Tuesday, March 29, 2011

ClickBank Continues to See Significant Growth in Independent eBooks Space

eBook sales nearly doubled in 2010 and industry predictions expect these percentages to continue to climb in 2011, tripling by 2015. ClickBank (http://www.clickbank.com), the premier, online marketplace for digital information products, is experiencing this explosive growth first-hand, due in part to significant new product launches in the eBook space. ClickBank currently provides the largest digital marketplace for independent informational eBooks, and sales of eBooks in the ClickBank Marketplace have seen significant growth.

Long time ClickBank clients and Internet marketers Rasheed Ali and Huey Lee have recently launched a new information product, "Autopilot Income Machines." This extensive, multi-media product contains a mixture of video and PDF training materials in eBook format, supported by software, and aims to be one of the most comprehensive products of its kind.

"We've been online for almost 10 years now and have been with ClickBank since 2003. We've built multi-million dollar businesses on the sale of eBooks and still cannot find a worthy replacement, even video, that can achieve what a simple, well written eBook can achieve for its reader," said Ali. "Our latest product is an eBook ‘blueprint,' supported by video training that will give the reader a richer, multi-modality, learning experience to help enhance their retention and functional use of the information."

"There has been a lot of buzz recently around the increase in consumer desire for eBooks and this creates strong opportunity for independent authors seeking to establish a following," said Brad Wiskirchen, CEO, ClickBank. "Historically, we have provided an established channel for innovative, independent vendors to bring their products to market. This is no different. We are leveraging our network to provide a unique opportunity for authors, sellers and publishers to reach a new market of readers."

ClickBank offers titles from independent authors in a wide range of categories that include Education, Fiction, Green Products, Self-Help and many more, with titles that range from Do-It-Yourself Solar Energy to Official Secret Restaurant Recipes. Companies such as Relationship Headquarters, a relationship counseling resource founded by Licensed Professional Counselor Bob Grant, have seen first-hand the success that's possible when selling eBooks through ClickBank. Relationship Headquarters' success over the last 7 years includes over $3 million in sales and over 80,000 products sold to date through ClickBank.

"As with anything you do, success depends largely on partnering with the right companies," said Jill Menghini, Manager of RelationshipHeadquarters.com. "ClickBank provides all of the resources that you need in one place. We have received rave reviews on their customer service and that has translated into return customers and increased success for us."

Publishing Upheaval Leads Author to New Career as Indy Screenwriter/Producer

Three years ago, author Gini Graham Scott was a successful writer specializing in books on work relationships, professional development, and business success, with books published by major publishers, including AMACOM and Random House. She had also sold a service connecting writers to publishers and agents, the film industry, and the media, which she still works with as a consultant. But then the economy tanked, publishers cut back, and the e-book revolution happened, making it harder than ever to make a living writing one's own books.

But after two desperate years of living on the edge while commuting between L.A. and Oakland, Gini Graham Scott has found a new career as an indy screenwriter and producer, as well as helping would-be writers, speakers, and businesspeople write, publish, and promote their own books through her new company: Changemakers Publishing and Writing (www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com). As an indy filmmaker, she has written and produced over three dozen short films and trailers for features, which are now featured on YouTube at changemakersprod. Her most recent films are trailers for the feature, The Engagement at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU15IABpr_4, and for a documentary for geocaching, Hide and Seek at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szRNRoJB5Pk

Scott has additionally written a book on low-budget filmmaking: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING, PRODUCING AND DIRECTING A LOW-BUDGET SHORT FILM to be published by Hal Leonard in November. In the meantime, an e-book version is available through Smashwords and Kindle, and she is currently working on her next book for filmmakers: FINDING FUNDS FOR YOUR FILM, since she is doing exactly that for some of her feature films. She is also leading workshops on writing, producing, and promoting short films, as well as on how to write, publish, and promote one's own book and find a publisher or agent.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Self-Published Authors Can Tap Into 3,500 Christian (Book) Retail Stores

Swanson Christian Products (SCP) has created a new ministry called Grace and Fire Media, which provides a non-traditional alternative for self-published authors to gain access to more than 3,500 retail stores in the traditional Christian retail market.

As a result of its mission to "reach the world through ministry, missions and products that honor God" SCP, a leader in the Christian retail market for more than 75 years, is using its long-standing relationships with Christian bookstore owners and its infrastructure to enter into an exciting opportunity to help authors/pastors and their ministries distribute self-published materials. It is a hybrid distributor /publisher model that no one currently has within the Christian marketplace.

"Swanson has identified a need to bridge the gap between an author's self-publishing and vying for a slot in traditional publishing houses," said Shawn A. Kuhn, vice president of P&K Bookstores. "The company's commitment to quality says to me that these will be great books that will make an impact in the lives of people and cause a stir in the publishing industry."

Christian publishing is a $4.2 billion-a-year industry. Books and Bibles account for more than half the revenues of the average Christian retail store. However, current distribution systems are still based on more traditional models that are integrated with established publishers who only release 10-30 titles a year.

As a result, many self-published authors and pastors who would like to get their books or most-popular messages to the public are unlikely to be able to publish or distribute them though traditional Christian marketing channels.

"Last year, for the first time ever, there were more self-published titles released than traditional publisher titles," said Adam Swanson, president of SCP. "We have set up a system to enable the self-published author to get his message out to the consumer through the Christian retail market. It's a win/win for everybody."

SCP is a not-for-profit ministry of Victory Christian Center. It is an importer, manufacturer and distributor of more than 4,000 Christian products in categories such as apparel, home/office décor, Bible accessories, entertainment and custom products.

For more information about Grace and Fire Media go to swansoninc.com and for a CBA store near you, click on Find A Store Near You.

Visual Storytelling -- almost a movie

Cinema is the most powerful medium for delivering information and entertainment, beyond any doubt, but standing in close proximity to the cinema is the visual story; and Chriscribe.com offers digital readers a unique style of visual storytelling. Best viewed on large screens of 15 inches and upwards, these visual ebooks are formatted to present a mosaic of integrated text and images, much the same as a magazine or newspaper spread. However, on the iPad the format differs in that continuous horizontal scrolling is achieved to provide a significant animated function that equates to a movie.

Currently, at Chriscribe.com there are three graphic novels: Made in England, Born of Fire: The Omen and Where Giants Fall: Lest We Forget; and and visually robust art and design analysis: The Visual Reviewal, all priced at $19.95 AUD and in PDF downloads that facilitates 'read-right-away'. Born of Fire: The Kingdom of Venga is due in April.

All the artwork is developed using a Wacom Cintiq with Photoshop, collated in InDesign and exported to Acrobat PDF.

As the applications for visual material become more available so will the products, and the ability to scroll along the pages uninterrupted is a volatile feature that cannot be overlooked for much longer. Once artists can deliver continuous imagery in a horizontal format, unfettered by the printing process protocols, to electronic readers and computers then this medium will explode, with the potential, not only to equal the power of cinematography in the delivery of visual material, but to overtake it.