International: 1-419-281-5100
Fax: 1-419-281-0200
BookMasters, Inc.
30 Amberwood Parkway
Ashland, Ohio 44805
Volume 6, Issue 3 March 2008
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 fifteenth of every month, The BookMark will deliver useful tips, helpful news, and upcoming events directly to your electronic in-box. Now in addition to our publishing and printing news, we will be including monthly articles on Book Sales and Marketing by combining our book distribution monthly newsletter, The Advocate, with The BookMark to create an all-encompassing Book Sales and Publishing Industry Newsletter. 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
BookMasters to Attend Book Expo America
A number of BookMasters, Inc., and AtlasBooks employees will attend the annual BEA Trade Show to take place in Los Angeles, California, from May 29 to June 1. Among those attending will be BookMasters’ executives C.O.O. Dave Wurster, President Ray Sevin, and Sales Manager Paul Stevenson. Sales executives Shelley Sapyta, Sue Bray, Cathy Purdy, and Emily McQuate will also attend. Representing AtlasBooks will be executives Matt Wurster, Distribution Sales Manager; Randy McKenzie, National Sales Manager; and Amanda Dowdy, Buyer Relations Manager.
The AtlasBooks and BookMasters, Inc., booths - numbers 846 and 847 respectively - are located between halls G and H, next to the university press section. Events like this offer the opportunity for the staff to meet with publishers and buyers. Buyers, publishers, and individuals can discuss printing, composition, distribution, or sales services. Anyone who would like to set up a specific appointment with the attending staff members can contact them by calling 888-537-6727 or 419-281-5100.
The Web site for Book Expo America is http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/.
Many authors who cannot get their books published by traditional houses are turning to self-publishing and putting out e-books. Increasingly, traditional publishers are monitoring self-publishing and e-book offerings and buying those that show promise for their lists. Authors of self-published and e-books have taken booths at Book Expo America, which gives them wide exposure to publishers who may be hunting for new properties. Many of these publishers find out about nontraditionally published books by reading reviews on authorlink.com and bookreporter.com.
Excerpted - with permission - from Author 101: Bestselling Book Publicity, by Rick Frishman and Robyn Spizman; contact Rick at FRISHMANR@PlannedTVArts.com or www.author101.com
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Notes from the Front Lines
Marketing is a very misunderstood word when it comes to selling books through bookstores. With most consumer brands, marketing is based on sophisticated and expensive testing. Almost nothing is left to chance, which is not so much a guarantee of success as it is a reduction of the cost of failure. Book launches involve little or no testing and therefore might be compared to a baseball batter taking a swing at a curve ball. If he hits the ball one third of the time, he is considered a star. So it is with many trade books on a publishers list. A few home runs pay for many swings that miss. Publishers try to mitigate this situation by finding well-known authors who have previous successes, or barring that, they use the media as extensively as possible to create buzz and sales. So one reason book publishing is a risky business is because most of the marketing is done after the launch when the investment in books has already been made. This would suggest that, for most books, a conservative first printing would be the wisest course of action.
Excerpted – with permission – from the Book Publishers’ Handbook, by Eric Kampmann, President, Midpoint Trade Books, ekampmann@aol.com
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Marcella's Magic
By Marcella Smith, small press business manager at Barnes & NobleA consistent series of promotional events helps you create a promotional frame of mind. As you begin to see results from your efforts, you will feel a sense of momentum, a belief that your big break will occur soon. You never know where or when it will appear, but you know that if you persist, something will happen to jump-start your sales.
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Savvy Self-Promotion
By Penny Sansevieri, author of From Book to Bestseller, penny@amarketingexpert.comFive Things You MUST Know About Web Marketing
(Read one tip in each of the next issues)Don’t languish in obscurity. If your site isn’t getting noticed by people who can make a difference (i.e. buy your book and/or product), what’s the point? Driving traffic to a Web site that isn’t converting is like sending buyers to a fabulous store and locking all the inventory in the basement. If you aren’t sure if your site is converting, have your Web host give you access to your Urchin or C-Panel information. This may take a bit of deciphering at first, but once you learn how to reach these reports you’ll unlock some very important information. Namely, how many people are visiting your site, how long they’re staying, and (gasp) which of your pages within your site is propelling them to the competition.
20 E-book Questions to Answer
E-books are becoming very popular products in today's Internet world. Writing a simple e-book in your niche should not be difficult if you go about systematically planning your writing process. If you are planning to create an e-book, you may wish to keep these 20 questions in mind to ensure that you produce something worthwhile for your readers.
1. What will be the title of your e-book, and will it have a subtitle?
2. Will you be the only author or will there be other co-authors?
3. Will you publish a print version of your e-book?
4. How many pages will your e-book be?
5. Will your e-book contain graphics, pictures or charts?
6. Will your e-book include an appendix and index?
7. Will you ask other authors to contribute related articles to your e-book?
8. What file formats will your e-book be available in; text, pdf, exe, html, etc.?
9. Will your e-book be sold as a product, or will your e-book be used as a promotional tool?
10. Who will be your e-book's target audience?
11. What major benefit does your e-book give your target audience?
12. Will you offer your prospects a guarantee and testimonials to read?
13. Will you include a bibliography about yourself in the e-book?
14. What personal information will you include about yourself in the e-book?
15. What colors and graphic(s) will be included on the e-book cover?
16. Will you let your prospects read free sample chapters or excerpts to entice them?
17. Will you turn the e-book into other information products like videos, audio books, teleclass, etc.?
18. What type of payments will you accept for the e-book?
19. Will you allow others to give away your free promotional e-book?
20. Will you be selling the reprint rights to your e-book?These questions will provide you with a checklist that you can go through before starting. Answering them while creating your e-book will help to ensure that you come out with an in-demand product that will provide tremendous value to your customers.
Courtesy of ArticleCircle.com.
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E-book Tips
By Roger C. Parker, the $32 Million Dollar Author. Test your Book Publishing IQ at his Web site www.publishedandprofitable.comMany authors are so fixated on writing the book they want to write - or in many cases, the book they want to read - they neglect their reader's problems, goals, and information needs.
To create a book that compels purchase and reading, ask yourself a few simple questions, and describe your reader in as many details as possible. Create a series of composite glimpses of your ideal readers. Start by giving each one a name, an occupation, and a set of characteristics such as age, income, health, or marital status. Next, list their concerns and goals. What are their frustrations and problems? What's holding them back? What do they want to change in their lives? What other books are they likely to have read, or considered buying? What Web sites might they visit?
The more concretely you define your intended readers, the easier it will be for you to write your book and promote it as effectively as possible.
Visit www.publishedandprofitable.com and download Roger C. Parker's "Write Your Way to Success: 4 Steps to Success" special report.
April 14–16, 2008
London Book Fair, Earls Court London, England
www.londonbookfair.co.ukMay 29–June 1, 2008
BookExpo America, Los Angeles, California
www.bookexpoamerica.comJune 13–16, 2008
BookExpo Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
www.bookexpo.caOctober 15–19, 2008
Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany
www.book-fair.comThis calendar was up-to-date and accurate as of February 15, 2008. 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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