Many new authors have been misinformed about many of the aspects when self publishing. Don’t let these myths confuse you or prevent you from moving forward in your dream and goals to be a published author! Below are some clarifications on some of the misinformation floating around out there!

Myth: If your book is published by a top publisher, they will handle all the marketing and publicity.   

Truth: The reality is that big name publishers typically devote the majority of their marketing budget to the top 1% (think best sellers like Harry Potter, for example) of the books they publish. The other books published during that fiscal year seldom receive any assistance for marketing and publicity.

Myth: You cannot sell a self published book in stores..especially stores like Barnes and Noble.      

Truth: Completely untrue! While it may be a little harder for a self-published book to make it on the shelves of big name chain stores, it is not impossible. The truth is major book chains actually seek out local authors and save space in each store for this purpose.

Myth: If I become a self published author, then I will never be able to be published through a traditional publisher. 

Truth: NOT TRUE! Still don’t believe me?  Think about these authors: Stephen King and John Grisham are just a few of the popular authors out there today that have self published! When it comes down to it, readers are not really concerned about WHO published the book but rather if the BOOK is any good!

Many authors do not realize that the book’s back cover information is one of the best way to sell more books. If you think about it, once a reader is enticed by the front cover design, what do they do next? They turn the book over and read the back! This is the perfect opportunity to engage the reader and potential buyer.

While the front cover has to pop and the design must impress your buyers, the back cover is what will really “sell” them on your book. To make the most of the back cover, follow these tips:

Use testimonials: This can help to sell more books than any other information on the back cover. Try to use quotes from several different people.  Use one from a top professional in your field or perhaps a reader who has a positive review both famous and non famous.

Don’t overwhelm the reader: A common mistake is to use too much wording. Keep it simple. Write only a one or two-line bio on the back cover and be sure to put your photo and more bio on the inside of the back cover. Make sure you use powerful wording on the back to connect with the reader!

Many authors sometimes overlook how important copyediting really is. It is truly the foundation of the entire book. Even the most eloquently written and best marketed book will not be successful if there are errors and content problems.

A professional editor will do much more than just check for errors in spelling and punctuation. An editor will also look at overall organization, style,  permission/copyright issues, and addresses possible formatting concerns and develop and expand the content.

A common mistake that authors sometimes make is to use family and friends as copyeditors. While family and friends make a a great support network and sounding board, they rarely can gage the level of editing that is needed to be successful. Keep in mind that they may not mention certain things to avoid hard feelings or simply may not have the experience to catch certain items. A professional editor has experience and knows what to look for and will help to the final touches on your manuscript before you send it out for review, to agents, or for publication. It is a wise decision and investment!

The term ghostwriter may sound mysterious but what it is is actually a professional writer who get paid to write books, articles, or other content which then is actually officially credited to another person. However sometimes the author will give credit to the ghostwriter for their services.

While this practice may seem surprising to some, it is actually a very common practice and totally accepted within the publishing industry. Most people are not aware of just how many books are actually written by someone other than the author. While the ghostwriter does the actual writing of the book, it is more of a collaboration because it is still the author’s concepts and ideas that create the basis of the book. It is the job of the ghostwriter to organize these ideas and concepts into a way that creates a fascinating book.

Plagiarism is defined by Wikipedia as the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work. The availability of material in electronic format has made plagiarism easier than ever. If you are a writer you can imagine how devastating it would be to have someone steal your hard work. Preventing plagiarism isn’t as difficult as one might think. The following are some simple strategies that you can use can use to prevent plagiarism:

• It is important that all writers and publishers take steps to protect their content. The first step is to copyright all written material. This can be done by submitting your documents online through the U.S. Copyright office for $45 per submission.
• If you have your content on the web you do have options to protect it. Coypyscape is a service that allows you to search the web for possible copies of your content as well as automatic web monitoring.
• Another popular site Plagiarism.org which, for a fee, will let you upload your text/manuscripts and within 5 days they will email you results.

The Audio Book market is expanding exponentially. At the moment, there are only about 10-20,000 Audio Books published each year in the United States, while at the same time, there are nearly 300,000 “paper” titles written each year in just the United States. We can help you explore this opening market, and find your niche, brand, and success!

Distribution for your Audio Book can go through iTunes, audible.com and dozens of other digital sites online, and can help to broaden your traditional audio book base to Web 2.0 as well. Market and media research, continual contact to the online media, website marketing, internet advertising methods, internet networking, weekly updates on developments and progress, and expenses for phone calls, mailings and research materials are included as part of the consultation.

We work with you at the close of audio production to develop a marketing strategy, and can continue to walk you through the process of getting exposure and publicity in advance of the audio book’s release.

A website is no longer something that is optional. For authors, a website is an address, and one that is necessary to connect with their audience — whether from print media, radio, television, or direct marketing. We work with authors to make author websites simple, and, step by step, we enable our authors to use their own sites for a grandfathered presence online (and higher google rankings!).  We offer Author Websites with our Author Packages.

 Every Author Website Comes With:

• Page Editor
•  Unlimited New Pages 
•  Pre-loaded Pages 
•  Dynamic Site Menu
•  Online Forms
•  Send Page to a Friend
•  Printable Pages
•  Special Pages
•  Site Backup
•  Users
   

Audio Books are the hottest things on the market right now. But they are not as tricky or as expensive as you might think. There are many ways of recording your audio book, from inexpensive to through-the-roof. We like to help our clients find ways of staying as near as possible to the inexpensive side of the scales, while maintaining our reputation for Grammy-quality audio

 The most important step in Audio Book creation is audio mastering. We devote a lion’s share of our effort to making your audio sound as pristine as possible. Grammy-quality sound. It doesn’t matter where you recorded your audio book — we will help set you up with a home studio. And, in the process of mastering, we will make it sound as if you paid thousands for recording time at a major studio.

We work with you at the close of audio production to develop a marketing strategy, and can continue to walk you through the process of getting exposure and publicity in advance of the audio book’s release. We focus on several different aspects of publicity.

Instead of being one of 300,000 new books published each year, you will be one of a few thousand audio books!
 

At Blooming Twig Books LLC, we offer some of the most competitive rates in the industry for professional service and products for authors! In additon to the best prices, we work to find custom solutions for your project, we know that every book is unique and so are the needs of each author. 

From book printing to e-book design, custom blogs and podcasts to easily updated author websites, 25 copies of your book to ten thousand, we can find the custom solution for you!

If you find a lower advertised rate somewhere on the web, it would be our pleasure to match it for you! Try us out! We can also work on custom options for your project – simply tell us what you are trying to do, and if we can’t do it, we will give you our best advice as to where you can get the best service at the lowest affordable price! Guaranteed!

We don’t simply treat you as “normal” clients. We truly care about your book and project, and help you to meet your needs within your budget! With our Author Packages, we turn you into a professional and give you the TOOLS you need to make your book SHINE! We offer everything in one big package. No worries about this company to get this, and this other one for the other service…

We can provide all of the services at one time, in one place, at a price you could never beat… And on top of that, professional service that will put your book onto the front rack of bookstores! We offer everything from marketing and publicity packages to Audio Books, E-Books, Online Sales, websites, custom blogs and podcasts, as well as the traditional hardcover and trade paperback books! Something else you can think of? Ask us about it, we probably offer it, or would be happy to work on it for you!