In Search of a Sugar Daddy Publisher

When I talk to prospective authors about their publishing plans very few know what they’re up against trying to get a traditional publisher to fund their project. That’s how you should think of it — funding the project.

Before an aspiring author settles into a daydream of how to spend all that advance money and how lavish her book launch party will be, she needs a dose of reality on the  economics of publishing from the publisher’s perspective.

A Fantasy Scenario

A publisher takes care of several things, pre-press activities, printing and distribution. Promoting the book is almost always the author’s responsibility.

Printing Press by Digitalholgi on Flickr

Pre-press costs

Let’s engage in fantasy and say the book is so well written it only needs copy editing before it’s ready to be designed and sent off to the printer — that’s a quantum leap but we’ll take it.

A quick search through self-publishing price charts gives you a sense of cost to get the book to the printer, including covers, page setup, copy editing ISBN number, bar code, etc.  Let’s pretend $4000 is a reasonable estimate to get the book ready to go to the printer.

Printing costs

The cost to print each book is a volume game. Createspace has a handy calculator that shows your cost at about $2200 for a run of 1000 softcover copies of your 100-page book.  Sure, you can get printing at better prices, but this is close enough for Fantasy Land.

So far, without your publisher paying you anything for the time and effort to write the book (much less the cost to pay someone to write it for you), you’re looking at $6200 to produce 1000 books including pre-press and printing.

Distribution costs

Distribution is a hefty expense.  The distributor will charge $500 to establish an account for your book, plus a monthly fee and storage charge for warehousing your book. Then, they’ll take a chunk out of the retail price of each book to handle shipping, selling it to retailers, collecting money, etc.

When you add distribution charges, you’ve got an $8000 project for sure WITHOUT paying anything to promote it. Can you move 1000 books to your network without a promotions budget?

An easier way to make a living

Selling 1000 books means your publisher will have to price the book at $20 to make $12,000 gross. Because this is a fantasy, let’s say you took no advance to write the book and negotiated 30% royalty on sales. Congratulations, you and your publisher just scored $6000 each.

Let’s be honest, there’s an easier way to make a living.

You say you want an advance to write your book?  Even just a trifle? Let’s do the math with a $10,000 advance and the same 1000 book run.  Do you know 1000 people who are going to pay $30 for your book?  Hold on before you answer. Mark Twain’s 760-page autobiography was priced at $34.95 retail.  Oh well, since we’re in fantasy land let’s say you sell all 1000 copies at $30.  Your lucky publisher can hope to make $12,000 and you’re not going to make any royalties on top of the advance.

Yep, there are lots of easier ways to make a living for both you AND the publisher.

Are you writing a book to make a profit or to meet some other goal(s)?

Skinny profits mean the publisher’s’ most important concern is the author’s ability to SELL the book. The business professionals I work with can usually sell 1000 books to their built-in audience, more if they can sell them at speaking engagements, but even small publishers will need to sell more than 1000 books to make it worth their while.

Of course profiting on the sale of your books isn’t the only reason to write them. This post will help you think through your goals.

Bottom line for aspiring business authors:  self-publishing is probably going to be more profitable, provided you can FUND THE PROJECT. If you need help with funding, you could always sell “shares” in the book or sell advertising or licensing rights. There are several creative ways to fund it without involving a publisher.

Do I Have Enough Content To Fill a Book?

Everything I write on this site is addressed to business professionals who know they need to produce content, including books, to enhance their professionalism, to grow their client base or to achieve a social outcome.  If this applies to you, read on, but if you want someone to help you write a novel, I’m not the person you’re looking for.

Start with 15,000 words

Let’s put a stake in the ground and say that a book has at least 15,000 composed words. Whether those words are delivered to the user electronically, in an MP3 or on paper is a matter of platform. Just how big is 15,000 words? These examples may help:

• Do you read newspaper opinion columns? They average 700 words, so if you’ve written 22 pieces of that length, you could compile them into a book.
• Most blog posts average 300+ words, so 50 posts would total 15,000 words. Count the average words in your blog posts and do the math.
• How many speeches or presentations have you delivered?  Those add up, too.  If standard speech without long pauses runs 150 – 170 words per minute, a 20-minute speech is 3,000 to 3,400 words.  If you’ve delivered five 20-minute speeches on your subject, you’re ready to roll.
• Your old newsletter articles are good book fodder.

Begin with a guide

You could begin writing your book by publishing a series of “guides” for download or as handouts after Rotary Club meetings or as leave-behinds with prospects. These are also called white papers, executive briefings, special reports and ebooks.  Subject ideas:

• Credit repair guide for those who’ve declared bankruptcy or lost a home in foreclosure
• Estate planning guide for those who want to leave money to family members and social institutions
• Annotated checklists:
  • to help business owners perform due diligence on an acquisition
  • for life insurance clients to ascertain that their beneficiaries are in order
  • necessary to maximize tax deductions
• Suggested points in an operating agreement for family-owned businesses buying the previous generation’s interests
• Case study of how you helped a client use a Qualified Personal Residence Trust to pass real estate to children

Enjoy the ride

It’s important to enjoy your  book’s subject. Even if you hire a ghost writer to do the grunt work, you’re going to be immersed in the book project for quite a while, from writing it, to the promotional activities required to get a return on your invested time and money. That’s another reason starting with something smaller than a full-fledged book is helpful — if you tire of the book or you’re out of material before the first guide is written, that’s an early sign that the book concept needs to be re-formulated.

Yes, you can buy book authorship

If you don’t have any original content and you’re not willing to develop it, there are companies that will sell you a pre-written book that you can lightly customize. Beware that in the world of digital downloads and interstate commerce there’s no guarantee that your audience won’t catch on to this ploy. If they do, your strategy will backfire. I can’t help you there.  Where I can help is in  writing blog posts, newsletters, articles and other materials that we can roll into a book later.

Want a Book Publisher? Start with a Book Proposal

If you’re writing a non-fiction book and you’re NOT interested in publishing it yourself,  you need to write a book proposal, not a book.

Why is this?  Unless a publisher approaches you about writing a book,they must first be convinced that a market for the book exists. Then they’ll need to be convinced that you’ve got the right plan for selling your book to that market. If they’re convinced on these two fronts then — and only then — will they read your sample chapters.

You may have to approach publishers through an agent, not directly. Agents will read your book proposal before approaching publishers. If it’s a good one, they’ll help you massage the proposal and your sample chapters to meet the various publishers’ criteria. But you’ve got to write the proposal first (or hire someone to do that for you).

I’ve written before about the need to approach a book project with specific goals. Writing a book proposal will guide you through turning the goals into tactical steps.

See how comfortable you are with these questions and then get in touch if you’re ready to explore how we might work together.

These marketing issues (and others) must be addressed in your book proposal

1. Name three books that are on the shelves right now (and selling) that would interest the same people who would buy yours. Contrary to what you might think, “competition” demonstrates that a market exists.
   • How is your book the same as each of the three?
   • How is it different from each?
   • Comparing your education, work history, achievements, awards, publications and professional affiliations to those of the other authors, how do you stack up?
2. If you walked into a book store looking for your book, in what ONE area would they find it? Business?  Finance?  Management?  Personal investing?  Memoir?  Electronics? Computer programming?  This helps you focus — you’ll sell more books when you focus than when you shotgun.
3. What five questions does your ideal reader want to see answered in your book? This assumes you know who your ideal reader is, of course.
4. Make a list of everone you can count on to read your book and publicly rave about it.
   • Where they will be raving?
   • How many followers/subscribers will be paying attention to their raves?
5. How many clubs, professional organizations and affinity groups will pay you to speak at a meeting and allow you to sell your book there?
   • List them.
   • What exact dates and cities will they hold meetings during the first year your book is available?

What about you, the author?

If you plan to write a memoir or autobiography, what about your life has universal appeal?

What can people learn from your experience even if their lives have little in common with yours?

Would a co-author’s credentials help you sell more books?

I recommend reading Guerrilla Marketing for Writers, whether you intend to write your own book, to publish your own book or to use a ghost writer or publisher. Great stuff.

Hopefully you answered these questions with confidence. If so, let’s get started.

So, You Want to Write a Book

“Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” ~  Marcus Tullius Cicero

While more people are inquiring about my ghost writing services this year, it seems once aspiring authors come to grips with what’s involved with writing a book, they cower.

If you find that you want to write a book after answering the series of questions in this post, let’s get started. If you’re discouraged, better now than later.

What are your goals for the book?

You do have goals for the book, right?

Very few people want to write a book just to check it off a bucket list — that’s the poet’s purview. Most business people are motivated by fame, fortune or passion for a cause.  These questions will help you determine whether a book will meet the goals you’ve set for it.

• How will you calculate the return on the investment of  your effort?  Your answer could be expressed in hard or soft dollars or social outcomes.
• Could you meet your goals by giving your book away? Or do you need a profit on your book? A good number of decisions hinge on your answer to this question, including whether self-publishing is preferred.
• Whose work is your audience reading today? What unique point of view do you offer?
• How many platforms can you distribute your content on? In other words, can you write it once and move it electronically, in print, through a recording, and perhaps video seminars?  Some books, for example coffee-table books, just don’t translate well to audio or text-only readers.

What’s your magnetism?

One of my (young adult) sons is a Jersey Shore fan. Please don’t judge me. I bring that wretched TV show into the conversation simply to make a point — Sookie’s book sells because the show has fans. Truth be told, I didn’t know Jersey Shore fans read books — the one in my house doesn’t.  But I digress.

The takeaway here is that A Shore Thing is an extension of the Jersey Shore franchise, not its cornerstone. If you want to sell your book quickly, you need a fan base, too. If you need to sell the book, not give it away, do you have at least 1000 people who would spend at least $5 for it? Would they spend $10? $20?

Too many people think that a book will bring them new fans/clients instantly.  This is possible if your existing fans are sufficiently motivated by your message to evangelize others into buying your book.  Otherwise you should count on paying — in some combination of time, effort and dollars — to promote your book. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Two of the best resources I’ve come across to help you figure the book business out is Guerrilla Marketing for Authors: 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work and Dan Poytner’s Self-Publishing Manual.  I suggest reading them before you begin writing your book, even if you intend to place your book with a publisher.

Bottom line: If you have a passion for your subject, you have clients/fans who are passionate about you or your message, and you’re willing to immerse yourself in the book project for a couple of years (writing and promoting it) a book might provide you with personal and professional satisfaction.  You might change lives and make the world a better place. You won’t know until you try.

If you’d like to talk about your project, reach out. Our first conversation is free.

Content is Content, Platforms are Platforms

A month ago I took a ten-day reading and writing sabbatical while dog sitting for friends. I came back refreshed, informed and ready to embrace emerging technologies and business models for content producers.

Yes, that’s the simplest way I can think of it, writers:  we’re content producers distributing our intellectual property on platforms. We need to get over the platform issue — whether people buy something we publish on cotton paper bound in leather or in a video shot from our smart phones and hosted by Vimeo.

Thrive or go crazy?

Godin's 12 bestselling books have been translated into more than thirty languages.

My advice is to accept this as fact, find a way to thrive or get out before it makes you crazy. I’ve decided to accept and thrive. To thrive, we must understand the underlying economics or fall in with those who do.

I’m following Seth Godin into this new territory.  His  latest Domino Project post on pricing helps:

The competition for a Kindle book isn’t the hardcover. The competition is a game on the iPad or a movie from Netflix or a song playing on your Sonos. Pricing is about substitutions, and if we want books to avoid becoming a tiny niche, we need to price accordingly. There are more substitutes, and they are cheaper than ever before.

And a librarian will lead the way

This video by a library IT guy does an outstanding job of contextualizing printed books in the overall scheme of content production and distribution. Don’t dismiss it because you don’t use libraries.

I love the way Eli Neiburg compares books to chiseled tablets and  papyrus scrolls, and eReaders to eight-track tapes. If a librarian can envision and embrace a future that doesn’t rely on dead trees but includes them (as appropriate), so can content producers.

Get on board, move over or get run over.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqAwj5ssU2c&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Books are Marathons, Articles are Sprints. Sprint First

My stream of inquiries has picked up lately from business professionals who want me to ghost write their books.  YEAH!

When an inquiry comes from someone who already produces content — whether a newsletter, blog, white papers, articles or presentations – our job is relatively straightforward. Not easy. Not cheap. Straightforward.

When, however, I get a call from someone who recognizes the marketing need to publish something, but only has a vague idea of what they want to cover and what they want readers to learn, I’m reluctant to sign on with the project.  Why? It’s the equivalent of turning a couch potato into an Olympic athlete. Yes, it can be done, but most people don’t want it enough to do what it takes to achieve it. In these cases, I encourage them to start smaller (more on that below).

Then there’s the caller who just wants something — ANYTHING — without going the licensee route. In case you’re unfamiliar with that racket, here’s an example:

Consider an article or eBook first

If you want to write an original book of at least 15,000 words (otherwise it’s a booklet or article) and have nothing original for me to go on, be prepared to stroke a big retainer check and to spend a lot of time on the project.

If you’re not quite ready for that kind of marathon, start with a sprint. Consider a white paper or eBook of about 4000 words highlighting case studies from your practice. An article will give you something to test drive and refine or expand upon in the next edition or eventual book.

Final note: a professional  layout and attractive illustrations will make your book or article something you’ll be proud of and something people will actually read — and isn’t that the point? I can help you find a graphics professional if you aren’t already working with one.

Lessons on Plagiarism from “The Decider”

In light of the news that our 43rd president plagiarized portions of his OWN MEMOIR, it’s clearly time for a review of what we learned in high school English class about giving credit to others. Not doing so is an act of piracy.

When I posted the link to the article that broke the plagiarism story on my Facebook page with a note that it seems likely Mr Bush’s editor will soon be “spending more time with family,” I got a couple of comments to the extent that it’s impossible to plagiarize your own story.

Yes, it’s possible to plagiarize when writing about yourself

Plagiarism occurs when you take and use ideas, passages, etc., from another’s work. Have a look at these two passages from Mr Bush and General Tommy Franks paying particular attention to the phrases in bold — this is one of the instances of piracy:

Bush writes: “Tommy told the national security team that he was working to apply the same concept of a light footprint to Iraq… ‘If we have multiple, highly skilled Special Operations forces identifying targets for precision-guided munitions, we will need fewer conventional grounds forces,’he said. ‘That’s an important lesson learned from Afghanistan.’ I had a lot of concerns. … I asked the team to keep working on the plan. ‘We should remain optimistic that diplomacy and international pressure will succeed in disarming the regime,’ I said at the end of the meeting. ‘But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists. I will not allow that to happen.’“

Franks, in his memoir American Soldier, writes: “‘For example, if we have multiple, highly skilled Special Operations forces identifying targets for precision-guided munitions, we will need fewer conventional ground forces. That’s an important lesson learned from Afghanistan.’ President Bush’s questions continued throughout the briefing…. Before the VTC ended, President Bush addressed us all. ‘We should remain optimistic that diplomacy and international pressure will succeed in disarming the regime.’ … The President paused. ‘Protecting the security of the United States is my responsibility,’ he continued. ‘But we cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists.’ He shook his head. ‘I will not allow that to happen.’”

Plagiarism isn’t a partisan issue

This post is meant to be instructive, not political.

Evidently Mr Bush had a crack researcher helping him flesh out his story. No problem with that. If Mr Bush wanted to lift passages from others’ work, he could have simply said “So-and-so  said it best…” and then quoted the original.

Why the editor should be “spending more time with family”

Editors have scads of software to detect plagiarism.  The editor (and publisher)  should have known  people would go through Mr Bush’s work with a fine tooth comb and should have been more diligent in assuring that the final book was beyond reproach. Ultimately, the publisher is responsible for the book, but the editor will take the fall.

Lessons for my clients

• You’re wise to check your recollections of events with other sources. If they are the same, I’ll handle it without plagiarizing; if they are different, I’ll encourage you to acknowledge the differing points of view and make a compelling case to believe yours.
• If others have written about you they’re likely to give your work some publicity whether your accounts agree or not. But all bets are if if you plagiarize their work.
• List your references.

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