Two Ways to Publish, Sell Your Books

Here are two sites that offer on-demand type publishing and turn-key ecommerce services for both publishing and selling your books, ebooks, as well as audio content.

Lulu

CafePress

These sites will allow you to upload your content and then you can link to it. Check out their other products and services.

Here's the neat part: You don't have to buy $2K worth of merchandise ... it's a "pay as they buy" deal.

Marketing 101 for Authors

Super great post on marketing for authors --- read, learn, do, apply. That's what I'll be doing.

Promotional Book Flyers That Rock

See them here.

50 Writing Tools Podcast and List

Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute has a blog, podcast and abbreviated list about his "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer."

Here are the links:

Podcast

Abbreviated list (very good)

Blog

The book

Tip #10: Capitalize On Your Strengths

Know thyself and thy strengths!


It goes without saying that we should play to our strengths, but often we major on our weaknesses, seeking to overcome them.

One of the most enlightening and confirming books I've read on the subject of capitalizing on your strengths is "Now, Discover Your Strengths," the best-selling book based on a huge research project by Gallup.

I've taken the Myers-Briggs test (one of my favorites) and others, but this one gets to the core of what we are truly excellent at.

The premise is: All of us have a core set of strenghts -- things we consistently excel at -- and we should therefore major on those things. These are also the areas you derive the most satisfaction from.

The authors tell us we should find opportunities that play to our strengths, that allow you to focus on the things you do excellently without much effort.

I found my top five strengths were:

Learner -- why I have 8 books on my nightstand and five others around the house, and constantly have to be reading something

Individualization -- recognizing others strengths

Maximizer -- taking good to great

Futuristic -- vision casting; seeing "over the horizon"

Intellection -- always thinking

Thinking through these strengths has helped me understand the way I operate better. For instance, as a "learner" I love digging into a new job and mastering it (what thye call going from "ignorance to competence"). But after I have done so, I get bored.

I think this has great implications for your writing and marketing your writing. My strengths of "Learner," "Maximizer" and "Intellection" play well together in that I love to learn about people and think how they have become excellent in what they do -- in particular how they go from good to great.

Here are some other links:

The author -- good audio and video clips, along with free PDF downloads

Gallup's Book Center for "Discover Your Strength -- more free articles

Amazon has the book for $18 ... it includes a serial number in the book cover for the online test. It takes about 40 minutes and you have a report ready for you at the end detailing your top five strengths.

If you buy it and take the test, please share your strengths with me!

Give Value with An Online Press Kit

Here's a pretty good example of an online press kit from one of the all-time success gurus.

The one thing I'd suggest : Having text documents available also (these are PDFs). As a reporter, I didn't want to re-type background material that was already available in a release. PDFs don't allow that. Be sure and include both PDFs and text.

Then email the press kit link with your news release!

(P.S. -- Don't forget to include a high-resolution photo -- the Web is different from print.)

Cool Author Web Site #5

Here's an interesting site -- Hackoff.com.

What I like about it:

Podcast

Blog

Reader's Forum

Simple page design with everything right at your fingertips

Good domain name

Prominent links to buy book

What I don't like:

Put a shirt on! :-)

Your Personal 'Google' Research Assistant

You've got questions ... Google's got researchers.

Here's the description of Google's service: "More than 500 carefully screened Researchers are ready to answer your question for as little as $2.50 -- usually within 24 hours. Your satisfaction is completely guaranteed.
Find out what others are saying."

Link via: TheCorporateBloggingBook

Cool Author Site #4

The Guerrilla Consultant uses effective guerrilla marketing techniques.

Offers lots of free stuff

Prominent email newsletter

Great blog design, writing

"25 Tips to Become a Great Consultant"

'Blook' -- The New Way to Book Publishing

Interesting way to publishing a book -- via your blog. (See "blook" definition by Wikipedia here.)

Blogger had something similar to this called the "Bloging Your Novel" ...

Diamond's '5 Ways to Create Content' for Your Blog

Althought it's written with a business blog, this post has some good tips for thinking through your writing blog.

Here are the four I like especially well:

Read other blogs to develop your "voice"

Start with 10 categories

Decide whether you're going to "monetize" your site (i.e. advertising, etc.)

Be on the lookout for new blog "toys"

How To Really Launch a Book

Check out this blog post about the launch of the book "Leader Generation for the Complex Sale."

Great example of announcing your book through a combination of a press release, podcast, blog, and Amazon's "Plog."

Oh, and check out the site this post is on ... another great example of an author-book site.

Tip #9: Get Your Personal Finances in Order

Money is a central facet of people's live -- we need it -- but most of us haven't a clue how to manage it well. Get it in order so you can effectively market and write!

I'm no big-time freelancer, just an ordinary guy who has struggled with his personal financies, but getting your finances in order and in good shape is a top priority for every body -- not just writers.

My wife and I went through financial guru Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University in August 2005 and it changed our lives -- for the better!

Get a hold of Dave's Total Money Makeover. Find out where a Financial Peace University class is meeting in your area and join them for accountability and follow the principles.

Here are his "7 Baby Steps" to financial freedom:

$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund

Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

Three to six months of expenses in savings

Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

College funding for children

Pay off home early

Build wealth and give!

Check out Dave's Total Money Makeover Web site

Tip #8: Teach something

Teaching something helps you clarify the subject in your mind, while building your platform and name in your writing niche.

Bob Bly has a great article on this.

I had the opportunity last year to speak to a Christian writer's network and jumped at the chance. It took time to research, outline, practice, drive there, etc., but it was worth it.

I got great exposure, recorded it using my digital voice recorder and posted it online so my clients and others could hear my "expertise" on the subject (public relations).

Teach, grow, build your writing platform ... and market yourself in the process!

Making Six Figures Freelancing

Kelly James-Enger has a great book on helping you make more money freelancing called Six-Figure Freelancing.

She was a lawyer who decided to jump (head first) into a freelance writing career.

There are great tips on:

Networking effectively with writers and editors

Writing effectively -- like using a "writing templates"

Time management -- like making use of story research and tailoring it for other articles

One of the best things -- worth the price of the book -- is "Jim Thornton's Duck Art-Inspired Profile Formula" on page 212.

It's an outstanding model or formula for writing profiles!

Bly's 10 Ideas for a Book

Famed copywriter Bob Bly gives 10 ideas for writing a book in this excellent article.

Here are his ideas:

1. Job experiences

2. Teach a course

3. Take a course

4. Life experiences

5. Processes or tasks you know well

6. Hobbies

7. Collect lists or "tidbits" of information

8. Fill a gap in reader's knowledge

9. Target an existing topic

10. Your passion or interests

Writing Tips from the 'King'

One of the best books I've read on writing well has been Stephen King's On Writing. This memoir is a first-person account of the best-selling author's life, including a provocative glimpse into what made him into the writer he is today.

Read and grow.

Tip #7: Go Guerrilla!

Master the art of guerrilla marketing, pioneered by Jay Conrad Levinson. He's got a book specifically tailored for writers called Guerrilla Marketing for Writers.

Levinson talks about:

Building your writing platform

Using word of mouth contacts

Writing a promotional plan

Preparing your "elevator speech"

and more "weapons" for marketing your writing ...

Get Free Blog Templates

If you're using Blogger.com (like me) for your blog and bored with the standard templates, check out this site of free templates.

Link via Problogger.net

54 Ways to Get Web Site Traffic

Marketing guru Seth Godin gives 54 ways to drive traffic to your blog.

Post to Your Blog Via Email

With Blogger.com's handy email-a-post tool, you can blog via email on the fly. Your email's subject line becomes the headline and the body becomes the text of the post. FANTASTIC!

 

I just discovered this great tool for those on the road and traveling, or at work.

 

Set it up and email, excuse me, blog away!

 

P.S. -- I wrote this post via Google's Gmail with Blogger.

Tip #6: Be 'Remarkable'

Purple Cows get all the attention.

Tip #2: Get Your Own Domain Name, Cheap Web Hosting

With the proliferation of affordable (read: cheap) Web site hosting companies out there, there's no reason you can't afford to own your own unique domain name and Web site.

Here are a couple of hosting companies to look at:

GoDaddy.com -- Cheap

DreamHost.com -- Enter the promotion code "CORYMILLER1" and get $50 off your hosting bill

Tip #5: Offer an Audio MP3 Q&A Session

Write, record and post a sample Q&A audio session in MP3 format about your topic.

One of the authors I helped wrote out a short 10-minute Q&A session (Listen to his Q&A here). Then, using a digital recorder, and a microphone, I asked him the questions, reading from his pre-written script, and he answered them by reading from his script, but in a conversational and casual tone. We just tried to simulate a radio talk show format.

[I use an Olympus Digital Recorder (check out this one for $35 and this excellent one for $57) and a Radio Shack microphone similar to this one ($25).]

This doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive -- just effective and worthwhile to the listener.

One simple and cheap (it's free) audio program for converting your raw audio files into compressed MP3 audio is Audacity.

One last thought: When sending out a news release for your book, you could also include the link to the MP3 Q&A session. This would be especially poignant for radio shows you target and other news outlets.

The Ultimate (And Cheap)Digital Recording Kit

If you're looking to record audio, like your lectures or other speaking engagements, here is a cheap "recording kit" to do that.

I use an Olympus Digital Recorder (check out this one for $35 and this excellent one for $57) and a Radio Shack microphone similar to this one ($25).

I've found the Olympus brand of digital voice recorders to be very reliable and affordable.

I've used the above mentioned recorder several times for both audio and video recording. It's powered by a small camera-type battery and has a clip. There may be a more affordable version out there, but I've found this to be a reliable one that gets the job done.

Tip #4: Let Readers Test Drive Your Work

Always post a sample chapter of your book on your Web site. This allows readers to test drive your book before buying. It also gives them an opportunity to hear your unique writing voice and see what your book is about.

Amazon.com has done this for years with their "Inside" feature, and as a reader I usually only buy books with this option because I want to be confident the book will contain what information I'm seeking.

If you don't want to post the text to your site, then make a PDF of the chapter and post it. If you are working with a publisher, they should be able to provide you a sample galley in PDF format. The advantage of posting a galley (with all the crop marks) is that it gives the feel to the reader that they are getting an "advanced" copy.

Here are some other suggestions of "test drive" downloads writers can offer their readers:

Cover image -- JPG format is usually the best for photo covers; keep the file size relatively small

Table of contents -- this could be just text

Endorsements -- especially those with broad name recognition or important credentials

Fact sheet on your subject

Cool Author Site #3

Marketing guru Seth Godin's site.

Things I LOVE:

Pre-releases his books through his site (usually e-books)

Blogs consistently and gets linked all over the place

Uses Amazon's Affiliate program to drive sells and double his $$

Speaks regularly in his seminars

Demonstrates that he is an expert in his field through his posts

Cool Author Site #2

This business guru models online marketing.

Things I like:

Lots of FREE stuff everywhere!

PowerPoint slides of his presentations!

Excellent Press Kit!

Promo mug shots for press coverage -- Make it easy for the media!

Categories of the site's content

Links to other bloggers

Photo galleries through Flickr

Cool Author Site #1

Good to Great's Jim Collins

What I like about this site:

Audio "Lecture Hall" -- excellent!!!

Relevant articles

Discussion guides

Tip #1: Get a Blog ... Today

At the BARE MINIMUM, you need a blog.

Blogs are easy to maintain, cheap (this one is free), and you get posts get linked into the search engines!

The two free and not-free options.

Here are a couple to look at:

Blogger

TypePad

WordPress

Here are some authors' blogs:

Seth Godin

Tom Peters

Dr. Mark DeVine

Guy Kawasaki

Debbie Weil

Scot McKnight

Mark Driscoll

Submit yours to AuthorsBlogs

Tip #3: Sign Your Emails With Your Web Site Address

Always include an email signature for all your outgoing emails.

Email signatures -- a kind of template that automatically inserts certain text into your new emails each time, like your name, company, phone numbers, email address, etc. -- are standard options for most email programs and services.

Hotmail used a form of this marketing technique to help build their subscriber base for their free email service and it exploded. Each email sent out from their service has a short ad-type sentence marketing their service.

Be sure to include all your Web addresses so others can visit your site. In the last eight years I've had my site, I've found that just sending emails from my Web site address get a lot of attention, but this puts the site front and center for them.

If you're blogging, you might mention it in your email signature simply like this: "Check out my blog at: www.corymiller.com/blog."

Remember:

Keep it simple

Don't abuse it

Hit people's hot buttons