New mediums for publishing

[Cindy Fallsen]

Publishing a book can be quite a feat, especially for a first time author. New mediums for publishing books are fascinating. One author (tech related) has published a book using Cloud Hosting. She has done a variety of Multivariate Testing to discover she may have a large potential audience. She plans to give the book away on the Web site, allow people to pay for a down-loadable form of the book, or order a print copy.
She feels that there will be enough interest generated online to generate real sales. What are your thoughts for this sort of model? Will it work or will authors starve?

[Caralyn Davis]

Hi Cindy:

There is an interesting three-part series over at Holt Uncensored about one fiction author's path to self-publishing (and his quest for a traditional publishing contract) that your friend might find interesting. This guy actually made free podcasts of an entire novel to help build his audience.

The more traditional route would be to market the book on her website by giving away short stories, essays, white papers, etc., depending on what type of book it is. That would help the author to brand herself and generate interest in the book, rather than give away the whole book.

However she plans to do it, successful self-publishing seems to require a well-defined marketing plan and extensive marketing savvy on the part of the author.-Caralyn