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This is a free e-mail bulletin for subscribers only, sent from
"U-Publish.com," the website named for the revolutionary guide
to new methods for publishing and promoting books by Dan Poynter
and Danny O. Snow. Order the new 2002 edition, just released!
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*** Are Your Books in Libraries?
Florrie Kichler of Patria Press suggests: "Find out all the
libraries in the world that have a particular book in their
catalogue:
"Click on http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abep/il.dll?vci=221321
then put in your information. Abe Books may or may not carry
your book, but regardless, click on 'Find it at a local library'
and specify all of US and Canada."
INSIDE TIP FROM POYNTER & SNOW:
Many independent authors and publishers forget to ask friends
and relatives to request their books from local libraries. This
is much more tasteful than asking people to buy your book, but
often results in orders, because libraries are often receptive
to requests from patrons.
By the way, if you haven't ordered the new edition of our book,
feel free to request it at your local library. Tell them that
the ISBN is 1-58322-002-2 and it's available through Ingram,
Baker & Taylor, and leading online booksellers. In many cases,
you can request a book from your library with a simple phone
call or e-mail message.
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*** Book Review:
*** "Everything Your Always Wanted to Know about POD..."
*** by John F. Harnish
A book review by U-Publish.com co-author, Danny O. Snow:
http://www.u-publish.com/harnish.htm
Excerpt from review:
"POD publishers CAN produce professional-looking, well-edited books.
Of course it takes a bit longer and costs a little more to do it
right... but the economic advantages of POD are so powerful that
publishing a quality POD book still costs a fraction of doing a
conventional press run. Why not enjoy the best of both worlds?"
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*** Book Marketing Workshop by Phone
Jim Barnes of http://www.independentpublisher.com provides the
the following tip in Independent Publisher Online:
"You can listen for free to 'How Any Author Can Double or Triple
Their Income in the Next 18 Months,' an interview Steve Harrison
of BookMarketingUpdate.com did with publishing consultant Fred
Gleeck ... The 90-minute interview will be on a special 24-hour
voice mail system through the month of June. To listen to it,
just call 918-222-7201 and enter code 528. Your only cost is
the long-distance call."
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*** Numbers Don't Lie (Again)
*** Or Do They?
A recent "press release" from a vanity press received here in
June boasted about a book that reached #1 at Amazon.com.
But according to Steve Rhodes, "The Amazon rankings don't mean
much ... One sale a day can put a title in the top 10,000 ..."
For more info, see:
http://www.murdermustadvertise.com/FAQ/Amazon.html
For those who watch Amazon rankings anyway, check out the
http://www.amazonscan.com web site. But be wary of books
that rank highly for only a few days. The rankings can be
pumped up with a surprisingly small number of sales. It's
one thing to reach the "Top Ten" but another to STAY there.
INSIDE TIP FROM POYNTER & SNOW:
To get actual sales figures about a book, note the ISBN and
then place a call to the Ingram Stock Status Line (phone
1-615-213-6803) and enter the ISBN at the prompt. The
figures reported are still not complete, but this provides
a much more accurate picture of sales than Amazon rankings.
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Please feel free to forward copies of this bulletin to your
fellow authors and publishers. This is a free service that is
available to all publishing professionals on request.
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*** Search Engine Help
If you don't have a web site, you should. If you do have a web
site, search engine placement is important.
Here are two of our favorite sites for search engine help:
http://www.bruceclay.com
http://www.jimtools.com
Mary Westheimer of BookZone recommends:
http://www.internetmarketingindex.com
http://www.searchengineguide.com
http://www.searchenginewatch.com
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*** "Mystery Scene" Changes Hands
Mystery Scene magazine has changed hands. Owners Ed Gorman and
Marty Greenberg have turned over control of the magazine to
Kate Stine. Whodunit writers may want to visit the MS site and
drop a note to the new publisher:
http://www.mysteryscenemag.com
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*** Final Reminder: Postage Rises
See http://www.usps.gov/news/2002/press/pr02_022.htm for new
postage rates, now in effect.
TIP: Depending on the paper grade, a 250 pp 6x9 paperback
usually weighs less than one pound. "Media Mail" is now $1.42
for the first pound but you must provide your own envelope.
Priority Mail now has a new one-pound flat rate at $3.85, but
includes a free envelope. Postage for heavier pieces will now
vary by zone, much less convenient for those of us who mail
books than the old flat rate for the first two pounds.
CORRECTION: in the last "UPubDATE," we wrote about using a
Priority Mail envelope turned inside-out, but three of them
(out of 100) fell apart. The cost of replacing the lost
books would have paid for many envelopes ... and we never
want to disappoint readers. Don't try this at home!
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Please feel free to forward copies of this bulletin to your
fellow authors and publishers. This is a free service that is
available to all publishing professionals on request.
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*** 2002-2003 Edition Released!
The NEW edition of "U-Publish.com" is finally out in paperback,
with the e-Book to follow. If you liked the first or second
edition, you will LOVE the new one! It includes expanded info
on selling books directly to readers for better earnings, new
tips and tricks for online promotion, extensive lists of con-
tacts that will be updated regularly on the Web, and a summary
of Dan Poynter's "New Book Model" for independent publishers.
At the risk of making a loud sales pitch (something we try to
avoid here) this is a substantially updated version, because
new publishing technologies changed greatly since June 2000.
We encourage readers of earlier editions to consider getting
the new version, for the latest information:
http://www.u-publish.com/order.htm
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*** Quotation of the Month:
"Be careful of reading health books, you might die of a misprint."
-- Mark Twain
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The fine print:
This is a free e-mail bulletin from U-Publish.com, the web site
named for the book by Dan Poynter and Danny O. Snow.
We do not endorse specific products or services, and we do not
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Please visit http://www.u-publish.com at least once each month,
for periodic updates of interest to writers and publishers.
Please feel free to forward copies of this message to fellow
writers and publishers. This is a free service, available to
to all upon request. You may subscribe or unsubscribe at any
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