Nick Thacker's Blog, page 19

The Definitive Guide to Book Marketing

“Book marketing” is as broad a subject as something like “writing a book.”

And while I’ve never been privy to much information regarding marketing a book as an ad agency or a publishing house might, I do have some experience selling ebooks.

If you can relate, or are thinking of releasing an ebook in the near future, this post is for you. I was asked recently by a close friend why I don’t write more posts that giveÂspecific advice — things likeÂwhereÂto buy ads, andÂhow muchÂmoney to throw towar...

How to Write An Engaging Opening

Note from Nick: This is a guest post submission.Â

Look at how television has changed. If you watch repeats of 70s or 80s series, notice how long the camera remains fixed on one shot.ÂÂLong, important conversations took place, and all we’d see were two heads from the same angles.ÂÂNowadays we’re bombarded with a plethora of visual stimuli; cameras switch, sweep, zoom, and never seem to settle on one shot for more than a few seconds. Think Bourne, Bond and Taken. Directors have evolved to me...

Welcome Home – Special Edition

Last year I released a book calledÂWelcome Home: The Author’s Guide to Building A Marketing Home Base.ÂIt was meant as a guide for planning, launching, and building a successful “Home Base.”

It’s been about six months, so I thought it would be a good time to launch a “special edition” of the book, including a few bonuses.

If you haven’t yet grabbed a copy of Welcome Home, you might want to see what this new edition has to offer:

The original book: all electronic formats (ePub, PDF, and Mobi)
Bonu...

The Ultimate Social Media Guide for Writers

Note from Nick: this post originally appeared on LiveHacked.com in early 2012; I’m re-publishing it here because 1) it’s one of my favorite posts and 2) after the major server migration I just finished this past weekend, I didn’t have it in me to write something new before this morning! Enjoy!

Social Media: The Ultimate Guide for Writers

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about social media lately, and specifically how it should (and shouldn’t) be used by writers. By writers, I mean “creators...

Hey Perspiring Authors – STOP Writing Your Book!

Note from Nick: this is a guest post submission from Mike Loomis. Leave him a comment below, after reading his great post, and get some great discussion going!

For the love of God, and in the name of Gutenberg… STOP writing your book!

There’s a rumor going around, about the mysterious way a book is created. Someone locks themselves in a room, pushes words from their brain, through their fingers, into a manuscript, until a book appears.

Arduous. Pixie dust is somehow involved. And bouts with d...

The One Thing Your Book Should Be About

I don’t know you, and I don’t know your book. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what your book should be about.

Seriously — it doesn’t matter if you’re a fiction author, a nonfiction writer, a blogger, or a journalist (or something in between) –ÂI know what your book needs to be about.Â

Want to know what it is?Â

It’s pretty simple, but there’s a good chance you haven’t thought about it yet.

Sure, you might have a pretty good idea of your book’s topic, genre, and story arc, or you might know what...

Learning to Spell At Fifty

Note from Nick: This is a guest post submission from Richard Stephens, who shares a personal and moving story about learning to write amongst massive setbacks. It’s a little different than the how-to stuff we usually post, but it was too good to pass up.Â

Read it,Âhear it, and enjoy it. This story (a true one, at that!) is one with a fantastic message. Thanks, Richard!

Enter Richard:Â

My first grade classmates and I stood in alphabetical order, facing a room of empty desks. Mr. Burrows, a thin f...

Why Working in the Cloud is Perfect For Freelance Writers

Note from Nick: This is another guest post from Luke Clum.Â

One of the main perks of freelancing is the flexibility to work when you want, where you want, whenever you want. New applications are making it easier than ever to manage your writing and business all by working in the cloud.

But what is “the cloud?” Instead of relying on software downloaded to your desktop, internet-based applications are gaining popularity. Commonly called cloud computing, these applications all aim to help you keep...

Sell More Books With The Ultimate Author Platform Tool: WPSubscribers

You’re building a mailing list, right?

If not, you’re falling behind other authors (like me!). Also, you’re missing out on one of the most effective waysÂever of building a great author blog that converts (read: sell more books!). Building a mailing list isn’t a new idea; in fact, it’s something I’ve been touting sinceÂway back in the day!

But there’s some understandable confusion around setting up an author blog:

What type of system (CMS) do I use to build a platform?
What types of opt-in boxes/...

Build the Perfect Author Blog – Part 3: Pillar Content

When I first started blogging, circa 2006/2007, I had a very difficult time staying engaged with my writing schedule. I believed that the best way to build a blog was by writing content every day, over and over again. As such, most of my blog posts were well-written, but they tended to be short, “news-y,” and generally not helpful to anyone.

They basically were just regurgitated content I’d read or seen somewhere else. I tried — in vain — to establish myself as a marketing expert, but without...