Subject: Independent Publisher Online - Holiday Magic - December 2004

From: "Jim Barnes" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 21:04:56 -0500

Independent Publisher Online Newsletter

 Volume 4 - Number 12 - December 2004 

BOOKPUBLISHING.COM   ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION   INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER   CONTACT US

Holiday Magic 

Some things have to be believed to be seen.
- Ralph Hodgson (1871-1962)

Remember that what you believe will depend very much on what you are.
- Noah Porter (1811 - 1892)

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing 
makes it happen.
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959)

 Holiday Greetings,

To become a published author, you've gotta believe. You must believe in yourself, 
in your talent, and your project. How else could you turn blank paper (and 
a blank stare) into a work of literature? Of course, it also takes hard work, 
imagination, and determination. But beneath it all, there has to be a strong 
belief in oneself, the value of one's work, and the ability to make it happen.
 The holidays are a great time to reinforce our belief in the power of imagination, 
and for suspending judgment about magical and spiritual things like elves and 
virgin births. It's the time when we realize the power of gifts and of giving 
to others -- of bringing out the best in ourselves and each other through kindness 
and sharing.
 Seeing The Polar Express movie was a great way to start the season, with its 
theme of the mental journey we take every time we decide whether or not to 
believe in magic. We may not get to take a trip to the North Pole to see Santa 
and the elves in action, but each time we sit down at the writing desk we must 
again decide if we can make magic out of those 26 letters. Sometimes you just 
have to let go, let your childlike self take over, and BELIEVE.

This month we offer two views on the Polar Express controversy, discussing 
the movie and why it doesn't work for so many reviewers. Believing in The Polar 
Express is my take on the movie and the sense of wonder it takes to be swept 
away, and I offer some suggestions for getting your own book made into a blockbuster 
movie. In her Inklings column, Coming to a Station Near You: The Next Train 
to Reality, Christina Hamlett explores the implications new animation technology 
has on the future of movie actors, set builders, and all people and things 
non-digital. When the techno-dust has settled, I'm sure we both believe that 
from cave painting to IMAX, it's still about the storytelling. 

Book Awards Fever: With all the publicity and controversy about this year's 
National Book Awards, we're getting even more excited about our own IPPY Awards 
2005, and the gala awards ceremony we're holding at the same location as the 
NBA, the Marriott Marquis on Times Square. If you wrote or published a book 
this year, don't miss out! Enter the biggest and best book awards contest ever 
- and we'll see you on the podium in New York on June 3rd. 

Happy Holidays! Read a holiday book to a child tonight! Get childlike! Believe!

Jim Barnes
[email-masked]

Your subscription to Independent Publisher Online is complimentary.
 We respect your privacy. We will not sell email addresses to third parties.  

You may send an e-mail that will remove you from our contact list and future 
mailings - Here, or send your request to [email-masked] with 
the word remove in the subject line.

This Month's Features

NEW!Believing in The Polar Express
 Mixed reviews demonstrate a need to adopt a sense of wonder
 by Jim Barnes

Celebrating Literature For All
 Author brings visibility to Indian Lit at National Book Festival 
 by MariJo Moore
You've Gotta Have a Gimmick
 The Truth About Author Platforms
 by Nina L. Diamond

Return

This Month's Departments 

Industry Update: Latest News, Resources, Successes and Failures in Publishing 

Highlighted Titles: Newly Released Titles from Top Independents for Your Reading 
Pleasure

• NEW! The GROG Book: The Normal Man's Guide Back to Health and Fitness by 
Robert Kerschbaum Jr.
 (Lightkeeper Publishing)
• NEW!Going Deeper by Jean-Claude Koven
 (Prism House Press) 
• NEW!To Life in Small Corners by Carol Scribner
 (Butterfly Productions)

• Wombmates by Jane Howard Samuels
 (Eagle Cliff Books) 
• Professor Angelicus Visits the Big Blue Ball by L.B.B. Ward
 (MumbleFish Books)
• That Place by K.D. Larson
 (Monkeytoes Press)
• Dream by Susan Bosak
 (TCP Press)
• Embracing the Mystery
 (Rogers McKay Publishing)
• Resumes From Hell
 (eCruiting Alternatives, Inc.)

Return

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS 2005
Recognizing Excellence in Independent Publishing 

The ninth annual IPPY Awards, conducted annually to honor the year's best independently 
published titles, is now accepting entries for books with 2004 copyrights or 
that were released in 2004. 

Enter In December and receive our 
Tax Tips for Publishers 
 White Paper

Click here for entry form and guidelines, including Secure Online Registration.

Marketing Tip of the Month 

Tips for First Time Authors
 By Kim Dushinski, MarketAbility

 Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an accomplishment. 
Many people dream of writing a book, but you actually did it. Way to go.

At this point you are probably wondering where to get started, who to contact, 
how to even take the first step. Don't worry, that is very common. And now 
you've found a great resource to help you.

Step #1
Create a map for yourself.

If you want to get somewhere you need to know where you are and where you want 
to be. Then you figure out how you are going to get there. Yet many first time 
authors jump in with the how to get there specifics - getting reviews, making 
it onto bookstore shelves, creating a website.

Instead, start by figuring out your goals. What do you want to happen with 
your book? Be very specific. Try writing down at least 10 goals for your book. 
If that was easy, write down 25.

Next, figure out what you have to bring to the project. How much money are 
you able to invest? How much time can you spend doing marketing? Be realistic. 
You can make your marketing work with whatever budget you have and time you 
can allocate.

Then you can start finding specific marketing actions that match your goals 
and resources. By knowing your goals and resources you can find the exact marketing 
tools to make your goals a reality within your time and money budget.

Step # 2
 Avoid the common mistakes.

Hundreds of thousands of people write books every year. Tens of thousands of 
these authors are doing it for the first time. It is only natural that some 
of the same mistakes are made over and over. Once you know what they are you 
can avoid making them and get ahead with your book faster.

The single most common mistake we see is authors who fail to clearly define 
their target market. They believe that everyone will buy their book.

They waste their valuable resources trying to market to an audience that is 
too broad. Let me give you an example from the TV show The Apprentice.

Two teams are in New York trying to sell wedding dresses. One team goes to 
Grand Central Station where there are tons of people and hands out flyers to 
everyone walking by. The other team stays in the office, goes online and buys 
an email list from a popular wedding site (theknot.com) of couples getting 
married who live in the New York area.

The first team trying to sell to everyone is reaching tons of people who simply 
do not care about what they are selling for one very simple reason - they are 
not getting married.

Will any amount of marketing on the team's part convince them that they need 
a wedding dress? NO.

Does it even matter how great the wedding dresses are made?
 NO.

The other team however, has found the perfect target market - people who live 
in New York who are getting married.

Do you see the difference? Marketing to people who ALREADY CARE about your 
book's subject and forgetting the rest of the people who don't care is the 
ONLY smart way to do marketing.

You can find more tips, strategies and techniques specifically designed for 
first time authors in our First Time Author Toolkit.

 Kim Dushinski [email-masked]
 Partner, MarketAbility.com
 Book Publicity and Promotion with a Twist!
 (303) 279-4349 / 1-888-55-TWIST 

Return

This Month's Columns

NEW! INKLINGS: Writing Well & Profitably for Books, Film, and Stage
This Month: Coming to a Station Near You: The Next Train to Reality 
by Christina Hamlett

NEW! Recharge Your Life! with Dr. Sue
This Month: What if you trimmed your holiday list of things to do...?
A Holiday Poem by Suzanne Zoglio PhD

NEW! Much Ado About Publishing
This Month: Nina's Annual Holiday Parody Tribute to Publishing
 By Nina L. Diamond

Get Published: Guerilla Guidance for Your Writing Adventure
This Month: I Love Your Book, But How to Tell Legitimate Agent Recommendations 
>From Scams
 by Jill Nagle

The Book Coach Says: A Monthly Column of Book Marketing Advice
This Month: No Time to Finish your Book?
 By Judy Cullins

Return

Acquiring Your Book Printing Quotes 
 Just Got Easier!

Forget the endless hours of researching, calling, filling out online forms 
and the never-ending follow-up calls. Take the hassle out of gathering your 
book printing quotes with one simple and easy online destination, Printellectual.com. 
Printellectual is the book printing quote collective. Smart.
 Printellectual is designed to make your life trouble-free. We've done the 
research for you, cutting hours of desk time by providing a unique one-stop 
network of premium book printers who provide independent authors and publishers 
with fast and detailed quotes for any type of book printing project. It's simple 
to use with no games, hassles, or hidden fees allowing you to compare quotes 
and save big money! To learn more about our services visit, Printellectual.com. 
There is simply no better way to save time and money on book printingperiod.
 Plus, as an added incentive, you can return to the Printellectual site once 
your book printing job is complete to claim your free benefits package filled 
with awesome publishing freebies and discounts.
 Stop the headaches, lose the hassles and let Printellectual make effective 
use of your time with one stop book printing shopping.
 Printellectual currently offers offset and print on demand printers including 
Thomson-Shore, Data Reproductions, Color House Graphics, Fidlar Doubleday, 
Inc., Total Printing Solutions, Inc. and ColorCentric Corp. among others.
 Enrollment in the program is free and open to anyone looking to save money 
on any book printing projects. Never before has there been a more complete 
method for saving you time and money to get your book printed so easily.

If you are interested in book printing made easy, please visit us online at 
www.Printellectual.com, call us with your questions at 1-800-706-4636 

Resources

MobyLives.com
http://www.mobylives.com
 The place for cutting-edge publishing news and commentary

MediaBistro.com
http://www.mediabistro.com
 The place for cutting-edge freelance writing news and commentary

Ain't It Cool.com
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com
 The place for cutting-edge movie news and commentary

Gift Corner 

Children's Books for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/holidays/bb/winterholidays.htm
 Pick lists, reviews, and price comparisons

Shakespeare's Den
http://shakespearesden.com/gifts/gift_sets.htm
A Gift Store for the Creative

The Publishing Game - Haven't You Always Wanted to Publish a Book?
http://www.publishinggame.com/giftbaskets.htm
 Gift baskets for new writers 

Romance Novel Cover Model Calendar
http://www.kellisalkin.com
 Cover Model Times newsletter and the Men of Romance 2005 Calendar

Return

Our intent is to keep you informed....

You may send an e-mail that will remove you from our contact list and future 
mailings - Here, or send your request to [email-masked] with 
the word remove in the subject line.

BOOKPUBLISHING.COM   ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION   INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER   CONTACT US

Copyright © 2001-2006 - Jenkins Group, Inc.