.com/writing/updates.htm
THE RESOURCE section is growing and now includes...
Supreme Court
Considers Copyright Extension Law Challenge
9 October 2002
The US Supreme Court is considering
whether the 1998 Copyright Extension Law passed by Congress was
unconstitutional.
Before the new act, works received
copyright protection for the author's life plus 50 years. Since 1998
that term has been extended to the author's life plus 70 years, for new
and existing works. This keeps, amongst others, "Gone With The
Wind" out of the public domain for another 20 years.
Opponents claim the extension limits
free speech by locking up works that should be in the public domain, and
that the extension does not give the public adequate compensation for
that loss.
more:
Guardian article
Forbes article
NJ Poet Laureate Row
7 October 2002
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey is
seeking to fire the state's poet laureate Amiri Baraka. Baraka wrote a
poem about Sept 11 that included the lines: ""Who told 4,000
Israeli workers at the Twin Towers to stay home that day? Why did Sharon
stay away?".
McGreevey says the issue is one of
stating falsehoods as facts, Baraka denies accusations of anti-Semitism.
more:
AP article
A Work of
Staggering Nerve...
23 September 2002
Dave Eggers, author of A
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius has published his latest
novel, through his MacSweeney's magazine company. The novel, You
Shall Know Our Velocity had a 10,000 copy print run. Eggers is
distributing the book only to independent bookstores that have been
supportive of MacSweeney's. Eggers has been quoted as saying this
was the only way to ensure the integrity of the novel, and that this is
an experiment that may or may not work.
more:
Globe and Mail article
Salon Writes
About Book Reviewers
16 Sept 2002
Online magazine Salon features
an article about book promotion and book reviewers. While not terribly
encouraging to self-publishers, it makes for an interesting read:
illustrating what it's really like out there in book-review land. Fore
warned is fore armed!
more:
Salon article
Bertlesmann
Seeks to Sell BOL.com
6 Sept 2002
Publishers' Weekly reports that
Bertlesmann (owner of Random House and BMG) wants to sell its
wholly-owned BOL.com sites in Europe. The company confirmed that it has
held talks about selling its online bookselling operations to
Amazon.com. The company will retain its jointly-owned ventures.
more:
Publishers' Weekly article
NYT stories
Palm e-Book
Bestsellers
3 Sept 2002
Palm Digital Media has announced a
list of the top ten best-selling e-books for August 2002.
Predictably, most are from brand-name authors and major publishers. Palm
does not disclose how many copies of each book have sold, but does say
it carries over 6,000 titles, including titles from most major
publishers.
Hugos Awarded
1 Sept 2002
The winners
of Science Fiction Achievement Awards (also known as the Hugo Awards)
were announced at The 60th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)
in San Jose, CA. Winners included Neil
Gaiman for Best Novel, "American Gods", Jo Walton, John W.
Campbell Award for Best New Writer of 2000 or 2001. "Lord of the
Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring" won a Hugo for Best Dramatic
Presentation.
more:
complete list of
winners
Neil Gaiman's
online journal
RESOURCES
http://www.julieduffy.com/writing/resources.htm
Writer's
Digest National Self-Published Book Awards.
Annual contest for
self-publishers. Current Deadline is Dec 16, 2002. Grand prize: $2,500
cash and promotion, plus advice from self-pub guru Dan Poynter. Find forms
online or write to Writers' Digest: Writer's Digest International
Self-Published Book Awards
4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
National
Novel Writing Month
Got a
great idea for a novel but never seem to get around to writing it? Then
sign up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November and
get it done. NaNoWriMo encourages authors to sign up to write a 50,000
word novel between November 1 and 30. In its fourth year, the fun (free)
festival provides a great way for procrastinating writers to force
themselves to write a substantial work. Call it a first draft, call it a
young adult novel, but call it 50,000 words long!
Midwest
Book Review
Voluminous
site, full of book reviews, book review opportunities, advice for
publishers. MWBR is a highly respected review source, publishing several
print newsletters including the Small Press Bookwatch.
Publishers'
Marketplace
The site that
publishes the Publishers' Lunch newsletter. The Marketplace allows
authors to connect with editors and agents--and this one really
delivers. For $15 (US) a month you can join and list your book and what
rights are available; research editors and agents, freelance copyeditors
and more.
Yossarian's
Diary
A gossipy column featuring
news from London's publishing scene, from UK bookseller Ottakar's.
Also includes recommendations and a literary quiz and, of course, links
to Ottakars' online bookstore. Updated about every two weeks, you
can sign up for email notifications that tell you when new entries are
uploaded.
Guardian
Book Section
News from the UK
publishing scene from one of the UK's leading broadsheet newspapers.
Updated regularly, the site contains publishing news (mostly from the
UK, but also including international subjects), reviews, interviews,
bestseller lists, first chapter excerpts, a community chat and essays
from the London Review of Books.
Publishers'
Lunch
All the gossip you need
to keep you in touch with who is doing what in the book-publishing
world. This is a great way to become more familiar with which editors
and agents are buying the kinds of books you are writing. The weekly
'Deal Lunch' lists latest deals signed and an approximate value of the
deal.
Subscription
form
The
Self-Publishing Network
A U.K. based site with loads of
great information for U.K. writers: how to register an ISBN, or
copyright; information about The British Library...Some of the pages are
a bit under-populated and the whole site could do with a redesign (no
offense), but a useful starting point for would-be self-publishers in
the U.K., frustrated by the wealth of info on U.S. self-publishing and
dearth of info on U.K. self-publishing.
Xulon Press
A print on-demand publisher
specializing in Christian books. See their
publishing agreement. Offering trim sizes 5"x8",
5.5"x8.5", 6"x9", 8.25"x11" in paperback
and/or hardback. Offer four services, priced $699-$1699
(Sept 2002). Xulon does not take rights and the author signs a
non-exclusive agreement. Will continue to produce your book for 12
months after you request cancellation of the contract. If they don't
produce your book in 45-90 days of receiving it, you can cancel.
Royalties paid quarterly, 25% (presumably of list price). 25 free
corrections included in all services, thereafter changes cost
$2.50/page. Author discount: 30% off list price. Basic ($699) service
does NOT offer bookstore distribution. You buy the books and re-sell.
This plan also offers the poorest author discount. Higher priced
services offer better discounts, bookstore distribution and marketing
support such as a catalogue mailed to Christian bookstores (since Xulon
is a service, not a selective publisher, this catalogue may not be
valued by bookstore buyers).
Fairly pricey for the services, but
fair and seems well-organized and well-established. Claims to have sold
50,000 books in 2001.
eBooks 'n' Bytes
eBooks'n'Bytes is a resource site for e-publishers.
The articles
page is packed with information on e-publishing and promotion and is
well worth a look. Of course, there is lots of stuff to buy here, too
including design and marketing services.
Broken
Pencil
An ezine and print magazine about...ezines. Actually, it bills itself as 'the magazine of zine
culture and the independent arts'. A great guide to the indie arts
scene. Based in Toronto so not US-centric. A great resource for artists
looking for new venues for their work.
and more...
http://julieduffy.com/writing/resources.htm
ABOUT JDWRITE
JDWrite is the online home of writer, journalist and former Xlibris
Director of Author Services, Julie McCarroll Duffy. Julie has expert
knowledge of the new world of publishing: Print On-Demand,
self-publishing, online publishing, eBooks, the evolving publishing
industry and more. Her role at Xlibris was to work with authors to help them understand these developments, to
listen to authors' needs and communicate those to the company. She
has been a speaker at writers' conferences around the US and seeks
to continue to educate authors to understand their ever-increasing
opportunities in the publishing world. Julie is working on a
series of e-books about Print On-Demand Publishing.
All content copyright 2001 Julie
Duffy.
For permission to reprint articles,
contact the editor at jd@jdwrite.com.
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