Nov 28

We would like you to guest blog!

Marketing, Printing, publishing, Writing No Comments »

Over the past eighteen months, we have tried to provide you with information about the traditional publishing industry, print-on-demand, trends in publishing, and specifically, how Snowfall Press works and benefits both publishers and authors.

Many of the topics have been from our own personal/professional experience, with a scattering of guest blogs from other industry professionals and thought leaders. We would like to expand that. If you are an industry veteran, or a new publisher/author, we would love for you to share your experiences with Snowfall and our readers.

Why blog?

  1. Share your own experiences!
  2. Establish authority and expertise
  3. Develop new relationships with readers
  4. Improve your writing skills
  5. Increase your industry influence
  6. Expand your current base of followers
  7. And, you get a chance to build your reputation and/or brand

Would you consider guest posting?

Because our blog focuses on specific areas, our readers expect to read helpful information about these topics. We know you have something to say. Everyone does. We would like to hear your story and learn from your own experience.

To help get you started, we have adapted this list of guidelines for guest posting.

  1. The subject of the blog post should be one that fits the blog. We want you to write about publishing, printing, writing, books, technology and marketing.
  2. Be original. We don’t want to reuse the same content that you have published somewhere else, nor do we want you to republish the same post after we do. Google actually penalizes sites for duplicate content.
  3. We want to hear your voice. Don’t try to imitate our style. Be creative.
  4. Be concise. Many times length equates to effectiveness. Keep your post between 500-700 words. Or less.
  5. Use visuals. The most effective communication includes art, pictures, graphs, etc. They help engage readers.  Just make sure you have permission or copyright to these before using them.
  6. Share liberally. Make sure to drive your own people to the post. This helps us, and you. You should use a byline at the bottom of the post with a link to connect back to you directly.
  7. Engage your readers when they comment.

Submission Guidelines

If you have a post that meets the guidelines above, you can send it to me on the email david.sheets@snowfallpress.com. Please include the post in the body of the email itself, or as an attachment.

Happy blogging!

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Mar 01

Don’t print a book until it is sold.

Distribution, Printing, publishing, Sales, Uncategorized No Comments »

Ever hear of just-in-time (JIT) inventory? These buzzwords were popularized as a business and inventory strategy, especially for retailers. The premise held that instead of holding large inventories with few orders over a period of time, a retailer would keep their inventory lean and order more often in order to keep products in stock. This model was logically laid out for book retailers in a book called The Mathematics of Bookselling, by Leonard Shatzkin. Mathematically, the lower the stock and the faster the turns (times the stock sells) added to quick replenishment, meant greater cash flow…and a healthier retailer.

One of the technology advancements in the past few years, called print-on-demand (POD), allows authors/publishers to experience this same sort of low stock (or no stock), rapid replenishment system – short runs and single books produced quickly and efficiently.

The old publishing model required a publisher forecast their needs for a period of months, print a large run of book, and either build or contract with a warehouse to store those books until they sold. This model meant that mainly the publishers, who had money, could play the game, since it took considerable capital to print and hold the inventory.

POD has leveled the playing field for the small and independent publisher. Snowfall Press currently works with publishers who ‘carry’ a virtual inventory of product and only print a book when it is sold. This model works for books that are being offered to retailers and direct to consumers.

The goal of true POD, or print-to-order (PTO), is to never have to carry any physical inventory, but instead print only when you have an order in hand, and drop ship that order to the end user.

For publishers interested in this PTO model, we have a page on our website that explains it in more detail.

In the next few posts, we will be looking at the models that Shatzkin discusses in his book, and how book math works.

 

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Jan 17

Whoever said the world is getting smaller, was being enormously understated.

Distribution, Printing, publishing No Comments »

This is a guest post from Chaz Nichols, the Director of Business Development and Alliances with Snowfall Press. Chaz works extensively with our print network, especially helping international printers who are interested in plugging into the Snowfall operating system.

Publishing, as we have known it, has changed forever. And it has changed in astonishing ways, at an astonishing fast pace. The changes are huge, dynamic. But, ironically, these grand changes are best highlighted by how globally small the industry has become. In fact, the phrase, “it’s a small world,” has become a colossal understatement.

Courtesy iStockphoto.com

A theological professor logs into a global network, uploads the PDF of her book, and with a few key strokes starts a single copy printing on a press miles away. In a few minutes, once printed and trimmed, the book will be shipped directly to a friend for review.

A small, growing publisher is keeping its spending low and cash flow healthy using a virtual book inventory model. Books are printed, one at a time, as they are sold. Once printed the books are then shipped directly from the printer to the end-user customer. This model has given the publisher the financial strength to find profitable target markets outside of its own country – further expanding its cash flow and revenue base.

An entrepreneurial American, seeking to reach the Russian market in Northern California, logs on one night to a global print network, finds his uploaded books and initiates a print run of 50 books. By noon the next day they will be in a Mendocino bookstore ready to be purchased.

Another enterprising person, wanting to build a library of literature for a unique people group, writes all of the literature on their computer and air expresses the data to a friend – who then uploads the copy to a book printing network. In a few weeks the perfect bound books are flown back. The turnaround only took weeks rather than months.

There are two common threads of all these stories. The first is that none of the stories took place in the United States or Europe.

The seminary professor is from Colombo, Sri Lanka. The publisher is located in a Former Soviet Union (FSU) country. The entrepreneurial American is working in a closed country in the middle of Asia.

And the enterprising person is actually a missionary in Papua New Guinea. He is in the jungle most of the year and rarely gets to any location that could rationally be called civilization. By using a high frequency radio signal, he can email his desires for books to a friend and then send a memory stick to his friend when a supply helicopter lands in his village every so often. The friend can then make a PDF of the content on the memory stick, upload it to a global network and have the book printed and shipped back in a relatively short amount of time. Where there were once very few books in the tribal languages of the people this missionary serves, there is now a growing supply of literature.

The second common thread to these stories is that all these people are publishers…publishing in an astonishingly small world now…but in really big ways. The technology is so sophisticated now that it has become simple enough to be embraced by anyone with access to the internet.

And the really amazing aspect of the new publishing world is that the professor in Sri Lanka, the growing publisher in FSU country, the entrepreneur in Asia, the missionary in Papua New Guinea have equal, and in some cases better, access to printing globally than people in more developed parts of the world.

With distance measured by the speed it takes for an electronic file to traverse the internet, the world, and the publishing industry, has become very small.

What other ways can print networks be used to bring content to new readers around the world?

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Jan 10

How do I price a POD book?

Distribution, Printing, publishing, Sales 2 Comments »

Pricing a book that is printed digitally, whether print-on-demand, or short run, can be challenging unless you understand how sales channels work.

In traditional publishing, a book might be printed for a dollar or two (using long run offset), and because of the high overhead (buildings, staff, marketing and sales budgets, etc), the retail prices might be five, seven, or even ten times the print ‘cost’ of the book. So a $2.00 print cost* on a book might land the book at $12.99 to $16.99. (*Print costs always need to be fully burdened with make-ready fees attached.)

It is important for publishers is to make sure they are weighing all of their ‘costs’ when they look at this formula. A publisher can’t just look at the printing cost alone. The financing, shipping, warehousing, damage, obsolescence and remaindering costs also need to be factored into the equation.

Digital printing prices might look higher, but generally they are a lot closer than people might think, when all of the costs mentioned in the previous paragraph are factored in. Digital printing can allow publishers to have ‘virtual warehouses’ and drop shipping off press which can eliminate physical inventory sitting on shelves and the pick/pack expense. Digital printing-on-demand (POD) or micro inventory can reduce carrying costs and increase cash flow, which is an important factor for any business.

I read a recent article in which the author shared the following. “… if I went ahead and had the thing printed up directly through an off-set printer–and ordered a few thousand of them–I could probably cut the cost of the book in half, and maybe even a little more. But I’d have to pay the upfront fee to buy the books and then I’d have to figure out a way to sell them.” This can put a lot of pressure on a new or small publisher…one which has sunk many a publisher.

If you are interested in working in the retail channel, you have to remember that the retailer (and distributor if you are using one…and most retailers will require one) is going to need a margin to live on. If you don’t factor a margin for them into your pricing, they will either not buy the book, or you will lose money on every transaction.

At Snowfall Press, a 200 page book costs $3.25 to print in our POD or print-to-order model. A book this size will generally sell for $14.99 or less in the general market. Retailers generally need 40-50% of this retail in order to sell your book. This means that off the top, you need to plan on grossing only $7.50 on this book – if you are selling directly to the retailer. If you have a distributor in the middle, you might have additional costs (their margin) to also factor in.

In my experience, POD books need to be priced four or five times the print cost, in order to carry the retail margins for your partners, and still be competitive in the market.

A final item to consider: all POD printers are not created equal. It can be confusing in this world of catch-all phrases like POD (print-on-demand). Here are a few questions to ask your printer.

  1. What are your upfront costs? Do you charge for opening an account? For loading files? For changes made to files? At Snowfall Press, the answer is $0.
  2. What is your minimum order quantity? At Snowfall, the answer is only one book.
  3. Do I have to sign any publishing or printing agreements? At Snowfall, we do not require either. You want to maintain total control of your project, and have the ability to move it to any other printer at any time.

What rules do you follow when you price a book?

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Jul 20

The e-book is the digital printer’s best friend

Distribution, E-book, Printing, publishing No Comments »

The hype, the craze, the hysteria… is all about e-books these days. Just think about it. I have heard numbers quoted recently that show 30% or more of some New York Times best-selling author’s books are being sold as e-books. I just heard a publisher last week say that they are selling more than $1 million in e-book sales a year, which makes it a ‘real business’ now.

The Barnes and Noble Nook

The International Digital Publishing Forum collects quarterly US trade retail e-book sales in the US, and shows a huge jump in sales (they are tracking wholesales) with Q1 2010 showing more than $90 million in e-book sales (see chart for more info) . In fact, their own disclaimer says that they believe that the overall market is probably double that number ($180 million)

In the meantime, we hear about the doom and gloom and demise of the printed book, which is meant to frighten publishers and printers alike. But should it? I submit that traditional printers, who are used to long runs, are going to continue to see their print runs shrink (they should be worried). Publishers are also going to see their titles shift toward e-book sales, with traditional printed inventories shrinking. This is actually very encouraging for companies who are in the digital printing space. When traditional runs get squeezed, the best option becomes digital.

I had the opportunity to talk to an industry insider last week who works for a large publishing company. He listened to the Snowfall Press model and commented that this was the future of the industry, and then went on to say that if he had money to invest, it would be with a company like Snowfall Press. The digital answer has got to be a seamless system that  brings files from the publisher (or author) to the press, printing a single book economically, and shipping the book directly to the end user (whether wholesaler, retailer or consumer) directly off press.

Interestingly, the device manufacturers are starting to duke it out and eliminate competition. This is the first sign that e-books are going to go main-stream. Price wars will force the price down so that the average consumer will be able to make the choice to move to e-books as an option. If Apple, however, gains a huge market share with the iPad, they have shown (through very innovative packaging, design, and features) that they will keep the prices high. (see http://industry.bnet.com/technology/10009583/dedicated-e-book-readers-feel-the-competitive-heat/ )

Apple's iPad

As Seth Godin puts it, printed books are becoming the souvenir that readers, followers, students want to keep on their shelves. I agree with Seth, and believe this will always be the case.

Since this topic is so hot right now, what do you believe will happen with e-books (and physical books) in the next five years?

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Jul 08

Print your book for free

Authors, Printing, publishing No Comments »

Six months ago, I joined Snowfall Press as a consultant, working with their business development team to craft a strategy to reach authors, micro publishers and mid/large publishers especially in the Evangelical Christian Publisher’s Association (ECPA) area.

In June, I began to focus more of my time on this project and launched a new company around Snowfall Press (more info to come). This solution is perhaps the most exciting deal going in the industry.

Let me share a testimonial from a small publisher that we talked to a few months ago, who was very happy with his current, solution, but who took Snowfall Press up on the offer I am going to give to you. These are his words…

“When Snowfall came calling, we almost disregarded their offer entirely, we’d been so happy with the other printer. But when they said there were no upload fees and could make as many corrections as we wanted, for free, we started listening. Then when their unit costs were significantly lower than the other printer–in some cases unit costs were half of what we had been paying–we really started paying attention. When I saw that the quality of the books was every bit as good with Snowfall as at the other printer, our list of reasons to keep paying more had gotten very short. Best of all, suddenly we had the ability to dream about trying new things and getting our books into new places–like CBD–that we could never have done at the other printer. Now we’re spending less and earning more”.

Snowfall Press is a next generation digital book printer who enables authors and publishers to go from manuscript to selling books within hours. Snowfall delivers this capability with better quality and low costs. By fully automating make-ready and production Snowfall brings more revenue and profit to authors and publishers. And the best part is that you can be your own printer! With Snowfall Press you choose when to get the printing started – no waiting days for a customer rep to get back to you. Snowfall has just launched a brand new website. Check it out! (http://snowfallpress.com)

Snowfall Press

  1. Prepare your print ready files in either PDF or XPS formats.
  2. Setup your book with our online interface: http://snowfallpress.com/users/newUser.html
  3. Order your book online or send orders from your website.

There is no fee to setup a Snowfall Press ac­count and you never have to call anyone to get quotes or to put your book in the system.

So, dig out those unpublished manuscripts! Dust off the great ideas that are too good to let sit idle. Snowfall Press believes you will be so excited about this revolutionary process that they want to give you a chance to print your first copy for free!*

It is Snowfall’s goal to help authors, publishers and small businesses be more successful.

  1. No set up fees. No change fees. No hidden fees. For pricing see: http://snowfallpress.com/index.php/home/calculator
  2. No minimum orders
  3. Shopping cart integration –you can tie a website shopping cart to Snowfall Press and no longer print a book until it is paid for…saving you from pre-printing inventory and having to carry the warehousing and inventory costs. Contact us for more information.

Don’t have a traditional book to print? Here are some other ways Snowfall serves people:

  • Printing family genealogies
  • Thesis projects
  • Capstone course work
  • Seminar workbooks
  • Training manuals
  • Repair manuals
  • Sunday School books
  • Corporate annual and semi-annual reports
  • Compiled PowerPoint presentations for corporate conferences
  • Children’s compiled class work
  • Children’s poetry books
  • School fundraisers

How can you imagine using this technology?

*First time customers.

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Apr 20

A pioneer in true book-of-one print runs

Authors, Distribution, Printing, publishing 7 Comments »

Snowfall Press is not a household name in the publishing industry…yet, but is building a rapid growth company based on a software solution first, and pairing that with best-in-class, print-on-demand hardware.

Where did they come from? Snowfall Press grew up to first, support the mission of another non-profit organization formed in partnership with CEO, Todd Tillinghast, called Virtual Storehouse. Virtual Storehouse’s mission is help eliminate barriers to scripture access by partnering with Snowfall Software and Snowfall Press to, and to utilize their print-on-demand solution aimed at creating and delivering Bibles and foreign language resources to people who may not have had access before in their own heart language.

istockphoto.com

Bible Societies have long been successful at translating and distributing scripture to people groups in their home country. However, due to logistical and publishing constraints (traditional Bible press runs are large, expensive, and hard to justify in more than one location), people located outside of their home country (Africans from Mali who live in the US, for example) frequently have no access to scripture (or other resources) in their mother tongue. This is a significant, growing market, which has been generally overlooked -until now.

Today, Snowfall Press is leading a quiet, game changing revolution in the publish-on-demand (POD) industry. Snowfall Press is creating a network of distributed POD facilities to enable local printing of books around the world. What started with Bibles has now moved into books.

Now authors (or micro-publishers as they are now defined) who want to manage their own publishing process, can bring a PDF file, upload it to their account (at no charge) and print a run of one book, for only the cost of the that one book…with no hidden fees, or other access charges.

This system is so ingenious, that it can easily be mated with websites that sell books, and virtually stock the warehouse. When a book is sold and paid for, the e-tailer website sends a message to Snowfall Press to print the book and ship it directly to the consumer. The author/publisher keeps all the revenue other than the actual cost of the printed book.

This is the explosive growth area in publishing. According to Publishers Weekly, well over 1 million books are published worldwide every year. A ‘staggering’ 764,000 of those are self (micro) published.

The opportunities are huge for publishing entrepreneurs like Snowfall Press.

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