Seth Godin's lessons from the Domino project

Today, Seth Godin wrote about what he learned from The Domino Project in a blog post titled The last hardcover. In the post, Godin also announced that he is closing down the Domino Project after publishing a string of 11 best selling books.

I've copied his entire post here. It is a brilliant analysis of book publishing and writing in the digital age.

Tony

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"Today the Domino Project is publishing Sarah Kay's new book. It's a short poem, a great gift and a book I'm proud to publish by an author on her way to big things. I hope you'll take a look.

"Almost exactly a year after we started, Sarah's book is the last print book we'll be launching. Twelve books, twelve bestsellers, published in many languages around the world.

"I've posted a history of what we built, along with some of what we learned along the way.

"By most of the measures I set out at the beginning, the project has been a success. So why stop? Mostly because it was a project, not a lifelong commitment to being a publisher of books. Projects are fun to start, but part of the deal is that they don't last forever.

"The goal was to explore what could be done in a fast-changing environment. Rather than whining about the loss of the status quo, I thought it would be interesting to help invent a new status quo and learn some things along the way. Here are a few of my takeaways:

"Permission is still the most important and valuable asset of the web (and of publishing). The core group of 50,000 subscribers to the Domino blog made all the difference in getting the word out and turning each of our books into a bestseller. It still amazes me how few online merchants and traditional publishers (and even authors) have done the hard work necessary to create this asset. If you're an author in search of success and you don't pursue this with singleminded passion, you're making a serious error. (See #2 on my advice for authors post from five years ago, or the last part of my other advice for authors post from six years ago.)

"The ebook is a change agent like none the book business has ever seen. It cuts the publishing time cycle by 90%, lowers costs, lowers revenue and creates both a long tail and an impulse-buying opportunity. This is the most disruptive thing to happen to books in four hundred years. It's hard for me to see significant ways traditional book publishers can add the value they're used to adding when it comes to marketing ebooks, unless they get busy with #1.

"Booksellers have a starfish problem. Without permission (see #1) it's almost impossible for a publisher to be heard above the noise, largely because long tail merchants haven't built the promotional tools traditional retailers have long used to highlight one title over another. You used to be able to buy useful and efficient shelf space at a retailer. Hard to do that now.

"There is still (and probably will be for a while) a market for collectible editions, signed books and other special souvenirs that bring the emotional component of a book to the fore. While most books merely deliver an idea or a pasttime, for some books and some readers, there's more than just words on paper. Just as vinyl records persist, so will books. Not because a reader can't get the information faster or cheaper, but because there's something special about molecules and scarcity.

"When you combine #1, #3 and #4, you get to Kickstarter, which it seems to me, is going to be ever more important, particularly to new authors, authors that don't write genre ebooks and anyone with a tribe who wants to produce something like a book.

"Sponsored ebooks are economically irresistible to readers, to sponsors and to authors. I'm proud to have pioneered this, and I think it's a trend worth pursuing. The value transfer to the reader is fabulous (hey, a great book, for free), and the sponsor gets to share in some of that appreciation. The author gets a guaranteed payday as well as the privilege of reaching ten or a hundred times as many readers.

"The ebook marketing platform is in its technical infancy. There are so many components that need to be built, that will. Ebooks are way too hard to give as gifts and to share. Too hard to integrate into social media. And the ebook reader is a lousy platform for discovery and promotion of new titles (what a missed chance). All that will happen, the road map is there, but it's going to take commitment from Apple, B&N and Amazon.

"If you're an author, pick yourself. Don't wait for a publisher to pick you. And if you work for a big publishing house, think really hard about the economics of starting your own permission-based ebook publisher. Now's the time.

"Most of all, the character of people in the world of books hasn't changed since I started in this business 27 years ago. Every author I dealt with was a delight. Smart, passionate, honest, humble (and yes, good looking). Readers sense this, I think, and treat books and the people who make them very differently than someone hawking a vitamin or a penny stock. Publishing is about passion and writing is a lifestyle, not a shortcut to a mansion and a Porsche. Bestselling authors are like golfers who hit holes in one. It's a nice thing, but there are plenty of people who will keep playing even without one."

Cat Monday

Capturing video using PowerDirector 10 on an older computer

I am using PowerDirector 10 to capture DV from an older camera on an older computer. The challenge is to capture video on a slow computer without having dropped frames.

First I shut down everything except PowerDirector 10... including the antivirus, cloud backup, clock and weather gadgets, and wireless internet connection.

Next I selected PowerDirector 10's "non-real time capture"option. (I selected this after Real time capture failed, with hundreds of dropped frames.)

I was able to capture two hours of DV with no dropped frames.

Do you need film making skills to get a job?

Today Seth Godin explained "How to Get a Job With a Small Company."

His blog post is brilliant and workable (as usual). One of his recommendations is to 'learn how to produce extraordinary video and multimedia.'

For the past couple years I've been writing books and articles that teach people how to produce extraordinary video. My publisher, MWP is a good place to find books that teach all the skills you need. I am probably prejudiced, but think my own book Digital Video Secrets is a good way to get started. It may be the only book you need.

I've excerpted Godin's post, below, with notes in (parentheses) showing how each step applies to film making...

"1. Learn to sell. Everyone has sold something, some time, even if it’s just selling your mom on the need for a nap when you were three years old. A lot of people have decided that they don’t want to sell, can’t sell, won’t sell, but those same people need to understand that they’re probably not going to get a job doing anything but selling.
(To learn how to sell, look for books on pitching, marketing, acting and auditioning.)

"Small businesses always need people who can sell, because selling
pays for itself. It’s not an expense, it’s a profit center.

"2. Learn to write. Writing is a form of selling, one step removed.
There’s more writing in business today than ever before, and if you can become a persuasive copywriter, you’re practically a salesperson, and even better, your work scales.
(To learn how to write, look for books on script writing, story building and mythology for writers.)

"3. Learn to produce extraordinary video and multimedia. This is just like writing, but for people who don’t like to read. Even better, be sure to mix this skill with significant tech skills. Yes, you can learn to code. The fact that you don't feel like it is one reason it's a scarce skill."
(To learn how to produce video and multimedia look for books on documentary film making, editing, auditioning, casting, budgeting, cinematography, guerrilla distribution, directing and acting. For technical books on things like coding, you can't do better than the books, videos and conferences from O'Reilly Media.)

A book is like an iceberg

"A book is like an iceberg. 10% writing and 90% marketing." Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup For the Soul.

144 publishers turned down Chicken Soup For The Soul before it was eventually published. So far, the book has sold more than 10,000,000 copies.

Sixteen ways to sell out... your books

When my book Digital Video Secrets was published, I decided to keep promoting the book until the first print run sold out. That was three years ago. This summer we made it. Here are a few things I learned along the way.

1. Get 25 Amazon reviews as quickly as possible. It is OK to ask people directly. I usually say something like, "Please review the book and give it your honest review." I had to ask about 50 people to get the first 12 reviews of Digital Video Secrets.

2. Make a web page for your book. It can be as simple as a Google Blogger.com page. Include a brightly colored Buy Now button on the page. Make it easy for people to click the Buy Now button and buy your book.

3. Set aside a regular time to work on promotion. Perhaps one or two hours each day, or one or two days a week, whatever schedule works for you. Otherwise promotion can (will) interfere with your writing. Book promoting is an infinite series of possible tasks. Setting aside a time for promotion is a way to limit the job and keep it from taking over your life.

4. Search for bloggers in your field, and contact them. You might offer to write for them as a guest blogger. Start following discussions and leaving comments on their websites. Look for mid-level bloggers as opposed to superstar bloggers. The superstars are often too hard to reach. Start an Excel spreadsheet with the blogger's names, URLs, and a note about the content and popularity of their blogs. Keep going until you can identify the best 20 or 30 mid-level bloggers in your field -- and the next 100 - 200 with smaller followings. Find 5 new ones a day and within a month you will have over 100.

5. Restrict your social media promotion to the one or two programs that you are comfortable with. Don't be seduced into using a program you don't like because someone says it's good for promotion. For example, I don't really understand or feel comfortable with twitter, so I have not used it to promote my own books.

6.Social media promotion is really about having conversations with people. Use things like blog comments, email, Facebook, and LinkdedIn to start conversations with interesting people and organizations that you contacted when you were researching and writing the book. Send a few of them copies of the book. Ask them for Amazon reviews. Ask them to review the book on their blogs, and mention the book on their blog, Facebook or LinkedIn accounts.

7. Offer to speak at organizations, seminars and events that are related to the topic of the book. The goal is not to sell books. It is to start stimulating conversations with people who have an interest in the subject of your book. (This is tricky. It can be expensive and time consuming for little apparent return.)

8. Offer to speak to classes at Universities. Again, the objective is not to sell books but to start stimulating conversations with interesting people. The book sales will happen if enough conversations get going.

9. Post a downloadable sample of the book online, linked to a Sample button. Perhaps the first 10 or 20% of the book. At the end of the sample, put a link to buy the book. Kindle is great for this.

10. The first sentence of your sample should capture the reader. By the middle of the first page, the reader should be entangled in the story you are telling. Don't be afraid to use your best anecdotes in the sample. Give the reader one potato chip, or three! (H/T Jon Franklin)

11. Look for organizations that might buy the book in truckloads. Perhaps a nonprofit, or a corporation with a compelling interest in the subject of your book. Offer to sell them 5,000 copies or 10,000 copies at a reduced price that they can give away as promotional items. If they really like the book, they might pay for publicity and a speaking tour. You will be their captive author and star.

12. Look for the most active forums in the field. One or two will stand out above all the rest. On these forums you will find respected professionals (like yourself) who are commenting and discussing critical issues every day. Forums tend to be more oriented to problem solving and advice. Get involved and offer your hard-earned expertise in the subject that the book covers.

13. If you do not already have a detailed audience description, I'd take a day or two to write one. When you know exactly who you are trying to reach, the job of finding and reaching them becomes much easier.

14. Create a 5-7 word description of your book, but no more than 7. Less is better. The reason is to make it really easy for people to copy the description and a link to the book and forward the whole thing via twitter. My son tells me that many RSS feeds only show the first 7 words of a title or sentence. Make it EASY for people to copy and forward the description and link. The title and subtitle as it exists right now might be all you need.

15. Put a link to the book in the signature line of your email address. Include that link and the short 5-7 word description in every email, comment, and communication. Like this:

Tony Levelle
email: info[at]tonylevelle[dot]com
website: www.tonylevelle.com
Digital Video Secrets The basics distilled into one essential guide.
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Video-Secrets-What-Manuals/dp/1932907475

16. Do radio shows. Buy a national directory of radio shows. Call the producers and offer to be interviewed. Take as many gigs as you can get, including those in small regional markets. The best shows for selling books are the hour-long interviews, but three minute clips are excellent. Remember, you never know who is listening. One person in the radio audience could mention book to the right someone, and make a huge difference. When an Internet radio show wants to interview you, their audience is--by definition--your niche audience.

Hope this helps. As always, feel free to comment (good or bad) and to contact me directly.

Fourteen things you can do to sell out

Fourteen things you can do to sell out has moved to a new address.



After additions and changes by readers, Fourteen things you can do to sell out has become Sixteen things you can do to sell out.

You can read it here.