Self-publishing guru Dan Poynter and sidekick Danny O. Snow remind independent publishers to be careful about sending out review copies in December. This is due to reports that some unethical “reviewers” may use them for holiday presents!

Self-publishing guru Dan Poynter and sidekick Danny O. Snow remind independent publishers to be careful about sending out review copies in December. This is due to reports that some unethical “reviewers” may use them for holiday presents!

Could be an urban legend, but one anecdotal report states that an independent publisher received a request for several review copies ending with “If possible, please gift-wrap each book individually.”

It is fine, however, to send galley proofs for possible review, and to send finished books to members of the working press.

Another holiday suggestion: At this time of year, books in production should use a 2005 copyright and publication date, rather than 2004. This avoids a situation where a book looks like “last year’s news” in early 2005 when it is actually fresh.

For more tips like these, visit ParaPublishing.com and U-Publish.com for free subscriptions to newsletters from Poynter and Snow that bring information of value to self-publishers by e-mail each month.

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“U-Publish.com” by Dan Poynter and Danny O. Snow Price: $14.99 U-Publish.com is a concise guide to self-publishing, using new technologies to lower costs and reach readers more directly. It is more than a book; a Web site of the same name with regular updates and a free monthly e-mail bulletin are integral features that make it a “living book” of lasting value to anyone who wants to publish independently. • Learn how any quality book with a clear audience can be successfully published by the author, at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. • Discover how to sell books in markets that are ten times more numerous than bookstores and libraries, easier to target, and more profitable. 33% - PRE-PUBLICATION DISCOUNT - use Discount Code - prepublication - Ship date 1/1/05 Reviews “U-Publish.com is absolutely necessary for anyone who is connected to the book or publishing industry, whether writer, publisher or wannabe.” – Jim Wortham, Marathon International Book Company Customer Reviews Dehanna Bailee from Scottsdale, AZ   An education in itself. In this digital age, there are many more options for publication available to authors and because of it many are choosing to go independent with their work. However, as great as this is, sadly they are not learning the business before they do and instead only struggle and fail because they weren’t prepared enough to succeed. This book can remedy that. A brief but to the point work, Dan and Danny help walk the novice publisher/author through many of the necessary steps as they instruct them on how to write, produce, and economically present a marketable work to the public-moreover they also go into some of the options and give suggestions on where and how to sell it. If an author truly wants to pursue this method of publication then it is imperative that they obtain the necessary tools and information to do it correctly-and adding this book to their library should be considered one of those necessities! Well done, gentlemen!

Dan Poynter, the Voice of Self-Publishing, has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing Nonfiction and The Self-Publishing Manual. Dan is a past vice-president of the Publishers Marketing Association. For more help on book publishing and promoting, see http://ParaPub.com. © 2003

Last 5 posts by Dan Poynter

• Writing Your Book is Just the Beginning - June 11th, 2004
• No one Faces Rejection More Often than an Author - July 19th, 2003
• Promoting Books @ The Speed of Thought - June 19th, 2003
• Distribution to the Booktrade - May 19th, 2003
• Co-operative Book Promotion - April 11th, 2003