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32. YOUR BOOK PROMOTION FOUNDATION by Dan Poynter
Because many
smaller and newer book publishers are short of time and money, they must concentrate their resources in the most productive promotion areas. |
31. WRITING YOUR BOOK IS JUST THE BEGINNING by Dan Poynter
One of
the greatest misconceptions harbored by writers is that the job is done when the book manuscript is mailed. While manuscript completion is a time to celebrate, it is also the time to switch hats. |
30. SELLING FOREIGN-LANGUAGE RIGHTS by Dan Poynter
When you write a
manuscript, you are creating a Work. The Work may be published in several different formats (editions): hardcover, softcover, audiotape, eBook, magazine condensation, newspaper serialization, movie, translations, etc. These are called “subsidiary rights”. |
29. PROMOTING BOOKS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT by Dan Poynter
Publishing
is changing—for the better. There is a New Model for book writing, producing, selling and promoting. One part of this revolutionary change is in book promoting. |
28. ENCOURAGE READER FEEDBACK by Dan Poynter
Writing and publishing
your book is not the end of your literary involvement. When readers have questions, authors have a responsibility to respond by email, mail, telephone and in person at book signings and other events. |
27. NO MORE AUTOGRAPH PARTIES by Dan Poynter
One of the joys of
being a published author is being appreciated for your Work. Getting a favorable response to your book from a crowd of people is an event most authors look forward to. |
26. CO-OP BOOK PROMOTION by Dan Poynter
Book promotion is expensive.
The challenges are that books are a lowticket item (they do not cost much so you have to sell a bunch to pay for the promotion).... |
25. DISTRIBUTION TO THE BOOK TRADE by Dan Poynter
There are four
stages in the life of every book: writing, producing (printing & binding), distributing and promoting. Each step is a unique challenge and each challenge must be met. |
24. BE GRATEFUL FOR A BAD REVIEW by Dan Poynter
Reviews are the
least expensive and most effective form of book promotion. More than 300 titles are published each day. There is no way anyone can know and rank them. |
23. 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. |
22. WHEN YOUR BOOK IS NOT QUITE PERFECT by Dan Poynter
Normally, the
arrival of a new book is a day to celebrate just like the arrival of a new baby. Publishing a book is a lot like giving birth and you want each to be perfect. |
21. REJECTING MANUSCRIPTS.THE HELPFUL WAY by Dan Poynter
An
estimated 85-90% of the 55,000 publishers in the United States do not have commercial telephone listings. They do not want to be listed in the Yellow Pages. |
20. MAKE YOUR BOOK WORTH THE MONEY by Dan Poynter
Size matters. Your
book has to appear to be long enough to be worth the money you are charging. |
19. HOW TO PRICE A BOOK by Dan Poynter
Book pricing depends more
upon genre or category than on production costs. Here is a formula for determining how to price your book: You must look at price from the bottom up and from the top down. |
18. GATHERING TESTIMONIALS & FOREWORDS by Dan Poynter
More than
300 titles are published each day. There is no way anyone can know and rank them. That is why the book industry relies so heavily on blurbs. |
17. APPROACHING AGENTS & PUBLISHERS WHILE SELF-PUBLISHING by Dan
Poynter
Many nonfiction book writers ask how to approach an agent or publisher. Today the question is when to approach them. Traditionally, writers had to decide between selling out and self-publishing. Their considerations were often reduced to money, time and control. |
16. EVERYONE JUDGES A BOOK BY ITS COVER by Dan Poynter
Like it or
not, no one reads the book before he or she makes a buying decision. Consumers do not read it in the store. Sales reps only carry book covers and jackets to show store buyers while wholesalers and distributors say “just send us the cover copy.” |
15. PRINTING BOOKS DIGITALLY by Dan Poynter
In self-publishing, you
are both the book creator and book producer; you are the author and the publisher. You will need creative writing talent to become a published author and money to become a publisher. |
14. COVERS SELL BOOKS by Dan Poynter
Packaging is everything. Each
year, corporations spend more than $50 billion on product packaging and design. $50 billion, not for the products themselves or for the wrapper but $50 billion just for the design of the wrapper. |
13. BOOK PRINTING JUST GOT CHEAPER by Dan Poynter
Book publishing is
changing—for the better. There is a New Model for book writing, producing, selling and promoting. Now you can break into print faster, easier and cheaper. One part of this revolutionary change is in printing. |
12. WRITING WITHOUT INTERRUPTION by Dan Poynter
Good writing
requires concentration. Interruptions often occur when you are deep in thought and producing your best work. |
11. WRITING BOOKS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT by Dan Poynter
Books are
changing—for the better. There is a New Model for book writing, producing, selling and promoting. Now you can break into print faster, easier and cheaper. One part of this revolutionary change is in book writing. |
10. TIME TO WRITE by Dan Poynter
How long does it take to write a
book? That’s like asking “how much is a car?” It depends on a great many things. According to Brenner Information Group, on the average, it takes 475 hours to write fiction books and 725 hours to write nonfiction. |
9. STAY IN ONE FIELD . . . AND OWN IT by Dan Poynter
Once you select
your subject. Stick to it; stay in one field. Too many authors and author-publisher-speakers write a book on a subject they know well—aimed at their own (reachable) field. |
8. REVISING YOUR BOOK by Dan Poynter
The large (New York) publishers
publish books by the season. With three periods per year, each book has a selling season of four months. After the four-month period, the book is moved to the backlist, is replaced on the frontlist by other titles and is forgotten. |
7. NO ONE FACES REJECTION MORE OFTEN THAN AN AUTHOR by Dan
Poynter
Why do so many books get their start being published by the author? Rejection! The explanation is simple and let us not blame the publisher for failing to recognize good writing. |
6. HIRE A PROOFREADER by Dan Poynter
Do not try to proof your own
work. You are too close to the manuscript and will miss some typographical errors. You need a professional with fresh eyes to proof your work. |
5. HIRE A COPY EDITOR by Dan Poynter
The copy edit is clean up work.
Once the manuscript is complete you become more concerned with punctuation, grammar and style. Now is the time to make your information more readable. |
4. GET MANUSCRIPT HELP FROM EXPERTS by Dan Poynter
Savvy nonfiction
author-publishers take each chapter of their nearly complete manuscript and send it off to at least four experts on that particular chapter’s subject. This step in book writing is called "peer review." |
3. FASHION YOUR BOOK TO MATCH OTHERS IN ITS FIELD by Dan Poynter
As
you survey the shelves in the bookstore, you will note that each genre or category has its own unique look. For example, business books usually have a hard cover and a dust jacket. |
2. BEWARE OF WORKING TITLES by Dan Poynter
Be careful what you make
permanent. Working titles are dangerous. They can become too familiar to us while being misleading or meaningless to potential customers. |
1. . . . AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: FACT CHECKING by Dan
Poynter
Nonfiction writers have long realized that they have a responsibility to their readers, to their own credibility and to history to check all the facts they repeat in their books. |
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