The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success

By Jennifer Mattern on 29th October, 2007Filed in Marketing

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Before the launch of her e-book, The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success, Dee Power sent me a review copy, and I featured the e-book on the All Freelance Writing blog. I wanted to share this resource with my readers here as well, so you can find my original review below:

The following is a brief review of a new e-book, The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author’s Success, by Dee Power and Brian Hill (the authors of The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them, as well as several other nonfiction books and the novel, Over Time):

When Dee first mentioned the title of this new e-book, my first thought was that I’d be reading another book about how to get an agent and a publisher. But The Publishing Primer goes well beyond that, explaining various publishing options for authors and authors-to-be, including vanity publishing and POD (print on demand) self-publishing.

The Style

I love the way the e-book starts off with some background on the publishing industry; most importantly how books actually end up on bookstore shelves (good info for any aspiring author to understand).

I also like the e-book’s approach of helping authors decide on the best approach for their writing, as opposed to taking a strict stance on commercial publishing, agents being a necessity, and the like. I’m all about education and helping writers make informed decisions, and that’s what this e-book aims to do.

The Resources

At over 130 pages, The Publishing Primer isn’t light reading. Yet, it’s a worthwhile read for any writer considering publishing a manuscript in one form or another. The bonus marketing tips from marketing and PR experts and the collection of newspaper book review contacts make this a must-buy and must-read in and of themselves.

I hate picking up books and e-books that are nothing but long rambling blocks of text. I’m big on scannable qualities in non-fiction reading, because I rarely want to (or need to) read everything. Dee and Brian didn’t disappoint. The Publishing Primer is chock full of checklists, resource listings (like tradeshows), steps and to-do lists, and even a sample press release template to help you announce your new book.

Why I Loved It

Being in the position currently of deciding whether to pitch a proposal to commercial publishers or to offer print and e-book versions of my work-in-progress in a POD environment (because I already have a lot of direct, and influential, contact with my target markets), The Publishing Primer is a tool I’ll be going back to again and again while I work on making that decision. I strongly suggest you do the same (and if you know me at all, you know my recommendations rarely comes easily). The $37 (edit: the official sales page is now showing a $19 price point) is well worth it.

About the Author: Jennifer Mattern

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Jenn is a professional blogger and freelance business writer. She has worked as a freelance writer since 1999, and has been an active business and niche blogger since 2004. She owns All Freelance Writing as well as several other sites and blogs covering PR, small business, and related topic areas. She is also currently writing a nonfiction book for freelance writers called The Query-Free Freelancer, and is the author of the Web Writer's Guide e-book series.

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