My friend Liz Gaige of Market Navigators recently asked me to comment on mistakes that professionals make when self-publishing. I decided to re-post my answer to her here. Check out her regular newsletter (subscribe using the link above) for more goodies about marketing your small business.

OK, here you go;

Top 3 Mistakes People Make When Deciding to Self-Publish;

(1) Lack of objectivity:
If you want your book to fail, don’t hire an editor, don’t hire a layout designer, don’t hire a graphic designer to do the cover, don’t enter it into competitions, don’t ask for reviews, etc. Writing in isolation means that your work is not designed to sell. Even if you are writing a work that is not intended to become a bestseller, art cannot exist in a vacuum.

(2) Start with a plan:
Starting from a position of sound pre-writing marketing research is an excellent jumping-off point for a well-developed book. This is a small (micro?) business venture. Why not treat it like one, by recognizing that there is a starting investment, even if it is a small one, of time and money. Many of the items mentioned in item (1) are surprisingly inexpensive, and when formed as part of your overall plan, are essential ingredients for a sellable book.

(3) Print a moderate-sized run, rather than relying on print-on-demand for your entire fulfillment:
Many internet-based print-on-demand suppliers like Lulu, CafePress, and others, offer to market your book for you after you upload your files to them. This is tempting, because there is no initial cost to you, (other than time) and the promise of getting a check in the mail every month, without working for that check, is very nice indeed. But the reality is that if you are investing serious time in this book, you will need to sell more than 20 to 30 books to recoup your investment.* The magical no-work check in the mail rarely happens. It often surprises authors to find out that it costs about the same to print a moderate run the traditional way, as to fulfill about this same number of books using POD. POD has it’s place, but if you want to sell even a modest number of books over the next 3 to 6 months, it makes sense to go with traditional print runs. The pre-press work is virtually the same these days, and by crossing over to regular printing, you suddenly find your options for book size, custom covers, binding and many other choices virtually limitless. Your creativity is set loose.

[* So far, most of the clients that have approached me (vs. me approaching them) are people who have taken the POD route, and have been let down by the lack of progress / quality / sales on their project.]

Before you think I’m thoroughly trashing the POD suppliers out there, let me repeat something I said earlier in this post: POD has its’ place. For example, if you have a class to teach to 60- 70 students, and would like to offer students a chance to order their own textbooks over the web to bring to class, use POD. If you are testing a market with new materials and don’t want to commit yourself, use POD. If you have talent but no money, and want to get a copy out there, like, TODAY, then use POD. If you are trying to sell your book to an investor or publisher, and need a few copies to show around, use POD.

I’m happy to comment further on things like having a marketing plan to sell your book before you start, but that’s Liz’s department. Go ahead and eMail her for more details.

A few years ago, I asked my writing group what their biggest objection was to self-publishing. They really only had a single objection: selling the book after they printed it is difficult, and the book sales channel is so complex that it’s virtually impossible to navigate for newbies. If you are in the business of writing, it’s very distracting to also try to be in the business of selling.

The book biz is really the last bastion of that complex, high-overhead culture of selling. Let me clear here: I have nothing against salesmen. I’m married to a great one – and I don’t know anyone that would have a job if it were not for a sales person somewhere down the line. But the intricacies of the publishing sales channel remind me of the computer wholesale channel 15 years ago, when we were still having liquid lunches, and spending our nights partying instead of sleeping. The days before the direct selling of computer products on the internet were good, good times.

But, we all grew up when the industry did. The same sort of shift is what we can now observe in the publishing world. As more authors, musicians, and trainers / speakers figure out ways to bypass the confusion of the sales channel, the party is ending. The mysterious catalogues, lists, and closely-guarded phone numbers will no longer be the best way to get your book into the hands of the intelligent reader. (In fact, I would suggest that in a few years, that way will no longer exist, at least not in the way that it currently does.)

However, direct marketing requires a certain savvy about the psychology of sales. I don’t mean at all that you must develop a hard-selling style. But I do mean that you need to have an understanding of what makes people want to buy your product. By using this knowledge, you can find your way into a customer chokehold, and suddenly selling is no longer necessary – helping a client fill their need is the new skillset you must develop.

Right now you’re saying to yourself: “Gee Peg, great idea, but how do I discover those market chokeholds?”

You’re right – it’s not easy. But the research it takes to find this answer is still less work than trying to sell your book to someone who doesn’t want to read it. Finding your reader is part of knowing your whole industry – not just knowing your part in that business.

Knowing the whole industry means that you will easily recognize specialization opportunities. Think about discovering highly-focused vertical markets of readers, who are either jaded by the junk they see out there, or who are an as-yet under-served sub-market. Every industry has them. I loved one great idea that I heard lately: in the flooded exercise and fitness market, one woman is making an excellent name for herself by choosing to spin her experience working with a cardiac doctor for many years, into a successful personal trainer biz that only works with heart-attack patients. By understanding her whole industry, she identified this sector as being under-served, and she already had the special knowledge required to manage.

This month, a wonderful editorial was written by one of my favorite editors around, Chris Tyrell, who is published each month in the Opus Visual Arts Newsletter. (I strongly urge all creative types to subscribe if you haven’t already – writers are often artists who dabble in other media. It’s a little newspaper that fills the creative hole just when I seem to need it.) This time, Chris discusses a dilemma that I frequently debate with clients: artistic integrity vs. making your product marketable. I believe he has hit the point right on the head. Selling your product to the right market is never difficult: it frees us to creatively explore more work.

Thanks to the internet, it’s easier now than ever to put your name (or your company name) out there, using a well-designed self-published book.

But in terms of profitability, it’s important to remember an old sales technique called “cross-selling”. (Break out that dusty copy of Brian Tracy’s Psychology of Selling for the definition. Nothing new about the concept: this book was written when his hair was black.)

In other words, if you were to calculate all the hours you put into your book, you’d need to sell it for roughly $150 a copy to make your desired hourly wage. Since it’s highly unlikely you’d get any takers at that price, you need to offer additional products with higher profit margins to your existing book customers. When your book clients purchase the book, you offer them another product that they can cross-over to, which also suits their needs. It’s the equivalent to selling someone a fancy garment bag when they buy a new suit.

Creating these additional products does not have to be complicated or expensive. Building and selling audio and video content, plus your book, and any other gadgets you have working for you, is part of the service offering that my company has expanded to include. I’ve recently partnered with Total Marketing Systems Inc., which will make it much easier for authors to do the thing they all hate the most: sell stuff . Even though this company is run by Canadian partners, it is based in Las Vegas. And if there’s anything they know how to do in Vegas, it’s sell.

Try this on for size: imagine you are the author I’m working with on a new project for release this coming autumn, a website entitled CookSexy.com. Amateur chef / guy guru Matt Richardson’s first cookbook will teach mortal men just enough about cooking sexy food to make beautiful women fall in love with them. An interesting niche, non? Matt has all the makings of a major star that guys will listen to: he’s just a regular guy who has this cooking-for-hot-women thing all figured out.

What he didn’t have figured out was the production, website, downloading technology, affiliate marketing, publishing and publicity. No problem – enter Peggy, and my entourage of specialists in the area of audio and video creatives, post-production, web technology, graphic design, and even hair and makeup. Sprinkle in a world-class affiliate marketing system courtesy of Total Marketing Systems, and you have a concrete plan that offers all the makings of the next Martha-like cooking and media empire.

But what I really want to know is: do I have to be a 20-something single hottie to get him to make me his signature poached sole with creamy dill sauce?

My marketing advisor / mentor Liz Gaige would be so proud of me today – I tripped over a tiny opportunity in Skype.com‘s new offering, the SkypeCast, and managed to spin even a technical mishap into something that sent traffic to this blog, and filtered out several potential new clients.

The SkypeCast is still bit undercooked, but it might offer a great venue as soon as the Skype people get it a bit more refined. A SkypeCast is basically a conference call that you can invite the general public to listen to, via the Skype text chat application. There have been several provocative new offerings at Skype.com lately, including recording calls in native MP3 format, (create instant content for PodCasting) shareable whiteboards, and other functions that facilitate good business communication. But this one might turn out to be the most useful, at least to me.

I simply took content that I had already lying around (more or less), and offered it as a virtual lecture titled “Intro to Self-Publishing”. I flung open the doors to this webcast, and just wanted to see who would show up. And even though an as-yet-unidentified technology problem caused the call to drop over and over again, the Skype users who had tried to log in and attend, but failed, messaged me independently. A few minutes of chatting with some very pleasant people offered some promising leads. My total investment in this was about 2 hours of my time.

For now, there is no cost to host or attend a SkypeCast. Once this changes, I’m sure that the people at Skype intend to market this to business people, rather than the funky, teen market that some other instant messaging systems cater to. When they do, I’m sure my webcast won’t be constantly interrupted by text messages asking if I’m male or female, and what age I am.

Join me for a live discussion at 3 PM Pacific time, Sunday, June 17th, 2007. This free 1-hour online chat will introduce you to the possibilities that self-publishing offers your project, business, or other strategic marketing effort.

To participate in this SkypeCast, you will need to be at your internet-connected computer, with the most current version of Skype set up and running. There is no charge to download and install the software, or to participate in the discussion. You can use either a headset or your computer speakers to hear my voice. I will not be accepting voice questions during the call, but you can text me messages using Skype that I will answer when the topic comes up.

Click the link in the graphic to the right to sign in, or catch me live on Skype anytime, by clicking the small blue button above my photo.

See you on Sunday!

I have always admired George Lucas, and how he handles a story. (See future posts for my lurid description of how I once touched his elbow at a computer conference. The briefest glance of my fingertips sent him sprinting away like a gazelle, lost forever in the crowd.) But he is the perfect example of a writer who understands very clearly, even from the time when Star Wars was only a tiny embryo of an idea, that any memorable story must be developed within a supporting structure.

What is the formula of his success as a storyteller? In an interview that was on the original DVD release of the first three films, he comments that first he introduces his lovable characters to the audience, then he puts them in the most difficult situation they could ever possibly get themselves into, and then he gets them out of it. Sound familiar? It should: it’s the classic formula for a Greek tragedy – the three act play.

A recent article on VisualThesaurus.com interviews author Laurel Dewey, author of the suspense novel Protector, concerning her formula for a successful debut novel. Interestingly, she points to her classic training as a screenwriter as her source for a formula that brings structure to a good story, making it a great one to read. She breaks down the 3-act formula even further, saying “…you have to break Act One, Act Two, and Act Three into percentages. The rule I came up with is 25/55/20. That means, 25% of the story is Act One, 55% of your book is Act Two, and the final 20 % is Act Three… I’ve found the “25/55/20 rule really helps me create a strong box to hold my story.”

I would suggest that this philosophy applies to non-fiction writing as well. There are several so-called standard approaches to non-fiction that are meant to direct the reader through the materials in a logical pattern. This allows understanding to develop in a hierarchical manner, and the reader takes possession of the knowledge in a meaningful way. The pyramid is the best known of these, beginning with the simplest information, and progressing to the more complex. But the three-act format may serve some materials better.

For example, if your book is about a process (of healing, of creativity, of business philosophy, etc.) then perhaps the first act is about the exploration of the problem. The second act might be about the exploration of the solutions, and the third act is about the implementation of the chosen solution. The percentage might not apply quite the same, as one would want to be certain not to gloss over the application of the solution, especially if the materials are about some sort of personal experience.

Did Lucas block out the plot of SW on paper, in a sterile formula devoid of character, comedy, and drama, before he arrived at the final story structure? If listening to the director’s comments on the soundtrack is any indication, the clear answer is YES. A storyboarding process was employed, and a development plan was followed through to the end. The same applies to the production of your book, and will also yield successful results if one is loyal to the process.

This week I bought a robot vacuum. Normally, my house is full of dog hair tumbleweeds, and dust so thick you could remove it with a butter knife. Since having a baby, the living room resembles a cheerio graveyard. So when I saw Costco offering an instant $60 rebate, I sprung for the iRobot Roomba. Even though the dust cup requires emptying every 15 minutes or so in my house, it still beats doing the job by hand. And yes, it does get the cheerios.

But interestingly, I find myself so fascinated by this gadget that both my husband and I can’t stop ourselves from just watching it do it’s job. With both of us standing in the corner observing, the Roomba gets under the dining table and chairs, around the edge of the couch, and even passes neatly under the playpen (with baby walking around the edge to follow it as it passes under her), grabbing every nasty bit of dog hair as it goes. It’s sleek, powerful, and, let’s face it: cool as all get out.

I was impressed by the cleaning ability of this gadget, but also by the written documentation. Talk about clean and simple: there is no 500-page manual, no silly cards inserted into tiny bags, and gee, the get-started card had all the information I actually needed. It was up and running in 30 seconds.

There is also plenty of intuitive help. In other words, the buttons on the device are labeled in a way that really makes you understand at a glance what the button does. If I press “SPOT”, it spots cleans an area about 1 square metre. If I press “MAX”, it gets serious about removing the last bits of drywall dust that are still floating around in our newly-built house. The value of this quality of communication should not be underestimated by technical writers, and it’s refreshing that someone at iRobot actually listened to their documentation consultant. This approach lends credibility to the product, as it shows that it was well thought-out and executed. It is not a piece of junk.

My favorite part about this thing is the remote control. Steering takes practice, but again, the buttons are clearly labeled, and I was able to read the well-written instruction sheet in less than a minute. With a bit of practice, I’m now easily able to use that remote from my desk chair to direct the machine towrds the worst messes, and avoid it getting stuck under my coffee table. Now, if only it could chase the cat upstairs…

The Victorian axiom, “Finish What you Start” is drilled into many of us from childhood. But I know I’m not the only one with a half-knitted sweater sitting in a bottom drawer somewhere. It doesn’t stop me from making the odd pair of slippers, or attempting a new poncho for myself. If we let all the unfinished projects in our lives stop us from starting any new ones, we’d all be starving while we waited for our leftover meatloaf to go moldy.

If you have that book in you, but don’t feel like you have it in you to get the project both off the ground, and finished, let me tell you the best reason to start writing today: books don’t write themselves.

When you break it down into little pieces, it all seems achievable. Imagine you are planning a vacation – project management at it’s most basic;

1. Start with an outline. (A general idea of what sort of vacation you want.)
2. Then make some key decisions about scope and plot design. (Florida, not Europe.)
3. Do a bit of research. (Check comparable prices online.)
4. Do some interviews. (Call your travel agent.)
5. Clarify a few necessities. (Start shopping online for a new bathing suit.)
6. Start writing various sections, even if not in order. (See a great deal on a rental car? Snap it up, even though you still haven’t booked the hotel.)
7. Fill in areas that still need taking care of. (Be sure you have the tickets in your breast pocket.)
8. Begin the wrap-up, and ensure you have covered all your bases. (Get to the airport early so as to avoid lineups in security.)
9. Print a proof, and get a few people to read it. (Relax in the VIP lounge with a cold drink for a few minutes before takeoff.)
10. Print a few more copies, and finally offer it to retailers, and for sale on your website. (Get on that plane, find your seat, and snap on the headset!)

A quality editor can assist with a variety of tasks that will not only help you get the whip cracking when you need to, but should begin with visioning and scope.

Perhaps the best advice for finally getting down to business and writing, is that not everything must go into this book – after all, it probably won’t be the last one you write!

A few years back, a friend of mine became inadvertently victimized by a local business scandal. (In a minute you’ll see why I’m not being more specific.) It was extremely complicated, a lot of big names were on the naughty list, and innocent people were finding themselves having to sacrifice money they didn’t have to spare in order to get out of the mess.

In fact, so many people found themselves to be victims of this scandal that, of course, eventually the lawyers got wind of it, and a massive project was begun to initiate a class-action suit. (As far as I know, it’s still underway.) At one of the meetings that I attended in support of my friend, I made a fool of myself by announcing to thundering applause that I thought I should write a book about this that I would self-publish, exposing the bad guys for all the world to see.

Why was this a mistake, you ask? Well, I never wrote the book. It was a meeting full of tragic victims and angry people, who were not likely to ever see any justice. My empathy moved me to say what I did, and I should not have spoken up without thinking about the impact of the project: on myself, my family, and those who would blow the whistle to me. In other words, there was so much money involved, and so many big names, that if I had written the book, I and those who talked to me would probably have been harrassed and had our lives made miserable in the process.

When is it appropriate to tell the whole ugly truth in a story? One might argue that if a single one of us is afraid to tell the truth, we are all prisoners of what amounts to a lie of omission. On the other hand, if telling the truth will only make everyone miserable, what higher purpose does that serve? The only argument one could make is that truth is indivisible: you either honour it always, or never.

An author that I met with recently asked himself on the way to our meeting, “Who wants to read my story?” This story is about bad stuff happening to good people. Who needs the details of that? It’s a basic life lesson: bad things will always happen, no matter how hard we try to avoid them. It’s how we react and cope that matters.

And this is my answer to that author: EVERYONE wants to read your story, because your story is not about tragedy itself, but about how one can recover from it. This author is ready, 15 years after an extremely traumatic incident, to tell the world how he not only got over his tragic experience, but used it to grow. It has shaped who he is as a person, both in his private and business life. He’s the ultimate spin-doctor: making himself a person he could never have become without this incident in his past.

He’s going to tell the whole story, warts and all. I asked him if he wanted to use a pseudonym, to protect himself or his family, and his answer was a clear “No”. He pointed out that the only people who are worried about telling the whole story are those who don’t really want the story told at all. If you have no skeletons in your closet, he points out, you aren’t worried about answering the door.

This story is no whiney rant from a victim. It’s not about someone’s pain, although it’s important to know that there was pain involved. It’s about what you do, and don’t do, to create positive out of the negative. Here, the whole truth will be honoured. It will make all who read it better. It will make him better for writing it. And it will make an extremely good case for the indivisible truth.