Author: admin

Julie Postance is a book publishing consultant and the Director of iinspire media. Since 2010, she has helped hundreds of writers become successful authors of high-quality books. She is passionate about the nuts and bolts of self-publishing and works one on one with clients to turn their manuscript into a top-quality book that is published across all book retailers globally. Julie has ghost-written six non-fiction books ranging from baby signing, health and fitness, dating and cosmology and is the author of Breaking the Sound Barriers. She has a postgraduate in Magazine Journalism from the London College of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Melbourne. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and is the mother of twin boys.

We’re now producing Audiobooks!

Hello!

I am delighted to let you know that we are now producing audiobooks!

Many of you have asked me over the years about creating your audiobook. After much searching, I have finally found the right person who is an absolute expert at producing audiobooks and podcasts, who really cares about his clients and wants you to succeed.

Dave will hold your hand through the process of recording your audiobook. He will edit your book and produce the recordings to ensure you pass the strict Amazon/Audible, Apple, Google Play and Spotify standards.

Your audiobook will then be listed for sale at 20 international outlets including Amazon/Audible, Apple, Google Play and Spotify. You, the author will retain all audio rights of ownership and your royalties will be paid directly to your nominated account.

He has a list of voices who can narrate your book for you if you don’t want to do it yourself. You can choose a voice with an Australian, American or English accent, male or female. Most authors, however, prefer to record in their own voice at home at their own pace. And if you don’t have a microphone for your PC, Dave will lend you one for the process you need to record.

Audiobooks continue to be the fastest growing segment in publishing. After increasing by 25% in 2020, Deloitte expects that number to grow to a staggering $15 billion by 2027.

By creating an audio version of your book, you are giving your readers another way of being able to read your book. There are millions of people who now prefer to consume books on Audible while they are shopping, exercising, driving or doing the housework.

If your book is already on Amazon, then Audible will allow readers to listen to a sample of the audio version, which is a great way to connect with your readers and promote you and your book.

So if you are interested in turning your book into an audiobook, then message me and I will pass on Dave’s details. Please don’t delay as Dave’s schedule is filling quickly for 2021.

I look forward to hearing from you and turning your book into an audiobook!

Have a great week,

Julie

About the author

Julie Postance is a book publishing consultant and the Director of iinspire media. Since 2010, she has helped hundreds of writers become successful authors of high-quality books. She is passionate about the nuts and bolts of self-publishing and works one on one with clients to turn their manuscript into a top-quality book that is published across all book retailers globally. Julie has ghost-written six non-fiction books ranging from baby signing, health and fitness, dating and cosmology and is the author of Breaking the Sound Barriers. She has a postgraduate in Magazine Journalism from the London College of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Melbourne. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and is the mother of twin boys.

Contact Julie Postance

Julie Postance
Book publishing consultant
iinspire media

E: info @ iinspiremedia.com.au
M: 0400 197 616
T: @JuliePostance
S: JuliePostance
W: www.iinspiremedia.com.au
F: www.facebook.com/JuliePostanceWritePublishandPromoteYourBook
I: writepublishandpromoteyourbook

The difference between vanity publishing, independent publishing, and self-publishing

If you have decided to self-publish a book, you may have heard conflicting information. Are you wondering about the difference between vanity publishing and independent publishing?

Vanity publishing is when you pay a publisher to produce your book. It may also be called subsidy publishing or a vanity press. You pay the publisher to turn your manuscript into a book ready for commercial release.

Independent publishing is where you do all the publishing yourself. You may use some commercial services such as design and editing. But you are the one responsible for seeing the book through to completion.

Both of these methods are referred to as self-publishing. But only independent publishing is true self-publishing.

Before you decide to publish your book, you should be clear about each of these methods.

Who takes the risk?

When a traditional publisher takes on a book, they treat it as an investment. They pay the author an advance, then they produce and market the book. The bulk of the profit goes to the publisher. The author starts receiving a royalty once the book has sold enough copies to cover the advance.

In this case, the publisher is taking on all the risk, so it’s only natural that they receive most of the profits.

When an independent publisher produces their own book, they are also taking on all the risk. So naturally, they get all the profits after expenses.

With vanity publishing, it’s a little different. The author takes all the risk since they are paying the production costs. The publisher makes their profit from the author.

In some cases, the publisher will put their own ISBN on the book and add it to their catalogue. This means that the publisher will receive a royalty for every sale.

Many people in the publishing industry find this practice dubious. The person who takes the risks should be the one who gets the profits. A vanity publisher takes on almost no risk.

There are some vanity publishers who will add a book to their distribution channels. Some will actively market the book as well. But there are also those who will take your money and produce a poor-quality book. Often, without doing anything to encourage sales. After all, they made their profit when you paid them, why bother after that.

Which one do I need?

Before you decide which form of self-publishing is right for you, you need to decide what your purpose is. If you are a budding author looking to publish your first book then vanity publishing may be right for you.

Most likely, you have no experience with publishing so you need to learn the ropes.

You’ve probably heard of all the steps involved. Designing a cover, formatting for print, testing the format on different devices, and so on. But, until you see someone else do it, you are likely going to have doubts.

Another reason why you might choose a vanity press is because you don’t care about sales.

Maybe you are publishing your memoirs for your family and friends. Then it makes sense to let a publisher handle everything. For a fee, you can have a professional-looking book made up that your family will love… Hopefully.

If your goal is a career as a self-publishing author, look at independent publishing.

In theory, you won’t have to spend any money for indie publishing, but that’s unrealistic. There will be costs involved, but you own all of your book. The ISBN is yours, should you choose to use one. The rights are yours, the cover design is yours. There are no leaks.

Some authors recommend paying for publishing on your first book. You can switch to independent publishing once you see how it all works.

They refuse to say “vanity publishing” because it’s a dirty word to indie authors. But paid publishing will teach you a lot.

Some other authors claim that there is no need to ever pay for publishing. They say that you should jump straight into indie publishing and learn by doing.

If it is your goal to make a career out of self-publishing, then you will have to decide which approach is right for you.

What are the costs?

Independent publishing is inexpensive. For ebooks, platforms like Smashwords and Kindle Direct Publishing are free to use.

If you want to release a paperback book, then print on demand services are the way to go. CreateSpace, which is attached to Amazon, is free to use. IngramSpark charges a fee of $49, but they are good to use if you want to distribute outside of Amazon.

You could do the cover design and all the formatting yourself. In this case, it won’t cost you anything to produce your book. More realistically, you will need to pay for at least one editor and a cover design.

You can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 for editing services. It depends on what kind and how much you need done.

A structural editor, or developmental editor, will help with the elements of your book. A line editor will work with the language and flow of the writing. A copyeditor will fix your grammar and poor word choices. A proofreader will fix spelling mistakes and punctuation.

At a bare minimum, you should hire a line editor so your book reads well. When you have more experience you can decide on what other services you need. Some editors will provide multiple services, which may help to keep costs down.

Author Joanna Penn uses one editor for both structural and line edits. She uses another person for proofreading. The total cost is $1500.

Author Catherine Ryan Howard uses one person for both copy editing and proofreading. The total cost is $600.

For the cover design, you can expect to pay $250 or more. This can vary greatly depending on who you hire. You could get a cover design for as little as $5 on fiverr.com, but this isn’t recommended. The cover is the major selling point of your book so it is worth spending money for a good one.  An experienced cover designer may charge $350-450 for a full cover for both ebook and print.

If you decide to use an ISBN, you can get them from Thorpe-Bowker in Australia. A single ISBN will cost you $44 and there are discounts for buying them in bulk.

The costs of vanity publishing will vary with each company. Typically, you will be looking at hybrid services. This is where a self-publishing company offers packages where they do all or some of the work for you.

A typical package will include editing, formatting, and cover design. You will also get some marketing and distribution. These packages range in price from $1200 to $2000.

In conclusion

Vanity publishing is where you pay someone to publish your book. Independent publishing is where you do it all yourself. There are hybrid services where you pay for some of the production and do the rest yourself. Each of these is referred to as self-publishing.

If you are serious about being an author, independent publishing is the better choice. Although, you might use a hybrid service to gain experience.

Self-publishing is a journey. There is no one right way to do it. The important thing is to get started.

Why self-publishing is not vanity publishing

  1. Simply explaining the difference

Vanity publishing (also termed as ‘subsidy publishing’) is an actual publishing house which charges authors to publish their book. Self publishing is when an author publishes a book all on their own, without using an established publisher. Another form of publishing which seems to get confused with self publishing and vanity publishing, is independent publishing (also sometimes termed ‘small presses’, or ‘indie press’). Independent publishing is a very small publisher which has a much smaller annual income compared to traditional publishers, and generally their sales fall below a certain amount (this varies from country to country).

  1. Self-publishing is a control freak’s dream come true

Out of every form of publishing, there is no doubt that self-publishing offers the author full control (take a look at my blog ’10 compelling reasons to publish your own book’ for further and complete details). Self-publishing is incredibly popular, and its popularity grows with every year. No other way of publishing will allow you the total authority to choose your editor, cover, formatting, selling price, how to market the book, and where exactly to sell your book. Authors are drawn in by the freedom it affords, and the ease in which an author can make decisions about something they have worked so hard on. The fact that self-publishing is not just limited to an ebook, that authors can still publish a physical book, is also a major draw card.

  1. What attracts an author to vanity publishing

Many authors who aren’t interested in self publishing and completely controlling their book, turn to vanity publishing. Unlike traditional publishers or even independent publishers, vanity publishers generally have zero selection criteria. They are mostly not picky about the genre or style of book an author wants to publish, this is in vast contrast to traditional and independent publishers who have very strict rules and guidelines authors must follow when submitting their book. Many authors see vanity publishing as the best way to still be involved with the publication of their book, without having to deal with every minor detail. Another hook for vanity publishing is that authors are able to purchase large quantities of their book, and use those copies for promotional purposes.

  1. Why vanity publishing isn’t for everyone

While vanity publishers do allow the author far more independence and the ability to make decisions, compared to traditional and independent publishers, they also have much higher fees, and their contracts are usually quite restrictive. Vanity publishers make their money upfront directly from the author, regardless of whether the book they publish is successful or not, so marketing and promoting a book is not important, or necessary, to them. They can also control how much a book sells for, which isn’t alway beneficial to the author. Because they have made their money upfront, the care levels are not as existent, like they are with self, independent, and traditional publishing. They can also be traps to unsuspecting and vulnerable authors, laid out by scammers who make big promises, and just don’t deliver. Because of this, Vanity press do not have a good or reputable name, and authors are continually warned to stay away from them.

  1. Why vanity publishing has such a bad reputation 

For authors who are just using vanity publishing to gain physical copies of their books, for personal or promotional reasons, then they’re generally not let down, and know exactly what to expect. Unfortunately, there are many inexperienced authors who spend an enormous amount of time writing a book which is extremely important to them. They then spend so much time sending their book to every publisher they can find, and they are continually rejected. Then they receive an offer from a vanity publisher, very quickly, who tells them how fantastic their book is, and how imperative it is that the author make sure their book is published. Lucky for the author, the vanity publisher can help them, they just need the author to invest a percentage of the overall cost (normally up to 50%), then they can publish the book right away and the author will receive 50% of the book’s profit earnings. Once the author has paid the unscrupulous vanity publishers, they very rarely receive any of the earnings, or any sales information about the book.

  1. Why self-publishing is the safer choice

When you self publish a book, you still need to invest money upfront. However, you are still in total control of every cent you spend, and you know exactly where each cent is going. What you are paying for upfront is readying the book for publication (editing, formatting, and cover design), and promoting and marketing your book. You know exactly how much profit the book is earning, and how many copies have sold. You have control of every aspect, and you can change the selling price as often as you like, as well as the retailers you choose to sell your book through. Once you self publish, there is never the possibility of you losing control, and this is exactly why it is so highly regarded by many authors.

The Current World Of Self-Publishing

More people than ever are self-publishing their writing. In 2017, for the first time, the number of self-published books reached over a million. The market is growing steadily and it’s a great time for indie authors. Here are some common trends in the world of self-publishing.

An online presence is essential

The barrier to entry has never been lower for self-publishing authors. While this means you can start publishing your work right away, you will need a way to stand out from the crowd. Almost all successful indie authors are actively promoting their books. To see decent sales, current authors need to maintain an online presence.

A successful author website must be fast and clean. It must be mobile-friendly and optimised to rank highly in search results. A common tactic is to combine an author website with a blog. You improve your search-result ranking with regular blog posts. And you promote your books at the same time. As well as running a site, it is best practice to run a social media campaign. The more followers you have the easier it is to make book sales.

Audience engagement

It is more important than ever before for an author to know their audience. Selling your work requires focusing on a specific group of people. I’m not suggesting you have to stifle your creativity. Don’t write crowd-pleasing work that you aren’t proud of. I am suggesting that your marketing efforts have to focus on the people who read your books.

Find out who your readers are. What forums do they visit? What communities are they a part of? Join those communities and post on those forums. Learn as much as you can about them.

When you know your readers you will know how to market to them.

For example, you may be a fantasy writer. If your readers are big fans of Game of Thrones, you can write a blog post on “5 books that are better than Game of Thrones.”

Confusion in the mainstream media

For a long time, everyone was talking about how print is dead and ebooks are the big seller. Then they flip-flopped and print was the big thing again, and digital was dying.

Mainstream media seems to grab the first piece of information that becomes available. What they publish is not gospel.

In fact, many self-publishing authors make a comfortable living from their books. As long as you are prepared to do the marketing, then sales figures across the industry don’t really affect you.

Jeff Bezos recently revealed some interesting facts about Kindle Direct Publishing royalties. In 2017, over 1000 indie authors surpassed US$100,000 each. And keep in mind, this is a platform where you can publish your book in under five minutes.

There are more resources available than ever before and more ways to sell your writing. How well your book does is in your hands.

Subscription sales

Many publishers have found subscription services to be profitable. They are a great way to hold onto customers too. Subscription services offer readers the chance to read as many books as they want for a monthly fee. This increases exposure and can mean more opportunities for revenue.

Kindle Unlimited is the most popular subscription service. It requires that you publish your book exclusively with Amazon, but it is the exception.

Most other services are open, and more are becoming available all the time.

Audio is growing

Many readers are turning to audiobooks. One reason is that people often don’t have the time to read a book. This is good for authors as it provides the opportunity for another income stream.

Audiobook sales have been growing steadily since 2017. This year is expected to be the biggest yet.

There are more streaming services available to authors who create audiobooks. Amazon’s Audible has expanded its reach. There are some new developments at Apple books and Kobo audio as well.

Producing an audiobook is also becoming a lot easier. All you need is a reasonable microphone and a quiet place to record yourself.

If you’re willing to spend a little, you can use a freelance narrator. Online platforms such as ACX or Findaway Voices offer studio-quality narration services.

Online writing

There are alternatives to publishing a book. A newer trend is to publish directly to the internet.

Some authors are publishing their books as a website or series of blog posts. They receive payment by showing Pay-Per-Click advertising or affiliate links.

This method requires solid SEO to promote your site. Most likely, you’ll need an active social media campaign as well. But this is the easiest method of publishing so far.

It remains to be seen if this will take over as the dominant media for self-publishing authors.

Why you need a book for your business

  1. Promotion matters

One of the most important things to consider when operating a business is: promotion. No matter the size of your current client base, at the end of the day, that will only carry you so far. Sure, it’s fantastic to have a strong base of supportive and regular clients, but various costs are rising every single day and there is absolutely no way that a business can survive with the same income month after month. The problem with promotion is, that businesses tend to rely on the same types of promotion, television, radio, and social media advertisements, and sales conventions, and trade fairs. With so many businesses using the same promotional avenues, many businesses are very quickly and easily getting lost amongst the masses. Your business needs something to stand out, something to stand above the rest. And that is exactly where self-publishing comes in.

  1. A book will give your business credibility and authority 

Yes, you definitely read that right, self-publishing is an invaluable and a somewhat unique way to promote your business. Just think about it, you can have a whole book, of any size, completely dedicated to your business. To what it is exactly that your business does, why customers should choose your business, what you can and will offer prospective clients, and even why the best future talent should choose your business for the next step in their career. Like I said, it’s an invaluable marketing tool. It’s also such a grand gesture of sorts, that it lends immediate and lasting credibility to your business. Any business can have a business card, a Facebook page, or a website, but how many actually have something as authoritative as a book? The exciting thing is, platforms such as Amazon, make it so very simple and straightforward to publish a book.

  1. Exposure galore

The thing about Amazon, which most people don’t realise, is that it is the third top-ranked internet search engine following Google and YouTube, and it is the number one search engine when searching for products and services. This is exactly why your business should be getting a piece of the action. Just think about it, you Google or search for a particular service, and a handful of businesses show up. You see that one of those businesses has a published book all about their business and what they’re offering. Which business will stand out the most to you? Which business will feel more impressive? Exactly. When you think about the purpose of your business, all the facets of your business, I can guarantee that your list won’t stop at one item. Your business will always be interesting to you, you will always feel passionate about your business, therefore you will never be short of ideas to write about. And just imagine it from a future client’s point of view. If they can read just how passionate you are about your business, just how much it means to you, just how much it can offer them; then that is something that will excite them, something they’ll want to share with their family and friends. And everyone knows just how powerful word of mouth can

  1. Publish your book the right way

Self-publishing a book is also a rather cheap promotional option- if done correctly, and if it is used as a genuine marketing tool to promote your business, then it is also tax-deductible. If you just write a quick book, make up a quick and basic cover, and upload the book to Amazon- that won’t get you far. It will just get you terrible reviews, and really just give your business a terrible name. Like all valuable promotional avenues you do need to invest in the book. It doesn’t matter who it is that writes the book, you still need to have it fully edited. That means content, copy, and line editing, and proofreading. You also need a professional and eye-catching cover, as well as ensuring the formatting inside of the book is of a professional standard, too. It can seem daunting at first, but there are so many professionals out there who you can very easily hire to edit and format the book, and create the cover, so that whole aspect is not difficult, nor time consuming.

  1. The benefits are never-ending

The benefits of publishing a book solely about your business, far outweigh how difficult you may think self publishing is. A book can sell a product or service, a book can draw clients to your business, a book can recruit employees to work for your business, and it can even draw the media’s eye when they are looking for an expert on a certain product or service. And it will help your business shine.

 

One Day Self-Publishing Seminar (printed books and ebooks)

Have you written a book or do you have a book inside you? Did you know that less than 0.1% of books get published by mainstream publishers? Why not do it yourself and start building a track record of sales and credibility.  You are much more likely to get picked up by a mainstream publisher with a published book than with a manuscript that is likely to get thrown on the slush pile!

My name is Julie Postance. I am an author, ghostwriter and director of iinspire media, a boutique publishing company that has helped hundreds of people become thriving PUBLISHED AUTHORS of BEAUTIFUL, HIGH QUALITY BOOKS that make an IMPACT on their audience.

If you want to be holding your published book in your hand in the next few months, then this is the workshop for you.

During my one day boutique workshop, I will take you by the hand and show you EVERYTHING about publishing and marketing your own book to your particular audience. This is not one of those workshops where they miss out vital parts of information. I will show you all I know, screen by screen so you can walk away knowing exactly what to do to publish your book on your own! And me (and my wonderful team) will be only a call or email away to assist you with the things you don’t want to do on your own.

There have been many published authors from these workshops. Some have been on television, radio and in the newspaper. Recent media coverage includes ABC Conversations, Sunrise, Channel 7’s Daily Edition, Studio 10, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Body and Soul, Daily Telegraph, Kinderling Kids Radio, Australian Women’s Weekly, Traveller, Mamamia’s No Filter Podcast, Stellar Magazine, Kidspot, BubHub, Mamamia, Nine Mums and much more.

Some have been on the speaking circuit. Some have become huge advocates in their field. Some have been offered mainstream publishing contracts both in Australia and overseas. Some have sold thousands of books.

Praise for Julie’s workshops

“I attended one of Julie’s self-publishing workshops in 2017. Her guidance proved invaluable and helped me indie-publish a book of an exceptional professional standard. My book has done so well. I sold 4000 copies in one month through shannonskitchen.com and now I have made a deal with a major Australian publisher. Thank you for your help, Julie, I couldn’t have done it without you!” Shannon Kelly White, author of Shannon’s Kitchen

“Julie, thanks for all your help. Yoga and the Alexander Technique did pretty well and it has now been taken up by an American publisher who renamed it Smart Yoga. They have just negotiated rights with a Chinese and a Korean publisher to have the book translated, which is great. It has certainly raised my profile as an international presenter and teacher in this area.” David Moore, author of Smart Yoga

When: Saturday, 23 November 2019

Time: 10 – 5 pm

Venue: Melbourne venue (To be confirmed).

Price: $290 ($250 concession). 

Price includes morning tea and lunch.

Event is capped at 15 people to get the focused attention you deserve for your book.

Send me an email to register your interest or to ask any questions at info@iinspiremedia.com.au


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Your book WILL be judged by its cover!

Yes, whether you like it or not, people DO judge a book by its cover.

Your book cover image will be the first thing people look at when they browse an online bookstore such as Amazon.

Research shows that 74% of a reader’s buying decision is based on the cover.  Potential buyers will spend approximately 5 seconds looking at the front cover then about 10 seconds reading the description on the back or in the blurb online.  If your cover or description don’t hook them in during that time, then you’ve lost a sale and they will move onto the next book.

This is why an exceptional book cover design is more important than ever.  Without a compelling, eye-catching, high quality cover in a store or a thumbnail image to grab the attention of online buyers, sales will simply not happen.

Your book needs to say ‘Buy me!’ It also needs to set the tone for your book and establish you (as the author) and it as the book as a brand.

Your book cover is therefore your prime real estate.  Every element of your cover – your title, subtitle, image, concept and colour – is critical.  It can make or break the success of your book.

If your book cover says ‘boring’ or ‘unprofessional’ in any way, then the reader will not have much faith in the writing and you are guaranteed to miss out on sales. Which is why I’m suggesting that you get your cover created by a professional cover designer – more on that later.

Here are my tips to ensure an excellent cover design:

  1. Always use a professional cover designer to get an eye-catching, attention grabbing cover. Professional cover designers know what works and what doesn’t in terms of which fonts to use, the space between elements and what images would work.
  2. Keep your cover simple and easy to read for potential readers – remember it will only be a thumbnail size online!
  3. Ask yourself what emotions you are trying to get across from your cover and then communicate that to your cover designer.
  4. Before you get started on your cover, do some market research in your chosen niche.  Go to an online book store such as Amazon, which will have the biggest range of professional looking covers that you will find, type in ‘Paleo diet cook books’ or the subject of your chosen genre, then have a look at the particular covers that come up. Research winning covers in your niche and use elements from their covers. I don’t mean steal titles or photos, rather model yourself on what works in your genre.  You will notice that most covers in that niche will fit the genre and meet the reader’s expectations of that genre i.e. there will be no confusion as to whether the book is a romance novel, thriller, fantasy novel, business or self help book. Thrillers, for example, most often share a strong, bold title and author name with a dark silhouette of a man with a weapon, or a terrified looking protagonist.  Romance novels usually have a dreamy picture of a man and a woman locked in a passionate embrace.  A mind, body, spirit book usually uses calming images in soft colours, not boisterous colours to inspire peace in the reader. There are definitely books that veer away from readers’ expectations, however, for your own book, try not to make it hard for your readers or yourself! You have so little time to convince readers to buy your book before they move on to the next one.  Create a cover that eliminates confusion as to what genre this is and you will be likely to create more sales.
  5. Have a short, catchy title for your book – 2-3 powerful words.  
  6. Ensure that your sub-title (if it is a non-fiction book) leaves your reader with no confusion as to what the book is about.  Include key words that people would search on Google and Amazon to find a book such as yours.
  7. Use just one strong image that grabs the attention of your target market, conveys the ‘essence’ of your book and fits the genre.  Too many images, rather than just one, makes a cover appear too ‘busy’ and make it difficult to make out what the images are.  Ensure that the image is in the correct dimensions (see below) and that you have correctly purchased or licensed the image or sought permission from the owner of the image and accredited the image otherwise you could land yourself in hot water.
  8. Use 2-3 persuasive testimonials on the back cover of your book.  Get these from people either who are well known and who have credibility among your target readers or who are in your target readership who can endorse your book. How, you wonder, can I get a testimonial from someone if I haven’t yet had the book published?  Simply contact them (via phone or email), tell them that you are just about to publish a book on ‘x’ topic. Ask whether they would read your book or a chapter of your book then if they like it, would they be so kind as to supply you with a written testimonial. Most people are happy to support others and will say yes.  Don’t place limits on yourself.  Who would most like to see on the front cover of your book?  Write a list, start at the top and work down.  You never know until you try!
  9. Use simple classical clear easy to read fonts (which will improve legibility), not complex, unusual fonts or 3D or drop shadows (which will be hard to read in a thumbnail image). Use fonts that can be clearly seen online.  The best book cover uses several fonts – one for the title, one for the sub-title and one for the author’s name.
  10. Don’t be afraid of space! Balance the design elements otherwise your cover will look cluttered and confusing.
  11. Never use more than three colours.  Use colour based on your genre.
  12. Increase your font size and use contrasting colours to enhance legibility.
  13. It is an absolute no-no to draw your own cover or get your brother who’s ‘brilliant at drawing’ to do it for you. People are judgmental and will judge it harshly.
  14. Use only one image! Please please please never put a collection of different photos on your cover – it will make your book look amateurish and ‘tacked together’. One strong image is far more powerful than 3 different ones scrapbooked together.
  15. Pay for a professional looking image.  You can either hire a professional photographer.  Or you can search websites such as iStockphoto.com, Dreamstime.com, bigstock.com or shutterstock.com.  They have a vast selection of powerful images that will make your book look professional. They are also reasonably priced and their licence means you can use them up to 499,999 times.  Make sure of course that you avoid visual clichés, images that look like stock images.
  16. Test your cover on your target readership.  It is not enough for you or your friends and family to love your book cover.  They are not your target readers.  If your target market are teenage girls, show your book cover to teenage girls. If they say your cover looks boring or ‘I wouldn’t buy it’, then show them some book covers in the same niche on Amazon and get them to show you what which covers they like most and what they would read.  Then take note of what they say and adapt your cover accordingly.  Show your revised one to them and get more feedback until it hits the mark.

If you would like to know more about cover design or have us design you an excellent cover, then contact us at info (at) iinspiremedia.com.au 

10 compelling reasons to publish your own book

There are so many reasons to publish your own books rather than go through a traditional publisher.  Here are ten!

1.You can enjoy the benefits of ‘published author’ status sooner rather than later
Being a publisher author rather than simply a writer with an unpublished manuscript can mean career acceleration, prestige, wealth and opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.  You can literally go from ‘unknown’ to ‘expert’ over night.  All of a sudden you are in demand, with people wanting you to sign their books, speak at their events, write articles on your subject and be interviewed on their shows.  With this newly established credibility you can begin holding seminars, commanding consulting fees, travelling the world speaking, being interviewed by media and of course selling lots of books.  All of this is very achievable if you publish your own book.  What’s better is that it can happen in the immediate rather than distant future.

2. Your book is your ultimate business card
A book brands you as the ‘expert’ in your field.  You can use it to grow your business and increase your revenues.  You can give it away to your clients.  As a published author, you now stand head and shoulders above your competition.

3. Your chances of being published by a mainstream publisher are less than 0.1%
The brutal fact is, the chance of your manuscript being accepted by a mainstream publisher is less than 0.1%.  Traditional publishers are concerned with books that are going to make them a substantial profit in order to justify their investment in producing, marketing and distributing it.  Of course, some of you may be lucky enough to land a publishing contract straight away.  But for the remaining 99.9% of us, if you are not prepared to have your confidence undermined by dozens of rejection letters thrown into your mail box relentlessly over months and even years, then stay away from the traditional publishing route!

4. Publishing your own books keeps your self-esteem intact!
JK Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham and Mark Victor Hansen’s manuscripts got thrown on the slush pile numerous times before their work saw the light of day.  I’d rather keep my self-esteem intact and go the self-publishing route! Wouldn’t you?

5. Publishing your own book will be far quicker than going through a traditional publisher
A book normally takes 18 months to get onto the shelves with a mainstream publisher. If you’re keen on seeing your book published NOW rather than possibly having to wait months or years for your book to be picked up not to mention the additional 18 months for it to see it in the stores, then it’s wise not to waste your time on mainstream publishing.

6. Self-publishing equals more money
Traditional publishers pay a measly royalty figure of 6% and 10% of net receipts (a couple of dollars per book if you are lucky).  It is rare for publishers to print more than 5000 of your books (5,000 books is considered a best-seller in Australia!).  With those kinds of numbers, the chances of getting rich through book publishing are slim.  It’s an entirely different story if you publish your own book.  You get to keep 100% of the retail price if you sell directly to the customer (through your website, at seminars and other events).  That figure drops to 31.5% if you go through a distributor to get your book into bookstores, but it’s a lot better than what the traditional publisher will give you.  And while you’ll be lucky to sell a few hundred or thousand books through a traditional publisher, you can keep selling hundreds and thousands of books each year – year after year.

7. More control over your books
If you publish your own book, you have more control.  If you go through a traditional publisher, then they make many of the decisions including what the cover should look like and what the title should be.   Wouldn’t you rather keep control of your book, get more say in what it looks like and get to keep more money from the sales?  And do not be misled into thinking that publishers will pour money into marketing your book.  Time and time again, I’ve heard the saying, “Publishers are simply glorified printers”.  If you want to sell lots of copies, you are going to have to do lots of marketing, simple as that! And that’s easy once you learn how.

8. Publishing your own book has never been so easy
Finding a professional to edit, design and type-set your book has never been cheaper and easier than with www.upwork.com (formerly www.elance.com) where professionals get to outbid each other for the job.  A friend of mine recently had his children’s book designed and typeset for $200 US and it looked fantastic! With print on demand printers, you can now print low numbers of books, sometimes even one at a time at the cost of roughly $4 per book and not get stuck with thousands in your garage.

In the Internet era, never before have there existed so many opportunities for the self-publishing writer.  These days, you don’t even have to spend any money on printing your book.  You can simply upload it onto Createspace.com or Ingramspark.com, which makes your book available on Amazon, the biggest online bookstore in the world!  Forget about little markets like just one country! You can go global! Other online book platforms include Draft2Digital.com or Smashwords.com where you can upload your Word document and have it published in a variety of different formats making it accessible to use on people’s laptops, Iphones and Kindles.  The future of publishing is getting more and more exciting with advances in technology.

9. Self-publishing will teach you about the whole publishing world
If you intend on being involved in the publishing world as a career, then nowhere else will you learn better or faster about the mysterious world of publishing than by doing it yourself.  By reading books on self-publishing or by getting a self-publishing expert to guide you in your journey and by doing what’s involved in the process, you learn step by step how it all fits together. Wouldn’t you rather be knowledgeable about publishing than give all the power to the publishers?  This knowledge could save you thousands of dollars in the long run and put thousands more in your pocket over your lifetime.

10. With a self-published book, there is more likelihood you’ll get picked up by a traditional publisher
As an unpublished writer, your typed up manuscript is likely to land on the slush pile along with the manuscripts of other unpublished writers.  There is little doubt, however, that if you sent them a published book especially one that demonstrates sales, you’d dramatically increase your chances of being taken seriously by them.  How great to be in a position to decide whether or not to sell your book to a traditional publisher?

I could go on forever about the joys and benefits of publishing your own book and this article has really only scratched the surface.  However, if you’d like to know more or need advice on writing, publishing or marketing your book, please email me at info (at) iinspiremedia.com.au

For more information on this article, contact Julie at info (at) iinspiremedia.com.au or go to www.iinspiremedia.com.au

 

 

Write, Publish and Promote Your Book

Self-publishing is booming and you will be amazed at the opportunities available to budding authors that simply weren’t possible through traditional publishing channels. If you have even an inkling of interest in this field, this course is highly recommended! This step by step course, presented by author, publishing and marketing consultant Julie Postance, will take you from initial concept right the way through to self-published paperback. Publishing your own book establishes you as an expert and can bring you career acceleration, money and opportunities beyond your wildest dreams. Bypass rejection letters from publishers, learn how to write, edit and get your book out there!