If you are author, how would your customer define your brand?

What words would customers use to describe you as an author?

Steven King’s brand is horror.

Danielle Steel’s is romance.

Suze Orman’s is finance.

Joel Olsteen’s is religion.

It is important to remember that as an author, the key to your success is to have a brand for yourself. You must have  a brand for yourself before you can market your work.  Branding first, marketing second, that is the golden rule.  Branding is what the customer thinks about you, not what you think about yourself.  Creating a brand is hard for new authors because they don’t know how to brand, what to brand, or are too close to their story.

If you were too pass away today or tomorrow and you are an author, what would you like to be said about your work? This month, we will discuss branding for authors and hope, like everything else we do, will help you become a better author, but more importantly, a better brand!

ZLS Publishing

Have you had a book published? If yes, that means you have a book cover. How about having that book cover laminated on a wooden plaque with engraving options that say things like:

(Option 1)-Bestselling Author – 5,000+ Books Sold + your name

(Option 2)-Bestselling Author – 2,500+ Books Sold + your name

(Option 3)-Superb Bookselling – 1,000+ Books Sold+ your name

(Option 4)-Gold Book Status – 500+ Books Sold + your name

(Option 5)-Author Extrordinnaire-100+ Books Sold + your name

(Option 6)-Award Winning Author-(Insert the name of the award) + name

Wooden plaques coming in the following colors:

Walnut

White

Blue

Black

Red

Green

Burl

Oak

Mahogany

Wooden plaques come in the following sizes:

8*10, 10*13, 12*14, 16*20, 18 *24.

Why would you order a plaque with your book cover on it?

1) To be used and shown during your book signings.

2) Picture of your plaque to be placed on your website.

3) To give as Holiday gifts to authors or family members you know.

4) To be used and shown during your speaking engagements.

5) Use as part of your overall book marketing package.

Book Cover Plaques come with Free Lamination and can be delivered within 7-10 days after order is placed and payment is cleared.

Show off the hard work that you’ve done. Treat yourself to an Customized Author Plaque, you deserve it!

All payments are made secure, and we even accept paypal.

Yesterday, we discussed the difference between digital printing and off-set printing. Today, we will go into further discussion regarding the actual difference in cost.
Option 1: Let’s say you’ve been asked to be a guest speaker with the guest list of 150 people. You’ve made the smart decision to sell your book. The retail price of your book is $14.95. The print cost using the digital print run is $7.50. Your profit is $7.50 per book because you sold your book directly to the customer.
Option 2: After much hard work and searching, you’ve found a buyer who’ll buy your book in volume. They’ve just purchased 200 copies of your book to test how well it’ll do in their stores. They’ve promised to buy 5000 books if the test is successful. The buyer requires a 70% discount, which makes the selling price $4.49. The retail cost of your book is $14.95. Your print cost is $7.50 using the digital model. Your loss per book is-$7.50-$4.49=$3.01.
Option 3: You’ve got a distributor who sells your book to bookstores. The bookstore requires a 40% discount, so their purchase price is $8.97. But wait-the distributor’s commission is 15%, making the discount 55%. The retail price of your book is $14.95. The print cost on a digital run is $7.50. Your loss is $7.50-6.73=$0.77.
So as you can see, digital printing isn’t always the best option in every senario. If you had printed 5000 copies on off set press, the print cost would likely have been $3.00 or less, and if you have colored photos or illustrations, then add another $1.00 to that, making the cost $4.00 per book. Even if you print only 2500 copies, the print cost would be substantially less than the digital print cost.
Some of you reading this, don’t mind eating the loss. If so, that’s great! For those of you who are economically cautious, now you have the tools to make the right printing decision. Let’s not forget that your marketing plan is vital here: knowing your marketing goals and having your plan layed out before decising upon the type of printer to use for your book.
Hopefully, this will have helped you in your decision making process.
Until tomorrow!
ZLS Publishing

Hello all,

If you’ve just finished a book or are in the process of writing a book-we applaud you! Writing a book is never easy, nor is the decision on what to do with the book once it’s done. While trying to figure out whether or not self-publishing or traditional publishing is the best option, one thing to consider is printing. Most people forget that printing is one of the most important aspects of the publishing process. The printing is what people see. It is what brings your book into actually life and places it into a book formation. I think part of the confusion lies in the fact that most people forget or don’t know the difference in printing. There are two types: digital printing and offset printing. Learning what these two are and how they affect your books delivery, will help you determine what publishing route to take.
Let’s begin….
Offset printing-Is done by using printing plates that go through a three step process to transfer images to paper. Offset printing requires more set-up, and therefore is of much better use and more cost effective on large orders.
Digital printing, other wise known as print-on-demand (POD) printing- Is done by transfereing a digital image to paper. Digital printing is best used for small orders and short printing runs. There is less set-up so the cost is less, therefore making it the most cost effective for small orders.
Now that you know the difference between the two printing options, this should help you along in your publishing decision. Do you want to spend very little money in set-up costs and more money in marketing? If yes, then the POD route is the best route for you. Can you afford the high set up costs AND believe that you’ll sell over 1,000 copies? If yes, the offset printing route is the route for you?
As you can see, your marketing habit will play a part in which option you choose. It all balls down to marketing. Where and how can you sell your book? If you choose to sell your book online, the buyer is going to demand a substantial discount. If you buy the bulk of books and put them in your trunk, yes, you can keep all your money, but will you get your upfront cost back? Will you sell your books on your website only?
All of these are things to think about. Digital printing is best for short or on demand runs. Larger orders, though, require lower print costs, but then you’re stuck with trying to get rid of all those books. As a writer, you have to determine what costs fit into your marketing plans. Know your marketing goals before deciding which publishing route to take and which type of printer to use for your book. Knowing your marketing goals will make this decision a whole lot easier.

If you haven’t heard by now, let me update you: Walmart and Amazon are in a book price bidding war. Some of the newest releases are about to sell for $9 which includes free shipping and handling. Now for the consumer, this is a great deal, and it may even be a good deal for the publisher, but will it be a good deal for the writers? Right now, Amazon demands 55% of the book price. This high number equates to already low royalties for the author. Will Walmart jump on the band wagon? Should they jump on the band wagon? Will the author now be forced to decide between Walmart, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles?

Do you think it will get to the point in the publishing industry in which, if you expect to sell any books-you will be forced to go to both Walmart and Amazon? or will it get like other things-High quality books-Amazon, Low quality books-Walmart? The one benefit to this bidding war that I see is that authors have more selling options and consumers have more buying options, but will it ultimately affect their bottom line and will it do so in a positive way?

What do you think?