by Carla King
Bowker | Tue Sep 16, 2014
Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited e-book reader subscription program caused a real commotion in the publishing industry last month. But how will this “Netflix for books” model affect the self-publishing industry? Is Kindle Unlimited the best, or should self-publishers join the Scribd or Oyster programs instead? How do you get in? Read on for a comparison of these top three reader subscription programs and best recommendations for self-publishers who are looking to add these channels to their revenue streams.
AMAZON KINDLE UNLIMITED
Amazon requires that self-publishers join their exclusive KDP Select program to be included in Unlimited. If you’re already using KDP Select, or you’ve decided that joining the program may give your book launch a boost, then go for it! It’s only temporary.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Sep 2, 2014
Book publishers rightfully believe that they should expand their marketing activity because not doing so results in low -- or no -- growth. But thinking about creative marketing and actually doing it are two different things. What happens after the creative idea is born? In most cases, nothing. It is easier and less stressful to rationalize the status quo. The problem is generally not coming up with the ideas, it is in the implementation of an idea that is outside one’s comfort zone. But significant benefits can accrue from trying. Here are Ten Steps to Enlarging Your Book-Selling Comfort Zone.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Thu Aug 28, 2014
Should you write about what you know and love, or write about what will sell? The answer is, “Yes.” Your passion for your topic can be your ticket to greater well being as much as it should be a key to exceptional market performance.
Why are you writing your book? Is it to satisfy an internal desire to be a published author or to use your book as a building block in your business? Write to your passion but have a clear plan to translate your purpose into marketable product.
You can reduce your chances of commercial success if you do one or the other. So, do both. Your passion for what you love will sustain you through the months or years of writing, and it will also maintain your attitude through the years of marketing it.
There is intrinsic value to writing a book about your favorite subject, but it will not sell in large quantities unless it has value to your target buyers. The solution? Find your passion and put it to work
by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Fri Aug 22, 2014
Save the date! Wednesday, August 27th at 1:00 Eastern, join marketing guru Penny Sansevieri and publicist Sandra Poirios-Smith as they offer their expertise to independent authors in an hour-long webinar hosted by DCL and organized by Bowker. We’ll cover topics such as expanding your readership, contacting media, bundling books, digital vs print promotion, the difference between advertising and publicity, and much more.
More info about this informative session with these noted thought leaders can be found here.
by June Hyjek
Bowker | Mon Aug 18, 2014
We’re authors. So for all of us, at some point, it became a dream to write the next great American novel. Some of us have been writing for a long time, and maybe some of us weren’t originally writers by craft. But we had a story to tell and knew it had value to others. A great story, maybe the next great best-seller. Just like in the movie, “Field of Dreams,” we thought “If you build it, they will come.” If you wrote a great story, people will buy it. We had to get it out there.
Now, you’ve written that book and you have boxes of it sitting in your garage. Now, you know it’s not that simple.
by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Wed Aug 13, 2014
Blurb, the popular platform for creating and publishing beautiful books, is co-sponsoring indie book review ezine Shelf Unbound’s Writing Competition for Best Independently Published Book. Blurb will award a total of $1,500 in printing services to the winner and finalists of this year’s competition, which will crown the best from independent and self-publishers. Bowker, the official U.S. ISBN registration agency and creator of SelfPublishedAuthor.com, is also a sponsor of this year’s competition.
Entries are being accepted now through October 1. The winning entry, selected by the editors of Shelf Unbound, will receive a prize package designed to help build their publishing business:
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jul 1, 2014
The publishing industry’s retail distribution network is rigid and stable. Established chain members move commodity items (books) systematically toward a common end. Each level (publisher, distributor, wholesaler, retailer) is mutually exclusive yet dependent on each other. The value of the product is dispersed and not controlled by the publisher. While this ingrained system is appealing to some, it leads to a conservative, uncreative structure lacking in energy. Conversely, the B2B marketplace is dynamic and growing at a 10% annual rate. Innovative and strategic publishers have the opportunity to change this competitive landscape, bypass an inflexible chain, and seize and control value. Here are the Top Ten Reasons to Control Value in a Distribution Network.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Fri Jun 6, 2014
There are almost 400,000 ISBNs issued annually for new titles that are published. Yet statistics have shown that 93% of all these books will sell less than 100 copies. Why? Of course, some people publish a book simply because they always wanted to, and do not intend to sell it. Or they may choose to leave a legacy. But many people write a manuscript and publish it with an expectation of success. In addition to the fact that it is easy to have a manuscript published, I believe most books do not sell more than 100 copies because people write and publish without understanding what it takes to be successful. Here are my Top Ten Reasons Most Books Do Not Sell More Than 100 Copies.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Sun May 18, 2014
There are two general worlds in which we market books. The first is through bookstores and the second is to non-bookstore buyers. In both cases, you can increase your sales by giving your books away in limited quantities.
In the familiar world of trade sales, publishers know that they must give books to reviewers and as samples to get on television and radio shows. These exist in the world of non-traditional sales, too, but here there are additional reasons to consider giving books away in special markets as an investment in future revenue.
One example is to get exposure through blogs. Rather than start your own blog, find one that already exists on your topic -- one with a large following – and send the blog owner a copy of your book to review.
by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Wed May 7, 2014
Use of ISNIs among authors is growing, according to a press release published today by ProQuest (Bowker - and by extension SelfPublishedAuthor.com - is a ProQuest affiliate).
A new analysis of Bowker® Books In Print shows that a full 33 percent of its contributors have the ISO-certified International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) connected with their names and in use in the database. ISNI was created just over two years ago and has topped 8 million assignments, 2.33 million of which are represented in Books In Print, showing rapid uptake by authors and other contributors.
