‘New Trends in Publishing’ – EWealth Report

Alan R. Bechtold has released the latest issue of EWealth Report Volume 3, Issue 5. The featured article is titled “New Trends in Publishing”. [EWealth Report]

Alan Bechtold has released the latest issue of ‘EWealth Report Volume 3, Issue 5’.

New Trends in Publishing

by Alan R. Bechtold

I’ve noticed a new trend in book publishing these days. I’m a big fan of putting together books without writing a word. I teach these methods regularly. This, however, is an extension of a working model that has its pitfalls if you don’t approach it carefully.

It started with the idea of having other people write chapters for your book. This is a great way to quickly put together a book. It’s been done in the publishing world since the printing press was first invented. They call them “collections.”

But, like any other technique for rapid-fire publishing, it can be done right … or wrong.

My hat’s off to Mike Litman, who published his extraordinary “Conversations with Millionaires” where he interviewed successful marketers and business owners and revealed their secrets in his best-selling book. Mike did it right. It paid off tremendously for him.

Joe Vitale, likewise, has mastered the art of getting other people to contribute to his books and turning them into quality products. I’ve had the pleasure of participating in a couple of these and I’ve seen the results. After reading the book, clients call me and they want to work with me and buy my products.

Shawn Casey published “Desperate For Money” following this trend. He asked each contributor to the book to describe how, with just a computer and Internet connection and no list, to generate $1,000 in 48 hours or less. I contributed to this book and the results were tremendous for me.

So – it’s a great way to quickly put together a book. But – the contributors must provide content that’s of reasonable quality and make it tied to the overall theme of the book. The compiler of the book must also EDIT the contributions carefully, so everything flows neatly and seamlessly.

Want to publish a book with very little writing of your own? Offer guest experts a chapter each. Add just an intro to each section. Edit it all carefully and you can do this in a very short while very easily.

Just avoid putting together a book of “experts tell all” or “millionaires reveal their secrets.” It’s been done dozens of times and the appeal is waning among readers. Instead, pick a theme like Shawn did or like Joe does. Ask all your contributors to stick to the theme and require it to include their chapters and you’ll easily create something unique and meaningful that people will buy.

But – now the trend has taken a different approach. Today, there are several books being announced or already published where the contributing authors are paying to have a chapter by them included.

I think Dan Kennedy started this when he published his “Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs.” This book features Dan’s excellent wisdom – but only for the first half of the book. The last half of the book is chapter after chapter, each written by a guest contributor, most of whom are known Kennedy students and stage presenters.

According to information I received, Dan charged each of these contributors to get a chapter in his book. He literally made money from his book before it was ever published.

Bully for Dan – but the problem was some of the chapters didn’t seem to fit the overall theme as well as they should. Maybe I’m just being over-critical. It was still an EXCELLENT book – but I found myself reading Dan’s first half and skipping over most of the contributions because they didn’t seem to add a whole lot to the overall theme.

Still, I’m certain this idea of making money up-front from a book that hasn’t even seen print yet caught the attention of a number of other publishers and authors. This is why so many are now offering people a chance to buy a chapter in their upcoming books.

I’m NOT saying there is anything wrong with putting together a book made up of chapters contributed by authors who paid to be included. It does feel a bit like vanity publishing to me. And it would appear that many of the authors who are participating don’t realize they could publish an entire book using some of the more popular print-on-demand services available online today for less than they are being asked to pay for a single chapter.

Still, under the right circumstances, it can be a workable model. I believe it’s better to be on the PUBLISHING end of the model than the contributor end – but that’s just my opinion. I’m ALWAYS in favor of being the publisher rather than the author. That’s what I teach my clients constantly.

But, many of these folks are making some horrendous mistakes with this approach. So much so I can’t possibly recommend you jump into a situation where you pay to be included in a book without first considering all the options and carefully investigating the book you’re buying into.

It’s all in how the offer is put together and executed.

As a publisher, you can screw this up mightily by selling chapters of your book to just anyone, worrying only about how many chapters you’re selling. This won’t work.

Asking people to “partner” with you on your book, guaranteeing that they will buy or sell X copies for you when it launches in return for including their chapter in the book can work very well. IF those chapters are still edited carefully, making certain they fit the overall style and theme of the book, the sales numbers (and, hence, the exposure for those who participate) can be excellent following this approach.

I bring this issue up because I’ve had numerous clients come to me asking if it would be a good deal for them to buy a chapter in this or that book currently being promoted. Most of the time, I have to point out that the book isn’t really in their niche or, if it is, that the exposure they will receive, as a result of their participation, has little chance of ever exceeding the fee they’ll pay to get into the book.

I’ve also received these offers recently. I’ve turned them all down because I already have my own book coming out from a major New York publisher in May. The ONLY one I was tempted to participate in is being put together by Paulie Sabol and Ben Mack under the brand name of Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerilla Marketing.

Why did I consider participation in this one? Because they’re building inclusion in the book into a commitment by each contributor to sell or BUY 1,000 books on launch day.

This added tremendously to the financial commitment required by each contributing author. But, I believe, it will also, as a result of that commitment, make the book a SURE-FIRE best-seller when it’s released early next year.

The ONLY reason I decided not to participate was, again, I have my own book coming out about the time I would need to be pre-selling their book in a HUGE way, to make my commitment. Instead, I need to concentrate all of my efforts at that time to building the promotion and sales for my own book.

But – these offers to have a chapter in an upcoming “best-seller” for just a couple or even for a few thousdand dollars are hitting all over the place. I’m sure you must be wondering to yourself – are they worthwhile?

The answer is … they COULD be.

First – if you’re a contributor to a book, whether you paid to get in it or not, make your contribution the very best you can. Study the outline of what the book is about and make certain your subject matter fits the overall goal of the book like a glove. Provide value with what you contribute. Don’t pitch – deliver real content. Then GUIDE the reader to ways they can get more from you, within the confines of your agreement with the person compiling the book.

Second – don’t make the same mistake I’ve seen others make and refer to your “upcoming new book” in marketing materials or presentations. Just because you have a CHAPTER in the book, it’s still not YOUR book. More appropriate: tell people to watch for your unique, powerful contribution to the upcoming hit book.

Third – don’t expect the book to automatically make you rich. Especially if you’ve purchased a chapter, treat it like ADVERTISING. I don’t mean you should WRITE your chapter like an ad – write your chapter to introduce your knowledge and skillset to the world. Then tell people how to reach you. But, your expense to participate will most likely not be recouped immediately. It’s EXPOSURE. Over time, with enough distribution, the book will bring you more than enough exposure to pay your expense back. Just don’t put money into it that you can’t afford to live without for a while and you’ll be fine.

Fourth – seek out only books that involve a GROUP EFFORT by all the contributors AND the compiler of the book to sell and/or give away copies like crazy. Ask about the distribution plan (the book I mentioned from Paulie Sabol and Ben Mack is an excellent example of a distribution plan that virtually guarantees bestseller status and more exposure for you). YOU give away or sell copies of the book like crazy. Add loads of bonuses if people buy the book from you rather than anyone else. Then work with all the OTHER contributors to swap ideas for selling all the books you all can together. Hold teleseminars. Do a giant giveaway event. This is one case where a rising tide definitely floats ALL boats.

Fifth – if you can write well enough to contribute a chapter to a book, why not write an ENTIRE book? Considering how easy it is today to get ANY book into print and on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online, there isn’t any reason not to publish your own book. Then you can tell people to watch for your upcoming book and MEAN it.

If you’re interested in finding out how to do this quickly and without writing anything unless you want to, check out www.TheFranklinGuild.com. This is your personal invitation to consider joining the premier information publishing and marketing community. CAUTION: The three-month trial offer is irresistable!

My gift to you this week is the gift of making a real difference. I’m inviting you to help me rattle some cages, make some serious noise, participate in an experience that will ensure the future validity of online marketing.

If you’ve ever read this newsletter before, you’ve heard me ranting about the problems associated with deliverability of email these days. I’ve also told you about my plans to launch the Great Email Experiment. If you’re new, just know that this has long been a burning issue I’ve covered several different ways here.

The problem is that email is no longer the reliable communications tool it once was. And email is vital to the ability of average people to set up a business and generate an income online.

I’m conducting the experiment so we can all band together and prove once and for all that there is no excuse for the current diliverability rate of E-mail. Togeher, we’ll prove there is no reason why Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Email Service Providers (ESPs) can’t lock out most spam and still deliver every email you expect to receive and want to receive without question.

The experiment itself runs just two weeks. All you have to do is whitelist an E-mail address and watch for delivery of six emails we’ll send you. If you receive all six, do nothing. If you miss any, visit an online form and enter the date and your ISP or ESP. That’s it.

We’ll also show without question exactly which ISPs and ESPs are best or worst for email reliability BOTH ways, solid spam filtering and superb near-flawless deliveribility of whitelisted email.

And I’m inviting you to participate – as an AFFILIATE!

Yes – there are products to be offered during this promotion – but only at the END. And you can supply a gift that will be given away during the experiment itself, collecting the names and email addresses of the willing participants who choose to accept your gift.

It’s truly a win/win for everyone involved. You can help me change email for the better. You can earn some commissions. And you can build a list.

It simply doesn’t get any better than this.

Click Here To Get All the Details and Sign Up as an Affiliate in the Great Email Experiment.

So far, I’ve only made this offer to my closest associates in the business. You’re getting the chance to participate, too, because you read this newsletter. If you have a list of even 50 people you can tell about this, get involved.

I’ll see you next week!

Alan R. Bechtold
President/CEO
BBS Press Service, Inc.

‘EWealth Report’

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Alan Bechtold for granting permission to reprint the latest ‘EWealth Report’..