Ebook Publishers Who Will Make Authors More Money Than New York Publishers

Enspiren Press and Grace Publishing are not predominantly ebook publishers, in fact, we only stepped into the Ebook ring 2 months ago.

However, I know many authors who make more than $10 000 a year - and are 100% ebook authors. This doesn't mean that you can't get their book in print, it just means that they do not waste time trying to get their books into bookstores.

I am writing this post in response to trick fall's post about 5 big publishers who can offer an alternative to NY. The only thing I found 'twisted' in that article is that it makes it look like the publisher is the driving force behind book sales - - this has not been true for about 10 years. Authors sell books.

Grisham bought all copies of The Pelican Brief from the discount warehouse and sold them out of the trunk of his car. Anne Rice also spends most of her time promoting her books - most big authors do.

However, if you have a book and you want a publisher with major distribution and a proven track record, hen this list will help you. I have made 'bold' font any publisher that I can vouch for.

Publishers and retailers that contributed to the survey are: Abingdon Press/Cokesbury, Amazon.com, Inc., AOL Time Warner Book Group, Barnes & Noble.com, Bookselecta.com Ltd, Dell Magazines, Double Dragon Publishing, eBooks Corporation Ltd, Electric eBook Publishing, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc., E-Reads, Fictionwise (EnspirenPress is sold through this site and they do very well), Inc., Franklin Electronic Publishers, Hard Shell Word Factory, HarperCollins Publishers, Houghton Mifflin Company, Humana Press Inc, Laridian, Inc., Mind Like Water, Inc., Mobipocket, Mushroom Publishing, NUMILOG, OverDrive, Inc., Palm Digital Media, powells.com, RAND, Random House, Inc., Simon & Schuster, Spes Editorial, St. Martin's Press, The McGraw-Hill Companies, University of California Press, Walker & Company and Zondervan.

Remember that this is only ebooks - for example -

Company North American Sales (Books, Media plus cofee, etc:-)
Barnes&Noble / B. Dalton1 $4.61 billion
Borders / Waldenbooks $3.41 billion
Amazon Media (excludes electronics, services - books, includes books, music, DVDs) $3.58 billion (2006 was the first year Amazon outsold Borders in North America)
BN.com $433 million (Site also used to promoted stores)

Total Book Sales: $12.03 billion

So, if you go with a smaller publisher you want to ask them who they collaborate with. IE: Enspiren press collaborates with Amazon.com, Barns & Noble.com, Ebookmall, Moipocket, Borders, Target, and we are distributed through Ingrams and Gardners.

Don't measure a small publisher by the number of authors and books - or their contract.... ask about their distribution.

Where to Find a Publisher

This is a cross post from a writer I've known for a long time Trick Falls at www.communati.

You're almost done polishing the manuscript for your first novel. Now what?

If you've been following the advice of pros like Donald Maass (Writing the Breakout Novel), then the names of prospective publishers will have been dancing in your head for months.

If you are already widely known and have a page-turner manuscript that will sell 50,000 copies or more, then you might contact (through an agent) one of the five publishing conglomerates: Bertlesman, Time Warner, News Corporation, Disney, or Viacom/CBS. This group of five controls 80% of book sales.

If you've been around for a while, you'll see that a lot has changed in publishing, including the fact that most of the grand old U.S. publishing houses have been bought out and merged into some very big fish.

Bertlesman, for example bought Random House in 1998. This is the largest trade book publisher. You'll find the remnants of previously independent publishers listed as imprints or divisions in the Berlesman stable, including Crown, Doubleday, Knopf, Ballantine, Bantam, Dell and Pantheon.

I always enjoy reading Janice Harayda's One-Minute Book Reviews Blog, but this week's series of posts about independent presses has been especially interesting.

She lists (with comments and links) five great independent presses. If you don't think a bean-counter conglomerate house is the place for you, consider one of these:

Dalkey Archive Press - avant-garde books

CavanKerry Press - a great place for poets

Academy Chicago - excellent fiction and nonfiction

Milkweed Editions - largest nonprofit literary publisher

David R. Godine - I like Harayda's comment about Godine: "Dr. Phil and Howard Stern don’t stand a chance at his firm, and if Lindsay Lohan writes an autobiography, she’ll have to pray that Simon & Schuster will take it on. Instead of chasing celebrity tell-alls or advice manuals, Godine has made a grail of producing books that are as intelligent as they are beautiful."

Among the interesting publishing statistics on the website of book promotion guru Marilyn Ross is this comment: "In November of 2003 it was reported that the independent and small publisher base had grown at an annual rate of 21% since 1997."

It's nice to know, as Ross reports, that there are between 300 and 400 mid-sized publishers out there. One of them might just be the new home for your finished novel.

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How to Write Great Romance

49% of the books sold are romance.
Why? Romance feeds a need in people, and it lets them express emotions they could not normally express. Statistics report that women who read romance novels have sex 70% more than non-romance readers.

However, it is hard to have a romance novel published. Many writers despair of ever becoming published - that is because a romance novel needs more than a great story. It needs a romance. Now, many of you just dismissed this article, but take a moment to read on.
Do you really know what romance it?

A romance novel is not about the emotions, it is about the emotions it incites in the story’s reader. But, if you ask most writers how to stir emotions, they cannot answer. Most romance authors cannot even write out a story arc of their romance. I found this while teaching my advanced romance writing course at www.writersonlinecourses.com.

There is an assignment that asks writers to outline the romance in their stories. The answer is usually something vague like, she meets him and they need to fight to save the town. They like each other, and after a business meeting, realize that they love each other.

That is not romance. In fact, it isn’t even realistic.

Romance is something you do. It is ‘actions’ one person does to show the other how much they care for them.

It involves:

Holding hands
Long walks
Quiet talks
Cuddling
Sharing secrets
Protecting

There is a pattern that people fallow when falling in love. It doesn’t matter what culture, where in the world, the pattern does not vary. Yes, it involves eye contact - but it is far more complex than a single glance. It involves a set up, an exchange of body language to ensure the male will not be rejected.

One of the biggest mistakes that romance writers make is having the male make the first move. In all cultures, the female makes the first move - even if the male encouraged the contact. Then, the female will often go through a series of situations that are meant to see if the male will stick around.

This mating dance was born thousands of years ago when women needed to ensure that men would stay around and provide for their children.

Many writers do not pay much attention to aspects like these. They are too focused on what turns them on, and what they like. Very few writers take the time to learn what the general public wants. It is so easy. Magazines are full of list of ‘what men really want,’ or ‘how to make her fall in love.’ There are also tests ‘are you really in love.’

All of these give writers clues into what touches women’s hearts and makes them ‘feel’ the romance in a story. These are powerful tools that writers can use to write a romance - a real page turner - that will make you famous.

What Questions Should Writers Ask BEFORE Hiring a Book Editor

Here is an excerpt from a tutorial I wrote at Novel-Writer forum

Feel free to ask me questions in the forum about hiring an editor/ghostwriter/book coach. It is a tricky business, and the cost can far outstrip any royalties earned by the book.

What genres do you edit the best?
No REAL editor will say they can do ALL genres well.

How long did you work in a publishing house?
Surprisingly, most publishers do NOT hire university graduates - especially fiction publishers. A university education does not teach you how to edit.

An editor needs to work in a publishing house, and complete at least 20 manuscripts for the publisher before they start to 'get it.' That is why most publishers make new editors intern or work in the slush pile for as long as 2 years before they have their first manuscripts.

Are you published?
Do not be concerned with how many books the author is published. What you want to know is whether the editor is more concerned about your work than they are about theirs. You do not want an editor who is always bragging about how great they are. These editors will never devote all of their attention to you book.

How long will it take to edit my manuscript?
A real editor CAN and WILL give you an answer. The answer many vary, but they have done this enough times that they know how long it takes. I can tell clients exactly how long a book will take - within a 5 hour window - after reading the first chapter.

What books have you edited?
Books do not list the editors, but editors are allowed to claim their work.
How many books have you edited that are published?

This is the golden question. If the answer is none, then the editor should not be charging more than $2 a page. After all, you are not hiring an editor to give you a clean manuscript, but you are hiring them to help you get published.

Last, do you content edit or line edit?
If the editor does content edit, which means editing for character growth, structure, plot holes, loose ends, etc... then ask them if you can take a look at their basic story arc. If they cannot whip one up, then they really don't understand the premise behind a content edit.

A line edit, and proofreading are two different things. An editor may do a line edit, checking for grammar, typos, and reconstructing paragraphs. That doesn't mean they are proofreading. In fact, expect to pay more for proofreading. Most authors only pay to have the first 50 pages (the submission) of their novel proofread.

How Much will the editor charge to critique the book?
A good editor will not accept a bad book. It may hurt to be turned down, but that editor has done you a favor. There are many great courses out there, affordable ones like are found at http://www.writersonlinecourses.com .

I teach A full, six month HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL online course for only $50.00. This involves working with your novel, and learning how to edit. A course like this can save you hundreds of dollars - because, whether you fix your novel in a course, or with an editor, you will have to do all of the fixing.

If you want to participate in the forum, ask more questions, or read the rest of the article, then sign up at the forum and use this link to find the post:

http://www.novel-writer.com/forum/view_topic.php?id=89&forum_id=3

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