Publishing Books: The Basics
June 21, 2010 12:42 am
During my last two years in the publishing industry, I have talked with many authors. The most basic query they have is, What kind of book should I publish?
Guess what? The answer is very simple. Tomorrow, simply walk to the nearest bookstore and browse through the book racks.
Ask yourself: What kind of books do I, as a reader, love to buy?
Novels? If you need some good entertainment to pass the time, then a novel or some other fiction, maybe. But what are the chances you will buy it?
The truth is, unless you have heard about the novel from your friends or colleagues, advertising or media channels, you will simply put it back on the shelf – unless the synopsis on the back is very intriguing, accompanied by an eye-catching book cover.
In 2009, about 764,500 books were self-published, vs. approximately 288,000 that were traditionally published, according to Publishers’ Weekly figures.
How many do you expect have been really successful in bringing back huge chunks of money to the authors? Maybe not even 10,000 books.
Why?
Publishing has a few rules that every author should keep in mind when writing and publishing books:
1) The reason for Publishing:
Are you publishing only because it has always been your dream to publish a book? Or are you publishing because you want to become famous? Or do you want those hefty checks worth thousand of dollars from your publishers?
Make the reason very clear in your head before you start writing your book.
Well, let’s say you always wanted to write a poetry book. You write great poetry. Excellent – but will it sell?
After leaving high school or college, how many poetry books have you bought? See? You’ve got your answer.
In my city, I am probably one of the top ten buyers of poetry books. Being a multi – award-winning poet, it’ s my passion to read and write poetry books. My first poetry book got two awards in the United States. My poetry has been published by Forward Press. But does it bring me money? The answer is No.
It brought me fame, but not money; and I knew very well that would be the case when I started writing it. It doesn’t bother me, because that’s not my profession.
If you write something to fulfill your life-long passion, do not expect that the book will rake in thousands of dollars for you. You will be able to sell at the most a hundred, or even if you stretch it, a maximum of two hundred books. Not more than that. This applies even to those books that sell. You have to be darn lucky to have your first book become a best seller.
Poetry Books just don’t sell unless you find a publisher who can target the right audience – like poets and university scholars – who are really interested in books of poetry.
This rule also applies to many other genres of books.
So first fix in your mind – why are you writing the book?
If it’s for money, then you have to research and find out what books really sell. Do you have the appropriate knowledge, time, and money to pursue writing a book on that topic?
Do not confuse money and your dreams.
This brings us to the next rule
2) Benefits of the Book:
Is your book another cookbook with recipes easily searchable on the Internet? Is it another self-healing book with all the crap you have already read year after year, repackaged in a new style? Or is it something new and different?
And the most important question: what does your book give back to the reader?
I am going to give you an example:
Chris Coyier is a real-world web designer who has been reaching for WordPress to power client sites for many years. He is regarded as the Guru of WordPress Coding. With Jeff Starr, he published the book “Digging into Wordpress”. The eleven- chapter book, packed with more than four hundred pages of WordPress tutorials, techniques, tips and tricks was released after a year of production, design, planning and writing.
By the time I am writing this post, all their printed books have gone out of stock. Sold out completely. Only ebook formats are available, and they are looking for more printing options.
Both of these guys are among the best in their fields. The book shares a lot of professional tips and how-tos of their knowledge regarding WordPress for professional web designers.
You must be good in some field, too. Ask yourself, what practical knowledge can you share through your book?
Emphasis is on the practical. A book with long paragraphs on hypotheses and theories doesn’t sell anymore. Practical knowledge is the key.
3) Target Audience:
How did Chris and Jeff manage to sell their complete print stock of books?
They started staying in touch with their target audience, from a year before publishing their book, through different blog and social media sites.
Even today, you will find them active on many social networking sites like Twitter.
First, pinpoint your target audience. Then stay focused on your target audience, stay in constant touch with them, answer their queries, help them when you can. It’s exactly like building relationships in real life. The important thing is to do it long before publishing your book.
Don’t do it only because you want to sell your book. Make it a habit – and it’s a good habit – to socialize and help others.
This applies to all genres of books. If you know how to approach your target audience, you can even make money out of selling poetry books!
3) Presentation:
This is probably the most important rule, because even if your content is great, your book will not sell if it’s not presentable.
Your book needs to be properly edited, formatted and designed. This is one rule often completely ignored by self-publishing authors, and is the major reason their books are unsuccessful.
The reason why this rule is ignored is because professional help costs a lot. Authors try to save money for the marketing of the book, and tend to bypass editing and formatting. They may either try to do these themselves, or they may hire an English teacher for editing or freelance designer to design and format.
The worst thing authors can do for their books is to ignore this rule. Their ignoring the rule is one of the prime reasons why bookstores refuse to accept their self-published books.
Never Edit Your Book Yourself!
You are bound to miss something, because it’s your dream book and you love it – maybe even more than your spouse at that time. Love is always blind.
Never try using non-designing software like Ms Word /Open Office to format your book!
You will spend more time getting rejected by printers if you use them, as down the line something will happen which will not match with the printer specifications.
Never try to design yourself an “adequate,” “okay” cover for your book.
Your cover should be mind-blowing, so attractive that potential readers will pick it out of a hundred books on the shelf.
Get professional help for these. Period!
4) Synopsis of the Book:
If the cover is the face of your book, the back cover synopsis is the hand of your book.
I have designed so many books; but almost every time, I find the synopsis has been written in haste and at the last minute.
When a person searches your book online or pick up your book in a bookstore, the synopsis of the book is going to make or break the sale of your book. These days, no one has time to go through books. Readers will open it only if they find the synopsis interesting.
Give yourself enough time to write an interesting and innovative synopsis.
5) Marketing:
At the end, it all boils down to how you market your book. Again, this is an area in which you should seek professional assistance. Of course, you could go to a coffee shop every day with a stack of books under your arm and place them on your table, in the hope that people will ask about them, and ultimately buy them. How many will you sell this way? How long will it take to make a few hundred dollars? How many cups of coffee will you have to drink? How long will it take you to feel discouraged, disheartened, and incompetent?
Most publishers have staff members who are knowledgeable and experienced in marketing techniques. They can tailor their suggestions to you, your book, and your target audience, so that the time and money spent in marketing is well spent rather than wasted. Yes, a marketing package will cost some money. But if you truly want your book to sell to more than just your relatives and close friends, you do need the services of a marketing and communications professional.
Conclusion:
These rules are not written in stone. You can always be innovative with them. But you should keep them in mind when writing, publishing and selling your own book. You’ll find they are well worth your consideration, and will contribute to your success as an author.
Wicked Sunny
Founder and Director
www.Publishinggurus.com
