Self Publishing Books

Digital Poster Printing for Growing Business
With the modern complexities of life now days, it is but important to be abreast with the latest and the more effective ways of advertising and promoting your services and products to let your business grow and be wide known popular. That is why poster digital printing is recommended for a sure win advertisement for your growing business. It can be noticed that in poster digital printing the pictures, images and illustrations are clearer and sharper because of the modern way of doing it. Even the smallest detail in the poster could be understood by its viewer. Large format printing from your digital files, photo enlargement from your own slides and negatives are just some of our latest innovation to attain that effectual poster digital printing for your growing business. Poster digital printing is recommended for growing business that wants to be more known by its target customers, for their digital poster will already build good impression for their company. For the demand in continuous innovation of poster digital printing, commercial printing companies specially those that specialize in poster printing made sure that they are powered by creative team and skillful workers that conceptualizes and prints the digital posters for your growing business. Here are some of the choices in poster digital printing that you can choose from to have your goal attained for your growing business. We are offering pigment based inks for large format printing and glossy paper for heavy weight materials. Since it is not good to look at it on a matte paper for the density of black ink on it is not very high. Also, dye based inks for large printing is recommended for prints will be clearer and sharper with the use of glossy paper again. That is why if you want to have the advantages in poster printing, then it is the right time for you to try on poster digital printing afterwards access its results in your growing business. Our poster digital printing has an improved resolution that would impress your target clients and eventually would stop at your business. After all, that is the primary purpose of your poster to attract customers for your business to grow even more. It is true that poster digital printing costs a bit higher than the conventional posters that we have yet are we going to sacrifice the good quality that would ultimately draw-in customers for your growing business. More often quality really matters for it will be the first focus of the interested clients since just after the accepted invitation of the prospect clients would made their decision to go with the business or not. After all, if you will have poster digital printing it is guaranteed that your expenses will be given back to you by the customers that were hooked up and it can even be higher than that. Competitive price for your poster digital printing is what we’re offering and satisfaction guaranteed for your money spent will be regain.

With the modern complexities of life now days, it is but important to be abreast with the latest and the more effective ways of advertising and promoting your services and products to let your business grow and be wide known popular. That is why poster digital printing is recommended for a sure win advertisement for your growing business.

Another Million Dollar Dream
When the itch of literature comes upon a man, the only thing that will relieve it is the scratching of a pen. A Victorian vicar wrote that and he wasn’t wrong. I’d had the urge to write since I was a young man and I indulged myself from time to time. I scribbled the odd short story, I wrote pornographic letters for a couple of contact magazines, I sent ideas to TV stations, I wrote scripts and I collected a lot of rejections â€" as most writers do. One day I got a letter inviting me to visit a TV producer to discuss my work. I wept. The producer didn’t want to use my script; she liked it, but she was looking for writers for the revival of an old courtroom drama. Did I think I could write thirty episodes? Why not? I said. Go away and study the law, courts and court procedure, she said. As soon as the contracts are signed I’ll send you the story lines, she said. I read books. I spent my days in London’s famous courts. I made friends with people, on both sides of the law. I made lots of notes. A couple of months passed. We wrote to one another: I told her how much I had learned and how anxious I was to get started on the scripts; she repeatedly assured me that the contracts would soon be signed. I noticed, at the bottom of one of her letters, that her title had changed. She was no longer assistant producer of xxx, she was now producer of xyz. I congratulated her on her promotion. It was the last letter I ever received from her. I had not understood that the change of title meant she had been promoted out of the old job, with responsibility for the courtroom drama, and that she would have no more use for me. It took a few weeks, but I got the message. It was a blow. I probably wept. I promised myself, that I would not write anything speculative again for TV or anyone else, I would write a novel instead. And I wouldn’t send it to publishers; I’d publish it myself. I thought I may even give it away; hand copies to people on street corners; read passages to people on trains and, if they liked it offer a copy to them; or just leave copies in coffee shops and on park benches. I began writing The Workers, a sexy, violent, funny story from the London underworld. After writing about fifty-five thousand words, I allowed the son of a friend to borrow my laptop for a homework project. Don’t download anything and don’t add any programs, were my parting words. Two days later he brought the laptop back with a killer virus on it. Every word of The Workers was lost. I wept. Luckily I had a few chapters in hard copy and I tried to rewrite the rest, but it’s hard. I just didn’t seem to be able to get the scenes down. I had all but given up when I saw an article about Alex Tew and his Million Dollar Website. It was a great idea, Alex had sold a million pixels to fund a university education, I thought may be able to sell a few pixels to fund the writing and serialization of The Workers. I decided that, once I got going with a monthly deadline, I would be able to squeeze all the lost ideas out of their hiding places in the dark corners of my brain and onto the screen. I didn’t have any trouble finding a Million Dollar Script, a Google search produced plenty to choose from. I decided on a script offered by ozwebfx. The script was less than a hundred dollars and Ozwebfx uploaded it for a small fee. Within a few hours, on the 31st February 2006, chapter one of The Workers, Say Goodbye To The Monk was uploaded to my new site, http://YourBigHomepage.com.

Sam Nikolas is a Londoner now living and writing in rural England. All rights reserved.

8 Super Selling Things to Do Before You Write Your Book Sales Letter
Every marketing campaign should begin with a plan. Sales letters are no different. No plan and you may miss the mark of High Sales you are aiming for. Set a roadmap that you can follow to explosive sales every time with every ebook. Focus and aim your sales letter with these 8 preparation tips. Then get ready to sell more than you dreamed:

1. Write a list of frequently asked questions for your ebook.

You want to make sure you pin point what your prospects and visitors are looking for and then give it to them. Find out what their burning questions are and then answer them in your sales copy and product. Before you write the benefits of your products you need to know the problems that audience face.

2. Develop a list to help your prospect visualize using your product.

Answer the questions: "When will your prospect use your product?", "How will they use it," "Why will they use it?" For example, if your new product was an ebook: will they read it on their desktop, laptop or will they print it out. Will they relax on the couch and read your insightful tips. Perhaps they will print them and read on the way to work or during lunch break

3. Write down what your up sell offers or possibilities are.

This is where a lot of small business professionals miss out. They fail to create up sell offers. Create your up sell offers and opportunities before you even write your sales letter so that they can be woven into your back end pages and sales messages.

4. Write a list of Benefit Bullets.

What do they get will they experience upon purchasing this product, what will this product give them.

5. Make a list of bonus gifts.

Select bonus gifts before you write the sales letter. This way you can include the benefits in your sales message as a part of your product.

6. Develop your guarantee.

Think about it? A lot of businesses shake in their shoes when it comes to developing a guarantee. But think about it; most small businesses have a built in guarantee. If someone ask for their money back, most small business professionals will just give their money back. They don't haggle over whether they should or shouldn't.

7. Gather your testimonials into one file.

If you don't have any yet for a new product, use famous quotes about your field until you get some. Sprinkle throughout your copy.

8. Go look at your competitor's sales page.

Examine their FAQs (see if you missed any), what are their bonus gifts, what is their guarantee, what is their up sell, if any? I made this step last so you wouldn't be tempted to just be a copy cat. But you can use your competitor's sales pitch as a measuring stick. How did you measure up? Did you whiz past; leaving them in a cloud of dust? Or did you miss a few things that you will now add after examining their pages?

Preparation for your super sales maker will give you the competitive edge you have been looking for. Put these steps into place before you even write your sales letter and sell more. Enjoy the journey and life is made easier.
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Earma Brown, Author, Web Developer. Helps small business owners and writers write their best book now. Send any email to iscribe@writetowin.org for FREE 7 lesson mini-course to jumpstart writing your book

How Author Royalties Are Calculated
If you’re going to make a living by writing books, you need to understand how a book royalty gets calculated. That’s how the author gets paid, ultimately, if the book becomes a successful bestseller. What’s more, the royalties the publisher expects the book to earn determine the advance the publisher will pay the writer up front.
Royalty Accounting Only Starts Off Simple
Royalty calculations start out pretty simple. Royalties get calculated by multiplying the price of a book by the royalty percentage. Sometimes, the price used in the calculation is the retail price that the customer pays for the book in some bookstore.
Assume that you’ve written a book that retails for $20. Further assume that the royalty percentage is five percent. To calculate the royalty you earn per book sold you multiply five percent, or .05, times $20. The result equals $1. So that’s the royalty you earn for every book the publisher sells.
Many authors and agents prefer royalties based on retail prices. The calculation is simple to understand. It’s simple to compute. And there are limited opportunities for argument about whether the calculations are correct.
Big Authors Often Do It Differently
Some very powerful authors receive a set royalty amount per bookâ€"such as $1â€"which is essentially a variation of the royalty based on a retail price. The agent, through his agent, says something to the publisher such as, “I don’t care what you sell it for, just give me $1.â€�
Wholesale-price Royalties are Commonâ€"and Complicated
Sometimes, the price used in the calculation is the wholesale price that the publisher receives from the bookstores and wholesalers who buy the book.
Royalties based on wholesale pricesâ€"which are technically called net royalties--get a little more complicated. Again assume that you’ve written a book that retails for $20. Assume that the royalty percentage is ten percent. Ten percent, in other words, is the royalty percentage that the publisher applies to the wholesale price that its customers pay for your book.
Okay, so far so good. Unfortunately, calculating the wholesale price of a book is tricky. Publishers calculate the wholesale by discounting the retail price by some percentage. And the discount percentage depends on the number of books that the bookseller or wholesale orders from publisher. If a bookseller or wholesaler buys from one to four copies, the discount might be 46% which means your $20 book wholesales for $10.80. If the bookseller or wholesaler buys between 51 and 500 copies, the discount might be 52% which means your $20 book wholesales for $9.60.
These differences affect the royalty you earn on a book, of course. Assume that the publisher pays you 10 percent. If the publisher sells a book for $10.80, you earn $1.08. If the publisher sells a book for $9.60, you earn $.96.
And here’s something else to consider: Using the earlier price discount schedule, you might assume that the only time the publisher discounts your books by the biggest possible discount is when the publisher receives a large order for your books. But the bookseller or wholesaler applies the discount to the total order they place. If Barnes and Noble orders five hundred copies of some other bestseller that your publisher sells and three copies of your book, the price for your books is also calculated by discounting the retail price by the biggest discount, which might be 54%.
You now need to understand something else that’s really important. Publishing contracts usually don’t specify just one royalty rate. They specify a schedule of royalty rates. Normal sales to bookstores use the regular rate. And authors always focus on that rate.
However, other rates come into play in special situations. If your book sells an enormous number of copies, such as more than 25,000, the contract may say you get a higher royalty rate (perhaps 15% instead of 10%, for example). If your book sells through a book-of-the-month club, outside the country, or at the biggest price discount, the contract may say you get a lower royalty rate (perhaps 5% instead of 10%, for example).
Now at this point, you may be thinking that I’m making an awfully big deal about a situation where we’re talking about pennies. But the combination of these price discount schedules and royalty rate schedules hugely impact your royalties.
Suppose you and a publisher agree that you earn a 10% wholesale-price-based royalty on a book that wholesales for $10. Further suppose that there are two exceptions to this accounting treat. You get only a 5% royalty on deeply discounted sales, but you get a 15% royalty on any copies sold after the first 25,000 units. Here the various royalties per unit amounts you might earn:
Example 1: If your publisher sells a copy of your book for $10.80 and it’s not deeply discount and the book hasn’t yet sold 25,000 copies, you earn $1.08.
Example 2: If your publisher sells a “deeply discounted� copy of your book for $9.20, you earn $.46.
Example 3: If your publisher sells a copy of your book for $10.80 and it’s not deeply discounted and the book has sold 25,000, you earn $1.62.
Those are very large differences. Take the situation where a book becomes a big success and sells 50,000 copies. In the worst possible case, you might earn $23,000 in royalties (calculated as 50,000 times $.46). In the best possible case, you might earn $68,000 in royalties (calculated as 25,000 times $1.08 plus 25,000 times $1.64).
I’ve actually had this experience. The terms of the publishing contract prohibit me from identifying either the book or the publisher, but in the first year of sales, my bestselling book sold 90,000 copies. I knew the numbers would be big. The publisher kept reprinting the book, 10,000 or 20,000 copies at a time. When I finally received the royalty statement and check, however, 70% of the books were sold at a big discount. Per the terms of the contract, this meant that I earned about $.40 a copy.
Two Practical Observations
That’s pretty much everything you need to know about royalties. But let me leave you with two practical observations about these royalty calculations. First, be careful about comparing your royalty rate or rates to the rate that you hear some other author received. The comparison is notoriously tricky. You don’t know which royalty rate the other author is referencing. In my experience, usually the author is talking about the best rate in the contract. But that rate may not even ever be used. And even if it is used, most of the books may be sold at lower royalty rates.
Second, while as mentioned earlier some authors prefer the retail royalty rate calculation, I’m not sure that in the end that arrangement works to the author’s economic advantage. Certainly some publishers abuse the wholesale royalty rate calculation. You or your agent needs to watch for this. However, also know that a wholesale royalty rate gives the publisher flexibility to sell your book in crazy ways that put extra money in both your pocket and the publisher’s pocket.

For More Free Resources visit www.onlinepublishingsite.com

You can publish at a low price with high quality
SelfSane Publishing invites writers to come publish at the highest quality at the most reasonable price. Our publishing packages start at $269 which includes ISBN# and Bar Code. We also have spectacular specials like the 5for5. We believe the author should be able to publish their work just as they envisioned it. That is what our company does. So come check out our packages that could be just what you are looking for. http://www.selfsanepublishing.com

SelfSane Publishing invites writers who demand that they be able to publish at a reasonable price at the highest quality to come visit our web-site today.Our packages start at $269 which includes ISBN# and Bar Code. Also our specials may be just what you had in mind like our 5for5.

Self-Publish Your Book With National Distribution
Many writers struggle with constant rejection from the publishing world. A rejection, though a part of the industry, is difficult for writers at any stage in their career. You pour your heart and soul into a book, along with hours of work, only to hear a publisher indicate that it isn?t what they are looking for at this particular time. Many books that were otherwise snubbed by traditional publishing houses have gone on to be very popular. How? It?s simple. Self-publishing is an avenue that many new, or rejected, writers pursue.

When you hear self-publishing, perhaps you think about writing a book and taking it to a printer, paying for copies and doing all of the footwork to get your new work listed with major bookstores. But, thanks to the internet and an innovative new approach to publishing, that?s no longer the case. Sure, you still have to pen the book yourself but leave the printing up to someone else. A growing number of POD (print on demand) publishers are stepping up in search of the next bestseller. Print on demand is a term used to describe a publisher who handles all of the printing aspects, but on an as-needed basis.

The best self-publishing companies offer a variety of programs with the majority of them handling the issuance of an ISBN number and getting your book cataloged with all of the major online bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, etc. In addition, when a book is issued an ISBN number, it can be ordered at any bookstore. Your book may or may not be physically stocked at your local shopping mall, but the bookstore inside will have the capability to order it as requested. As your new title is listed nationally with every major bookstore?s catalog, it will steadily surface globally as well. A year after your book is released; don?t be surprised if search engine results show that it is listed with major online bookstores across the world, including Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, etc.

With print on demand publishing, or self-publishing, you will have to pay a fee to get your book in print. Longtime publisher iUniverse (http://www.iUniverse.com) offers publishing packages starting at $499.00 and up. In exchange for the startup fee, the company issues a printed version of the book while the author retains all electronic rights to the work and a 3-year contract with a 1-year automatic renewal. A generous 20% royalty is offered on the sale of every book with quarterly statements mailed to the author.

If you have been turned away by traditional publishers, or simply want to retain full control over your book, it?s cover design and content, self-publishing may be the way to go. If you have never been published, it is difficult to find a traditional publisher. With self-publishing, you will have documentation of your previously published work and royalty statements to show its success. Once your book is published, get out there and promote your work. It?s the best way to take your career from new to permanent status.

Daphne is a Writer, Business Owner, Motivator and Self-Starter and full-time Mom. She started Passion Parties by Daphne in the Summer of 2005 as a hobby while working full time. It has since become a full time passion for her and hope to quit her full time job soon. She enjoys writing articles about small businesses and family and tries to motivate other women with the same desire. She can be reached at 1-877-TOY-DIVA <a href="http://www.daphnespassion.com" title="http://www.daphnespassion.com" target="_blank">http://www.daphnespassion.com</a>

How To Sell Your Books On Radio
In October 2004 when my book “Your Retirement Masterplanâ€� (How To Books ISBN 1857039874) was published I participated in eleven 15-minute live interviews on local radio over a period of just five days. The results were highly encouraging; the book leapt from nowhere on Amazon.co.uk to position 194 out of 3123 competing titles and eventually grabbed the No.1 spot for its core keyword (retirement) where it remained for nine months. I am shortly to repeat the broadcast exercise for my newly published tome "How to Earn Money in Retirement" (How To Books ISBN 1845281128) but before doing so I am already off to a head start… Although this title does not hit the bookstores until Monday 8 May 2006 it already ranks at No.47 out of 3453 competing titles on Amazon.co.uk â€" which means of course that the book is already selling in big numbers online â€" thanks largely to the success of its predecessor and the initial boost it got from radio promotion. These promotional interviews are arranged by my publisher’s media consultancy and I do not require to visit a single studio to take part; they are all conducted over the telephone, sitting at my desk at home. So what if you self-publish your output and you don’t have a publicist to arrange radio interviews? Does that mean you are excluded? No way; I have self-published several books in the past and managed my own promotion. Wherever you live in the world you’ll find that the majority of local radio stations are banded together into a single network for cost-effectiveness. Here is what you do… 1. Identify the controlling network; 2. Visit the corporate website containing links to all subsidiaries; 3. Pick out those stations within a 500/1000 mile orbit; 4. Visit each local station website individually; 5. Scan the daily programming schedules; 6. Highlight those programs that might identify with the topic of your book; 7. Note the presenter’s name; 8. Email him/her with a well-couched request for a live interview; 9. Follow that up with an identical snail mail request; 10. Follow that up with a telephone call (you’ll get to speak to someone in authority). You know your topic inside out; speak up with confidence and you’ll get your interview; maybe not straightaway but, if you sell yourself and your project professionally, you’ll be logged into and up-and-coming slot in the station scheduling. Go for it…it’s free! I will be reporting in a subsequent article on the outcome of my latest batch of broadcasts. In truth though there is more to creating bestselling books than spieling about them on radio and if you’d like to learn how I manage to produce bestsellers consistently, visit the website featured in the resource box below. Jim Green is a bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction titles to his credit. http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

Jim Green is an online enthusiast and bestselling author with an ever-growing string of niche non-fiction hard copy titles to his credit. http://1st-creative-writing-course.com

Top 5 Shenanigans of 5 Print-on-Demand Publishers
5) Cosmetic corporate connections

Publisher B has a new corporate overlord in Amazon, but offers no carriage with Ingram, which means no order availability through many bookstores nor major website listings with competitors Barnes & Noble.com, Powells.com, Bamm.com, etc.

Hint: Find a publisher that offers wholesale distribution through Ingram (which includes listings on Amazon, too). Publishing is already competitive enough; your distribution channels shouldn't be.

4) Disavowing any knowledge

Publisher P calls itself a traditional publisher, even though it uses the same on-demand technology as other PODs. They require an exclusive 7 year contract (twice as long as most traditional agreements) and absorb all your rights before you discover the truth.

Publisher L doesn't call itself a publisher at all, but rather a conduit toward publication. It even features a picture of a machine "publishing" your book for you. Do you want a hot-water heater handling your pride and joy?

Hint: Sign a non-exclusive contract that you can cancel in 30 days written notice and pick a publisher that uses real live human beings to format your book.

3) “Free� on-demand publication

Free things require no commitment, which is a harsh finale for a book you labored to write. We have heard of authors who "published for free" and then the author forgot who published their book! As Vince Lombardi says, “The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.� Getting what you pay for was never more appropriate, as authors of free services can attest.

Hint: You get out of something what you put into it; choose your publisher accordingly.

2.5) "Free" publishing that isn't actually free

I have to slip in this bonus shenanigan. Publisher T claims they will publish your book for free, yet require a $3,985 investment from the author. Last time I checked, that wasn't free. Their justification? They reimburse the payment to you once your book sells its 5000th copy.

Hint: Ask them the percentage of times they actually reimburse their authors. Ask for the titles of the books and author's names. Then get the contact informaton for every one of those authors and confirm it.

2) Traditional publisher affiliations

Traditional publishers make the lions share of profits because they take a gamble on every author. Publisher U has executives from the traditional publishing industry; which means they know how to take an author's money up-front AND in the long run on the back-end.

Hint: If you pay to be published, make sure you make a higher royalty than a traditional publisher pays. And make sure you don't confuse "20% net profit" with a "20% retail royalty".

1) Charging to be profitable

In this competitive publishing environment, publishing is hard enough without having your publisher charging you for things that should be free. Publisher X recently introduced an option for $249 that lets you set your own retail price. And when you see this bar graph comparison, you will understand why: http://outskirtspress.com/marketing/case-owp.gif

Hint: Having pricing flexibility is certainly better than not having it, but you shouldn't have to pay for it.

Learn more about publishing your own book with a free e-book at <a href="http://outskirtspress.com">www.outskirtspress.com</a>. Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press and the award-winning author of "Self-Publishing Simplified". A free ebook edition is available at <a href="http://outskirtspress.com/publishing">http://outskirtspress.com/publishing</a>.

The Indie Author Revolution
I remember well the night I first heard Nirvana. I was sunk in wretched and ugly despondency, not wanting to talk to anyone and hating myself. I couldn't discern or articulate my inner state, even to myself. There was no separating cause and effect. Then Kurt Cobain wove his uncanny spell. Suddenly I experienced my apathy, my sense of loneliness and alienation - even my depression itself - all these emotions as EMPOWERING. Talk about waving your freak flag. Nirvana's success paved the road to recognition for a lot of other great underground bands like the Screaming Trees, the Meat Puppets, the Melvins; bands that provided a welcome alternative to the bland and condescending music that was being force-fed to the masses by the industry. The "grunge" movement of the early '90's was the closest my generation ever came to spiritual union. A community took root and grew, gathering misfits from every far-flung corner until it was massive enough to shake up the status-quo. This uprising snatched music from the hands of the corporate world and delivered it back to the people. It was fueled not only by hard work on the part of the bands, but also by word of mouth - and the invaluable support of independent labels, magazines and record stores. The media generally didn't know what to make of it. Record companies were rethinking their strategies and scrambling to hop on the bandwagon. Oftentimes they latched onto the surface trappings - unkempt long hair, flannel shirts and stage-diving - and missed the spirit of the happening entirely. There was no Institute of the Arts where one could go to learn how to translate the frustrations of the twenty-something’s into timeless music. I miss the excitement of that time, the feeling that the ball was in our hands and we were finally going to see some movement and change. There is an upheaval occurring now within the publishing industry that will make it possible for a similar grass-roots movement to flourish through the medium of books and literature. Frustrated by the major publishing houses and their worship of the bottom line - and the elitist milieu wherein a handful of people in New York deign to decide what the rest of us will read this year - ambitious authors are exploring alternatives like self- or print-on-demand publishing. They seek greater creative control (i.e., no editors or agents demanding drastic alterations to authors' manuscripts based upon their knowledge of "what sells"), higher royalties, and the means to skirt around the powers that have hitherto been acting as the gatekeepers of the publishing world. Getting hip to underground music required not only soul-searching and discrimination but also a fair amount of leg-work. The records were hard to find, and because they went largely ignored by radio and MTV one often didn't know which ones were worth laying down one's hard-earned money for. An independently-thinking fantasy enthusiast faces a similar dilemma today when searching for something other than Harry Potter or recycled Tolkien to read. Here the internet proves a valuable resource. Discussion groups, forums and chat-rooms have created cyber-tribes that congregate around every conceivable subject and interest. Word of mouth travels fast these days - and between millions of people who've never even met. Amazon.com has turned readers into reviewers. Authors have their own websites where they post excerpts and sample chapters from their works. The internet is the ideal launching pad for the indie-book revolution, because its taken tools previously monopolized by corporate publishing and made them available to us common folks. Books that, once upon a time, would've been rejected because they didn't fit into any cookie-cutter genres can now find a community to embrace them. Ultimately, when we as authors take our creative destiny into our own hands we're giving ourselves permission to BE OURSELVES - and allowing others a glimpse of our true nature. A cultural climate where new ideas proliferate - and are exchanged - is an environment where in the soul can expand and breathe. Art is meant to open the windows and air out the closets. It should not be bound, like Prometheus, to the rock of publisher shareholder interests, chain bookstore monopolies and Oprah's selections of the month. Seth Mullins is the author of "Song of an Untamed Land", a novel of frontier drama, musical prohibition and the spiritual quest.

For More Free Resources visit www.onlinepublishingsite.com

Publish America - Publishing Parasites
I have to admit to being readily impressed by company names. Maybe it's an age thing. You see, I was around when we had nationalized industries here in Britain, you know, British Railways, British Gas, British Steel, British Road Services, etc., etc. Those companies may have been over-staffed and under-efficient but you always knew you could trust them, and a product marked "Made in Britain" had class - in those days. Even after they became privatized the word "British" in a company name still, in my subconscious at least, gave that firm a stamp of approval. Those were the heady days when we had some traditional industries and workers could rely upon union protection to prevent their jobs being shipped out to third world countries. I was delighted. This wasn't a 'tuppence ha'penny' outfit but an organization that boasted "America" in its title. I've never been to America but I have made some good "virtual" friends there and know how patriotic Americans are. How could you not feel safe doing business with a firm that so proudly flew the flag of that famous super power? When I checked out Publish America’s website, all red, white and blue with the slogan "We treat our authors the old-fashioned way - we pay them," I felt truly blessed. A publisher of high esteem (I believed the testimonials) recognized the reader-appeal of my stories and my potential as a writer. Further encouragement came from the "Why Publish America?" page where I was told "The majority of our books that are sold retail are sold in physical brick and mortar bookstores" and "Publish America can remove the stigma of paying to be published. With Publish America, you will have the very important distinction of having your book ACCEPTED BY A TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY." Yet something about the company name puzzled me. I mean, why not "The American Publishing Company" or similar? As it stands "Publish America" could be interpreted as an ambition to publish anything and everything that was ever written in that country. Amazingly, that interpretation very much sums up their objectives. In my enthusiasm I had been studying PA's Author's Message Board, following links to previously published author's websites and reading all the reviews and book excerpts I could find (not realizing that authors with anything pertinent to say are instantly barred from posting). Then I read one of their books from cover to cover. Now, my own education at an orphanage school in the Highlands of Scotland was very basic, so my grasp of English Grammar left something to be desired. Nevertheless, convinced I had stories to tell and the ability to tell them, I had joined Internet critique groups to learn how to present them. When I read my first Publish America book my feelings were a blend of embarrassment, anger and disbelief. The writer had obviously worked hard to put the story together and it had the makings of an entertaining read. It reminded me so much of my own first and only attempt at writing a novel - abundant clichés, suspect word selection, contrived scenes and wooden characters existing in a plot that lacked cohesion. It was in fact a story barely at the first draft stage, complete with spelling and grammatical errors. How could an ethical, self-respecting publishing house allow this to happen, I wondered? Publish America/Scam America are most definitely NOT traditional publishers whatever their slogan implies. Recently interviewed by Steven Zeitchik of Publishers Weekly, Publish America executive director Miranda N. Prather admits that her company DOES NOT EDIT FOR CONTENT, only for grammar and spelling. For readers and writers everywhere this has to be the most worrying statement ever made on behalf of a publisher. But it gets worse. Simultaneously Ms Prather announced the creation of an affiliation between Publish America and Online Publishing Bookstore. Quote "Authors that generate sales and create a track record showing that they are able to promote as well as write a book will be referred to Publish America by Tome Toaster." So we have a situation where a writer's ability to self-promote supersedes everything, including the ability to pen a readable story. I find it a frightening fact that Publish America already have 10,000 published books in the marketplace (recent announcement). Since they don't edit for content it is safe to assume that the bulk of these are badly written at best. By choosing Publish America, genuine AUTHORS who have worked hard at sharpening their writing and storytelling skills find their works irretrievably associated with some of the most inane rubbish ever written, for the period of their contract - SEVEN YEARS! Meanwhile READERS have the dilemma of finding a readable piece of fiction (or non-fiction) in an environment awash with literary garbage. The scam is brilliant in its simplicity. Instead of asking for money up front, Publish America solicit a list of up to 100 of the author's friends and family whom they bombard with pre-publication flyers offering discounted copies. The sting is in the book's cover price - anything from 25-50% above the going rate for a similar book - ensuring that the friends-and-family discount does not affect the publisher's profit. My own 136 page "tome" was originally priced at $19.95 then reduced to the still prohibitive cover price of $16.95 when I expressed my disgust. Print-on-demand format allows the publisher to recoup publishing costs almost immediately on just a few such sales which are followed up by a "special" bulk purchase offer, irresistible to the author who has received only two free copies for review purposes. I invested three to four hundred pounds sterling and countless frustrating hours that I could ill afford on a marketing project that was doomed to failure from the start. Publish America’s lack of author support, only answering phone calls for book orders and ignoring almost all email complaints, is legend, as is the nigh impossible task of finding a bookseller willing to stock Publish America non-returnable titles. Publish America have a branch called Publish Britannica and I now realize how naïve I have been to believe that a company would necessarily show respect to the country whose name they cynically exploit. Maybe such business practices are par for the course in today's dog-eat-dog, winner-take-all world. I know there are "authors" prepared to buy huge quantities of their books then sell them on to sympathetic, unsuspecting acquaintances, mug gullible punters at book fairs and the like or just sell them to each other. I just enjoy writing stories, being neither a super salesman nor a confidence trickster. Is it too much to expect that a writer's work might succeed on merit rather than misrepresentation and deceit? If companies like Publish America are allowed to legally flourish while exploiting new authors, deceiving the reading public and stifling writing talent, apart from GENUINE TRADITIONAL HOUSES, the book publishing industry will surely drown in a dumber-down literary quagmire of its own making. NOTE: Many authors who value their work and who have fallen victim to this disreputable company are campaigning to have the sole rights to their material restored. To those who threaten legal action Publish America offer a release agreement containing a gagging clause.

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