Self Publishing Your Teaching Ideas

by MaryAnn F. Kohl

Copyright © 2015 Bright Ring Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
For questions or permissions to reprint, write to us here, or phone 800-480-4278.

Get Comfy with the Education Industry

• Visit Local Bookstores and Teacher Supply Stores
• Talk to store owners and ask for their advice
• Send a thank you note (build your bridges well)
  • Browse books already available
  • Take note of covers, titles, designs
• Visit school supply catalogs
  • Browse prices, titles, covers, designs
  • See which books are being featured prominently
• Visit educators
  • Talk to educators about their needs, likes, dislikes
  • Talk to movers and shakers about their budgets and purchasing abilities
  • Attend education conferences ( & exhibit halls)
• Talk to booksellers
• Talk to book distributors
• Talk to exhibitor chairman about costs

Read Up & Learn

• Read up on self-publishing
  • The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter
  • The Simple Guide to Self-Publishing by Mark Ortman
  • The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom & Marilyn Ross
• Learn from others
  • Join a publishing group. Example: Book Publishers Northwest
  • Join a marketing/publishing group – Publishers Marketing Association is the best one
  • Join online groups to share experiences
  • Get to know self-publishers, and share often

Business Can Be…Fun!

THINGS TO DO:

• Business Name and Logo
  • Appear professional
  • Identify your company’s personality
• Check the following resources at the library for name duplication:
  • Small Press Record of Books in Print
  • Directory of US Publishers
  • Books in Print
  • Literary Marketplace
• Get Business cards, Stationery
• Apply for a business license with state and local gov’t – sole proprietorships are most common, talk to a lawyer or SBA person, SBA, 800-827-5722, www.sba.gov
• find your local SBA office
• Think about a Budget: Dollars (where?) Rent a PO Box and get a list of postage rates

Three Important Questions

• Know the answers to questions that guide your decisions (and success).
  • WHY do you want to publish a book?
  • WHO will buy your book?
  • WHAT makes your book unique?

Jumping In

• ISBN & ABI
  • register with RR Bowker
  • http://www.isbn.org/
  • http://www.bowker.com/
  • RR Bowker (ISBN Agency)
    121 Chalon Rd
    New Providence NJ 07974
    908.665.6770
  • Also fill out ABI form – Advance Book information, comes with the ISBN number
• Publication date
  • set a date in the future with time to print, get reviews, and announce your book
  • major buying seasons for publishing industry are Spring and Fall
• Copyright
  • Register copyright
    U.S. Copyright Office
    101 Independence Ave. S.E.
    Washington, D.C. 20559
    (202) 707-3000
    http://www.loc.gov/copyright/
    form TX / no charge
• Other copyright protection suggestions?
• Register with library of congress (necessary for library sales)
  • Library of Congress
    Cataloging in Publication Division
    Washington DC 20540
    202.707.9797
    http://www.loc.gov/
  • Get the preassigned LC card catalog number/no charge

Preparing the Manuscript

• Permissions
  • Copyright
  • Words (not ideas)
  • Expression of ideas or design
• Editing
  • Editor – clarify and strengthen
  • Proofing
  • At least 5 friends or a professional
  • Consistency, spelling, usage, punctuation
  • Do not rely on spell check
• Typesetting and Layout
  • Choose a standard size
  • Keep a good margin
  • Choose comfortable typeface and font
  • Serif
  • Sans serif
• Illustrations or Photographs

Cover Design

• Title
  • Vivid, brief, descriptive
  • Verify with “Books in Print”
  • Try it on a bookstore shelf
  • Subtitle
    Added ‘sales message’ or description in more detail
• Spine
  • Measuring
  • Text, graphics, other
• Back cover
  • Book’s description, benefits
  • Reviews, endorsements
  • Author’s bio & picture
  • ISBN, bar code, subject category
  • PRICE (check other books)
  • Testimonials or endorsements
    • Seek & ask
    • Get permission forms signed

Printing

• Book Manufacturer vs. local printers
• Request bids from several manufacturers
  • Rose Printing 800.227.3725
  • BookMasters www.bookmasters.com – Has fulfillment services
  • Edwards Brothers 313.769.1000
    Malloy Lithographing www.malloy.com
  • Braun-Brumfield 313.662.3291
  • Cushing-Malloy 313.663.8554
  • Thomson-Shore www.tshore.com
  • McNaughton & Gunn 313.883.3600
    Data Reproductions datarepro@ibm.net
  • Patterson 616.925.2177
  • Banta Co. www.banta.com
  • Bang 800.391.6662
  • RR Donnelley 800.428.0832
  • Gilliland 800.332.8200
  • Delta Lithograph 800.323.3582
• Consider
  • Request a blueline proof and matchprint for cover
  • Last chance proofing, extra cost
  • Over-runs, under-runs
  • Even signatures (multiples of 16 or 32)

Printing Estimate

• Talk with your printing representative for help
• Need to know:
  • Quantity to print
    • The more you print, the less each one costs
    • Typical is 2000 minimum
    • Six weeks from start to finish
  • Total page count
    • Include all front and back matter, everything
  • Type of paper (text and cover)
    • 50, 60, or 70 lb. White offset is typical
    • Recycled paper is very expensive
    • Ask printer for thickness measurement
    • Plan the size of the spine
  • How many colors on cover, and coating
  • 10-12 point C1S (coated one side)
  • Order extra covers for sales tools
  • Coating, such as lamination
  • Type of binding
    • Perfect bound (paper back)
    • Case bound (hard cover)
    • Spiral, saddle stitch, staple, comb, 3 ring binder
  • Size of book
    • Use conventional sizes
    • 5.5 x 8.5 — 6 x 9 — 8.5 x 11
    • Save money
    • Keep stores happy
• Pictures/Drawings/Photos
  • Color photos are expensive
  • B&W photos are more practical (half-tones)
  • 120-133 dots per inch
  • Drawings, line drawings
• Shipping needs
  • Packaging
  • Double wall cartons if shipping by carton
  • Shrink wrap option

Announcing Reviews review copies

• Newspapers
  • Send news release and book return postcard first
  • 45 days before
  • Target appropriate editor
  • Local newspapers are best bets
• Magazines
  • Target magazines related to your book
  • School Arts
  • Instructor
  • Education Today
  • Creative Classroom
• Free-Lance Reviewers
• Rent a mailing list of free-lance reviewers
  • send a news release
  • book request postcard
  • 45 days before
• Experts in the Field
  • Send review copy to authorities or experts
  • Ask for endorsements
• Newsletter reviews
• Web reviews
• Budget 10% of your books to give to people who can do you the most good
  • * Stamp review copies with “REVIEW COPY” or “Not For Resale”

Resources

• The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrators Market
• The Self-Publishing Manual, Dan Poynter, Para Publishing
• The Simple Guide to Self-Publishing, Mark Ortman, Wise Owl Books
• Literary Market Place (LMP) library, online
• The Author-Publisher Handbook, Aztex Corporation
• 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, John Kremer
• Book Publishing Resource Guide, John Kremer
• Children’s Writer: Newsletter of Writing and Publishing Trends
  95 Long Ridge Road, West Redding, CT 06896

Distribution

• National Distributors
  • Mainly sell to bookstores (those chains!)
  • Independent Publishers Group (IPG), Consortium, Login, Publishers Group West
  • Exclusive
  • Use commissioned reps, have catalogs
  • Expect a 65% or more discount off retail price
  • Consignment: Pay for what they sell, not what is in warehouse
• Book Wholesalers
  • Demand sales only
  • Often order through the national distributor
  • 55% discount if direct from you
    • Ingram Book Company
    • Baker & Taylor BooksDo not have reps or sales catalogs:
    • Ambassador Book Service 800.431.8913
    • Blackwell Book Service 800.257.7341
    • Baker & Taylor www.baker-taylor.com
    • Coutts Library Serivce 800.772.4304
    • Eastern Book company 800.937.0331
    • Emery-Pratt Co. 800.248.3887
    • Ingram Book Company 800.937.8100
    • Koen Book Distributors www.koen.com
    • Midwest Library Service 314.739.3100
    • Yankee Book Pedler 800.258.3774
• Library distributors
  Specialize in selling to libraries only
  • Often sell until they feel market is saturated, then stop
  • Usually 55%, net 90 payment
  • Can order through the national distributor
    • Quality Books, 800.333.4241
    • Unique Books 800.533.5446

Some National Distributors

New Leaf Distribution www.newleaf.dist.com
Spring Arbor Distributors 800.395.4340
Publishers Group West 510.658.3453
WORDS Distribution Co. www.bponline.com
Consortium Book Sales & Distribution www.cbsd.com/books
IPG www.ipgbook.com
Login Publishers Consortium 800.626.4330
Seven Hills Book Distributors www.sevenhillsbooks.com
Raincoast Book Distribution (Canada) 604.323.7100
Partners Book Distributing 517.694.3205
Advanced Marketing Services www.admweb.com
Educational Book Distributors 800.761.5501

Alternative distribution

• Book Clubs
  • Doubleday Direct, Children’s Book of the Month Club, Troll, Scholastic, Quality Paperback, Writer’s Digest
• Catalogs
  • Lakeshore, Kaplan, ABC School, New England School Supply. Chaselle, Discount School Supply
• Gift Stores
• Special stores
  • toy, children’s stores, health, kitchen
• Educational Supply Stores
  • Visit conferences, browse internet
• Direct Sales – all YOU
  • Bypass middle man
• Online Bookstores
  • Bookzone, Book Stacks Unlimited, Amazon

Unsold books

• Donations
• Remainder Dealers
• Subsidiary Rights
• Workshops, seminars

Creating a Demand
Fact: There are over 500 new releases each week, over 1 million books in print, and the average bookstore stocks only 25,000 titles. Think “beyond the bookstore”.

• The Plan
• WHO will buy this book
  • Teachers, caregivers, professors
  • Bookstores, teacher supply stores, other
• HOW will you reach these people
  • Mail, fax, phone, computer, The Media, In Person
  • Look to the distributor for help
• WHEN will you reach these people
  • Launch your book at opportune time

Promotion Tools

• News Releases
• Postcards
• Fliers
• Photo of yourself
• Extra Book Covers
• Digital images of book and yourself
• Save all endorsements, articles
• Media Kit/Press Kit
• Advertising

Expert, Expert

• You, the EXPERT
• Conferences, conventions
• Workshops
• Seminars
• Keynotes
• Presentations
• Book Signings
• Library workshops, lectures
• College visits, presentations
• Write for magazines or papers
• Fairs: book, street, craft
• Fundraisers: donations
• Book Awards & Contests

The Media

• The Media
  • Radio-TV Interview Report 800.989.1400
  • Talk Show Selects 800-955-0311
• Radio interviews
• TV guest
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Word of Mouth
• Advertising

Direct Mail

• What
  • Catalog
  • Letter
  • Postcard
  • Flier
  • Internet
  • Order form in books
• How
  • Stamps, first class
  • Direct mail house/bulk mail
  • Co-op mailing with other(s)
  • PMA – targeted mailings
  • Mailing Lists
  • Customer list from other sales
  • Always have a sign up

Direct sales

• Author Tours
• Book Signings
• Website, home page
  • Refer to another site
  • Refer to print out order form
  • Shopping cart

Direct Money

• Discount Schedule
  • Discount based on volume
  • For wholesalers or retail sales
  • Terms
  • Define returns
    • Define payment terms
    • Define credit
    • Define special services
  • Shipping & Mailing
    • Take advantage of Media Mail
    • Priority Mail
    • UPS
    • Fed Ex

Chain book stores

• Borders Waldenbooks – 313.913.1100
• Barnes & Noble – 212.633.3300
• Crown Books – 301.731.1200
• Little Professor – 800.899.6232