>if I have a .pdf of something close to the galley stage, I make about
>100 copies and circulate them as "electronic galleys" to places that
>review, to book festivals, etc. that would ordinarily expect a book, to
>some contests, competitions, etc., to reading series that now expect
>books (from this I get about five reviews or readings), to friends and
>people I see;
>
>send more to various poets, reviewers, e-zines I know online (this
>because they are more likely to review or excerpt and link back to
>electronic format stuff than old fashioned paper people);
>
>I had a second book with galleys and copies distributed improperly and
>made "pirate" paper galleys;
>
>most publishers expect authors to distribute postcards to other
>authors, friends, and people in general in places surrounding readings;
>big publishers, like those owned by the Carlysle Group that the
>Washington Post reviews almost exclusively, pay for the postcards
>themselves
>
>I'm currently trying to make press releases, order forms, and "sell
>sheets" for my books that don't have them, for mailings, like Iowa,
>etc. does
>
>I'm just trying to say that
>
>1) consider cost of galleys and postcards when designing the cover and
>choosing the printer, because it can add up
>
>2) share your gifs and layouts and templates with your authors
>
>3) you might want to participate in the "electronic galleys" movement
>so that this becomes more acceptable (it costs about $2 for galleys,
>and about $1.50 to mail them, versus being free to $1 to produce and
>mail a .pdf on a CD Rom)
>
>4) publishers might help authors so that both can spend time and money
>doing things that sell the book instead of doing basic chores
>
>as for distributors, you might want to check Gardners for Europe and
>inbooks for Australia