MSI Press Blog

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post looks at the relationship between book marketing plans and book sales. Specifically, book sales can be quirky, which makes it difficult to put together a book marketing plan for self-publishing authors. (Publishers usually have established plans that they apply to all books, and they only accept books that they believe they can market effectively through their established marketing plans. Let's take a look at some favorite marketing barometers and see how they really stack up. Amazon Top 100 If a book lands in the Amazon Top 100, it clearly has scads of sales, right? No, not always. Perhaps even not often. Amazon's t...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  This week's conversation addresses the hopes that authors bring to their writing and the realities they get handed. Perhaps some of those hopes should be called delusions (too harsh a word for sure, but the kinds of expectations -- I have written a book that is going to make me rich -- some authors bring with them in seeking publication really do not match reality, and it is sometimes hard for publishers to help them understand objectively how difficult book sales are. When authors find out the reality, many give up, which hurts authors and publishers alike. Let's take a look at what is really going on. Marketers claim that authors a...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post shares experiences with bookstore book launch book signings. Everyone expects authors to do them. Should they? Why do them? Authors love book signings, and they should. They make a book launch feel real and set the scene for a celebration for friends and fans.  Bookstores also love book signings, and they should. They provide entertainment for customers and bring new customers into the store. What really happens and why are many authors disappointed? Some realism will help stave off what is typically disappointment after book signing events. Bookstores will generally order 25 books, of which fewer than ten typical...