So here we are 4 years later (5 years?). We still exist. But we haven't "hit it big".
The trouble is, marketing.
Really simple: 4 P's.
Product - our product(s) is(are) very good; customer feedback, reader satisfaction, and positive reviews in official media confirm this.
Price - the price is certainly reasonable. It does not compete (or try to) with the "penny horribles" at the Crazy Store, but it is not as pricey as the books in a certain chain...
Position - that is where we fall smack on our faces. (No thanks to a certain bookshop chain who told us to get reviewed by the country's most respected reviewer before they would bother stocking our books.)
and Promotion. In this self-same blog and its sister-blog, the P'kaboo Blog, I detailed often enough our loud, active, off-the-wall style promotion. Also, the Solar Wind has been reviewed several times now, and four times (4!) in mainstream printed media (newspapers, a glossy mag). But without positioning, the promotion can go nowhere. People read about the series and want to buy it, can't find it and give up.
Where is your book's best position?
Right in your reader's face. He has to walk into it around every corner until it is such a part of his reality that he can't help but pick one up out of curiosity.
How does one get into a reader's face?
Positioning.
Ok this is circular logic, but it should be obvious from this that having the book shoved in your face is a lot more effective than reading a review. What sells the book best is - well - the book!
Going to work on this a bit, but from all this it should become clear that right now the name of the game is distribution.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Focus
There comes a time in every business (and usually it comes round and round again) when one needs to focus.
It doesn't matter if the business is small or enormous.
It took 4 years to determine which way we make our best sales. I still believe our selection of titles (including my own, yeahh..) are good; and there are avenues we have never yet explored (due to, mainly, financial constraints).
Here are my findings, and I'm sure others have completely different experiences.
Our best sales have been, so far, in descending order:
Well, there we are. Most important commodity right now: My time. Where do I apply it best? Because it is alas, as usual, dreadfully limited.
It doesn't matter if the business is small or enormous.
It took 4 years to determine which way we make our best sales. I still believe our selection of titles (including my own, yeahh..) are good; and there are avenues we have never yet explored (due to, mainly, financial constraints).
Here are my findings, and I'm sure others have completely different experiences.
Our best sales have been, so far, in descending order:
- Violin Tunes for Beginners, mainly to a distribution agent, and
directly to music shops; of course, I have a captive market there as
every new student also buys one. But the real sales have been to the
distribution agent who sold to music shops all over and to CNA.
- Solar Wind 1. Mostly direct sales, and a few to bookshops.
- Solar Wind 2. Again mostly direct sales, plus a few to bookshops.
- Almost Dead in Suburbia. Direct sales mostly, again. Some internet sales.
- Everything else.
- Overall primary market, direct
sales to friends, contacts and people we know. These would be in part
beneficiaries of gift copies if some huge publisher were to publish the
book instead of a little one-girl-show.
- Secondary market, music shops and CNA via agent. Music sells better than novels.
- Hardly any sales online.
- Sales to book clubs: None - but that might be because the focus has not been on them.
- Word-of-mouth, alerting friends and relatives by email and phone call.
- Some response: P'kaboo Website, Lulu, Amazon
- Little to no response: Reviews in local paper, magazines.
- Little to no response: Community events with music.
- Little to no response: Blogging. Very time-consuming and a nice hobby in itself but can cost one the very time it takes to generate new stories and marketing ideas.
- Haven't tried: Youtube uploads; radio ads; TV ads, full-colour ads in mags and newspapers. Which of these will work, if any? They all cost money to generate. So each of them will be a bit of a gamble, and to gamble too low means to lose because it will not generate enough interest for any return.
- Another angle: Targeting interest groups. Not yet tried.
Well, there we are. Most important commodity right now: My time. Where do I apply it best? Because it is alas, as usual, dreadfully limited.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Organizing my mind
The purpose of this blog is to splash, in rough draft, my experiences and observations in the publishing project.
My experience at this point is one of being a bit overwhelmed, so I'll just jot down point-wise what I have to do until December (except for getting printed and launching the 3 new books).
Right now:
- Upload all our books to BookData
- following which, contact Waterstones
- Upload the rest of our books to Amazon
- for which purpose:
- Straighten the insides of VT1
- Finish the insides of the "workhorse" version of "Not Another Scale Book" (+get it an ISBN)
- PDF them in the right format
- Finish formatting SW3 for Kindle; ISBN and upload
- Publish: "Naked in the Sea" (Marie M) -> format, ISBN and Kindle; P'kaboo ISBN and P'kaboo version ebook
- Books to Paul
- Books to Les
- Monday: Dispatch books to Malaysia
- Done: Proofed SW3, Lupa and SW1 in paper, requested reproof (position issues)
- Check that the improved pages on P'kaboo are uploaded
- Finish the new order form PHP
Longer-term:
- The issues with Paypal and shipping cost calculations are unbearable. Need to install a different shopping cart on the website.
- "A Tensional Guitarist": Reformat so it can be made into a Kindle book.
- The ShortStory Project:
- Find a title;
- ISBN,
- select collection,
- get cover
- ?Audience participation?
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things. But I may remember them when I'm through the list.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Amazin' Amazon
Five of our titles are by now uploaded on Amazon. Find them here:
Our books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=p%27kaboo+publishers
There is also Forest Circle Quest, not yet in the Amazon Store but can be obtained from CreateSpace under P’kaboo imprint, https://www.createspace.com/4012062. It should be in the general store in a day or two.
This works. At least, it looks as though it ought to. Twelve books (including paper and Kindle copies) are already downloaded.
Converting from A5 to 6x9 inch is quite compatible. The trouble comes with the music books. I'm trying to convert A4 music books to 8.5x11 - and 11 is simply not tall enough! Things get cut off, at least an inch off the top. I'll have to go back to basics and change everything in "letter" and potentially ask our graphic "ou" to redo the covers (again)...
On the other hand, Amazon opens doors. It really is quite phenomenal. It downright changes my business model!
Our books on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=p%27kaboo+publishers
There is also Forest Circle Quest, not yet in the Amazon Store but can be obtained from CreateSpace under P’kaboo imprint, https://www.createspace.com/4012062. It should be in the general store in a day or two.
This works. At least, it looks as though it ought to. Twelve books (including paper and Kindle copies) are already downloaded.
Converting from A5 to 6x9 inch is quite compatible. The trouble comes with the music books. I'm trying to convert A4 music books to 8.5x11 - and 11 is simply not tall enough! Things get cut off, at least an inch off the top. I'll have to go back to basics and change everything in "letter" and potentially ask our graphic "ou" to redo the covers (again)...
On the other hand, Amazon opens doors. It really is quite phenomenal. It downright changes my business model!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Remembering Clare
At the outset of my self-publishing journey, in 2008, there was this site, "Bookhabit". You could self-publish your book as an ebook up there, which is what I did... for the first 5 Solar Wind sequels. The 6th was in progress when I got sidetracked into paper-publishing & starting P'kaboo. (The other place I uploaded to was Lulu.com.)
Clare Tanner was the owner of Bookhabit. She had something going: People bought ebooks at $2.99, and the author got a $1 royalty per sale. That meant, $1.99 profit for her for every sale. Also, she paid out after you had a minimum amount in your account ($50 I think it was?). I never got that far. That side of things of course goes under loose ends; I also think her profit margin as compared to author royalty was a bit big, considering that there was no running cost (other than the web hosting). In the light of Kindle having a 70% royalty program, and EPub and some other sites allowing you to keep all your royalties, one would expect service from a place like Bookhabit.
Service she did give. She got in touch with authors and helped them tirelessly with their upload issues etc. She didn't review the books unless they peaked her interest (there were over 600 titles and I do believe the intent was to read them all but of course she needed to select). I was amongst the lucky few whose books she actually read and I hope sincerely that this was worth it for her, as mine weren't exactly runaway sellers. She did call me, all the way from Australia, to put up a podcast for me. I (stupid me, newbie) said all the annoying things first-time authors say, like, "I hope the books will get as famous as Harry Potter", and going on to discuss the whole plot. I hope since then I've wised up a bit, poor Clare, she was working with absolutely raw material there.
Clare had something there. She definitely did. The concept of publishing books as ebooks only, and then presenting paperbacks of same when the sales figures warrant it, really teases. I wouldn't allow people to self-upload (yet); they'd have to submit. For Kindle, you self-upload and an automated system checks your files; and then they get re-checked, I don't know whether via a more sophisticated system or actual people but the latter seems likely, seeing how they "fix issues" with minimal fuss. But: Nobody proof-reads your story and tells you it's sub-standard. Nobody refers you to an editor. Nobody physically does the layout for you (unless of course you contact those people on Kindle yourself and ask - and pay - for those services).
Now, P'kaboo would do it differently. We'd actually read your manuscript (so it's a full submission). We decide whether it's up to our standard and within our scope (I've to date read a couple of very well-written manuscripts but their content fell outside of what P'kaboo wants to represent, whether they were violent, overly political, or in other ways didn't suit our concept - so if we reject your book, try submitting your other book, it might be more acceptable). We'd do the internal layout for you, to publish the book on our site as pdf; and later, when the machinery is in place, as DRM-managed Kindle, Ipad, Kobo, Nook etc etc files. We would then also place your book in such stores as Amazon. If you need editing you can get it from our Author Services. Also the cover graphic is something you need to consider.
In other words, you'll not be self-publishing your ebook. You'll be getting it polished and perfected, and promoted into various places, and most importantly, you'll have been approved. You'll be published via us. Your book will bear our logo. And in time, if the sales figures warrant it, there shall be a paperback of same.
Sounds good?
Let me put my mind to it.
Clare Tanner was the owner of Bookhabit. She had something going: People bought ebooks at $2.99, and the author got a $1 royalty per sale. That meant, $1.99 profit for her for every sale. Also, she paid out after you had a minimum amount in your account ($50 I think it was?). I never got that far. That side of things of course goes under loose ends; I also think her profit margin as compared to author royalty was a bit big, considering that there was no running cost (other than the web hosting). In the light of Kindle having a 70% royalty program, and EPub and some other sites allowing you to keep all your royalties, one would expect service from a place like Bookhabit.
Service she did give. She got in touch with authors and helped them tirelessly with their upload issues etc. She didn't review the books unless they peaked her interest (there were over 600 titles and I do believe the intent was to read them all but of course she needed to select). I was amongst the lucky few whose books she actually read and I hope sincerely that this was worth it for her, as mine weren't exactly runaway sellers. She did call me, all the way from Australia, to put up a podcast for me. I (stupid me, newbie) said all the annoying things first-time authors say, like, "I hope the books will get as famous as Harry Potter", and going on to discuss the whole plot. I hope since then I've wised up a bit, poor Clare, she was working with absolutely raw material there.
Clare had something there. She definitely did. The concept of publishing books as ebooks only, and then presenting paperbacks of same when the sales figures warrant it, really teases. I wouldn't allow people to self-upload (yet); they'd have to submit. For Kindle, you self-upload and an automated system checks your files; and then they get re-checked, I don't know whether via a more sophisticated system or actual people but the latter seems likely, seeing how they "fix issues" with minimal fuss. But: Nobody proof-reads your story and tells you it's sub-standard. Nobody refers you to an editor. Nobody physically does the layout for you (unless of course you contact those people on Kindle yourself and ask - and pay - for those services).
Now, P'kaboo would do it differently. We'd actually read your manuscript (so it's a full submission). We decide whether it's up to our standard and within our scope (I've to date read a couple of very well-written manuscripts but their content fell outside of what P'kaboo wants to represent, whether they were violent, overly political, or in other ways didn't suit our concept - so if we reject your book, try submitting your other book, it might be more acceptable). We'd do the internal layout for you, to publish the book on our site as pdf; and later, when the machinery is in place, as DRM-managed Kindle, Ipad, Kobo, Nook etc etc files. We would then also place your book in such stores as Amazon. If you need editing you can get it from our Author Services. Also the cover graphic is something you need to consider.
In other words, you'll not be self-publishing your ebook. You'll be getting it polished and perfected, and promoted into various places, and most importantly, you'll have been approved. You'll be published via us. Your book will bear our logo. And in time, if the sales figures warrant it, there shall be a paperback of same.
Sounds good?
Let me put my mind to it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Bogus Sangoma busted!
The young author we counselled (see last post) has moved forward with his self-publication. Have a look at this sweet site! (I think it's well done - especially the dog bowls are a nice touch!)
www.bogusangomabusted.com
www.bogusangomabusted.com
Thursday, August 2, 2012
At which point may I call myself a "veteran"?
Today I counselled a young author (both in years and publications) as to how to go about self-publishing.
He has exactly the same issues I had the first time round.
He is afraid someone will steal his work. So afraid that he doesn't even dare hand a file to me for consideration. Not even if I offer to co-publish him - one of the ways in which P'kaboo, who is not currently accepting full submissions, can still support new authors and get them going. Co-publishing is gentler than self-publishing in that the publisher does take responsibility for part of the cost, and of course for the process (quality control & the works).
He talks of selling his car so he can print a big run of 2000 books. O my hat! And that without having any idea where to start with marketing and distribution? Without knowing whom to approach for printing - and what it means to police the quality of printers in South Africa? And he would have possibly run with us co-publishing his work... if we could get it done in a month.
If I wait for a proof for six weeks from the printer that gives me the best prices by a margin, just to discover the proof is still seriously flawed... how can I promise an author to deliver his print run in a month? And that would include the editing - which is a highly interactive process with our expert editor, who is set apart from other editors by the fact that he works closely with the authors; and it would also include the process of generating a cover graphic.
Which he had - of sorts. The colours: Striking. But the whole effect was confusing, and needs streamlining. This is generally what happens when people try to do it themselves instead of leaving it to those who earn their bread and butter with that art. A cover is an advertisement. It has to have an immediate, strong message and must still make sense if it's the size of a thumbnail graphic online.
And then the layout... I've seen this in many self-published ebooks, they are basically manuscripts. Formatting = Zero. One should think that the authors have never yet read a shop-bought book in their lives... one needs paragraphs, margins, indents etc etc. Tricks such as font size, margin size, gutter... how to make a book easier on the eye.
It got me thinking that I ought to put a brochure on P'kaboo, with tips for self-publishing authors on how the process works, what to watch out for, where the short-cuts are... but for wailing, the most difficult part of self-publishing is the actual publicity!
Can I call myself a veteran yet? With the third and fourth books in the Solar Wind series ready for publishing, one in the proofing phase and one at the cover graphic stage, and with five other authors aboard (ok that includes my own hubby but it also includes a high-profile musician in Cali and a poetess in Scotland) and two waiting in the wings (once again, one is a person close to me; the other a previously published and self-published author!) can I say that my P'kaboo initiative has been growing, quietly but steadily? With our books in around 50 music shops around the country and a couple of dozen bookshops, can I say we have distribution? With reviews in the local Rekord, in the Your Family and online, can I say we have (some) publicity?
Not enough, not enough, not enough!!!
What is missing? The big money, the big distribution. Only one of our books so far is in CNA; only one in Top Books. Exclusive's remain elusive. The trouble is the pricing. Just too much to leave a decent margin for distribution agents. But we shall persevere, and we shall prevail.
Anyway our website is much cuter than any of those other online sites for publishing/self-publishing. But it's not yet very interactive.
It has been suggested that I write out writing competitions for P'kaboo... I'm trying to figure out how to do this legally.
~~~kalinka~~~
He has exactly the same issues I had the first time round.
He is afraid someone will steal his work. So afraid that he doesn't even dare hand a file to me for consideration. Not even if I offer to co-publish him - one of the ways in which P'kaboo, who is not currently accepting full submissions, can still support new authors and get them going. Co-publishing is gentler than self-publishing in that the publisher does take responsibility for part of the cost, and of course for the process (quality control & the works).
He talks of selling his car so he can print a big run of 2000 books. O my hat! And that without having any idea where to start with marketing and distribution? Without knowing whom to approach for printing - and what it means to police the quality of printers in South Africa? And he would have possibly run with us co-publishing his work... if we could get it done in a month.
If I wait for a proof for six weeks from the printer that gives me the best prices by a margin, just to discover the proof is still seriously flawed... how can I promise an author to deliver his print run in a month? And that would include the editing - which is a highly interactive process with our expert editor, who is set apart from other editors by the fact that he works closely with the authors; and it would also include the process of generating a cover graphic.
Which he had - of sorts. The colours: Striking. But the whole effect was confusing, and needs streamlining. This is generally what happens when people try to do it themselves instead of leaving it to those who earn their bread and butter with that art. A cover is an advertisement. It has to have an immediate, strong message and must still make sense if it's the size of a thumbnail graphic online.
And then the layout... I've seen this in many self-published ebooks, they are basically manuscripts. Formatting = Zero. One should think that the authors have never yet read a shop-bought book in their lives... one needs paragraphs, margins, indents etc etc. Tricks such as font size, margin size, gutter... how to make a book easier on the eye.
It got me thinking that I ought to put a brochure on P'kaboo, with tips for self-publishing authors on how the process works, what to watch out for, where the short-cuts are... but for wailing, the most difficult part of self-publishing is the actual publicity!
Can I call myself a veteran yet? With the third and fourth books in the Solar Wind series ready for publishing, one in the proofing phase and one at the cover graphic stage, and with five other authors aboard (ok that includes my own hubby but it also includes a high-profile musician in Cali and a poetess in Scotland) and two waiting in the wings (once again, one is a person close to me; the other a previously published and self-published author!) can I say that my P'kaboo initiative has been growing, quietly but steadily? With our books in around 50 music shops around the country and a couple of dozen bookshops, can I say we have distribution? With reviews in the local Rekord, in the Your Family and online, can I say we have (some) publicity?
Not enough, not enough, not enough!!!
What is missing? The big money, the big distribution. Only one of our books so far is in CNA; only one in Top Books. Exclusive's remain elusive. The trouble is the pricing. Just too much to leave a decent margin for distribution agents. But we shall persevere, and we shall prevail.
Anyway our website is much cuter than any of those other online sites for publishing/self-publishing. But it's not yet very interactive.
It has been suggested that I write out writing competitions for P'kaboo... I'm trying to figure out how to do this legally.
~~~kalinka~~~
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