Posts Tagged ‘Print Publishing’

Bill Ayers leads quite a few “meet-ups” focused specifically on the ever-evolving publishing industry.  I attended one featuring three self-published authors to learn from their experiences.  Here are three tips from three different self-published authors:

(1.)  If you self publish, BUY AN ISBN for your book! This will enable you to sell it in bookstores, place it in libraries, and get it in national databases.  (from Tracy Jones, author of I think Therefore I am, and Still Breathing…).

(2.)  Ramp up publicity before your release date. Don’t wait until it’s already out to start promoting it.  Time your release with a well-planned publicity campaign.  (From David Jedeikin, author of Wander the Rainbow.)

(3.)  Self-publishing is good for super-niche markets, or if you already have an audience willing to buy your book. Lots of “how-to” authors follow this advice.  If your topic is extremely narrow, then chances are your audience will come looking for you.  If, however, you’re looking for broader exposure, consider the traditional publishing route.  (Curran Galway, author of The Aquarians).

(as told by Seth Godin)

I just listened to an astute speech from a proven guru delivered to a convention of indie book publishers.  You can hear the whole recording here.  It’s a bit long, so I’ve transcribed my favorite points:

Godin breaks the traditional publishing business model into five components: Curation, Venture Capital investment, Production, Distribution, and Promotion.

He says four of five of those components are now dead.  Curation is the only role for publishers in the years to come.  So what does that really mean?

According to Godin, it means four things:

(1)  Curate: collect relevant content.

(2)  Lead: earn the right to talk to your audience by delivering honest, relevant information, then tell your followers what content (movie/book/blog etc.) is worth their time.

(3)  Connect:  Serve as a hub for like-minded individuals to meet and connect.

(4)  Create a movement:  Rally your audience.

We can already see this happening.  TwelvePublishers puts out a book a month, and “seeks to establish communities of conversation surrounding our books.”  FlatmanCrooked is “deeply dedicated to the cultivation of our authors’ careers,” and creates cult followings around books through limited releases, imaginative book tours, and contests.  Soft Skull Press has been called “The literary version of a punk rock label.”

These are just three examples of small presses embracing the new world of publishing.  They curate, connect fans, and create a movement about their releases.

I just read James Kaelon’s new novella, “We’re Getting On.”  The story is remarkable and Evan Karp wrote a great essay about it, but I want to consider the book itself, as an object.

Wrapped in a 100% recycled cover, which actually sprouts into birch trees when planted (detailed instructions are on the back cover), the book is the result of FlatmanCrooked’s Zero Emission Book Project.

With alternatives to print like the Kindle, the iPad, and now even Nintendo DS, and free online publishing gaining serious traction, we’re on the brink of an age when a physical, paper book might have to justify its own printing.

I kept feeling the texture of the pulpy cover, admiring the embedded seeds, and thinking about the book decomposing and then flourishing as a tree, all while reading Kaelon’s tale of human devolution and nihilism.  The book as an object added to my experience of the story.  This is a high achievement, and one that makes this book-as-object more than just a medium for the printed word.

This is an essay by Steve Almond on TheRumpus.net about his decision to self-publish.

My favorite advice:

“Am I suggesting that every aspiring writer should run out and self-publish?

No way. Aspiring writers should spend their time and energy at the keyboard, trying to figure out how to make better decisions.”

Since Mr. Almond is no longer aspiring, and simply is a writer, he did run out and self publish.  Read the essay here.