Book Publishing

[EarthDragon]

With the help from my Shrfu I have written a high level medical 24 season qigong excersize book,and looking to get it published. I was wondering if anyone out there could help me or direct me to a place that would be interested, thanks

[MasterKiller]

The reality is that you are probably looking at a self-publishing situation. These sorts of specialty books can be extremely difficult to place with a decent publisher.

It's not terribly expensive. You could probably run 500 books for $3 to $4 per book, so your investment would most likely be limited to maybe $2,000 or $3,000. In some cases, the house will even act as distributor for a piece of the profit.

SPJ has some experience with self-publishing. You might send him a PM.

[Ming Yue]

try

http://www.lulu.com


I have a book and a calendar from there. the print quality is good and the prices are fair. no minimum purchase, and the setup is free.

[GeneChing]

We've discussed this before (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36212). I think there might even be another book publishing thread on this forum, but I'm too lazy to go fishing for it right now...

[Three Harmonies]

Getting stuff published is not that hard if you find the right publisher for your niche. North Atlantic publishes a lot of MA stuff, and Tim (my Xing YI coach) says they are very good people to work with. May also want to try Yang Jwing Mings publishing company as they are certainly geared towards qigong stuff.
Be leary of self publishing..... heard many a horror story. Remember publishing it is only 50% of the battle. Need to also promote it (where most people fail).
Good luck
Jake

[EarthDragon]

thanks so much guys.
I really want to get this thing rolling. I have been working on it for almost 2 years and the material in it is outstanding. It came form a daoist priest some 480 years ago and have never been offered to the public and passed down only literal in my teachers family. i will try all the links you have given, be well.

[David Jamieson]

yep, i concur that you likely will have more trouble with a publishing outfit than printing it as a vanity publication.

many take the route of vanity publication because they can have control over the process.

Your next problem will be getting the word out and distribution. This is where you might wanna hook up with an agent. Unless of course you want to nickle and dime it out.

[Rockwood]

Hi, I worked with Tim Cartmell at North Atlantic Books when I was an editor there. I am a freelance editor now, and I present books to the publisher there when I run across good stuff.

Earth Dragon, I'd be happy to take a look at what you've got and if it seems like a good fit, I'll take it over to the boss at North Atlantic. They are putting all their new martial arts books under the Blue Snake Books imprint.

Their latest book is the one by the students of Wang Pei Shing, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583941452/ref=pd_qpt_gw_2/002-2149478-3391210?n=283155

I'm proud to have played a role in this book, because it contains some of the best theory and foundational practices of any book on Chinese internal styles. Really solid and useful material. Hard work too.

Of course, self-publishing is always an option, the only drawback being that it's very difficult to get your books into the bookstore without a publisher or distribution company.

Sincerely,

Jess O'Brien
Oakland, CA
xingyiquan5@yahoo.com

[SPJ]

A book in itself is a product or a sale of an idea or ideas.

It requires constant promotion as pointed out.

display on the shelf in chain book stores.

on line listing in "channel" bookstores.

book tour, signing, seminars, etc.

As a product, we have to see the market or target audiences, who they will be.

Are there any comparable or "competitive" products?

How our books stand out?

Provide new ideas, fresh perspectives, or just something new altogether and not repeating etc etc.

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Best luck in the publishing process and the promotion efforts.

:)