New book on Middle-earth

[Michael Martinez]

Well, a friend who used to teach marketing advised me I'd better start talking this up. I've done so a little bit on Xenite.Org's Middle-earth mailing list, but haven't said anything beyond that.

So Entmoot gets the honor of being the first message board to hear this. :)

I'm self-publishing a book on Middle-earth. The title is VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH. This book brings together essays I've published on various Web sites. I've revised them somewhat.

The book will be published through Xlibris.Com, a self-publishing service that provides print-on-demand books. They will publish the book as both an ebook and a trade (oversized) paperback.

I should be able to list the book on Amazon.Com, Borders.Com, and BarnesandNoble.com. So people will not only be able to order the book through major online booksellers, Webmasters (if they like the book) will be able to sell it through the associate/affiliate programs these online sellers offer.

I've got other projects I'm working on and hope to announce a few more later this year. One of them is a new PARMA ENDORION, which I will publish as an ebook. It will be free, and it should be translated into several languages. PARMA ENDORION is my oldest collection of Tolkien/Middle-earth essays, and the Web site has been pretty popular through the years, especially with students. When the ebook is published, however, I'll take down the PARMA ENDORION Web site (the new edition will be more up-to-date).

I don't know when exactly VISUALIZING MIDDLE-EARTH will be ready for sale. I'm waiting on the galleys, which are supposed to come in another week or two. Once I get them I'll have to proof the book and send them back. Sometime after that Xlibris will publish the book.

The neat thing about this print-on-demand service is that I don't have to buy an inventory of books or arrange distribution through bookstores. Self-publishing has been a hard way of getting published because you have to really market the books to distributors AND to the public. Now self-published authors can focus on marketing their books to the public.

I'll let people know more information here and elsewhere when I have it, and I'll certainly announce when the book(s) become available.

[Fat middle]

speaking of marketing...

if you put some selected paragraphs as a preview in a web site, say Tolkien Trail or another of the biggest :p , you could get people more interested in buying the whole book, because they'd know what are they going to buy... then you include a link to an online sell point... and "that's it" as Merlin would say ;)

[bmilder]

Wow, that's awesome! But I can't think of anyone more qualified to write such a book :)

[Darth Tater]

I'm sure the good loremaster has written a great book :) I look forward to reading it

[arynetrek]

congratulations on getting published!

aryne *

[noldo]

Congratulations!

I doubt that it will be available here. :(

[Michael Martinez]

Thanks. Xlibris will create a Web page for me and they'll be posting a chapter online there. I'll let anyone who wants to help promote the book quote that chapter in whole (it will be one of my Suite101 essays, slightly revised).

I have set a goal of selling 2,000 copies. Although that may seem modest, it would be quite profitable for me, I assure you, and a friend of mine in the book business tells me that self-publishing books is hard work. She said most self-published authors probably don't sell more than 2,000.

So, if I make the 2,000 mark, I'll count anything beyond that as cream. :)

[Bullroarer]

What do you think the price range will be? Can you make it free for all Entmooters that are Enting and above? ;)

[Gilthalion]

Self publishing has certainly been made more affordable these day! The Information Age is upon us!

Mr. Martinez, from what I've seen of your essays (a handful, I've only really just started looking at the Tolkien Community on the Net) your book should be quite successful and ought to break into traditional distribution channels as well.

You have evidently spent a great deal of time studying all of the available literature and seem to have a judicious temperament and a subtle understanding!

[Taimar]

MM, having read much of your work at your website, I assure you that your book will be gracing my bookcase very shortly after publication. Congratulations!

[Michael Martinez]

FREE!!???

FREE!!!???

[anduin]

Yay!!! It's free!!

j/k ;)