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Lori Hanson It Started with Pop-Tarts™
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Dom Testa The Galahad series
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Rhonda Spellman The Journey, Home from Autism
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Carrie Brown-Wolf Soul Sunday
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Greg Godek 1001 Ways to be Romantic and The Simple Simon series
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Brian Jud How to Make Real Money Selling Books and Beyond the Bookstore
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Joan McWilliams The Peace Finder—Riley McFee’s Quest for World Peace
Creating Parenting Plans That Work
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Viki King How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
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Greg Meyerhoff and Anne Salisbury, PhD, MA, MBA Eureka! and The Eureka Factor!
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Georgann and Jim Hall Parachuting for Gold in Old Mexico
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Judith has authored and published more than 20 books, won multiple awards and has converted her expertise into savvy, doable strategies for authors who want to create, achieve and be financially successful.”
Dan Poynter The Self-Publishing Manual
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Mara Purl Milford Haven series
“Publishing consultants should know publishing inside and out. Few do. Judith Briles does. She has worn many hats—she’s published with major New York houses, then broke away and created her own imprint; has successfully published over 20 books and sold in excess of 1,000,000 copies; understands niche publishing and marketing; has created publicity campaigns for her own work Publishing consultants should know publishing inside and out. Few do. Judith Briles does. She has worn many hats—she’s published with major New York houses, then broke away and created her own imprint; has successfully published over 20 books and sold in excess of 1,000,000 copies; understands niche publishing and marketing; has created publicity campaigns for her own work that landed her on Oprah, Donahue, CNN and even grabbed a cover story in People magazine; she’s penetrated the foreign rights market with her work in 16 countries to date; she has guided and coached many others from creation to completion of their work; she has created and chair several publishing conferences; and she has successfully turned several publishing disasters into successful outcomes for their authors. Judith Briles is the Book Shepherd.”
Rick Frishman Exec. VP, Morgan James Publishing
Founder, Planned TV Arts
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Victoria Munro The Small Biz Balancing Act
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David L. Hancock Founder, Morgan James Publishing
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Jane Stanfield Where Is She Heading
“Judith Briles is an incredible coach. She is the most knowledgeable person I have met in the book business. Her workshops are informative, well-organized and fun and give budding authors inspiration as well as encouragement. Judith sets high standards for herself and also her clients—she is never afraid to tell it like it is. She encourages her clients to be their personal best. Judith’s vast knowledge and experience in both publishing and marketing make her an invaluable resource. She takes a personal interest in the authors she works with; and despite a very busy work schedule, she is only a telephone call away when problems arise and need immediate solutions. I would highly recommend Judith Briles.”
Carol Ann Kates Secret Recipes from the Corner Market
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Linda Ann Smith Power of Rituals
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Marilyn Van Derbur Miss America by Day
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“One of the smartest decisions I have ever made was hiring Judith as my Book Shepherd. I had a story to tell, but no idea how to proceed beyond the completion of my manuscript. Judith guided me through revision, recommended an excellent editor and made contacts to publishers, all of which ultimately led to a publisher for Out Of Focus…Again. I admire Judith not only for her expertise, but also for her straight forwardness. She is no nonsense and tells it like it is which is what those of us who want to see our words in print completely appreciate. She saved me much time and thousands of dollars, and is the reason my completed book is of the quality I wanted. I continue to seek Judith’s advice as I promote my book and am currently writing a second one.”
Ann Kochenberger Out Of Focus…Again
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Stop the Insanity … Either Market Your Book or Don’t Write It
Stop the Book Insanity …
This Blog started with an email from an author–he didn’t want to put a dime into marketing his book–he hadn’t put the first dollar forward yet that I knew of, but he was pulling the plug … and he was working on the second book in the series, paying a very high priced editor to morph some of his book into a “woman’s” version. I was holding a spot for him at the early bird rate for the Author U Extravaganza in Denver because he told me was coming and to reserve one for him–a spot where one of the premier workshops was on the verge of being sold out and there was another month to go for registrations. I wanted to throw up. I could only conclude that his brain had gone to mush.
Authors sometimes don’t want to hear what works in creating a successful book campaign—campaigns that include the creation, the marketing and the sales of a book … they would rather keep doing the same thing … the thing that has produced no results. Which is usually sitting on their tush. Or if they did try “something” and it didn’t work, that they then choose to sit on their tush because nothing else will work. Or, if they had cost overruns in creating the book (and just who is responsible for that?—yes, dear author—look in the mirror), they refuse to do anything to support/market their book once they have all those books sitting in the garage.
Stop the Insanity … And please, pass me the barf bag so I can continue …
Great—you’ve got a book. What’s next? What’s next has to be marketing and selling of it. What’s next is teaching it and you how to connect with others. What’s next is telling the world. What’s next is to stop rationalizing, making excuses and justifying why you can’t market it. What’s next is for you, dear author, to commit—recommit—to your book and yourself.
“I’m tired.” So … we all are. The creation of a book can lead to Book Fatigue Syndrome—I get it, you need a rest. Take a week or two off … but then, it’s back to work.
“I’ve already committed so much money, I can’t put another penny on my credit card …” What were you thinking in the first place—that if you just held a copy of your finished book that the world would flock to the stores, the Internet, your website, your front door, you ,to get a copy? Get over it—you need expert marketing help … starting right now.
“I just want to write …” This is so yesteryear. No author gets to do the ostrich bit these days. Part of authoring is connecting with potential and ongoing book buyers. It means marketing, marketing, and more marketing.
“I hired the wrong person …” Yep, it happens. Lick your wounds—determine what went wrong in the process—then get back to work.
“I don’t know how to do all this social media stuff…” Welcome to the crowd … but there are those out there that do … and guess what—they are part of the book marketing campaign—your book marketing campaign. Your book budget.
Too, too many authors abandon the book ship early in the process. And what do they do? Many start another book—maybe a variation of what they just did. And what will happen when they finish? Most likely, abandonment. In effect, you’ve become an unfit author/parent. What are you thinking? Stop the insanity. Today. Now.
I’m proud that I created Author U and actively belong to it–Author U has your marketing answers/solutions. It’s at the Extravaganza in just four short weeks from now: May 3-5. Fiction, Nonfiction, eBook or pBook–you name it. All meals and workshop materials are included in the price. You and your book can’t afford to miss it.
Stop the Book Insanity … Today … Now! Please … Stop the Book Insanity … Register: www.AuthorU.org
Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd, a book publishing coach and the Founder of Author U (niversity) a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. She’s the author of 30 books including Show Me About Book Publishing, co-written with John Kremer and Rick Frishman and a speaker at publishing conferences. Her next audio and workbook series, Creating Your Book and Author Platform will be available in the Spring of 2012. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Your Guide to Book publishing on the www.RockStarRadioNetwork.com. Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact her at Judith@Briles.com.
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Comments
Wow, tough love but badly needed advice. Authors just have to hear this and certainly heed it. Authors that don’t will spend their money building big garages to store their unsold books in. OK, thanks. Edward Smith.
Authors need to practice tough love on themselves … and those in their space. I’m all for big garages as long as their is turn-over of book inventory! Thanks for your comments Edward.
Comment by The Book Shepherdson April 17, 2012 @ 9:25 pm
Instantly download 17 pages from Judith's new book, "AuthorYOU" teaching you the exact model to achieve success in publishing today!
Wow, tough love but badly needed advice. Authors just have to hear this and certainly heed it. Authors that don’t will spend their money building big garages to store their unsold books in. OK, thanks. Edward Smith.