Watch out for those who charge a premium price for books by physician authors.

The company below is an example of one with reasonably priced services and custom design.

Physician Publishing

The surest books a physician author can sell on his or her own are books written for patients and family members of patients. Once you’ve got the attention of your own patients, it’s not that hard to present your book to patients with similar situations.

The second easiest market to reach is your colleagues or prospective colleagues.

The third most popular doctor-written book is the “my story” book full of adventures and mishaps based on personal experiences. Maybe you’ve been a sports physician. Lots of stories there. Or an emergency doc. Or, like one of my favorite authors, perhaps your life resembles that of a doctor who takes on the entire hospital for their unethical behavior and ends up a thousand miles away.

More examples–

• One of my authors decided to talk to his healthiest aging patients and get them to share their secrets for a long life. The book went through two printings, and the second one had a front-cover endorsement by Al Gore!
• Another doctor has virtually established a worldwide book publishing business based on helping medical students cope with their third and final years of medical school, the residency match, and other topics.
• Then there’s the doctor who wants to help people coping with life after being sexually abused as a child or suffering from PTSD.
• I just talked to a doctor with an idea for a book, “So you want to be a surgeon?” Neat idea.
• Another doctor says she’s launching a series of books for parents to use in identifying symptoms and dealing with health problems in their youngsters.
• One of my long-standing clients writes technical manuals for urology and comes up with a brand-new edition every couple of years. He sells them by the thousands.

I could give you  more examples, but the point is this: Reach your people where they are. Help them solve problems you know they are facing or at least understand where they are in the scheme of things.

We don’t sell books for our authors, and here’s why. Like other producers of books, we focus on making your book the best it can be. If you need us to represent you, we’ll do that, but you will probably have better success by reaching organizations and groups of people you know best. Like your patients.

But it’s up to you. Don’t let anyone persuade you to take steps that don’t make sense to you. I’ve found that even first-time authors have a good idea about what will work for them. Use your instincts, and you’ll do fine.

brought to you by Physician Publishing

It all depends, but books published by doctor authors do tend to cost more simply because they are often technical books with illustrations. EVen if two books are  identical in form and length, require equal skill to produce, and will be printed and bound in the same quantities, my experience is that doctors tend to pay more than other people for editing, design, publishing, and marketing services. In other words, books with a physician author-publisher cost more.

Why? Because doctors are–

1. often too busy to shop around
2. sometimes perceived as having plenty of cash
3. usually very particular about the details of the book

When you decide to enter the world of independent publishing by producing your own book, be wary of sales pitches that assure you of value justifying the cost. Find out what that value consists of that is not available at more moderately priced businesses.

You shouldn’t pay higher prices because you’re a physician. Choose your book editor and producer based on the value you believe you will receive, and be sure there is an escape clause in your written agreement in case things don’t work out. You shouldn’t pay for value do not receive.

The cost of producing your book should be based on the following factors:

Number of words

Number of pages

Level of editing or writing assistance needed

Number and type of illustrations

Type of binding (paperback, hard cover)

Number of books

Cover design

Interior page design

Quality

Each of these variables affects the price. For example, with slightly larger than average type, wider margins, and photos or other illustrations, a book of 50,000 words can easily take 272 pages. The same book with no illustrations, slightly smaller font size, and narrower margins would look fine with 160 pages.

Most doctors prefer to have one source take care of editing, design, printing and binding for them. You can find a competent firm that provides careful editing, original full-color cover design, page formatting, and management of the printing and binding for your book. They know they’ll save a lot of time searching for vendors for editing, typesetting, cover design, printing, binding, and delivery and coordinating all of the services by using a one-source book producer. But don’t stop looking until you find one with a rate that seems reasonable to you.

When you’re shopping for someone to design and produce your book for you, watch out for long lists of “extra” services that will easily double your cost with minimal or no benefits to you. Obtaining your ISBN code, for example, or listing your book in a catalog or posting the name and author on the Web can be done by yourself or won’t help you much if at all.

Also beware of super-low prices that cover only printing and binding without any pre-press work. We have heard many horror stories of doctors who have been misled and relieved of large sums of money with nothing to show and no recourse.

This tips and suggestions come to you at no cost or obligation (and no advertising) from Griffith Publishing.

]]> http://physicianpublishing.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/the-costs-of-publishing-for-physicians/feed/ 0 JG http://physicianpublishing.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/doctors-who-became-famous-authors/ http://physicianpublishing.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/doctors-who-became-famous-authors/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:09:53 +0000 JG http://physicianpublishing.wordpress.com/?p=16 ]]> Who is this famous writer
who was also a doctor?
See below…

It has happened more than once. A person with fierce writing skills is also a physician, a dentist, or otherwise involved in the healing arts.

Read more about these doctors who turned out to be great writers. The site gives credit to the following authors who were also doctors:

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
• W. Somerset Maugham
• William Carlos Williams
• Robin Cook
• Oliver Wendell Holmes
• Michael Crichton
• Anton Chekhov
• Zane Grey

More than half of these doctors never practiced medicine, but they all had strong links to the healing profession.

Answer: The doctor-writer in the photo is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes books.

Because of your perspective, ready readers, and ability to guide others through a bewildering array of topics, you are well suited as a writer of nonfiction and fiction works.

1. Perspective

Your mission in life is to bring better health to others. That gives you a perspective that qualifies you for publishing success because everybody wants better health. Even if you take off on a track writing science fiction, mystery novels, or comedy, your position in life as a physician or any other type of health care worker gives a delightful color to everything you write.

2. Ready readers

If you’re in private practice, you probably have 5,000 or so patients on your roster, including some you see rarely, but all with an interest in everything you say or do. This means that in your association with your patients and other physicians you have already developed an eager audience for what you have to share. Never underestimate the power of the doctor-patient relationship.

3. Guidance

Our society faces a crisis of inundation by bad medical information. At best confusing and at worst misleading or even dangerous, people absorbing the “facts” from the media and elsewhere need your input to help them sort things out. You need to help your patients and others map out a path that will help them make sensible decisions about their own health and well-being.

Finally, make your book a speaking platform to inspire change for better healthcare.