Reading Grade Level of Children’s Books, Part I

In class, we often discover that participants have written a children’s book and are ready to market it. However, they are unsure of the book’s classification and age range. Following is a frequently used scheme:


Picture book: under 6 years of age
Early reader: 6-7 years of age
Chapter book: 7-8 years of age
Middle grade: 8-11 years of age
Young adult: 12 + years of age


Although a handy guide, it is a bit broad. A more precise identifier focuses on the book’s reading grade level, i.e. the level of complexity and difficulty a student in a particular grade should be able to read comfortably. If your manuscript is a Microsoft Word document, simply pressing a key will give you the manuscript’s reading grade level.


Part II of this thread is a discussion of the function and its use.

Multnomah Publishers

According to today's Publishers Lunch, Random House had a total sales increase in 2006 of 6.5%. The company attributes some of the increase to their acquisition of Multnomah Publishers, located in Sisters.

Way to go, Sisters!!!

More Harry Potter and the End of the Cash Cow

The publisher of the latest Harry Potter book just said that the first printing will be 12 million copies. The announcement suggests two things: the pre-publication sale was successful and the 12 million copies establishes a new world record for first printing. All of that should help keep the buzz going.

Curiously, Barnes and Noble indicated last week that they would probably not make much/any money on the book because of their deep discounting of its price(presumably all editions are being discounted).

So, the question is: who is making money on this deal?

The New Look

One of the interesting things about providing a blog is the need to not only offer interesting content but also to keep the blog "fresh." Keeping it fresh often involves changing the color scheme, new photos and links, etc.

This blog has used the same colors and layout for over a year and I thought it was time for a bit of "freshing," to include the addition of labels. Let me know what you think about the changes.

Blog and Podcasting Class

Well, the Blog and Podcasting class got off to a good start last night. The participants were from the business community and we were able to explore a number of business-related blogging applications.

Next Thursday promises to be as interesting. At that meeting, we will look at podcasting: what it is, business applications, and how to do it.

Vista & Office 2007 FREE FREE!

Well, at least the presentation at the college is free. What will happen is a PowerPoint show and demo of Microsoft's Vista and Office 2007. It will hosted by Paul Stennett and myself.

The topics and handouts cover:
1. What is Vista
2. How does it compare to XP
3. What does Vista include and how is it organized
4. The search functions
5. What's new in Office 2007
6. Some things to consider before you buy

Join us Wednesday , 7 p.m., February 21, 2007, Boyle Education Center, Room 155, COCC.

Seating is limited, so be there early.

Remember--it is FREE!

Harry Potter and The End of the Cash Cow

You may recall that we spend some time in class talking about the advantages of a pre-publication sale of your book. Not only does it give you some money to help pay for printing costs, it also gets the buzz started.

Well, the latest Harry Potter book is being pre-sold (like it needs help creating a buzz). The book is due out this summer. If you place an order now, the retail price is discounted 46%. So, I asked about the retail price and discovered it is $64.79! That means the pre-publication price is $34.99. Wow!!!

Hope all the kids who enjoy the Harry Potter books have a second job.

I suppose the author, who is listed as a billionaire, wants to get the maximum revenue from the book--particularly since she swears that this is the last in the series. Maybe it is the publisher who wants to make one more killing before the whole thing goes away while not putting out any money for printing. Whatever the case, the consumer is really paying the price.

And the publishing houses wonder why sales have been flat.

Your Self Published Book

The following is from an e-newsletter to which I subscribe, appearing in my email inbox today. A fascinating read--be sure to visit the website.

In this first issue of seventh year of Independent Publisher Online, we offer Nina L. Diamond's take on the publishing "caste system," breaking authors at a publishing house into three groups: Moneymakers, Up-and-Comers, and Untouchables. "If you’re an Untouchable author, you and your agent are gonna have to fight just to get your book properly distributed, re-printed when and if the first printing sells out, and shipped when orders come in from retail outlets," writes Diamond. "As for reviews, press attention, book signings, and other promotional efforts, you’re on your own."
As the Book Awards season heats up, we reprint an article featuring tips from both award winners and judges. From the Trunk of the Car to the Big Screen is my rant about what it takes to succeed in self-publishing and includes an Eragon update. This month's Crazy Book Marketing Idea of the Month features Kip Cosson, who sells books - lots of books - at the street fairs, craft shows, and holiday markets of Manhattan.
Plus, columnist Fern Reiss explains how to get still more media attention for your book; Nina L. Diamond tells about birthing a book project; plus Tip #5 of John Kremer's 24-Point Book Marketing Action List; our ongoing BookExpo America update; our 25 new Highlighted Titles and the latest Industry Update.

The Class Had It Right

Some of our readers may remember a conversation in class about the book industry's plan to swamp the market during the holiday season with big name authors, hot-topic books, and promotion. As I remember the discussion, we decided it would not work. Well, we were right!!! Check out the following, courtesy of Publishers Lunch:

More Bad Holiday News
Two of the three big chains reported bad sales for the nine-week stretch through December 30: Barnes & Noble termed it "somewhat disappointing sales for the season in a highly promotional and competitive environment," with comparable store sales slipping 0.1 percent at the superstores at $1.1 billion overall (putting them down 0.3 percent on a comp basis for the 48-week period, at $4.1 billion). BN.com sales rose 2.7 percent to $108.5 million for the holidays, but are still down 2.4 percent from a year ago for 48 weeks, at $376 million. B. Dalton, an increasingly small part of the company overall, did just $28.4 million in sales during the holidays, and $94 million for the nearly completed year. Same-store sales suffered more at Books-a-Million, down 2.1 percent, at $124.5 million for the holidays. BAM's comp-store decline for the 48 weeks of the fiscal year is similar to BN's, at 0.4 percent. CEO Sandra Cochran says in the release, "Sales for the holiday season were below expectations as we confronted a quiet media environment and strong comparable sales in the prior year. The absence of a major movie tie-in affected both traffic and sales. A strong lineup in fiction performed well but could not offset the performance of the media-related titles in fiscal 2006."

More Book Institute

The Community Learning Department's Book Institute is back for the winter session!

There are two new classes that might strike your fancy: Business & Marketing Writing and Mystery Writing. Both are online classes, so you don't even need to come to campus to take them. More info at http://www.ed2go.com/cocc.

On Campus, there will be Self-Publish & Sell Your Book for those who want to do it themselves, The Key to Finding a Publisher for those who would rather have an agent or publisher do the work, Think Like a Writer for those who may wish a bit of a mental tune up and Write Your Life Story Workshop, a great way to get it all on paper. More info at http://cocc.edu

Do the E-book!

You may recall that I carry on a bit about the need to have an e-book version of your book-- reaching a different market segment, greater exposure of your title, another revenue stream, etc.

If you need yet another reason, consider that Simon & Schuster has reported that their e-book sales tripled in 2006.

Sales have been so good, they are planning to add 12,000 more titles in 2007.

POD-dy Mouth

Becky Coffield forwarded a blog titled POD-dy Mouth to me. The author looks at the book industry with a breezy and humorous style while providing a lot of valuable info.

If your book is POD, be sure to send a review copy to POD-dy Mouth.

Free Book Listing with an Internet Giant

Get your titles in front of millions of Windows Live users FREE with Windows Live Book Search. Windows Live Book Search is Microsoft's forthcoming online search service for book content.

To submit your titles simply upload them in digital format or send printed books, and control the amount of content displayed. Link your commerce-enabled Web site to publisher.live.com so that users can easily purchase your titles.

It's easy and it's FREE!

http://publisher.live.com/

Interesting News About Book Jackets

This season, HaperCollins retailers want book jackets that are margarita and sangria in color. I am not sure whether a cover should have one or both, but the input from retailers gives me some new ideas for cover color/design.

In the meantime, Time Warner Book Group state that retailers often ask them to change the color or design of a book jacket so that it will better color-coordinate with their merchandise.

Here is a thought: if you have specific retail outlet(s) in mind for your book, ask what they would like to see before doing the final color/design layout.

The Book Institute

Are you ready for this? There is now a program at COCC that will fulfill just about all your needs when it comes to getting the book written and published. It is called the Book Institute and offers a complete array of classes.

Think Like a Writer is offered on Monday evenings, October 9-November 13 from 6:30-8:30 pm on the COCC Bend Campus. You be led by an experienced writer and published author, Michael Lankford. Michael has moved to Bend recently and brings a wealth of writing and writing education experience. Think Like a Writer is designed to re-fuel your creative writing tank by looking at sources of inspiration, exercising new ways of developing scenes, settings and themes and by experimenting with storytelling styles. Register online or by telephone: (541) 383-7270.

Write Your Life Story is offered Tuesday mornings, October 3-November 21 from 9:30-11:30 am at the Bend Senior Center, and is taught by Jane Thielsen. Jane has facilitated life story writing groups for many years through the Oregon Coast Community College in Newport. She will conduct a series of exercises and experiences to help you capture your life story not only for yourself, but for future generations. You will learn how to choose a genre, organize and edit material and share your observations with others. Register online or by telephone: (541) 383-7270.

If you have your manuscript ready to go or after you conclude one or both classes listed above, the next step is the publishing process:

Self Publish & Sell Your Book offered Wednesday evenings, October 11-25 from 6:00-9:00 pm on the COCC Bend Campus. Your congenial host (and blogger) will be me, Tom McDannold. I will walk you through the steps of self-publishing, marketing and selling via retail outlets and the Internet. We will also cover book formats, e-books, copyright, ISBN, bar codes, pricing and promotion. Also, I will be happy to review your manuscript. Register online or by telephone: (541) 383-7270.

The Key To Publishing A Book offered on Monday evenings, October 30-November 6 from 6:00-9;00 pm on the COCC Bend Campus, is also taught by me. This class focuses on how to obtain an agent or publisher, rather than self publish. I will share information about how to locate the appropriate agent or publisher, writing a query letter, constructing a book proposal, and how to learn from rejection notices. Register online or by telephone: (541) 383-7270.

More about the Book Institute in the next post.

Making Good Use of Your Entry/Award

The previous post offered suggestions on entering your book in contests. This post builds on that one by looking at a number of ways to take advantage of entering and/or receiving an award.

The first is to clearly discuss the contest/award in your news packet/news release. Be sure to include copies of letters, emails, announcements, etc. about your entry/receipt of an award.

Similarly, post all the information on your website, blog, podcast, etc.

A third strategy is to inform book stores and other retail outlets about the contest/award. They are often impressed with the fact that you submitted the book, regardless of whether you win or not, and will use the information to promote the book.

Another idea is to have stickers that announce the contest/award. Stationary supply businesses usually can print the quantity that you need. Thus, by applying one to the cover of each book, you have let the casual browser know that your book is an outstanding addition to the literature. It seems that nothing succeeds like success.

Lastly, be sure to include the information in your biography. The entry will help build the platform from which you launch the next book!

Getting An Award For Your Book

An important aspect of promoting and selling your book is to demonstrate that it is a worthwhile publication. Its value can be shown by the recognition and awards it has received. One of the ways to have an award-winning book is to enter it in a contest.

The Do-It-Yourself Book Festival is just such a contest. It is dedicated to recognizing self-published books and small presses. Each title is judged on its general excellence and the author's passion for story telling. The contest also looks closely at unique uses of guerilla marketing tactics. Further, the contest gives out awards for author of the year and best book cover. The deadline for submitting your book is September 25, 2006. Entrance fee is $50. More information: http://www.diyconvention.com/

A second contest is hosted by Independent Publisher and is designed to bring increased recognition to deserving books published by independent authors and publishers. Known as the IPPY Award, the top ten recipients receive a cash award. For a title to be eligible, it must have a 2006 copyright. Submissions will be accepted starting on June 1, 2006. The fee is $70. More information: http://www.independentpublisher.com/

Watch for a blog entry that will offer some ideas on how to use your well-deserved award in a marketing campaign.

Classes About Book Publishing

As interest continues to build about the entire process of book publishing, I have been working to bring everything to authors that they need to succeed. As a result, there are now five classes addressing different aspects of publishing. They are offered by the Community Learning Department of COCC and will be held during the Fall session.

For those needing to edit graphics for their book, attend:
Photoshop Elements Beginning: September 30 and October 7 and
Photoshop Elements Intermediate: October 28 and November 4.

There will be a class on self-publishing titled Publish and Sell Your Book on:
October 11 and October 25.

Interested in having a publishing company bring your book to Market? Try The Key to Publishing. It is about locating an agent and publishing house as well as query letters and submission packages. It will be held on November 6 and November 13.

If you want to stay current in marketing activities, check out Blogs and Podcasts on November 9 and November 16.

To enroll, contact COCC.

New Self Published Book by R.I. Coffield

Rebecca (Becky) Coffield, longtime resident of Bend and an alum of the Publish and Sell Your Book class, now has a self published book on the market.

Titled Life Was a Cabaret, it chronicles her 25,000 mile sailing adventure around the Pacific Ocean with her husband aboard their sailboat, Cabaret. One can almost smell the sea air as she describes the fun, fright, and self awareness that she experienced.

The book is perfect bound, has a 6" x 9" format with a professionally designed cover. Of course there is a copyright, ISBN, LCCN, etc. Her experience with a book manufacturer offers insight into the problems and prospects of out-sourcing some of the work on a self published book.

Fortunately, she is more than willing to share what she discovered with you and I. Get all of your questions answered at her book signing at the Book Barn on June 30, 2006. Watch for the announcement in the Bend Bulletin.

Also, be sure to visit her author website (and purchase a book or two) at:
http://www.rlcoffield.com/

Graphic Design & Layout with Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements (PE) is a program that is powerful enough to edit photographs for book publications. I began to wonder if it could be used to create graphics from scratch. The thought was prompted by many of my books containing not only photographs but also maps, charts, flow diagrams, etc.

A little bit of experimenting produced the graphic to the right. It is part of a Power Point presentation on how to get your manuscript published by a publishing house (a new course to be offered by COCC). The illustration depicts the process of going from an idea, to having a publishing house accept the manuscript, to the publishing process, with royalties being paid to the author.

The illustration is a series of clip art images that I found in MS Word and MS Power Point programs. I copied them, saving them as JPG files. Next, I opened a document in PE using the New command and sized the new page. Then, I began to place the graphics on the new page, using a new layer for each one.

The arrows are one of the options within PE. I used a new layer for each one. The most difficult part was making sure the arrows were about the same size.

I used the Text function of PE for the dollar signs, placing them on their own layer.

Lastly, I moved the items around until I was satisfied with the overall balance and saved the illustration as a JPG file.

Admittedly, it took awhile to get it right but it sure beat the heck out of buying yet another program.