Tag Archives: Echelon Press

You’ve Got to be Kidding!

Posted on April 21, 2010 | 9 comments

Okay, I have been participating in a thread on the Murder Must Advertise Yahoo group about what authors think their publishers should do. This morning, after much deliberation, I went ahead and posted some of the things I, as a publisher, do and some things that I won’t do any more.

I had someone ask me privately (concerning a different post) why I get so frustrated and complain about my authors when they work so hard. This question actually came from one of my authors. They also wanted to know why I don’t do more for my authors. It seems to them that I make excuses for not doing things. Okay, fair enough. I answered, even kindly since this author has sold a total of 113 books in the last year.

But this made me think. How come my excuses are bad and an author’s are not? With that in mind, here are the last ten excuses I have received from authors hen I asked them about their personal marketing efforts. They are in no particular order and are very real.

I have family and I have to put them first. I don’t have time to call stores or travel around for nothing.
No one is going to come to a books signing anyway so I don’t bother.
I wrote the book and am writing my next one for you, so the least you can do is market it for me.
I sent out 100 post cards when it first came out and no one contacted me back, so I am not going to waste my time or money.
I didn’t get in this business to be a salesperson. I am a writer and have no desire to have to sell.
All of my money goes on my family, I never expected to have to pay to market my own book.
The economy is really bad and people are not buying books anyway.
I work a full-time job, take care of my family, and I need down time. That doesn’t leave time for me to market, that is why I got a publisher.
It would seem to me that you would have a lot more time to market my book since you don’t work a full-time job. (this is my personal favorite)
If I market it myself, why do I need a publisher?
Bookstores and libraries never pay attention to the author, all that marketing stuff has to come from the publisher.
No legitimate author does their own marketing.
I don’t know how to find readers. If you find them for me, I will talk to them.
Nobody sells books from promoting on the Internet, it is a huge waste of time.
Social networking is not going to reach readers. It never does.
If you want your business to succeed, you are going to have to prove to your authors that they should even bother with you.
It is not my responsibility to fund your publishing house.

Okay, more than ten, but I was on a roll. This doesn’t even touch the list. I would very much like to make a very general statement to authors.

IT IS YOUR BOOK!!!!

9 Comments

Posted in Blatherings

Tagged author, authors, books, change, ebooks, Echelon Press, excuses, karen syed, life, Marketing, money, murder must advertise, promotions, publishing, readers, reading, sales, writers, Writing

Out Damn Stress

Posted on March 11, 2010 | 17 comments

I can’t tell you how many times I have this conversation with people.

“So, what do you do?”

“I’m president of Echelon Press.”

“What’s that?”

“The greatest indy publisher in the business” ::smile::

“Wow, what do you publish?”

“We do mostly fiction, but are always on the lookout for great non-fiction.”

“You mean like James Patterson?”

“Actually, I think our stuff is better.” ::smile::

“Well, that must be so exciting to get to work with all those writers in New York.”

“Well, I have Tom Schreck in NY and he is pretty awesome. But our writers are all over the world.”

“Really, like where?”

“Israel, New Zealand, California.” ::smile::

“So you get to travel all over the world and everything. Flying first class must be awesome.”

“Yea, it must be.” ::snort::

And on it continues until my eyes glaze over and my tongue starts to sweat.

What’s my point? I went to the Doctor yesterday (actually my Nutritionist) and it seems I am riddled with stress. Now, where the hell is the glamour in that? I’m supposed to be flying First Class, the rest of world says so. I am a publisher for Pete’s sake.

I have actually had some variety of that conversation several times over the last month or so, even during my trip to Pakistan. Back to my stress. J (we’ll call her that to save her privacy) says that I need to find ways to relieve stress. Huh, ya think?

I am currently working on royalties, editing several short stories, rebuilding my ISBN database that got corrupted during last weekends computer stupidity (its, not mine) and trying to market a number of books.

What I want to know is what the heck I am supposed to do to relieve stress. I am sure that others suffer from this horrible thing, as well as me…or it it I? Anyways, I’d LOVE for you to share some of the things you do to relieve stress.

And let’s be clear, if anyone says “walk” I will hunt you down and make you suffer. Walking does not soothe me…it gives me time to think, and then I get wound up about all the things I should be doing instead of walking and then I feel guilty, and then I eat. Eating is great, but not stress eating, so I am looking for anything but walking. And for those of you tracking my health, I do wlk because I have to for my health, but not as a form of stress relief.

So come on people, give me some of your best ideas for relieving stress. I REALLY need them.

17 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Creativity

Tagged author, books, california, Echelon Press, israel, james patterson, karen syed, new zealnad, patterson, publishing, readers, reading, stress, stress relief, tom schreck, writers, Writing

A Publisher’s Rant

Posted on February 27, 2010 | 12 comments

BUY Thomas Riley at Amazon

Okay, I have to go on record with this one. We spent the day ( a very successful day) at the South Carolina Book Festival in Columbia, SC.

For the entire day we had a steady stream of customers in our booth. There was not a time at any point during the day that we were not selling a book. It was tremendous. Or as our cute little waitress at Longhorn said, it was “grand.”

So what could possibly be wrong with this? Well, it’s other writers. I would like to point out a few simple guidelines or ettiquette rules to consider if you are a writer heading out to an event.

1. If you are an aspiring author and you want to meet with a publisher, contact them prior to the event and set an appointment. If a publisher is at an event they are probably there to sell books. When you walk up unannounced and go into your whole sales pitch for your book it is distracting and honestly it is very rude for those who are there to shop or who have made appointments.

At Echelon we do work on a referral system and we do tell you to meet us at events and we mean it, but there is a proper way to do it. Put together a very small packet, honestly I am good with a business card with contact info and a one or two line brief about your story. Drop it off and move on. If a publishing rep or author is trying to tansact business GO AWAY. Do not stand their and contiue talking. Chances ar they won’t be rude to you, but don’t make them tell you to go away.

BUY Betrayed at Amazon.com

2. If you are a writer and you have a friend who is being featured at an event or a book signing, do NOT monopolize that author’s time. When an author goes to an event they have probably paid to be there and their main goal is to sell books. If you stand at the front of the booth constantly talking to the author who is trying to sell books you are inhibiting their ability to effectively sell books and give the readers and actual customers the attention they deserve. If you DO stop to talk and feel the need to chat, at least make it worth the author’s while and BUY THEIR BOOK!

This has become a major peeve of mine and I see it almost every event I go to. If you have no intention of buying a book, MOVE ON and give the real customers some room. If you want to chat with an old friend, call them on the phone or take them to lunch. Don’t rob them of the opportunity to increase their sales and recoup the money they have invested to be at an event.

3. Support your fellow authors. You know what it is like. If you have books to sell, you know how valuable time is. If you want someone to buy your book you have got to be willing to buy their book. Don’t make excuses. Either buy it, or move on. Period

4. Finally. When you go to visit a friend at an event, book signing, festival, whatever, DO NOT slip your promo material onto their table. If you did not pay for that space, it is NOT your space to promote in. At almost EVERY event I go to I throw away dozens of pieces of material that authors who have come to see a friend or even authors who have come to give me submission materials have left behind with hopes that they can get some free promo exposure.

I’m telling you, if you tell me you want to submit and then infiltrate the space paid for by or for my authors, to try and promote your other works, I will NOT publish you. I will also not like you.

These are just common sense, and yet more times than not this is what happens. Please be courteous to the rights and opportunities of your friends and fellow authors.

Okay, I am done. I apologize for this rant, but after today, I really felt this needed to be said. Want to buy books? Come and see us. Want to look at our books and see if maybe you might be interestd in something, come on over. Want to chat and catch up with someone you have not called in a year. Do it on Monday after the event.

I love to meet authors, but not at the expense of sales and my authors’ rights.

Karen Syed…wearing her publisher hat…