When it comes to buying "How To" books, all of
us at times get wrapped up in marketing hype and
lose track of identifying what we really want in
the way of information. So, while not wanting
to put down any other book or author, and
because I am not one to hype things, I will
show you what you can expect from my book versus
the other most popular books about selling books
online, and I will let the numbers tell the
story.
I also want to apologize for not being as
effective at marketing as some other authors
because I know that if you bought one of the
more popular books on this subject, you still
have questions that my book may have answered
for you, if you knew about it and bought it in
the first place.
The text statistics come from Amazon.com or are
noted below. You can be the judge of which book
provides more for your money and which is more
popular because it is marketed better.
| |
Online
Bookselling |
Best
Seller
#1 |
Best
Seller
#2** |
Compared
To
Best Seller #1 |
Compared
To
Best Seller #1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published |
2006 |
2005 |
2002 |
|
|
|
Cost |
$ 26.95 |
$ 19.95 |
$ 19.95 |
35% |
35% |
|
Pages |
228 |
168 |
174 |
36% |
31% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Characters |
283,933 |
149,982 |
167,051 |
89% |
70% |
|
Total Words |
49,618 |
24,615 |
26,063 |
102% |
90% |
|
Sentences |
2,873 |
1,697 |
1,988 |
69% |
45% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Words Per Dollar |
1,841 |
1,234 |
1,306 |
49% |
41% |
|
Words Per Ounce |
3,788 |
3,039 |
3,258 |
25% |
16% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photographs |
36 |
0 |
0 |
Infinite |
Infinite |
Charts, Graphs, Illustrations,
& Tables |
37 |
1 |
7 |
3600% |
429% |
Wholesale/Remainder
Dealers Listed |
36 |
32 |
1 |
13% |
3500% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD/Spreadsheets |
1/4 |
0/0 |
0/0 |
Infinite |
Infinite |
You might wonder how my book could be only 60
pages longer than the most popular book and have
89% more characters, over 100% more words, 69%
more sentences, 36 photos, 37 graphs, charts,
illustrations, and diagrams. You can also see
similar differences between my book and the
second most popular book on the subject with my
book having only 54 more pages. Well, the
answer is simple, my book is printed in a normal
Times New Roman 9 point font instead of a large
font that fills pages more quickly and makes a
book seem like it has more than it does.
The plain and simple truth is that I am not as
good at marketing my book as some other authors,
they are masters of marketing. On the other
hand, I am very much interested in my reputation
and providing all of my customers with the best
value for their money. That is why I opted to
pack my book with more information, pictures to
make what I write about clear, graphs, diagrams,
illustrations, and charts to show comparisons, a
CD with spreadsheets covering break even
analysis, business growth planning, inventory
forecasting, and bookkeeping to make taxes
easier and the performance tracking of your
business clear. I even host a free "customer
only" forum where all of my customers can learn
from each other and get follow-on questions
answered by me and other experienced online
booksellers.
If you had difficulty before in deciding which
book gives you the most information for your
money, it should be clear now that with my book,
you get:
1) Over
twice as many words as the best selling book on
this topic, and 90% more than the second best
selling book.
2) Many
more pictures, graphs, and diagrams than either
of the best selling books
3) Free
access to a "customer only" forum where you can
interact and discuss the business with hundreds
of other booksellers that is not offered by
either of the best sellers.
4) A
free CD included (a $29.99 value alone) that
will help you keep your records, prepare your
taxes easier, plan your business growth,
determine your break-even point, provide you
with monthly, quarterly, and annual summary
reports, and show you exactly how your business
is performing with 55 graphs and charts.
Neither of the other books offers anything of
the sort.
If all you are
looking for is a pamphlet with an outline of the
online bookselling business, one of the other
books will suffice, but if you are serious about
learning the business, the best alternative is
Online Bookselling: A Practical Guide with
Detailed Explanations and Insightful Tips
(ISBN 1427600708).
** There are no available numerical statistics
for this book available online. I took my copy,
counted words on several pages, and determined
the numbers myself. There is a potential margin
of error on the order of 5%.