22 Ways to Make Money as a Writer
When most people think of writers, they think of fiction writers struggling to produce great novels. With the exception of those very few writers who make bestseller lists, far more writers make a living in various sorts of business, technical, and nonfiction writing than in any other writing job....
22 Ways to Make Money as a Writer
Writing The Blockbuster Book Proposal: How To Sell Your Non-Fiction Book
You did it. You crafted the perfect query letter for your non-fiction book, and as a result, an editor at a large publishing house has requested a full book proposal. At this point, you have a 50/50 chance of seeing your work on a bookstore shelf. The difference maker will be a strong book proposal...
Writing The Blockbuster Book Proposal: How To Sell Your Non-Fiction Book
Your first step to a digital publishing empire
The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the...
Your first step to a digital publishing empire
The Questions People Ask About Writing Niche Non-Fiction
Here is a list of questions that people frequently ask me on the topic of writing for profit in the realms of niche non-fiction. Hopefully you will find the answers helpful but if you have any questions of your own please feel free to contact me. WHAT EXACTLY IS NICHE NON-FICTION? Simply put, it...
The Questions People Ask About Writing Niche Non-Fiction
Get Famous--Get Published
Your published articles document your position and your mastery in your field.
1. Why get your words and ideas published:
This is how you develop share of mind. This is how you create name recognition. This is how you generate credibility as an expert in your field. This is how you make...
Get Famous--Get Published
The Pro's And Con's Of Self-Publishing
The main challenge for today's writer is getting their book noticed by a publisher. There are several good writers in the field looking for book deals. I was one of those writers trying to get my book published and like so many others after receiving rejection letters, I decided to learn about the...
The Pro's And Con's Of Self-Publishing
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De-bunking Subsidy Publishing Horror Myths
by
M. LaVora Perry
Subsidy publishing companies are those that require an author to pay to produce her or his book. These companies are also known as co-publishers, or pejoratively, "the vanity press."
Some of these companies make unreasonable promises about how their services lead to books becoming instant, phenomenal best-sellers, or engage in other unscrupulous business practices. However, legitimate subsidy publishers do exist.
In this article, I'll explain the 6 factors that led me to choose the subsidy publishing company with which I partnered to publish my children's book, Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart.
First, let me say that whether one self-publishes solo or uses a subsidy publisher, the expense of paying to publish can be high. Publishing print-on-demand (POD) is a form of subsidy publishing that can greatly reduce this expense. However, this article will cover conventional subsidy publishing in which a certain number of books are printed in anticipation of orders being placed.
If you can afford it, and you do your homework and footwork, partnering with a subsidy publisher can have its advantages. In my case, the factors that influenced me to select the company I chose were:
1.) I pay a one-time, flat fee that includes free reprints for the duration of my two-year contract, and I will not pay for reprints if I renew my contract. My intention all along was to produce a top-selling book. I invest the book promotion hours and effort it takes to make this happen. As a result, my book was published in June of 2003 and I'm presently into my 3rd free printing; books are being sold both nationwide and internationally.
2.) My fee includes worldwide distribution through Baker & Taylor--which means something to those vendors to whom it means something.
3.) I don't have to pay for or personally handle warehousing and shipping, or pay additionally for these essentials--no matter how many times my book is reprinted.
4.) I own the copyright to my work--not the subsidy publisher.
5.) The company's finished products have a professional appearance in terms of paper and bookcover stock and print quality.
6.) I didn't want to wait until a traditional publisher picked up Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart; the story was unconventional enough that I believed I had to make substantial sales before traditional publishers realized there was a market for this type of book.
Now that Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart is in print, my co-publisher has provided me with a significant additional reason to be glad about my decision to use their services: As I continue to learn more about the publishing business and approach them to revisit certain terms of my contract, they have been flexible about doing so.
I would never tell anyone that they should stay away from every subsidy publisher, no more than I would dissuade someone from totally self-publishing, publishing POD or seeking a traditional publisher. Rather, because I realize that so much of what I've learned and achieved in relation to my book is the result of people sharing their expertise with me, my approach to disseminating information is to provide balanced assessments of what the reality of publishing is so that writers can make well-informed decisions about how they want to proceed with their work.
About the Author
In 1995 M. LaVora Perry became the first African-American staff greeting card writer in the world's largest publicly-owned greeting card company--American Greetings (AG). She is the author of the critically-acclaimed children's book, Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart. Sign up for her email free newsletter at www.fortunechildbooks.com. Email her at lavora@fortunechildbooks.com
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