Latest NEWS from The Book Shepherd this week / Author Talk … with Hall of Famer Jeanne Abrams

Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors

I create books authors never have to apologize for …

In this Issue

1. Discover … Customized URLs

2. Meet a Legit Book Reviewer … Meet F & P Design

3. Author Talk … with Hall of Famer Jeanne Abrams

4. Holidays are coming ... Join me for a Holiday Lunch on December 13!

5. Webinar … AI Comparative Videos -REDUX

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

7. Author Salons … January and March 2026

8. Question of the week … Any suggestions for promoting my book after it becomes a bestseller

9. Smile time … Best Emmy acceptance ever!

One of the topics on both of the Salon sessions was how to tell the phony solications that authors are getting bombarded with lures of publishing or movie success and what to do with a response to stop the onslaught of the massive emails and texts that are pouring forth from AI bots. I will do a blog later this month and include the script to send back—it wil be a copy and paste for you.

Note: The online is 7 to 8.30 am MT. Within 15 minutes of starting, it is closed to all late comers. The in-person is 9 to 11 am MT, my home. Always on the second Saturday of the month—the next one is January 10 and March 14. Salons are for paid VIP members of the AuthorU.org community. February is a skip due to I’m with 28 authors on the Publishing at Sea annual cruise.

A reminder to all … the Salons are not a “drop in” experience unless I invite you or one of our members includes you. Otherwise, you need to be a fully paid up member of AuthorU.org. The AuthorU community does many freebies for aspiring authors and those who just need continued support. AuthorU welcomes you. If you need more help … if you are ready to step up and learn about authoring and publishing … if you want to hang with other authors, commit and join Authoru.org.

Read my blog this week, How to Avoid Being a Limp Author, the secret sauce to author success is commitment. You can read it here: https://thebookshepherd.com/limpauthor/. What inspired it was an email from a nonmember who was highly irritated that she couldn’t get on the online Salon, after it had started. A nonmember … and then she added a number of complaints around her interpretation that she wasn’t getting the attention she wanted/needed from me.

Onward … a great freebie for all of us is the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame Author Talk Happy Hour live session TODAY at 5 pm with Hall 2023 Inductee Jeanne Abrams—all about her author journey. You can read about Jeanne on the Hall’s website under the Author Inductions tab. Join in via Zoom at https://bit.ly/AuthorTalkHappyHour for LIVE on ZOOM ... passcode is Hall.

The HOLIDAY Party is catered by the Olive Garden this year and slated for Saturday, December 13th. Meet for the Author Holiday lunch at noon in my home. If you are a lunch person, this would be a good place to be … plus you will have your early morning free and late afternoon free for other events. Also—it’s daylight. Perfect. December doesn’t have enough days in it. Details below to register and say “I ... we ... will be there.” I look forward to seeing the AuthorU.org members one more time before the end of the year.

1. November 12 Author Talk with Jeanne Abrams

2. November 13 Podcast- Is there a book in You? Part 2

3. November 18 Ask Judith

4. November 19 Webinar Redux

5. November 20 Podcast- Is there a book in You? Part 3

6. November 21 Ask Judith

7. November 22 Barnes & Noble Book Fair Fort Collins

8. November 23 Barnes & Noble Book Fair Boulder

9. November 8 Podcast- Is there a book in You? Part 4

10. November 29 Barnes & Noble Book Fair Colorado Blvd.

11. November 30 Barnes & Noble Book Fair Lakewood-Denver West Village

12. December 2 Aurora Merry Makers Craft Fair

13. December 7 Barnes & Noble Book Fair Southlands, Aurora

14. December 13 Author Holiday Party

Ever judge a book by its cover? Yep. Everybody does. Why not create a cover that WOWs your readers? Then follow it up with a polished interior and superior eBook. Rebecca Finkel of F + P Graphic Design can help you meet these goals. With 25 years of book design experience, she will design a book that leaps off the shelf to your readers.

Rebecca Finkel of F + P Graphic Design offers cover, interior, and eBook design services at an affordable rate. Rebecca is regularly recognized by regional, national, and international book and eBook design organizations.

“Rebecca is the master of creativity and delivers the art of perfection for all things in book and cover design. Authors couldn’t be in better hands.”

Visit FPGD.com to see some of her latest projects. Rebecca would be happy to start a conversation with you about your book.

Join bestselling Colorado Authors Hall of Fame Inductee Jeanne Abrams as she takes center stage and reveals her journey to becoming an author and trendsetter as a historian of a minority in a diverse country. Oh the places she has been ... and will continue to go.

Jeanne defines the term "multi-tasker" … she writes non-fiction, history books with a focus on America’s founding fathers and mothers.

Your TO DO …
Register ahead now: https://bit.ly/WEDAuthorHappyHour

Now, copy and paste on your calendar, copy and paste the Zoom link and passcode and join us Today, Wednesday November 12 at 5 pm MT (3 PT, 5 CT, 6 ET)

November 12 at 5 MT, this is your Zoom link:
https://bit.ly/AuthorTalkHappyHour for LIVE on ZOOM ... use passcode Hall

Who Is Jeanne Abrams?

For many years, she has moved seamlessly among her multiple roles—full professor who has been recognized for research, books, and article. From a very young age, she showed a passion for reading and learning. As a young girl, very week she would walk 30 minutes to the library, take out the limit of four books, walk home, consume the books, and start waiting for her next trip to read more.

✔ For four decades , she strived to preserve Jewish history in the Rocky Mountains.

✔ Curator of the University of Denver Libraries’ Beck Archives.

✔ Director of the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society (RMJHS).

✔ She is the author of six books including Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West, Jewish Denver, 1859-1940, Dr. Charles David Spivak, A Jewish Immigrant and the American Tuberculosis Movement, and First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison. Her latest book is A View from Abroad: The Story of John and Abigail Adams in Europe.

✔ Her Revolutionary Medicine: America’s Founding Mothers and Fathers in Sickness and Health Revolutionary Medicine was named one of the "Top Books for Docs" by Medscape.

✔ Jeanne was inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame in 2023.

It's a great author stop and awe time with the Inductees of the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. All sessions will be recorded, and registrants will receive the replay ... and they are FREE.

Listen in. Join in the conversation. Have fun.

You will have the opportunity to ask Jeanne your questions.

It’s that time of the year again ... the Holidays are coming

Fun, Laughter, Great Food, Interesting Gifts, and Amazing Schmoozing—the food is always excellent, the networking, schmoozing and laughter not to be surpassed.

Members choose to have it during the daylight hours ... who knows what the weather will be in Colorado.

This year, the annual author holiday gathering will be a LUNCH

Date: Saturday, December 13th from NOON to ???

Bring: One unmarked gift to exchange in the off-the-wall Wacko Pick and Steal after dinner. 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: $21 per person or $36 per couple

Single Person $21

Couple $36

… includes Brunch and Beverages (no tipping!) Think Italian ... the Olive Garden Grill will be the food creator ... plus, as always, you will get a few of my appetizers from my next cookbook!

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 …

Sign up here: https://www.authoru.org/event-details-registration/author-holiday-lunch

Answer: Lots—start with creating a press release and sending it to all the media contacts—print, TV, radio, podcast. Use PR.com, PRLog.com, PRUrgent.com. Add images. Write a blog around it. Post it on your social media platforms—make sure you add the hashtag #bestseller to your posts. Add “Bestselling Author” to the profiles of your social media platforms. If you are making presentations, make sure you add “Bestselling Author” to your introduction. Alter your headline on the Details page for your book on both your website and the online outlets you may be posted on—Amazon, IngramSpark, BN, Kobo, etc. That’s a start.

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/

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 which generates over 250,000 downloads a month. Her website is www.TheBookShepherd, email: JudithBriles.com and phone: 303-885-2207.