12 Steps to becoming a better print buyer – I recently moderated a discussion at PMA University on this subject. Since printing is probably the largest single expense a small publisher faces I thought I would share it with you here today. Many of the steps below, I have written about in the past in one way or the other. Much of this is simple … [Read more...]

You don’t have to leap high buildings to get your book selling well, just follow these eleven tips. 1. Write a book that people need and want. People want how-to books; they want skills. Notice the demand today for eBooks. It's best to see the need and fill it rather than have an idea—then look for an audience. 2. Nonfiction books sell … [Read more...]

In the last four weeks, one of my clients sold over 10,000 books, without ever hassling with bookstores. Here’s how your book can generate this kind of quantity sales this quickly: Background It all started when Stuart Ballan attended my Publishing Game Workshop. According to a Harvard Business School report, 84% of books in large … [Read more...]

Not without Divine intervention, and even then it might be “iffy.” And of course, your book won’t sell itself. If the public is not aware of your book’s existence, it really does not exist. This means someone has to promote your book so it can be sold. That someone is you. To paraphrase Pogo, “I have met the publicist and it is … [Read more...]

I received a voice mail from a sales representative: 'The purpose of my call today is to introduce myself and take a moment to briefly describe for you two core-based technologies; laser Internet on-line office and an Internet broadcasting technology. I don't know whether or not if any of these applications may be of interest to you, I … [Read more...]

If a man [woman] can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his [her] neighbour, though he [she] build his [her] house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his [her] door. -Emerson, but also claimed by Elbert Hubbard Raising awareness of your book and making a beaten path to your door is … [Read more...]

In 1988 a first-time author, British mountaineer Joe Simpson, wrote of his disastrous climbing accident in the Peruvian Andes. His book, Touching the Void, got good reviews, but wasn’t too popular outside England. It sold modestly and then, like most books, began fading into obscurity. A decade later, another climbing book was penned by Jon … [Read more...]