Book publishing tips, the editorial process, and more on Let’s Talk About Books

Did you miss Let’s Talk About Books today? I addressed:

–getting over the perfectionism that keeps you futzing endlessly, and why this will trip you up

–why you should NOT try to get instant feedback on what you’ve written

–the stages of book production in a traditional publisher: How many changes can you make before “it’s a wrap”?

–using YouTube in your publicity efforts and to sell yourself to TV producers

–why you don’t have to be a celebrity or have a huge platform to sell a book these days

And more!

You can listen to the archive at LET’S TALK ABOUT BOOKS on Blogtalk Radio at any time; it runs 30 min.

Economics of Book Publishing and eBook Publishing

How much does it cost to create a book? A New York Times article spells it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/business/media/01ebooks.html?em

However, I quibble with the estimates of .78 per eBook and 1.00 for traditional book for marketing (in theory, you have to send out physical copies of the book for the latter which runs up the price). What are publishers getting for that money? Are they merely setting a budget and doing what they’ve always done, try to get magazines and newspapers (rapidly dwindling media) and Oprah (soon to move to cable and perhaps not even have her own show) to do the marketing for them?

Also, let’s talk overhead. New York book publishers have certainly cut back on lunches (as any author will tell you, these days you’re lucky if your editor invites you to the house cafeteria–ah, when Michael’s was the norm!), freebie books going out, and the like. But they’re also paying rents and taxes in NEW YORK CITY, a very expensive place. The more virtual it all gets–the fewer book designers, the fewer editors with office space in midtown–the more it’s hard for publishers to justify their overhead and cry poor.