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Book Marketing and Publishing Tips for Authors–

eZine Issue #58 February 13, 2019
Publisher: Judith Briles

Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors

In This Issue
      
1.   It’s Author Beware Time! … spam business radio lures

2.   March First Saturday meetings … cool tips, tricks and tools on and offline PLUS an all-day mini Extravaganza on Marketing

3.   Speaking Unplugged is in March … do you want to soar your book sales?

4.   Nifty Gizmo's and Gadgets

5.   Webinars Scheduled … February and March

6.   Hot podcasts for February … 4 to put on your calendar (always archived)

7.   Question of the Week … Best month to publish

8.   Book Shepherd "Fun" of the Week … Bugs and guilty dogs, oh my!

This Week Under The Book Shepherd’s Roof:
Hello and Good Publishing Day to YOU.

It’s that week … the one that comes once a year … and today is the "big" day. Birthday time. This year, I kicked off Monday with a free ebook all day of How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech … and a Kindle countdown—starting Monday at 99 cents and increasing $1 each day throughout the week. Today, it’s still at half price … Of course, if you buy the print book (which I think is a must do), I’ve set it that you can get the ebook for free. AND … drum roll … all monies received will be sent to buy medical supplies in Puerto Rico. Support it … it’s a very, VERY, good thing to do.

My eldest daughter and I share the birthday week. Her’s is in a few days. I’ve always told my kids and grandkids to turn in their "birthday menus" and I will do the family dinner/brunch thing for them. Birthday kid’s choice. Each is always unique. When my grandson Frankie was eight—his choice was a rack of lamb, twice-backed potatoes, peas … and pie. Alrighty—that’s what he got. And to this day … it’s his perennial request. For Shelley, she said, "I want comfort this year. Make your gooey, gooey mac and cheese … oh, and how about your enchiladas … and Mom, wait, let’s add those scalloped potatoes that you do … I’ll take them at home! Wait … triple whatever you are making … we all want to take food home with us." Hmm, meals for nine coming up! Think I better add a salad.

It’s freakin’ cold here in Colorado—single digits in the night and early morning hours. Over the weekend, I walked the yard to see how the trees and shrubs were doing. Spring starts its "official" transition in a month and I noted that little nubs were everywhere. When the first blush of green begins to unfold, it is always a thrill for me—I can hardly wait. Longer sunshine … and of course, warmth!

Tic Tock … the March Speaking Unplugged is coming … are you joining me? That is, if you want to sell truckloads of books. I’m going to be giving a full Book Review strategy gameplan with book reviewers contact names to one lucky attendee—value is $400. Details below.

And, how was your week and what are you planning as you go forward?

 
JOIN the new AuthorYOU …

If you didn’t it’s a publishing boo-boo. Feedback from Saturday’s in-person gathering was excellent. Several first-timers joined immediately.

The online NO PITCH one-hour only webinar that focused on new strategies for the New Year yesterday got "fantastic" feedback. And wait ‘til you see the bundle of goodies and discounts we are starting to post on the website for Members only. All will be up before the end of the month. Yup, it’s a good idea. Not a paid-up member?

JOIN AuthorYOU today. https://mp.gg/e9d1o

And a heads up—hold the FIRST Saturday of each month for our live event meetings—

March will be a Mini-one-day Extravaganza with a focus on all things Book Marketing. Coloradans, get registered NOW –The date is March 2 … location is the Koelbel Library in the Metro Denver area. Early Bird registration end on February 25th. Cost is $77 for AuthorYOU members and $97 for nonmembers. DON’T miss this—get REGISTERED NOW!

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It’s Author Beware Time!
Everyone is buzzing about getting on the radio and podcasts. Your email is opened … and happy day. There’s one that is all about featuring YOU on a business radio show. Out of the blue … how did they find you? Usually, the emails are from a New York or Florida contact that is shouting out about your expertise with a question: When can you be interviewed for "(somebody’s show/name) Business Radio"? They will provide you with an audio/video of your interview for your marketing. Sometimes, it’s free. Often, there is a fee. You set the date, answer some questions for the "celebrity" interviewer.

Okay, there’s a "wait – wait, there’s more" clause. Following your brief interview (sometimes very brief), you receive a call that you scored HIGH on their listener reaction scale, 9+ out of 10, and listeners want to hear more. The host couldn’t take the onslaught of listener questions because you were so interesting and amazing.

It gets better. The pitch is coming. "You are so good … such a natural, you should have your own show. If you do not already have a corporate sponsor that will pay for the air time, they will find one for you AND pick up the production fees for only $XXXX. Or, you can simply schedule a little one for only $XXX.

Don’t bite. Instead, ask yourself, How often do you and your readers or clients listen to business radio?

My advice … do the show and if you are stellar—share it in your social media profiles. You may want to post on your website. But, Do … Not … Buy!


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Register for the March Saturday’s program … that is if you want to be seriously successful … it’s all about Book Marketing—social media, book launch, book add-ons for promotion. Early Bird ends TODAY. Be there and save $20.

March is a Mini AuthorYOU Extravaganza … it’s a Book and Author Marketing Intensive You’ll learn the latest in book marketing tactics from a team of marketing experts, led by Judith Briles. Learn how to grow your subscriber list, grow your readership, gain publicity, and boost your online book sales.

You’ll also be able to network with other authors; meet with author service providers and publishing experts and get answers to any of your questions.

  Social Media Campaigns
  Author Tips for Creating Book Promos
  Website Must Haves
  Kick Start Marketing Tips
  Marketing for Children’s Books


Details are posted on the website now. Get registered.

Where: Koelbel Library - 5955 S Holly St, Littleton, CO  80121

Time: 9.15 AM to 4 PM

Cost: $77 for members; $117 for non-members

Register for the event at AuthorYOU.org/Events

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Join me for
Speaking Unplugged

Twice a year, up to 30 authors join me to take their publishing careers to the next-next level of success over two days. The #1 way to sell truckloads of books is through speaking. Will you be one of them. The March dates are the 22nd and 23rd here in Denver. Be there … that is if you want to be seriously successful. Details and registration below.

REGISTER: http://bit.ly/JBSpeakingUnplugged2019

And, stay at the Hilton Inverness Hotel—it’s a lovely hotel and I got rates down to $99. PLUS … here’s the bonus … one of the attendees will win a $400 Book review program that includes all the contacts to send requests to.

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Author Tools
I love gizmos and gadgets and discovering new tools for we authors. Here’s two for this week:
You are writing a blog … the question is: are you doing a "push out" using social media?
Discover Missinglettr … it creates social media campaigns out of your blog posts. Sounds good to me! There is a monthly fee … but wait, get the 30-day free trial to do a test run.  https://missinglettr.com  

Split-test tool Using Polls

Discover an excellent independent resource that provides unbiased, real-time feedback using polls to test book covers, titles, product names, logos—just about anything you are noodling on. It’s an extraordinary tool for authors and e-commerce sellers that provides feedback in minutes. There is a cost.  https://www.pickfu.com/

5 Webinars to come …
There has been a huge demand for the repeat of the excellent webinar we did with Dr. Jaclyn Kostner on Eye-Popping PowerPoints. It will happen on March 5th. Meanwhile, if you are a member of AuthorYOU, the second Tuesday of each month is reserved for you for an exclusive members-only benefit webinar on February 12th at 4 p.m. Mountain time. The topic will be on how to Grab Your First $500 Gig—it’s Ask Judith. Details will be mailed to the AuthorYOU community in a separate email to register.
Why Speaking at Fundraisers Can Soar Your Book Sales
Join us for a webinar on February 21st

Master entrepreneur, author, and speaker Tom Antion have personally spoken at fundraisers over 100 times in his career and each time, it's been a win/win/win for him, the group he did it for, and the audience members who attended. How can you beat that?

It's also the number one way that speakers can earn a consistent income in any economy.

Watch this webinar led by Tom Antion and learn how to:

...Use Fundraisers to get tons of publicity . . . meet high power producers, hosts, writers, and journalists who will welcome the chance to work with you.

...Get powerful testimonials you could never access in any other way . . . these will be your main tool for people to start calling you to do fundraisers for their group.

...Network with influential people that love to attend fundraisers. . . Many people you would like to reach won't come out for anything . . . but they will come out for fundraisers.

... Structure deals so that both you and the group make money . . . In fact, in most cases, you will make more than the group and if you do it as I tell you, they won't mind a bit.

...Save people from rotting their teeth out... .WHAT... I'm serious and you'll see what I mean on the webinar.

... Structure and monitor the agreement so you get the biggest attendance possible . . . you don't want only three people showing up and if you aren't careful, it could happen that way.

… Avoid disasters that could ruin the entire event . . .
unexpected costs could eat up the money . . . don't let that happen to you.

...How to find meeting space with awesome AV equipment with ZERO costs . . . almost every community has gorgeous meeting space available on a complimentary basis. He will show you where to find it.


It's happening on THURSDAY, February 21 at 6 Eastern, 4 Mountain. Register--you will also get the replay.  Join in if you would like to make money and support a fundraiser at the same time. 

REGISTER: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1473007328197051395

Graphics Secrets to Create Eye-Popping PowerPoint Slides

Join us for a webinar on March 5, 2019, at 4:00 PM MST

Back by demand, get ready to soar your presentation success: in person and online...

You will learn:
How to transform boring slides into amazing graphics displays guaranteed to WOW your audience!

REGISTER: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4525274696563103747

Are your slides boring? Are they putting your audience to sleep? Do they fail to drive the book sales, consulting, repeat bookings, and follow-on business?

Speakers! Trainers! Consultants! Entrepreneurs! Marketers! Exciting PowerPoint slides are vital to your success. PowerPoint isn’t just for presentations and training in face-to-face settings. Today, our slides also take center stage in webinars, eLearning videos, blogs, podcasts, website videos, YouTube videos, marketing teasers, and more. Are your PowerPoint slides compelling enough to drive the engagement and business results you seek?

Great-looking slides make you look good, your content more interesting, and your presentation more exciting and successful. Even if you have no graphics training or talent, you don’t need to hire a professional designer to make your slides look dramatically better. You only need to learn how to add Brain Appeal—the art and science of how to create eye-popping content.

Join PowerPoint magician, Dr. Jaclyn Kostner, to learn how to catapult your slide engagement into the 21st Century. It is so easy to make your content look fabulous—when you learn these simple secrets. She is going to show you how to create…

• Slides that your audience enjoys looking at
• Slides that get your point across in stunning ways
• Slides that are 21st Century … not yesteryear’s newsprint quality

Get ready for the webinar:

Graphics Secrets to Create Eye-Popping PowerPoint Slides!
Tuesday, March 5th 4 PM Mountain Time

It will only go for one hour, including questions. Short. To the point. Effective.

REGISTER:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4525274696563103747

Your presenter is Dr. Jaclyn Kostner, a webinar engagement expert. She’s a best-selling business author with 20+ years of

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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Hot podcasts slated for February
· Book Proposals Are Hot with Mike Larsen
·  IngramSpark Update with Robin Cutler

· Book Reviews and Indie Publishing with Victoria Sutherland
· Website Moxie with Michelle Renee

 
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Questions of the Week:


Question: I’m Is there a better month to release/publish my book?

Answer: It depends. Whoa … that depends. What’s the genre? Do you have your marketing infrastructure in place? I would start there. If you don’t, hold off until you can support it via social media and your email lists. Then … look at the genre—business books often roll out in January and September. Big novels—fall to tap into Christmas buying. Beach reads … well, hello May through August. Women—April and May for Mother’s Day are big … ditto for May-June for Father’s Day. Then look at specialty dates/themes. Kids roll out all your round. Financial books are big at the first of the year, as are nutrition and diet books. I would suggest you take a trip to your local bookstore and do the "ask" …

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Book Shepherd "Fun" or an "Uh-Oh" of the Week

Love it when I find a fun shorty—a quick smile, a laugh out loud, a sip of tea … and back to work—perfect. The kitties know all about Valentine’s Day and affection.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtTxhfDuZc



Get your copy today – Available in Print, eBook, Audiobook  http://bit.ly/1000000speech

I Love giving away free stuff to—if you've never bought an audiobook via Amazon—my newest book is free to you NOW-grab it with this special link for anyone who hasn’t subscribed to Audible via Amazon HERE: http://bit.ly/FREESpeechAudio

wait, Wait, WAIT—there’s more: grab your bonuses by emailing Judith@Briles.com a copy of your receipt after you invest for your speaking success when you purchase my print book, eBook or audiobook.

Buy one book and get:

#1 the Word document of my Speaking Contract/Agreement featured in Chapter 14

#2 the pdf or eBook of How to Avoid 101 Book Publishing Blunders, Bloopers & Boo-Boos

Buy 10 books and get:

#1, #2, and #3: one hour of my consulting time (value $475) when you purchase 10 print copies  (1 for you; 9 for gifts or giveaways)

Join me on MONDAYS at Noon Mountain Time for Facebook Live with Live at Noon with Judith Briles – The Book Shepherd. For me, it’s a shorty—always less than 30 minutes. Grab an early lunch (or a late one) and get the latest in publishing tips, author strategies, and book marketing goosing ideas. Most times, it will be just me. Sometimes, I will have a guest—someone within my team of publishing pros that I work with and refer my clients to.

Here's how to join in: you will find it on the Judith Briles - Publishing with The Book Shepherd group or on my Time Line—I never know where it will land. If it’s within the Publishing with The Book Shepherd group ... it's a "closed group" meaning that you have to join it to participate.

JOIN here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookPublishingHelp/.
I’ll post an announcement on various Facebook pages in the early AM and then again 30 minutes before we start.

You can pick my brain … minimum time is 30 minutes. If you need one-on-one-time with me, I’m always open for a few minutes to give you some quick input. But, and it’s a BIG BUT, many call and expect far more than a few minutes.



This is called a "consult" and I would be delighted to schedule time with you for "just you and your many questions" that need answers. You can book time with me it at: https://thebookshepherd.com/pick-judiths-brain


Author Friendly Friday this week …

Join Author Friendly Fridays: a fun, sharing and a dynamic closed group. You can join in the next week. It’s a full hour when you can ask questions—any question. And, I always include a few strategies to get your authoring life ahead of the competition.

It’s for paid subscribers ONLY and we do it on Zoom.



This is how each call starts: I share a few strategies, tips and tools that attendees can immediately start to use. All share … and ask plenty of questions. They get answers. Definitely an excellent way to start a Friday. Those of you who aren’t participating, you are making a mistake. I love the variety of books and authors who have chosen to participate. What’s also fun, is the energy that can be felt with what everyone is working on. Love it!

Here’s the link to take advantage of it and subscribe: https://thebookshepherd.com/product/author-friendly-fridays-subscription  



Podcast expands to 7 networks … Follow us and learn … new shows every Thursday.

Here’s the master link for iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/author-u-your-guide-to-book/id493527713?mt=2&ign-Jampt=uo%3D4

And, if you have listened, support our podcast and post a review. Thank you!

The AuthorYOU – Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast is now heard on SEVEN podcast channels. How cool is that? Listeners can tune into the weekly (always new – no repeats) show on:


Get the latest #AuthorU-Your Guide to #Book #Publishing radio podcast with @MyBookShepherd via iTunes here:   http://bit.ly/PublishingPodcast


That’s my author and publishing news for today … what’s yours?
About Judith Briles, The Book Shepherd

Book Publishing expert Judith Briles, aka The Book Shepherd
has shepherded more than 1,000 authors and created 500 best-sellers and award-winning books. She knows publishing inside and out from both the traditional and independent sides. Judith is an advocate for authors within her blogs, podcasts and speaking engagements. What’s her pet peeve? Two words: publishing predators.

She hosts the podcast AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing that generates over 100,000 downloads a month. Her website is www.TheBookShepherd, email: JudithBriles.com and phone: 303-885-2207.

The Book Shepherd
 
 
 
 


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