Archive for July, 2007
The Comic Book Pipe Dream
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007Thinking about trying to produce and publish a comic book? Think again! Unless your goal is to spend a bunch of money and never see a return, comic book publishing is a terrible investment.
That is… unless you’ve got a fresh idea that can meet the changing needs of the 21st century readers.
Today’s all about the [...]
What’s the Difference Between an Author, a Publisher, a Self-Publisher, a Vanity Publisher and a Printer?
Monday, July 30th, 2007100 years ago, publishing was a fairly simple affair — if you printed a book and sold it, you were the publisher. Times changed, and the copyright system altered the rules a bit: whoever was legally entitled to print the book at the discretion of the copyright holder became the publisher. And now, with the [...]
Why Self-Publish? A Guide For Writers In Search of a Publisher
Sunday, July 29th, 2007Have you ever sat down and thought about what it really means to be a “published writer?”
I can tell you what a lot of people think — they imagine a writer who lives a life of semi-luxury, flitting around during the day with no responsibilities, sitting down every now and then to bang away some [...]
Marketing 101: The Art of Publicity, or How To Be a Shill In the National Media
Saturday, July 28th, 2007Do you have cable television? If so, check out C-SPAN2 some afternoon, and you’ll probably catch a glimpse of BookTV. This program, though about as exciting as anything else you’ll see on C-SPAN, features journalists interviewing authors about recent books, and it’s fascinating if you’re into the world of publishing because you get to see [...]
Marketing 101: Promoting Your Books… Without Ever Leaving Home!
Friday, July 27th, 2007Promotion is one of the most important aspects of marketing a product, but it’s not as hard as it sounds. In fact, with the help of the internet, promotion has never been easier.
Since I was so hard on the topic of advertising yesterday, I thought I’d follow up with a positive piece. So, here are [...]
Building a Better Business Plan
Thursday, July 26th, 2007Today, I had an interesting experience — I met with an advisor at my local small business center to talk about my business plan for Army Ant Publishing… and how I can secure more funding to get the company off the ground.
For those who haven’t been following my story, I founded Army Ant Publishing earlier [...]
Marketing 101: Advertising, or “The Wishing Well”
Thursday, July 26th, 2007I call advertising “The Wishing Well,” because they have a big similarity: both require you to throw money into the unknown and wish for a favorable outcome. Both generate about the same results, too.
“What?” you may be asking. “Are you saying advertising is a waste of money?”
I absolutely am. But I have some good reasons [...]
Marketing 101: The 4 P’s, or “Marketing is More Than Just Sales and Advertising!”
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007Have you ever heard the phrase “marketing mix”?
When I first heard this phrase, I thought it referred to something like the way a product was being promoted, like the proportion between media reviews, website promotion, direct mail coupons and advertising, or something along those lines.
As it turns out, that’s only part of the story.
The phrase [...]
Marketing 101: “How I Stopped Worrying and Learned To Love the Middleman”
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007Middlemen. Jobbers. Bandits. Parasites. These are all names commonly used to described marketing intermediaries, the companies who go between the manufacturer and the consumer to help distribute product. These are the people who buy product at a low price and sell it to another party at a profit.
Many people accuse intermediaries of being unnecessary and [...]
Marketing 101: The Basics
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Do you, like most people, associate the field of marketing with either selling or advertising?
I know I did, at least until I started investigating the world of marketing and learning more about the topic. Marketing is something that affects every aspect of a company’s operations, and it involves far more than just trying to make [...]