If you are trying to get into the music industry but nobody is hearing your music, then self-publishing your own music would be a great idea. With self-publishing, you would be entitled to the full ownership of the song, plus its rights and income. Self-publishing could actually help you earn more revenue.
Becoming a self-publisher in the music industry is not easy though, you have to make sure that you have the right attitude, educational background and of course some contact people that would help in giving you an edge.
Going into self-publishing would mean that you would have to do all aspects of making, distributing and marketing your songs. You can get somebody to do it for you, but you still have to oversee it. It would help a lot if you had basic knowledge on marketing, business, advertising and accounting.
Contact building, is not something that you get to do overnight. Good contacts are something you build over time and it would mean developing good business relationships with these contacts.
Self-publishing experts say that there are two stages or phases that a self-publisher undergoes: the period where the self-publisher produces the output and the period when the publisher markets the output.
The production phase involves the recording, editing and designing the CDs. Aside from this you would also need to perform mastering, this is where duplicate copies would come from. Another aspect that a self-publisher needs to prepare is the cover of the CD. Aside from the cover, the CD label, tray card and a booklet also needs to be prepared.
In the production phase, before you duplicate and distribute your CD, you would need to copyright your music to protect it. There are many companies that could handle CD duplication to about 250 copies or more. They could also handle reproduction of promotional materials that you would include with your CD. You would need to include in your CD information about the CD. This could be handy when you distribute the CDs, especially for radio stations.
The second stage would include the marketing and distributing phase. Marketing and promotional materials would include posters, catalogues, display items and other similar items. You could also promote your CDs over the internet, by creating a website and having a way for the buyer to buy your product on the website.
The best promotional material is yourself. It is important to have a business card that would include your promotional website and at the same time your contact information. During gigs or any events, make sure to hand out your card and information to promote your CD. It would be even better if you can actually sell your CD’s during your gigs when you are on a break.
The biggest problem with having your song published is that producers may not like it beforehand, which is why they would refuse it. But once they have seen that it has built an initial following or have achieved certain level of popularity, even though small, it could help you get the big break that you are looking for. You can even revise your press kit from time to time whenever you get good reviews.
Self-publishing can give you the edge you are looking for, but you would have to be prepared to make sacrifices along the way. Achieving your dreams is always like that.
When you say self-publishing, the author is responsible for all the aspects of publishing his or her book. The author takes over the editing, printing, publicity and distribution of his or her book, not any publishing company. Because of this system, the author gets to claim all the sales of the book.
If you think that self-publishing your book is something that you are capable of doing and suits you, then there are some things that you would have to consider. For example, you would have to think about the competition. How many people have written the same topic? Aside from that, you would also have to consider the number of copies you intend to publish.
If you are planning to have your book self-published, the first thing that you should do is ensure that you are prepared for the task ahead of you. You need to be mentally prepared to tackle all aspects of publishing.
There are many things that you should pay attention to, like the type of cover that your book will have. You would also have to think about the design of the book cover, the flow of pages, every aspect that would result into the creation of a top quality significant. The first thing that a book buyer would notice when looking for books, will be the cover and of course the title. A good title will serve as a magnet for book buyers.
If you are aiming to have your book published through a website, you would have to make sure that the word processing program you will be using is something reliable. The book builder programs and services you would also be using should also be reliable.
What are the other things that need to be done to make sure that the self-publishing of your book makes a smooth transition?
• The number of copies would direct you to what kind of publishers you would need. For example, if you are want to have about 25 to 500 copies, then print-on demand publishers would be suitable.
• When looking for publishers that would run your book, look for those publishers that could handle your layout, printing and production demands. You can start shopping and asking for samples of the books that they have published before. Ask them questions about printing. There are some printers or publishers that cannot handle a specific lay-out or have limitations. So make sure that the publisher you choose could handle your design and layout.
• Design and book format can help your book stand-out. If it will be your fist time to self-publish a book, you can look for a mentor that could help you with it. Some self-published authors would get a professional book designer to make the design and assist in layout.
• As a self-published author, you will be shouldering the expenses. Make sure that you are familiar with the different costs and expenses. You would have to be familiar with printing costs which depends on the copies and services. So when shopping around for publishers, do not forget to ask about the printing cost. Aside from printing costs, you would also have to consider the photography, copy editing, requesting for the International Standard Book Number which would make your book identifiable.
• Distribution is another thing that you should be prepared for. If you go for traditional publishing, the publishers would cover the cost, marketing and distribution of the book. But since this is self-publishing, you would need to identify how to distribute and who will receive your books. Some bookstores would only take some copies and see if they would sell, if not then you would have to get the books back. You can also explore online sales.
• Marketing is important in any kind of book selling. Aside from publishing, you would also have to carry the marketing and promotion of your book. You can hire a publicist to do it for you or you can do it yourself.
With all these troubles, what can self-publishing give you? On traditional publishing, an author would get about 8% of royalties, while on self-publishing you can get about 50 % of the returns. Aside from that, you get to control the different aspects of publishing and distribution.
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