Tony Eldridge's Blog, page 17

How Your Publishing Path Effects Your Marketing By Cheryl Pickett

We have a returning guest with us today. Cheryl Pickett is writing and publishing coach and today she's going to discuss how our publishing path affects our book marketing. She has a new program called Publishing Possibilities 2011 that you can read about in her bio at the end of the post.





How Your Publishing Path Effects Your Marketing

By Cheryl Pickett



Many people new to the world of authors and publishing may believe that as long as you get your book in print and available for sale, the rest of the details don't matter much. Published is published. Unfortunately, holding to that idea will likely end up leading you off course and to disappointment in the end.



The method you choose to use to publish ultimately effects almost every aspect of becoming an author and your potential for success. For example, one option offers minimal control but also minimal investment, whereas another has fine print that hinders you from owning certain important design files. Often, even when people are aware of these situations, many have no idea that publishing choices also make a huge difference in marketing plans and opportunities. And unfortunately, the impact isn't always positive. Here are just a few potential scenarios to watch and prepare for:



1. Product Nightmares

This is one of the worst-case scenarios; the company or vendors you choose to work with deliver a poor product. Your book is poorly constructed with thin paper or cheap binding that falls apart. The design is also cookie cutter. Those who purchase are disappointed and don't recommend it to anyone else. You can't even sell enough to make your investment back, and you need to fix or redo the entire project. In this case, you can lose time, money and potentially hurt your reputation, all of which will have to be made up by new promotional strategies.



2. Show Me the Money

Besides looking for product quality, determining how a particular option will affect your bottom line is an important consideration too. For example, one option may offer author copies at 20% off cover price, where another offers 40%. Another option allows you to keep everything after print costs. Clearly, making the wrong choice here affects profit. Less profit means fewer funds that can go to marketing or back into your business. A smart choice on the other hand could help you break even quickly and then keep the momentum going.



3. Promises Promises

If you don't want to go it alone, there are plenty of companies willing to help you get your book out into the world. Many also offer help with a wide variety of marketing and promotional tasks. Most of the time, additional costs are involved. Unfortunately, many of these promises are weak or vague to begin with and others simply fall through. It's easy to see how this would influence marketing. For example, if you were counting on lots of help via a promotional package then discover you're really on your own for the most part, that can change your marketing plans completely.



As you can now hopefully see, the publishing path you ultimately choose can greatly impact the marketing options you have. Are all the effects negative? No, definitely not. There are plenty of positive ways good choices will ultimately help your promotional efforts. The key is to be as informed as possible from the beginning, learn as much as you can, ask questions, then ask more questions. When you finally hold that book in your hand and it's something you can proudly offer to your audience, you'll know it was time well spent.



--------

Cheryl Pickett is a writing and publishing coach specializing in helping experts like coaches, consultants, trainers and entrepreneurs become authors. Her ten plus years experience as a freelance writer and author allow her to provide unique insight into both crafting a business building book and the publishing process. Her  current program, Publishing Possibilities 2011, will guide participants through the often confusing process of choosing the best publishing option. Details can be found at her website www.cherylpickett.com/programs.















































 -------- 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 .

How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories By M.L. Poncelet

A few months ago, I cam across the short story site, Ocean Blue Press. I contacted the person behind Ocean Blue and invited her to be a guest on my blog. Today, M.L. Poncelet will talk about short stories and how they can help authors promote a novel.



I have one quick in-house announcement to make before we get to today's post. If you are an author with a Kindle title, take a look at our new Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway that's starting next month. This can be a great way for you to market your book.



Now, on to today's post...



How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories

By M.L. Poncelet





What are the advantages of short stories as a selling tool?



Show off your style: readers want to know your style of writing. Short stories are an excellent way to showcase your style.



It's the hook: short stories create the hook that will drive more interest to your novel. Use short stories to build synergy with your novel.



Keeping it fresh: readers will want to come back to your site because there will always be something new for them. Short stories allow you to have limitless commercials that will promote your novel.



What is the ideal short story?

The ideal short story is one that is between 1000 to 2000 words long. It's longer than a piece of flash fiction but it's just as compact. With short stories the emphasis can be either on plot and structure or if you want it can be about a few specific details. The easiest approach is to focus on just one or two characters.



Where to start?

There are so many ideas for short stories:



Characters

Stir your readers' interest by writing short stories about the secondary characters in your novel. Write about their past histories. What was their background prior to appearing in your novel? You can also choose to write about some of your lesser known cameo characters.



Settings

If you're writing a fantasy novel, you have also spent a lot of time mapping out your imaginary world. Your characters might only occupy a corner of that place, so it would be interesting to share more details of the setting with your readers. Or perhaps your story takes place in the past during a time that is long forgotten.



One of your scenes in your novel could have taken place in a restaurant. In a short story you could take a closer look at the restaurant, the politics of the kitchen, or another diner who observed your character eating. There are endless possibilities.



Backstory

Before your characters convene in your novel there is a backstory. Your readers want to know what went on before page one.



Research

Think of all the research you did so that your characters could talk like experts in their field. How much of this research did you discard in the process? Take one aspect of an area you have studied or researched and let your character tell the story.



Grow a fan base even while completing your novel

If you're in the midst of writing your novel, you can use short stories to gauge your readers' interest in a new idea.



For example, you've been thinking about three possible endings and each one finishes with a different effect on the main character. Why not write a short story on each? You can get your readers' reaction to each short story and find the most popular conclusion.



Get repeat readers

Short stories can build interest in your novel; they can keep the readers coming back for more. With short stories you can go into further depth into the lives and minds of your characters, the settings and even the conflict.



Short Stories: the new appetizer that will grab your readers interest for your upcoming or current novel

There are many ways to promote your novel and short stories should definitely be included in your marketing tool kit.





-----

M.L. Poncelet is a westcoast short story writer at Ocean Blue Press









 -------- 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 .

Introducing The Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway

After a lot of planning, I'm excited to introduce you to an upcoming campaign to bring readers and authors together in a way that celebrates the success of the Kindle e-book platform.



To help me with this campaign, I have brought on two co-sponsors, both known as experts in the e-book publishing world:













Steven Lewis: Writer, journalist, creator of the Kindle Self Publishing site, and author of Kindle Formatting.






































Starting in June, we will highlight at least one Kindle e-book in a post each Sunday. The books will be chosen from submissions made by their authors. For one week, readers will have a chance to leave a comment on that post and at the end of the week, one commenter will be chosen at random to receive a free Kindle copy of that book.



We will also create an archive that lists each book chosen to participate in this campaign.



If you are a reader who wants to win a free Kindle book, all you have to do is wait until the campaign starts in June and then leave a comment on the posts with books you are interested in winning.



If you are an author who is looking for a little extra exposure for your Kindle book, then submit your book for inclusion in the campaign. There is no fee to enter your book. All you have to do is fill out the form on the Sunday Kindle Book Give Away official entry page. All rules for participating are given on that page.



I know that there are a lot of other great e-book formats out there and we may be expanding to other formats in later giveaways, but for now, we're celebrating the Kindle.



I'm excited about the new Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway and I hope that it helps a lot of authors and readers discover each other.



**Special thanks to Piotr Kowalczyk for creating the awesome logo for our Sunday Giveaway.







 -------- 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 .

Resource Of The Week: Paint.Net

Today's resource of the week is Paint.Net. If you have Windows, you're probably familiar with the program that Microsft ships with Windows called "Paint." Paint is a minimal image editor that's so limited, it's a stretch to call it useful. Enter, Paint.Net.





Paint.Net was started by college student Rick Brewster as a free image editor that would greatly expand the usefulness of Paint as a replacement for that limited tool. It allows you to work with layers, transparencies, gradients, and a host of other powerful tools.



It's been compared to the big dogs like Photoshop, Gimp and Paint Shop Pro. It's also been rated well by industry editors. In fact, CNET gave it a 5 star rating. Personally, Paint.Net has been the default image editor I now use. Its interface is user friendly and its support community is robust. You can find easy to use tutorials and for the price--free--it's worth the download.



Paint.Net is an image editor that you can't go wrong with. In fact, every screenshot that you've seen me use lately has been created and edited with Paint.Net.





**In-House Announcement: Since dropping my price for the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests: With Videos to $0.99, it's started to climb in the Amazon rankings. Yesterday, it hit a high, moving to #4 on the Amazon's Bestselling Web Marketing list and to #6 on Amazon's Bestselling E-commerce list. Thanks for all your support!





Last 4 Resources Of The Week

MobiPocket Ebook Creator

YouTube's Creator's Corner

Wikimedia Commons

Twitter Bookmarklet III









 -------- 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 .

Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: May 20th

This was was a great week for book marketing posts. I read through over 150 posts to select the ones I wanted to share with you today. Remember, I have linked the author's name to their Twitter URL so you can easily find them if you want to follow them. Before we get to the posts, I have a couple of in-house announcements:



1. The Kindle version of The Samson Effect yesterday jumped in and out of the Top 10 on Amazon's Bestsellers in Men's Adventure Fiction list. Thanks to all who have helped make it a success.



2. For a limited time, I have dropped the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests: With Videos 89%, from $8.99 to $0.99. This book is packed with book marketing lessons, so pick up your copy before this sale is over.





Now, on to our trip around the net...



1. Mark Coker of Smashwords at BAIPA: Indie Revolution in Full Swing- Joel Friedlander summarizes Mark Coker's speech with a lot of tips for authors.



2. Kindle Sales And Pricing With Kindle Nation Daily's Steven Windwalker- Joanna Penn interviews Steven Windwalker in a fascinating and informative podcast packed with advice for Kindle authors.



3. The 10 Terrible Truths of Book Marketing- Dana Lynn Smith invites Terry Cordingley to shoot straight with some book marketing truths that every authors needs to hear.



4. Book Review Controversies: Jim Cox and Carolyn Exchange Views- Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares a fascinating communication exchange between a veteran editor and a new author.



5. Why You Won't Succeed- Joe Konrath shares his no-nonsense advice for authors who want to succeed in the publishing world.



6. Book design and the business of self-publishing with Joel Friedlander- Steven Lewis interviews Joel Friedlander in a podcast that delivers excellent advice to authors.



7. Craft an Exceptional Elevator Pitch- Penny Sansevieri delivers a clinic in this post on crafting an elevator pitch.



8. 7 Essentials of Online Marketing Success for Authors – Part 7: Synergy- Roger C. Parker walks you through the process of letting your book's content fuel your marketing activities.



9. Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Killing a Career- Dean Wesley Smith taps his years of publishing experience to address another myth that authors will often hear.



10. Making Excuses for Not Effectively Using Social Media- Phyllis Zimbler Miller shares an experience with someone who made excuses instead of making changes.



11. New WordPress iOS for iPhone and iPad Review and Tutorial- MaAnna Stephenson shares a new update for iPhone/iPad that makes it much easier for bloggers to update Wordpress via their mobile device.



12. 7 social media marketing mistakes made by authors (and others)- Sue Collier shares some mistakes that authors need to be aware of when they create social media marketing plans.



13. Thoughts on a Book Festival- L. Diane Wolfe gives you a rundown on the recent SC Book Festival in Columbia, SC.



14. Author Blogging and Reader Engagement- BookBuzzr invites Joel Friedlander to share his advice on how bloggers can maximize relationships with their readers.



15. Things to Consider When You Redesign a Blog-


16. 8 Things Readers Want From Self-Published Authors- Jane Friedman pulls comments from her blog to compile a list of what readers are looking for in a self-published author.



17. 10 Actions You Can Take to Improve Your Proofreading- Nick Daws invites Randall Davidson to share advice on how to increase your book editing skills.



18. 5 Tornado Ingredients that'll Ensure Your Next Post Turns Viral- Darren Rowse invites Martyn Chamberlin to share advice on helping your next post go viral.



19. 301 Redirects Lose Google Juice, Pagerank [Confirmed]- Quick Online Tips shares some interesting news about how 301 redirects will affect your Google page rank by going straight to the source.



20. Literary Agencies as Publishers: An Accelerating Trend- Victoria Strauss shares some information that all authors need to be aware of.



21. Amazon CEO: State tax demands violate Constitution- Steve Weber discusses Amazon's stance on collecting state sales taxes.



22. My Top 10 Social Media Sites- Larry Brauner shares his top social media sites and tells you why he likes them.



23. How to Prevent Blah Blah Blogging- Chris Antoni gives you some advice on how to keep the boring blogging away from your blog.



Well, that's it for this week's trip around the net. I'll see you tomorrow with another great Resource Of The Week.





Last 4 Tips Around The Net:

May 15th

May 6th

April 30th

April 15th







 -------- 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 .

Three Layers of Book Promotion By Maria Zannini

Today, we have a returning guest to the blog who will share her book promotion tips. Maria Zannini is an author and a blogger. Today, Maria will talk about the three levels of book promotion.



Before we get to Maria's post, I have one exciting in-house announcement. For a limited time, I just dropped the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests by 89% from $8.99 to $0.99. I have uploaded all the instructional videos that are embedded in the PDF version and linked them in the Kindle version. This video e-book will teach you book marketing strategies that go far beyond conducting Twitter contests. When the PDF launched, it sold well at $47. You get the exact same videos and e-book right now on the Kindle for $0.99, so check it out today.



Now, on to Maria's post...





Three Layers of Book Promotion

By Maria Zannini





When it comes to marketing your book or brand, each venue can be neatly categorized between two camps: Passive and Proactive marketing.



Passive Promotion

Probably the easiest of all marketing, passive promotion is anything that you set up once and becomes self-perpetuating. Email signatures with a link to your book title or blog is an example of passive promotion. Once you've set up your signature to advertise your book, brand or blog, you don't need to do anything else. It follows you wherever you correspond.



Other options that you can set and forget:

mailing labels, stamps, and business cards


swag


book trailers


print or online advertising


Proactive Promotion Here is your chance to shine. Proactive promotion requires consistent and sometimes cumulative effort on your part. The most obvious example is Twitter, where you are regularly putting yourself out there and interacting with others. Other options that allow you to interact:

blogging


Facebook


online forums


book signings


Lateral Promotion There is a third option that I like to call 'lateral promotion'. Lateral promotion is any activity that doesn't actively promote your brand or book, but does promote you in subliminal ways. My favorite way to promote laterally is to volunteer at literary events, conferences, or at another author's book signing or speaking engagement. Volunteering strengthens your recognition to a larger audience and is a wonderful setting to chat or network. Best of all, you're helping out your peers while creating good Karma. Other options that put you on reader radar:

commenting on blogs, forums, and Facebook, or responding to other people's tweets


writing articles (Bylines, regardless of genre or topic increase your visibility.)


linking to other posts, articles and authors (This is a BIGGIE. The more you link, the higher your search engine rating. And it's so incredibly easy.)


It's overwhelming to plan a promotional campaign. The trick is not to do it all. Line up the vehicles best suited to your personality and throw yourself into those few. Make a list of all the options you can think of that cover passive, proactive and lateral promotion and pick out two or three from each group.



In the end, remember that you're not selling a product. You're building relationships with future readers.



--------

Maria Zannini used to save the world from bad advertising, but now she spends her time wrangling chickens, and fighting for a piece of the bed against dogs of epic proportions. Occasionally, she writes novels.



Blurb for APOCALYPSE RISING: The only place to hide was in the past. Leda and Grey have one chance to escape a madman and that's through a portal to a time before the apocalypse. But nothing has prepared them for 21st century culture, and every misstep draws them closer to the End Times. The world is teetering on extinction, and they may very well be the cause of it.



Apocalypse Rising is the sequel to Touch Of Fire. I hope you'll try them both.



































Related Posts

Conference Checklist- Maria Zannini

The Most Crucial Step To Effective Book Marketing

When Should You Stop Marketing Your Book?

Do-It-Yourself Marketing by Jerry B. Jenkins











 -------- 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 .

The 11 "To Do's" That Turned My Potential Snooze-Fest Non-Fiction into an Award-Nominated Book! By Wendi Pomerance Brick

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our guest author today, Wendi Pomerance Brick. Wendi is an author that I met through old-fashioned networking. While speaking to people in my local Texas Starbucks about my book, one of the women told me that her aunt in California was an author who was being asked to speak all over about her book. A little research led me to Wendi.



Today, Wendi will walk us through the secret to her award-winning success and give us tips that she used to breathe life into her book. This is an exciting success story and I'm grateful that Wendi is sharing it with us today. It shows us that there are so many paths to success for authors.



The 11 "To Do's" That Turned My Potential Snooze-Fest Non-Fiction into an Award-Nominated Book!

ByWendi Pomerance Brick



Writing a book is certainly a labor of love, emphasis on labor. Not in a bad way, it was just more labor intensive, and took a lot longer, than I thought it would.



Writing a non-fiction book about providing great customer service in government had the potential to be quite a snooze-fest, so here's what I did to make it fun and valuable for the readers. It must have worked because it's selling like hot cakes on Amazon and was also nominated for Best Non-Fiction Book 2011 by the San Diego Book Awards!



Let me first clarify that I went the "self-publishing" route. I put that in quotes because I didn't really self-publish, I only self printed. I had a lot of help getting from a draft manuscript to a finished product. Here's the journey that worked for me.



To complete the draft manuscript and to get past my writer's block, I digitally recorded a bunch of my workshops, presentations and seminars. That was a huge help in filling up the blank pages. I mistakenly thought that creating the manuscript was basically the end of my journey. Well, add another 6 months to your timeline, give or take, once you have the manuscript finished. Here's the rest of the story...



1. Hire a structural layout person. This could be someone who advertises as a ghost writer. Interview several people and pick one that you feel a connection with. They really need to "get you" or this step won't work as well.



Once you write the book, send them the manuscript for "readability" review and engagement of reader. This person can also help with the marketing hooks and phrases that could pull the readers in and make them want to keep reading. All the ideas are yours but this person helps smooth out transitions and flow, identifies what could be elaborated on, and what should be removed all together.



2. Hire a copy editor. I'm no English major. This is the person that does a grammar and punctuation check, the style guide (which is very important for visual consistency) and checks to make sure everything is correct before printing. This was my source of greatest frustration. I did this part three times with 2 different people before it was correct, so keep in mind you may need more than one person.



3. Engage a graphic artist. My artist was also my publisher. She not only designed a stunning front and back cover (at least I think it is stunning) but also did all of the layout design internally.



4. Engage someone to lay out the book so it can be uploaded to print. In my case, this was my graphic artist described above. This person creates all the internal copyright pages, pull quotes, fonts and formats, etc.



5. ISBN number for your book. It's imperative to have this ISBN number and very easy to purchase on line. You'll need this before your artist can finish the internal copyrights page and the back cover art.



6. Get your endorsements. There are templates on line for sending endorsement requests. Often the person would like to see the preface, first couple of chapters, or even the whole book as a .pdf before giving you the endorsement. Ask a lot of people! Everyone will not respond to your request. I sent out requests to about 20 people and received 6 awesome quotes.



7. Determine a price. This was a combination of art and science. Start by research look for books of similar size and length. There is no set formula on this.



8. Ensure your title is unique. More research. There doesn't seem to be a central library of all titles. I used Amazon.



9. Find a high quality reliable book printer. This is where you will upload the book and they will ship you the finished product. Do a proof run to make sure the book is the quality you expect before you order 500 of them.



10. Marketing is completely up to you!! Put together a marketing plan relying heavily on your networks. If you have the money, you may want to hire a professional PR firm to help you with press releases, media exposure and identifying potential market contacts. Make marketing your book part of your everyday activities.



11. Sales- how are you going to sell it? This seems like an easy question, but it's not that straightforward. First, you need to get a permit, at least in California, and here it's a Resellers permit from the State Board of Equalization. You will owe taxes on the sales at different tax rates depending on where the buyer is from, so you'll need a way to track all that. Once a year, you'll be expected to send someone a sales tax check. Along with this, you'll have to set up system to track inventory and sales. I have all of this set up in my QuickBooks software.



Speaking of sales, you'll have to decide if you need a merchant account. Will you accept/process credit cards on your own? I personally only take checks or cash at trade shows/seminars, and use Amazon.com for credit card sales. There are pros and cons to using Amazon, so you'll have to see what works best for you. I'm also aware that there are apps and new attachments for your smart phone that will enable you to process credit cards in the field, but I haven't personally done this yet.



I sincerely hope this information is helpful to you in your pursuit of being a published author! It's been a great experience for me, and I'm sure the second book will be a lot smoother. Yes, after all of this, there will be a second book. Go do great things!



--------

Wendi Pomerance Brick, Author

President and CEO

Customer Service Advantage, Inc.



Wendi has 14 years of experience developing and implementing customer service improvement programs, including training and facilitation, surveys, process improvements, performance measures, rewards programs, and technology updates.



In 1998, Wendi was named as the County of San Diego's first Customer Service Manager. Her programs were used as models around the United States and were awarded two NACo (National Association of Counties) Achievement Awards. In 2003, Wendi was a Finalist in the San Diego Business Journal's annual "Women Who Mean Business." Wendi was asked to join the Executive Team at the City of San Diego in 2006, and was appointed Director of the Department of Customer Services.



Wendi is now the President and CEO of Customer Service Advantage, Inc. CSA provides customer service consulting and training services to businesses, non-profits, educational institutions and government agencies. The CSA approach is based on a unique "Six Essential ElementsTM" model for establishing a customer-focused culture. Her new book The Science of Service: Six Essential Elements for Creating a Culture of Service in the Public Sector was released in December 2010 and is available at www.TheScienceOfService.info.





For a complete Curriculum Vita, see www.LinkedIn.com/in/wendibrick.



Member Organizations:

• Escondido Chamber of Commerce

• Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

• San Diego North Economic Development Council

• South County Economic Development Council

• American Society for Training and Development

• Municipal Managers Association of Southern California



Customer Service Advantage, Inc.

760.445.6550

www.theCSAedge.com







































 -------- 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 .

Review: A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander

It's been a while since I did a product review or a book review on this blog, and few books are better to break that drought with than Joel Friedlander's A Self-Publisher's Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish from TheBookDesigner.com. I  recently found Joel's blog, The Book Designer, and it has been a daily read for me, and I highly recommend it to you. So when I read that Joel had come out with a new book on self-publishing, I headed over to Amazon to check it out. What I found was a strong resource that I highly recommend to authors.



Joel writes this book from the experience of an author who pioneered the early days of self-publishing. Having been brought up in his father's print shop, he took those skills and self-published before people even knew what self-publishing was. From then, he honed his skills and truly became a pioneer in what is now refereed to by many as the golden age of publishing. You may find a lot of gurus out there who can help you self publish your book, but you'll be hard-pressed to find someone with the depth of experince that you'll find in Joel.



That's what makes A Self-Publisher's Companion such a powerful resource for authors. It's backed by decades of experience that shows you what works, what doesn't work, and why things work. For the author who doesn't understand anything about publishing, Joel takes you by the hand and brings you up to speed on where the publishing industry is and where you fit into it. In doing this, he demystifies the process and gives you the tools you'll need to make informed decisions when it comes to self-publishing your book.



His book does a masterful balancing act between giving authors encouragement while still painting a realistic view of what's in store for someone who decides to publish their book themselves. It's packed full of resources and tips that will make this a resource you'll want to keep within arms-reach as you start your self-publishing journey.



When I did the Amazon review for this book (5 Stars without question), I made the point that it's written in a way where you can read it cover-to-cover or you can use the table-of-contents to jump right to the point that addresses your specific area of need. That makes it both an educational work and a reference work at the same time. By the time you are ready to put this book down, you'll know the course you'll need to chart to successfully publish your book yourself.



Here is a taste of what you will learn in this book:



- Book Design Tips

- Cover Design Tips

- Self-Publishing Paths Authors Can Take

- Common Mistakes To Watch Out For

- Using Social Media

- Publishing E-Books

- Marketing Your Book



This list hardly covers everything in the book. And Joel has made this book available in print form and as an e-book, so picking up your copy is easy and convenient, no matter the format you read. If you're like me, you'll find yourself referring back to this book over and over. Without question, if your book budget is limited, this is one resource you'll want to put at the top of your buy list.















































 -------- 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 .

Finding Your Voice in Business By Felice Gerwitz

It's my honor to introduce you to today's guest, Felice Gerwitz. Felice is an author, consultant and publisher and the head of the Ultimate Women's Expo. Her Blog Talk Radio program, Information In A Nutshell Radio Show, is heard by thousands. Today, Felice will help us find our voice in the noisy, competing world we're in with some great tips.



Before we get to her post, I wanted to touch base with you about last week. Blogger (owned by Google) had some major issues when they rolled out an upgrade. The issues took Blogger offline for a while. Everything is now up and running, but I had to move Friday's post to Sunday.



To make sure you don't miss anything, here are the links to the last two posts. I thank you for your patience through this outage. (I'll be writing more about the outage from a marketer's perspective in the near future):



Resource Of The Week: MobiPocket Ebook Creator

Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: May 15th



Now, on to Felice's post...





Finding Your Voice in Business

By Felice Gerwitz



What do you do? Can you answer that question briefly?



"I'm an author."

"I'm a publisher."

"I'm a social media 'expert.'"

"I'm a ghost writer."

"I'm a blogger."

"I'm a speaker."

"I'm a webinar host."

"I host a podcast."

"I'm a social media guru, Internet junkie."



Many of you reading this today are one or more of the above. If you learn nothing else from this article, learn that you must be able to articulate in under one-minute exactly what it is you do with clarity. If you don't know, then how can you explain it when someone asks? Obviously you can not. Being passionate about your work allows you to explain it with appeal and zeal!



For example you can condense all of the above with a simple sentence such as:



"My work is helping aspiring authors realize their dreams."



This will either lead to further discussion or end the conversation right there. So, now that you can explain what you do, how can you be heard in a very loud and competing world?



With all the noise in the world, the thought that someone might not have a voice might be appealing, but the point of this article is to not only articulate your message with clarity but be heard above the crowd.



How can you do this?



By reading, looking, studying and analyzing what works for you.



What have you purchased impulsively lately?

Why did you purchase it?

What made you decide you must have this product or service?

Is there a blog(s) you follow? Why?

Who are the thought leaders you turn to when you need a question answered?

Who's Twitter feed do you follow and who's messages do you retweet?



Look at it, dissect it and get a feel for what the person is doing. They've found their voice and achieved their goal: YOUR ATTENTION. They are being heard, they are making an impact, they are very possibly successful at what they do.



I've found the most effective sales person is one who genuinely cares and has confidence in his or her product or service. Relationships matter, and more so in the Internet World, where trust can be difficult.



Fine tune your voice. What is it your really want to say? How are you going to say it? As you work through your business goals you can find mentors along the way. Make sure you are not copying someone else. Be innovative.



So, how can you be heard?

Give more than you receive.


Don't give up, those who continue the race finish even if not first.


Don't color in the lines, be innovative find an angle.


Make friends, be social and say something meaningful.


It takes time but a slow and steady space can finally pay off. I knew I wanted to market my book for authors several years ago after the first blush of new sales were wearing thin. I launched a podcast for authors with a twist. This would be information and help for aspiring authors and anyone interested in the writing and publishing process. After two years my show has had tens of thousands of listens on iTunes and across the internet on BlogTalk Radio and I've interviewed some notable personalities. As a side bonus, I've sold books.



By keeping your eyes on the goal (if you don't have one get one!) you will reach your target. You can find your voice and be heard in this very loud and often confusing world. Get to it! I'm listening.



--------

Felice Gerwitz is busy wife, mom, and the author of Information in a Nutshell: Writing and Publishing. She is an author-consultant and publisher. She is currently trying out her new voice as a webinar host and will be gearing up for her first job at the helm of the Ultimate Women's Expo launching in May 2011. You can listen to her podcast for authors weekly at http://www.WritingandPublishingRadio.com or read her blog at http://www.WritingandPublishingBlog.com.



































Related Posts

Mentors and Masterminds- Why You Need Them

Building Your Reputation As A Guest Blogging Powerhouse With Shelley Hitz

Audio Podcast: Authors Promoting Through Blogtalkradio By Jo-Anne Vandermeulen

Podcasting for Authors By Yvonne Perry







 -------- 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 .

Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: May 15th

With Blogger's little mishap last week, we had to put off our trip around the net from Friday to today. But since there were so many great posts out there, I wanted to make sure that we didn't miss what went on. So grab your favorite beverage and dive into some great tips and advice from the experts.





1. Five Tips to Help You Decide How Much of YOU Should Show Up in Your Blog- Carolyn Howard-Johnson invites Cheryl Pickett to discuss a question that all bloggers think about.



2. Are you writing about grass-mud horses without even knowing it?- Steven Lewis discusses simple SEO principles and introduces you to a WordPress plugin that can help with your SEO efforts.



3. 12 Easy Steps to The Making of a Book Trailer- Joel Friedlander invites Judy Croome to give you tips on making your next book trailer.



4. Interview with Dana Lynn Smith: The Savvy Book Marketer- Shelley Hitz interviews marketing and publishing veteran Dana Lynn Smith in a post packed with book marketing tips.



5. The Eighth Excuse for Not Using the Power of Social Media- Phyllis Zimbler Miller continues her series by debunking another excuse people have for not using social media marketing.



6. There's More To eBooks Than Mobi And ePub- Joanna Penn invites Guido Henkel to discuss the wisdom of getting your book into as many formats as possible.



7. Eight Tips to Make Your Next Writers Conference Awesome!- Penny Sansevieri prepares you for your next writer's conference.



8. The Right (and Wrong) Way to Comment on Blogs- BookBuzzr invites Dana Lynn Smith to give tips of using blog comments effectively.



9. Advice from a master direct response copywriter & Carl Jung- Roger C. Parker introduces you to Peter Schaible's book that looks into Jung's work from a marketer's perspective.



10. The 5 questions that can save your book- Sue Collier invites Susan Daffron to share 5 questions that can help you keep your book project on track.



11. How Readers Embrace Electronic Books-


12. 5 Bad Blogger Habits You Need to Break- Daniel Scocco invites Thanh Pham to go over the 5 things bloggers need to steer clear from.



13. Book Marketing Toolbox: Dropbox- Dana Lynn Smith introduces you to a cool resource to help you manage and share your large files.



14. New WordPress 3.2 Features- MaAnna Stephenson catches you up on the new WordPress features.



15. What to Tweet About to Get More Followers- Chris Antoni shares some ideas on what makes great Twitter tweets.



16. Are Complex Captchas Blocking Your Feedburner Email List?- Quick Online Tips discusses the dangers of having captchas on your site.



17. 7 Habits of Professional Bloggers- Darren Rowse invites Ali Luke to discuss the 7 habits all bloggers need to develop.



18. What Works: Promo for Ebooks- Joe Konrath delivers a clinic via this post on ebook promotion.



19. 5 Key Research Sites You May Have Missed (Plus Cool Tricks)- Jane Friedman shares some great research sites for authors.



20. Writers Are Losing the Fight Again- The no-nonsense writing of this veteran author, Dean Wesley Smith, delivers nuggets of great advice and observations.



21. Amazon adds $45 penalty for FBA storage over 1 year- Steve Weber makes sure you're up-to-date on all the fees that you may be hit with as you sell your books on Amazon.



22. Duck! Here Comes EPUB3- Walt Shiel shares what's in store with EPub3.



That's it for this week's around the net. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow morning for a new week of fresh book marketing tips.





Last 4 Tips Around The Net:

May 6th

April 30th

April 15th

April 8th











 -------- 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 .