Lingua Translations

A book club is a commercial (usually mail order) enterprise through which selected books are sold directly to the public at a price significantly below the recommended retail price in return for a commitment to buy a particular number of books over an agreed period of time.

There are two basic types of book clubs: commitment book clubs and continuity book clubs.

Commitment book clubs feature attractive introductory offers containing several books for a symbolic price (for example 6 books for 99¢ or 4 books for 1$ each) in exchange for a commitment to buy a few more books at the regular club price within a certain timeframe; usually this means 2-4 books within a year or two. The club price incorporates a considerable discount, which can be anywhere from 30-80%, in some cases even more.

Commitment book clubs send their members a printed catalog every 3-4 weeks, along with a card which includes the title of the Featured Selection — a book chosen by the club’s editors as a must-read of the moment. Members are not bound to buy the Selection though; they can opt for a different book (or several books) instead, or decline the offer altogether, either by sending the card back or responding on the club’s official web site.

Once the obligation is fulfilled, the membership can be canceled at any time. Typical representatives of commitment book clubs are Doubleday Book Club, The Literary Guild, Book-of-the-Month Club etc.

Every author wants glowing book reviews with quotable sentences to use as testimonials. A good review makes readers flock to the bookstore to buy the book.

But how do authors get their books reviewed? While the process is not difficult, the book review industry is changing. Today’s authors must designate a portion of their marketing budget for book reviews, and they must know how to use those book reviews to sell books.

Why Are Book Reviews Important?

More than 200,000 books are published each year. Less than 2% of those books sell more than 500 copies. We’ve all heard the saying, “So many books. So little time.” People don’t want to waste time or money reading books they won’t enjoy, so they rely on book reviews to help them make buying decisions. Your book will stand out if it receives positive reviews from reliable reviewers.

Where Do I Get a Book Review?

There are five top book reviewers: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, Midwest Book Review, and The New York Times; however, if you’re self-published, it is unlikely your book will be reviewed by any of them. Reviews from local newspapers and magazines will only help you sell books locally. Furthermore, print publications are phasing out book reviews. So where can an author still get a good book review? The Internet.

You want to write a book – a very exciting and challenging undertaking. Good for you. You have a great book idea – an idea that you believe needs to be in print. You believe that other people have an interest in what you have to say. You believe that many people will buy your book, and if you do the job of writing correctly, many people WILL buy your book. 

It is your dream to have your book in every bookstore in the country, perhaps even in several countries. But wait, have you planned beyond bookstore sales? Many authors are unaware that there are many markets for books beyond the bookstores. The bookstores may be your first market, but there are many other “hidden” markets, and here are some key book marketing tips to help you tap into those markets.

Let’s begin with the job of writing the book. When you put “pen to paper”, it is important that you focus on one audience but write for many markets. Let’s begin by identifying why you are writing a book. Some people merely want to be a published author, giving them claim to a copyright and their name on a book. That is satisfaction enough. They don’t care about the financial return or the development of writing or publishing as a career. Other people just want to write a family history and sell it to their extended family. Some people are interested only in selling to the attendees of their seminars. Many others, however, want to sell thousands of books in as many markets as possible. Decide at the beginning of the writing process why you are writing so that you can determine whether or not you are creating a business venture.

Self-publishing is the hottest trend in books, as it provides creative thinkers turned authors with a fast and easy way to get their work on the market. With the added option of “print on demand”, and desktop publishing and design software, the initial cost to get your book out can be very minimal.

Self-publishing is also the most profitable since you get to keep all the profits for yourself. IF you are committed to the work it is going to take to sell your books that is.

One of the most difficult challenges a self-published author faces is getting their book into the hands of people that will appreciate it enough to pay their hard earned money. I recall reading an article on the self-publishing industry that reported the average number of self-published books sold per author is about 100 copies!

With that horrifying number in mind, you need to roll up your sleeves and prepare to launch a focused marketing and promotion program that will have you doing at least 3 things per day every day for the next 6 months to promote your book. Remember, no one can dream your dream but you, and ultimately, you are the only one responsible for the success or failure of your book.

Start by arming yourself with as much knowledge on the subject as possible. Check out these books and websites on marketing and promoting for self-published authors:

Categorizing your book is one of the biggest challenges you may face when you try to get your book published. Whether you place your book with an agent or publisher or you publish the book yourself, to ensure its success it is essential that you are able to correctly categorize it.
While categorizing, you will find what you have written fitting into any one of the following nine categories: trade, professional, scholarly and university press book, college text book, elementary high school text book, juvenile book, mass market paperback, subscription reference book and religious book. You can rightly categorize your book if you are conversant with the general parameters for each category. Read on for details.
Trade book: Books that are written for the general reader having fictional or non-fictional content are placed in this category. They are known as trade books because their distribution is targeted through retail store sales, rather than through book clubs, mail order or premium sales. Fictional trade books include romantic novels, thrillers and literary novels. Trade books that are non-fictional would be bibliographies, self help books, how to or DIY books etc. In short, anything that is sold through retail stores with a typical trade discount.
Professional books: These are books that are written for members of a specific profession and would include law books, books on professional training, books of regulations, medical books, etc.
Scholarly and University press books: These books are usually written by teaching faculty of educational institutions and are not aimed at members of any specific profession. They are based on scholarly research on specialized topics.
College textbooks: College books concentrate on teaching a subject and not just reviewing information. They are written in sophisticated language for advanced level students.
Elementary High School textbooks: These textbooks are meant for teens and younger children who are learning a subject area for the very first time. Written using a fairly simple language, they include a lot of illustrations, graphics and examples.
Juvenile books: This is one category of books that would include everything used for light reading by children or teens. Picture books for toddlers and novels for young adults all would fit into this category.
Mass market paperbacks: These are small paperback novels sold at book stores and discount and grocery stores as well. These are usually paperback versions of books that were already successful in hardcover.
Subscription reference books: These are books containing sensitive reference information and need to be updated and replaced annually. One good example of such a book is the Physician’s Desk Reference.
Religious books: All books on any religious subject would be covered under this category and would include books on Islamic studies, Bible studies, Judaism and other spiritual books.
Knowing how to categorize your book increases the chances of your book’s commercial success by letting you target it to the right audience.

Have you started your book yet? No. Don’t think about it any longer. You know the words; now say it with me. Just do it! With the right focus and information, you can successfully begin, complete and even publish YOUR book within a few months this year.
More and more people are successfully completing their books in less time. Even your competitors are getting it done. Why not join them. Here’s seven tips to kick start writing your book:
1. Make your mark in the world with a significant book.
Many hopeful authors tremble in their tracks wondering if their book will sell. That’s a good question. Who wants to invest time or money into a sinking ship? Don’t be afraid; here’s how to test your book’s significance.
You can know your book is significant if it presents useful information, answers important reader questions, and impacts people for the good. If it’s entertaining or funny it could go further than you imagined.
It’s significant, if it creates a deeper understanding of animals, humanity or this world. With one to three of these elements your book is worth writing. More than three, it has potential of making great sales and even to best seller status. Now, get started; write your book and make the world a better place.
2. Find out who will buy your book and sell it to them.
When you give your book a specific audience, it will hit the mark of good sales. Best seller books focus on a single topic per book. When you aim at one audience at a time, each tip, each story or how-to will be more effective. Point your message to someone specific and you gain a competitive edge on many book writers. For many authors just shoot their book out to the world without aim.
It would be helpful to create an audience profile. Are your potential readers male or female? How old are they? Are they interested in topic? What problems do they face? Are they business people or professionals? Are they techies or non-techies? Are they willing to spend $15-20 on a book like yours? Do this and you’re on your way to selling more books than you dreamed.
3. Write your book’s central thought and support it with your book.
Did you cringe at the words (thesis) central thought? For some, it brought back memories of school days and writing essays. No worries, a thesis simply means the main central thought of the book. Make sure your main central thought includes the greatest benefit to your book reader and you’re done.
In other words, it should answer your audiences’ question, “How will this book help, encourage or solve my problem for me?” Write the thesis before you write the book and stay on the path of focused, powerful yet easy to read content.
All chapters support your book’s main concept. For “Win with the Writer Inside,” the thesis is “How to write, complete, and publish your best book fast.” The top selling titles often include the main thought in some form.
4. Make an inspiration cover early to encourage yourself.
Keep it nearby to inspire you. Remember, book covers are the number one selling point of a book. Of course, in the beginning this is only a working cover. Nevertheless it will help crystallize your thoughts and propel you toward the fulfillment of your dream. You have 10 seconds or less to impress your potential readers to buy.
Look around the bookstores and the internet to get a few ideas. Look for the covers most suited for your audience. Choose colors that attract them. For instance, consider red and blue for business books; aqua, yellow, and shades of red work for personal growth books. Even so, avoid too much red; it makes some feel suspicious.
5. Develop the back cover as a sales message before you write chapter one.
This benefit driven outline helps give your book direction and helps you focus on what’s really important to your readers. Most books will only allow for 50-75 words. That gives you less than 20 seconds to impress your prospective reader. Make this message passionate. Focus only what sells: testimonials (reader, expert and famous), a benefit driven headline to hook the reader to open the book and read the table of contents, and bulleted benefits.
6. Compose your book’s 60 second “billboard” before you begin writing.
Have you noticed a billboard lately? You only have a few seconds to get it as you drive by. So, the information is distilled into sound bytes to be effective. Make your 2-3 sentence book blurbs into sound bytes. Like a billboard where you only have a few seconds to get your message across, condense your sound byte into a 60 second tell and sell.