Book Marketing and Publishing Tips for Authors

Newsletter Issue #460– October 28, 2026
Publisher: Judith Briles

Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors

I create books authors never have to apologize for …

In this Issue

1. Use and Take Advantage ... Online Contest Tools

2. Discover and Get ... LAST CHANCE through Friday Midnight  Stratira, the Ultimate Marketing Tool - Only 3 Days Left

3. Join Me this Saturday at the Heritage Eagle Golf Club Craft Show … October 31 Saturday

4. ASK Judith ... Friday November 20 on Zoom

5. Join in Author Gathering ... November 21 Online

6. Author Holiday Party ... It’s LUNCH Time on December 6th! In-Person

7. Want to Claim #1 on Amazon? ... November Workshop Sold - February is Open to Register!

8. New Unplugged ... How to Soar Your Book Marketing

9. Hot Podcasts for October ... Smart Authors for Successful Authors

10. Question of the Week ... How Do I Become a Better Writer?

11. Smile Time ... "You’ve Got a Friend"

This Week Under The Book Shepherd’s ® Roof

Hello and Good Publishing Day to YOU …

Happy almost Halloween to all of you. My newsletter has multiple treats within it ... no tricks!

One thing I encourage all authors is to get their details paged on Amazon goosed up. Think bewitching this week to increase your Amazon sales.. Do it with adding by adding Amazon A+ content. The Stratira tool is the door to create it EASY PEASY. It alone is worth the super-duper discount price only available until Friday. Details below.

A+ Content allows you to give readers more information through eye-catching images, text, and comparison tables that you add to your Amazon detail page.

Last week, I looked out my office windows and saw the Indian summer weather I loved. My trees were full, hinting of the changing weather that was teasing. Before the weekend ended, the maples leading into my driveway were dressed in red. This week, one is already naked of leaves, while the other is showing off its red leaves.

My September Amazon Bestseller participants are rolling out their books. Last week Kathleen Flanagan’s Awakened hit its goal of being #1 over four day on Amazon plus #2 in multiple categories. Ellen Naylor and Marian will be stepping up this month to earn theirs.

NOTE … the next Amazon Bestseller workshop opens in February and is available to register for. The Amazon Bestseller workshops are selling out two to three weeks before their start dates. If you are interested, note the dates on your calendar February 3, 10, 17, 24 and make the commitment. The November class starts next week. I’m doing some test runs this week on Brian Barnes and my book, The Secret Hamlet. 

I’m starting to noodle my all new book marketing intensive:

How to Soar Book Marketing  
Create. Execute. Succeed.  

The date is Friday, February 12th … details below.

Apps we will be using include BookBrush and Stratira—live. I will also have one of my VAs live to show you some nifty behind the scenes tips on both platforms. If there is any chance that you want to participate in the How to Soar Book Marketing … make sure you grab the super discounted Stratira before the 30th. Details below.

Get registered for the November 21^st Author Gathering ONLINE Zoom meeting.</> Details below. Identify that you “are coming” … and make sure copy the link for the Zoom gathering. 

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/93931497233pwd=GPjy72qizD0mDsSlyFJb8wfq8A5bzx.1

Passcode: AU

Heads up for anyone, November Amazon Bestseller workshop is SOLD OUT. You need to wait till February ... we are oversold. Next series will be in February 3rd. 

If this is for you, get signed up. Details are on TheBookShepherd.com website under Events. Space is always limited so that I can do one-on-one coaching as well as group within each session. Over four weeks, you will be ready to set up your Amazon Bestseller campaign and claim it for your marketing forward. Strongly encourage you to get registered for the February round … that is if you want an Amazon Bestseller … and block the four Wednesday afternoons from 4-5:30 pm MT to work with me.

October is my Foodie Rejoice Month throughout the month. Throughout the month, I will share fun quotes from well known foodie lovers.

Last week's blog focuses on the different ways authors can sell their books and reach more readers. Author Portals for Selling Books.

This week's focus  on dashes … when to use the them and which ones. 

In Writing, Are You Confused with eM Dashes, eN Dashes and Hyphens? 

Make sure you take a few moments to read.  

Listen in at: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast or via
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJudithBrilesTheBookShepherd

Have you ever explored the network website where I store all my podcasts? … Holy Moly … over 22 million downloads now of various podcasts since the podcast started six years ago.

You can select which podcast is for you from over 600 shows … the latest will always be posted on top of the podcast home page: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast ... it goes directly to the Show Page, where you can view all podcasts at once—just scroll … you’ve got a lot to pick from to expand your learning and how to curve.

1. October 29 Podcast … Book Design Planning and Costs … Nick Zelinger

2. November 4, 11, 18, 25 Amazon Bestseller Workshop … Zoom

3. November 5 Podcast … Crowdfunding

4. November 7 B&N, Ft Colins … Book Fair

5. November 12 Podcast … How to Sell More Books When You Hate to Sell Part 1

6. November 14 B&N, Colorado Blvd in Glendale … Book Fair

7. November 15 B&N, Denver West in Lakewood … Book Fair

8. November 19 Podcast … How to Sell More Books When You Hate to Sell Part 2

9. November 21 Author Gathering … Online

10. November 26 Podcast … Author Gratefulness

11. December 6 Author Holiday Lunch Party

12. December 11 Early Bird Ends for How to Soar Your Book Marketing

13. December 13 B&N, Denver West in Lakewood

1. Discover and Use … Online Contest Tools

Creating a contests is an ideal way to attract more leads … and email addresses. Here are three tools that create portals to execute a contest using social media. 

KingSumo Giveaways Create a contest and grow your audience through viral giveaways with KingSumo! Giveaway contestants can sign up using either their email address or Google account. They can then share giveaways with friends for bonus entries, which increases visibility for your brand. https://kingsumo.com

Wishpond allows you to easily create your offer on mobile and computer devices. You have several templates, graphics, and opt-in box options. https://www.wishpond.com/v2/social-promotions

Woobox identifies a variety of options and suggestions to choose from including hashtag contests, giveaways, coupons, polls, and more for your social media platforms. https://woobox.com/

2. Discover … LAST CHANCE through Friday Midnight  Stratira, the Ultimate Marketing Tool!

The short version is that you upload your book and about four minutes later you are looking at an entire marketing campaign built around it. Not suggestions, and not a list of ideas you still have to execute but finished work you can publish the same afternoon. Here is some of what you get.

1. The book-to-marketing machine
You upload your manuscript, you wait about four minutes, and what comes back is a complete promotional ecosystem built around your actual book rather than a template with your title dropped into it:

• A fully designed book webpage, ready to upload

• Scroll-stopping ad creatives and promotional graphics

• Social posts written around your characters, your world and your themes

• Email campaigns, written and sequenced

• Outreach emails for podcasts, reviewers and influencers

• Book review graphics and street team toolkits

• Blog posts built around what your readers are already searching for

It is the kind of work agencies charge $5,000 to $15,000 for, except that you do not wait six weeks for it, you do not sit through strategy calls to get it, and you do not pay again when you run your second book through it.

2. The genre authority system
Most authors think they are competing on Amazon, when in truth they are competing on Google, because everyday readers in your genre type question into a search box and land on a Reddit thread or somebody else's blog instead of on your site. 

Stratira builds the structure that puts you there instead: one flagship pillar guide of the kind that actually ranks, forty or more supporting articles underneath it, internal linking, search-optimized formatting, a publishing sequence, and a visual map of the whole thing so you can see what you are building.

3. The expansion engine

One book should never be only one product, and this is the part that turns a title into a catalogue. From the same upload it will generate companion guides, book club kits, reader magnets, behind-the-scenes exclusives, mini-courses, multi-module programs with slides and scripts and worksheets, and full eBook manuscripts with covers and structure, each one with its own promotional campaign built around it.

4. The campaign engine that does not run out
In a single session it will produce thirty, sixty or ninety days of blog posts with images, social calendars across every platform you use, email sequences and funnels, ad variations, seasonal campaigns and holiday tie-ins, all of it aligned and on brand, so that you never open a blank content calendar again.

That is the core of it. There are also a social media studio and a personal brand studio, a book cover designer, a lead magnet creator, podcast and course playbooks, Amazon A+ content in several visual styles, support for multiple languages, and the one I think matters most, writing profiles.

Writing profiles are worth a sentence of their own, because the standard complaint about every tool in this category is that everything it produces comes out sounding similar to everyone else. You set up a profile once and the output follows your voice instead of defaulting to that flat machine tone, which is the difference between content you publish and content you quietly delete.

Get Stratira for just $197 during this promotion—one payment, no subscription, but don’t wait: the price goes up at midnight on October 30th. 

See Stratira in action by clicking the link below and watching the videos covering the features. You will be impressed by what it can do.

Here’s your special link of open discount: https://bit.ly/Stratira

3. In Colorado? Join Me this Saturday at the Heritage Eagle Golf Club Craft Show … October 31 Saturday

Meet Me at the Heritage Eagle Golf Club Craft Show!

Join me on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at the Heritage Eagle Golf Club Craft Show for a special Local Authors Book Signing!

Discover books from local authors across a variety of genres, including children's books, cookbooks, fiction, historical fiction, military books, and young adult reads. Stop by, say hello, meet the authors, and find your next great read—or a perfect gift for the book lovers in your life!

See you there!

4. Ask Judith ANYTHING about Book Publishing and Book Marketing on Friday November 20 …  The Book Shepherd is YOURS in 60 Minutes!

Ask Judith ANYTHING on ZOOM this Friday … think Book Publishing and Book Marketing … The Book Shepherd is YOURS for 60 Minutes!

Judith Briles is YOURS for 60 minutes on Friday, November 20 at 3 pm MT to ask any question you have about book publishing, book marketing, writing a book … or just getting a “little juice” to start your engines after the Holiday rush from the past few weeks.

Post your questions as soon as you come on … Judith will come to you LIVE and bring you on the mic to respond to YOU and possibly ask additional questions.

It’s 60 minutes to start smoke ‘em your Author Success … and why not? Grab your favorite beverage; just listen in … or ASK, ASK, ASK! It’s time to re-juice and rekindle your author energy!

Join Zoom Meeting – click on it or copy/paste
https://zoom.us/j/95000476418?pwd=SH5vWqz0SkvVIZIgnC95lHCmCAi2km.1

Password: authors

Add to Your Calendar: Friday, November 20 at 3 MT (2 PT, 5 CT, 5 ET)

5. Join in Author Gathering Happening on Saturday 8am MT … Zoom only for Publishing and Book Marketing Answers in November 21st. Have Questions? Get Answers. And, it’s a Freebie!

ONLINE on Saturday November 21^st at 8 am … you must register to get your name on the approved list to participate. The date is delayed due to the various Book Fairs at Barnes & Noble bookstores.

Think of The Author Gathering as a combo MASTERMIND and personal Advisory Board for Aspiring and Achieving Authors. And JOIN AuthorU.org today.

Join Zoom Meeting:
Link: https://zoom.us/j/93931497233?pwd=GPjy72qizD0mDsSlyFJb8wfq8A5bzx.1
Passcode: AU

Delivered 8 months a year ONLINE for global and housebound members and 4 times IN-PERSON for those in Colorado. Registration happens on the Author Gathering Meetup site.

To register for November 21^st FREE session starting at 8.00 am MT, use this link to register for the November ONLINE Zoom sessions: https://www.meetup.com/authorgathering/

Your host is Dr. Judith Briles, The Book Shepherd and the Author Gatherings are held two ways: on ZOOM ONLINE from 8 to 9.30 am AND IN-PERSON in her home in the southeast Metro Denver area from 9 to 11.30 am. They are a benefit as a part of the paid AuthorU.org membership. A member can bring a Guest who can attend ONE Author Gathering. After that, you must be a member of AuthorYOU.org. Bring a snack to share.

Note: There must be a minimum of 5 participants (not including Judith) registered by NOON MT the day before for any session to BE A GO. If not, the session will be canceled and all members will be notified by an email announcement via Meetup.

6. Author Holiday Party ... Lunch on December 6th!

It’s LUNCH time … at our Annual Author Holiday Fest. Slated for Sunday, December 6th … come for great food, author catching up and of course the wacko gift exchange.

Date: Sunday, December 6th from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Bring: One unmarked gift per person to exchange in the off-the-wall Wacko Pick and Steal after LUNCH. If there are two in your party, bring two, please.

Location: Judith and John’s Home: 8122 S Quatar Cir, Aurora, CO 80016, USA

Cost: $25 for Singles or $40 for Duos

Gifts: We do an exchange–the Wacko Pick and Steal exchange to be exact; please keep your cost value to less than $15—hot items in the past: wine; nifty gadgets from Home Depot and Costco; sports stuff; movie tickets; goofy and quirky can be fun … as long as it isn’t an obvious reject from a past gift exchange.

Get Registered Now:

https://thebookshepherd.com/its-our-annual-ho-ho-ho-holiday-party/

7. Create an Amazon Bestseller Campaign for Your eBook Online Course in 4 weeks! ... NOV SOLD OUT

Next series in 2027 is February 3, 10, 17, 24

If you want to create this: Sign up for our next session for February 2027!

The Create an Amazon Bestseller Campaign for Your eBook Online course is the later. I will take you through each step during the four weeks.

Times: 4.00 P.M. to 5.30 P.M. MT

Cost: $299  special Alumni rates at $199

Register: https://thebookshepherd.com/create-an-amazon-bestseller

8. How to Soar Book Marketing
Create. Execute. Succeed.

In-Person | Friday, February 12 | 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Lunch and Workbook Included

Must bring: laptop (plugins available each table)
Tools to have: Stratira – get here: https://bit.ly/Stratira

Your take aways include:

• Step away from marketing resistance.

• Use advanced book marketing strategies and tools to keep your marketing mogo in action.

• Identifying and embracing your niche and to build Super Fans.

• Cross brand your social media, newsletter, and website.

• Book launching and relaunching.

• Marketing through podcasts.

• Customize your own game plan. Be your own best publicist.

• Get book reviews that domino forward.

• Tips and Tricks from Judith’s Social Media Team and the tools they use.

• Amazon+ Content

Book Marketing is not for sissies. REGISTER now for the Early Early Bird Discount for only $297 … it will raise to $450 in two months.

Early Early Bird Ends: December 11 $297
Early Bird Ends: January 22 $347
Tardy Bird Starts: January 23 $397
NO DISCOUNT Registration Starts: February 2 $450

Register here: https://thebookshepherd.com/how-to-soar-book-marketing/

9. Hot Podcasts Slated 

for October

Ranked in the Top 10 podcasts for book marketing for authors by FeedSpot.

October 1 Podcast … GoodJelly Productivity for Authors and Writers … Christine Carron

October 8  Podcast … Scams Are Multiplying … Deb Eckerling

October 15 Podcast … Book Marketing Using Unique Days … Judith Briles

October 22 Podcast … Loosing Book Buyers Lips … Ellen Naylor

October 29 Podcast … Book Design Planning and Costs … Nick Zelinger

10. Question of the Week ... How Do I Become a Better Writer?

My Answer: Two things: write … and write a lot, even if it’s gibberish. And read … read a lot. Writing “perfect” isn’t your quest … opening up and being creative is. Typos and grammar take a back seat … at least initially. You want to get into a flow. In “your space”. Reading your genre, and others, serves as a “shoulder mentor”—what phrasing pops and resonates with you? What styles are in play? I always recommend Stephen King’s book, On Writing. Get it. And do a reread at least once a year. 

11. Smile of the Week

Love it when I find a fun shorty—a quick smile, a laugh out loud, a learn something new, and a sip of tea … and back to work—perfect. 

Smile time.—Oooh, I loved this an early EARLY James Taylor and Carole King … “You’ve Got a Friend” … I think perfect for this final week in October.  James Taylor & Carole King - You've Got A Friend (BBC In Concert, 11/13/71) - YouTube

Enjoy a few minutes … and ooh and ahh … my two bits.

Author Friendly Friday this week! 

Join Author Friendly Fridays: a fun, sharing and 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/author-friendly-fridays/

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 at: http://bit.ly/JudithCoaching

Podcast has expanded to 11 networks … Follow us and learn … new shows every Thursday.
GO to the SHOW page and select which podcast is for you… the latest will always be posted on top: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast

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

The AuthorU – Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast is available on all major 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 #podcast with @MyBookShepherd via iTunes here:  http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast

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