Archive for writing a book
NEWS – Book ‘Sleep Your Fat Away’ Soars to Number 1 Today
Posted by: | CommentsSpirit Authors clients Drs. Joy & Roy Martina launch their book ‘Sleep Your Fat Away’ on Amazon today. Find out how to buy it and get some great bonus gifts.
APRIL 21st 2015: Today at Spirit Authors, we have been busy with the book launch of our clients, Drs Joy and Roy Martina. Their book is called Sleep Your Fat Away: Train Your Brain to Lose Weight Effortlessly. Published by Morgan James Publishers, the book teaches a novel approach to losing weight.
You can buy the book AND receive some very special bonus gifts at:
http://sleepyourfataway.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php
The book launch started just after midnight Pacific Time this morning. Within hours, it shot up to become the #1 ‘Hot New Release’ in the Eating Disorders category on Amazon US. As of this writing at 1pm Pacific, the paperback AND the Kindle are #1 and #4, respectively, of all New Releases in Eating Disorder Self-Help. The paperback is also currently #13 of ALL books (not just new ones) in eating disorders, and #16 in Britain. I’m sure it will keep on going up over the next few hours.
Co-authors Drs. JOY AND ROY MARTINA are a husband and wife duo who, between them, have published more than 70 books on healing and self-improvement, and have trained over a quarter of a million people around the world. In Sleep Your Fat Away, Joy and Roy share decades of experience as hypnotherapists to teach what they believe is missing in nearly every popular approach to weight loss: the crucial connection between losing weight and the unconscious mind. Instead of talking about willpower, diets or long hours in the gym, the authors show how to retrain your brain to overcome addictions and change your lifestyle habits so you can attain your optimum weight and become the healthiest you possible.
When you buy the book during our Amazon launch celebration, you’ll receive a generous collection of bonus gifts from Joy and Roy’s friends and colleagues (including one from me). PLUS, as a special bonus gift from Joy and Roy, when you buy the book you’ll also receive:
- The MP3 audio downloads from the ‘BUSTING THE MYTHS ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS’ Telesummit’ with over 4 hours of information-packed insight from Joy, Roy and a panel of nine other world-class wellness experts.
If you’re a regular follower of Spirit Authors, you might remember that we launched Roy’s book Emotional Balance (Hay House) a few years ago, and it became an international #1 bestseller. I am sure they will repeat that success today with Sleep Your Fat Away.
I’ve had such a good time working these many months with Joy and Roy Martina, and I wish them every success.
I do hope you’ll check out their book at:
http://sleepyourfataway.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php
Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
Connect with us on Twitter.
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project, created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)
The Challenge of Writing a Book on Wellness with Your SPOUSE
Posted by: | CommentsLynn Serafinn interviews Joy & Roy Martina on the challenges of writing a book on wellness, working with a publisher and co-authoring a book with your spouse.
Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on Day 3 of Dr Joy and Roy Martina’s Virtual Blog Tour. Their new book Sleep your Fat Away: Train Your Brain to Lose Weight Effortlessly is celebrating its official launch on Tuesday April 21st, 2015.
Drs. JOY AND ROY MARTINA are amongst the world’s leaders in helping people get back into their power. Between them, they have published over 70 books (translated into more than 10 languages) and have trained hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Their passion for natural approaches to health, longevity and fitness has led them to write their book Sleep Your Fat Away.
Yesterday, Joy and Roy visited Callie Carlings’ blog at ‘Cancer Goddess’ at http://www.cancergoddess.co.uk/2015/04/sleeping-your-way-to-wellness-and.html where they discussed emotional eating disorders and the effects of yo-yo dieting.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with Joy and Roy on the challenges of writing a book on wellness, the experience of working with a publisher and what it’s like to write a book with your spouse!
***INTERVIEW***
LYNN: I know you use these weight loss strategies with your clients. What were some of the major challenges you faced when trying to translate practical work into written lessons? Many of our readers are authors writing their own ‘how to’ and ‘self-help’ books, and I’m sure they’d appreciate your advice.
The biggest challenge is to keep it simple and easy to understand. As experts we are so used to doing what we do that we sometimes forget to keep it simple and that a novice might have a hard time understanding our instructions if we get too much “in our heads”. I like using my friends or kids as guinea pigs and see if they are able to follow what I am saying. If they get it, I know I am on the right track.
LYNN: Like you, many of our readers are also in holistic health and wellness professions. Are there specific things you have to look out for when writing a book on wellness? I mean, how do we avoid promising our readers ‘too much’ while also encouraging them to be the best they can be?
By keeping to real life examples and telling stories about successful interventions and clients’ experiences.
LYNN: What are you most proud of about Sleep Your Fat Away? What do you think you really communicated perfectly? What do you like most about the way it was written, laid out, illustrated, etc.?
We like to think that our book is easy to understand and an entertaining read; we like the down to earth and “real” life approach we took also by using many examples from our own lives – making it authentic and helpful at the same time.
What did we communicate well? That you don’t need willpower or diets to lose weight. That real change can only come from the inside – by understanding how we are wired in our brains and subconscious mind and so being able to become aware of limiting beliefs and destructive patterns – which can then lead to real life style changes.
LYNN: Many of our readers are self-published. Tell us about your experience working with a publisher. How easy was it to ‘land the deal’? How have they been supporting you throughout your publishing journey?
It was easy to land the deal as they approached us. We are grateful for the actual experience of working with the publisher was interesting but it is not one we want to necessarily repeat. We did not feel supported by our publisher at all.
We found that the extra team we hired (Lynn’s team and the Wasabi PR team) were far more helpful and supportive than the publisher themselves. In our eyes marketing is one of the most important keys to a successful launch and this you need to take care of yourself as the publisher will not do it for you.
LYNN: And finally, to close, I’d love to know what it was like writing a book with your SPOUSE! What made it easy/not easy? What tips can you give to others who are co-authoring a book (especially those who are co-authoring with someone close to them).
JOY AND ROY: We love writing together – we are used to working together anyway and are lucky to really complement each other in many ways. -So we thoroughly enjoyed the process and found that we got the writing done in an extremely efficient and speedy way as we kept each other accountable and were able to motivate and inspire each other along the way.
*** END OF INTERVIEW ***
I hope you enjoyed this brief interview with co-authors Drs Joy and Roy Martina. This week, I am delighted to be HOSTING a special FREE 3-Day Telesummit with Joy, Roy and their friends and colleagues:
“Busting the MYTHS about Weight Loss”
Register FREE at
http://sleepyourfataway.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php
Here is Joy and Roy’s line up of guest panellists for this event (in order of appearance):
- JOY and ROY MARTINA – #1 Holistic Thought Leaders, authors of Sleep Your Fat Away
- LYNN SERAFINN – Marketing strategist for authors & ethical entrepreneurs, bestselling author (and someone who has recently lost 70 pounds herself)
- ELLEN W. CUTLER – chiropractor, author, natural healing expert, creator of BioSET
- LORI SHEMEK, PhD – bestselling author, international leader in health and weight loss
- DOREEN POLIZZI – Health, wellness and lifestyle coach
- DONI WILSON, N.D. – Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, nutritionist, midwife, bestselling author
- AMBER ROMANIUK – holistic nutritionist, speaker, healthy eating expert
- MATTHEW B. JAMES, Ph.D, – Doctor of Psychology, NLP master trainer, author of The Foundation of Huna
- ERAM SAEED – Producer of “From Heartache to Joy”; founder of Journey to Joy Foundation
- MAL DUANE – life recovery coach; transformational guide for women, bestselling author of Alpha Chick
- ADAM HILL – Triathlete; Ironman triathlon All World Athlete
Again, you can register FREE at
http://sleepyourfataway.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php
If you cannot make the live broadcast, register anyway so you can listen to audio replays.
THEN, when you buy Sleep your Fat Away: Train Your Brain to Lose Weight Effortlessly during its official Amazon launch on April 21st, you’ll receive dozens of free gifts from Joy and Roy, and their friends and colleagues. You can CLICK HERE to find out more about the book, and these free gifts.
If you’d like to catch more of Joy and Roy’s Virtual Blog tour, “visit” them at these dates and places:
MONDAY April 13th: Tina Games’ Moonlight Musings’ blog at http://moonligtmusepress.com/blog/, where they will discuss how emotions affect our eating patterns and how to maintain a healthy weight.
TUESDAY APRIL 14th: Callie Carlings’ “Cancer Goddess” blog at http://www.cancergoddess.co.uk/2015/04/sleeping-your-way-to-wellness-and.html where they will talk about emotional eating disorders and the effects of yo-yo dieting.
THURSDAY APRIL 16th: Krystalya Marie’s Empowered Spirit blog at http://EmpoweredSpirit.com, where they will discuss childhood obesity and how we can keep weight off permanently.
FRIDAY APRIL 17th: Naturopathic Doctor Donielle Wilson ND’s blog at http://doctordoni.com/ where they will be discussing how visualisation can help with weight loss and the connection with mind and weight.
Thanks for reading! Please share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
Lynn Serafinn
Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
Connect with us on Twitter.
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project, created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)
Be a Promotional Partner on Our April 2015 Book Launch
Posted by: | CommentsHi everyone. Lynn Serafinn from Spirit Authors here. I would like to invite our Spirit Authors readers to consider being a promotional partner on our next book launch:
BOOK: Sleep Your Fat Away: Train Your Brain to Lose Weight Effortlessly
AUTHORS: Drs. Joy and Roy Martina
LAUNCH DATE: Tues, April 21st, 2015
PROMOTIONS RUN: Mon March 16th – Tues April 21st, 2015
Many of you may remember Dr. Roy Martina when we launched his tremendously successful book
Emotional Balance, which was an international #1 bestseller in US, UK, Canada and several European countries.
WHO SHOULD JOIN THIS CAMPAIGN?
Anyone whose audience is interested in:
- health and fitness
- holistic health and lifestyle
- weight loss; finding alternatives to the ‘diet industry’
- positive life changes; self-empowerment; self-esteem
- mind-over-matter; working from the ‘inside out’
- escaping addictions or addictive behaviour
- releasing past traumas
HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?
There are FOUR activities for this launch:
1) A joint venture partner (JVP) campaign, where you can offer a bonus gift for the launch. This means anyone who buys the book on launch day will have the opportunity to opt into YOUR list and get your free offer.
2) A Virtual Blog Tour, where you can feature a written interview with the author on your blog, and have dozens of people promoting your blog on your ‘stop’ on the tour.
3) A Radio Tour, where you can book the authors on your radio show or podcast.
JUST SO YOU KNOW: We are also organising a 3-Day Telesummit called ‘Busting the MYTHS About Weight Loss’, with a panel of world-renowned experts (with many names I’m sure you’ll recognise). Our Spirit Authors telesummits can attract thousands of registrations, and a high percentage of them will go on to buy the book AND download YOUR bonus gift. That’s a great win-win for everyone involved in the campaign.
HOW CAN YOU JOIN THIS CAMPAIGN?
Just fill in the form at
http://the7gracesofmarketing.com/be-a-partner-on-the-book-launch-of-sleep-your-fat-away-by-drs-joy-and-roy-martina/
BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13th, 2015
(the earlier the better!).
Thanks for considering becoming one of our network of promotional partners. I do hope you will join us for this book launch.
MORE LAUNCHES COMING: Please stay in touch, as we will soon begin registering partners for Makeup Gourmet Chris Scott’s book Face With a Heart.
Drop me a line via the contact form on this page if you have any questions.
With gratitude,
Lynn Serafinn
7 Graces Project, CIC
Spirit Authors Book Promotions
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)
An Editor’s Insight into Writing about Personal Challenges
Posted by: | CommentsLynn Serafinn interviews Vrinda Pendred from Conditional Publications on the challenges of writing a personal life story that is accessible to a wider audience.
Today, I have the great pleasure of being the host on DAY 7 of the Virtual Blog Tour for Richard David Price, author of the brand new book Beating the Adversary: A True Story of Schizoaffective Disorder, officially released on 1st December, 2014. On its debut, it became Amazon’s #1 best-selling new release in ‘schizophrenia’.
Yesterday, Richard visited Christine Miller’s Growing Edge Blog at http://christinemiller.co/category/christine-miller-growing-edge-blog/, where they discussed about hallucinations, therapies and other elements he encounters in dealing with his condition.
Today, I’d like to share with you a recent interview I had with the editor of the book, Vrinda Pendred, as I thought it would be of particular interest to authors who write transformational books, especially those that incorporate personal memoire.
VRINDA PENDRED is the Editor and Founder of independent publishing house Conditional Publications, which is devoted to giving a ‘voice’ to people diagnosed with neurological conditions such as Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder and much more. She is also a writer and a prolific novelist.
Beating the Adversary is the third book released by Conditional Publications. It is the autobiographical account of author Richard David Price, who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a teenager, as a result of a childhood accident.
(And…not to be biased or anything…Vrinda is also my amazingly talented daughter).
***INTERVIEW***
LYNN: What were the challenges for you as an editor, in making a book of this kind accessible to a wider audience?
VRINDA: One of the features of schizoaffective disorder is disorganized thought. That in itself wasn’t a challenge, so much as trying to get the balance right between making the book ‘readable’ and maintaining the author’s voice. What’s the point of publishing a book with the intention of allowing your audience insight into what it’s like to suffer with such a condition, if you remove everything that demonstrates that condition?
This meant editing the book perhaps fifteen times (I lost count) before we felt it was not only accessible, but authentic. It was vital that the author still feel like it represented his struggle in an honest way, even if he understood we had to make changes to ensure the general audience would make the effort to hear his story.
The original draft also left out the whole missionary section of the book. I’m not Mormon myself, but I asked Richard to add that in. I was interested. He was concerned about coming across as ‘preachy’, but I assured him we would edit it so it didn’t feel that way. I think we managed this. The point of including it was to show how he had overcome his challenges. When I spoke to him about it over the phone, he told me his faith was what got him through it. When that wasn’t in the book, I felt we were cheating the audience.
Keats said, ‘Truth is beauty,’ and I wanted this book to be as truthful as possible. I didn’t care whether the audience was Mormon or not. I think the most fantastic thing about people is that we all come from different walks of life, yet something deeper connects us. I don’t think the reader needs to be Mormon to appreciate Richard’s transformative experience. As a non-Mormon, when Richard finally delivered to me his first complete draft, including every gritty and profound moment, I cried – because he’d finally expressed his truth, and Keats was right: it was beautiful.
LYNN: What do you think is the value of people writing about and publishing their own transformational journey / personal challenges?
VRINDA: Writing is therapy; I would hope most people in this day and age know that. Writing about your journey is some of the best medicine you will ever find, and it’s free without side effects – because it’s important to remember (and I say this from experience) that even if you have an incurable disability, there is more to that than the physical. These things have an emotional effect, and can often be traumatic. Writing may not change your circumstances, but it helps you exorcise the frustration or pain. That alone can be enough to get you through each day.
In terms of taking the time to publish that journey, that’s more about the reader. To take myself, as an example, I have Tourette’s Syndrome and one of the most important moments in my life was when I started talking to others with the same condition – when I realised I wasn’t alone. I stopped regarding myself as a ‘freak’ and started to understand I am one of a very large population of people who face the same sorts of challenges. It helped me accept myself. That’s why I founded Conditional Publications; I want to give a voice to people suffering in silence and help others realise they are not alone. In this way, I think there is great value in publishing your memoirs, whether they go on to be best-sellers or not. Even if they make a difference in just one person’s life, your work has served a purpose.
LYNN: What were some of the challenges you faced in getting this book ready for publication?
VRINDA: I think the trickiest part was trying to get everyone on the same page at the same time. I work at a distance, via email and social networking, with some long-distance telephone calls. We’re all in different time zones, so you can’t always get the immediate response you’d like, which means you have to plan ahead with everything. Once you find people you can rely on, hold onto them!!! They’re more precious than gold dust, and they will help you build something unexpected.
LYNN: Can you give tips to other authors in this category, with regard to marketing?
VRINDA: Read Lynn Serafinn’s book Tweep-e-licious! I’m following it like the Bible.
(Lynn blushes).
LYNN: What words of encouragement would you give other authors writing about their personal journey / challenges? What’s the message to authors about beating their own adversary?
VRINDA: I’ve always wanted to write, ever since I was 3. When I was 20, I told someone about this dream. They were older and wiser and asked, ‘Is this really what you want to do? Is it what you feel in your heart you’re meant to do?’ I said yes, absolutely. They said, ‘Then you will do it. All you need is to want it enough. That’s all it takes to succeed.’
I’ve always born this in mind, and the older I get, the more I see it’s true. Everything comes down to motivation and energy. If you really want to get your story out – no matter what it is – just do it.
If you get writer’s block, don’t worry. Don’t push it. If the ideas aren’t flowing, whatever you write will ring false. Just relax, do something else, and wait until inspiration strikes again. And it will; it grips you when you least expect it, and suddenly you find you can’t do anything without words flying through your head. You have no choice but to write them down, so they don’t drive you nuts. That’s when it will sound sincere. Keep at it, and trust those moments will come; they always do.
***END OF INTERVIEW***
I hope you enjoyed this brief interview with author Richard Price and that you’ll check out his new book Beating the Adversary: A True Story of Schizoaffective Disorder.
When you buy Beating the Adversary during its official Amazon launch, you’ll also receive a free novel entitled The Ladder by Vrinda Pendred, founder of Conditional Publications – an independent publisher dedicated to writers with neurological conditions.
To buy Beating the Adversary and get your free novel, go to:
http://www.conditionalpublications.com/pages/beating-the-adversary.html
Thanks for reading! Please do share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
Be sure to follow Richard tomorrow on the next stop of his Virtual Blog Tour, when he’ll be visiting Pippa Moye’s Silver Ray Healing Therapies blog at http://www.silver-ray.co.uk, where they’ll be talking about how spiritual beliefs can help counter depression and other topics.
Lynn Serafinn
Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
Connect with us on Twitter.
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)
The Practitioner Author – Why Writing a Book is a Great Idea
Posted by: | CommentsLynn Serafinn interviews naturopathic doctor Doni Wilson ND about how therapists (and patients) can benefit from their writing a book on alternative medicine.
Our team at Spirit Authors have been supporting authors since 2009. Over that time, the vast majority of our clients have been what I would call ‘holistic service’ professionals, i.e. coaches, consultants, therapists, alternative medical doctors, etc. Most of them are working on a book (or have already published one) in which they share a specific area of their professional expertise.
One example is our client Dr. Doni Wilson, ND – a naturopathic doctor. Known on Twitter as @GlutenFreeDoc, Doni has written extensively about the advantages of a gluten-free diet. But Dr. Doni’s primary passion is to educate the public about the damaging effects of STRESS in our modern world, and how it is responsible for a plethora of chronic health issues.
For that reason, in 2013 Doni published a definitive 340-page manual on the subject called The Stress Remedy: Master Your Body’s Synergy and Optimize Your Health. This month, Doni also released a short eBook called Stress Remedies: How to Reduce Stress and Boost Your Health in Just 15 Minutes a Day, which she says is a ‘practical companion’ to her larger book. She’s selling it on Amazon for only 99 cents.
As so many of our readers at Spirit Authors are what I would call ‘practitioner authors’ (or are aspiring to be one), I thought I would share part of a recent conversation I had with Doni on Skype, when I asked her about why she wrote her books, and her thoughts on the value of practitioners putting their expertise into words.
LYNN: Why do you think it’s important for alternative therapists to write books?
DONI: Alternative practitioners have a unique voice and knowledge. However, busy practitioners are often so caught up in serving their patients that they don’t have time to spend writing. But unless they make the time, there is no way to bring the collective voice and knowledge of alternative medicine to the rest of the world. I believe it’s important to bring their voice into the written form, so it can help more people than they can reach through their individual professional practice.
LYNN: Apart from the difficulty of finding time to write a book, what other challenges did you face when writing your books? What encouragement can you give other practitioners?
DONI: Well, when I started, I didn’t know anything about putting a book together – writing, publishing, promoting, etc. It was all a big, daunting mystery to me. I had to find people to help me, and TRAIN myself in how to make it happen.
It’s understandable that a practitioner might feel mind-boggled at the prospect of writing a book, and thus not entertain the idea seriously. But the more alternative practitioners who publish books, the more people can access naturopathic medicine. This will give more people the tools for preventative medicine instead of one that simply focuses on treating symptoms of disease.
LYNN: How has writing books helped you professionally?
DONI: First of all, I want to say that some practitioners mistakenly think writing a book will result in people not needing them anymore, and patients won’t bother to come to them because it’s all explained in their book. But actually, the opposite is true. I get more patients since being an author than before I wrote my books.
And it’s not just numbers. The quality of my patients has improved because they are more educated before they even pick up the phone to book an appointment with me. Potential patients know my philosophy and professional approach before they meet with me. They come to their appointment with much more clarity about what they need and what they want. This makes communication between us easier when we start to work together, as they already understand the language and the rationale behind what we will be working on together. That makes my job so much easier.
It also helps attract the ‘right’ kind of patient to me, as it establishes a link between us. Let’s say someone reads the book and they feel it validates their intuition about their health AND it backs it up with science and informed advice. Well, that person will already be pre-disposed towards my professional approach. They will be more likely to reap the benefits of treatment, as they will be more committed to it at a personal level.
Finally, having a book makes it easier for the practitioner to speak with patients without having to explain every little thing. If a patient reads my book, it means I won’t have to say the same thing over and over again!
LYNN: Why did you write this shorter eBook Stress Remedies? Didn’t you cover it all already in your larger book The Stress Remedy?
DONI: I see the two books as complementing each other. They are both about stress, but they approach the subject from different angles.
The Stress Remedy goes into great detail on topics such as diet, supplements, cortisol testing, etc. But what I didn’t cover in much depth were ‘daily stress remedies’, which are part of what I call my ‘Stress Remedy Master Plan’.
Rather than make The Stress Remedy longer than it already was, I thought it would be a great idea to write a short (and hopefully ‘stress-free’) practical, activity-based guide to balancing stress that didn’t involve changes in diet or supplements. So, in Stress Remedies, I help people understand the health benefits from specific activities, so they can choose the ones that work best for them and optimise the natural rhythms of their own healthy body and mind.
Some people might wonder what having a 99-cent eBook could possibly bring a practitioner from a business perspective. They might wonder why they should bother to put effort into something that has little promise of high profit. Well, I believe a small eBook is more likely to encourage those who do not know me or my work to read what I have to say on the topic. They will be more willing to take a chance on me, as spending 99 cents to read a short eBook is a much smaller commitment of time and money than buying (and reading) a 340-page book. Hopefully, if they like what they read, they might visit my website or check out my book The Stress Remedy. If they continue to follow my work, perhaps one day they will also contact me as a patient or make another purchase on our website.
Basically, the Stress Remedies eBook is another doorway to meeting and greeting new people, and sharing my passion for the naturopathic lifestyle. I strongly recommend other practitioners to build their own doorways by sharing their wisdom in a book.
Dr. Doni’s eBook Stress Remedies
is available on Amazon Kindle for only 99 cents at
http://doctordoni.com/dr-donis-new-kindle-ebook-stress-remedies-just-99-cents
If you’re a practitioner who has a book (or you’re hoping to write or publish one in the near future), feel free to contact our team here on Spirit Authors to see how our platform building packages, business mentoring and other packages might suit your needs. Just drop us a line via the contact form on this site and request a free 30-minute consultation.
9 Dec 2014
Lynn Serafinn
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LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
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Top 5 Excuses That May Be Stopping You from Writing a Book
Posted by: | CommentsAuthor and book marketer Lynn Serafinn tackles the most common excuses she hears from aspiring authors, with tips for how to move past them and write your book.
Over the years, I’ve worked with authors at many stages of their writing development. While most authors come to me for help with self-publishing and marketing, others come to me because they’ve found themselves stuck somewhere in the writing process. Maybe they have a wealth of ideas but are finding it hard to express them in words and develop them into a book. Maybe they have written hundreds of thousands of words, but they lack cohesion and focus. Maybe they’ve got into a pattern of starting and stopping, and now their project seems to be dragging on forever.
Whatever the scenario, all of these aspiring authors feel frustrated and powerless by the writing process, rather than empowered. The more powerless they feel, the more frustrated they become. The more frustrated they become, the less they feel like writing. And, of course, the less they feel like writing, the less they get done.
Writers are supposed to be great storytellers; but sometimes their greatest stories are the ones they tell themselves. Authors who get stuck in the vicious cycle of non-productivity often do not realise that the problems they are experiencing come from their own stories—their unconscious beliefs about themselves as writers and about the nature of the writing process in general.
The trouble is, once these stories take hold in their belief system, they become justifications and excuses for why their book isn’t getting written. And the more we feel justified in our reasons for not doing something, the more it will NOT get done.
So, for anyone out there who is struggling to start, make progress with, or complete a book project, I’d like to share the ‘Top 5 Excuses’ I’ve heard throughout my years of working with authors. As you read, ask yourself whether or not these same excuses might be getting in your way.
Excuse 1: ‘I can’t find the time to write.’
Truth: There’s no such thing as ‘finding time’. You have to create it.
I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard authors use this excuse. My response to it might sound brutal, but it’s the truth: there’s no such thing as finding time; you have to make the time.
Saying that you have to ‘find the time’ to write your book means you have not yet given your book top priority in your life. When I set the intention to write a book, I block out chunks of time to get it done. That could (and often does) mean taking a month off from ANY other work commitments, so I can write full-time. Or, it can mean setting aside specific days or specific hours of the day when I am 100% focused on the book project.
Of course, everyone’s life commitments are different. But even if you have a 9-5 job and a family, you can (and must) block out time that is sacrosanct for your writing and nothing else. Even if it’s only 2 hours every Tuesday night, you’ve got to create the space for your book project.
Unless you consciously schedule this time into your life, you will ALWAYS leave your book as your last priority. And when you do manage to write, your book will probably lack cohesiveness. Not creating time to write will also make your project drag on and on, which can dampen your motivation.
Excuse 2: ‘I’m not good enough.’
Truth: NO writer is ‘good enough’ unless they spend time at their craft.
Good writers are the product of diligent practice. If you don’t write because you think you’re not good enough, you’ll never find out how good you can actually be. In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell talks about something called the ‘10,000 hour rule’. This ‘rule’ states that for someone to excel in their craft—any craft—they need to have spent a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice at it.
How long is 10,000 hours? It could be 3 hours a day for roughly 10 years. It could be 6 hours a day for 5 years. Or, it could be 8 hours a day for about 3 ½ years. Gladwell cites several examples of people who spend virtually every waking hour on their craft (such as Bill Gates’ time spent working with computers), showing what it takes to become a leader in any given field.
There’s another ‘rule’ that one of my high school English teachers told me: If you want to learn how to be a great writer, you must first become a great reader. An integral part of honing your craft as a writer is reading. As writers, we read at a different level from those who read simply for pleasure or diversion. Reading improves our vocabulary. It reinforces grammar. It gives us creative and structural ideas. And it deepens our aesthetic appreciation for our craft.
So, if you want to be a good writer, start by writing every day for at least a couple of hours. And when you’re not writing, be sure to read a couple of hours a day. But the one thing that will never get you going is to avoid writing altogether because you don’t think you’re good enough.
Excuse 3: ‘I can only write when I feel inspired.’
Truth: Real writers know how to write ‘on demand’.
This is a HUGE excuse for writers, and it is possibly the one that creates the biggest obstacle. If we wait for the ‘muse’ to touch us with her wand before we sit down to write, we will never get our books written.
Inspiration doesn’t always strike BEFORE we write. Sometimes, you have to sit down and start writing and THEN inspiration will hit you. Back when I was a musician, I practiced every day, whether I wanted to or not. I didn’t feel particularly ‘inspired’ when I went to practice. But after I got started, and I felt my muscles wake up and my fingers move with more dexterity, I started to gain momentum. Sometimes I started out by telling myself that I’d practice only for an hour, but then end up practicing for three, four or even five hours because I got into it.
Make it a daily practice to sit down to write regardless of how you feel. Believe it or not, inspiration will arrive even if you feel totally unmotivated before you start.
Excuse 4: ‘It’s all been done before.’
Truth: Every author has a different story to tell.
I’ve heard this excuse SO many times. An author wants to write a book on a particular subject, but they cite a dozen ‘famous’ authors who have all done it before. This kind of thinking zaps their confidence, and leads many an author to abandon their writing project.
The fact is, even if the ‘story’ has already been told, every author has a unique angle to bring to it. Think of all the best-selling vampire stories on the market right now! If Stephanie Myer had said, ‘Gosh, Bram Stoker’s already said it all,’ her career would never have taken off.
Writing non-fiction is no different. Ok, let’s say you’re writing a book on alternative health. Instead of thinking that authors like Louise Hay have ‘said it all before’, think of ways of citing your predecessors’ work in your own book, and expanding the topic. When I wrote The 7 Graces of Marketing, for example, I cited hundreds of other authors to show my unique angle on the topic of ethical marketing. If I had really wanted to sabotage my efforts, I could have told myself that there were already ‘enough’ marketing books on the market, and that there was no need for mine. That would have been a huge mistake, both for me and for my readers.
You also must remember that every reader has a different preference, and that different authors provide readers with different reading experiences. For example, in the field of personal development, I love Susan Jeffers for her simple, direct style, Martha Beck for her relaxed, humorous style, and Deepak Chopra for his philosophical, poetic style. All of these authors talk about authenticity and inner connection, but they all bring something different to my reading enjoyment.
For a reader, being able to have these varied reading experiences is just like having a rich and varied diet: it makes us healthier and happier. So never doubt that there is room for your perspective on the market.
Excuse 5:’No one will be interested.’
Truth: It’s up to you to create the interest.
The only way people will be interested in your book is if you are really clear about who might be interested in the subject AND you create a way to connect and communicate with them.
By identifying who might be interested, you are identifying your ‘target audience’ (I prefer to call this your ‘ideal’ audience). By creating ways to connect and communicate with your ideal audience, you are making your marketing strategy. Without putting care and attention into both of these things, it’s true: ‘No one will be interested’.
This is where my job as a marketing consultant comes in. I help authors create public interest in their books by identifying their ideal audience and creating marketing strategies. Regardless of whether or not you work with a marketing consultant to do this, it is something that MUST be done to ensure your book reaches the public.
Book marketing is not luck or rocket science; it’s a craft just like writing is. If you want to learn more about book marketing, I invite you to browse through the many free articles on the Spirit Authors website.
And, of course, if you are looking to build a marketing platform for your book, drop me a line via the contact form on this site to discuss the options our team at Spirit Authors have to offer you.
Lynn Serafinn
25th September 2013
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Take a 14-day free trial at:
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Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
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LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She is listed in the Top 20 of the Top Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. She also received the eLit Book Awards Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs, as well as the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales.
Lynn’s eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Her innovative marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling non-fiction authors through her company Spirit Authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project CIC, a not-for-profit social enterprise created to train, support, mentor and inspire independent business owners to market their business ethically, serve society and planet, and restore all that is best about humanity.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)
Self-Publishing Part 3 – Edits, Proofs and Book Endorsements
Posted by: | CommentsAuthor consultant Lynn Serafinn looks at the artistic rewards of self-publishing, how to work with an editor, and how to approach endorsers for your book.
I believe our digital era—digital printing, digital distribution and digital (online) marketing—has liberated independent authors from ‘needing’ to have publishers or subsidiary presses to publish their books. No longer must we feel at the mercy of big business to share our words, ideas and imagination.
I’m sure part of my passion for self-publishing comes from my many years as an indie musician, when I preferred to publish via my own record label than to be taken seriously by major record companies. Ironically, after years of thinking a record deal was my ‘goal’ in music, when our electro-trance band was offered a record deal in 1994 with one of the biggest labels on the planet (along with all the trappings like MTV videos and going on tour with big name acts), I suddenly realised I didn’t want it. The A&R guy (the person who signs the acts) was already trying to seize too much artistic control. I feared we would turn into something we were not and end up appealing to no one, only to be dumped by them a year later because we didn’t sell enough records. It happens all the time in the music industry.
I believe Madonna (whether you like her as an artist or not) took a sensible and fruitful approach to working with record labels. She started out as a pro-active, ambitious independent artist, highly focused on building her following. By the time record labels started to approach her, her identity (i.e., her ‘brand’) AND her fan base were so defined, record labels didn’t TRY to change her. Her clarity about who she was as an artist (even though it changed every year) and who her fans were meant that she gained a reputation as someone who was able to maintain artistic control even within a corporate environment. Later, she had enough clout (and money!) to break free from corporate influence altogether, and created her own record label. In a way, she went BACK to being an independent artist, the master of her own artistic destiny.
I believe Madonna’s career serves as a great lesson for authors in the digital era. Committing to being self-published, possibly for several years, while you put your attention into building your ‘brand’ and your fan base IS a highly sensible route. Then, you wait until you reach a ‘tipping point’ where a publisher might be able to take your sales to the next level AND you are a ready-made asset for a specific publisher (or niche of publishers). Only then is it the time to approach a major publisher. When you can show you have a clear market, a clear identity, a strong fan base and some marketing know-how, the ‘right’ publisher will sit up and take notice when you approach them (typically through a literary agent; but that’s another story).
Then again, maybe you don’t WANT a publisher after all. Maybe you’ll decide that self-publishing is actually better for you. Maybe you’ll develop a love for the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom of self-publishing. Maybe you’ll be so good at marketing and distribution (or you’ve outsourced great people to manage it for you) that you’ll start building a small empire with your books. Maybe you’ll even publish other authors.
Anyway…
That’s enough of the pep talk. I just wanted to take a moment to get you into the right state of mind before we get back to work.
Back to Our Checklist…
Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve been sharing my Top-10 ‘must do’ items for self-published authors. Here’s a quick review of what we’ve looked at so far. You can click the links below to read more about them.
In Part 1, we explored:
- Must-Do #1: Choose Your Title and Subtitle METICULOUSLY
- Must-Do #2: Find a Highly-Recommended Professional Editor and Proofreader
- Must-Do #3: Find a Highly-Recommended Cover Designer
- Must-Do #4: Create a Publishing Company
- Must-Do #5: Get Your ISBN Numbers
In Part 2, we took a detailed look at:
Today, in Part 3, we’ll be looking at the next two items on our ‘must do’ checklist:
Must-Do #7: Working Through Your Edits and Proofs
Many new authors think that once they finish their draft, their editor will ‘fix’ everything for them and that when they get their edit back from the editor, everything will be ready to publish. This is a big misunderstanding of the role an editor plays in the publishing process.
While many new authors think editing is just a matter of correcting errors in grammar and spelling, it’s far more than that. A good editor will typically make suggestions for changes that will make your book tighter and more cohesive. They might recommend re-writing certain sections, changing the order of your ideas (or whole chapters). They might recommend that you elaborate on an idea, trim something down, or even delete parts that are redundant. They might point out inconsistencies in point-of-view, verb tense or continuity, and make suggestions for how to fix them.
An editor might notice certain idiosyncrasies in your writing that they ask you to address personally. For example, my editor told me to search through my ENTIRE manuscript to find every instance of certain adverbs I tended to overuse (like ‘really’, ‘quite’, ‘actually’ and similar fillers), and then delete as many of them as possible. This part of the process can be a real emotional journey for an author, especially if they have never worked with a good editor before. You might wonder why the editor didn’t do this herself. I’m glad she asked me to do it because a) it gave me the chance to decide which instances of these words should stay or go and b) it helped me improve as a writer. I notice that I am much more mindful of my ‘filler’ words since being challenged by my editor to address this issue.
Learn to relish the challenges your editor gives you as a valuable learning experience. Do not see his/her suggestions as criticisms but as tools to make you a better, more professional writer. This is why choosing the right editor is so important. A great editor is not only a master of words, but is also unafraid to ‘give it to you straight’.
Of course, you have to be prepared for this—emotionally AND in terms of time. BLOCK OUT a month of your time to go through your editors edits. Treat them with as much care and delight as you did when you wrote the first two drafts of your book.
After you make the changes your editor suggested, I strongly recommend sending the edited draft back to your editor (or to a proofreader, if you are using someone different) so they can go over it with a fine eye for typos, spelling and punctuation errors. Again, they will probably send the proofed draft to you using ‘track changes’ so you can approve the changes manually. That means you’ll need to block out another week of your time for this. Do NOT rush this process or do this when you’re tired. That’s when mistakes happen. Going through the corrections yourself manually (rather than trusting the proofreader to make the final call) is important in case they misinterpreted what a misspelled word was intended to be. Only you will be able to evaluate whether the corrections are actually ‘correct’.
Must-Do #8: Obtaining Endorsements for Your Book
Obtaining endorsements for your book before it comes out is an important part of your publishing process. The time to seek them actively is AFTER you’ve completed reworking the edits your editor gave you, but BEFORE the manuscript goes for final proofreading. Most endorsers are happy to read through an unproofed and semi-formatted PDF version of your book.
Your endorsers should be experts in the same or similar field as the subject of your book. Preferably, they should be other authors or other well-known personalities in the field. They could also be leaders within well-known and widely respected organisations related to your field. Some obvious candidates for endorsers would be people you cite or mention within your book. Others could be colleagues in your business networks (including your social networks).
Many new authors choke at the idea of asking for endorsements for their book. They worry about being rejected, or they worry they’ll look silly. But there really is no need to be shy about asking for an endorsement, as there is an incentive for people to give you one. After all, their name, book title and (possibly) website will go either inside your book or maybe even on the front or back cover. That’s free ‘advertising’ for them to their target audience.
Think of it this way: You want their endorsement because if their readers see them endorsing your book, they’ll think it might be of interest to them. But conversely, if your readers see your endorsers’ names mentioned in your book, they might think to check their books out too. You are happy, your endorsers are happy, and your readers are happy. It’s a win-win-win.
When you contact people asking for an endorsement, try to be mindful of the following details:
- If you already know the person, all you really need to do is ask them if they’ll let you send them a copy of your new book, so they can write a short endorsement. At this point, just tell them the title of the book and the date you expect to be able to send it to them for review.
- If you DON’T know the person, make the initial letter only slightly longer. Open by telling them who you are and why you are writing to them, specifically, i.e. you cited them in your book; you admire their work in their field and it is closely aligned with the topic of your book, etc. Then, ask permission to send the manuscript to them.
- Give your potential endorsers a brief (one or two sentences) description of the book. Never, EVER use ‘sales language’ or hyped up words like ‘life-changing’, ‘amazing’, etc. Just tell them what the book is about.
- Always assure your potential endorsers that they do NOT have to read the entire book.
- Assure them that 1 or 2 lines of ‘blurb’ is perfectly fine. We are not asking them to write a review.
- Assure them that their name, (one) book title and link to their website will be guaranteed to go into the front pages of your print book (I tend not to include them in eBooks)
- Let them know that 3 of the most compelling endorsements will go on the back cover, and the most compelling will go on the front cover. Of course, you and your cover designer have to be ok with doing this before making that promise.
- Assure them you will include these endorsements in promo materials you will be sending to radio shows, etc. (you never know; their book titles might catch someone’s attention).
- Assure them you will post their endorsements WITH their web link on the book page of your website. This gives them a back link and more free promo.
- Assure them you will give them a month to look at your book and get their blurb back to you.
- Assure them that it’s ok to say no.
Below is some advice from author Erica Tucci, who has been very successful at getting many relevant and well-known endorsers for her books, including her upcoming book Radiant Survivor. I thought you might enjoy reading what she had to share. Erica suggests sending a sample chapter to people on first contact. That’s not normally something I recommend, but it seems to have worked for her:
To obtain endorsements for your book, find people who have a shared interest in its subject matter. For example, do you quote a potential endorser in your book? Or have they experienced a similar situation as your own? I quoted several passages from Dr. Nancy Qualls Corbett’s (a Jungian psychotherapist) book in my novel Anything is Possible, and thus she gave me a wonderful endorsement.
Most recently for my book Radiant Survivor: How to Shine and Thrive through Recovery from Stroke, Cancer, Abuse, Addiction and Other Life-Altering Experiences, I was able to obtain agreements to endorse my book from Kevin Sorbo (aka Hercules) and Dr. Bernie Siegel, an internationally renowned physician. Kevin had several strokes in his late 30s so he understood my story since he had “been there, done that.” Bernie, as Dr. Siegel prefers to be called, has authored many books on healing and is an expert in complementary and holistic medicine, so perhaps he felt that my book fell in the same category as his, at some level.
When you contact potential endorsers, send them the intro and a chapter or two of your book for their perusal. Then send the complete manuscript if they request it. Ask them politely to please return their endorsement within a certain time frame. Also, it’s important to make them feel like they want to give you their endorsement. Tell them that you love the work that they do. Maybe you have quoted them. Appeal to their altruistic side. That you have had a similar experience as they have had, or that you have read their books, and that you would love to have their endorsement as a testament to the benefits of reading your book. If they too are authors, as Kevin and Bernie both are, they will understand how important endorsements are…Although I feel that it was more their graciousness that led them to agree to giving me endorsements. And I am very grateful for them being willing to do so!
ENDORSEMENT TIP: Sometimes very ‘busy’ endorsers will ask YOU to write the endorsement for them. That might seem a bit disingenuous, but it happens all the time. If fact, it’s probably more common than uncommon when you are requesting endorsements from bigger names. If one of your endorsers asks you to do this, don’t panic or be offended. Think about who THEY are and what their message is. Then, in two sentences, try to think what they would say about your book from their perspective. Try to include the ‘money shot’ in it, where there are two or three words that can be extracted and used on their own.
Then, send this suggested ‘blurb’ to your endorser and ask them to tweak it to make it their own. If they’re truly the right endorsers for your book, you will get back something personalised and genuine that can also be promotional gold-dust for you.
That’s it for today…
We’ve covered a lot of ground today. Hopefully you gained some useful information from it. Next time in Part 4, we’ll be looking at:
- Must-Do #9: Creating effective back cover, back pages and META copy for your book
- Must-Do #10: Final stages: formatting, uploading and ordering your proof
Closing Thoughts
I hope these articles are helping you get more excited and more confident about self-publishing. I’d really like to know what you’ve most gained from the information I’ve shared, so PLEASE share your feedback (or questions) in the comments box below.
And be sure to subscribe to this blog to make sure you receive Part 4 of this series, plus all our Spirit Authors articles.
AND LASTLY, if you’re looking for personal help in your self-publishing and book marketing journey, have a look at our Hire Us page to read about our services. Then, if you’re interested in speaking about working together, drop me a line via the contact form on this site and we can set up a 30-minute consultation to discuss your needs.
Lynn Serafinn
10th July 2013
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Take a 14-day free trial at:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/ZlW7HT
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Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
Connect with us on Twitter.
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She was recently named one of the Top 100 marketing authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. Her eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Through her company Spirit Authors, her marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling self-help and mind-body-spirit authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project, a budding social enterprise whose aim is to help grow a new generation of passionate entrepreneurs who want to serve both people and planet through innovative, ethical, independent enterprise.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
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Self-Publishing Part 2 – Setting Your Price & Book Categories
Posted by: | CommentsPrint-on-demand has made self-publishing affordable, but many authors find the process overwhelming. Lynn Serafinn explains how to get your book set up properly. Part 2 of a 4-part series ‘Self-Publishing – a 10-Point Must-Do Checklist for Authors’.
Last week in Part 1 of this 4-part series, we looked at the first five items on our 10-point self-publishing checklist. We talked about the importance of choosing the right title and subtitle, finding a professional editor and proofreader and finding a highly recommended book cover designer. We also talked about creating a publishing company and how to get your ISBNs for your book.
If you haven’t had a chance to read that article yet, you can do so by clicking HERE.
As I wanted to go into detail, I’ve decided to break the next five points into three separate articles (a total of four altogether). So today, in Part 2, we’re going to be looking at the nitty-gritty of getting your book ready for publication, as we go through the next item on our checklist, which is:
Setting up your title, prices and categories with your print-on-demand company
So, if you’re ready, let’s get started.
Must-Do #6: Setting Up Your Title, Prices and Categories with a POD Company
OVERVIEW
Back in the old days, if you wanted to publish your own book, you had to get a large quantity printed in advance. This was because the price to set up the printing plates was expensive, and unless you bought around 2000 copies of the book, the price per unit would never absorb the set-up charges. Of course, this is perfectly fine if you have the distribution channels or enough live speaking engagements to ensure you can sell 2000 copies of your book before they get dusty, faded, old-looking or out-of-date. But if you’re like most new authors, you don’t have the capability of shifting 2000 units quickly, and you are likely to end up with boxes of unmovable stock. Thus, what looked like a good deal at the time ends up being a big financial loss. It’s also not exactly environmentally friendly to print thousands of books that will only end up being recycled into pulp in a few years’ time.
But now, with the dawn of digital printing, the cost of set-up is radically reduced, and we also have the ability to order our books on a ‘print on demand’ basis (POD). POD means exactly what it says: your printer can now print ONE book at a time for you, meaning there is no surplus to deal with (unless you happen to over order) and no need to run yourself into debt by having to order massive quantities.
The company I use and recommend to my clients is Lightning Source (http://lightningsource.com), which I’ll abbreviate as LSI. LSI is a print-on-demand company that has global distribution. When you set up an account with them, your book goes into all the major distribution channels, including all the Amazon sites, Barnes & Noble, Ingram and Baker & Taylor. What this means is, all you need to do is publish your book through LSI’s distribution channel and they take care of telling retailers and distributors about your book, and fulfilling any orders that come through. You, as the publisher, are able to place your own orders if you want, paying only for printing and shipping costs. Unlike subsidiary presses (see Part 1 of this article series), LSI do not take ANY publisher compensation (i.e., royalties) from you. Apart from very nominal set-up charges in the beginning (I think it’s around $40 per title) they will only charge you for printing and shipping.
Some people shy away from LSI for two reasons: 1) they can’t navigate through their (admittedly) confusing website and 2) they’ve heard horror stories about their books being labelled as ‘out of stock’ on Amazon when they go through LSI. Please trust me when I tell you that both of these fears are down to people not understanding how the system works:
- Yes, LSI’s website IS confusing when you first see it, but if you have a good Client Services Rep, he or she should be able to help you through it. They also have a live chat help desk open during business hours. Also, once your account is set up and you get used to the idiosyncrasies of their website, it’s really simple to use. Besides, my rep tells me they are well aware of the unwieldiness of their website, and they have plans to revamp it and make it more user friendly.
- The whole issue with ‘being listed as out of stock’ on Amazon is a NON-issue. If your book is ‘print on demand,’ it WON’T be ‘in stock’ until Amazon orders some books. The way to get around this is to order one or two yourself. Within two weeks this listing will go away, as Amazon will have made an order for your book. After that, if they run out, it will say ‘temporarily out of stock; more on the way’ just the same as they would for any other book. See my earlier article ‘How to Kick-Start Your Book Sales – Part 2’ for more information about this.
SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT
LSI is a business-to-business company. They assume you are a publisher, not an author. Therefore, LSI assume you already have ISBN numbers associated with your publishing company, and they will ask you for a sample of one of your ISBNs when you register. So, make sure you have already received your ISBNs (see Part 1 of this article series) before you try to set up your LSI account.
When setting up, be sure you select ‘POD Direct Distribution’ rather than the ‘print to publisher’ option. This gives LSI permission to distribute your titles to anyone in their distribution chain. You will need to sign several documents that give them permission for this. There will be a different contract for each country in which you give them permission to distribute: US, UK, Australia and Europe. LSI can also do eBook distribution for you, but bear in mind that this does NOT include Kindle, as this is a proprietary format that you can only arrange directly with Amazon (we’ll look at this in Part 3 of this article series).
SETTING UP YOUR TITLE
Once your account has been set up, you can set up your first title. You CAN (and should) do this before your book is ready to be published because you’ll probably want to go back in and change things before you finally submit it to LSI’s system. Set up the title of your first book, along with its ISBN, and set a date in the future as its publication date (LSI will ask you whether you’re sure this ‘future’ date is what you intended; just say it’s ok and continue).
After setting up your title, you’ll need to define several details:
- Retail price of your book
- The wholesale discount
- Your book’s categories
- Your book’s description, also called the ‘Meta’
The ‘meta’ is something we’ll look at in Part 4. Right now, let’s just look at price, discount and categories.
SETTING YOUR RETAIL PRICE
(this section discusses pricing for your PRINT book; pricing for eBooks and Kindle will be addressed in Part 4).
Setting your price is partially down to the length of your book, as well as whether it is fiction or non-fiction. The general opinion amongst publishers is that non-fiction books can be priced slightly higher than fiction. My area of expertise is in non-fiction books, so what I will share here is based mainly upon the assumption you are a non-fiction author.
Let’s say your book is 80,000 words in length. At roughly 300 words per page, and allowing for front and back pages (which we’ll talk about in the next article), that would end up being about 275 pages long in a typical 5’ X 8’ or 6’ X 9’ book. Your printing charge from LSI would be $4.47 USD per unit ($0.013 per page plus $1 for cover/assembly). Typically I recommend setting a retail price of approximately four times the cost of your printing, which in this case would be $17.95. You could set the price slightly higher, of course, but you have to think of the average price point for the customer. Setting a price of $19.95 might make you more money per unit, but if it ‘feels’ too high to customers, they might opt for a different book. Of course, if your book is a book about business (where people how to profit from it), paying a few dollars more is not always the deal breaker if the content is unique and highly recommended by other readers.
UK readers: LSI’s printing costs in GBP are 1p per page plus 70p for cover/assembly. Thus the above book would cost you £3.45 per unit to print. Using the same logic, your suggested retail price would be about £14.95.
PRICING FOR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
You will need to set up your prices for EVERY country in which you have signed a contract to sell through LSI. To do this, use an online currency converter to calculate the current exchange rate, and then round it UP to the nearest unit to allow for market fluctuation. One converter I use frequently is located at http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/. After you do your conversion, be sure to make the price something like £14.95 rather than £15.
SETTING YOUR WHOLESALE DISCOUNT
Sticking with our suggested retail price of $17.95, we now have to set up our ‘wholesale discount’. Our wholesale discount is a percentage OFF the retail price we agree to give to wholesalers and distributors. A wholesaler who buys the book at this discount would then sell the book to retail shops for a small mark-up, and then the retailers will sell the book at or near the retail price you have set.
I typically suggest self-publishers set their discount to either 45% or 50% (some big publishers will even offer a 55% discount). This means that if your book retails at $17.95, a wholesaler will buy it for $8.98 (if you set a 50% discount) or $9.87 (if you set a 45% discount). You will receive this amount MINUS the cost of printing. The final figure is the ‘publisher compensation’ (or ‘royalties’) you will receive.
If we do the math, this means that you, the publisher, will make the following royalty/compensation per each book sold:
USD: 275 page book at $17.95 retail sold at 45% discount = $5.40 royalty per unit sold
USD: 275 page book at $17.95 retail sold at 50% discount = $4.51 royalty per unit sold
GBP: 275 page book at £14.95 retail sold at 45% discount = £4.77 royalty per unit sold
GBP: 275 page book at £14.95 retail sold at 50% discount = £4.02 royalty per unit sold
ABOUT AMAZON
Amazon, although technically a retailer, purchases your books at your wholesale rate. This gives them a tremendous competitive advantage in that they can discount the price of your book significantly, to make it look more attractive to customers. Be assured that if Amazon or any other company that sells your book for LESS than the retail price, it does NOT impact your royalties in any way. They could choose to sell it for 1 cent more than what they bought it for, and you would STILL get the publisher compensation as above.
DON’T GET GREEDY
Some book marketers will tell you to set your wholesale compensation to 20% discount, giving you maximum publisher compensation per unit. But I believe this is foolhardy advice. You have to consider the motivation of the retailer. I was a retailer for over 20 years, and I can assure you if an item did not have a good mark-up I simply wouldn’t buy it. A mark-up of 20% is not enough of an incentive for me to stock an item because a) it forces me to sell it at full retail price, which puts off my customers and b) it means I can’t mark it down to sell it quickly if it’s unpopular.
Try to understand the whole distribution chain and offer your retailers and wholesalers a mark-up that is attractive both to them and to their customers. Never set your wholesale discount to less than a 45%.
SETTING YOUR CATEGORIES
The last thing you’ll need to do at this point is decide in which three categories your book should be placed. LSI uses ‘BIC’ categories (‘Book Industry Communication’). These are standard throughout the industry. Your BIC category placement is vital. Don’t go for broad, general, top level categories. For example, ‘Business & Economics’ is a top level category. There are thousands of business books on the market, and placing your book in this category doesn’t tell the retailer or the customer enough about your book. It will also put you in competition with blockbuster titles, which gives you no advantage at all.
You can choose three BIC classifications for your book. Choose subcategories that best define your book to both retailers and customers. You even might think of having two of your subcategories under one top level category, and one subcategory under a different top level.
One word of warning: For some mad reason, although BIC is supposed to be standard, most retailers have their OWN categories that are not the same as BIC categories. Let’s take a brief look at how this impacts your listing on Amazon.
AMAZON CATEGORIES
Amazon sets your categories based upon the BIC categories you set in LSI. However, sometimes they get it ‘wrong’ and interpret your categories weirdly. If you feel you’ve got the BIC categories ‘right’ but Amazon gets your category placement very ‘wrong’, you can always contact Author Central on Amazon and ask them to fix it. However, as Amazon will not allow you to set up an Author Central account until you actually have a book PUBLISHED with them, it means you might need to go through a month or so of ironing out the ‘kinks’ if this is your first book. This is another good reason to ‘Kick-Start Your Book Sales’ (click the link to read my previous article on this).
Also bear in mind also that EVERY Amazon site (US, UK, Canada, etc.) has different categories and subcategories. This can be terribly frustrating for an author/publisher. I’m really not sure why they don’t standardise it, but that’s the way it is. So be mindful that while you might be appearing on the perfect categories on one site, you might not on another. If that’s the case, contact them through Author Central.
Lastly (and to make things even more confusing), your categories for the Kindle edition of your book will be DIFFERENT yet again, and will need to be set via Kindle Direct Publishing, which is something we’ll discuss in Part 4 of this series.
Ok, that’s it for Part 2. Next time, in Part 3, we’ll be looking at:
Then finally, in Part 4, we’ll be looking at:
- Must-Do #9: Creating effective back cover, back pages and META copy for your book
- Must-Do #10: Final stages: formatting, uploading and ordering your proof
Closing Thoughts
I hope this information has been useful to you. I know navigating through the quagmire of self-publishing ‘must-do’s’ can be extremely daunting when you’re a first-time self-publisher, but please believe me when I say it gets easier. I could have made this article shorter and less detailed, but I get asked these same questions SO many times, I thought I’d put it all in writing for you.
Please do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. And don’t leave without subscribing to this blog if you’re keen to receive the rest of this series, plus all our Spirit Authors articles.
AND, of course, if you’re looking for personal help in your self-publishing and book marketing journey, have a look at our Hire Us page to read about our services. Then, if you’re interested in speaking about working together, drop me a line via the contact form on this site and we can set up a 30-minute consultation to discuss your needs.
Lynn Serafinn
4 July 2013
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LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She was recently named one of the Top 100 marketing authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. Her eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Through her company Spirit Authors, her marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling self-help and mind-body-spirit authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project, a budding social enterprise whose aim is to help grow a new generation of passionate entrepreneurs who want to serve both people and planet through innovative, ethical, independent enterprise.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
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Self-Publishing – A 10-Point Must-Do Checklist for Authors – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsPart 1 in a 4-part series of top tips on how to make your self-published book look like it’s been published with a major publisher. From book coach and marketer, Lynn Serafinn.
If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know I’m a huge believer in self-publishing. Far from making an author a ‘second-class citizen’, I believe self-publishing has many advantages over going with a publisher or a subsidiary press like Create Space, Balboa Press or iUniverse. The three main advantages of self-publishing over these other options are:
- You make far more money on each unit sold when you go 100% self-published. Most publishers pay between 7%-12% of retail in royalties. Subsidiary presses typically pay 50% of net. With self-publishing, you earn 100% of net. For example, if you had a 250-page book that retailed at $20, you would make about $2 from a publisher, $2.50 from a subsidiary press and $5.50 (or more) if you went the self-publishing route. Of course, the actual figures would depend upon the cost of printing (I have estimated $4.50 per unit) and the wholesale discount at which you offered the book to retailers (I have used a typical rate of 50%).
- Self-publishing gives you 100% artistic freedom. While subsidiary presses don’t generally interfere with your artistic process, they also don’t tend to offer a whole lot either. Publishers can provide a lot of artistic input, but they can also take control of it. If you go self-published and hire the right designers and editors (or maybe even a self-publishing adviser) for your production team, you can produce something you feel is truly ‘yours’. It also permits you to be in complete control of the dates for your book launch and to drive the image/brand behind it.
- Self-publishing also gives you the potential for growth. Your publishing enterprise could turn into an actual business with time. You will have the flexibility of negotiating wholesale deals with shops, entering publisher contests and maybe even bringing other authors into your company. While that’s not something that may be on your mind when you are publishing your first book, it at least leaves the door open to possibilities.
While that all might sound great, many authors face three major obstacles when attempting to self-publish:
- They don’t know how to self-publish a book AND
- Because they don’t know how to do it, they tend to do it badly AND
- Even if they do it ‘right’ they don’t know how to market their book
As I focus a lot of my blog posts on the art of book marketing, I thought it would good to devote some time looking at the first of these two obstacles. So, over the next two articles, I’ll be walking you through some of the basic ‘must do’ items on your self-publishing checklist, along with tips on how to do it right so your book doesn’t end up looking self-published.
As there’s so much to cover, I’m breaking this 10-point list into four articles (links to the others are at the end of this article). Today, we’ll be looking at points 1 – 5 on the checklist, as these are the ones you will need to address earliest in the process.
NOTE: While most of my articles address the specific needs of non-fiction authors, most of this information is equally applicable for writers of fiction books.
Must-Do #1: Choose Your Title and Subtitle METICULOUSLY
I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a great title for your book. In the case of non-fiction authors, the subtitle is equally (and sometimes even more) important as the title. Your title is the ‘hook’ that will make people remember your book in the plethora of others on the market. Your subtitle is the ‘promise’ you will bring to the reader.
I routinely help my clients craft winning titles and subtitles for their non-fiction books. I shared some of my tips in a recent article called ‘How to Choose the Perfect Title for Your Non-Fiction Book’. Rather than repeat the information here, I recommend giving it a read.
When to do this: If your title just isn’t working for you, try to work with someone who can help you craft it. Your title and sub-title can be a great asset to you during the WRITING process as it can help you find focus. At the very least, you should ensure you have your title finalised a good 5 months before your projected publication date, so you can begin pre-publication marketing.
Must-Do #2: Find a Highly-Recommended Professional Editor and Proofreader
Too many authors neglect this crucial step in their publishing. No matter how good a writer you are, a good editor and proofreader is vital to keeping your book from looking and reading like a typical ‘self-published’ book. In fact, it’s the lack of good editing that has often given self-publishing a bad rap.
My tips on finding and working with an editor/proofreader are:
- Don’t say you can’t afford one. The truth is you can’t afford NOT to have one.
- Never leave it to the last minute. Good editors have a full roster of clients. Book your time with one well in advance. Make sure they are free during the time you need them.
- Choose an editor who comes highly recommended by an author you trust. Please make sure to choose someone who edits whole BOOKS and not just short copy (web copy, articles, etc). Book editors are experienced in looking for continuity and flow, which is what you need.
- Be sure to allot enough time for edits to turn around. Many authors underestimate how long the editing process will take. You should allow about one month for an editor to send you their initial edits. Then, you will need to incorporate those edits and suggested changes into the manuscript, which might take you up to a month depending upon how complex the edits are and how much time you have in your daily schedule to work on them. Finally, you’ll need to send this editing manuscript back to your editor (or a separate proofreader) for a final edit and proofread. This might take another month. So, altogether, you should be SURE to allot a good 3 months for the whole process. (I’ll be talking more about this in part 2).
When to do this: Find your editor while you are still writing your first draft, hopefully a good two months BEFORE you need them to do their first edit. Then, be sure to send them your manuscript for the first edit at least 5-6 months before your projected publication date.
Must-Do #3: Find a Highly-Recommended Cover Designer
Again, many self-published authors tend to skimp on this step, saying they cannot ‘afford’ a professional designer for their book. Some succumb to marketing pressure from their subsidiary press, and they use in-house designers. In my experience, these designers produce really sub-standard work that does NOT express the heart and soul of your book, primarily because they don’t know you and are working from a brief. If you really want to have a self-published book that looks professional, you WILL need to spend some money on a professional designer.
My tips on finding and working with a designer are:
- The same as the above tips for finding and working with an editor. Please don’t find a designer on eLance or any other budget site. Ask around on social networks for referrals to find designers who come recommended by people you trust.
- Don’t be tempted to go DIY. Do not do the cover yourself or ask a friend to do it UNLESS you/they are skilled designers.
- Don’t use a generic designer. By ‘generic’ I mean those who work in-house for subsidiary presses. Hire an independent designer who will meet with you, discuss your brief, and be willing to work closely with you to create something unique.
- Don’t allow your designer to use stock images. Stock images might be ok if you’re making a small (under 20,000 word) Kindle eBook, but not if you’re publishing a full-length book. Hire someone who can make original artwork.
- Don’t put your own photo on the front cover. Unless you are a famous author, speaker or celebrity, your photo does NOT belong on the front cover. Save it for the back cover in the author bio.
- Ask to see examples of their work. Like any artist, every designer has a different style. They might be the best designer in the world, but they might not be right for your book. Ask to look at examples of other book covers your designer has made and choose the one that most closely matches the feel of your book.
- Have a CLEAR idea of what you want. Designers aren’t mind-readers. Don’t assume they’ll know what is perfect for your book without you giving them some idea about what you want. Come up with some concepts and colour schemes that you think match your book. If you can make a mock up in Photoshop or a rough sketch to give the designer an idea, that’s even better.
- Get a fixed price on the project. I recommend negotiating a fixed price in advance with your designer rather than agreeing to pay by the hour. Hourly rates put pressure on both you and the designer. Agree on a fixed price AND make sure that this covers a specific number of drafts/edits as well as the back cover design (if you are doing a print version of your book).
- Don’t be afraid to say you don’t like it. A lot of authors I meet hold back from giving feedback to their designers. They don’t like their cover, but they also don’t like ‘conflict’ AND they’re afraid of spending more money (especially if they’re paying by the hour). By not speaking up, you’re going to end up with a cover you really can’t stand, but feel you are ‘stuck’ with. Don’t let this happen.
When to do this: Try to get your FRONT cover made 5-6 months before your projected publication date. The sooner you have your front cover finalised, the sooner you can start creating the ‘buzz’ for your book so people know it will be coming out soon. The back cover can come later, about 3 months before projected publication date. In fact, I recommend LEAVING the back cover until you have the final draft of your book done, so you know your back cover copy matches what’s inside the book.
Must-Do #4: Create a Publishing Company
Depending upon where you live, starting a publishing company is often as easy as making up a name for your publishing house. If you are already self-employed, this can just be another enterprise under your personal name. It doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘officially’ registered as a company.
In choosing a name for your publishing company, choose one that goes beyond the message of your current book, and expresses the message of potential future books. What is the theme of your over-arching message? Where do you see yourself going as an author?
You DON’T necessarily have to come up with a logo for your company, but it’s a nice touch if you do. You may or may not use the same designer you use for your cover. Crafting good logos is a separate skill set. Again, unless you are a graphic designer with logo experience, please don’t attempt to do this on your own.
When to do this: As all of the above, set up your company 5-6 months before your projected publication date. You can make your logo later (if you intend to create one) but make sure it is complete before your designer makes the back cover/spine of your print book (as this is where the logo typically goes) or your layout designer does the layout for the interior (covered in the next article)
Must-Do #5: Get Your ISBN Numbers
Once you have established your publishing company, it’s time to get a batch of ISBN numbers. ISBN stands for ‘International Standard Book Number’. An ISBN is a thirteen-digit number assigned to every book before publication. Furthermore, you are REQUIRED to use a different ISBN for every format of the book you publish. In other words, if you intend to print a paperback, a hardback and ONE version of eBook of the same book, you’ll need 3 different ISBNs. Many authors don’t realise that you will require a different ISBN for each format in which you publish your eBook (i.e., Smashwords, Kobe, PDF, Kindle, etc). While Smashwords and Kindle can assign you an ISBN, remember that technically they’re the ‘publisher’ if they do so. This doesn’t matter so much on Amazon, as Kindle is a proprietary format, but I do recommend using your own ISBN for other eBook publishing formats.
If you publish a new edition of your book, you will also need a new ISBN. This is not necessary if you are simply making minor changes/edits to your book (you can call that a ‘2nd printing’ rather than a ‘2nd edition’) but if a book has been changed substantially enough to be considered a different edition, you will need to use a new ISBN to distinguish it from the old one.
ISBNs are always associated with the publishing company. Something you might not realise is that if you go with a subsidiary press and have them assign your ISBN, THEY are technically the publisher, not you. This does not infringe on your copyright as an author, but it does limit your ability as a publisher.
The organisations that assign ISBNs are different for each country. Below are the agencies for the US and the UK. If you are in a different country, you can find your ISBN agency by doing a Google search for “ISBN in [name of your country]”.
- In the UK, Nielsen is the ISBN provider: http://www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk
- In the US, Bowker is the official ISBN agency: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp
Some ISBN providers require that you purchase a minimum of 10 ISBNs at a time. I recommend doing this because you’ll go through them more quickly than you might think, especially if you are a prolific writer and you are publishing in multiple formats.
When to do this: Again, do this 5-6 months before your projected publication date. If you are a first-time author who is just setting up your publishing company, you might have some paperwork to fill in, so allow a few hours for this. After you request your first batch of ISBNs, it can take up to 10 working days for you to receive them (although one of my clients received hers within 2 days).
NEXT TIME…
In Part 2 of this 4-part series, we’ll look at:
- Must-Do #6: Setting up your title with your print-on-demand company (including setting your price & book categories)
Then, in in Part 3 and Part 4, we’ll be looking at:
- Must-Do #7: Working through your edits and proofs
- Must-Do #8: Obtaining endorsements for your book
- Must-Do #9: Creating effective back cover, back pages and META copy for your book
- Must-Do #10: Final stages: formatting, uploading and ordering your proof
Do be sure to subscribe to this blog so you’ll receive that article, plus all our future articles on writing, publishing and book marketing.
I hope you found this article useful. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback below.
AND, of course, if you’re looking for personal help in your self-publishing and book marketing journey, have a look at our Hire Us page to read about our services. Then, if you’re interested in speaking about working together, drop me a line via the contact form on this site and we can set up a 30-minute consultation to discuss your needs.
Lynn Serafinn
26th May 2013
NOW You Can Get The Spirit Authors Blog
Delivered Directly to Your Kindle!
Now you can have access to the latest tips in writing, publishing and book marketing everywhere you go. Get our Spirit Authors articles delivered 1-2 times a week directly to your Kindle for only 99 cents a month (77pUK). Instead of reading someone else’s book on your way to work, get information on how to make your OWN book a success.
Take a 14-day free trial at:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/ZlW7HT
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/131495j
Join us on the Spirit Authors Page on Facebook
Connect with us on Twitter.
LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC is a certified, award-winning coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker and author of the number one bestseller The 7 Graces of Marketing — How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! 158 Twitter Tips & Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs & Changemakers Who Want to Market their Business Ethically. She was recently named one of the Top 100 marketing authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine and was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards. Her eclectic approach to marketing incorporates her vast professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector along with more than two decades of study and practice of the spirituality of India. Through her company Spirit Authors, her marketing campaigns have produced a long list of bestselling self-help and mind-body-spirit authors. Lynn is also the Founder of the 7 Graces Project, a budding social enterprise whose aim is to help grow a new generation of passionate entrepreneurs who want to serve both people and planet through innovative, ethical, independent enterprise.
Twitter:
@LynnSerafinn @SpiritAuthors @7GracesMarketng @GardenOfTheSoul
Facebook:
LynnSerafinn SpiritAuthors 7GracesOfMarketing 7 Graces Global Garden (group)