I want to throw a notion out there today. So many people produce a book and focus solely on the direct dollar return from that book.
Say a book costs you $80,000 to produce.
For that you get 10,000 copies – so $8 a pop.
Imagine you are on the speaking circuit and you get paid $10,000 a speaking gig.
Now you have two options:-
1) start selling those books at say $30 per book. Now this could take a long time. You’re also really only focusing on the book.
2) Give all those books away to people who book you to speak ie speakers bureaus, conference managers, in-house event planners. Thus focusing on the bigger picture.
I can pretty much guarantee if your book is any good and you are a powerful speaker, its not going to take very long to pick up eight speaking gigs at $10k per pop to negate the cost of the book. Not only that, imagine the very quick explosion in your brand awareness as a result of getting so many of your books into the hands of the right people!
A good analogy would be if an advertising agency produced a 30 second TVC and expected people to buy the ad. They’re not buying the ad. They’re buying what’s in the ad – what the ad is selling!
A couple of things have happened to me today which makes me bring up the notion of “original thought”.
This morning I did a web TV interview but the interviewer wanted to take quite a specific direction and so kept stopping me and dictating actual words and sentences they wanted me to say. For the first three times, I politely paraphrased and tried to be accommodating but then I had to stop them and explain that I think the whole reason their company wanted to interview me, was because I had my own unique take on things – my experiences, my words, my feelings. It really hit me at a gut level. My take out from this is that we should always stick with our own gut and intuition and be true to ourselves. Absolutely. Unequivocally. Always.
The second thing that happened was that someone rang my PA wanting to do a direct take off of my first book, Happiness Is… but calling it Happiness Now. You’d be surprised (or maybe not) at the number of times this has happened in the past six years. There is an old saying that copycatting is the greatest form of flattery, but I gotta say people, there is something to be said for original thought. C’mon people, lets try to be a little innovative. Have belief in yourself. Be true to your own calling and the world will love and respect you for it.
The brain of an entrepreneur works a million miles an hour and there is always some new crazy project that I am thinking of creating or working on. I draw inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. I read broadly, get out and about as much as I can. I attend courses, immerse myself in new and different groups of people. I just get out there and try to soak it all up. I avoid a lot of traditional meetings and networking groups. I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve managed to escape the rat race and create a life that I love.
My tips for success:
- Love what you do. If you don’t like what you are doing now, change it. Refuse to live a discontented life.
- Have dreams and chase them until they become a reality. Don’t be afraid of your passions. If you believe in them enough, your will find an inner strength to achieve them.
- Don’t postpone anything for the wrong reason. If you have to postpone anything, make sure it’s because now is not the right time rather than because you’re afraid to start.
- De-program. Become aware of the negative patterns you are perpetuating and de-program them. Replace them with positive habits to create a new way of living.
- Maintain a positive outlook. You can take on the world, you really can.
- Find a level of inner peace. Adopt a belief in a higher power which will take you beyond your emotional and intellectual boundaries. You may surprise yourself with how exciting the journey of great personal discovery becomes.
- Don’t let anyone drag you down. Remain positive and do not be constrained by tradition. Wherever possible, break convention and take risks.
- Surround yourself with the best. With a brilliant team and with brilliant minds.
- Do something to make a difference. Success is very different to individuals. I measure it on whether or not I’m making a difference.
- Dump. Anything you’re not passionate about it or that doesn’t sit well with you philosophically or ethically.
- Delegate. Anything that doesn’t require top-level strategic thinking to keep yourself clear for important projects, to think and to dream.
All the best,
Lisa
Creating a powerful sales document will set you apart from your competitors because few authors actually do this. Many just lump a manuscript on a receptionist’s desk or chuck it in a post pack and then wonder why no one wants to meet with them. A sales document shows you are well and truly more than a writer. It demonstrates that you understand the publishing industry and most importantly, the marketing and PR needed for a successful book.
To maximise the power of your secret weapon, make sure it includes:
These elements create a powerful document which can be used for pitching to distributors and publishers, for negotiating corporate deals and sponsorship, to secure testimonials and forewords or for PR. It also gives you a tangible start to get you excited and keep the momentum going. It’s important that you convey a professional message – that you know what you are doing and have what it takes to make this book a success.
You can also include paragraphs like:
Do your homework!
Research every distributor on offer and approach the best. Then work down your list if you have to. Some specialise in specific genres, others will take anything they perceive as commercially viable. It is best to find a distributor who has titles similar to yours. They’ll have existing relationships with the types of stores that will want to take your book.
However, this is not the only qualifier. You also need to look at their performance record as well as the stability of the company. Find out which books they have sold; the ones that have worked and the ones that have flopped. Do not be afraid to contact them about the details.
Most distributors want to see a synopsis, your author bio and perhaps a few chapters of the manuscript before they will meet with you. Some will refuse to meet with you altogether. To stand out from the crowd (for every 50 enquiries received, distributors take on about one book) with your powerful sales document. If you’ve done a good job they’ll be impressed. Then, when you do meet or chat over the phone, ask them about:
If you hit the right target market and get the right number of books printed, self-publishing has got to be one of the most profitable business propositions ever invented. There are several ways to set your price and a wide variety of factors to consider. You can lead with price, but there is no point being the cheapest if no one is interested in your book. On the other hand, if your book is incredibly specialist, you can capitalise on the exclusivity and charge more.
Remember, as a self-publisher, the higher the price, the higher the margin you have to offer distributors and retailers, which is a good incentive for them to sell your book. Of course, if you are self-publishing, you have greater potential to reap higher margins, so it’s important not to become greedy and overprice unnecessarily.
A key to determining your price is deciding whether you want to go high volume low price, or low volume high price. Roughly 15% of your RRP should account for manufacturing costs. Obviously this will be less for subsequent print runs because you have already worn most of the fixed costs. When determining your price, look at similar books in similar genres, plus similar books of size, paperweight and design. These will all be good indications of what the market will pay.
The key is to find a good commercial alignment or a good fit between you and them.
To do this, ask questions like:
I strongly believe that sponsorships are greatly misunderstood. Contrary to what is often churned out, it is not about generic proposals of gold, silver and bronze or fluffy feel-good stuff that fails to yield results. Sponsorships are business tools, like advertising, sales and promotions, public relations and direct marketing. It should form an integral part of your overall campaign. I’m a firm believer in win-win partnerships and tapping into people who share a similar vision and target market as me, but sit in a non-competing space. There is incredible power in sharing databases, tapping into each other’s events, brainstorming ideas and bouncing things off one another.
Who does what:
Ghostwriter: a writer who will translate your ideas and concepts into a fully fleshed out book, but the credit will reside with you)
Co-author: another writer to collaborate with
Illustrator: an artist who provides a publication with explanatory features (usually designed)
Manuscript assessor: publisher’s editor who assesses manuscripts for a commercial evaluation of the text, including comments on concept, structure, flow, style, tone, strengths and weaknesses of writing, and overall market appeal
Cataloguing Information and the ISBN agency: all books must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). CiP Data (Cataloguing in Publication) is not compulsory, but this is a free service to provide cataloguing information to publishers and to libraries in advance of publication, thereby increasing your readership by creating ease of access to you book
Endorsers: well known, highly respected individuals, particularly relevant to the book’s subject matter, that vouch for the credibility of the book and testify to its quality
Editor: a literary person who arranges, revises and corrects manuscripts for publication
Designer: a creative person who creates the complete look of the cover and internal layout of the book
Typesetter: a technical person who lays the final manuscript into the designed template of a book’s internal spread
Proofreader: an editor who reads the finalised, typeset manuscript checking for any mistakes, errors or inconsistencies before publication
Indexer: an editor who sequentially lists the data contained within the body of the content in the back of the book, alphabetically detailing names, places, and topics along with the corresponding pagination
Printer: the company responsible for the actual printing of colour and words onto your chosen paper, as well as the binding of the pages into a book
Photographers: the artist responsible for capturing your requested personality to aid your book’s marketing
Event Coordinators: specialists to organise the logistics of your book launch
Publicist: public relations (PR) agent responsible for building your profile and your book’s reputation through media exposure.
Marketers: specialised sales coordinators to help strategise how you will sell your book
Telemarketers: sales consultants who cold call and sell over the phone to an identified targeted market
Couriers: door to door delivery of goods
Distributors, book clubs, libraries: groups that will ensure the circulation, sale and readership of your book via commercial or community-based organisations
The timing of your release is a critical part of your marketing plan. It should not necessarily be based on events like Christmas, Mothers’ or Fathers’ Day for example. During these peak periods you’ll be competing for shelf space and media recognition with every other new book on the block. Instead, look closely at your target market. When would their need for your book be greatest?
Don’t be driven by production. We know it takes four to six months to produce a book, but it’s a mistake to put it out there because it’s ‘done’. Put it out there because it’s the best possible time that will result in the most exposure and consequently, sales. For example, if your book is about weddings and there is a national wedding expo on in January, launch then. If it’s an educational book, make sure you research buying schedules for colleges, universities and schools and work around it.
October is traditionally the biggest month for book releases, so if you are a small publisher or self-publisher, perhaps it’s wise to avoid this time and leave it to the big boys. Why compete with their new titles if you don’t have to?
Set goals for yourself and work hard to reach them. This is incredibly important with a book, because you must work on multiple facets at once.
If you’re anyone in any kind of prominent position who’s considering writing a memoir one day, start now. If you suddenly win a massive award, you announce your retirement or you are approaching a milestone for your company, you will need to produce your memoir in a flash. Be prepared. Otherwise, you might miss out. It’s a sad truth that the market is fickle. It will dump you and your story before you’ve had a chance to launch.