Glossary
Catalog
S&H
Part
I
Printed Book
Family History
State
Part II
E-Book
Genealogy & History
Fiction
Part III
Non-Book Items in our Catalog
Other Sections
(May include Printed Book, E-Book and Other)
New
Additions
New
Reprints
Gift Services
Online
Order Form Links (SCL)
Electronic
Publishing
By
Disk
Additional Concepts
| Presentation/Marketing
Publishing electronically, by disk, can be the answer to budget prayers! The down side is that, especially for genealogy books, the reader may not even own a computer. While readers may or may not enjoy all of the advantages of the newest technologies most enjoy the lower cost of an electronically published book.
Top reasons to publish electronically by disk:
-
Budget will allow for publishing now, rather than fundraising in preparation for publishing later.
-
Full color - no extra charge
-
Don't have to narrow your content down to fit in an affordable or easy to handle book.
-
Large books are easy to carry on disk when you travel
-
You don't
have
to worry about breaking the spine - no matter the page count. -
Low storage space requirements - a disk or two instead of 6 inches on the bookcase.
For books that employ lots of photos and graphics with little text, we now suggest a self running book format that presents a book on screen. It allows user to page through the book like a "real" book, flip directly to any page, and enlarge any given page. Disk contains both PC and Apple/Mac program that accesses the book data. No customer questions of "Do I have the software, or will I need to download?" - it is included with each book!
The world is embracing the standard of PDF
format for E-books. The total basic costs for publication and delivery would be
disk manuscript preparation (converting your hardcopy or disk files to PDF) plus
disk reproduction, packaging, and shipping. In many cases the disk manuscript
preparation for a book sent to us on disk can be waived - email us for details.
The standard PDF reader (Adobe Acrobat) is free to anyone and comes in many new computers
standard. This allows anyone with a computer a chance to read your book on disk
(after purchasing it from you!). The PDF format also allows authors more control
of the E-book that is purchased - you can make the book read only
(the
customer can not make changes) as well as restricting printing. While printed
books use the honor system for Copyright control, the PDF format allows you the
added comfort of knowing that most buyers will not be breaking the law, either
knowingly or through a wish to share this great work.
PDF is an easy way to make a compilation
publication. Do you or your group have several research titles of a given theme
or area? Whether they are all still currently in print in traditional book form
or not, consider publishing a research collection on disk. This is a great
alternative when an author doesn't wish to keep a valuable title in print.
While some choose POD as an option, others may consider electronic publishing.
Offering this format, even if your books are hard or soft bound and in print,
can appeal to many
who
are interested in bargain shopping. Even if you offer the electronic edition at
only a $5.00 savings. Those who choose to buy a $40 CD that you have $15
invested in the actual book increase your profit over them buying a $45 book
that you have $35 invested in the actual book. For a book that required
research, many already know that it is rare to actually recoup 100% of all
research costs. However "profit" can be used for more research, funding
collectors editions, or mad money!
Publishing electronically by disk is absolutely a less expensive avenue for publishing than a traditional printed book. Instead of purchasing paper, ink, covers, and a lot of production time, you are purchasing disks and computer production time - the finished product usually costs a lot less to ship as well!
Your book may be placed on a variety of removable media formats, currently CD is an economical standard. The information may be published in different formats on different disks.
|
PowerPoint With the "pack and go" feature, as well as the PowerPoint reader being free of charge, PowerPoint is becoming a way to have a true multi-media e-book experience. The MS Office user can do all of their own "manuscript preparation" without buying new software. PowerPoint decks can be added to books, or sold on their own. PowerPoint is a great program to use for digital scrapbooks and family "advertising" as well! |
Electronic book publishing may be accomplished with:
-
basic disks (3.5", CD or DVD) and labels
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special labels such as colored or neon
-
different sized (mini, etc.)/shaped (card, etc.) CD's
-
direct on-disk printing (one color to full color)
-
mini, thumb or jump (USB) drives
-
online publishing
-
etc.
Different packaging options are all things to consider (most of which can be
affixed to a hybrid cover)...
-
jewel case (standard or slim-line)
-
paper or board sleeve/jacket (opaque, windowed, with flap, 3-ring, sheet for multiples, etc.)
-
plastic protector (opaque, windowed, 3-ring, sheet for multiples, etc.)
-
kick out boxes
-
clam-shell cases
-
circle cases
-
DVD case (which provides space inside the packaging for a small booklet)
-
multi-disc
-
double/dual disc
-
disk hub/nub/spindle (to include e-book with printed book, etc.)
-
self mailer/container
-
etc.
CD's also make a great value-added addition to printed books. Add as many color photographs as you want to a book project by including supplemental disks. CD's included with printed books can also contain audio, video, GEDCOMs, etc.
Please contact us for more information.
Basic reproduction and packaging can range from under $3.00 to $15.00 (on demand) each depending on packaging and size of order. Large quantities can be arranged for less!
|
Example pricing 10 disks with color labels in jewel cases
$100.00 or $10.00 each 10 disks with black printing in window sleeves
$80.00 or $8.00 each 10 disks with black printing to be placed on
hub/nub (included) in back of book (quoted separate) $50.00 or
$5.00 each |
Presentation/Marketing (see also general marketing)
Prepare your press release/informational flyer (or at very least a fact sheet - type of book, purchase price, author, etc.) then check online for the following places to market:
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Book web site or web page
-
Usenet (newsgroups)
-
E-magazines (ezines) or E-newsletters
-
Blogs
-
Web Rings (if you have built an informational web page)
Don't forget to think about your genealogy subject, remember it is a new book/publication and what geographical areas it covers!
-
If there are none of the above, consider starting them!
-
Send everyone in your email address book a notice about the book.
Email - One of the easiest ways to spread the word if you email folks is to add a signature (or a line to your signature) to your email that says you are the author of your book. See our Computer aid section of our e-zine for more help doing this.
If you choose to use your email address book, be careful. The Internet is still in it's infancy and many people are overly-sensitive of privacy issues. Either write a letter that you can send to everyone individually, or look into a email-merge add-on program. It is suggested you don't write one email and list everyone's address in the "To:" line where all recipients can see the addresses. Another way to this without adding new software is the "Bcc:" feature. Regardless of what you choose to do, if you are sending the same email to more than a dozen people, check with your server to see if they need to adjust for the extra traffic you will be producing. Some do, some don't, and some even require you to send to no more than 10 recipients at a time. Once you've conformed to the servers requests, you may also need to consider the fact that many mail filters look unkindly at an email that goes to too many people.
*Join email lists that have the same subject matter as your book. After getting an idea of the type of information that is posted and the rules, send an email to the list(s) about your new publication. You might start at http://groups.yahoo.com or http://www.egroups.com
As with email lists, check online for bulletin boards or discussion groups having to do with your subject matter. After getting an idea of how information flows, post information about your book.
Further online PR possibilities include working with your ISP to search newsgroups/usenet through your email program. Once you find lists about your subject matter and review them, post information about your book.
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