The Book Shepherd’s Blog
If you are an author, you have a product that can be morphed to other products. Books have covers. How would it look on a mug? a Tee-shirt? What about a canvas bag or a nifty pin? Illustrations can become products that you sell … are there any in your book? Can they be made into a sellable product that is low price and an add-on to a sale of a book or stand alone? To do this, you need to get permission of the illustrator or have it arranged up front that you own all rights for anything and everything. How about a bookmark that becomes a “tool” vs. just a placeholder?
Some will require payment—either a lump sum or royalty arrangement–it will depend if you create it yourself with your own product/material that your own outright or one that you have to make an arrangement with the holder of the copyright if it isn’t you.
I turned one of the critters …

Snobbery Shouldn’t Be a Factor in Your Publishing Decision … ahhhh, the old days, when NY came courting up and coming authors; advances were common; authors were groomed and nurtured in the process; media tours were set up; your editor was your advocate; and you were looked up to when you told others you had an agent. Get over it.
Times have changed—today’s author has to be prepared to work their butt off to get his book noticed by the media, the public, you name it; they often are disconnected from the editor who “acquired” the book and the one that does the editing; and advances have shrunk, even disappeared (many authors work for far less than minimum wage).
Saying that you are published with a NY house has become a yawn for many—that is unless you got a bunch of money. Most people who buy books really don’t care who published it … what they want to …

As the Book Publishing World Continues to Turn …
Have you noticed? The publishing world has morphed on a daily basis … If you are a new author, you’ve got publishing questions. Plenty of them. If you are an already published author, you should have publishing questions. Plenty of them.
As an author, ask: should I traditionally publish (hello New York), self-publish, independent publish, pay-to-publish, ePublish or pPublish … which is right for me and my book? The answer is: it depends and will evolve from the changing doors and options within publishing.
With the approximate one million books published yearly over the last three years (includes all publications—electronic, reprints, university, traditional, self and small/independent press), there are too many books. Period. Of those one million, most likely 900,000 of them shouldn’t have been. Of those numbers, an estimated one-third comes through the traditional route, the remainder in the self-published route.
Morphing means changes and today’s author has some amazing advantages if …

Book award contests are everywhere. What do you do when you win a book award? The savvy author tells others about it. Don’t count on your publisher to do it if you are published by someone other than your own company. Get your computer open and:
1. Create the publicity to now support your book and drive up book sales. Write a media release that includes who awarded you, in what topic area. Make sure you include your book title (I’ve actually seen this forgotten), you as the author, publisher and where the book is available. For example, I live in Colorado—the top book store in Denver is the Tattered Cover—include that the book is available (and make sure it is). If you have a judge’s comment and appropriate, include it.
2. Tell the media world … it’s bragging time. Send the media release to your local newspapers, TV, radio or any organizations you belong to.
3. Think social media. …

Your Guide to Book Publishing: Everything You Wanted to Know about Publishing and Didn’t Know to Ask radio show is live on Thursday, January 5th on the Rock Star Network at 6 p.m. EST; 5 p.m CST; 4 p.m. MST; 3 p.m. PST. Plan on a fast paced magazine format. Participate live and download the podcast. Join Dr. Judith Briles and her guests: Book Marketing guru’s Penny Sansevieri and Brian Jud along with others for the first show.
Here’s info for online listening: http://rockstarradionetwork.com/shows/yourguidetobookpublishing
And for calling in live and participating: 866-404-6519…

Book Publishing … Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012
The decorations are down, dishes put away and guests departed. It’s time to get back to the author’s work with new passion, a vision that has possibly been tweaked over the Holidays and a commitment that this is the year. Your year.
Starting a book is a major event. Continuing the journey deserves a tap dance or two. Launching it is a firework celebration.
As The Book Shepherd, my goal is always for the author to create a book that she or he doesn’t regret. The cover, the insides, the content, the editing, the time spent creating it, the ____.
One of the most important things that an author—new or old—must keep at the forefront is the voice—is it his or hers? Or, has it been so morphed by others in the process that it has gotten lost … not to be found. This is the year that your voice is heard …

Which book path is for you–traditional … self … independent–which? Four words can get you focused: timing, control, quality and money. All are key factors when it comes to publishing.
Timing—if your manuscript is completed, you can have it edited, cover and interiors designed, printed and in your hands within four months or less. With traditional publishing, you can have your manuscript completed and it will most likely be in your hands in 18 months.
Control—if you get a group of authors together who have traditionally published, one of the most common grumblings you will hear is that they don’t like the way their book looks—covers and interiors and they really have been in a fog when it comes to book sales.
Quality—in 2009, a close friend had her 5th book published by the same NY publisher that did my second book in the mid-eighties. Over 20 years between our respective publications. The book she proudly gave …

Book Publishing Savvy Today:
Do You Know Where Your Book Sales Come From?
Do You Know Where Your Clients Come From?
Do You Know Where Your ____ Comes From?
Having a marketing and sales background, it was drilled in that I had to follow my leads, track my leads and know where my business came from. Maybe. Maybe not … at least today. The Internet has changed a lot of the rules of yesterday … yesteryear. It’s fast forward time…
If you have a product—a book, consulting services or any other product—today, it’s all about being “out there”—exposed, talked about, findable.
Maybe it’s time to stop asking the question, Do you know where your business is coming from? Because there isn’t a definable answer. Maybe the answer is in the response zone of “… just because.”
The more that you are “out there,” the more difficult it is to track where your sales and business comes from. …

Don’t you love it when authors actually take their own advice? Today, The Book Shepherd has a special guest who will answer your questions about Book Blog Tours. Dana Lynn Smith has one put together for her latest book, Virtual Book Tour Magic. Her tour has been over the past two weeks.
Here’s why this book makes marketing sense for today’s author:
- The author has a clear vision of her goal.
- She responded immediately to any questions that I have before our big day.
- She sent me her guest post Questions a week before it was due to run.
- She also sent me copy to use in social media promotion-so helpful.
- She is going to be available to respond to questions that Blog readers have about virtual blog tours.
- She also sent me a reminder the day before, just in case–always smart–we are all busy and a little goose is helpful!
Here’s the key take-away … be organized … …

Book Publishing … Take Advantage of Seasonal Selling Now
If your book is ideal for a gift (and it’s a rare one that is not), seasonal celebrations are ideal to reach out to your followers … why not your book as the gift? This month, of course December is hot. But so will January … for the “how-to” crowd, this is the high GOYA month—Get Off Your Ass—and get started (or re-started).
Game plan your “kick-start” now by:
1 Creating an email offer your “special” with a direct link to where you want them to purchase your book. Title, describe, and cover should all be included. Give them a heads-up with an estimate of how many days for arrival. If you are the sender, make sure you offer to personalize each book.
2 Contact all on your email lists; your Twitter followers; your Facebook friends; LinkedIn connections; and Google+ Circles and Huddles. Remind them who the ideal recipient is and …












































