Author Tip No. Five

The Back Story

As an author interested in getting your thoughts and ideas out there to the public (selling your book), an important portion of the process is devoted to the back cover copy and sales handle. In terms of elements influential to your readers, next to the cover design (or rather, behind), the back cover copy and sales handle are key. These three components are most often the items found in reviews, online retailer pages, and bookstore databases.

For the back cover, you don't want copy that dryly recreates the content of your book. For fiction, a succinct description of the characters, setting, and plot, leading up to the point of resolution is typical. There should be a tone of suspense that engages the reader enough to make a commitment to find out what happens to the characters, and what kind of life lesson (if any) can be learned. Often a comparison can be made to a similar author (e.g., "If you like Graham Greene, you´ll not be disappointed with this book").

For non fiction, the description needs to prove why this particular book on this subject (which, no doubt, has been written about numerous times over and over) is different or outstanding in some way. What makes yet another book on Italian cooking interesting? Perhaps the recipes include only fresh ingredients, traditions from one region, etc. These are the selling points that need to pop out in the copy.

The sales handle is your chance in one sentence to grab the reader's attention, a very brief description that covers what your book is, and why it´s important to your audience. The handle is usually found near the top of the back cover or directly above the main description.

See how the examples below spark your imagination and compel you to find out the rest of the story:

A tightly woven tale of psychological suspense and a literary tour de force from Booker Prize winner Penelope Lively.

Two mathematicians join forces to stop a serial killer in this spellbinding international bestseller.

Profound lessons for spiritual growth aren´t found exclusively in Tibet and India; they´re found within you in everyday events. This book will show you how to tap into them.

For information on how to get an effective back cover copy and sales handle from the professionals at Mill City Press, follow the link above or go to http://www.millcitypress.net.

Author Tip No. Three: The ISBN

The intials ISBN stand for International Standard Book Number, a unique 10- or 13-digit number assigned to published books. Take a look at any book on your shelf. The ISBN is found near the barcode on the back cover. The numbers within the ISBN are grouped and separated by hyphens or spaces. These groups indicate the country of publishing, the publisher, and an item number specific to the title and edition of the book. ISBNs are an optional investment (in most countries) and even if purchased, do not have to be displayed on the cover. However, those numeric identifiers are useful in the book trade and essentially imperative if you want to sell your book to the public. Books without an ISBN and a listing in Books in Print (the official, comprehensive listing of books, publishers, and ISBNs) are far more difficult to order, distribute, and market. A book without an ISBN is equivalent to inexistence within the industry.

For further information about ISBNs, how to get one, and Books in Print, visit bowker.com or click on the link above. Another excellent resource can be found at http://www.isbn-international.org/index.html.

Self-Publishing Might Be for You If...

Did you know that some traditional publishing houses deduct money from their authors if their books don't sell? Self-publishing might be for you if want to avoid the risk of losing money on unsold books.

Publishing houses often offer retail bookstores a 100% refund on unsold books. Say you have published with a publishing house, and it has placed 150 of your books in a bookstore; if after some months there are a few books left on their shelves, they can return the books to the publisher for a full refund. Not only do they refund the bookstore the total monies paid for those books, they also deduct that total from your account. Also factor in that due to the full refund policy, the bookstore will have little or no incentive to push the sale your book!

Unique to many self-publishing companies, there is no loss of money for you the author because you have some options. As a self-published author you may sell your book through an online retailer which does not have to worry about unsold books sitting a shelf because it does not actually hold or distribute any books. In addition, you may choose to sell and distribute the books personally using website or blog and a tool like PayPal (used on eBay). Both of these options bypass the risk of having unsold books returned to you and/or losing the money you paid to have those books printed and sold.

At Mill City Press, we offer book distribution through Mill City Press or individual distribution, as well as availability through online retailers as part of a personal marketing plan. If you choose to have us fulfill your book orders, you simply pay to have a certain number of books printed, and we keep the books here until they are sold--no return of books to you and no money deducted from your account. Visit our website by clicking on the link above.

Great Book Cover Design

An eye-catching book cover can be crucial to the sale of your book. Think of how many times you have stood before two different items and weighed the factors influencing your purchase. At some point in your consumer-life, you have made a purchase at least partially affected by how a certain product looks. Now picture yourself browsing online and combatting the myriad pop-up advertisements and links to websites competing for your attention. Every once in a while you are actually tempted to follow the link to a page based on an attractive or intriguing image. A well-designed cover for your book will have the same compelling effect when a user is browsing on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble's website. The image of your book cover may arouse curiosity and cause the reader to find out more about the book.

Mill City Press has skilled and versatile graphic designers who will provide your work with a cover design or book jacket that will complement and draw readers into the text inside.

Here are a few stunning examples of book covers done by designers for Mill City Press:

If you are looking to publish your book, take advantage of Mill City Press' publishing package which gives you the author full rights and ownership over the book cover design and layout, including the digital files. Visit www.millcitypress.net or click on the link above to take you directly to our page describing that portion of our services.

Social Networking on the Internet

MySpace, Friendster, Gather.com, Facebook, Xanga.


Chances are you have heard of at least one of these or other online networking sites. Their growing popularity is really testament to their user-friendly qualities and the proven benefits of being engaged with others over the internet.


These sites allow for a unique, multimedia way to interact with readers and fellow writers. Many of these networks, among several other amenities, provide the user space for a personal profile which you can make as specific as you wish, or even create pseudonymously.



The way the online networks are set up, users (sometimes even non-network members) may browse the members' pages with the option of actions such as commenting on a photo or entry, emailing that member, seeing who else visits that page, and creating links from that page to other members' pages.



There are many online social networks to choose from with varying drawing points to each. Let me offer a very brief survey of the biggest social networks. MySpace attracts a variety of ages, but appeals strongly to a younger audience. MySpace offers plenty of space to upload material in a varitey of ways including video clips and sound files. Friendster also seems to have a user base similar to the MySpace population (generally ages 18-35) but has a slightly more refined search engine allowing members to search the pages for interesting contacts. Xanga (xanga.com) is unique in that it offers web-rings within a site through which people can sign up by invitation to read your work. Live Journal has a large number of members who write and an even larger number of those who read. In Live Journal, you can add a "tag" to your page that aids in directing to your site users searching for your topic. Gather.com is a community of people who generally fall into the 30-60 age range with a very strong writing focus. Gather offers space for posting your writing and gaining critiques from other writers.



Social networking sites generally have members who are very active on the internet, posting in web forums and blogs often. This means heightened exposure for you. The more people visit your site, the more connections you make, which translates ultimately into others stopping at your site to look around, read an excerpt, and buy your book.

To get your help with your personal online marketing plan visit www.millcitypress.net or click on the title of this entry.

Have a Plan

As an author you spend months pouring over the computer screen perfecting every word. Every thought must be concise and directly related to the destination you want your reader to arrive at. You get ideas at the most inopportune of times and quickly jot down the contents of your mind on a cocktail napkin before rushing off to the comfort of your laptop. Nothing is calm until your thoughts are entirely spilled into the word processor! You fantasize about book sales and the distinguished "best selling author" title on your book. You are determined to create the perfect work of art.

Let me ask you this though, what good is that perfect accumulation of words and thoughts if nobody ever reads them? You need a plan.

Once your book is completed, who is going to read it? The more important question is, how are these people going to know your book even exists? The truth is that you will have to find them. You must make a name for your book and get the book "buzzed". There are several ways that you can do this simply from your own home and they include: blogs, social networking, internet advertising, and optimized websites. You can also look into submission into different online databases. The only limits are your creativity.

So you are thinking, okay, they all sound like good ideas but I am not internet savy. Maybe you have never posted a blog or have no idea how a social networking site could possibly increase your sales. I personally have no idea how to replace the spark-plugs in my car or how to perform my own knee surgery. I could certainly guess but what are the chances that I would do a good job? I choose to stick with the professionals. You could guess about how to promote your book but are you willing to live with the consequences?

I suggest consulting with a professional in the marketing industry. At the very least they can help you develop a plan to approach the sales and promotion of your book. The next task is to put this plan into action. If you choose to do this yourself or to enlist the help of a professional you will get exactly what you put into it. Time or money will be required to sell your book. The whole point is that first you need to have a plan. Then maybe you can continue your "best selling author" daydreams...

If you are interested in finding more information about where to find marketing plans or consultations please contact me at: karina@clickindustries.com or 612-455-2290 ext 204.