Self-Publishing: Your Path to Success
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Join Lulu.com and Bowker® for an insightful look at the self-publishing marketplace and how to be a successful author by publishing your own books. You'll learn: • Whether you should publish print books, ebooks or both • How best to sell your book through distribution channels • How to use book metadata to improve sales • And much more About Lulu.com Lulu.com pioneered the self-publishing industry and paved the way for people around the world to publish books and bring them to market, while allowing authors to retain full control of their work. Operating a global network, Lulu.com provides worldwide distribution so that authors can reach readers just about anywhere via print, e-readers and tablet devices. As the leading independent self-publishing company, Lulu.com has enabled people in more than 225 countries and territories to self-publish nearly two million publications, including 1.5 million books. About Bowker® Bowker® is the world’s leading provider of bibliographic information and management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers. Creators of products and services that make books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order, and experience, the company also generates research and resources for publishers, helping them understand and meet the interests of readers worldwide. Bowker, a ProQuest affiliate, is the official ISBN Agency for the United States and its territories and is headquartered in New Providence, New Jersey with additional operations in England and Australia.
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Self-Publishing: Your Path to Success
- 1. Self-Publishing: Your Path to Success
- 2. Presenters • Ralph Coviello – Publisher Relations Manager at Bowker • Dan Dillon – Director, Product Marketing at Lulu
- 3. Agenda • Self-publishing tour • How to master self-publishing • Success stories • Q & A
- 4. Let’s get things started with a question • Have you done the following? – Self-published 1 titles – Self-published 2-4 titles – Self-published 5+ titles – I have not Self-published yet Answer via the polling box on your webinar panel.
- 6. Self-publishing: How it all began • In 2002, Lulu was born out of the frustrations our founder, Bob Young, while publishing his book “Under the Radar” • With the launch of Lulu.com, self-publishing as it is currently recognized was introduced to authors and storytellers • Vanity press no more! • Now authors are in control of their content and own all aspects of their book’s creation, distribution and marketing
- 7. Self-publishing: The impact today • Self-publishing has gone mainstream as authors are using it as a means to build their audience and share their stories and expertise • You’re in great company: Jack Canfield, John Grisham, Kevin Powell, Stephen Stark, Jim Carrey, David Mamet • The result? Growth! – 1.5 million books on Lulu.com and thousands of new titles added weekly – Bowker’s most recent data tells us that self-published titles have grown 59%
- 8. Before we look at some industry statistics • Have you published in these formats? – Same book, both print and digital – Print only – Digital only – Not Applicable (N/A) Answer via the polling box on your webinar panel.
- 9. USA Book ProductionSelf-publishing production 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Digital - Authors and Micro Publishers Digital - Self Publishing Providers Print - Authors and Micro Publishers Print - Self Publishing Providers 2012 up by 59%
- 10. Digital growth over time Digital 11% Print 89% 2007 Digital 40% Print 60% 2012
- 12. What no one tells you… • Understand your reader and your book, even before you start writing • Phone-a-friend • Make your book available in multiple formats • Channel surf • Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- 13. DIY vs. hiring experts 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00% 2007 2012 Authors and Micro Publishers Self Publishing Providers
- 14. Survey of self-publishing service providers • Pre-publication—writing, editing, formatting • Production—font, layout, cover • Metadata—title details, ISBN • Distribution—getting book up for sale online and at retailers • Marketing—publicity, social media, press releases, book signings
- 15. Most popular self-publishing services • Survey reviewed pre-publishing services, production, metadata, distribution, and marketing
- 16. Distribution services consistent across providers
- 17. Marketing services vary greatly
- 18. Tell us about your project • Have you hired experts to help publish your book? – Yes – No – Not Applicable (N/A) Answer via the polling box on your webinar panel.
- 19. Success stories
- 21. Up and coming authors • Daniel and Kelli Segars, “Fitness Blender Food and Exercise Journal” • Marie Kelly, multiple Romance titles
- 22. Thank you • Ralph Coviello – Publisher Relations Manager at Bowker – www.myidentifiers.com – www.selfpublishedauthor.com • Dan Dillon – Director, Product Marketing at Lulu – www.lulu.com Q & A
Notas del editor
- Ralph Coviello, Publisher Relations Manager at Bowker, is a twenty-two year veteran of the publishing industry.His current role at Bowker, ProQuest affiliate, focuses on educating publishers about eBook metadata in order to improve the discoverability of their titles. Ralph also has experience in many other facets of publishing, including print production and distribution.Dan Dillon is the director of product marketing for Lulu, where he looks for new ways to bring value to the self-publishing market and identifies market problems that Lulu can solve. Prior to working for Lulu, Dan has held editorial and marketing roles at a number of content-driven organizations, including McGraw-Hill. He has also served as editor of ContentWise, a publication covering best practices in creating, producing and delivering content and custom media.
- This report on the United States self publishing market includes items published by Authors and Micro Publishers (1-10 ISBNs) and those published by companies offering assistance to self-publishers.2012 production wasup by 59% To 391K titles. This is a 422% increase over 5 years ago. Ebook and print growth rates remain significant.
- Not surprising, Ebooks are the fastest growing segment over the past 5 yearsaccounting for a much greater percentage of total self-published book output, compared to five years ago.However, print on demand technologies have improved greatly in this same time period allowing for color interiors and exteriors at reasonable prices.
- Lulu.com surveyed 4,000 of our top authors and distilled the results into a few rules that you should follow to find success:Understand your reader- 60% of best-selling authors attributed their book’s success to the targeting and meeting the needs or interests of their audience. So you need to define your audience. What are they interested in? Where do they spend time online and in the real world? How do they already satisfy their need for content similar to yours – for example, blogs, magazines, social communities, events, or video? What can your book offer them that’s not available anywhere else?To help you understand your book, we partnered with The Book Genome Project to bring you The Helix Review: The Personality Profile for Your Book. The Helix Review is an automated way to get insight into what makes your writing unique and how your work compares to other best-selling titles in your genre. It helps you better market your book. It can also help you develop the perfect pitch.Phone-a-friend – As a writer, you’re probably friends with literary minded people, certainly people who appreciate great writing. Ask them to read your manuscript. Or even just a section of your book. And tell them what kind of feedback you’re looking for. Should this character do what she does at this point? Does the plot seem realistic throughout, or does it bend too much? Where? Which character would you like to know more (or less) about?Make your book available in multiple formats - Lulu.com authors who offer multiple formats of their books sell up to 400% more than authors with only a single format. This follows the basic rule that more products you have the market, the more products you’ll sell. Channel surf – Just as it stands to reason that the more products you have to offer, the more you’ll sell – the more places you make them available, the more you’ll sell. Lulu.com lets you get your books into as many retailer channels as possible. Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, you name it, we can get it there for you. And it’s all free.Don’t be afraid to ask for help! – There are professional services available to help you get your book published and promoted. Lulu.com is always free, but we do offer services for those who just need the help.And of course, there are proven tactics around using metadata, which Ralph can touch on later.
- Not only are self-publishing firms dominating, their influence appears to be getting larger over time. To Bowker, this shows that self publishing is maturing. People are applying more effort and seriousness to their projects. The most successful author publishers are entrepreneurs who realize they are not going to be able to do it all. They hire out services to help them get their product to market, such as production, distribution, or marketing.
- Lulu.com surveyed 4,000 of our top authors and distilled the results into a few rules that you should follow to find success:Understand your reader- 60% of best-selling authors attributed their book’s success to the targeting and meeting the needs or interests of their audience. So you need to define your audience. What are they interested in? Where do they spend time online and in the real world? How do they already satisfy their need for content similar to yours – for example, blogs, magazines, social communities, events, or video? What can your book offer them that’s not available anywhere else?To help you understand your book, we partnered with The Book Genome Project to bring you The Helix Review: The Personality Profile for Your Book. The Helix Review is an automated way to get insight into what makes your writing unique and how your work compares to other best-selling titles in your genre. It helps you better market your book. It can also help you develop the perfect pitch.Phone-a-friend – As a writer, you’re probably friends with literary minded people, certainly people who appreciate great writing. Ask them to read your manuscript. Or even just a section of your book. And tell them what kind of feedback you’re looking for. Should this character do what she does at this point? Does the plot seem realistic throughout, or does it bend too much? Where? Which character would you like to know more (or less) about?Make your book available in multiple formats - Lulu.com authors who offer multiple formats of their books sell up to 400% more than authors with only a single format. This follows the basic rule that more products you have the market, the more products you’ll sell. Channel surf – Just as it stands to reason that the more products you have to offer, the more you’ll sell – the more places you make them available, the more you’ll sell. Lulu.com lets you get your books into as many retailer channels as possible. Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, you name it, we can get it there for you. And it’s all free.Don’t be afraid to ask for help! – There are professional services available to help you get your book published and promoted. Lulu.com is always free, but we do offer services for those who just need the help.And of course, there are proven tactics around using metadata, which Ralph can touch on later.
- SP providers who offer these distrosvcs
- SP providers who offer these mktgsvcs
- These are a sampling of some of the big brand names who have published via Lulu.com. You can see that the genres represent those that are most often touted in self-publishing: humor, sci-fi and romance. More generallyspeaking, our top authors have achievedaverage sales of $65,000 over the pastyear. And here’s something not a lot of people know: The 50 Shades of Grey trilogywas self-published and sold on Lulu by the Writer's Coffee Shop, an independent publishing house in New South Wales, Australia. Self-publishing makes that possible. Talent and sheer force of will are the ingredients for a runaway hit.
- I want to call attention to a few authors who have seen tremendous success on Lulu.com, The Fitness Blender team and Marie Kelly, otherwise known as Romance Marie. Both of these authors have very different motives for self-publishing. The Fitness Blender team are business owners who provide free content, mostly videos, to people who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through the sale of their books on Lulu.com, they’re able to keep those videos free, attracting an ever-growing customer base. Marie Kelly has published a dozen or so romance novels on Lulu.com, and I would venture to say that she’s the next E.L. James. Not all self-published books are romance and sci-fi, as one might guess based on the conversations going on in the industry. Lulu.com serves people with all sort of motives for brining a professionally produced book to market. And with that, let’s move on to your questions.
- 1. What are the top 3 things I can do to make my book a success? [Dan] 1. Great cover 2. All distro channels 3. Great product, error-free2. Will self-publishing service providers help me reach my audience? [ Ralph] 3. Where can I find the services Bowker spoke about? [Ralph] 4. What does an ISBN mean in relation to discoverability? [Ralph] 5. How can I find the book genome or Helix Review? Is there a cost? [Dan]6. When is a good time to go to Lulu and get started?[Dan] 7. What if I only need some services, but not other? Like if I need distribution and not marketing?[Dan] 8. Is there a place where we can find more information on what sells by format or subject? [Ralph]