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Multi-award winner in business shares his knowledge in Mastering Entrepreneurship

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Many of us dream of starting our own business and being our own boss, but where does one start? A sensible first step is to listen to the advice of seasoned entrepreneurs who are familiar with the journey and the pitfalls that can be found along the way. Ismail Hassen, a multi-award winner in business hailing from Port Elizabeth, has just released a handbook for budding entrepreneurs, sharing his knowledge, tips, and practical solutions for building a sustainable business in South Africa. Starting from the very beginning of the entrepreneur’s journey (chapter one aptly titled ‘It all starts with a...

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Get swept away by U.P. Topka’s magical sports fiction novel

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In this newly-released teen novel by U.P. Topka of Pretoria, we follow 15-year-old Eric Robertson on a hero’s journey, starting with the devastating death of his parents that sees him moving to the small town of Carnarvon to live with his grandmother. Reeling from the loss of his family and the life he left behind, Eric struggles to adapt to his new surroundings, an unhappy situation made worse by the cruel school bullies. While fleeing from the school after a traumatic encounter with them, Eric happens upon a magical set of golf clubs, each previously owned by a golfing great...

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“Thabo, the Space Dude: Last Days on Earth” blasts off

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Our newest release on Publisher.co.za  - Thabo, the Space Dude  - has seen some exceptional opening-week sales, with author Lori-Ann Preston having to undertake a second print run mere weeks after her self-published adventure for tweens was released. In this charming book, Thabo’s parents announce to him that the family is moving … to Mars. Through a series of logbook entries, Thabo chronicles his last days on Earth as he struggles to process the news and prepare himself for the sad goodbyes and the new adventure that awaits. His logbook entries are complemented by comic-strip style illustrations by Lindsey Cumming,...

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Distribution vs marketing and the author’s role in driving sales

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Many authors assume that when a book is uploaded for sale in an online store, the book starts selling on its own. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As a self-published author, you are responsible for some of the functions that would normally be handled by a traditional publisher, one of which is marketing. Once in the store, it is up to you to let potential customers know about the book and to drive the book’s sales. Think of your book as a product. Now, think of other products in the market. When you walk into a supermarket you...

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Book awards: Can they boost your bottom line?

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One of the best ways to gain recognition and credibility as an author – and possibly one of the most underutilised marketing tools – is by winning a book award. Book buyers, the media and the book trade are more willing to support and push award-winning authors. Easier said than done. Many competitions have an entry fee, so authors need to choose their competitions carefully, unless they have a lot of money to blow. And to win an award, you actually have to WIN – which means beating a bunch of other people with the same hopes and dreams –...

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Boost sales with discount coupon codes

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Everybody likes getting a good deal and book buyers are no different. If your sales have been dwindling, consider offering a promotional discount of 15%–20% off the normal price – or even more if you can afford it. Online promotional discounts are usually activated through the use of “coupon codes”. Very simply, a coupon code is a code that a seller gives to a buyer that the buyer can use when checking out of an online store, just before making payment. When the buyer inserts the code, the discount is deducted. Discount coupons are a great way to reconnect with...

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The importance of quality

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Building customer trust As an indie bookstore, Publisher.co.za prides itself on empowering all self-published authors by offering them an easy platform through which to sell their work and by eliminating the hoop-jumping so typical of the distribution chain. We are equally committed to building customer trust by protecting book buyers against poor quality products. So how do we do this? How do we make it easy for authors to sell and safe for customers to buy? Simple. We’ve introduced a quality rating system to guide customers in their book-buying choices. If a title in our store features the “Quality Assured”...

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You have a book, so start making money

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As a self-published author, you’ve no doubt experienced how difficult it is to get your book into bookstores and the mainstream distribution chain. You are probably also lamenting the measly 30% of retail that you’re earning on sales. That’s right – just 30%! If you invested in professional production and printing, it’s unlikely you’re making any money going the bookstore route unless you printed a few thousand copies. And authors who opted for short-run digital printing are probably barely covering their printing costs, let alone their production expenses. If you can relate to this scenario, you’re not alone – it’s...

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Our book quality rating system

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What makes Publisher.co.za different? As an indie bookstore, we pride ourselves on empowering all local, self-published authors by offering them a platform through which to sell their work. However, we want to protect our customers from the disappointment of buying a book from our store, only to find that its quality is poor. To combat this, we’ve introduced a quality rating system to guide you in your book-buying choices. If one of our titles has received our “Quality Assured” stamp of approval, you can rest assured that it has been vetted by our team and meets trade publishing standards. How...

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My passion for African food

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I was fortunate to be raised by a father who had travelled and worked as a cook on ships. Thamsanqa Mqwebu left his missionary village, Groutville, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), as a young man to travel the world, and became immersed in a passion for food and cooking. He enriched our lives with his Sunday meals, which the family always looked forward to. He instilled in us a sense of culinary adventure and I learned to eat and taste rare and raw food before it was mainstream and, unlike most children, to eat and enjoy vegetables of all kinds. I’m sure we...

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