Lingua Translations

Posts Tagged ‘Author’

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!

Nowadays online writing has become one of the most highly demanded online jobs. With internet marketing taking new forms and routes, providing quality press releases and news articles have become more imperative. The concept is simple and pretty popular. There has to be a strong medium for marketers to reach the common public. The extent of exposure depends on the popularity of the medium or in order words, the demand for the medium. When it comes to internet people use it as an all-purpose guide to find just about everything and anything they need.

In case of newspapers and television, you have to satisfy yourself with whatever they provide. You cannot ask for what you want. But when it comes to internet, you can demand, search, and find out the topics of your interest. The more you explore, the more you get. This basic principle has led to diverse information needs. Hence, if you are planning to make a career in online writing, then you should realize that your choices are quite unlimited and your success depends on the suitability of what you choose. The basic tip for being an online author is to think dynamically. Authors who try to sell their personalized views are not going to progress much in this line. These tricks are applicable if you are publishing your novel or story. However, if you are starting out as a content author, then you should speak for the people and not to the people. Your opinions should be well recognized and accepted by majority of the readers.

The six-figure book advance, like the New York Times bestseller, is the object of many a writer’s fantasy. Whether it’s also a realistic goal is something else again.

*Can you really get a six-figure book advance?*

When Susan Page wrote *The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book* in 1997, she included the following list of the qualities that you and your book have to have if you’re going to get a six-figure advance.

1. Your book is on a topic of wide general interest that could excite a large number of readers.

2. Your book has a distinctive angle and makes an original contribution to its field.

3. You have substantial credentials to write on this topic OR you have a co-author who does, OR you can get an extremely famous, well-credentialed person to write a foreword for you.

4. You have prepared an extraordinary proposal and are working with a competent editor already.

5. You have a show-stopping title.

6. You secure the services of a well-known, experienced agent who believes the book can earn such an advance.

I am a traditionally published author with Simon and Schuster. I’ve been in the business for almost twelve years and have taken most of that time to learn the ins and outs of the business. I’ve made mistakes and learned from them. During my quest to know as much about the industry as possible, I became published. Now that I am at a point in my career where things are taking off, I have become more aware of the prejudices in the industry. You may think I am speaking of the prejudices against self-published authors vs. mainstream authors but I am not. I am speaking of the prejudices that self-published authors have against the mainstream industry in general.

I often wonder what makes someone self-publish a novel. I can understand a technical book, poetry book or a diary but why self-publish a novel? Self-publishing can be the death and is the death of many wannabe novelists. While studying self-publishing, I came to the conclusion that many new writers were bamboozled into thinking that this was the way to go for their books. Yep, they are being tricked. You can’t even blame this type of trickery on sharks such as shady POD presses, vanity or subsidy presses. No I blame this on one group of people…bitter self-published authors. They spread bad advice and untruths like a disease and it’s damaging the careers of new writers.