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Book Marketing and Publishing Tips for Authors
Newsletter Issue #272 – March 1, 2023
Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors
1. Author Tips & Tools ... Free Capitalization Tool
2. AuthorYOU VIP Member Benefit … Meet BlueInk
3. Webinar The AI Writing Revolution... Register for March
4. February AuthorYOU Program ... Animoto Live! March 8
5. Book Publishing Unplugged ... Register for March In-Person & Online Unplugged
6. Amazon Best-Seller ... Next workshop starts in April …
7. Replay Webinar for Book Sales ... Create Sizzling Non-Bookstore Sales
8. AuthorYOU Salons … Posted through April
9. Hot podcasts for February … Add to your calendar and listen
10. Question of the Week … How often should an author update
photos?
11. Book Shepherd “Fun” of the Week … Dog blocks video games
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This Week Under The Book Shepherd’s™ Roof
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Hello and Good Publishing Day to YOU … and
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So, so jazzed. It’s Happy Book Birthday time. My latest book is moving to publication. The Author’s Walk-Finding and Using Your Voice to Create Publishing Success is a different book for me ... not the usual “how to” when dealing with publishing and speaking positioning. It’s the reality check. The armchair encourager. I like it lots! Up now on Amazon:
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Not sure what was going on in podcast land, but the AuthorU-Your Guide
to Book Publishing podcast enjoyed a cumulated 900,000 downloads for the month of February. Are you an Aspiring Author? Do you need a brush up on Book Publishing 101? If yes, then get you to either the Online or the In-Person Book Publishing Unplugged slated for Friday, March 17 for ONLINE participants and Saturday, March 18 for IN-PERSON participants. The IN-PESON is limited to a maximum of 10
participants and is held in my offices in Colorado.
Details are on TheBookShepherd.com website under the Experiences tab. Registration link is below.
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On Thursday, March 9, I will be doing a morning session of Ask Judith starting at 11 am MT – come with your questions—I’ll answer them. Get it on your calendar for the second Thursday every other month. at 11 am MT.
Register here: https://bit.ly/ASKJudith
Passcode Judith
Add to your calendar
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On Friday, March 10th, Author Talk Happy Hour featuring Colorado Authors Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Jenkins goes live at 5 pm MT ... it has to be 5 pm somewhere! Jerry has hit the New York Times bestseller list 21 times. He’s the author of over 200 books that have generated over 70 million books sold to date. His Left Behind series has become a classic. Come. Learn from a master storyteller and writer on Friday, March 10th.
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My Book Publishing Unplugged is set for Friday, March 17 for ONLINE participants and Saturday, March 18 for IN-PERSON participants. IN-PESON is limited to a maximum of 10 participants and held in my offices in Colorado.
Amazon Bestseller - Registrations are open for my Amazon bestseller workshops... the next session will be in ONLINE in APRIL: 5, 12, 19,
26. Details are on the Experiences tab on TheBookShepherd.com. Get registered now to participate in the next program. All programs are now scheduled for 2023 – a total of five through October
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And on May 3, 10, 17, I will be delivering my new Create and Write Snappy Sassy Sizzling Book Back Cover & Marketing Copy 3-session online workshop. Early bird details here: https://bit.ly/SizzlingCopy
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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—there are already 190 short videos posted: https://bit.ly/Author-PublishingTips
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| And it’s Woof Wednesday ... is it time for you to take that first step?
Lots of happenings below.
My theme for the year, Be a DOER ... not a dreamer is off to a fast and big start. It’s the perfect few lines to noodle on and infuse yourself with inspiration each Saturday on my new blog
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Have you ever explored the network website where I store all my podcasts? … Holy Moly … over 14 million downloads now of various podcasts since the podcast started six years ago.
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You can select which podcast is for you from over 570 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.
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Add these to your calendar now. Details will all be posted under the Events tab on the website.
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1. February 8, 15, 22, 1 Amazon Bestseller Campaign Workshop
2. March 8 Animoto Live! in the Afternoon Online, In-Person
3. March 9 Ask Judith Anything webinar
4. March 10 Authors Hall of Famer Jerry Jenkins tells all ... Zoom
5. March 11 AuthorYOU Salons – IN-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only
6. March 17 Book Publishing Unplugged – ONLINE only
7. March 18 Book Publishing Unplugged – IN-PERSON only
8. April 1 1st Saturday AuthorYOU program – TBA
9. April 8 AuthorYOU Salons – IN-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only
10. April 12 Amazon Bestseller Campaign Workshop
11. April 13 Thursdays with Judith – Questions Authors Walk – ONLINE
12. April 14 Authors Hall of Famer Margaret Coel tells all ... Zoom
13. May 3, 10, 17 Create Book Marketing Copy ONLINE
14. May 6 1st Saturday AuthorYOU program – TBA
15. May 11 Ask Judith Anything webinar
16. May 12 Authors Hall of Famer Michael Gear tells all ... Zoom
17. May 13 AuthorYOU Salons – IN-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only
18. May 19 Social Media Unplugged ONLINE
19. May 20 Social Media Unplugged IN-PERSON – Denver
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AuthorYOU members … the March second Saturday AuthorYOU Salon is slated for Saturday, the 11th and is at
the ONLINE time only this month, 7 am to 8.30 MT. Remember, there must be a minimum of five participants outside of me if they are registered by Friday noon, the day before. If not, I will cancel. Info is below … you need to be registered to attend.
https://www.meetup.com/AuthorYOUSalons/
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I love mentoring authors, and their books, and supporting their vision. If you want intense, one-on-one time with me over a several-month period PLUS the ability to call me or email with a quick response, join my Mentor Program. There is 1 spot open —if you want an accelerated six months that deals with your infrastructure; your influence building; your what? … this may be the missing ingredient in your mix.
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Want tips for Authoring, Marketing and Publishing?
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Each month, you will get a variety of topics on our monthly podcast. Never a repeat program … always fresh, listen in. http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast ...Every Tuesday, a new blog is posted. On Wednesdays, a new edition of this newsletter. On Thursdays, a new podcast. SHARE THEM with your author friends.
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Stay involved—if you don’t, it’s a publishing boo-boo. AuthorYOU promises its members a lot and delivers more. 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 or RENEW AuthorYOU today. Benefits galore. https://mp.gg/e9d1o
And a heads up—hold the FIRST Saturday of each month for our live event meetings—it’s
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| 1 Author Tools – Capitalization Tool
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There’s sometimes confusion when to capitalize—how to capitalize—and which rules to follow (or to break). Check it out at: https://capitalizemytitle.com/
Quick Links: How to Use Capitalize My Title, What to Capitalize in a Title, Title Capitalization Rules by Style (Chicago, APA, MLA, AP, NY Times, Wikipedia)
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| 2 Meet Member Benefit … BlueInk Book Reviews
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BlueInk Review, LLC – Patti Thorn or Patricia Moosbrugger
eMail: PT@BlueInkReview.com or PM@BlueInkReview.com
Website: www.BlueInkReview.com
Services: Serious reviews of self-published books.
BlueInk Review offers honest, objective book reviews of self-published titles. Founded by Patti Thorn, former book review editor of the Rocky Mountain News, and Patricia Moosbrugger, an internationally known literary
agent, BlueInk offers reviews penned by professional critics and writers whose bylines have appeared in major newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune and senior level editors from major New York publishing houses such as Viking and Crown. Completed reviews run on the BlueInk website, which has special features designed to help publishers and literary agents find promising new material and to help librarians and booksellers discover titles their patrons will be interested in, such as those written by local authors or set in their regions.
AuthorYOU members get a discount to BlueInk.
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| 3 The AI Writing Revolution
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| Discover How to Dominate Your Genre and Industry with Smarter Content
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ChatGPT is a powerful artificial intelligence platform that is quickly becoming popular among developers. Is it a friend ... or a foe to Human Intelligence writers and authors? Or can it be used to enhance and expand what H.I. delivers? It’s time to talk built-in biases and limitations of ChatGPT.
This is a SHOW and TELL webinar.
REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/AIRevolutionWebinar
What’s the difference between OpenAI playground and Chat GPT and other resources?
· Lean how to prep ChatGPT with information before you ask it to product output, including using the phrase, "Do you understand?"
· Show how the more detailed the prompt you provide, the better your results are. Learn and use the phrase, "Prompt Engineering."
· How to repurpose what you’ve already created.
· How to flip copy from serious to humorous.
· Discover how to create images – ways to create the ooh and aww and how to avoid the OMG, delete it.
· Tips on adding AI created music to jazz up a blog.
· Tips for ideas for AI to create swag.
For fiction authors ... how about writing a story in the style of a specific author, but a theme that the author is not known for, such as "write a story in the style of Tony Hillerman with a plot of a space cowboy being stranded alone on his ship"? Hmmm.
For nonfiction authors ... how about fast-forwarding your research needs to get instant answers? Or build an outline and mini descriptions for chapters? Hmmm.
REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/AIRevolutionWebinar
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| 4 March Program ... Animoto Live
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Wednesday, March 8
1 pm to 3.30 pm MT, Noon PT, 2 pm CT, 3 pm ET
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IN-PERSON, Judith and Bobby will be working with you over your shoulders in her offices starting at 1 pm on March 8th. ONLINE, we will view your screens. It’s a different program. As one attendee said the last time we did it in my conference room, “This is the most work fun I’ve had in a long time.”
Get ready to tap dance through Animoto—a terrific tool to use to create a teaser for your book; to create a video billboard for your expertise; to satisfy the SEO hunger for “feed me MORE!”
This is a "working" workshop—ahead of the start—have a folder with images that tie into your book or expertise; posters you've made; key slogans or taglines; key phrases; your photo … what else? Register for the free version on the website: https://animoto.com/ ... the odds are you will want to move from free to fee.
Our goal is that you will have an Animoto completed that you can use going forward.
We will open the door to your creativity plus outcome. Perfect.
You want to be participating on your computer—not the mobile or tablet.
LOCATION: Judith’s offices and ONLINE beginning at 1 pm MT
For IN-PESON, you must bring your laptop.
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5 Book Publishing Unplugged
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ONLINE – Friday, March 17
IN-PERSON – Saturday, March 18
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Calling all Aspiring Authors ... are you ready to take your writing, your manuscript, your book to Publishing Success?
Would you be willing to invest one day to get all the latest publishing and strategy information you need ... information and strategies that will create the Game Plan to be an awesome and seriously successful author? Either Online or In-Person.It’s Book or Bust time
March 17 – on Zoom
March 18 – Judith’s Offices
Experience a full day with Judith ... no pitches, just Judith Briles Book Publishing Unplugged delivering an amazing depth of publishing, authoring, and marketing information that she has derived from her 40 + years in the publishing field and as The Book Shepherd.
Create the bestseller you dream of ... turn into the award-winning and sought after author you aspire to ... get the answers to the questions you have ... all of them. Judith is the master book publishing coach and guide.
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| 6 Can Your Book Be an International Bestseller?
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Yes, it can. Next workshop starts in April …
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Create an Amazon Bestseller 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 later. I will take you through each step during the four weeks. When you complete #17, you are ready to execute your bestseller action plan.
Judith’s goal is for you to have all components for your campaign DONE before your implementation/execution day. All social media tease pushouts done and scheduled before the big day starts.
Your Requirements:
1. 90 minutes of your time online each week via Zoom with Judith Briles. Late Wednesday afternoon will be our start time. This is not a webinar, it’s live, on-line coaching.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. A computer. A free account on either Canva or BookBrush.
Dates: April 5, 12, 19, 26
Times: 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm MT
Judith’s next Amazon Bestseller class begins in February. Four Wednesday afternoons. and are always limited it size. Info here to get registered: https://bit.ly/JanAMZ
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| 7 REPLAY The Buck Starts Here – Create Sizzling Non-Bookstore Sales
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The opportunity for selling books to non-bookstore buyers is twice that for selling through bookstores. And you can sell books non-returnable. In other words, you can double your sales, revenue, and profits—if you know what to do and how to do it.
It’s the secret sauce that authors love.
Replay Here: https://vimeo.com/801221451
- Benefits of selling to non-traditional segments.
- How to prepare for selling in non-bookstore markets.
- Tips for selling into the retail segments.
- How to sell fiction in ways and places you never thought of.
- New ways to sell in large quantities to buyers in corporations, associations and the military.
- Where to find the names of prospective buyers and how to contact them.
To participate, contact Brian Jud at BrianJud@BookMarketing.com
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AuthorYOU Salons … March-April
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Register for the next few months – The Saturday AuthorYou Salon will be ONLINE only starting at 7 to 8.30am MT. AuthorYou members will be emailed the link on Friday. 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. No exceptions.
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/
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Hot podcasts slated for February
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March 2 Special Sales – Brian Jud
March 9 Sensitivity Writing – Neva Talladen
March 16 Book Launches – Amy Ravivhandran
March 23 AI Updates – Greg Jameson
March 30 Audio and Video Storybooks – Richard Rieman
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| Question of the Week ... How often should I have photos taken?
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Answer: As many as you can get. You’ve got to ask, re-ask,
and ask again. I know it’s a pain in the tush, but this is part of the author game. When you are out and presenting on your book—and there are buyers, get their names and emails. Send a thank your and a request to post a review with a link to where you want it to go. The smart author uses a shortener such as Bit.ly or TinyURL to customize it. And then be prepared to remind them again. Carry a SignIN sheet with you so that you can add names and emails—you never know what group you are may be with and someone(s) ask to buy your book directly from you. Be prepared.
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Funny
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 enjoy— A Dog Doesn’t Want Her “Master” To Play Video Games | The Dodo
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Get your copy today – it’s my life on steroids … earning a Baker’s Dozen plus ONE in book awards. Now Available in Print, eBook, Audiobook. http://bit.ly/whengodsaysno
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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.
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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: http://bit.ly/JudithCoaching
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| Author Friendly Friday this week …
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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.
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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
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Podcast expands to 11 networks … Follow us and learn …
new shows every Thursday.
And, if you have listened, support our podcast and post a review. Thank you!
The AuthorU – Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast is now heard on eleven podcast channels. How cool is that? Listeners can tune into the weekly (always new – no repeats) show on:
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That’s my author and publishing news for today … what’s yours?
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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 250,000 downloads a month. Her website is www.TheBookShepherd, email: JudithBriles.com and phone: 303-885-2207.
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©2023 Judith Briles - The Book Shepherd™ All Rights Reserved.
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