Greetings, Earthlings,

Blogging ain’t easy, especially when you’re trying to get noticed among the million or so other blogs currently posting. Intimidated? Not even sure how to manage a successful blog? Need a few pointers? Then, look no further. Wordbot has five basic blog tips that should help emerging writers and new authors make waves in the blogsphere.

Keep it short and sweet. Sure, it’s important to have a playful tone and establish a good voice, but not at the expense of your content. Make sure you have a strong SEO title and keyword-friendly first paragraph, so your readers know what your post this week is actually about. Long, irrelevant blogs will definitely get swept under the digital rug before Internet surfers have even finished reading them.

Be honest, but excited. Sometimes the truth can hurt, but as long as you look on the bright side and find a rhyme to the reason, your readers will respect you. Don’t get bogged down by negativity or marketing pessimism. Instead work to help your fellow writers and yourself with useful information and proactive suggestions.

Use your common sense. You’d be surprised – simply being practical can works wonders for your blog. When you pose real problems and offer time-tested solutions that are easy to implement and adaptable, you should definitely seem an increase in Internet traffic and positive comments. Before long, people who stumble upon your insightful posts will link back to you, ask questions about your experience and subscribe to your feedburner.

Stay current. Make sure your posts are always relevant to your mission and address topics that in the news. People want to stay in the loop. Even tidbits and reasonable predictions can make a world of different. Publishing industry buzz and printing technology updates will not only earn you hot keywords, but a contemporary audience as well.

Balance is key. When you’re designing your blog, be sure to think about your layout. Most blogs include search engines, about the blog text, author links, other site information along with a wide variety of widgets. Incorporate graphics, podcasts, viral videos, humor and information into your posts, and create a memorable blog people look to for guidance. Consider purchasing a personal domain name as well, and giving your blog a URL title that readers won’t forget.

Though there’s no guarantee that your blog will become the latest craze on the Internet, by following these rules of thumb you can definitely turn your weblog into a hot spot for your target audience.

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There’s a wonderful math lesson that we all learned one day in school: the times table for the number zero. It was wonderfully simple, and it’s a shame more of the times tables couldn’t follow zero’s lead. But when Wordclay introduced its free online publishing service, a friend to writers was born, and this times table became a new source of inspiration.

Writers pour their heart and soul into their work, but it’s true that extreme fear can set in when the reality of publishing hits. Yet there’s a wonderful truth about Wordclay I’d like to point out to writers. When you’re preparing your work for publication with Wordclay, and you want to know that it’s ready – really ready – for publishing, you don’t have to wait. Just publish it.

Now, that might sound a bit crazy. But you know that you’ve put in the time with your work, so you’ve most likely ironed out any major kinks. Once published with Wordclay, if you find a couple of errors, it’s no big deal. Since you have the control to both publish and discontinue your books through Wordclay, you’ll only be out the cost of publishing your book, which is a big fat $0.00.

Time and time again, writers of all walks find out the hard way that one of the best ways to find errors that you’ve overlooked is by reviewing your work in a new format. What better way to review your manuscript than in a compact, handy book? If you do find any errors, you can simply make the corrections and republish your book with Wordclay, which again, costs you nothing.

No matter how many times you need to republish your book, and then simply delete the previous version through Wordclay with a click of your mouse, just remember that the cost of publishing, zero dollars, multiplied two (or four or ten) is still zero dollars.

Class dismissed.

Angie

Book titles have captured the imagination with word play and symbolism for centuries, and promise to continue doing so for centuries to come. But as the Internet becomes the new publishing marketplace and bookstores pack their shelves with hundreds of new publications each month, the sub-title has become an increasingly important feature for many books today.

Consider The New York Time’s Best Seller The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (by David Wroblewski). One of the first things most readers want to know is whether this book is fiction or non-fiction. It’s a fair enough question. Some prefer novels, while others prefer memoirs and biographies. But you can hardly tell what genre Wroblewski’s book is from the title alone.

Luckily, Wroblewski is smart to this audience, and his cover includes the brief, but descriptive sub-title “A Novel.” Think about what these two simple words establish. Suddenly, readers know the genre; online retailers know under what category to list the new publication; bookstore managers know where to shelve the title; and Wroblewski’s publisher knows one more keyword to use in their book promotion campaigns.

Even with a small sub-title “A Novel” (as with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle) or say another like “A Collection of Pop Culture Essays” can make all the difference. Don’t waste your chance to associate more keywords with your book that are not only valuable to your online marketing, but just as important to communicating the heart of your book to your readership.

To avoid confusing your target audience and retailers who are prone to list your book under the wrong genre without complete information, an informative sub-title accompanying your book can ensure that potential readers find your title and buy a copy without hesitation.

The Point: While your title can be a catchy pun or symbolic reference, don’t pass up the opportunity to inform your audience and take advantage of some valuable keywords with a descriptive sub-title.

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.

“Let every eye negotiate for itself
And trust no agent.”
Much Ado about Nothing, Act 2

Some writers will be fortunate enough to fall into a lucrative writing career without much application beyond their natural talent, but let’s be realistic about the odds. With the publishing industry growing and changing, more and more people are actively participating in the market.

A colleague of mine, who works directly with emerging authors, actively reminds them not to expect full-time pay from their writing unless they are willing to put in full-time hours and effort. This is obvious, but surprisingly, many of writers are caught off-guard by this statement. Everyone would like to discover their “Golden Ticket,” however if a book is published in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, truth is it probably won’t make a dime in royalties.

That said, it’s important to adapt to the changing environment of the book marketplace. Those other authors out there are competing in the same market as you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should work against them. Ask both the writers who employ literary agents and the ones who don’t – both will tell you that ultimately they are their own representatives.

As a former manager in a retail bookstore, trust me when I say that there were several instances during which famous authors would get booked for a signing at our store and wind up sitting quietly by themselves in the café area. That is until our staff approached the author, asked for their autograph and encouraged them to keep at their promotion.

Those authors were often from major publishing houses with a team of marketers working the area. Even in the best case scenario, there is still a chance that working hard won’t guarantee a title or author bestselling status. There is, however, almost no chance that an author who isn’t working to draw attention to their efforts (whether through local media, public appearances or hosting big release parties) will be able to rest on their own laurels or retire on royalties.

Most self-publishing authors already know first-hand that personal investment is what got you this far. The good news is that the more you focus on your projects (prior to and after their completion), the better acquainted you will become with the market and the general response to your work. The more you put into your promotion, the more you are likely to get out of it.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
-William Shakespeare

Greetings, Earthlings,

As a writer looking to self-publish your book, you probably want to know how Wordclay compares to the other major self-publishing companies. Good question. To find the answer to this question, typically you would have to scour the Internet for hours, trying to compare prices and services (if you can find them at all).

But we’ve done the legwork for you. After hours of meticulous research and number crunching, The Wordclay Blog Team welcomes you to our comprehensive guide to the major self-publishing companies currently printing successful titles.

Unfortunately, many potential authors find themselves drowning in cryptic self-publishing Web sites, struggling against vague currents of information and reaching for just a single, solid price estimation that you might not receive until after you sign a contract.

Wordclay, on the other hand, believes our company information should be as straightforward and available as possible. Publishing your book can play a major part in your future as a writer, and it’s only natural you want to be certain you’re choosing the right company.

In this guide, we’ve gathered the pricing, printing and promotional details of the major self-publishing companies today – think of this blog as your own personal fountain of publishing knowledge!

Wordclay
Wordclay provides free book self-publishing services for writers who want to take advantage of the DIY authorship approach. The printing cost for copies of your book is built into the selling price of your book, so the amount of royalties you earn is based on the price you select within the wizard.

For example, should you select a price of $16.00 for your standard 6”x9” paperback of 250 pages (costing $9.47 for printing materials per copy) each book sold would earn you $6.53 in royalties. Check out our pricing calculator located on the Wordclay Hompage to test other page counts and prices.

Wordclay is a DIY self-publisher who is focused on providing a simple and independent Internet publishing experience for authors. The Wordclay DIY self-publishing wizard formats manuscripts with astute precision. Almost instantly, a galley is rendered for approval. Full-color cover creation is included in this free DIY self-publishing tool.

Services like book distribution and marketing support are also available for purchase. Visit the Wordclay Self-Publishing Services Store for more details.

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LuLu.com
Like Wordclay, LuLu Publishing is a free Web-based self-publisher that allows you to upload your manuscript or albums for free and then generate a book (which you can purchase at your own convenience). While LuLu and Wordclay price their books fairly, allocating royalties that can range up to 80 percent of the retail price of your book, the major difference between the two are the range of professional services available.

LuLu has only recently started to offer professional publishing services; but most of their services are provided by their marketplace for community members. Although it is true that in their marketplace you can find editors and designers, Lulu cannot provide any guarantee of the level of expertise, abilities or qualifications of the service providers.

Wordclay, on the other hand, guarantees their products and services. We can do this because we retain in-house experienced professionals in the editorial, design and marketing fields who are ready to work on your specific materials, all at a regular and fair price.

And speaking of price, while the prices fluctuate in Lulu’s marketplace, public relations assistance, one of the only promotional services Lulu offers through a partner, can be provided starting at a whopping $3,500. Wordclay is always available to help promote your book whenever you’re ready through various marketing services and products are priced more affordably, starting at $149.

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Blurb
If you’ve visited Blurb, you’ve seen their free publishing software as well as their high-quality and unique style of books. And it’s true – if you’re looking for a landscape format instead of a portrait (as in a 13”x11” book, more appropriate for extensive art books), then we encourage you to research Blurb more in depth.

But if you’re looking for a traditional layout, with all the professionalism and design of a store bought book, then Wordclay might be a better choice. Because of their formats and extensive picture printing, Blurb is forced to price a 250 page book at almost $40.00, leaving you will copies hard to sell on the book market. And, without editing, professional design or marketing services, you might find yourself in the middle of the publishing stream without a paddle.

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Create Space
A subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc., Create Space keeps a digital inventory of self-published books, CDs and DVDs, all of which are printed (or manufactured) on-demand. Like Wordclay, Create Space’s publishing program is online and free, but again, like LuLu, their services might be inadequate for your publishing needs.

Create Space has yet to offer any editorial or promotional packages to assist the self-published author, and their custom cover design package is a pricey $75.00 an hour, compared to Wordclay’s Stock Art Cover design which is only $149.00 and grants you up to five hours of design work devoted to your cover. You do the math! 

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Vantage Press
Vantage Press is a self-publishing company that gives custom quotes based on individual manuscripts. For this reason, the information on their services and prices is scarce, and therefore, unknown by many authors seeking tangible timelines and figures. Perhaps you send your manuscript to Vantage Press, and they’re willing to provide editing, cover design and distribution for your book, but who knows the price?

Much like a restaurant without prices listed on their menu, you can assume the price is high, and if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it. Whatever Vantage Press publishing package price you’re quoted (sometimes ranging from $3,000 to as high as $5,000 per book), your timeline will be significantly delayed by processes you may not even believe are necessary. But Wordclay offers you free publishing, and you can manage your own budget and services on your own terms, whatever your timeline.

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Book Surge
Unlike Wordclay, Book Surge is a contractual self-publishing company that designs a galley and cover for your book only after you’ve signed with them and paid their initial publishing fee. While publishing a 6”x9” standard paperback with Wordclay is always free, publishing with Book Surge will cost you at least $499.00 for the same book.

Book Surge standard editing costs $0.015 per word (beginning only after a minimum of $300.00), while Wordclay’s offers a variety of editing services, like copyediting and content editing, with no minimum at all. Your standard publicity kit will cost $499.00 with Book Surge, but only $199.00 with Wordclay. So, if you’re looking for a cost-effective publishing method, Wordclay may be your best solution yet.

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Dorrance Publishing
Like Vantage Press, Dorrance Publishing provides interested authors with custom quotes only after they’ve examined your manuscript. There are no upfront ballpark figures, so you may end up paying an arm and a leg, and your marketing campaign will be totally under their control.

As far as information about Dorrance’s policies goes, little is known publicly; however, we were able to unearth information about their author’s royalty arrangements. While Wordclay provides a consistent royalty plan for authors, Dorrance Publishing’s royalty scheme does not, offering 40 percent to authors for copies sold up to 3,500 copies and then decreasing to 25 percent for copies sold over 3,500. For more information concerning Dorrances royalty specifics, see their comment below or visit their Web site.

Your custom cover and basic promotion are included within their initial publishing quote, but like Vantage Press, this quote can range in price. Authors are free to pitch their own ideas concerning their packages, so you may have some wiggle room when it comes to customization.

Books published under the Dorrance imprint are assigned an ISBN and are fully returnable by any bookstore. Dorrance sells thousands of titles each year through bricks and mortar bookstores along with online bookstores. A search for Dorrance Publishing titles on Amazon alone will return close to 2,000 different entries. Additonally, orders are fulfilled via their toll-free number and also via their own online bookstore.

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Outskirts Press
Outskirt Press is a contractual self-publishing company that offers at least five different publishing packages, with prices ranging from $199.00 (Emerald - Economic Printing package) to $999.00 (Diamond - Ultimate Publishing). Each package includes a number of different editorial, design, custom cover and promotional services, with distribution options as wide as the global network of online booksellers.

Each package Outskirts Press offers is specifically design for a select group of potential authors, authors who may need more direction than you. Hence, where Wordclay surpasses Outskirts is in our flexibility. With Wordclay, publishing is free, and you can add on the services you believe you need. If you don’t require a single service, then publish your book at zero cost. If you want editing or a custom cover, then hire one of our specialists.

Outskirts may have impressive packages, but make sure you really evaluate what you’re looking for in a publisher and what you have envisioned for your book before you sign any contracts.

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Now that you have a brief synopsis of the major companies, you should have a better understanding of the differences (and similarities) between these other self-publishers and Wordclay. Remember, though – publishing is about you. Wordclay is not perfect for everyone, but our professionals are always working to bring authors of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds the best the industry has to offer. Whether you succeed is your decision.

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Harlem Book Fair '08

Although the weather channel reported “baking hot” conditions in Harlem, NY for the 10th annual Harlem Book Fair, even Mother Nature couldn’t burn the phenomenal success of this event.  Saturday, July 19 was the long awaited fair, a date clearly marked on the calendars of authors, publishers and vendors galore. Booklovers flocked to Harlem by the thousands to experience the thrill and energy of this celebration of literature and culture, myself included.

We were there to help launch HBF Publishers, a publishing company born from a partnership with the Harlem Book Fair and QBR The Black Book Review organizations and Author Solutions Inc., parent company of Wordclay, AuthorHouse and iUniverse. Officially launching at the fair, HBF Publishers is an ideal marriage of literary passion and state-of-the-art publishing technology.

“[HBF Publishers'] fundamental mission is to provide a unique and simple opportunity for African American authors to share their stories with the world. It’s that easy,” says Max Rodriguez, founder and president of the Harlem Book Fair and HBF Publishers. “The publishing revolution of the past decade has left cultural gaps between African American readers and authors. HBF Publishers closes those gaps through technology and allows authors to inform, enlighten and entertain their target audiences.”

Authors Noreen Mallory and Kurt Boone were the first to publish through HBF Publishers with their book Urban Theory: Critical Thoughts in America. They had just a small number of presale copies of their book at the fair, and they represented HBF Publishers well. Watch for their book to be available soon through the HBF Publishers Bookstore. 

The Harlem Book Fair was not, however, focused on HBF Publishers – it was about authors, books (LOTS of books), music, discussions and enjoyment. Good vibes flowed throughout the streets as authors passed out flyers about their books. Writers looking for publishing advice attended instructional sessions. People interested in political debate, or cultural topics found a seat in the audience of a panel discussion.

It was truly remarkable to speak with authors, many of whom self-published their books. Like most writers, they had such a passion about their books, they all became naturals when selling their story. It was hard to pass up books. In fact, we ended up having to ship books back via Fed Ex because they wouldn’t fit in our suitcase.

Here are just a few of the authors and publishers that we had the pleasure of speaking to at the Harlem Book Fair:

• Savannah J. Frierson, author of Fiction/ Romance novel Being Plumville, whose book received excellent reviews on Amazon.com
• Lurea C. McFadden with Female Traits series with Bruce Publishing
• Leslie Kimbro introduced her newest Christian book Covenant of Healing
• Ambassador Lionel A. Hurst, who authored a non-fiction book Democracy By Diplomacy 
• Authors with Ghetto Heat, an independent multimedia publishing company specializing in urban fiction, incorporating hip-hip, pop and street-culture, poetry and contemporary novels 
• Authors with RJ Publications: “Bringing Excitement, fun and joy to reading,” specializing in street lit and romance novels  
• Poet and novelist Nikkea Smithers
• Ronald Peden who authored Notes on the State of America
• Aaron Anwar Smith, with his book Living on the Up High, Not the Down Low: The Movement to Uplift Good Black Men and the Empowerment of the African American Family

Not only was the Harlem Book Fair an event to remember, but the Wheatley Awards that preceded the fair on Friday, July 18 was a momentous occasion also, with entertaining spoken-word poetry and musical performances, appreciative speeches and theatrical performances. This first annual awards program was hosted by author Relentless Aaron commemorated 40 years of black publishing, honoring notables such as Haki Madhubuti, founder of Third World Press; W. Paul Coates of Black Classic Press; Kassahun Checole, founder of Africa World Press; Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson of Just Us Books; Tony Rose of Amber Books; and Dr. Osonye Tess Onwueme as the inaugural recipient the Flora Nwapa Award for Excellence in African Letters.

The enthusiasm of all involved – the event organizers, supporters, publishers, and authors – really made the entire Harlem Book Fair event something remarkable. If you’re an author, publisher or reader, you might want to consider a trip to New York next summer. You could even consider claiming your spot during the fair depending on your book’s target audience. Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to attend the events of the fair next year. I look forward to it.

-Angie

Inserting typeset letters into a printing press only a few decades ago, who would have dreamed that the simple book would have evolved into devices like Amazon.com’s Kindle and now, with the coming publication of Esquire’s magazine cover equipped with E Ink technology, pages with active content and images that come to life?

If you’ve been reading about the future of print in the past few weeks, you’ve certainly come across the buzz around this new book technology. Can you imagine – tomorrow the images that grace the covers of our books will change, flash and even animate?

So this September, look out for the new issue of Esquire. Because the technology is still quite expensive, only 100,000 of the total 720,000 print run will be assembled by hand before hitting newsstands. Who knows where the E Ink covers will end up? Ironically, this blogger can’t help feeling a little like Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, searching for the golden ticket.

But should you notice any shifting images jumping out at you from a magazine in the coming months, you might want to snatch a copy before all of them wind up with collectors or housed in the Smithsonian.

Advocating the importance of “electronic print” for more than 11 years, E Ink has recently become popularized by producing the display technology for Amazon.com’s Kindle. Today, with the tiniest of batteries woven into the fabric of a book or magazine, their staff can create pages and covers that rotate, update and even change completely.

Each year, a new technological advance leads to a better engineered book and product package for authors. And I thought the development of print-on-demand technology that saved on paper, virtual inventories that saved space and book trailers that animated scenes from books on the Interest were exciting enough.

But there’s no end! There’s more coming!

We’re entering a whole new era of communication and technology, which will change the very trajectory of the book itself. Picture a newspaper that’s a simple plastic sheet constantly refreshed with new information. Imagine books downloaded instantaneous to your advanced Kindle machine in a wireless Internet café.

Hopefully, in the next few years, as the technology becomes affordable and widespread, more and more authors and editors with experiment with E Ink’s technology and the evolution of the book. And who knows?  A few years from now, you may even see Wordclay offering E-Covers in our Services Store.

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.

…a sentence! Come prepare!
The Merchant of Venice

We all can’t do what David Wroblewski did when he set out to write The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: a novel and go back to graduate school to study under Richard Russo when we decide to get creative. Most of us have many pressing day-to-day demands which paint our writing and creative ventures into a corner.

Maybe we get a half-hour before bed or a few minutes during a break at work to focus on our writing and the eventual distribution of our words. That’s why I wanted to speak with you about the writing community and The Writer’s Market. An annual directory of all things publishing, The Writer’s Market does exactly what it sets out to do – it tells you where and how to sell what you write.

Familiarizing yourself with the community of writers and opportunities available for those who have sought this form of expression can only ultimately be to your advantage. The Writer’s Market lists off contact information for most major contests and publications that accept submissions. Using the resources available, you can start to network with others in the industry. Making contacts who share your passion can save you time and money in the long run.

Along the same lines, there are hundreds, if not thousands of growing communities of writers online. Community members share new projects with one another and receive priceless feedback regarding everything from story structure to character development. Members can just as easily host a release party or participate in a book signing as well.

As artists, writers sometimes feel inclined to re-invent the wheel, learning everything the hard-way in a grass-roots marketing campaign. Getting in contact with the community that can help you appropriately focus your resources will not only help you develop as a writer, but as your own publicist as well.

The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.”
|The Merchant of Venice

Greetings, Earthlings,

Wordbot here, and today Wordclay has authorized the publishing announcement of our new blogger, 1000 Chimps.

Unfortunately, with a saddened bio-mechanical heart, this robot regrets to report that Jenn must step down as a Wordclay blogger. Of course, her posts on book formating and her interesting publishing scoops will be missed.

But things aren’t all bad – we’ve managed to recruit another Wordclay employee to take her place. Matt and his crew of 1000 Monkeys at 1000 keyboards will be accepting the torch this coming Thursday. So be sure to look for design tips and publishing news from him in the future.

This publishing robot had a chance to visit the hardworking monkey at their desks, pecking away at their computers. When asked if they were excited about posting on the Wordclay blog, they simply turned and quoted Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost, saying, “I post from love…”

Please join me in thanking Jenn for all her wonderful blogging insights, and give a warm welcome to Matt and his 1000 Monkeys, who are certain to provide some valuable publishing tips and marketing advice.

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The Harlem Book Fair celebration kicks off Friday, July 18 and concludes Sunday, July 20 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York. But the main event, the huge outdoor book fair festival, will be held on Saturday, July 19, from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on West 135th Street between Lenox Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

If you live in the area, or are up for a weekend getaway, I’ve heard that this is one event you’ll be sorry to miss. Authors, publishers, speakers, musicians and booklovers galore will flood the streets for a marathon of books and culture.

Publishers big and small will be in attendance, representing themselves and their authors. Self-published authors selling their own books will set up booths, hawking their story with bells on. Vendors slinging food and other trinkets will be in the mix, but mostly, there will be books – and lots of them.

But the Harlem Book Fair is more than a book fair, really; it’s a cultural event and celebration. It was born from the success of QBR The Black Book Review which, since 1992, has been the leader, innovator and reliable source for what is current in black books.

From this success, the Harlem Book Fair started 10 years ago as a community event and forum for African American readers to discover and celebrate African American history and culture through books. It has since become the largest African American dedicated book event in the nation, drawing more than 50,000 people.

This year is no different, with an even larger turn out expected. And attendees won’t find a shortage of things to do. Events are scheduled to take place throughout the day (click here to download a full schedule from their Web site).

Panels and presentations include a huge range of topics, including a welcome by event founder Max Rodriguez introducing leaders in 40 years of African American Publishing, interviews with established authors, discussions on civil rights and politics, financial tips in publishing, book marketing, genre specific topics and more. And let’s not forget the author readings and musical performances sounding throughout the fair.

Representatives from Wordclay’s parent company, Author Solutions Inc., (including yours truly) will be in attendance to help announce the launch of HBF Publishers, a publishing house providing a unique and simple opportunity for African American authors to share their stories with the world.

HBF Publishers is backed with years of publishing experience, development and innovation through its use of ASI’s publishing software and platform. And, they provide their community of authors immediately access a growing and profitable African American reading market, cultivated over years by QBR The Black Book Review and the Harlem Book Fair.

Look for HBF Publishers online very soon, launching officially at the Harlem Book Fair. And if you’re in the New York City area, I’ll see you at the Fair!

-Angie