| I am the best-selling author of 12 books, all of them | | | | profitable through personal promotional efforts. |
| issued by major publishers. Collectively, they have | | | | "What are you going to do to sell this book?" is the |
| sold hundreds of thousands of copies. | | | | major question they ask, and agents will tell you, |
| I like to start this way, not to boast, but to give you | | | | without a personal commitment to sell your own |
| some confidence in my observations. They have | | | | copies, stated in your book proposal, you won't get a |
| been accumulated over 20 plus years of writing, so | | | | publisher to bite. |
| I've seen various markets for authors. | | | | (5) Publishers are clueless, themselves, about what to |
| Right now, there are some major problems with | | | | put out there. Reluctant to lead, and reluctant to |
| conventional book publishing, of which you should be | | | | follow the success of others, they are like the |
| aware, if your goal is to get this community to | | | | proverbial deer in the headlights. |
| acquire and then to issue your work: | | | | It used to be the case that if you wanted |
| (1) Distribution through bookstores has never been | | | | information on a subject you either went to your |
| tougher. Most publishers sell to stores on | | | | library or to your local bookstore. Not anymore. |
| consignment. If books don't fly off shelves into the | | | | By going to the Internet, you can assemble the |
| hands of buyers, they're returned to publishers, very | | | | equivalent of a book, fast and more or less, for free. |
| quickly. Your title doesn't get very long exposure or | | | | Publishers haven't figured out how to sell content at |
| time to establish itself. | | | | a premium, in an environment in which so much of it |
| (2) Books used to be kept "in print" and available for | | | | is available, instantly, for nothing. |
| longer periods of time, in many cases, for years. | | | | There are alternatives to conventional book |
| Now, they're put to death quickly, if initial sales are | | | | publishing, including self-publishing and using media |
| anything other than brisk. | | | | alternatives such as audios and videos. I'll explore |
| (3) We live in an era of the celebrity book. If Oprah | | | | them in future articles. |
| wants to write a diet book, it will be a monster hit; | | | | But for now, give that dream of seeing your book |
| you know that. But the most exciting, up and | | | | on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, a second |
| coming, highly credentialed nutritionist may not have a | | | | thought. |
| chance of breaking into print. | | | | It may not be worth the effort. |
| (4) Publishers expect authors to make them | | | | |