Authors & Publishers

9 book marketing mistakes authors shouldn’t make

If you’ve written a book, or want to write one, you’ll want to read the guest blog post I wrote for The Book Designer Blog titled Do You Know These 9 Huge Marketing Opportunities Even Smart Authors Miss? In the Comments, one reader asked, “How can I get these tips printed on my mouse pad?… Read More

Do expert authors need to know this list of 100 words?

The editorial team at EzineArticles.com has published a fascinating and controversial infographic that includes 100 Words Every Expert Author Should Know. I’m curious about what you think about this list. Would you use words on this list in your writing if you didn’t know what they meant and first had to look up… Read More

Authors: Don’t write a book until you read this one

Judith Briles is an author’s best friend. She knows all the ways authors have blown a fortune over the years on so-called “book gurus” who know little, crappy printers, and horrible proofreaders. And then there are the wasted weeks, months and even years that authors spend just THINKING about writing a book. But those thoughts… Read More

8 revenue ideas for authors/experts (more tomorrow)

Authors, if books are the only products in your inventory, you’re missing out on selling to people who don’t like to read. Consultants and experts, the same goes for you, too. I know lots of people who don’t have time to read. But they love listening to audio books in the car, driving from one… Read More

Dog Tweets—Authors: You can’t promote your book on your Facebook profile

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter. Effective story-telling for business [Works for PR and during media interviews, too.] The best stories drip with conflict. They have a hero and sometimes a villain. There is a story arc. As a writing… Read More

LinkedIn InMail, not an agent, lands author a book deal

Nataly Kelly spent years pitching publishers with an idea for a book on how language changes our lives and affects the world. No bites. She hired an agent who pitched it to the big New York publishers. Not even a nibble. Months later, after she severed ties with the agent, she got the bright… Read More

6 keys to outrageous success as an author

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” The quote is from Winston Churchill. But it could just as well have been from Jack Canfield. He and co-author Mark Victor Hansen got 144 rejection letters from publishers who were uninterested in publishing their book, “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” They refused to… Read More

Authors: 9 things to do when you can’t afford a publicist

When self-published authors call me and want a referral to a book publicist, I always ask how much they’ve budgeted for a publicist. They usually say: “Nothing” or “I haven’t thought about that yet” or “I can afford about $300.” They’re often shocked and disheartened when I tell them they need, at the very least,… Read More