Authors who would be extremely agitated if someone stole their work seem to have no problem "borrowing" the work of others.
Most publishers receive manuscripts filled with copyright infringements, and they do not publish such material. Justification ranging from "Bibliography Use" to "Fair Use" claims don't hold water and if argued, should at least contain the flip side of the coin - the fact that copyright infringement is illegal and could ruin an author's reputation as well as bank account.
Why do colleges encourage this copyright infringement abated with their "bibliography" requirement, which then leads professionals to believe that they can copy as much of somebody's work as they want, provided they "reference" it within the form of foot notes or bibliographies. Perhaps for college papers that is true, but for professional works that are sold for profit, that is not allowed. This should be something professors and teachers inform their students.
I wonder if the POD guys have this problem -- or if they even care about it. Things that make you go hmmm...
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
Acquiring Cover Quotes
As "Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer" nears official publication I've been working on solidifying the cover. This includes both the design/layout as well as the copy. The front layout is complete, although I want an industry endorsement on the front.
I want some on the back, too.
So I've contacted some other well-known industry professionals associated with self-publishing: Judith, the current president of CIPA; Dan, the man who literally wrote the book on self-publishing, and Jan, the executive director of PMA.
Judith and Dan are maybes. Jan is a no. It's not PMA's policy to endorse their member’s books. Two out of three isn't bad if they pan out -- plus I'm taking advantage of services Outskirts Press offers to all its offers by securing a guaranteed pre-publication book review.
Its imperative (borderline imperative) that how-to or reference books covering a particular field feature industry endorsements on the cover.
Dan Poynter was very gracious. He suggested I send him the pre-pub galley in PDF along with a draft of the testimonial that he would edit to his liking. Prompt, professional, perfect. I have a space reserved for his quote above the title of my book, so I hope it's good.
I want some on the back, too.
So I've contacted some other well-known industry professionals associated with self-publishing: Judith, the current president of CIPA; Dan, the man who literally wrote the book on self-publishing, and Jan, the executive director of PMA.
Judith and Dan are maybes. Jan is a no. It's not PMA's policy to endorse their member’s books. Two out of three isn't bad if they pan out -- plus I'm taking advantage of services Outskirts Press offers to all its offers by securing a guaranteed pre-publication book review.
Its imperative (borderline imperative) that how-to or reference books covering a particular field feature industry endorsements on the cover.
Dan Poynter was very gracious. He suggested I send him the pre-pub galley in PDF along with a draft of the testimonial that he would edit to his liking. Prompt, professional, perfect. I have a space reserved for his quote above the title of my book, so I hope it's good.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Need Help With Publishing?
Now that the Publishing Gems book is complete (I've passed it to our production department for interior layout and galley cover design), I've been able to focus more on the true Outskirts Press publishing guide, entitled Adventured in Publishing, An Interactive Guide to Publishing Your Book. Don't have a date on that, yet. Publishing Gems will have an official publishing date in April to allow enough time for reviews to be posted and published, but a sneak peek of the published book will be available at the CIPA college in March. I haven't decided whether to charge or give it away yet. I visualize the cover, and will be able to post the .jpg of it here, soon.
Both the Publishing Gems book and the Adventures in Publishing Interactive Guide are designed to help the self-publishing writer choose the right path when publishing his or her book. Here's a sample from the former:
ELEVEN TIPS FOR ENHANCING YOUR DISTRIBUTION
1) The higher the retail margin, the greater the distribution
It should come as no surprise that the amount of distribution your book enjoys rests largely upon its retail margin. There is an acceptable range, but generally, the book retailer is looking for an industry standard of 37% or higher.
2) Distributors want to make money, too
While your book's margin is but a piece of your pie, it is the entire cake for distributors and retailers, who together must split the take. The greater the margin, the larger the cake, and the larger the piece for the distributor and retailer to share. Hence, the greater incentive they have to distribute your book, sell your book, market your book, etc.
3) The optimal trade discount is 50-55%
Most distributors expect to see between a 50-55% trade discount, which enables them to take a respectable piece and offer the book to the retailer at 40% off retail. For example, the Amazon Advantage program mandates a 55% margin because many self-published authors deal with the online retailer directly.
4) Lower your margins by publishing with an established online publisher
It’s not hard to see that once you factor in man-hours of facilitation, postage costs for shipping the books to Amazon, and a 55% margin, selling books through Amazon’s “Advantage” program is to their advantage, not yours. This mathematical fact alone is one reason many self-publishers are turning to alternate publishing companies.
5) Leverage a publishing company’s relationship with Ingram
Because of their relationships with Ingram and other distributors, print-on-demand and custom publishers can list an author’s book on Amazon.com for a mere 20%. Doing so means the author no longer has to worry about inventory, shipping, and invoicing issues. These advantages, not to mention the substantially lower margin, are reasons enough to investigate custom publishing options.
6) Understand the relationship between margin and price
For self-publishing writers, the proper retail margin depends upon each author's intentions, and can vary from author to author just as readily as from book to book. In most cases, the higher the retail margin, the higher the cover price, so authors interested in maintaining the lowest cover price possible will often opt for a lower retail margin. Self-publishing through a custom publishers provides the writer with this flexibility.
7) Set your margin according to your distribution goals
Conversely, those authors who long for the best distribution possible will elect a higher retail margin, even though their cover price will increase accordingly. Non-fiction or niche-markets are less affected by higher retail prices and benefit from the improved distribution resulting from offering the highest possible margin.
8) Know when to say when on discounting
For those custom publishing companies that allow the author to set their own trade discount (and there aren’t many – Outskirts Press is one), margins are capped at 55%. Even though the ultimate difference between retail margin and trade discount is the result of a proprietary negotiation between the distributor and retailer, 55% typically results in everybody being satisfied. Anything higher becomes superfluous.
9) Don’t underestimate a low retail price
Websites like www.froogle.com allow readers to price-shop before buying, so sometimes a lower retail price takes care of the distribution (or at least exposure) all by itself. A reasonable cover price is also one of the criteria most chain book buyers look for when deciding whether to stock a book on their shelves.
10) Don’t overestimate a high margin
While it’s true that most book retailers will most likely refuse to order, sell, or even stock a book unless it meets a minimum retail margin, a book’s margin is only one of the criteria they look for. (See Five Criteria for Getting Shelf Space, page ______).
11) Understand industry standards
As we learned with the movie, Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility." Self-publishing authors who have the power to set their own margins need to understand the standards expected in the industry. Industry standards for retail margins are difficult to define because, ultimately, it comes down to negotiation between all parties involved. Publishers have the power to negotiate with distributors, who have the power to negotiate with wholesalers, who have the power to negotiate with retailers, who have the ability to modify the retail price to anything they want.
The minimum "industry standard" retail margin is 37%, but it's safest simply to round to 40%. A 40% retail margin is the best compromise between optimal distribution and reasonable retail price. And as stated earlier, in order to ensure a 40% retail margin by the time the negotiation ends between the bookstore and the distributor, an initial trade margin of 50%-55% is recommended.
Both the Publishing Gems book and the Adventures in Publishing Interactive Guide are designed to help the self-publishing writer choose the right path when publishing his or her book. Here's a sample from the former:
ELEVEN TIPS FOR ENHANCING YOUR DISTRIBUTION
1) The higher the retail margin, the greater the distribution
It should come as no surprise that the amount of distribution your book enjoys rests largely upon its retail margin. There is an acceptable range, but generally, the book retailer is looking for an industry standard of 37% or higher.
2) Distributors want to make money, too
While your book's margin is but a piece of your pie, it is the entire cake for distributors and retailers, who together must split the take. The greater the margin, the larger the cake, and the larger the piece for the distributor and retailer to share. Hence, the greater incentive they have to distribute your book, sell your book, market your book, etc.
3) The optimal trade discount is 50-55%
Most distributors expect to see between a 50-55% trade discount, which enables them to take a respectable piece and offer the book to the retailer at 40% off retail. For example, the Amazon Advantage program mandates a 55% margin because many self-published authors deal with the online retailer directly.
4) Lower your margins by publishing with an established online publisher
It’s not hard to see that once you factor in man-hours of facilitation, postage costs for shipping the books to Amazon, and a 55% margin, selling books through Amazon’s “Advantage” program is to their advantage, not yours. This mathematical fact alone is one reason many self-publishers are turning to alternate publishing companies.
5) Leverage a publishing company’s relationship with Ingram
Because of their relationships with Ingram and other distributors, print-on-demand and custom publishers can list an author’s book on Amazon.com for a mere 20%. Doing so means the author no longer has to worry about inventory, shipping, and invoicing issues. These advantages, not to mention the substantially lower margin, are reasons enough to investigate custom publishing options.
6) Understand the relationship between margin and price
For self-publishing writers, the proper retail margin depends upon each author's intentions, and can vary from author to author just as readily as from book to book. In most cases, the higher the retail margin, the higher the cover price, so authors interested in maintaining the lowest cover price possible will often opt for a lower retail margin. Self-publishing through a custom publishers provides the writer with this flexibility.
7) Set your margin according to your distribution goals
Conversely, those authors who long for the best distribution possible will elect a higher retail margin, even though their cover price will increase accordingly. Non-fiction or niche-markets are less affected by higher retail prices and benefit from the improved distribution resulting from offering the highest possible margin.
8) Know when to say when on discounting
For those custom publishing companies that allow the author to set their own trade discount (and there aren’t many – Outskirts Press is one), margins are capped at 55%. Even though the ultimate difference between retail margin and trade discount is the result of a proprietary negotiation between the distributor and retailer, 55% typically results in everybody being satisfied. Anything higher becomes superfluous.
9) Don’t underestimate a low retail price
Websites like www.froogle.com allow readers to price-shop before buying, so sometimes a lower retail price takes care of the distribution (or at least exposure) all by itself. A reasonable cover price is also one of the criteria most chain book buyers look for when deciding whether to stock a book on their shelves.
10) Don’t overestimate a high margin
While it’s true that most book retailers will most likely refuse to order, sell, or even stock a book unless it meets a minimum retail margin, a book’s margin is only one of the criteria they look for. (See Five Criteria for Getting Shelf Space, page ______).
11) Understand industry standards
As we learned with the movie, Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility." Self-publishing authors who have the power to set their own margins need to understand the standards expected in the industry. Industry standards for retail margins are difficult to define because, ultimately, it comes down to negotiation between all parties involved. Publishers have the power to negotiate with distributors, who have the power to negotiate with wholesalers, who have the power to negotiate with retailers, who have the ability to modify the retail price to anything they want.
The minimum "industry standard" retail margin is 37%, but it's safest simply to round to 40%. A 40% retail margin is the best compromise between optimal distribution and reasonable retail price. And as stated earlier, in order to ensure a 40% retail margin by the time the negotiation ends between the bookstore and the distributor, an initial trade margin of 50%-55% is recommended.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
How a Blog Can Help You Promote Your Book
Search engine optimization was one of the motivating factors for my taking the time and effort to start a blog for Outskirts Press.
It can work for promoting your published book, too. When you publish with Outskirts Press, you receive promotion tips just like this, and then some.
It seems to be working. I've been posted 1-3 posts a day since January 4th (it's now the 19th), and this blog comes up number 6 overall on a Yahoo search for Custom Book Publishing based solely upon content.
The beauty of XML and other "feed" blogs is they generate links dynamically and automatically, one of the difficulties in creating valid search engine optimization for algorithms like Google.
Another advantage is that, while "Custom Publishing" was taken as a domain name, it was available as a sub-domain name for my blog. So were "self-publishing" -- a highly sought after position for our industry. Now it's ours and we'll soon contribute to that blog to create contextual search engine placement.
I'm contemplating open a general blog for all Outskirts Press authors so they can all log in and post their promotions, or thoughts, or feedback. While there's no shortage of positives for doing this, the potential negatives are making me think it out more thoroughly. For one, from what I can tell of this Blooger.com service, once a person has access, they can re-edit previous posts to their hearts' content. Fine for me since I like being able to adjust my typos, but bad if Joe Schmo logs in and places his post and then alters Jasmine's. I could program our own blog for Outskirts Press, and this may be ultimately what we end up doing so I can have full control over the look and functionality, but that's waaaay--aaayyy down on the to-do list.
Brent
CEO
http://outskirtspress.com
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