Advertisments

Feature

Striving To Be the ‘Sundance’ of Book Publishing: Can Print-On-Demand Publishing Get Some Respect?

iUniverse Makes Changes Geared for Author Success; Conversation with an Author Who Made It

by Jim Barnes

Rector acknowledged these problems during our conversation at the recent BookExpo America in New York, and stressed that the new iUniverse mantra is Author Success. She promised the company is making changes that will help them become more of a "bridge" between authors and booksellers. "We're only successful if our authors sell books," she said.

POD books and authors are battling back from a bad image problem caused by poor writing, shoddy editing, homegrown cover designs, and authors' unfamiliarity with the book business. Quality and pricing issues, non-returnability, and clashes with inexperienced authors have soured some booksellers on working with POD publishers.

"We continue to look at how we can improve the quality of our author's books. It is in our best interest to publish quality books since we don't make money unless our authors sell books. We are finding ways that we can support authors in their craft -- both through building a better community so writers can learn from successful authors, and by providing tools that will help improve an author's writing. We definitely want to develop our relationships with booksellers as well and improve the image of POD."

iUniverse has made additions to their current publishing programs, and added a new publishing program. They offer three levels: the basic Writers Club ($159); Writers Showcase ($349) includes manuscript review, jacket copyediting, and a do-it-yourself marketing tool kit; Writers Advantage ($949) also includes copy-editing. All three programs no have a non-exclusive clause in their contracts, which had been an annoyance to many authors. The iUniverse website also stresses the company's extensive distribution network, and the fact that you can expect to reach a real person when you call, and receive "the personalized assistance you need throughout the publishing process."

One of the "bridge" techniques iUniverse has implemented is the "Best of iUniverse" selection of books now on display at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide. The six books, representing a variety of how-to and self-help topics, all have achieved early success, and the hope is not only to promote sales of the books themselves, but maybe more importantly, to show off the quality of some top iUniverse authors and titles.

"We've been getting really good feedback on our recent covers, and feel that these books hold their own with any others on the bookstore shelves," said Rector. "We want to help other authors learn from the successes of our bestselling authors, so getting these books out there on the website and in the stores really helps accomplish that."

Have any complaints or suggestions for iUniverse? They say they are trying to be more responsive to author needs and new ideas, so get involved. Join author communities, and speak out about how services can improve. If it sounds like something that could result in more sales for more books, you can bet they'll listen. "We're looking at some growing niches like Health & Wellness and African-American, and will make our new marketing more niche-oriented to help sell these books and to attract niche authors," says Rector.

* * * * * *

I contacted one of the "lucky six" iUniverse authors to have their books included in the "best of" program. She was able to talk about the POD experience from the perspective of an author who has published with a traditional royalty house, and sees things from both sides of the publishing fence.

Carol Tuttle is a rapid eye and energy therapist, professional speaker and author living in Salt Lake City with her husband and four children. In the late '80s, while attending a conference on healing and recovery, "The spirit spoke to me and told me I was going to write a book." She did write the book and it became a regional bestseller, selling about 10,000 copies in the Intermountain West. "I thought I was done, until I had a similar experience in February of 1999," says Tuttle. "I once again felt impressed to write a second book. I tried to shrug off the feeling, because one of my least favorite activities is sitting in front of a computer for hours, all by myself, writing." But write she did, taking about four months to write Remembering Wholeness: A Personal Handbook for Thriving in the 21st Century, and then another year to see that it was properly edited and put into print.

"Even though I had great success with my first book being published by a publishing house, I knew the constraints of getting a book into print and to the marketplace with a traditional publisher," recalls Tuttle. "I did not want to wait on a publisher's project calendar for 12-18 months. I also did not want to give up my copyright and the last say on the content, and the decision of how long to keep the book in print."

"I knew that promoting the book would be my job, no matter who published it. So why give all that power of the decisions to someone else? If a book is good, people want it; they don't care who published it. The content of good books sell themselves, not the imprint of the publishing house on the spine. The online publisher iUniverse met all my criteria. I knew that all I needed was to have Remembering Wholeness available to the public and it would start to sell itself."

iUniverse provided Tuttle with the vehicle to have a book in print in just a few months, creating a digital file, registrations, and posting it on www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. How did the experience compare with traditional publishing?

"Publishing with iUniverse was faster, I did not have to deal with editors wanting to change the content, and my royalty was considerably higher -- but the one missing piece that I knew I would not have without a traditional publisher was sales representatives going out to the retail stores, selling my book to their accounts. I knew that bookstore presence would not be a part of the deal. I would have to be the one to make that happen. I have always said to other writers that bookstores are just a glorified warehouse. It does not make your book any more successful to have it shelved in a bookstore over a distribution center. No matter what, you need people coming in to the stores buying the book."

Tuttle sold over 6,000 copies of Remembering Wholeness, which is quite remarkable considering the average print-on-demand sales number is less than a hundred. How did she do it? Tuttle says it was a combination of faith, synchronisity, and timing. She took advantage of local media contacts and was liberal with review copies, sharing them with influential contacts that could spread the word and use her book as training material.

"Once I did these few things, word-of-mouth started to kick in and the book began its marvelous sales experience. The first 2,500 copies had to be ordered, and people who wanted it had to wait for it to come in. This gave the book the perception of being a very popular, hard-to-find book, and made readers want it even more!"

"Then one day I received a call from the national sales manager from iUniverse, which was interesting due to the fact that when you publish online, you do not have much direct contact with real people. I called him back and he shared with me that Barnes and Noble had just purchased 2,500 copies of my book and it was being modeled nationwide in all of their stores. Of the 10,000 titles iUniverse has, Remembering Wholeness was one of six that had been chosen by the nationwide chain."

"I believe online marketing is a huge opportunity if you have a nice website to link to. My site is a very good authors site: www.caroltuttle.com. I also learned how to be a guest within that medium. Radio and television have their own styles and I wanted to gain some experience appearing online."

"I learned very quickly how many aspects of the book industry did not accept print-on-demand books. Many other publicists told me they would not represent print-on-demand books, and trying to get an events coordinator at a bookstore to bring you in for a signing was difficult. Another issue with POD books is that they are non-returnable, which bookstores do not like, so they are hesitant to purchase large numbers, and since the books are printed out of the demand for them, they are not convinced there is a demand when you are an unknown author."

When asked for advice, Tuttle says, "Buy my book Remembering Wholeness: A Personal Handbook for Thriving in the 21st Century. It will teach you how to deliberately and consciously create what you want."

More tips from Carol Tuttle:

Content: Start with a really good manuscript that you make even better by hiring a good editor. "My book has been through four editors already in its short life. It is a good, clean writing job. Editors make a difference. "

Package: "Don't look 'homegrown.' I can pick out a self-published book 90 percent of the time. The cover, editing and print job give it away. Get professional assistance to create a successful looking book."

Promotion: "Get exposure. You have to be willing to talk about your book, get it noticed. (Are you noticing how I keep talking about my book? I love my book and I believe you will too, or I wouldn't have written it!) Be okay with it being a book readers have to order. Pitch it as that with phrases like: 'available through bookstores nationwide,' or 'can be ordered in bookstores nationwide.' Give copies to the right people so they would start talking to others about it.

General: "Be willing to invest in the things that matter: good editing, which is not the same as proofreading, and a good package, which is your front and back cover. Support other writers and authors. As you support and praise their success you will attract success back to you."

"Whenever I am in a bookstore and there is an author having a signing, I ALWAYS buy a copy of their book. I stop and chat with them and ask about their book, how it is doing, congratulating them on their success. I do not tell them I am an author; I want to blow their horn, not mine, in the moment of their glory. I have been asked to speak at several writers' groups in my state, which I did for free, and I always took copies of my book to sell. But very few writers bought the book. I was amazed. As a result of those experiences, I decided to always support other authors. As you extend support to others, that support will flow back to you."