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Print strategies Print-on-demand Publishing Publishing & Entrepreneurs Publishing best practices Publishing for businesses Publishing Success Stories self-publishing

Self-Publishing Success Stories: 7 Secrets Guys Will Never Tell You

One of the great things about my job is that I get to work with decision-makers and experts in a variety of fields, people who make a positive difference in the lives of others or who are on their way to becoming influential. Jackie Brewton is one of those accomplished people—she is the go-to person for people and institutions who need a motivational speaker and teen relationship expert.

If you’re a teen or a parent of teens like me, her book, 7 Secrets Guys Will Never Tell You: A Teen Girl’s Guide on Love, Sex, and Relationships has obvious value.

Book display
Copies of 7 Secrets Guys Will Never Tell You at the book launch.

When I got the call from Jackie, she had already worked with a designer on the cover, but the production values were lacking. This seems to be happening to a lot of authors. In the last two years, I have seen an increase in calls from people who have hired designers who, it turns out, could not complete the project in a satisfactory way or who have simply gone missing before the job was finished.

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Book Marketing Content Marketing ebooks Publishing for businesses Viral Marketing

Market Yourself with eBooks: Volume 2 (Free ebook)

Market Yourself with eBooks: Volume 2

Volume 2 in our new free ebook series Market Yourself with eBooks is now available.

Like volume 1, you can get it for free now and you don’t have to give your email address or fill in an opt-in form. Just click and download. Share the link with whoever you think will be interested.

Volume 1 explains the concept of publishing as a form of content marketing. Volume 2 shares six features of great ebook for marketing purposes. This information is useful to anyone developing a content marketing campaign, especially for business professionals who can benefit from an ebook strategy.

Content marketing, ebook marketing strategy, content development, ebook design
Volume 2: Six Features of great eBook for Marketing Purposes

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY: Volume 2, Market Yourself with eBooks: Six Features of Great eBooks for Marketing Purposes

If you like it, let us know. If you would like an ebook for your business, give me (Michael) a call at 425-771-2905.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog and follow me on Twitter to get more publishing and content marketing tips.

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Book Marketing Independent Publishing Publishing best practices Publishing Success Stories self-publishing

Book project, Living Large in Small Spaces: The Cottages of Lake Worth

I love self-publishing success stories. Sometimes success comes just by chance and sometimes by thoughtful decisions and a commitment to quality. The book, Living Large in Small Spaces: The Cottages of Lake Worth is the latter case.

Cottages, Lake Worth, small homes, self-publishing, independent publishing, book design
Living Large in Small Spaces: The Cottages of Lake Worth. Front cover jacket. Under the jacket is an adhesive case with the same cover design and image.

I knew from the start I was working with smart people who had a brilliant idea and a lot of great content. Too often self-publishing authors are thinking “sell globally” on the Internet when, in fact, success is much easier when you start with “sell locally.” If you’re selling a coffee table book that is $32.95, like The Cottages of Lake Worth, direct sales for even a small print run of 3500 books, adds up to $115,325.

As Alex Shephard recently wrote in the New Republic, what sells books is discoverability. “Guiding audiences to a book is the key to successful bookselling. Word-of-mouth buzz can turn a book like The Girl On The Train into a cash cow, as can reviews and other media coverage…” Obviously, Word-of-mouth buzz is much easier to start locally than nationally or globally. That’s good to know, because it can steer many aspects of a book project.

The group behind The Cottages of Lake Worth book project were themselves cottage owners and an award-winning photographer, which is why there are so many excellent photos in the book. The book brings together popular topics that are of interest to audiences everywhere—inspiring cottage photography, garden design ideas, and solutions for living in small spaces. But getting almost instant success comes from having many local advocates, beneficiaries, and stakeholders such as the cottage owners featured in the book, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, and various supportive individuals and local businesses. There are also many local venues and opportunities for selling the book. So, not surprisingly, I received this email shortly after the book was published:

Hi, Michael—“Can you believe it, we are going for our second printing of our book? On Monday, the board gave a collective thumbs up for more books. . . . We are down to fewer than 150! Thank you again for making our book so, so successful!”

Cottages, Lake Worth, small homes, self-publishing, independent publishing, page design, book design
Chapter openers feature a custom sun and wave design.

Yes, I could definitely believe it. Their success had nothing to do with Amazon or national bookstores—which they didn’t use to sell the first print run. In fact, it was mostly word-of-mouth marketing and commitment to creating a quality product.

A big part of the book’s success comes from the creators’ decision to go beyond self-publishing. That started with creating their own publisher identity to become an independent publisher. They carried this through, following publisher best practices with the editing, design, branding, printing, and marketing strategy. They were receptive to professional guidance and made decisions guided by marketing ideas that you would expect from an acquisitions editor at an experienced publishing house. The result is a book that anyone would find interesting and enjoyable to look through. Not only does it not look “self-published,” it is easily competitive with the best books in its category.

“. . . it was wonderful that we chose to work with you after receiving a recommendation from mutual friends.  Our book has been a huge success and you are a great part of that success . . . People love it and smile when they look at it.  You were always available to talk to us and guide us through some important decisions . . . AND the book is beautiful, thanks to your design! We could not have asked for more . . . By the way, we are selling so fast that we are depleting our supply of hardbacks . . . We should have listened to you when you wanted us to print more! The Best to You.” —The Cottages of Lake Worth Book Committee

“Well, it seems we ALL did a great job on our book. The public loves it, and they are selling fast.” —Janice Snearer

Cottages, Lake Worth, small homes, self-publishing, independent publishing, book endpapers, spot varnish printing, book design
Flaps with spot vanish and custom endpapers.

Here’s a video that shows the spot varnish effect:

Cottages, Lake Worth, small homes, self-publishing, independent publishing, book design
Page spread design showing photo, caption, and lizard decorative element.
Publisher logo design, Cottages, Lake Worth, small homes, self-publishing, independent publishing, book design
Publisher logo design created for the Cottager Press

The photographer who created the photos in the book was kind enough to send me this nice endorsement:

“Michael Rohani . . . guided us through the production of the book . . . Without him, we are certain, that our book would not be the successful tribute to Lake Worth and its cottages. His sage advice saved us money and helped us make good decisions to ensure that we produced the most beautiful coffee table book our region has ever seen. In four months, we have sold 80% of our print run. I wish Michael could hear the wonderful comments from those viewing the book. He would hear praiseful words such as “wonderful,” “professional,” “gorgeous” and “spectacular.” We always say, “Well, the best decision we made was hiring Michael.” We appreciated his warm, patient and personal approach through the laborious process of getting our book to print. . . . He completed his tasks quickly and expertly, and our pages reflected his immense talents. We can’t recommend Michael Rohani more highly.”
—Taylor Jones, Photographer for Living Large in Small Spaces: The Cottages of Lake Worth

Be sure to subscribe to my blog to get self-publishing tips and hear more publishing success stories.

POSTSCRIPT

Fantastic news! The Next Generation Indie Book Awards has just named The Cottages of Lake Worth book a finalist under the Coffee Table Book/Photography category! I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to design this book and work with talented photographer, Taylor Jones, and the team who made this project happen.https://indiebookawards.com/fpreview658349862

Cottages Book Honored
Categories
Content Marketing ebook marketing Publishing for businesses Viral Marketing

Market Yourself with eBooks (Free eBook)

Market Yourself with eBooks

Take a look at our new free ebook series Market Yourself with eBooks. Get it for free—you don’t have to give your email address or fill in an opt-in form. Just click and download. Share the link with whoever you think will be interested.

Volume 1 explains the concept of publishing as a form of content marketing. This is useful especially for business professionals who want increased credibility and speaking engagements. It includes ten ideas for how to market yourself or your business with ebooks.

CLICK HERE TO GET IT: Volume 1, Market Yourself with Ebooks: An Introduction for Businesses, Entrepreneurs, and Authors

Content marketing, ebook marketing, business promotion

If you like it, let us know. If you would like an ebook for your business, give me (Michael) a call at 425-771-2905.

Want more? Check out Volume 2, Market Yourself with eBooks: Five Features of Great eBooks for Marketing Purposes.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog and follow us on Twitter.

Categories
Publishing Publishing & Entrepreneurs Publishing for businesses

Benefits of Publishing for Businesses and Entrepreneurs

When you think about profits from publishing, don’t just think about book sales if you’re a business owner or entrepreneur. The profits from the book sales are often just one aspect of a book’s value. In fact, some businesses and entrepreneurs can profit from publishing even if they give away their books. Books are, for example, a good way to increase speaker engagements and that means more opportunities to build your brand and promote your products and services.

Here are a few benefits of publishing:

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Author bio Back Cover Texts Publishing

How to Write the Best Author Bio

To help promote your book, you need an author bio. The purpose of an author bio is to persuade readers to buy your book. Or put another way, an effective author bio is one that has a positive influence on the purchase decision.

Focus on the Purpose of Your Author Bio

This same sales principle that applies to the book cover, the design of your book, retail features on the cover (price, shelving category, barcode, publisher identity), and all the other back cover texts (book description, endorsements), applies to your author bio. All the design work, texts, and retail elements serve one primary purpose which is to generate book sales.

To achieve this goal an author bio must convince your audience that you are authoritative—meaning that you have the experience, talent, qualifications, or credentials to write about whatever topic you have chosen.

Another important purpose of an author bio is to convince book industry professionals and event planners that you are capable and available to market your book by giving book readings, participating at book signings, speaking to audiences, doing workshops or seminars, etc.

Start with an Outline

Compile a list of your achievements, experiences, and credentials. Consider mentioning

  • past publications (articles or books), including blogging experience;
  • relevant experiences and accomplishments;
  • any awards won;
  • workshop and speaker experiences;
  • membership in relevant organizations; and
  • any important professional or volunteer work you’ve done.

If you have given workshops in different cities or countries, list them. If you have relationships with people who are important to your story, mention them. If there are notable cases or projects you have worked on or completed, mention them.

Include certification credentials next to your name if they are relevant and especially doctorate level degrees (MD, PhD, EdD, etc.). If, for example, you are writing about health or nutrition include any appropriate credentials (CNS, CCN, RD, CNC, CN, MD, ND, etc.).

Remember that once you publish it, it will always be out there and you can’t make it disappear—so be truthful and consider how the author bio might be understood in the future. Your author bio is a critical pillar in your personal brand.

Identify and prioritize those features of your author bio that are most likely to persuade readers to buy the book and believe in your abilities. Put the most important details at the start of your author bio. Eliminate details that are unrelated to your qualifications to write about your chosen topic. Avoid, for example, any information about hobbies, travels, interests, household pets, etc., that are unrelated to the book.

If humor is important to your book, a humorous author bio may help persuade readers that you can and will deliver humor in your book.

If the primary purpose of your book is to generate speaking engagements, then shift the focus of your author bio more in that direction by stressing your credentials and experience as a public speaker.

Formulate a Mission Statement

Whether you have a long list of credentials or none at all, formulate a mission statement. A mission statement is a short summary of your aims and values.

Use the mission statement as a lens through which to view all the statements and claims in your author bio. This will help your keyword and phrase choices and the overall focus and unity of your author bio.

Let’s assume you have written your first sci-fi book and there is nothing in your job history or experiences that relate to your new literary aspirations. In this situation, your author bio can consist of a type of mission statement that allows readers to understand your aims and values. Of course, you only want to mention those aims and values that help attract readers to the actual genre and story you are publishing.

Keep it Short

Two to three short paragraphs are sufficient. A good bio does not need to be long. 400 words or less is fine. Once you have completed the author bio, create several edited versions, one that is about three sentences long, and one that is only one sentence. You will need the different lengths for different purposes.

Ways to Use Your Author Bio

You’ll usually need a very short version for the back cover of paperback editions. This back cover bio can be as short as one to three sentences that focus on your credentials.

I’m often asked by authors: “Should I include an ‘About the Author’ page at the end of the book if I already have an author bio on the back cover?” The answer is yes. The back cover bio is usually very short because of limited space. Reader endorsements are more valuable than the author bio. If you have two or three reader endorsements and a short book description, too little space remains for a long author bio. Put a short author bio on the back cover and a longer one at the end of the book. If the back cover bio only includes the most relevant credentials or experiences, then the longer “About the Author” page can mention other accomplishments such as notable speaking engagements you have given or workshops you give.

Use the longer, more complete, author bio for your “About the Author” page, website, and for your press kit. Put a press kit on your website so people can download and print it, or share it as a PDF.

Do You Need to Include an Author Photo?

If you are attractive or have an author photo that reinforces your credentials, you should include it. If you are, for example, writing about mountain climbing and you have a photo of yourself on a mountain in appropriate gear, use it. If you are a business professional, dress in appropriate business attire. Try to use a photo that fits your author credentials.

If you use a professional photography studio to get your photo taken, be sure to let them know that you plan to use the photo for “commercial” purposes. Most photography studios have separate fees for personal and commercial use. You’ll need commercial use.

Be sure to read my blog Tips For Writing The Best Back Cover Copy