The Well-Fed Self-Publisher

Introduction
$11K in Two Months – for Starters
Yes, Virginia, a Full-Time Living, with a Part-Time Effort
Self-Publishing (SP) Success: A Process, Not an Aptitude
Self-Publishing: A First Choice
Five Reasons to Read this Book FIRST
A Radical Approach = A Dramatically Simplified Process
You Have ONE Job, and One Job Only
My Promise: ALL the “How-to” Detail

Chapter One: Why Self-Publishing?
Clueless Publishers: “You Can’t Do What We Won’t Do”
Everything a Publisher Does, You Can Do Better
The Antidote to Predictable Promotion
Making Review Copies Work FAR Harder
Extra! Extra! Author Rescues Book from Publisher!
The Internet: The Great Equalizer for the Little Guy
The Huge Advantage a Self-Publisher Has Over the Big Boys
Authors: A Publisher’s Necessary Nuisance?
In Praise of Lots of Cheap Books
SP: Well-Deserved Bad Reputations, But Things Are Looking Up
A Romantic Tale of How It Works for Fiction, Too
The Downsides: It’s ALL You, Baby, BUT…
Publishers Demand Major Involvement, for Chump Change
Becoming a Creative Force AND a Businessperson

Chapter Two: Learning to Love S&M (Sales & Marketing)
Muzzling the Mean, Menacing “Marketing” (and “Sales”) Monster
My Creds: Nearly 30 Years of Sales & Marketing Experience
Developing the Marketing Mindset – Easier than You Think
What Marketing IS and ISN’T
Sales: Bad Experiences, Bad Associations
It’s About Hardcore, High-Pressure Sales – NOT!
Guess What? You ARE Selling (Gasp!)
Keep Showing Up, Make it Easy for Them to Say Yes, and You Win
Who’s the Audience? (Always the First Question)
Features vs. Benefits (Stop Talking About Yourself and Your Book)
Understand Marketing; Improve Your Love Life!
How to Stick a Fork in Your Eye (and Why You’d Want To…)
The USP: What Makes Your Book Better?
Write a Book That People Will Want to Read. Duh.
What Piece of Book “Real Estate” Are You Claiming?
Book Proposals: A Good Idea for ANY Publishing Direction
Seven Steps to a FAR More Readable Book

Chapter Three: How to Build a Book
Your Cover: Only THE Most Important Thing, That’s All…
The Secret to Powerful Attention-Grabbing Titles and Subtitles
Your Back Cover Copy: Understand How People Buy Books
AcronyMania!: OPD, BBD, ISBNs, LCCNs, PCIP, SANs, and More
Copyrighting Your Book: Cheap ($30) Insurance
Ask and Ye Shall Receive (the Marquee Blurb…)
Writers Don’t Make Good Editors (of Their Own Books)
Typesetting & Indexing: More Important than You Think
A Binding Decision: A Crash Course in Binding Types
It’s “Ink-on-Paper” Time: Your Galley & Offset Print Runs
The Pricing Formula That’ll Keep Your Book in the Black
The Best Printer in the Whole Wide World (Well, Close…)
Sample Production Scenarios (What’s It All Gonna Cost Me?)

Chapter Four: Bullseye! Targeting Buyers and Building Demand
The Goal: People Hearing About Your Book “Everywhere!”
A Very Different AND More Effective Approach to Book Marketing
Who’re Your Buyers and What Turns Them On?
The First Reviewers: The Most Important Ones
Finding Tons of Reviewers Who Want to Hear from You
Speaking the Language Reviewers (and their Audiences) Understand
Books as Promotional “Dandelions” Tossed to the Wind
The Nitty-Gritty “Where-To” of Finding Reviewers
The Big Secret to Maximizing the Impact of Every Review Copy
The Marketing Boomerang: Keep It Up and It Comes Back
Find What Works, and Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Little Guys, Little Papers – BIG Exposure
The One-a-Day/Five-a-Day Plans for Successful Book Promo
Follow up on the Follow up on the Follow up. And Repeat.
Niche Marketing for a Mainstream Book?
Case Study: How an Important Book Might Have Succeeded
Hungry Interns Want to Handle Your Promotional Grunt Work

Chapter Five: www.YourWebSite.com
Be in Two Places at Once – Minus Cloning Technology
24/7 Access to All the Info Buyers Need to Make a Decision
Is Your Email Signature Earning Its Keep?
All the Links You Need on Your Site: A Checklist
Catching Niche Audiences in Your Web Net
Merchant Accounts: A Crash Course
PayPal: A Beautiful Thing, but Not by Itself
What’s in Your Shopping Cart? (an Affiliate Program?)
Wanna Build Your Own Site? You Sure? (I Don’t…)

Chapter Six: Into Hot Little Hands
Wholesalers, Distributors, Fulfillment Companies, and more…
Wholesalers vs. Distributors: What Each Do (and Don’t Do…)
Fulfillment Companies: Key to a Simpler Life
Resources for the D-I-Y Bookkeeper (Brave Souls…)
Book Clubs: For the Fame, Not the Money
How Do I Get My Books into Bookstores?
Too Little Demand, Too Many Returns
Build That Demand and Bookstores WILL Find You
Ins and Outs of Selling to Independent Bookstores
Google Book Search: A True No-Brainer
Keeping the (Growing) Large Print Market Happy

Chapter Seven: Hacking Through the Amazon.com Jungle
Amazon Advantage: A Self-Publisher’s Best Friend
Great Way to Sell Books, Cool Marketing Resources, Fast-Paying
Minus: Email Only = High Frustration, Long Resolution Times
Monitor Your Reviews (Bad Ones Could Go Away…)
Amazon Marketplace: If You Can’t Beat Resellers (of Your Book), Join ‘Em!
Selling Your Dinged Copies (You’ve Got a HUGE Unfair Advantage!)
Using Discount Certificates (Physical and Virtual) to Boost Income
Soapbox: “Manufactured” Best Sellers & “Pseudonymous” Reviews
The Secret to LOTS of Great Amazon Reviews (So Simple, You’ll Laugh)

Chapter Eight: Maximizing Mainstream Media Momentum
A Persistent “Ship-to-Shore” Reporter: An Author’s Dream
Mainstream Media: Fickle, Jaded, and Hungry for the “HOT”
Unknown Authors with Niche Topics? Fugehdaboudit.
Of Fishes, Worms, Flies, and Unopened Peanut Butter Crackers
Are You Donating Review Copies?
Press Release Basics: Format, Deal-Killers, and Resources
Yes, We’ve Got Your FREE Press Release Distribution Today!
12 Tips to Writing Stronger Press Releases that Get Noticed
Does Your Release Talk About the Book, and Not This? Bu-Bye…
Should You Hire a Publicist: Advice, Resources, and a Plug
Follow-Up Etiquette: How to REALLY Irritate Journalists (Not a Good Thing)
“ Media Resources”: Make Reviewers’ Jobs a Breeze (a Very Good Thing)
Simple, Inexpensive, and Creative Press Kits (and What Goes In ‘Em)
Book Awards Contests: Build Your Buzz (and Some Others’ Bank Accounts)
A Novel Win-Win Publicity Scenario (Fire Up Your Creative Juices…)

Chapter Nine: Free Publicity – the “Write” Way!
Free Publicity (in Your Own Words), Enhanced Reputation & Maybe a Few Bucks!
Share Your Knowledge, Make Readers Happy, and Sell Books.
The Quid Pro Quo: Good Content in Return for Your One-Paragraph Plug
Turn Into a Marketing Machine With Article “Toolkits”
Nifty Trick #487: How to Write a Book FULL of Articles
The Top Article Directories Looking for Your Awesome Content
Pretty Cool Software for Automating the Article Placement Process
Five Tips for Maximizing Your Article-Writing Strategy

Chapter Ten: Success is “On the Air”! (Tuning Into Radio Interviews)
Mainstream vs. Niche Topics: Different Strategies
What Radio Hosts and Producers Want and Don’t Want
Radio/TV Interview Report and www.SabahRadioShows.com
Ten Tips to More Profitable and Enjoyable Radio Shows
The Virtues of Moving, Smiling, Thanking, Promoting, and More

Chapter Eleven: Dreaming of Writer’s Cramp
Bookstores and Other Signing Opps
A Lesson from a Bookstore Manager Who Hears Voices
Managing Your Expectations of Book Signing Success
Where Books Signings Fit Best in an Overall Marketing Campaign
Eleven Tips for More Successful, Fun, and Worry-Free Signings
Getting in Touch with Your Inner “Alpha Dog”
Beyond Bookstores: A Bunch More “Talk ‘n Sign” Ideas
The Woman Who Wrote a Book, But Made FAR More Money Speaking
Go “Back to School” and Perhaps Learn a Most Profitable Lesson
Guest Author Essay: “Bookstores Are Terrible Places to Sell Books!”

Chapter Twelve: Print-On-Demand (POD): Dream or Disappointment
$1 Million Doesn’t Go Nearly as Far as It Used to…
Where POD Makes Sense and Where It Doesn’t
Not a “Revolution” or a “Miracle” – Just a Technology
When a POD Publisher Says This, Hold on to Your Wallet
Capitalizing on Author Naiveté, Inexperience, Ego, and Hope
Who’s Buying Most POD Books? (You Sitting Down?)
Understanding the POD Model (AND Its Limitations…)
Where POD Falls in the Publishing “Pecking Order”
Why POD (Deservedly) Gets Little Respect in the Industry
Repeat After Me: POD is NOT “Self-Publishing” (and Here’s Why)
The #1 Reason Why POD Isn’t a Fit for Ambitiou$ Authors
Listen to POD Heavyweights via “Podcast”
Why the Economics of POD Conspire Against Authors
POD Can Make Sense Here, and This Company Seems to “Get It”

Chapter Thirteen: Welcome to “Spinoff City”!
A Healthy Income Stream Born of Desperation
Books Can Make $ Directly, or Lots More Indirectly
A Book as the Ultimate Gateway to Credibility and Profitability
Building Your “Platform” Gradually, Intuitively
Seminars: Eleven Tips for More Profits and Greater Enjoyment
Ezines: THE Best Way to Keep Your Loyal Buyers Close
Nine Tips for the Care and Feeding of Your Ezine
Ebooks: The Closest Thing to “Found Money” Out There
Two Ebook Categories and All the Ways to Use Them
Why Standalone Ebooks Aren’t Good Bets, and When They Can Be
Teleseminars: More Money, Less Hassle: What’s Not to Love?
Teleseminar CDs: Easy to Produce and an Ongoing Income Stream
Multiple CD Sets: The Nitty-Gritty of Making Them Work
One-on-One Coaching: Five Tips to Successful Implementation
Conferences: The Why-To, Where-To, and How-To

Chapter Fifteen: Here’s to Nearsightedness & Small Elephants
Developing a Healthy Nearsightedness or You Might Freak…
It’s All About “Triage” Because You Can’t Do it All
Let Your Business Evolve Naturally, Grasshoppa…
Carry a Compass Instead of a Map (with One Exception)
Go Create YOUR Success Story!

Appendix A: Self-Publishing Resources

Appendix B: The Well-Fed SP “Biz-in-a-Box” Teaser

Appendix C: The Well-Fed Self-Publisher Time Line

Appendix D: Your Home Shipping Center

Appendix E: Foreign Rights: Taking Your Book Global

Table of Contents