Yesterday, I attended a workshop on e-publishing, presented by Jim Swain.
He recently e-published four of his books.
The seminar left me filled with excitement. I could hardly wait to go home and tell my hubby all about it. It’s one of those prove-you-wrong-moments. Yup. My hubby wants to sleep with a famous author, preferably me. Men are depraved souls.
Over a dinner at Chili’s he actually paid attention when I told him that many NYC best selling authors, not just Jim Swain, have left the old world of publishing for many reasons. But I made sure I highlighted the areas where I knew his pockets would listen. Thank God for the experts. Needed this seminar to prove my point. It worked.
Mr. Swain explained that publishers are now paying three to five thousand dollars in advances. Not to mention, after the book is published and put up for sale, you the author will be making only fifteen percent off royalties. That sucks.
With digital publishing, you get to keep your rights as long as you don’t sign a contract with a publisher. Amazon and Barnes –n-Nobles pay sixty-five to seventy-five percent. What a deal!
There’s more to this seminar but I won’t divulge the rest, the ins and outs, and the how to’s of e-publishing. What you’ll learn is invaluable and worth the small cost. It’s the best money I’ve spent all year. So, get yourselves to this seminar. It’ll save you from a lot of headaches and scams. Yup. Scams. He covers those, too.
Jim Swain will be giving seminars at the following:
West Broward Regional Library, in Broward County, Saturday, January 29th, from 1:00 –4:00. To make reservations, call Tara Zimmerman @ 954-357-7386. The cost: $125.00 per person.
Murder on the Beach, in Delray, Florida, Saturday, February 19th, from 1:00 – 4:00. To make reservations call the store @ 561-279-7790. The cost: $125.00 per person.
Before I finish, I wanted to make note of two writers’ blog sites I follow, Norma Bishir and William Kendall. These two know what they’re doing when it comes to marketing their novels. My favorite pages are their character blogs. Great idea!
You can follow Norma @ http://characterblog-theunicornsdaughter2011.blogspot.com/2011/01/character-blog-…
And you can follow William @ http://www.williamkendallbooks.blogspot.com
These two are my heroes on how to market yourself.
That’s all for now folks.
Happy blogging, reading, and writing!!!
Shelly
Sounds like a great experience, Shelly! I plan on referencing this post in my upcoming ePublishing rundown over on my blog. I really hope more authors who've successfully ePublished will start to do similar seminars.
ReplyDeleteSo many people are interested, but not that many seem to understand how it works. I'll pop back over and let you know when my blog post is up. (So you can see your name in lights! Or at least the dim glow of my blog. :)
Nice, informative blog Shelly.
ReplyDeleteGood and informative, Shelly... and thank you for the shout-out!
ReplyDelete@ EJ: True a lot of authors don't have a clue how to do this. Mr. Swain indicated he had no clue at first and was given bad info by publishers.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm convinced that is how I will publish.
@ William: You're welcome. You know what you're doing I will follow your's and Norma's lead with my stuff. It can't hurt.
@ Eve: Thank you.
I've read a lot on this subject and I am convinced it's in the authors best interest to keep the e-book rights. Glad you went to this seminar!
ReplyDelete@Jen:
ReplyDeleteMe too.
Thanks for the shout-out, Shelly! I'm adding a link to your blog at mine today.
ReplyDeleteNorma:
ReplyDeleteNo problem. I really like how you market your stuff. Will be doing the same. Your a mentor and you didn't even know it.
James Swain's e-book seminar at Murder on the Beach Bookstore has been changed to
ReplyDeleteSaturday March 19 at 1-5 pm.
Cost is $99.
@ Joanne:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update.