your heart you know that the writing is perfect. You enlist your partner, your best friend, your mom, or your dad to “proofread” it—for free. And then it’s time to hit publish!
Category Archives: Publishing Fundamentals for New and Small Publishers
Easy and free Royalty Management for Book Publishers (And Anyone Else)
What follows is an easy and zero-cost way for book publishers to generate book royalty statements for copyright holders in a matter of minutes.
Book cover creation – an iterative process
How does one create a book cover? Does it materialize in the mind of the designer in a brilliant moment of inspiration? Or is it a formula in which the designer plugs in the genre of book and out pops a cover?
Creating an Oral History Program
Whether you are interviewing a head of state, a coal miner, or a spiritual director, all oral history efforts will share certain elements. What are the elements of a good oral history program?
The Basics of Book Binding Types
Perfect bound. Casebound. Softcover. Hardcover. Sewn signatures. Glued signatures. Case wrap. Dusk Jacket. Board book. Chapbook. Saddle-stitched. Spiral bound. These are a few of the book binding types available to the publisher. What does it all mean? And what combination is best for your project? In this article, I will explain the basics of theContinue reading “The Basics of Book Binding Types”
Market Forces Affecting Publishers, Content Creators, and Marketing
In July, I presented a talk at the Eastern Sierra Book Festival. The organizer asked me to give an update on trends in the publishing industry. I decided to spend the allotted 30 minutes discussing current market forces that impact not only independent authors and small publishers but also impact any business competing for an audience’s valuable time.
Creating Elegant eBooks for Academics and Students
What if you want to create an eBook that is elegant and also openly accessible?
Book Printing: Print Only What You Can Sell
When a new publisher is looking at printing options, there is a temptation to print too many copies. The more books the p
Accounting for Book Publishers
Creating a solid business requires good accounting and budgeting practices. If the publisher does not know where the money is spent, how much is spent, and why it is spent, then the publishing house is going to fall. The way to answer where, how, and why is through good accounting for book publishers. To read my newerContinue reading “Accounting for Book Publishers”
Quality Control for Books and Content Management
Creating quality control protocols is just as important for the book publisher as it is for the factory. At the end of the day, book publishers are producing a product that will be mass manufactured on an assembly line and, hopefully, consumed by many people. The implication here is that we need to take greatContinue reading “Quality Control for Books and Content Management”
Book Submissions and Acquisitions
Here is how it is going to happen. Discipline and hard choices What does it take to be disciplined? I do a lot of high risk sports, like mountain climbing and rock climbing without ropes. I’ve also worked in high risk industries, like logging and tree trimming. Participating in these activities demands discipline. If IContinue reading “Book Submissions and Acquisitions”
Book pricing—Solving the Great Mystery
Book pricing is difficult and a bit like cold fusion—many people claim to have discovered the key to success, but none can prove it. That being said, there are steps that publishers can take to eliminate some of the magical guesswork from the process of setting prices for books.