Tricks, Tactics, and Techniques from Published Authors: Thoughts on Traditional vs. E-book Publishin

“Tricks, Tactics, and Techniques from Published Authors: Thoughts on Traditional vs. E-book Publishing”–Jan Peck and David Davis share secrets to getting.
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Authors retain complete creative control from content to cover , and are responsible for quality control and marketing. Online stores usually take a percentage of profits, though these are generally far less than a traditional publisher would require. The benefits of self-publishing are in the freedom of the author to bring their work to potential readers.

Authors are free to invest in making the best product possible, but the process is very cheap and can be done for almost nothing. The downside to this approach is that self-published works still have a long way to go in terms of prestige. Readers are not as trusting as they would be of traditionally published works, and there is no mechanism outside the author for differentiating high-quality work from the glut of much poorer work.

Those who do wish to self-publish need to keep in mind that processes such as copyediting and book cover design are genuinely difficult, and errors in these areas can easily lead readers to decide that an otherwise excellent book belongs in the lower end of the self-published market.

These services can be easily sought out , but will cost money in their own right. Publishing in a digital format means limiting the number of people who will encounter your work, although that limited number is still a huge potential readership.

Finally, authors looking to self-publish have to accept that getting their work read will be their own responsibility. This means networking , using social media to build their brand , and engaging in activities such as book giveaways and interviews, and submitting to marketing services.

Self-publishing guarantees your work will be available for purchase, but success requires a great deal of personal effort and invested time. While vanity publishing is usually the preserve of those with a specific use for a set number of physical copies, traditional and self-publishing offer competing benefits that may attract authors to one or the other as their preference. Many authors began as self-published writers before gaining the attention of a publishing company, and many successful authors spent years pursuing a publisher before shifting their sights to the self-publishing market.

In the end, the only right choice is the one that suits your current goals. Work hard, and work consistently, and you can find success through any avenue.

How vanity publishing works

Do you long for traditional publication or do you think self-publishing is the future? Let me know in the comments. Rob is an editor for Standout Books. He has yet to encounter a bookshop he can walk past, a habit which has become deadly now that you can buy the newest releases digitally at 1am. Thankfully, it also comes in handy for providing the best advice on writing your book. Read more about Rob here. How are eBooks priced? For example, is there an advantage for beginning authors to price their eBook at say, one cent?


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Or does that imply the book is worth only one cent? As for hard copy books, I have seen authors peddle their own books on street corners for fifty cents to a dollar or two. Robert Thanks for a thoughtful article. May I suggest a further evolution in the industry? There is a fast-growing segment that is composed mostly of small publishers that are independent from the traditional publishers.

They assume the costs of cover designs, editing and formatting, and make a contribution to marketing, like the traditionals. They also tend to publish in selected genres and favour ebooks first and paperback second. I suggest these are the legitimate independent publishers. Independents are quite distinct from vanity publishers and from self-publishers who, while not pay-to-publish firms , will publish almost anything, with little quality adjudication, and low-quality support services design, editing, marketing, etc.

The challenge is differentiating independents from self-publishers.

Chandler Bolt

One way is to raise awareness, like this. Thanks for your thoughts. As you say, independent publishers are still establishing their presence in the marketplace, but can be a legitimate option for some writers. Expect to see an article dedicated to this topic in the near future.

How to Publish a Book in 2018: Self-Publishing Tips From a Bestseller

I suppose the plus point with vanity publishing is spending the money which can help push some people to finish their work. But my next books did much better: It was on Amazon's marketing bestsellers list for two years straight. It's not that I became a better writer. I got better results, because I became a much better book marketer. It should go without saying that you first need to write a good book before you go about marketing it! I got better by studying and deconstructing the book launches of successful authors. Here's what I learned:. Whatever your goals for publishing a book, the way you promote it needs to fit around them.

For example, if you want to make the New York Times bestseller list, you have to sell thousands of copies of your book from vendors who report their sales to the NYT , and you have to do it within a specific time. Your strategy could include offering a bonus to people who pre-order the book since pre-orders count towards the first week of sales. Start working on your book launch at least six months in advance, because that's the minimum amount of time you need to build relationships. Get under the radar of influencers by supporting them. If you have your own platform, like a podcast or blog, interview them and give them exposure.


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Sign up for their programs and be one of their success stories. If they like the book enough, they may even promote it to their audiences. Begin drumming up interest in your book by engaging your audience throughout its development. Hint that you're up to something.

Presentations - Jan PeckJan Peck

Ask for their inputs on the cover design. Tease them with excerpts. You'll also want to keep building your audience through blog tours, interviews, and media exposure. Try signing up as a source on HARO.