Self-Publishers in the wilds of Amazon
Business » Announcements, Marketing, Print-on-Demand, Publishing, Self-Pubbing, Small PressJune 5th, 2008
I was going to post a Thursday Thirteen on graduating with my bachelors of science in computer science and engineering. Note the past tense. Instead, I’m going to weigh in on this ongoing hooplah about Amazon.com making a business decision that no small or self-publisher wants to hear: that print-on-demand books sold through Amazon must use Amazon’s subsidiary, BookSurge, rather than relying on the industry standard, Lightening Source.
Self-Published Authors and Taxes
Business, General » Links, Publishing, Self-PubbingMarch 4th, 2008
It turns out that if you’re self-published, you’re considered self-employed. If you’re self-employed, you need to report your income if you accept more than $400 a year for your services (as seen on the form, here).
So for you writers that are either self-published or vanity-published, here are some tax forms you might want to take a look at.
An Update
Writing » Announcements, NaNoWriMo, Print-on-Demand, Publishing, Self-Pubbing, Work-in-ProgressApril 2nd, 2007
So. How is the WIP going? Fairly well, I would say. It’s a new month, which means I’ve printed out the previous month’s (incomplete) draft, kissed it, set it aside, and convinced my mind that I’m starting this month with a new inspired view of the WIP. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it seems to work for me. I’m 29% complete with this draft that I call The Rewrite of Novel # 2 ™. …
Unique Selling Propositions
Marketing » Self-PubbingJanuary 22nd, 2007
To be honest, I’d never heard of a USP until the other day. I kind of thought maybe they were trying to say USB, as in a USB port in a computer. Such is life as a computer science student, I suppose. Anyway, a USP is actually a Unique Selling Proposition , and it’s basically the best and only way to a strong marketing plan. See the below article from the AuthorHouse author’s resource blog.
Test Your Title
Marketing, Writing » Self-Pubbing, TitlesOctober 16th, 2006
Found something fun and nifty online, I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this but I thought I’d share it anyway: you can test your work-in-progress title for popularity. Now that I’m writing this, I think I found it in Writer’s Digest, which I’m reading in between classes and while I wait for programs to compile. Lulu.com has been working with statisticians, apparently, to come up with this nifty little Title Scorer, and the results are pretty accurate to a certain degree…you as an author, reader and writer will have to use your own judgement, of course, to decide whether you should believe it. The highest score you can get is an 83, I’m not sure why, but such is life. My first novel, Catching the Rose, made it up to the 70s somewhere. The Winslow Charade got a paltry 20-something score.
We Have the Power!
Writing » Print-on-Demand, Publishing, Self-PubbingOctober 6th, 2006
Any publisher, whether they are a self-publisher, vanity publisher, or traditional publisher, have to buy ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) in blocks of ten. I don’t know why, that’s just how the industry set it up. I believe it’s to make the ISBN cheaper since you’re buying in bulk, but in the long run it makes much more expensive to self-publish one book because you have to buy that block of ten. Anyway, this ISBN is one major key to getting your book published. If you don’t have an ISBN, it won’t matter how great or cheap your book is, no bookstore will ever carry it. Nor will any online store (such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders, etc) carry it. …
Self-Publishing Experiences
Business, Marketing, Writing » Print-on-Demand, Publishing, Self-Pubbing, TraditionalAugust 23rd, 2006
When people ask me about my book, I tell them I self-published it. This is true and untrue. I paid to have the book printed, I bought a set of the book and sold it to my family and friends, and was interviewed by my local television station about it. Mainly because I was a senior in high school and it was my senior thesis. But if I had gone the actual self-publication route, I would have found a printer, custom designed my cover and interior, and kept all the profits for myself. What I did in reality was go through a print-on-demand company, Aventine Press….
Self-Publishing
Business, Marketing » Print-on-Demand, Publishing, Self-PubbingAugust 22nd, 2006
Ah, the woes of being a writer in today’s world. It is hard to break into publishing, especially with the big names. Even small press publishers are closing their doors to unsolicited manuscripts, meaning if you don’t have an agent who is willing to back your work (which is sometimes a trial in and of itself, finding an agent that you get along with and is willing to work for you), you’re a little out of luck. And that’s why I turned to self-publishing for my first novel.
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