Let me share some numbers to illustrate the competitive nature of publishing in the US: 292,000; 800; 45,000; 6; 70,000; 6,000 & 60%.

* It is estimated there are as many as 292,000 new titles published every year in this country,
* That breaks down to 800 new titles published each day,
* The major New York publishers produce approximately 45,000 new titles each year,
* There are six major publishers in the US which represent about 95% of the main stream book sales in the US,
* It is estimated there are over 70,000 small publishers,
* There are around 6,000 main stream booksellers in the US, and
* The only number that should matter to an author is their percent of sale, and that benchmark is 60%.

If an author under contract to a big NY publisher sells at least 60% of their books, they can have a very nice career as an author.

Now you get a picture of the competitive nature of traditional main stream publishing.

There are more opportunities to publish a book than ever, and the cost is going down. However, I’m not sure this is a good thing.

You may have heard the old saying “there are good lawyers, and there are cheap lawyers, but there are not good cheap lawyers.” This is definitely true for publishing, you can publish professionally or you can publish cheaply, but you cannot expect to have a professionally produced book for a few hundred dollars.

If you invest countless hours writing then the least you can do is have your manuscript professionally edited and produced. Your book is your resume, make it the best it can be. All the marketing in the world will not help you sell a poorly written or produced book.

There are lots of good books that are self-published and many more that use the print-on-demand technology. No doubt, if you take the entire self-published, vanity press, POD community and read all the books available, you would find vast amounts of titles that would not only hold their own in sales but had the potential to become bestsellers if displayed and merchandised in bookstores. The problem is, there is little or no ACCESS to the bookstore market. Not yet.

Let’s examine some facts about the self-publishing marketplace.

(1) The success of the self-published title THE SHACK, currently atop the New York Times bestseller list, indicates there are good books that start self-published. However, this book would most likely not be on the Times list without the help of a corporate publisher who bought the book after it had sold over 800,000 copies.

(2) An article in Publishers Weekly last month titled BIG HOUSES BENEFIT FROM SAVVY SELF-PUBLISHERS, clearly indicates that the success of a handful of self-published books that made it into the hands of the big corporate publishers has made that New York publishing world take notice.

(3) According to statistics provided by Ingram Books, the owner of Lightening Source, the self-published market will grow at 15-20% each year for many years to come. This of course crowds the market, but creates opportunities for authors who are self-promoters and write really good books.

(4) As the corporate publishers sell fewer copies each year, retail booksellers will search for new opportunities to sell a variety of new categories, and will welcome new unproven authors. If the New York corporate publishers won’t do it, then it’s time for a new publishing model to be introduced to the market.

For authors who want control over their writing, the ability to retain all rights, realize a hefty royalty payment much greater than any corporate publisher would offer, and be willing to take suggestions on how best to package and price their book to maximize it’s potential in the market, then your time is fast approaching. This new publishing model is about to be unveiled. You will find the announcement here first!

I’ve been fortunate to have toured with lots of authors and I was always fascinated with how they wrote. How they created stories, and characters, and pulled together the information for their books. The one constant that came from these discussions was the fact that self-editing is a very slippery slope.

Authors have told me time and again that going back to correct the little things in your writing is a never ending process. The manuscript will never be as good as you want. That is why you need an editor, someone who can help you with the process of laying the manuscript out in a logical sequence, help with character or story development.

If you’ve never worked with a true professional, then you need one. Editors help writers establish their voice and improve their writing, self-editing is a long road that never ends.

Nothing! There is nothing wrong with print-on-demand as a technology. Unfortunately for those who use POD publishers, the traditional marketplace will not accept your books in their stores on a national basis. What this means is that corporate and large independent bookstores will not purchase books for display in their stores that are printed by a print-on-demand publisher. That is not my rule, but the rule of the marketplace.

The reason is lack of editorial control, POD companies have a tendency to publish anything that comes their way. There is nothing wrong with that either. They are in the business of printing books for their authors and they do not control the editorial quality of the authors they print. This is the problem with print-on-demand.

The technology is wonderful, allowing authors and publishers to print small quantities of books in an instant. The problem is access and acceptance. Until a publisher using print-on-demand technology as a form of printing exercises some editorial control over what they publish, the marketplace will continue to turn their back on these books.

Many of my blogs have to do with “so-called experts” who try and secure money from unsuspecting writers and authors. As much as I wish could write about more positive, constructive things, it becomes necessary for me to warn my readers that there are lots of people calling themselves “publishing experts” who are nothing of the kind. I find it once again important to give you some advice, and that is - ask the tough questions.

When someone tries to sell you a product or service, ask them about their success rate? Ask them to give you references? Go to their web sites and locate authors and titles, then do your best to inquire about the product or service? Network with me, with others on this site, with members of your writing or critique group. If you cannot find authors, titles, or anyone who seems to know anything about the product or service, then you really have to be careful.

The second thing you should inquire about is the person or companies background, experience, and qualifications as an “expert.” When someone tells you they have been in publishing for 20 years, does that really qualify them to sell you something? You need to dig deeper and find out the names of the companies they worked for? In what capacity, what was their job? What were their responsibilities? What were their successes in the business? Let them give you the names of the authors and titles with which they worked. Again, if this information is unavailable, then are they really experts?

If you dig deep before you buy, complete your due diligence with regard to the product or service, and ask for proof of the success, then you stand a good chance of saving lots of money and plenty of time. Ask the tough questions and it will serve you well, don‘t allow yourself to become a victim of these “experts.”

One of my readers sent an email asking about the book distribution program. He wanted to know if it was a scam? He quoted from some article he read where it talked about a distributor that went out of business trying to distribute books for small publishers. He said the article described bookstore distribution as a scam. There was in fact a small book distributor that went out of business because they didn’t understand what they were doing, which often happens to businesses with a bad plan.

When a small company of any kind, distributor or publisher, enters the world of big-time bookselling, they better understand the rules of the market and how to compete with the big corporate publishers. That is especially true when it comes to book distribution. One of the reasons for launching my book distribution program is it gives small and micro-publishers an opportunity for exposure in the marketplace. This is a program that is two years in the making and I would not even attempt to launch if I didn't feel it was viable and could be competitive against the corporate companies.

Book distribution into booksellers for small and micro-publishers is not only possible, it will happen. Those that want to throw stones at the idea just doesn’t understand the market. They know how to make money by selling unsuspecting writers and authors products and services that don’t work. In turn they want to attack those that are trying to make the Independent market a better place for all the small and micro-publishers around the world.

Truth is the best policy, that is what you will read here, my perspective based on 25 years in corporate publishing. I will continue to tell the truth and expose these scammers and their schemes. Book distribution is not without risks, but if done properly, it is a viable opportunity for some micro-publishers.

If you run across a marketing pitch that offers an “incredible sales opportunity,” or some other verbiage that sounds too good to be true, well it probably is too good to be true. I’ve written about knowing the questions to ask before you make a purchase of a product or service. Warning you about publishers that are either slow to respond to emails and fail to provide phone numbers in their correspondence as companies you should stay far away from.

When the offer sounds intriguing and the price is right, but you get to the small print and discover there are “hidden fees” then stop right there and move on, it’s not worth it. If you manage to work past the small print and agree with paying the “hidden fees” and find the web site is, shall we say, less than credible in appearance, then run the other way. If a legitimate company cannot give you (1) biographies of the principles of the company, (2) phone numbers or contact numbers besides a mere email address, or (3) a web site that looks like it was created by a ten year-old, then folks, you are not going to get what you think you are getting.

People and companies that offer products and services to writers and authors that fail to meet these minimum of standards, don’t belong in the business. Their claim to fame is making money off your desire to sell books! Don’t buy it! Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Every week I receive emails from many of my newsletter readers asking me to comment on publishing companies, which I am happy to do. What amazes me is how many of these “publishers” never offer the names of the people involved with the company. They typically make very generic statements such as “our executives have years of corporate experience,” and to that my response is: corporate experience in what?

If you are serious about publishing a work that you have spent enormous amounts of time creating, why in the world would you trust a company to publish that is afraid or unwilling to reveal who they are? I’m sorry folks but this is wrong! You are making a huge mistake if you turn your writing over to these kinds of companies! This follows the theme of my last blog, it's a buyer beware kind of industry, especially for the Independent writer.

If you don’t know the questions to ask, or you find a publisher that does not reveal who they are and what their experience in publishing might be, then please, avoid! Run the other way! Protect your copyright, protect the investment in your manuscript, save your money, don’t waste your time, there are plenty of reputable publishers.

Every day I receive emails from authors who are busting their backs marketing their books. They are serious, hardworking, and leave few stones unturned. Many times the problem with lack of sales is that it’s difficult to attract attention to your cause. That means either your message, book, or yourself. Unfortunately many have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the scams that the so-called experts play on unsuspecting writers and authors.

Don’t buy before you know the questions to ask! This rule of thumb will save you precious time and money on products and services that do not work. I don’t have all the answers but I know the questions. If books were easy to market and sell then everyone would have at least one. The fact is, marketing and selling books is hard, but if you remain consistent, don’t give up, and always, always ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING, you’ll be better off and have more money in your pocket.