Self Publisher Success Story

AP Wire | 11/21/2005 | Writers turn to self-publishing: "Five years ago, author ReShonda Tate Billingsley had a story to tell and sent out a flood of query letters trying to interest the big publishers in her book, My Brother's Keeper.

'I tried to go the traditional route and sent out letters to agents,' she said. That didn't work. Billingsley, who was living in Oklahoma City at the time, began wondering why she was sitting around waiting for someone to validate her talent, she said.

So she turned to self-publishing, a way of getting a book out to the public by using nontraditional distribution channels. A year later, she had sold 15,000 copies, and Simon & Schuster was knocking at her door for a deal."

Average Book Bring in $146,667

Attached article about Berret-Koeller, an interesting publisher, who actally likes authors.

Good business numbers on the publishing industry.

Getting on the Same Page"Zackheim is talking about an industry where $28.6 billion in 2004 revenues was split among 195,000 books. That's just $146,667 per book. Factor in the cost of acquiring, editing, manufacturing, marketing, and shipping each title, and publishing begins to look like the inverse of Vegas: a place where the house usually loses."

Should Authors Want Google To Scan There Books

Ann Woolner does a good job of explaining the Google program to scan every book in the linked article.

Most of the stories I read come down on Google a trying to break the law. Tuat makes sense, most are written in publications that benefit from copyright materials.

There are hurdles to cross.. but we all benefit if Google scans. Amazon has a voluntary program now and I find and buy books based on what is buried on page 234 all the time.

If the courts rule that Google has to seek permission.. will they ever get around to asking me about my small number of books? Maybe not. And the world wouldn't be able to find me that way (though I'm sure I could submit them to Google).

Copyright law exist for the public(reader) interest. The idea was that we'd get more books if writers were encouraged to publish. Hmmm.. Seems to be no shortage of writters wanting to publish today.

I think we'll wind up with everything indexed. Personally, I can't wait. I always want more stuff than I can find time to read, and this is one more way to find it.

Bloomberg.com: Bloomberg Columnists: "As the holder of a copyright on a book that fell a couple copies short of best-seller status and is now out of print, it excites me to think that Google might keep my work alive."

Web reviews drive online book sales

Web reviews drive online book sales - vnunet.com: "Book reviews posted on the websites of online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble have a significant influence on the ultimate success or failure of new titles, research has claimed.

A study by the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management on the effects of consumer reviews on online book sales concluded that this community content has an impact on consumers' purchases.

The study, by professors Judith Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin, aimed to determine whether differences in customer reviews across the two US websites affect sales."

The Ultimate Corporate Brochure: Your Book

The Ultimate Corporate Brochure: Your Book: "Strategy
Think of this as a different form of a corporate brochure. Unlike a brochure, being a published author will make you look look like a celebrated expert in your field. This separates you from the competition, boosts your perceived value, leads to much higher fees and more than your share of referrals as people become afraid NOT to hire you! Besides, when was the last time a prospect asked for you to autograph your brochure?"

11458 New Publishers Last Year

HoustonChronicle.com - It's not vanity: Authors pen self-publishing revolution: "'Last year we assigned ISBN publisher prefixes to almost 11,458 new publishers. Of those, 11,344 were small publishers, meaning someone publishing one to 10 books,' says Andrew Grabois, director of publisher relations at R.R. Bowker, the U.S. ISBN agency. (The International Standard Book Number is that unique 10-digit number on every book sold in any store.)"

Guinness World Records(TM) Stars on the Silver Screen in First in-Theater Advertisement for Best Selling Book

Guinness World Records(TM) Stars on the Silver Screen in First in-Theater Advertisement for Best Selling Book: "Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking achievement, today announced the introduction of the Company's first national in-theater advertisement for its best-selling annual book. Premiering in theaters throughout November and December, the advertisement will be played before films including, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Chronicles of Narnia, the 30-second spot will support the release of Guinness World Records 2006 during the holiday season."

Bezos' Amazon.com To Sell Books By The Page

Bezos' Amazon.com To Sell Books By The Page - Forbes.com: "Amazon Pages will dole out the data in increments--by chapter, section or even a single page. Thus, one needn't buy an entire book--although that option will exist, too--if all one desires is, say, a recipe or other chunk of how-to info. One wistfully imagines the racier excerpts of 'art' novels might be a draw, as well.

Amazon Upgrade, the slightly less amazing stepsister of Amazon Pages, furnishes Web access to a book already purchased. A company statement offers a serving suggestion: A programmer buying a guide to Sun Microsystems' (nasdaq: SUNW - news - people ) Java could then access the presumably massive tome from elsewhere--perhaps at a client site."

Expanding literacy is great, but how will Google protect writers' intellectual property?

Whitney Otto is yet another poor author, taken in by the ideas that "tradional publishers" give us about authors work.

She writes for an Oregon paper.. scared that Google is going to steal her work.. this is one of the more silly paragraphs.

Expanding literacy is great, but how will Google protect writers' intellectual property?: "The recommendations by Amazon and reader reviews are essentially meaningless because the potential buyer of a book doesn't know anything about these online critics. For an opinion to have meaning, there must be a specific context. For one, you need to understand the critic's criteria. A random opinion -- like Google Print's disembodied excerpts -- is the equivalent of no opinion, and no help for readers, at all."

Listen Whitney.. you need to learn that a book is a great ENTRE product. Build a database and communicate and sell them more information on the back end.. no need to "sell out" to do that!

Google Checks Out Interest In Online Book 'Rental' Plan

WSJ.com - Google Checks Out Interest In Online Book 'Rental' Plan: "According to this publisher, the books wouldn't be downloadable or printable. Those features may be worked out at a later time, he said. Although this publisher said that the proposed fee to end users -- 10% of each book's list price -- is too low, he said it still may represent a significant opportunity for publishers to tap the budding digital-book market.
While the exact shape of any rental approach by Google doesn't appear to be final, the current discussion with the publisher is a strong indication the Internet-search company plans to head in the digital book-renting direction. 'Google Print is exploring new access models to help authors and publishers sell more books online, but we don't have anything to announce,' a Google spokesman said."

What a Book

I just finished reading UNHYPNOSIS.. by Dr. Steve Taubman.

One of the most thought provoking reads I've had in a while.

I'm a book reading nut.. this is my 5th this week. I always read the books I"m going to promote, and Dr. Steve did ask for my help on this.

Frankly, I wasn't too excited.. in my head I heard "doen't like hynosis" even though he told me that he's a hynotist. Well, the book is not about hypnosis, but about self-examination and discovery. I think it's a must read.. and I'm not even being paid to say that this time

Here's my Amazon review.


With that word, UNHYPNOSIS in the title, I didn't know what to expect.. there are people who say that hypnosis is evil and something to be scared of.Fortunately, I didn't stop at the first word.
This is NOT a book about hypnosis.What I did see were many references, stories, and explanations that I've NEVER seen in other books or programs.
Dr. Taubman tells some of his own story.. especially good is the "I"m Dr. Steve from the USA story".. but mostly sticks to a point by point explanation of how our mind/body/soul works. I've studied everything from self help to scripture, and found several new ways of explaining what I thought might be unexplainable.
Perhaps the best "how meditation works in three pages" I've ever seen. The WITNESS and SHARING section of one chapter made me put down the book and exclaim "Yes, that's exactly how it works!"The book starts with a good warning that universal principals should never be in conflict with what you already know. There's no "I'm the Guru, you were wrong" stuff here.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to live an examined life. (Is there any other way?) A good book for all.

Is this Little Book This Good?

I'm still looking for other reports.. but in the 2397 mailing lists that I subscribe to, just ONE mentioned this book.

And that was a link to a news report at WALL STREET JOURNAL.

The book is #1 on Amazon today and #3 at BN.com.. even though they show it as "not available yet"

If you know of anyone else touting the book (as I don't frequent Investor stuff as much as I should) please let me know.

In the meantime, I've ordered a copy for myself.

Joel Greenbatt The Little Book That Beats th Market

Live with Matt in LA

Now that we have yet another BEST SELLER under our belts, it's time to head to LA and meeting with the powerful promoter, Matt Bacak.

Are y0u getting his marketing tips ?