What’s new in 2015? Authoring, Writing and Book Publishing Tips leads the list for The Book Shepherd Blog …
I love tips — it’s always the take-aways I’m looking for at a conference, workshop, program, meeting, event- you name it, it’s the “gem” in the pile that I can see the immediate “aha” to and implement in my “get it done” mode.
When I think of the creation of Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, so many of the 250 plus quotes in the book came from “aha” moments. So it is with the rollout of this regular Kick-Butt Author and Book Publishing Ahas blog for the new year. Each Saturday, you will get a few Ahas to nibble on… just a few. Otherwise, it adds to overwhelm and can build on AFS … Author Fatigue Syndrome. You don’ need that!
Create New Words!
Wordoid (wordoid.com) creates new words that look nice and sound great. If you are scratching your head thinking of a new product or company (and grab a domain name) this could be a great resource. There’s no charge (even better).
Are you Tweeting?
If you want all of your followers to see your tweet in their stream, you MUST start a tweet with a character and not an @username. ie: @AuthorU will send it to Author U (Judith Briles tracks this) … with a character “.” .@authoru sends it to all your followers—just put the period mark in front of the user name. Instead of going to one person, it can go to many thousands.
Get Barnes & Noble 20% Discount without PAYING for a membership!
Were you shopping for books for Holiday gifting. Did you get them at a discount. We all know that Amazon discounts author’s books, but did you know that you can get it at the brick and mortar shopping option as well?If you were shopping last month at a local Barnes & Noble, most likely the clerk asked your if you had a BN Membership—it cost $25 to get a 10 percent discount.
Here’s what you want: Go the Help Desk and ask for the business-equivalent card application. If the employee doesn’t know about the program, ask for the manager. There’s no annual fee, it only works on books, but you get a 20 percent discount-much better than 10!
You’ll need to show you are a legit business, so have your EIN# and proof of your company’s existence (local business license, business card, bank statement for your business, etc.).
For your website … the Big 3 …
- It’s about building relationships with your visitiors and returnees. They are your cyber friends who recommend your site, your books, you.
- Always have an opt-in offer or a reader only offer for anyone who purchases from your site. It’s a bonus. And it’s how you capture their emails. Don’t miss out here.
- Content, content, content. Whatever your expertise/spiel is … your followers want content. Create something your audience wants … not necessarily what you want.
Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd a book publishing expert and coach. She is the Founder of Author U, 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. Judith is the author of 31 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms (ForeWord Indie/Fab Book of the Year), Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences.
Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Each summer, she holds Judith Briles Unplugged, a two and 1/2 day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. In 2015, the dates are August 27-29th. Her audio and workbook series, Creating Your Book and Author Platform is now available. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Author U – Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet Network at http://tinyurl.com/AuthorURoadio. Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and Judith Briles – TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.