You plan to self-publish a book? Awesome… Now it’s business time. Your book is a business (and it’s also a product). If you’re an author who wants to make a profit, you have to stay focused on “business” and this means you’ll have to wear many hats. You’ll wear the marketing and advertising hats most often. Don’t forget about the IT hat and the accounting hat. You need  technology and you need to keep track of the numbers, after all… Oh, and then there’s the publicity hat. You know, the one where you contact bloggers, journalists, etc. and follow-up with them as well (and send them review copies, etc.). Folks, self-publishing is not for the faint-hearted. It takes work, just like any start-up business. Don’t be afraid of the hard work. Roll up those sleeves and give it your best shot…

Of course, there are some things you can — and probably should — outsource to professionals. Not only will outsourcing save you time, but it’ll also leave you with (perhaps) a more successful book I mean business. Here are some aspects of your business that authors tend to outsource:

• Graphic design: Unless you are a professional graphic designer, PLEASE DO NOT design your own book cover and interior. An amateurish book design will be the kiss of death, as I’ve said before. I suggest hiring a professional book designer. We have them here at MindStir Media, FYI.
• Editing: Even if you happen to be a pro editor, your eyes should never be the only eyes taking a careful look at the manuscript you’ve written. Hire a professional editor.
• Printing: You’ll need a book printer. Yes, you should still offer a printed version of your book despite the popularity of ebooks. Ebooks are hot but we still live in a print world and plenty of people still love printed books (and prefer them)… Sure, you can outsource your printing to China, but I like the idea of keeping it all-American. Here at MindStir Media our printing is done in the USA and we offer a quality guarantee…
• Distribution:  You probably don’t want to go door-to-door with your book, so some sort of book distribution network is a must! You should absolutely have your book available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com, at the very least. By the way, MindStir Media handles book distribution for our authors.

OK, so back to that first paragraph… You could also hire a marketing/advertising agency; you could have Best Buy’s Geek Squad pay you a visit; you could hire a CPA (this is actually a good idea if you’re making decent money); and you could even hire a publicist. You may encounter a money issue, though, because outsourcing everything would cost you $10,000 – $30,000 (and maybe more) depending on the companies you choose. So, outsource some things and not all things and then go from there. And above all else, remember that your book is a business and you should treat it that way!

J.J. Hebert is the bestselling author of Unconventional and Weepy the Dragon. He’s also the founder and president of MindStir Media, a full-service self-publishing and book marketing company.

Image by erichhh @ flickr

January 15, 2013

As publisher, I read tons of manuscripts, summaries, and queries. I’d say around 50% of each business day consists of reading. At least 50% (not counting emails). I also enjoy reading for pleasure, in my free time. It’s safe to say that I’m somewhat of a professional reader. As a bestselling author, I know the pitfalls to avoid in writing a book… Here are five writing tips that writers (especially new writers) should find helpful:

1. Outline your story before anything else. I’m aware that some writers can just “wing it,” but the vast majority of writers end up fighting severe writer’s block when there’s no outline in place. I’ve found that writer’s block is usually a result of poor planning. You should sit down at some point — before trying to actually “write” your book — and outline (chapter-by-chapter) your book. Of course, you don’t have to stick to the outline 100%. You should allow some characters, etc. to grow organically, but an outline will keep you on track.
2. Decide on the point-of-view (POV) and stick to it. A first-person narrative, for instance, should stick with one point-of-view throughout the entire manuscript. This means no “head popping,” i.e. showing the thoughts of multiple characters… Third-person is a little different.  There’s third-person limited and third-person omniscient. With third-person limited (e.g. Harry Potter), the POV stays with one character — for the most part — throughout the narrative. Most events are described through a central character’s POV. Look at how J.K. Rowling handled the Harry Potter series. With third-person omniscient, the narrator knows all and sees all. In other words, the narrator is everywhere at once. POVs can switch often, but you should try to stick to one POV per scene if possible. Of course, I’ve seen some big name authors break these “rules,” and in some cases it works.
3. Don’t use a thesaurus often. In an attempt to avoid repetitive words, some writers crack open their thesaurus, land on a big “million-dollar” synonym and decide to toss it in the story. This is especially common in dialogue tags. It’s okay to use “said” more than once on a page, regardless of what anyone says about repetition. It’s entirely acceptable to state: “I’m hungry,” said Tom, patting his stomach. Don’t try to look clever as a writer by constantly replacing “said” with verbs like “jested,” “quipped,” “hissed,” etc. In fact, in many cases you can stay away from the “said” dialogue tags altogether. Simply remove “said Tom” and just write “I’m hungry.” Tom patted his stomach. It’s obvious there that Tom is the hungry one…
4. Use an active voice. Which version sounds better? The loud noise was making him angry OR The loud noise angered him. Stick with the latter scenario as often as possible. By removing “was making” and replacing the sentence with “angered,” I took a passive sentence and made it active. Google “active writing voice” and you’ll see some more (and probably superior) examples.
5. Revising is not your enemy. I know finishing the first draft can be extremely exciting. You should go out and celebrate. Seriously, writing the first draft is a huge accomplishment! However, you should never submit your first draft to an editor. Never.  Go through your manuscript a couple times, at least, looking for spelling and grammatical errors, passive voice, improper POV switches, etc. In short, revise. Send the editor your “final draft.”

J.J. Hebert is the bestselling author of Unconventional and Weepy the Dragon. He’s also the founder and president of MindStir Media, a full-service self-publishing and book marketing company.

–Danielle Benji, author of Emily Meets the Cobbler

Image by Roberto_Ventre @ Flickr

January 1, 2013

I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about ebooks these days. Yes, they’re popular but not quite as popular as you might think! In fact, “ebooks accounted for 22% of all book spending in the second quarter of 2012,” according to Publisher’s Weekly. This also means that printed books accounted for over 70% of all book spending in the second quarter of 2012! Authors, say this with me: Printed books still outsell ebooks.

Each business day I discuss book publishing options with aspiring authors and the ebook format comes up often in the discussions. During some of those discussions, new authors say something like, “I’m thinking of publishing my book as just an ebook.” While MindStir Media does offer ebook publishing packages for authors who insist on publishing in ebook format only, I’ve always encouraged authors to publish in multiple formats so as not to miss out on sales opportunities. I know that this approach is a bit more expensive for authors, but ignoring the majority of the book buying market will prove to be much more costly in the long run. Trust me.

J.J. Hebert is the bestselling author of Unconventional and Weepy the Dragon. He’s also the founder and president of MindStir Media, a full-service self-publishing and book marketing company.

Image by ginnerobot @ flickr

December 19, 2012

Some people say that anyone can publish a book, but I have to disagree. I know many people, young and old, who could never write a book, let alone publish one. And that’s okay. Not everyone can cook a gourmet meal. Not everyone can fix a car. Not everyone can build a house. Okay, you get it… There are professionals who offer those services and plenty of people who buy the services. Similarly, there are professional companies willing to help you self-publish your book if you’re one of the many writers out there wanting or needing publishing assistance. MindStir Media is one of those companies, and we’re happy to help…

I’ve said this many times over the phone to prospective clients: There is a risk involved with self-publishing your book. You may or may not see a return on investment. Your book is a product. It could sell tons of copies or sell few copies or maybe land somewhere in between. In the end, the success is up to the market … and the quality of your product (and marketing, of course)! So what can be done to improve your chances of success in self-publishing?

• Use a custom book cover design. The key word there is “custom.” The design should be original, not template-based. A book cover is not something that should just be thrown together. If your cover looks amateurish, readers will assume the book’s content is also amateurish!
• Your book should be edited. Even if you can’t afford a professional book editor (via our Gold Package, for instance), your book should be edited. Join writers’ groups, network, find friends to help you with the editing if you have to. Do whatever it takes. Every traditionally published book has been edited — some better than others, sure, but they’ve all been edited.
• Select a memorable book title (and subtitle if appropriate). A proper attention-grabbing title and subtitle can attract sales, especially if your book is non-fiction. Choose wisely.
• Publish in multiple formats. Do your best to publish your book in multiple formats. More options for readers oftentimes mean more sales. Paperback and ebook are a good start. They are the two least expensive formats to produce and therefore your retail prices can be low, encouraging a high volume of sales.
• Take full advantage of free book marketing. Try implementing available free book marketing opportunities before you decide to buy additional book marketing services.

Don’t take the easy (or cheap) way out and bypass these crucial elements. If you can handle it correctly all by yourself, great! Do it. If not, hire self-publishing professionals.

J.J. Hebert is the bestselling author of Unconventional and Weepy the Dragon. He’s also the founder and president of MindStir Media, a full-service self-publishing and book marketing company.

I must admit that I wrote, rewrote, had trying times, and constantly made changes. But since I was retired and had ample time to work at my own pace, I actually looked forward to completing another page, then another chapter, and finally the finished manuscript of BILLY BLACK ANT’S EXCITING ADVENTURES.

I was so pleased with my story that I wanted to turn it into a real book as soon as possible. I opted for self-publishing because I did not have time for submissions and possible rejections. After studying and comparing publishing packages, I narrowed my search to MindStir Media because of their publishing packages that included timelines, financial costs, contract and legal requirements, and most impressive to me, sample illustrations that were precisely what I wanted for my book! J.J. Hebert assured me that illustrator Thomas could work with me and I was extremely pleased when I received the paperback copy of my book.

I am most pleased with my relationship with MindStir as they continue to advise me and help in the promotion of BILLY BLACK ANT. I have a new confidence in myself and my abilities thanks to MindStir.