I, on the other hand, wanted to talk to Mitch about publishing. He’s said too many interesting things on Media Hacks recently. (Two of the other contributors to Media Hacks, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, have just published a best-selling book together, and another one, Hugh McGuire, runs a book start-up.)

In this interview, Mitch talks about:

• His previous experience with the publishing industry
• The importance of having a platform
• The difference between writing a book and writing a collection of blog posts
• The powerful mystique that publishing a book retains even (or especially) in the age of social media
• The value of a good editor
• Why his publisher made his book more blog-like
• Distribution and business models in publishing
• What makes a book a book

Mitch is an incredibly articulate one-take podcaster. I’m not. I’ve edited this interview slightly for fluency. In particular, I’ve rearranged the beginning, because Mitch and I started our conversation before his introduction.

A big thanks to Mitch for such a fabulous interview.

Since they can’t keep Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone in the stores, I’d recommend you all buy it on Amazon (and give me a few cents in commission while you’re at it).

No related posts.

The recorder shut down before we had finished the discussion, which went on for quite some time, but after we had moved from the topic of POD to other aspects of marketing a book.

The example of POD success leading to a contract with a major publisher is Terry Fallis’ book The Best-Laid Plans.

The Handout

Traditional Self-Publishing

• Higher up-front costs, but lower per-book cost (offset printing)
• You’[podcast]http://authorizer.fileslinger.com/audio/Matson-12-03-2008.mp3[/podcast]re responsible for storage and distribution (shipment)

Print on Demand

• Lower up front costs, but higher per-book cost (digital printing)
• POD company prints and ships books as needed

Costs Author Pays Either Way

• Copyediting
• Book design and typesetting
• Cover design
• Proofreading
• ISBN/Bar code

Podcasting Your Book

• Inexpensive, but time-consuming
• Builds audience/platform (might lead to publishing contract)
• Best for fiction, poetry

Some POD Companies

• Booksurge/Amazon (www.booksurge.com)
• iUniverse (www.iuniverse.com)
• Lightning Source/Ingram (www.lightningsource.com)
• Lulu (www.lulu.com)
• MagCloud POD magazines (www.magcloud.com)

Read

• The Self-Publishing Manual, by Dan Poynter
• The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, by Mark Levine

Listen

• The Writing Show (www.writingshow.com)
• Publishing Basics Radio (www.wbjbradio.com)
• The Publishing Insiders (www.blogtalkradio.com/ThePublishingInsiders)

Visit

• http://delicious.com/authorizer/
  (tags: bookmarketing, writing, ghostwriting, publishing, POD)
• http://www.selfpublishing.com/
• http://www.podiobooks.com/
• http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

No related posts.

Here is the list of questions addressed by panelists Patricia Coate, Dr. Bette Daoust, and Karen Pierce Gonzalez (with a few interjections from moderator Sallie Goetsch (Yours Truly), and some help from the audience):

• Why publish at all? What’s in it for consultants?
• What’s the most important thing consultants need to know about publishing?
• What are the different options for publishing a book and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

• Traditional (large) publisher
• Self-Publishing
• Print on Demand (POD)

• How much should I plan on spending on…
  • Writing & Editing
  • Design/Layout/Printing
  • Marketing
• What kind of help can I get with writing and publishing a book?
  • Help with writing
  • Editing, proofreading, formatting
  • Marketing and selling
• How do you get your articles published in print magazines and trade journals?
• What’s the best way to write and publish articles online for lead generation?
• How do you create and use white papers?
• How much can you re-use your material?
• How do you track article placement?
• Where do I find interesting, relevant topics to write about? Does my material have to be original?

We recorded the entire panel, and you can click to play below or download the MP3 file to put on your portable media player. The recording is just over an hour long—not nearly time enough!

Related posts:

1. Talk Your Way to a Book Audio

For those who couldn’t make it, I’ve now uploaded an MP3 recording.

There’s a lot of background noise, and because I was the one wearing the mic, it’s not always easy to hear what other people are saying. Anyone who thinks s/he can clean up the sound and make a better quality recording is welcome to give it a go.

You may also want to download the handout and the flyer to refer to.

Eventually I’ll transcribe this recording and turn it into an article. Meanwhile, download the MP3 (12 MB; about 45 minutes) and listen to it on your computer or your portable media player. Then come back and post a comment or two! And feel free to attend the next BSBB meeting on December 2nd.

Related posts:

1. Writing and Publishing for Consultants Recording