The largest LCD TV in the new range is Sharp Aquos LC-52X20E LCD TVs that include 42-inch and 46-inch variants, and it’s an impressively attractive beast replete with a host of advanced features.
Not least of these is the TV’s black screen and matching piano black lacquered finish to the slim line and modern design. The matching metal stand comes in the box and bolts quickly and easily into place on the base or you can wall mount the TV; all the ports on the reverse are recessed with manual controls (as opposed to the remote’s controls, more on which later) are also discreetly tidied away on the right edge of the set (from the front).
The set is quick and easy to set up with auto tuning for the digital TV side of things and, despite the size, the 33.5kg weight (with stand attached) is actually quite manageable – had it not been for the sheer size of the screen. Talking of which you get 6,220,800 pixels from its 1920x1080-pixel resolution making this a Full HD 1080p TV so it provides the best output from your Blu ray or HD DVD of HD TV sources.
The fact that this and the other TVs in the range feature that all important native 1080p “Full HD” r
eady screens means any HD signal is presented as broadcast (there’s no down sampling as with lower resolution screens) and means the picture quality is stunning and razor sharp.
The set’s gorgeous “Pure Black Panel” means it can successfully deal with a perceived problem of LCD TVs when compared to plasma sets; they can’t produce a true black, well, not so here and when you add a boosted Dynamic Contrast Enhancement ratio of 10000:1, pictures lack nothing in terms of punch. An LCD refresh of 4-milliseconds (in the TV’s action mode) means there’s no judder or blur problems during fast action from HD sources. However, I did notice some odd flickering on high contrast scenes when upscalling from DVDs (played on my PS3) or when using the internal or an external DVB digital tuner.
When it occurred, grey or white vertical parts of small areas of the picture would flicker and pixels would “crawl” for a few seconds presumably until the TV’s processing had caught up with itself and properly adjust the errant pixels.
When playing HD sources there are no problems however, and using the Blu ray version of the latest Spiderman movie (Spiderman 3) connected through one of the three dedicated HDMI ports, it left me in no doubt what this TV is capable of when it behaved.
The stand out scene within that film that and that really pushes the TV is where the character Sandman first reforms after being zapped at a physics research lab. Each grain of sand that represents the character slowly reforms into a man with each crawling creeping grain clearly defined on the screen. Subtleties of shade, colour and highlight are all there and it’s a scene that really shows off the dynamic contrast and sheer level of detail to best effect.
To help optimise the picture presented you get pre-optimised AV modes for Dynamic, Dynamic (Fixed), Standard, Game (contrast, brightness and the Action mode are automatically set to help get the most from any game played on the set), Movie and there’s a User mode that allows you to tailor the set’s settings to whatever you wish. Those automated features notwithstanding, each of the system’s presets can be further tweaked in menus with powerful advanced settings available to further enhance or change the way the screen behaves.
The menu’s run across the top of the panel and scrolling via the supplied IR remote control is straightforward and quickly allows you make adjustments and see what effect the adjustment has on the image still displayed on screen.
A neat Power Control system allows you to customize the LCD TVs power consumption performance and an Optical Picture Control (OPC) uses a small light sensor on the front of the TV to monitor ambient lighting. When activated, it adjusts the TV’s brightness and contrast to suit the ambient light, the brighter the ambient conditions, the brighter the TV becomes and vis versa.
As OPC adjusts, small green leaf icons appear on the screen, the more little bunches of leaves that appear the less power is being used and the dimmer the screen, but because it simply keeps pace with the surrounding ambient light, you don’t really notice as it slowly adjusts – apart from the little green leaf icons changing of course.
Colour balance is excellent and can be adjusted via a set of predefined colour temperature settings. “Normal” and digital broadcast pictures are very good too thanks to excellent noise processing while finely controlled sharpening means you can tune your picture quality to get stunning results from any source.
But what if like me, you have other kit to connect to the set? Well you’ll be pleased to read apart from three HDMI sockets other connections include all the following: A UHF/VHF antenna port, an RS-232C PC connection, two scarts and an S-Video port, there’s a 15-pin mini D-sub 3.5mm jack and a component “in” as well. Add to these an optical digital audio out, a headphone port and an RCA audio out and you can connect just about any multimedia device to the TV including external surround speaker systems, games consoles, DVD, even an old steam driven VHS player and of course Blu ray or HD DVD players and all at the same time.
The large IR remote control is slightly confusing to use because there seems to be lag between pressing a button and getting anything to happen on screen: press a button and wait, press another button and wait… eventually the cursor moves on the screen. Whether this is a facet of the TV or the remote is hard to say but it is a little frustrating until you get used to it. On the up side the IR controller includes controls for any AQOUS Link kit – other Sharp HDMI devices can be controlled from the one remote – so that’s cool too.
Another slight gripe is with the set’s built-in speaker system. The dual 15-watt speakers provide plenty of volume but the sound lacks richness, even with the bass at full, the audio lacks punch from large explosions, there’s just no oomph! However, there’s no distortion even at full volume and of course, brighter sounds are crystal; the NICAM surround system does do its job well too.
Other features include the truD anti judder picture processing and Sharp’s RGB Plus (“Sharps Fourth Colour Dimension”, according to the company) that uses normal red, green and blue colours plus the additional of crimson red, which helps smoother reproduction of natural shades with more natural reds and finally the set is 24Hz compatible too.
Senin, 15 Februari 2010
Minggu, 29 Maret 2009
Taming the Book Proposal
In truth, that’s a lie. Every author has the option of self-publishing. However, there are advantages to writing a book proposal instead of a whole book.
One advantage is that it usually takes less time than writing a whole book. Two, it creates the possibility of getting paid to write your book, perhaps just a few thousand dollars, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. Three, it forces you to get clear about what you’re doing with your book, on a number of levels.
Even if you want to self-publish, a book proposal serves as a sort of business plan for your book. The time and energy spent on research, evaluation and comparison of your ideas at the outset pays off down the line many times over. After all, wouldn’t you rather find out now that someone else has said similar things more eloquently and have a chance to amend your manuscript, than publish the darn thing only to read terrible—or worse—no reviews?
The process of polishing your book proposal is also an exercise in discipline and focus. It brings the purpose of your book, its scope, depth and message into sharp relief. It will get your thinking muscles into the best shape ever to produce the most marketable book of which you are capable. However, you must dedicate the necessary time and energy to educate yourself, move through multiple drafts and polish this behemoth of a document to perfection, or else hire someone who knows how to do just that.
Here are some answers to questions you may be asking right now:
What is a book proposal?
A book proposal is a document intended to sell a publishing staff on publishing a particular nonfiction book. It is the way most nonfiction books get published by major publishers. It reads very much like a business plan about the book proposed. It can be anywhere from 10-100 double-spaced, 12-point 8 1/2 X 11 pages—most are 20-60 pages, including sample chapters. It generally uses a very specific format and specialized language to make its case.
What does the book proposal do?
It answers a series of typical questions that different departments of book publishing companies need answered when deciding which tiny handful of proposals, out of hundreds, to take a chance on. It acts on you and your book’s behalf to answer questions like, Why this book over all the others in its class? Why now? Why this author?
Who sees my book proposal first, an agent or a publisher?
It depends on whether you choose to have an agent represent you, or go directly to publishers. Many publishers will not accept unpatented material, so make sure you check a given publisher’s guidelines first.
What does the book proposal contain?
Generally, a book proposal contains a cover sheet, table of contents, along with the following sections: overview, author bio, author’s marketing plan, market analysis of buyers, comparative and/or competing books, outline, and sample chapters.
The overview contains a hook, or means of enticement, draws the editor in, and gives a general summary of the book’s purpose. It’s sort of like an article about the book. It should make you want to read the whole thing!
The author bio puts any and all of your experience related to writing the book, in its best light. It’s different from a resume or CV. It looks a lot like the “about the author” blurbs you see in the back of published books, below the author’s photo.
The author’s marketing plan, or “what the author will do to promote the book,” shows the publisher that you know what it takes to sell your book, and details how you plan to do it. These days, ironically, publishers don’t put much money into publicity, unless you’re already famous. An author with a well-thought-out marketing plan will stand out from most of the others who pay far less attention to this section, thinking instead that the publisher will take care of it.
The complementary and competing books section identifies and describes books that both directly compete with and also that complement the proposed book. The purpose of this section is to show the editors what has been done before, and how your book fits in. The reason for this section is twofold: One, many editors are too busy to keep up-to-the-minute records of what’s being done in every field, and so rely on the author to educate them about what else is out there. Two, just as many editors know exactly what’s out there, and want to know how your work purports to compare.
There’s a paradox here: On the one hand, you want to point to X, Y and Z books as evidence that this topic you’re writing on is really hot. On the other hand, you want to make a strong case that yet another book—namely yours—is still necessary, and why. So you have to point out strongly yet tactfully—you never know what relationship the person reading your proposal bears to your competition— what yours will do that others haven’t.
The market analysis makes the case for the size of the book's audience. It usually covers a broad view of current interests and buying patterns in the larger culture that bode favorably for the book. It may include recent movies, documentaries on television, and facts about memberships in organizations or clubs, social or ethnic groups whose constituents would be likely buyers of the book. For example, a book with an exercise theme might cite the circulation of major fitness magazines, membership in health clubs or recent TV shows on related topics. This approach can be adapted to whatever the subject: parenting, cancer, gardening, dogs, mental illness, business, or entrepreneurship.
The chapter outline tells chapter by chapter what your book contains, and the sample chapters, usually about 30 pages worth, represent the best samples of your writing.
Why are so many book proposals rejected?
Most book proposals are rejected because the ideas presented in them fail to convince the publisher that the author has a worthwhile (read: marketable) project. Making a project appealing to a publisher is a specialized skill, very different from creating the project itself.
In my experience, authors, whether of fiction or nonfiction are by nature creative people. If you’re reading this, chances are at some point in your life, you became enamored of an idea or ideas, and felt the urge to move your thoughts into the world in book form. Your mind is alive. You have something to say.
A successful book proposal, on the other hand, is a specialized marketing document that follows a particular form, and answers very specific questions in a way that gets a “Yes!” from publishers. Unless your field is marketing, and in particular, the marketing of books to publishers, chances are you don’t have expertise in creating a book proposal. And why should you? It’s nowhere near as much fun for most authors as working and playing with their own ideas.
The majority of my clients who give me book proposals to review, even those who have read books I’ve recommended and claim to have followed them, give me proposals almost certainly slated for rejection. An excellent book proposal is a tough document for most authors to produce on their own. However, help abounds!
If you are determined to write your book proposal on your own, can really, truly follow directions, and have the patience it takes to polish your work with dozens or hundreds of revisions, I recommend Michael Larsen’s book, How to Write a Book Proposal, and Jeff Herman’s Write the Perfect Book Proposal. Read them, study them, write your proposal, rewrite it several dozen times (no, I’m not joking) and have it professionally reviewed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Polish it to perfection—in this business, in which 99% of all proposals will get rejected, good enough simply isn’t.
Then, if you want an agent, make sure you find one with a successful track record of selling work like yours, otherwise your polished proposal may gleam, twinkle and shimmer for unappreciative and unqualified eyes. Unless the agent has specified otherwise, query them first via a one- to one-and-a-half page letter. For the query, read and study John Wood’s How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Then have at it. Spend at least three weeks on this query letter, and get feedback from at least three people, at least one of whom truly knows the field.
hi i am sunita i live in chandigarh
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/publishing-articles/taming-the-book-proposal-358121.html
Author: Sunita Kaushal
From Idea to Published Book ... How to Self-publish the Easy Way!
I've been involved in publishing for over a decade now as an author, editor, and project manager; however, it wasn't until just a few years ago that I decided to move into self-publishing. Indeed, my first few projects involved consulting for others and, now, I am involved in my own, personal projects. It has taken a while for me to come back around to my own works, but in the process I learned how to minimize time and expenses in producing a book and getting it to market.
This short article will not try to explain every aspect of book publishing in detail, but it will brush on a few of the important topics. I have a few other book projects in the making that will detail the book self-publishing process; however, in the mean time, this should give you a good basis of understanding.
--- The Idea ---
The most difficult part of creating your manuscript is deciding on the topic. We all have ideas. It's part of our being. Ideas pop in and out of our heads all day long; however, we usually dismiss many of them as useless or too simple to be of use. You would be surprised at how many people want "simple" and easy-to-understand information! Readers want books that teach, inform, and entertain.
When you sit down and really think about all you've learned throughout your life, you'll be amazed at how much you really know! Your life experiences alone could fill a library! Even if you feel that you don't have any knowledge that would be of interest to anyone, you can start small. Research a market that interests you, find your competition, learn all that you can about a specific subject, and then write about it. Your ideas are important, as your knowledge and point-of-view are unique and of interest to others.
--- Planning the Product ---
I always suggest keeping your book concise and informative. This provides a small footprint, yet it also allows your readers to purchase your book at a reasonable price. Keep it around 100 pages, which, once in book format, equals about 50, two-sided pages.
The core content of the manuscript consists of a title page, copyright, table of contents, figure and table references, acknowledgements, forwards, content, appendices, index, and back page. This list is the basic minimum requirements to support the information necessary to present your book and its content. Of course, you can add other items such as a glossary and a preface, but such inclusions are at your discretion.
It is best to produce your book in the standard 5.5" by 8.5" format in both print and PDF. I always suggest PDF to my publishing clients because it is one of the few cross-platform (i.e., Mac, PC, PDA, and UNIX-based machines) document distribution products available today and it is the most popular.
--- The Manuscript ---
Once you've focused on an idea, you'll have to create an outline or table of contents to define the content. The best way I've found to do this is to break the idea down into blocks of contiguous information --- similar to assembling a pyramid. Step through your idea and ensure that you are building from, for example, the most general information to the most specific information. Check the outline several times, and have a friend review it, to ensure that gaps are filled in appropriately.
You can actually over-rewrite your work to the point of frustration and burn-out. Ensure that you've planned and researched appropriately to provide a solid foundation. In this way you can develop a first draft and then perform substantive and grammar edits. Then, perform a technical edit and a second draft. Once the second draft is complete, move into a final copy edit then, once you produce galleys or a sample version of the finished book, perform a proof read. Don't rework any of the core steps of document development, but ensure that each step is completed with quality in mind. This ensures a solid product in a short amount of time. If you would like to update or add to the information in your first release, provide a follow-up revision.
--- ISBN and Copyright ---
Once you've started your manuscript, order your group of ISBNs. You can sign up for your ISBNs at http://www.isbn.org for about $240 for 10 ISBNs. However, additional fees can be imposed based on express orders. This is why I say, order the ISBNs while you're writing the manuscript so that you can afford to wait the 10 days for standard, free, delivery.
You will have to convert your ISBN numbers to EAN barcodes to apply to the back page of your book. The barcode must consist of the ISBN you assigned to the book as well as the coded pricing of the book. You can have a vendor generate the barcodes for between $3 (http://www.toupin.com/serv_writing.asp) and $20 per barcode or you can download and use the Barcode Maker (http://hem.passagen.se/sams/barcode.htm) to generate your own barcodes. For the price, it will pay for itself in just a few ISBNs for your books.
Once you have assigned one of your ISBNs to a book, you can register it in Books In Print (http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/). This is how booksellers are able to access your information and sell your book through their outlets. Additionally, you'll want to register your manuscript-in-progress with the Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication (http://cip.loc.gov/cip/ecipp14.html). This registers your book for access by libraries and government archives. You will be e-mailed the "CIP data" to be printed on the copyright page following the heading "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data".
To protect your work and ideas, copyrighting your book is a simple and inexpensive process. There are actually several different methods of protecting your work including government and commercial organizations. The primary sites are the government copyright office (http://www.copyright.gov/forms/) and WriteSafe (http://www.writesafe.com/).
--- Production ---
There are many different ways to produce your books; however, costs range from a $1,000 initial setup plus the purchase of a few hundred copies down to no setup fees and pay-as-you-go. The final choice is yours, but my direction involved a local printing company and a pay-as-you-go scheme. With this approach, reduced initial costs are reflected back to the readers and your profit potential is seen immediately.
Three places that I've experimented with to print some of my books include Kinko's (http://www.kinkos.com/), InstantPublisher (http://instantpublisher.com/pricing.htm), and Mimeo (http://www.mimeo.com/). Of course, use these for starters to experiment with your books. Eventually, you'll find the right bindery for your needs. You can locate many publishers via Google.com or AllTheWeb.com using keywords such as "online printing", "book printing", and "print on demand", but once you get some experience behind you, the choice will be much easier.
--- Marketing and Distribution ---
Once you assign and register your ISBN for your manuscript, it becomes available to the multitude of book stores around the globe including Amazon, Borders, Barnes&Noble, and various other major book sellers. Now that you have your book out there, the trick is to have people purchase the book and have book stores stock copies on their shelves.
To have the book stores purchase in quantity, you'll have to devise a solid marketing plan to their acquisitions personnel. In many cases, book stores will simply sell your book to their customers as it is requested, but if you can get them to buy in bulk, that's greater exposure and sales for you!
You can also license out the content to various professional speakers. Speakers are always looking for ways to provide quality information specific to their presentations. They might use your content in a handout, or perhaps for sale in the back of the room. Locate those speakers that fit within your audience and contact them. Find out their needs for their next presentation and work out a deal for them to resell your books. I've had many speakers use my articles in their presentations and the exposure and feedback has been overwhelming.
Of course, you should always locate affiliates to help sell your books. One way is to offer them a percentage of the gross sales or sell them copies of the books at a discount. Either way, you will have "agents" out pushing your books for you to make money for them, as well as for you.
Always provide a web site that boasts the benefits of your book. Use a book cover maker to create a book image on the web site. One quality book cover creator is called CoverFactory (http://www.ans2000.com/a2k_coverfactory.php) and provides numerous capabilities to generate professional looking covers for books, software, and services.
Free content is an important way to bring people to your site and let people know about your book. You can provide rewritten excerpts from your book as articles and submit them to various article announcement lists, press release sites, zines, and directories. I've been able to locate and associate with over 1,000 sites and lists that accept and publish my articles. This provides outstanding coverage for my sites, services, and products.
--- Sales and Returns ---
Since you are the publisher, you now have to determine how to handles sales. It's important to define how you will handle direct sales and shipping, bulk sales, and affiliates. You want to ensure that your sales go smoothly as well as provide enough of a margin so that everyone profits.
When collecting funds, it's important to accept credit cards through one of the popular merchant vendors. To minimize expenses and provide a common and secure payment mechanism, I use StormPay (http://www.stormpay.com) and PayPal (http://www.paypal.com). Since people have their likes and dislikes of online payment vendors, using both allows many different types of users to submit payments. Of course, you must always determine how to handle returns as part of a quality customer service program.
--- What's next? ---
Obviously, the information provided here is merely an overview of the entire process. However, I am working on a book that provides all of the details of producing your own book under your own imprint. Publishing provides excellent return monetarily as well as through enhanced self-esteem. There is quite a feeling that comes with getting your message out there and having people return positive feedback. Perhaps, once you self-publish a few of your own titles, you can work on publishing other authors and open a full-fledged publishing house. In this day, such a venture is not unheard of!
For More Free Resources visit www.onlinepublishingsite.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/from-idea-to-published-book-how-to-selfpublish-the-easy-way-359576.html
Author: annaya rana
Discount Book Clubs: Basic Facts
A book club is a commercial (usually mail order) enterprise through which selected books are sold directly to the public at a price significantly below the recommended retail price in return for a commitment to buy a particular number of books over an agreed period of time.
There are two basic types of book clubs: commitment book clubs and continuity book clubs.
Commitment book clubs feature attractive introductory offers containing several books for a symbolic price (for example 6 books for 99¢ or 4 books for 1$ each) in exchange for a commitment to buy a few more books at the regular club price within a certain timeframe; usually this means 2-4 books within a year or two. The club price incorporates a considerable discount, which can be anywhere from 30-80%, in some cases even more.
Commitment book clubs send their members a printed catalog every 3-4 weeks, along with a card which includes the title of the Featured Selection -- a book chosen by the club's editors as a must-read of the moment. Members are not bound to buy the Selection though; they can opt for a different book (or several books) instead, or decline the offer altogether, either by sending the card back or responding on the club's official web site.
Once the obligation is fulfilled, the membership can be canceled at any time. Typical representatives of commitment book clubs are Doubleday Book Club, The Literary Guild, Book-of-the-Month Club etc.
Continuity book clubs are subscription based operations in which members receive a pre-selected book or several books each month -- usually from a specific genre or a part of a series -- until the membership expires or is canceled. To prospective members a certain number of free books are often offered at the beginning to sweeten the deal or entice them to join.
Typical representatives of continuity book clubs are Harlequin (romance), Highlights (children's and educational) and Scholastic (children's and educational).
In choosing a suitable book club you should heed your preferences. Being a member of a commitment book club is, to an extent, like shopping at an online retailer. The selection is similar: you can choose from a wide range of latest bestsellers from all genres and among all the popular authors such as John Grisham, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel, Stephen King etc. You do receive recommended reads on a regular basis, but can decline them and make your own choices. Compared to online retailers, there is an annoyance of dealing with monthly selections, but in return you save more money.
Continuity book clubs don't let you choose books yourself; instead, you will be shipped a themed book or several books each month, in tune with the specific club's offering. For example, if you're into romance books you can opt to receive romantic suspense books, historical romances, medical romances etc. These types of clubs work best for avid readers who enjoy books from a particular genre, and for people who lack the time or desire to shop for new titles on a regular basis. The shipments will often be composed of books that are not available elsewhere, so exclusivity is also part of the appeal.
Often, prospective book club members regard introductory offers such as 6 books for 99¢ with a suspicious eye; they just seem too good to be true. To an extent, they are: when shipping and handling costs are added, the deal loses some of its splendor. Nevertheless, getting five or six or seven hardcover bestsellers for $3 or $4 apiece is still a bargain that even the largest online book retailers can't come close to matching, so the question poses itself: how can book clubs afford to do it?
Several reasons. First, book clubs market the goods directly to you, the customer; by avoiding the middle man they are able to save a considerable amount. Furthermore, they cut their own deals with publishers, in order to pay smaller royalties etc. Finally, book clubs often print their own editions at at their own facilities, which lowers the production costs further.
These book club editions are identical to regular editions in terms of content and artwork: same words, same covers. However, they can be altered in size or printed on less expensive paper to achieve additional savings. They may also have a "book club edition" mark on the inside flap. Such editions are generally considered to have a lower resale value. If this represents a concern for you, note that all book clubs offer some sort of guarantee on their products and services. Continuity book clubs will usually send you a couple of free books to evaluate and decide whether or not you want to continue the relationship. Commitment book clubs will ship you the entire introductory offer (up to 8 books, which you can opt to pay for later) and give you 20 days to decide whether you want to keep them. In other words, you are not required to spend a single cent before you have a chance to check the merchandise and make sure it's up to your standards.
The author owns and maintains a web site dedicated to leading US book clubs.
More info on some of the most popular clubs can be found here:
- Black Expressions Book Club
- BOMC2 Book Club
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/literature--articles/discount-book-clubs-basic-facts-403258.html
Author: Franjo Tarandek
African American Authors: Promote and Sell Your Self-Published Black Book
Self-publishing is the hottest trend in books, as it provides creative thinkers turned authors with a fast and easy way to get their work on the market. With the added option of "print on demand", and desktop publishing and design software, the initial cost to get your book out can be very minimal.
Self-publishing is also the most profitable since you get to keep all the profits for yourself. IF you are committed to the work it is going to take to sell your books that is.
One of the most difficult challenges a self-published author faces is getting their book into the hands of people that will appreciate it enough to pay their hard earned money. I recall reading an article on the self-publishing industry that reported the average number of self-published books sold per author is about 100 copies!
With that horrifying number in mind, you need to roll up your sleeves and prepare to launch a focused marketing and promotion program that will have you doing at least 3 things per day every day for the next 6 months to promote your book. Remember, no one can dream your dream but you, and ultimately, you are the only one responsible for the success or failure of your book.
Start by arming yourself with as much knowledge on the subject as possible. Check out these books and websites on marketing and promoting for self-published authors:
THE SELF-PUBLISHING MANUAL by Dan Poynter is I think hands down, the best promotional book and guide to successful self-publishing for a first time author. It is easy to read and understand, and organized in a fashion that make it a valuable reference as you go through the writing and publishing process.
GUERILLA MARKETING FOR WRITERS by Jay Conrad Levinson is another easy to follow guide with more than 100 ideas for marketing and promoting your book. There are like a zillion Guerilla Marketing books covering a wide range of markets.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING by Tom & Marilyn Ross guides authors through the entire self-publishing process from writing the first word to wildly creative ways to market the finished product.
1001 WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BOOK by John Kremer is top notch. John Kremer is a legend in the book marketing field. But there are SO many ideas presented this 3" thick book that I found it to be somewhat overwhelming. His websites are much easier to go through for people that are A.D.D. like me!
Leveraging the power and global reach of the Internet is the next step you must take.
Every author needs a web page. Do you have one set up for your book or books yet? This site will serve as the foundation of your marketing campaign and is a step you cannot afford to skip. Your website will be used as a vehicle to promote both yourself and your work 24 hours per day. It will also display or link to book reviews, to provide the media and press with an avenue for contacting you for interviews, and will of course help you sell your product.
Your website does not have to be fancy and expensive. As a matter of fact, it is better if it's rather non-dynamic. You want the key focus to be on your book and YOU, not your fancy FLASH intro.
After that, you need to get your book reviewed. There are mainstream book reviewers, and there are many niche market reviewers as well. Check out John Kremer's list of newspaper reviewers at BookMarket.Com.
Authors of Black books have many options available.
When seeking reviews, be prepared to send out a copy of your book along with a headshot photograph, author contact information, and information on where your book can be purchased. This is when you would mention your wonderful new website! Here is a list of Black book reviewers and sites:
QBR The Black Book Review
QBR is a reliable source for what is current in Black books. QBR also produces the Harlem Book Fair, the largest African American book Fair nationally, held annually in New York City.
Felicia Pride's Black Books Blog - More Than Words
Felicia reviews and blogs about Black books on AOL's Black Voices channel.
African American Literature Book Club (AALBC)
The largest site on the web focusing on Black books.
The RawSistaz
This group of ladies provides casual reviews of a wide variety of books, all written by African American authors.
Let's Talk Honestly with George Cook
George provides free interviews with Black authors which are posted as pod casts each week on this popular website.
The Black Issues Book Review
This the only nationally distributed magazine devoted exclusively to covering the latest news and reviews on black books.
Now you have a published book and a couple of great reviews. It's time to contact Black bookstores in your area. Go visit them with your book in hand, introduce yourself, and ask if they will either carry your book or allow you to have a book signing in their store.
Book retailers usually receive a rather large discount from the cover price (as much as 60%). Since each independent retailer has its own sales agreement and terms, all I can tell you is to be sure to read each carefully.
Make sure the terms regarding book returns, payment dates, and merchandise delivery are spelled out clearly and to your satisfaction before signing on the dotted line.
Writing, researching and editing your book is certainly a lot of hard work, but that is just the beginning. All that work pales in comparison to the long hours and the effort you must put into getting your name out there and your book noticed every single day until you reach your sales and financial goals.
I cannot describe with words the deep sense of satisfaction one gets when you open up a package from your publisher and find the first copy of a real book that has your name on it. And selling thousands of those books is certain validation that what you have to say has value and is important to others.
Get busy making it happen!
Deborrah is a relationships expert and self-published author of the hilarious guide to modern dating entitled: "Sucka Free Love - How to Avoid Dating The Dumb, The Deceitful, The Dastardly, The Dysfunctional & The Deranged." Order your copy today at http://www.suckafreelove.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/african-american-authors-promote-and-sell-your-selfpublished-black-book-416740.html
Author: Deborrah Cooper
Book Marketing Tips
You want to write a book – a very exciting and challenging undertaking. Good for you. You have a great book idea – an idea that you believe needs to be in print. You believe that other people have an interest in what you have to say. You believe that many people will buy your book, and if you do the job of writing correctly, many people WILL buy your book.
It is your dream to have your book in every bookstore in the country, perhaps even in several countries. But wait, have you planned beyond bookstore sales? Many authors are unaware that there are many markets for books beyond the bookstores. The bookstores may be your first market, but there are many other “hidden” markets, and here are some key book marketing tips to help you tap into those markets.
Let’s begin with the job of writing the book. When you put “pen to paper”, it is important that you focus on one audience but write for many markets. Let’s begin by identifying why you are writing a book. Some people merely want to be a published author, giving them claim to a copyright and their name on a book. That is satisfaction enough. They don’t care about the financial return or the development of writing or publishing as a career. Other people just want to write a family history and sell it to their extended family. Some people are interested only in selling to the attendees of their seminars. Many others, however, want to sell thousands of books in as many markets as possible. Decide at the beginning of the writing process why you are writing so that you can determine whether or not you are creating a business venture.
Once you have established your reason for writing, move on to what you are writing about. Don’t try to be all things to all people or the encyclopedic source of all information on a subject. Choose an area of a subject with which you are very familiar and develop your topic well so that you don’t overwhelm or bore your readers. For instance, if you are writing a cookbook, don’t try to be The Joy of Cooking – that’s already been done. Instead, write about a category of recipes, such as heritage recipes, or recipes of a region or culture, or recipes from famous restaurants, etc. Your goal is to make your book different, and better, than other cookbooks.
Having now decided on the why and the what, focus on the who, meaning who will buy your book. You believe that many people will be interested in your book, but let’s define “many”. Do you mean all of the people in your interest group, your church or your workplace, or do you mean everyone? A word of caution, though - there is NO book that is for everyone. Sure, everyone may need your book but not everyone will want it. If your book is a healthy lifestyle cookbook, everyone might need it, but only people who actually want to be healthy will buy it. Do some research on who those people are and where they are likely to actually buy your book. Understand their demographics: age group, income level, shopping habits, activities, etc. Now write for them. What information are your target readers looking for? Is their a gap in the information about a subject that is very familiar to you or in which you have the credentials to fill the gap? Make sure that your book solves a problem or problems for the reader, or make sure that your book will increase the well being of the reader. Avoid falling into the trap of writing to make yourself feel better – you are not the one who will buy your book. Or if you are, you are the only buyer that you will have!
The why, what and who now being defined, you can turn your attention to the where you can sell your book. Because there are many markets for books, decide early in the writing process just what those markets are and write to sell your book in those markets.
It is likely that the first market that will come to mind is traditional book stores, and of course they can be a vital part of your sales. Do your research in getting to know your competition on the book store shelves, i.e., look at the other books that have been written in your genre. What writing style is most appealing to a wide audience? Is there a gap in the information provided in the other books? Are there problems that have not been addressed? Find the needs and fill them. When you are satisfied with the information that you are providing, think about what will attract the book store buyers. They will want to know about your planned publicity campaign. If you want people to buy your book in book stores, you are responsible for letting people know that your book is available, thereby driving buyers to the stores.
Besides book stores, books are purchased in the nontraditional book market by display retailers, book clubs, catalogs, gift retailers, volume buyers (think Costco and Price Club), corporations, foundations and foreign markets. These markets are considered “hidden” because they exist outside the usual bookstore market, yet they account for many millions of dollars each year in book sales. In fact, we sell thousands of books to buyers like these every year (for more about our Book Marketing tips and secrets click here: Book Marketing Tips). These markets, however, do not buy any and every book. They are looking for books that appeal to their customers.
For instance, if you are writing a book about spiritual experiences, think about which of those markets will likely buy your book. Will you approach book clubs? If yes, which book clubs – those that specialize in spiritual books only, or those that market to the general public? Will you approach the gift market or catalogs? Each market evaluates its purchases for its own clientele. Book clubs that target the religious book reader have a greater interest in spiritual books than do general interest book clubs. Volume buyers, catalogs and gift buyers (unless they target a religious market), display retailers and corporations will very seldom buy a spiritual book. Foreign markets, however, are often very interested.
Even if your book is written for the general book trade, you can still think of corporations that might be able to use your book as a promotional item. Make a list of corporations that could be interested in your book and make sure that your writing supports their products or philosophy, and that what you are writing about will solve some problems for the corporate clients. For instance, one cookbook was targeted at busy people who want to follow a healthy lifestyle. It became a bestseller very quickly in the traditional book trade, but sales exploded when it was sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the book as support information for clients who needed to achieve a healthy weight. The book also sold successfully in foreign markets, to catalogs, as fund raisers and to shopping malls as a customer reward.
The point is: you need to know how to slant your writing for your markets. You can sometimes get around the road blocks by giving your book the look and feel of a gift book rather than one that is a “serious read”. Don’t give your book the look and feel of a thesis. Many volume buyers are looking for broad interest books that people buy on impulse as gifts. This approach to writing increases your market tremendously, so if you want to appeal to a very large audience, approach your subject from a much “lighter” angle.
However, if you are a professional speaker who knows that you have a very good chance of selling your book to your seminar attendees, and perhaps to the corporations who hire you, writing for a very broad market is not necessary. You are not even trying to sell to the impulse buyer. Your buyer is already looking for a source of expertise such as yours.
If you are planning to sell your book primarily from a website to a specific type of buyer, someone who is searching the internet for answers to a concern or problem, you can be as specific as you like. The general public, again in this instance, is not your market – you already have enough buyers to make you very successful.
So, before you begin the writing process, make an outline of your book. Then, look at your list of potential buyers. Have you filled their needs? If not, can you add information or chapters to your book that will increase the likelihood of sales to those buyers? If you want to sell thousands of books, think about the end user of your book and write for them, not for yourself. That is the ultimate book marketing tip. See you on the bestseller list!
© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd.
Ink Tree Ltd.
http://www.inktreemarketing.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-publishing-articles/book-marketing-tips-427630.html
Author: Joni Pypers
Selasa, 24 Maret 2009
Summer Fantasy Book Reading For Teens and Young Adults
Some Classics
A Wrinkle in Time - (Newberry Medal Winner) This is simply a beautiful book that has blazed a trail in modern children's fantasy by putting forward a story of several children embarking on a grand adventure; In this case to rescue their father. There is some fascinating and thoughtful stuff in this book like living stars and tesseracts. It is a perennial favorite and on every librarian's list.
A Wizard of Earthsea - Written by Ursula K. Leguin this is the first book in a series called The EarthSea series. Short and light but extraordinarily beautiful. This first book in the series follows a young boy named Ged as he goes from being a simple goat herd to a powerful wizard. It is simply beautiful and it brings forth some wonderful and magical themes such as the concept that everything (including dragons) has a secret name. And if you know the secret name you can control the thing (including dragons).
The Hobbit - This probably shouldn't be on this list but it is so good that I can't leave it off. With the absolute enormous success of the Lord of the Rings movies this book may be overlooked but I consider it better! It is also in the works to be a movie.
Five Children and it - This is one of the most popular books written by Edith Nesbit who is often credited with creating the whole genre of children embarking on fantasy adventures. Her books are in the public domain now and can easily be found for free. The theme of this book is: Be careful what you ask for. You may get it! That's the message in this delightful tale of five youngsters who discover a bizarre sand creature that grants wishes. There's a catch, of course: the wishes come undone at sunset, and worse yet, things often get out of hand!
Dragonflight - This book is a little more complex than earlier ones I have cited here and it tends toward being more of a novel for grownups but it very suitable for teens. We are introduced to a complex world of dragons through the main character Lessa. This book is often credited with being the book that has launched many a young girls writing career. It is the first book in a trilogy of books called The Dragon riders of Pern series.
A Princess of Mars: - The first novel in the Edgar Rice Burroughs series and currently in the initial stages of being written into a movie or animation that will be made by Pixar. This is the first book in a series called John Carter of Mars and it is good rollicking fun in the tradition of the old pulp magazines. It is a favorite for young boys who like sword fighting big monsters.
Contemporary fantasy and fiction
When it comes to modern fantasy fiction for teens there is an enormous selection to choose from and that, in itself, could be an obstacle. Here are summaries of some of the more popular ones and I have also picked some that are currently slated to be made into a movie.
Artemis Fowl Series - This series of books takes a little bit of an unusual position as far as children's books go because Artemis Fowl himself is a twelve year old genius and a criminal mastermind. The author of these books calls them Die Hard with Fairies! And the books are often characterized as being a high-octane and rip-roaring ride. It is a wildly popular series of books with a big website and even a wiki. There are currently five books in the series with the first being simply titled Artemis Fowl. The sixth book "The Time Paradox" is set to be released in July of 2008.
Here, there be Dragons - The title itself is rather mysterious and harkens back to another time. This was the phrase that cartographers used to write in patches of ocean that were unexplored. The basic premise of this story will really resonate with teens that are fans of fantasy itself because it starts with the unusual meeting of three young strangers John, Jack, and Charles on a rainy night in London. We later find out these three young men are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.
The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches - This is a series of books that takes place in a world of magic and secrets called Ruin Mist. This book was slow to start but word of mouth turned it into a best seller. It is one of those relatively little known books and series that is very satisfying.
Septimus Heap - If magic and wizards are of strong appeal this series of books make a great alternative to Harry Potter. The Main character (Septimus) is the seventh son of a seventh son and the main line of the story follows two children switched at birth: a boy destined to be a wizard and a girl destined to be a princess. There are currently four books in the series and the first book has been picked up by Warner Brothers and is currently being made into a movie that is scheduled for release in 2010.
Any of these books or series will launch teens and young adults on a remarkable adventure into strange fantasy worlds and no joystick or keyboard is required.
For More Great Fantasy Book stuff visit the authors site: The Fantasy Guide
For more insights and articles about epic fantasy visit his site at: epic-fantasy.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Kalif
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