beginners projects

Books don't generally have ads in them.

Ask yourself what's in it for the people who will be providing the text and photographs. What are they getting out of it? That's what you need to know to convince them to participate. Why wouldn't they just do it themselves? What value are you adding to the project?

It is possible to publish your own books for a niche market, but generally the person creating the project is someone with expertise in the field. You've identified a niche -- the unique gardening environment -- but I don't know if that's enough. It would be different if, say, you routinely spoke to garden clubs about how to turn the local environment to the gardener's advantage, and then you could write the book and sell it at your speaking engagements. But you don't have what's known as a "platform" (in both the metaphorical and physical senses).

Perhaps a better project for you to consider is something you DO have expertise in, and can write yourself, and do it on a smaller, pamphlet-size scale to see how it goes w/o investing too much money.

JD

koolin said:

Hi, I am a newbie, seeking for advice:. . . as well as adds . . .

Click to expand...

Ads? Advertising?

It seems to me that you are proposing some rather complicated projects, not at all suited to a beginner.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Study one or both of the top books on self-publishing (Dan Poynter's or Tom & Marilyn Ross's).

2. Spend some time with www.score.org to explore how business works. Consult a local SCORE office for guidance. (SCORE is Senior Corps of Retired Executives, a nonprofit organization that provides information and consultation to entrepreneurs). Likewise, attend local Chamber of Commerce meetings to familiarize yourself with local business. At some point you will need a business license and the rest that goes with that, so you have a lot to learn.

3. Look for a local independent/self-publishers group. Attend (or join) and learn from those with experience.

4. Do not proceed until you have a clear idea of how you would market your products. And for that matter, do not proceed until you have a clear understanding of the legal and financial implications. You will probably need to talk with an attorney and an accountant to even know what are the questions you should be asking in those areas.

5. Work on your spelling.

I'd concur with JanDarby's suggestion to start smaller.

Good luck.

--Ken

I think you should drop the idea of ads until you know what kind of circulation you can deliver. When that is not reliably known the rate you could charge is pretty low and it does detract from appearance.

If the book is not obviously squeezing every possible profit in your direction people will give you the info you need more freely. So for the first effort why not just getting the info, write the book and take it from there?

If that does well you will be better established and have a basis for montising better latter.

p.s. for local endeavours I suggest giving a good proportion of profits to a relevant worthy cause, you'll sell a lot more copies and get a pile of free publicity.

Augh! koolin, damn yer eyes, I was just about to log off & go to bed, but now...

The advice you've gotten thus far is off-base, though well-intentioned. Yes, you can publish the sort of reference you're describing. It's done all the time. I've got 'em on my shelf for various publishers' groups & arts organisations. Some have paid adspace, some are just listings &/or articles.

I don't agree, though, that it's a "beginner project." Well, yes, it's done all the time by hackers, & since their clients &/or advertisers are often utterly clueless, everyone feels they got a decent deal.

Example: a few years back, someone tried to sell me a listing in an annual Minneapolis music guide. I asked for a copy of the one from the previous year, which they reluctantly tracked down & provided. I broke into laughter because all the companies & bands & bars that began with "The" were listed -- could you guess? -- under the "T" entries. Oh, yeh, & solo acts were alphabetised by first name. Hey, mistakes happen... except the salesguy didn't see what was wrong with it, & would only make a vague promise to "look into it." Naturally, I declined.

This is more a business project than one of self-pubbing. You need a business plan, you need to commit to a certain number of copies, you need to spell out the where & how & when of their distribution, whether (& why) you'll run off more copies, whether (& when) you'll restock outlets, & how you'll be able to provide some sort of validation for readers reached (not a problem if, say, you're going through every Chamber of Commerce withn 50 miles). You need to determine if you're selling straight adspace, or preorder of a certain number of copies (& how much you want up-front, & how the balance will be paid, & so do you need to have a written contract?), or some combination of the two.

Oddly, it's very simple to (a) pull numbers out of the air, & (b) get your advertisers to pay enough in deposits that your costs are covered & the rest is all profit to you -- if you can get your printer to extend you 30 days, all the better. However, you need to commit, you need to deliver, & you need to figure how to minimise your own risk in getting stuck.

You could do worse than reading THIS BOOK before thinking any further.