In summer, the song sings itself. — William Carlos Williams
Then followed that beautiful season… Summer….
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world. — Ada Louise Huxtable
‘Bloomsday’ started June 16, 1954 and continues to this day as an annual global celebration of the Irish author, James Joyce. How did June 16 become so special and why is it still celebrated after 60 years?
June 16, 1904 was the date of James Joyce’s first outing with Nora Barnacle, a chambermaid who was to become his wife. They walked to Ringsend, a Dublin urban village. All the events of Joyce’s landmark novel Ulysses (written in 1922) take place on June 16, 1904 in Dublin. Bloomsday includes a variety of activities that recall passages from novel that many find unreadable. Why does the book and its annual celebration endure?
In 1999, Time Magazine named Joyce one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating “Joyce … revolutionized 20th century fiction”. Along with Ulysses, the work for which Joyce is most remembered and celebrated, other well-known works of his include A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners and Finnegan’s Wake.
When first published, Ulysses was banned, criticized and suppressed on moral grounds – because it included sexual innuendo, masturbation, and various other bits of description about physical and sensual pleasures that were not publicly acknowledged or accepted at the time.
The modernist experimental style introduced in Ulysses is celebrated by some as a work of genius and reviled by others as impossible to read. It is a simple story told in a complex way that is highly inventive. It changed the way we write and read literature.
Authors who were influenced by James Joyce are as diverse in their own style and storytelling as John Updike and Salman Rushdie.
It is hard to imagine how a book like Ulysses would fare in today’s literary marketplace. Would publishers support a book of such revolutionary style that readers would be challenged to read it? Would readers find it worth their effort to understand a novel written in a style – actually in a variety of styles — they were not familiar with, a novel devoid of punctuation with a narrative that requires the reader figure out what is important to the plot and what simply flows out of random thoughts?
Ulysses is a grand experiment in literature. Readers seem to love it or hate it; many simply give up on it. It is certainly worth visiting. Just as Bloomsday is an event worth visiting.
Father’s Day is a great day to give your favorite father (be he yours or someone else’s) the gift of a great book. Some to consider include:
Father’s Day: A Journey into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son by Buzz Bissinger Fatherhood by Bill Cosby The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney Big Russ & Me: Father & Son: Lessons of Life by Tim Russert Tell My Sons by Lt. Col. Mark Weber
You know you’re in trouble when Stephen Colbert gives you the finger on his TV show. On June 4th, Colbert gave not one but two fingers to Amazon. Yes, that Amazon.
Now, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Amazon for a long time. I love it when I can order something from the comfort of home, assured that the item will be very quickly delivered to my door and I’ll probably have paid less than from anywhere else. I hate it when I have to admit that my efficiency and frugality are also laziness and greed; that by ordering from Amazon, I am denying smaller businesses and local merchants much-needed income. I hate it even more when I remember that Amazon’s business model takes a huge hunk of profit out of the hands of authors and threatens the existence of local independent bookstores.
The ingenuity and entrepreneurial genius of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, deserves admiration. But I am aghast at Amazon’s unnecessary ruthlessness in its ugly battle against Hachette Book Group, the publisher (under various publishing names) of such authors as James Patterson, Scott Turow, Malcom Gladwell, Mitch Albom, Jane Hamilton, J.D. Salinger, J.K. Rowling (under her pen name Robert Galbraith) and hundreds of other authors.
Hachette had the courage to stand up to the huge wholesale discount Amazon demands on the titles it sells. In trying to negotiate better terms with Amazon, Hachette wanted “to protect the value of our authors’ books and our own work in editing, distributing and marketing them.”
Declaring war on Hachette’s attempt, Amazon took steps to discourage book lovers from buying Hachette books on the Amazon site: they eliminated presales options; removed their customary Amazon discount; are telling potential buyers that shipment could take weeks; and removed some titles from the Amazon site or are suggesting less expensive alternative titles from other publishers.
This is not the first time Amazon has heavy-handedly threatened publishers. In 2010, they removed all buy buttons from the listing for MacMillan titles during a negotiation over e-book pricing. As far back as the 1990s, Amazon routinely punished imprints that didn’t accept its business arrangements. Until now, they’ve gotten away with it as the media largely ignored the story while customers like you and I increasingly purchased things through Amazon.
As big as Hachette is, Amazon is way bigger in its dominance of the bookselling industry. Hachette is the fourth-largest publisher by market share but Amazon is, reportedly, responsible for at least a third of all U.S. book sales and somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of the burgeoning eBook market. The battle may seem to favor Amazon … but I wonder. Most of us root for the underdog when we sense an unfair fight. We tend to favor the working person (in this case, authors) over the faceless corporate behemoth (Amazon). And we demand honesty in the companies we do business with. Amazon isn’t being honest with us about book availability.
Whether moral sensibility or greed guides us, there’s no point in saving money if the seller purposely holds the product back or attempts to misdirect us, especially when it’s so easy to shop elsewhere at a marginally higher cost. Brand allegiance is a myth and if people grow tired of Amazon’s inability to provide a certain level of service, we’ll shop elsewhere.
If Amazon doesn’t start playing more fairly, they may find more people giving them the finger.
Re-read my blog post of May 19, 2013, James Patterson Said This?. Then you’ll understand why Patterson was awarded the Indie Champion Award at last month’s Book Expo America, the largest publishing trade show in America. And why he will receive the 2014 Chicago Tribune Young Adult Literary Award at this weekend’s Printers Row Lit Fest. Patterson is being recognized, said Tribune Editor Gerould Kern, “for his extraordinary efforts to reach a wide range of young readers, many of whom have not had the opportunity to savor a book.”
I’m gratified that such venerable literary groups as Book Expo America and the Chicago Tribune have confirmed what I told you more than a year ago. Looks like Book●ed beat the big boys!
According to Reading Rockets, a national multimedia literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help, “Children who don’t read during the summer can lose up to three months of reading progress and that loss has a cumulative, long-term effect.”
Now that the school year is coming to an end, it is especially important for adults to encourage the children in their lives to read during the summer. The attraction of summer reading is that the genres and topics can be the child’s choice, not mandated by a teacher or curriculum. Because summer reading is less regimented, it is also an opportunity for adults to more closely engage with children in the joy of reading.
Children’s and Young Adult Literature are two of the fastest growing categories in book publishing. Books for all ages, interests and reading levels are more accessible than ever: in stores, at libraries and on eReaders. There are even strategies to help youth with reading challenges such as dyslexia.
Whether a child advances or falls behind in life can be decided this summer by you. For a treasure trove of ideas and links, check out Reading Rocket’s Summer Reading.
Parents and teachers who are interested in creating summer reading camps for children can find useful guidance from the PBS Kids Super Why Camps site.
The Reading Institute has partnered with colleges and universities around the country to deliver reading programs to all levels of readers from pre-kindergarten through adult.
For kids struggling with reading, summer can be a good time to participate in programs geared specifically to support reading skills. Parents are encouraged to explore which of these programs might be attuned to their child’s needs and interests.
I suppose if one lives long enough, one will experience war up close or from a distance. Our attitudes toward war, toward those who engage in it or are subject to its consequences, are influenced by the times and circumstances in which we live, by the people we know, by the experiences we have … and by the books we read.
Every war generates its own literature in its time and in later generations. The same war does not automatically generate the same story, or viewpoint, or reader response. The best war literature makes us contemplate the meaning of war to us, personally and as part of larger communities, nations and a diverse species sharing a singular planet.
Whether you choose to read a classic or contemporary book about war, consider following it with a book that approaches the same conflict from an opposing viewpoint. Stretch your vision of humanity. The point is not to change your opinion, although that is possible, but to give you a greater understanding of the human experience.
This blog post honors those who serve and sacrifice on behalf of the rest of us.
There is great, enduring war literature for every generation. Some of the best include:
• The Iliad by Homer: Greek war in the Bronze Age; poetry
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu: ancient Chinese military treatise
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: Franco-Russian War; novel
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: American Civil War; novel
• All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: World War I; novel
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway: Spanish Civil War; novel
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: World War II; satire
• M.A.S.H. by H. Richard Hornberger (pen name Richard Hooker): Korean War; novel
• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien: Vietnam War; fiction, short stories
• Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden: Somalia; nonfiction
• The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway: Bosnian-Serbian War; novel
• The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell by John Crawford: Gulf War; memoir
• Behind the Lines Edited by Andrew Carroll: non-fiction letters
After a relentlessly white winter, I was so happy to not see snow that even a Mother’s Day rainstorm couldn’t dampen my spirits. As the week continued with one rainy day following another, I thought less about winter and more about the sunny spring that is struggling to break through this gloomy gray wetness. How we view rain depends so much on past experiences and current circumstances.
In the literary universe, rain is used as a symbol for life, death, miracle, disaster, hope, fear, purification, corruption, etc. It can create atmosphere or become a plot device. Perhaps no other weather condition offers so many symbols – and at polar opposites!
It isn’t hard to think of examples where rain plays a role in story telling: Noah’s Ark and the 40-day rain that brings destruction, then restoration; the sweet April showers that introduce The Canterbury Tales; in countless Shakespearian plays; providing atmosphere and a plot device in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights; the rain, both hopeful and tragic, at the end of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath; and, of course, the stereotypical “It was a dark and stormy night.”
The next time it rains where you are, stop, observe and imagine what story might be inspired by the type of rain, the setting and the circumstance you are experiencing. Is it an “ahhh” rain, an “oh!” rain or an “aww” rain? Then, come in out of the rain, cozy up and grab a good book to read!
Even before the Mother’s Day downpour, what started me thinking about rain in literature was watching the 1939 movie The Rains Came, based on Louis Bromfield’s novel. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards and was the first to win for Best Special Effects, beating out The Wizard of Oz in that Oscar category. The book is worth reading and the movie, which I saw on the big screen at the beautifully restored historic (1915) Lincoln Theatre in Massillon, Ohio, is worth watching.
Mother Goose. Old Mother Hubbard. The old woman in the shoe who had so many children. The fairy godmother. The wicked stepmother. From earliest childhood, mothers are key characters in the literature we hear and then read.
Drawn with broad brush strokes that are easy for young minds to understand in nursery rhymes and fairytales, the literary mother-character’s complexity grows as we do.
On Mother’s Day, we celebrate great mothers – those in our lives and the lives of others. In literature, widely celebrated mothers include Margaret March (“Marmee”) in Little Women, Ma Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie and Molly Weasly in the Harry Potter series.
Great mothers are further elevated when we realize how many really bad mothers populate the world … or so it would appear from their frequent portrayals in all forms of story-telling. Some that come to mind are the mythological Medea, the fictional Corinne Dollanganger in Flowers in the Attic (a rotten apple that did not fall far from the tree) and Mommy Dearest herself, Joan Crawford (as described by daughter Christina Crawford). Bad characters seem to interest us more, so it makes sense they inhabit so much of the literary landscape.
If you are fortunate to have a great mother – or your know one – show her she is special this Mother’s Day by presenting her with a book!
On Mother’s Day, I honor the memory of my own mother, Gabriele “Gay” Eman. Like so many other mothers, she first introduced me to the boundless universe of literature by the loving act of reading to me. If you love a young child, read to him or her. It’s one of the best, most enduring gifts you can give.
There are two reasons why authors do book signings: to sell books and to sell themselves. Well-known authors are celebrities who easily attract an audience. But even lesser known or new authors can gain much and they offer much to the people who attend their book signings. There’s usually some presentation — at a bookstore, a library, a workshop or book fair — wherein the author shares insights into the book or the writing process. The presentation can be a formal talk to a group or a brief one-on-one chat.
An author’s signature on his or her book increases the value of the book for collectors. Some autographs are rare but at the other end of the spectrum you find authors who autograph as many copies of their books as possible. One notable example is James Ellroy, crime fiction writer (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, others), essayist and producer who reportedly signed every copy of the 65,000 first run of My Dark Places.
For authors, there’s an art to having successful book signings. It should be viewed as part of the marketing journey, not as a destination. Pity the poor author who thinks that merely showing up at a book signing will draw throngs of admiring book buyers. As with all other aspects of book marketing, this effort requires a lot of prep work: think of the book’s unique selling points that relate to the book signing venue; create compelling news releases to local print and broadcast media; make sure your website is up to date; work with the event organizers to post information online; perhaps offer a free book through a contest run by the venue or local media; send personal invitations to select target groups, if appropriate; etc.
It’s equally important for authors to have a plan for the venue – location, table, seating, pens, where in the book to sign and how to sign. Some suggestions are offered at Writing World.
For authors, I say “Go, get ‘em!” Contact book stores, libraries, schools or seniors centers (if appropriate) and book clubs, anywhere that people who read gather. Keep up on book fests where your participation may include a book signing. Your fans — current and future — are waiting.
For booklovers, I also say, “Go, get ‘em!” Check the literary section or upcoming events in your local newspapers and library newsletters. Get on the mailing lists of neighborhood bookstores. Check clubs and community groups that bring in speakers. You might end up with a book by a future Hemingway, King, Austen, Rowling, Shakespeare … or Ellroy!
After a smashingly successful Illinois launch of the nationwide Tyrone Power centennial events, featuring the debut of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, fans in Ohio are invited to red carpet receptions and movie screenings May 8th in Cincinnati and May 10th in Masillon. Tyrone Power’s three children will be in attendance, autographing limited first editions of Romina’s book. For details about those, and future centennial events, visit Movie Memories.
On April 23rd (Shakespeare’s birthday), hundreds of thousands of lives were impacted as a record 29,000 volunteer givers distributed 580,000 books to light and non-readers on World Book Night. More than one-third of the books went to students and their families. Others were delivered to food banks and fitness centers, hospitals and homeless shelters, parks and prisons. Some givers creatively matched book themes to locations: Young Men and Fire at fire stations, Wait Till Next Year at ballparks small and large (from little league diamonds to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park), and The Zookeeper’s Wife at zoos.
To help World Book Night keep creating stories–and readers–for years to come, you can make a tax-deductible gift to World Book Night now or volunteer to participate next year. World Book Night: spreading the love of reading, person to person.
Last June, I posted a blog entry, “Writers Helping Writers”, wherein I wrote about the benefits of writing groups. At the other end of that thread are reading groups — book clubs. They’ve been around almost as long as there have been books, being helped in the 1400s with the invention of the printing press. Some of the earliest groups formed to share the cost of purchasing books, which were expensive. Later, some were hosted by authors. Other groups formed around the ambience of coffee houses or coffee tables.
Harnessing the reach and influence of modern media, Oprah Winfrey gave book clubs a huge boost when she used her popular show to launch Oprah’s Book Club in 1996. During its 15-year run, it recommended 70 books, including some obscure titles that Oprah’s endorsement catapulted into best sellers. She continues her book promotion through her OWN media empire. While other shows, including Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, NPR’s Fresh Air and syndicated radio show Imus in the Morning also provide springboards for authors of various stripes, Oprah went one important step further: she promoted the concept of book clubs where members gather and encourage reading.
The New York Times has estimated that 5 million Americans currently participate in book clubs around the U.S. What’s the attraction? For some, it’s a shared interest in a genre, a topic or an author. For others it’s an opportunity to exchange ideas. And for some, it’s purely social. The common element is the energy that occurs when people come together in a shared experience connected to art. That energy elevates both books and those who read them.
Because the nature, size and location of book clubs are so diverse, there is no single source that lists all of them. To find a club that suits your interests, simply search online using key words + “book club”. You’re sure to find several clubs to consider. If not, be the one to start one!
On October 5, 2007, Oprah’s Book Club announced Love in the Time of Cholera, a 1985 novel by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez as its selection. Not only was recognition of the author and book greatly enhanced in North America, but his translator Edith Grossman also gained much-deserved recognition. Another work by Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, was a previous selection for the book club in 2004. On April 17, 2014, Gabriel Garcia Marques, a master of magical realism died at home in Mexico City at the age of 87.
May 1st will be your first chance to purchase a limited first edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power. The book will be available only at Tyrone Power Centennial Celebration events. For more information, check out my YouTube interview with film historian Matthew Hoffman.
When the mind is hungry, few things satisfy as well as a good book. Fortunately, there are feasts around the country throughout the year to fulfill every taste. From small block parties to massive convention exhibits, in every size and genre, there is a book event waiting for you. With the long winter finally departing, the number of book fests, fairs, exhibits, conventions and all variety of literary celebrations is growing. This is good for writers, readers and the publishing industry.
In the age of Amazon and other online booksellers, you might feel inclined to lounge in your … whatever you lounge in … and simply connect through the internet to someplace in cyberspace for a book you’ve preselected in your mind. It’s fast. It’s convenient. It’s also impersonal, colorless, bland. When is the last time, ordering online, you discovered a book or spoke with its author, experienced the “bookness” of books with all your senses (yes, a book can even inspire a taste on the tongue), felt exhilarated as if you were a guest at a banquet? Book fests can offer all these rewards and more.
Book fests may simply be large book sales, but most combine presentations, workshops, readings, book signings, exhibits and social gatherings, along with sales. Some of the biggest and best American book fests still to come on this year’s calendar include:
In other places around the world, top book fests include: Sydney Writers’ Festival, Australia, May 19-25. Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales, May 22-June 1. FLIP, Paratay, Brazil, July 30-Aug. 3. Festival Letterature, Mantova, Italy, Sept. 3-7.
If you’re looking for a way to spice up your literary life in 2014, feast on a book fest!
Plans for the nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power are expanding. To learn more, Book●ed blog readers can see my YouTube interview with film historian Matthew Hoffman. A very special launch event, May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre will feature the opportunity to purchase a collector’s quality Limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power. It’s an updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller, Cercando Mio Padre. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn Power Greendeer (Tyrone’s younger daughter) will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale. Centennial events are also planned in Ohio and California. Updates will appear in my future blog posts.
A friend of mine asked me to help her get her book published. Although it had been a best-seller in another country several years ago, she was frustrated by the lack of interest from American publishers. I suggested she let me help her self-publish her book. Unsure of the process, and wondering if there was a market for her book, she asked if we could publish her book in a limited quantity to test the market. Her father was a passionate collector of First Edition books, so we decided to self-publish a Limited First Edition, tied to a special year-long event. Even before the book was off the press, a buzz has been building and requests for the book have started to come in.
That got me thinking about the allure of First Editions, Limited Editions, and Limited First Editions. Book collecting, especially collecting special editions, is like faith: if you don’t understand the passion, I can’t explain it to your; if you have the passion, I don’t need to explain it to you.
The first printing of a book is called the first edition, although later printings of an unchanged manuscript may also be called first editions. Collectors most value the very first printing because it is the one the author saw through the production process and is closest to the time the book was written. If a publishing company owns the rights to a book, its editors usually can go to town in subsequent editions, revising as they deem fit to meet their marketing needs. Collectors like to have books that reflect the author’s – not the editor’s — intentions.
Limited editions range from as few as 50 copies to as many as 1,000 copies. They come in various forms, including those from trade (mass market) book publishers, small fine press publishers and private publishers. At the highest end, a signed, numbered and slipcased limited first edition will cost three to five times the cost of a regular first edition. An established book can be reissued with new material in a high quality Limited First Edition, offering handsomely bound books or with the author’s autograph, which also has added value to collectors.
Many websites offer first editions, limited editions and limited first editions. But if you’ve never held a limited first edition of a book in your hands – often a magical piece of history and culture — you might want to visit antiquarian bookstores, book fests, maybe even your local independent bookstore. Catch the passion!
Book●ed blog readers living in the Chicagoland area are invited to a very special event May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Launching a nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power (born 1914), the theatre will host a double feature of In Old Chicago and Jesse James. Special appearance by actress Taryn Power-Greendeer and theatrical producer Michael Butler (daughter and godson of Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian). And for booklovers, a collector’s quality Limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, will be available for purchase. This updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller will only be sold at centennial events. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale.
This is the third in a 3-part series for authors who want to get their books published. Part 1 posed the questions: Why do I want my book to be published? and How much control am I comfortable giving up? Part 2 addressed: What will it take to get my book accepted by the kind of publisher I want? and How long am I willing to wait to get my book to market?
In part 3, the final questions that should guide your publishing decisions are: 1) How will my books reach readers? and 2) What influences the life and death of book sales?
1) How will my books reach readers? The two most common ways are online and in stores. Major distributors charge a hefty percentage of your sales but are crucial in today’s market if you want to sell books.
Online selling means through such well-known distributors as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Another important distributor you may not have heard of is Ingram. This company serves publishers, including self-published authors. In addition to distribution to stores, they have a very strong connection with libraries around the U.S. Traditional publishers will set up distribution for you. Self-published authors need to make these arrangements themselves or pay a service to do this.
Online can also mean selling directly to consumers through your own website, if you know how to attract people to your website and are willing to handle order fulfillment. There are companies that will warehouse your book, handle orders that come in and provide sales reports to you. All of these services charge fees, depending on the service you use. Your printer may be able to recommend reliable resources.
Because of the competition for limited display space, in-store placement is a challenge, particularly for self-published authors. This is especially true of national chain stores. Local independent bookstores, however, may be friendlier to the self-published author if your book is high quality, you or your book’s topic are linked to the community in which the store is located and you are willing to appear for a talk and book-signing. This is an opportunity for you to augment the local store’s publicity efforts, which they appreciate.
Book sale opportunities are unlimited if you think outside the box. Additional venues, depending on your book’s genre and target audiences, could include book fairs, senior centers, houses of worship, schools, libraries, book clubs, farmers’ markets, writer’s groups, etc. You get the idea. If you have expertise in an area related to your book, check out Speaker’s Bureaus. Some venues will charge you a fee or ask for a percentage of book sales, some will offer you free space, some may even pay you to do a presentation tied to the sale.
Any time you can speak to a group – about writing, marketing, or a topic related to your book – have your books available for sale. Keep copies of your book in your car for any unexpected opportunity to sell or to offer to someone who can help promote it. Consider donating books to charitable fundraisers in exchange for some goodwill promotion; if your donation is to a tax-exempt organization, you have the bonus of a tax write-off.
The more work you do, the less you will pay others to do it for you. Do your research, be realistic about your capabilities to handle distribution and sales, and recognize that moving your book into readers’ hands is both an art and a science.
2) What influences the life and death of book sales? Today’s newspapers will line the bottoms of birdcages tomorrow and Tweets will have flown away. Not only do you have to promote your book when it first comes out, you have to keep it relevant to readers. Beyond the first months your book is published, continue to seek opportunities to promote it.
Stay current on the day’s news; if you can you tie it to some aspect of your book, your book becomes timely once again. Does your book have an historical tie in to a commemorative event? Is it especially appropriate as a gift for certain holidays or occasions? Write articles that either link to your book or allow you to include your book information in the byline. Get creative!
Make sure your website stays up-to-date, including good reviews and links to any interviews you’ve done, as well as announcements about upcoming appearances.
Network: always let people know about your book and ask them for ideas or referrals; then follow up!
If you forget about your book, others will too.
Final thought: writing a book is an art. Publishing and marketing a book combines the art with business. Selling a book is all business.
Book●ed blog readers living in the Chicagoland area are invited to a very special event May 1st at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge. Launching a nationwide centennial celebration of legendary actor Tyrone Power (born 1914), the theatre will host a double feature of In Old Chicago and Jessie James. Special appearance by actress Taryn Power-Greendeer and theatrical producer Michael Butler (daughter and godson of Tyrone Power and actress Linda Christian). And for booklovers, a collector’s quality limited First Edition of Searching for My Father, Tyrone Power by Romina Power, will be available for purchase. This updated and expanded English-language version of Romina’s Italian bestseller will only be sold at centennial events. If you can’t make the Pickwick celebration, Taryn will appear at the Northbrook Public Library on May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. and Romina’s book will be available for sale.
In last week’s blog, I talked to “pre-published authors” (another way of saying, “you’ve been in labor but your book hasn’t been born yet”) about the book birthing experience. After you’ve answered the first two most important questions — 1) Why do I want my book to be published? and 2) How much control am I comfortable giving up? – The next two questions to ask yourself are:
1) What will it take to get my book accepted by the kind of publisher I want?
2) How long am I willing to wait to get my book to market?
1) What will it take to get my book accepted by the kind of publisher I want? Aside from preparing your manuscript in the format required by any publisher you hope to work with, there are some key differences in what else you need to do.
Going after a major traditional publisher? You’d be well-advised to find the best literary agent you can (see my previous blogs on the subject). You should also consult a literary attorney before signing any publishing contract, unless you want your pockets picked by the folks whose job is to take as much control over — and profit from — your book as possible.
Smaller publishers such as university presses and independent publishers are not as hard to approach and they will usually work more closely with you. The key here is to find publishers that work with your genre because they know how to market to your target audience. Although hiring an agent is not as critical when approaching these publishers, an agent or a publishing consultant can be invaluable. Legal counsel before signing a contract is always advisable.
Self-publishing companies will consider every manuscript sent to them because you are paying for their service. Still, you shouldn’t rush the selection or preparation process because if you do, it will cost you heavily in the end. Do your homework to find the best fit for your type of book and the particular services you will need.
2) How long am I willing to wait to get my book to market? If time is not a consideration, you could submit your query and manuscript to as many publishers as you want. The largest traditional publishing houses can take up to a year to get back to you, even if it is to reject you without having read your manuscript. Smaller traditional and indie publishers may take as long as 6 months (the delay caused by smaller staff and production capabilities) but they usually are more responsive. Of course, you might get responses sooner, hopefully positive ones, but be prepared to wait. And wait. Don’t get discouraged but don’t quit your day job.
A self-published book can get to market in as little as two months – if you know what you’re doing and are willing to put in 18-hour days, 7 days a week for much of that time. And no first-time self-publishing authors ever totally know what they are doing!
Another factor in the timing it takes to get a book to market is the format of the book. Printed books almost always take longer than eBooks to produce. Also, a commitment to quantity is required with printing but not with eBooks, which can be produced on demand. Just as self-publishing is a growing trend, so are eBooks. So many choices mean… so many choices an author needs to make. Make sure your choices are well-informed.
Now that you know what it takes, and how long it takes, to birth a book, there are two more major question to ask: 1) How will my books reach readers? and 2) What influences the life and death of book sales? We’ll address those questions next week in Part 3.
The more an author understands about the rapidly changing world of publishing, the better his or her chances of success getting published, getting sold and reaping rewards. For an excellent article about moving from traditional to “artisanal” publishing, see Kathy Caprino’s post at Forbes. One blog that will lead you to other useful blogs about self-publishing is Voxie Media. A useful blog about trends in eBook sales by traditional publishing houses and self-publishing companies can be found at the Huff Post Book Blog. To learn more about submitting your manuscript to traditional publishing houses, start by learning how to find the best agent for your book. You can learn more about how to find an agent at my February 23rd Book●ed blog post “A is for Agent.”
The book is written. You want to get it published. If you don’t ask these two questions first, you are doomed to disappointment:
1) Why do I want my book to be published?
2) How much control am I comfortable giving up?
1) Why do I want my book to be published? As nice as it is to make money, it usually is not the first (or second, or even third) reason authors want their book published. How widespread or how targeted you want your readership to be will help determine the type of publisher you should be seeking: traditional big publishing house, university press, smaller independent publisher, or self-publisher. Within each of these categories there are varieties of publishers specializing in certain genres, formats and distributorship.
2) How much control am I comfortable giving up? Some people like to feel in control of every aspect of their life while some are delighted to leave all decisions up to others. The more advance money you accept, the less control over the product and sales you will have. Where you fit in on the spectrum of acceptable control will determine what type of publisher you will be most comfortable with.
At one end, traditional publishing offers the most in advance payment and marketing support but they make the artistic and marketing choices. They determine whether your book sells or sits in a warehouse, which affects royalties. You give up virtually all control until/unless your rights return to you, which could be a long time coming.
At the other end, self-publishing is just that. You pay for everything and become responsible for every aspect of your book’s production and sales; more details than you’ve probably considered. You also get to choose which responsibilities you want to take over and which you will pay others to handle for you. Self-publishing gives you complete ownership and control of your work — and the flow of your money — from the get-go.
In between traditional and self-publishing is a range of University Presses and Independent Publishers, who will negotiate the various aspects of payments or fees and available services. The degree of your control over your book will depend on the deal you strike.
Once you’ve answered these first two important questions, the next two important questions to ask are:
1) What will it take to get my book accepted by the kind of publisher I want?
2) How long am I willing to wait to get my book to market?
“It’s still the weight of the book that calms me, the feel of the paper under my fingertips as I turn the page that grabs me. This pleasure is sharpened by understanding that what I love at this moment has only been loaned to me. I can possess it fully but temporarily — just like life.”—Gina Barreca, humor writer and professor, in the HuffPostBlog.
When you hear the name “Gutenberg”, your first thought probably is of the Gutenberg Bible. Printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, Germany, the Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed in the West using movable type. It was the revolutionary advancement in technology that introduced printed books to the Western world.
But do you know about Project Gutenberg? Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is part of an equally revolutionary advancement in book publishing: the eBook. Hart, who unfortunately passed away in 2011 at age 64, invented eBooks. His Project Gutenberg continues its mission of digitizing and archiving cultural works, to “encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks”. Not only is Project Gutenberg the oldest digital library, it is one of the largest and it is free.
Project Gutenberg offers more than 42,000 free ePub books and free kindle books that you can download or read online. An additional 100,000 free eBooks are available through Project Gutenberg’s partners, affiliates and resources. All their eBooks are high quality and were previously published by “bona fide publishers”.
A new service from Project Gutenberg facilitates online publishing by contemporary authors through its self-publishing portal. It offers a free Authors Community Cloud Library, a social network Self-Publishing Portal. This Portal allows authors to share their works with readers as well as allows readers to provide comments, reviews and feedback to the authors. Every eBook has its own Details Page, Star Ratings, and Reader Comment area. There is no charge for using this service. Registration is not required for reading or downloading the publications or comments. However, registration is required to upload a book or post a comment.
Project Gutenberg is a remarkable volunteer-driven venture. They are grateful for donations of money and services. Whether you’re a booklover or an author who is a booklover, Project Gutenberg is a revolution you should join!
