Customer Reviews

The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days

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So okay, I would have had to put off publishing my latest novel for a year in order to take advantage of Fern Reiss's guide, which is still hot off the press. It would have been worth it. I'd bought the self-publishing "bibles" such as Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual before publishing my latest novel. But I still wish I'd had Reiss's book too.

One great advantage of The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days is that the focus is on how to actually sell your book once it's in print. For first or even second-time independent publishers, like myself, the process of getting a book into print, even with the aid of a professional editor, cover artist and book designer, is so fraught with tsuris (Yiddish for aggravation), that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that once the copies have actually been printed and shipped to you, it's up to you to sell them.

Reiss doesn't go into detail on how to publish in this book -- though she has an updated guide to the publishing process in the works, which doubtless will be equally worth reading. But the fact is, decisions about how to publish a book -- hardcover or paper, price, cover art, and so on -- are inextricably bound up with potential sales. A lot of important details that novice publishers may be completely unaware of -- such as submitting Advance Book Information to R.R. Bowker, in order to get the title into Books in Print -- need to be done before copies of the finished book are sitting in your garage. Reiss tells you what they are and when to do them.

This is the second advantage to this guide. Reiss spells out each step the novice publisher needs to take, in the order in which he or she needs to take it. It would have been a godsend to a disorganized person like myself, as I fretted endlessly over what to do next. And this relatively compact guide is filled with nitty-gritty practical details. For instance, Ingram, the country's largest book wholesaler, allows only 30 characters in its titles field (something Reiss suggests keeping in mind when choosing a title). Who knew? And how I wish I'd read her suggestion to reserve a domain name for a new book at the same time the title is chosen. Maybe that seems obvious, but when my novel, A Departure from the Script, was selected for the book group discussion guide, Reading Group Choices 2002, the only website I had was... a dead giveaway that the book was self-published.

This blunder not only made it obvious that I'd self-published, but made me look amateurish. Any good how-to book on self-publishing will offer tips to avoid such goofs and increase the appearance and actuality of professionalism. But Reiss goes a step beyond most of the others, as implied by her title: The Publishing Game. The emphasis here is on playing the game, on strategies that call for both cleverness and chutzpah. One example: The Library of Congress will only issue a "control number" to identify books put out by presses with less than three titles rather than the "Cataloging in Publication" data that makes it more likely libraries and book dealers will purchase the book. Reiss suggests simply making a list of "forthcoming titles" that may never come out, in order to get the more useful CIP data for the book's copyright page.

The schedule Reiss outlines in her book strikes me as impossibly fast. It took three weeks before I was reasonably satisfied with my web site, not the one day she says it will take to set one up. But having met Fern Reiss at a small publishers' conference, I was impressed enough by her energy and her focus that it seems perfectly likely she could keep to the schedule she proposes. At any rate, as other reader reviews have noted here, the 30 days she suggests do not necessarily have to be consecutive, but fitted around one's day job and other time demands.

Reiss herself offers some caveats to her claim that anyone can make their book a bestseller in 30 days. For one thing, she indicates, there are bestsellers and bestsellers. So a book may have no shot at the New York Times bestseller list, but be a top seller within its niche. And what works for a nonfiction author with valuable information to offer may not necessarily apply to a writer of fiction like myself, or to poets and authors of children's books.

Some readers may have caveats of their own. Not everyone feels comfortable with what Reiss terms "maverick" advice such as the list of "forthcoming titles" mentioned above, or tearing the covers off finished books and replacing them with cheap cardboard bindings for reviewers who will only review from advance galleys. But publishing is a field that is full of "maverick" techniques -- like the tables of "staff picks" near the entrance of most bookstore chains that in actuality are paid promotions by conglomerate publishers with deep pockets and big advertising budgets. Following Reiss's advice still won't mean that the independent publisher is on a level playing field with the conglomerate giants. But it does show the motivated and hardworking novice how to at least get out on the field.

This is one of three books titled "The Publishing Game". Each of the books sets itself apart from the others by the subtitles "Bestseller in 30 Days", "Finding an Agent in 30 Days", and "Publish a Book in 30 Days". Taken together they are a comprehensive set of instructional resources for everything you might want to know to get your book published and marketed.

If you purchase only one title on how to market your book, this is the one you want. Thorough, detailed, well organized, and a step-by-step procedure to marketing your book, it provides all the information that you could possibly need. Unlike similar books there is absolutely nothing left out. After providing a good review I am often asked how to get the book listed on Amazon, how to get it carried by major and minor bookstore chains, and similar advice. Now I know how to easily and quickly answer those questions - pick up a copy of "Bestseller in 30 Days". This is a thorough examination of the book marketing industry that includes many tips and tricks for getting publicity that I have not seen anywhere else.

The areas covered in "Bestseller in 30 Days" include dealing with getting an ISBN, ABI, EAN Barcode, CIP information and a Copyright, creating a discount schedule and terms, planning future titles, getting reviews, generating quotations, selling to chain stores, getting listed in Online Bookstores, selling to Libraries, print media campaigns, broadcast media campaigns, speaking tours, catalog sales, foreign sales, and even syndicating yourself.

An example of how this book differs from similar titles is the tremendous amount of detailed, step-by-step information. This is a cookbook approach on how to make your book into a bestseller. As a result, you can feel confident that if you follow the directions you will get the same results every time. Unlike most other similar books, the author not only instructs you on what to do but also provides all the necessary details to actually complete the task. For example, when Fern Reiss discusses a print media campaign she not only provides valuable instruction but actually provides detailed referral information for her favorite person to write a press release, people who provide fax services to get the review to media contacts, reputable public relations firms, etc. For each one of these she provides full contact information so you can easily move forward with your marketing campaign. The book is well worth the price just for this detailed contact information.

"The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days" receives the highest recommendation I can give. It is clearly the best of the best.

Randy Farnsworth
Author of "A Stand Yet Taken"

This book is pretty good. It has some ideas that I certainly never would have thought of. Even for the things that you are doing already, this book may give you a different perspective and help you change the way your doing them.

However, there are two big caveats that you should know before getting this.

1) The author states right up front that these ideas work great for nonfiction, but that your mileage may vary when it comes to fiction. This is quite true; much of what she presents just doesn't work for the fiction market, which is nearly impossible to break into. This is especially true for people who have published "traditionally" -- meaning a traditional publisher that pays for the cost of publishing and gives you a small 8-10% royalty.

2) Many, if not most, of the ideas will cost you some money to implement. If you planned on spending a few hundred dollars doing some marketing and publicity, then you can stop using this book after just a few days. If you implemented all the ideas, you'd easily be spending a few *thousand* dollars! For example, to get a BookSense endorsement, she suggests you send out 25 - 50 copies of your book (free of charge, of course). Well, if the books are costing you $10 - $15 to buy and ship, then this step alone could cost up to $750. And if you're only making about $0.80 on each book sold then you need to sell an awful lot to make up for that. Of course, if you self publish and your books are much cheaper - and you can sell them for much more - then it may work out.

All said, I'd recommend this book, even for fiction authors. Just keep in mind that it may not be as effective for a traditionally-published work of fiction. This is too bad, because the fiction market is the one that people need the most assistance to get into. If anyone has any ideas, please pass them on!!

Here's one that I'll pass along: because it's so hard to get the New York Times and others to review your book when they receive over 60,000 books/year (really!), try looking for magazines that have a readership that may be interested in your book. Then contact the editor and ask if they do book reviews. This is proving to be much more effective for me.

Everyone's doing it. If you want to succeed in the publishing business, you simply have to take control of your book. Regardless of whether you publish yourself, or get picked up by a large or small publishing house, the bulk of your success will lie with your own efforts. But for a new author, the skills associated with the publishing game are completely different from those which make for a good writer. Unless you've got experience in the publishing industry, the learning curve is a steep one which comes as a shock after the solitary and lengthy effort of writing a book. Fern Reiss has become a household name in teaching authors how to become book sellers, and her three books on the topic are as must reads for anyone looking to turn their manuscript into a marketable book with decent sales figures. What order do they belong in? Well, it is easier to get published if you have an agent, and you need a published book to make a bestseller, so perhaps the ideal order is to read Find an Agent first, then Publish a Book and then Bestseller. Of course you don't need to read these as a set. If you are self-publishing then you probably don't want an agent. And if you already have a published book, you don't need Publish a Book in 30 Days. Each book is fully self-contained and there are a few minor overlaps, but the books do work very well as a set which takes the author through all of those difficult steps that occur once the manuscript is finished. The books follow a similar format which Reiss herself has devised as part of her 30 day method. Each chapter comprises a week, within which every day is set out. In other words, like any good time management consultant, Reiss has "chunked" the process into a set of fairly simple and straightforward steps to follow, some taking only a few minutes, and others taking the best part of a day, but all limited by Reiss's structure. You could, of course, take more than 30 days, or you could take less, but following the plan as Reiss has laid it out, is the easiest way to get from concept to actualisation. The writing is clear, and the structure makes even the most impossible seeming goals seem achievable. Just follow the plan, and well, Bob's your publisher.

The first book in the series tackles that elusive goal of gaining an agent, and perhaps if you do succeed at this one, you won't need to worry about the second one. The book begins, on day one, with determining whether you need an agent at all, and ends with a reminder that you shouldn't give up; that perseverance is the key to success. In between are mini-assignments that lead authors through writing the perfect pitch letter, putting together a book proposal, going to a number of venues, both online and in-person where agents congregate, working out contracts, maintaining the relationship, and a few last ditch ideas. The heart of the book is in week 2, where you pull together the pitch letter, complete with hook, why you chose that agent, target audience, marketing plan, and credentials. This is the most important part of obtaining an agent, since you generally only get about 15 seconds to pitch a book. That 15 second hook/pitch will form the basis of not only your agent pitch, but the agent's editorial pitch, and the editor's pitch to the editorial board, as well as all subsequent marketing material, so it's critical to get it right. Reiss provides a series of useful tips to getting that hook perfect. Of course, it is very possible (even likely) that you will follow Reiss' advice to the letter, and still won't be able to get an agent. After all, as Reiss herself points out, only 5% of books and book proposals are accepted. Reiss says that this is because only 5% of books and book proposals are professional, but I'm not sure I agree. It may be that only 5% of books and book proposals contain commercially compelling work, which isn't the same thing as work that is beautiful, evocative, or even publishable in a general sense. Only that there are often criteria for marketability that exist well beyond an author's control. However, you can control the professionalism of your proposal, and you can also ensure that you get that all important reading. That's what this book is all about.

Publish a Book in 30 Days goes a step further. Accepting the horrible odds in Find An Agent in 30 Days, this book provides you with an alternative. If you can't get an agent, or a publisher, for whatever reason, you can indeed self-publish. In the past 5 years, prices for commercial printing have dropped so dramatically that anyone can put out a professional looking printed book, and POD means that you don't have to even take a chance on potential sales. Just set the book up and sell whatever you can. You keep 100% of the profits (minus any costs of course), and control every aspect of your book. The flip side is, once again, the learning curve. It is also important to remember that if you want a professional book, you need a professional editor, a professional cover, and a professional distributor, and all of these cost money. You can do everything yourself, and produce an e-book for almost nothing, and you can set up the book with a POD press like Lulu.com for nothing as well, but your book will not be comparable to those books that you see in bookshops. And your own name as an author may suffer in the process. Reiss' book once again follows the 30 day structure, and takes you from deciding if self-publishing is the route you want to take on day 1 through to planning your next book on day 30. In between are a series of nicely structured mini-goals which take you through things like developing a business and financial plan, setting up a company, getting ISBNs, setting up discount schedules, creating a website, making progress charts, ordering barcodes, setting up cover art, choosing an editor, sending out galleys, cataloguing, layouts, printing, shipping, and registering the book. The appendix include a sample budget, which should give potential self-publishers an idea of exactly what a professionally set out book costs. Reiss has plenty of experience in this area, and provides an insider's perspective on publishing which will ensure that many issues that new publishers haven't thought of are covered. The self-publishing route is not for the faint hearted, but Reiss' roadmap is so clearly written, and so nicely broken up, that it may open new doors to authors.

Bestseller in 30 Days is applicable to any author, whether agented, self-published or published by a big or small house. Promotion these days rests squarely in the author's hands, and if you can't get your name out there and create a buzz around your book, you just won't sell. This book is designed to bridge that gap between author and audience and uses the same 30 days chunked formula that Reiss' books are known for, breaking up the otherwise almost too exhausting to contemplate process into small, simple, manageable steps. The book was designed to be used pre-publication and contains a number of valuable ideas that you'll need before you sign the contract, such as:

As an author, the most important thing to do is to get a good discount on your books from the publisher. A smart publisher will sell you as many of your books as you want at wholesale prices - because you're going to do your utmost to sell them. If it's not too late, make sure you write this into your contract. (22)

The book opens with a quick check on making sure that you've got all the components needed to get books into the bookstores, and ends, like the previous book, with planning the next book. In between Reiss covers such topics as listing with wholesalers, generating quotations, making up postcards, setting up a website, writing articles for magazines to promote the book, selling to chain stores, obtaining a BookSense endorsement, selling to libraries, getting listed in Amazon and B&N, book clubs, running media publicity campaigns, entering contests, press releases, getting reviews, book fairs, speaking tours, foreign sales, syndication, email newsletters, and a lot more. The simple format almost makes it all seem too pat - as if you just did the thing you need to do on your allotted day and were done, but it does make this great big task seem quite simple. There have been quite a few books written lately on this topic, but some of the ideas in here are unusual and innovative and focus on areas missed by others such as ways of making the most of signing tours by linking your book's release to local news or issues, or writing an essay about your library experience, or an article about your book signing in so that it is published in the local newsletter. No one can promote your book as well as you can, and considering the cost of hiring a publicist, this book is a bargain.

Of course all of the books pre-suppose that you've written a marketable and perfectly written book. For most of us, that is the hardest part! Even if you think you've got one, you may not--your book may just not be up to agent or formal publishing standard, and that is, unfortunately, the limits of Reiss' offering (though there are many books which look at the writing craft from all angles). If your manuscript is up to par, then Reiss' guides will help you get it out in the world, and her almost gimmicky but very effective process is one which will make it as painless as possible. The books are all peppered with anecdotes, examples, and samples from her own books, and her estimates are all based on real life experiences. Although there are times when the overall enthusiasm and infectiousness of Reiss' friendly style may make you feel that some of the suggested actions belie their complexity, she does base her advice on real life experience. There are many books on these topics, but taken together, the unique format, and easy to follow plan make these guides stand-out for demystifying the publishing industry.

Magdalena Ball
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html

The Publishing Game: Bestseller In 30 Days! is a superbly presented, day-by-day, "user friendly" guide written by experienced publisher Fern Reiss for the purpose of aiding the novice publisher in applying a series of promotional and marketing techniques ranging from being featured in national magazines, to non-bookstore sales venues, to the role and uses of publishing industry awards, to print/broadcast publicity campaigns, to author speaking tours, to self-syndication, to the utilization of email newsletters, and more, which would aptly service to increase sales of self-published and small-press published titles. A solid, practical guide offering tips, tricks, and techniques as well as a useful structure by which to undertake the tactics that most other "how-to" books on publishing offer in only broad, general terms rather than specific daily activities. Informed and informative, The Publishing Game is very highly recommended as essential, basic reading, especially for those new to the field of publishing.

It might seem odd for the author of a marketing book for writers to give a five star rating to another book on the same topic. In this case Id' be remiss if I didn't award those five stars. I have found that when people are doing research on how to do anything they invariably buy more than one book, and in the area of book marketing they would do well to buy this book as well as You Can Market Your Book.

Fern Reiss has obviously learned the publishing game from the ground up and is now showing others how to have success in what is a difficult area to break into. Reiss shows the reader how important it is to have a game plan when it comes to marketing a published book whether the book has been traditionally or independently published. She is obviously advocates a structured approach and one that works well. I feature many more actual tips and case studies and the two books complement each other beautifully. From now on when I teach at conferences or consult with authors I will suggest this book as a must read along with my own book.

From the excellent table of contents to the index Bestseller in 30 Days is packed with information every author needs to have. Ms. Reiss has demystified the publishing industry and given the authors a weekly strategy for making their book a best seller. What many authors will find helpful is the "To Do List" type of approach so that each day something significant gets done to promote the book.

Can every book be a best seller? As Reiss explains, best seller means different things to different people. If the book is well conceived and well written, and the author implements the basic marketing strategies outlined in this book, then success is possible. The addresses and Web sites along with actual dollars costs make this book a handy reference tool that will be used beyond the 30 days it takes to make a book a bestseller.

THE PUBLISHING GAME is a wonderful outline for anyone struggling to sell a recently-published book. Fern Reiss's 30-day plan is full of well-conceived ideas that promise to work well if they are followed. For those who self-publish, this book gives advice on everything from how to get your ISBN to how to deal with the big distributors, Ingram and Baker & Taylor.
Reiss advises writers to enter their books in contests. Books with "award-winning author" on the front attract sales. She tells about opportunities to sell serial rights to magazines. Over and over again she points out different avenues to generate more sales.
This book is worth the purchase price if the buyer uses it only for the addresses and Web sites it provides. The author also gives helpful information about her own costs and experiences in promoting one of her books. She urges the reader to get on with planning the next book.
If your book is about to be released, you will find THE PUBLISHING GAME an extremely important addition to your "how to" library. Buy it in time to follow the 30-day plan.
More than anything else, Fern Reiss makes book promotion sound like fun.

The Publishing Game:Bestseller in 30 days is a must for any new writer out there. Unless you are already established in the publishing world, the publishing companies leave most of the marketing, if not all, to the writers. I think most people... including me before I started this venture...are under the illusion that writing a book and getting signed at a publishing house is the end of the work. But it is not. The work has only just begun.

This book uses an easy to follow step-by-step road map for those who cannot afford to just hire a marketing professional. It is a must read for anyone new to the industry wanting to sell some books!

Jackie Wellman

Bestseller in 30 Days and Publish in 30 Days provide the basics, listing many good web resources and a lot of good practical advice from one who's done it successfully. In general, both books read as though they were put together in a bit of a hurry, but I have to admit, using the book as reference as I market my book, Your Chicken is Cooked, I'm finding helpful information at every step. And many of her hints are guerrilla tactics not available elsewhere.
Also, I thought Ms Reiss' advice to embellish one's planned publication list, pretending to be a large publisher to qualify for CIP listing bordered on unethical. Or maybe it's just the natural reaction/peaceful protest of frustrated small publishers tired of receiving discrimination from the Library of Congress, an organization that should be helping them to be heard!

I can't tell you how often I hear desperate authors asking how to make their books sell. Now I have an answer. Read this book, and do as it says.

Even if your book was published by one of the big New York publishers, the chances are that its fate is up to you. So, by all means, work with the publicist assigned to you, but also get this book and take charge of your own destiny.

If you follow all of the tips and leads in this book, and you still haven't made a ton of sales, then you have incredibly bad luck. The method can even, although with more difficulty, be applied to fiction. And, as with the other books in the series (Publish A Book in 30 Days and Find an Agent in 30 Days), the activities are divided into 30 manageable packages, with clear and concise directions.