No is Not the Final Answer

In the publishing industry, as with any industry, you have to have tough skin. Many authors write and publish books with the belief that everyone will read what they have written, and when they realize that not everyone is going to do that, they quit writing altogether, or develop a negative attitude towards those whose books are getting read. You have to understand that not everyone is going to like your work, and there are those who will eat you alive simply because of misconceptions they have about authors who self-publish. One common complaint from the self published author is that the bookstores won't carry their book. Well, look at it like this: there are more places where you can market and sell your book besides in bookstores. You just have to get creative, get out there, and keep working. No is not the final answer; and it most definitely is not a sign of defeat or failure. No is simply a roadblock to your yes. Your job is to find a way around that no. If one person won't buy your book, okay. If a bookclub turns your book down, okay. Keep pushing until you get to those book buyers and clubs that will welcome your book with open arms.

Until next time,

~Sandra~
Be sure to order your copy of 'Foolish' in Paperback or ebook

How to Obtain the Copyright for your Book

This question comes up in numerous forums across the web where aspiring authors and self-publishers gather: "How do I get the copyright for my book?" This post will explain what the copyright is and how to get it for your own book.

What is the copyright?

The Copyright is a law that gives you ownership over the things you create, whether it be a painting, a photograph, a poem or a novel, if you created it, you own it and it’s the copyright law itself that assures that ownership. The ownership that copyright law grants comes with several rights that you, as the owner, have exclusively. Those rights include:

• The right to reproduce the work
• to prepare derivative works
• to distribute copies
• to perform the work
• and to display the work publicly

These are your rights and your rights alone. Unless you willingly give them up (EX: A Creative Commons License), no one can violate them legally. This means that, unless you say otherwise, no one can perform a piece written by you or make copies of it, even with attribution, unless you give the OK.
Inversely, if you’re looking for material to use or reuse, you should not do any of these things without either asking permission or confirming that the work is in the public domain, which means that the copyright has expired and all of the above rights have been forfeited. Simply put, if the work isn’t in the public domain and you don’t have permission to use a piece, you put yourself in risk of legal action, regardless of your intentions.
Because, beyond fair use and parody (issues for later essays), the holder of a copyrighted piece has near carte blanche to do what they want with their work. It’s no different than owning a car, a house or a pen. One can lend it out to a friend, sell it, modify it or even destroy it. In short, if you own the copyright to something, you have the same rights that you do with anything else and, in some instances, even more. After all, you did create it. It only makes sense that you would own the fruits of your labor. That’s what copyright law is all about.
 The moment you create your work, it is protected by copyright law, and you don't have to register it with the Library of Congress. However, having your work copyrighted with the Library of Congress protects you should the question of ownership ever come up in court.
The poor man's copyright is not a legitimate copyright and holds no merit. Save the postage. If you can't invest the fee it costs ($35.00 online, $65.00 for print application) to file for your copyright then that says you don't believe in your work enough to protect it the right way.

 How Can I Get My Work Copyrighted?

You can either print and mail your from by going to http://www.copyright.gov and downloading the form there, or you can apply online. To get started on your application, click here.

Until next time,
~Sandra~

Sources:
http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/stopping-internet-plagiarism/your-copyrights-online/1-what-is-a-copyright/
http://www.copyright.gov

Did You Really Self-Publish?

Today's blog is a video I created which I hope will further spell out the truth about self-publishing. Did you really self-publish your book, or did you fall victim to a vanity publishing house? Click the photo to watch the video.

How to Self-Publish

'The Truth About Self-Publishing' By Sandra Peoples

Until next time,

~Sandra~

Five Keys for the Self-Published Author

I just wanted to share a quick post today on five keys that I think every self-published author should know. Even if you are still considering whether to try self-publishing, take these keys to heart. I know in this blog I may repeat some things, but the goal of this blog is to teach you information to help you succeed in this industry. I encourage you to print information from this blog and share it with your friends. And by all means, study the content of it.

My five keys for the self-published author are:

1. If your manuscript is not truly complete, finish it first. Take your time to finish it. Don't rush. If you rush to finish your book, you will find that you didn't take the time to fully develop your story and that could result in earning readers that are not satisfied with your work. Unhappy readers leads to returned books, and we don't want that.
2. Have your book professionally edited. I can't stress this enough. I know that even the best books may have errors in them, but when your manuscript is riddled with them, it will reflect poorly on you as an author.
3. Research companies that you plan to work with. Watch out for companies that charge you a fee to publish your book, then turn around and pay you a royalty from each book sold. Remember, when you self-publish, you don't get royalties. 
4. Always have your marketing plan in clear view as you print your book. Who will you be selling your book to and where can you find them? Knowing the answer to these two questions will help you decide on how you want your cover to look and the way you want your story to read.
5. Remember that self-publishing is starting a business. Make sure that you are ready for such a huge responsibility.

Until next time,
~Sandra~

The Five Rules of Self-Publishing

In this post I would like to share with you my five rules that I believe are most important for the self-published author. I am often asked by aspiring authors how they should approach self-publishing, and like I always say, it should be approached like a business. The five rule for self-publishing are:

1. Before your book goes to print, order your own ISBN (International Standard Book Number). You can either a strip of ten numbers or a single ISBN number if you only plan to publish one book. Make sure you purchase them yourself from www.isbn.org.


2. As soon as your manuscript is complete, begin to look for:

• Printer: A book printer is the person that is going to take your manuscript and convert it into a book. Standard industry book sizes for paperback books are 5x8 or 6x9.
• Typesetter: This is the person that is going to format your book according to your chosen book printer's requirements. They do what is called 'designing the interior of your book', since they will put page numbers where they should be, and they will set up the book with the proper headers, footers, table of contents (if applicable) and more. Once they have finished, your manuscript will look like a book once it is printed.
• Proofreader/Editor: These people serve as your other set of eyes to make sure that you don't have too many misspelled words (even the best books can have a few of these) or sentences that   look      like     this.
• Graphic Designer/Illustrator or Professional Cover Designer: This is the person that is going to design your book according to your specifications. When choosing someone to design your cover, be sure to select one that has experience designing books for book printers. They will know what type of software to use to create your cover, such as Adobe In Design and Adobe Photoshop among others.
• Distribution Method: How will you deliver the books that people have ordered?

3. As soon as your manuscript is complete, and even while you are writing, you must think about marketing. How are you going to sell this wonderful book that you have written and what are you going to do to get the word out about your book.

4.Define your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your book? Narrow this down. You can't give a broad statement such as 'My book is written for everybody' because it is not. Your book is written for a specific group of people. Your job is to find them and get them to purchase and read your book.

5. Be sure self-publishing is the method you want to embrace. It may not be for you. This should have been rule number one.

Until next time,
~Sandra~

Ten ways to succeed as an author

When you publish a book, especially on your own, your ultimate goal is to be a success at it. You don't want to invest a ton of money into producing your product, only to fail at it. Here are ten tips that I have compiled that I think are the keys to help you succeed in this cut throat industry:

1. Educate yourself. Take the time to learn all you can about the industry of publishing. Like any industry and profession, those who are armed with knowledge are the ones that stand to reap the greatest financial rewards. Take to time to attend seminars, classes and workshops to ensure that you are getting the most current information to help you stay on top of the game.
2. Study the competition. This may seem a bit mean, but it's true. As with any industry, you have to be aware of what the other guy is doing that is working for them in order to get their books moving. You study them and model them, but by all means, do not copy them.
3. Think marketing from the very beginning---before you write the book. Before you even think about printers, graphic artists and all of the technicalities that come with book publishing, you have to think about the most important piece to your puzzle: who is going to read your book? How are you going to reach them? If you don't know who the book is intended to be read by, how do you expect to sell it?
4. Get professional editing. I can't preach this enough. I have learned from experience how lack of professional editing can hurt your career as a writer. I was one who figured that since I could easily spot errors in the works of other, obviously I would be able to catch them in my own work. Little did I know, you don't use the true 'editing' eyes on your own manuscript. If you read my previous post on how to find an editor for your book, I offer some advice on how you can possibly avoid spending thousands of dollars and possibly get your book edited for free.
5. Create a snappy title--and then research it. When I published my first book, I had no idea that my book shared the same title as a best selling author's book. I didn't know you were supposed to research your title first by doing a simple amazon search. You simply go to amazon.com and enter the title you would like to use to see how many other books will share the same title as yours.
6. Include all the necessary components. Be sure your book has an ISBN number and barcode, a cover,everything that is needed to make a book look like a book.
7. Have an eye-catching cover. Even if you may have crafted a New York Times bestselling novel, if the cover screams 'blah!', you may never see that status anywhere except in your dreams.
8. Make the interior worth reading. Don't throw your book together just for the sake of being able to say you have a book out. Be sure that your book is typeset by someone who knows the publishing industry and what book printers expect. And by all means, tell a good story.
9. Use a real book manufacturer for printing. I hate to say it, but if you plan to publish a quality paperback or hardback book, you have to use a book printer. You can't go down to your local print shop and expect them to produce that type of book.
10. Promote! Promote! Promote! This cannot be stressed enough. If you want people to read what you have written, you have got to get out and really pound the pavement. It's your book. If you don't believe in it enough to talk about and preach its message why should anyone else?

As always, I love you for reading my blog.

Until next time,

~Sandra~

Internet Marketing 101 How to use social networks to grow your business 08/20 by coachsandra | Blog Talk Radio

This is a short blog on a show I did last year on blogtalkradio with my friend Christopher Adams. Christopher specializes in helping local businesses in Connecticut to grow their businesses using social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, among others. The information he shares on this call can help entrepreneurs of every facet, regardless of the location. As authors, as you will constantly hear, you have to think like a business person. Business people are always looking for new and low cost ways to advertise and promote their businesses. Your objective would be the same. Remember, your book is a product that must be sold, and you are a brand that must be established. You can listen to the show by clicking the link at the end of this post.

You can learn more about Mr. Adams by visiting www.christopheradams.com.

Until next time.
I love you for reading,
~Sandra~





Internet Marketing 101 How to use social networks to grow your business 08/20 by coachsandra | Blog Talk Radio

Are you willing to take a cut?

Today I learned a very valuable lesson while at an event to promote and sell copies of my book, "Foolish". I watched as another author sat waiting for book sales because she was not willing to take a cut. Sometimes, you may have to cut your customers a deal in order to get them to buy your books. I call this a sale. And what I do is I look at the venue and the surroundings to determine if I will sell my books for the full price, or offer a one time discount, a special price good for that one day only. Customers like to feel like they are getting a bargain and in doing so, you may actually end up making more money than you thought in the end.

I look at it like this: I would rather sell a few books for let's say $6.50, rather than not sell any books at all. But, at the same time, I may be having a raffle of a gift basket or something that people pay a dollar to enter. If the gift is nice, and it's something that people really want, in the end, you could still end up making the same price you would have charged for the book in the first place because if the prize is right, you will more than likely sell more than one ticket at a time.

I never have to lower the price of my book in order to get the people's attention, but I do find that if I give away a few copies first, it draws customers to me because they want to know what this book is about and how can they get one.

I did this today. I gave away three books and sold twelve in the process. If you are not willing to give, you really can't expect to get anything.

So my question you is, are you willing to take a cut? What are you willing to let go in order to bring customers to you? Maybe you could give a one time discount, or hold some sort of sale where if people buy your book on a certain day at a certain time, they can get the book for $2.00. This leaves plenty of room for you to get creative. Maybe you could have a contest where people have a chance to win an autographed copy of your book. You don't have to go insane, but let people see that you are willing to give. Giving is like a magnet; when you give, you get in return. In this case, your giving could result in you getting more income.

Until next time,
~Sandra~

Why it is important to hire an editor for your book

You wrote the story. You have put your ideas on paper for what you hope the whole will see. The big misconception for many self –published or independent authors is that they don’t need to have their book edited; or that they can do it themselves. This is one area where skimping can cost you the success of your book.

An editor can do more than just look over your work and suggest areas that need correction. They can also provide ideas and suggestions that can enhance the overall flow of the book in general. A good editor can do much more than just spot when you left out a period. They will also know when you need to move a paragraph around, when something needs to be reworded, and when it may be a good idea to change the entire tense of the book altogether. So why do most authors overlook the all-important editor? Here are a few obvious reasons:

• Cost: Many authors think that it costs tons of money to hire a professional editor for their book. Hiring a book editor can be costly, but there are ways to avoid paying so much. One thing you may want to consider is hiring an English teacher; possibly a retired one. You could even consider hiring a college English major looking to build up their resume`.

• Time: Authors feel that it will be time consuming to find someone willing to edit their book. But with a quick search on Google for editors, you can find dozens of editors that have established reputations with editing and proofreading. The only part that may take a little time to complete is putting in requests to see samples of their work. Samples are important and failure to produce one could spell that this person is not as experienced as they say, especially if they have claimed to help other authors. Ask to see a sample, and check to see if any people have complained about them in the past. A good place to check is the Rip off Report (www.ripoffreport.com) This site allows customers that have been wronged by a business or organization to display their complaints openly. If the company has three or more complaints, I would strongly advise against working with that company because their practices may be unethical. At the same time, that’s the reason to ask for references because there are people out there that will get work done on their books and still turn around and bad mouth the company regardless.

While hiring an editor can be a daunting task, it is one that must be done if you want to ensure that your book will not be judged for a lack of such. It’s better to invest in an editor, rather than having to invest in creating a new identity for yourself after you become known as the author of the book that was full of errors.

Until next time,

~Sandra~

Three reasons you are not selling books

You have written what you believe should be the next best seller. If you self-published, depending on the outlet you chose, you have probably invested thousands of dollars on creating a product that you know will more than recoup your investment. So why aren't you selling any books? There are three major reasons why you aren't driving people to buy your book.

• You are not friendly. People tend to flock to those that they can relate to. If you come across as a snob, people can pick up on that and won't want to support you or your efforts. Check your attitude. It could be the reason your books are still lying dormant on the shelves or online.
• You are too shy. You can't expect people to know that you have published a book if you are hugging the wall or afraid to interact with people during events and book signings. You have to be willing to be a people person, which means at times being a talker and not being afraid to go after the sale.

• You don't do any type of promotion. What good is it to write a good book and make an investment in getting it published if you are not going to get out and do anything to let people know you have a book out in the first place? Promotion does not have to cost you any money. There are everyday things you can do to help spread the word about your book. Some authors put fliers in their bills as they mail them off for payment. Others create a buzz online with Facebook pages and Twitter Tweets. There are ways that you can promote your book for free or for a very low cost, which I will discuss on a later blog.

So there you have it. These may seem like common sense reasons why you aren't seeing the types of results you want to see with your book, but you would be surprised at the number of authors that fail to realize the truth in these words.

Until next time,

~Sandra~

The biggest mistake most authors make

Authors write books. It's what they do and what they love. Many authors, especially the self-published authors, are falling victim to one of the most dangerous mistakes known to the publishing industry: not having a platform.

As an author, having a platform is crucial to the success of your book. You should use your book to build your platform which in turn will create other avenues in which you can earn money. Most authors fail to take the time to learn what their platform is, and therefore, miss out on hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

What is a platform? An author's platform is what you are doing to reach those people you want to buy your books, or how you plan to reach them. It is that thing you are doing to get people to relate to you. An example of an author platform would be a single mother who has published a book. Though her book may be fiction, the fact that she is a single mom who has accomplished her dream of becoming a published author can be used as a platform to reach other single moms and women in general, whether they be parents or not. This same author can now garner speaking engagements from groups that host events in her area, and may be approached by various radio and television shows for interviews. At the engagements she will most likely be offered an opportunity to sell her books. And during her radio and television interviews, she will be asked to tell people where they can get copies of her book.

Your assignment is to take out a pen and paper and make a list of topics that you have experienced personally or have knowledge of that you would be willing to share with your readers to gain their attention and support. People like to feel that they can relate to someone. This in turn builds trust. Once you have gained the trust of your potential readers, they are no longer just readers; they become fans, and in turn, they become loyal supporters of you and your work.

Until next time,

~Sandra~

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How to find an editor for your book without breaking the bank

As a self-published author, one of your biggest tasks will be finding a good editor for your book. You are going to be trusting what you have written in the hands of someone that does not know you or your work. This can also be a rather expensive task. A vast majority of editors charge in one of three ways: by the word, by the line, or by the page. So how do you find a good editor without breaking the bank? The answer could be as close as your local college or university.

One thing I have learned from being an English major myself, is that it is good to have a portfolio of your work. You as an author can help provide the opportunity to gain some experience by posting your need for a proofreader or editor for your book.In most cases, a college student will be more than willing to take on this task in exchange for the opportunity to list you as a reference and include a sample of the work that they performed on your behalf in their portfolio. You can make the opportunity even more enticing by offering to pay a fee for their services.

Another inexpensive route you could use to find a good editor or proofreader for your work could be to find a retired English teacher, or even a high school English teacher who has enough time to devote to the task of book editing.

I say English majors and teachers because they learn various things about sentence structures, grammar and the like, which could really give your book the advantage it needs to compete in the industry.

If you do decide to go with a company to do the proofreading and editing for your book, be sure to ask to see samples of their work and check out their credibility with others. If they have a long list of unsatisfied customers, this may be a sign that you need to take your money, and your manuscript, elsewhere.

Until next time,
Sandra

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A big misconception about self-publishing

There are many misconceptions about self-publishing. One of the biggest things I hear aspiring authors say is that they have been contacted by a company that has promised to help them self-publish a book and all they have to pay them is (whatever the amount may be). In true self-publishing, you don't pay anyone to publish your book for you. You pay out money to different companies to handle the various aspects of you bringing your book to market. For instance, you will find a printer, and you will pay that person to print your books for them. You will find someone to design your book cover for you, and you will pay that person who will create a cover for you. There are many details that goes along with putting together a good quality book, and each week, I will uncover and shatter the myths that go along with publishing your own book. This is the truth about self-publishing. It's not just a book you're putting out there. It's a business.

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