Tony Eldridge's Blog, page 25

Searching For Book Ideas And Inspiration On Amazon.com By Roger C. Parker

It's my pleasure to introduce you today to Roger C. Parker, book marketing coach and author of over 38 books. Roger's blog, Published and Profitable, is full of timely book marketing tips for authors. In today's post, Roger will dig deep into Amazon.com to teach us how to use it as a market research tool for our books.







Searching for book ideas and inspiration on Amazon.com

By Roger C. Parker



Writing and self-publishing success today involves searching for book ideas and inspiration on Amazon.com.



More than visiting any single bookstore or library, Amazon.com offers you endless opportunities to research currently available books and search for additional ideas and opportunities.



Benefits of online research at Amazon.com



Here are some of the reasons you will be well-rewarded by the time you spend on Amazon.com, the world's 5th largest search engine,



Time spent at Amazon will help you:



Identify the "missing book." Searching at Amazon.com can help you identify the "missing book"-- the book your market wants, but hasn't been written yet! After carefully analyzing the pros and cons of existing books, and reading between the lines of reader reviews, it will be easier for you to position your book apart from existing books on the topic and do a better job of serving your intended reader's needs.



Inspiration. In addition to the exploring the existing titles, authors, and publishers, time spent familiarizing yourself with existing books is likely to spark new ideas and title possibilities. This is especially true to the extent you not only analyze the Amazon sales pages for books addressing your market's needs, but you dig deeper and use the sales page as a point of departure for exploring other books and websites.



The key to success is to look beyond the obvious, looking for new approaches and hidden competition, rather than focusing on the authors and books in your field that you're already familiar with. Approach your research like your market does, from a fresh perspective.



Keywords and key phrases



If you're already familiar with search engine optimization, you've got an important head start.



Start your Amazon research by searching on the keywords and key phrases that you may already be using to attract qualified traffic to your blog or website. Search on the terms that your market is searching on when they look for help solving their problems and achieving their goals.



If you are familiar with the other authors in your field, you can visit their website and use your Internet browser's View Source to identify the keywords they are using to drive visitors to their blog and website.



It's never too early to search for additional keywords and key phrases. Try entering the keywords and individual words used in key phrases into online resources like www.Thesaurus.com.



Best practices for research on Amazon.com



Although many are familiar with the process of searching for books at Amazon.com, many authors fail to go deep enough in their search for ideas and competition. Here are some suggestions for "going deeper"at Amazon:



1. Start your searches at Amazon's Books page. The Books page offers access to additional links and resources, including Books of the Year, Books of the Decade, Editor's Choice Books in various categories, The New York Times Bestsellers Lists, and New Releases during the upcoming quarter.



2. Revisit familiar titles in your field. You probably already have a good idea of the titles already available in your field. You may own some of the books, or you may have encountered them at local bookstores. In either case, visit each book's sales page on Amazon view it as a shortcut to locating other relevant titles. Pay particular attention to Amazon features like books found under the Frequently Bought Together, Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought, and the What Customers Ultimately Bought After Viewing subheads that appear on each title's Amazon sales page. These can open your ideas to dozens of books you didn't know already existed.



3. "Look Inside" link. Many book pages display a Click to Look Inside link next to the image of the book's cover. Take advantage of it whenever you see it. This permits you to Zoom-in to explore the sales copy and testimonials on the book's front and back covers. In most cases, you can also review the book's table of contents and one, or more, sample chapters. Although you can't print these pages, you can easily take notes and review the author's perspective and the book's intended market.



4. Reader Reviews. Pay particular attention to reviews submitted by readers. (Hint: filter out those obviously written by the author's friends or those with an obvious ax to grind.) Look for themes that show up in more than one review, i.e., the reviewer's favorite parts of the book, or comments about topics not covered in the book that show up in more than one review. These comments may provide the spark of inspiration you need to begin writing. In addition, note the date of the latest review, as this will help you gauge the current popularity of the book.



5. Author Connect. Look for a link to the author's page at Amazon.com. This does more than just cross-reference other books the author has written. After publication, Amazon.com gives authors a page where they can submit their own biography and create their own blog. (Hint: many authors run RSS feeds from their existing blogs to their author page at Amazon.) Authors can also add audios and videos to their page, giving you a better idea of how others in your field are leveraging their book to additional profits.



6. Tags. Pay attention to the Tags Customers Associate With This Product, located at the bottom of each title's sales page. The tags submitted by readers may suggest new topics for you to search.



7. Listmania and task-oriented referrals. Likewise, you can usually discover additional books addressing your topic in the Listmania lists of favorite books that readers have submitted to Amazon. In addition, by skimming the So You Want To… articles, you may locate links to additional books in your field, or ideas you can include in your book or online book marketing.



8. Publisher. Always pay attention to who published each book. Do you recognize the publisher, or does it appear to have been self-published. If you're interested in trade publishing, pay particular notice to the publishers of successful titles in your field/category. When books are successful, publisher's may welcome proposals for additional books on the topic.



Category rank versus overall sales rank.



Avoid placing too much emphasis attention to a title's overall ranking on Amazon.com, concentrate on the title's ranking within its specific sales categories. It doesn't mean too much that Garr Reynold's new Presentation Zen Design, for example, was Amazon's #1005 best-selling book in mid-January. What's more important is rank relative to its direct competition, for example:



1. Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Running Meetings & Presentations

2. Books > Computers & Internet > Software > Business

3. Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia



You'll undoubtedly get an entirely new perspective on the titles your book will have to compete against when you view it in the context of its category competition.



Search the categories listed in the Kindle Books section of Amazon as well as the book titles that show up in the printed books. As this is written, the categories don't completely overlap, and there are more categories available for print titles.



In any event, remember: your book doesn't have to be a mass market best-seller to establish you as the "go to" expert in your field!



Tracking your research on Amazon.com



It's vital that you develop a system to keep track of the information you find at Amazon.com, as you follow the links to different pages.













































(Click image to go to the form)



At left is the Analyzing Existing Books Worksheet I have developed to help my book coaching clients keep track of the titles they encounter on Amazon.com. You're invited to download it for free—no registration required.



I always encourage clients to develop a system for taking notes and profiting from their research at Amazon.com. For example:



1. Create a separate word processed file for each of the books that you discover as they search on Amazon.



2. List competing books and highlights of their reader reviews, and include links to the author and book's URLs at Amazon, as well as links to the URLs of related books.



3. Print copies of the latest files of your research results on 3-hole paper at the end of each search session.



4. Insert the print-outs, organized alphabetically by the author's last name, in a 3-ring binder.



You'll find it easier to review your research after it's been printed, and you'll also appreciate the ability to immediately retrace your steps searching for book ideas at Amazon.com.



You can also use mind mapping programs, like Mindjet, to track the results of your research.



Your turn!



If you have any questions about online research, send them to me c/o Roger@PublishedandProfitable.com. I'll do my best to help you.



Writing and publishing success begins on Amazon.com, well before you begin to write your book. Success involves researching on Amazon.com to identify "missing titles" and bringing new information and perspectives to your field. Success also involves identifying the appropriate categories where your book should be listed on Amazon.com. What's your favorite idea, tip, or technique for searching for book ideas at Amazon.com? What other sites do you find useful searching for book ideas and inspiration? Which do you find most useful? What have I overlooked? Share your ideas as comments, below!



***



Roger C. Parker is a book marketing coach who helps authors through his blog, Published and Profitable, and his consulting services. Over 1.6 million readers own copies of his 38 books, and he's known as thee "Best-Selling $32 Million Dollar authors."

7 Strategies For Authors On Coping With Information Overload

In today's hi-tech environment of do-it-yourself publishing and marketing, it can be easy for an author to get lost in the noise of what you should and should not do. To add to the confusion, even experts don't always agree on the most important things you must do to be successful.



If you're like many authors, you like to write. That's what you're good at. You don't want to be a professional marketer but you do realize that, like it or not, you'll still have to wear that marketing hat if you want to succeed.



So, how do you navigate the confusing rapids of publishing and marketing your book? Here are a few strategies to consider to help you keep your head above water:



1. Don't Try To Do Everything At Once- Even the most tech-savvy person would be hard pressed to do everything possible to market their book. It's okay to live with the reality that you don't need to do it all to be a success. You don't have to be on every social media site and you don't have to incorporate all the latest technologies into your book marketing plans. Choose a few that you want to get really good at and start from there. You can always add more later. And yes, no matter what you do today, there will always be more you can do later.



2. Model Someone Who You See As Successful- If you don't know where to start, look at an author you follow and study what they are doing. What ideas can you get from him or her? What social media sites is he or she on? What technologies does your favorite author use to market his or her books? You don't have to copy everything someone else does, but you can always choose one or two people to help you come up with ideas for your own marketing and publishing plans.



3. Limit Who You Listen To, But Continue To Read Widely- There are are a lot of smart people out there and they don't always say the same things. In order to cope with all the information available to you, limit who you really listen to. At the same time, continue your research so you can adapt what you hear to your own marketing plan. By doing this, you can cut through the noise while still making informed decisions.



4. Master A Few Things And Outsource The Rest- No one says you have to be an expert on every publishing and book marketing activity you engage in. Consider getting really good at what you enjoy and let someone else handle the things you don't want to learn or things you don't want to spend the time on.



5. Don't Fear Trial And Error- Even the greatest marketers have engaged in trial and error. If you sit at the feet of the great ones, they will share stories of lessons they learned the hard way. I'm not saying that you shouldn't use due diligence to make sure your marketing activities are efficient, but don't be afraid to try something new just because you don't understand it perfectly. It's often better to try and fail than never to try at all.



6. Ask For Help- If you're stumped or you have a big decision to make, lay it out there and ask someone for their advice. If you don't know how something works, ask someone to show you. You can do this by:



- E-mailing someone directly

- Googling your query

- Visiting message boards

- Searching YouTube for how-to videos

- Posting questions on your blog, tweeting your question, or ask your group members



The point is that you have a lot of resources available to you. Don't be afraid to use them.



7. Barter- If you have a skill that someone else needs, consider offering a trade in services. If they help you, you'll help them. This is one of the oldest and most effective ways to cope with information overload. Just like the barber would cut the hair of his shoemaker for a pair of sneakers, you can find ways to trade your skills for the skills of someone who can help you with an aspect of your marketing plan.



These are a few ideas on how you can cope with information overload. As a writer, you want to make sure that you don't get so bogged down with doing what everyone says you need to be doing that you don't have time to write. There will never be a shortage of advice out there for you; you just need to be judicious on how you choose to take action on that advice.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: January 21st

It's Friday and that means it's time to go around the net to look at book marketing posts that have caught my attention. So sit back with your favorite warm beverage and let's get going!



One quick announcement: On Saturday, March 26th, author, publisher, and former ABC syndicated radio host Kat Smith and I will be hosting a 4 hour book marketing seminar at the Richardson, Texas Civic Center through the Writer's Guild of Texas. This news is hot off the presses. Stay tuned for more details and a forthcoming link with all the information.



Now, on to today's post...



1. Tips for creating effective "About Us" statements- Roger C. Parker gives fresh perspectives on an old marketing tool.



2. Smart Self-Publishing: How to Get Published Without Getting Scammed- Penny Sansevieri provides a must-read guide for anyone who is considering self-publishing their book.



3. Creative Entrepreneurship And Content Marketing With Mark McGuinness- Joanna Penn speaks with Mark McGuinness on how creative professionals can market their business.



4. Blogging Your Way to a Successful Writing Career- Carolyn Howard-Johnson invites Tim Handorf to discuss how to use blogging to move your writing career forward.



5. Facebook Has Forever Changed the Face of Small Business Marketing- Phyllis Zimbler Miller discusses how Facebook has changes marketing for small businesses.



6. How to Feature Your Book on Your LinkedIn Profile- Dana Lynn Smith shares a new feature on Linked-In for authors.



7. A Luddite Enters the Digital Marketplace- Jane Friedman invites Nath Jones to share her experiences with releasing her 4 e-book titles.



8. How to Start a Group Blog for Writers- Todd Rutherford gives guidance on starting your own online group.



9. How To Explode Your Blog Traffic with a Perfect Blog Commenting Strategy- Naveen Kulkarni is a guest on Quick Online Tips where he discusses commenting strategies.



10. 5 Great Ways To Get Sued As A Blogger- Jonathan Bailey gives you some sound advice that will help keep you out of hot water with the law.



That's it for this week's trip around the net. Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all next week.

Wonder Wheel Helps You Think Like A Search Engine

You've heard it everywhere, even from me. Good keywords are important for many reasons, including SEO tactics. They also help you find exactly what you are really looking for. And there are a lot of tools out there that will help you uncover some really good keywords.



The problem for those who are beginning to flex their keyword finding muscles is where to start. What sounds good to one person may not sound good to another. That why good tools will help you see how many people are actually using specific keywords.



I often have to bite my tongue when so-called SEO experts extol their SEO prowess to uninformed business professionals on the net. They will say something like, "I can help you get to the number 1 spot on Google for the keywords 'Book Marketing Expert Tony Eldridge In Forney Texas'" There are so many things wrong with that, none worse than the fact that there might only be one person who ever uses that string of keywords. So what if my site shows up first on that keyword search. No one is using it. (I witnessed something like this earlier in the week.)



Good, relevant keywords are keywords which match your content and are keywords that people are actually using to find information. So that brings us back to our problem of how can the average person find valid, relevant keywords for their online presence. I have mentioned a lot of good tools, but I want to introduce you to one I have not mentioned before. It's called the Wonder Wheel. It's Google's free tool that they rolled out a couple of years ago.



In a nutshell, the Wonder Wheel is available on every Google Search. When you do a search, look down the left column until you see the words "Wonder Wheel." That's when the fun begins.



(Click on any image to see a larger pic with more detail)



































You'll see in this illustration where the Wonder Wheel is located after a Google search. The first time you use it, you may have to click on the "More Search Tools" link.



Once you do, you will see something that looks like this:































The neat thing about the Wonder Wheel is that you start to see more keyword ideas that Google find relevant to the term you entered. Now I have 8 more keywords to explore to seek out the ones relevant to my site, giving me ideas on what I want to use in my SEO efforts. And watch what happens when I click on the term to the left, Book Marketing Strategy.





































Now I have a new set of keywords to consider and I see how they relate to my original keywords. This is a great way to let the largest search engine in the world help us uncover other keywords during our research.



Here are a couple of disclaimers I think are important for us to remember:



1. No one tool is the end-all to keyword research. Otherwise it would be the only one on the market.

2. There are other tools out there that can give you excellent results.

3. Don't underestimate the value of a professional SEO expert who really knows his or her stuff. They have experience, tools and knowledge that can blow away any free tool available to everyone. They have already lived through the trial and error learning curve and they know what works.



Still, if you are doing all this yourself, you should add Google's Wonder Wheel into your toolbox. It's worth considering the results it yields.

My Online Marketing New Years Resolutions

I got a head-start on my personal New Years resolutions. Mid December, I walked into my brother-in-law's chiropractic office and signed up for his new weight loss plan. The results, I am down 32 pounds in 4 weeks. I feel better than I have in years. For those in the DFW area who are looking to lose weight in 2011, give him a call and tell him Tony sent you. (This isn't a paid endorsement. He doesn't even know I am mentioning him today).



As for blogging, I have a few new resolutions that I am getting serious about. Sometimes knowing what you need to do and doing what you need to do are two different things. It's time I tighten up and get back to the basics.



1. I will do better at sending relevant tweets each week when I find great marketing tips outside my site. There's a lot of good stuff that I run across from other experts that I know my that followers will find useful. I want to be a better source of great content for my followers by sharing these golden nuggets.



2. I will comment more. I read a lot of blogs, but I don't always leave comments. I know how much I appreciate comments on my blog, and I will do the same for others.



3. I will do a better job at answering each comment left on my blog. I'm embarrassed that this is actually a resolution, but it is.



4. I will finally launch a Facebook page for Marketing Tips For Authors.



5. Speaking of Facebook, I will active spend at least 30 minutes per day connecting with my friends on Facebook. I know I am missing out on some great relationships by not spending more quality time on Facebook.



These are a few of my resolutions for 2011. I have others in my pocket, some personal, some professionals, but these are the ones I am focusing on the most. Oh, and I already completed two of my top resolutions for 2011: both The Samson Effect and Conducting Effective Twitter Contests are on Kindle, and The Samson Effect is also on Nook.



And one last thing... With Dr. Pledger's help, I plan on dropping another 30 pounds by the end of February :)

Business Cards Aren't Boring—Or Inconsequential By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

It's Tuesday and I am thrilled to bring back a veteran guest to this blog, the author of the How To Do It Frugally series, Carolyn Howard-Johnson. In today's post, Carolyn discusses an often overlooked marketing tool, the business card.



Just a quick reminder that I recently published both, The Samson Effect and Conducting Effective Twitter Contests on the Kindle platform. Each book sells for $4.99. Download a free sample today and when you purchase, you'll have the ability to loan out both books to others for 14 days.



Now, on to Carolyn's post...



Business Cards Aren't Boring—Or Inconsequential

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson



I admit it. When I opened my first retail store in the 70s, I thought of business cards as too officious for my branding--you know, something that CEOs handed out, though I'm not sure they even called them CEOs back then. How wrong I was. Business Cards are essential and even if you're branding isn't . . . mmmm . . . corporate, there are lots of ways you can jazz them up.



Then I became so firmly convinced that business cards are a must, I suggested that authors use them in The Frugal Book Promoter (http://www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).



The thing is, it never occurred to me there was so much to say and know about business cards until I met Reno Lovison, author of Turn Your Business Card Into Business (www.businesscardtobusiness.com). Of course, he knows that business cards are still woefully underutilized in everything from the retail environment to their use by authors and other artists. And that they're often designed poorly for their purpose.



Mine, as an example, may be designed poorly. I'm no graphic artist! But they do the job. They are more like cramped mini advertisements that include my books' images, their awards, and even little blurbs (or endorsements). None of that corporate well-designed, lots-of-space look. Right or wrong, I know they work and recommend them to other authors in my UCLA Writers' Program classes and in my books.



Reno hasn't seen my cards but he iterates my thinking when he says, "Think about it. Your business card--if properly designed--is like a small advertisement. You probably see the value of advertising in a newspaper or magazine or on the web where we often speak of "impressions." That is to say how often the printed ad has influenced or made an impression on a potential customer.



A business card is no different. It is an opportunity to make an impression on a customer. If your customer takes the card and looks at it three more times in the course of the week that is three more impressions. Three more times that she is reminded of your business."



Reno's chapter on communications strategy is a perfect tutorial in helping people consider their branding when designing a business card. And you've heard me talk branding, I know. On my blog. In my books. Everywhere I can. Authors, in fact, are their own brand but we still have to think about what that constitutes before making marketing decisions.



Reno also reminds folks:

~"A card is a better way to advertise than many others because it will probably be seen more than once and is far less expensive per impression."

~"Do not be concerned about the fact that the customer will eventually dispose of the card. Customers eventually throw away their newspapers, magazines , flyers and e-mail too."

~"Distribute your cards to friends, family, and people you meet. Enlist others to be your sales staff by providing them with additional cards."



Per card (and even better, per impression), business cards are free advertising. You can learn more about business card marketing in Reno's book at www.businesscardtobusiness.com and in The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).



Oh, I should have said this earlier, but business cards are not just for writers with published books or freelance writers. They're also for new writers. One of the biggest psychological hurdles we writers must overcome is that we must begin to think of ourselves as writers. Or poets. I've heard writers apologize for being a writer. I've heard writers stutter on the word when they introduce themselves. I've seen poets deny being a poet. "Well, not really . . ." they say. Having a card with our name and the title "Writer" beneath it is a tangible beginning for the process of building a writing career.



-------



Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a former New York publicist for the world of fashion. Though she eschewed business cards when she first founded and operated her own chain of gift stores she has come around and now offers them liberally for all of her books—from her novel, to her award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers to her new book for retailers, A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques at www.budurl.com/RetailersGuide. Her Web site is www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

Marketing Tips Around The Net: January 14th

It's Friday and I have been reading through a lot of book marketing posts. Below are 10 that have caught my eye.



Remember, you can get your Kindle copy of The Samson Effect or Conducting Effective Twitter Contests for just $4.99 each today. They just went live a few days ago.



Now, on to the list...



1.


2.


3. The Evolution of How I use Twitter- Jane Friedman has a great post in Twitter, including items that inspired a post of mine this week about Paper.li



4. Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Branding: The Secret to Selling More Books- Paula Krapf talks branding and how it will help you sell more books.



5. 7 Ways to Market Your Book by Giving Away Free Stuff- Dana Lynn Smith invites Vikram Narayan of BookBuzzr to talk about giving away things to get more sales. I'm honored that he included one of my techniques as a case study.



6. Add your book to Amazon's 'Search Inside This Book' feature- Roger C. Parker invites Stephanie Chandler to talk about how and why you should implement Amamzon's 'Search Inside' feature.



7. Amazon Kindle Lets Book Buyers Lend Books!- Carolyn Howard-Johnson talks about a new feature for Kindle authors that allow readers to lend books to their friends.



8. How To Create A Book Trailer- Joanna Penn walks you through the process of putting together a great trailer for your book.



9. A New Twist on Book Promotion- L. Diane Wolfe talks with Jamieson Wolf about a very non-traditional book promotion technique.



10. Top 10 Attributes of a Successful Blogger- Daniel Scocco discusses whether you have what it takes to be a successful blogger or not.



That's it for this week around the net. I look forward to seeing you all Monday. I hope you have a great weekend. Me, I'll be helping put up one of those fort swing sets for my twin boys.

Let Paper.li Create A Newspaper Tailored For You

Hat tip to Jane Friedman for today's post. I found this nugget in her newsletter, There Are No Rules. In her last post, The Evolution of How I use Twitter, I learned about a very nifty tool called Paper.Li. I highly recommend you subscribe to her free newsletter if you have not already don so.

Paper.Li is a tool that looks through the tweets of the people you follow and pulls them together into a very cool and easy format for you. It literally creates a newspaper that features the info in those tweets and categorizes them by subjects.


(Click the pic to enlarge)

You can see by the pic that the format is laid out like a newspaper. The page scrolls down seven times with the first few sentences of many articles and a link to the article. Many sections have more than one page, depending on the tweeting activity of the people you follow. At the top, you will see sections of the newspaper like Business, Technology, Arts and Entertainment, Politics, etc...

This newspaper should be tailored just for you since you are the one who followed the people you did on Twitter. If you are not getting the type of news that you are looking for, then maybe it's time to prune the list of the people you are following. (Jane's posts makes a strong case for doing just that).

You can choose the title of your newspaper (though it will default to one like mine) and you can choose the frequency of updates: daily edition, morning and evening edition, or weekly edition. There are also some other customizations, but these are the basic.

The company that created this tool is working on a Facebook edition as well, though it does not appear to be as developed and robust as the Twitter version.

Another cool thing is that you can share your newspaper with others. Go ahead and check out The Tony Eldridge Daily. There is even a subscribe on that page for people who want to know what your followers are saying too. They will also get the updates of your newspaper.

The biggest reason I like Paper.Li is that it takes the stream of tweets flowing through my Twitter account and attempts to make it manageable to digest. In my opinion, it's really worth taking a look at in order to help you manage your Twitter stream as well.

Tony Eldridge Finally Goes Kindle: 5 Lessons Learned

Well, I finally did it. After being asked quite a few times by readers, I dove into Amazon's Digital Text Platform and published both The Samson Effect and Conducting Effective Twitter Contests: With Videos on the Kindle platform. There are a few cool things I learned from this process.

1. There are guides galore out there: By doing a Google search, you will find all kind of tutorials that walk you through the process of turning your book into the Kindle format. Even Amazon has published their own guide to help you out. I used it and CJ's Easy as Pie Kindle Publishing Tutorial.

2. You CAN implement video into your Kindle... sort of: My book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests has embedded videos in the PDF version. In order to make the e-book and videos accessible to Kindle readers, I create a web page for each video and linked that video to chapters in the book.

If you are reading the book using the free Kindle reader for the PC, then when you click the link to the video, it will take you there immediately. And if you are using a smart phone, there is a link on the video page to view the video on your phone. I have watched the videos on my Android with no problems.

3. Bit.ly is my new Kindle friend: Because of the nature of my book, I have a lot of reference links in it. In the PDF version, they are all embedded. But because not all Kindle devices will take you to all links easily, I added a shortened bit.ly link next to each link in the book. I wanted something that would be easy for someone to jot down and take to a computer since many links are a mile long with all kinds of symbols in them.

4. Know your rights: My publisher wanted $300 to add a Kindle version of my book and then share the sales 50/50. I knew I could do it myself. They couldn't stop me because I owned the rights. But the lady on the phone, in her most menacing voice, threatened me if I used their PDF to create the book or used the book cover that I commissioned. Yep, the fine print prevented me from using the cover I paid for. But that's fine. Live and learn, right? (I'm really not bitter over that)

5. Changes can take minutes or hours to see: I have been tweaking my books since publishing them. Sometimes the changes appear in a few hours, sometimes a few days. But Amazon will lock you out of making any more changes for a set period of time, depending on what stage of the process you are on.

All-in-all, using Kindle's Digital Text Platform was not too difficult at all. And if you want someone else to do it for you, your publisher will probably have that option available. My publisher for The Samson Effect now includes Kindle publishing in every new package, along with other e-book formats. But with a little time and patience, you can have your book on the Kindle format in no time.

Once your book is in the Kindle format, make sure you read Dana Lynn Smith's book, How To Sell More Books On Amazon.

How I Went About Self Publishing by Robert Shepherd

I am excited to introduce you to another new writer. Traditionally, I take Tuesdays to invite book marketing experts to share their knowledge and I invite authors to share their experiences and advice. Today, we have Robert Shepherd who will take us on his journey of self-publishing his books. With all the choices out there, it's always good to get the perspective of someone who has done it themselves.





How I Went About Self Publishing

By Robert Shepherd



Hello Everyone, firstly, it is nice to meet you all. Secondly, I would like to thank Tony for asking me to share my experiences of self publishing with you on his blog.



Before I begin, I think it is only fair to say that I am still learning the how to do just about everything, and people like Tony have taught me a lot about what to expect when publishing and marketing your work. We are all learning and I think we always will be. This is why I was so keen to share my thoughts with you, because I learn from you just as much as you may learn from me.



Now Self Publishing your work yourself, how do we go about it?



Right, you've just finished writing your book and now you want to get it printed up and share it with the world.



Well, you have a plethora of self publishing companies that are baying for your attention and your money. So which do you choose? We all face that question and it always comes down to: No. 1 - personal choice & No. 2 – Cost. At the end of the day it is ultimately your choice as to which one you pick. But you should be sure it is the right one for you.



I wanted to share my work as soon as possible and show my closest friends and family. This was also key element to my choice of Self-Publishers because we never can tell what may happen next and this book would be my legacy to them to remember me by. The Legacy aspect is a large contributing factor to having my work saved online where it can be viewed and a copy purchased, so I will always have something for people to remember me by.



Another reason I chose to self publish my work, except that shockingly, I didn't have big name publishing houses and companies beating my door down for my signature to print my stories, was that I have total control over my work, from which pages get included, the cover design, the ISBN identification, previews that get shared on Amazon etc, the price of the finished product, the description and even keywords that are used to find it in online web searches.



I think most of you are the same too. You want to share your work with your kin and friends first, the world second and lastly to have a legacy to keep on the shelf long after you have gone.



I, like so many of you, did and still do, operate on a strict budget. Therefore I/We don't have excess money to throw around at getting registered with companies and signed up to buy publishing "packs". For those that do, these are indeed very useful places to go and help you to avoid having to do most of the promotional work yourself, for the rest of us, this is mainly not an option.



Once I had finished my work and chosen my publishers, I needed to get started sharing my work online.



I chose Lulu.com. This was for 2 main reasons: (1) A friend tipped me off about them and (2) They are FREE.



Lulu.com do not charge authors to get started for uploading your work. They are "print on demand", therefore they print and charge by each copy. They charge the price you set and then they take their cut from that price and you get your royalties. The print costs are also included in to the overall price. However, you should be advised that they do have a minimum price that you can charge for certain book styles and sizes.



Because Lulu.com are print on demand, you, crucially need to do the leg work promoting your book. Lulu require you to upload your work from your PC using a PDF file. This is your first challenge. You need to edit your work using a a word or office software suite that has the ability to change your work into PDF format. Personally, I use Open Office, but there are many writing suites out there that offer PDF formatting options, again the choice here is entirely yours.



So now you have written your book, formatted it into PDF format and chosen for instance Lulu.com to publish your hard work. The next step is to take the plunge and sign up to your self publishers. In this case Lulu.com. When you have completed the necessary details to start with, you will be directed to another page and asked to start producing your work. They will ask if you wish to start a "new project", click to do so and you'll be on your way. Here all you have to do is follow all the onscreen instructions and you'll have your work saved as a file as a new project. Once you have loaded the PDF file containing your work you can start designing your cover. You can pick a design from lulu themselves or choose to design your own, using text and pictures from your PC. You are however restricted by picture quality, type and size of pictures you intend to upload, certain image files may not be allowed or may be too large to use.



My advice is to hang in there and stick at it. Persist with it, it's mainly about reading all fine print, all instructions carefully and good old trial and error. If something doesn't work, go back and try something else. This is what I did. It is worth trying out different ideas, after all, a design you like the idea of, may not work out so well when you see it on screen. This was how in the end I managed to get a unique cover for my book. I had designed it, copied it and saved it onto my computer then uploaded it using Lulu's cover design feature and tinkered with it until I was happy with it. Now I have a copy sitting on my book shelf to show people and to remind me of my hard work. The pride is immense.



You'll need to also pick your book type and size, these range from A4, US Postal, A5 and so on.



After you have designed your cover you'll need to complete a section giving details about your book, title (obviously), description about your book and most importantly, you'll need to set a price for your book. Again a reminder, as I said earlier, the minimum price of your book will be dictated by the book type and size that you chose when you produced your "new project".



Lulu is an ideal publishing site for first time authors and writers as well as more proficient ones alike. It is free and easy to use and navigate & has excellent on screen instructions and guidance and FAQ sections.



Provided that you follow the instructions and guidance you receive on the way, you will be a self published author in no time at all. It took me about a day in total, to sign up, upload my work, design my cover and finalize my work, including the pricing and ISBN identification (which lulu can provide free, unless you already have one that you wish to attribute to your book (here again lulu can provide guidance as to how to do this).



All costs are fairly obvious. You are charged the set price you provided when designing your "project" and for postage. However, a trick I found and used, when I wanted to share the first copies of my book, was to go back and click on the "edit" or "review" icon next to my book in the "my lulu" page. I then clicked to edit the pricing options. Here I deleted the price making it free to purchase. I then ok'd the changes and went back to "my lulu" and clicked on the "purchase" a copy icon next to my book title and ordered the number of copies I required. By doing this, you are only charged for the shipping, and by purchasing several copies you also save on separate shipping costs. Once I had ordered my copies, I then went back and changed my pricing back to normal again and saved it. This is not ideal, but it does save you paying full price as well as postage and packaging.



Well by now you will be able to sit back in your chair, back aching, neck sore, eyes strained and brain fatigued and know that you are now a Self-Published author. Lulu.com does provide extra services for it's customers beyond the basic print-on-demand service, such as publishing & marketing as well as many others, but you need to remember that these all come at a cost and they are not always cheap. Therefore it is always advisable to check these out thoroughly first before choosing to use them. They are very useful, provided that you have the money spare to pay for them. However, if you are on limited finances, then you will need to undertake all the promotional and marketing legwork yourself.



I will be perfectly honest here and let nobody else tell you otherwise, promoting and marketing your book all by yourself is hard work and at times completely frustrating, but it is necessary if you want to get exposure for your work.



However, some neat tricks are to utilize the power of your computer. If you have windows movie maker or similar software, you can make up a video trailer to promote your book, which you can then place up on you-tube and other sharing websites. Be careful though, make sure that if you are using any music on your video, that you adhere to copyrights. If you are not already a member, use social network sites such as Facebook and Myspace. These are a great way to build a readership and maybe even a fan base and also provide yet another avenue to promote your book via excerpts from your book and by sharing your book trailer that you made, which can be done via you-tube. Click on the share button and you can share it on all the main social networks; Facebook, Myspace, Bebo Twitter etc. All this helps create readership and promote your work. Also next to your books title on Lulu.com you will find a "Promote" icon. Click on this and you can generate a code, HTML etc and place it on your Facebook or Myspace page leading people directly to your Lulu.com storefront where they can view and purchase your book. Be sure to place this icon on status' and comments wherever you can to promote and provide a constant visibility for your work.



You will find many features available on Lulu.com and or on other self-publishing websites, that can help you promote and market your book(s), however I wanted to share with you how I got into self publishing and how I went about it in the first place. Once you have done initially you will soon learn the art of it and will be well versed and proficient in working out where else you want to promote your work and how.



I am available on both Facebook and Myspace and hopefully, I will be proud to count you as one of my readers and myself as one of yours. Thank you.



Robert Shepherd is the author of Life With Boris Karloff (book and audio), The Human Condition, and The Human Condition Vol. 2. You can find them on his Lulu author page.