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Page de couverture de 174: How To Use BookBaby To Grow Your Print and Digital Book Sales with Steven Spatz

174: How To Use BookBaby To Grow Your Print and Digital Book Sales with Steven Spatz

174: How To Use BookBaby To Grow Your Print and Digital Book Sales with Steven Spatz

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 Steven Spatz is a writer, marketer, and president of BookBaby, a distributor of ebooks and print books. He started his writing career at age 13 and worked for several major newspapers after graduating from university. Steven got a job as a sportswriter when he was 13. His journalistic heroes were Walter Cronkite and Howard Cosell. He did that for a little while and then went back to the family business, where he learned direct marketing. Steven’s family had a food catalog they grew to be one of the largest in the United States. Through that experience, he really learned about direct marketing, and bringing the right products and services to the right people at the right time. That’s what Steven has done with most of his career. He’s worked for Mattel and Hasbro Collectibles. About 15 years ago, Steven became interested in the music business. His parent company, CDBaby, still manufactures custom-made CDs and DVDs. Yes, there’s still a market for that! They also work in digital music. BookBaby started seven years ago. BookBaby’s mission is to help authors get their work out into the marketplace. The BookBaby motto is “We make the little guy look big.” Steven is using his talent for writing and his knowledge of direct marketing to help indie authors be successful in the marketplace. In this interview, we talked about the factors every indie author needs to consider, how BookBaby can help you achieve your goals, how the marketplace has changed in the last eight years, and the benefits of using BookBaby to help launch you onto the world stage. Starting Up BookBaby BookBaby grew out of CDBaby, which still sends a lot of music to iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. Through these existing partnership, Steven had a great opportunity: when Apple created the iPad, they were looking for companies that could make ebooks. They knew CDBaby already created music files for them, so Apple asked if they could make ebooks. The people at CDBaby had to quickly learn how to make ebook files that would work on the iPad. Since then, the business has exploded. They added ebook distribution to Amazon, and now they’re in 59 other digital retail stores around the world. BookBaby quickly realized that if authors were going to succeed, they would need to give their readers the book in the format the reader wanted. That’s why they started offering print distribution. They began by partnering with a printer they knew. Two years ago, they started printing some books in house as a test, and now they print all their books in house. At this point, BookBaby is a one-stop shop for everything an indie author needs. They provide: EditingEbook productionCover designBook formattingPrint distributionElectronic distribution “Our goal has been to help authors not have to make many decisions. Authors need to spend time writing, and then hand over all the details about their books to experts. You used to have to go to many different places to get all of the services authors really need; now you can just come to BookBaby.” – Steven Spatz Five Things You Need to Consider as an Indie Author BookBaby offers a simple five-step guide to self-publishing. There are five decisions you need to make before you publish your book. 1. You have to decide the book is finished. You have to decide that you’re happy with your finished product, and that the book is the best you can make it right now. Understand that even though your book is as good as you can make it, it’s not going to be perfect. No book is perfect. You have to decide when it’s time to let go. Steven still talks to authors every month who have been working on their books for years. It’s important to do the best job you can with your book, and then get it out there. 2. You have to have your book edited. BookBaby runs an ad in industry magazines that says, “The only page that doesn’t need editing is blank.” It’s true. Even the best authors need a good editor. You put yourself at a real disadvantage if you don’t have a professional editor. (Hint: a pro editor does not mean your English teacher, or your mother-in-law who thinks she knows a few things about commas and semicolons.) 3. You have to decide what kind of physical product you’re going to introduce to your readers. Yes, books are a product—and that means you have to decide what formats and products matter to you and your readers. Are you going to produce an ebook?Are you going to produce only an ebook?Do you need help formatting the book?Are you going to format the ebook yourself or do you want help doing that?Are you going to produce printed books as well?What size and color will your book be?What is the trim size of the book going to be? 4. You have to decide what kind of distribution you need. Your book needs to get into readers’ hands—and that involves some knowledge of where they shop, and what benefits you can gain from being in different marketplaces. Are you happy just putting your book on ...
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