Top 6 Tips to Successful Self-Publishing

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Opportunity

Beat the “Print-on-Demand” industry!  You can do so much better on your own! Don’t be fooled by POD Services.

Are you ready to publish your first book? Get to know the pros and cons of Print-on-Demand and of real self-publishing. Follow these few tips, and you will find the road to success as an author-publisher so much smoother!
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1. Bookstores don’t buy POD books.  Many novice self-publishers are opting for the heavily-advertised Print-On-Demand companies, which promise publication at low fees. For a niche book with an easily-found audience POD can be an option. But what the POD companies won’t tell you,  is that neither bookstores nor libraries will generally buy a POD book. However, if you are savvy enough,and have written at least three books (or join with another author) you can find the right wholesale arrangement through Lightning Source / Ingram and Baker&Taylor as outlined in Aaron Shepard’s website and guide book http://www.newselfpublishing.com. But don’t expect to get the same retail discount from “brick and mortar stores” as from Amazon.
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2. You can judge a book by its cover.  That’s what most people do.  You never get a second chance for a great first impression!  You can get a decent book cover for as little as $100 and a fantastic cover for around $ 500 or more.  Just shop around and find out who makes great covers.
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3. Act like a professional publisher.  Nothing is more embarrassing as finding reviews of your book on Amazon that complain about typing and grammar errors in your work. Make sure your book is complete, well-edited, and thoroughly proof-read. Use spell checks, let it copy-edit, content edit and proofread by professionals – not your family or friends.  These services provide you with a manuscript that makes you look like the professional you are.
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4. Don’t use the print shop down the road.  Search for a printer that specializes in printing books. You will not only have fewer problems with production, but the prices will be much less expensive.  You should be able to print 300 copies of a 250-page soft cover book for approx. $ 2.90 per copy. Digital printers or espresso book machines are useful only for very small amounts of print books, such as for gifts or a book launch party – if you plan to sell mostly e-books.
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5. Get 100 ISBN’s if possible.  ISBN is the International Standard Book Number, and every book sold in bookstores and at most online retailers must have an ISBN. They are the global standard for identifying titles and used world-wide as a unique identifier for books. They simplify distribution and purchase of books throughout the global supply chain. Without an ISBN, you will not be found in most book stores, nor online.  In the U.S. ISBN’s are available only from Bowker.com, and you can buy them in blocks of ten, hundred, or even thousand. The fewer you buy the less it costs, but buying just a block of ten marks you as a one-book publisher. And everyone in the publishing industry can figure out how many ISBN’s you’ve purchased by looking at your ISBN number. Lucky if you are a writer from Canada: ISBN’s are free!
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6. Don’t wait to start marketing until your book is finished. Many first-time writers and self-publishers focus on the writing and the publishing process, and postpone thinking about the book  marketing until they have books in hand (or hundreds in their garage). A book – no matter if it is an e-book or a traditional paper book – will succeed or fail on its marketing plan. Before starting your self-publishing project, find out who your audience is, and where and how you will find them. Get to know your competition, search the internet and in bookstores for similar books. Only move forward on your writing project after you have finished your research and your marketing plan. Even find book reviewers before you start writing the book, and blog at least for one year to build an audience for your work. I don’t know of any self-published writer who is successful, without having a blog. Once your book manuscript is finished, don’t forget to use the end of one book to promote another book you have written or you write on currently.
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Self-publishing can not only be lucrative, it can be a lot of fun too. But you need to be somewhat entrepreneurial and do lots of careful planning to really enjoy success with true self-publishing.

Read more about author-publishing and POD’s:

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/the-truth-about-pod-publishing/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/why-pod-contracts-are-bad-for-authors/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/comparison-of-major-print-on-demand-pod-services/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/pros-and-cons-of-print-on-demand/

http://www.theauthorsredroom.com/top-10-self-publishing-tips/

http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/pod/

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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How to Get Lots of Visitors to Your Author Website?

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44 Tips to Get Relevant Web Links

Building an author website is one step, getting lots of traffic (website visitors) is another task. An important step is to add links, inbound and outbound links, in order to get lots of visitors. Currently, the major engines typically interpret importance as popularity – the more popular a web site, page or document, the more valuable the information contained therein must be. Links are still the most important tool in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on the Web.  But how can you build relevant links?
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Content is king

1. Build a “101 list”. These often become “authority documents”. People can’t resist linking to these .

2. Create 10 easy tips to help you with … articles.

3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic.

4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.

5. Create a list of experts. If you impress the people listed well enough, or find a way to make your project look somewhat official, the experts may end up linking to your site or saying thanks.
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Developing Authority & Being Easy to Link At

6. Make your content easy to understand so many people can relay to and spread your message.

7. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site.

8. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems more trustworthy. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority.

9. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site there is a possibility that they will link to you.
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News & Syndication

10. Write  Ezine articles. Their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.

11. Submit an article to industry news site.

12. Send out a press release. Take the time to make a compelling and newsworthy one. Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message.

13. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.

14. Trade articles with other webmasters.

15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and link.

16. Write about, and link to, companies with “in the news” pages. They link back to stories and blog posts which cover their developments. Do a Google search (your industry + “in the news”).

17. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free.
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Directories & Social Bookmarking

18. Submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.

19. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.

20. Create your own topical directory about your field of interest. Obviously link to your own site, deeplinking to important content where possible.

21. Tag related sites on sites like Del.icio.us. If people find the sites you tag to be interesting, emotionally engaging, or timely they may follow the trail back to your site.

22. If you create something that is of great quality make sure you ask a few friends to tag it for you, hundreds more bloggers will see your site and potentially link to it.

23.  If you write about popular spreading ideas with plenty of original content (and link to some of the original resources), your site may get listed as a source.
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Local & Business Links

24. Join the Better Business Bureau.

25. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.

26. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources.

27. Get a link from  every supplier you deal with and make it a prerequisite of attending a trade show or convention to get a link from them.

28. See if manufacturers or retailers or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.

29. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online, by recommending each other via links

30. Launch an affiliate program. Most of the links you pick up will not have SEO value, but the added exposure will almost always lead to additional “normal” links.
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Easy Free Links

31. Depending on your category and offer, you will find Craigslist or Kijiji to be a cheap or free classified service, include a link to your website for pennies per month.

32. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources.

33. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources.

34. If you run a reputable company, create a page about it in the Wikipedia or in topic specific wikis.

35. It takes not much time to set up a topical Squidoo page, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.

36. Submit a story to several eZines that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your profile page.

37. If you publish an RSS feed and your content is useful and regularly updated, some people will syndicate your RSS content.

38. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links.
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Have a Big Heart for Reviews

39. Most brands are not well established online, so if your site has much authority, your review related content often ranks well.

40. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.

41. Create product lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your link.

42. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams.

43. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.

44. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turn into links.
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LinksManagement.com gives the following tips: 

• Links should come from websites, hosted in the same country
• Links should come from relevant webpages
• Links should come from webpages with Google PageRank1 and higher
• Links should be placed manually, and not automatically using some script
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More tips on how to attract more visitors to your website / blog can be found here:

http://www.bitrebels.com/technology/building-quality-links-guide-infographic/

http://thinktraffic.net/timeless-ideas-for-more-visitors

http://google.about.com/od/searchengineoptimization/a/pagerankexplain.htm

http://google.about.com/od/searchengineoptimization/qt/improverank.htm

http://99u.com/articles/7070/4-creative-ways-to-attract-more-visitors-to-your-website

http://sdas86.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Get-more-than-1000-Visitors-for-Free-and-Make-a-lot-of-Money-Online

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Where Can You Find FREE Photos and Illustrations?

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Even though I am an avid photographer, taking often several hundred images a month, from time to time the need for a certain motive arises.  The question was, where can I find inexpensive photographs?  A lot of research brought up a handful of online offers that I like to share with you. Maybe you need a certain image for your website, your blog or your book.  Please see some websites below that provide good deals on royalty-free photographs or even free ones.

But what is the difference between free, royalty-free and rights-managed?

Free images can be downloaded without any rules or agreement and are in the public domain. The creator offers his work public and free, there are no legal rights or restrictions for his or her work and it can be duplicated.  Images which have been copyrighted can still be considered as free when they are explicitly announced by the artist to be used, copied, distributed or modified.

Royalty-free images are given the right to use. There is an agreement that the licensee can use the photo without paying additional royalty charges, but it does not mean that the licensee can use the image for what ever he/she wants.

Rights Managed images means a contract between the licencor and licensee, regarding licensing the rights to use photographs, specifying to use the content in a certain way. This can include the length of time, the medium, the size, the format and the location of use. Unlike images under royalty-free licenses, the licencor is in control or has history of the rights granted involving the image.
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FREE IMAGE SOURCES

I am only on page 15 of about 3,000 pages of free photos and have downloaded dozens of beautiful images that I can use for websites, books and yes, also for this blog. This is the best of all websites I found so far:

http://www.morguefile.com

An amazing hidden treasure on the internet, ten, no hundred thousands of free images (almost 300,000) and you are allowed to copy, distribute, transmit and to adapt the work. No “accounts” necessary as on other websites, just go to “free photos”, choose an image and download it.
Some of the photos are in such a high resolution that you can use them for your book cover image.
A real treasure trove!

http://www.Flickr.com

http://www.Freedigitalphotos.net

http://www.deviantArt.com

http://www.istockphoto.com

http://www.dreamstime.com

http://www.shutterstock.com

http://www.fotosearch.com/

http://www.photogen.com

http://www.imageafter.com/images.php

http://www.stockvault.net/

http://www.sxc.hu/

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As you browse, pull any images that catch your eye. Don’t assume you’ll be able to return to that page later. Chances are, you’ll never find it again. (most sites are constantly rotating, to show new images) – save the ones you like and cull them later. 

What is your favored website for free photos?

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

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Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 740 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following our social media sites:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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How to Write a Fair Book Review

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Book Reviews

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Favorable reviews can do wonders to build an author’s reputation and persuade readers to buy the book. Book reviews are kind of editorial content, and more compelling for many readers than advertising. Reviews are especially important for novelists, as readers of fiction expect a well-written, compelling story, particularly from debut authors.

Reading book reviews, receiving book reviews for your own work, discussing book reviews – it never leaves you cool. And now you are asked to write a review.
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Your questions might be:

• What should the review contain?
• Can I voice my opinion?
• What are the do’s and don’ts of reviews?

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Play the Game

Introduce the book title and its author and why you wanted to read it. Tell readers what the book is about in two or three sentences. Name the main characters and basic plot, but don’t give away any secrets or the ending.

Write about what you liked in the book or didn’t like and why. Share some of your favorite parts or quotes from the book. What did you think of the main character?

Share your opinion of the book. Would you recommend it to your friends? Why or why not? Do you think some people would like it but not others? Why? Did this book remind you of any other books you’ve read?

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Review Writing Techniques

• While Reading:
  Take notes while reading the book, including the page number of interesting content, to make the review writing easier and to remember important points. Record impressions.
• Opening
  Try to capture the reader’s attention with an interesting opening sentence. The introduction should state your central thesis, and set the tone of the review.Outline the title of the book, the genre, the author and maybe if it is a newly launched book. What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it?
• Content, Theme
  Describe the content or theme, what goes on in the story, introduce some of the main characters and elements. From what point of view is the work written? What is the author’s style? Is it formal or informal? Does it suit the intended audience?Write it a briefly, general story line, as not to spoil the readers experience. This rule must always be followed: never give away the ending.
• Plot
  Then review the plot. Here you should think about (and by think about, write down) how good the plot was. Was the plot fast paced or subdued’, was the plot a good length, or was it all over too quick, was easy or difficult to follow. This part of your review is really important, as the plot is what drives a story in a fiction book.
• Characters
  How does the author portray his characters? How do they develop? Are the characters in the book interesting or not, did they fit with the plot? Or has the author a very distinct writing style? Use quotations to illustrate important points or peculiarities.
• Compare to other Books
  What you liked / disliked and why, always give examples. Was the story interesting, entertaining, instructive. Comment on things you enjoyed and did not enjoy.
• Non-fiction Books:
  What sources did the author use – primary or secondary? How does he make use of them? What has the book accomplished? Is further work needed? Compare the book to others by this author or by other writers.
• Conclusion
  It can include a final assessment or simply restate your thesis.
• Before you Publish
  Edit, spell-check, correct grammar, refine. Allow some time to elapse before going over your review. Carefully read through the text, looking for clarity and coherence.

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Reviews Don’ts:
Unfortunately there are these “collectors” of free books on Amazon, who click on every book that doesn’t cost anything on a particular day, no matter if it interests them or not. Later they might read it – and often slash it in a very unprofessional manner. What can you do about it as an author, will be the topic of a future blog post.
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Even when it is most difficult, a review is not an emotional response to a book, and should not be used as an opportunity to criticize an author’s personality. A book review should never be used as a “bully pulpit” for the reviewer to preach to others about his or her own beliefs.
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A review is not a synopsis of the books content. A review should tell readers what the reviewer thought of the book from multiple perspectives, not to repeat the book blurb.
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Try to avoid platitudes, such as “I could not put it down”, “a page turner” or “it kept me up all night”

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Reviewers Role
Take care to be impartial. If you’re reviewing a book by a favorite author of yours, approach it skeptically. If you disagree with an author’s philosophy or politics, keep an open mind. Your task is not to champion or chastise the author – it is to evaluate the merits of the work.

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As more reviews you write – as easier it gets, and as more fun you will have. You will be surprised to see: As more reviews you write, as more reviews you will receive in turn for your own books. It’s a two-way street … And: writing reviews is the most precious gift you can make to any writer!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Gratitude for 160,000 Readers – and Apology

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Today’s post is a big THANK YOU to all my readers of the last 22 months. 

Thanks for signing up, coming here day for day, and for recommending this blog to your friends and

fellow writers. And thanks for writing comments – of which 99% are praise and encouragement.
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I really enjoy writing these tips for authors and if I would have the time, I would write even more.

Well, time constrains … working on my computer, often for 16 hours a day, including weekends, I still

cannot follow up with everything. I am giving lectures in publishing and book marketing and have to

travel extensively and when I am back in the office, I struggle to make up for the time lost. My clients

who signed up for book marketing need help and advice, new books have to be created, articles to be

written, meetings with our computer whiz, social media tasks to be full-filled… the chores are never

ending. But I am sure, most of you have the same struggles.

Last night I was  shocked when I discovered that I had not yet answered 492 comments during the

last months. It’s not that I haven’t seen them from time to time, but always in a hurry to finish my blog

posts, I thought I will answer them later, and did not realize how many have finally accumulated, who

needs approval or answer. I immediately stopped and started to work on these, but certainly could not

finish them all and will work on more these days.
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Sorry to all of you who did not (yet) get a reply:  I really appreciate your comments a lot!  And I am

extremely thankful for such a loyal following.  Please bear with me :  )  even when I am not answering

immediately.  Please also know that English is not my mother language and I am writing

constantly with a dictionary and a Thesaurus on my screen, which sometimes slows me down a bit.

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Again, thanks for all you comments and your loyalty and I hope, you will get lots of encouragement,

from reading these tips  and implementing it into your publishing and book marketing career.

All the very best and have a great Easter week.

Doris

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How to Use Photos on the Internet

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Antique Rolleiflex Camera

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My largest visitor stream I ever got on any blog was via Google Image Search. People were looking for a certain image on Google and found my website. The photo had the right size, motive and it was named with the right keywords.
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Improve SEO through your photos
There is more to it, than just placing attractive photos on your blog or website. Here are some tips how you can optimize your photos to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and to get more traffic to your website or blog.
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Reduce the file size of your photos
NOT the dimensions of the image, but the pixel size. When you re-size a photo manually in WordPress (for example) you only change the dimensions, and the amount of pixel stays almost the same. A file size of 1.8 MB can be easily reduced to 300 Kb without compromising the quality for the viewer. Adobe Photoshop or Adobe “Lightroom” software can be used to re-size the photo’s pixels – not the dimension! Important: Make a copy of your original photo BEFORE you re-size. Otherwise it would be lost forever and you would keep only the lower pixel version. There is no way back!
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Name your photos
File593730.jpg or DSC_8405037.jpg is not helpful to you and totally meaningless to search engines. Keywords in the photos name should be separated by hyphens, NOT underscores, and shouldn’t be squeezed into a single word, e.g. Antique-Leica-Camera.jpg.
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Always use ALT tags
Wordpress makes it easy for you when adding photos to your text. The fields for Title, Description, ALT and caption are build-in, so you can fill them out easily. Search engines can’t “see” photos, but “read” keywords, that describes your image. Keywords that you use on your web page should work together with the keywords you use for your images.
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Where to find inexpensive photos?
You might be an avid photographer, just like me, taking often several hundred images a month. However, from time to time the need for a certain motive arises, and the question is, where to turn to for inexpensive images for a blog or a web site? A lot of research brought up a handful of online offers that I like to share with you.
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Find websites in these articles that provide good deals on royalty-free photographs or even free ones. If you don’t know the difference between royalty-free and free photos, take the time to read these articles thoroughly.
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Where to find free photos and illustrations?

Part II of Free Image Sources

Part III of Free Image Sources

Part IV Free – Inexpensive Photo Sources

Why Steal When You Can Get it for Free ?

5 Laws Writers Should Know to Avoid Getting Sued

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Reminder: How to Write a Blog / Internet Content

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I just read a blog with terrific content, but it was so hard to read, that I almost skipped the post: 35 lines in one shot! No … , no sub-headings, no bold text, no links, no images… just plain text.  What was the author thinking? Has she never been to other blogs or even read content of websites? Well she is not alone, too many blogs are written like this.
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Writing for the internet is NOT the same as writing a book.  Research studies confirm how user read on the web:  They don’t !!!

People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. In research on how people read websites we found that 79 percent of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word.
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Web pages have to employ scanable text, using

• one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)
• the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion
• half the word count (or less) than conventional writing
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What’s more?
Credibility is important for Web users, since it is unclear who is behind information on the Web and whether a page can be trusted.  Credibility can be increased by high-quality graphics, good writing, and use of outbound hypertext links.  Links to other sites show that the authors have done their homework and are not afraid to let readers visit other sites.
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Harald Weinreich, a German researcher compiled a dataset, detailing 59,573 page views. Just three of his many findings:

• 10,163 page views (17%) that lasted less than 4 seconds
• 2,615 page views (4%) that lasted more than 10 minutes
• On an average visit, users read half the information only on those pages with 111 words or less. Users will read about 20% to 28% of the text on the average page.

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So, what can you do to make your blog post / web content easy to read / scan?

• Split it in content chunks / paragraphs
• Write interesting page titles that grab the attention
• Use headings and subheadings to structure the chunk of text
• Write summaries at the end of each page
• Make lists, using bullets and numbers
• Embed links, at least 3 or 4 on each page – good for SEO too!

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Obviously, users tend to spend more time on pages with more information, structured and easy to read content – and lots of links.    Happy blogging!

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

Twitter:   @111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS      111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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As an Author-Publisher You Are Not Alone

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It’s an adventure for sure … and you never wanted to become an entrepreneur! You just wanted to write. Publishing and marketing are almost scary tasks for you. It seems, as if you have to learn a complete new profession. The writing is finished, yet there are so many new challenges approaching:

• proofreading and editing
• cover design and ebook formatting
• uploading to all online retailers
• choosing a print form and get a layouter
• getting articles published about you and your book

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And more questions are coming up:

• why do I have to market my book, even it is on Amazon?
• what on earth is a “platform”?
• why should I create a brand as author?
• why and how should I create a blog/website?
• why do I have to be on these social media sites?
• why join several reader forums?

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So, how can you make self-publishing and book marketing an enjoyable journey, how can you learn it all, without even studying economy, marketing, e-publishing etc ?
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Take advantage of our professional help to learn:

• how you can establish a brand as a writer
• the publishing and retail possibilities
• all the pre-publishing book marketing steps
• blogging & automatic posting of your articles to Twitter, FB, Google+, Goodreads…
• how to make lots of reader contacts on several social media sites
• researching your possible competition & popularity of genres/positioning
• how to identify your target readers & plan your blog content & marketing strategies
• how to get lots of readers & reviewers

… and the list goes on and on
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Would you learn to drive a car or fly a plane without instructor?
Compare learning to be a successful author-publisher to getting a drivers licence or learning a new language or to fly an airplane: It is frightening first, but once you have learned it – with a professional instructor on your site – and you gain self-confidence, it becomes sheer pleasure. Would you learn to drive a car, learn a new language or fly a plane without instructor?

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Everything you accomplished in life makes you proud and is fun doing! So will be author-publishing and book marketing.
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“Nobody ever made money writing a book – only by selling it”
If you want to get help and valuable support, for less than $1/per day: Sign up now for an individual Book Marketing online seminar & coaching, customized to YOUR book and your needs. Get practical support to market your book almost for free. Get all the details: www.111Publishing.com/seminar

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9 Reasons to Get Help Boosting Your Books Success

3 Options for Authors to Sell their Books

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6 Social Media Sites, Essential for Writers

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Going through my list of tweets for the day, I paused at this one:
1. Why engage in yet another social media when I am already on Twitter, Pinterest & Facebook ?
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It reminded me of other statements from new writers, I hear on a daily basis:
2. None of my friends is on Google+ …
3. I have a website, why should I additionally have a blog?
4. Writing my book, I don’t have time for all these Social Media…

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Answer for question 1 and 2 – Google+
This says it all: Google+ = Google, the famous Search Engine… You don’t join Google+ to meet your friends and family as you do on Facebook!  You join to improve your Search Engine Ranking: As the main search engine, Google indexes and ranks its own site much higher than any other content. Google+ posts – with a main keyword in the first sentence / title – will rank well in Google search and often show up on the first page, for a long time.  And now Google+ outranks Twitter as no. 2 social network, having more active users than Twitter!

On Google+ authors can create a separate page for each of their books. You have immense space to show images, such as your books cover, even if it has 36 MB and you can show your book as often as you want. More reasons to be on Google+ can be found in a former article: “7 Reasons Why Google+ is Perfect for Writers“

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Answer to question 3 – Why should I have a blog?
Your website is something very static. You usually don’t do many changes or new content writing. A blog – either on your website – which would increase SEO – or on WordPress or BlogSpot is adding constantly new content. This means search engines index your blog site higher.
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Writing is fun – why else would you have written this novel!  As a writer, it is only a matter of minutes to write a blog post.  And you don’t need much fantasy to come up with topics. You can write about, well, writing, your writers life, the publishing process, what you have learned about marketing your book… the subjects you can write about are endless.

An important reason for a blog is that you can use snippets from the content to fill your social media sites. For sample: use one sentence and a link to your blog and post it as a tweet.  Readers see your post and click on your blog or website – and voila! they learn about your book. Here are two samples from the blog page you are just reading:

Author of “The Wolf’s Moon” Patrick Jones, in an Interview, talking about the characters in his book http://wp.me/p1uIFg-1il

9 Compelling Reasons to Get Marketing Help, Boosting Your Books Success
bit.ly/X3rwul
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Readers and fans have a reason to come back to your blog, as often as you write a new post, and will re-tweet your blogs and spread the message about your book. Plug-ins and share buttons automatically send your blog posts to all your social media sites.
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Answer to statement 4:
What you are just reading here, was automatically send to Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Tumblr, Reddit, Triberr, Yahoo and Goodreads – at the same moment I hit the “publish” button! I don’t need to go to all these sites to fill them with content. What more could you wish for? Writing one blog post, it can be as short as 300 – 500 words an it will be found all over the internet! You certainly can add more Social Media sites to your blogs sharing button, to spread the word even more.

Your post is yet sent more often among Social Media sites:

• Google+ can send your post automatically to Facebook and Twitter, I wrote in December how authors can set up this function. 
• Twitter gets feeds from Google+ and Pinterest, among others
• Facebook for sample gets feeds from Pinterest and Goodreads and your blog
• Pinterest feeds Twitter and Facebook

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SUMMARY: To have maximum exposure for your book and you, as an author, and to save lots of time, join: 

• Google+
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Write a blog.

How to get more followers on your social media sites is explained in one of last months’ blogs, and also at How to Get More Followers on Google+
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Be very selective when choosing followers:
You want READERS and REVIEWERS as followers. NOT your friends. Type into the search functions on top of these pages: readers, book lovers, book worms, reading, love to read etc. to find the right people as your following.
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One last tip: Set up a second page on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – only for your book. Separate it from your existing private presence.
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Part of our Book Marketing package we offer, is dedicated to help you to create or improve your reader community platform, such as:

• create an attractive media presence
• increase the amount of followers
• learn how to connect all these sites 
• and how to save time on Social Media

Find out how else we can help you to have more success  for your books and more fun in marketing.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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2 More Reasons to Have a Blog for Book PR

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In one of my recent articles I have written about Content Marketing via your blog and how to write for the web. Another article encouraged writers to “Start a blog today!” as a New Years resolution.

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Jeff Bullas has written a fantastic article (well, blog) about Content Marketing (for authors, I call it blogging) and the benefits (for the author). He says:

Search
“It is vital for optimizing your website and blogs to rank higher in search engines. The better the content and the more it is shared tells Google and other search engines that your website is worth reading. So it is pushed up the search rankings. If it is really good content it may even appear on the first page or even at number one (by the way by obtaining top ranking it receives about 40% of all clicks).”

Social
“Important for driving social media sharing – the better the content the more it is shared. It is as simple as that. Crap content does not get shared. Fullstop!!”

Key Insights
“Content writing (blogging) provides a solid footing for your marketing as 70% of customers prefer getting to know a company through an article rather than an ad. Websites with blogs receive 55% more visitors. 63% of companies said posting content on social media has increased marketing effectiveness.” 

And then he adds a couple of really good info-graphics, so hop over to Jeff Bullas’ blog to see them and to read the whole article! 

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2012 in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

What a lovely idea!  I was totally surprised … : )

Here’s an excerpt:

19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 100,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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5 Top New Years Resolutions for Authors

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With 2013 just around the corner, are you thinking of the changes you would like to make in your (writers) live?  What are your goals for 2013, besides writing your next book? Where do you want to be in twelve months?

If one of your goals is to have a platform as a writer and successfully market your book(s) then have a look at my suggestions to built a foundation and boost your and your books success. Don’t work harder next year – work smarter!
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1. Start writing a blog TODAY!
You are a writer and creating a 300 to 500 word blog post once or twice a week should be easy for you. This is a very important step for your author platform whether you have a book yet or not. It is your inventory to feed your social media sites. Start before your book comes out so you have already readers waiting for it. Show off your writing skills and write guest blogs for other successful bloggers to even multiply your visibility by linking back to your book sales page or website. Authors need bloggers almost as much as media to help promote their books. Popular bloggers have direct access to your book’s audience. Use your blog to “feed” you social media posts. Create a file to collect snippets from your blog, short sentences under 140 characters. And just copy and paste e.g. into tweets.

2. Use plug-ins to manage your time
Would you like to have SEVEN times! more people read your blog or visit your website? So, how do you get readers to share your posts or website content online? Make it easy for them to share
what you have written with their social networks, so that others can discover your content – and forward it to their followers and friends, and these also forward it to their friends and followers …. You get the idea! Take advantage of the “Share” function on WordPress to ping your blog to all your Social Media sites at one and install Social Media buttons on your website for your readers to spread the word. 

Increase your Social Media presence – automatically!
Being on five Social Media sites is the same “work” as being just on one single site! My suggestion is to be on Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Facebook (in this order).  Plug-ins and ping buttons are not the only helpers in spreading your content. Almost all Social Media and even forums, such as Goodreads are connect-able.

Your blog post can be automatically transferred to Goodreads. But that’s not all: copy the URL of your blog post and paste into your Facebook page, in your Google+ page and on Chime.in just to name a few. It will be transformed automatically into a mini blog including an image of your blog post and a link. All this saves you time, quality time to interact with your followers and friends on Social Media. Don’t use these sites as sales bill boards – it’s about people!

4. Create a fabulous biography / avatar
Written once, it can be used on your books blurb, your Amazon / Goodreads author pages, on all social Media Sites, for pitches to publishers, on guest blogs …. you name it. Keep it related to you as an author or your books. And get a professional, high quality portrait!  It is a small investment for many uses and for many years to come.

5. Get help from peers
I mean not only your friends, including social media friends or family members to “LIKE”, “FOLLOW” or “FRIEND you and your books, but also professional help. Attend writers conferences, writing workshops and seminars in the coming year. You will learn, meet new friends and get new inspirations. You learn tips and tricks and you will get follow up and maybe friends for life.

Did you realize that these 5 suggestions for New Years resolutions are basics? No matter if you want to go with one of the big publishing houses or self-publish: Start your platform in a professional manner – for maximum success.

Let me know what your goals are for 2013.

And don’t forget there is help … Yes, it is a long and sometimes lonely path for self-publishers, who start with a single book, till becoming a bestseller author.. Get all the support you need and take advantage of our great offer until December 31, even if you landed a publishing deal. Read more http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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How to Become an Aureate Web Content Writer

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Web Content Writing
Content marketing is not a fashionable word – it is the most important element of successful online marketing. It is NOT selling, rather informing, entertaining, educating and communicating – and requires internet writing professionals. This is very good news for writers who know how to write for the Internet.  Are you ready? Writing is writing, no matter if a book or Internet content you say? Well, not at all! Writing for the web is a totally different approach!  No matter if you write a guest blog or if you write for a corporation’s website.

How to Write Internet Content
Eye-tracking studies have shown that readers SCAN text (in an F-shaped pattern), rather than READ it. And: website visitors read more slowly on the screen than in print.
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So, how to you use this knowledge for your writing?

• use bullet lists, such as this one
• Create lots of short paragraphs, and give them all a headline
• Keep sentences short, they should never be longer than one line
• Use spell check and a beta reader / software
• Readers like to interact on the Web, so give them lots of links
• Illustrate your text, use lots of  images
• Don’t let your readers scroll on the screen, keep it to one page
• Except prepositions and the words “and” and “the”, all major words in a headline should be capitalized

Online content is not just about words. When you write for the Internet, think “presentation”. Print content is formally written and a passively read. Online content is informally written, interactive and dynamic ..
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Google Authorship for SEO
Google made talented writers even more important with it’s latest SEO updates. Instead of weak content and “unnatural” link building, now sites need strong content that attracts links organically. The times of content farms are over!
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But that’s not all:  Now WHO creates the content matters – which is why Google wants to know who you are via your Google+ authorship profile. The days of lame anonymous content are over. Celebrity writers with demonstrated success and strong social followings will command the highest compensation.  One more reason to be on Google+ !

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Online Content Marketing
From the goal of building a direct relationship with prospective customers and clients, to social media sharing, to Search Engine Optimization – content is what works. This boom in online content marketing will require many more in-house staff and freelancers. The increased demand for talented content creators means compensation and respect for the writer will rise … as long as you understand and assert your own value in the marketplace.
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Soon the business world will realize just how much great writers are worth. Good for Internet-savvy content writers!

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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The Birth of a Book

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Life & Times of “The Fix”

Author Keith Nixon describes in this guest blog his experiences in writing, creating and promoting his latest work, but his first self-published book: “The Fix”.
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Keith Nixon “The Fix”

Conception & Birth
“I’m pretty comfortable with my writing process, over time and a process of elimination I’ve worked out what suits me. Once I have an initial plot idea and some characters (usually behaviors) the fleshing out tends to be evolutionary. I build the outline of both premise and characters and some activities broken down into chapters in a Word document. I then add to it (usually scribbling ideas as they come to me on a handy bit of paper then adding to the Word document later) and modify over a few days and weeks. I’ve found that if I have a decent structure to hang the story on the writing flows and vice versa.

The other significant activity is that of writing itself. I’d suggest, particularly to new writers, to put something down on paper every day and not to edit as you go. If it’s rubbish, so what? That’s not the point. Good will come out of it – this is the basis for future re-writes (which is what takes up the majority of time when producing a novel). The reason for not editing on the fly is, from personal experience, you can end up polishing the same few words over and over without making any overall progress with the plot itself, i.e. the result is a literary eddy. Lots of activity, very little forward motion.
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Growing & Maturing
Although I’ve written several books The Fix is my first experience of editing and self publishing. I’ve been fortunate enough to find a really good copy editor, I almost didn’t use one but I now know going to print without editing would have been a significant mistake. Although the editing didn’t change anything significant in the structure of the story it helped the flow, dealt with consistency errors and improved the punctuation (I have a tendency to be underweight in commas). I’d suggest editing is one of the most important tasks following the completion of your novel.

Publishing on Amazon I found fairly straightforward, but I spent quite a bit of time formatting the layout as what looked fine in Word did not once transformed onto my Kindle. I managed to iron out the issues but at the expense of time. What I should have done was to use a tool such as Calibre and then uploaded the book as a .mobi file. I’ve since done this myself. Calibre has been great for modifying the file into different formats, for example ePub is preferred by the Goodreads site if publishing an excerpt for others to views.
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With independent publishing instead I have complete control of where and how I sell The Fix, the pricing strategy, everything. It’s daunting, but at the same time empowering.  I went down the independent publishing route after I tried to get interest in an earlier book, a historical fiction story, through the traditional route of agents and publishers. Although I received some warm words of support, none were interested in picking it up. Feedback was very slow and I wasted around a year to get …nowhere. Very disheartening.
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Fleeing The Nest
“The Fix” is only recently launched and although it is selling steadily and the feedback has been very positive, there’s still plenty to do in getting it visible to a wider audience. On the subject of marketing, I made some effort to get my name and that of my book into the public domain before publication. However my activity was limited because I felt I needed something solid to promote first although this flies in the face of advice I have seen elsewhere. I now have Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads accounts to promote The Fix. Although I can’t say this has led to a measurable increase in sales I have built a good network of contacts and learnt plenty from others far more experienced than I.
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For example I’ve picked up guest blogging opportunities such as this. Secondly I have become a reviewer on the site Big Al’s Books & Pals  which focuses purely on indie authors. As a result I get to indulge in my other passion – reading. The downside of social media is it can be obsessive and therefore leaves less time for writing. However overall I’m really pleased to have used social media, there are some great people out there I won’t have otherwise met.”
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The Father Figure
Keith Nixon has been writing since he was a child. In fact some of his friends (& his wife) say he’s never really grown up. Keith is currently gainfully employed in a global sales management role for a UK based high-tech company meaning he regularly gets to use his one skill, talking too much. He also gets to meet lots of interesting people, some of which may be in his books. However Keith spends much of his time by the sea in a small town called Broadstairs, where Charles Dickens briefly lived & also inspired The 39 Steps.
Keith has published a crime / humour novel,”The Fix” (Murder. Theft. Sociopaths. Just another day in banking then…)  and has a historical fiction series on the way soon. He has also written comedy and drama screenplays. His measure of achieving success is when he can ditch his socks, watch and tie forever (still waiting). Oh yes, & he likes to read. A lot. Crime, thrillers, humour, mystery or fantasy – as long as they’re well written of course…
He can be found on Twitter (@knntom) and Goodreads if you would like to contact him.  ”The Fix” is on Amazon: Amazon.co.uk/dp/B009ZITONW  or http://amzn.com/B009ZITONW for the USA readers.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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How-to Automatically Post on Twitter from Your Google+ Page

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As more writers are engaged in Social Media and as more platforms they use, as easier it gets! Don’t believe me? OK, I will explain:  You write the posts – snippets from your blog or short announcements only once, but then you copy and paste them to several of your Social Media sites. I wrote already in one of the last posts, how you can implement your blog automatically into your Goodreads Authors program.

Here is another opportunity for an automatic feed: When you post on your Google+ account, it will automatically go to Twitter as well – at least the first 140 letters of your post.
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Here is how to set it up:
There are many free services that do this, one of the best sites to do this is ManageFlitter.

Start with opening your Google+ account and go to your profile. The URL should be http://plus.google.com/ followed by a long number, then /posts. This is your unique profile URL.
Select and copy it.

• Go to the ManageFlitter home page and click “Start.”
• Click “Connect to Twitter”
• Select the “Dashboard” tab,
• then click “Turn on/off Google+ sharing”
• Paste in your Google+ profile URL you just copied
• and then click “Start Sharing.”

It’s easy to get automatically everything you post on Google+ also post to Twitter. From now on, everything you post on Google+ will be tweeted on Twitter, with a link back to the Google+ post.
Congratulation! You made it!

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

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