Tag Archive: self publishing advice


Passwords As Affirmations, How To Choose A Password For A New Year

Filed Under: Blogs @ How to Self Publish by Corinne — Comments Off on Passwords As Affirmations, How To Choose A Password For A New Year
December 31, 2012
The WestchesterPress says Happy New Year

Happy New Year from The Westchester Press!

Every day I work on my computer… including weekends. Not just for my work self publishing a book, but for everything electronic that I do.

  • Every day I have to enter a password.
  • I’m supposed to change those passwords every 60 to 90 days!
  • And not forget them.
  • They are all supposed to be different… a different password for every portal demanding a password.

I find this overwhelming.

Then it occurred to me the requirement of typing some short phrase over and over again was a great opportunity to practice my powers of positive thinking.

I began to use my passwords as daily affirmations. So now, every day, I type in something encouraging… complimentary… positive… goal affirming.

  • I made a list of daily affirmations tailored to my goals and dreams.
  • I shortened them into 6 – 10 characters. One way to do this was to take the first letter of each word, like – Great Day became GD… (hehehe, which is also an acronym for something less positive, but gots to have my fun!)
  • I included symbols and numbers
  • I added a symbol, number, or letter that I would know referred to a specific service – like GML for gmail. (I don’t use that in my gmail password, so I can offer it as an example)
  • I made a note in my calendar to redo this regularly, which also works for re-tailoring my daily affirmations to keep up with my stellar progress towards my goals and dreams.

Now my daily password chore is very uplifting. As a self publisher, and as an author, I often need daily affirmations to keep going, and using my passwords as an opportunity to make daily affirmations is a great boost.

The key… (that’s a pun… key = password = access)… is to stay positive. I truly believe in the power of positive thinking. New affirmations for a New Year!

 

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How To Turn A Blog Into A Book… a Blook… my review of Blurb.com

Filed Under: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Blogs @ How to Self Publish by Corinne — 1 Comment
December 26, 2012
Horned Lizard and The Westchester Press

The Horned Lizard of Self Publishing is researching How To Turn A Blog Into A Book. How to make a blook. Horned Lizards want to know.

So I am testing each of the blog to book methods I can find to add “How To Turn A blog Into A Book” to my “How To Self Publish A Book” series.

I am investigating this topic because our blogs contain super-awesome-mega content and breathtaking photos, and turning them into books is a great idea. Making a blook!

My standards for the process are high.

  • I want a nice looking book, but I don’t want to have to spend hours formatting it, because I could do that manually, the same way I usually make books.
  • I want the photos to look good, and that’s going to be a challenge because while 72 dpi looks great on screen, it doesn’t look great in print.
  • The book probably needs to be in color, because of all the effort I’ve put into the photos, and color print books are expensive to produce… but, ebooks!  It could be an ebook (future posts on ebooks coming soon)
  • And I want to be able to access the book file. For cut and paste, for other uses of my materials. I want to create a file that I can take anywhere, print anywhere.

Blurb.com has the lion’s share of Google’s keyword hits, and so I started with them.

They advertise a blog to book method and they offer color books – hardcover or soft. They claim they can slurp my blog and drop it into a book, which I can then order for myself and sell online from their service.

First I set up an account, which was easy. Then I went to “Make Books And More” where I found “Blog Book”, and then was instructed to download their software, Blurb Booksmart. Which I did.

Ah soooo… the software resides on my computer, and therefore so do all my book projects, until I am ready to order a copy of the book. This way, I don’t take up their server space – clever ducks.

The software was free. There was no charge at all, actually, until I was ready to order the printed book. So that’s good.

There are seven book size options, and two of them are my preferred book sizes… 6×9 or 5×8. But there is only one blog-to-book layout option – which has the picture in a small square, and the text in a shorter column to the right.

If I want a different layout, I have to go into some heavy manual formatting while learning their Booksmart software… only to find that my low res pictures are looking very bad in my chosen layout.
Wah.
Hmmmm.

The process supports four kinds of blog platforms: blogger, live journal, typepad, and wordpress.com. Which is great, unless you’ve moved your wordpress blog to self hosting, like I have. In which case, this process will not work. Game over for all my blogs except one.

Okay, forward I go with my Blogger.com blog, which has more than 100 posts and gets slurped into Blurb’s program without a hiccup. Where it looks like crap. And where I can’t do anything with it except print it out through Blurb.com. Hmmm.

My blook was 256 pages, and not all of the posts were properly separated, so it would have been even more pages. It is very easy to price the potential book using Blurb.com’s buttons, so I could see right away – before doing any more formatting – that my 6×9 softcover color print book would cost $37.95 per copy.
Ummm… oh dear. That’s not exactly the base cost I was looking for. 

If I gave up color, then my book would cost $12.95 per copy… but, but, I have to have color!

In summary, Blurb.com has a very nice system to capture a hard copy book of a blog as a novelty or one time gift.

It will take time to format it nicely, and unless you posted gigantic pictures on your blog, your images will be either tiny or blurry – your choice. I don’t consider this a commercially viable option for making a book out of my blog. And it doesn’t give me an electronic document to have my way with.

But it sure is a nice piece of software… which makes a nice, pretty, pricey book.

I will keep looking. This is not How To Turn A Book Into A Blog. Not in my blook.

 

 

 

 

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Messages From My Ghost Of Christmas Past

Filed Under: Blogs @ How to Self Publish, How to Get Started in Self Publishing by Corinne — Comments Off on Messages From My Ghost Of Christmas Past
December 24, 2012
The Westchester Press and How To Self Publish A Book

This was my favorite view from our property in New Mexico while I was writing Just A Couple Of Chickens. It looks west, to Oregon, where we now live.

Since my celebration of Christmas and New Year’s is a reflection on the past year and setting goals for a new year, I thought I’d apply it to how to self publish a book, and spin out some self publishing advice to myself – and everyone!

If I could ghost back to each year’s Christmas Eve in the past, what would I tell myself about self publishing a book?

First of all, I’d make more of an effort not to scare the wiggles out of myself by popping up unannounced than ghosts of Christmas past usually do.

Then I’d congratulate my poor wigged-out self on having a book out there in the world, rather than unfinished in a drawer.

I would tell myself that

  • self publishing a book will not make me rich in cash (yet!) but that more self published authors are getting rich every year
  • the skills that I will learn along the way are valued in the working world and will give me options
  • the amazing coolness of having a person email me to say that they enjoyed my book is amazingly cool – and might be worth it all right there
  • I will spend more time working on the self publishing business and marketing than I will in writing, hmm.. eh?
  • self publishing a book feels better than submitting a book for traditional publishing, but I should continue to do both to make all things possible
  • I must keep writing, even if I am writing about self publishing
  • I’m still learning by doing and learning things the hard way, and all of our future selves have agreed to just accept that as our personal motto

And then I would break all time-travel and ghost-past laws by sneaking myself a copy of my soon to be ready series on How To Self Publish A Book, which includes things like How To Set Up A Small Business and How To Design A Book and How To Market A Book, and more… because by having that book in hand, which I’ve written based on all the things I’ve had to do to learn how to self publish, then I will rocket forward in life.

Actually, if I’m going to break the time travel rules, I might go big and give myself a list of stocks to buy, flight dates to avoid, and a headsup on not choosing the IMAX 3D theater option for any of the Avenger movies.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

 

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Crossing The Self Publishing Finish Line – In Style? Or At All?

Filed Under: Blogs @ How to Self Publish by Corinne — Comments Off on Crossing The Self Publishing Finish Line – In Style? Or At All?
December 17, 2012
Self Publishing A Book Is Not Like Secretariat At ALL

Self publishing a book is not at all like Secretariat winning the triple crown.

In the business of Do It Your Self publishing, which is different from the business of self publishing only in the way that you Do It Yourself,
The prize is in finishing – at all – not so much in finishing with style.

This process of self publishing a book is difficult or expensive. If we want to get help in producing a book, then we have to be able to pay. If we don’t want to pay, or don’t have the funds, then we have to do it ourselves… and while it is do-able, it isn’t always easy. It can be time consuming, sometimes confusing, and a lot of work.

So I’m sharing one of my personal standards, in case it helps… on those late evenings when the to do list is just too long, and the month’s sales tally is just too short.

Once upon a time, there were two racehorses.

One was an equine prince, by anyone’s standard. His name was Secretariat, and he was perfect. Perfect proportions, perfect coat, perfect stride. In 1973, he won the Triple Crown, and was awarded Horse Of The Year. Secretariat was glamorous and made winning look effortless. I do not relate well to Secretariat, much as I admire him.

The other racehorse was Seabiscuit. He was not perfect, and he did not win the triple crown. But he was voted Horse Of The Year in 1938 because he won just about everything else. He was not a beauty, and his racing style was not glamorous. The only reason racing fans weren’t wincing when he crossed the finish line is because he was crossing it first.  He was known for his hard work and his fierce racing spirit. He never gave up.

And so my self publishing advice today is that it doesn’t matter if you finish your checklist in style and surrounded by cheering fans.
It is only important that you finish it.

Any way you can, my seabiscuits.

 

 

 

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What is an ISBN? (International Standard Book Number)

Filed Under: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Blogs @ How to Self Publish by Corinne — Comments Off on What is an ISBN? (International Standard Book Number)
December 10, 2012
Self Publishing Butterflies Buy Their Own ISBNs

The butterfly (representing a free ISBN from a self publishing company) is not the focus of the effort… it is the leaf supporting the butterfly (which represents your own self publishing company). Own your own ISBN, so it doesn’t matter where your butter flies.

The ISBN, the International Standard Book Number, is of particular concern to a publisher… and is generally confusing for an author.

But it is THE definition of a Do It Your Self publisher.

Owning the ISBN is the difference between being a self publisher who is a publisher and being an author who has engaged self publishing services. My self publishing advice is that you should own your ISBN and get a business license for your self publishing company. It’s worth the effort, which isn’t a huge effort, and worth the cost, which is a large-ish up front cost for the pack of 10 numbers, but comes out to about $30 per book.

The ISBN is a 13 digit number used to identify both the book and the publisher. Many self publishing service providers offer to assign one for free to your book project, and that will mean that their publishing company will come up under the listing for your book title until you re-publish with another number or another company. With all the marketing effort I put into my books, I prefer to own my own ISBN and therefore have the number follow my title no matter where or how I print it and offer it for sale.

The ISBN is not the same as the barcode. You can buy the barcode when you buy the ISBN, but you don’t have to. There are ways to make the barcode later, and if you don’t ever produce a short print run outside of the print-on-demand service, you won’t ever need it. When I publish through CreateSpace, I provide my own ISBN, and they use it to generate my barcode automatically.

ISBNs used to be 10 digit numbers, but then the earth’s population exploded with book-reading mammals and ISBNs needed to expand to 13 digits. There’s a converter for the 10 digit numbers to get them to conform to modern standards… you don’t just assign zeros to one end.

ISBNs are unique to a particular edition of a book. You can correct typos without using a new ISBN, but you can’t change content. An ebook, even if it is identical to the print book, will have a different ISBN.

By using my own ISBN number, I can do a print run outside of CreateSpace and keep the same ISBN number (and I also have to keep the same trim size and page count). If I accept the free number from CreateSpace… or any of the other companies that offer it, then I am not supposed to use that number as I produce the book in any other way. I retain all my options by using my own number.

The ISBNs are available online from only one company. While I can buy one, I prefer to buy the pack of 10 because I know I will use them, and they will be mine… all mine…. Bwahahahaha!

 

 

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Definitions of “Making Money” With A Self Published Book

Filed Under: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Blogs @ How to Self Publish by Corinne — Comments Off on Definitions of “Making Money” With A Self Published Book
December 4, 2012
Self Publishing a Book is like planting a garden

Tulip farmers count cash costs and infrastructure costs… and so must self publishers.

Most authors who self publish a book intend to make money selling it. Or at least want to break even on their costs.

As with any business venture, it’s important to define making money… and to measure results.

The cash costs of self publishing are easier to track than the infrastructure and effort. And keeping cash costs to a minimum is one way to get closer to breaking even or making money, but spending the right amount on editing and cover design is important in the same way.

My list of cash costs includes:

  • $30 for the ISBN number (it’s about $300 for a pack of 10)
  • $35 for copyright registration, filed before I self publish or submit to traditional publishers
  • $10 for proof and shipping of a finished hard copy of the book (this doesn’t count for an ebook)
  • $15 for a domain name (per year) for a website for my book. (I can make the website on a free site, but the domain is a yearly fee)
  • $50 for my assumed business name (business license fee)

My list of infrastructure and effort costs includes:

  • the internet and computer I use to write and produce the book
  • the skills I’ve learned to do book design, website design, book marketing, and self publishing
  • the space, furniture, utilities, and supplies I’ve used while working on the project
  • the time… my time… so. much. time…

And I can’t assign a dollar value to the second list. So once my book earnings top my cash outlay, at what point do I declare that I’m making money with my self published book?  Especially since I complicated my bottom line by paying for a professional cover and making a third short print run. Because I do count the second list as having a cash value… particularly due to the skills I’ve learned, since I’ve used them to get jobs to support my self publishing aspirations.

I track the costs, and I consider the effort… and I define making money as first earning back my cash outlay, and then earning money toward the infrastructure costs. And I value all the additional things that self publishing a book has brought into my life.

 

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Should I Submit My Book To Traditional Publishers? Or Should I Self Publish My Book?

Filed Under: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, Blogs @ "Colonel C. J. Tippett" by Corinne — Comments Off on Should I Submit My Book To Traditional Publishers? Or Should I Self Publish My Book?
November 26, 2012
Col. C. J. Tippett draft cover for his memoir about his aviation pioneering life

This is a mockup of a draft cover for Col. C. J. Tippett’s memoir, embedded in my new book about him. Handsome grandfather! Well, he wasn’t my grandfather at that time… and the book is in advanced draft, entering the submission to publishers cycle – before I go ahead and self publish. Which will it be?

I’m holding a complete advanced draft of my book about my grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett, and his aviation pioneering adventures in my hand, and I’m asking myself:

Should I submit to publishers?  Or should I self publish?

And I am a self publisher, and one of my topics on this website is How To Self Publish A Book!

I’m not alone wondering. Many authors holding a finished, or near-finished, manuscript are wondering. And if they aren’t, then as they enter the traditional publishing submission cycle, they will be. Many authors, and publishers, and agents, believe that there is a mark of professionalism – a stamp of approval – a badge of belonging – a mantle of accomplishment…. to a traditional book deal and I agree. There is.  The only way for a self published author to earn a similar mark, stamp, badge, mantle is to sell enough books to either make a profit, attract a bigger publisher, or both.

But there is another very practical aspect that drives the question.

Self publishing is a lot of work, and financing a print run large enough to make a profitable deal with book distributors takes a lot of money. Traditional publishers take on that financial burden, but then the self publisher may be giving up more earning potential on each book sale. If there are enough book sales to make a profit.

And so the spinning dervish of the decision goes round and round and round.

Here is another perspective that I hope can help. The traditional book proposal process forces me to carefully review and prepare my book’s marketing potential. I have to do this anyway to successfully self publish my book.

I have to write a catching introduction, describe my book briefly yet thoroughly, summarize each chapter, choose sample chapters, write a pertinent personal bio that does not contain “I started writing at age 8″… (ruh roh, …) and package it all up with a marketing plan that includes a discussion of competitive titles.

So why not go through the book proposal process (doing it properly and carefully) and submit to agents and publishers that I really do think might be interested in my project?
I can’t think of any reason not to.

I take it further, and continue to submit my books even after I have self published – starting my letters with “My book has sold over 1500 copies at XXX locations. I have received YYY positive reviews, and XX emails and letters from readers who enjoyed the book…”  and no, I haven’t yet attracted a publisher or agent, but I have sold over 1500 copies of my book, Just A Couple Of Chickens, so far – and going strong.

I think, one day soon, traditional publishing and self publishing will both be processes authors use. I’m starting now, despite the gap that does currently exist between the two publishing camps. My advanced draft of my grandfather’s biography, which was working titled “CJT, A Biography” and is now working titled “When No-One Else Would Fly, The Life of Col. Cloyce Joseph Tippett, USAFR, Ret.” is now in the submission process (I’ve compiled a list of publishers who accept direct proposals from authors as well as genre-specific agents) and may be self published in 2013 (or 2012) depending on the results of both my submissions and my advance marketing work.

Stay tuned to find out how it goes!  You can also sign up here to get an email when the book is ready for purchase.

Actually, the funnest part of the whole process is researching the “competitive” titles that are similar to my aviation history biography of Col. C. J. Tippett. I don’t think of them as competition, I think of them as reading material!

 

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