-
Cliff Burns commented on the blog post 20 Successful Self-Publishers 1 year, 9 months ago
I agree that patience is the key–word of mouth is what brought J.K. Rowling to the attention of parents looking for good reads for their kids. If your book is terrific, it’s going to create a buzz…eventually. I truly believe that quality wins out in the end and that crowd-pleasers, panderers and hacks quickly disappear [...]
-
Cliff Burns commented on the blog post 20 Successful Self-Publishers 1 year, 11 months ago
To me, it’s all about creating ground-breaking, innovative prose. The traditional publishers have flooded the market with vampire and zombie abominations, do we really need another series of romantic blood-suckers and teen werewolves? To me, the best part of having my own imprint is FREEDOM, not having to employ the usual tropes and formulas, but [...]
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic New Media and the Long Tail in the group New Media Publishing:
"Innovation" and "originality" aren't exactly hallmarks of traditional publishing and I think that is where indie writers who have broken away have the advantage. We are not limited by "niches" or market requirements, we need not pay lip service…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic New Media and the Long Tail in the group New Media Publishing:
Smart answer, Nathan.
In the end, I suppose it's up to readers (and listeners) to use their critical thinking to determine who's a wannabe and who truly has the right stuff.
The new technologies have led to a proliferation of amateur writing on the… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic New Media and the Long Tail in the group New Media Publishing:
I read Chris Anderson's book and looked into the "long tail" phenomenon.
The difficulty writers find in the "freeconomy" is discovering ways of gaining income through their work. The folks who populate the net aren't exactly eager to pay money… -
Cliff Burns wrote on their own wire:
Just wanted to remind everybody, it’s ”Read an E-Book Week” coming up in March:
Plug this to your friends, colleagues–with the proliferation of e-readers, folks are dying for stuff to download. And they’ll find lots at the e-book site, along with contests, info, etc.
Have a look… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Well, I've been playing around on Lulu, trying out a mockup of my manuscript…and their system refuses to read the pdf I created with my Mac "Pages" word processing software…and it STILL won't read it, even when I change it to an Adobe…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
I checked out CreateSpace and their may info page on publishing seems scant compared to Lightning Source.
And as someone not native to the United States, I have to apply for a special tax… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Matt: I think your fees for Lightning Source are a bit out of date: the price quoted in the batch of stuff sent to me seems to be a minimum of $175 (likely more, since the calculation is based on a 300-page book and mine is closer to…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
And here's one further thought: do these print-on-demand places derive the majority of their profit from book sales…or from the fees being charged writers?
If it's the latter, kids, we're being screwed… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Here's a pertinent question for my fellow self-publishers:
If companies like Lightning Source are doing so well by writers, why do they have to charge ANYTHING for set-up fees or catalogue listings? Why not derive their profits solely from… -
Cliff Burns wrote on their own wire:
Scott, lad…
Good to hear from you and delighted you found something of interest on my site. It’s funny, when I first started Black Dog Press out of disgust and frustration with trad publishing, I was called a ”self-publisher”, even a ”vanity press”. Now, 20 years later, I’m ”indie”. Gotta love it.
Good luck… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
I'm composing a lengthy list of questions for Lightning Source. Not touching the contract until I get clarification. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding but it seems like I pay one set-up fee for North America ($175-200) and another setup fee…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
For anyone who's had to reformat their PDF's–for Adobe or whatever format the printer in question is using: was it a complicated process? Did the translation into the new format go smoothly or were there glitches because of the different…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Good detailed advice–even better than what I was hoping for. Again, thanks for taking the time for the in-depth responses.
Authors and indie publishers aren't in competition with each other, we're colleagues, always quick to offer advice,… -
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Kee-rist. I downloaded a ream of material from Lightning Source. It's a good thing I've done some publishing before because I don't think theirs' is the most "user friendly" approach. Nonetheless, I am plowing through it, educating…
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Thanks, this is all great feedback–I'd like as much info and advice as possible before I commit to ANYONE.
-
Cliff Burns posted on the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Create Space was another one mentioned to me, as well. I'm going to register with Lightning Source, at least initially, until I can get some hard figures and do some informed comparisons. I note that I was e-mailed by a customer service rep…
-
Cliff Burns joined the group New Media Publishing 2 years, 4 months ago
-
Cliff Burns started the forum topic Print on demand experiences wanted in the group New Media Publishing:
Hey, gang, new to town so I'll say "hello" and then get to my point.
I'm putting finishing touches on a novel manuscript and pondering the best print-on-demand company for my book. Initially I was drawn to lulu.com because of the simplicity of… - Load More
