Writing for Profit or Pleasure – Magazines & eZines

As a freelancer, seeing your name in major print publications and on top eZines is a major thrill. And many freelance writers want to know how to get their work in the spotlight.

My list of publications is fairly long and is available on the About Me page of this blog, so I won’t take up your time with crowing about it here.  As a freelance journalist, newspaperman/author for 30+ years seeing my name in print is nothing new – but is still a thrill (I’m easily entertained). But when a friend or colleague runs across my name in a magazine they often react with awe.

assortment of magazines

“How do you do that?” some ask, as if there were some magic incantation that lets me create bylines with the wave of my hand. Continue reading “Writing for Profit or Pleasure – Magazines & eZines”

How to Start a Publishing Company

printing, publication, press, publisher, printing pressThere has been a fair bit of discussion in the forums lately about authors who open a publishing company to self-publish their work.  Much of that discussion centers on whether that practice is ethical: is this author trying to deceive the readers into thinking a publishing house picked them up or simply doing business in a business-like manner.  I contend the latter.  I make furniture, no one questions my decision to sell my furniture as a woodworking business.  Similarly, as an author who produces and sells books I see nothing wrong with my doing business with book retailers under a publishing business name.  Some distributors demand this: they will not deal with the author as the publisher. Continue reading “How to Start a Publishing Company”

Avoiding Self-Publishing Scams

The recent class action lawsuit filed against Publish America is just one more reminder that Indie authors need to be careful about whom they do business with in the process of publishing their books.  What follows is a list of red flags that may indicate caution is required if they pop up in your dealings with a so-called “publisher”.

Many so called self-publishing houses are what are referred to as “vanity publishers” because they offer to get the author’s books in print for a fee.  These often advertise that they “need” or are “seeking” new authors.  If you’ve ever tried dealing with a reputable publishing house you know that rejection is the normal order of things; they will put their imprint on and marketing efforts behind only those books that meet their standards.  Vanity publishers accept anyone and charge unsuspecting authors to publish their work, often producing books that are poorly written, have not been edited, have awful covers, and are (for all intents and purposes) virtually worthless in the commercial book market.  Worthless, to everyone except the vanity publisher, who makes thousands of dollars from the author.  Beware of these signs: Continue reading “Avoiding Self-Publishing Scams”

Turning the Tables on Bookstores

bookstore, bookshop, independant
iStock Photo - all rights reserved.

There was a time when avid readers were frequent customers of small, neighborhood bookstores – these were the places where books lived and could be bought.  Then the big chain bookstores: B Dalton, Crown, Borders, and Barnes & Noble shoved the small shops out of existence.  The book buyer’s expectations changed as the venue changed.

Barnes & Noble and Amazon have been duking it out for control of the print book market for some time.  Then, about three years ago, eReaders came on the scene and the venue changed again.  Continue reading “Turning the Tables on Bookstores”

Pricing Your Printed Book: Avoiding the Traps

cost of printing booksIn a recent post, Pricing Your eBook, I discussed the vagaries of setting a price on a book sold only in electronic form.  That model is driven mostly by perceived value and target audience, when determining the price for a printed book you have a couple of other items to factor into your profit map.

Pricing a printed book is also deserving added thought because changing the price of an eBook is a simple matter.  Changing the price of a printed book is not simple because the price is printed on the back cover along with the ISBN and bar code.  Changing the price means changing the cover, which means service fees paid to your printer every time you make a change.

Cost of Printed Book Design

Unlike an eBook, printed books actually cost you money to produce, how much will depend on who you choose to produce your books and the styling of your books. Continue reading “Pricing Your Printed Book: Avoiding the Traps”

Practical Pricing of eBooks

ebook pricing price Lately I’ve been reading quite a few articles offering advice on pricing an eBook.  They range from the adamant insistence that all eBooks should be 99 cents to the almost snobbish claims that artistic integrity demands that eBooks be priced the same as paper books – and hard bounds at that!  Most of the proponents of a particular view have a good point to make, but these points are all too often used to whitewash the entire spectrum of eBook genres and their authors with a one-size must fit all attitude.  I vigorously disagree with that, and I’d like to chime in on some of the other views I’ve heard discussed and add one or two of my own.   Continue reading “Practical Pricing of eBooks”