Do you know the facts of life ... about the publishing world? They may shock you.
Why Bookstores Carry Few Self-Published Books
Did you realize that a bookstore can return its entire inventory to publishers for a cash refund? No other retail business operates on such favorable terms with its suppliers.
With this privilege, you might suspect that most bookstores would be willing to carry your self-published book. In fact, they cannot, for several reasons.
The Number of Books Available
According to Books in Print, there are more than 600,000 book titles currently available that have been published in the United States.
Each year, more books are added to this list. As many as
35,000 book titles are released by commercial publishers, and an additional 10,000 are privately published. Your book com petes with all of these for space on the shelves of bookstores
Space Available in Bookstores
According to an article in The New Yorker in 1980, the average number of titles stocked in a B. Dalton store is 25,000. The average number of books stocked in independent bookstores located in medium-sized cities is 10,000,
This space will not even hold the number of new titles released each year, much less a significant number of the books released in previous years.
Publicity Sells Books
In order to stay in business, the managers of bookstores must allot space on their shelves to those books that are most likely to "sell through”—to be in public demand.
Few author-publishers generate sufficient publicity to warrant space for their books in bookstores. When the larger publishers promote their books in magazines and newspapers, as well as on radio and television, such publicity demands that bookstores allot space for these books. There may be little space left over for self-published efforts, which will receive virtually no publicity.
Do You Want To Sell To Bookstores Anyway?
As this book fully explains in Chapter 41, self-publishers should not plan on distributing all their books through bookstores. There are more than 9,000 bookstores in the United States, fewer than half of which are part of large chains like Waldenbooks and B. Dalton. How would you invoice that many bookstores?
Literary Market Place estimates that there are more than
10,000 publishers. How could a bookstore manager be expected to keep track of orders to that many publishers? The expense would be prohibitive.
The bookstores that do accept your book will do so only on consignment. That does not mean that they will automatically send money to you when and if your books do sell. You must go back to each store that has your books, count those sold, prepare an invoice, send it, and then wait.
And wait. As a small press publisher, you will be among the last to be paid by bookstores. Ninety days is a common waiting period if you are fortunate. Six months is not uncommon. And many bookstores will not pay at all, especially if they are out-of-state.
Regardless of the wait, you can consider yourself fortunate to sell any books at all. This is because your books will probably be displayed with only the spine, not your carefully designed jacket, showing. With your limited ability to publicize books outside your own region, how will people even know that your book is available?
When you recover unsold books, you may be disappointed to learn that they are in too poor a condition to be resold. However discouraging, these are the facts you will be confronted with when you are ready to sell books.
You can also sell your book through wholesalers, but that has problems of its own, as discussed in Chapter 42.
Eighty Percent Of The Books Released By The Major Publishers Do Not Earn Back Their Advances
The most important reason why 80 percent of the books released by the major publishers do not earn back their advances is that few publishers, big or small, do an adequate job of promoting all the books they release. Many major publishers promote only those books for which they’ve paid substantial advances. The rest sink or swim according to the reviews they receive.
A major newspaper such as the Los Angeles Times reviews only 16 percent of the yearly output; Library Journal reviews only 17 percent. The rest of the books “sink." Many authorities in the industry think too many books are released each year. Some publishers may be listening, as the yearly output has declined from 40,000 to the 35,000 level in recent years. But the competition for reviews is still fierce. This is the market your book will enter.
Only Five Percent Of All Authors Make a Decent Living
In 1981, Publishers Weekly reported on a survey of 2,239 published book authors by a group of Columbia University social scientists that indicated only 5 percent of them were able to sustain themselves by writing over long periods of time.
Does that sound encouraging? These are authors of books printed by large publishers for the most part. Their meager returns are explained to a large degree by the difficulty that all books have in surviving the marketplace.
The only way to ensure that your manuscript is properly edited is to get it edited yourself. Chapters 9 and 10 explain how to accomplish this.
Concentration Within The Publishing Industry
Although there are more than 10,000 book publishers in the United States, the industry is highly concentrated. Not only does this factor make it more difficult to get published, it also makes competition keener among publishers.
The Los Angeles Times reported in 1982 that, according to the Association of American Publishers, the top eleven publishers of trade hardcover books accounted for approximately 70 percent of such sales.
The mass paperback publishers were even more highly concentrated. The top thirteen mass paperback publishers accounted for almost 95 percent of total mass paperback sales.
Even more serious is the power concentrated in the three major chains: B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, and Crown Books. While they account for only 17 percent of all retail book sales (in 1981), their sales amount to over 70 percent of all chain store sales. (BP Report, June 18, 1982, Los Angeles Times)
Their computerized cash registers can instantly reveal the status of individual book sales. Of course, this encourages the managers of these chains to concentrate their efforts on the best-selling books. If a book does not quickly begin “performing,” it may be pulled in favor of new candidates. With the promotion capital and media contacts of the largest publishers, their books tend to be favored.
Learn As Much As You Can About Publishing
To succeed against these seemingly insurmountable odds, you must be as well informed as possible. This book provides a wealth of information, but you need much more. This book suggests that any serious author-publisher read at least ten other books about the industry.
Two of these are The Blockbuster Complex (1981), by Thomas Whiteside, and The Writer’s Survival Manual (1982), written by Carol Meyer. Further suggestions are listed in appropriate chapters. In addition, there are a number of weekly publications that can keep you up to date with this rapidly changing business.
Publishers Weekly
Foremost of the book trade references is Publishers Weekly, or PW. It is fascinating and informative reading for anyone in the book business. Check the front for the Contents page, as its initial pages (sometimes over a hundred) are devoted to advertising.
An author interview usually appears just after the Contents page. Industry news is then discussed. A feature-length article normally includes information that will be helpful to you. A "rights and permission” page discusses six-figure advances, which should provide motivation. Once every month, a page is devoted to publishing on the West Coast.
The last half or third of the magazine is devoted to book reviews, which are generally friendly. Scan these to check the better books being released in your fields of interest. A favorable review for another title on the same subject in PW discouraged this author from preparing a book on skin care.
Book Review Sections of Newspapers
The largest newspaper in your region should have a weekly book review section. This source is particularly valuable in locating regional publisher and author societies, where you can meet other author-publishers, who, in turn, can refer you to reliable typesetters, graphic designers, printers, binderies, editors, and other professionals in the book business.
Who Is Responsible For Promoting Your Book?
Few authors of books published by major publishers are satisfied with the amount of promotion their books receive. They always blame their publishers when their books are not promoted.
Perhaps they should follow the example set by Sidney Sheldon. He said in a Los Angeles Times interview in 1982 that when his first book was released, “I paid all promotional costs myself. I paid for the book party at the 21 Club; and I paid for the book tour.*' Sheldon's formula for success is, "Always do more than you're paid to do.”
If you decide to publish your own book, you should realize that the responsibility for promoting it will fall entirely on you.
4
Establishing Your Company
-Post Office Box
-Stationery and Cards
-Bank Account
-Fictitious Name Statement
Graphic Design Fees
-Line Illustrations
-Line Screens
-Photographs (black and white)
-Photographs (color)
-Duotones
Typesetting Costs
-Text
-Headings
-Front and Back Matter
Book Manufacturing Costs
-Length of Book
-Page Size
-Type of Paper
-Illustrations
Binding Costs
-Softbound Cover-Printing
-Dust Jacket
-Binding Softbound Books
-Binding Hardbound Books
-Converting
Promotion Costs
-Advance Reading Copies
-Promotional Brochure
-Mail-Order Promotions
-Fulfillment Costs
This chapter provides a quick means of estimating the out-of-pocket expenses to publish your book. As you read the chapter, place estimates for your own book’s cost on the lines preceding the expanded chapter outline. By the time you finish the chapter, you will have a good idea of the total cost of your planned book.
The first step in producing your book is to form its publishing company. This is necessary for numerous reasons:
1. to obtain a post office box,
2. to open a company bank account,
3. to avoid sales taxes on materials purchased from suppliers,
4. to obtain credit from suppliers,
5. to obtain discounts from suppliers,
6. to obtain forms and cataloging numbers from the book industry,
7. to command more respect from all your suppliers, including printers, and
8. to convince reviewers to consider your book.
Obtaining a Post Office Box
The cost of a standard-size post office box is currently $20 a year, or $10 semi-annually. It is not necessary to rent the larger boxes, as the post office will give you a red “pick-up” slip whenever they receive an item too large for your box. You can also obtain a “box number” from private mail-drop services; however, the cost is considerably higher than for a box at your local post office.
Printing Stationery and Business Cards
While the streamlined methods suggested in this book can save you thousands of dollars, your company stationery and cards are areas where you should not cut corners. Your stationery must appear professional in order to convince reviewers, the media, and others that you are not just another amateur self-publisher.
Plan to spend at least $ 100 for stationery and business cards. This will pay for a thousand letterheads and envelopes, plus five hundred business cards—printed on quality, colored paper. For this price, you will also be able to have an attractive company logo.
Opening a Bank Account
Your initial expense will be the printing of your company checks. You should order the large, business-size checks, which come in a three-ring binder. The cost should be about $30. The stubs that come with these checks provide a record of business transactions for tax purposes.
24 How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Filing a Fictitious Name Statement
If you choose to use your own name for the title of your publishing company, you can skip this step. However, by using your own name, you will be signaling to potential reviewers that your book is self-published.
Upon choosing a fictitious name for your company, you must publish a legal notice of your choice. By selecting a small daily or weekly newspaper, you should be able to limit this expense to $25 or less. The smaller the circulation of a paper, the less its advertising will cost.
Your book should include ample illustrations and/or photographs, They are usually relatively inexpensive, depending on the book’s design and how much you can do yourself.
Black-and-White Line Illustrations
Line illustrations, which have no gray tones, can be drawn by yourself, clipped from a clip-art catalog, or prepared by a graphic designer.
Figure 4.1 was cut from a clip-art catalog that contained
hundreds of other readymade drawings. Clip-art catalogs can be obtained in stationery and art supply stores for $5 to $20 each. If you wish to use artwork for decorative purposes, this is an inexpensive way to illustrate your book.
Figure 4.2 was prepared by a professional graphic designer. Graphic designers can be hired on an hourly basis for amounts ranging from $25 to $50; graphic art students can often be hired for much less with satisfactory results. Figure 4.2 required approximately an hour to prepare.
Line Screens
If you wish to add gray tones to a black-and-white illustration, you must hire a graphic designer to create the artwork for your illustration. From this artwork, a printer will make a screen for each of the gray tones.
A light gray can be created by permitting only 10 to 20 percent of the printer’s ink to “flow through” the screen. To obtain a darker tone, a screen of 70 to 90 percent would be utilized.
The printer of your book may offer to prepare your artwork, but it is suggested that you hire your own graphic designer for this purpose. By supervising your own artwork, you can be more certain the final result will be to your satisfaction.
26 How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Photographs—Black-and-White
One of the least expensive methods of illustrating your book is to use black-and-white photographs. Most of the writers who attend the author’s publishing workshops guess that a single black-and-white photograph costs anywhere from $50 to $300 to reproduce in a book. In fact, it should cost no more than $5 to $10 to print such a photograph in a book, regardless of the number of books printed. This is the charge for making a halftone, which is explained in Chapter 25-If you can take your own photographs, you should consider this method of illustrating your book. As long as your photographs are not in color, you do not need a graphic designer.
Photographs—Color
The reproduction of a color photograph in a book requires four runs through most presses. A black-and-white photograph, by comparison, requires only one run. The added cost of printing a single color photograph can be as much as $250 to $350.
In addition to the increased printing cost, color separations must be prepared for each color photograph. It is wise to hire a graphic designer to assist in obtaining and judging the quality of color separations. While the color separations will cost from $75 to $150, a graphic designer may cost an additional $100.
Unless it is absolutely essential to the subject matter of your book, the expense of a color photograph can normally be justified only if it is to appear on the cover of your book.
Duotones
A duotone is a photograph that requires two runs through the press; after a black-and-white photograph is printed, a second, complementary color is added.
The effect of a duotone can be almost as attractive as a color photograph. To print a duotone should cost no more than $7 5 to $100 extra. There is no need to hire a graphic designer. Duotones receive further discussion in Chapter 14.
A reasonable typesetter will charge from $4 to $8 per type page, depending on the kind of material. Straight copy—no indented material, tables, headings, or the like—is the least expensive to typeset.
Word Processors and Computers
A number of authors are using word processors or mini-computers to compose their manuscripts. When these machines are compatible with typesetting equipment at a printer, the cost of typesetting your manuscript may be considerably less than if you submitted normally typed material. However, the cost of your word processor may negate much of these savings.
If you wish to consider this alternative, the best book on the subject is The Word Processing Book by Peter McWilliams. The softbound edition ($8.95) is available from:
Prelude Press Box 69773
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Another option, which many author-publishers have used, is to “typeset” the book yourself using an IBM Executive, which enables you to justify the right-hand margins and allows for proportional spacing of letters (this is fully described in Chapter 20).
Headings, or Display Type ,
Typesetting of chapter titles, running heads at the top of each page, and other miscellaneous material that is separate from
your text will be charged to you. Typesetting for a book with 15 chapter headings, running heads for 200 pages, and the captions for 20 illustrations would cost approximately $10 to $12 a page. Most of this can be done on an IBM Executive typewriter if you do your own typesetting.
Front and Back Matter
Your book's front matter (title page, copyright page, contents page, preface, etc.) and back matter (references, glossary, index, etc.) is usually typeset after the manuscript text is set. The fee for this material may vary from $50 to $100, depending on its length.
This author suggests an initial printing of a thousand books for most author-publishers. If the purpose of your book is mailorder sales, even less than a thousand may be wise in order to test your market first.
The cost of printing a thousand books will depend on several factors, including:
1. the page length of your book,
2. the size of its pages,
3. the type of paper it’s printed on,
4. the amount and kind of artwork,
5. the kind of cover and binding.
Page Length of Your Book
The table below lists the approximate figures for producing a thousand books of varying page lengths, including paper and printing. These figures areforabook with yh" X 8V4"specifi-cations.
Number Cost per
of Pages 1000 Books
|
48 |
$800 |
|
80 |
1,100 |
|
112 |
1,450 |
|
144 |
1,700 |
|
176 |
1,900 |
|
208 |
2,200 |
Each additional 16-page signature should cost approximately $75.
The above figures assume that you follow the advice contained later in this book, which includes:
1. pasting up your own galleys to boards,
2. pasting up the boards to signatures, and
3. proofing negatives instead of blue-lines.
You should be aware that industry prices increase every year and vary greatly nationwide.
Size of Your Book Page
If you select a standard book size, you will save money by minimizing wastage of paper. The following sizes are generally the most economical:
W2 X 8*/4 6Vb X 9'/4
9 X 12
The two largest page sizes may result in quotes that are 10 to 15 percent higher than the figures in the previous section.
Once you have selected a preferred size, check with your local printers to determine if it is suitable for their presses. Chapters 12, 15, and 31 provide additional details on this.
30 How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Type of Paper
Most books are printed on standard 50- to 60-pound paper. You may wish to have a thicker book. If this is the case, order a high-bulk paper, which should increase your total costs by no more than 10 percent.
If the fine reproduction of photographs is vital to your book, you may wish to order clay-coated paper. This will increase your paper (not printing) costs by 30 to 40 percent. The cost of paper usually amounts to about 40 percent of the printing costs for a book.
Printing of Illustrations
Line illustrations can be photographed, plated, and printed just like your text. If you wish varied tones in illustrations, use line screens. A printer normally will charge $5 to $10 to make a negative of a line screen.
Black-and-white photographs must be converted to halftones by the printer, for which the charge should also be $5 to $10 each.
If you insist on different colors within your book, it can easily double or triple the cost of printing. Each color requires a run through the press. See Chapters 15 and 25 for detailed information concerning the use of color.
In most instances, your initial edition should be softbound. There are two reasons for this. First, hardbinding costs five to six times more than softbinding. Second, there’s no need to bind in hardcover unless a library demand develops.
The Softbound Cover
The first step in binding a softbound book is to print its cover. A cover printed in one color should cost no more than $150 to $200 for a thousand copies. Each additional color will add approximately 50 percent to these figures.
By using a line screen, you can print different tones of the same color on your cover. While such a screen reduces printing costs by requiring only one run through a press, you may incur a graphic designer fee for preparation of artwork.
Printing the Dust Jacket
The cost of printing a dust jacket is the same as for printing a softbound cover. Chapters 28 and 30 explain how your softbound cover can also serve the function of a dust jacket. Review this information before deciding to pay for a dust jacket.
Binding Softbound Books
Once you’ve printed your cover, it is relatively inexpensive to bind it on your book. Most softbound books are simply perfect-bound (glued together), as telephone directories are. The cost of binding a thousand standard-size books should not exceed $350.
There are several other methods of softbinding books that are more expensive than perfect binding. However, if you are printing substantially fewer than a thousand books, these methods may actually be less costly. Chapters 29, 30, and 31 discuss this subject in more detail.
Binding Hardbound Books
The cost of hardbinding 1,000 copies of a Yh“ by BV4" book ranges from $1.50 to $1.75 each. If you wish to bind fewer than 1,000 copies, the price increases rapidly. For 200 books, you might be charged $4 to $6 per copy.
Converting Softbound to Hardbound
Libraries frequently purchase the less expensive softbound edition of a book, then convert its cover to hardbound. Such conversions seldom cost more than $4.00 per book. If you are unsure of the demand for your book in hardbinding, then wait. If this demand develops, then convert as the libraries do. Chapters 28 and 30 provide additional information about converting.
A book is a product. When it is first introduced, it requires publicity just as any other new product does. Potential buyers must be made aware that it exists and where it’s available.
While Part IV of this book outlines numerous free methods of promoting books, it is still necessary to budget adequate funds for this purpose. A minimum of $600 is suggested. This will cover the expense of distributing so-called advance reading copies, the printing of a promotional brochure, and the shared cost of a mailing.
Advance Reading Copies
At least a hundred advance reading copies of your book should be distributed to trade reviewers, regional media, and others who might contribute to the sale of your book. The printing of these copies (see Chapter 28), postage, and packaging will cost approximately $200.
A Promotional Brochure
Plan to spend at least $100 on a strong promotional brochure. If you are going to ask people to part with money for your book without first viewing it, your promotional brochure must be convincing and professional. Chapter 35 discusses this subject.
Mail-Order Promotions
Do not plan on placing advertisements in the media for your book in the beginning; it will be far too expensive for the returns received. You must thoroughly study recommended references in the mail-order field first, in addition to testing various messages.
If you can accurately pinpoint a target audience for your book, it is possible to sell books by direct mail. This also requires research and testing. Equally important, you must find other author-publishers to share the cost. If you plan carefully, you can send a mailing out to as many as two thousand recipients for as little as $300 (with two others sharing your total costs).
While a minimum of $600 is suggested to start promotion for your book, there is no maximum. The more you wisely spend, the more books you should sell.
These are the expenses incurred to fill orders for your book. The heaviest cost will be for postage, followed by packaging materials.
Book mailing rates have been increasing steadily during the last five years and can be expected to continue to do so. Currently, a book weighing less than one pound costs 69 cents to mail. Between one and two pounds, a book costs 94 cents.
A mailing package for a 5Vi" by 8Vi" book costs anywhere from 9 to 3 5 cents each, depending on the protection desired. These figures assume you are ordering your mailing packages in bulk (a hundred to five hundred).
There is also the expense of printing invoices and mailing labels. Invoices should be printed on NCR paper, which does not require carbons. Two thousand invoices should cost no more than $30 (see Chapter 17). A similar number of mailing labels should cost no more than $40.
Preparing )£>ur Manuscript for Publication
Have You Chosen a Marketable Subject?
No, your autobiography is not a marketable subject, unless you are a movie star, politician, or other type of celebrity. A book concerning your travels abroad is not a likely candidate either.
A marketable subject is one that is of interest to the general public, or at least appeals to a sizable speciality group, and that has not been adequately covered elsewhere. Remember the six magic words: “Find a need and fill it.”
How is your book unique? What makes it stand out from the crowd? What makes your book the best choice in its field? If you do not have acceptable answers to these questions at this rime, then perhaps you should consider another subject. An acquaintance decided to publish a short book explaining how to stop smoking. The competition in this field is immense— even hospitals sell programs to stop smoking. This book had almost no chance of survival. And it didn’t survive.
You’re up against considerable odds if you intend to self-publish a novel. Novels are difficult to promote, even for the big publishers. Before embarking on your publishing program, exhaust all other avenues of getting your novel published.
While significant numbers of nonfiction authors have their self-published books reprinted by major publishers, the author is aware of only two West Coast authors who have had their novels later reprinted by major publishers. One of them hawked his novels like an encyclopedia salesperson by knocking on doors and offering to autograph his book if it were purchased. This unique sales technique made the regional news, which is how he came to the attention of a publisher.
The other author had successfully published a number of nonfiction books, which helped bring attention to his novel. Both of these novels were well written, a distinction among novels published by anyone.
The limited possibilities of fiction for the first-time author even with a major publisher were discussed in the book review section of the Los Angeles Times on February 20, 1982:
Salesmen ... hate fiction. They want promotable books, the ones teaching people how to pan gold or slice hips or burp babies. Television hardly ever helps a novel. Talk shows want advice or experience; hosts don't want novelists unless the authors are as large as Michener, Mailer, or Clavell. . . names who are already words of mouth. Fiction is out of favor, partly because readers are perceived to be more hungry for raw data than rich drama, more interested in life style than literary style. Those are the facts of life.
If you are still enthusiastic after reading this section, then go ahead and self-publish your novel. But first, make sure it is well written.
The publishing of self-help books can be quite lucrative. This is the category of all but one of the author’s books and also describes most of the other successful self-published books.
A syndicated article by Dave Goldberg of the Associated Press entitled “Self-Help Books Really Do Work—Especially for Bank Accounts of Their Authors” revealed that the publishing of self-help books was estimated to be, as of 1981,
more than a $1 billion a year business. Two-thirds of 1980's 15 top hardcover bestsellers fell into the broad category of self-help, a ratio being maintained in 1981.
Self-help authors usually help themselves first . . . then they offer what worked for them to others. Self-help books are to get healthier, wealthier, and wiser; but there isn’t one self-help market, There are incredible numbers of markets.
This same article describes how Wayne Dyer self-published Your Erroneous Zones (4500 copies) and then traveled across the country hawking his book on TV shows. The book became a bestseller. He followed its success with several more (Pulling Your Own Strings and The Sky’s the Limit), which did not require self-publishing.
Before doing research to write your book, why not do some research concerning whether it should be written in the first place?
The largest book buyers in your city are libraries. Go to them. Ask their acquisition librarians which subject areas are most frequently requested by patrons. A children’s book writer learned that more “train” books are needed for children. Another librarian said that any book on the subject of health receives heavy usage.
Go to managers of bookstores. Ask them which types of books are the most popular. If the top-selling books are arranged in order on a shelf, look them over. Ask these managers if the subject area of your book would be of interest to their customers.
Do not ask these managers if they will take your book on consignment—this is the wrong question. Most local stores will take your book on consignment, but that doesn’t mean they think it’ll sell.
Also discuss your book idea with all the people you know who are well read. If a number of these readers compliment your idea, your book may well have possibilities. (Be careful, however, to ask some people who won't be afraid to tell you the truth as they see it; your family and closest friends may not be impartial advisers.)
The best indication is when these readers offer to help finance or market your book. Three early readers of the author’s first manuscript expressed interest in such partnerships. The eventual book went through nine printings within its first three years. Five were self-published, and four were reprint editions in the United States and Great Britain.
Wait a minute! Don’t spend another cent on your book idea until you have checked out its competition.
Before working any further on your project, review all books currently in print on the subject. If there already is a quality book available in the field, then strongly consider writing on another subject.
If your manuscript has been completed, then consider a different slant to your subject. Libraries are not going to purchase your book in significant numbers if they already have an adequate book on the subject. Bookstore buyers won’t be interested either. How many books on cat care does the public need? A new one seems to come out every few months, with good reviews.
First, go to the nearest library and review their latest edition of Subject Guide to Books in Print, These are several volumes published each year by the same people who print Publishers Weekly—R. R. Bowker Company. Bookstores often carry either this reference or another entitled Books in Print—Titles.
Look up your subject and make a list of every book title that appears relevant. You may have to photocopy an entire page. Then review each book on this list that is carried by your library.
To check the most recently issued books, review back issues of Publishers Weekly. Both the book advertisements and reviews in this publication may alert you to books that are similar to yours.
When you review these books, ask yourself these questions:
1. Do any of these books do a reasonable job of covering your subject?
2. Are these books directed at the same market as your book?
3. Why would book buyers prefer your book to what is already in print?
After reviewing all the books on your list that are offered by your library system, go to a large bookstore. If necessary, place orders for relevant books that you cannot locate in li-
braries or stores. These are good investments. If they discourage you from pursuing your current book idea, they may have saved you several thousand dollars. On the other hand, if they do not compete with your idea, they may serve as useful references during your research.
When the author decided to write a book on the subject of investment bonds, only two similar books were listed in Subject Guide to Books in Print. Neither book was available in local libraries or bookstores. So they were ordered through a bookstore. After reviewing them, the author decided to tackle the subject of investment bonds—his profession for fifteen years. The resulting self-published book was selected by Library Journal as one of the top five books published in 1980 within the field of securities. It was subsequently reprinted by Harcourt Brace and selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club, This would not have been possible if there had been a decent book on bonds in existence already.
In another case, the author strongly considered preparing a reference on the subject of humorous graffiti. Again, local libraries and bookstores had nothing. The Subject Guide to Books in Print listed only one book of note, Robert Reisner’s Graffiti; Two Thousand Years of Wall Writing.
The book was ordered. Upon receiving it, I quickly decided to cancel my own idea. Reisner, an experienced author (sixteen books), had put together a delightful, easy-to-read, 204-page book with ample photographs and graffiti. The failure of local libraries and bookstores to carry the book could only be ascribed to lack of interest.
Just after gasoline prices had doubled and car manufacturers were rapidly increasing their prices, the author considered writing a book to be entitled How to Buy a Good Used Car and Keep It Running. After I attended several classes on the subject and gathered a five-inch-thick notebook of research, two new books on the same subject appeared in Publishers Weekly with good reviews. Although a publisher was interested in purchasing the manuscript (unwritten at that time), I dropped the project because of the competition.
Gathering and Organizing Research
In order to write the best-selling book on your subject, you must do more thorough research than authors of other books in your field.
In the beginning, you should keep one goal in mind: to gather all available information on your subject. While you start in one direction, your search may lead you down a dozen or more paths.
Before beginning your research, obtain a three-ring notebook. Also purchase a few dozen manila dividers to place between the developing chapters of your book.
As you gather data, arrange it by subject matter in the notebook. When sufficient data is collected on one subject, it may justify a chapter. Place paperclips on the chapter dividers, to hold small notes and articles.
As you continue to organize your research by chapters, your book will slowly take form.
Start Writing Before Completing Your Research
Don’t try to do all your research first. Start writing ideas down as they occur, and place them in the three-ring notebook too.
Until your typesetting is pasted up to boards, you can continue to add the benefits of new research to your book. Major publishers seldom include material in their books that is less than twelve months old. As an author-pubus he r, you can include more recent, up-to-date material in your book.
Whenever you photocopy or remove material from a publication, make a footnote of its source. This should include:
1. title of book or article,
2. author,
3. publisher or publication, and
4. date and page numbers).
Your book must reference all important source material, either in the text, at the end of each chapter, or at the end of the book. This is a courtesy to your readers, and a must for your reviewers.
Whenever you come upon a particularly valuable research source, contact its author. Often, an author will furnish you with additional material or be able to answer important questions raised by earlier material.
If they are distinguished, you might ask them to write a foreword to your book. If their material is a valuable supplement to your own, you may wish to add it to the end of yout text, as an addendum.
Never quote or otherwise use another author’s work without giving due credit. What constitutes "fair use” of another author’s work varies in each case. You will find adequate books in your library concerning this subject. If you are in doubt, contact the author to request permission.
As a general rule, it is recommended that you not use quotes that constitute more than three-quarters of one of your own text pages.
A lengthy visit to your local library is the first step in gathering your research. Do not simply look up your subject in the card-index file for books. There are many other sources at the library, worth checking out.
Periodical Guides
Books on your subject in a library may be ten to thirty years old—badly outdated. For this reason, begin your research in the magazine and journal section. This is where the most recent information will be. These articles should reveal the latest technology or thought on your subject, in addition to indicating future trends. Few books will be as up to date.
In professional journals, one good article may lead you to several others. Look for references at the end of these articles.
You may find that two or three periodicals carry most of the articles on your subject. Be sure to review the Table of Contents of their latest issues. Most periodical guides are two to three months behind current issues.
46 How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Newspapers
Of course, you’re reading a major newspaper on a daily basis, aren’t you? Your newspaper not only originates material, it also purchases stories off the major news services. This information is more up to date than periodicals.
A few libraries clip and file articles on certain subjects. Ask your reference librarian if material on your subject is available.
Your Reference Librarian
A reference librarian at a large library can be a rich source of information. Carefully explain what your subject area is and exhaust this source before going to specialty libraries.
The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted funds to many of the nation’s library systems to gather historical data on computers. If your local library system has participated in one of these surveys, ask your reference librarian for help in checking these sources.
Specialty Libraries
There are specialty libraries in every state, usually at universities. Your reference librarian can refer you to these also.
There is virtually no limit to the sources of research that you can tap. This section mentions but a few.
Bookstores
Visit the largest bookstores in your vicinity frequently. The most recent books in your subject area will appear here before their availability is listed in book references.
Friends and Associates
Put the word out among your acquaintances that you’re gathering material for a book. You'll be surprised how many people begin supplying information to you.
Private Corporations
Get in touch with private corporations (profit or non-profit) that provide services or products related to your subject. Use your company stationery when making such contacts. The corporations will be anxious to provide you with information, as it promotes their own products or services.
Later, you may be able to sell your book to these companies.
Government Agencies
Your reference librarian may be able to furnish the addresses of numerous government agency sources of research data. Writing to your congressman or senator is usually more effective than contacting the government agency directly.
At a writer’s workshop in Southern California a few years ago, the moderator asked a panel of well-known authors this question: "What does it take to write a bestseller?”
7
After little discussion, their consensus was that a writer must
be in a fury.
If you write with passion, your words are intensified. Your message has force. Your readers can better sense your spirit and sincerity. If you cannot write with passion, perhaps you have selected the wrong subject. Or you are not ready to write.
The author’s first book was on the subject of hemorrhoids, a matter of little concern to non-sufferers. However, it was surprising how many persons without the problem read the book. Even more unusual, they often said how much they enjoyed it.
Although this book has some humor, it’s essentially a serious treatment of the subject. It was also written in a fury.
The author suffered from the affliction, and was misled by physicians for years. Various physicians had said that there was nothing to alleviate the condition or keep it from worsening, all the while encouraging the author to submit to the dreaded surgical solution. When research for the book began, the truth was learned that not only was this drastic solution unnecessary, due to a painless therapy that had been available for years, but diet and exercise could also directly affect the condition. The author was incensed. The book reflects this intensity. While much of the fury required toning down, it was carried throughout the book.
Can Orthodontics Be Written About Enthusiastically?
In the case of the author’s second book, on orthodontics, poor advice from several dentists and questionable procedure by an oral surgeon caused one of my daughter’s front teeth to emerge twisted. Upon investigadon of the subject in a dental library, it was discovered that half of all tooth disharmonies in children can be prevented. If this information had been available earlier, it would have saved me thousands of dollars and permitted my daughter to avoid several discomforting years of braces. My eagerness to tell other parents how to avoid these and other orthodontic problems is apparent throughout the book.
Avoiding Speculations
A third book, on the subject of investment bonds, was also written in a fury. Almost every month during my fifteen-year career as a stockbroker, a retired person who had been “taken to the cleaners” by another brokerage would walk into my office. How to avoid unscrupulous brokerages, plus alerting investors to the dangers of speculating in unproven areas, was to be a constant theme of the book. Library Journal’s review in July 1980 noted:
Holt combines a healthy skepticism about security industry representatives with an exceptionally helpful primer lucidly explaining the bond market.
By writing with fury, enthusiasm, intensity, vigor, passion (whatever you wish to call it), your text becomes more readable. Especially to reviewers, who may or may not be interested in the book to which they have been assigned.
Don't Pull Your Punches
Don’t pull any punches when writing your first draft. Be direct. Let the chips fall where they may. Say it exactly the way you’d say it to family or friends in your living room. Don’t worry about offending anyone.
Also be firm in your convictions. Recently, the book review editor of the Los A ngeles Times noted with some aggravation how many authors overuse the words may, could, possibly, maybe, and so on. His point was that these authors did not appear to have the courage of their convictions. Don’t make the same mistake yourself.
In addition to writing your book with enthusiasm, humor should be injected when appropriate.
Examples of how to entertain your reader can take many forms. Jerry Steiner closes the introduction to Home For Sale By Owner with the following:
I hope you find this book informative, interesting, and enjoyable. This could have been a dry subject except that I watered it down, But if perchance you fall asleep before the end of this book, I won't take offense. I'll just assume you finished reading before I was able to finish writing.
Gregory Hill, author of How to Sell Your Car for More Than It's Worth, included this experience:
I once had a prospective buyer who would smell the transmission dipstick of every car that I showed him. When he finally decided on a particular car, he asked me to take a look at his trade-in. He watched me as I opened the hood on his car, so I thought I’d humor him by smelling his car’s transmission dipstick. His eyes were studying my moves so intently that I thought I’d go another step further and taste the fluid. I then nodded my head and shut the hood. A few minutes later, the young man and I were in my office discussing monthly payments. "Do you want to buy the car?’’ I asked.
“Let me look at it one more time,” he replied.
My office overlooked the lot, and I remained seated as 1 watched my prospect begin to re-examine the car he was considering purchasing. He didn’t realize that I could see him frantically removing the car’s transmission dipstick and tasting its fluid. I don’t know how many swipes he made at the dipstick with his tongue, but the edges of his mouth and the spaces between his teeth were bright red with fluid when he returned to the office. “By the way," I said to him as he seated himself, “I tasted the fluid in that car myself when it came in a few days ago, and it's fine.” “Yeah," he replied, “I just now double-checked it and it seems
O.K. to me, too."
Popular speakers use humor effectively in their deliveries. Do the same with your delivery.
If you commit several of the following blunders in your book, you are well advised to not risk your money publishing it. Carelessness with language makes your readers suspect that you are also careless with thoughts and facts.
Do Not:
1. Preach religion in a non-religious book, or politics in a non-political book.
2. Overuse the pronoun I in a nonfiction book.
3. Use the words very or hopefully. A novelist wrote Dear Abby the following note:
52 How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Dear Abby:
I agree, the word “hopefully’' is woefully over-used— and incorrectly at that. It would be much simpler if “I hope" were used instead because that is what is meant. Another word that is over-used is “very.” I once knew an editor who told his reporters that he would fire any reporter who used the word “very”—they should substitute the word “damned” instead! But since it was a family newspaper, he blue-penciled all the “damneds” before the stories went to the composing room.
Novelist
4. Use “weak” words, such as really, thing, glad, happy, and so on.
5. Use “The” to begin most of your sentences.
6. Overuse adjectives and adverbs. If you’re selecting strong nouns and verbs, there’s little need for adjectives or adverbs.
7. Mix singular nouns with plural verbs, or vice versa.
8. Mix your metaphors, as in: “The smell of war returns to Washington, and this time I am listening carefully.”
9. Use non sequiturs, such as: “Bom in Argentina, he was an ardent golfer.”
10. Use jargon, such as: verbalized, ongoing, energy-wise, bot-tom-Une, finalize, hereinafter, institutionalize.
11. Use vogue words, such as: parameter, apropos, viable, interface, dialogue (as a verb), thrust (as a noun).
12. Be redundant, as in: careful caution, planning ahead, final outcome, important essentials, future plans, end results, serious crisis.
13. Use sexist pronouns, such as his or man when referring to both sexes. Instead, change the subject of your sentence to the plur&l form and use their or persons.
It is disheartening to read careless writing submitted by a verbally articulate person. Many of them believe they can skip the second step in the writing process—the rewriting of the first draft.
The novelist Laura Kalpakian expressed the importance of this requirement in the Los Angeles Times on April 19, 1981:
Novelists must teach themselves their craft any way they can, whether in creative writing programs or after a long day at the doughnut shop. They need only be equipped with enormous egotism and a useful dollop of humility. Egotism is necessary if the writer is to confront a naked page, convinced someone will read the words applied there—more, that someone will pay to read the words applied. Humility allows—requires—the writer to tear that same page apart, alter, restructure, trash, snip, paste, graft, knead, and pummel all that deathless prose until each sentence performs dual duty. Each sentence must convey intent and pull story—and reader—forward.
After your text is completed, ask a few friends or family members to review the work. Tell them to note with a pencil the following items:
1. areas they cannot understand,
2. where they disagree with the text,
3. where they’re bored, and
4. all grammatical errors.
Actually, it is best to give your editor-friends a copy of the above list. The more specific you are, the more specific their comments will be.
When friends or family return their comments to you, your first and only reaction is to thank them for their criticism. Do
not argue with them. Resist the temptation to justify your text. Simply receive their suggestions, and be thankful.
You’re going to need these people later. They will be your copy editors and editors. You cannot afford to offend them.
If they cannot understand or agree with what you've written, it’s your problem, not theirs. When more than one person says that a portion of your manuscript is in need of more attention, without a doubt it must be rewritten.
If you’ve bored them, add or substitute examples, anecdotes, quotations, humor, or illustrations to enliven your text.
Make a note of those persons who offer the most constructive criticism. A good speller is invaluable in cleaning up your manuscript. Individuals who are both well read and well educated may become your editors.
Chapters 9 and 10 describe in detail how to have your manuscript copyedited and edited.
A successful teacher instructs in three steps: explaining what will be taught; teaching the subject; and then reviewing what has been taught.
Design your text the same way. Use outlines at the beginning of chapters, section headings, and sub-section headings to tell your readers precisely where they’re going.
Whether your book is a "teaching tool” or strictly for entertainment, maintain your reader’s alertness by breaking up straight text wherever possible. As you write, insert examples, illustrations, lists, and other artwork. This artwork should be incorporated into your text at the time it is written, not as an afterthought.
There are several ways to decorate chapter title pages. Illustrations suggesting the theme of a chapter can be used. Some authors use quotes by well-known persons, or epigraphs, like the ones by Mark Twain and John Steinbeck at the opening of this book.
It’s common to set the chapter number of a chapter title page in italics, then the title of the chapter is set in a bolder typeface. Solid bars to set off the chapter headings can be purchased in roll form at most stationery stores.
Make your chapter titles easy to read. Occasionally, a book designer with a major publisher will select a typeface that is virtually illegible. Don’t make this mistake yourself.
A section heading, or subhead, is the short phrase that introduces this section. It is also a valuable aid in providing transition to your text.
Several reviews of the author’s book on orthodontics specifically praised the use of section and sub-section headings:
The text shows the result of assiduous research, but the format— short paragraphs, subheadings—makes the material easily accessible to the lay reader. {Publisher's Weekly, April 25, 1980)
Information in abundance on dentistry-and-orthodontics—simple and clear, section-by-section. . , . (Ktrkus Reviews, May 1, 1980)
Section headings should be placed so they do not interfere with sub-section headings or running heads (both discussed in following sections). To distinguish section headings from other text and headings, either capitalize them or set them in bolder type. Italics are not suggested, as these are usually reserved for running heads.
An asterisk or other decorative device should be placed at the end of sections. They serve three purposes:
1. to serve clear notice that sections have ended, particularly when a new section begins at the top of the next page;
2. to distinguish new section headings from titles of diagrams or chans that immediately precede a section heading;
3. to provide space for later adjustments in the cast-off, or estimated page count, of a book. Space before and after an asterisk can be used to tighten or expand a chapter.
School textbooks often use section and sub-section headings to improve reader comprehension—a goal of any book designer. Not only do these headings make your book more readable, they also add emphasis. On a 200-page manuscript, the cost of typesetting these headings would amount to approximately $50 extra—a small price to pay for better reviews.
Sub-section headings can be typeset with a symbol preceding them, to key the reader visually. Again, italics are not suggested. Not only may they conflict with running heads, they can also conflict with italics appearing within the beginning of a sentence.
Use italics to emphasize important points within your text. They also help relieve the monotony of straight text. Italics are useful in breaking down information within a sub-section, when a list is not appropriate. When preparing your manuscript for the typesetter, underline words that should be italicized.
Front and Back Matter