rhondaspellman

“Judith Briles, aka The Book Shepherd, is a true Shepherd of her flock. When I first hired Judith I thought I was “almost there”. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had only just begun. I now consider myself transformed into much more than I had envisioned becoming. The best part: we’ve only just begun!”

Rhonda Spellman
The Journey, Home from Autism

lorihanson

“I called Judith when I had issues with an editor on my first book. She was exactly what I needed to rebuild my confidence, get me on track and help me put together a publishing team that works with me. Having Judith as my mentor I’ve been successful in accomplishing many things in a small amount of time. If you want quick results, straight answers and a no BS way to get your book to market successfully. Call Judith!”

Lori Hanson
It Started with Pop-Tarts™

jimhall

“You just finished a masterpiece, just put your creative passion into it, and now don’t know what to do about it? Call for the assistance of Judith Briles, The Book Shepherd. Judith has the knowledge at her fingertips from taking your idea and putting it into words to finding the right editors and the right printers. Need advice on how to market your book? She has a myriad of ideas and knowledge of the ways to do it. Judith is an extraordinary woman who will be YOUR personal shepherd.

“She has been there for us through good and bad, happiness and frustration. We don’t know what we would do without her calmness—we sometimes feel max-frustration.”

Georgann and Jim Hall
Parachuting for Gold in Old Mexico

cameronfay

“Judith Briles is one of the best resources in the publishing industry to help you create and sell your book. Her knowledge, insight and connections to industry experts provide the ability for you to not just create a great book but actually sell it and make money doing it.”

Cameron Fay
Regional Sales Manager, Friesens Corp.

davidhancock

“Successful books don’t just happen. As a publisher, I can always tell when an author has had guidance vs. delivering a manuscript unassisted. The books that Judith Briles has steered our way have been award-winning and successful in their markets. It’s not an accident or coincidence. She works closely with her authors, from conception to structure to the “look” of the finished book. Her authors know what to expect, when they are expecting. Her publishers know what they will get.”

David L. Hancock
Founder, Morgan James Publishing

lorendue

“When I came to Dr Briles I was uncertain as what I was going to do, however, through her diligent guidance and clear direction I was able to get my project back on track and produce an award winning book. Dr Briles has put in place all the tools necessary for success. It takes a person who is willing to learn, look, listen and receive instruction from the master of book production – Dr Briles.”

Dr Loren Due
Don’t Say a Word about This

annkochenburger

“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

brianjud

“Judith Briles is one of the most strategically creative, professional and competent people I have met in my 20+ years in book publishing.”

Brian Jud
How to Make Real Money Selling Books and Beyond the Bookstore

carriebrownwolf

“Not knowing where to begin can be daunting. Until you meet Judith. Working with Judith Briles helped move my book from the computer screen to the printed page.”

Carrie Brown-Wolf
Soul Sunday

joanmcwilliams

“Judith Briles is my BOOK SHEPHERD and has been for many years. She guided me through my first book, The PeaceFinder—Riley McFee’s Quest for World Peace. She is now helping me publish my husband’s autobiography as well as a book I have written on parenting plans for divorced parents. It would be very difficult to get through the publishing maze without her. She knows the business, has amazing vision, and is remarkably creative. She can spot errors in an instant, which saves money!

“I have enjoyed getting to know Judith and count her as a friend as well as a mentor. Working with her has been my good fortune.”

Joan McWilliams
The Peace Finder—Riley McFee’s Quest for World Peace
Creating Parenting Plans That Work

“I want to thank you for all your priceless knowledge and expertise that you shared with me to help me to create such a wonderful Product line and book! Amlavi LLC and Iris and Her Amazing Garden would not be so popular among our Fans and their children if it was not for your coaching and publishing advice. I can’t believe how much fun I had in your groups and individual meetings nor the amount of time you saved me!”

Dayn Conrad
Iris and Her Amazing Garden

rickfrishman

“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

danpoynter

“Judith Briles knows publishing. She cuts through the myriad of details and snafus that authors face, saving them thousands of dollars in the publishing process.
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

victoriamunro

“Judith Briles is one of the most creative people I’ve ever worked with. She has an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience in the book publishing and marketing arenas, as well as a highly successful track record with her own books. She generously shares her valuable network of contacts in the industry. She knows how to create profitable strategies to publish and market books, is able to quickly and accurately understand an author’s work and offer clear, constructive suggestions

“Judith’s consulting services provide incredible value. I heartily recommend her.”

Victoria Munro
The Small Biz Balancing Act

domtesta

“A shepherd is defined as one who “protects, guides, and watches over.” That’s exactly what Judith Briles brings to your book and/or speaking project. She won’t write your book for you, but she protects you from making senseless mistakes, she guides you through the meticulous process, and she watches over your journey from beginning to end. Working with Judith is one of the best investments I’ve made in my business.”

Dom Testa
The Galahad series

lynnhellerstein

“Judith not only saved my book, she helped me create a best-seller! Her energy, wisdom, support, insights, humor and willingness to uphold her commitment were inspirational. As a successful author and publisher, Judith guided me through my journey as a first time author and publisher. She kept me moving through the publishing process, jumping over hurdles and avoiding many pitfalls.

“Not only was Judith instrumental in my writing and editing process, she coached me on how to enter into the world of niche marketing—from presentations to press releases and marketing strategies.

“I have recommended Judith to many of my professional colleagues and other authors who are looking for assistance in writing or publishing. I thank Judith for joining me on my fascinating journey of becoming an author!”

Lynn F. Hellerstein, O.D., FCOVD, FAAO
See It. Say It. Do It! The Parent’s & Teacher’s Action Guide to Creating Successful Students & Confident Kids

carolkates

“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

annesalisbury

“Wow… your Salons are great! Thank you. We have a good focus now to move ahead.
You are a wise teacher. We appreciate you!”

Greg Meyerhoff and Anne Salisbury, PhD, MA, MBA
Eureka! and The Eureka Factor!

janestanfield

“After publishing my book, I knew I needed help marketing not only the book, but myself. I looked to Judith because she exemplified what I am in the process of becoming, an accomplished speaker, author, and a successful and heart-filled business woman. Under her tutelage, I am expanding into national markets and just yesterday, appeared on a TV News show. If you are ready to take yourself from hobby to professional, Judith is the woman who will walk next to you along your path to success.”

Jane Stanfield
Where Is She Heading

greggodek

“I can’t think of another person who has the breadth of experience that Judith does, when it comes to books, publishing, writing–and the art and business that swirls around all of these concepts.”

“Judith knows this biz from every angle: As a writer, editor, publisher, speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. She’s also fabulously creative and wonderfully honest. She’s a breath of fresh air an industry full of poseurs.”

Greg Godek
1001 Ways to be Romantic and The Simple Simon series

lindasmith

“Judith Briles was a moving force in the development of my book; from the perfect tag line to her perfect edits to sharing all of her perfect resources. Above and beyond all of those very important contributions, Judith’s support and encouragement kept me moving, working and motivated to get my book the Power of Rituals for Women from a dream to a reality. Thank you Judith!!”

Linda Ann Smith
Power of Rituals

susanmead

“If you need a firm, yet compassionate, kick in the bum to get your writing project completed and out the door, Judith Briles is not only the clear choice—but the greatest value. Don’t spend a lot of money on a bunch of different consultants on writing and publishing; work with Judith first to help you create the best team for your writing project and increase your efficiency. Her salons with other authors cannot be beat, with one-on-one follow-up to keep you on track.”

Susan E. Mead, M.H.
Take Back Your Body

“Thank you for all of the valuable information I learned from working with you. My only regret is not signing up sooner!”

Rita Zamora
Making Referrals a Reality

marapurl

“Judith Briles—best-selling author and sought-after national speaker in her own right—is also generous to a fault in sharing her hard-earned publishing savvy. As the Colorado Book Shepherd, she’s unique in that she doesn’t do the work for you. Instead, she teaches, mentors and leads the way, empowering her clients along the otherwise treacherous trails of bringing a book first to press, then to market, and ultimately into the hands of targeted readers.”

Mara Purl
Milford Haven series

vikiking

” Judith Briles is a powerful locomotive who will get your train on the track and send it all the way to publishing. You have a full team guiding you heart to head and onto your completed project.”

Viki King
How to Write a Movie in 21 Days

marilynvanderbur

“I will be grateful, always, to Judith Briles for mentoring me – the only mentor I have ever had! She has had such a positive impact on my life. I try – every single day – to pass that gift on…”

Marilyn Van Derbur
Miss America by Day

SUBSCRIBE

Free Gift When You Subscribe Instantly download 17 pages from Judith's new book, "AuthorYOU" teaching you the exact model to achieve success in publishing today!

Facebook and Twitter


 

Author Smarts … How to Sell to Libraries

          This week celebrates National Library Week. For authors, libraries can be your best friend. With over 100,000 throughout the country, their budgets still purchase approximately $2,000,000,000 in books each year—two billion dollars! That’s what the American Library Association and the Book Industry Study Group report.

library

So … the question is … are you getting your share?

Social Media for Authors: Where Do You Start?

 Social Media is going to be the primary tool to move your book forward.

social wordle                       

If you are still resistant, three words for you: Get Over It! With that said, experiment-which of the key platforms—LinkedIn Groups, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Blog, YouTube—will work best to get your toe in the water? In most cases, I’m going to tell you to do them all, but concentrate on one of two. Download Hootsuite or SocialOomph to keep your sanity to manage them … and to manage forward.

A Blog is a must doyou’ve written a book; you’ve got scads of material. Copy/paste, copy/paste. Create a short intro and exit. Start posting. Remember the 3 Cs-Content, Consistent, Commit. Start with once a week; pick a day; do it. Next, start doing short videos—hello cello phone. Create a Video Blog for variety. Little

Top 10 Tweets from The Book Shepherd

APEHave you heard? Author U is going BANANAS over APE! Everyone who attends the Author U Extravaganza will get a copy of Guy Kawasaki’s APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. With over 1.2 million Twitter followers, 4 million Google+ connections, multiple NY Times best-sellers, former Chief Evangelist for Apple Computer, Guy knows marketing, branding, books and authors … and he’s the Friday, May 3rd Keynoter. And he didn’t publish APE via New York. Saturday’s Keynote will be delivered by Cevin Bryerman, Publisher of Publishers Weekly—he’s allotting plenty of Q&A time.

The Book Shepherd says, “If you want to be seriously successful as an author, get yourself to Denver, Colorado May 2-4 this year. The only excuse is death or dismemberment.”

 

alert-icon-redALERT: Author U Extravaganza Early Bird at AuthorU.org ends soon. What are you waiting for? See my remarks above. Details of all speakers, times are now posted on Author U’s website.  Full agenda, including the Thursday Eagle (Advanced) and Eaglet …

Building Your “Crowd” … One Tweet at a Time

 

 TwitterTweetsBS

Twitter has emerged as a major force in marketing an author’s book.
Are you interested in building your following FAST. Here’s a great resource that is inexpensive and very, very efficient. Meet Tweet Adder, the Ferrari of Twitter Marketing Software.

Tweet Adder will automate multiple areas of your Twitter account, such as following and un-following users (if someone doesn’t follow you back after so many days, Tweet Adder unfollows them), sending Tweets, re-tweeting and much more. A plus is that you can have several Twitter accounts. 

Advantages of using Tweet Adder:

1. You are able to operate several accounts at one time in the background. You’ll be able to setup 10, 20 or more accounts and operate all the essential duties for those accounts.

2. You don’t need to watch the software every day. Simply turn on your computer each morning and it’ll work all day long carrying out the tasks.

3. The configurations are wonderful. You are

Will You Book Be Honored … or Rejected?

Submissions for Book Awards are open. Will the author be honored for their words and book? Or will they get the Book Boot? The question every author needs to ask is, “Did I do the best job in writing, in presenting, in connecting with my crowd—the people who need, want my words?” In other words, “Did I rush to publish?””Will it be rejected?”

Working with authors every day, there are routine hiccups that are all too common. When they are pointed out, they are often surprised that they didn’t notice them—both pre-layout and during layout. To anyone who is experienced with books, those hiccups are glaring and would have been noticed quickly.

What’s that mean? Simply this: don’t go it alone. Before you enter your book, make sure it’s of “star” quality.

The Book Boot Starts Here … on the Outside
The title doesn’t work. The reader is clueless as to what the book is about. Does it solve a problem?

Once You’ve Got Your Book … What’s Next?

… Speak About and Market It, Of Course!

 

When the book deliver euphoria wears off, every author has the gaze in the belly button moment … what do I do next?

Two quick responses:

1     Market, Market, Market. Eighty percent of your time will now be directed to this single word.
2     Speak, Speak, Speak. You will enjoy the reprints, not to mention the book sales.


I am a firm believer that speaking is one of the best ways to move a book—when you connect with an audience, they want to take you home with them. Your book may be the best thing and the least expensive. They are impulse buys—meaning you need them onsite. You must take credit cards. My personal record was speaking at a conference in Utah for 60 minutes. In 5 hours, over $16,000 in book sales happened (560 books to audience of 800) … one book at a time.

Knowing …

The Book Shepherd’s Top 10 Twitter Tweets for Week ending October 12th

Here’s your Top Ten Tweets for the past week—Chirp!

Tweets are faster than a speeding bird … below are The Book Shepherd’s Top Ten Tweets from the past week that you may have missed …

Success & Resources
Author Alert: Got a YA manuscript? Poisoned Pen Press seeks submissions http://t.co/4rBqnJzo

Why You Should Self-Publish FIRST: video w/ Literary Agent Michael Larsen http://t.co/2dRIlR7d

Book awards … which one is for you? http://ow.ly/e6uq0

Writing Smarts
Writer alert: 6 Copywriting Mistakes That Shatter Conversion Rates http://t.co/2VsoDtPC

Social Media and Marketing Strategies
Savvy author marketing tip: How to write an SEO press release that won’t get rejected. http://ow.ly/e6jNY

A 99-cent sale on Amazon helped propel one author to the top of Self Published Bestsellers List: http://t.co/Ed9VWDD7
Wondering why your FB reach is decreasing this will explain why. http://ow.ly/e66PA

What do you think? The Social Era Is More Than Social Media http://ow.ly/e6gtt

5 clever PR pitches that caught reporters’ attention from the publicity hound, Joan

The ABCs of Publishing Terminology Today

      
Are you confused in which way to publish today? And for that matter, what are the publishing options? Join the club! Traditional publishing, self-publishing and independent publishing are tossed in the air with the flick of the tongue. Just what are they? Authors feel like they are going bonkers with the choices, that unfortunately, lead to plenty of disillusionment.

Traditional publishing is the easiest to get … and digest. The biggies in the field today are: Simon & Schuster, Wiley, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House and Macmillian. They acquire authors and manuscripts. They promise to publish your book, do some editing, cover and interior design, print it and maybe, maybe some publicity and marketing. In return, you may get an advance—which means they give you up-front money that is an advance payment against/toward future royalties. The good news is that if the book doesn’t do so well, you keep the money. The bad news, it’s not …