Did you make New Year's resolutions? If not, just write all the questionable things you did last year, and at the beginning add the word "stop." Then start taking courses at Book Selling University (www.booksellinguniversity.com)
posted by Brian Jud at
9:06 AM
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Test all of your creative ideas. No matter how crazy they sound - try them out. Find out which ones work – and which don't. Did the test lead you to a different idea? Could 1 work if you tweaked it? Test variations of your idea. Creativity is a dynamic process not a static event
posted by Brian Jud at
5:52 AM
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Most publishers' goals for 2019 are usually in terms of money (revenue, profits), generally OPM -- Other People's Money. However, that is not as critical as you may think. Money will come when you do everything else right. The most important attributes that lead to success cannot be purchased. Here are my Top 10 "Must Haves" for success in book publishing: 1) information, 2) skills, 3) contacts, 4) plans, 5) ideas, 6) accountability, 7) persistence, 8) attitude, 9) support, and 10) resources. The Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS) has Mastermind Groups can help you with OPM - Other Peoples' Minds. Learn more at www.bookapss.org/APSSMastermindGroups.doc.
posted by Brian Jud at
7:21 AM
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When planning for 2019, think of this anonymous quotation, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Take the path toward special sales.
posted by Brian Jud at
6:58 AM
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Avoid arrogance. On the morning of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte smugly assured his generals: "I tell you Wellington is a bad general and the English are bad soldiers. We will settle this matter by lunchtime." Do not be blinded by arrogance. A little humility can help you steer clear of disaster. What is your blind spot? Does ego adversely affect your performance?
posted by Brian Jud at
6:59 AM
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What was the original meaning of merry in "Merry Christmas?" Today merry, as in "Merry Christmas," suggests gaiety, a mood for celebration, but its original meaning was quite different. For example, the carol we sing as "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," should be read as "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." The word was at least four hundred years old when but was first written down in 1827, and at that time merry didn't mean joyous, but rather, peaceful or pleasant. (The Little Book of Answers, by Doug Lennox). Be merry, gentlemen (and ladies), by taking courses at Book Selling University (www.booksellinguniversity.com) in 2019
posted by Brian Jud at
6:03 AM
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The time leading up to Christmas is one of those periods where I feel like a centipede with restless leg syndrome
posted by Brian Jud at
7:38 AM
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Yule love this: Go here for a list of bloggers who will review self-published book for free http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers/
posted by Brian Jud at
5:40 AM
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Just as a carpenter knows that the right tool applied in the proper situation gets the job done effectively, so should book marketers use the correct timing and tools when building a promotional campaign for each target market. Use and balance your product development, distribution, pricing and promotion tools effectively and efficiently – online and offline.
posted by Brian Jud at
6:35 AM
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If your potential buyers seek your type of book in libraries, then you must make your books available in libraries. If they buy in bookstores, whether brick-and-mortar or online, that is where your books should be. If they purchase through catalogs, in supermarkets, gift shops, airport stores or book clubs, then that is where your books should be accessible. Know where your target buyers shop.
posted by Brian Jud at
6:29 AM
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If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.
posted by Brian Jud at
5:50 AM
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"It may take longer than two days for a chick to break out of its shell," according to The Book of Useless Information, by Noel Botham. Some humans never accomplish that feat, but it could help your book sales if you do. See ten networking tips for introverts at www.bookapss.org
posted by Brian Jud at
8:13 AM
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"That's how I've come to see rejection: As a push forward, not back. It is a motivator… At USC they like to tell a story about Steven Spielberg. He was denied admission three times. But he didn't give up. He just kept getting better. No matter how many rejections you receive, you only need one yes." Masada Siegel (Wall Street Journal, Dec 11, p A17)
posted by Brian Jud at
5:49 PM
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Publishers place great attention on the figure at which to price their books, but too often they ignore the customers' perspective. Potential corporate buyers seeking a promotional product compare the available options (books, coffee mugs, golf shirts), so they evaluate your price differently. They weigh the perceived value of your content (for increasing sales or employees' productivity) against the asking price. If that value surpasses the requested expenditure, they will make the purchase.
posted by Brian Jud at
2:16 PM
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Instead of selling your book, sell the product of the product – the benefit the reader receives from reading it. The CEO of a cosmetics-manufacturing company once said, "In the factory we make cosmetics, but in the store we sell hope." Sell what your content does, not what your book is.
posted by Brian Jud at
6:18 AM
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"I don't have expectations when I take on a project. I test ideas endlessly and ask why. I build 20 to 30 models for every project because you have to give the job its due. You don't just do the first ideas that comes to you, which is easy. It's not fair to do anything less than your best." Frank Gehry, award-winning architect
posted by Brian Jud at
6:43 AM
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Many book publishers fail because they focus on the wrong thing. They try to sell their books instead of showing how the content can be used to solve users' problems. Consider the failed Sony Reader. All the creativity that went into its development was undone by a lack of original distribution, a mistake that Amazon did not make with its Kindle. Sony engineered an elegant device, but Amazon designed an original solution. To make your business thrive, consider three execution strategies: approach unconventional partners (corporate buyers), identify underutilized channels (through non-bookstore retailers), and invent new business models (dual distribution). Put as much creative energy into distributing and promoting your content as you did into generating it.
posted by Brian Jud at
5:35 AM
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According to Seinfeld, "A bookstore is the only evidence we have that people are still thinking."
posted by Brian Jud at
6:44 AM
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Plan your actions for the first quarter of 2019 to reach your annual goals. Then give each a start date. This automatically creates your 1Q plan
posted by Brian Jud at
7:48 AM
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Creative thinking consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different. The first person who looked at sawdust and water and thought of making paper did this. So did the person who looked at a burr and thought of Velcro. So did Gutenberg when he looked at a wine press and coin punch and thought of movable type. What different ways can you think about your idea?
posted by Brian Jud at
6:08 AM
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Product form is variable. Ask your target readers and corporate buyers how they want your information delivered. Is it as a printed book? Booklet? Ebook? Audio book? Seminar? A personal presentation? Then that is how you should provide it to them.
posted by Brian Jud at
5:50 AM
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Many people find it necessary to kill new ideas. "We've always only sold through bookstores," or "We don't have the staff for that," or "Yes, but …" are their buzz words. When you have an idea that is different from the status quo you need to do what is necessary to make it a reality. Sometimes this means pushing hard against the majority and the past. As Yoda, the Jedi Warrior put it, "Try? There is no try. There is only do or not do." What are you willing to do today to sell to special-sales buyers? What three corporate buyers could you call? What commission-reps could do the job for you instead of hiring more staff? Join the Association of Publishers for Special Sales? If you want to do something, you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse. Find the way
posted by Brian Jud at
4:59 AM
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The sticky hooked a spine of the common burr inspired the man who invented Velcro fasteners. The spinning wing feature of the elm seed served as a model for more efficient helicopters. Bell invented the telephone by imitating the ear. What patterns in nature can you use to develop your idea? Is your content rooted in another context? Where else can you branch out (special sales)? Does your armadillo-like exterior protect you from nay-sayers?
posted by Brian Jud at
7:14 AM
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When a prospect says "No' think, "That's what you said, but it's not what you meant.
posted by Brian Jud at
5:55 AM
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