I realize it has been a whopping six months since my last post, but I wanted to assure everyone that I am alive and well! Now that running our publishing business has become part of my day-to-day routine I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up with posting new things. But I’m still learning and enjoying whatever opportunities come my way. Oh yes, and I’m writing another book. Which requires as much time as I can squeeze into my schedule!

Anyway…Ashley is a sweet friend that I met through this blog. She is the author of the newly self-published book, Daddy’s Briefcase. If you head on over to her blog, you can read a brief interview where I share some thoughts about the self-publishing experience.

In case you are still on the fence about whether to self-publish or go the traditional publishing route, let me direct your attention to this collection of true experiences posted by author, Alan Weiss. Just to give you an idea of what you’ll read, check out this first one:

A permissions editor told me she was holding up production because all of my permissions (to use quotes of others) were not submitted.

“I always do that thoroughly,” I told her, “you’re wrong.”

“Well, then how is it you’ve quoted the same man twice and there isn’t a single permission filed?”

“Who is it?”

“Oscar Wilde.”

When I told the editor-in-chief for business books, he said, “Please tell me you made this up.”

Incredible, huh? Incompetence in our society is pervasive, and there is certainly no guarantee that being published by a traditional publisher will net you a quality product. Of course, self-publishing is also plagued by sub-par work – in everything from editing to layout to cover design, and more. But this can be avoided! Self-publishers who are serious about producing a beautiful and high quality book can educate themselves and contract various aspects of the project to individuals with expertise in those fields. Self-publishing continues to gain momentum, and I think there is great potential for those who take the time to learn the ins and outs of the industry now.

HT: Arlen Busenitz

Whenever you produce something and make it available to the public, you have to be ready for feedback to come your way. Of course, when it’s of a positive nature, this is a delightful aspect of running a business and producing materials. It’s definitely not always like that, but I am so grateful for the people who take time to express gratefulness for something that has helped them. Here are a couple of comments I’ve recently received in e-mails regarding the Journey to Self Publishing CD that I released last year:

“You and Arlen have kept me company as I’ve driven around town doing errands, and I’ve learned so much from your CD.” ~Anne O., Canada

“God bless you for sharing what you have learned about self-publishing with “others” through the CD. I received your CD from my daughter and son-in-law for Christmas and it was by far my favorite Christmas gift! I listen to your CD at least five days a week as I drive to and from work.” ~Debra W., North Carolina

If you have dreams of writing and publishing a book, this is for you! I’ve put together a Special Self-Publishing Package that includes a copy of both Journey to Self Publishing and Pajama School so that you can refer to the book as I discuss various aspects of the design and publishing process. Throughout the month of February, you can get the Special Self-Publishing Package for only $24 (plus shipping) by using the coupon code: FEB2011

It’s no secret that many people choose to self-publish because they can’t get a traditional publishing house to publish their book. Many times this is due to lack of a platform. More often it is due to less-than-stellar writing skills. A while back I was reading the blog post, Mystory, by author Rachel Starr Thomson. I was strangely inspired to discover that her latest release, Coming Day, was almost ten years in the making and went through approximately seven complete rewrites before making its debut. Rachel is a fabulous writer, and I think this is why. She knows when her work is not good enough to publish. Oh, that more writers were blessed with such sagacity!

Curious to learn more about the process of writing, editing, and bringing a book to completion, I asked Rachel to consider addressing this issue on her blog. I am thrilled that she has agreed to tackle this topic and has begun a series of posts called, When Is Your Writing Good Enough?. You can read part one on her blog for starters, but then stay tuned for what I’m sure will be a plethora of great thoughts and helpful advice for all aspiring authors! As I mentioned in my CD, Journey to Self Publishing, I employed upwards of 30 people in various aspects of editing my book, Pajama School. I’m excited because I think Rachel’s suggestions will not only provide valuable tips to pass on to editors, but may also help me reduce the number of editors to a figure as low as, say, 20 in the future…

In the same issue of Book Business that I referred to last week, Peter Hildick-Smith also gives publishers this tip in his article, Fourteen Tips to Increase E-book Sales:

Earn personal recommendations. A large enough initial group of people have to first read and love a book before there are enough recommenders to make a difference in the book’s later sales. Personal recommendations are earned, not created. Before that can happen, the book has to be discovered, interesting enough to buy, and a strong enough read that the reader will be moved to want to share it and recommend it. Make sure that those who are most likely to respond to a given book’s topic of story have every chance to discover and read it.

When I first received my load of books, I think I was too stingy with them. Sure, I slated some of them for review and giveaway purposes, but in retrospect I don’t think it was nearly enough. Especially as a first-time author, it takes a lot to establish credibility. Since my target is the homeschool market, I should have come up with a list of 200 influential people in the homeschool world who would agree to review my book and publish their review either on-line or in print. Instead, I think my list was closer to 25. We’ve made up for it some over the last year and a half, but there is a certain momentum when a book is first released that is forever lost after several months have passed.

So, if you’re still looking toward a future publication of your book, make that list of a couple hundred influencers in your field and be sure that your budget includes the cost of those books plus shipping. Getting your name out there is a long, grueling process, so the more you can connect with people and build a coalition to help you in this arena, the better!

According to Book Business, “The No. 1 reason people buy a new book is because it’s written by an author they like.” This statement was made in an article of Fourteen Tips to Increase E-book Sales in the latest issue of their bi-monthly magazine. Addressing the question, “Do book browsers convert to book buyers?”, writer Peter Hildick-Smith offers this tip: Play to your author’s strengths.

This is a fascinating insight, equally relevant in print books, because the number one frustration I have experienced in marketing my book – Pajama School – is that people express interest in reading it, but that interest rarely translates into sales. I knew it would be hard to break into the market as a new author, but I had no idea just how hard it would be! That’s probably why the above observation resonates so much with me.

What exactly does this mean for new authors? Apparently, somehow they have to get lots of people to like them. How this translates in practice I really don’t know. But if you have any tips or thoughts you’d be willing to share on the subject, I’d love to hear them!

After months of thinking about publishing my book, Pajama School, in a digital format for Kindle, I finally buckled down and figured out what I needed to do to make it happen. The process was simple, but a bit time-consuming. First off, you have to set up an account with Amazon’s Digital Text Platform. Why this is not integrated into the Amazon Advantage accounts I have no idea, but Amazon seems to specialize in disjointed confusion…

Once the account is set up, just navigate to the “Bookshelf” and click the button to “Add a new title.” The uploading process is very intuitive. I ended up uploading my book file as a pdf, then I downloaded it as an html file and spent several hours cleaning up the code in Dreamweaver before re-uploading it. There may be a faster way to do this, but since I didn’t already have any of my book in an html format, this was the most convenient. Once it is uploaded, it takes about 24 hours to publish it and make it live and available for purchase on Amazon.com.

I’m not into reading books on a digital reader yet, so I’m not sure how important it is to make a book available in this market. However, it’s always valuable to explore something new and expand your knowledge in a new area. So, if you are considering publishing a book to Kindle, I’d encourage you to give it a try. It’s pretty painless, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to make your book available in as many venues and formats as possible!

While doing some research into Anderson Merchandisers, the company that supplies books, CDs, DVDs and more to Walmarts, Sam’s Clubs, and military bases all across the country and around the world, I came across this fascinating article: Entrepreneur Seeks New Channels as Media Goes Digital.

The company was founded in 1917 by Clyde Anderson when, in the wake of his father’s accidental death, he started a small newsstand in a makeshift shed. The fledgling venture grew to become Anderson Companies, one of the nation’s largest family-owned enterprises. I thought this statement was rather humorous and reflective of a true entrepreneurial spirit:

“Anderson says he doesn’t know how many companies the family owns currently, but estimates they’ve bought, sold and kept at least 150.”

Based on the article, current CEO and President, Charlie Anderson, is obviously a creative, forward-thinking business owner. Consider this statement related to the music industry:

“I do not see a music industry supported by 99-cents single downloads,’ he says. ‘That may still be around, but that will just be one revenue stream. We have to come up with many more.”

Articles like this inspire me to keep looking ahead, developing new ideas, and pursuing fresh opportunities. You have to be in touch with where things are at in the market, where things are headed, and how to create new ways of doing business that will appeal to consumers. That requires lots of “high level thinking”:

“Charlie is spending a vast amount of his time figuring out what the next generation of Anderson Media looks like…Charlie thinks at a high level, as does the rest of the family. He doesn’t think about little ideas, he is about big game-changing ideas.”

If we aim to be producers and culture-changers, we have to be willing to take the time to think and plan and try new things. This is both thrilling and scary! I am still learning more all the time about what works and what doesn’t (usually from plenteous mistakes!) in various business pursuits. But it sure is a fun adventure – and it’s great to be able to learn from those who have traveled the entrepreneurial path for many years!

These insights from C.S. Lewis really resonated with me:

The way for a person to develop a style is (a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and (b) to be sure he is saying exactly that.

The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him.

I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go into it.

This is definitely a challenge when writing, but then again, this is what makes writing such an adventurous pursuit! I have had my words (in my book, Pajama School) taken differently than I intended on numerous occasions. While at first I was tempted to become frustrated and to blame it solely on the reader, I am learning to view such experiences as an opportunity to refine my message and communicate with greater clarity what I really mean. The above quote from C.S. Lewis is a good reminder of how to do that!

HT: Justin Taylor

Things continue to move forward here, but the number of ideas and projects I want to do always seems to outpace the time in which to do them! My new CD, Journey to Self Publishing – 12 steps to successfully publish your book, should soon be available through Amazon. However, I’ve also decided to make it available as a downloadble mp3 package for those who don’t care about having the pretty CD packaging and want to save a few dollars on shipping. Not to mention that the cost of the downloadble file package is already reduced from the regular price of the CD anyway! Same great content…less cost to you.

Journey to Self Publishing | mp3 downloadable version | $15

Also, for any of you who may be interested, you can earn an affiliate commission if you become a PayLoadz affiliate and refer others to this product. In fact, you can earn $5 commission for every product sold through your affiliate link!