I highly doubt if I will ever earning a living with my books. Luckily for me, I have no wild dreams of pushing JKR aside. That being said, I earn a living freelancing and providing services for others.
I have a new client who wants me to help her publish an ebook on Amazon.com. I told her that it was free to do and she could most likely do it herself with a little effort, but she'd rather pay me to do it. So, I was straight with her. I always try to come straight. Now, the reason for this post.
This client has a friend who she said excitedly: "He has a BOOK PUBLISHER!" Clearly, she's very envious about this.
I looked at her for a moment or two, then asked: "How much is he paying them?"
She replied, "Oh he's paying them a lot. He just found out he has to give them three thousand dollars more."
Do you hear that? It's the "Dum dum" theme music from the movie "Jaws."
I told her, "He doesn't have a book PUBLISHER, he has a book PRODUCER."
My "hopeful next Stephen King" friends with manuscripts, if you come across someone who says they want to publish your book and they ask you for ONE DIME, they are not book publishers. They are book producers. They make books for money. Lots of money. You are paying them to make a book for you. I don't care how persuasive they are, all the wonderful promises about what they'll do for you in promotions, etc., you are PAYING for everything that they do. The moment the money runs out, they do too.
Real publishers don't charge you anything. They believe your book will sell, will invest money to produce and promote it, then recoup their costs, a profit, and give you a portion, known as a royalty. In some cases, if you are very lucky, they will give you a cash advance. It isn't a gift, they intend to get that back too in sales. After they get it back, then you start receiving royalties.
My client's friend is being ripped off even as he believes he's being "published." The book producer has ties with someone famous "in the church circles" and of course the friend feels some prestige being associated with that name. More than likely that famous person is getting his cut of that money too. Religious affiliations have little to do with business, and just because someone is a famous televangelist, doesn't mean he won't pick your pockets. Actually, they're very good at it.
He would have been much better off independently producing his book himself. He could have started with free ebook distribution on Amazon.com, and if he wanted paperback books, he could have gone with Createspace, which is print on demand. If he was skilled enough, he could put the book together himself and have it published free, or he could pay about $400 to have it perfectly designed and ready for sale. If he wanted promotion, he could hire someone JUST for that.
What I'm saying here, is if you are looking for a publisher, make sure it is a REAL publisher. The moment a fee is mentioned, go to the shallow part of the pool. There are sharks in these book publishing waters, and they don't want blood, they want green.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Shameless Self-Promotion Video from Yours Truly . . . watch now! :))
Me plugging my novel. Will be available on Amazon.com within the week. :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Trapping Neighbors into Reading Your Books and Giving You Face to Face Reviews
Let's face it. I'm never going to get rich writing. No, this isn't a pessimistic viewpoint. It is what it is. If I published simply in the hope that I'd get rich, I wouldn't have done it. I just want to leave something of myself behind. Not that getting rich would be a bad thing, but it's not what I'm striving for. And I'm not setting myself up for disappointment.
That said, I still want people to like what I write. And to be honest I do have thousands of fanfic reviews from readers who like my take on things. I even have a couple of hundred on original stories I've posted, mostly positive. But I'm telling you, there's nothing like talking face to face with a person who likes your work.
When my first proof arrived for Sahara, I had it for five minutes before I went to my neighbor Joanne's house, and asked her to read it. She gave me a look like "Oh God." I could tell she had little faith in my storytelling abilities. Joanne has to be one of the most opinionated people in the complex. But, she didn't want to tell me no.
That's exactly what I was counting on. She said it might take a while because she was "busy." That's code for "your book is probably so boring it's going to take a lifetime for me to read it." or "I've got better things to do with my time."
Perfect reader. Not in love with me, doubtful, critical and ye of little faith all combined.
Today, she saw me outside and called me over.
"I'm hooked," she said. "What I like is you don't fill the story up with a lot of unnecessary details. I don't need to know how many veins are in a leaf twirling in the wind on a tree."
I saw my book resting on a small stool in front of her favorite chair, a bookmark stuck in the middle of it. She picked it up and said, "See the bookmark matches the book!" She was all enthusiasm.
Now, Joanne will probably never ever leave a review on Amazon. She's not a net person. But as she talked about the characters and what they did (like I didn't know) I felt very fulfilled, happy, because my story made an impact. It doesn't matter the world will never hear her enthusiasm.
I did.
That said, I still want people to like what I write. And to be honest I do have thousands of fanfic reviews from readers who like my take on things. I even have a couple of hundred on original stories I've posted, mostly positive. But I'm telling you, there's nothing like talking face to face with a person who likes your work.
When my first proof arrived for Sahara, I had it for five minutes before I went to my neighbor Joanne's house, and asked her to read it. She gave me a look like "Oh God." I could tell she had little faith in my storytelling abilities. Joanne has to be one of the most opinionated people in the complex. But, she didn't want to tell me no.
That's exactly what I was counting on. She said it might take a while because she was "busy." That's code for "your book is probably so boring it's going to take a lifetime for me to read it." or "I've got better things to do with my time."
Perfect reader. Not in love with me, doubtful, critical and ye of little faith all combined.
Today, she saw me outside and called me over.
"I'm hooked," she said. "What I like is you don't fill the story up with a lot of unnecessary details. I don't need to know how many veins are in a leaf twirling in the wind on a tree."
I saw my book resting on a small stool in front of her favorite chair, a bookmark stuck in the middle of it. She picked it up and said, "See the bookmark matches the book!" She was all enthusiasm.
Now, Joanne will probably never ever leave a review on Amazon. She's not a net person. But as she talked about the characters and what they did (like I didn't know) I felt very fulfilled, happy, because my story made an impact. It doesn't matter the world will never hear her enthusiasm.
I did.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Oops, Not QUITE free. Had to order proof of book
Well, "Sahara" passed the review product. I had to order a proof to review, though, before it goes up for sale. One major expenditure of:
$4.47 + $3.49 shipping for a whopping total of:
$8.06
Not too bad overall for a self-published book. So it's ordered and I can expect it by Monday after next.
Very cool :)
$4.47 + $3.49 shipping for a whopping total of:
$8.06
Not too bad overall for a self-published book. So it's ordered and I can expect it by Monday after next.
Very cool :)
How to Format your own books for Kindle and Print and sell them FREE
A fbf of mine asked how to format a book for publication. I told her then thought I'd share the basics here, because I know there are quite a few people who would like to publish a book and sell it. So far I've managed to do it for free. I am going to invest $25 as soon as I get some funds to expand the print book's distribution so it can be ordered by bookstores and placed in libraries.
Not too shabby for a process that can cost a grand or two.
Amazon.com and it's affiliate CreateSpace give writers a great, free option to publish their books. CreateSpace even assigns your books a FREE ibsn number so your book can be found and ordered.
Amazon specializes in Kindle/Downloadable books. If you leave off the DRM management, your book can be converted to other formats for other digital book readers. They general pay 35% - 70% royalties. You have to wait 60 days for the first payment to be deposited for the first month, then you should get the payments steadily at the end of each month thereafter, as long as you've made at least $10 in sales.
CreateSpace specializes in print-on-demand books. The books are printed as the customers order them. The royalties are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the kindle books but that's because they are physically printed which has overhead. Still, you have a real, hold-in-your-hand book, and that's a very nice feeling. But on a book priced at $8.99, you'll make about 92 cents per sale. Doesn't seem like much, but if it catches fire . . . the pickings can be pretty good.
Here's the basics, copied directly from my reply to my friend:
Not too shabby for a process that can cost a grand or two.
Amazon.com and it's affiliate CreateSpace give writers a great, free option to publish their books. CreateSpace even assigns your books a FREE ibsn number so your book can be found and ordered.
Amazon specializes in Kindle/Downloadable books. If you leave off the DRM management, your book can be converted to other formats for other digital book readers. They general pay 35% - 70% royalties. You have to wait 60 days for the first payment to be deposited for the first month, then you should get the payments steadily at the end of each month thereafter, as long as you've made at least $10 in sales.
CreateSpace specializes in print-on-demand books. The books are printed as the customers order them. The royalties are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the kindle books but that's because they are physically printed which has overhead. Still, you have a real, hold-in-your-hand book, and that's a very nice feeling. But on a book priced at $8.99, you'll make about 92 cents per sale. Doesn't seem like much, but if it catches fire . . . the pickings can be pretty good.
Here's the basics, copied directly from my reply to my friend:
FOR EBOOKS
Well, for Kindle, you format it the way you want in word, add a table of contents, save it as a "filtered webpage" (.htm or html) then download a free ebook creator like Moblipocket creator, select the saved html file, select an image for the cover, then "build" the ebook. It will be saved in several files, but the one most used is .prc. You can upload that after reviewing it, to amazon.com, then enter the description info, your bank account info to recieve royalties and set your price. Wa-laah. Published and selling within hours, and for FREE
FOR PRINT BOOKS
Formatting for printing is different. You have to size your pages to match the physical size of the book. Enter your title, copyright info, ibsn number (I got one free from CreateSpace) Dedication, Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, then the book content by chapters. You should have odd and even headers at the top of the actual story pages, the author name centered on the left page, and the title of the story on the right page. After the end of the story, you should put an "About the Author" blurb. My book is 6" x 9". I used .75 margins.
CreateSpace provides templates to help you format your book and create your book cover. It also provides services to do it for you, for a price of course. It takes a little work to do it yourself, but with some determination, it can be done.
I hope this information is useful. :)
UPDATE: You do have to pay for the "proof" which is a physical copy of the book that is shipped to you to be reviewed and checked out to make sure the book is ready for sale.
The cost: $4.47 + $3.49 shipping. Total $8.06
That was the total cost to self-publish my book. Still not a bad deal!
UPDATE: You do have to pay for the "proof" which is a physical copy of the book that is shipped to you to be reviewed and checked out to make sure the book is ready for sale.
The cost: $4.47 + $3.49 shipping. Total $8.06
That was the total cost to self-publish my book. Still not a bad deal!
And the Cat or in this case, the Cover Came Back
Bullpucky!!! XC
I had to redo the cover to Sahara. The guides were showing. I guess they are the equivalent to "printable panties."
All right, I've covered them up.
What freaking time is it anyway? 4:53????
I guess you can tell I have very bad sleeping habits.
I had to redo the cover to Sahara. The guides were showing. I guess they are the equivalent to "printable panties."
All right, I've covered them up.
What freaking time is it anyway? 4:53????
I guess you can tell I have very bad sleeping habits.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Dedications and Acknowledgments
In the print book of Sahara: A Shifter's Tale, there's something different than in the kindle edition.
Dedications and Acknowledgments.
I dedicated my book to my children and grandchildren although I hope to high heaven that none of my grandchildren pick it up until they're in their 20's.
They have a very naughty grandma.
In my acknowledgments, I finally have the chance to publicly thank individuals and a plethora of supportive, encouraging and kind people who are and will continue to be the rock I stand on.
I'm so glad I have the chance to do that.
Dedications and Acknowledgments.
I dedicated my book to my children and grandchildren although I hope to high heaven that none of my grandchildren pick it up until they're in their 20's.
They have a very naughty grandma.
In my acknowledgments, I finally have the chance to publicly thank individuals and a plethora of supportive, encouraging and kind people who are and will continue to be the rock I stand on.
I'm so glad I have the chance to do that.
Enjoyed Bill Maher but was multi-tasking, formatting a book for print
Best line ever: Bill Maher on Newt Gingrinch:
"If he was any slimier, you could kill him with a box of salt."
XD
He had a lot of zingers, but I was too engaged in trying to format my book "Sahara" for print distribution. Amazon CreateSpace lets you format a book for print, then prints it on demand for any customer that orders it. They offer formatting services, but man, they are pricey. But they do give you a free IBSN number.
It appears to be simplicity itself. They give you a nice Word template, already formated to book size. You just have to paste your text into it. Sounds easy right? It is, until you look at the whole thing and find the formattings gone screwy. After you fix up the oversized headers and huge gaps in the text, you upload it for an initial review. Of course, the formatting is all wrong. Words supposed to be formatted into the middle of the page are at the top, words formatted to be at the bottom are in the middle, part of the text is outside the margins . . . argh.
So I'm on like my 6th upload. I'm determined. And then there's the cover. Again you get the template, but you have to design the cover with the spine and back cover. You need a calculator to figure how big the spine has to be based on the number of pages in the book. I see why people pay a couple of hundred dollars for the professional services. They're frustrated. But I am determined to get it right. I also need to work on my Author Page at http://ruthrsolomon.com It's rather sad with that "Coming Soon" text and pic of my book. But in time. I'm completely skivving off on a freelance assignment I have to do. I already received the deposit. Luckily it's a subject I'm familiar with. Hopefully I'll knock it out tomorrow or Saturday in a couple of hours. Well, that's it for tonight. Take care.
"If he was any slimier, you could kill him with a box of salt."
XD
He had a lot of zingers, but I was too engaged in trying to format my book "Sahara" for print distribution. Amazon CreateSpace lets you format a book for print, then prints it on demand for any customer that orders it. They offer formatting services, but man, they are pricey. But they do give you a free IBSN number.
It appears to be simplicity itself. They give you a nice Word template, already formated to book size. You just have to paste your text into it. Sounds easy right? It is, until you look at the whole thing and find the formattings gone screwy. After you fix up the oversized headers and huge gaps in the text, you upload it for an initial review. Of course, the formatting is all wrong. Words supposed to be formatted into the middle of the page are at the top, words formatted to be at the bottom are in the middle, part of the text is outside the margins . . . argh.
So I'm on like my 6th upload. I'm determined. And then there's the cover. Again you get the template, but you have to design the cover with the spine and back cover. You need a calculator to figure how big the spine has to be based on the number of pages in the book. I see why people pay a couple of hundred dollars for the professional services. They're frustrated. But I am determined to get it right. I also need to work on my Author Page at http://ruthrsolomon.com It's rather sad with that "Coming Soon" text and pic of my book. But in time. I'm completely skivving off on a freelance assignment I have to do. I already received the deposit. Luckily it's a subject I'm familiar with. Hopefully I'll knock it out tomorrow or Saturday in a couple of hours. Well, that's it for tonight. Take care.
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