 |
|
|
|
HOME |
HELP
HOMESECTIONS
BOOK NEWS
RELEASES
BOOK
DEALS
BOOK EVENTS
READING ROOM
FORUMS
MARKETPLACE
Book Proposal Secrets - Discover how to sell your book to a leading publisher - and grab yourself a five-figure cash advance, all without ever having to write a single word!
|
TODAY'S EVENTS
Best-selling author Adriana Trigiani proves
over and over again that there's no place like home. The New ... (
More...
)
NEWS
PUBLISHER and AUTHOR LOOK TO BUILD
TRUST WITH READERS IN NEW and MEANINGFUL WAY by BookCatcher.com
(
More...
)
Character Pro - Harnesses the power of the Enneagram, a personality-typing system used by professional psychologists, to help writers develop memorable, well-rounded story characters
|
COMMENTARY
PUBLISHER and AUTHOR LOOK TO
BUILD TRUST WITH READERS IN NEW and MEANINGFUL WAY by BookCatcher.com (
More... )
ARTICLES
IMPRINTS: RESEARCH YOUR BOOK'S MARKET AS YOU
WRITE by Lisa Silverman ( More...
)
INTERVIEWS
AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR OF FANTASY CULT
CLASSIC by Jason Sizemore ( More... )
Dramatica Pro - Develop unforgettable characters, seamless plots, and passionate themes into fully realized stories!
|
BOOK DEALS
Penguin Group to become the official book
publisher of L.M. Montgomery 100th Anniversary Editions (
More...
)
FORUMS
(
More...
)
Dramatica Pro - Develop unforgettable characters, seamless plots, and passionate themes into fully realized stories!
|
NEWSLETTERS
Publishing Poynters
Poynters
Marketplace
(More...)
MISC.
Submit News
About
Us
Contact Us
Site
Map
Fiction Master - Improve your own characters and plots -- or invent them on the spot
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<< (
Back to DAN POYNTER
ARTICLES )
|
THE VARIOUS
EDITIONS OF YOUR BOOK by Dan Poynter
These are exciting times for writers. Modern
techniques and new technologies speed our writing and expand our wares. There
was a time when writers were rarely published in more than one edition and then
those editions were limited to hardcover, softcover and mass-market paperback.
Editions. Your printed "pBook" consists of words and
black/white illustrations on paper but some of the other editions will be much
fancier. The electronic edition will be read on a computer screen or handheld
reader. This version may have color photographs and drawings. The illustrations
can move; you can insert video clips. You can add sound files: music and
spoken-word audio. You can make references to Web sites so that your reader can
get more information. And in the electronic edition of your book, the
referenced URLs will be hot; the reader may just click on them and go straight
to the website.
Now that we are differentiating between pBooks and
eBooks, we might as well call your audio product an aBook. Then it follows that
your workshop will be your wBook, your speech your sBook and your consulting
your cBook. All of these activities are derived from your Work (with a capital
"W"), your core content. The formats or "editions" are different but the
information is essentially the same. For example, once you complete the printed
manuscript (pBook), it may be used as a script to record the Work on cassette,
CD or for audio download (aBook).
Media asset management. Your book
will be produced in several formats to accommodate the preferences of your
readers.
As John Kremer (1001 Ways to Market Your Book) says, your $20
printed book could also be a $6 downloadable edition, a $70 audiocassette
album, a $150 video package, a $600 seminar, a $300/hour consulting session and
so on. The formats are different; the core content or “Work” is the
same Some consumers want to "read" your book but do not have time to read. On
the other hand, they commute long distances and would like to listen to your
book. For them, you can make a spoken-word audio edition. Your "book" should be
available in any format your reader wants.
Generally, most people
today still prefer the pBook but a growing number of younger people choose
eBooks.
At the beginning of the term, a freshman walked into the
college library for the first time. He looked around and focused on a 22-
volume set of books. He asked a nearby librarian what the books were. The
librarian responded "that is the encyclopedia". The student turned incredulous
and asked "You mean someone printed out the whole thing?"
If you look
up Dreamcatcher by Stephen King at an online bookstore such as Amazon.com, you
will find it is available in seven different editions: hardcover, mass market
paperback, audio cassette (unabridged), audio CD (unabridged), hardcover (large
print), eBook (Microsoft Reader) and audio download. You too, want to wring
maximum value out of your work.
“The word Authority has the
word Author in it.” –Joe Vitale, author, There’s a Customer Born
Every Minute, a book on the life of P.T. Barnum.
Credibility. Most people hold authors and books in high esteem.
Since a printed book provides more credibility than an audio or electronic text
edition, you will want to print the "Work" too. So, the pBook comes first; it
is the foundation for your business. Then you can turn out the other editions.
Format. Plan to write your book in book-layout format. Forget
Courier typeface and double-spaced text. Make your pages look like a printed
page. Set your margins for a type block about 4.25 x 7. Add a header and a page
number at the top. Now as you write, you will be able to visualize the finished
page.
Write your words, add illustrations, insert captions, drop in
quotations, and introduce stories and then sit back to view what your reader
will see. Are you getting your point across or should you rearrange the
elements on the page?
Conversion. Once the book is written, you
may pour it into a page layout program such as PageMaker, InDesign or Quark.
Then convert it to an Adobe Acrobat .PDF and burn a CD. Acrobat converts the
text file to an image file; the format preferred by book printers. Acrobat will
convert the text file to "Press" for an offset (ink) printer, "Print" for a
digital book printer and "Screen" for CDs and download—to be read on a
screen. It takes just a few minutes to convert your manuscript into all three.
ISBNs. An International Standard Book number should be ascribed
to each edition of a Work. The purpose of the ISBN is to assure that those who
order get what they want and expect. A customer who orders a hardcover edition
will probably be disappointed to get the audio CD. So, today, we need a lot
more ISBNs that we used to. See http://www.ISBN.org
Distribution. There are about 85 distributors across North America
that handle pBooks. Some handle aBooks (audio) as well. For other editions, you
will want to deal with another distributor or "store". Some dealers, for
example, specialize in selling downloads. To distribute your eBooks and aBooks,
see Amazon.com, B&N.com, CyclopsMedia.com and Booklocker.com.
Think of the future. Focus on your pBook and know that you will be
spinning off several editions from your basic manuscript or Work. The
collective result will provide a much better chance of making a living while
making a difference.
There is more than one way to publish a Work;
your book will be more than a book.
Dan Poynter does not want
you to die with a book still inside you. You have the ingredients and he has
your recipe. Dan has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing
Nonfiction and The Self- Publishing Manual. For more help on book writing, see
http://ParaPub.com. ©
2003
|
<< (
Back to DAN POYNTER
ARTICLES )
|
English Grammar Checker - Fix and Enrich text in a few steps with WhiteSmoke's English grammar checker. Free demo.
|
Book Clubs Directory - A complete directory of book clubs that offer memberships to discounted books, best-seller lists, and new book releases.
|
Fiction Master - Improve your own characters and plots -- or invent them on the spot
|
Power Structure - Graphically track conflicts, subplots, characters and themes.
|
|
