Tony Eldridge's Blog, page 14
June 19, 2011
Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway AM: Faithful Deceptions By Melissa Ohnoutka
This morning's Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway is Faithful Deceptions: A Novel of Suspense
from author Melissa Ohnoutka. This is your opportunity to discover new authors and books each Sunday while having a chance to win a copy of the Kindle version of the books directly from the authors. All you have to do for your chance to win this Kindle book from Melissa is to leave a comment below.Description From Amazon.com
Money dictates the rules of this game and the victim could be anybody— regardless of sex, age, or race.
When high-end antiques dealer, Hailey Devlin, discovers her business partner's boyfriend has bankrupted their company, she sets out to expose the thief. Unknown to Hailey, her target is involved in a brutal trafficking ring where human lives are sold off to the highest bidder and she fits the next customer's order perfectly. She awakens to a world she can't remember. An alluring man claims to be her husband-a man who seems both to want and reject her. Is this amnesia or something much more sinister?
ICE Agent Patrick Roark jumped at the chance to put his training to the test on an elite human trafficking squad of Homeland Security. Undercover as the bodyguard to the ring leader, and key suspect in a murder case, proves more than he bargained for. Masterminding a clever deception, he's determined to keep the next victim safe—even if the high-stakes operation costs him everything-including his heart. Can they survive a killer's wrath? And if they do, will the lies be too damaging for their love to endure?
Find Melissa on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Melissa-Ohnoutka-Author/136131039782464
Find Melissa on Twitter: @MelissaOhnoutka
Melissa's Website: www.melissaohnoutka.com
Melissa's Blog: http://www.melissaohnoutka.blogspot.com
Reviews
Amazon
Readers Favorite
Barnes & Noble
Message From The Author
I hope you enjoy reading Faithful Deceptions! Please look for the short story "Shattered Souls of Innocence" due out this week. This is a prequel to my next release coming this summer called "Target of Betrayal, which takes you deeper into the scary world of human trafficking as a widowed mother learns the truth about her husband's death—a dangerous and emotional journey full of secrets and betrayal.
For your chance to win a Kindle copy of Faithful Deceptions, all you have to do is leave a comment below. We will randomly choose a winner next Saturday.
Last Week's Winners:
Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick: Jeffrey Beesler
Without Regrets by Kristi Burchfiel: Michael J. Eastman
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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 18, 2011
Resource Of The Week: Jing- Free Screen-Casting Program
Today's resource of the week is Jing, a free screen-casting program brought to you by TechSmith, the creator of Camtasia. Hat-tip to Jane Friedman for her post on Jing. Jing is a free screencast program that allows you to take a screenshot of your computer or a 5 minute video screenshot and post it online for free. You can also save the video for use later. While the basic program is free, you can get the pro version for added convenience like recording from your webcam and saving in a high def format, and publishing directly to YouTube.
Jing is created by Techsmith, the same people who make Camtasia and Snagit, so they have a lot of experience with image and video creation. There are a few free screen-capture tools out there, but based on Jane's review and from what I know about TechSmith (I use Camtasia), Jing is an exciting free tool that I wanted to share with you today.
Last 4 Resources Of The Week
FastStone Photo Resizer
PayPal
Google's Call Me Widget
Paint.Net
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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 17, 2011
Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: June 17th
It's Friday and that means it's time to go around the net and look at some posts about book marketing. We'll look at tips, technologies, and industry news. So sit back with a cup of your favorite beverage and let's get ready to go.Before we do, I have a couple of quick announcements. First, tomorrow is the last day to leave a comment for our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our two current titles you can read about and have a chance to win. Check out these two books today!
Also, for our DFW readers, Kat Smith is hosting a Muse Literary Mingle through The Writer's Guild Of Texas next week. I'll be the featured author, and I'd love to meet and chat with you. It will be Tuesday, June 21 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. For more information, checkout out the flyer on the Facebook event.
Now, on to our trip around the net...
1. Book Marketing Q&A With Joanna Penn- Joanna Penn answers your submitted book marketing questions.
2. Chapter One: Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Only One Way- This is the first post by Dean Wesley Smith in a series on Killing The Sacred Cows Of Publishing that's worth checking out.
3. An interview with Karen McQuestion- Steven Lewis interviews Karen McQuestion about her self-publishing success.
4. Do Kindle eBooks Need ISBN Numbers (as well as other eBooks)?- Shelley Hitz discusses ISBNs and e-books.
5. Making Time for Social Media for Your Business or Book- Phyllis Zimbler Miller talks about finding time for your social media marketing efforts.
6. 11 self-publishing strategies for success- Sue Collier gives you some tips on succeeding with your self-publishing plans.
7. When Big Book Publishers Win- Joel Friedlander gives a balanced look at the publishing industry with this post on big book publishers.
8. Understanding How the Traditional Publishing Model Works- Penny Sansevieri helps you understand the publishing landscape.
9. Book Promo - Traditional and 21st Century - with Elizabeth Spann-Craig- L. Diane Wolfe invites Elizabeth Spann-Craig to discuss traditional and 21st century book marketing and promotions.
10. Authors and speeches–what are your takeaways from this speech?- Roger C. Parker breaks down a successful speech.
11. How to Get More Facebook Likes- Carolyn Howard-Johnson talks about getting more likes on Facebook.
12. Successful Blog Comment Strategies- MaAnna Stephenson gives tips on developing strong commenting strategies.
13. Listen Free: The Future of Authorship & Publishing- Jane Friedman discusses the future of authorship and publishing.
14. How to Make YouTube Videos Load Faster- Quick Online Tips shares info on a new YouTube beta program you might want to check out.
15. Are You Making These Five Common Blogging Mistakes?- Daniel Scocco shares some big blogging problems to watch for.
16. A Comprehensive Post on SEO- Darren Rowse invites Kole McRae to share some SEO tips.
17. Simple Tip to Embed All Readability Buttons on Your Blog-
Very Cool.
18. 45 Ways to Blog as a Novelist: Tips for Writers of Fiction- John Kremer gives fiction authors a ton of tips when it comes to blogging.
19. MWA(BNSP) - Mystery Writers of America (But Not for the Self-Published)- Joe Konrath shares his views on writing organizations and their view of self-published authors.
20. Promote Your Books with Video- BookBuzzr invites Dana Lynn Smith to discuss promoting your book by using videos.
21. When It Pays to Ignore Copyright Theft- Nick Daws discusses the possible benefits to copyright theft to an author.
22. Author Interview Series – Shel Horowitz – Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers- Dvorah Lansky interviews Shel Horowitz about his publishing journey.
23. Amazon shifts all FBA media sellers to PA warehouse- Steve Weber keeps us up on industry news with Amazon and it's fulfillment changes.
That's it for this week's trip around the net. I'll see you tomorrow with a new resource of the week to help you and your work as an author or publisher.
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Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 16, 2011
A Perfect Pitch – A Sure Strike-Out By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Today, we invite back a returning guest author to give advice on creating a platform. Specifically, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen will talk about creating that perfect pitch. Before we get to Jo-Anne's post, I have a couple of quick in-house announcements:
1. We have a couple of Kindle titles that you can win this week just by leaving a comment on a blog post. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway titles you can read about and then leave a comment for a chance to win. Check out these two books today!
2. I recently released my new mystery/thriller novel, The Lottery Ticket: A Novel
on Kindle. "A father may have purchased the winning lottery ticket a couple of days before he died, and now everyone's looking for it; most will stop at nothing to find it. In this mystery/thriller, loyalties are tested, alliances become fluid and scruples are put to the test for everyone." I invite you to download the free sample from Amazon and help me spread the word. Now, on to Jo-Anne's post...
A Perfect Pitch – A Sure Strike-Out
By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Short, sweet with an amazing hook... and I'm not talking about a curve-ball.
To create a platform that stands out from the rest and *conquer all obstacles* you must learn how to 'pitch'.
At first, creating a pitch will be awkward. Writing a page, condensing it to a paragraph, then finally to a sentence all takes cognitive thinking. Yet, you can feed off this process and soon turn it into a cheering victory! Attitude is the answer. Creating a pitch is NOT drooling work, it is a challenge—a win with even more opportunities—your reward worth the effort!
As a writer, we've heard the term 'elevator pitch' as a short yet remarkable synopsis of our book in the time it would take to meet someone in an elevator on the main floor and manage to hook the audience before we reached the top.
As a marketer, we need to stand out from the rest and prove we are the best as the competition is fierce.
As a blogger, we need to create valuable content in a short article that will leave the reader in awe and have them coming back for more.
Creating a pitch is difficult. Perhaps even more work than writing the article or even an entire book. A lot is on the line. Your audience, followers, fans and even the door to open for your next opportunity may be at stake.
Developing or presenting a pitch may come as written content or in the form of verbal conversation. Some may be planned, but many will be unexpected 'moments' when chatting with a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a dear friend.
Prepare Your Pitch
Be Ready – Always be aware of these prime-time opportunities. Blend your pitch into conversation when the subject becomes available. As a teacher, we call these unexpected opportunities as 'teachable moments'.
Have Your Pitch Polished and Rehearsed – Often your pitch will not be planned and yet has to be polished and rehearsed. Observe your viewer. How's the eye contact? Are you keeping them interested?
Know When You've Said Enough – Again, through observation, you must read their body language. Usually, you'll have less than a minute. Be ready to add your own 'stories' or examples to hold their interest.
But, fear no more... simply:
1.) Begin with Action – Leave the 'fluff' or back story out.
2.) Revise – Cut, cut, and cut some more. Take the time to rehearse verbally.
3.) Think – Astonishing words that attract, hook and even shock the reader.
Now here's the good news...
Creating A Perfect Pitch Becomes Easier With Practice. Overtime and with more experience, your pitch will become automatic. No work at all! You'll receive unbelievable rewards as the new opportunities begin to take over.
No matter if you're an author, blogger, or marketer your record for strike-outs will remain intact. To throw a perfect game and *conquer all obstacles* is to perfect your pitch.
--------
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen is a Canadian author, expert blogger (offering free marketing tips), producer and hostess of "Authors Articulating" on Blogtalkradio, founder and marketer of the online marketing business— "Premium Promotional Services", and appears on many major social media sites (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Goodreads, etc.)...as a professional support network for writers. With two books out (including a suspense/romance novel) and a soon to be released nonfiction "Internet Marketing Made Easy", Jo-Anne has overcome her own obstacles to follow her dreams. An English major, graduated from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), in 2006 she had to give up teaching when she was diagnosed with an illness that forced her to get out of the classroom. Now, with the novel "Conquer All Obstacles", and the non-fiction resource books "Premium Promotional Tips for Writers" and "Internet Marketing Made Easy", Jo-Anne is an inspiration for many.
Related Posts
Audio Podcast: Authors Promoting Through Blogtalkradio By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Creating An Elevator Pitch For Your Author Platform
Developing a Platform For Nonfiction Writers- By Robert Rummel-Hudson
Create Your Author Platform in 10 Steps
Building a Global Author Platform with Social Media By Todd Rutherford
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
A Perfect Pitch – A Sure Strike-Out By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Today, we invite back a returning guest author to give advice on creating a platform. Specifically, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen will talk about creating that perfect pitch. Before we get to Jo-Anne's post, I have a couple of quick in-house announcements:
1. We have a couple of Kindle titles that you can win this week just by leaving a comment on a blog post. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway titles you can read about and then leave a comment for a chance to win. Check out these two books today!
2. I recently released my new mystery/thriller novel, The Lottery Ticket: A Novel
on Kindle. "A father may have purchased the winning lottery ticket a couple of days before he died, and now everyone's looking for it; most will stop at nothing to find it. In this mystery/thriller, loyalties are tested, alliances become fluid and scruples are put to the test for everyone." I invite you to download the free sample from Amazon and help me spread the word. Now, on to Jo-Anne's post...
A Perfect Pitch – A Sure Strike-Out
By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Short, sweet with an amazing hook... and I'm not talking about a curve-ball.
To create a platform that stands out from the rest and *conquer all obstacles* you must learn how to 'pitch'.
At first, creating a pitch will be awkward. Writing a page, condensing it to a paragraph, then finally to a sentence all takes cognitive thinking. Yet, you can feed off this process and soon turn it into a cheering victory! Attitude is the answer. Creating a pitch is NOT drooling work, it is a challenge—a win with even more opportunities—your reward worth the effort!
As a writer, we've heard the term 'elevator pitch' as a short yet remarkable synopsis of our book in the time it would take to meet someone in an elevator on the main floor and manage to hook the audience before we reached the top.
As a marketer, we need to stand out from the rest and prove we are the best as the competition is fierce.
As a blogger, we need to create valuable content in a short article that will leave the reader in awe and have them coming back for more.
Creating a pitch is difficult. Perhaps even more work than writing the article or even an entire book. A lot is on the line. Your audience, followers, fans and even the door to open for your next opportunity may be at stake.
Developing or presenting a pitch may come as written content or in the form of verbal conversation. Some may be planned, but many will be unexpected 'moments' when chatting with a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a dear friend.
Prepare Your Pitch
Be Ready – Always be aware of these prime-time opportunities. Blend your pitch into conversation when the subject becomes available. As a teacher, we call these unexpected opportunities as 'teachable moments'.
Have Your Pitch Polished and Rehearsed – Often your pitch will not be planned and yet has to be polished and rehearsed. Observe your viewer. How's the eye contact? Are you keeping them interested?
Know When You've Said Enough – Again, through observation, you must read their body language. Usually, you'll have less than a minute. Be ready to add your own 'stories' or examples to hold their interest.
But, fear no more... simply:
1.) Begin with Action – Leave the 'fluff' or back story out.
2.) Revise – Cut, cut, and cut some more. Take the time to rehearse verbally.
3.) Think – Astonishing words that attract, hook and even shock the reader.
Now here's the good news...
Creating A Perfect Pitch Becomes Easier With Practice. Overtime and with more experience, your pitch will become automatic. No work at all! You'll receive unbelievable rewards as the new opportunities begin to take over.
No matter if you're an author, blogger, or marketer your record for strike-outs will remain intact. To throw a perfect game and *conquer all obstacles* is to perfect your pitch.
--------
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen is a Canadian author, expert blogger (offering free marketing tips), producer and hostess of "Authors Articulating" on Blogtalkradio, founder and marketer of the online marketing business— "Premium Promotional Services", and appears on many major social media sites (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Goodreads, etc.)...as a professional support network for writers. With two books out (including a suspense/romance novel) and a soon to be released nonfiction "Internet Marketing Made Easy", Jo-Anne has overcome her own obstacles to follow her dreams. An English major, graduated from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), in 2006 she had to give up teaching when she was diagnosed with an illness that forced her to get out of the classroom. Now, with the novel "Conquer All Obstacles", and the non-fiction resource books "Premium Promotional Tips for Writers" and "Internet Marketing Made Easy", Jo-Anne is an inspiration for many.
Related Posts
Audio Podcast: Authors Promoting Through Blogtalkradio By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Creating An Elevator Pitch For Your Author Platform
Developing a Platform For Nonfiction Writers- By Robert Rummel-Hudson
Create Your Author Platform in 10 Steps
Building a Global Author Platform with Social Media By Todd Rutherford
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 15, 2011
Authors Are In The Age Of The Evergreen Books
In his new book, A Self-Publisher's Companion
, Joel Friedlander says that we are in the Golden Age of publishing. I agree 100% with his assessment. But along with "Gold", might I suggest that "Green" is also an appropriate color to describe the age of publishing we are in now?I'm not talking about green in the sense of "save the planet" green, though the advent and popularity of e-books makes a strong case for that use of green. I can only imagine the number of trees spared because of the words now read on an e-book reader.
No, I'm talking about green in the sense of "evergreen." This is an exciting green for authors and readers alike. At the beginning of my short publishing career, the predominate life span of most books was measured in weeks, not years. New books put on bookstore shelves had weeks to find a readership before being replaced by the next hopeful author.
While a few traditional authors created perennial titles, most did not. And before the internet, once a book found an early grave, it was hard to resurrect it again.
Wow, how times have changed! Whether traditional or self-published, authors and publishers have found a new distribution model that can extended the life of a book beyond the span most books have ever enjoyed. Both e-books and POD books make the creation and distribution of books available 24/7. And because of that, a new phenomenon is taking place.
Now, books can go through multiple mini-cycles which could go on indefinitely. A book can now get hot, go through it's selling cycle, cool off, and then resurrect to do it over and over again.
Case-in-point, my book, The Samson Effect.
It first hit the stage in October of 2007 and went through its growth spurt and even found a Hollywood film producer who wanted to bring it to the silver screen. Then, it found it's lull. But in January of this year, I released it on Kindle and for the last couple of months, it's been in the top 1000 of all Kindle books for much of the time. The day will come, I know, when the lull will come again. But as a new crop of readers come onto the scene, I have every confidence that it can do this again and again. No longer are limited bookstore shelves the death of an author's book. What a great thing for authors to think about.
There's a lot of talk about the "gold" found in an author's backlist. Why? Because of this very principle. What entertained readers years ago can now find new readers because authors can make their book available in an economically viable way. And for nonfiction authors dealing with info in a changing world, keeping your book current is now economically viable as well.
Yes, the new gold for authors and publishers is now green--evergreen.
As a book marketer who loves to help authors achieve their dreams, my advice to you is this: don't give up when you're in a lull. It no longer necessarily means your publishing dream is dead. It could mean that your book has found a natural cycle and is waiting to break out again, or for the first time.
That's why I'm a big believer in continuing to pursue your writing dreams. Keep the new books coming. That way, when one is in a lull, another may not be. I have another novel I just released, a mystery/thriller called The Lottery Ticket.
When The Samson Effect finds its lull, hopefully this one will be taking off. It's also given me new excitement to complete the sequel to The Samson Effect which is tentatively titled, The Adam Effect (Michael, Thomas and Delia are back searching for an even more powerful mystery from biblical antiquity). What about you? Can you see your book as an evergreen book? If not, why not? Sometimes, you never know what makes a book take off. But when it does, you know you can deliver because we are in the Golden Age of publishing... or, the Evergreen Age.
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
Authors Are In The Age Of The Evergreen Books
In his new book, A Self-Publisher's Companion , Joel Friedlander says that we are in the Golden Age of publishing. I agree 100% with his assessment. But along with "Gold", might I suggest that "Green" is also an appropriate color to describe the age of publishing we are in now?I'm not talking about green in the sense of "save the planet" green, though the advent and popularity of e-books makes a strong case for that use of green. I can only imagine the number of trees spared because of the words now read on an e-book reader.
No, I'm talking about green in the sense of "evergreen." This is an exciting green for authors and readers alike. At the beginning of my short publishing career, the predominate life span of most books were measured in weeks, not years. New books put on bookstore shelves had weeks to find a readership before being replaced by the next hopeful author.
While a few traditional authors created perennial titles, most did not. And before the internet, once a book found an early grave, it was hard to resurrect it again.
Wow, how times have changed! Whether traditional or self-published, authors and publishers have found a new distribution model that can extended the life of a book beyond the span most books have ever enjoyed. Both e-books and POD books make the creation and distribution of books available 24/7. And because of that, a new phenomenon is taking place.
Now, books can go through multiple mini-cycles which could go on indefinitely. A book can now get hot, go through it's selling cycle, cool off, and then resurrect to do it over and over again.
Case-in-point, my book, The Samson Effect.
It first hit the stage in October of 2007 and went through its growth spurt and even found a Hollywood film producer who wanted to bring it to the silver screen. Then, it found it's lull. But in January of this year, I released it on Kindle and for the last couple of months, it's been in the top 1000 of all Kindle books for much of the time. The day will come, I know, when the lull will come again. But as a new crop of readers come onto the scene, I have every confidence that it can do this again and again. No longer are limited bookstore shelves the death of an author's book. What a great thing for authors to think about.
There's a lot of talk about the "gold" found in an author's backlist. Why? Because of this very principle. What entertained readers years ago can now find new readers because authors can make their book available in an economically viable way. And for nonfiction authors dealing with info in a changing world, keeping your book current is now economically viable as well.
Yes, the new gold for authors and publishers is now green--evergreen.
As a book marketer who loves to help authors achieve their dreams, my advice to you is this: don't give up when you're in a lull. It no longer necessarily means your publishing dream is dead. It could mean that your book has found a natural cycle and is waiting to break out again, or for the first time.
That's why I'm a big believer in continuing to pursue your writing dreams. Keep the new books coming. That way, when one is in a lull, another may not be. I have another novel I just released, a mystery/thriller called The Lottery Ticket.
When The Samson Effect finds its lull, hopefully this one will be taking off. It's also given me new excitement to complete the sequel to The Samson Effect which is tentatively titled, The Adam Effect (Michael, Thomas and Delia are back searching for an even more powerful mystery from biblical antiquity). What about you? Can you see your book as an evergreen book? If not, why not? Sometimes, you never know what makes a book take off. But when it does, you know you can deliver because we are in the Golden Age of publishing... or, the Evergreen Age.
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 14, 2011
Writing Magazine Articles as a Marketing Tool By Kerrie McLoughlin
Today, I'm excited to introduce you to a new guest author to this blog, Kerrie McLoughlin. Kerrie has appeared in a number of magazines and she will be talking to us about adding magazine article writing to our book marketing campaign. Before we get to Kerrie's post, I have a quick in-house announcement to make. I recently released my new mystery/thriller novel, The Lottery Ticket: A Novel
on Kindle. "A father may have purchased the winning lottery ticket a couple of days before he died, and now everyone's looking for it; most will stop at nothing to find it. In this mystery/thriller, loyalties are tested, alliances become fluid and scruples are put to the test for everyone." I invite you to download the free sample from Amazon and help me spread the word. No, on to Kerrie's post...
Writing Magazine Articles as a Marketing Tool
By Kerrie McLoughlin
Wouldn't it be great if your work was all done when your book or ebook was published? If marketing took care of itself and you sold more copies each month than the month before? When I pushed the "submit" button in 2009 to upload my ebook that I wrote to help others like myself get their work published in parenting and family magazines, I sat back, satisfied. I checked back all day long to see how many people had flocked to buy my amazingly cheap and helpful ebook resource. Can you guess how many copies I sold?
I soon figured out that I would need to build some buzz about my book, but I didn't know how to go about doing that. One epiphany later found me cranking out a large number of articles for parenting and family magazines about birthday parties, pregnancy sleep problems, homeschooling and more. Every article that got published had my byline, which led readers to my main family life blog, http://TheKerrieShow.com, which featured my ebook about becoming a published writer.
A few benefits of adding magazine article writing to an author's writing and marketing plan that I have found:
You generally get paid to write an article for a magazine. So you make money for writing the article and THEN you also get potential buyers coming to your website.
You get more credibility as an expert in general.
You can excerpt your book as a magazine article instead of coming up with a brand-new topic, then your byline can point readers to your book's website. Less work for you, since much of it has already been done by you.
You get to build your platform. For instance, my platform is that I am a parenting and homeschooling "expert" since I homeschool 5 children and have been a mom for 10 years. So I have articles in parenting publications all over the world which lead people back to my family site, which showcases my ebook offerings. My sub-platform is that I'm an expert on submitting parenting articles to regional parenting publications all over the world. So I'm also trying to place articles in markets like Writer's Digest, The Writer and online writing sites/newsletters such as Funds for Writers. Don't forget about guest posting on writing sites (wink!). The more you are published, the more credibility and influence you gain.
Watch out:
There's no need to offer your article for free all the time. I don't see any reason why you should not be getting paid to provide a helpful article, even if it didn't take you long to write or if you loved writing it or if it's an excerpt from your book.
Think hard before you sign up for article directories or write for someplace like Demand Studios. Chances are you will make squat and get little traffic to your book's site. Opt for the way that will make you some cash (writing for print magazines and online zines) while you wait for news to travel about how great your book is.
You'll have to work hard to find online and print markets for your articles. My ebook includes over 250 regional parenting markets, but also has a bonus section for markets like Parents, HybridMom.com, Working Mother and The Writer. If travel writing is your thing, for instance, you could search the internet using terms like "travel magazines + submission guidelines."
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Kerrie McLoughlin is the author/editor of the ebook kit "Get Published in Parenting and Family Magazines" and has been published in 60 regional parenting magazines since 2009.--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
June 13, 2011
4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be By Edwin Crozier
Today, I have invited a return guest to be with us. Edwin Crozier will entertain the question, "How can we be the best writer we can be?" with some simple, easy to understand advice. Before we get to Edwin's post, I have a couple of quick in-house announcements to make.
1. Please join me today at 3:30 pm Eastern as Felice Gerwitz's invited guest on her Blog Talk Radio show, Information In A Nutshell, where we will be discussing Hosting Successful Twitter Parties.
2. We have a couple of Kindle titles that you can win this week just by leaving a comment on a blog post. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway titles you can read about and then leave a comment for a chance to win. Check out these two books today!
Now, on to Edwin's post...
4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be
By Edwin Crozier
How much money do John Grisham and Stephen King make a year? That's who I want to be.
Have you ever thought like that? Have you ever thought if you could just be Terry Pratchett, Clive Cussler, or John Maxwell (okay, I'm a guy so I think about male writers, sorry), then you'd be a really good writer and you'd make lots of money? I know I have.
Here's the problem. I'm not any of those guys. I don't have the same education, the same experiences, the same passions, the same strengths, the same loves. I'm not ever going to be those writers. Perhaps the number one thing that keeps me from being the best writer I can be is the wasted years of trying to be someone else.
No doubt, when you think about becoming the best writer you can be, you think about training in writing, creative practice, journaling, and other exercises to actually hone your craft. Those are all necessary. But I want to hone in on the word "You" in that phrase "The Best Writer You Can Be." The fact is you can learn all the ins and outs of the craft, but if you're just trying to be someone else, you'll never be more than a hack.
You need to work on being the best writer You can be. Here are 4 steps for you to take.
Step #1: Break the molds.
Don't let the authors who are already out there be your mold. Obviously, what you read is going to impact you, and will be part of what shapes you as a writer. But you don't have to pigeonhole yourself as a particular kind of writer. You don't have to compare your writing to those other writers. Yes, yes, learn what you can from others. See what works and what doesn't. But don't let that put a stranglehold on your writing. Break the molds. Be you in your writing.
Step #2: Disregard the prophecies of others.
All our lives we are told by other people what we should become and what we should do. Our whole lives, parents, professors, and peers have prophesied where we should go, what we should become, who we should be. Disregard those prophecies. You don't have to write the book someone else told you to. (Unless, of course, you're working as a ghost writer—that's different.) You don't have to write in the field someone else thinks you should. Too often, those "shoulds" are other people trying to live vicariously through you. Break the codependent bonds with which you are bound and write about what you want to write about.
Step #3: Write from your strengths.
What do you know? What have you studied? What have you experienced? Write about that. Don't think you can only make money, make a living at writing, or be recognized as an author by writing the kind of stuff someone else writes. Who would have thought that writing about great customer service in government would go anywhere? But Wendie Pomerance Brick has written on this blog about what turned her "potential snooze-fest non-fiction into an award-nominated book." Joel Friedlander took his experiences of publishing his own books and turned that into something to write about in A Self-Publisher's Companion . That's what I call writing from your strengths.
Step #4: Write what you enjoy.
Writing is work, no matter how you cut it. If you don't let it be a labor of love, you probably won't do the labor necessary to write well. Too many people are trying to write the kinds of books or blogs they think will make big money. The problem is they don't really have any passion for that field of writing. They find it hard to maintain the disciplines because that is the only thing that gets them writing—sheer discipline. There is no enjoyment in it for them. Do you enjoy writing about food? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about raising kids? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about how to run effective Twitter contests? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing mysteries? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about religious issues? Then do that. Don't bog yourself down trying to write blogs, articles, or books in some field or genre just because you think that's where the money is. Write what you enjoy. Trust me, it will come through in the writing. I'll paraphrase John Maxwell. Write about something you enjoy so much you'd write about it for free. Then write such good stuff that people will pay you for it.
The truth is to be the best writer you can be, you have to be you in your writing. Quit trying to be someone else. Be surprised at the money you can make and the recognition you can receive when you work at being you. However, in my book, you get something even better than money out of it. You get meaning, fulfillment, and personal value. You can chase the almighty dollar all day and fall asleep empty because you sold yourself out. Or you can go to sleep fulfilled because you followed who you are.
-------
Edwin Crozier was born an Air Force brat and grew up in Idaho, England, North Carolina, Texas, England again, and Arkansas. When he graduated high school, he was completely confused, thinking he wanted to be an Aerospace Engineer. Boy was he wrong! It didn't take him long to learn that his life would be about words and communication not numbers and diagrams.
He started school at Wichita State University, but graduated from The University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
While at his alma mater, he met Marita Bobbitt, whom he would somehow manage to trick into becoming his beautiful bride. Together, they have four children, whom they both love and adore. (And even though he was an English major and is now an author, he still struggles with when he should use "who" or "whom." Thank goodness for editors!)
Edwin preaches for the Brownsburg Church of Christ in Brownsburg, Indiana. He runs two blogs: God's Way Works and Give Attention to Reading.
His writing tends toward Christian inspiration and instruction. However, he also dabbles in general self-help and Public Speaking help. Most of all he just wants to be of some help to someone somewhere. Maybe you can be the next person he helps.
You can check out Edwin's books at his Amazon Author Page, including his new release, Getting To Did
. NOTE- At the time of this post, Edwin's server is down and the links to his blog and web page will be up soon. Until then, check out his books and author page on Amazon.com!
Related Posts
6 Reasons to Blog Your Book- Edwin Crozier
7 Keys For Blogging Your Book by Edwin Cozier
How Many Books Do I Have to Sell to Make My Book a Bestseller? By Trissa Tismal
Who Will Want to Read Your Book? By Walt Shiel
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be By Edwin Crozier
Today, I have invited a return guest to be with us. Edwin Crozier will entertain the question, "How can we be the best writer we can be?" with some simple, easy to understand advice. Before we get to Edwin's post, I have a couple of quick in-house announcements to make.
1. Please join me today at 3:30 pm Eastern as Felice Gerwitz's invited guest on her Blog Talk Radio show, Information In A Nutshell, where we will be discussing Hosting Successful Twitter Parties.
2. We have a couple of Kindle titles that you can win this week just by leaving a comment on a blog post. Bridges: A Tale of Niagara By dk LeVick and Without Regrets By Kristi Burchfiel are our Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway titles you can read about and then leave a comment for a chance to win. Check out these two books today!
Now, on to Edwin's post...
4 Steps to Being the Best Writer You Can Be
By Edwin Crozier
How much money do John Grisham and Stephen King make a year? That's who I want to be.
Have you ever thought like that? Have you ever thought if you could just be Terry Pratchett, Clive Cussler, or John Maxwell (okay, I'm a guy so I think about male writers, sorry), then you'd be a really good writer and you'd make lots of money? I know I have.
Here's the problem. I'm not any of those guys. I don't have the same education, the same experiences, the same passions, the same strengths, the same loves. I'm not ever going to be those writers. Perhaps the number one thing that keeps me from being the best writer I can be is the wasted years of trying to be someone else.
No doubt, when you think about becoming the best writer you can be, you think about training in writing, creative practice, journaling, and other exercises to actually hone your craft. Those are all necessary. But I want to hone in on the word "You" in that phrase "The Best Writer You Can Be." The fact is you can learn all the ins and outs of the craft, but if you're just trying to be someone else, you'll never be more than a hack.
You need to work on being the best writer You can be. Here are 4 steps for you to take.
Step #1: Break the molds.
Don't let the authors who are already out there be your mold. Obviously, what you read is going to impact you, and will be part of what shapes you as a writer. But you don't have to pigeonhole yourself as a particular kind of writer. You don't have to compare your writing to those other writers. Yes, yes, learn what you can from others. See what works and what doesn't. But don't let that put a stranglehold on your writing. Break the molds. Be you in your writing.
Step #2: Disregard the prophecies of others.
All our lives we are told by other people what we should become and what we should do. Our whole lives, parents, professors, and peers have prophesied where we should go, what we should become, who we should be. Disregard those prophecies. You don't have to write the book someone else told you to. (Unless, of course, you're working as a ghost writer—that's different.) You don't have to write in the field someone else thinks you should. Too often, those "shoulds" are other people trying to live vicariously through you. Break the codependent bonds with which you are bound and write about what you want to write about.
Step #3: Write from your strengths.
What do you know? What have you studied? What have you experienced? Write about that. Don't think you can only make money, make a living at writing, or be recognized as an author by writing the kind of stuff someone else writes. Who would have thought that writing about great customer service in government would go anywhere? But Wendie Pomerance Brick has written on this blog about what turned her "potential snooze-fest non-fiction into an award-nominated book." Joel Friedlander took his experiences of publishing his own books and turned that into something to write about in A Self-Publisher's Companion . That's what I call writing from your strengths.
Step #4: Write what you enjoy.
Writing is work, no matter how you cut it. If you don't let it be a labor of love, you probably won't do the labor necessary to write well. Too many people are trying to write the kinds of books or blogs they think will make big money. The problem is they don't really have any passion for that field of writing. They find it hard to maintain the disciplines because that is the only thing that gets them writing—sheer discipline. There is no enjoyment in it for them. Do you enjoy writing about food? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about raising kids? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about how to run effective Twitter contests? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing mysteries? Then do that. Do you enjoy writing about religious issues? Then do that. Don't bog yourself down trying to write blogs, articles, or books in some field or genre just because you think that's where the money is. Write what you enjoy. Trust me, it will come through in the writing. I'll paraphrase John Maxwell. Write about something you enjoy so much you'd write about it for free. Then write such good stuff that people will pay you for it.
The truth is to be the best writer you can be, you have to be you in your writing. Quit trying to be someone else. Be surprised at the money you can make and the recognition you can receive when you work at being you. However, in my book, you get something even better than money out of it. You get meaning, fulfillment, and personal value. You can chase the almighty dollar all day and fall asleep empty because you sold yourself out. Or you can go to sleep fulfilled because you followed who you are.
-------
Edwin Crozier was born an Air Force brat and grew up in Idaho, England, North Carolina, Texas, England again, and Arkansas. When he graduated high school, he was completely confused, thinking he wanted to be an Aerospace Engineer. Boy was he wrong! It didn't take him long to learn that his life would be about words and communication not numbers and diagrams.
He started school at Wichita State University, but graduated from The University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama.
While at his alma mater, he met Marita Bobbitt, whom he would somehow manage to trick into becoming his beautiful bride. Together, they have four children, whom they both love and adore. (And even though he was an English major and is now an author, he still struggles with when he should use "who" or "whom." Thank goodness for editors!)
Edwin preaches for the Brownsburg Church of Christ in Brownsburg, Indiana. He runs two blogs: God's Way Works and Give Attention to Reading.
His writing tends toward Christian inspiration and instruction. However, he also dabbles in general self-help and Public Speaking help. Most of all he just wants to be of some help to someone somewhere. Maybe you can be the next person he helps.
You can check out Edwin's books at his Amazon Author Page, including his new release, Getting To Did
. Related Posts
6 Reasons to Blog Your Book- Edwin Crozier
7 Keys For Blogging Your Book by Edwin Cozier
How Many Books Do I Have to Sell to Make My Book a Bestseller? By Trissa Tismal
Who Will Want to Read Your Book? By Walt Shiel
--------
Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests . His new novel, The Lottery Ticket , was just recently released on Kindle.
