| The trouble with publishing a book, from a | | | | |
| first-time writer's point of view, lies with | | | | Because I wanted to use slow motion for this |
| the slowness of the publishing industry. Once | | | | last video, I took all the footage to the |
| written, the book has to be accepted by a | | | | racetrack video lab (a great place to get |
| publisher, rewritten according to the editor, | | | | access to expensive video equipment on the |
| then scheduled, manufactured, distributed, | | | | cheap) and had all the footage moved up to |
| and marketed. Most books don't get much in | | | | one-inch tape, then dropped to standard VHS |
| the way of marketing. | | | | in slow motion - all for $200. From the |
| | | | original HI-8 tapes, and the converted slow |
| Years later, with the very best of luck, the | | | | motion stuff, I built my master and dubbed in |
| author begins to see some small reward for | | | | the narration and background music. |
| his efforts. Maybe $5,000 if he or she is | | | | |
| very lucky. If your first book isn't | | | | You have to keep in mind that this is a tiny |
| profitable for a publisher, you may never | | | | business for profit, not Walt Disney Studios. |
| have the opportunity of having another | | | | Profit will come from delivering large bodies |
| published. | | | | of valuable information, not fancy video |
| | | | effects, super quality production, or |
| Self-publishing is a better route because the | | | | beautiful packaging. Once your customers |
| author typically knows his audience and how | | | | trust you, your packaging doesn't matter at |
| to reach them. But the up-front costs of a | | | | all. Almost everyone trusts a company that |
| $5,000 printing can be $30,000 or more, and | | | | gives written guarantees and takes credit |
| the marketing costs can run quickly into five | | | | cards. |
| figures as well. Any books that go unsold are | | | | |
| "dead inventory" or wasted money. | | | | EQUIPMENT |
| | | | |
| I have written, self-published and marketed | | | | Your original footage should be of high |
| four books, all dealing with exercise | | | | quality because as you move from original to |
| physiology and race horses (a very narrow and | | | | master a copy, you're going to lose some |
| specialized market). Two made money, two | | | | video quality. In order to avoid paying big |
| didn't; one of them was a total loss and | | | | bucks for professional equipment, my advice |
| didn't even bring back publishing costs. | | | | is to start with a Hi-8 or super 8 CCD |
| Still the two winners produced a net profit | | | | camcorder with a lux rating (low light |
| exceeding $200,000 over four years, and both | | | | capability) of four or less (Your video |
| are still selling today. The first book, The | | | | dealer can assist you in choosing equipment). |
| Fit Racehorse, originally sold for $55 a | | | | For higher quality productions and more |
| copy. My most recent book, The Racehorse | | | | up-front expense, you can rent studio |
| Owner's Survival Manual, is the other winner | | | | equipment, studio personnel, and even a radio |
| and sells for $59.95. The smaller the market, | | | | announcer's voice. If you're highly |
| the more specialized and valuable the | | | | organized, know precisely what you want to |
| information, and the bigger the retail price. | | | | shot, and how you might get by with a |
| | | | one-day, or two half-day studio rental fee. |
| A BETTER WAY | | | | That's $2,000 to $3,000 in most cities. |
| | | | |
| There's a better, easier way to make money in | | | | SELLING: CUSTOMER AND PRICE |
| self-publishing. A reasonably talented | | | | |
| communicator with specialized knowledge of | | | | In your direct mail and print advertising the |
| the value to others is more likely to see big | | | | offer has to be irresistible. You have to |
| profits from his efforts if he chooses | | | | guarantee and deliver satisfaction. You have |
| instead the medium of video. Today, almost | | | | to make the act of purchasing easy by |
| everyone who has indoor plumbing has a | | | | honoring credit cards and providing an 800 |
| videocassette recorder/player (VCR). The six | | | | number. Your advertising should be targeted |
| months to a year needed to write a book can | | | | precisely at your potential customer: it's |
| be condensed to six weeks of planning, | | | | unlikely you'll be able to sell a gardening |
| writing, taping, and editing a self-made | | | | video in a motorcycle magazine! Before you |
| video. | | | | begin work on any video, plan your marketing |
| | | | approach. |
| I've "published" twenty-eight videos and the | | | | |
| monthly income from them has been between | | | | I use an computer for keeping track of my |
| $8,000 and $20,000 for more than four years | | | | customer list and a laser printer for |
| now. Most are still selling (four are new and | | | | producing all my fliers and the documentation |
| just going on the market), none have lost | | | | that I send along with the videos. This |
| money, and I have never had any inventory | | | | documentation helps the videos "stick," |
| except for a supply of blank tapes. The | | | | providing and extra unexpected bonus for the |
| unsold copies of my two failed books, in | | | | customer, and virtually eliminating returns. |
| contrast, represented some $40,000 in | | | | Essentially, the documents are close-ups of |
| unrecoverable up-front costs. From now on, | | | | the subject matter included in the video, |
| I'm going to let someone else publish and | | | | getting down into detail that perhaps the |
| market my books, and I'm sticking to the | | | | tape could not deliver - sometimes charts and |
| self-published video business, where the real | | | | graphs. |
| profit is. | | | | |
| | | | One-third of my business is wholesale sales. |
| HOW IT'S DONE: THE SUBJECT | | | | My print ads complete for business with those |
| | | | of the retail accounts I service. When I |
| The first rule of thumb is teach what you | | | | introduce a new video, I first offer it to my |
| know or what a friend of yours knows. My most | | | | old direct mail customers at a discount in a |
| recent tape, Exercise Rider, the Good, the | | | | "pre-release special." |
| Bad, and the Ugly, has returned more than | | | | |
| $20,000 in three months - and I don't know | | | | The prices of my videos are always high. I |
| how to ride a horse. In fact, a friend who | | | | want to make a profit and I want my retailers |
| likes to visit racetracks took the original | | | | to make a profit. The lowest price I've ever |
| footage on a Hi-8 Cannon camcorder. | | | | put on a single video is $39.95; the highest, |
| | | | $99. Thus, when a wholesale customer orders, |
| I sent videos of fifty racetrack exercise | | | | say a dozen $39.95 tapes, they'll send me |
| riders to several friends who are experts in | | | | $240, while a dozen direct mail sales of the |
| the field. They critiqued each rider, talking | | | | same video will bring in $480. |
| into a cassette recorder as they watched the | | | | |
| footage. I listened to the critiques and | | | | Remember that you can always lower a price, |
| built my voice-over from them. The $69.95 | | | | but just try to get away with raising it! But |
| ninety-minute tape is getting raves from | | | | THINK before you lower a price. At one time, |
| buyers, all of whom are guaranteed | | | | I thought I had nearly exhausted the market |
| satisfaction. If they don't love the tape, | | | | for a pair of my $99 videos since their sales |
| they can send it back within thirty days. Not | | | | had plummeted I then cut the price in half, |
| one has been returned as of this writing. | | | | confident that sales would go up. That was |
| | | | two years ago. The tapes are still selling, |
| If you deliver valuable information, in | | | | but at the same slow rate - and now my |
| quantity, in a reasonably decent production, | | | | profits are at a lot lower too. I made the |
| your production will stick. If you go for | | | | mistake by dropping the price on them. |
| effect, but deliver drivel, or plain | | | | |
| erroneous or incomplete information, the | | | | THE MARKETPLACE |
| customers will be enraged. They'd much rather | | | | |
| buy and keep an amateur production which | | | | You may feel, especially after browsing |
| fills informational needs than one that's | | | | through specialty video catalogs, that |
| pretty, but shallow. | | | | everyone has beaten you to the punch. You may |
| | | | think that big, sophisticated studios are |
| HOW IT'S DONE: PRODUCTION | | | | producing the only videos that consumers will |
| | | | buy. What you must understand is that a whole |
| As I mentioned above, the raw footage for my | | | | new marketplace is out there, and there isn't |
| most recent tape was taken with a | | | | nearly enough material to satisfy it. |
| consumer-type camcorder. My first tape was | | | | |
| taped with an older Panasonic camera and | | | | Information is information, no matter who |
| recorder. By today's standards, the results | | | | delivers it. Major studios feel they cannot |
| were blurry pictures with mumbly sound, but | | | | waste their resources on small projects that |
| the tapes did sell and most stayed sold. | | | | might require specialization outside of |
| | | | videography. If they wanted to produce a |
| At home I Have a JVC VHS editing console that | | | | video on cabinet-making, they would have to |
| cost me $5,000 new, and five JVC HQ consumer | | | | locate a cabinetmaker, pay for his time and |
| decks for making copies. I "assembly edit" | | | | materials, and using their millions of |
| the master tape, videos first, then add voice | | | | dollars worth of high-tech gear and expensive |
| and sometimes music. Labels are printed by a | | | | technicians begin production. Meanwhile Joe |
| typewriter with memory (you can do any number | | | | Cabinetmaker, on Elm Street, has made a nifty |
| of the same label with just one command). The | | | | little video that is informative and |
| finished product goes back into the original | | | | enjoyable to watch. |
| box and is shipped without further packaging. | | | | |