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!

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!

Keep in mind when setting up a website that you don’t get stuck with a web site you can’t edit or that requires an expensive webmaster to make any changes to your site.  A great website will gain you access to the world’s biggest market. The three most important criteria for evaluating Web site effectiveness include: Features, Affordability and Ease of use.

Keep in mind the goal is to turn your web site into an expert resource. Make your web site a resource destination that will gain the attention of your target community.

Before the 1980s, practically all typesetting for publishers and advertisers was performed by specialist typesetting companies. In 1985, desktop publishing became available, starting with the Apple Macintosh, Adobe PageMaker (and later QuarkXPress) and PostScript. Improvements in software and hardware, and rapidly-lowering costs, popularized desktop publishing and enabled very fine control of typeset results much less expensively than the minicomputer dedicated systems. 

Keep in mind that is if you want a professional looking book, you should use the services of a professional typesetter..there are two components that they have that an amateur simply does not. Skills and tools.  Typically amateurs try to get by with a word processing instead of a layout program, and they don’t study the art of typography enough. The resulting layout is almost always obvious to people who know books (like reviewers).

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!

Get an author website.  One of the most important things that authors fail to do is build a web site that attracts targeted visitors to their site. It is crucial to build a site that not only allows the visitor to purchase your book but also provide your contact information, you never know who may want to be in touch for an interview!

Write a press release. A press release is a one-page description of your book that will (hopefully)create interest in your story. If you are planning to write your own release be sure to make sure you make it interesting to draw in readers. Not sure if you did it right? Have your release ‘graded’ at Press Release Grader. Then submit your press release online and it will be distributed to media outlets around the world and appear on web sites and in print.

Get Book Reviews. You probably know that it is important to have positive reviews of your book, but where to start? Search online for web sites and groups that address the target audience for your book. Visit their sites and see if they publish book reviews. Contact the owner of the web site to see if the would be willing to review your book! 

These are just a few things you can do to get started promoting your book. However, you are never limited on ways to get the word out about your book. Do your research and explore-the online world is full of opportunities.

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.

A copyright is legal protection of a piece of music, literature, photo or other piece of creative printable matter.  A copyright determines who has the rights to print, copy or distribute a work.  This protection is issued by a government and normally has a time limit.  A copyright is notated by the symbol that looks like this ©

 Anyone can register their work, you don’t need a lawyer  nor do you need to speak alot of money. Works can be registered in the US by visiting the US Copyright Office online.   Please note when registering a work as copyrighted in one country, it may not be protected in other countries.  The United States has a variety of countries that honor their copyrights and are honored by.  The government has created a website that has a complete list.

  A common question in regards to copyrights, is how long is the work protected? Work that was created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death.

There are many benefits to this option of printing: you can print as many or as few books as needed or ordered thus eliminating any need for inventory. For many aspiring authors this is the best option because there’s no major risk.

In addition, another benefit is that the cost of printing the books is relatively inexpensive. With the author saving money from the printing costs, they will receive a higher profit on the book!

• 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.