You've got a great story to tell, or even a finished manuscript that has been rejected more times than the pimply-faced kid at the school dance. You know your story can sell, but the calcified naysayers ensconced in publishing houses won't give you the time of day.
What to do?
My name is Nicky Testaforte, and I'm the author of Tales of a New York Limo Driver: Sex, Excess and Stupidity on Four Wheels. Let me tell you how I became a published author, the easy way.
I've been driving a limo in and around NYC for the past 5 years after enduring over 7 layoffs and reorganizations from Corporate America. Doing this job, you see and hear some really amazing things. I was telling stories on a daily basis and many of my clients said “Hey, why don’t you write a book?” Yeah, why not?
So I started to log story clips in a composition book and eventually transferred them over to the laptop I installed in the car.
Once I had the content laid out in some semblance of order, I looked into the mechanics of submitting my work to agents, editors and publishers. Had I known I was going to waste time and money mailing submission after submission only to get form letter responses (with typos in some cases) like "Thank you for your submission. Your title is not what we're looking for. We are currently in the market for gripping stories of female rhesus monkeys who've worked their way to the top of the corporate ladder, while raising families of developmentally challenged squirrels. It's the hottest genre out there. Thanks and Good Luck!
And that's even if they bother sending you get a rejection. I still can't believe I was turned down by the publisher of not one, but two books about the creative uses of duct tape. Crap floats, but I digress.
So after that, I started looking into options to self publish my story. I'll save you all the agita and pitfalls of some of the operators out there and just cut to the chase. The publisher I decided to go with, Booksurge.com is a division of Amazon.com. That alone is a value add for any author depending on your technical skill and comfort level as they have ala carte packages to suit any budget. A very valuable feature offered at no additional cost is the “Search Inside” feature.
Pay to get published? Yep, but within reason. If you want soup to nuts, and you dump a nasty Word doc in their lap, you're looking at an investment of a couple of thousand dollars to get you to that realization of being a published author.
But if go about it like I did, sub-contracting the cover art and putting the time in to create a tight, press-ready PDF doc, you too could be a published author for only $99 dollars and still make upwards of 30% royalties on every book sold. Sweet huh?
But there are also tradeoffs if you decide to go POD. If you desire to see your book on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, good luck. Even after commitments from B&N store managers to prominently stock and display, B&N corporate twice declined to make it available for those and other stores to order. Also, if you try to get your title in the 50 plus Hudson Booksellers airport locations, they’ll turn you down flat. Don’t be dissuaded by their closed minded thinking, keep plugging away using the wealth of tips in my suggested list of helpful titles.
When you receive you first copy of the fruits of your talents is a great feeling, but after that the real work begins. Just because your book is listed on Amazon, doesn't mean that the orders for your book are going to start pouring in.
If nobody knows about it, how is it supposed to sell?
While you are writing and going about your day, you should be brainstorming ideas of how to get the word out about your book.
While I was driving, I pitched the idea to anyone within speaking distance about my book. Not only the clients I drove, but also cops, parking lot attendants, flight crews, other drivers, you name it. If they had a pulse, they heard my pitch. Poor bastards…Out of that, I got over 500 opt-in e-mail addresses of people interested in buying the book.
Once the book was published, I printed up 4 x 5 cards with the book's cover on one side and a synopsis and url of the site I built to promote it on the other side. $100 dollars for Kinkos to digitally print 500 sheets of the cover, four up on the page, letting me customize the other side by printing the backs on a copier. That content can change as often as I decide. I can even use the blanks as mailers. I recently used some of my royalties to make up color postcards. Check out Vistaprint at http:www.vistaprint.com. They have some great prices and the ability to upload your own layouts.
Those cards go everywhere with me. Not only do I hand them out to interested parties, I also stuff them in library books, magazines/paperbacks on the sales rack, driver-side car windows and every paid bill that leaves my house.
Take advantage of all of Amazon’s services they offer such as their Associates program which provides you with additional revenue if visitors to your book’s site click on links to purchase your book.
Write up as many Listmanias as you can, while trying to incorporate your title into the mix. If your title lends itself to a “So You’d Like To…” like this, work that one up too.
Utilize their Plog feature to inform potential buyers by posting anything you think will convert viewers into buyers.
Ask for reviews. When you get published or if you are already published, e-mail me to see if I am available, as I am willing to write a review for you. In addition if you are interested in reviewing my title, I can supply you with a full version e-book in return for the review.
Besides reading the books listed below on the mechanics of publishing and promotion, you should also research books from a wide range of genres and subjects. These can not only broaden your writing style, but also the layout look and feel of your book.
I’ve used these and many other ideas to develop, publish and continually promote my book.
So if I could do it, you can too!
Good Luck!

I call

!!!

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