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Francine Craft

Francine Craft


Last Updated: 11/18/2009

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State: Washington DC
Country: US
Sunday, August 30, 2009 

Current mood:  animated
Category: Blogging
Last week I wrote about marketing and got excellent, but not much feedback.  Make no mistake about it, if you don't get your marketing ducks in a row, you're duck soup.



Let's say your book is written - and I hope you've taken the time and put forth the effort to make it the best you can do.  You see that it's typed in first-rate format, properly edited by the best you can afford, then on to a small self-publishing company that will allow you to do much of the basic work beyond writing.  Lulu is a good bet for this and you'll find others on Google.



The larger self-publishing companies charge more and do far more toward helping you realize a superior product.  I chose Wheatmark, Inc., located in Tucson, AZ.  When I contacted them, they responded immediately, sending along a homey brochure that fully outlined what they had to offer.  I e-mailed them with questions I neeeded answered and they quickly responded in each case over about a month. Then I got their book on marketing - Marketecture that is a remarkable course in marketing.  And I was hooked.  I'm still working with them and cannot recommend them too highly.  Their link is www.wheatmark.com/refer.cfm.



Others you may be more familiar with such as Xlibris, very widely advertised, BookSurge, Amazon's self-publishing arm, and others you'll find on Google.  As I said last week.  Ask for references and check those references.  Call your Better Business Bureau.



No one of these places is cheap, but you'll likely get what you pay for in this case.  A shoddy, poorly designed book isn't going to sell well, so don't go that way.



Except for the very smallest and cheapest ones, these companies will also help you with publicity, get your copyrights, your ISBN's and do a number of the worrisome things that take you away from writing.



And whatever you do, please don't forget to check out at your local library or buy John Kremer's 1001 Ways To Market Your Book and Steve Weber's Plug Your Book.  There are things in both you wouldn't think of in a million years! Both are available from Amazon.


Happy writing - happy self-publishing - happy marketing!

Love and blessings,

Francine

COME BLOG WITH ME!  THE BEST IS YET TO BE!
05:35 PM
 
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HERSCHEL & MARIO
Herschel Holtzclaw Lee

 
Keep on keeping on.  You will be the wind beneath many young writer who need to know where to get their first "flight" started.

 
Posted by HERSCHEL & MARIO on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 03:48 PM
[Reply to this] 
Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Thanks Babes.  I certainly hope so.  There is nothing more gratifying than helping someone else get a hand ahead.  I really appreciate the boost.

Best,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 03:53 PM
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Saigon
Saigon Morningstar

 
I'm with LULU and they are relatively easy to use.   I'm also with CreativeSpace, but their interactive tools take some getting use too, especially if you are technically challenged.   But free is free.  There is also Wordclay which appears even more basic than the other two mentioned above.   I've tried it, but didn't like the results.

 
Posted by Saigon on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 05:09 PM
[Reply to this] 
Saigon
Saigon Morningstar

 
I'm with LULU right now and pretty content with their ease of use.  I've also tried CreateSpace, which has a larger learning curve for the technically challenged.  And there's Wordclay which appears to be the basic of all the basics.   All free to use but then charge for additional marketing help.

 
Posted by Saigon on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 05:09 PM
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Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Thanks so much, Saigon.  I posted twice because I want others to see this.  I'm technically challenged and really want too much done for me, but oh, I'm changing.  The places that charge give you much better copy, but some of their prices do go to the sky.  You can also pay a lot and get little, so beware!  There are complaints about all of them, but some are better than others.  Best of luck in your writing, self-publishing and marketing.

Best,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 05:13 PM
[Reply to this] 
LaShaunda
LaShaunda Hoffman

 
Hi Francine,

We had some great panel discussions about marketing and self publishing during the online conference here are the links:

http://sormag.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-five-self-publishing.html

http://sormag.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-six-business-of-writing.html

http://sormag.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-seven-promotion.html
 
Posted by LaShaunda on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 08:36 PM
[Reply to this] 
Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Hi LaShaunda,

Thank you so much for those links.  I certainly meant to watch, but was and am working a bit hurriedly to get a manuscript ready for self-publishing company.  Your placing the info means that a great many people can see it.  I get a lot of  hits, just not enough write-ins.  My best always to SorMag.  I sent sympathy re: your mom and I hope you got it in the crush.

Best always,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Monday, August 31, 2009 - 08:40 PM
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V.J. Gotastory
V.J. Gotastory

 
THANKS... KEEP KICKING KNOWLEDGE... CAUSE I'M LISTENING!
 
Posted by V.J. Gotastory on Tuesday, September 01, 2009 - 05:20 PM
[Reply to this] 
Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
And I certainly do thank you for listening.  I'm still laughing at myself.  When I saw your "last name," I thought - what a strange surname.  Belatedly I realized it's got-a-story.  Very clever!

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Tuesday, September 01, 2009 - 05:23 PM
[Reply to this] 
BuiLDING A dYNAsty 1 BrICK @ A tImE

 
Thank you all these blogs were great information on self-publishing. Also offer some inspiration to new writers. I will take all this into consideration when publishing my book.
 
Posted by BuiLDING A dYNAsty 1 BrICK @ A tImE on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 05:32 PM
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Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Thank you.  I enjoy writing info, because I enjoy reading info and none of it more than more blog readers.  You know where it's coming from.  Please don't miss this week when I give you the name of an excellent FREE book on marketing, and let me say, you can't pay and get better advice.

Best,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 05:37 PM
[Reply to this] 
ScribeJive - Bringing Pages to Life!

 
Give us a couple weeks! We will help you set the self-publishing world free!!  :) I love these blogs you have been writing!
Brett

 
Posted by ScribeJive - Bringing Pages to Life! on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 05:32 PM
[Reply to this] 
Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Thank you so much.  Please don't miss this Sunday's blog about a FREE book on marketing.  They hardly come better.

Best,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 05:38 PM
[Reply to this] 
Shani Greene-Dowdell
Shani Greene-Dowdell

 
Looking forward to it!

 
Posted by Shani Greene-Dowdell on Saturday, September 05, 2009 - 09:21 AM
[Reply to this] 
Francine Craft
Francine Craft

 
Hi Shani - and thank you so much for bringing up the negatives, as well as the positives.  You'll note that your really pithy comment didn't go thru.  I can't imagine why, but I'll mention it on my blog tomorrow.  Stay tuned.  We need this kind of feedback.

Best,

Francine
 
Posted by Francine Craft on Saturday, September 05, 2009 - 09:24 AM
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