Working the Numbers

Well, been doing a little calculating. Looking at how many books I'm going to have to sell to make money. On the bright side, I'm confident they will sell at the new lower price. $39.95 as opposed to the original price of $79.95, which was then raised to $93.95. I wonder if they really meant to take my advice and lower it to $39, but that somebody typed it wrong and it came out to $93?

To sell them, Amazon is a must and probably the primary channel, at least to start. The thing with them is that they take a hefty cut, 55% discount off the List Price. Sure they've got all the operations and the overhead that goes with it, but that's pretty steep. But besides Amazon, what else to do? That's a big question.

There are wholesalers and distributors, and there are the bookstore buyers. Some bookstores only buy from the largest wholesalers, and if you're not listed by those wholesalers you won't get in those bookstores. Some distributors supply the large wholesalers. It's all a bit convoluted. Especially if you're a small publisher or self-publisher.

Bookstores only want books that sell. That makes sense. So the wholesalers and distributors only want books that sell. That makes sense too. Large publisher's books are, on a whole, more likely to sell because 1) they have bigger marketing budgets, and 2) they go through a very rigorous vetting and production process meaning that the quality of the final book is likely to be very high.

But, with the proliferation of small publishers and self-published books there are plenty of distributors willing to service them. But here's where the decisions come in, many distributors want exclusive rights to distribute your book(s). That has advantages and disadvantages, so you have to decide. I won't go into that right now, but I'm at the decision making point right now.

Stay tuned.









The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit





Golden Ox Publishing

Some Days

Some days just aren't as productive as others.

Did I mention that this new publishing venture is on top of my regular work? So, regular work, writing the new book, running, then the new publishing biz. So if I don't get as much done on any particular day it's not a surprise. Did a few things, but nothing worth mentioning.

Progress

Well, got a little bit done. Started the Amazon setup process. It's pretty straightforward, just takes time. With the book already there I'm not sure of the next step, but either way it takes them a day or two to process what I've done so far.

Got a little bit of writing done, but I'm not moving nearly fast enough. I write slow to begin with (I run slow too, I wonder if there's a theme here) and I keep getting interrupted. I have to write my articles for the Vietnam Supply Chain magazine, which eats into my time. But that actually works out pretty well because I use a lot of what I write in those articles in the book. It changes and expands for the book, but the basic ideas start there. Well not actually start there, the ideas usually start from what I'm writing or will be writing in the book, and they come out in a quick magazine format article before circling around back into the book. Something like that. Still, need to focus on the writing. Focus, focus.

But late now, so time for bed and recharging so I can write and work tomorrow.

Work, Work, Work

It's Sunday. Fired up the computer. Now where to start? Here's some of the things I have to do or think about:

I have to work on and finish the new book. That should be the number one priority, as it's been in progress way too long. I should have finished it by now. Right now I'm in the middle of a major overhaul. Not so much the content, but the structure. It just wasn't quite right before. But I got some great feedback from the writer's group I meet with, and when I put together a presentation based on the book I realized it didn't flow right. So, write.

I have to register and get everything set up on Amazon. The book already has a page there, but I have to more or less "transfer" it or take it over. Everything is there on the page, but they don't have any inventory and the price is still the original publisher's price.

I did update my consulting company website, the page where I show my book. That wasn't the top priority, but it was pretty quick and it needed to be done.

The inventory of books that I bought will be arriving any day now. What to do with them? By me estimate it should be about 25 cases. And heavy. I've got room at my place, but do I really want them there? Not really, but do I want to pay for a storage unit? Not really, but seeing as this is a startup operation, cash flow is a concern. Might be a good reason to do more purging of junk to free up some room.

Start planning the second printing of the book. I believe the book will sell at my new price, so I have to start planning ahead. Do I print it as-is, or do I "update"? As-is would be easier, I've got all the printer files, but what do I need to change since the original publisher reverted the rights back to me? I need to find out. But I'm more inclined to make some minor changes and publish it under Golden Ox Publishing. I'm planning on re-writing it (at some point) to make it appealing to a wider audience, but that's still down the road.

I'm planning on, or at least seriously exploring, publishing it in other countries and other languages. I've sent a copy to my magazine publisher in Vietnam and we've talked about the possibility of publishing it there. I'm also thinking about Korea and China, and am thinking about a Spanish edition for the U.S. market. There is already a Russian edition, but I think that publisher went out of business. France, Germany, and South Africa are possibilities. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know.

I have to look into shipping options and bone-up on the costs and advantages and disadvantages of each (U.S. Postal, FedEx, and UPS). It's not something I do every day, so another thing on my list.

Advertising and marketing. Hmmm hmmm... Got to do it, but what's the best bang for the buck with this book? My first thought is the APICS magazine. I'm guessing their ad rates are pretty much standard for the industry and reach, but it seems a bit high to me. Of course, that's probably just because I'm cheap. I'm going to contact some APICS chapters, the larger ones, and inquire about paid advertising in their monthly electronic newsletters. Other organization's magazines are possibilities too, especially ASQ and IIE, as they published good reviews when the book first came out. Which means that it's probably the right market/audience.

Well, there's more, but I've got to get working on some of these items, especially the writing. In between all this I have to write my articles for the Vietnamese magazine.

Year of the Ox

It's 2010 and it's the start of something new. It's the start of Golden Ox Publishing. I thought I'd try what many other blogger's have done before me and chronicle the start of this new venture. Where to start?

I've started a book publishing company - Golden Ox Publishing. I started it to publish my upcoming book, Deliver On Your Promises - Success Through Business Operations Excellence. I started it because I wasn't entirely happy with the publisher of my first book (The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit), a large, international publishing company. Yes, they were very good at some things, basically all the things involved with book production, but when it came to marketing and selling they fell woefully short. It's a good looking book, I have to say, but it was overpriced from the beginning and didn't sell well. Also, I learned one of the big secrets of publishing with the big companies. You, the author, is primarily responsible for marketing. Although they have all the knowledge and resources for marketing books, they are mostly reserved for the best sellers. As an unknown author in a niche subject, you get pretty much nil. Not completely, but it sure felt that way.

I kept telling my contacts at the publisher that the book was overpriced. I wrote it for a specific market, which I know pretty well, Small Manufacturing companies and the owners, managers, and others who work there. Priced at $79.95 originally, they were not going to sell in large quantities to this market. So totally ignoring my requests to lower the price, they actually raised it, to $93+. Can you believe that? I couldn't. I tried and tried to get them to lower the price, but to no avail, and sales were going nowhere. That meant that not only were the books not getting into the hands of the people who can really use it, I was not getting any royalty payments. I know the book is good, and useful, because I have gotten nothing but great feedback and reviews. The book had very positive reviews in three trade magazines; APICS - The Association for Operations Management, ASQ - The American Society for Quality, and IIE - The Institute for Industrial Engineers, who apparently have changed their name recently (I'll try to find copies and/or links and put them up on my website). And the feedback I've gotten from people who bought and read the book has been great.

Since I was getting nowhere with the publisher, I asked them if I could buy the rights back to the book and maybe the remaining inventory. Being a large buerachracy, there was a lot of back and forth with questions and offers and counteroffers, but I finally got it. I obtained the rights to the book (print version, not electronic) and bought all the remaining inventory. Now the fun begins.

I was planning on starting the publishing company to publish my next book, but it's starting now with my first book. I have the rights and I received the first couple of boxes of inventory. Now I have to market and sell and plan on what to do next. That's what this new thread of this blog will be all about. I'll lay out my plans and keep you up to date with my progress. Please feel free to let me know what you think. This is going to be what they call "a learning experience." And, of course, if you want to buy a copy just let me know (but as for now please check Amazon first). That will be the subject of another post...

Oh, and I will be lowering the price to a more appropriate and reasonable $39.95.

Writing

I've been writing lately. My next book is close to completion. Not as close as it should be, but I'm trying to get it finished up as soon as possible. I was doing pretty good with the writing, but then I had a few distractions. I'm getting back at it now, but it can be a struggle at times. The working title is Compete - and Win! Your Guide to Business Operations Excellence. That might change, but I like it. I think it conveys the content pretty well too. Its about how to achieve a level of excellence in the business operations areas of your organization so that you can effectively compete in today's global marketplace.

I also just posted another new article on my website and on EzineArticles.com. If anybody wants to pay me to write articles like this, please let me know, 'cause for now it's just for ego. The current article is titled How To Work With A Consultant. Useful tips for anyone hiring or working with a consultant, in any area of your organization.