August 2009 Archives
The Book is Published-Now What?
I know I sound like a broken record, because all I can keep saying is “I am so excited”! My book, Dreams Thrown Away, was officially published August 14, 2009. I had the book in my hands less than a week later. It felt so good I carried it around the house. My husband scolded me and told me I couldn’t bring it to bed. I promise, I didn’t take it to bed. Once I got it though, I started marketing full-force. I had begun the legwork prior, sending out announcements that it would soon be released. I set up my website, www.dilsasaundersbailey.com and took pre-orders. I ordered a huge lot and began to sell them to my friends, family, and co-workers.
So what are my goals, and what should be done? I self-published, but from what I have been reading whether you self-publish or go the traditional way, you have to market your book in order to be successful. These are some of the steps I have taken and will take to make this book a publishing success:
1) Take pre-orders offering free shipping and an autographed copy on my website.
2) Send news releases to the local papers, organizations where I am a member, and to city publications where I have lived.
3) Send information sheets with a full-blown copy of the cover to book clubs. These sheets include an excerpt of the book and where it can be purchased, plus an offer to have a visit from the author.
4) Schedule book signings at independent book stores.
5) Email the full release status of my book and a reminder that the special offer of free shipping and an autographed copy ends soon.
There are more tactics that I plan to employ, but the most important tactic is to not ever quit. To be a success, one has to remain focused. If you have that book in you, follow your dream. See it. Believe it. Achieve it!
Ebooks!
In 2002, Tom and Marilyn Ross quoted an article from U.S. News & World Report in their book, The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, as headlining: New E-Book devices don’t threaten the printed word. That article was published in 2001. Here it is, only 8 years later and the tide has turned. The printed word is still popular. It still feels great to hold the weight of a book and to turn the pages. I know, I just received my recently released copy of Dreams Thrown Away, my own creation and it feels great. But, Amazon has the world tumbling with Kindle. The titles were selling so fast that Sony released a reader, iPOD has an application to let you read ebooks, and just about anyone with access to the internet can download a PDF file that is an ebook. Ebooks are everywhere. When you sign onto a website to get information, a free ebook is offered or an ebook is an offered at a much lower cost than the hard copy. Why, it’s easily accessible, portable, and the resolution or visual sense of it is getting better with each newly evolved reader. Kindle has evolved to even allow text to speech of the books you download. There are other readers out there, maybe not as popular, but they will increase once this revolution settles on a format. Not too unlike when there was the VHS and what was that other video format? Right now, Amazon and Sony are the most recognizable readers. Though still a little pricey, they are still making headway in changing the publishing world. How so?
Does it take a traditional publisher to publish an ebook? No. Does it take a vanity press or a self-publishing company to get it out there for you? No. What does it take? It takes a computer application like Adobe’s PDF capabilities or an ebook software application like Ebookgold. Or you can go to websites that are readily accessible like CreateSpace.com, an Amazon Company that will upload your work into a Kindle format. There are so many venues to get your work published.
You have a great idea, a niche that you want to shout I am the expert, write an ebook. You will have to follow the same marketing efforts you would any product you want to sell online, but how do you protect it? In the United States, your work is copyrighted as soon as you create it, but that may not be enough. Protect your work, copyright it anyway.
Once you have checked copyright off the list, what about an ISBN, that international standard book number. The ISBN organization says this in their FAQ’s referencing ebooks.
Who is eligible for an ISBN?
The ISBN Agency assigns ISBNs at the direct request of publishers, e-book publishers, audio cassette and video producers, software producers and museums and associations with publishing programs.
What do I do when I receive the ISBN and where is it printed?
An ISBN should be assigned to each title or product, including any backlist or forthcoming titles. Each format or binding must have a separate ISBN (i.e. hardcover, paperbound, VHS video, laserdisc, e-book format, etc). A new ISBN is required for a revised edition. Once assigned, an ISBN can never be reused. An ISBN is printed on the lower portion of the back cover of a book above the bar code and on the copyright page.
ISBNs help to identify your book and your title which is a plus if you are selling a book with a similar title to another on a website such as Amazon.
Copyright 2009 Dilsa Saunders Bailey – Contact us dilsa@simplydilsa.com for permission to reprint
Website Launch – www.dilsasaundersbailey.com
Hello Everybody,
My dreams are finally coming true. I have launched my website with a pre-order of my new novel, Dreams Thrown Away. Order now, get free shipping, and an autographed copy. I know you are going to enjoy it!
This journey has been the most exciting time of my life, whether it was writing, editing, revising, or planning I enjoyed every second of it. If you have a dream, stop delaying it, pursue it. You will be surprised how things fall into place once you set your mind on it. Go for it! Don’t let your dreams be thrown away….
