ISBN numbers

[Motokid]

Geez, where to start? It’s going to take some time to work through all this.

1. If you can send me a money order, why can’t you send one to the publishing house?

2. I’ve got nothing to loose by accepting your money order. Once it clears into my account I can buy the books and give them your shipping address of choice. You would be the one taking the chance by sending me money. I’ll think about it a little more before I agree to that. Something gets lost in the mail and accusations start being made about honesty….I’ll think about it.

3. What’s your web site address? I’d like to see it. What language is the site written in?

4. What’s your book title and can I find it online today? Can I find it by a Google search, or through Yahoo?

5. Exactly what country do you live in? Can you narrow it down to closest big city and what country?

6. I would not try to get myself into too many book stores by doing it online. I’d be more personal, but then maybe in your country that will work for you. I don’t think it would work well here.

7. Building web site traffic, and gaining credibility that way could take many, many, many years. That’s a very difficult thing to do. You’d better have a great marketing mind, and pretty advanced web design abilities.


These are just my opinions, and may not be worth the time it took me to type, so please seek other peoples advice too.

 

[Motokid]

Not to be a downer or anything, but I just typed "norse mythology" into Yahoo search and got 178,000 hits.

Figuring out how to get people to your site is the hard part. How are you going to break through those 177,991 other sites so your page appears right up front in this type of search.

I struggle with the same thing. My site appears when you type in the title of my book, but how do I get people to my site if they don't know the title?

 

[Xeon]

From MotoKid:

1. If you can send me a money order, why can’t you send one to the publishing house?

Ha ha! That's the funny part. The publishing house accepts credit cards(from Mastercard to Visa to whatever crap) and even PayPal(also requires credit cards linked to your bank accounts). However, they don't accept wire transfers, checks or money order. That's the thing. If they do, then I wouldn't be facing all these issues now.
This is also the reason why, when I want to purchase things like web hosting plans from US-based companies, I always look for those which accepts money orders and wire transfers.

2. I’ve got nothing to loose by accepting your money order. Once it clears into my account I can buy the books and give them your shipping address of choice. You would be the one taking the chance by sending me money.

Actually, I can always send the money to you via express mail service(they have tracking and acknowledgement) or via bank transfers.

I’ll think about it a little more before I agree to that. Something gets lost in the mail and accusations start being made about honesty….I’ll think about it.

U know, a few weeks ago, I sent money in an envelope to a US-based web host.(via air-mail)
The thing seems to have got lost, cos' they never reply to me or anything!
Now, I've to try another web host and use another kind of mailing method. I really should chew off my head for this mindless risk taking, but yet, I never accuse the company. This is the first time such a thing happened, though. Been doing this kind of money transaction since 4 years ago every few months and nothing happened.

3. What’s your web site address? I’d like to see it. What language is the site written in? 4. What’s your book title and can I find it online today? Can I find it by a Google search, or through Yahoo?[/qupte]

My site isn't up yet. I'm still looking for a web hosting company, as mentioned earlier. The book is ready, but not uploaded yet; I'm still waiting for my artist to finish drawing the cover.

5. Exactly what country do you live in? Can you narrow it down to closest big city and what country?

I live in Singapore. Because the country is so small that you can reach one end to the other in just 1.5 hours time or less(on car), the city of this country is itself!

Capital of U.K. is London.
Capital of the USA is New York(or is it Washington?)
Capital of China is Beijing.
Capital of North Korea is Pyongyang.
Capital of Canada is Ottawa(or is it Oklahoma?)
Capital of Australia is Sydney.
Capital of Singapore is Singapore.
Sorry for my poor geography; I must have disgraced myself...but this is just an example.

Not to be a downer or anything, but I just typed "norse mythology" into Yahoo search and got 178,000 hits. Figuring out how to get people to your site is the hard part. How are you going to break through those 177,991 other sites so your page appears right up front in this type of search.

Actually, it's not that hard as you think it is. Ah well, it's a pretty good challenge, but it's not that extreme. Out of these 178,000 hits, only a small percentage are really about "norse mythology". If you delve into page 500++ of the search results, the sites are all irrelevant. I've some experiences with such cases before, though. As long as your domain name is good and there's rich and unique content, getting others to link to you will boost your search position to way above the other 177,900 hits sites.

I struggle with the same thing. My site appears when you type in the title of my book, but how do I get people to my site if they don't know the title?

If you have a site which has complementary content parallel and similar to the nature of your book, you can seek out "partners" and link to each other.
Content of the site plays a very major role, though.
Not a search engine optimization expert myself, but from my failures in the past, a site is almost non-existent if it just sells products and has no attractive content.

Have a nice day, Motokid!
Xeon!

 

[Motokid]

"My site isn't up yet. I'm still looking for a web hosting company, as mentioned earlier. The book is ready, but not uploaded yet; I'm still waiting for my artist to finish drawing the cover."

So your book "technically" is not ready yet? There's no cover? There's no web site? I can't view it online through your publisher?

How much time do you have to get the two books you need for your ISBN numbers?

Does the bank you deal with for automatic debit payments on your other bills offer a "debit card"? Not to be confused with a "credit" card, but it would have the same effect as far as ordering things online. You could use it once, then cut it into 1000 pieces.

I enjoy your enthusiasm, and I wish you lots of success. Do you know how much the book will sell for in American currency?

 

[phil_t]

Capital of U.K. is London.
Capital of the USA is New York(or is it Washington?)
Capital of China is Beijing.
Capital of North Korea is Pyongyang.
Capital of Canada is Ottawa(or is it Oklahoma?)
Capital of Australia is Sydney.
Capital of Singapore is Singapore.
Sorry for my poor geography; I must have disgraced myself...but this is just an example.

Sorry to interrupt your interesting debate, but I am something of a Geography freak

Capital of U.K. is London.
Capital of the USA is Washington, D.C.
Capital of China is Beijing.
Capital of North Korea is Pyongyang.
Capital of Canada is Ottawa
Capital of Australia is Canberra.
Capital of Singapore is Singapore.

Phil

 

[Xeon]

From Motokid:

So your book "technically" is not ready yet? There's no cover? There's no web site? I can't view it online through your publisher?

In reality, the book is not ready yet. Well, the manuscript is done. I just need to wait for my artist and everything will be ready for sale. As for the web site, I'm still in the process of settling things with my new web host.(need to ask some questions first)
If you like, when the site is ready, I will give you the URL.

How much time do you have to get the two books you need for your ISBN numbers?

Well, my ISBN agency says that I can make arrangements for the printing house to send the 2 copies of my book directly to them. So, if you like the idea and don't mind a bit of effort, we can discuss about me sending you the bucks and you purchase the books for me, afterwhich you will send them to my ISBN agency.

Does the bank you deal with for automatic debit payments on your other bills offer a "debit card"? Not to be confused with a "credit" card, but it would have the same effect as far as ordering things online. You could use it once, then cut it into 1000 pieces.

For some reason, the banks here don't offer debit cards to just anyone; they do offer them to certain corporations, though.

I enjoy your enthusiasm, and I wish you lots of success. Do you know how much the book will sell for in American currency?

The base price the printing house sets is US$12.20(for 199 pages).
I will set the price to US$18.99. This is quite high for a novel, but if I can get a fan base via the site and keep the interest going, it's not really a major problem. The book is a supplement to the site.

From Phil:

Sorry to interrupt your interesting debate, but I am something of a Geography freak
Capital of U.K. is London.
Capital of the USA is Washington, D.C.
Capital of China is Beijing.
Capital of North Korea is Pyongyang.
Capital of Canada is Ottawa
Capital of Australia is Canberra.
Capital of Singapore is Singapor

Wow, capital of Australia is Canberra? Never knew that!
By the way, on the geography side, what does the "D.C." in "Washington D.C." means? Is it "District Center"?

Good day, guys!
Xeon.

 

[phil_t]

It means 'District of Colombia', which is the city district (basically it means the city of Washington is not counted as being in any state).

Phil

 

[Motokid]

Xeon, it's a shame that you can't order your own books. You won't be able to give them as gifts to family. You won't be able to buy at your cost, and sell for whatever price you set on your own terms. All of your friends, co-workers and distant family won't be able to buy books since they don't have credit cards either. That eliminates quite a few sales right there. Especially initial sales.

Selling at an "author" discount, and just giving away a few initial copies to interested parties is a very good way to market. Saving those closest to you the shipping costs. All ways to cut the cost for the customer, but manage the profits for you.

You really need to figure out how you can buy your own books. Having the tangable item in your hands is key to so many sales, or at least generating interest in the people around you.

Are you expecting "local" bookstores to buy your books from the On-Demand publisher? I don't think many will do that. In my area they want the books up front at no cost to them, and if they sell they'll give you some portion of the profit, but they won't spend money for your books without knowing if they will sell or not.

I find it so hard to believe that the publishing house can not work out a way for you to get your own books. Maybe that's the price you pay for not paying a price? That is very unfortunate.

 

[Xeon]

From Motokid:

Xeon, it's a shame that you can't order your own books. You won't be able to give them as gifts to family. You won't be able to buy at your cost, and sell for whatever price you set on your own terms. All of your friends, co-workers and distant family won't be able to buy books since they don't have credit cards either. That eliminates quite a few sales right there. Especially initial sales.

Right.

Are you expecting "local" bookstores to buy your books from the On-Demand publisher? I don't think many will do that. In my area they want the books up front at no cost to them, and if they sell they'll give you some portion of the profit, but they won't spend money for your books without knowing if they will sell or not.

That's not an issue, really. My printing house offers refunding should clients ever feel disappointed or unsatisfied. That's quite an incentive to entice potential book vendors, in addition to the huge discounts.

I find it so hard to believe that the publishing house can not work out a way for you to get your own books. Maybe that's the price you pay for not paying a price? That is very unfortunate.

Ha! No, no. This is not the price I'm paying for "not paying a price". This is the price I pay for being born and living in this little island-country without natural diasasters or riots, wars or unrest, uprisings or rebels, terrorism or mayhem, turmoil or chaos.

Good day, pals!
Xeon.