Self-publishing is now "validated" by The New York Times

According to a recent article in The New York Times, self-publishing is no longer just about the vanity presses. Of course, we've known this for years, as a sort-of mashup between traditional publishing and typical POD publishers, which are largely self-publishing companies. More than half of the books published last year--somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 out of 350,000 titles--were self-published. 

Much of this success (or rather, publicity) can be attributed to the Amazon self-publishing boom with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing. The New York Times' attention can also probably be blamed on Fifty Shades of Grey, which as most people know, started out as a self-published, hastily doctored Twilight fanfiction. After mentioning two self-published books which did well ("Fifty Shades of Grey" and "The Fine Print of Self-Publishing," neither of which apparently warrant correct punctuation for book titles), the article gives the disappointing caveat that most self-published books will only ever sell between 50 and 100 copies, a dismal quantity at best.

Many authors who self-publish might not care, having published the book for various reasons. Often authors don't care about getting their book to a wide audience, but just about getting the book out at all. Of course, many (most) might just be overly-optimistic. As one self-published author whose book got bought by a big house put it, "The biggest thing you have against you in trying to sell your book is that people don't know about it." 

This is true, and not limited to self-publishing. Other articles have been coming out about how difficult it is to get books noticed by the public, through online and traditional marketing methods. But publishers have contacts in the business, and that's why publishing through other methods can be beneficial. Though we publish books through print-on-demand technology, a much more cost effective method than large print runs, we market our books using both traditional and online methods. This can be a great help to authors who don't know where to start. Of course, the author is always the most effective marketer, especially of non-fiction books, since they ideally have an audience and platform already built up and can reach them most easily. Basically, as the article states, it's nothing revolutionary to get people to notice your work, but it does take a lot of effort.

The point is, The New York Times has finally gotten around to noticing that people are self-publishing. That it can be a good choice for some authors, but that many won't make it. That it's hard work. Welcome to the 21st century.

Dare to Care Author Calls for Cooperation on Financial Crises in Online Video

Dare to Care author Louis Bohtlingk calls us to action and presents his ideas about how to transform the financial world in his new online video. You can watch the video below, as well as check out Louis's online platform for Dare to Care. Louis invites us:

LET’S RAISE OUR VOICES, SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND BUILD TOGETHER!“Join the discussion about the state of our financial world and our economies and what we can do to create a better situation for us all. We need to hear everyone and work together. We all can make a contribution.”

You can view more videos from Louis on his website, www.carefirstworld.com.

Cygnus Review in the UK had this to say about Dare to Care:

“Louis Bohtlingk offers an inspiringly simple yet far-reaching idea 
for transforming our economy and the world of finance, so that it support rather than undermines, 
our human needs and those of our planet.”

BEA: Now With Streaming Video, But No Wi-Fi

This week we're splitting our time between working in the office and taking away as much as we can from the information bubble that is Book Expo America (BEA).

Held each year for four knowledge-packed days at the Javits Center in New York, BEA is a time when publishers can sit in on sessions and listen to experts tell them what they've been doing wrong (or right), where authors can learn tricks of the trade and how to navigate the mystical world of publishing, and where authors and publishers alike can meet with each other and forge lasting business contacts. It's both a frustrating, draining, and exciting time each year, filled with swag and free books, and this year, BEA brings us live video for those of you stuck at home to watch the action. The bonus is, you still get wi-fi in your living room, while those of us down in the Javits Center conference rooms have to stick it out with plain old 3G--or no service at all.

Ain't technology grand?

March's Book of the Month Falls in Line with National Reading Month and Women's History Month

March is women’s history month and national reading month. Combining both of those themes, Cosimo picked The Power of Yin, Celebrating Female Consciousness by Hazel Henderson, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and Jean Houston. When three of the most influential feminist philosophers of the 1970s meet over two weekends to discuss the challenges facing society in the late 20th century, it’s an event that should be documented. Their revelatory, inspiring conversations were reproduced into a fresh and relevant book.  This book has an uplifting spiritual perspective on the human experience and uniquely feminine approach to interacting with the universe, which fit perfectly into this month’s overall celebrations. 

The Power of Yin is more than a brilliant conversation. It is an invitation to women and men everywhere to express their own genius and empower their highest values and goals, to seek out others who attract them in this quest for personal development, to form ever deeper friendships, and to join together in spirit and in action to help evolve the human community on planet Earth. 

HAZEL HENDERSON is a world-renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, and consultant on sustainable development. JEAN HOUSTON is advisor to UNICEF in human and cultural development, and a principal founder of the Human Potential Movement. BARBARA MARX HUBBARD is president of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution and a cofounder of Washington D.C.'s Committee for the Future.

Valentine's Day Has Come and Gone, but Love is Here to Stay

Money and Love, they're not synonyms and yet they're very often represented together. Perhaps its their shared connection of the Goddess Venus. Perhaps it's the superficiality of today's world which places extra emphasis on money. Or maybe it's because money and love are considered to be high value commodities. Recently, I'm sure you've noticed, the downfall of money. It's no less important, but many are starting to wonder why some are driven by greed (and therefore money). Shouldn't the driving force in our world be love, which is (to a certain extent) free? With occupy movements popping up around the globe, their message is clear: we don't like the way our money and money in general is being handled.

It's possible, that the best way to get real results is to make a radical change beyond what's currently being considered. The article "The Money Has Gone so Make Love our Alternative Currency" on The Guardian website, written in honor of Valentine's day, makes the suggestion that love should be our new currency. How that would work exactly, I'm not sure. But I think his real suggestion is that our lives should center around the things we love, not the money we make. Humans in general should focus their energy on creating, spreading, and showing love instead of money. His line of thinking is not unlike that of Cosimo's author Louis Bohtlingk, whose book Dare to Care: A Love-Based Foundation for Money and Finance with a foreword by Hazel Henderson, discusses changing world currency and focusing on caring and sharing. Will these new and radical ideas help change the world economy? Or has the world become so money obsessed that the change many are looking for will never come?

Valentine’s Day and Its Effect on the Economy

Hazel Henderson, co-author of The Power of Yin, Celebrating Female Consciousness and foreword writer for Dare to Care: A Love-Based Foundation for Money and Finance and Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change , is quoted in an interesting article about the evolution of Valentine’s Day and the effects it has on the economy.

The article, Love, marriage and Valentine's Day, looks at the development of Valentine’s Day and how it came to be a commercial holiday. This can be traced back to when marriage stopped being about money, wealth, and status and started to be more about love. The article is informative, well researched and looks at the past as well as into the future. Whether you have romantic plans or not, this is an interesting article about the development of Valentine’s day and what it does for our currently sinking economy. Read the article here.