Book Publishing Insights from a Barnes & Noble Bookseller

A friend of mine who is a Barnes and Noble bookseller gave me some insights about book publishing which can be of help in preparing my blog-book for publication and sale.  I am a book publisher working with Lightning Source to make my books available.

If I want to work with booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon, I will probably need to allow returns.  That can be expensive and I need to be aware up-front who pays for shipping, etc.

My friend suggested that I purchase some on my own for sale when I do a talk or webinar.  She also gave me some references to self-published authors who may have more insights into the business.

Marketing books to publishers can take five months or more.  Unsolicited manuscripts may receive nothing more than form letters.

Some authors have done their homework, having created supportive marketing websites, made the books highly marketable, have their own lists--via websites, webinars, podcasts, or speaking engagements, and are equipped to sell the book with or without the help of a bookstore.

Bookstores usually stay away from self-published, print-on-demand books and books that have a no-return policy.

New authors are advised to join writing groups--frequently found through local public libraries--for networking resources to improve their writing and for insights into how to create and market their written work.

While these insights are not intended to discourage authors, they do form a sort of reality check.

Social Security, FDIC, The New Economy, Baby Boomers, It's A Wonderful Life Movie

One of my favorite movies, especially at Christmas, is Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.  In 2003 I taught economics to English language learners (ELLs) at a high school in Elgin, Illinois, and we watched It's A Wonderful Life for almost two weeks.  The movie shows various times in American history--the end of World War I, the Great Depression, runs on banks, World War II, and life in small town America.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent organization, was created by the U.S. Congress in 1933 "in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s."  (Source:  http://www.FDIC.gov)  The movie also featured the role of the Savings and Loan institutions and their relationships with banks.  This relationship played out in 2009 when Washington Mutual was purchased by J.P. Morgan Chase. 

The Social Security Administration was also started after World War II.  Baby Boomers (babies born between 1944 and 1960) are a large demographic unit and have contributed money all of their working lives to the Social Security trust fund.  Fewer workers will be paying into the fund when the baby boomers retire--as many are starting to do now.  Congress has tapped into this fund and has drawn down its reserves.  There is concern that Social Security funding will be tapped-out by 1937--according to a media report I heard last month on ABC.

In the new economy ("after the great recession" [AGR]), baby boomers turning 62 are finding it difficult to keep or to find jobs that pay the salaries they need to pay mortgages, car payments, insurance, etc.  Many companies, while not claiming to discriminate against baby boomers, are offering salaries that are half or less of what baby boomers were getting for the same or similar jobs a few years ago.  Others are requiring specialty skills or training or experience that came after baby boomers earned their degrees.

Taking Social Security early results in a lower monthly payment--with everything adjusted based on individual contributions to social security.  People under full retirement age (66 for many baby boomers) may earn $14,140 per year before having their social security income adjusted.  If they earn more, any adjustments may come back to them when their social security benefits are reconfigured at full retirement age.

The point is this, by taking early retirement (social security) and working, baby boomers may be able to take jobs that pay half as much as they were used to because, with the social security income, they can still pay their bills.  When they reach full retirement age, they can earn as much as they want without a negative impact on social security benefits.

Double check everything in this post with Social Security.  It is as accurate as I can make it as of the date of posting.

Why Would Someone Want to Read This Blog as a Book?

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously was a successful blog published as a book and then as a movie.  Julie Powell focused on working with Julia Child's recipes.

Readers of this blog know that the posts may vary from day to day, based on what is "top of mind" for that day.  With this post I have 240 separate entries ready to edit and am now visiting public libraries and book stores to see how I can organize these entries in a way that will be both interesting and marketable.  (If anyone reading this has suggestions, they will be welcome.)

I have created categories (for chapters), though I am not fully happy with those categories yet.  I will probably edit the posts a little for publication.

I am also checking out a book on the stories of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) for inspiration.  My goal is to have this ready for the publisher this week.

I reviewed my earlier draft books (from 2001) and don't feel compelled to rework them at this point.  Publishing this blog as a book is something new.

Editing Lots of Posts--Inspiration--Creativity-Perspiration--Perspective

Editing the posts in this blog to date--this is post #239--is lots of work.  I now have all of the posts in a format that allows editing.  To turn it into a book--or multiple books--requires lots more work and thinking about the details of the posts.

Lynn Pierce advised me that I could have the book ready to edit by the end of the weekend and she was right--it's ready for editing, though not yet edited.

I'll be working on the edits during the week and we'll see what I have to share as the work progresses.  I'm looking for inspiration and perspective as I work with creativity and perspiration. 

Wish me luck!! :-)

Preparing the DrM-Blog to be Published--categories, titles, and more

I have been organizing this blog for publishing today and have been working with categories for related posts.  While the labels help, I am already finding that I will be adjusting the categories a bit before the blog is ready to be published as a book.

An old friend, Jack Canfield, is the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books.  I like the title of his books and the way he formats them.  This blog has covered lots of territory (categories) since it began last August.  I'll have to see what kind of titles evolve as I edit the material.

More work tomorrow.  I look forward to seeing what develops.

Editing this Blog into a Book

I've begun to organize the blog posts into categories for publishing in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format for eventual publishing in book form.  My goal is to have a pre-publishing draft ready by Monday, March 29th.

Categories are based on the tags I have added to each entry.  I have begun the process and have much more to do.

Books, Mentors, and Infopreneurship

In 2001 I became a protege of Robert G. Allen on the advice of a friend of many years, Jack Canfield (co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series). In March of 2001, along with many fellow proteges, I attended the Book Expo in Chicago where I met Lynn Pierce, a fellow protege who had just completed her first book and was promoting it at the expo.

I had started a book and did not have it ready for the expo.  In the morning of  September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.  That afternoon I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  I had the cancer removed and devoted the next six years to teaching K-12 students.  My book remained unfinished and my development as an infopreneur didn't move very far.  I completed an additional masters degree and published several research articles concerning education.

I had maintained contact with Lynn Pierce over the years and have been aware of her progress in her infopreneurship business.  I started listening to Lynn's SuccessBlueprintRadio programs and signed-up for her SuccessBuildingSecrets program.

Nine years after the Book Expo in Chicago I am ready to edit my first book for publication.  This blog will be the content and I will begin organizing the posts into chapters based on the tags I have embedded in each post.  I hope to complete the editing soon and will probably publish using my connection with Lightening Source Press.