Getting great blurbs for your book

As soon as your manuscript is finished, before publication, send it to people known as authorities in your field. Ask them for some short comments you can use for “blurbs” for the cover of your book. As a self publisher, great blurbs will add credibility to your book -- particularly if the person quoted is an expert on your topic.

Don’t be shy about asking for blurbs from prominent people you don’t know. Leaders in your field want to hear from up-and-coming writers. The worst thing that can happen is you won’t get the blurb. But if you get a great blurb, it could prompt bookstore buyers to take your work more seriously, and order more copies.

But remember, the person giving the blurb must be well known to your reader, or at least have a relevant credentials you can mention briefly under the blurb. A blurb from a nobody adds no weight to your product.

Some self-publishing writers who maintain a Web site or blog even ask their site visitors to submit blurbs. Some self-publishers even host blurb contests, letting their readers compete to offer the snappiest blurb.

The origin of the word “blurb” dates to 1907, where it appeared on a book by humor writer Gelette Burgess. A "Miss Belinda Blurb" offered outrageously flattering comments on the book’s contents.

My two nominations for the greatest blurbs of all time:

“This is just the book to give your sister if she's a loud, dirty, boozy girl.”

-- Dylan Thomas on the dust jacket of At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien.

“Don’t leave the Solar System without it!”
-- Robert Forward on the cover of “The Starflight Handbook” by Matloff and Mallove.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Google Base: The final coffin nail for newspapers?

Word leaked out this week that Google is testing a program to resell classified advertising space, in what could be the latest threat to traditional newspaper publishers.

A screen shot of the new service was posted at the tech blog "Thread Watch." The page shows directions for self-publishing Google ads for party planning services, articles on current events, or a listing to sell your used car, among other examples.

Presumably the service would include help-wanted and service ads, which have been a major cash cow for newspaper publishers. But traditional ad revenues have been pinched by free Web services such as CraigsList, which has rolled out free listings in most metropolitan areas.

"We are testing a new way for content owners to submit their content to Google, which we hope will complement existing methods such as our web crawl and Google Sitemaps," Tom Oliveri, Google product marketing manager, said in a statement on the company’s official blog. "We think it's an exciting product, and we'll let you know when there's more news."

"If Google offers the service for free, the sole revenue stream will be derived from keyword advertising and it will likely take share from other players, compressing growth rates," said a research note by Banc of America Securities. Classified ads generated $17 billion in revenue for newspapers in 2005, with automobile ads representing about 30 percent of the volume. Job-recruitment ads make up 23 percent of newspaper classified ads, and so far, Internet sites have penetrated this category the most.

Internet classifieds ads will generate about $2 billion in 2005, with recruitment advertising accounting for half of that amount, Banc of America estimates. Every 1 percent share that Google Base captures from traditional newspapers would be the equivalent to $190 million, the report said.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Self-publishing authors see ‘fair use’ in Google Print

Big publishers are suing Google over its plans to scan copyrighted works in libraries for use in its Google Print program.

But self-published authors appear to be voting with their feet, and opting into Google's program because they know it will generate more awareness of their books and increase sales.

Google maintains that its scanning of copyrighted works falls under the "fair use" doctrine of U.S. copyright law, which allows non-licensed incorporation of copyrighted material by "libraries and archives" -- if the archive is open to the public and a notice of copyright appears with the protected work.

So far, so good. But another stipulation in the copyright law requires the copying be made "without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage." Clearly, Google is seeking a commercial advantage through assembling its Print archive. At the least, the search firm wants to strengthen its control over the direction of Web traffic.

And here is the heart of the matter: Publishers are afraid of losing control of how their products are discovered by readers. If more consumers begin learning about book titles through Web searches instead of shopping in bookstores, Google can gain control over retail sales of books. Already, Google's Print pages point readers to online stores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and of course Froogle, its own retail platform.

The company line on Google Print is that it’s in the business of helping people find information, "and there’s too much information in books that cannot yet be found online."

"We think you should be able to search through every word of every book ever written, and come away with a list of relevant books to buy or find at your local library," Google said in a recent post to the company's official blog.

Perhaps the big publishers should be developing an alternative to Google Print, instead of throwing up temporary roadblocks like its lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Manuscript display sites popping up all over

It seems that manuscript display sites are popping up like daisies all over the Web these days. The sites promise to put aspiring authors in touch with agents desperately searching for the next Great American Novel.

Only problem is, agents are already drowning in a sea of unsolicited manuscripts, the vast majority unworthy of being published. How likely is it that successful agents will pay to see more amateur productions flowing over the transom?

Authors who can’t gain the attention of a reputable publisher might be better off starting with self-publishing. An author who goes to the trouble to self-publish will quickly realize their strengths and weaknesses. And nothing attracts literary agents faster than a successful self-publishing author.

Nonetheless, a new manuscript review site, Bookner, is getting a fair bit of buzz. The site features a “peer review system” in which manuscripts are reviewed by other writers belonging to the site. Their findings are averaged into a “Bookner Rating,” which will supposedly allow agents and publishers to gauge how likely a manuscript is to become a bestseller.

"[N]o other human activity on earth more riddled with criminal levels of inefficiency” than the process of authors submitting their manuscripts to agents, Bookner claims.

Critics note that other manuscript review sites have been around for years without much success. By far, the most popular are Bookpitch and 2BEntertainment.

Other well-known sites are Monkeyclap.com, WritersConnect, The Next Big Writer, and Zirdland.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Getting a Library of Congress Control Number

It’s pretty simple and costs nothing for self-publishers to obtain a Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) before publication. Library of Congress numbers are helpful if you want to sell your book to libraries, since some libraries order every catalogued work.

First, apply to participate in the Preassigned Card Number Program.

You should receive a user name and password within about two weeks. Then enter your title, ISBN, and other details into the system, and you’ll receive the LCCN within about a week via e-mail. The Preassigned Card Number Program links the book to any record which the Library of Congress, other libraries, or book vendors might create.

The LCCN is a serially based method of numbering books in use since 1898 at the Library of Congress. Librarians use it to locate a specific Library of Congress catalog record in the national databases and to order catalog cards from the Library of Congress or from book distributors.

Upon receiving your LCCN, print it on the copyright page.

Self-publishing authors should remember to send a complimentary copy of all their books for which a preassigned number was provided. Publishers who don't meet this obligation can be suspended from the program.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Selling new books

Selling new books on an Internet marketplace is a tough, low-margin business due to the aggressive discounting by Amazon of 30 to 40 percent for popular titles in recent years. Normally the biggest dis-count you’ll be able to get on new books from a wholesaler is around 45 percent. That leaves little room to cover costs like returns, lost packages, damaged books, and other mishaps.

But this business model can work, and there are several sellers who sell thousands of the latest bestsellers right on Amazon Marketplace, just a few cents under Ama-zon’s price. Of course Amazon gets the vast majority of the sales because of their name brand and free shipping offers. But some buyers will choose the Marktplace seller for a single item since standard shipping is $3.49 versus $3.99 from Amazon.

With such a small profit margin on the top best-sellers, some sellers of new books opt not to compete with the most popular bestsellers. Instead, these sellers search for steady sellers in the 100,000 Amazon sales rank range that are not heavily discounted.

Unfortunately several Amazon Marketplace vendors have been known to “game” the system without actually having the books on hand. Only after the customer orders does the seller place an order with his wholesaler. This leads to shipping delays at best, and as a result the feed-back ratings of these sellers are usually horrible. These sellers cancel many Marketplace orders when the book becomes unavailable through their wholesaler, which irri-tates customers and casts a pall on the online shopping experience. Sellers advertising an item for sale should have it on hand for immediate shipment.

The following is a listing of new book wholesalers who service retailers.
Ingram Book Co. of Nashville is the largest U.S. wholesaler to independent book dealers, serving about 9,000 retailers including Amazon itself. With five regional warehouses, Ingram manages next-day delivery to nearly every address in the United States.

If you want to expand your sales potential by adding new books to your inventory, your first step should be to call an Ingram representative at 800-937-0152. The com-pany will want to know if bookselling is your primary busi-ness. If so, you may be eligible to establish an account. If not, it would be necessary for you to purchase at least $5,000 in inventory annually. Initial orders must be for at least 100 books or a wholesale value of $500 or more.

To be eligible for an account with Ingram or most other wholesalers you will need to provide your resale certificate or tax exemption certificate number, which you should obtain from your state’s tax department.

If more than half of your offerings are Christian books, Ingram will probably want to refer you to its Spring Arbor Distributors unit, which can be accessed on the Web at springarbor.com or 800-395-5599.

Baker & Taylor of Bridgewater, N.J., is the pri-mary alternative to Ingram. Baker & Taylor carries more titles than Ingram, but is more oriented toward schools and libraries.

The other major book wholesalers serving U.S. booksellers include:

Academic Book Center. Portland Ore.
800-547-7704
www.acbc.com

Ambassador Book Service. Hempstead, N.Y.
800-431-8913
www.absbook.com

Blackwell’s Book Services. Blackwood, N.J.
800-257-7341
www.blackwell.com

Bookazine Corp. Bayonne, N.J.
800-221-8112
www.bookazine.com

DeVorss and Company. Marina del Rey, Calif.
800-772-4304
www.devorss.com

The distributors. South Bend, Ind.
800-348-5200
www.thedistributors.com

Sunbelt Publications, El Cajon, Calif.
800-626-6579
www.subbeltpub.com




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Google asks publishers for links to Print

Savvy publishers have long known that posting a sample chapter or two on their Web site is a good way to goose sales. Using a link to plain text or a PDF document, surfers could quickly get a sense of the book's content, and perhaps buy on the spot.

Now Google is asking publishers to link to its Print site to give visitors a preview of the book. In an e-mail sent to publishers yesterday, Google provided this sample URL, asking publishers to insert their own ISBN in place of the last 10 characters:

http://print.google.com/print?isbn=0123456789

For example, here's the link to the Google Print page for Print on Demand Book Publishing.

The only problem is, there's no guarantee the visitor who just left your site for Google will come back. If you're trying to get direct sales from your Web site, this could be an issue. At the Google Print site, your visitor will see "Buy" links to a variety of retailers, including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BookSense, and of course Froogle, the marketplace operated by Google.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Your own self-publishing company

Once you’ve decided to pursue self-publishing you’ll need to decide how your business will be formally organized and how you’ll meet your tax obligations. As your business grows you should periodically revisit the question of what is the best form of organization for your business.

Call your county government headquarters to ask what types of business permits and licenses are required in your jurisdiction. Some cities, counties and states require any business to get a business license. For example, if you are operating your business in a residential area, your local government will likely require a “home occupation permit” or a zoning variance. With a zoning variance, you’ll probably be required to promise that you won’t have walk-in clients.

As long as you don't have employees going in and out the front door this shouldn't be a problem.

If you are conducting your business under a trade name you should file a “fictitious name” certificate at your county or state government office. This is so people who deal with your business will know who the legal owner is. This is also known as a DBA name (Doing Business As) or an “assumed name.”

It's a popular saying that the Internet is a “tax-free zone.” But this does not apply to state sales taxes. If you have direct sales, you’ll need to pay state sales taxes on orders you ship to customers in your state. To pay the tax you’ll need to open an account and obtain a “resale license” (in some cases they are known as resale numbers or sales tax certificates.)

You don’t collect state sales tax on orders shipped outside your state. Internet sales (as well as fax, telephone, or mail-order) sales from another state aren’t subject to sales tax, unless you have an office or warehouse in that other state. In some states, shipping and handling fees are not subject to tax.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

The top 10 list of self-publishing books

If you're new to self-publishing, there's plenty to learn and there are several fine books to guide you along the way to writing, printing, and marketing your own book. Here are 10 of the most highly rated books on self-publishing, in order of sales rank on Amazon.com:

The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book, Poynter, Dan Para Publishing, 2003 $19.95 1568600887

Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,000.00 or more Writing Nonfiction Books & How You Can Too! By McCutcheon, Marc Quill Driver Books, 2001, $14.95 1884956173

Complete Guide to Self Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Own Book Ross, Tom and Marilyn Writer's Digest Books, 2002 $19.99 1582970912

A Basic Guide to Writing, Selling, and Promoting Children's Books : Plus Information about Self-publishing Lee, Betsy B. Learning Abilities Books, 2000 $4.95 096588533X

How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing Company: A Small Business Guide To Self-Publishing And Independent Publishing Hupalo, Peter I. HCM Publishing, 2002 $18.95 0967162432

Start Your Own Self-Publishing Business Entrepreneur Press, 2003 $14.95 1891984829

Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers Nathan, Jan, and Woll, Thomas Chicago Review Press, 2002 $24.95 1556524625

Print-on-Demand Book Publishing: A New Approach To Printing And Marketing Books For Publishers And Authors Rosenthal, Morris Foner Books, 2004 $14.95 0972380132

Writing Nonfiction : Turning Thoughts into Books Poynter, Dan Para Publishing, 2005 $14.95 1568601107

How to Publish, Promote, & Sell Your Own Book : The insider's guide to everything you need to know about self-publishing from pasteup to publicity Holt, Robert L. St. Martin's Griffin, 1986 $13.95 0312396198




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Authorhouse author snags local publicity

A Danbury, Conn., woman who self-published a children's book based on her newphew was featured in the local section of today's NewsTime.

Sarah Burns made a scrapbook five years ago about her newphew Jake and distributed spiral-bound copies to family members. She went with Authorhouse this summer to publish copies, hoping it will sell to a wider audience with preschoolers.

The book is sold for $17.50 at Authorhouse.com and $25.25 at Amazon.com with no sales rank.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Should you look for a literary agent?

Finding a literary agent is the same chicken-or-the-egg phenomenon as looking for your first job. Before you get hired, the employer wants you to have experience. But how do you get experience without that first job? It’s the same thing with agents. Agents don’t want unpublished authors, they want someone with a track record of being published.

Whether you need an agent depends on your book project. If your book has a niche audience, the market might not be big enough to interest a trade publisher. The trades want a potential audience for your book of at least 200,000 readers. If your market is smaller, the publisher figures they won’t sell enough books to make it worth their while.

The agent’s role is to scan through the mountain of manuscripts they receive in search of something they think will sell. Then they work with you on a book proposal you’ll present to an editor. The benefit of having an agent is that they know the market and how to make your proposal look good to an editor. So if the agent gets you a contract, of course he’s worth 15 percent.

The downside with agents, particularly if you have a niche book, is that they don’t submit books to small publishers. Small publishers give small advances, so there’s not enough of a commission for the agent. Here you lose, because with a niche book, small publishers will most likely know how to market your book.

The irony is, these days you may not even need an agent. Publish it yourself, and you don’t need to fork over 15 percent to an agent.

Do you know how to reach the audience for your book? Then self-publish it, and market the book. That way you won’t be settling for a 5 percent or 10 percent royalties, you can bank 50 percent of the cover price.

If you’re still looking for an agent, there’s one red flag to watch for – when they ask for a fee. Some agents will ask $500 to read your manuscript. It’s possible that the agent who asks for such a fee is highly ethical. But more often that not, it’s a sign of trouble.

One good place to look for an agent is the Association of Author’s Representatives. Members must possess several qualifications before joining and pledge to uphold a strict cannon of ethics.

And by the way, after you self-publish your book and can show a track record of sales, it'll be much easier to find an agent (if you still want one).




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

How to write a book fast

Completing a book takes discipline. If you sit around and only write when you "feel like it" you’re unlikely to complete any projects. A daily commitment will keep you focused.

One way to proceed is having a goal of writing 1,000 words a day. Don’t quit until you’ve finished 1,000, and that means revised and polished, says author Marc McCutcheon. Keep up the pace and you’ll have a book finished in three or four months.

“The 1,000-words–a-day rule works because it not only gives you a concrete goal, but it provides an incentive,” McCutcheon says in his book Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That? “If you complete the 1,000 words early, you can take the rest of the day off.”

Some people prefer to work nonstop. Writing less than an hour ends up costing time because when you resume writing next time, you'll have to review your previous work so you'll know where to begin.

Some people prefer the marathon approach: Writing 24 hours a day except to eat and sleep. Author Dan Poynter prefers to turn off the telephone, leaves orders not to be disturbed, and writes nonstop. During his marathon sessions, Poynter drinks coffee and protein meals so that he doesn’t have to break for meals.

But some people are too busy to work full-time on a special writing project. Asked how she found time to write her memoir “Lazy B” while working as a Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor said she simply wrote a page each day. Everyone can find time to write a page a day, and after a year or so of writing, you’ll have a book, she said on a CSPAN interview.

Some writing coaches specialize in helping authors finish their projects. Writing coach Lisa Tener promises to help writers finish their book in 60 days.

One highly rated book on the topic is Writing Fast by Jeff Bollow. The book has a mixture of old and new techniques to help demystify the writing process for beginners.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Market your book free with publicity stunts

Self-publishers know that great book marketing campaigns start off with a bang. And there’s no better way to grab the spotlight than a publicity stunt.

The best publicity is free publicity. Think big. We’re not talking press releases and news conferences here. We’re talking about something outrageous that gets grandma talking.

For example, when TV personality Paris Hilton last month signed copies of her book Confessions of an Heiress, "protesters" were also there, drawing media attention. It was no secret that the hubbub was staged, Hilton’s publicist admitted as much to onlookers. After all, how else can you get the evening news to cover a book-signing?

This stunt wasn't as buzzworthy as the time Hilton's "stolen" nude video popped up on the Internet, just days before the premiere of her TV show. Coincidence or publicity stunt? Get real.

Meanwhile, church groups keep burning Harry Potter books on grounds the books supposedly glorify sorcery and wizardry. Skeptics to wonder which side wants the attention, and the Potter series hardly needs promoting.

In another recent Potter ploy, a former British cleric was expelled from a school after insisting that Potter is "gay." Media watchers accused the man, also a children's author, of trying to juice sales of his own book, Shadowmancer.

Countless hucksters have gotten free ink by running bogus auctions on eBay. When eBay yanks an auction off its Web site -- like the recent case involving the "Virgin Mary" potato chip -- newspapers and TV repeat the story for weeks, generating the kind of hype no ad budget can buy.

But be responsible. Book publicity stunts should be harmless fun that captures the imagination. The dark side of publicity stunts, hoaxes, can backfire. When Penguin Books allegedly publicized a book by spreading rumors of a “deadly” computer virus, it didn't enhance its reputation for truth-telling.

When you’re ready to launch your publicity stunt, alert the local media such as morning radio talk shows and TV news as explained here.

Don’t have time to dream up your own publicity stunt? One enterprising self-publisher offers to engineer a stunt for your benefit through this offering on Lulu.com, the self-publishing service provider.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Selling self-published books via direct mail

Too many self-publishers waste advertising money with direct (snail) mail pitches. The economics are simple and grim: Mailings cost over 40 cents per piece, and the response rate is typically lower than 3 percent. That's a great formula for losing money.

It's possible to sell an expensive title costing over $100 via direct mail if it's sent to a highly targeted list of prospects. Another possibility is if you have three or four closely related titles that you can advertise in a single mail piece and perhaps get multiple sales.

A much more likely avenue to direct sales in self-publishing is via e-mail advertising. Find a reputable list broker to rent the names. One broker, Worldata, rents several lists that contain e-mail addresses of book buyers in several different categories.

Costs of e-mail marketing are so low compared to snail-mail that self-publishers can turn a nice profit with a response rate under 1 percent. Be sure to maintain a "house" list of your buyers so you can advertise future titles. Since they bought from you before, they're excellent prospects to buy again.

Self-publishers who begin to rely on e-mail marketing can benefit from specialized software and service providers for bulk mailings. You’ll want to educate yourself about the territory and not be accused of sending spam. One highly rated book on the topic is Internet Direct Mail by Robert W. Bly.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Getting free publicity with book reviews

It's conventional wisdom in self-publishing: Marketing is half the battle, and the first step is geting your book reviewed. The strategy is laid out in all the popular self-publishing guides: several weeks before your publication date, mail review copies of your book and a press release to book reviewers nationwide.

But some self-publishing experts say it’s no longer realistic for new authors to expect their books to be reviewed in traditional media. First, most book review columns have a simple policy: no reviews of self-published works.

Second, there has been an explosion in the volume of self-published books in the past few years. More than 150,000 titles are being published annually. For authors without a track record, most of those press kits are going straight into the trash.

Sure, it’s possible to get some publicity from local media who can work a home-town angle into their story. In any case, it’s going to take more than a press kit mailing to generate book reviews. It takes follow-up phone calls or e-mails from you to the book reviewer. It will take luck. And it goes without saying, your book must be noteworthy to warrant a review.

Online book reviews are a big opportunity for new authors. The customer reviews on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com may influence sales more than traditional newspaper book reviews. Amazon maintains a list of its most popular and prolific book reviewers here.

Many of the Amazon reviewers post their e-mail address on their Amazon "about me" page, so it’s possible to contact them. Some will review a book, particularly when a complimentary copy is sent before publication.

The site Review of Books collects and reprints reviews from all the online sales channels. Another site, Complete Review, has an exhausting listing of online book review sources.

After your book review publicity campaign is over, what next? Try to stay in the news by becoming known as a quotable expert in your field. One way you can get the ball rolling is to participate in PR Leads, a service that puts authors, speakers and other solo entrepreneurs in touch with reporters looking for story leads. The service will cost you $99 monthly but can help you build your credibility and lead to numerous mentions of your book in the national media. The more you’re quoted in the media, the more opportunities will arise. The service is run by PR Newswire, one of the leading distributors of press releases in North America.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)

Don’t skimp on your book’s cover design

Designing their cover is where new self-publishers feel they’ve gotten in over their head. Face it, if the book’s cover looks amateurish, it won’t sell. When bookstore buyers order stock, all they have to guide them is your cover. And when consumers decide what to buy, your cover will make or break the deal.

Experts disagree on how much a beginning publisher should spend on cover design. In the latest edition of his Self-Publishing Manual, Dan Poynter warns authors not to skimp on cover design. Expect to pay about $1,800 for the complete mechanical (front, spine and back) ready for printing, Poynter says. Many self-publishers spend 99 percent of their effort on the book’s text, and cover design is an afterthought. But packaging is what sells cornflakes and soap -- and books, Poynter adds.

But what about books to be marketed primarily online? In that case, you might forgo a professional four-color photo on the cover. The most important thing is a legible title and subtitle on the thumbnail image displayed on Internet stores. "Simple and clean beats busy and complicated every time," says Morris Rosenthal in his book Print-on-Demand Book Publishing.

An interesting new way to experiment with cover design is visiting this site, which has a variety of templates where you can insert a digital photo. The site lets you check various fonts and colors. It’s called a magazine cover designer but can easily be adapted for books. Even if you end up hiring a cover designer, you can at least work out some ideas beforehand.

If you use a subsidy press, make sure that you’ll be able to use the cover design again if you switch printers. Look in the fine print of the contract to see if you’ll be able to take the electronic file when you leave.

Poynter’s Web site has a tutorial on cover design here.




New in paperback: The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site (by Steve Weber)