Turning a Book Alteration Into a Positive Marketing Experience

Sometimes I run little Q&A's in my SharingwithWriters newsletter like this one. If you would like to subscribe, send me a message using the subscribe window at the top  right corner of most every page on my Web site. The offer includes a free wordtrippers book!

Q&A a la Ann Landers

New Cover? Need New ISBN? Then What?

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QUESTION ON A LISTSERVE

I'm going to change the cover for one of my books — nothing else, just the image and the arrangement of type around it.  Do I need to give it a different ISBN?  It's the same book, just with a different package, both print and e-book.

From a small publisher on a YahooGroups listserve that deals with publishing problems

ANSWER FROM CAROLYN

Because I'm a marketer as well as an author, I believe you are not thinking long term about this change. As long as you are doing this, why not update the interior in some way. 

• Maybe add a study guide to the backmatter.
• Perhaps put an ad for the author's other books in the backmatter.
• Or try dedication or updated information in the frontmatter, anything that will give the reader more value or help him see the value better when he opens the book.
• Take the opportunity to clear up anything that is unclear.
• Maybe improve on the interior design since now--obviously--you know more about what works in terms of design. 

With only a little more effort, you can legitimately call it a second edition. There is a credible ring to the term “second edition”-a feeling left over from traditional publishing that it has sold a lot of copies (maybe it has). That puts you a step ahead. 

You can also run a new promotion campaign on it! New exposure for the book. New exposure for the publisher. New exposure for the author. You can even get Amazon to put a widget on the old version's buy page to lead readers to the new book, glorious with its new cover. That gives you double the Amazon exposure!

And, in that case, yep you need a new ISBN for sure! (-:   As a publisher you benefit from using your ISBNs yourself, but if you are a self-publisher, why not let Createspace supply you with the new ISBN at no cost and only pay for additional ISBNs if you see a clear advantage.

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Carolyn is working on two new books for her multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers: Getting Great Reviews Frugally and Ethically, and one on how authors can and should be involved in what goes on their book covers, front and back. http://howtodoitfrugally.com 

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 Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Q&A a la Ann Landers: Getting the Help Your Book Needs

More in the Questions and Answers Series a la Ann Landers  direct from my SharingwithWriters newsletter. Subscribe at http://HowToDoItFrugally.com and get an e-copy of my booklet Great Little Last-Minute Edits for Writers.  By the way, feel free to e-mail Christine to get more information on Fjords Review.

 

Peer Review and Proof Reading: Getting Help for Your Book ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUESTION:

Carolyn:

A few years back I'd bought your book, The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo)  and found tons of wonderful tips, information, and people to network with.  It is amazing to me that some people may not take advantage of such a gem.

I've reviewed over 250 books and am the staff book analyzer and reviewer for Fjords Review, a literary journal.  I enjoy reviewing, but want to publish my books too.  Would you consider XXX a place to send a children's picture-book manuscript?

What are your thoughts on peer-review? This is where fiction authors send the first 30 pages to people who love that genre and ask for their opinion and suggestions. These people are asked to be brutal and to comment in red if they want to on your manuscript.  In return, they get mentioned in your book.

Best Regards,

Christina F. Kennison
ChristinaFrancine@hotmail.com

P.S.  Where might I find amateur proofreaders or editors? You mention using them in your book and I like the idea.

ANSWER

Christine,

Regarding amateur proofreaders/editors, I'm sure you also noticed that I said using them are a good starting point but will not do the same job as a professional editor who really has a grasp on everything in the publishing world--from grammar to formatting to style choices for books as opposed to, say, academia and newspapers.  This is even more important for a first book.

 Most people who use amateurs search out former English teachers or friends who majored in English. By the way, this works better for nonfiction than fiction. Many who know a lot about punctuation, as an example, have no idea how to punctuate dialogue (which you no doubt read about in The Frugal Editor (http://budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor) . Using amateur editors is a little like the peer review you mentioned. You consider the source. I. e. what they are experts in. If they are general readers. If you hear the same thing from several of them. Then you do some research on your own before you decide to accept or reject their suggestions.

Regarding the press you mentioned. I don't think they're quite right for a children's book. Children's books require an awful lot of formatting and design expertise so, I think you'd be better off hiring a designer/formatter who has this kind of experience--one whose work you like. Or try the traditional publishing route first.

 I also suggest you join what used to be called list-serves like pod-publishers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and self-publishing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Ask questions and learn from the questions others ask (and the answers they get).

Choose groups like these that have a lot of real experts willing to recommend and help. If you find a group with lots of newbies, you should be able to tell soon enough. Then you take their advice as exactly what it is--amateur advice. That is, not something to be ignore, but something to be carefully weighed. And be very, very cautious about any ideas or advice that smacks of unethical behavior or seems too easy.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Your Web site, Blog, E-mail Lists and RSS Feeds

Sorry, followers. I've been sick and therefore AWOL. But here's an article for those of you into promoting online (and I hope you all are!). It comes from MaAnna Stephenson of JusttheFAQS.com and fellow tweeter. It's the sick girl's way to give you information--link only--but lots of love. (-:


http://www.justthefaqs.net/dwnlds/Why_Do_I_Need_RSS_Feeds.pdf

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

The Good and Bad of Literary Agents

The essay below is a reprint of comments I contributed after a member of a list-serve came to the defense of agents and admitted that some of her agent-friends critiqued her work but "couldn't/wouldn't" sell it.)
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Ms. X, I'd like to add something to your comments, even though you did a great job on your defense of agents and, admirably, admitted that some manuscripts deserve to be put in a drawer or at least rewritten. That takes courage when it is your own manuscript (-: ; it not only takes courage but shows that writers do grow and get to be better writers if they work it. When that happens they can see the flaws in their own writing. That's not an indictment. It's the way we improve.

Now, back to agents.

I had the privilege of working with several dozen of the nation's top agents for my new release The Frugal Editor. They helped me help other writers by sharing with me what they find in query letters that mark writers as amateurs. They did it with humor and some with a certain sweetness of soul. They did it because it helps them if writers submit professional, helpful query letters but also because the more we all know about good editing and publishing in general, the better off the industry is. Some agents asked I not use their names but more than 20 let me quote them, and they were supremely quotable. They gave me a gift (a great chapter on writing and editing queries!). Through me, they gave writers in general a gift.

Having said that, these were all reputable agents, not the fly-by-nighters who charge for reading manuscripts, have editing businesses on the side that they try to pawn off on writers for an additional charge as well as a subsidy-publishing business that they hawk (at a hefty fee!) after they've roped writers in under the guise of being an agent.

There are scoundrels everywhere. And there are ways to avoid the ones who call themselves agents, something else I address in The Frugal Editor. The number one way on my list in TFE is -- surprisingly -- not to check complaint sites like Preditors and Editors. Too many naïve authors who know nothing about the publishing industry and didn't do their homework choose to go there and berate their agents who have really committed no other sin than taking their books on and working their bottoms off trying to sell their books so they can both make some money.

Nope, the number one best way to avoid them is to get references from someone experienced, like writing department instructors at universities, or some of the people on my favorite (self-publishing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ) who give lots of their time to help other writers.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, is the award-winning author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for authors. She is introducing The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success, now available for pre-orders at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/ .

Please sign up for my "Sharing with Writers" newsletter: Put "Subscribe" in an e-mail to HoJoNews@aol.com. Learn more at http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com . The next AllTips Edition will be issued in September.