Category: Facebook anthology

Facebook anthology, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Facebook Publishing “Fandemonium” Update

Speaking of Facebook publishing, here is a summary and update on our Facebook anthology, Fandemonium…

1. In January, we invited members of our Facebook community to submit short works (poems, short stories, excerpts, etc.) to our Facebook Wall. Over a 100 members shared their creativity with us for a chance to be published for free in a Facebook anthology.

2. Next, we invited members of our social community on Facebook and this blog to vote on a title for the anthology. The majority of the votes (33%) voted to name the book Fandemonium: Selected Short Stories & Poems From Talented Facebook Writers

3. Next, our social community of writers and published authors voted for the charitable organization which would receive royalties from the sale of Fandemonium once it was published.  The vast majority (45%) chose The American Red Cross.

4. With the title and charity in place, it was time to design a cover.  We provided a number of different concepts, and received some valuable feedback and suggestions from our community, and then presented two final concepts for our Facebook fans to vote on.  60% voted for this one:

5. The pre-production process of Fandemonium has truly been a collaborative effort, showcasing all the flexibility and control all authors receive when they publish with Outskirts Press.   Our social community even got to vote on the pricing model by determining the retail price, profit, and discount for the book.   Over half voted for a retail price of $16.95 and a profit of $7.38 every time a paperback copy sells.

6. With the details set, Outskirts Press went to work producing the book according to the Facebook community’s wishes.    This is the time when our authors can sit back and relax and let us do what we do best.  Soon, the galley review process started.   This is the online digital proofing process where the files are presented to the author for review and either approval or requested changes.  During this review process, we submitted a number of minor corrections we wanted the interior formatter to make to the interior file through the easy, fast, hand’s on submission form.

7.  Final corrections and quality check (we call this process “premedia”) is taking place now.  We expect copies of Fandemonium to be available worldwide on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble before the end of this month. We’ll keep everyone posted.

8. When you’re ready to publish your book, check out all the high-quality writing, publishing, and marketing services available at Outskirts Press by clicking here.  Tell us which options and services you like by clicking on the “Facebook Like” buttons under every service listing.

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

Fandemonium (Facebook Anthology) Pricing Is Set, Thanks to Facebook Community

Last week our Facebook community members and blog readers were invited to participate in the pricing of Fandemonium, our first Facebook Anthology that is being written and published by our Facebook Fans.   Our Facebook community had already voted on the title and cover for the anthology, as well as the charity to receive the royalties (The American Red Cross).  Over the past 7 days, they’ve been voting on the pricing scenario to apply to the book.

Pricing Scenario #1 was the winner, receiving 53% of the votes.  Here is the screen shot from within the Outskirts Press Publishing Center when the pricing was set for Fandemonium according to your votes:

Whenever authors publish with Outskirts Press, they receive a pricing screen like this, which allows them to increase or decrease elements of their pricing in “real-time” with the “plus” or “minus” buttons.  

One of the major advantages of publishing with Outskirts Press is the control and flexibility you, the author, have over your book’s pricing.   Pricing Scenario #1 sets a retail price of $16.95 for the book, and delivers a whopping $7.38 to the American Red Cross every time a new copy sells through Ingram, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the many, many other sales channels offered by the Outskirts Press Distribution-on-Demand sales network available with the Diamond Publishing Package.

The submissions have all been received and the pre-production steps have all been completed.  Now Fandemonium enters the production stage of the process where the interior is formatted, the cover is finalized, the ISBN is assigned, and the distribution sales channels are established.  Stay tuned in February when the book enters the Galley Proof Review Stage.

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

Vote on Pricing and Profit for Your Facebook Anthology

One of the most powerful elements of publishing with Outskirts Press is the flexibility granted to the author regarding pricing and profit. We are one of the only publishers that pay 100% royalties (100% of the profits), but as you will see in this posting, the actual “dollars and cents” depends upon three other factors: The Retail Price, The Discount, And the Base Copy Price, or in other words, the single copy production price.

Most publishers enforce all these prices without giving you any say in the matter, but you will see from the pie charts below, that can significantly affect YOUR profits and your retail price.  At Outskirts Press, we only set the base copy price of the book.  The retail price and discount (we call it a “Price Plan”) is up to you.

Book pricing is complicated because everyone has an opinion about what they think “the best” pricing is.  So what better way to demonstrate the flexibility of our pricing by allowing our social community the chance to vote on the Pricing Option they like best for the Facebook Anthology, Fandemonium?

Below are 4 different pricing options. Scroll down to the Polling box and vote on your favorite. The pricing option that receives the most votes at the end of the polling period will be the pricing we use for Fandemonium.

You can click on the charts to enlarge them if you need to see them better.

Pricing Option 1 has a retail price of $16.95, a price plan of 25, and a profit of $7.38 for The American Red Cross every time a book sells.  This is the price plan we recommend for this book. Even though we give the power to the author, we always make recommendations to help the author select the best pricing for his or her goals.

Pricing Option 2 also has a retail price of $16.95, but has a price plan of 50.  This means 50% of the retail price goes to the wholesalers and retailers who are involved in selling the book (Ingram, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.).  As a result, the profit for the American Red Cross is lower ($3.16).   Physical bookstores often require significant portions of the retail price in order to be compelled to consider selling the book, but online sites like Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com don’t. 

Pricing Option 3 demonstrates the powerful flexibility of publishing with Outskirts Press. Yes, you can set the retail price for this particular book as low as $7.95.  But you will notice the majority of the “pie”  goes toward the production cost of the book ($5.33) as a result. Even with Ingram/Amazon only getting $1.99, that leaves only 63 cents of “author profit” for The American Red Cross.   Since the “pie”  is smaller ($7.95 instead of $16.95) all the pieces are smaller, too, with the exception of the production price, which stays the same in all four options.

Pricing Option 4 has a retail price of $12.95  and a Price Plan of 25.  The base copy price is the same in every scenario, which leaves $3.24 for wholesalers/retailers and $4.38 for The American Red Cross.

What pricing option should the Facebook Anthology have? Vote here:

Facebook anthology, Outskirts Press News, Uncategorized

The Publishing Process for the Facebook Anthology

Even though we are still collecting submissions to the Facebook Anthology, Fandemonium, on our Facebook Page, and we are still seeking final votes on the cover finalists here, that doesn’t mean we cannot begin the pre-production process for the book through our easy-to-use website at Outskirts Press.

For those writers who haven’t yet published through Outskirts Press, the following posting allows you to experience the pre-production process of Fandemonium “first hand.”

Since proceeds of Fandemonium are going to charity, Fandemonium is being published under our Diamond package to deliver the best profits for The American Red Cross. This also provides the most options to choose from in terms of trim size, production options, and marketing options.

First you customize the book’s format and trim size.  Fandemonium will use the most common and popular format and trim size (6×9 paperback), but you can see many of the trim sizes available to choose from when you’re ready to publish your own book.

Next comes the cover.  Fandemonium is receiving a custom cover, which is being determined by a separate vote by our community participants by clicking here.   The Custom Cover option always includes first receiving two separate design concepts from our designer based upon author direction/input. This process is similar to the concepts and voting we’ve been doing on this blog over the past week. Of course, when it’s YOUR cover, the only vote that matters is your own.  Although you are welcome to put both concepts up on your own Facebook page or blog and seek votes to help you pick the “best” one, just as we did.

Then we simply need the answers to some basic information, like the title of the book, the sub-title, the author’s name, etc. There is always plenty of help with the “Question Mark” icons throughout the process, or your own Publishing Consultant or Author Representative is available, too.

Next comes customizing your interior. The majority of our authors select our Standard Interior Formatting option, and why not? It’s included for free and you receive an industry-best-practices professional interior design that raises the quality of your whole book.  Fandemonium will publish with this option, too:

Selecting optional production options is where the real customization fun begins, and since the Diamond package includes free options like the Ebook, a standard press release, and more, this is a fast and fun process for Fandemonium:

Selecting some popular marketing options or services comes next. Here’s where you really start to see the benefits of publishing with Outskirts Press, and the potential your book will have in the competitive market place. For  Fandemonium, our participating Facebook writers will receive a number of complimentary marketing services and products, including the Amazon Kindle edition:

Next, our authors set their own pricing, which means they determine their own retail price, their own discount, and their own profit.  We always pay 100% royalties, which means 100% of the profits of the book.  In this case, Fandemonium profits are going to The American Red Cross, but that doesn’t mean we don’t care how high the profits are, right?  In fact, we’re going to let our community members set the pricing of Fandemonium.

Next week we will present three different pricing scenarios for Fandemonium to allow our social community to vote on the pricing scenario they want most for this anthology.  Stay tuned to our Facebook Page, Twitter feed, or this blog for notice when the polls open.

Are you ready to publish your own book?

Assign your own Publishing Consultant to help you get started the right way here:

Facebook anthology, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Vote for the new cover finalists

Over 500 people voted the first time to determine these two finalists for the cover design of your Facebook Anthology.   We took the top two covers from the first vote, listened to feedback and suggestions about how to improve them, and now you get to pick the final cover, (including the back).

Let your vote be heard again!  Scroll to the Poll box below the two choices and vote for either COVER 2 or COVER 4.  Voting will be closed when we reach as many votes as last time, so don’t delay. Vote today (and tell your Facebook friends to vote also by SHARING this page on your own wall).

COVER 2 (this earned 30% of the first vote)

 

COVER 4 (this earned 49% of the first vote)

 VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE HERE:

 

Facebook anthology, self publishing news

Facebook Fans Get Published for Free and Donate to a Worthy Cause With the Help of Outskirts Press

Leading self-publishing firm Outskirts Press is currently accepting poems, short stories, excerpts, and recipes from its Facebook members for inclusion in an upcoming Facebook Fan Anthology.

January 18, 2011 – Denver, CO – Outskirts Press, the fastest growing self-publishing and book marketing company, is accepting submissions for inclusion in its upcoming Facebook Anthology through the end of this week.  Submissions can be poems, short stories, book excerpts, or recipes, and should be submitted directly to the Outskirts Press Facebook page at http://facebook.com/OutskirtsPress .

In addition to providing an opportunity for Facebook writers to get published for free, the Facebook Anthology is giving everybody an opportunity to democratically participate in the publishing process.

For example, all Facebook members were recently invited to vote upon the title of the anthology from the Outskirts Press blog at http://blog.outskirtspress.com .  The winning title, determined by 33.33% of the votes received, was Fandemonium: Selected Short Stories & Poems From Talented Facebook Writers.

Next, a charitable organization was determined. That’s right, royalty proceeds of Fandemonium are being donated to a worthy cause in the name of Outskirts Press Facebook Fans.   Seven charities were available to select from, and Facebook Fans selected American Red Cross as their charity of choice, capturing 45% of the total votes received.

“We want to thank everyone who participated in voting for the title and the charity and for all those who are submitting content to our Fandemonium anthology,” said Outskirts Press Director of Author Support Kelly Schuknecht.  “It delights us to see such enthusiastic support from our fans, and the fact that we can then turn that into our own support for a charitable cause makes this project all the more worthwhile.”

Participants in this social networking publishing process are also determining the cover design of the anthology and will experience updates throughout the process via the Outskirts Press Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/outskirtspress .  Visit the Outskirts Press Facebook page at http://facebook.com/OutskirtsPress to participate without obligation.

About Outskirts Press:

Outskirts Press offers high-quality, full-service self-publishing and book marketing services for writers and professionals who are seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining 100% of their rights, 100% of their profits, and 100% of the creative control. www.outskirtspress.com.

# # #

Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd. – 515, Parker, Colorado 80134

http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

Vote on the Facebook Anthology cover design here

The charity for our Facebook Anthology, Fandemonium: Selected Short Stories & Poems From Talented Facebook Writers, has been determined via a public vote by you, our blog readers and Facebook fans.  

Royalty proceeds from the sale of Fandemonium will benefit the American Red Cross.   Thank you to everyone who voted and to everyone who has participated so far in our social networking publishing project.  There is still time to submit your poem or short story or excerpt on our Facebook Page. Just open a comment and submit something for possible free inclusion in Fandemonium!

Now it’s time for you to determine what the cover of Fandemonium is going to look like.  Here are the four choices.  Use the ballot box below to vote for your choice. We’ll be accepting votes through this weekend so be sure to share the voting process with your own Facebook friends and on your own Twitter account, especially if you’ve submitted content and want your cover preference to win! 

(It’s too small to see in these samples, but the Gold Seal notifies buyers that proceeds benefit the American Red Cross.)


Cover 1

Cover 2


Cover 3


Cover 4

 

When you publish your own book at Outskirts Press and select our Custom Cover option, you will receive 2 different concepts to choose from and further modify, just like this. The concepts can either be based upon your specific directions, or can be left up to the talents of our designers. It’s your choice.    

Start publishing with the Diamond or full-color Pearl package today to get $300 of spending money for options of your choice. That’s like getting a FREE professional custom cover design. Click here for the promotion details and promotion code.

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

Vote on the Facebook Anthology charity here

Our first ever Facebook Anthology has a title, as determined by you in our public vote.  The title of the book is Fandemonium: Selected Short Stories & Poems From Talented Facebook Writers.

Thank you to everyone who has participated so far in determining the title of the project and submitting poems, short stories, excerpts, recipes, or jokes for free publication.  There’s still time to submit on our Facebook Page. Just open a “comment” and cut and paste your submission.

The royalties for sales of the book are going to a good cause. We just don’t know WHAT good cause … yet.  But now is the time to vote on one:

For details about each of the charities, please visit their respective websites below to see what they do and what they stand for.    The charity receiving the highest percentage of votes by the end of business tomorrow will be the “winner.”

Reading is Fundamental

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of North America

Scholarship America

National Military Family Association

Operation Homefront

American Red Cross

Conservation Fund

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

Vote for the Facebook Anthology title here

All last week this blog invited Facebook Members to participate in the Outskirts Press Facebook Anthology by submitting a poem, short story, excerpt, recipe, or joke for free publication.  We will continue to accept submissions on our Facebook page throughout this week as well.   Also be sure to “like” the contributions by others that you are fond of. This will help us determine the submissions to include in the Anthology.

Now it is time to name the book. Since you, our Facebook Fans, are submitting the content, we thought it only appropriate that you help determine the title.  Here are the five choices. Simply vote for your favorite.  The title with the most votes at the end of business tomorrow will be the one we use. 

Are you ready to publish your own book, too? Get started by clicking here.

Facebook anthology, Uncategorized

The Facebook Anthology Cover

Yesterday’s post about the title for our Anthology solicited some recommendations from our Facebook fans.  Voting for the title will take place on this blog next week.   All our blog readers and Facebook fans will also be invited to vote on the Charity. Those votes will determine which charities receives royalties from the sale of the Facebook Anthology.

That leaves the cover.  Once the title is determined, our custom cover designers will produce a number of different mock-ups for the cover of the anthology. Those mock-ups will be presented here on this blog next week and open to a public vote.  The winning cover, as determined by our blog readers and Facebook fans, will be the one we use for the publication.

We hope you are enjoying this social publishing process so far.  There is still time to submit your content to the anthology if you haven’t had a chance to, yet. Simply open up a “comment” on Facebook under this status posting and submit your short story, poem, recipe, or excerpt.   If your submission is longer than 8,000 characters, use multiple, numbered comments.

Also be sure to retweet or share this opportunity with other writers or professionals you know through your Twitter, Facebook, or Linked in accounts. We would like our first Facebook Anthology to contain a wide range of creative styles and offerings. 

Click here to visit our Facebook Page to submit your content for free to the Anthology.