Self Publishing

February 28 2019

By Francesca Maria, Author Rep at Empire Publishing (1)

The 6 Most Important Investments for the Self-published Author…

Where should new authors put their money?

Everything good comes at a price, either through time or money. When you invest your time to write a book, then you also must invest money to ensure it’s a success. Here are the 6 places a new author should invest in their book.

Editing. No matter what, professional editing is the best investment for any book. Every single successful self-published book has been worked over by an editing pro, without exception.
Cover design. Give your idea to the pro’s who do professional cover design. Empire Publishing has in-house professional graphic artists who specialize in cover design. You can write the greatest book since Don Quixote, but if it doesn’t have an eye-catching cover, nobody will ever discover the contents of your book.
Book formatting. A close second to cover design, when it comes to important investments of your book. This is when it is better for a self-published author to hire the services of a professional literary service who specializes in formatting books for print and digital books. All of Empire Publishing’s packages include appropriate formatting for their books genre.
Producing printed books and eBooks. Printed books remain the dominant format, and it’s too easy and inexpensive not to invest in eBooks as well. All of Empire Publishing’s packages come with an eBook!
Maximizing distribution. Having your book available on Amazon isn’t good enough for most self-published authors. Using an aggregator like Empire Publishing can put your book and/or book link in dozens of the leading bookstores and book-selling websites around the world. Such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc…
Marketing. This is the part of the publishing process that most writers hate, so investing in it is doubly important. For writers who are not marketing-inclined, spending money on consultations or hiring someone to market your book can make a huge difference in sales.

Side Note: Audiobooks are a great innovation, and with the rise in ownership of smart speakers like Amazon’s Echo or Google Home, they’ll continue to increase in prominence. Still, they remain a poor investment for new and independent authors. Until you garner a major following, you’re better off focusing on the more foundational aspects of publishing and promotion that will bring a higher return on your investment. Your book is your business, treat it like you would treat a storefront business. Polish it, promote it, advertise it, be proud of it.

For more information about book publishing and marketing see our other blog posts at https://empirepublishingblog.wordpress.com/

Happy Book Writing!

From Francesca@EmpireBookPublishing.com

February 25 2019

Congratulations – you’ve recently put the finishing touches on your first book and now it published on Amazon and hopefully Barnes & Noble! Yay! Believe it or not, that is a rare accomplishment that not many people can claim. If you thought writing your book was hard work, brace yourself for the next necessary phase: marketing your book.

The tremendous recent changes to the publishing industry have been a double-edged sword: they offer greater opportunities for self-published authors but they bring a lot more competition. No matter how great your cover is and no matter how great the content is – a book will never sell itself. You and you alone are going to have to be creative if you want to boost your sales. One way to do it is through effective use of social media. So how do you use social media to promote your book?

Here are seven social media marketing “musts” for first-time authors.

1. Create great Social Media Posts with Quality Content

You put in a lot of time and energy to ensure your book is of the best it can be, and you’must match that quality and make your social media content stellar. Your audience wants/needs distilled information presented clearly and directly. Since you are now an author, you can claim a degree of expertise in your chosen subject. Use that expertise to make every Facebook post, Instagram Post, LinkedIn article, and Tweet a highly engaging experience. Provide tips and information your readers won’t find anywhere else, and do it in a concise fashion. If you have written a Romance Novel, instead of providing tips you provide a juicy piece from your book… get people slobbering on themselves and wanting to know more. Ask questions about what readers are looking for in your genre.

2. Investigate new media

Facebook and Twitter are among the top social media platforms, but that’s not to say you should focus on them to the exclusion of all else. Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine are all good options too. Tumblr can also be a great place for Authors to get engagement with readers. You should make a “page” on Facebook just for your book. Name the page the Title of your book. That way you are easy to find. And you can use that as your fan page. Do not try and do them all – all at once, though. Engage one at a time, with a clear strategy for each, and you can effectively increase your reach. Consider writing short blog posts with links to your book. Posting your blog posts on Social Media is a way to say a lot more to your audience. One place I always direct new authors to is Good Reads. Go on there and claim your book and develop your Author Profile. Invite friends to Good Reads and connect your Good Reads account to your Facebook page. This is a form of cross-marketing that works really good. Yes initially it takes some time to do all of this, but you can accomplish all of this in just 4 hours a week. And your book deserves 4 hours a week of dedication to getting it seen. In only 90 days you will see your ranking get higher on Amazon and your book sales will elevate.

3. Respond to each comment

The last thing a writer has time to do is sit on their social media pages waiting to instantly jump to reply to every comment. So if you have created a “Book Page” on Facebook, you can have a couple of admins to help respond to comments or messages. Always remember the “social” element of social media. Respond to each and every comment, whether positive or negative. Your goal is to develop a conversation and an ongoing relationship with your followers. Even if you’re simply expressing gratitude for someone taking the time to comment, you’re doing yourself, and your book, a big favor.

4. Connect with other authors

Be sure to connect with authors in the realm or genre of your book. Respond to some of their posts and start to develop a relationship. You can gain exposure this way, and you never know what a fellow author might be able to assist you with. You can also exchange reviews with other authors. Getting reviews is very important, and sometimes you need some to get started. Offer a free Kindle download to your readers and other authors and politely ask for a review.

5. Offer an inside look at your book

Consider providing a link to your website (if you do not have one refer to number 6 below) from your social media accounts where a follower can download an inside look at your actual book – the first chapter, for example. It’s a great move that can ultimately improve your sales. You just need to put a chapter in a PDF format so they can download it. Social media is an interactive format, meaning you should be trying to get your readers involved.

Social media marketing for writers is serious business, and there’s a good bit of work involved if you’re going to get it right. If you start to develop a solid audience and then make a misstep, you’ve just wasted valuable time and energy. Manage your schedule as best you can, giving 4 hours a week of your time to devote to your social media marketing and improve your book sales. You can break that into 1 hour 4 times a week or 2 hours twice a week. The first 90 days is critical to stay consistent. After that, you can reduce to 3 hours a week. Now you need to consider writing book two. (See number 7 below).

6. Develop your Author Central Page on KDP

If you are a self-published author, then you have a KDP account. In your KDP go search and type in “Author Central” sign up and develop that page. Even if you have a website, you can use this Author Central link on all your social media posts. This is a great way to tell readers more about yourself, add pictures and videos and you can also attach your blogs RSS feed to your Author Central page. At Author Central, you can share the most up-to-date information about yourself and your works with millions of readers. Learn more See timely sales data for free, including sales trends over time and a map that shows where in the US your books are selling.

7. Start thinking about writing your second book

Now that you have established some fans from book 1, this is a great time to get them involved with your second book before it is even published. You can ask questions like “What is a good name for my 19th Century European Princess in my upcoming book?” Or, “should I make my next book a little sexier?” Start giving little exciting clues about the plot of your next book on Social Media. This will set you for increased sales when you do your next book launch and it will entice people to want to buy your first book so they can start a collection of your books. The second book says to people, “I am an established Author” and this gives you far more credibility as an author. Think of a songwriter, we make jokes about the one hit wonder, it hit the charts but they never got another song out there. Don’t be a “One Book Wonder” go for the whole package and become a well known respected author.

Good luck and happy bookselling!

If you want someone to help you get everything all set up, please contact us, we are here to help!

Francesca@empirebookpublishing.com

April 20 2017

I had to do it! I had to write about this topic. It seems that AMAZON has taken a turn for the Monopoly Highway.

Now, on AMAZON KDP an Author can upload their manuscript to have a print on demand print book available.

Similar to what Createspace offers. But do not fall for it, read more to know why.

This is what is says on their KDP Print I have copied and pasted here the exact verbiage from their own website:

Publish Your Paperback on KDP (Beta)

You can now publish paperbacks in addition to Kindle eBooks. We’ll be adding more print-related features like proofs, author copies, and expanded distribution to bookstores and non-Amazon websites. CreateSpace still offers these features, and KDP will too.

Publishing a paperback can help you reach new readers. KDP prints your book on demand and subtracts your printing costs from your royalties, so you don’t have to pay any costs upfront or carry any inventory.

Benefits of publishing paperbacks with KDP include:

Distribution: Reach paperback readers through Amazon websites in the US, Europe, and Japan.
Royalties: Earn up to 60% royalties on the list price you set, minus printing costs.
Rights: Maintain creative control and own your copyright with our non-exclusive agreement.
Get to market fast: Publish your paperback for international sale in just a few days.
100% availability: Printing on demand means your book will never be out of stock.

Please allow me to explain why this is a mistake for anyone who wants to publish a quality book and have the opportunity to make money selling their book.

Do not assume that readers and book buyers are ignorant. You would be surprised how many people look to see if a book is self-published through CreateSpace or Amazon before they decide to purchase it. The reason why is because readers know that subpar material is being produced by self-published Authors, due to lack of editing or proper formatting. They know that many people are producing junk and calling it a book. There is no quality control with self-publishing. Sophisticated readers will not waste their time or money on low-quality books. This doesn’t mean that good books can’t come out of the self-publishing world, but readers expect a higher average standard of books published by a Publishing house and are willing to pay for it at an even higher price.
Do not waste a readers time. If you have decided to publish an unedited book on KDP and do not know proper or correct book formatting then get ready to be cremated by any reviews you get. Even if you have an interesting story or are providing some good information, if it is written poorly, or has editing issues or formatting issues, you are sure to get negative feedback. Because the reader/buyer will feel like you have wasted their time, and they will be sure to use their time to warn other potential buyers to not waste their money.
Do not assume that your book will be available everywhere books are sold. This is just not the case. Libraries will not carry books that have a CreateSpace or AMAZON publishing stamp on it. And most bookstores that carry new books will not either. There are Ma and Pa bookstores who will carry a self-published book on consignment, but you must provide the books for them and then remember to follow up every month to see if they sold and you can supply them with more if so. Now, as of today April 19th, 2017, you can’t even buy your book at wholesale cost if you publish with AMAZON. Yes, you can with CreateSpace, but not with Amazon. So if you order your books at the selling price, how can you make any money by reselling them? They do not have a wholesale price available for the Author. Also, they said right there in their own words “Distribution: Reach paperback readers through Amazon websites in the US, Europe, and Japan.” This is through ONLY Amazon distribution channels. Your book will not be available on Barnes & Noble.
Do not expect to see any substantial income from the sales of your book if you publish with Amazon. First off, you did notice, that they said you can earn “UP TO 60%” Royalties. They didn’t say you would get a guarantee of 60% Royalties. Conveniently, they do not elaborate anywhere on their website that I was able to find, as to what guarantee of a percentage of royalty you will actually get. They just said “up to 60%” and then that is all that is said about your royalties. Now think about this, you write the book, you do the work to publish it on their platform and then they can’t even be honest with you about how much Royalties you are really going to earn? With CreateSpace, you get 100% Royalties. I smell a rat.

Now, let’s talk about the real reason why Amazon is doing this.

Amazon is not really a good friend to Authors. Once you establish this fact in your mind it is easier to connect the dots as to what Amazon is up to. Yes, everyone wants to have their book being sold on Amazon because they are a major book distributor. Yes, they are allowing indie-author a path to publish their own work and get worldwide distribution, so on the surface, it looks like Amazon is a dream for indie-authors. This is an illusion. They are preparing for marketplace war with Barnes & Noble and trying to acquire a complete monopoly.

How many bookstores have closed up since the rise of Amazon? I use to have Hastings, Borders and few other bookstores that were thriving in my city, but now the only one in my city is Barnes & Noble.

Well, do not think for two seconds that Barnes & Noble is not preparing for this war. Because they are. Soon, they will be competing with Amazon and blowing them away. The latest news on the literary grapevine is that Barnes & Noble is getting ready to launch their own print on demand – that will be available in every one of their stores. Imagine, no more having to wait 4 or 5 days for your book, just walk into Barnes & Noble and have them print it right there. Bam! That my friend is competition. And by Amazon trying to get everyone to self-publish through using their own platform, will prevent the Author from being able to have their book sold through Barnes & Noble.

The end game: Two monsters of the book distribution channels go to war, and Amazon can enjoy a slice of humble pie.

Do not side with Amazon or fall for their tricks. They are becoming a big bully and ripping people off.

For more information on Amazon smelly rat dealings check out this news article.

January 24 2017

AS AN AUTHOR,
YOU MUST ALSO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR,
A SALESPERSON,
A MARKETING SPECIALIST,
AND A PUBLIC RELATIONS SPOKESPERSON.

Your book is a product that you are selling. So, therefore, treat it as a product. The best way to sell your product is to promote it. Create a Brand, either by your Title or by your own name. You must create a buzz for either your book title or your own name. If you don’t, then making a lot of money from the sale of your books will be very difficult.

There are two kinds of people out there, there are the people who think that if you write a book and publish it, you will get instant fame and recognition and an instant large residual income. And then there are the people out there who think all Authors are in the realm of the starving artist. The truth is, both people are correct and both are also wrong. I get a lot of people who ask me “How much money can I make if I publish my book?” And the answer to all of them is the same regardless of the genre of their book. It is really simple; the answer is a question: “How much are you willing to promote yourself and your product?”

Unless you are willing to treat your book promotions like a job, it won’t pay you. No excuses. If you do not promote, you will not sell books. The amount of time you put into promoting your product is directly related to how much you can make. You can make hundreds or thousands of dollars even millions of dollars, but you have to tell people who you are or tell people about your book. Press releases, YouTube book teasers and trailers, and handing out promotional items such as postcards and bookmarks. Get involved in writers groups, make friends with your local bookstore owners. Do book signings.

With the book publishing industry being taken by storm by self-published authors, and the market being flooded with books of all genres your book can be lost in the midst of all the others and may never sell more than a few copies per year. This can be very disappointing to an author who was expecting to make a living from the royalties of their book. Especially if they paid a lot of money to have it published. Keep in mind it doesn’t matter if you go with the most expensive publishing company or the cheapest when it comes to promoting your book. If you choose a publishing package and do not have a lot of time to launch your book, then you absolutely need to purchase a publishing package that includes some level of marketing. Do not get confused with the term “distribution” with “marketing” these are two completely different things. Distribution refers to the distributors of your book, meaning the places who will offer your book for sale, there are a lot of book distributors out there, do not assume that just being on AMAZON.com will instantly generate book sales.

Many first time authors think his or her book will automatically sell just by being on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, it will not. You need to promote your product every possible way you can. Utilizing both the internet and the old fashioned “two friends tell two friends” method. You need professional promotional items – keep in mind – quality is just as important as quantity. Most first-time authors cut corners and go the cheap route by using OfficeMax or Staples or worse yet, print flyers or cards from their computer. Handing out cheap promotional items is a bad reflection on your product. Empire Publishing offers premium quality promotional items at an affordable rate. The items and services we provide will separate you from those that don’t take the business of being a writer seriously. There are many reasons some writers succeed, and others do not. This is one of them because most authors don’t go above and beyond to become successful. To generate sales, you need to network and be seen. There are many ways to do this and we are here to assist you. Before you set up your book signings, order a large stack of books and also order quality Sell Sheets, Bookmarks, Posters, Business Cards and Postcards with your book cover and Title and book order link, or AMAZON link or if you have a website, include that on yourpromotionall material.

Learning how to maximize the benefits of Social Media is a powerful tool for authors. Investing time and resources into a social media strategy to promote and sell your book is most definitely a necessity. As an author, you are a business and your book is the product you are marketing to the public. Businesses that integrate their social media efforts with their content strategy and are seeing the impact of social media regarding lead generation, referral traffic, and revenue. Any author that is serious about selling his or her book knows that the social media outlets cannot be overlooked because they are useful and powerful promotional tools.

For those that do not have the time or the skills to create what is needed, the answer can be found through getting help from the professionals:

Empire Publishing offers publishing packages that will set up all the social marketing accounts needed for you to get your book in the public eye and on the right path to selling your title to the proper target market. We make this process hassle and stress-free for you. We create an attractive banner and cover photo from your book to incorporate with all your independent social media outlets and network them together. Empire Publishing places content posts, images and “Buy Now” buttons for your book.

Even if you already published your book, and now want to get marketing for it, it is never too late.

THE BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ARE MANY, BUT THEY INCLUDE:

Improved social signals (which are a factor in the search-ranking algorithm), Author (book) branding, Improved brand awareness, Word-of-mouth advertising, Increased customer loyalty and trust, Improved audience reach and influence. Social media is also one of the three pillars of SEO (search engine optimization to get your a higher ranking).

The Best Social Media Package Available through Empire Publishing and Literary Service:
The social media packages that our competitors offer only contain four platforms. Our package utilizes 11 of the leading social media platforms to give your book maximum exposure that includesFacebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube, Pinterest, Tumblr, Blogger, AboutMe, VK Europe, WordPress, and StumbledUpon.

If you are an author who already published your book – even with a different publisher, but would like to start making money with your book, start with a complete package.

Social Media Package Includes:

Custom Banner/Header
Author Photograph
Custom Background
Author Bio
Photo of Book Cover
Embed Youtube Video*
Links to Book eStore and/or Website
Book Synopsis
Cross Link Social Media Networks
*Does not include video production

Price $599.

bookmarketing

If you have a Facebook account, you can post your book links on my page:

https://www.facebook.com/mybookpages/

Also, visit our Empire Publishing Facebook Page

January 13 2017

The Best Publishing Package Available Anywhere

Go With The Gold!

The Title of this post may seem a bit on the self-serving side, seeing how it is directly about our Gold Publishing Package. In all honesty and true integrity of this post, I am not trying to toot my horn. However, I want you to know that I have diligently researched all the other credible Book Publishing companies on the world wide web, and I am confident that no one else out there is offering this much bang for your buck. In fact, I was half-tempted to raise the price, when I saw what others are charging for similar packages. But, I would not feel right about it. We have fair prices and superior production. Our number one competitor is charging $1499.00 and does not offer all that we offer, and we are offering it for $500.00 less! That is right; we are $500.00 less expensive and not to mention we offer a boatload more in this package. I honestly understand why so many Authors who are doing their research correctly acknowledges the benefits of choosing the Gold Package, with Empire Publishing. It is our number ONE selling package.

Here is what an Author gets when choosing the Gold Publishing Package:

The Gold package was precisely designed and well thought out for amateur and semi-pro authors who are serious about launching a career in writing without spending an enormous amount of money.
The “Gold” combo-publishing package includes upgrades on services, more custom cover options, interior options, many trim sizes, expanded distribution and promotional tools.

The “Gold” combo-publishing package includes a personal publishing consultant and/or Author assistant to be your “go to person” throughout the publishing process and will also help put together a marketing strategy for the author’s book. The amazing Gold Package also includes social media development to begin building an author platform that will place name recognition online which is needed to generate book sales. As with all Empire Publishing packages, authors receive more for the money than our what competitors are offering.

Furthermore, options are available to upgrade any service by adding on as a-la-cart items. Add-ons are very common because many times an Author realizes that they would benefit from additional marketing resources or publishing tools. However, with the Gold Package, everything an Author needs to sell books right out of the gate is built into this package.

Gold Publishing Package Specifically comes with:

Custom Interior
Mechanical Editing
ISBN Bar Code
Premium Cover
Trade Paperback Publishing
eBook (Kindle)
Author eStore
Web Page for your Book with Links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com
Video Trailer (30 to 40 seconds)
Social Media Promo (Facebook and Twitter)
25 Bookmarks with your book cover and your www.yourbook.com printed on them.
5 Free Books (Paperback)
Tier Two Feature (Front Table of New Books)
Amazon “Look Inside” and Google “Preview”
Barnes and Nobel “Read Instantly”
Worldwide Distribution