Latest NEWS from The Book Shepherd this week / It’s time to discover LibraryThing

Book Marketing and Publishing Tips for Authors–

Newsletter Issue #225 – April 6, 2022

Publisher: Judith Briles

Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors

In This Issue

1. Author Tools ... Discover Library Thing

2. AuthorYOU VIP Member Benefit … The Book Shepherd

3. May First Saturday Program … Creating Contests and Building Your eMail List

4. International Amazon Bestseller … Next class starts in May

5. AuthorYOU Salons … posted through June 2022 on Meetup site

6. Hot podcasts for MARCH … Add to your calendar and listen

7. Question of the Week … Why do I need another ISBN for Ingram Spark now?

8. Book Shepherd "Fun" of the Week … I spy kitty cat

Then, writing just for me grabbed my full attention Sunday afternoon. Fueled with hot tea, I finally got all the rewrites done for the old Snappy Sassy Salty—doubling the number of my personal quotes to exceed 400 from 250—something that has been on the "to do" list for months. The new title is How to Create Snappy Sassy Salty Success for Authors and Writers and will join the new titles of How to Avoid Book Publishing Blunders, How to Create a Million Dollar Speech, and How to Create Crowdfunding Success for Authors and Writers. All-new editions will be live this month thanks to designer Nick Zelinger’s redos.

Danita Johnson’s The Women’s Little Purple Book for Leadership, David Sovine’s (pen name Louis Sauvain) Thaddeaus of Beewicke, and Sharon Krieder’s Wandering all went to layout. Linda Schaal’s third book in the Clea the Caterpillar series is at the illustrators with two other books rearing their heads. Lots happening with several more authors and books final chapters being completed this month and moving to editing. Here’s to awesome authors.

Dessert was with John Kremer via his Book Marketing Success podcast that went live over the weekend. The topic: Speaking for Successful Book Sales. Looking forward to having him here on Friday at the Extravaganza.

Woot Woot … it’s a Baker’s Dozen plus One. Tis always fun to have a surprise pop in my email … something I had total forgotten about entering. My book, When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present picked up two awards over the weekend. BookFest awarded a gold in Non-Fiction Spirituality-Print and a silver in Artistic & Technical Spirituality-Audio to it, to me. This brings the total count to 14 awards. Thank you to designer Rebecca Finkel for bringing my story alive for eyes and Richard Rieman for ears.

… in just 1 day, the final Extravaganza rolls out. Are you there? Or did you made a boo-boo and decided you have heard it all (haha); you don’t have the time (really?) ... Why should you be there … because this is the final time AuthorYOU will be doing an all-day event that offers a smorgasbord of speakers and topics for your learning and listening pleasure. Forward, events will be one topic only when we do them—no more menus.

It’s a drop the mic weekend coming up. Looking forward to it and regret that so many have fallen into the Zoom factor forgetting the real power of sitting down face-to-face with other authors; having the ability to noodle ideas you hear over an extended time … not to mention the many expert speakers we have and you can exchange ideas with.

Have you subscribed to my new YouTube author and publishing tips channel? Always less than three minutes … a new one pops up five days a week, Monday through Friday. Become a subscriber and take a peek: https://bit.ly/Author-PublishingTips

I’ve posted infos below on the April AuthorYOU Extravaganza that was planned many months ago. Sign up for it … Never, ever, underestimate the power and presence of IN-PERSON meetings.

My podcast guest this week is … Rebecca Finkel. It’s all about Book Trends for Covers, Design, and Swag for 2022.

That’s my week … how’s yours? lots of happenings below. I continue with my year of "Re."

1. April 7 -  Podcast: Book Designs Woven with 2022 Book Trends

2. April 7-9 – AuthorYOU Extravaganza – be there in Colorado!

3. April 14   – Podcast: Podcast: Book Hooks, Part 1

4. April 21   – Podcast: Podcast: Book Hooks, Part 2

5. April 28 –Podcast: ASPIRE-6 Steps to Author Success and Influence

6. May 7 – 1st Saturday AuthorYOU program – In-PERSON or Online-TBD

7. MAY 4. 11. 18. 25 – Amazon Bestseller ONLINE program

8. May 14 – AuthorYOU Salons – In-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU
members only

9. June 11 – AuthorYOU Salons – In-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only

10. June 18 – Barnes&Nobles – Colorado Blvd, Glendale CO

12. July 9 – AuthorYOU Salons – In-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only

13. August 6 – AuthorYOU BBQ

14. August 13 – AuthorYOU Salons – In-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only

Get ready to discover a thriving community of everyday readers, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, authors, and other bookish people who love to connect. Started in 2005, it has garnered TWO MILLION plus users, providing a huge selection of tools designed to help authors reach readers. There’s a special feature called LibraryThing Local where you can post upcoming author events. It also posts events on your author page so that your readers are informed of your public appearances.

Readers and authors can connect through the Author Chat group and other forums. Authors can also submit their work to Early Reviewers to get reviews.

Guess what … you and your books may already be listed. Login and do a search with your name. If you find it, claim and become a verified author. If your work hasn’t yet been listed on LibraryThing, JOIN (it’s free) and add your book. I found the easiest way to copy in the ISBN of your title. Its spiders reach out and TaDah … your title pops up. Claim it. Now it lands in its, and your, database. Another FINDABLE place is added to platforms. https://www.librarything.com/

303-885-2207
Judith@Briles.com
www.TheBookShepherd.com

Services: Author/Book Coaching and Shepherding, Book Doctoring, Creating Author Platforms and Infrastructure, Social Media and Book Marketing Strategies. Unplugged Intensives including: Speaking, Book Marketing, Social Media, Book Publishing, Podcasting.

Congratulations … your book is the start of something big. The Book Shepherd’s forte is strategic planning, creating the Author’s Platform, book development, and creating the right habits that overcome fear and lethargy that are common in the publishing process. Judith offers professional consulting services associated with all aspects of publishing.

It’s the First Saturday session of AuthorYOU for May … and it’s going to be different. Author’s Assistant Bobby Crew has created a step-by-step process to build your email numbers using a boatload of contest ideas. This is an ONLINE event.

This is a don’t-miss gathering for authors and wanna-be authors. Basically, anyone who is publishing and doing book marketing. Think Author Success for 2022!

· Platforms for contests to use.

· Different strategies that become magnets for participants.

· Tips for pushouts to let others know about your contest.

· Giveaways for winners.

· eMail building pushes and tactics.

Plenty of time for Q&A.

AuthorYOU Members: $15
NonMembers: $45

AuthorYOU Members: $15
NonMembers: $45

Register here: https://authoru.org/events.html

This will be an ONLINE program. Everyone needs to have an Instagram account set up before we start. You will be sent the handout and Zoom link on Friday, the day before.

Yes, it can. Next workshop starts May 4th –

Create an AmazonBestseller Campaign for Your eBook Online Course in 4 weeks!

There are 23 steps in your journey … a journey where you could pay someone to travel and implement for you … or one where you can roll up your sleeves and learn how to create, implement, and execute. As in DIY.

The Create an Amazon Bestseller Campaign for Your eBook Online course is the latter. I will take you through each step during the four weeks. When you complete #17, you are ready to execute.

Judith’s goal is for you to have all components for your campaign DONE before your implementation/execution day. All social media tease pushouts are done and scheduled before the big day starts.

Your Requirements;

90 minutes of your time online each week via Zoom with Judith Briles. Late Monday afternoon will be our start time. This is not a webinar, it’s live, online coaching.
Social media presence. Thousands would be good but not crucial. You will learn tips and tricks during each session that will have new adds every week.
An "I want to be #1 and I can do this attitude" and commitment to do the work during each session and post-work each work.
A computer. A free account on either Canva or BookBrush.

Dates: May 4. 11. 18. 25.
Times: 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm MT

Judith’s next Amazon Bestseller class is slated for March. Four Wednesday afternoons. and are always limited in size.

Info here to get registered: https://bit.ly/BookShepAMZ

Register for the next few months – there is a session for ONLINE authors and a separate for IN-PERSON- FORWARD … Salons are a Free benefit for VIP AuthorYOU members only.

RULES …
1. You must register for this.
2. If less than 5 people are registered by Noon on the Friday before, event will be canceled.

If you have book marketing, writing, publishing questions, get answers. Or, you just want to schmooze a bit, It’s ONLINE and IN-PERSON on the second Saturday of each month. You MUST be a paid member of AuthorYOU.org to participate. ONLINE starts at 7 am to 8.30 am MT – IN-PERSON at 9 am MT. Here’s the link to register and getting notices/reminders forward:

Register here: https://www.meetup.com/AuthorYOUSalons/

You can always listen in via our websites: www.AuthorYOU.org (click on the On the Air image on the Home page—wait for it to upload. Or
www.TheBookShepherd.com (click on the Resources tab).

April 7 -Book Trends for Covers, Design and Swag – Rebecca Finkel

April 14 - Book & PR Hooks, Part 1 – Joan Stewart

April 21 - Book & PR Hooks, Part 2 – Joan Stewart

April 28 - ASPIRE to Author Success and Influence – Derek Doepker

Listen in at: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast

Question: Are book signings worth my time?

Answer: Maybe … maybe not. It depends on what YOU do to bring people in … to make it an event … memorable … and yes, fun. If you do, they are definitely worth your time. Create a press release and send it to your weekly newspaper in your area. Make sure you add it to the ‘Events’ section. Add it to your local Next Door and post it in any Meetup groups you belong to. Create multiple social media posts. Create posters with your books to "Meet you at …" And, make sure you include the Twitter handle for the host location. Shout out everywhere! Trust me, it will get behind you when they visually see the work you are doing for the event. Bookstores typically order the books. The wise author carries an extra case in their car for refills if needed.

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

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.