by Frank Candy on July 29, 2009
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Suzan from L.A. wrote to me and asked: Can a little books sell in this market?
Well, I wrote back to her asking to define “LITTLE” - and what market? Plus what is the theme and purpose of the book?
She wrote back and said “short” as in - fewer than 50 pages vs. fewer than 4 inches tall. The market was for Mommy’s and the theme was balance.
OK, now we are on the same page. Without seeing the book proposal (which in this case might be as long as the book) I have to make some assumptions, which I will qualify.
Short books are in demand; less expensive to produce in small quantity, eaisier to store and ship, sell for a lower price point than the larger, thicker, heavier books, and they often make nice gifts. Chances are, this book could do well in non-traditional bookstores - examples could be bridal shops, florist, gift shops, and craft stores.
The magic key to big volume sales is having a well-done book with the right combination of 1) Book cover that sells the book. 2) A marketing campaign that will work. 3) Positive reviews and recommendations to buy it. 4) Your willingness to go out and sell it. 5) - This is a big one - a very appealing point of purchase display. Bookstores are pretty good at book displays but not the oether specialty shops I mentioned.
Advice - create a great product and sell it hard.
Have a question or comment? Pass it on.
by Frank Candy on July 16, 2009
I just wrote a post about the Death of News Papers. Check it out.
Our world is changing FAST!
Do you remember the first time you saw the USA TOday Newspaper? It has a rich history and great people behind it. So many business and life lessons too. This is from the Gannett Publishing Web Site
In a cottage in Cocoa Beach, Fla., USA TODAY was conceived under the code name “Project NN.” After two years of research on what readers wanted, what advertisers needed and what technology permitted, on Sept. 15, 1982, USA TODAY reached up from its headquarters overlooking the nation’s capital, and grabbed an orbiting satellite to present information-hungry readers news about the USA in an entirely different way. The newspaper quickly established itself, selling more than 1.3 million copies a day all across the nation by the end of 1983. Today its daily circulation is approximately 2.3 million, making it the largest-selling daily newspaper in the nation.
by Frank Candy on April 1, 2009
We just completed the Hot Topics List for professional speakers. This is worth a look for you. http://www.speakersbureau.com/hot_topics4-09.htm
by Frank Candy on February 9, 2009
Who Sells Your Books and Products?
Answer: YOU!
Bookstore chains like Border’s and Barnes and Noble, independent bookstores, second hand bookstores, and garage sales, plus web sites like Amazon and so many more, just inventory product. They might make suggestions on their web site like people who bought this book also bought this one, or people who recommended this book, recommended this one. But ultimately the only one who sells your book is YOU!
You have to create the marketing plan AND execute the marketing plan. I am intensely sensitive to this because I see so many disillusioned and uninformed authors with very good books that never make it past the first printing. I see these good books in the discount bookstore bins at 90% off the retail price. This saddens me; I like to see people be successful.
It is a real shame, but vanity publishers will publish people’s work without a marketing plan, or take the time to make them understand that getting published does not sell your book or products. All they want to do is take is your money.
The last time I was driving back to Florida, on I-75 in South Georgia, we needed a break to stretch and get some food. The Chinese Buffet sign was calling us, but after we parked and before we went in, we agreed we needed some shopping therapy at the outlet bookstore next to it. I bought 10 brand new, good books for a buck or two each. My sweetie bought several books, as well. At dinner we discussed the lost dreams of the authors and lost money and opportunities by the publishers and authors on these failed projects.
Have you ever walked into a bookstore and had the clerk recommend a book to you? It would be a great feat to convince every bookstore clerk to recommend your book. If you figure out how to do it, let me know.
Summary: Virtually every product needs a marketing plan. Your book, your product, your service, your DVD, your album, your speech, your TV show, your movies, your web site, your company, your resume, your career – they need a marketing plan that works. Stay tuned.
Frank Candy
www.frankcandy.com
by Frank Candy on February 7, 2009
Publishing your work is important, if you want to be a recognized expert. You will gain respect and make money if they like your work. So what are you waiting for?
Have you ever heard someone say, “Someday things will get better. Someday I’ll really get organized. Someday I’ll lose weight, or someday I’ve got to get around to cleaning up those files.”? Someday is not a day of the week. How profound – how true.
Procrastination is a real trap door for most people. Remember when in the movie the bad guy, or the guilty party and sometimes the good guy, was tricked and fell through the trap door? That’s how life is; one of the worst trap doors to fall through can be procrastination. All high achievers were held back at one time by procrastination.
Most people just accept procrastination as destiny, while others confuse bad management with destiny. It is my observation that procrastination is a widespread problem.
Can you believe that excess clutter in people’s homes and offices, and for that matter in their lives, is there in most cases because nobody is willing to throw it away?
This is so detrimental to productivity, profitability, relationships and psychological health. In a way, it’s kind of an odd commentary that we have to hire a professional consultant to throw these things out. It’s true that most people clutter their environments with useless remnants of the past and clutter their minds with the things to done “someday.” And we all know that “someday” is not a day of the week!
Great and successful people will look you in the eye and tell you that to be successful you must have a “Do it now” habit. “Just do it now,” has become one of our favorite positive affirmations. We recommend that you consider making it one of yours. ‘JUST DO IT NOW.”
Frank Candy
www.frankcandy.com
by Frank Candy on February 5, 2009
What Do You Want to Publish and Why?
About fifteen years ago I was part of a group of experts traveling around the country delivering seminars and training on the subject or entrepreneurship and professional practice development. One of the experts asked the audience: “Do you want to be rich? Or do you want to be right?”
That really made me shift my stance and hyperventilate. My immediate reaction was “I want both.”
With total clarity, just like he could anticipate my response, he said: “It’s like a law in the universe; you can one, or the other; you can’t have both. One or the other; you make the choice.”
At that point in my life I had lived long enough to know being rich was better than being right. I grew up with people who insisted on being right and even fought for it and the result was pain, and poverty, exhaustion and enemies. It wasn’t worth it.
Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. - Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)
So if you want to publish because you need to “get it out there - to share your story, to pound on your chest and the keyboard, to release the demons” - go for it.
It is a very cathartic and existential experience to write it down and let it go. It can be therapeutic, liberating beneficial and even healing. But rarely is it profitable, unless you are a really good writer with the ability make the story dynamic, suspenseful and exciting. And even then, the odds are against you. (Remember, I promised I would be direct.) I am an optimist and a realist, but usually not in that order.
Anything written to please the author is worthless. - Blaise Pascal 1623 -1662
If you insist on writing your life story, then ask the important questions first: Who is going to publish it? Who is going to read it? Who is going to want to buy it and recommend it? Who is going to review it? What will they be inclined to say about it? And WHY?
Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good. - Samuel Jackson
I am not a therapist, just a humble author, publisher and highly regarded public speaker. Every week I talk with people about their ideas, and look at peoples work. This happens in airplanes and airports, hide-a-ways and hotels, beaches and bars. (Mostly the upscale ones and sometimes, not so upscale ones like Sloppy Joe’s in Key West, Hemingways favorite bar.)
The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, bull shit detector. - Ernest Hemingway
I have made some very good calls and a few bad calls along the way. But I know what people want, how to produce it, package it, position it, promote it, sell it, and make money. I would rather be rich. How about you?
The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid stable business. - John Steinbeck
Want to talk about your ideas? Your audience? Who follows you? Who would follow you if they knew about you? How are you going to promote it?
What is a leader with no one following him? Answer: Just a person taking a walk. Frank Candy
How much do you know about them? Do you know what keeps them awake at night? Will they spend their money to buy and own what you have to sell? When you are ready, contact me. The answer lies within you.
Frank Candy
by Frank Candy on February 2, 2009
Did you see the 2009 Super Bowl between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers? If you did, you know it is one of the biggest media events in the world. Congratulations to both teams, they played hard and it was a great football game. In the past, the game is not real exciting, but, for the last two years in a row, it has been a great game. It lived up to the pre-game, Super Bowl hype, and the hype after the game, (it’s been 24 hours as of this post) is very huge. What does this have to do with publishing your book, or information products you ask? What can we learn from sports marketing to promote the products we produce? Here are four important questions for you. Are you planning on producing something people really want? How can you create “Super Bowl Excitement” about it? Can you sell it all over the world? How many related products can you spin off from it? Stay tuned.
by Frank Candy on January 24, 2009
Do you believe you have what it takes to write a best selling book and create products people will like and want buy and recommend to their colleagues and friends? Do you believe you would know how to make it happen? We are interested in working with good people to develop new products and even resurrect old, proven ones. So many new topics are in demand today and the format and presentation styles have changed like the weather in Florida. So stay tuned, we will be delivering a ton of ideas, tips and strategies for making money for you.
