How Many Books Do I Have to Sell to Make My Book a Bestseller? By Trissa Tismal

Today's guest, Trissa Tismal, is the "EntreprenAuthor" success coach who works with authors to help their books become bestsellers. She is a trained professional coach in many areas and the professional behind www.AuthorBestseller.com . Today, Trissa will be talking about book sales and best seller status.

Before we get our guest's post, I want to take this time to thank everyone for your support of the Kindle release of my novel, The Samson Effect. Thanks to you, it's had a better month than I could have imagined. It's humbling to see it pass NY Times best selling authors on the Amazon best seller lists. From the bottom of my heart, thanks for your support.

Now, on to our guest post for today...


How Many Books Do I Have to Sell to Make My Book a Bestseller?
By Trissa Tismal

Becoming a bestseller is the ultimate dream of every author. Besides the fact that bestsellers make the most difference in the world, hitting this milestone comes with a lot of respect and perks.

When you're a bestselling author, people see you as a super star. You become a highly sought-after guest on radio and TV interviews. You get featured on newspapers and magazines. Filmmakers want to turn your book into a film. You start attracting ideal high paying clients that gladly pay you what you're worth. While before you were lucky to get paid for any speaking gig, now you are able to charge $5,000 to $35,000 or more per keynote. More people learn about your work and you get a dramatic increase in your client base.

A very common question I'm always asked is, "How many books do I have to sell to make my book a bestseller?"

When you're a bestselling author, people think that you've sold millions and millions of books around the world. Most authors think the same way too. The truth is becoming a bestseller does not equate to millions of books sold.

The bestseller's list is a ranking system. It's like the billboard top 100 list for songs or the box office movie hit for films.

An example is the box office on a weekend in July 2010. The #1 box office movie hit that weekend was the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which grossed $83.6 million. It's number one because it sold more movie tickets than all other movies showing at that time. The number two box office hit on that same list is The Last Airbender, which sold $51.8 million.

Now let's look at a weekend in March 2011. The #1 top box office movie hit is "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," which grossed at $23.7 million. In this list, Diary of a Wimpy Kid sold more than everyone else showing that weekend so it got the #1 spot. Even though in the earlier example, on the same box office list but just on a different weekend, The Last Airbender sold $51.8 million—much more than the $23.7 million of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But the The Last Airbender got #2 spot on the first list and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid got #1 spot on the list below because the box office movie hit, like the billboard top 100 and the bestseller list is a ranking system and its not based on a specific number of sales.

So how many books do you have to sell to become a #1 bestselling author? The answer is more than what the existing number one book is selling. If Harry Potter is currently #1 and its selling 10,000 books, then you have to sell at least 10,001 books. That will knock out Harry Potter from the number one spot and make you the #1 bestseller. The key is to push sales as high as possible so it climbs the charts and outsell every other popular book on a particular bestseller list.

Seems like a daunting task? Yes it is, IF you do it alone. My tip to you is don’t even try doing this by yourself or you’ll be severely disappointed. A feat this huge is something that is accomplished with the help of other people. There will be challenges you will encounter along the way, but never give up. Stay connected to why your book must be in the hands of as many people as possible. Keep on going and don't let anything get in your way.

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Bestseller Coach, Trissa Tismal is passionate and dedicated in helping authors make their book a bestseller, make big money and make a bigger difference. To learn more about making your book a bestseller, watch the "Bestseller Insider Secrets" Video at no-charge by clicking here.

For tips, tactics and resources on making your book a bestseller, visit: www.AuthorBestseller.com


Follow Trissa on Twitter: @trissatismal
Join Our Facebook Group: Authors with a Purpose






 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Q&A With The Book Designer, Joel Friedlander

Recently, I sat down with Joel Friedlander to ask him a few questions about the book creation process. Joel has a wealth of experience working with books and bringing them to market. He is the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, a company that edits, designs and produces books for publishers and authors who decide to self-publish. You can read his popular blog, The Book Designer to learn all about the book creation and marketing process.

Joel has a new book out, A Self-Publisher's Companion, that explains the world of self-publishing to authors thinking about getting into print or e-books. It's a book I highly endorse. You can read my review of his book on my blog.

I'm excited to bring this Q&A with Joel to you today.

1. Joel, thank you for sitting with us today and sharing your knowledge. If most authors are like I was when I wrote my first book, they really don't know what to expect when they try to get their book in print. From the standpoint of moving a book from the completed manuscript to a final copy you can hold in your hands, what do you think are the biggest surprises/challenges authors face in the self-publishing process?

Tony, that's a big question, and the space between the finished manuscript and printed books is where I've spent the majority of my career. The biggest surprise most new publishers face is the sheer number of decisions they need to make to get their book done, and the amount of expertise needed to answer those questions. Their challenge typically comes in becoming the project manager of a complex process requiring experts or training in a number of areas in order to get to the finish line.

2. Do you see any consistent mistakes that most authors make when self-publishing their book?

The biggest error I see, and not just from self-published authors, is underestimating what it will take to market and sell their books. No matter where you are in your book development--even if you are just thinking about what you want to write--start marketing today.

3. Joel, you've witnessed the ushering in of the "Golden Age" of self-publishing, as you call it in your new book, A Self-Publisher's Companion. What makes this the Golden Age of self-publishing?

These things:
-ease of acquiring the tools to publish
-eliminating the need for capital in order to publish
-opening of bookselling to self-publishers through online retailers
-development of technology that makes publishing fast, easy and almost free


4. What, if any, are the differences between how novelists approach self-publishing and how non-fiction authors approach self-publishing?

Two differences I've seen are that novelists seem to be concentrating on building a fan base and planning series of books to sell to those fans, while nonfiction writers seem to be concentrating more on attracting readers looking for solutions within their niche.

5. In the last 2 to 5 years, what would you say is the greatest technological advancement for authors who want to self-publish?

The Amazon Kindle.

6. It wasn't too long ago that the term "self-published" carried a negative stigma. Do you see this changing, and if so, in what way?

This self-defeating argument has been going on for a very long time, and it's a relief that it's starting to lose steam. The stigma against self-publishing is still very much alive, but the universe in which it is accepted as fact is gradually shrinking. The past few months have seen the beginning of an exodus of published authors from the confines of the publishing houses into the wilds of independent publishing. If many of these authors are successful, many more will follow.

7. From a strictly business standpoint, what are the most important factors in creating a successful book?

Tony, it's long been my opinion that only the author gets to decide what constitutes a "successful" book. Having said that, there are only two factors I know of that contribute reliably to making a successful book. First, the book has to have a reason to exist. Does it solve a problem or answer a question for readers, or is it solely an expression of the author's opinions and desires? Second, has the author brought the book to the attention of enough people to make it a success? A good book that addresses reader's needs and which is marketed widely enough to those readers will, in my opinion, always be a success.

8. For the author who needs help with creating their book after it's written, what are the important questions they should ask a professional before hiring them?

-What is your experience with books like mine?
(You want someone with relevant experience.)
-What is your vision of my book in terms of production and marketing?
(It's crucial that you are both working toward the same aim.)
-How much will this cost and how long will it take?
(Know in advance the budget and schedule.)
-Will I own the files you produce for me at the end of the process?
(Make sure a contract spells out ownership.)

9. Assuming a writer has a blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook account, what are your recommendations as to where they should begin their book marketing efforts?

Inside the writer's own mind. The biggest problem I see with writers marketing their books is lack of a plan and the tendency to simply react to stuff happening around them and calling it marketing. Understanding who you are marketing to, why they might be interested in your book, and how to reach them is more important than where the marketing is taking place.

Once you've got that straight, make your blog the hub of your marketing efforts. It's got many advantages and it should be the place you send traffic to from Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites.

10. I mentioned your book, A Self Publisher's Companion, which I highly endorse. Can you tell us why you wrote the book and what you hope it accomplishes?

I'm glad you asked! I wrote the book to help give authors who are thinking about getting into independent publishing an idea of what they might encounter. I tried to include information that would help them decide whether they were suited to self-publishing, the kind of tasks they will encounter, how book production and marketing are done and what they require, and to give a general idea of what's going on in independent publishing today.

The publishing industry is going through rapid, disruptive and systemic change now in response to new technologies. The opportunities for individual authors are greater than they have ever been in the history of printed books. I find that incredibly exciting, and I wanted to put a book in the hands of authors that would convey some of that excitement and opportunity while giving them a realistic look "behind the curtain."

Although I'm a strong advocate of self-publishing, working with authors for many years has taught me that it's not right for everyone. I hope that A Self-Publisher's Companion will encourage writers to make a self-assessment, and to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

Joel, I want to thank you for your time and for giving us a peek into the book creation process through the eyes of an experienced professional who has been doing this for decades. It really is a Golden Age of Publishing we're living in today!


Related Posts
Brainstorming Non-bookstore Sales By Joel Friedlander
Q&A With Smashword's Mark Coker On The E-book Industry
Best Selling Kindle Author Karen McQuestion Gives E-Book Advice To Authors
Review: A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander





 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Resource Of The Week: Google's Call Me Widget

Today's resource of the week is Google's Call Me Widget. This is a free tool from Google that can take your "Contact Me" page to a whole new level. In a nutshell, this tool allows you to place a widget on your website or blog (or Facebook page- see video below), that allows your visitors to call your cell phone or voice mail box without having to show your phone number on your site.

In order to use this widget, you'll have to sign up for a free Google Voice phone number. Once you do, you can place the Call Me widget on your site. Visitors can then click on it, enter their phone number, and the widget will either forward the call to the phone number you have associated with your Google Voice account or you can have the call go directly to your voice mail. You can even have a special greeting for your website visitors.

For example, you can set up your Call Me widget to go directly to voice mail with this personal message from you: "This is Tony. Thanks for visiting my blog, Marketing Tips For Authors. I'm really interested in your questions and comments, so please let me know what's on your mind and a way for me to contact you. Have a wonderful day."

I think you can see the marketing potential for this nifty, free tool from Google. One idea: Have readers leave testimonials about your site or your book. You can then embed the audio testimonials for your visitors to listen to.

And for those who wish you could have this on Facebook, Paul DeCarlo has created a Facebook app to do just that. Here's the walk-through video he created to show you how it works on Facebook.

 

Last 4 Resources Of The Week
Paint.Net
MobiPocket Ebook Creator
YouTube's Creator's Corner
Wikimedia Commons



 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: May 27th

It's Friday, and that means it's time to take a trip around the net to see some of the book marketing posts that have caught my eye this week. So grab your favorite beverage and let's get ready to learn.

Before we get to the post, I have one quick announcement for our DFW readers. Kat Smith is hosting a Muse Literary Mingle through The Writer's Guild Of Texas next month. I'll be the featured author, and I'd love to meet and chat with you. It will be Tuesday, June 21 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. For more information, checkout out the flyer on the Facebook event.

Now, on to our trip around the net...

1. Think Like A Publisher #11... Electronic Sales to Bookstores- Dean Wesley Smith starts us off with a brilliant strategy to sell books.

2. How Facebook Led to a Magazine Cover- Dana Lynn Smith shares her story on how Facebook led to a picture on the cover of a magazine along with a 7 page story on her.

3. Getting A Publishing Deal From Your Online Platform With Jim Hopkinson- Joanna Penn interviews Jim Hopkinson and discusses how his platform led to a publishing deal.

4. e-Book Sales on Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch: A 73-Second Seminar- Joel Friedlander shares information on e-book publishing on the iO platform.

5. Dana Lynn Smith Tells How To Entice Libraries to Buy Books- Carolyn Howard-Johnson invites Dana Lynn Smith to share info on selling your books to libraries.

6. But, can you get me on Oprah?- Penny Sansevieri has a fascinating observation on the dream many authors have, or had, of getting on the Oprah Show.

7. Q&A: How to Make Your Author Blog Work For You- BookBuzzr has a Q&A session with Laurel Marshfield, Teresa Morrow and Joel Friedlander on making your blog work for you when it comes to selling your books.

8. Which Links Shared on Twitter Are Mobile Friendly?- Piotr Kowalczyk gives a great summary of URL shortener services.

9. 3 Publishing Trends Writers Must Stay On Top Of- Jane Friedman keeps us up on the publishing industry by discussing agents, Amazon, and e-books.

10. How Important Is Your Social Media Profile Photo?- Phyllis Zimbler Miller talks about the importance of your profile picture.

11. 18 things I learned at the Sydney Writers' Festival- Steven Lewis shares some interesting things he learned at the Sydney Writers' Festival.

12. How to get 1 step closer to getting published every day- Roger C. Parker shows you how you can take small steps each day to reach your publishing goals.

13. 18 Articles Help You Master LinkedIn Strategy and Technique- Larry Brauner shares his list of articles to help you formulate your Linked-In strategy.

14. Press Release Tips and Resources by Dana Lynn Smith- Shelley Hitz invites Dana Lynn Smith to share tips on using press releases in your book marketing plan.

15. 10 Things You Need to Know About Self-Publishing- Todd Rutherford discusses 10 things you need to know about self-publishing.

16. 11 questions for the indie publisher: Bob Baker- Sue Collier interviews Bob Baker about his self-publishing experience.

17. What to Do When a Commenter Goes Rogue- Darren Rowse invites Gail Brenner to give advice on what you can do when a commenter gets out of hand.

18. Independent book stores gain ground amid soft real estate market- Steve Weber keeps us up on the publishing industry with some good news for independent book stores.

19. 10 Tips to Becoming an Idea Freak- Chris Antoni gives you 10 ideas on how to come up with ideas for your blog posts.

20. 6 Steps to Craft an Exceptional Blog Post- Daniel Scocco invites Karol K to share his tips on creating great blog posts.

21. Indie Bookstores Boycott Konrath?- Joe Konrath discusses the chatter of some booksellers calling for a boycott of his books for signing with Amazon's new Thomas & Mercer imprint.

22. Why Site Design Should Be Last on Your List- MaAnna Stephenson talks about successful website design elements.

That's it for this week's trip around the net. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning with another Resource of the Week!


Last 4 Tips Around The Net:
May 20th
May 15th
May 6th
April 30th



 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

What's the Big Deal About Book Covers? By Todd Rutherford

Today, The Publishing Guru is back with another guest post on Marketing Tips For Authors. Todd Rutherford will be talking about the importance of our book covers.


What's the Big Deal About Book Covers?
By Todd Rutherford

The cover of your book will often make your first impression with readers. Everyone knows that first impressions are very important. They should be done to the best of the author’s ability. Thought and purpose must be given to cover design. Publishers have long known that a book’s cover is instrumental to the marketing process. In fact, if the cover of a book fails, so does the book.

Publishers value the investment which goes into the publishing process. For this reason, they pay strict detail to how their books’ covers look. The cover represents the author by and large. But it also relates to the publishing company that published it. No publisher wants to be known for poor quality. To ensure this doesn’t happen, entire departments are typically devoted to the production of professional appearing book covers.

Traditional publishing companies invest a significant amount for cover design.

As stated before, specific company departments are dedicated to cover design. Here we could have artists, as well as, graphic experts. Their purpose is to produce the best cover for your book that is possible. There are a number of considerations that go into the whole process.

Cover designers use pictures, graphics, and fonts with concerted effort. None of these cover components are done without a purpose. Each is placed and designed in order to yield the best profit. These departments focus on marketing and pride themselves on producing quality covers.

Self publishers must take cover design as seriously as traditional publishers.

Many companies that help authors self publish, have a cover design option. This option allows the author to pick through some standard templates for their cover design. I do not recommend template covers. You want your book to look as good as a New York Time Best Seller.

Prior to participating in this phase of publishing, an author should familiarize themselves with two things. He or she needs to understand basic marketing techniques. How does cover choice connect to the buyer? What colors are distracting? Study the covers of the top ten bestselling books in your genre.

This is important information. The author should also understand what message they are trying to communicate to the reader. The design of the cover will communicate something, whether positively or negatively. The most effective message an author should want to relay is that of their book’s theme. Covers shouldn’t be chosen because they are liked. They must be chosen for effectiveness as well.

Independent designers will happily produce the cover you want.

Some authors have a specific cover idea in mind, but need help bringing it to life. For this reason, there are many independent graphic design companies. These companies offer a variety of services, some of which include cover design. Working with this type of service doesn't have to be expensive. It may, however, be the best way to ensure that your idea is communicated through your book’s cover.

Designers work to make your idea a reality, and then send you a completed file. Sometimes these projects have to be worked on over time. They can take months in some cases. Once completed, this file can be used to create the book cover you’ve always wanted.

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Need help with writing, editing, publishing, or book marketing? AskthePublishingGuru.com



Related Posts
Building a Global Author Platform with Social Media By Todd Rutherford
E-Book Cover Service Creates Twitter Contest Book Cover
Logos, E-book Covers, And More With 99Designs
Review: A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander




 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

How Your Publishing Path Effects Your Marketing By Cheryl Pickett

We have a returning guest with us today. Cheryl Pickett is writing and publishing coach and today she's going to discuss how our publishing path affects our book marketing. She has a new program called Publishing Possibilities 2011 that you can read about in her bio at the end of the post.


How Your Publishing Path Effects Your Marketing
By Cheryl Pickett

Many people new to the world of authors and publishing may believe that as long as you get your book in print and available for sale, the rest of the details don't matter much. Published is published. Unfortunately, holding to that idea will likely end up leading you off course and to disappointment in the end.

The method you choose to use to publish ultimately effects almost every aspect of becoming an author and your potential for success. For example, one option offers minimal control but also minimal investment, whereas another has fine print that hinders you from owning certain important design files. Often, even when people are aware of these situations, many have no idea that publishing choices also make a huge difference in marketing plans and opportunities. And unfortunately, the impact isn't always positive. Here are just a few potential scenarios to watch and prepare for:

1. Product Nightmares
This is one of the worst-case scenarios; the company or vendors you choose to work with deliver a poor product. Your book is poorly constructed with thin paper or cheap binding that falls apart. The design is also cookie cutter. Those who purchase are disappointed and don't recommend it to anyone else. You can't even sell enough to make your investment back, and you need to fix or redo the entire project. In this case, you can lose time, money and potentially hurt your reputation, all of which will have to be made up by new promotional strategies.

2. Show Me the Money
Besides looking for product quality, determining how a particular option will affect your bottom line is an important consideration too. For example, one option may offer author copies at 20% off cover price, where another offers 40%. Another option allows you to keep everything after print costs. Clearly, making the wrong choice here affects profit. Less profit means fewer funds that can go to marketing or back into your business. A smart choice on the other hand could help you break even quickly and then keep the momentum going.

3. Promises Promises
If you don't want to go it alone, there are plenty of companies willing to help you get your book out into the world. Many also offer help with a wide variety of marketing and promotional tasks. Most of the time, additional costs are involved. Unfortunately, many of these promises are weak or vague to begin with and others simply fall through. It's easy to see how this would influence marketing. For example, if you were counting on lots of help via a promotional package then discover you're really on your own for the most part, that can change your marketing plans completely.

As you can now hopefully see, the publishing path you ultimately choose can greatly impact the marketing options you have. Are all the effects negative? No, definitely not. There are plenty of positive ways good choices will ultimately help your promotional efforts. The key is to be as informed as possible from the beginning, learn as much as you can, ask questions, then ask more questions. When you finally hold that book in your hand and it's something you can proudly offer to your audience, you'll know it was time well spent.

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Cheryl Pickett is a writing and publishing coach specializing in helping experts like coaches, consultants, trainers and entrepreneurs become authors. Her ten plus years experience as a freelance writer and author allow her to provide unique insight into both crafting a business building book and the publishing process. Her  current program, Publishing Possibilities 2011, will guide participants through the often confusing process of choosing the best publishing option. Details can be found at her website www.cherylpickett.com/programs.























 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories By M.L. Poncelet

A few months ago, I came across the short story site, Ocean Blue Press. I contacted the person behind Ocean Blue and invited her to be a guest on my blog. Today, M.L. Poncelet will talk about short stories and how they can help authors promote a novel.

I have one quick in-house announcement to make before we get to today's post. If you are an author with a Kindle title, take a look at our new Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway that's starting next month. This can be a great way for you to market your book.

Now, on to today's post...

How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories
By M.L. Poncelet


What are the advantages of short stories as a selling tool?

Show off your style: readers want to know your style of writing. Short stories are an excellent way to showcase your style.

It's the hook: short stories create the hook that will drive more interest to your novel. Use short stories to build synergy with your novel.

Keeping it fresh: readers will want to come back to your site because there will always be something new for them. Short stories allow you to have limitless commercials that will promote your novel.

What is the ideal short story?
The ideal short story is one that is between 1000 to 2000 words long. It's longer than a piece of flash fiction but it's just as compact. With short stories the emphasis can be either on plot and structure or if you want it can be about a few specific details. The easiest approach is to focus on just one or two characters.

Where to start?
There are so many ideas for short stories:

Characters
Stir your readers' interest by writing short stories about the secondary characters in your novel. Write about their past histories. What was their background prior to appearing in your novel? You can also choose to write about some of your lesser known cameo characters.

Settings
If you're writing a fantasy novel, you have also spent a lot of time mapping out your imaginary world. Your characters might only occupy a corner of that place, so it would be interesting to share more details of the setting with your readers. Or perhaps your story takes place in the past during a time that is long forgotten.

One of your scenes in your novel could have taken place in a restaurant. In a short story you could take a closer look at the restaurant, the politics of the kitchen, or another diner who observed your character eating. There are endless possibilities.

Backstory
Before your characters convene in your novel there is a backstory. Your readers want to know what went on before page one.

Research
Think of all the research you did so that your characters could talk like experts in their field. How much of this research did you discard in the process? Take one aspect of an area you have studied or researched and let your character tell the story.

Grow a fan base even while completing your novel
If you're in the midst of writing your novel, you can use short stories to gauge your readers’ interest in a new idea.

For example, you've been thinking about three possible endings and each one finishes with a different effect on the main character. Why not write a short story on each? You can get your readers’ reaction to each short story and find the most popular conclusion.

Get repeat readers
Short stories can build interest in your novel; they can keep the readers coming back for more. With short stories you can go into further depth into the lives and minds of your characters, the settings and even the conflict.

Short Stories: the new appetizer that will grab your readers interest for your upcoming or current novel
There are many ways to promote your novel and short stories should definitely be included in your marketing tool kit.


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M.L. Poncelet is a westcoast short story writer at Ocean Blue Press




 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Introducing The Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway

After a lot of planning, I'm excited to introduce you to an upcoming campaign to bring readers and authors together in a way that celebrates the success of the Kindle e-book platform.

To help me with this campaign, I have brought on two co-sponsors, both known as experts in the e-book publishing world:

Steven Lewis: Writer, journalist, creator of the Kindle Self Publishing site, and author of Kindle Formatting.

Piotr Kowalczyk: Creator of the informative blog, Password Incorrect and eBook Friendly, a site that highlights e-book authors.






Starting in June, we will highlight at least one Kindle e-book in a post each Sunday. The books will be chosen from submissions made by their authors. For one week, readers will have a chance to leave a comment on that post and at the end of the week, one commenter will be chosen at random to receive a free Kindle copy of that book.

We will also create an archive that lists each book chosen to participate in this campaign.

If you are a reader who wants to win a free Kindle book, all you have to do is wait until the campaign starts in June and then leave a comment on the posts with books you are interested in winning.

If you are an author who is looking for a little extra exposure for your Kindle book, then submit your book for inclusion in the campaign. There is no fee to enter your book. All you have to do is fill out the form on the Sunday Kindle Book Give Away official entry page. All rules for participating are given on that page.

I know that there are a lot of other great e-book formats out there and we may be expanding to other formats in later giveaways, but for now, we're celebrating the Kindle.

I'm excited about the new Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway and I hope that it helps a lot of authors and readers discover each other.

**Special thanks to Piotr Kowalczyk for creating the awesome logo for our Sunday Giveaway.



 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Resource Of The Week: Paint.Net

Today's resource of the week is Paint.Net. If you have Windows, you're probably familiar with the program that Microsft ships with Windows called "Paint." Paint is a minimal image editor that's so limited, it's a stretch to call it useful. Enter, Paint.Net.

Paint.Net was started by college student Rick Brewster as a free image editor that would greatly expand the usefulness of Paint as a replacement for that limited tool. It allows you to work with layers, transparencies, gradients, and a host of other powerful tools.

It's been compared to the big dogs like Photoshop, Gimp and Paint Shop Pro. It's also been rated well by industry editors. In fact, CNET gave it a 5 star rating. Personally, Paint.Net has been the default image editor I now use. Its interface is user friendly and its support community is robust. You can find easy to use tutorials and for the price--free--it's worth the download.

Paint.Net is an image editor that you can't go wrong with. In fact, every screenshot that you've seen me use lately has been created and edited with Paint.Net.


**In-House Announcement: Since dropping my price for the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests: With Videos to $0.99, it's started to climb in the Amazon rankings. Yesterday, it hit a high, moving to #4 on the Amazon's Bestselling Web Marketing list and to #6 on Amazon's Bestselling E-commerce list. Thanks for all your support!


Last 4 Resources Of The Week
MobiPocket Ebook Creator
YouTube's Creator's Corner
Wikimedia Commons
Twitter Bookmarklet III




 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Book Marketing Strategies And Tips Around The Net: May 20th

This was was a great week for book marketing posts. I read through over 150 posts to select the ones I wanted to share with you today. Remember, I have linked the author's name to their Twitter URL so you can easily find them if you want to follow them. Before we get to the posts, I have a couple of in-house announcements:

1. The Kindle version of The Samson Effect yesterday jumped in and out of the Top 10 on Amazon's Bestsellers in Men's Adventure Fiction list. Thanks to all who have helped make it a success.

2. For a limited time, I have dropped the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests: With Videos 89%, from $8.99 to $0.99. This book is packed with book marketing lessons, so pick up your copy before this sale is over.


Now, on to our trip around the net...

1. Mark Coker of Smashwords at BAIPA: Indie Revolution in Full Swing- Joel Friedlander summarizes Mark Coker's speech with a lot of tips for authors.

2. Kindle Sales And Pricing With Kindle Nation Daily's Steven Windwalker- Joanna Penn interviews Steven Windwalker in a fascinating and informative podcast packed with advice for Kindle authors.

3. The 10 Terrible Truths of Book Marketing- Dana Lynn Smith invites Terry Cordingley to shoot straight with some book marketing truths that every authors needs to hear.

4. Book Review Controversies: Jim Cox and Carolyn Exchange Views- Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares a fascinating communication exchange between a veteran editor and a new author.

5. Why You Won't Succeed- Joe Konrath shares his no-nonsense advice for authors who want to succeed in the publishing world.

6. Book design and the business of self-publishing with Joel Friedlander- Steven Lewis interviews Joel Friedlander in a podcast that delivers excellent advice to authors.

7. Craft an Exceptional Elevator Pitch- Penny Sansevieri delivers a clinic in this post on crafting an elevator pitch.

8. 7 Essentials of Online Marketing Success for Authors – Part 7: Synergy- Roger C. Parker walks you through the process of letting your book's content fuel your marketing activities.

9. Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: Killing a Career- Dean Wesley Smith taps his years of publishing experience to address another myth that authors will often hear.

10. Making Excuses for Not Effectively Using Social Media- Phyllis Zimbler Miller shares an experience with someone who made excuses instead of making changes.

11. New WordPress iOS for iPhone and iPad Review and Tutorial- MaAnna Stephenson shares a new update for iPhone/iPad that makes it much easier for bloggers to update Wordpress via their mobile device.

12. 7 social media marketing mistakes made by authors (and others)- Sue Collier shares some mistakes that authors need to be aware of when they create social media marketing plans.

13. Thoughts on a Book Festival- L. Diane Wolfe gives you a rundown on the recent SC Book Festival in Columbia, SC.

14. Author Blogging and Reader Engagement- BookBuzzr invites Joel Friedlander to share his advice on how bloggers can maximize relationships with their readers.

15. Things to Consider When You Redesign a Blog- Piotr Kowalczyk provides a must-read post for anyone looking to redesign their blog.

16. 8 Things Readers Want From Self-Published Authors- Jane Friedman pulls comments from her blog to compile a list of what readers are looking for in a self-published author.

17. 10 Actions You Can Take to Improve Your Proofreading- Nick Daws invites Randall Davidson to share advice on how to increase your book editing skills.

18. 5 Tornado Ingredients that'll Ensure Your Next Post Turns Viral- Darren Rowse invites Martyn Chamberlin to share advice on helping your next post go viral.

19. 301 Redirects Lose Google Juice, Pagerank [Confirmed]- Quick Online Tips shares some interesting news about how 301 redirects will affect your Google page rank by going straight to the source.

20. Literary Agencies as Publishers: An Accelerating Trend- Victoria Strauss shares some information that all authors need to be aware of.

21. Amazon CEO: State tax demands violate Constitution- Steve Weber discusses Amazon's stance on collecting state sales taxes.

22. My Top 10 Social Media Sites- Larry Brauner shares his top social media sites and tells you why he likes them.

23. How to Prevent Blah Blah Blogging- Chris Antoni gives you some advice on how to keep the boring blogging away from your blog.

Well, that's it for this week's trip around the net. I'll see you tomorrow with another great Resource Of The Week.


Last 4 Tips Around The Net:
May 15th
May 6th
April 30th
April 15th



 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Three Layers of Book Promotion By Maria Zannini

Today, we have a returning guest to the blog who will share her book promotion tips. Maria Zannini is an author and a blogger. Today, Maria will talk about the three levels of book promotion.

Before we get to Maria's post, I have one exciting in-house announcement. For a limited time, I just dropped the Kindle version of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests by 89% from $8.99 to $0.99. I have uploaded all the instructional videos that are embedded in the PDF version and linked them in the Kindle version. This video e-book will teach you book marketing strategies that go far beyond conducting Twitter contests. When the PDF launched, it sold well at $47. You get the exact same videos and e-book right now on the Kindle for $0.99, so check it out today.

Now, on to Maria's post...


Three Layers of Book Promotion
By Maria Zannini


When it comes to marketing your book or brand, each venue can be neatly categorized between two camps: Passive and Proactive marketing.

Passive Promotion
Probably the easiest of all marketing, passive promotion is anything that you set up once and becomes self-perpetuating. Email signatures with a link to your book title or blog is an example of passive promotion. Once you've set up your signature to advertise your book, brand or blog, you don't need to do anything else. It follows you wherever you correspond.

Other options that you can set and forget:

• mailing labels, stamps, and business cards
  
• swag
  
• book trailers
  
• print or online advertising
  

Proactive Promotion Here is your chance to shine. Proactive promotion requires consistent and sometimes cumulative effort on your part. The most obvious example is Twitter, where you are regularly putting yourself out there and interacting with others. Other options that allow you to interact:

• blogging
  
• Facebook
  
• online forums
  
• book signings
  

Lateral Promotion There is a third option that I like to call 'lateral promotion'. Lateral promotion is any activity that doesn't actively promote your brand or book, but does promote you in subliminal ways. My favorite way to promote laterally is to volunteer at literary events, conferences, or at another author's book signing or speaking engagement. Volunteering strengthens your recognition to a larger audience and is a wonderful setting to chat or network. Best of all, you're helping out your peers while creating good Karma. Other options that put you on reader radar:

• commenting on blogs, forums, and Facebook, or responding to other people's tweets
  
• writing articles (Bylines, regardless of genre or topic increase your visibility.)
  
• linking to other posts, articles and authors (This is a BIGGIE. The more you link, the higher your search engine rating. And it's so incredibly easy.)
  

It's overwhelming to plan a promotional campaign. The trick is not to do it all. Line up the vehicles best suited to your personality and throw yourself into those few. Make a list of all the options you can think of that cover passive, proactive and lateral promotion and pick out two or three from each group.

In the end, remember that you're not selling a product. You're building relationships with future readers.

--------
Maria Zannini used to save the world from bad advertising, but now she spends her time wrangling chickens, and fighting for a piece of the bed against dogs of epic proportions. Occasionally, she writes novels.

Blurb for APOCALYPSE RISING: The only place to hide was in the past. Leda and Grey have one chance to escape a madman and that's through a portal to a time before the apocalypse. But nothing has prepared them for 21st century culture, and every misstep draws them closer to the End Times. The world is teetering on extinction, and they may very well be the cause of it.

Apocalypse Rising is the sequel to Touch Of Fire. I hope you'll try them both.

















Related Posts
Conference Checklist- Maria Zannini
The Most Crucial Step To Effective Book Marketing
When Should You Stop Marketing Your Book?
Do-It-Yourself Marketing by Jerry B. Jenkins





 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

The 11 "To Do's" That Turned My Potential Snooze-Fest Non-Fiction into an Award-Nominated Book! By Wendi Pomerance Brick

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our guest author today, Wendi Pomerance Brick. Wendi is an author that I met through old-fashioned networking. While speaking to people in my local Texas Starbucks about my book, one of the women told me that her aunt in California was an author who was being asked to speak all over about her book. A little research led me to Wendi.

Today, Wendi will walk us through the secret to her award-winning success and give us tips that she used to breathe life into her book. This is an exciting success story and I'm grateful that Wendi is sharing it with us today. It shows us that there are so many paths to success for authors.

The 11 "To Do's" That Turned My Potential Snooze-Fest Non-Fiction into an Award-Nominated Book!
ByWendi Pomerance Brick

Writing a book is certainly a labor of love, emphasis on labor. Not in a bad way, it was just more labor intensive, and took a lot longer, than I thought it would.

Writing a non-fiction book about providing great customer service in government had the potential to be quite a snooze-fest, so here's what I did to make it fun and valuable for the readers. It must have worked because it's selling like hot cakes on Amazon and was also nominated for Best Non-Fiction Book 2011 by the San Diego Book Awards!

Let me first clarify that I went the "self-publishing" route. I put that in quotes because I didn't really self-publish, I only self printed. I had a lot of help getting from a draft manuscript to a finished product. Here's the journey that worked for me.

To complete the draft manuscript and to get past my writer's block, I digitally recorded a bunch of my workshops, presentations and seminars. That was a huge help in filling up the blank pages. I mistakenly thought that creating the manuscript was basically the end of my journey. Well, add another 6 months to your timeline, give or take, once you have the manuscript finished. Here's the rest of the story...

1. Hire a structural layout person. This could be someone who advertises as a ghost writer. Interview several people and pick one that you feel a connection with. They really need to "get you" or this step won't work as well.

Once you write the book, send them the manuscript for "readability" review and engagement of reader. This person can also help with the marketing hooks and phrases that could pull the readers in and make them want to keep reading. All the ideas are yours but this person helps smooth out transitions and flow, identifies what could be elaborated on, and what should be removed all together.

2. Hire a copy editor. I'm no English major. This is the person that does a grammar and punctuation check, the style guide (which is very important for visual consistency) and checks to make sure everything is correct before printing. This was my source of greatest frustration. I did this part three times with 2 different people before it was correct, so keep in mind you may need more than one person.

3. Engage a graphic artist. My artist was also my publisher. She not only designed a stunning front and back cover (at least I think it is stunning) but also did all of the layout design internally.

4. Engage someone to lay out the book so it can be uploaded to print. In my case, this was my graphic artist described above. This person creates all the internal copyright pages, pull quotes, fonts and formats, etc.

5. ISBN number for your book. It's imperative to have this ISBN number and very easy to purchase on line. You'll need this before your artist can finish the internal copyrights page and the back cover art.

6. Get your endorsements. There are templates on line for sending endorsement requests. Often the person would like to see the preface, first couple of chapters, or even the whole book as a .pdf before giving you the endorsement. Ask a lot of people! Everyone will not respond to your request. I sent out requests to about 20 people and received 6 awesome quotes.

7. Determine a price. This was a combination of art and science. Start by research look for books of similar size and length. There is no set formula on this.

8. Ensure your title is unique. More research. There doesn't seem to be a central library of all titles. I used Amazon.

9. Find a high quality reliable book printer. This is where you will upload the book and they will ship you the finished product. Do a proof run to make sure the book is the quality you expect before you order 500 of them.

10. Marketing is completely up to you!! Put together a marketing plan relying heavily on your networks. If you have the money, you may want to hire a professional PR firm to help you with press releases, media exposure and identifying potential market contacts. Make marketing your book part of your everyday activities.

11. Sales- how are you going to sell it? This seems like an easy question, but it's not that straightforward. First, you need to get a permit, at least in California, and here it's a Resellers permit from the State Board of Equalization. You will owe taxes on the sales at different tax rates depending on where the buyer is from, so you'll need a way to track all that. Once a year, you'll be expected to send someone a sales tax check. Along with this, you'll have to set up system to track inventory and sales. I have all of this set up in my QuickBooks software.

Speaking of sales, you'll have to decide if you need a merchant account. Will you accept/process credit cards on your own? I personally only take checks or cash at trade shows/seminars, and use Amazon.com for credit card sales. There are pros and cons to using Amazon, so you'll have to see what works best for you. I'm also aware that there are apps and new attachments for your smart phone that will enable you to process credit cards in the field, but I haven't personally done this yet.

I sincerely hope this information is helpful to you in your pursuit of being a published author! It's been a great experience for me, and I'm sure the second book will be a lot smoother. Yes, after all of this, there will be a second book. Go do great things!

--------

Wendi Pomerance Brick, Author
President and CEO
Customer Service Advantage, Inc.

Wendi has 14 years of experience developing and implementing customer service improvement programs, including training and facilitation, surveys, process improvements, performance measures, rewards programs, and technology updates.

In 1998, Wendi was named as the County of San Diego's first Customer Service Manager. Her programs were used as models around the United States and were awarded two NACo (National Association of Counties) Achievement Awards. In 2003, Wendi was a Finalist in the San Diego Business Journal's annual "Women Who Mean Business." Wendi was asked to join the Executive Team at the City of San Diego in 2006, and was appointed Director of the Department of Customer Services.

Wendi is now the President and CEO of Customer Service Advantage, Inc. CSA provides customer service consulting and training services to businesses, non-profits, educational institutions and government agencies. The CSA approach is based on a unique "Six Essential ElementsTM" model for establishing a customer-focused culture. Her new book The Science of Service: Six Essential Elements for Creating a Culture of Service in the Public Sector was released in December 2010 and is available at www.TheScienceOfService.info.


For a complete Curriculum Vita, see www.LinkedIn.com/in/wendibrick.

Member Organizations:
• Escondido Chamber of Commerce
• Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
• San Diego North Economic Development Council
• South County Economic Development Council
• American Society for Training and Development
• Municipal Managers Association of Southern California

Customer Service Advantage, Inc.
760.445.6550
www.theCSAedge.com



















 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.

Review: A Self-Publisher's Companion by Joel Friedlander

It's been a while since I did a product review or a book review on this blog, and few books are better to break that drought with than Joel Friedlander's A Self-Publisher's Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish from TheBookDesigner.com. I  recently found Joel's blog, The Book Designer, and it has been a daily read for me, and I highly recommend it to you. So when I read that Joel had come out with a new book on self-publishing, I headed over to Amazon to check it out. What I found was a strong resource that I highly recommend to authors.

Joel writes this book from the experience of an author who pioneered the early days of self-publishing. Having been brought up in his father's print shop, he took those skills and self-published before people even knew what self-publishing was. From then, he honed his skills and truly became a pioneer in what is now refereed to by many as the golden age of publishing. You may find a lot of gurus out there who can help you self publish your book, but you'll be hard-pressed to find someone with the depth of experince that you'll find in Joel.

That's what makes A Self-Publisher's Companion such a powerful resource for authors. It's backed by decades of experience that shows you what works, what doesn't work, and why things work. For the author who doesn't understand anything about publishing, Joel takes you by the hand and brings you up to speed on where the publishing industry is and where you fit into it. In doing this, he demystifies the process and gives you the tools you'll need to make informed decisions when it comes to self-publishing your book.

His book does a masterful balancing act between giving authors encouragement while still painting a realistic view of what's in store for someone who decides to publish their book themselves. It's packed full of resources and tips that will make this a resource you'll want to keep within arms-reach as you start your self-publishing journey.

When I did the Amazon review for this book (5 Stars without question), I made the point that it's written in a way where you can read it cover-to-cover or you can use the table-of-contents to jump right to the point that addresses your specific area of need. That makes it both an educational work and a reference work at the same time. By the time you are ready to put this book down, you'll know the course you'll need to chart to successfully publish your book yourself.

Here is a taste of what you will learn in this book:

- Book Design Tips
- Cover Design Tips
- Self-Publishing Paths Authors Can Take
- Common Mistakes To Watch Out For
- Using Social Media
- Publishing E-Books
- Marketing Your Book

This list hardly covers everything in the book. And Joel has made this book available in print form and as an e-book, so picking up your copy is easy and convenient, no matter the format you read. If you're like me, you'll find yourself referring back to this book over and over. Without question, if your book budget is limited, this is one resource you'll want to put at the top of your buy list.























 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.