Posts Tagged ‘Traditional 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).

I already wrote a bit about the book in an earlier post.  Author James Kaelon and videographer Miles Kittredge are mid-tour, by bicycle, promoting Kaelon’s “We’re Getting On.” They just left San Francisco this morning and are heading north.  Abandonment of technology is a central theme of Kaelon’s stories, and now he and Kittredge are living the dream.  The tour and the book are 100% carbon neutral.

The novel has garnered exceptional reviews and landed Kaelon on the cover of Poets & Writers.  I got to see Kaelon read at Green Apple Books on Friday and was not disappointed.  If you have the opportunity to see these guys somewhere along their journey, seize it!

Individual Book Titles Published in the U.S., by Year

2009 totals: 288,355 books traditionally published, 764,448 books self-published.  (Statistics from Bowker.  Download full stats here).