AYP Books - Marketing Plans for 2006

[sadhak]

Hi Yogani,

I share your concern. I did weed out whichever publisher that seemed to be attached to any particular organisation. But it is possible that a couple have slipped in. I'm going to talk to a friend's contact in the publishing biz. Friend said the contact might give me some usable advice about the best houses to approach. I'll mention the series scenario as well. Give me a few days on this though.

If the lessons are anything to go by, I've no doubt that each of the books is going to be much sought after by all sorts of people all over the world.

[yogani]

Hi Sadhak:

It should be mentioned that the route taken in the USA and UK has been to "self-publish" through a large "print-on-demand" company -- www.lightningsource.com. It was by necessity, due to the similar challenge of finding a traditional western publishing company that would be interested in the AYP writings.

It has turned out to be a very good way to go, because this approach enables us to cut through all the red tape and put the books out in rapid succession, including timely delivery into the distribution channels with no investment in inventory required. Plus, the concern about getting and keeping all the AYP books in print is taken care of with this approach. They are all there in secure digital files at the printer, available indefinitely for print-on-demand as needed, and shipped within 48 hours. It is working very well as the books move slowly but surely out into more and more distribution channels.  

Last year, I looked for self-publishing print-on-demand companies in India, but could not find any that were viable. If you run across any, do let me know. The next best thing (maybe) would be a reputable self-publishing firm with distribution capability. In that case, we would probably have to pay for pre-printed inventory and warehousing, which would be a problem with a big list of books. For distribution, a web store covering India could do it for us starting out. What we need right now is a place to send readers to buy the books in India at local prices, and a web store would suffice until broader distribution could be achieved.

There are all sorts of ways to publish the AYP books in India. It is just a question of finding a reliable way that will not run us into costs we cannot afford. That is why the focus remains on the traditional publishers who can do it all, but with the associated big loss in speed and efficiency. You can be sure if we could find a company like Lightning Source operating in India, we'd have all the AYP books up and running there in no time. So it is worth keeping an eye open for that.

And, yes, the AYP books are head and shoulders above the online lessons -- the next generation of AYP writing.

Thanks for looking into all this...

Btw, I updated the books page over the weekend, so now it has the full list of AYP Enlightenment Series books on it (nine in all), scheduled out through 2007, plus the website cards (thank you Trip!) and the current AYP books flyer printable from links at the bottom of the page.

The guru is in you.

[sadhak]

Hi Yogani,

I spoke to Mr B N Verma, Macmillan, thinking that he’d advise me about which are the best options for you to approach for the books, since Macmillan, though well known, and with a good distribution, deals mainly in academic books.

In short, he advised me that you should write to the Chief Publisher, Mr Sanjay Sethi, with details of the book, table of contents for the first one, and the subject matter of the rest, and what you project in terms of their rights… whether they sell only in India or the whole of South Asia. (I suppose you will direct them to the site so that they can see that a lot of people are already interested, and many from India).

He said that you should ask him to consider the books, and if he is unable to publish it for any reason could suggest a few alternatives. Mr Sethi will be back from a tour on the 20th June. If you send him a mail around that time, I can follow up. He didn’t tell me anything about the self-publishing and print on order option. But I can try again by the end of this month, if necessary.

Mr Sanjay Sethi, Chief Publisher, Macmillan India Ltd, 2/10, Ansari Road, New Delhi-2. email: ssethi@macmillan.co.in

Hope these people lead to something tangible. If things warm up, something IS turning up![]

[yogani]

Thank you, Sadhak.

There is a letter here used in the last "India campaign" well over a year ago, which can be updated for Macmillan/India and others. There is also an "AYP publisher's page" made up with all that you mentioned and more: http://www.geocities.com/advancedyogapractices/publish
That was for the first book nearly 18 months ago, before the Secrets of Wilder and the Enlightenment Series books, and also before the current ad-free websites, so it needs updating and migration to an ad-free domain. But there it is...

The track we are on now is to get the next book is out in September ("Asanas, Mudras & Bandhas - Awakening Ecstatic Kundalini") and then submit to as many publishers in India as we can. That is how the above list of publishers will most likely be used. Right now I am in the thros of writing and a few other things, and am not ready to drop everything to embark on a new India publisher campaign. But we will this year!

In the meantime, if any serious interest can be generated among publishers in India, that will be very much welcome. Feel free to pass on any and all information you have on AYP. The books flyer has been recently updated and tells the story for existing books, and details Enlightenment Series books coming out over the next 18 months (see link at bottom of the books page). Add to those books a big AYP Easy Lessons Volume 2 and the Secrets of Wilder screenplay, and that is the entire schedule at this point. The last two items are beginning to take shape here as well, so it will be busy here for some time to come.

The strategy is to remain focused first and foremost on the writing, with the assumption that many who are interested in the field of yoga will notice, and tell others until eventually everyone knows, even the publishers in India! We're all doing what we can...

As for rights, yes, I think it would be beneficial for the Indian publisher to cover all of South Asia, and perhaps beyond.

The guru is in you.

[sadhak]

Hi Yogani,

I got the impression that you were in the middle of writing to publishers and wanted some reliable ones to get in touch with.
 

quote: It is about time we got AYP going in India.

Sorry if I seem to be hurrying things... I can get over enthusiastic about things! I'd imagine that the publisher would take a query seriously only if coming from the author. But I see that you're not ready to get in touch with them yet... are you telling me that I can give them all the information they are seeking?

I could do a cover letter, and mail the links you've given here to Macmillan to let them know about the books. Is this a good way? Will this help?

[yogani]

Hi Sadhak:

Yes. Do it. It is time when you think it is -- it is time when each person thinks it is. I think it is time, but can only do so much ... so others must decide and do also.

As they say in China: "Many hands make light work."
Do they really say that, Alvin?

But you get the idea. The more AYP buzz that can be created, the sooner the Indian publishers will say, "Hmmm, there is something going on here." It is the same everywhere, and everyone has my okay to buzz away. I wish everyone would...

There are only two hands here, and a big world to transform. So, having to choose, I choose the writing. The rest can follow from that, sooner or later. The sooner the better!

Put another way, better to have good writing and half-baked promotion than half-baked writing and good promotion, though I know that flies in the face of the way things are often done. If AYP promotion is going to be better than half-baked, others will have to make it so. It is as simple as that. It is about the people ... about what each person chooses for their own life, and for the life of the world...  

Many thanks!

The guru is in you.

[Alvin Chan]

quote:As they say in China: "Many hands make light work."
Do they really say that, Alvin?

I'm afraid...no! At least not in exact wordings.

While classics don't usually need a fancy cover or title, it doesn't hurt to have one. Has anyone ever thought about giving a more attractive cover and/or subtle to the AYP book? The cover of The Secrets of Wilder is still fine, but that of Advanced Yoga Practices: Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living would not have attracted enough of my attention had I not read the lessons online before....

[sadhak]

Hi Yogani,

Will do... you must definitely not interrupt your writing. It's moving, yes, and moving many on. Thank you for that. I'll rack my noggin with the others to see that it reaches as many as possible.

[yogani]

Hi Alvin:

The ideal cover for the AYP Easy Lessons book would have been a mirror ... but the printer could not do it, so I dedicated the book to "you who seek the truth within" instead. It was the best these two hands could do at the time...

Perhaps in the future there will be more time and money to upgrade the cover. Of course, by then it may be "branded" (widely recognized - let's hope so), so we may be stuck with it.

The real task at hand is taking AYP as it is and reaching more people. The best way to do that is to get it in the public media in the form of book reviews and possible author interviews (did I say that?). With growing public demand, distribution will follow.

Hi Sadhak: That's the spirit!

The guru is in you both, and in everyone!
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PS -- see the printable website cards and updated four page flyer providing essential details on all the AYP books (current and scheduled) at the bottom of the books page -- http://www.aypsite.com/plus/books.html