Hilary Smith

Christopher Paolini’s best-selling fantasy series came to a conclusion earlier this month with the release of its fourth and final installment, Inheritance, from Alfred A. Knopf. The series, which has sold more than 25 million copies, began as a self-publishing venture when Paolini was still in his teens.

Paolini wrote Eragon at age fifteen and spent the next two years revising and editing it. Paolini’s parents, who ran a small commercial publishing business, decided to throw their entire enterprise behind the book. They printed up several thousand copies and set up a massive book tour during which Paolini gave presentations at schools and bookstores while wearing a medieval storyteller’s costume.

In a 2004 interview with the Guardian, Paolini said of those early days of self-promotion: “I would stand behind a table in my costume talking all day without a break – and would sell maybe 40 books in eight hours if I did really well.”

Now, more than a decade after self-publishing the first Eragon book, Christopher Paolini has made what seems to be a very happy transition to traditional publishing.

So what’s next for Christopher Paolini? In a recent interview in the Washington Post, he said: “I have 20 or 30 books completely plotted out in my mind — mysteries, thrillers, horror, romance, science fiction. You name it.”

Not bad for a kid who started out with a small run of a self-published novel.

Here are some of the factors that contributed to Paolini’s self-publishing success:

Creativity: Paolini dressed up in an attention-grabbing medieval costume when he did appearances and book signings.

Nichecraft: In addition to schools and bookstores, Paolini sold his book at Renaissance Faires—a fantasy-lover’s paradise.

Luck:  Author Carl Hiaasen showed the self-published version of Eragon to his publisher after his stepson found it in a Montana bookstore, read it and loved it.

Hard work: Paolini toured the country tirelessly to promote Eragon, learning the ups and downs of book promotion at a young age.

Strong networks: Paolini’s family gave him their full support, making Eragon a full-time family business before it ever became popular.

A great story: No amount of family support or medieval theatrics could have made Eragon a success if it didn’t resonate with readers. Paolini worked on Eragon for three years before self-publishing, learning the craft of novel writing.

Hilary Smith

Last week, Penguin announced that its online writing community, Book Country, is now offering self-publishing services to writers. Penguin is the first Big Six publisher to make a grab for a share of the self-publishing market, and according to Publishers Weekly, Book Country offers writers “what looks to be one of the most convenient and reasonably priced self-publishing ventures in a self-publishing market that continues to have explosive growth.”

So far, the announcement has received a mixed-to-negative response from the writing community. Some self-published authors decry Book Country as an attempt by Big Publishing to cash in on self-published writers’ hard work without offering nearly enough value in return. Although Publishers Weekly called the production quality of Book Country titles on display at a recent demonstration “impressive,” industry bloggers point out that authors can obtain equally good results from hiring freelancers or doing the work themselves, often at a much lower cost.

Currently, Book Country offers a range of publishing packages ranging from $99 to $549. At the lower end of the price spectrum, Book Country will upload your ebook to online retailers such as Amazon (which, bloggers point out, you can do on your own for free). At the upper end of the spectrum, Book Country will take care of formatting for both ebook and print, guide you through cover design, provide marketing tips, and do the uploading.

The kicker for many authors is that Book Country takes a 30% royalty cut on top of the flat fee—which can translate to big bucks over the long term.

In a post called “Book Country Fail,” outspoken self-publisher J.A. Konrath wrote: “Why would anyone but a total newbie do this? What is Book Country doing for you that entitles them to 30% royalties? Especially if/when you pay for the formatting?”

For their part, Penguin claims that books published through Book Country will be more “discoverable” to readers. The online community at Book Country has approximately 4,000 members—or, as a promotional video for the self-publishing service calls it, a “built-in readership to jump-start your sales.”

From what I can gather, the enhanced “discoverability” touted by Book Country seems to refer to making your book more discoverable on the Book Country website itself—not necessarily in the wider world. Book Country offers an author profile page (on Book Country) and a free 5,000-word of preview of your book (to visitors of Book Country). This is all well and good if you’re looking to sell to fellow Book Country members, but in terms of reaching a broader audience, I find it hard to see how this particular kind of “discoverability” will be helpful to authors.

Penguin CEO David Shanks has claimed that Penguin “could” offer successful Book Country authors traditional publishing deals—but then again, Penguin (or any other publisher) “could” offer anyone a publishing deal, regardless of how or where they’ve self-published.

Every author has different needs, goals, and abilities, and a self-publishing package that sounds like a rip-off to one author may be a godsend to another. At the end of the day, it’s up to indie authors to discern for themselves when a for-pay service like Book Country is worth their hard-earned money, and when doing the grunt work alone is worth their hard-earned time.

As more and more players compete for a slice of the indie publishing pie, it’s more important than ever to research the options and take careful stock of your own abilities and limitations. Penguin may be the first of the big publishers to offer a self-publishing package, but it almost certainly won’t be the last. As competition increases, let’s hope the value proposition for indie authors does too.

Hilary Smith

If you had infinite resources, self-publishing would be a breeze. You could print up as few or as many copies of your book as you wanted (no need to worry about economies of scale!), craft the world’s flashiest cover, and hire an entire staff of editors, designers and publicists to launch your book in style.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the kind of resources to revel in self-publishing luxury. Chances are, you’re going to have to make some tough decisions about where to spend your money and where to skimp. Here are some thoughts to get you started.

Never Skimp On: Cover Design

One of the most frequently heard complaints about self-published books is that they just look so amateurish. An unattractive cover will scare potential readers away before they even skim the jacket copy or Amazon description.

If you’re serious about selling books, it’s worth spending the money on a designer who will make your book appear indistinguishable from traditionally published titles. Be prepared to shell out serious money for good design—and be prepared to reap a career’s worth of rewards.

OK to Skimp On: A Publicist

Sure, it sounds glamorous to say you just got off the phone with your publicist—and it is pretty nice to sit back and let somebody else book the radio interviews. But with a little imagination and a lot of patience, you can be your own publicist, and a pretty darn good one too.

If you’re stumped on ideas for promoting your book, head to your local library, bookstore, or online retailer for one of the many book publicity manuals now available for self-published authors. You can also check out one of the many blogs about book publicity or even take an online course.

Never Skimp On: Ghostwriting

If you choose to have a ghostwriter pen all or part of your book, keep in mind that your name will be on the final product. A cut-rate ghostwriter is no bargain if the final product isn’t something you’d want associated with your name, your brand, or your company—or if you need to hire someone else to fix inconsistencies and mistakes.

Experienced, knowledgeable, and diligent ghostwriters come at a price, but it beats risking your reputation on a ghostwriter who won’t do your story or message justice.

OK to Skimp On: Promotional Materials

Business cards, pens, stickers, and full-color postcards might sound like a great idea when you first get book publicity fever, but they can quickly translate into so many boxes full of junk (says one who speaks from experience).

Instead of dropping lots of money on promotional materials when you print your first run of books, be modest in your spending until you figure out what you really need. If you find yourself thinking, “I really wish I’d had stickers to hand out at that reading,” go for it. Otherwise, it’s better to spend that money on editing or cover design.

Never Skimp On: Human Relationships

If word of mouth is publicity gold, readers, booksellers, and thought leaders in your field are royalty and deserve to be treated that way. Write back to readers, send a thank you card to the bookseller who hosted your event, and provide links and retweets to websites and blogs who were helpful in promoting your book.

Building strong networks takes time, but they’re the most important ingredient in a happy, successful, lifelong publishing career.

Have You Self-Published a Book?

What did you spend on? What did you skimp on? What would you do differently?

My nutrition journey started when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago and was told she had 6 months to live. I left my successful marketing career and began to learn that good nutrition, eating an organic and more plant-based diet, along with a positive attitude was the key to good health. My mother just celebrated her 80-something birthday!

After 7 years of caring for my parents in Cocoa Beach, Florida, I moved to Arizona to work with integrative medicine pioneer, Andrew Weil, MD.  It was then that my passion for nutrition emerged.  I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2007 and my clarity and focus has been unstoppable.  For the last 4 years, I have been building my business with former professional athletes, the NFL / Super Bowl, NFL Alumni and the sports fan community.

Today, I am the Founder and CEO of EXPERIENCE NUTRITION, an Official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni.  EXPERIENCE NUTRITION offers memorable interactive speaking engagements, nutrition cooking classes, and the flagship “9 Ways to Enjoy Food & Life” Comprehensive program.   Here’s a taste of the concepts I share with former athletes, corporations and children in speaking engagements and interactive nutrition cooking classes:

Fat is Good.

One of my favorite topics is fat.

Good fat, that is. You just need to know which fats are good for you. Throughout the years, the media has told us that should not eat fat because it makes you fat. So, for many years, I stopped eating nuts and olives, which I love. But, fat does not make you fat. Your body needs good fat to function.

5 Simple Ways to Experience Good Fats

It’s quite simple to add good fats to your life. Commit to try these simple ways to experience good fats. Choose one that works for you, each and every day. 

1. Enjoy  plant fats: nuts and seeds
2. Eat wild cold water fish, especially wild Alaskan sockeye or king salmon
3. Add chia, hemp or ground flax seeds to your smoothies
4. Make a simple avocado salsa
5. Enjoy organic extra virgin olive oil with all your organic veggies

The mission of EXPERIENCE NUTRITION is to improve the lives of current and former professional athletes, and the sports fan community by helping them to appreciate healthy food and enjoy life. I invite you to reach out to me if you are interested in booking EXPERIENCE NUTRITION for your next corporate, conference, or even private catering parties and tailgating with former NFL players!

Check out the EXPERIENCE NUTRITION blog; join in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter (@nutritionauthor) to learn actionable nutrition tips and simple, healthy recipes. Stay tuned for my next nutrition book and video series!

Suzanne Boothby

Every year, I’m shocked at how little attention nutrition gets in the campaigns for cancer prevention and treatment.

It wasn’t that long ago that a cancer diagnosis was a death sentence. Thankfully today, the trend is survival. But the main message to the more than 11 million cancer survivors continues to be watch and wait.

I wanted to change that, so I teamed up with my father, a cancer physician for more than 25 years, to write a book that would guide cancer survivors to use their diet and lifestyle to get healthy and remain cancer free. The future of healthcare in our country has to be prevention and it’s time to learn what foods, drinks, and habits will keep us healthy and use less medicine.

The traditional medical community is slowly warming up to this message. Places like the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) assign an integrative approach to fighting cancer. Along with traditional tools like surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, they also employ nutritional support, naturopathic medicine, mind-body medicine and spiritual support. Their motto for cancer survivors is, “Celebrate Life.” Each year they plant a tree in honor of every CTCA cancer patient who has reached the five-year mark since they began treatment.

In my book, The After Cancer Diet, I teach simple steps to getting healthier. Readers will learn how to eat real food, find more sweetness in life (and less in food), develop a regular exercise routine, detox the body and lead a happier life with more creativity and joy. The book also includes recipes for healthy mocktails—festive cocktails without alcohol—and discusses research that links yoga to significant improvements in sleep, quality of life and stress reduction for cancer survivors.

To check out the book go to:

http://www.amazon.com/After-Cancer-Diet-Healthier-ebook/dp/B005Q52XY0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ykWtiQSRM0

Hilary Smith

Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 No-Cost, Low-Cost Weapons for Selling Your Work, by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, Michael Larsen and David L. Hancock. Morgan James Publishing, 2010.

For many writers, “marketing” is a scary word. After all, your expertise is in writing books, not moving units (or whatever lingo those marketing people are using these days). For all the workshops and MFA programs out there purporting to help you write a book, there are remarkably few courses on how to sell the books you’ve written. The world of press releases and lead times can be intimidating to the uninitiated, if not downright impossible.

Lucky for self-published and traditionally published authors alike, there’s Guerrilla Marketing for Writers, an accessible, no-frills guide to book publicity filled with tips to help you move those units out of your garage and into readers’ hands.

While some of the information covered is fairly basic (writing press releases, contacting reviewers, the importance of building a platform), Guerrilla Marketing for Writers goes one step beyond other book publicity manuals with its focus on technologies like Twitter for building an audience for your book. “Guerrilla tactics” such as posting a (highly re-tweetable!) tip or quote of the day are easy, fun, and accessible for even novice guerrilla marketers.

Guerrilla Marketing for Writers encourages writers not to underestimate the power of the personal touch, which—let’s face it—can be an easy thing to lose sight of in our rush to send to send out a bazillion review copies. The authors write: “The more technology we have in our lives, the more we crave human contact—a major advantage guerrillas exploit every chance they can get.” Sending handwritten thank-you notes to radio hosts and personal responses to readers’ comments may not sound like a marketing tactic, but it can give your personal brand a bigger boost than a whole box of business cards.

Guerrilla Marketing for Writers is also one of the only book publicity manuals I’ve encountered that includes equally valuable advice for both fiction and non-fiction authors, providing a list of the most effective guerrilla tactics for each category in order of importance.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the publicity jungle, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers is the perfect book to get you going and keep you going for the long haul. Whether you’re looking to boost flagging book sales or launch a full-scale publicity campaign, guerrilla tips will help you stay motivated and think outside the box.

5/5 Highly recommended.

Hilary Smith

I recently read a book publicity quote that shocked me. In 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, self-published author John Kremer states:

“In publicity, there is a rule called the Rule of Seven. It states that if you want your prospects to take action and buy your product or use your service, you need to connect with them at least seven times within an 18-month period.”

When I read this, I nearly fell out of my chair: “You mean it will take me a year and a half and SEVEN separate “connections” for every person who eventually buys the book?”

*rolls over and dies*

It sounded crazy to me. But when I started to think about my own book-buying habits, I realized Mr. Kremer wasn’t so far off the mark. Take, for example, a non-fiction book I bought the other day called “Anatomy of an Epidemic” by Robert Whitaker. The first time I heard about the book was almost two years ago, around the time it first came out. In the meantime, I’ve read a few articles by the author, heard him on the radio, and seen the book mentioned in blog posts and news articles. But it wasn’t until a few days that I finally laid down twenty dollars for it, after seeing it on the shelf of an independent bookstore where I was browsing.

Maybe John Kremer’s on to something after all.

As you can see from the Robert Whitaker example, connection with a reader can (and should!) take many forms—hearing the same radio ad seven times probably won’t cut it. You need to get the word out in as many different ways as you can, and keep on getting the word out over a long enough period of time (somehow, hearing about the same book seven times in one day sounds more annoying than convincing).

So how can you conquer the rule of seven? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Reviews

Skimming a review in a blog or newspaper is often the first way a potential reader will hear about your book. Even though relatively few readers rush out to buy a book after reading a single review, don’t underestimate the importance of getting your book reviewed widely in both print and electronic media. After all, each review is a potential “connection” for your target audience—and it’s the cumulative effect of these impressions, rather than their individual strength, that matters the most.

Radio Interviews

Radio interviews are a great way to get your message out there in a way that won’t leave potential readers feeling “marketed to.” Try to get yourself booked on shows that air during morning or evening commute times to maximize your audience, or on shows that are re-aired throughout the day or week, thereby giving you two or more impressions for the price of one.

Word of Mouth

“I just told my girlfriend/mother/boss/acupuncturist about your book, but she’d already heard about it somewhere else!” are among the sweetest words an author can hear. The most effective way to garner word of mouth is to write a book worth talking about. But if you’ve already done that, the next best thing you can do is put your book in the right hands. Seed word of mouth by giving free copies to other experts in your field. Then sit back and watch the connections multiply on their own.

Articles

Anyone who’s written a non-fiction book should also seek to publish articles about their subject matter, both at the time of publication and beyond. Articles in newspapers, magazines, and online media give readers yet another opportunity to “spot” you. Make sure your articles are up to the same high quality as your book, and be sure to include your website and purchasing details for your book in your byline.

Sightings

“I saw someone reading that book on the bus.”

“I saw that book advertised in the flyer.”

“I saw a poster for an author appearance at the library.”

The more different ways a potential reader hears about or sees your book, the more likely they are to become curious enough to buy it. Put your book out there, and put yourself out there too. The net effect will have readers dying to know what all the fuss is about.

**

The Rule of Seven takes persistence and creativity, but what part of the writing business doesn’t?  By now, your potential buys should be thinking, “Hey, isn’t this the book by that guy I heard on the radio and read about in the local news and saw at that book festival?”

And if that’s what your readers are thinking, you’re only a connection or two away from making a sale.

Hilary Smith

Over the past few weeks, I’ve talked about everything that goes on behind the scenes when your manuscript is “on submission” to publishers. In this third and final post of the series, I’ll talk about what happens when multiple publishers are interested in your book.

Under what circumstances does an auction take place?

Your agent may decide to arrange an auction if several publishers have expressed an interest in your manuscript—after all, an auction wouldn’t be very effective if only one editor showed up to bid.

In general, a manuscript is more likely to go to auction if the author has an impressive platform or the book is particularly timely or “hot”. Non-fiction books are more likely to go to auction than fiction, although an increasing number of novels are selling at auction.

How does an auction work?

In general, there are two kinds of auction: the round-robin auction and the “best bid.”

In a “best bid” auction, editors only get one chance to bid on your manuscript—so there’s a strong incentive for editors to lay their down their highest possible offer in the hopes of scoring your book. For this reason, “best bid” auctions are quicker than round-robin auctions.

Sometimes, an agent will set up a two-round best bid auction, giving editors the opportunity to make a second bid if they “lose” the first round.

In a round-robin auction, each editor submits a bid. After the first round of bids are in, there’s a second, third, and possibly fourth round in which lower-bidding editors are given the opportunity to out-bid the higher bidders.

How long does an auction take?

A round-robin auction can stretch over several days, which can be nerve-wracking for the author waiting at home. A best bid auction can be over in a matter of hours.

In some cases, an interested publisher will make an offer known as a “pre-empt” in an attempt to snap up the manuscript before the auction even takes place. If the pre-empt is attractive enough, the auction will be over before it begins.

Does the highest bidder win?

It might surprise you to know that the publisher offering the highest advance isn’t always the publisher to win the auction. An author may decide to go with a publisher offering a lower advance but a better publicity plan, or an editor whose vision of the book she finds more compatible than the editor with the highest bid.

As literary agent Jonathan Lyons explains on his blog, “The most money isn’t always the best deal.” No matter what a publisher is offering, final say always remains with the author.

Closing the deal

Throughout the auction, your agent will keep you updated through e-mail or over the phone. When all of the publishers have placed their final bids, you’ll discuss your options and come to a decision, at which point your agent will get in touch with your chosen publisher to officially accept the offer.

What happens next?

Over the next few weeks and months, your agent will work with the publisher to draw up the final contracts, which will lay out the terms of the publishing agreement in detail.

From then on, you will be “under contract”—a wonderful and intimidating step in its own right. Congratulations—you’re an author! Now to get started on Book 2…

Sarah McCarry

A few weeks ago, literary agent Jason Allen Ashlock wrote a widely-circulated post arguing against the new breed of agent-publishers. He makes a number of salient points in the piece. An agent’s job is to serve his or her client’s best interests, not the publisher’s. When the agent becomes the publisher, who’s advocating for the author? He also points out that this venture is so new agents have yet to amass the contacts, marketing expertise, and technical proficiency to produce and distribute electronic titles. He notes that agents must work proactively to embrace the changing marketplace, better understand the possibilities of electronic titles, and work to find new avenues for their clients’ work. I agree with the points raised in his piece, but I’d take his argument a step further. I’m not sure how working with an agent benefits self-published authors at all.

Ultimately, the greatest asset of self-publishing is the potential for total control over your own career. You’re in charge of marketing, cover design, editing, distribution, layout, production—the whole package. In return, the bulk of the book’s profits flow directly to you. Working with an agency-publisher seems to me the worst of both worlds: you’re adding the middle man back in, but acquiring none of the benefits. Putting out your book through a traditional publisher gives you access to a professional marketing department and design team, an editor, and all the contacts, expertise, and experience at the publisher’s disposal. In return, the publisher earns money off your book. Working with an agency-publisher means you’re turning over a share of your profits to a third party—but what are you getting in exchange? Agents have no more experience with marketing or distributing e-books than you do, and a number of agent-publishers are charging you a commission just to help you find editorial and design services—which you’ll then have to pay for yourself. And, as Ashlock notes, you’re out of luck if you decide you’re unhappy with the terms of your agreement with the agent-publisher.

Producing and distributing an e-book can be a daunting venture, and it may very well make sense for you to invest in a package service like the ones I mentioned last week. But all of those services will charge you a one-time flat fee, whereas an agent-publisher will charge you a commission—meaning that you’ll continue to pay the agent as long as your book is earning money, regardless of whether the agent is still providing a service. Unless the agent can demonstrate marketing or distribution expertise, that kind of arrangement just doesn’t make sense.

An agent can be invaluable for a traditionally-published author looking to negotiate electronic rights with his or her publisher. But I can’t see how it benefits a self-published writer to work with an agent-publisher rather than a package editorial service or a market-savvy publicist. You don’t need an agent to put you in contact with skilled editors, designers, or publicists; all you need is an Internet connection and a few focused hours of research. It can still be difficult (or, in some cases, impossible) for self-published writers to get their books reviewed on blogs or through major media outlets, but partnering with an agent-publisher won’t help you overcome that hurdle.

You don’t need me to tell you that the world of publishing is changing rapidly, and agents, publishers, and writers alike are still figuring out what their roles will be as e-books assume a larger part of the market. I have no doubt that savvy agents will develop new strategies for working with writers, and writers will continue to combine self-publishing and traditional publishing in innovative ways. But I think self-published writers should hold out for a business partnership that makes sense—one that’s advantageous for the writer, not just the agent. In my opinion, the agent-publisher model is not that partnership.

Sarah McCarry

Amazon made an exciting announcement about its three new Kindles on Wednesday.

The new Kindle Touch ($99) is smaller and lighter than previous versions of the Kindle, and is also cheaper than the least-expensive previous version, which retailed for $114. Like the iPad, it features no physical controls.

The Touch 3G will retail for $149, making Amazon’s highest-end offering competitive with the Nook ($139).

The cheapest version of the Kindle will retail for $79, and is 30 percent lighter than the previous version of the Kindle. However, the size reduction comes from the elimination of the keyboard, which may frustrate readers who prefer the keyboard option. It will also use buttons at the bottom of the device. Amazon is also touting the new “X-Ray” feature of its Touch readers, which will provide Wikipedia information to readers without opening a browser.

Perhaps even more importantly, Amazon has released a new tablet, the Kindle Fire. At $199, the device is significantly cheaper than the iPad (which starts at $499). Gizmodo has already weighed in, pointing out that there’s no need to pay a $300 premium for a tablet device.

Amazon’s aggressive pricing will probably set its competitors scrambling, and it seems that the end winners will be consumers. Whether or not you’re a fan of the Kindle, the market for e-readers is expanding at an accelerated pace, and companies are responding with increasingly affordable products (and just in time for the holidays, of course). Happy e-reading!