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TurnKey Publisher Series

Book Testimonial for “TurnKey Publishing” by Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI

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This was first posted on the “TurnKey Publishing Blog”

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Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI (public relations) was kind enough to provide a nice testimonial of my book, “TurnKey Publishing”. I greatly appreciate her kind words and her support.

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Matthew Chan”s choice of title, TurnKey Publishing, is perfect in describing the contents of his book – a wealth of information – truly a basic primer on the subject. He has included every facet of self publishing anyone would need to know in order to have a thorough grasp of the subject.

The book comprises such aspects as: what to write about, budgeting and setting aside of funds toward eventual expenditures, costing, forming your own publishing company, design ideas for the book cover, use of photos, printing options, getting an ISBN number, etc. Matthew covers it all.

Not only does he explain the topics in simple understandable terms, but he tells “how to” in a way that makes it easy for any reader to use and apply the material.

This book is one of my top choices, a “must read” roadmap for anyone contemplating the route of self-publishing and wanting to avoid the potholes with the result of having a successfully journey.

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The Emergence of CEO Publishing

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This was first posted on The TurnKey Publishing Blog.

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With the recent and tremendous growth of independent publishers, a newly emerging niche of independent publishing is CEO Publishing. CEO Publishing, as the name implies, is a specialized form of business publishing that is focused on CEOs. CEO has traditionally stood for “Chief Executive Officer”. However, with the growth of entrepreneurship and professionals working from home offices and smaller offices throughout the U.S., CEO also stands for “Consultants, Entrepreneurs, (business) Owners”.

Many modern CEOs no longer work restrict themselves to working for Fortune 1000 companies in a corner office on the top floor of a skyscraper in a metropolitan city. Today, it is not uncommon for modern CEO”s (Consultants, Entrepreneurs, Owners) to work in smaller offices of a company they own located in the suburbs of a modest city.

This special group of CEOs are fresh, innovative, unconventional, and daring in their approach to business. They recognize the need to represent themselves and their companies with Credibility, Excellence, and Optimism. They also understand the growing importance and significance of having their own powerful calling card, their own published book.

Ambitious CEOs know they are not only chief managers for their company, they are also figureheads. They are the most important symbol and, subsequently, the public “face” for the company and the products and services they offer. They must also become Celebrities, Experts, and Opportunists as part of their ongoing marketing efforts, not simply be the traditionally-recognized Chief Executive Officer.

Moderns CEOs are beginning to recognize the role of having a published book as their business calling card for their credibility marketing and educational marketing efforts. For Consultants, Entrepreneurs, and business Owners, having a published book is the new business calling card for the 21st century.

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TurnKey Publisher Book Series Reviewed by Midwest Book Review

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turnkey-publisher-setThis was first posted on “The TurnKey Publishing Blog”.

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I had almost forgotten I had submitted to Midwest Book Review copies of my newest books “TurnKey Publishing” and “The TurnKey Publisher’s Audio Publishing Handbook”.

I am happy to announce they did a favorable write-up for the two books. I thank Midwest Book Review for their favorable review.

There is now a brand new two-volume series by Matthew S. Chan designed specifically to help individuals and niche groups profitable publish books as a source of revenue for themselves and/or their projects.

“TurnKey Publishing” (9781933723013, $21.95) is a complete course of step-by-step instruction on creating a commercially successful book. Chan debunks such common myths as it being too difficult to write a book, too expensive to publish a book, it being necessary to sell through bookstores to be successful, needing an agent to become reputably published. Readers will learn how to retain total creative control over their own work; use accelerated publishing to turn out three or more titles a year; produce and build a book — instead of simply writing one; sell books outside a traditional bookstore, publish outside of a traditional publisher, create a business that provides a revenue stream, convert and package personal knowledge, experience and stories into an income-producing book, and market oneself successfully even when beginning as a totally unknown author.

“The TurnKey Publisher’s Audio Publishing Handbook” (9781933723150, $20.95) has as its specific focus the creation and self-publication of an audio book and/or audio program — without going through a traditional audio book publisher or using a professional recording studio. Of special note is the cogent and practical information provided with respect to finding the right vendors to design and manufacture an audio CD package and adapting a print book to an audio book format. Every novice author aspiring to publish their manuscript and every group seeking to fund raise through publishing a book should give “TurnKey Publishing” a very careful (and profitable!) reading. Every published author and every niche publisher should carefully read “The TurnKey Publisher’s Audio Publishing Handbook” with an eye towards considering turning their print publications into an audio book format to augment their revenue stream.

New “TurnKey Publisher” Books Released!

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TurnKey Publisher's Audio Publishing HandbookAt long last, I have finally written, published, and released both of my “TurnKey Publisher” books for general sale.  They are now available and in stock at Amazon.com and BN.com.

“TurnKey Publishing” was made available in February but I did very little to promote the book at that time. I was waiting for the completion of Volume II, “The TurnKey Publisher’s Audio Publishing Handbook”. After all, this is the beginning of what I call “The TurnKey Publisher” series.

These two books really go together as a set.  Volume I starts with the business of book publishing and then continues to Volume II where readers are introduced to the world of audio publishing.

Volume III, “The TurnKey Publisher’s Unstoppable Book Writing” has been announced and 50% of the book has been written.  It will be a much smaller book than most books I have written thus far but I think will be essential to help those break the mental barriers that often come up in the world of publishing.

Volume IV, “The TurnKey Publisher’s Accelerated Publishing Handbook” has been announced.  Nothing has been written, not even an outline. This book incorporates elements of Volumes I to III into the premise of Accelerated (quick, down, and dirty) Publishing.

I am kicking around ideas of releasing a “TurnKey Publisher” introductory audio product using some cutting edge technology. However, I don’t want to say too much right now until I finalize my decision.

2009 will be the year of “The TurnKey Publisher” series. I am quite excited and believe it will carry me well into 2010. I will be making more announcements in the following months.

“TurnKey Publishing” Book Released to Printing

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TurnKey Publishing bookI am happy to announce that my newest book “TurnKey Publishing” has finally been released to printing.

It has been a long journey getting this book out. It was delayed several times last year as I took time out to work in and manage my real estate investments.

With the numerous and extended delays, the publishing industry continued to change and my publishing business evolved. The changes forced me to go back and revised the manuscript with the latest information.

I expect that “TurnKey Publishing” will be available for sale within the next two weeks on Amazon.com as well as my own websites.

There will be more special announcements as the book is made available for sale.

Accelerated Publishing is a Part of TurnKey Publishing

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As the first new titles are being designed, written, and developed for the upcoming TurnKey Publishing series, a concept I will be discussing and describing is Accelerated Publishing. Essentially, I will be describing how to develop a system to turn an idea and concept to a finished product within a matter of weeks.

In traditional publishing, whether it is print or audio books, the lead time and preparation time is tremendously long, often many months and sometimes over a year. However, I have discovered that this does not have to be the case and it is not the case for me.

I have created a system that continues to improve over time for bringing new published products into reality very quickly. That system will be discussed as part of Accelerated Publishing.

People interested in self-publishing will be excited to learn about Accelerated Publishing.  There will be more announcements in the months to come.

Customized Education and Modular Learning

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Ascend Beyond LogoIn my prior article, I wrote about my larger role and responsibilities as a Publisher for Ascend Beyond Publishing. I continue on that article by sharing the educational model I am employing in my publishing business.

Many years ago, when I was a Technical Trainer and Technical Instructor of advanced networking, technologies, and network operating systems, I became indoctrinated to the idea of customized education and modular learning.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of modular learning, it is simply the concept of giving the student the ability to custom create and design their own learning curriculum no matter what the subject matter is.

The fact of the matter is, we live in a society where time is precious and adult education is something we pay for. It takes time and costs money to learn any new subject but each of us have a different view of what we should learn and how much time we should take. The determination of success from our learning comes from the results that come from the execution of our action plans. If we execute and manage our affairs well, we should yield successful results. If we don’t, we have poor results. In other words, we no longer get grades as we did in school. We simply measure results.

As a publisher, I believe in providing tight, singular topics my readership and students can choose from. Comprehensive learners prefer to buy “an entire set”, many others prefer to buy their educational materials “a la carte” or “piecemeal”.

In the TurnKey Investor Series, readers and students can immerse themselves in the TurnKey Investing Philosophy that we created and practice ourselves. Or they can simply pick the individual pieces they want to learn about. Either way, the customer comes away happy.

I have had customers that I have never heard from and swoop in buy entire learning sets in one purchase. I have had many more customers who bought one or two titles and come back to purchase a few more. Clearly, repeat customers are a sign they are happy with what they have read or heard.

There is this myth that most readers or students want a monolothic approach to their learning. I believe that represents a small minority of readers and students. This is why encyclopedias, tomes, and other thick reference books don’t sell as well as smaller, tightly-focused titles. This is why Audio Titles have gained so much ground in recent years co-existing with their print versions.

Outside of the walls of Academia, people want to choose to learn in their own way at their own pace. And so, unlike so many of my fellow authors and educators, I don’t try to create a high-priced “monster master course” that tries to cover everything and anything regarding a subject.

I say to my readers and students, “Choose and create your own education” from our suggested set of offerings.

Customized education and modular learning is the new paradigm. Publishers, authors, and educators had best understand this new learning paradigm.

Why I Regard Myself a Publisher More Than an Author

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Ascend Beyond LogoThis article is one I have long thought I needed to write and clearly express my “official position” as to why I regard and identify myself as a Publisher more than I do as an Author.

First off, I have no negative feelings attached to the title of being an Author because it is something I have done many times. In fact, I am quite proud that I can include the title “Author” on my resume (or CV). I have obviously written, co-written, and edited many books and audio programs with several more in various stages of development.

However, I identify myself more as a Publisher because it is a larger scope of responsibility I take on than “simply” authoring books. In some ways, the Publisher title is less glamorous. I have to oversee the creation of a body of work whether or not I am the primary author or not. Up to this point, it so happens that I am the most prolific author in my publishing company simply because I have a lot to say and communicate, not because I am not willing to accept more titles from other authors.

I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that the body of work I bring into reality fit in consistently and congruently to the greater whole that represents Ascend Beyond Publishing. Every title must be congruent and synergistic to the greater whole. There is a “greater message and theme” that Ascend Beyond Publishing (ABP) represents. Ascend Beyond Publishing represents optimism, independence, entrepreneurism, strength, decisiveness, unedited truth, and personal responsibility.

Any author or work that does not fit in congruently with these attributes will not be able to be published under the ABP banner.

In the last 4.5 years Ascend Beyond Publishing has been in existence, 19 titles were created and developed. I expect the the number of titles will double in lesser time. As each title comes out, the body of work ABP stands for will continue to evolve and updated with the times.

My responsibility will continue to grow as Publisher. If I do my job well, I hope to make a larger positive impact in the world we live by serving my readership and students well.

Upcoming TurnKey Publishing Series – Concept Titles and Cover Art Teasers

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TurnKey Publishing Book Cover ConceptThis is mostly a teaser post for the folks who are curious as to what is happening “behind the scenes”.

I am currently laying the groundwork for my next major publishing series, “The TurnKey Publishing” Book & Audio Series. It is modeled similarly to “The TurnKey Investor“Series. The TurnKey Publishing titles are slated to start rolling out in 2008, 5 years after my publishing company (Ascend Beyond Publishing) and my first book, The Intrepid Way, was published in 2003.

A lot has happened in the last 5 years and I have certainly learned a lot about the art and craft of creating and building a publishing business. It continues to grow at a steady pace. Although I like real estate, I like the publishing business even more. And so, I am looking forward to producing and releasing the titles.

If you visit TurnKeyPublisher.com, you will see it consists of one announcement page with some teaser information. I don’t typically release the names of the projects I work on until I am well under way. However, because it is an all-new book and audio series, I needed to experience the “look and feel” of the artwork by viewing it on a live website.  I will let it sit there for a few days to see if I want to keep the current design.

My disclaimer to what I am sharing is that EVERYTHING is subject to change. The titles, the projects, the cover art, etc. are all subject to modification or even scrapped if I don’t feel something is appropriate.

Having said all that, enjoy the “behind the scenes” peek and if you have any constructive criticism and feedback, feel free to email me.