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GREEN HILL SELF PUBLISHING LOGOTYPE
Have you got the book hierarchy blues?

Have you got the book hierarchy blues?

Sitting in our office today I hear our gun publications strategist and our leading book designer in what is a routine Green Hill discussion.

STRATEGIST – “Do we need to talk about the book hierarchy?”

DESIGNER – “Yes, there’s a problem.”

STRATEGIST – “We need to advise the author about the issues. It won’t work in print will it?”

DESIGNER – “No. His editor seems a little inexperienced.”

Are the strategist and designer trying to make life difficult for the author and his editor? No, they are trying to produce a winning book. 

Most first time authors are unaware of the complexities of making a winning book. The issue of hierarchy is all about how information is structured so that the reader has the best chance of absorbing and understanding the information.

Organisational chartThe chart at right shows how a business might be organised – how staff relate to each other and how the human resources are organised. Written information can be organised in the same manner. This is often expressed in a book Contents.

Edward Stratton-Smith's Complext hierarchy for his excellent book Traffic Offences

The Contents page – Edward Stratton-Smith’s complex hierarchy for his excellent book Traffic Offences.

But hierarchy usually runs deeper than just the chapters shown on a Contents page.

There can headings, subheadings, lists/bullet points, and breakouts/text in boxes and margins. A big issue is how ‘deep’ the information is organised and how ‘wide’. Often an author structures the information too deep, so deep the reader forgets what the context of the information being presented is, what the focus of the chapter is, and/or what the author’s lesson or argument is. Confusion is the result. An experienced editor will know what to do.

When book hierarchy is appropriate, good book design will follow.

 

Naming your book.

Naming your book.

What’s in a book name?

People judge a book by its cover and that includes the book’s title. A good name will be highly influential in helping your book succeed.

Its easy to compare a book cover to advertising. It certainly is critical to your book’s success. If the cover (including the book title) isn’t right then readership will suffer.

Advertising headlines anre a little like book titles.A book title is a little like an advertisement headline, or a sign.

What’s wrong  with this sign? Is the word “Koala” a proper noun/brand name or a common noun? The rendering in all-capitals makes it even more confusing. No wonder the Mexican Shop has gone out of business. Not only aren’t there many Mexicans in Australia but the thought of cooking those cute Koalas in a specialised oven is repulsive to 99.9% of Australia’s population. I’ve taken this to the extreme, but I’m sure most will get my point.

Authors need to think their book titles through.

Some simple suggestions include:

  • Simplicity /brevity (you can have a one word title or just the name of the main protagonist) e.g. Wilf
  • Use literary devices like alliteration e.g. The Good Food Cook Book or use  double entendre (but be careful with this device because for some a double entendre is hard to decode)
  • Involving – your can involve the reader by asking a question e.g. Can you fly?
  • Solving a problem e.g. How to fix a credit card problem
  • Evocative – not telling the whole story but evoking a feeling, emotion or  generating intrigue e.g. Smoking Gun
The economics of selling your book

The economics of selling your book

It’s the dream for most authors to profit from the sales of their book.

Choosing the self-publishing route may make this seem like a daunting task, but through proper self-marketing and passion for your book it can be achieved.

Self-published authors take control of their sales and can sell their own books themselves. This is called self-selling. If you self-sell, you get the most profit from the sales of your books as you cut out the retailer’s margin. You can self-sell through avenues such as author websites, your personal business, on social media marketplaces, or through author events like launches and readings. Self-published authors can also easily sell through bookstores—both online and brick-and-mortar—by enabling their books for online distribution and pitching to bookstores to stock their books.

On the other hand, traditional book publishing companies will take your book under stringent legal conditions, then print and distribute your work through the industry’s established channels, including retail stores and online outlets. For all your hard work as the author, you might only get a small percentage (royalty) of the retail price.

So, how much more could you be making if you self-publish rather than using a traditional publisher? Have a look at the figures below:

If you get royalties through a traditional publishing deal:

  • Print cost: $4.95
  • Retail price: $14.99
  • Your profit: 74 cents

 

If you self-sell:

  • Print cost: $4.95
  • Retail price: $14.99
  • Your profit: $10.04

There’s a huge difference, as you can see. If you sell 200 copies of your book as a self-published author you can breakeven with your production costs, leaving any extra sales as pure profit.

The key to success when marketing as a self-published author is your network. Personal and author dedicated social media profiles are an excellent place to start. If you are a trainer, public speaker, consultant, or have any sort of profile within your potential readership target, you also have the capability of selling hundreds and hundreds of copies of your book at events, meetings, and seminars.

Green Hill can also help you out with marketing. We can write professional press releases, create stunning graphics, organise reviewers, and give you advice on how to best market your book. If this interests you, head over to our Marketing your book page to read more and get in touch!