Industry reports and publications have cited sluggish book sales over the past year showing a continuous decline month after month. Book retailers have been shutting their doors due to the lack of sufficient business. Publishing houses have tightened the reigns on their finances and as a result some have become more reluctant to offer deals in record numbers as they have in recent years.

As we move into the new year most of us are setting our goals for 2008. That is good, because firm objectives provide a target at which to aim, the standard against which you can gauge your relative success. And written goals provide a means for looking back to see how far you have come. If all these benefits of setting goals are true, how can goals be of no value? Goal setting is a tool, and like any other tool it is useless if used incorrectly.

What is a bulldozer book? It’s one designed to change minds. The author’s intent is to push his or her opinions or beliefs onto the reader. He hopes to influence people to change a habit, make new choices, adjust an aspect of their lives.

More people today than ever before are becoming authors. Unfortunately, most of them fail in their quest for success. According to a Jenkins Group survey, seventy percent of books published in this country do not make a profit. The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) backs this up. Their statistics show that in 2004, over seventy-six percent of all titles sold fewer than 100 copies. Why are so many authors failing?

A blurb is the book description you find on the back of a book or online to describe a book’s contents. Most run several paragraphs, but some publishers want them shorter or in a special format so be sure to check with your publisher’s guidelines before you begin work.

Many independent publishers think of the word plan as a document beginning with your mission statement followed by an analysis of your business and a description of your markets, competition, strategies and tactics. However, if your goal in planning is to create a list of straightforward actions, then there is an easier way to accomplish your objective.

Publishing is not for the faint of heart, the short-sighted or the introvert. It’s a commitment that demands courage, risk-taking, planning, energy, creativity and assertiveness. Note: I’m speaking here of true self-publishing—establishing your own publishing company.