There are reasonable privacy precautions to take when you start a publishing project. But don’t obsess over the stuff that doesn’t matter.

Almost every Author comes to me with a lot of fear (read: baggage from bad stories they’ve heard or imagined) about “copyright” and the possibility of people stealing their stuff. In all 12+ years I’ve worked as an editor, I’ve only seen two Authors who have lost anything because they didn’t sign the proper contracts. Neither were clients of mine, but they came to me for advice after such a thing happened. One was a case involving a divorce, (yeah, like I’m going to get involved in *that*!) and the second was a business partner that wasn’t happy and split, taking the IP (Intellectual Property) with her to market on her own. I’ve seen many, many more people throw around their IP without any protection at all, and never had anything happen. From what I’ve witnessed in my own businesses and those of my husband, disputes over ownership of content are very rare and usually involve something much more complicated, like an ugly divorce or the breakup of a business. It seems to become less common as technology advances, as it’s easier than ever to simply show a date stamp on a document and prove that we thought of it first.

All written works are protected by default copyright laws in Canada, the USA, and most of Europe, as per the Berne Convention. As it states on Wikipedia,

In all countries where the Berne Convention standards apply, copyright is automatic, and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office. Once an idea has been reduced to tangible form, for example by securing it in a fixed medium (such as a drawing, sheet music, photograph, a videotape, or a computer file), the copyright holder is entitled to enforce his or her exclusive rights.

In other words, as long as you can prove that you were the originator of the work (old files, notes, printouts with your edit marks, etc.) then you’re pretty safe in a general sense. The thing is, if you catch someone stealing your stuff, you would still need to prove it, and take it to court to be compensated in any way. (Although usually the threat to sue is enough to make people hold off.) The only benefit of actual copyright registration is that if you sue, you can sue for more money, and in different ways. But you’d still have to decide if it was worth it to fork out money for a lawyer in the first place.

When should you worry about copyright? In the music community, it’s a popular theme and debate. I’m not saying that theft doesn’t happen, because of course it does. And nothing I say here on this website replaces the advice of a good lawyer. But if worrying about this is stopping from creatively progressing with your work, I think you need to pause and consider if there’s a real issue, or an imagined one.

Now on the other hand, a smart and cheap way to give everyone a little more comfort is to sign an NDA, or non-disclosure agreement. I paid a lawyer to write mine, which you can now download by clicking the linked image at the top of this article. (Feel free to steal this and re-work it for your own evil purposes.)

What does this NDA do?

- It says that you promise not to steal my ideas about editing / technology / marketing, and I promise not to steal your ideas about your content.

- It says that you can’t circumvent me and go to one of my suppliers without paying me, nor I to your suppliers.

- It says that we’re both bound to do this equally. This contract doesn’t make a distinction between you or I, and so it doesn’t favour any one party.

- It says that we both agree to do this for 5 years, for a variety of projects in that time. (You don’t need to sign one for each of the 5 books on which you’re working.)

- It says that this NDA does not constitute a contract to do work, and that we’re just agreeing not to steal from each other.

So, to whom should you send this document? Certainly your editor, because we know all your secrets. And possibly any consultants that you hire to work on the project, and your graphic designer. And anybody that you ask for input as you develop your ideas. But that’s about it. You would not ask early reviewers and potential distributors, for example. In the first place, you want to be really nice to those people, and in the second place, they’re not interested in stealing anything anyway. Not that asking people to sign an NDA isn’t nice, but it can put some people on the defensive.

It’s not that your stuff isn’t worth stealing – I’m sure it is. But it seems we’re all too worried about our own ideas being stolen to worry about stealing anyone else’s.

Is volume the name of the game when it comes to eBooks? I’m not convinced that it is.

In this post by Chris Brogan, he makes two extremely important points about pricing digital products.

1. People never truly know what your content is actually worth. Even after they’ve read it.

2. People assume what content is worth based on the up-front price.

If you give a kid a puppy, they will, from day one, forget to feed it, walk it, and they will never EVER scoop the poop. However, if that kid begs for a puppy for 3 years before you finally cave and let him have it, they will feed it for a year, walk it for a week, and scoop the poop once. This is still imperfect, but an improvement. The old adage about people not holding value for something that comes too easily is still true.

It’s rare for people to take the advice of any expert seriously. The real value of the words of great men and women, people who’ve been there, those who are self-made millionaires, the kids who’ve made it, is in the action that follows. Reading Think and Grow Rich once will tell you that. It’s all stuff you already know. (Or at least, that you should know.) Nothing in that book is groundbreaking. But the people who’ve taken it seriously and then acted on it, their success becomes legend. And then, the book gets a reputation. But everybody hopes for a free puppy.

When I price my books, I have nothing like the reputation of Andrew Carnegie nor his student Napoleon Hill to rely on to drive sales. I need to justify right up front why my stuff is good, whether it be an instruction manual or any of my crappy fiction. If it’s 99 cents, more people will probably download it than if I had priced it at $9.99. (Or in some cases, $99.00.) But I doubt ten times more people will. And at 99 cents, there’s nothing for my readers to brag about. No reason for them to tell their neighbour about how great this book was. It will be forgotten because it was not valued before they even cracked the cover.

I’ve had clients who have grossly underpriced their work. Every single time, I plead with them to not do it. Some listen, and some don’t. Before you underprice your next eBook, ask yourself, “Why do I feel the need to do this?” Is it fear that the book won’t sell at a higher price? (Fear motivates rarely motivates us to do anything positive, but that’s another article.) Instead, what about doing the tougher job: demonstrating value. Only a poor salesman drops his price. Demonstrating benefits, offering testimonials, samples, and showing long-term cost savings are the way to come out on top.

Remember, you only have to sell 1/9th the quantity of eBooks at $9.99 than you do at 99 cents to come out on top.

Ad Age does a daily rank of the world’s 150 top marketing blogs. Here are my faves off that list, and why.

The daily list is at: http://adage.com/power150/. I read several of them regularly, although I don’t read any of them daily. My list of favourites – in the order they are found on the AdAge list – includes;

- Seth’s Blog: Seth Godin, the sexiest head in marketing, has daily blog posts that are short, to-the-point, and don’t waste time. Inspirational.

- Chris Brogan: Also sexy, but different. I’ve heard Brogan speak at various conferences, and he’s a real, down-to-earth guy with stuff that works. Simple.

- CopyBlogger: Brian Clark talks about words that sell, and why. He’s a WordPress advocate, and his posts are uncomplicated and explanatory. Interesting.

- JohnChow.com: I love him for so much more than being Canadian. John is a racehorse in the world of marketing; sleek and fast. Aggressive.

- ShoeMoney.com: Love this guy’s backstory. A real Basement Techie, all grown up. An eager and hardworking guy with great advice. Funny.

- ProBlogger.net: Darren Rowse has plenty of guest bloggers on his site, all about blogging for money. Specific and technical. Aussie.

- JoelComm.com: If you want to learn about how to use ClickBank or AdSense, this is the guy. Believable and trustworthy. Sensible.

- ChrisG.com: Garrett’s generous new media and WordPress blog fills a gap that others have missed. Smart, understandable, and practical. Clever.

I’m sure there are others just as worthy, but these are the guys on that list that I read regularly. I notice that Michelle MacPhearson’s blog and Frank Kern’s variety of crazy sites have missed the list entirely, which is a real shame. Both are also great folks worth following.

I really like Chris Garret’s honest comments in this article about his experiences with affiliate marketing. While he talks about it more from the standpoint of running ads for someone else’s product, rather than having an affiliate program for your own products, he gives encouraging advice that mirrors my own.
Pay special attention to his remarks about mistakes that he made while starting up: as a product owner with your own affiliate program, you can use quality documentation (good written instructions) to make it easier for your affiliates, build their trust, and help them to avoid potholes.

Jill Exler is a Mum, Author, and Entrepreneur who is really hitting the streets with her tool for self-published Authors, Jexbo.com.

Jill’s smile isn’t the only bright thing about her. Jexbo only takes 5% for any self-pubs that list their books on her site, as compared to (ultimately) over 50%, depending on the variety of services available for Authors. Jill created the site herself after stuggling with her own self-publishing issues.

I love that Jill took things into her own hands, and that she’s kept her business model so simple. Her service is complemented by an interview series (Hey Jill! I’m available!) and a newsletter aimed at self-pubs. It’s all about helping self-pubs advance their businesses.

Jill takes things seriously, and she doesn’t mess around. You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jexbo. What a clever cookie.

I’m super proud to be speaking at this year’s The Word On The Street Festival in Vancouver, BC. On Sunday, September 26th, the other two Book Broads and I will be hosting a FREE panel titled “Build it and they will come – NAH!” It’s all about book marketing, publicity, and generally being in people’s faces.

The description of our talk goes something like this: “Many writers assume once the book is complete, it will sell itself, right? Wrong. No matter the method of publication — traditionally published, entrepreneurially published, or electronically published — the onus of promotion falls on the author. The Book Broads offer practical advice for writers (published or not) to raise their profiles, extend their reach and build their fan base.
Join Angela Crocker, Kimberly Plumley, and Peggy Richardson as they take the sting out of the overwhelming prospect of media interviews, blog posts, Facebook updates, podcasting, and so much more.”

Queue up early! We start at 1:45pm downstairs in the Peter Kaye room of the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library. (Yeah, that building that looks like the Roman Colloseum.)

See you there!

Read this fantastic blog post by Tim Ferriss; book marketing guru, world traveler, and Author of The 4-Hour Workweek. Please pay special attention to the part where he mentions, “First off, writing books is a terrible revenue model for authors.”

His summary of the opportunities in eBook marketing are very clearly pointing to using affiliate marketing as the way to make that huge hit really happen. This is the important component that I see missing from almost every single plan that every Author has put in front of me, like, ever. If you want to make money from eBooks, learn every little thing you can about affiliate marketing, and then do it for a couple of years before you decide to get serious about the details.

I love this guy.

The adorable Seth Godin announced this week that he has created his last traditionally-published book. Here’s why his plan may or may not work for everyone.

(It’s a great post, by the way, and I strongly suggest you read it.)

Seth is brilliant – that’s not debatable. He’s a rebel, a visionary, and his writing has caused me to seriously question many things about the way I consume, and the way I conduct my own business. He has spent the last 12 years developing great books that (mostly) turned out to be bestsellers. He claims this latest book, Linchpin, is his “life’s work”. (Can’t wait to read it.) And he has decided that none of his future writings will be distributed through traditional publishing channels.

Why this works for Godin;

- He already has years of live market research under his belt, which is by his own admission, really because of his relationship with great publishers.

- He has a massive private following through his blog and social media connections.

- He really does know his stuff, and he practices what he preaches.

- He has plenty of capital, both monetary and intangible, to re-invest in his business.

- He has a staff.

Do you have all of those things? Possibly not. I know I don’t. So here are my suggested alternatives for those of us who don’t, in the same order.

- We can perform a surprising amount of market research on our own. Let’s start with keyword research.

- We can build a following by doing exactly what Seth does, such as using our own blog and social media connections, and building slowly. We don’t need it to be massive to be effective – we just need it to be loyal. Loyalty must be earned.

- Very simply, we need to do and be the same. This does not take money or even much time. Transparency sells.

- Does it really take a ton of money to make things happen? Can we adjust our expectations to take advantage of our existing resources? What is the value of sweat equity?

- Staff can be had easily and quickly using virtual assistants. Knowing what to delegate has been my big project for 2010. I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.

Does it work for everyone? Not if they don’t have the drive and imagination. But since all of us are writers, perhaps we have an advantage.

I heard of another tragic self-publishing trainwreck today. Here are some of the red flags I see regularly, and how to avoid them.

If I sound a bit frustrated in this post, it’s because I am. There are just too many good books that get crushed by the wheels of the self-publishing industry, and it breaks my heart. I won’t name any names, but there is a certain niche of company in the publishing industry that has emerged in the last few years. Let’s call this niche self-publishing service providers. (SPSP’s.)

SPSP’s often offer everything from editing of your manuscript to cover design to printing and shipping/warehousing, and especially, the Big Scary Job for any Author, marketing. Some offer to re-distribute your book for you to major retailers, both online and offline. Some offer to turn your manuscript into an eBook. Some offer to do all of this for one low price. Some offer to do everything for you except to cash your checks and feed your dog.

Many aeons ago, when the publishing industry was in its’ infancy, all publishing was self-publishing. You wrote it, you printed it, you sold it. Any modern publisher who asks you for money to get your book out there is not a publisher: they are a printing company with a great marketing plan.

I am wary of this type of printing and service company, because there is an element of deception in the way some (but not all) disguise themselves as Publishers. There is sometimes an illusion of, “Well, maybe we’ll work with you, but perhaps we won’t…”, and that you must submit your manuscript for consideration first. How ridiculous: of course they will work with you. They are selling you a service. I’ve now heard several first-hand accounts of how prices fluctuate based on how fat they think your wallet is. And I’ve heard even more heart-breaking accounts of how they fail to follow through with their promises, how their systems are difficult to use, how their offerings are not all available for Canadians, and how they convince people to give them sometimes large sums of money without explaining how that investment will pay off.

The difference between a printer and a publisher is that a publisher gives you money, and a printer asks you for money. (I still love to deal with quality printers. See the indent below.) The printer who is asking you for money is doing essentially the same job as the one calling himself a publisher, minus their extra sub-contracted editors and designers and the associated extra costs. They just do one thing, and do it very well.

I really only endorse one method of self-publishing for paper books: hire your own Editor, Designer, Publicist, Marketing Consultant, Virtual Assistant and Printer. Anything else, in my less-than-humble opinion, is only an illusion of control. And why else are you self-publishing, anyway?

If you want an honest-to-goodness book printer that does a great job for a great price, please talk to my friend Gerhard Aichelberger who represents Friesens in my local area. Gerhard himself is a wonderful human being, and I personally guarantee that doing business with him will be a delight. Friesens is a fantastic Canadian book printing company that now prints many of the books in North America, for large and small publishers alike. They do both large and small runs of soft and hardcover books, with an almost unlimited number of options. They are consistent in their pricing, they treat their staff well, they have good environmentally-friendly policies, and when you call them, an actual human will answer the phone, not a machine. (I love that last part.)

Here are some red flags to watch out for when you start your book printing project;

They offer to do everything for you.

Self-publishing is a lot of work. That’s pretty clear. All most Authors want to do is to write, and have someone else take care of the design, printing, editing, and especially, the selling. If it seems too easy, it is. Question everything, because it’s often much cheaper to administer your own sub-contractors (as I’ve described above in bold text) than to rely on them to do it for you. (Much like building your own home instead of relying on a general contractor.)

They don’t tell you anything you don’t like.

My friend and fellow Book Broad, Kim Plumley has a great expression: “Somebody has to tell the emperor he’s naked.” If you feel flattered, feel wary. Editing is a crucial part of the marketing process, and I’ve never heard of an Author who didn’t like something that happened during the Editorial work. Authors treat their books like babies, and vanity presses prey on this. They won’t tell you the harsh realities of what you’ll need to be prepared for when you launch your book business.

They tell you that they can transfer your manuscript automatically to a variety of different outlets and formats.

Ask any Author who’s tried to accomplish a printed paperback and ebook with a single upload. They will offer to buy you dinner while they spend an evening regaling you with entertaining stories about the lack of continuity in the process, the way their first format worked fine but then waited 8 months for the next format they had ordered and pre-paid (yes, I personally talked to a Canadian woman that had been waiting this long for her eBook version) and the lack of support staff available to handle complaints.

They point out that you retain all the copyright and ownership of your work.

Of course you do. You’re self-publishing. That’s like saying that not only can you buy the underpants, but you also have the right to wear them on your head. How useless and obtuse.

They tell you the books will look as good as any book on the shelf in any major bookstore.

Maybe. But know that if you’re printing books in short runs or print-on-demand (ie. one at a time) that’s not probable, although the technology is definitely catching up fast. Your options for things like paper and cover style choices will be fewer. Your design of your cover is likely to be based on a template. Your book size options will be one of the 2-5 on their menu. Your editor has 50 other books to get done by Friday. Ask what methods and machinery they use to print and bind books, and then compare it to this and this. Theirs is paint-by-number publishing, and they want to fit you into their pigeonholes, not meet your needs or ideal design options.

They say they will do all the marketing for you.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

OK Peg, there’s got to be something positive in this somewhere.

The gain here is that we learn to discern great opportunity from great risk. I’m just asking you to be cautious in your selection of companies to do business with, and to be sure that you consider your objectives for the project carefully. If one of your objectives is making money, please take the marketing and costs of your product into account before you spend a dime or type a single letter. Your easiest choice is rarely the most profitable.

Now is the right time for the discussion about SPSP’s to start. The more of us entrepreneurial publishers develop specific and discerning skills when it comes to choosing with whom to do business, the more honest and valuable companies will rise to fill the niche. And since we know that everybody has a book in them…

If you haven’t heard of @FeliciaDay, you’re missing out on the next Carol Burnett. She’s what I call a next-generation storyteller – and here’s why.

Of course she’s beautiful, hysterically funny, and wickedly clever, but more importantly: she understands what technology will do for her. It’s not what you’ve got, but how you use it.

Day’s Wikipedia entry reads like someone much older than her youthful 30 years. (Like, turned down acceptance to Julliard? Whoa.) A master of a number of art forms, she is an accomplished violinist, opera singer, dancer, screenwriter, actor and scholar. Her real new media fame came in 2007 when she embraced web video for her project “The Guild”, which is a web comedy available for viewing and download on a variety of web video sites, including iTunes.

But, what makes her a “next-gen storyteller”?

Two things: extension and technology. It’s not just that she has a trendy web show based on computer gaming – it’s waaaaay beyond that.

Day makes high quality and often personal connections with her audience, both real and virtual. She regularly mingles with fans at various conferences (such as ComicCon in San Deigo each year) and many live screenings and non-profit events. She understands that the story extends off the screen, however small it may be. Then, she uses all technology mediums available to her to extend this story, including a wide variety of social media outlets, and even a music video (“Do You Wanna Date My Avatar”) in which she sings and dances to a song of her own composition. (To-die-for-funny: $1.99 on iTunes.)

Check out this timeline:
- 2007: releases first season of “The Guild” loosely based on her own experiences as an avid player of online games. The primary outlet is YouTube, and it’s free. Halfway through this year, she grabs a Twitter ID and starts posting.

- 2008: At least partly thanks to exposure from The Guild, Day is cast in a variety of other parts, including the genre-defining “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (another web comedy).* She even has a guest spot on the TV series House. She also releases Season II of The Guild, and works on another web project with her Guild co-star Sandeep Parikh, Legend of Neil. MSN makes a deal with The Guild to expand releases to XBox Live, MSN video, and Zune, and suddenly, Day is earning money from this venture.

- 2009: The third season of The Guild is released to its’ now rabid fans, and Day herself achieves one of the most coveted social media trophies: the #3 most-followed person on Twitter. (As of now, she’s somewhere around #50.) She also continues to guest star on a variety of mainstream TV shows like Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.

Just three crappy years, and it appears that she’s so busy doing web video that she no longer has time to pursue work in film, which is much more risky and far less fun.

Day uses all that the web has to offer: iTunes is just the tip of the iceberg, even though for most this would be considered killer bread-and-butter distribution. The deal with MSN is freakin’ brilliant, allowing her to penetrate even deeper into the community that has supported her from the beginning: online gaming. She’s every Gamer’s dream girl.

Like Madeline Kahn and Mae West before her, she plays down her obvious beauty, and writes, directs, acts, and allows her comedic nature to help her story. She is one of those multi-talented women that has been allowed to explore her creativity – and we love her for it. She is still warmly received by her community, and often pokes fun at the roles she’s played, and any possible criticisms of ‘selling out’ (Parikh: “Where’d you get all this money? We make a web series..??!!??”) by making even more content with that community.

I have to admit, my favourite part of this story is the music video. Again, quality rules: the crossover only works because it’s actually a good song. It offers the other cast Members a chance to really strut their stuff along with Day. (Wow – check out Parikh’s backflip, and it turns out Okuda is a fantastic dancer.) Her people love her, and she loves them right back.

Can anyone replicate this recipe? Of course. If you can’t cook, ally yourself with people who can: Felicia allies herself with technology experts (even though, importantly, she has a strong grasp of the technology herself) and with other actors and creatives.

The NG Storyteller never goes it alone, but they boldly blaze the trail for those that support them.

*DHSAB is a creation of the brilliant Joss Whedon, inventor of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (where she has previously guest-starred), Firefly, and a string of other mainstream and web hits.