By Bonnie Stanard
If you’re writing short stories and poetry and getting wholesale rejections, you can take only so much comfort in knowing that many good writers had to get their start without the help of traditional publishers—James Joyce, Zane Grey, and Ezra Pound, to name a few. Unable to interest publishers, they set about printing their own work and were eventually picked up by traditional publishers.
If your objective is to be published and you’ve hit a dead-end by submitting to literary journals, what are your options? Assuming you have enough for a book, i.e. as many as 45 poems or 60,000 words (prose), you might go to Createspace or Xilibris or another POD publisher and bring out a collection of your work. However, what if you only have a couple of 2,000 word stories? Or a handful of poems?
Self publishing is still possible, as long as you opt for a different format. What I’m suggesting is that you start your own e-zine, no easy task, but do-able if you have the heart, determination, and time to devote to the project.
There’s an incredible slew of online journals, with new ones emerging continuously. Surf the web and take a look. Some e-zines provide no masthead and don’t name the editor or staff. More often than not, the only address and/or contact is email. You don’t even need a post office box to go in business. Take a look at some of the online publications at http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/pbonline.html.
Your journal will have more credibility if you publish the work of other writers along with your own. But of course you may use pseudonyms and nobody will be the wiser. One advantage of collaborating with writer friends is to dilute the cost and the work load. A writers’ group, such as the South Carolina Writers' Workshop, presents a potential pool to draw upon.
The cost for a web host may be as low as $5 to $10 a month, but there are other expenses, such as a domain name (+/-$35). If you don’t feel confident designing a web page, free software is available, such as KompoZer or Mozilla Composer, or you may step-up and pay for Dreamweaver (+/-$400) or NetObjects Fusion, and there are others.
As for getting a website started for your e-zine, here are several places with helpful information:
www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite.shtml
www.wizardofthewebsites.com
www.siteforstarters.com/starting-your-own-website-tutorial
You may want to read online reviews of web hosting services. Be aware that many of these reviewers are compensated by the companies they rank. The following two websites appear to take no such compensation:
www.webhostingreviews.com
www.webhostingjungle.com
The possibility exists to publish your short stories and poetry for much less expense than did Joyce, Grey, or Pound, but this doesn’t mean the work load is lighter.
Showing posts with label Self Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Publishing. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Tips on Merchandising Your Writing
By Fred Fields
Experience is the best teacher. It doesn't have to be your own, and anybody's experience can qualify. That's why we study history. If we can find out how a particular problem was solved in 1350, AD, we may be able to solve the same problem the same way in 2012, AD.
The first important lesson I learned about writing and being able to sell what I wrote was that "how to" books sell a lot better than fiction. Anyone can write how to and sell it. But few ever become Louis L'Amour or Agatha Christie. I learned this at the SC Book Festival, the same day and the same place I learned about SCWW.
So I put aside my great American novel and wrote a book about how to play golf.
Being totally unknown, and having to compete with famous golf pros and authors, I really had no hope of finding a traditional publisher who would print and merchandise my book. So I took it to Kinko's for an estimate on the price of printing. It was about $6.00 a book, actually more reasonable than I expected.
My son-in-law recommended that I contact Amazon. They have a printing subsidiary called CreateSpace, which has a three page pamphlet online describing their service. It looked interesting, so I contacted them, liked their program even better as I got to know it, and subscribed to their service.
This is not a commercial for Createspace. Being a total ADD Type, I stopped looking when I found them. But there are several others who provide the same service, probably as well, maybe better. I just picked the first good deal I found.
I was able to have my book published and on the market within two weeks of completion. I set the price. I was a published author. I was very happy with the result.
Next problem, how to market the book.
Back to the SC Book Festival, where there was a seminar on merchandising. I spoke to the lady who gave the seminar, Shari Stauch, and later bought her internet marketing course. She taught me that there are sites on the internet that put people with inventory (my books) together with people who sell online and are looking for inventory. Her price was reasonable. I bought her service, used her advice, and this month, my royalties are triple her fee. I’m sure there are others who provide the same information, but she was the one I chose. (Still having ADD, I took the first choice.) And I hit it lucky again.
In closing, I am a very satisfied customer of self-publishing and internet marketing. My book is selling. You can find me at Amazon.com and on Google. In my own little way, I am a successful, published author. (Even a little bit famous.)
Experience is the best teacher. It doesn't have to be your own, and anybody's experience can qualify. That's why we study history. If we can find out how a particular problem was solved in 1350, AD, we may be able to solve the same problem the same way in 2012, AD.
The first important lesson I learned about writing and being able to sell what I wrote was that "how to" books sell a lot better than fiction. Anyone can write how to and sell it. But few ever become Louis L'Amour or Agatha Christie. I learned this at the SC Book Festival, the same day and the same place I learned about SCWW.
So I put aside my great American novel and wrote a book about how to play golf.
Being totally unknown, and having to compete with famous golf pros and authors, I really had no hope of finding a traditional publisher who would print and merchandise my book. So I took it to Kinko's for an estimate on the price of printing. It was about $6.00 a book, actually more reasonable than I expected.
My son-in-law recommended that I contact Amazon. They have a printing subsidiary called CreateSpace, which has a three page pamphlet online describing their service. It looked interesting, so I contacted them, liked their program even better as I got to know it, and subscribed to their service.
This is not a commercial for Createspace. Being a total ADD Type, I stopped looking when I found them. But there are several others who provide the same service, probably as well, maybe better. I just picked the first good deal I found.
I was able to have my book published and on the market within two weeks of completion. I set the price. I was a published author. I was very happy with the result.
Next problem, how to market the book.
Back to the SC Book Festival, where there was a seminar on merchandising. I spoke to the lady who gave the seminar, Shari Stauch, and later bought her internet marketing course. She taught me that there are sites on the internet that put people with inventory (my books) together with people who sell online and are looking for inventory. Her price was reasonable. I bought her service, used her advice, and this month, my royalties are triple her fee. I’m sure there are others who provide the same information, but she was the one I chose. (Still having ADD, I took the first choice.) And I hit it lucky again.
In closing, I am a very satisfied customer of self-publishing and internet marketing. My book is selling. You can find me at Amazon.com and on Google. In my own little way, I am a successful, published author. (Even a little bit famous.)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
SCWW Conference, October 21-23, 2011
By Laura P. Valtorta
Every year the South Carolina Writers’ Workshop Conference has been rewarding, but this year it was particularly friendly and fun. The writers and the agents seemed more relaxed and more willing to talk than usual. The highlights of this conference were the dinners -- Friday and Saturday night -- because Bonnie and I sat with agents who were wiling to talk: Jessica Regel from the Jean V. Naggar agency) and Mollie Glick (Foundry Literary + Media).
Jessica lives in Florida and works on-line for her New York agency; as a teenager, she worked as a fashion model. Mollie’s husband works for an ad agency and they travel a lot. These insights into the agents’ lives showed whether or not we might like to work with them, and what sorts of things interest them. Bonnie enjoyed quizzing everyone about the new, tough world of publishing where e-books are only this year becoming less horrifying. Last year, every agent grew pop-eyed at the mention of electronic publishing. Not so much this year, because the prices have gone up.
When I described my water-rights fight, each agent responded “Erin Brokovich.” It was like a word-association exercise. Agents need catch phrases and quick ideas that spell “money.” What amazes me, always, is that these young people, who haven’t worked in the industry for very long, can, in about 30 seconds, describe what they want from a story: what they believe will sell.
Thanks to Carrie McCullough, Ginny Padgett, and their team, the setting was marvelous, and the food was conference-quality. I can’t imagine a prettier setting than a South Carolina beach in October. On Saturday at noon I walked to the pier and back. It was a perfect beach day. Forget the writing; I wanted to become a photographer.
Every year the South Carolina Writers’ Workshop Conference has been rewarding, but this year it was particularly friendly and fun. The writers and the agents seemed more relaxed and more willing to talk than usual. The highlights of this conference were the dinners -- Friday and Saturday night -- because Bonnie and I sat with agents who were wiling to talk: Jessica Regel from the Jean V. Naggar agency) and Mollie Glick (Foundry Literary + Media).
Jessica lives in Florida and works on-line for her New York agency; as a teenager, she worked as a fashion model. Mollie’s husband works for an ad agency and they travel a lot. These insights into the agents’ lives showed whether or not we might like to work with them, and what sorts of things interest them. Bonnie enjoyed quizzing everyone about the new, tough world of publishing where e-books are only this year becoming less horrifying. Last year, every agent grew pop-eyed at the mention of electronic publishing. Not so much this year, because the prices have gone up.
When I described my water-rights fight, each agent responded “Erin Brokovich.” It was like a word-association exercise. Agents need catch phrases and quick ideas that spell “money.” What amazes me, always, is that these young people, who haven’t worked in the industry for very long, can, in about 30 seconds, describe what they want from a story: what they believe will sell.
Thanks to Carrie McCullough, Ginny Padgett, and their team, the setting was marvelous, and the food was conference-quality. I can’t imagine a prettier setting than a South Carolina beach in October. On Saturday at noon I walked to the pier and back. It was a perfect beach day. Forget the writing; I wanted to become a photographer.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The On-going Saga of the Self-Published (Sign of the Cross) Author
By Mike Long
I continue to hone my marketing skills, as there is zero marketing support for a self-publisher. This may not be all bad as I read that 'successful' authors are expected to do more and more by traditional publishers.
Some things I've learned:
(A) Advertising through magazines is a great tax write-off and little else, unless it's preceded or accompanied by an article/interview/review. Who ever bought a book because of an ad?
(B) Do not trust a magazine to write the article/interview/review after you've paid for their ad. Three have stiffed me; nice ads, no follow through. The response is, "Sorry, I do ads. Someone else handles those things. Yes, I know they referred you to me, but I only do ads. Would you like to order another one?"
(C) Book signings are great sales venues, especially in book stores. Surprising as it may seem, people come there to look for books. Gun stores, furniture shops, your best friend's boutique may not be so great. People visit them to buy something else.
(D) Even better venues are clubs (Rotary, Sertoma, Lions, Civil War Round Tables, Daughters of the Confederacy, etc), where talks turn into sales/signings. If the talk is okay, about a third of the attendees will buy a book. The club officers responsible for booking speakers like to have someone (like me) readily available to fill in for a cancellation.
(E) Enter your work in as many contests as you can. Winners and finalists enhance their portfolios. You can then put little gold stickers on all your book covers: Winner, 2010 Spur Awards, or Finalist, 2011 Southeast Vampire Shootout.
(F) Speaking of vampires, put some in your book to really spice up sales, even if it's non-fiction stuff on Centipede vs St Augustine grass. Really. I wish I had.
(G) As I've said many times before, keep your day job. Just keep writing.
(H) The problem with Publish On Demand publishers is that they have no 'return policy' and neither Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Borders, nor Waldenbooks will stock your book (even with vampires) unless there's a return policy. And if they don't stock it, you can't do a signing there.
Now-feel better? Write on.
I continue to hone my marketing skills, as there is zero marketing support for a self-publisher. This may not be all bad as I read that 'successful' authors are expected to do more and more by traditional publishers.
Some things I've learned:
(A) Advertising through magazines is a great tax write-off and little else, unless it's preceded or accompanied by an article/interview/review. Who ever bought a book because of an ad?
(B) Do not trust a magazine to write the article/interview/review after you've paid for their ad. Three have stiffed me; nice ads, no follow through. The response is, "Sorry, I do ads. Someone else handles those things. Yes, I know they referred you to me, but I only do ads. Would you like to order another one?"
(C) Book signings are great sales venues, especially in book stores. Surprising as it may seem, people come there to look for books. Gun stores, furniture shops, your best friend's boutique may not be so great. People visit them to buy something else.
(D) Even better venues are clubs (Rotary, Sertoma, Lions, Civil War Round Tables, Daughters of the Confederacy, etc), where talks turn into sales/signings. If the talk is okay, about a third of the attendees will buy a book. The club officers responsible for booking speakers like to have someone (like me) readily available to fill in for a cancellation.
(E) Enter your work in as many contests as you can. Winners and finalists enhance their portfolios. You can then put little gold stickers on all your book covers: Winner, 2010 Spur Awards, or Finalist, 2011 Southeast Vampire Shootout.
(F) Speaking of vampires, put some in your book to really spice up sales, even if it's non-fiction stuff on Centipede vs St Augustine grass. Really. I wish I had.
(G) As I've said many times before, keep your day job. Just keep writing.
(H) The problem with Publish On Demand publishers is that they have no 'return policy' and neither Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Borders, nor Waldenbooks will stock your book (even with vampires) unless there's a return policy. And if they don't stock it, you can't do a signing there.
Now-feel better? Write on.
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