#EANF#
How to Succeed at Self Publishing
You’ve written your book, had a friend look it over for errors, run it through your word processor’s spell check and created a cover on your publishing company’s website. You are ready to do battle in the bookstore. After all, your book is as good as any other book isn’t it? There’s no difference between one book and another.Surprise. There is a Difference. Three, Actually Sometimes a self-published book succeeds beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. These stories are told over and over, helping to induce millions of writers to flood the subsidy publishing companies with their books, trying to get a piece of the publishing pie.But unless you’ve managed to find a niche that no one else has ever written about, or you have the only book in the world on parachute folding, or you are the next J.K. Rowling, your book will have a tough road ahead of it. Why?You are being outclassed on every front by your competition, that’s why. Here are three reasons you will be buried by the established trade publishers using the “Old Model” of publishing.
They have better quality. Guess what? People do recognize differences in quality. At Old Model Publishing, they are able to anticipate sales of several thousand copies for even their most modest offerings. Consequently, they have printed their book by offset. They may have used a unique size and format that can’t be replicated by digital printing. They might have cover finishes and paper stock that are simply unavailable to you. Customers see this, and you look worse by comparison.
They have professionals working on their books. Over at Old Model, editors, designers, cover designers, and proofreaders who have spent their careers learning their craft are working on their books. They bring years of experience and knowledge to bear on every project. Even though Old Model may not do as good a job as they once did, they are still light years away from you and the amateurs who have helped you get your book ready.
They have a better economic model. You thought you were clever to try to compete with your print on demand distribution model, and were happy you didn’t have to lay out a cent to get your book into print. You thought that this was the new, the modern, the twenty-first century way to publish, and that those old fogies haven’t caught up yet. But their offset-printed book costs them one-third what you are paying for your book. They can price you out of the market without breaking a sweat.
Help is On The WayYou will get hammered in the market if you don’t revise your plan. To be competitive, you will have to fight fire with fire. How to minimize your competitive disadvantage?
Hire professionals. Part of the collateral damage from the economic difficulties book publishers are experiencing are the many people who have been laid off by Old Model publishers. Lucky for you. They are now available as freelancers to work on your book, bringing all that same expertise to bear.
Consider your strategy. Think about your aims. If you are dead serious about trying to get national distribution into bookstores, you will almost have to print offset. You need both the inventory on hand to ship to distributors and wholesalers, as well as the leverage of low unit pricing to make the whole chain of discounting work without an inflated retail price
Don’t try to do it all yourself. Authors who decide to self-publish need to realize that self-publishing does not mean you do everything yourself. To succeed against these Old Model publishers, you have to treat your operation as a business. You should be spending your time writing and marketing your book, not trying to figure out why Microsoft Word keeps changing your page endings every time you save your file.
You Can Compete. But You’d Better Be Smart About ItIt’s possible today to retain the editors, book designers, cover designers, and proofreaders to make your book equal to any book on the market. If you treat it as a business, with the clear motive to make a profit, you will find the professionals you need to help you succeed.If your aim is to create a book for your personal use, or to leave as a family history, or to collect recipes for a fundraiser, you can safely ignore all of the advice I’ve given you above.But if you aim to compete, to establish and run a business that publishes your books, do with seriousness of intent. Commit the time, energy, education and resources to make your book truly the equal of anything else on the market.Turn Your Strengths to Your AdvantageIn fact, you can turn this situation to your advantage. By creating a well-edited, attractively-designed and intelligently marketed book, you can act a lot faster than the Old Model publishers. This becomes your competitive advantage when you realize the power of being able to react to events faster than your competition.And if your aim is to attract a contract from Old Model, your top-quality book could become your best calling card. If you’re largely concerned with sales, know that when your ideal customer stops at the table in Border’s, they won’t hesitate to pick your book up. And you can take that to the bank.
Health Care Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional by Virginia Judge
A key part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law has been declared unconstitutional by a Virginia federal judge. This sets the stage for a long legal struggle which will likely end up in the Supreme Court.The “individual mandate,” which requires the purchase of health insurance by all Americans, was struck down by U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in the case of Virginia v. Sebelius. Hudson wrote, “An individual’s personal decision to purchase — or decline purchase — (of) health insurance from a private provider is beyond the historical reach of the U.S. Constitution. No specifically articulated constitutional authority exists to mandate the purchase of health insurance.” This decision contradicts another court ruling that the mandate is constitutional. The ruling is expected to be challenged in a federal appeals court by the Department of Justice.The administration had previously received a favorable ruling on the mandate by a federal judge in Virginia. The favorable decision was the same as that reached by a Michigan judge in October. Officials in Virginia argued that the government does not have the authority to force Americans to buy a commercial product like health insurance. They base this belief on the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.There are a few states that have specific laws stating that residents cannot be forced to buy health insurance and Virginia is one of them. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican said, “I am gratified we prevailed. This won’t be the final round, as this will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, but today is a critical milestone in the protection of the Constitution.”President Obama and Attorney General, Eric Holder, have been urged to request an expedited appeal to the Supreme Court by incoming House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-VA). Cantor has stated, “Ultimately, we must ensure that no American will be forced by the federal government to purchase health insurance they may not need, want, or be able to afford. In this challenging environment, we must not burden our states, employers, and families with the costs and uncertainty created by this unconstitutional law, and we must take all steps to resolve this issue immediately.”The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in March, is considered the signature legislation of his first two years in office. For months after taking office President Obama had promoted the Democratic led reform.In 2009, there were 45 million Americans without health insurance, which is about 15 percent of the U.S. population. The health care reform was designed to help the millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans. The plan is that the government will impose health insurance mandates and subsidies to ensure that all Americans receive affordable health care.Critics of the new law have called it socialized medicine and fear that it will lead to higher taxes and substandard health care services. There have been dozens of challenges to the reform filed in federal courts all over the nation.The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the law by a California conservative group in November. The court justices will not get involved in this early stage of the legal process. Rarely does the Supreme Court accept cases that have not been thoroughly reviewed by lower courts. It is expected that the larger issues in the debate will end up before the Supreme Court but legal experts do not anticipate that to happen for at least one or two years.Health care reform has been a top priorities for the Democratic party since the Truman Administration. The reform was passed almost solely by Democrats in party-line votes and opponents of the reform call it “Obamacare.” Since the midterm elections, Republicans now hold the majority in the House and vow to overturn or severely limit the reform law.Judge Henry Hudson wrote, “While this court’s decision may set the initial judicial course of this case, it will certainly not be the final word.”