The BookMark . . . publishing industry information and tips from BookMasters.

The BookMark is our free monthly newsletter featuring news and information of use to publishers, authors, retailers, and others involved in the publishing industry. On the first of every month, The BookMark will deliver useful tips, helpful news, and upcoming events directly to your electronic in-box. If you would like to receive a free copy of the The BookMark in your monthly e-mail, please visit http://www.bookmasters.com/subscribe.htm and complete the subscription form.

IN THIS ISSUE: Industry News & Events

Three Traps to Avoid

AtlasBooks Acquires Former BookWorld Publishers

Upcoming Events

Three Traps to Avoid
By Bob Burnham

Writing a book is a joyous time filled with satisfaction and, of course, a lot of hard work. As an author, there are many traps you can fall into that will not only affect your profits, they will affect your productivity. You want to get your book completed as soon as possible, right? Since finishing your book and making money from sales are two common goals, let us take a look at three traps you must avoid and how to avoid them.

1. Perfectionist trap
This trap catches every new author and many who have been writing for a long time. Let me just get this out of the way; perfection does not exist. There, I said it. Now you can let it go. Perfectionism slows you down. It causes you to spend an hour mulling over a paragraph. It makes you edit as you write, a major mistake because it blocks the flow of words onto paper and it drastically slows down your productivity.

So how do you escape this trap? Set writing goals every day and meet them. Look at your schedule. How much time can you commit every day to writing? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? More? Grab a pen and paper, or your computer. Set the timer and write. Just write. Everything that enters your head lands on the page. Do not stop. Do not edit yourself. Do not delete anything–just write. When the timer beeps and your time is up, finish your thought and put your writing away. Editing is what you do when you are done getting your book on paper.

2. Procrastinator's trap
Oddly enough, the more you want to write a book, the harder it can be to actually do it. I think the biggest reason for this is fear. Fear of failure and even fear of success can keep us from getting our book done. The good news is that the solution is simple. You know how you clean the kitchen every day because it needs to be done? You feed the dog, you do your laundry, etc. You do all of these things not because you enjoy them, but because they need to be done. I assume you enjoy writing much more than you enjoy cleaning your kitchen, right? Set aside time to write every day. In fact, forget the kitchen. Your writing is much more important.

3. Passive marketing trap
Do not fall into this trap! You wrote and published your book, and now you are going to let it collect dust on the shelves? No matter how you publish your book, you must also market your book. If you want to sell books, you have to tell people about it. Press releases, book signings, Web sites, interviews, and a marketing strategy is just the beginning of the work you must have to do. It can be done, but only if you are proactive.

Bob Burnham is an entrepreneur, consultant, and author of 101 Reasons Why You Must Write A Book.

AtlasBooks Distribution Acquires Former BookWorld Publishers

As reported in Publisher's Weekly last month, long-standing trade book distributor BookWorld closed its doors, leaving more than 100 clients without warehousing or distribution. AtlasBooks, the trade book distribution division of BookMasters, stepped in to provide shipping assistance and provided BookWorld clients with the option of enrolling in the AtlasBooks program.

AtlasBooks provides distribution for publishers through wholesale and retail outlets. By making titles available to the trade, the AtlasBooks program provides a great service to independent publishers who would not be able to get into bookstores otherwise.

With the former BookWorld publishers added to AtlasBooks' list of quality publishers, AtlasBooks is now a major player in the independent publishing market.

The benefits of acquiring publishers that were formerly with BookWorld—an expanded title list; great relationships with buyers at Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Barnes and Noble, and other major wholesalers and retailers; and an aggressive sales rep force—have AtlasBooks Distribution looking forward to great sales in 2008.

January 30–February 2, 2008
Association of Writers and Writing Programs' Conference and Bookfair, New York, New York
www.awpwriter.org/conference/2008bookfair

April 14–16, 2008
London Book Fair, Earls Court London, England
www.londonbookfair.co.uk

May 29–June 1, 2008
BookExpo America, Los Angeles, California
www.bookexpoamerica.com

June 13–16, 2008
BookExpo Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.bookexpo.ca

This calendar was up-to-date and accurate as of November 30, 2007. Information was culled from a number of sources. BookMasters cannot be held liable for the accuracy of the information within. Please visit the listed Web sites for more information.

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Home . Services List . BookMasters . AtlasBooks Distribution . Bookstore . Subscribe . Archives Volume 5, Issue 11 December 2007
The BookMark is our free monthly newsletter featuring news and information of use to publishers, authors, retailers, and others involved in the publishing industry. On the first of every month, The BookMark will deliver useful tips, helpful news, and upcoming events directly to your electronic in-box. If you would like to receive a free copy of the The BookMark in your monthly e-mail, please visit http://www.bookmasters.com/subscribe.htm and complete the subscription form. IN THIS ISSUE: Industry News & Events Three Traps to Avoid AtlasBooks Acquires Former BookWorld Publishers Upcoming Events Three Traps to Avoid By Bob Burnham Writing a book is a joyous time filled with satisfaction and, of course, a lot of hard work. As an author, there are many traps you can fall into that will not only affect your profits, they will affect your productivity. You want to get your book completed as soon as possible, right? Since finishing your book and making money from sales are two common goals, let us take a look at three traps you must avoid and how to avoid them. 1. Perfectionist trap This trap catches every new author and many who have been writing for a long time. Let me just get this out of the way; perfection does not exist. There, I said it. Now you can let it go. Perfectionism slows you down. It causes you to spend an hour mulling over a paragraph. It makes you edit as you write, a major mistake because it blocks the flow of words onto paper and it drastically slows down your productivity. So how do you escape this trap? Set writing goals every day and meet them. Look at your schedule. How much time can you commit every day to writing? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? More? Grab a pen and paper, or your computer. Set the timer and write. Just write. Everything that enters your head lands on the page. Do not stop. Do not edit yourself. Do not delete anything–just write. When the timer beeps and your time is up, finish your thought and put your writing away. Editing is what you do when you are done getting your book on paper. 2. Procrastinator's trap Oddly enough, the more you want to write a book, the harder it can be to actually do it. I think the biggest reason for this is fear. Fear of failure and even fear of success can keep us from getting our book done. The good news is that the solution is simple. You know how you clean the kitchen every day because it needs to be done? You feed the dog, you do your laundry, etc. You do all of these things not because you enjoy them, but because they need to be done. I assume you enjoy writing much more than you enjoy cleaning your kitchen, right? Set aside time to write every day. In fact, forget the kitchen. Your writing is much more important. 3. Passive marketing trap Do not fall into this trap! You wrote and published your book, and now you are going to let it collect dust on the shelves? No matter how you publish your book, you must also market your book. If you want to sell books, you have to tell people about it. Press releases, book signings, Web sites, interviews, and a marketing strategy is just the beginning of the work you must have to do. It can be done, but only if you are proactive. Bob Burnham is an entrepreneur, consultant, and author of 101 Reasons Why You Must Write A Book. AtlasBooks Distribution Acquires Former BookWorld Publishers As reported in Publisher's Weekly last month, long-standing trade book distributor BookWorld closed its doors, leaving more than 100 clients without warehousing or distribution. AtlasBooks, the trade book distribution division of BookMasters, stepped in to provide shipping assistance and provided BookWorld clients with the option of enrolling in the AtlasBooks program. AtlasBooks provides distribution for publishers through wholesale and retail outlets. By making titles available to the trade, the AtlasBooks program provides a great service to independent publishers who would not be able to get into bookstores otherwise. With the former BookWorld publishers added to AtlasBooks' list of quality publishers, AtlasBooks is now a major player in the independent publishing market. The benefits of acquiring publishers that were formerly with BookWorld—an expanded title list; great relationships with buyers at Ingram, Baker and Taylor, Barnes and Noble, and other major wholesalers and retailers; and an aggressive sales rep force—have AtlasBooks Distribution looking forward to great sales in 2008. January 30–February 2, 2008 Association of Writers and Writing Programs' Conference and Bookfair, New York, New York www.awpwriter.org/conference/2008bookfair April 14–16, 2008 London Book Fair, Earls Court London, England www.londonbookfair.co.uk May 29–June 1, 2008 BookExpo America, Los Angeles, California www.bookexpoamerica.com June 13–16, 2008 BookExpo Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada www.bookexpo.ca This calendar was up-to-date and accurate as of November 30, 2007. Information was culled from a number of sources. BookMasters cannot be held liable for the accuracy of the information within. Please visit the listed Web sites for more information. Recommend The BookMark to a friend. Click to Subscribe to The BookMark. If you feel you have received this newsletter in error, please click to Unsubscribe. Questions, comments, or content for The BookMark? Let us know. Suggest topics you'd like to see appear in The BookMark. Prefer a text only version? Subscribe. © 2001 — 2008 BookMasters^® © 2001 — 2008 The BookMark All Rights Reserved