The Ink Tree Report
We've just launched the
Brand New, Revised edition of our Ultimate Book Marketing Kit. It's
full of updated and new information on how to publish, market and
SELL your book.
Click here for more info:
The
Ultimate Book Marketing Kit
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Brought to you by Ink Tree Ltd., your source of help for anything
related to self publishing and
book marketing.
Visit us at
http://www.inktreemarketing.com
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"Every individual has a
determination, a desire, a burning desire deep in his heart, and I'm
sure that if every person can search for that, and reach for that,
they will be successful in whatever they decide to do.
-- Peterson Zah
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Digital
Printing or Offset Printing?
Which is best?
What type of printing to use is a dilemma for many
author/publishers. Which is the best option: digital, other wise
known as print on demand (POD), or offset printing?
Offset printers uses printing plates that go through a three step
process to transfer images to paper, while digital printers transfer
a digital image to paper.
Digital printing is best used for short runs and small orders. There
is less set-up so the cost is less per book on a small order. Offset
printing requires more set-up, making it more cost effective on
large orders. Generally speaking, however, the two printing styles
are competitive up to approximately one thousand copies.
It is very important to know your marketing goals before deciding
upon the type of printing to use for your book. Why? The cost of
printing makes all the difference in where and how you can sell your
book. When you receive an order for hundreds or thousands of copies
of your book, the buyer is sure to expect a substantial discount. As
in every type of sale, volume purchasers demand reduced prices, and
why not? You take the profits from this sale and do more marketing,
resulting in more sales and the process repeats itself. There is no
point in holding on to a few copies of your book waiting for buyers
who will pay full retail – that seldom happens. That being said, if
you plan to sell your book on your website only, or during personal
speaking appearances, the profits are all yours and not to be shared
with a middle buyer. This scenario is a great defense of short
digital print runs. Large orders, though, require lower print costs.
Let’s do some math to illustrate:
Scenario 1: you are hosting a seminar for 150 people and
selling your book at the back of the room. The retail price of your
book is $19.95. The print cost on a digital print run is $10.00.
Your profit is $9.95 per copy because you are selling directly to
the consumer.
Scenario 2: you found a volume buyer who will purchase 200
copies of your book to test in their market with the chance of
selling 5000 books if the test is successful. The retail price of
your book is $19.95. The print cost on a digital print run is
$10.00. The buyer requires a 70% discount which makes the selling
price $5.99. Your print cost is $10.00. Your loss per book is
$$10.00 - $5.99 = $4.01.
Scenario 3: your distributor sells the book to book stores.
You need the book in book stores because you are running a publicity
campaign. The book stores require a 40% discount so their purchase
price is $11.97. But wait – the distributor’s commission is 15%,
making the discount 55% so your return is $8.97. The retail price of
your book is $19.95. The print cost on a digital print run is
$10.00. Your loss is $10.00 - $8.97 = $1.03. You can’t do it.
If you had printed 5000 copies on off set press the print cost would
likely have been $3.00 or less unless the book has colour photos
and/or illustrations, bringing the price up to perhaps $4.00. Even
if you print only 2500 copies the print cost would be substantially
less than the digital print cost.
Digital printing definitely has its place in many scenarios, as long
as the costs fit into your marketing plans. Which brings us back to
the original words of caution: know your marketing goals before
deciding upon a type of printer to use for your book.
Copyright© Ink Tree Ltd. 2009 All rights
reserved.
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Questions from Self Publishers
Q: "Should I mainly
target Book Editors and book specific media when planning my
publicity campaign?"
A:
Absolutely not. Actually, you're more likely to get press
coverage if you don't. The key is a finely crafted news release
that grabs the attention of other relevant editors. It's all in
the news release. Tie in to current events, put a new spin on
your area of expertise. A couple of examples of things we've
done in the past that are definitely outside the realm of
typical "book" media:
-Pitched
a children's book with the story of how old fashioned children's
birthday parties are becoming a thing of the past
-Placed
cookbook authors on a late night comedy talk show
Use your imagination!
Do you have a publishing question you'd
like to see featured in our newsletter? Send it to us at
info@inktreemarketing.com
with the subject line: "Newsletter Question".
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Links and Resources for Self Publishers
We now have a self publishing blog that we update
regularly with insider tips, tricks and info on how to self publish
your book successfully. Check it out!
http://selfpublishingbooksforprofit.blogspot.com/
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Self Publishing Articles on Our Website
Check out our FREE Articles page on our site for
articles on all areas of Self Publishing. Featured this month (click
to go straight to the article):
Secrets of Getting Endorsements and Testimonials -- and WHY you
need them
You can find our article
database here:
http://www.inktreemarketing.com/selfpublishingarticles.htm
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Mention My Book!
Don’t forget to submit YOUR book! You'll find instructions at the
end of this section.
==========================
Go-Fit On The Go -A user
friendly fitness guidebook for the healthy traveler
Sophie Roy, Author
Available at:
http://www.gofitonthego.com/
or call 514-962-5686
Go-Fit On The Go: A User-Friendly Fitness Guidebook for the Healthy
Traveler is the first reference guidebook in the traveling and
fitness market that is light enough to carry with them wherever
travelers go. Written by Sophie Roy, an experienced professional
traveler, Go-Fit On The Go has one goal in mind: teach tourists and
business travelers healthy habits that can be developed and adhered
to while globe-trotting. Go-Fit On The Go is the essential
traveler’s guide!
========================
Game-Day Goddess Sports Series
Suzy Beamer Bohnert, Author
Game-Day Goddess has received national prominence, including
endorsements from singer Jessica Simpson and the Penn State
University football department, headed by legendary Coach Joe
Paterno.
Game-Day Goddess: Learning Football's Lingo is an informative,
humorous self-help guide for women to discover more about one of the
world's favorite sports. Use it as a quick reference guide to learn
the language and concepts of football, while having fun and feeling
inspired as you learn.
A great gift for the fan and non-fan alike to understand the
fast-moving and exciting game of basketball is Game-Day Goddess:
Learning Basketball's Lingo. Follow the action with this fun guide
to help you fully understand the game. Bring this purse-sized book
with you when you watch basketball!
Fully understand a favorite pastime with the easy-to-read paperback,
Game-Day Goddess: Learning Baseball's Lingo. It's a wonderful gift
for women who want a handy reference guide that's entertaining,
funny, and informative. It's the ultimate guide for quickly learning
about baseball: be sure to take it to the game!
These books are available on Amazon.com (www.amazon.com)
and Barnes and Noble.com (www.bn.com.).
Suzy's Web site is
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeug7mn
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***The intention of our Mention My Book section is to give free
exposure to
self published books. Every bit of publicity counts! If
you want to submit your book for mention, please send an email with
the subject line “Mention My Book!” to us at:
info@inktreemarketing.com***
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Remember to check out our BRAND NEW version
of the Ultimate Book Marketing Kit on our website.
http://www.inktreemarketing.com/BookMarketingKit.htm
To your
publishing success,
Joni Pypers
VP Marketing
Ink Tree Ltd.
For more information on Ink Tree and our
self publishing
and
book
marketing services for authors and publishers, visit us at:
http://www.inktreemarketing.com
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