Doris-Maria Heilmann's Blog, page 67

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Tagged: California, Mesa Refuge for Writers, Point Reyes National Seashore, San Francisco area, Tomales Bay, write in solitude and without distraction, Writers residency

http://jacksonholewritersconference.com

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Published on November 23, 2013 07:04

November 22, 2013

Writers Conferences 2014: Meet Publishers, Agents, Editors and Fellow Writers

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One of the main benefits of attending a writers retreat or conference is the opportunity to meet editors, agents, publishers and other writers. Widening your circle of connections in the literary world can help you mark your own presence as an author, to learn about the publishing industry, and how to get your book published / author-publish. Learn even more about the craft of writing.

Equally important is gaining understanding of book business realities. For instance, why is the marketing plan so important in your proposal, and what do agents and editors expect to see in yours? Here are just a few of the many writers conferences and retreat offers in the USA for 2014:

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Santa Barbara, CA, June 7 – 12, 2014

http://www.sbwritersconference.com

Program Description

Daily AM & PM concurrent workshops & plenary sessions, evening speakers, panels, Advance

Submission with agents & editors, late-night pirate workshops.

Program Length 6 days

Group Size or S:T Ratio 200

Program Focus: Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screen-writing, Travel,

Faculty: 30 daily faculty plus evening speakers

Costs $625 includes barbecue, cocktail reception, awards banquet.

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Jackson Hole, WY, June 26-28, 2014

Three manuscript critiques with authors & editors. Tracks for fiction, creative nonfiction, magazine, young adult, and poetry; workshops, talks & craft sessions.

Program Length 3 days

Group Size or S:T Ratio 4:1

Program Focus: Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Travel, Young Adult

Costs: Early bird $365

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Jackson-Hole-Whyoming

Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, July 31 – August 2, 2014

http://www.mcwc.org

Program Description

5 morning workshops with same presenter each day; large forum readings and discussions with editors, agents, & newly published authors; afternoon lecture sessions on craft.

Program Length 3 days

Group Size or S:T Ratio workshops 15:1

Program Focus: Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Screenwriting, Young Adult

Faculty 13+ presenters. Includes authors, editors & literary agents.

Costs: Earlybird $525. $60/consultation. Lodging $55-$250 & camping; hostel-like farmhouse $18-$25/night.

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Squaw Valley, California July, August 2014

http://www.squawvalleywriters.org

Morning workshops, afternoon panel discussions, individual conferences, craft lectures, staff readings

Program Length 7 days Deadline April 1, 2014

Group Size or S:T Ratio 20-124

Program Focus: Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry and Screenwriting

Faculty 28 instructors for the Fiction Workshop, 5 for the Poetry Workshop, 8 for the Screenwriting Workshop.

Costs: $840 includes 6 dinners. Shared (single) lodging in local houses & condos arranged for $350 ($550)/week; inexpensive bunk bed available.

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Corte Madera, CA, August 14 – 17, 2014

http://bookpassage.com/travel-food-photography-conference

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference

(Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco)

bpconferences@bookpassage.com

Geared to Food & Travel writers and photographers this Conference has an extraordinary, international reputation among publishers, editors, and writers. This four-day Conference offers an array of writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations.

The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, food writers, guidebook writers and more. Price: $635.00

Key West, FL, every January

http://www.kwls.org

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Key-West-Beach

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4-day seminar includes readings, conversations, lectures, panel discussions. 4-day writers’ workshops feature AM writing sessions (limit 8-12/instructor) and PM individual consultations, talks, open readings.

Program Length Seminar: 4 days / Workshops: 4 days each

Group Size or S:T Ratio Seminar: 350-400 / Workshops: 12:1

Program Focus

Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screenwriting, Travel, Young Adult

Costs Seminar $495; Workshops $450. The next Writers’ Workshop Program will take place between the two Seminar sessions, January 12-16, 2014.

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Conferences offer valuable education for aspiring writers. Workshops can help with developing writing skills, everything from crafting better dialogue to making clever use of literary devices. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of a conference is the fact that editors and literary agents are there not only to participate and educate aspiring writers, but also to seek out new talent!

For a full list of writers retreats in the North America please go to: http://writing.shawguides.com

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars.

Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, 99-cent specials or your KDP Select Free Days on Amazon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

Tagged: Corte Madera travel writers conference, Jackson Hole WY Writers Conference, main benefits of attending a writers conference, Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Squaw Valley Writers, writing workshops

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Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Hyper Smash

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Pingates

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Published on November 22, 2013 19:36

Authors: Which of Your Expenses are Tax-Deductible?

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Income tax preparation might be months away, but it is never too early to start collecting expense receipts. Many self-published book authors want to make a profit and become a professional author, having writing as their vocation. Writers are presumed to be a professional if their writing made a profit in at least three out of the last five tax years, including the current year. Which means: Not more than two years of expenses that are higher than the author income. Profits from your writing cannot be used to offset other income for tax purposes, such as a day job or other means of income, if you have more than two years of losses.

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Considerations of Profitability

There are a couple of other considerations that revenue agencies, such as the IRS, are listing, for example:

Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past? If you have a successful book under your belt — or even a series of articles in paid publications, such as newspapers, magazines or online publications, which can be a predictor that you are a professional writer.
Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business? How much do you know about running that business? Are you running it like a business, keeping records, keeping an eye to profitability? Did you take classes/seminars about the publishing business (e.g. marketing or tax etc.) no matter if online or offline?
Have you created a professional book marketing and publicity plan? This might even be shown by including affiliate programs on your website/blog. If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond your control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?

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Expenses You Can Deduct

Always try to pay from a separate account, set up for your writing business, to make book keeping easier. Keep receipts or / make copies of payments to contractors, freelancers and agency fees for book production, such as:

Proofreading
Editing
Illustrations
Photos
Graphic Design
Book Layout
Printing costs
eBook Formatting
Advanced Copy reviews
Book Trailer Design

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Book Promotion Costs, e.g.:

Advertisements, online and offline
Giveaways (free book review copies, pens etc.)
Flyers, brochures, business cards, book marks
Book Fair expenses
Costs for newsletters (AWeber, MailChimp etc.)
Entry fee for writing contests

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Other costs, such as:

Transportation costs (note the dates, distance, reason)
Rental for book readings
Office rental or mortgage, heating, electricity for your home office by square feet
Phone / Internet / e-Reader costs
Website / blog costs, such as hosting or development
Office Supplies
Meal expenses: in the USA full for public events you might host, and 50% if it is for a business purpose (interview, writers conference, meeting with book professionals, publishers, agents etc.)
Transportation to meetings, events
Research costs
Copyright registration and ISBN fees
your tax preparer or tax lawyer.

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Keep all your expense slips sorted by date and neatly filed to make it easier to find them

If you pay anyone of the above listed more than a couple of hundred dollars, you would need to include the contract and a form (in the United States it is IRS Form 1099-MISC). Note for each meal/entertainment expense the names, number of people participating and reason for meeting)

Further Reading:

http://www.freelancetaxation.com/deductions-writers

http://www.bus.lsu.edu/accounting/faculty/lcrumbley/tax_aspects.html

Disclaimer: This tips are meant to give general insight into tax information to writers, especially in the USA, and to give you an entry point so you can research further. While every effort was made to ensure the information in this article is accurate at the time it was written, we are not a tax experts. Anyone filing taxes should consult a qualified tax preparer for updated tax laws and further specifics on how these rules might apply to an individual tax situation.

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@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: deduct even more expenses, deduct them from taxes, did you write more books, how to become a publisher, Income tax, IRS.org, practical tips to set up your own publishing company, Publishing business

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Published on November 22, 2013 05:19

November 20, 2013

Your Success-Plan to Author-Publishing

Before you explore author-publishing possibilities in this series, lets first have a look at your business plans as an author and the most important question: Why are you writing? Are you creating for yourself (as a hobby, just for the fun of writing), or for an audience? If you’re creating for yourself, it means: Writing is worthwhile for you, regardless of who sees your work.

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Can You Answer These Questions:

How many books with the same topic / the same genre are on the market?
What is the sales ranking of these works?
How are these books priced?
What is the social media ranking of the most successful writers in this genre?
Where are these books sold on- and off-line?

The advise you read here is based on the assumption that you want to entertain, inform, increase your audience and eventually earn some money with your writing.

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If You’re Producing Work for an Audience:

playing by at least some rules of the industry
caring what others think of your work
establishing an authors platform from which to communicate
interacting with your audience and being available to them
doing things not for your art, but out of service to your audience
putting on a performance, or adopting some kind of “brand”
marketing your work and being visible

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Why Should Authors Have a Business Plan?

Unfortunately many writers first create their work – and ask questions later. Any author can write a book, but only a successful author knows she/he is now in business. Again: “Writing is an art – publishing is a business!” A serious business!

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There’s no point to go without some kind of strategy in place if your objectives really are in building a writing career. It’s never too early to treat your writing as a business – no one would open a brick&mortar business without a plan!

A business plan can help new (and established) authors to clarify the proper publishing path for their works. A business plan serves as a road map, helping to keep the project and related endeavors like marketing and platform-building on schedule and for the author to track the results of his or her efforts.

The business plan starts when you start thinking about writing a book, it covers all aspects of your future work. At the moment you begin a novel or non-fiction book, you must already have a clear vision of the message, the audience and even the venues where it can be sold.

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Traditional Business Plans Have These Components:

Executive summary
Business description
Market strategies
Competitive analysis
Design and development plan
Operations and management plan
Financial factors

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Sounds a Bit Theoretical? OK, Here is the Version for Author-Publishing:

The topic of your work fiction / non-fiction
You target audience / readers
Your competition online and in book stores
The likely contents, length, format etc. of the book
Your marketing and promotional strategies
The expenses you face for publishing and promotions.

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It is vital to have a business plan because your books and you are the products to be sold. It makes some writers uneasy, but without a plan, you can’t figure out a way for your book to sell. Think of it as your map, guiding you from starving writer to successful author.

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What makes your book so special?

No point in writing a book if you don’t know why or if it’s special. Many writers write books they’d love to read, many write books who’s marketing studies show readers are buying, some write books because the subject is risky or has never been explored before. Know why you and your book is special – and most important: what is the readers benefit of buying your novel or non-fiction book.

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Who Will Want to Buy Your Book?

Jot down all those people who likely will want your book, why they’ll want it and how effective they will be at getting more people to want it. Know who your readership target is. Do you have enough (at least 2,000 on each social media outlet) contacts to spread the word about your book? And with contacts I don’t mean other writers, I mean READERS, bookworms, book lovers, book clubs, avid readers, reviewers! That’s the type of audience you will want to look for.

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What is Your Competition?

Research in bookstores and online, how many and which books will be comparable to the one you are writing. Check them out in libraries, on reader forums, such as Goodreads, Shelfari or Wattpad. Visit independent stores and go to big chains research these books on all online stores, not only Amazon, find out what genres are they placed, what reviewers say, how their author pages are designed etc. to get a real picture of your competition – and your potential readers.

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Which Format For Your Book?

Books can be sold in many formats and also in many languages. Research at least these three popular formats:

e-book format
audio format
Print format

How Do You Plan to Promote Your Book?

You know people, hopefully lots of people. Online and off-line. And those people know people. Unless you can spend ten-thousands of dollars every months for advertising, you should plan now, before you write your book social networking, book events, gaining interviews, speaking engagements, seeking book reviews and attending book shows. Schedule all these activities in advance, add as many readers as possible to your current accounts on reader community sites, all social media sites – minimum are: Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Facebook.

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What Are Your Marketing Strategies?

OK, your book is available on Amazon or in your local book store, but where else might it fit in perfectly? Other online retailers where you can sell your book? Stretch your mind and think creatively: Libraries, book clubs, foreign right sales … there are so many possible outlets for your book. Find out what’s their commissions are, and how much you would make on each sale of your book.

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Calculations & Pricing

Both, digital and print books need to be proof-read, edited and then formatted, not to forget a really fabulous, enticing cover.

Pricing on print books is largely based on the number of pages in the book and quality of binding, costs for cover design and book layout. Pricing is also dependent on making print books available for a wider distribution than just Amazon. Since a wider distribution is used, books must be priced

so that the other outlets will be offered wholesale pricing.

Turbulence in the rapidly changing eBook world should also be taken into consideration. Pricing may be subject to change based on sales, current pricing trends and need to create upward movement in Amazon rankings. Books may be discounted if it fits with marketing strategy and promotion.

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Don’t forget other expenses, such as webdesign and hosting, advertising, marketing expenses, phone and internet, travel cost etc. The good news: you can deduct them from your writers income.

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What is Your Timetable for Writing, Editing, Book Production, Marketing etc.?

After you have figured out your market, your reader audience, your competition and your sales planning, you will feel much better, having a clear vision of your writing / publishing career. A business plan does not have to be scary, especially for a simple business such as your writing business. In fact, a business plan should be somewhat comforting. It spells out what you want to accomplish, in which time frame and how you plan to do it.

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Further reading:

http://www.spawn.org/editing/sevenpublishingmistakes.htm

http://selfpubauthors.com/category/business-plan/

http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/business/writereality.htm

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-32373.html

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials or your KDP Select Free Days.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: book promotion, business plan for authors, marketing plan, printing calculations, printing costs, research your competition, writers business plan

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Published on November 20, 2013 17:58

November 19, 2013

Myths And Truth About Selling to Libraries

Imagine, you sold your $15 book at 50% discount to only 10% of the 100,000 libraries in the USA, you will earn more than $75,000. But how can you tap into the lucrative library market? And what do you need to know about libraries before you start to offer your book to them?

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Facts About Libraries

According to statistics from the American Library Association and the Book Industry Study Group, libraries yearly purchase books for nearly $2 billion. But not only books, also audio books and other forms of publications, such as e-books.

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On the downside: Many of the more than 100,000 public, university and specialty libraries throughout the United States have been forced to scale down their budgets and have to use creative means to update their book collections. They even take advantage of online bargains through Amazon.com, eBay and discount book sites.

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Consider These Steps:

Librarians read reviews — at least those in Library Journal and Kirkus or Publishers Weekly. It is not easy to get your book reviewed in these journals; however, it is possible. Sometimes librarians even check out the Amazon’s Bestseller Lists.

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Ask others to request your book via the libraries website. Libraries usually take requests seriously, so it’s a great way to get them to put your book on the shelves. Ask some friends and family members to request your book.

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Your book has to be available through major wholesalers – and it has to be available in print too.

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Apply to work with a library distributor such as Quality Books, Ingram Distriburion or Unique Books, if you have a non-fiction book.

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Librarians prefer hardcover books and soft cover perfect-bound books with the title printed on the spine. The cover on a perfect-bound book must be sturdy. Librarians particularly like reference books. If you are writing or compiling such a non-fiction book, be sure to include an index, a bibliography and/or a resource list.

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Books for library-use need a Library of Congress Catalog in Publication block or, for a self-published book, Publishers Catalog in Publication block and / or a listing with Bowker world wide. See also a blog post we wrote how to get your book listed for free in Bowker’s listing of available books.

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A note, printed on the upper left back cover should indicating the type of book this is and the topic: reference/book publishing, writing/reference, history, autobiography, parenting,

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Try to Sell Books Directly to Libraries

To find their addresses, use Gale’s Directory of Libraries or the Online Library Directory.

You can also buy mailing lists from a Library Marketing List. You can get listings for 25,000 university libraries or 18,000 public libraries, or 400 listings for community college libraries. Some libraries give instructions and guidelines on their websites, such as this in Tucson, Arizona: Pima County Library.

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Some libraries highlight local authors or will host regular book events like fundraisers that will accept donated books. However, you can’t just walk into a library and hope they will take your book, not even if you are giving it away! Librarians are happy to get books, but they also have constraints on what books they can accept. One of those constraints is the written or unwritten “acquisitions policy” at each library, which is depending on what that library is collecting. Space and the high cost of storing and/or distributing their books to library patrons is another huge limitation. Time is another issue for librarians – they have little time to spend reading about books.

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Each kind of library: academic; public, school, and special, has different purposes. And they buy different kinds of books. Choose the right type for your book selling efforts. For example: Young Adult and Children’s authors: The largest library market are school libraries (grades K-12). However, the budgets of academic libraries and public libraries are much larger than those of the typical school library.

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Send a press release to the contact name via e-mail or snail mail. Describe your book and the binding and list any amenities such as index, color photos, resource list and/or bibliography. Be sure to include all your ordering information in detail. Add a list of wholesalers / distributors that carry your book.

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Selling to libraries as an author-publisher (and signing up with book whole sale) works best when you have at least three quality print books to proof you are a serious writer .

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Promote Your Book to Libraries

Offer a free (1 hour) class in local libraries, where you can certainly mention your book.
Find out the dates of library trade shows and exhibit through their co-operative exhibit programs such as those offered through IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association.
Consider donating a copy of your book to a few top library systems, to encourage purchases for branch libraries.

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Read Carefully the Instructions Marketing to Libraries

ALA, the American Library Association gives generous information and tips for authors and publishers,a valuable resource:

The Library Market in General
What Do Libraries Buy?
How and When Do Libraries Buy?
Reviews
Direct Mail/Library Mailing Lists
Connecting Authors & Libraries

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The best time to approach libraries might be in December and June (also mostly quiet months there) – as this is when they typically do their purchases. If you deliver directly to the library and not through whole sale, you may want to offer the same discount to entice them to purchase your book. And last but not least: It’s always good to become acquainted with your local librarians and ask them for advice.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials or your KDP Select Free Days.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: Book Listing worldwide, Bowker, Facts about Libraries, How and When Do Libraries Buy, How to sell to a, Ingram Distriburion, Library, Library of Congress, Library of Congress Catalog in Publication, Quality Books, Unique Books

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Published on November 19, 2013 08:06

November 17, 2013

Which Social Network is Best for Authors?

On Social Media you have an opportunity to talk with your readers, learn about them, and empathize with your followers. However, there is not a single perfect Social Media network site for authors, rather a combination of several pages – each one with its pros and cons.

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Goodreads has more than 20 million members and is THE site for authors. Google+ is an overall great site with endless possibilities to display your book. The “power” of the site is that what you post there is automatically indexed by Google, which makes your post (i.e. a link to your latest blog) so much easier to discover. Twitter is great to build a following and to engage with your readers, and if you write non-fiction LinkedIn might be a good choice too. Facebook remains the “Old Daddy” but others are gaining traction. Don’t forget Pinterest where you can show images of your book, scenes from your book, images of locations where your book takes place – or any other images.

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How Do You Choose Your Followers?

You want to interact mainly with READERS, NOT writers. The question is: How to find readers? All Social Media sites have a search function on top of the page. Type in: book bloggers, read, reading, book lovers, book club, love reading, reviewer, book worm, love to read, mystery book reader, science fiction reader, YA readers, YA book blogger, readers, word nerd, non-fiction book blogger, reading books, reviewing book… and even librarian. Click on “people” or scroll down a lot, as the first names that appear are often publishers and other commercial accounts.

Another method is to type in the name of a very successful book in your genre and find readers there, talking about this book. Follow those readers that you feel belong to your book genre, based on what they say in their tweets. Re-tweet their posts, engage in meaningful conversation, be funny or refer to blog posts you wrote, but don’t mention your book. They will find out about it soon enough.

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GOODREADS

A “Must” for every writer: millions of readers, thousands of groups for every genre you might join, extra book pages, space for your blog, book trailer and quotes on your author page. Book launches and other events can be posted, and the Giveaway is a great opportunity to get exposure for your book. Read: How to Create Buzz for Your Upcoming Book on Goodreads. Upload with one click all your Google, Twitter and Facebook followers and have them as friends on Goodreads.

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GOOGLE+

Nowhere on Social Media can you show your books’ cover so brilliantly as on Google+ and I might add, so often as you want. But that’s not the only benefit. Just to name a few:

Link to your blog posts
Use hashtags on Google+ too
Want engagement? Write resource-type articles
You can “meet” with your readers through Google’s “Hangouts”
You will get a much higher Search Engine Ranking, especially from blog posts that you (partially) add to your Google+ page

Choose like-minded, interesting people and lots of readers for your Google+ circles. You can easily and fast build your own circles. Get tips here on this free PDF by Guy Kawasaki.

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TWITTER

Follow others, tweet something VALUABLE for your followers, such as helpful tips, news or something interesting or funny – and don’t use Twitter as a cheap way to advertise! Create a nice mixture of your own, really interesting tweets and also do lots of re-tweeting. Choose a short Twitter name and a professional avatar (portrait).

Make it as easy and convenient as possible for your fellow “tweeps” to engage and interact with you. If you are looking for readers and reviewers – choose readers and reviewers and follow them!

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PINTEREST

Pinterest grows faster than any other Social Media site. “According to the latest numbers, Pinterest grabs 41% of all e-commerce traffic. Compare that to Facebook at 37%. Since Pinterest is centered around the social discovery of objects (as opposed to friends and family), it makes sense that Pinterest would eventually have the upper hand, but it’s an accomplishment for any platform to sneak up on Facebook’s number-one-in-everything status” wrote Lauren Orsini in her blog. But don’t worry, if you just upload your images, you need not to spend much time there – unless you want to get lost in millions of attractive photos – a huge temptation : )

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Schedule Your Posts

To save a lot of time for personalized connecting with your followers, create a file with tweets, and add regularly news you might find on Internet magazines and literary / publishing blogs, and use Hootsuite or Futuretweets to schedule your posts for the next day or even weeks. That frees you time whenever you like to communicate with your readers.

Write about interesting events and things, give valuable advice, news, quotes or funny stories. No one joins Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest to constantly read about your book. That’s not very entertaining or interesting at all.

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Get Separate Page for Your Books

On Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Goodreads you have the option to open a separate site for your book(s) – on Google+ up to 50 pages. You can also start communities on Google+, as well as on Facebook and certainly on Goodreads. Take advantage of these wonderful and free opportunities!

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Connect All Your Social Media Sites – Starting With Your Blog

The time you spend posting cannot only considerable minimized through scheduling, but also through connecting your blog with your Social Media sites and connecting them with each other through plug-ins. Your can for example set up your social media presences on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblr to connect with each other. Post something on Google+ and it will automatically be a tweet. Schedule a tweet and it will go automatically to several other Social Media sites. Your blog can appear on Goodreads and as headline on Pinterest too. See also: How-to Automatically Post on Twitter from Your Google+ Page.

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IMPORTANT tips: Socializing versus Advertising

Jonathan Gunson @JonathanGunson wrote: “The response I get on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook always explodes if I say something personal. Readership is built by great writing, but it also built by growing a community of advocates at a deeply personal level – friends who will spread the word about your books. And for the communications to successfully engage, they all need to be about them, them, them, NOT you, you, you. The bottom line is that a change of psychology is needed when using Twitter, or any social media. Instead of ‘I need to sell my book’, think ‘I need to grow my readership and community’, because in the end it’s about your writing.”

Anne Rallen wrote in her blogspot: ”The only thing that can be counted on to enhance your visibility as a writer is to interact with readers in a real, honest, and generous way on the social media platform.”

Frances Caballo writes: ”If you simply broadcast your messages—“Buy my book!”—you will not have book purchases. However, talking with your readers via a social media network, you will gain loyal followers who, often will help to market your books.”

Read also: 9 Things Authors Should Never Do on Twitter and 3 Top Rules to Follow on Social Media. Last but not least: Have fun on meeting your readers on Social Media!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 930 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: 9 Habits of Successful Writers, automated Twitter Feed, Connect to Twitter, Google+ Business Account, Learn to Master Google+, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), social media scene, what the plus

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Published on November 17, 2013 19:42

Lady X

Bestselling Author Claudy Conn’s latest book in Gothic Romance just launched: Lady X

Exerilla is a white witch.

Her father is a dark and dangerous warlock with an agenda to marry her to someone she despises. He has the power to do this before she reaches her majority, which will occur at Samhain, Halloween.

Her mother has a plan and against her daughter’s will, she implements that plan, which sends Exerilla into the past, where she must remain until October 31st—months away. And magic is something she can’t use because her father could trace it to her. Here is the problem, plans have a way of seeping from black and white into gray.

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What reviewers are saying:

“Lady X is an amazing strong character and I loved watching her and hunters relationship develop.”

“ The story grabs you in from the first page to finish. ”

“I recommend this book for readers who love any of these paranormal, time travel and historical romances.”

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Lady X by Claudy Conn, Bestselling Author, with fantastic reviews, Romance Gothic

209 pages, e-book, available at Amazon, 18 x 5-Star REVIEWS

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-X-ebook/dp/B00EC9UHGW/

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About the author:

Putting pen to paper came easy. I needed to write–I loved to write, thus, writing was a given. Going through the process of creating a story—putting it together into a first novel and then presenting it to the world—quite another thing. Just out of school and painfully shy (and I really still am) knocking on doors and asking someone to read my book was (for me) a death defying feat.

I loved English—Irish–Scottish history and had traveled just enough to know the ‘look and feel’ of their beautiful countries. Hence, my regencies such as “Spring Gambit”, Sunday’s Child, and “Myriah” were born. Out of my regencies came my larger and sexier historical romances, such as “Cassandra”, “Blades of Passion”, and “Fire & Desire”, most of which were published by Fawcett. Many of my other titles can be checked out when you go to the links listed below and on the Introduction page.

Visit Bestselling Author Claudy Conn’s website for a great selection of books in Romance and Gothic http://claudyconn.embarqspace.com/ and follow her on Twitter @Claudyconn

Legend Series BookReview for Claudy Conn: http://romancenovelreview.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/reviews-for-claudy-conns-legend-series/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: Bestselling Author Claudy Conn, Claudette Williams, Claudy Conn, Gothic Romance, Lady X, Romance Book Reviews, Romance Books

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Published on November 17, 2013 03:56

November 16, 2013

On Google+ you can easily post your #art

On Google+ you can easily post your #article, if it is under 500 #words

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/how-to-get-more-readers-to-your-blog/

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Published on November 16, 2013 08:03

November 15, 2013

Why You Should Have a Print Book Too & POD

Photo Credit: Alex Duret Lutz

Paperbacks or Hardcover – to Sell More of Your Work?

Many successful authors will tell you exactly how to do start as a real publisher with their books and blogs – from Dan Poynter, Aaron Shephard to John Kremer, Joanna Penn and JoelFriedman. Author David Gaughran wrote in one of his blogs: Making Money from Paperbacks ”I was really slow to see the potential in print, and it was probably the biggest mistake I made over the last years.”

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Why should you have a print book and not the digital version only? In a former blog post we listed lots of reasons for this:

The majority of book buyers still chooses printed books at the moment (that will change)
You can give out review copies to newspaper/magazine or book blog reviewers
To be hosted at local media / TV interviewers who want to show a copy of your book
To sell your book easier to libraries
To participate in a Goodreads Giveaway -
To sell your book to those who really don’t want an e-Reader or just love paper books
If you write non-fiction it is almost a MUST to have it in print
You have an ISBN number and can get listed with Bowker at WORLDWIDE bookstores
Physical books are just nicer to give on Christmas – unless you put an e-book on a new e-Reader and wrap it
To sell more e-books! Yes – because they seem to cost so much less in comparison…
To list your book in more categories / genres on Amazon: per book type you are allowed to choose two categories / genres. Two print and two digital versions – which increases your books’ visibility and also shows you exactly in which genre you have the most success.

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During your pre-production phase you acquired already a bar code (for your print book) and an ISBN, the International Standard Book Number, a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies books published anywhere in the world. How to get one? Or better a block of ten, if you intend to write more books. BTW, the price of a block of ten is the same as buying only two ISBN’s.

Good news for authors in Canada: ISBN are free for Canadian citizens, publishing a book in Canada – no matter were it is sold. But that’s not the only benefit for the publishing industry in this country.

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Selling your e-book on Amazon doesn’t necessarily require an ISBN, you will get automatically an ASIN, Amazon’s identifier. Other retailers may require an ISBN, such as Kobo URL for example.

ISBN numbers are assigned by a group of agencies worldwide coordinated by the International ISBN Agency in London, England. In the United States, ISBN’s are assigned by the U.S. ISBN Agency: R.R. Bowker is the independent agent in the US for this system. You can apply for an ISBN online. On average it takes about two weeks for ISBN’s to be assigned. Getting your own ISBN is very important, as the initial purchaser of this number is considered officially as the publisher. Don’t fall for “free” ISBN and don’t purchase it from other sources than the official organizations.

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Plan and Calculate Printing Carefully

Unless you have hundreds or even thousands of paperback orders, it doesn’t make sense to have your book printed the traditional way. Book printers expect a run of at least five thousand books to give you a reasonable price per book. Avoid to be one of these authors who have a garage full of books and no idea how to sell them ever. Get your distribution channels (more about this in one of the next blogs) first and then order your printing.

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For Small Print Runs Consider “Print On Demand”

CreateSpace and Lightning Source are recommendable POD’s who offer small print quantities and are distributing your book to wholesale and retailers. They have changed the book publishing landscape considerably. The issue of discounts and returns (the banes in book selling) are one of the primary reasons you might use them. Getting into Lightning Source (LSI) requires you have at least three books for sale. If you have only one book, you can band together with other authors, however, one of you has to be the official publisher. You can get your book into Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com with only a 20% discount, and you avoid accepting returns.

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Use BOTH POD Services for Best Results

Printing through Lightning Source is the least expensive way to get your book into Amazon.com. If you get into Amazon via a distributor or the Amazon Advantage program, you’ll pay a slightly higher discount. Lightning Source is owned by Ingram, so when you sign up with LSI and pay $12 per year (per title), you get your book into Ingram’s large distribution network.

The benefit of CreateSpace: it’s owned by Amazon and your book will always show as available on Amazon’s website. However you can go with both to get full advantages and broader distribution of your book.

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For Just a Few Copies Use “Espresso Book Machine”

If you don’t want to have print books, but would like to have a book signing or your grandma wants a copy of your book in paper, use either a print shop that offers digital printing or any of these Espresso Book Machines that are sprouting up in large cities. You certainly can order it online from them and get it shipped. Their prices are a bit higher, but if you need a bunch of books “yesterday” then it is a good option. Locations can be found at their North America Map.

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Traditional Book Printing

Finding a cost effective Book Printer who wants to deal with a small publisher requires a bit of a search. Most printers can print books but few printers are professional book printers. There are only about 50,000 printers in North America and only a handful of them are book printers. Few book printers want to work with the first time publisher. Get referrals from other writers, check out books in your library that often shows the name of the printer or ask at writer seminars others about their experiences with printers. Don’t just order it from the first book printer you cross, get at least ten quotes for printing & binding prices, including shipping costs and references to have enough points to compare. Then ask those printers to give you titles of books they printed, and even maybe contact the independent authors, who dealt with the printer. A Google search or the Better Business Bureau regarding the printers reputation might be helpful too. Sample printing calculations can be found here:http://www.selfpublishing.com/

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TIP: Expect at least about 2-3 weeks in average including freight, but this depends heavily on your printer’s schedule – The earlier you book, the less time you need to budget. Add at least ten days as a safety margin for unforeseen’s, such as lost freight, weather disasters, machine breakdowns and other delays. A great source for detailed information about the printing process and explanations of trade-specific “slang” can be found at http://www.creativemindspress.com/printing.htm

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Use the Print Time to Spruce Up Your Marketing Efforts:

Plan and advertise the book launch (FREE on Google+ and Goodreads)
Start a Goodreads Giveaway (1-3 copies)
Get as many pre-order for your book as possible
Increase Social Media efforts and sign up with even more reader forums
Spruce up your web page and write lots of blogs
Prepare news / press releases
Schedule interviews and book signings
Use Google+, Flickr, Pinterest etc. to show your new books’ cover image

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The book release date is not the end of your book journey, but the beginning. Your book should have an active life span of at least 2-5 years, and much longer for an e-book, as it is a living document and can be revised to a new version any time. You now have almost a full-time job of being an author, and should continue to perform all of the marketing activities in a smart way. Use the content of your book to write articles – maybe even get paid for it.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Tagged: CreateSpace, espresso book machine printing, Goodreads communities, Goodreads forum, Google+, how to get a ISBN, Lightning Source, locations of espresso print machines, Print on Demand, printing, share button on Goodread

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Published on November 15, 2013 09:02

November 14, 2013

Checklist: How to Organize Your Book Marketing

Checklist for future success authors

Until you become a celebrity author, there are only TWO ways to market your book …

You can invest lots of money and pay “bestseller buyers”, buy ads / go on book signing tours / attend all national book fairs – or you
Or you can invest time into building a platform and an authors brand through the use of social marketing and content marketing, plus you learn some fast and free tricks to spread the word about your book.

And then there is

a. the promotional, social part (content marketing, Social Media, book readings)

b. the “hard-selling” part for your book (bookstores, online retailers, book fairs)

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“Hard-Selling” will barely work if you have not laid out the foundation under a). Ask yourself:

Would you likely buy something from an unknown person, no matter if on- or off-line? Remember that your competition in published books is fierce and there are millions published every year. Readers have to be convinced to buy an unfamiliar book from a totally unknown author.

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First Things First – Prepare Your Books Success:

- Plan your publishing business – create a business plan/checklist

- Get your own ISBN number and register your copyright

- Register with Bowker to have your book worldwide listed (free)

- Choose the right genre (category) and keywords for your book (on/off-line retailers)

- Gather as many reviews as possible and write a compelling blurb

- Research media contacts and prepare Press Releases

- Write your “elevator pitch” and practice it for quick pitch

- Start spread sheets / lists with email addresses of potential readers / reviewers / media

- Create an email signature & use it for every email you send out

- Print business cards / book marks

- Start and write regularly (once or twice a week) blog posts

- Create your own – not a free! site – hosting is cheap now – author website

- Spruce up your website and blog for your book launch

- Write a compelling press release

- Invite more reviewers for your book

- Submit photos of your book cover image to Pinterest, Flickr…

- Create a slide show and/or video book trailer

- Send copies to book reviewers in various publications and to book bloggers

- Send review copies to book clubs with large distribution

- Have a professional! photographer taken a portrait to use for your avatar

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Offline Book Promotion:

- Book Signings (bookstores / Malls / Airports before X-Mas)

- Readings at libraries & book clubs or Meetup

- Writing newspaper / magazine articles (content marketing)

- Plan and create an email campaign to potential readers

- Get customer orders for special (price) pre-launch sale

- Join HARO (Help a Reporter out) to make yourself a name as an expert in your field

- Participate in Writing Contests

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Online Book Promotion:

For both, fiction or non-fiction: The foundation for your books’ success is in building a community, a social environment and a platform to introduce yourself and your work to readers. How can you accomplish this, even before your book is finished? It takes at least ONE year to make yourself known in the book community, so start early in order to have a successful book launch.

IMPORTANT:

Choose the “right” followers and post ONLY things that are interesting and useful for your readers, such as publishing news, humor / quotes, valuable tips etc. Don’t use Social Media as a bill board for your book!

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What you can do before your book is ready to go to the beta-reader, copy-editor and final editor:

- Create a list of tweets / posts for your Social Media sites

- Sign up with free scheduling services (Hootsuite, Futuretweets etc.)

- Choose the “right” followers: READERS / REVIEWERS / BOOK BLOGGERS

- Get to know and introduce yourself to potential readers, sign up at Google+

(good for SEO), Goodreads, Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Flickr

- Join forums in your field, especially if you write non-fiction

- Send blog articles to newspapers / magazines and even to e-Zines

- Write guest blogs for other bloggers to get your name out

- Comment on other bloggers posts (esp. book bloggers and reviewers)

- Invite several thousand! people as followers and friends on your social media sites

- Join book communities at #1 Goodreads (has 20,000+ communities) #2 Wattpad, #3 KindleBoards, BookTalk, Scribd…

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Once your book is edited, has an appealing cover, is professionally converted (e-book), or got a perfect layout (print) and is ready to launch:

IMPORTANT:

Automate submissions between your blog/website and all your Social Networks – and among all your social media sites. This saves you lots of time! For example: Every blog post you write is automatically transferred to your Amazon author page and to your Goodreads page. When you schedule your tweets on Hootsuite, they are automatically posted on all your Twitter accounts, on Facebook and Google+. Your post on Pinterest shows up on Twitter. This way, everything you post on Google+ appears on Facebook, Twitter and all your Google+ communities.

- Place your book into the right category / genre and sub-genre (important for its success!)

- Create a second, separate BOOK PAGE on Amazon, Goodreads, Google+ and FB

- Set up a media press kit on your website with a link to your book trailer

- Start a Goodreads Giveaway a month before book launch (print book only)

- Write a blog post about the upcoming launch

- Ask friends to list your book under “Listmania” on Amazon & to LIKE your author page

- Exchange books for book shelves with your friends on Goodreads

- Participate in “Carnival of the Indies” blog carnival to promote your blog URL

- Send your books’ cover to cover contests (e.g. http://www.thebookdesigner.com)

- Submit your blogs including a bio and URL link to even more e-Zines

- Offer interviews at Radio /TV stations and newspapers or on other blogs

- Try to set you up to become a desirable guest expert on a talk or morning show

- Befriend influential book bloggers for even more reviews and articles

- Gather writing friends for cross-promotions and blog tours

- Add press clippings and articles, already published, to your website

- Get a new business card with images of all your books and sales links

- Place the books’ cover image & description daily on your Google+ stream

- Announce your book launch or book signing on Google+ for FREE

- Get even more friends, followers and people in your circles on social media sites

as you need lots of audience to spread the word about your new book!

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What else can you do to increase your books’ success:

Write your next book! Readers want to get more of your writing. Only authors with several books will be top sellers. The first book is always the hardest – to write and to sell.

- Become a guest speaker at writers conferences or business seminars

- Sell your book to libraries (find out how the library orders)

- Let your book translate in other languages or sell foreign rights

- Split your (non-fiction) book in pieces and sell single articles to magazines

- Participate in writing contests and book awards

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Hope this list keeps you busy : ) and if you have more tips, please send us a comment! You will find many blog posts here to everyone of these topics. Just type the keyword into to search function above and get all relevant articles and further information.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+