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Book Marketing and Publishing Tips for Authors
Newsletter Issue #276 – March 29, 2023
Practical Publishing Advice and Guidance for Authors
In this issue
1. Author Tips & Tools... Discover Audionautix
2. Publishing Help ... Meet Foreword Reviews
3. Webinar The AI Writing Revolution, Part 2... Register for April
4.Book Publishing Unplugged ... Register for April In-Person & Online Book Marketing Unplugged
5. Amazon Bestseller ... Register now for April workshops – 2 spots left
6. Replay of AI Revolution, Part I ... 90 minutes of eye-opening POP
7. AuthorYOU Salons … Posted through April
8. Hot podcasts for March … Add to your calendar and listen
9. Question of the Week … How do I get out of a contract?
10. Book Shepherd “Fun” of the Week … Cat
and Parrot
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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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| Last week, Ronald Beach and I had parallel bestseller campaigns. Both were enormously successful. Ron’s book, The Virtual Bridge garnered 15 Bestseller awards, owning 15 separate categories.
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| Categories #1
1. Business & Investing
2. Business & Money Skills
3. Business Leadership Training
4. Business Life
5. Business Mentoring & Coaching
6. Business Management
7. Business Project Management
8. Business Teams
9. Communication in Management
10. Human Resources & Personnel Management
11. Industries
12. Management Skills
13. Outsourcing
14. Project Management
15. Women & Business
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Categories #1
1. Education Research
2. Business Writing Skills
3. Medical Education & Training
4. Fiction Writing Reference
5. Authorship
6. Writing Skill Reference
7. Creativity – Self Help
8. Business Writing Skills
9.
Business Writing
10. Business Writing Research
11. Publishing
12. Writing Skills, Writing Guides
13. Publishing & Book Industry
14. Genre Fiction Writing Reference
15. Editing
16. Writing, Research & Publishing Guides
17. Writing Reference
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The Author’s Walk-Finding and Using Your Voice to Create Publishing Success, also earned multiple first-place honors since its publication on February 28th as
well as earning a best new release banner.
April promises to be a packed month of author and publishing opportunities.
I’m ready for two Book Marketing Unplugged sessions next month. Registration is open for both online and in-person sessions are open for registration. Remember, I limit the number of participants. Plus, the Amazon Bestseller
Campaign workshop, plus several more options for your author success.
Details are on TheBookShepherd.com website under the Experiences tab. The registration link is below.
The Barnes & Noble April events are filled. I’m working to create additional ones with other stores in the Front Range of Colorado and will announce any availability to participate.
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Kudos to Richard Rieman. His pioneering and award-winning website for children debuts a special Storybooks Club for kids, parents, and teachers. Over 100 books are available. Discover the new book world he has created for the sight and hearing impaired HERE
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On this Friday, April 14, Author Talk Happy Hour featuring Colorado Authors Hall of Fame inductee and NY TIMES mystery author Margaret Cole goes live at 5 pm MT ... it has to be 5 pm somewhere! Learn from this master storyteller and writer on Friday, April 14th.
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My Book Marketing Unplugged is set for Friday, April 14 for ONLINE participants and Saturday, April 15 for IN-PERSON participants. IN-PERSON is limited to a maximum of 10 participants and held in my offices in Colorado.
Details and Registration here: https://thebookshepherd.com/book-marketing-unplugged/
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 ... Let your words flow fast ... and become an
author.
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 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.
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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. April 4 Webinar: The AI Revolution, Part II
2. April 5, 12, 19, 26 Amazon Bestseller Campaign Workshop
3. April 8 AuthorYOU Salons – IN-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members only
4. April 14 Authors Hall of Famer Margaret Cole tells all ... Zoom
5. April 14 Book Marketing Unplugged - Online
6. April 15 Book Marketing Unplugged – Denver
7. April 22 Barnes & Noble – Colorado Blvd
8. April 23 Barnes & Noble - Southlands
9. May 3, 10, 17 Create Sizzling Book Marketing Copy ONLINE
10. May 6 1st Saturday AuthorYOU program – TBA
11. May 7 Secrets Book Brunch – Judith’s home
12. May 11 Ask Judith Anything webinar
13. May 12 Authors Hall of Famer Michael Gear tells all ... Zoom
14. May 13 AuthorYOU Salons – IN-PERSON & ONLINE - AuthorYOU members
only
15. May 19 Social Media Unplugged ONLINE
16. May 20 Social Media Unplugged IN-PERSON – Denver
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AuthorYOU members … the April second Saturday AuthorYOU Salon is slated for Saturday, the 8th and is at
the ONLINE time only this month, 7 am to 8.30 and IN-PERSON 9 am to 11.30 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 ONE 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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A nifty royalty-free music site that is FREE. Plus, love this bonus: you don’t have to register, sign up or buy a license. And, Audionautix is YouTube
friendly with a build-in agreement between the two in which YouTube will not silence or pull. Very cool: discover it at: https://audionautix.com/
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| 2 Discover Foreword Reviews
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Foreword Reviews is a Folio Award-winning magazine, and the only journal exclusively dedicated to reviewing books from independent publishers, university presses, and self-publishers. Each issue features 150+ book reviews, in-depth articles previewing category trends, book-industry-specific opinion pieces, and bound special sections covering award winners, audiobooks, and more.
Its Foreword Indies Book Awards are the premier attention-getter for independently published authors and publishers.
VIP AuthorYOU Members get a free 1-year subscription to Foreword Magazine. You must contact Foreword Reviews directly to start your free subscription.
· 15% off website ads and FTW ads.
· 15% off Clarion Reviews
· 15% off Trade shows
· 15% off Subscription Renewals.
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| 3 NEW ... The AI Writing Revolution-Part II
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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/AIRevolution-Part2
What’s the difference between OpenAI playground and Chat GPT and other resources?
Learn 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 Hilleman 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/AIRevolution-Part2
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| 4 Book Marketing Unplugged
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It’s Book Sales or Bust time
April 14 – via Zoom
April 15 – in Judith’s Offices
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Calling all Authors ... are you ready to take your book to Sales Success?
Would you be willing to invest one day to get all the latest book marketing strategy and tools 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 Sales or Bust time
April 14 – via Zoom
April 15 – in Judith’s Offices
Experience a full day with Judith ... oodles of ideas and coaching throughout—it’s just Judith Briles Book Marketing 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. Judith has sold over one million copies of her books—have you?
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| 5 Can Your Book Be an International Bestseller?
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Yes, it can. Next workshop starts April 5th…
Only 2 spots left
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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, online 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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| 6 REPLAY AI Writing Revolution, Part I
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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.
REPLAY HERE:https://vimeo.com/808266939
Register for Part II on April 4th: https://bit.ly/AIRevolution-Part2
What’s the difference between OpenAI playground and Chat GPT and other resources?
Learn how to prep ChatGPT with information before you ask it to product output, including using the phrase, "Do you
understand?"
· 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.
This was a SHOW and TELL webinar ... oodles of questions and lots of how to shows.
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AuthorYOU Salons … April - May
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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 – Barb Wilson
March 16 - Sensitivity Writing, Part 2 – Barb
Wilson
March 23 - AI Updates – Greg Jameson
March 30 - Audio and Video Storybooks – Richard Rieman
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| Question of the Week ... I made a mistake. How do I get out of a contract with a self-publisher?
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My answer: You need to immediately go to the contract you signed. What does it say about “termination”? Most of the “self-publishing” contracts have them, but they may have slippery words. Words like: the contract may be terminated in 30 under “mutual
consent.” That’s an OMG in my book—when you want out, what’s “mutual” about it? The “self-publishing” companies and most hybrids are printing your book POD—one book at a time.
See what your contract says … it would be better to say something along the lines: I’m terminating our contract due to the mispresenting of what XXXXX company said it would deliver and do. It hasn’t. Therefore, immediately remove my book and eBook from all online sources.
Most likely, even though you paid for it with these companies, all you will get back is the rights of your books. It’s doubtful that the cover, interior native files will come your way. And it owns the ISBN. Hot for you (you may not feel this way), but you, in effect, get a new slate. Get yourself, and your “new” version of the book set up—new cover, interior, ISBNs. Relaunch time!
And when in doubt, talk to an IP, publishing attorney with business contract savvy. AuthorYOU member, Julie Bernard is my personal attorney of choice: Julie@BernardIPLaw.com
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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—
Can A Cat And A Parrot Get Along? Yes, yes, they can! Watch
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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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