Here are the latest newsletters for my followers to peruse:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Meet the
man who keeps our supply chain rolling
|
|
|
|
Good morning,
Last weekend, we debuted our “Indie Author Minute” video
series. The idea behind these monthly videos is to introduce you to
some of the people at BookBaby who work every day to help you
achieve your goal of becoming a published author—as well as offer
you some great advice to help you on your self-publishing journey.
Today, I want to introduce you to another BookBaby VIP. But here’s
the thing: He’s never going to answer the phone when you call to
speak to one of BookBaby’s publishing experts. I doubt he knows
much about book editing. He’s probably pretty lousy at designing
book covers.
But he does know everything there is to know about one key element
of our self-publishing business.
Enter Paul Volpe, our new Director of Procurement. Paul is in
charge of ensuring our factory is well-stocked with everything,
from forklift tires to coffee in the employee break room. But
there’s one important manufacturing inventory item he’s fixated on
for every BookBaby author: Paper.
“The paper supply chain has been difficult for every printer,” says
Volpe, a native of Philadelphia. “There’s been little inventory in
the United States, and imported paper faces shipping issues.”
But here’s the good news for BookBaby authors: Thanks to Volpe and
his team, we’re confident that we’re going to have a consistent
flow of premium paper in 2022. “We have close relationships with
paper mill sales reps and distributors who are keeping an eye out
for us when paper becomes available. We can’t just depend on the
domestic market anymore, so we’re closely watching when paper
supplies land. Every morning when we come into work, we’re
searching for new imported supplies. It’s a combination of hard
work and timing while keeping a close watch on the paper market.”
You can read more about why BookBaby will always be a dependable
source of book printing on the BookBaby Blog.
Volpe, who enjoys reading non-fiction books, especially
biographies, thinks the paper market will loosen up later this
year. “I think we’ll have a lot more paper available to us all in
the third or fourth quarter of this year.”
Until then, we can thank Paul and his team for keeping our digital
presses fed with plenty of beautiful paper for your
soon-to-be-published works.
|
|
|
|
All the
best,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steven Spatz
President Emeritus, BookBaby
|
|
|
|
P.S. My
next BookBaby Live broadcast spells out how you can make big
royalties by selling books directly to your readers. Tune in at 3
p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 23 on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube pages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discover
books by independent authors on BookBaby Bookshop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After
all of the writing and editing, being both early bird and night
owl—your book is finally ready for the print shop. But maybe you
want to see our quality before ordering 100 copies. Well, here’s the
easy way to put our book printing to the test.
The Press
Proof is
your ultimate book proof—one final quality printed book that’s
identical to each and every copy you order. Whether it’s a
hardcover or paperback, in full-color or black & white, all of
your books are printed in the same shop—using the same
equipment—for the entire production run.
A new year brings a new beginning. See what it’s like to hold your
hard work for the first time. Make your book today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Introducing
the Indie Author Minute
|
|
|
|
Happy Saturday,
I feel happy and blessed to be working with so many talented people
at BookBaby. I know thousands of our authors agree. Trouble is, our
authors haven’t always been able to put a smiling face to go along
with the name of the BookBaby experts who have been so important to
their publish.
But, I think we’ve got that problem solved, and we’ll devote some
of these weekend messages to help the cause.
Today, we’re kicking off the “Indie Author Minute,” a monthly video
feature for the BookBaby Blog and YouTube channel, to let you in on
a secret that every veteran author knows: book editing is an invaluable service that no
traditionally published book goes without—so why would yours?
Jim Young, VP of Sales at BookBaby, offers insight into why
manuscript editing services cost what they do and what you can
expect from your edit.
So let there be lights, camera, and action! As Jim
puts it, “Having your book professionally edited can truly
be the difference between selling a handful of books and selling a
truckload of books.”
|
|
|
|
All the
best,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steven Spatz
President Emeritus, BookBaby
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discover
books by independent authors on BookBaby Bookshop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes—Amazon
is one of the best places to sell your book. But you’re missing out
if that’s the only shop you have in mind.
We’ll help you take advantage of Amazon’s promotional tools and
sell your book worldwide across 60+ stores. Take a look below at what
we can do for you, and then call us at 877-961-6878 when you’re ready to get
started.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The latest
publishing industry numbers from 2021
|
|
|
|
Good morning,
I don’t usually drop a bunch of self-publishing statistics into
your weekend inbox, but sometimes the numbers are just too good to
keep to myself. Such is the case with the latest publishing
industry numbers from 2021.
Here are the headlines and why I think indie authors should take
notice (and action):
1. After strong 2020 book sales fueled by a year of COVID-19
lockdowns, publishers were worried the gaudy increases represented
a temporary spike. Worry no more: US publishers reported an 8.9
percent increase in book sales in 2021! That number includes gains
in adult fiction sales rising 25.5 percent and adult nonfiction
sales rising 4.4 percent, according to data gathered by market
research firm NPD and reported by Publishers Weekly.
My takeaway?
Reading has returned for good. Millions of potential readers are
looking for their next favorite authors and stories. I can’t think
of a better incentive for would-be authors to redouble their
writing efforts and get
published now!
2. eBook readership is up—big time! A full 30 percent
of Americans are now reading eBooks, up five points from the last study in 2019.
The lesson for
self-published authors is simple: Take advantage of your total
potential reading audience and produce both eBook and Printed Book
formats as you self-publish, just as I suggested in this
BookBaby blog post (way back in 2017!).
3. The third set of eye-opening numbers goes global. Latest estimates
clock the overall world book marketplace at total
revenues of $128 billion. Another study found that the US book market (in
all formats) made almost $26
billion in revenue last year.
When I do the
math, I come up with a big number that can’t be overlooked: Over
$100 billion in books sold outside of the good ol’ USA. Your book
needs the widest possible distribution network to reach readers in
Paris, France, AND Paris, Texas, so don’t make what I once called “the #1
mistake of self-published authors” and limit your sales potential.
|
|
|
|
All the
best,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steven Spatz
President Emeritus, BookBaby
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discover
books by independent authors on BookBaby Bookshop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My 5
favorite editing articles on the BookBaby Blog
|
|
|
|
Happy
Saturday,
I received a bunch of emails last week with questions about a
subject near and dear to my brain: Editing.
I’ve already devoted more than a few Saturdays making a case for
this important investment in a manuscript, but I can’t say it too
often: Every book deserves a professional editing job.
So instead of answering these queries one by one, I decided to
share information from one of the greatest self-publishing
resources on the planet: the BookBaby Blog!
|
|
|
|
All the
best,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Steven Spatz
President Emeritus, BookBaby
|
|
|
|
P.S. Did
you miss my BookBaby Live broadcast, “7 Ways to Ruin Your
Self-Publishing Project,” this week? Spoiler alert again: Not
editing your book was one of the mistakes I discussed! You can
watch the replay on the BookBaby
Facebook
or YouTube
channel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discover
books by independent authors on BookBaby Bookshop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment