There are no accidents

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There are no accidents

by Linda S. Thompson
(Gilbert, Arizona, USA)

Every Generation Needs a New Revolution

Non-fiction, educational

In the Fall of 2007 I made a presentation to the staff of AZ State University in Tempe. The presentation was on my life planning topic and was very well received. However, I had recently facilitated a couple of workshops on the challenges of a multigenerational workforce and had a few of my booklets left. Determining I had nothing to lose, I slapped a price on them and put them on my back of the room product sales table.

The presentation was a hit, but I noticed that the biggest seller was my little booklet. Noticing a couple of professors thumbing through one and making comments, I walked up to them and said, "This wasn't the topic of the day, but seems to be the best seller. Can you tell me why?" Their reply was one of those rare "AHA" moments consisting of comments like, "We're getting complaints from our students that we can't relate to them; that we're out of touch."

Bingo. The end of the year was looming and in keeping with my goal of five books in five years, I didn't have a clue as to what book four would be. Now I did! My little 20-page booklet became my fourth book, and I might add my best seller to date. It's title: "Every Generation Needs a New Revolution, The Good, the Bad and the Crazy in a Multigenerational World."

Once again, this book is self-published, meaning I own it, (lock, stock and barrel as my Mother used to say). I'm an avowed independent author, or self-publisher. Why? My reply to that has to be, "Why sell your soul to the devil?" In other words, if I were to go the traditional route, given today's market and the attitudes of the big dogs, I would still have to do my own marketing, there would be no advance on future sales, there would be no big book tour, but the big dog would get a big chunk of the profits of every one of my books sold. Now does that sound like a good deal to you?

After 20+ years in the marketing and advertising industry, I know all about shameless self-promotion. I know how to write good marketing copy, I know what a good web site looks like. I know my strengths and capitalize on them, but I also am not afraid to admit my weaknesses. For those items, I am a great believer in outsourcing. Why to recreate the wheel, beat your head against the wall, and try to go it alone when there are so many fantastic people in the world willing to help? Go on the Internet and search for outsourcing. You'll be amazed at what you'll find.

Need a book cover and can't design your way out of the closet? Outsource it! Need a copywriter? Outsource it! Trust me, it will be money well spent and time saved on your part to do what you do best - talk about your book!

Use the Internet - make it work for you. I use a lot of quotations in my books and my presentations. I can't begin to tell you how many priceless gems I've found on the Web. Need a statistic or two? Once again, the Web is where I go for help. It's the greatest resource the world has ever seen, yet I'm amazed at how many folks just don't use it to meet their needs.

Marketing your book is one of the biggest challenges you'll ever face. Do not fall for the old cliché "If you write it, they will buy." They won't unless they've heard of you. Traditional bookstores are weary of independent authors. Too many distributors are competing for shelf space. And, experience has shown that too many independent authors are:

1. Overpriced
2. Their book cover is not enticing
3. They are unaware of distribution methods
4. They expect the bookstore to do it all for them

Folks, it ain't gonna happen! Learn the industry! Find someone who knows their stuff and become a sponge. My friend, Jerry Simmons, is a retired VP of Marketing for a major book publisher. This guy knows publishing inside and out. When Jerry speaks, I listen. His newsletter, www.writersreaders.com is an education into the world of independent authors. He's on our side and isn't afraid to tell us how the big dogs think and act.

Social networking sites are just one of the ways you can introduce your book, and you, to the world. If you've been interviewed on the local TV station , download the interview to your website. Post the interview on Facebook, Utube, Nothing Binding, and any other sites that accept video feed. Make everything work for you over and over and use everything you can to its maximum marketing potential.

Create an Internet newsletter and blast it out to everyone on your email list. Ask them to send it on to their lists. Always have a "sign up" block to build your own list. Do not think that you have to have a multi-page newsletter, or that you have to create massive amounts of information on a weekly basis. How about every other week, send out a couple of paragraphs about something in your book, a teaser on your upcoming book, whatever you might have to say, but always have a link to your website.

Write articles relevant to your subject and post them on as many ezines as you can find that have content relative to your subject. The signature block at the end of each article must have the name of your book, and a link to your website.

Each of these will increase the public awareness of you and your book. Use them to your advantage. The best things in life sometimes really are free!

Visit Linda's business site.

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There are no accidents

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Sep 04, 2008
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Your last comment
by: Linda

Steve,
In your last comment, you said: "What if your next book were on hang-gliding? There's no confluence with that and your line of work. Would you really still choose to self-publish if you had the opportunity to just plain publish?"

My response to that question is, "Yes, I would still self-publish." If you look at the four books I have listed on your site, although they are all non-fiction, that's the only thing they have in common. I may as well write about hang-gliding. LOl But, no matter what subject I choose next, rest assured that I have no plans to give away my work to a publisher just so I can say I have a "publishing house" behind be. That's not what's important to me.

In my business of training and educating both employees at major corporations and individuals affiliated with a trade association, my books sell at the back of the room, after people have heard me speak. I do not write books that people would pick up off a Barnes & Nobel book shelf. That's just knowing your market.

Jun 06, 2008
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Very good point
by: Linda T

Steve,
I understand and appreciate what you are saying, and yes, most authors do not have the marketing background that I do. However, publishing houses that do book tours, offer advances, promote a new book/author are days long past. Today, 70% of all books printed are not sold in traditional book stores - they are sold over the Internet, as back-of-the-room sales from speaking opportunities, and the like. Unless you are already a famous and well-known author, your chances of getting any marketing help from your publisher are almost nil. Even the big dogs, i.e., Harper Collins, is considering a new paradigm in publishing, i.e., owning a print shop that all their authors must use, charging the author to print, and to distribute their works. Distribution is the key. A lot of traditional publishers require an author to purchase several hundred (if not several thousand) books from the first press run. Unless you want a garage full of books an no market, I don't see this as a very profitable way to go. By going the print on demand route, I can order as few as one book, or thousands, at a time. It's up to me. If you are self-published and choose the right printer, you are ten steps ahead in the game. My printer is owned by the largest book distributor in the country. Every new title I release is automatically put on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. I checked all this out before I published my first book.
So, what I'm saying is that unless an author is willing to do a lot of the legwork him/herself, and unless they choose very carefully how they are going to get their book known to the reading public, they are basically wasting their time.

May 18, 2008
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Traditional Publishers Won't Market for You
by: Linda Thompson

Steve,
After reading your comments, I can certainly understand where you are coming from. However, every author (no matter the subject of their book) needs to understand that the big publishing houses simply have neither the money nor the interest in promoting an unknown author. Yes, there are the one-in-a-million success stories that we all hear about, but even if you've always been lucky, are you really willing to take the chance of never seeing your manuscript in print? A publisher will assign an editor (yes, everyone needs them, but an editor working for a publisher will put their own spin on your work to make it more saleable to the marketplace). Then someone won't like the cover you've chosen, the title you worked so hard over, the photos you've picked. All of a sudden, what you end up with is someone elses idea of what your book should be, but it's no longer yours. Then there's the 50-60-70 percent you have to fork over even before you get to this point. A book tour? A marketing blitz? Think again. It won't happen unless you're James Patterson (and remember that now he's not even writing his own books). Writing is a great thing. Marketing is another world. And trust me, if you don't do it, or hire it done for you, no one will ever hear about your fantastic piece of literature. If you want solid reassurance of this, please read my friend Jerry Simmon's newsletter at www.writersreaders.com. Jerry is a retired VP of Sales for Time Warner Books. He's now a consultant for independent authors.

May 18, 2008
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Tipping point?
by: Steve B.

Linda, there's so much good information in your post that I'm not even going to try to summarize it. You did a better job than I ever could. Instead I'd like to speak to something it caused me to think about. You wrote

Once again, this book is self-published, meaning I own it, (lock, stock and barrel as my Mother used to say). I'm an avowed independent author, or self-publisher. Why? My reply to that has to be, "Why sell your soul to the devil?"

You have a business and your books are related to that business. You have a willingness - perhaps even an eagerness - to self promote.

Let's assume that an author has the option of self publishing or traditionally publishing. Your choice seems to be to always publish independently. But what about someone who doesn't have all the built-in marketing opportunities you do, speaking engagements and the like? How much marketing oomph does an author have to bring to the table before she/he should choose the independent route over the traditional one?

Idle thinking really, and the answer will be different for every author. But it does occur to me that every writer would have his/her own tipping point. Perhaps even you. For instance...

What if your next book were on hang-gliding? There's no confluence with that and your line of work. Would you really still choose to self-publish if you had the opportunity to just plain publish?

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