Interview With Author John Hoda

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Today’s author interview is with John Hoda, who wrote Phantasy Baseball, a story in which Joe’s picture-perfect marriage is crumbling, wrecked by his only child’s drug and alcohol abuse. His last days as a little league coach ends with a surprise at the sports banquet. Little does Joe realize the real impact of winning the grand prize.  In a world where second chances are few and precious, follow Joe’s remarkable journey for a baseball season like no other. 

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John Hoda, locker room

John, what inspired you to start writing?
Throughout my life, when I would finish telling a story, people would oft remark, “you outta write a book about that.” I had this Baseball story kicking around in my head for years. I am a fairly good story-teller with award-winning business writing skills. I was not afraid to tackle major projects like running a marathon or playing semi-pro football at age 46. And I am an entrepreneur and have launched four businesses. I wasn’t afraid to write this novel.

How did you get the idea for the novel?
Before I would drift off to sleep some nights, I day-dreamed about a little league coach with an un-hit-able knuckle ball. He somehow made it to the big-leagues, but I couldn’t figure out how. Then one day, I went to a game and saw an advertisement for Phantasy Baseball Camp in the program. Anyone over thirty years old could fly to Florida in January and play baseball with their heroes of yesteryear. That is when it the pieces all fit together. Six weeks later I was starting the prologue.
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How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
It’s a feel-good book about making the best of your second chances. A little league coach finds out that he has a magical pitch when he attends Phantasy Baseball Camp where he strikes out former major leaguers. Through luck and circumstance, he gets a once in a lifetime chance to pitch for his beloved Philadelphia Phillies.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
Babe Ruth said it best: “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”  What’s more: Pro Athletes can make great philanthropists by leveraging their network and acting as a change catalyst. Alcoholics Anonymous is still as relevant and successful in helping people overcome addictions as when they first started. Baseball is a game and Major League Baseball is a business, do not confuse the two, but both can be played with joy.
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Are your characters based on real people?
Composites of people and ballplayers that I have observed all my life. I am a former police officer and insurance fraud investigator. I am presently a private investigator and missing heir researcher. I am an expert at interviewing people. I have hundreds of great stories from the cases that I have worked on.
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Who is your favorite character and why?
Stew Menke, The sports writer. Boy can he write!
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Are your plots based on your real-life experiences?
Absolutely! Except I don’t know any pitcher dead or alive to throw a no-seam knuckle ball.
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Phantasy Baseball

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
FEEL-GOOD PAGE-TURNER. LOVED IT!
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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?Second Chances. It would feature people that took a chance and succeeded against steep odds.
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How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?
It tells the story of a magical baseball season much in the way ROCKY is the story of a fighter who gets a fluke chance to fight for the Heavyweight Championship and a second chance to get his respect back.
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?
I start thinking about my next scenes on Thursday and Friday. I like to write on Saturdays and Sundays. When I edit on Mondays and Tuesday, I get to re-read what I just wrote and when I have a scene that gives me goose bumps on the re-read, I know I have a scene that sizzles. That’ the best. The least favorite is the marketing and promoting; that’s when it becomes a part-time business that I have to make time for.
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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
I covered most of a fictitious baseball season and  sum up in a compelling narrative, I created a sports writer  that was a compilation of all the great Philly sports writers that I grew up reading. His columns impart information and advance the story on an emotional level almost as well as dialogue.
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John Hoda and his son

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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
Sure. I was afraid that the baseball purists would say that I didn’t understand the game. I could have written it with a more wider audience in mind.
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What genre have you not yet written but really want to try?
Funny you should ask, the one I am working on now is a suspense novel and I am planning a creative non-fiction to follow.
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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Casey Affleck. Also, I wonder if he is left-handed.
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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
I wrote the words “The End” for Phantasy Baseball on September 21, 2012. After my beta-readers and critique group told me that the rough draft wasn’t crap, I had to decide to go either traditional or self-pub. I had been reading The Newbies Guide to Getting Published a blog collection by J.A. Konrath and my decision was really a no-brainer.

I knew a great artist, who would do my cover, found the content editor and secured a copy editor as well. I spent some real money on getting the cover right and polishing the manuscript until it gleamed. I lined up E-Book Architects for the formatting and Bookbaby for the aggregating. Then I secured a formatter and CreateSpace did the soft-cover. While the final edits and formatting/aggregating was taking place in the beginning of the year, I began creating my author’s platform with 111Publishing. Phantasy Baseball was then available as an e-Book in early February and in print through Amazon and CreateSpace by the end of the month. I had my official book launch on March 23, 2013 as planned, a week before opening day of the baseball season.
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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Write the best damn book you can. Don’t be cheap on the cover or on the editing. Realize that you have to promote and market your book if you want your readers to find it, otherwise you will have have an expensive coaster on your coffee table.
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What do you find is the best part of being an author?
One night at 8 pm, I brewed a cup of caffeine stimulant and let it cool while I started writing. I reached for the cup and it was cold. Strange, I thought. Then I looked at my watch, it was 1am.  Five hours went by in a blink of an eye.
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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
WORKING WITH YOU, OF COURSE!
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I tried out and won a roster spot on a semi-pro football team as a 46 year-old punter and place kicker.
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John, thanks a lot for taking the time for this interview. And where can people learn more about your writing and can get your novel Phantasy Baseball?

Phantasy Baseball book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqnmR9YvzCM
Website: http://www.PhantasyBaseballNovel.com

Online retailers:
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple
Kobo

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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 more than 760 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.

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Celebration and Gratitude for 200.000 Blog Readers!

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Celebrating!

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A big THANK YOU to all my blog readers of the last two years who learned about publishing and book marketing from almost 770 blog posts!!!  Today, the 200.000th  reader logged into https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com.  A reason to be really grateful! Even if it is only hobby, or better a mission to support author-publishers. Thanks for subscribing, for coming here day for day and for recommending this blog to your friends and fellow writers – or to even re-blog it.
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Thanks for writing these comments
– of which 99% are praise and encouragement. 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. I really enjoy writing these tips for authors and if I would have the time, I would write even more, and answer your comments faster.

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Soon this blog will invite all readers to sign iup for a newsletter
with even more in-dept information and also news of free or
reduced books. Let us know if you want your book promoted
on free KDP days or 99-cent promotions.

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Celebrating 200.000 Readers

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Again, thanks for subscribing to this blog and for all your comments and your loyalty and I hope, you will gain lots of encouragement from reading these tips and you implement them into your publishing and book marketing career.
Doris

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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 more than 760 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.

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99% of All Manuscripts Will Be Accepted …

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Stop Vanity Publishing

… and will be printed – but only by Vanity Publishers (aka Subsidy Publishers) – as long as the author is willing to pay their totally inflated prices.

The main goal of these vanity publishers is to have their printing company busy, so they are not really into executing the work of a traditional publisher.

A background check reveals in almost all cases that they are either printers or affiliated with a printing company.  I learned that even one of the best Canadian book printing companies went into vanity publishing a year ago.

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You often might have seen these small ads in literary magazines or on the internet:  “If your book deserves publication, send your manuscript now to …”.  And authors do not have to wait long for a response to their submission.
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Money upfront
Authors are certainly surprised when they encounter a publisher who wants money up-front. It should be the other way around shouldn’t it?  After the author, having signed a hefty check, eventually learns that paying for publication is no guarantee that a single copy of his book will appear in any book shop, not even the local ones.

Many vanity publishers will charge somewhere between $8,000 to $20,000 (or even more) to publish a book depending upon its length. Why would an author pay $20,000 when he or she can have the same book printed for $1,500?
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Contract full of (empty) promises
Nevertheless, the contract will be full of promises:  What exactly will be paid to the author for subsequent reprinting, subsidiary, for audio and e-books, mass-market paperback rights, TV & Radio rights, merchandising and commercial rights and even film and foreign rights – to make the author believing that his “publisher” actively solicits his manuscript in Hollywood.

Vanity contracts include usually a certain amount of “free” copies for the author; sometimes even as much as 10 books and if he/ she require more, they have to be paid. In reality, the author is paying for them twice…
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The stock of unsold books remains the property of the publisher
so if there is a chance to remainder them later, he cashes the proceeds. In most cases, only a certain number of copies (I suspect not even this will happen) in an edition will actually be bound; the rest will remain in the warehouse as flat printed sheets until required, which is probably never. However the author has paid in advance for complete books!!!  And I have never met an author who goes into the print shop / binder to watch his or her books manufactured or to see them stored in the warehouse.

Vanity / subsidy publishers are not concerned with editing, promotion, sales or distribution – unless the author pays additionally. For most vanity books, neither exists, and should review copies really being sent out: Reviewers are wary of vanity presses because they know that little attention is paid to the editing of the book. Unless the vanity house has a proven distribution and sales organization, the author is going to have to sell it himself and usually the book sells fewer than 200 copies.
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As seen in a Vanity publisher contract:
“In the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of the publisher for any cause whatever, the author shall have the right to buy back the publications at fair market value to be determined by agreement or arbitration.” (That means, die author has to pay a second time for all his unsold books).  “If the author does not purchase remaining copies of the book, the representative of the publisher shall have the right to sell same at the best obtainable price without payment of royalty to the author.”
Unbelievable! Unethical! Criminal!
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Beware of these signs:

• Don’t trust flattering letters concerning your manuscript.
• Be suspicious of vague promises of quality production. You will not get it in writing…
• Be wary of promises to sell television and film rights, serial books and other money-making options.
• Read, read and read once more the contract.
• Don’t pay a dime, get a copy of the contract and show it to a lawyer that is specialized in contract / copyright law.
• Watch out for contract clauses, that allow the publisher to renegotiate his initial pitch, and also where the “Publisher shall have the right to license the rights set forth”.

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Beside their over-the-top printing prices, Vanity publishers might cheat you in a contract that expires only 50 years after your death and with worldwide rights, even universe rights – a contract that a friend of mine signed in Ontario, Canada (and paid dearly).

“The author hereby grants the publisher, during the full term of copyright, the sole and exclusive right to manufacture, print, publish and sell and to otherwise use, as set out further in this agreement, including, but not limited to, acting as agent and/or exercising any or all subsidiary rights, throughout the universe the work.” And: “The copyright remains with the author, until fifty (50) years after the death of the author. All covenants and grants of the author shall bind the author’s successors or assigns.
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Vanity Publishers / Subsidy Publishers are not actively promoting books.  Their business is not publishing, but printing and selling authors all kind of over-priced services.  Despite all these warnings, there are still writers who fall into the trap of vanity / subsidy publishing. And as soon as one vanity publisher goes out of business, another fills the gap.  

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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 more than 760 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.

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@111publishing

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12 Reasons to Get the Help of a Mentor

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12 Reasons

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Writing a book and then promoting it, are two different things… Don’t forget: Writing is an art – publishing a business!  You are a very talented author who has written a fantastic book, or even several – but the publishing / promoting process is an adventure and it can take up quite some of your valuable writing time. So it is smart to get professional help, especially when it is so easy and inexpensive, and when you can learn a lot about publishing and publicizing your future books. 

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12 Main Reasons to Choose our Valuable Book Marketing Help:

1. Introduction of your book on dozens of Google+ reader communities with a 60,000+ audience
2. Unlimited book marketing consultations by email for up to three months
3. Unlimited social media help for up to three months
4. Three hours of one-on-one Book Marketing Online Seminar phone-consultations
5. Instructions / checklist / links for you to use for your book promotions
6. Advertising of your book on free days /promotions with Amazon KDP to 315.000+ readers
7. Blog posts including cover image/author bio/book description on both, blog & our websites
8. Author interview on our blog website – this article stays there forever!
9. “Book of the Month” recommendation to more than 3,200 readers on Goodreads etc.
10. Book ads several times/week for 3 months on all sites to more than 600.000+ readers
11. Free e-book for you: “Book Marketing on a Shoestring” launch Summer 2013
12. Plus one surprise gift we will reveal once you signed up!
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We certainly customize our Book Publishing and Marketing Support
directly to your book and your needs!
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What former clients say:

• “Thank you so much. You are amazing, so helpful to all of us who are starting down the road of self publishing. I just printed that blog post off this morning and will start to act on it today. You are an inspiration. Thanks again for everything.”
• “Your advice all along the way has been so very valuable to help me make those important decisions, thank you so much for that”
• “Boy, you really provide a service. If you ever need a reference, count me in. Anything I can do to promote you back. You rock.”
• “I am so happy with 111Publishing for helping me out. If ANYONE is self-publishing a book I highly recommend using her for consulting. Thank you Doris for saving me $3700

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And this is how it works:
It all starts with our purchase of your book and then an evaluation of your book’s sales page, your social media presence and your marketing activities so far. We will explain you the benefits of various steps in building the platform for you as an author and how you can establish a brand without incurring extra cost, such as expensive ads or how to avoid costly POD’s.
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Take advantage of our professional help, we have studied business, marketing and e-publishing and have 30 years publishing experience. We customize coaching to your needs and explain you:

• researching your possible competition & popularity of genres/positioning
• how to identify your target readers & plan your blog content & marketing strategies
• how to find lots of readers, book bloggers & reviewers
• the publishing and retail possibilities
• all the pre-publishing book marketing steps
• how you can establish a brand as a writer
• blogging & posting of your articles to Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, Tumblr, Chime.in…
• how to save a lot of time using social media sites for reader contacts
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You just wanted to write – and upload your book to Amazon, Kobo or Barnes&Noble, expecting that it becomes an instant hit. And now a new challenge comes up: book promotion.

Sign up today to take advantage of this limited offer for only a bit more than a dollar / per day (= $179 for 3 months):   http://www.111Publishing.com/seminars

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Our blog has had now 615,000 readers/visitors and 1,200 subscribers. On Twitter we have more than 40.000 followers on two accounts, in our Google+ circles & communities are 60,000+ people. On Goodreads we have 3.200 friends, not to mention Pinterest, Tumblr, StumpleUpon, Facebook with two accounts, 111Publishing.com  website… and some more … Why do we list all this? To show you how much visibility your book(s) can get when we help you to built a community/network platform and a brand for you as an author. We show your book constantly on all these sites!
Articles about your book, your author interview etc. will appear on two websites, one of them belongs to the 9% most visited sites in the USA, according to Alexa.com web ranking!

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Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 785 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.

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Top Benefits of Goodreads Author Program

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Goodreads Author Program – use it to promote yourself and your books.  What is the Goodreads Author Program?

Goodreads explains their Author Program: a completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors to promote their books.

What Can You Do as a Goodreads Author?
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1. Take Control of Your Profile

Make your profile a dynamic destination for curious readers. Here are some of the features you can use on your profile:

• Add a picture and bio.
• Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans!
• Write a blog and generate a band of followers.
• Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements.
• Share book excerpts and other writing.
• Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.
• Post videos.
• Add the Goodreads Author widget to to your personal website or blog to show off reviews of your books.

2. Promote Your Books

Get the word out! Here are some of the promotional tools available on Goodreads:

• Sign up to advertise your book to up to the Goodreads Community—16,000,000 readers!
• List a book giveaway to generate pre-launch buzz.
• Lead a Q&A discussion group for readers.
• Participate in discussions on your profile, in groups and in the discussion forums for your books.
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How do I join?

1. If you are already a Goodreads member, make sure you are signed in. If not, Sign up for an account.
2. Search for yourself and click on your published author name. The author name is listed below the title of your book in the search results. If you do not find your book in our database of published works, please see section below (who can join).
3. Clicking on your name takes you to your basic author profile page. This page has your name at the top and “author profile” to the right of your name. This page is part of our database of books and authors and is separate from your member profile page (which lists your bookshelves and friends).
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click “Is this you?” to send a request to join the Author Program. Please give us a few days to process your request. You will receive email confirmation when we successfully upgrade your user account to an author account. Joining the program merges your author page with your member page. The email will also contain further instructions for managing your author profile.
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Who Can Join?

The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are in the process of publishing a book. It’s best if your work is on a bookseller’s website, such as Amazon.com or BN.com, but we will accept any author who has published a book. This includes authors from other countries as well as authors who are self-published (such as through Barnes & Noble pubit! or services like Lulu). If your book is self-published and is not yet in the Goodreads database, you may manually add it.

If you are a writer but have not yet published a book, you may want to check out the writing section of your profile where you can post your writing for others to read and review.

Questions? Email us. Already joined? See more on how to use the Author Program effectively at our how to page.

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How To Use the Author Program

Learn more about how to promote your books with special tools on Goodreads. Each slideshow demonstrates a different aspect of our Author Program.

Author Profile, Author Dashboard, and Widgets

All members of Goodreads have regular reader profiles where they can review books, add friends, and post information about themselves. When an author signs up for Goodreads, he or she begins with this basic user profile.

For any book listed in the Goodreads catalog, you can click on the author’s name to find the author profile. This page lists all of the author’s published work, whether he or she is a member of Goodreads or not. When an author joins the Author Program we merge his or her user profile with the author profile. Becoming a Goodreads Author carries special privileges, such as the ability to

• edit profile information,
• add book cover images,
• post events,
• write a blog,
• upload videos,
• and start featured author groups.

After you’ve signed up for the Author Program, your log-in process does not change: You’ll still use the same username and password, but now your user profile will point to your author profile. You’ll also have access to a special Author Dashboard that contains useful links and statistics about your books.

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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 more than 760 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

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Are You Looking for a Publisher?

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Amazon.com recently announced Kindle Worlds, a digital publishing platform devoted entirely to fan fiction.  It is a broadly-defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator.  Unlike when you self-publish your book and load it up to Amazon as seller, with Kindle Worlds Amazon is the publisher and you are selling your work to them forever.
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From Amazon’s Web site:

Get ready for Kindle Worlds, a place for you to publish fan fiction inspired by popular books, shows, movies, comics, music, and games. With Kindle Worlds, you can write new stories based on featured Worlds, engage an audience of readers, and earn royalties. Amazon Publishing has secured licenses from Warner Bros. for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries, with licenses for more Worlds on the way.
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Kindle Worlds for Authors

Kindle Worlds is easy to use. When the Kindle Worlds Self-Service Submission Platform opens, you will be able to upload your story easily—along with a title, editorial description, and other information. Sign up to be notified when we launch the platform.

• Kindle Worlds will accept novels, novellas, and short stories inspired by the Worlds we have licensed.
• Using our Cover Creator, you will be able to design a cover for your Kindle Worlds story.
• World Licensors have provided Content Guidelines for each World, and your work must follow these Content Guidelines. We strongly encourage you to read the Content Guidelines before you commit the time and effort to write.
• Stories will be available in digital format exclusively on Amazon.com, Kindle devices, iOS, Android, and PC/Mac via our Kindle Free Reading apps. We hope to offer additional formats in the future.
• You will receive monthly royalty reports and payments for all copies sold.

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Here are the details that will help you get started:

• All works accepted for Kindle Worlds will be published by Amazon Publishing.
• Amazon Publishing will pay royalties to the rights holder for the World (we call them World Licensors) and to you. Your standard royalty rate for works of at least 10,000 words will be 35% of net revenue.
• In addition, with the launch of Kindle Worlds, Amazon Publishing will pilot an experimental new program for particularly short works (between 5,000 and 10,000 words). For these short stories—typically priced under one dollar—Amazon will pay the royalties for the World Licensor and will pay authors a digital royalty of 20% of net revenue. The lower royalty for these shorter works is due to significantly higher fixed costs per digital copy (for example, credit-card fees) when prices for the entire class of content will likely be under one dollar.
• As with all titles from Amazon Publishing, Kindle Worlds will base net revenue off of customer sales price—rather than the lower industry standard of wholesale price—and royalties will be paid monthly.
• Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights, for the term of copyright.

Prachi Gupta from Salon.com

“Through these licenses, or “Worlds,” as Amazon has named them, approved fan fiction pitches will be published by Amazon Publishing, who will pay royalties to the rights holders and the writers. Works of at least 10,000 words will yield 35 percent of net revenue, while stories ranging between 5,000 and 10,000 words will yield 20 percent of net revenue. Titles will go on sale in the Kindle store, priced between $0.99 and $3.99. A note of caution to writers, however: Amazon will retain the copyright to the text.”

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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 more than 760 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

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Did You Use Fiverr Already?

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Big corporations do it – and so can you as a small publisher: out-sourcing tasks to one of th many freelancers. I am sure you have heard or maybe even used Fiverr already.  With several hundred-thousand active listings on the Fiverr site you might find a quick and inexpensive fix for many challenges in self-publishing, website and computer issues and even graphic design jobs. For me, it turned to be a great help for the tiny amount of $5 that I spent on each small gig, ordered at Fiverr. This now 3-year old global online marketplace is offering tasks and services, referred to as ‘gigs’ and micro-jobs, beginning at a cost of $5 per job.

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Fiverr originally started out as a new and very unique concept. There were only these well-known large freelancer sites, such as Elance, Guru and Freelancer in the past.  Fiverr brought in a refreshing change with its flurry of practical micro tasks like CSS micro bugging, social marketing, resume revising and PowerPoint editing help. The site grew to the top 200 in the world since the beginning of 2013.
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Here are some samples of “I will”:

• Will place 40 Delicious, 40 Diigo and 40 StumpleUpon bookmarks for you website/video for $5

• Will write original and effective content up to 500 words for your website for $5

• Will tweet your product, services, or link to my 16,000+ twitter followers for $5

• Will translate any text from 50 to 200 words from English to Spanish and vice versa for $5

• Will draw a cartoon with your messages or sentences for $5

• Will post any message on my Facebook wall of 4,000 friends for $5

• Will convert ANY of your files from one format to another for $5

• Will edit, proofread and provide feedback on any document up to ten pages for $5

• Will audit your website design and usability from a DESIGNERS point of view for $5

• Will make a nice logo design for your business and deliver the LOGO within 3 days for $5

• Will do Performance Testing of your website for $5

• Will teach you how you can Set Up a Database in Excel for $5

• Will edit CSS for you for $5
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http://www.Fiverr.com is really easy to use, give it a try. Snippets from the Wall Street Journal: “Although buyers pay $5, sellers receive less than $4, after PayPal payment-processing and Fiverr fees, which is the primary way the site makes money. PayPal is the payment method and posting or finding a gig is free.  Fiverr.com, is a site that allows you to buy and sell (business) tasks for $5 and the site is a good match for this economy. Buyers are looking for cheap prices and sellers are often unemployed or underemployed, seeking freelance income. There is a bizarre joy to browsing the sometimes hilarious user-created content on the site.”

There are a lot more sites where you can find inexpensive and professional freelancers for all kind of jobs, also not for $5.00. 

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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 more than 760 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.

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Interview with Lara Fawzy, Business Author

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Today’s author interview is with Lara Fawzy, a global marketing specialist and business writer. She authored together with Lucas Dworsky a non-fiction guide book to “Internet B2B marketing in emerging markets” worldwide. It is not only a valuable source for economists and businesses, but also an amazing textbook, describing marketing models, and concludes with detailed case studies showing the ebocube model at work, driving real profits.

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Internet-B2B-marketing-in-emerging-markets

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How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?

It’s the first comprehensive guide to Internet B2B marketing in emerging markets, introducing ebocube model, a framework and methodology business leaders can implement with low-risk and high reward to penetrate the world’s fastest-growing markets, and create significant value where it never existed before.

• The book begins with an up-to-date introduction to emerging markets, including economic potential, languages, culture, time zones, economies, politics, and Internet/mobile penetration.
• Next, the book covers best practices for branding, distribution, segmentation, and collaboration in emerging markets. Then, in the heart of the book, the powerful, three-phase Internet-based B2B marketing and sales model “ebocube” is introduced.
• Readers will learn how to establish metrics and dashboards to stay on track through the entire B2b buying cycle; how to plan and manage campaigns, from selling propositions to media mix; how to utilize email, webcasts, websites, social media, and banner ads in emerging markets; how to mix in offline media and channels; how to budget and manage marketing operations and much more. The book concludes with detailed case studies showing ebocube at work driving real profits.  Emerging Business Online brings together powerful lessons and techniques that are being applied successfully by Cisco and other global leaders.

Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?

Don’t struggle with trial-and-error approaches to Internet B2B marketing in fast-growth emerging markets. Begin with a blueprint that works: ebocube!  The model is called ‘ebocube’, which stands for emerging business online, with cube referring to the visual framework of the three-phase model.

1. Phase One: The Dashboard and the Datacube.
   This phase focuses on reporting on marketing, sales, and company or contact data for the businesses being targeted in emerging markets. It measures what’s working (or not working) and which market is generating the highest return on marketing investment (ROMI). The datacube also represents the quality of contact data to leverage an eCRM strategy. These reports mean business decisions are not based on instinct or assumption, but on numbers and business intelligence.
2. Phase Two: Campaign and Data planning
   Using the ebocube commercial cycle (contact buying cycle/decision-making process and data life cycle), phase two discusses the proposition, messaging, the incentive, localization, budgeting, and integrating the media mix (online and offline) to achieve ebocube commercial cycle goals.
3. Phase Three: Marketing Operations or mops.
   Phase three covers budgeting, planning, executing, tracking, and measuring campaigns to feed the dashboard with meaningful metrics. It also demonstrates how  to feed your company database, with contact and company data, which can be represented in the datacube. Phase three closes the loop on marketing, data, and sales in global markets.
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   ebocube

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What inspired you to start writing ?
A new-generation technology prompted us to write this book that technology is telepresence, the next generation of videoconferencing technology. Telepresence uses the Internet to transfer conference calls as well as high-definition images and presentations. It can provide life-size images and surround sound and can thus create the illusion that all the attendees are in the same room.

Holographic videoconferencing is an application that appears to beam three-dimensional images of people into a room. This is but one example of existing and emerging technologies that present an effective and responsible alternative to world leaders and business executives who currently fly around the world and ride in limousines to meeting locations. Digital and information technologies are allowing businesses in emerging markets to dramatically upgrade their business processes and operations.

As billions of people now access the Internet, emerging nations and markets are increasing their investments in these technologies to give people greater access (and speed) to information. This book explores how and why the Internet and related technologies are redefining how we all conduct business globally. We identify the most salient new ideas shaping the global information marketplace, and explore how these offer government and private sector managers a new generation of digitally based management and communication tools and how businesses in developed markets can develop, emerging, fast growth markets.

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you have learned as a writer from then to now?

***** Start marketing before you publish the book, at least prepare some mailings lists, live events, start a blog, build a platform. If you want a bestseller – learn how to market and sell !!! *****
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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?
My favorite part was seeing the book cover design for the first time, and editing the book content. Typing: did not enjoy this part so much, probably the most tiring part, oh and receiving manuscript rejections, however, it was all worth it in the end when we received a contract from the FT Press Pearson 

 

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
Probably the title would need to be changed, although I like it, I could play with it forever as a marketer. My publisher has a lot of control over the book, pricing, design etc, there are a few things I would have liked to have changed that were advised to us by the publisher. Perhaps I would consider self-publishing in the future.

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How did you get published? Please share your own personal journey.
We good published by a major publishing house in New York, the FT Press Pearson, ironically Pearson UK rejected our manuscript. The formula included persistence, a very good proposal, targeting the right people at the right time and having a marketable content.
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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Start with a good structure and then write when you can, in the evenings, after work on the weekend, don’t give up if you feel you have viable idea or good business idea or novel. Your vision is totally realistic even if no body else shares it.

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What do you find is the best part of being an author?
Being an author for the FT press gives me a lot of credibility in the business world and has opened doors for me, more importantly, I believe anything is achievable if you commit and persevere.

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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Writing blogs and sharing on social media, mainly LinkedIn.
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I’ve climbed the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu half the size of Everest, it’s my second biggest achievement after publishing my first book!

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Learn more about Lara Fawzy and see her remarkable posts @LaraFawzy, for everyone interest in marketing, digital business and geo-politics.

https://twitter.com/LaraFawzy

http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Business-Online-Internet-Marketing/dp/0137064411

 www.Larafawzy.com

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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

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James Altucher: Why Did I Self-Publish?

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James Altucher

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James Altucher, Author of “The Happiest Person Alive” or  “Trade Like Warren Buffett”, formerly published by such traditional houses as Wiley and Penguin wrote in one of his blogs:

Publishers claim they do a lot of marketing for you. That’s laughable. Publishers do nothing to help 95% of their authors to build their platforms and their own brands. This would increase author loyalty and make the lack of a meaningful advance almost worth it.

I’ll give you a quick example. I have published seven books with major publishers. The majority of books now are sold through Amazon. Not a single one of my former publishers told me I can log into:

• Amazon’s Author Central
• create an author’s page
• link my author’s page to my blog
• upload a Video
• have my Twitter feed in there
• have an FAQ in there

and all the other basic tools Amazon uses to market your book.

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James Altucher Book TRADE LIKE WARREN BUFFETT

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Why? These are the world’s biggest booksellers. Why wasn’t I told about a basic marketing platform that I could use?  I just learned about it last week after writing books for eight years. Now I have it all hooked up and I have a feeling I have only begun to explore the Author Central area and what Amazon can do for me.”  Read all the other reasons why James Altucher self-publishes:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/11/18/why-bloggers-should-self-publish/

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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 760 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, Reddit, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Do You Know How Much Royalties You Will Get?

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Royalties

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What are your royalties?  10%-30% from the list price, 10% of the wholesale price, 20% of the payments received by the publisher, 30% of the price as it’s listed on our website, 50% of net receipts, 45% minus printing costs, 60% from gross…  One of the most confusing aspects you must face when choosing a POD service printer, is trying to figure out what they mean when they speak misleadingly of “Royalties”.
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POD printers that are paying a percentage of the retail price as “Royalty” are straight forward and you have the advantage of knowing where you stand and what to expect. You get what they say, usually 10% from wholesale sales, 25-30% from retail sales – hopefully more…
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There are other printers who are a little less straight forward. For example, they might pay you 20-40% from your retail price, but they won’t pay you any royalties at all for the first three copies sold each quarter. Is this a fair “hidden” charge? It depends on the number of copies you are selling each quarter. If you sell less than 10 books, then it’s very high, if you sell 1,000 it becomes almost negligible.
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Don’t Lose Money
You might get an offer for a fixed percentage of the retail price that seems to be extremely attractive (30-35%)… before you jump on board, make sure that they work through Ingram, Lightning Source and other distributors. If they can afford such royalties because they only sell their books through their site you could end up losing money…

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POD Direct Book Sales
Some POD printers offer you a percentage of your retail price, but only for direct sales. When it comes to wholesale sales they give you a percentage of the wholesale price. Infinity Publishing is such a company, they will pay you 20% of your retail price on direct sales, and 10% of the wholesale price on books sold through other channels.  For a $15.00 book with a 40% wholesale discount it would be $3.00 on direct sales and $0.90 on wholesale – not acceptable!
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Other Charges
Even if you can buy your paper book at a discount in order to resell it, you’ll still have to pay other charges, and how can you offer it for a competitive price to bookstores?  But why do you have to buy your own book? You already paid for the printing, didn’t you?  It means you pay TWICE for your book… and on top of that bookstores can return books if they are not sold within a certain time.
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CreateSpace / Amazon
offers do-it-yourself publishing packages for free upload of your paper book but you need to create your own cover and interior and submit it correctly edited to CreateSpace. CreateSpace recommends its free do-it-yourself packages for people with design experience (or you just hire a graphic designer).  CreateSpace offers packages that are similar to publishing packages offered by other self-publishing / POD companies, but starting for only $299.
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CreateSpace eStore
20% of list price per sale, this means if someone orders it from CreateSpace’s e-book store on your authors page, you will receive 80% (minus the production / printing cost, mines tax and shipping).
40% of list price per sale means: you will get 60% of the list price per sale (minus the production / printing cost, minus tax and shipping).  Expanded Distribution Channel:  60% of list price if ordered by bookstores, libraries etc.

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But as with almost all POD companies, you pay for printing and then you have to give them a percentage of your sales for the distribution and the rest that is left is wrongly called a “royalty”.
Read how you can cir-cum-navigate this and become your own publisher without (or with less) Print-on-Demand / “Royalty on Demand”.

More on royalties:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalties#Book_publishing_royalties

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2009/11/how-book-royalties-work/

http://www.shawntellemadison.com/book-royalties-calculator/

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/11/28/11-frequently-asked-questions-about-book-royalties-advances-and-making-money/

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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

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

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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:

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

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

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

https://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

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No Secrets – Tips from Literary Agents

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Going through a couple of literary agent’s blogs, they generally all write the same:

“The problem is that most publishers will not review unsolicited proposals or manuscripts. They receive thousands every year and simply don’t have the resources to review all of them. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

As an author, what can you do? In a nutshell, here are some agents advises:

1. Read blogs written by literary agents. You can get some incredibly helpful advice and straight-talk from people who pitch proposals for a living. Read their useful blogs: Terry Whalin, Rachelle Gardner, Meredith Barnes or Andy Ross.
2. Educate yourself. If you want to publish with a general market publisher, read 2012 Writer’s Market by Robert Lee Brewer for writer’s guidelines and submission procedures for publishing houses.
3. Write a killer book proposal. If you want to write (or have written) a book, get these e-books to find out what publishers want in a proposal:
   – Writing a Winning Non-Fiction Book Proposal
   – Writing a Winning Fiction Book Proposal.
4. Let someone professional review your proposal, such a friend who teaches English or is a professional editor, ask them to review your proposal.
5. Find a literary agent to represent you. This is usually the only way to get in the door with a publishing company – at least in the USA. Canada and Europe are different stories. Literary agents do the filtering. If you want a list of general market agents, get the 2013 Guide to Literary Agents, and study carefully their requirements.
6. Get a professional avatar, a good photo is only a tiny investment – and you need it for your book / website / social media presence etc. anyway.
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Must-Read Blog to learn more about agents and how to approach them
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents

How Agents work and How to work with Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/how-agents-work-how-to-work-with-agents/

What Literary Agents Want to Know From You
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/what-literary-agents-want-to-know-from-you/

100′s of Links to Publishers and Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/100s-of-links-to-publishers-and-agents/

Which Literary Agent is Right for You?
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/which-literary-agent-is-right-for-you/

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I am just wondering if all these time and money investments are paying off, as it can take years until your work is published – if at all. Judging a book is not always an objective process. Read more about this in my next post: 77 Reasons why your book was rejected…
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Investing in a good editor, hiring a professional book designer / e-book formatting company, spending time to market your work and selling it as an e-book or print POD might well be as profitable (if not better) than to go through all the hassle and time waste with commercial publishing houses.

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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.

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77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected

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77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected

Written by Mike Nappa, available as e-book and print book at Amazon. The author’s experiences as acquisitions editor, marketing copywriter, and literary agent uniquely qualify him to write on this topic. He is also the author of more than 40 books and received more than 2,000 book rejections during his writing career!
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The book is divided into three sections: Editorial, Marketing and Sales Reasons for Rejection.  Starting with: “It takes less than a minute to reject your book” (by big publishers that is) Mike Nappa goes on with all the legitimate and also the silliest reasons your manuscript or book idea might be rejected.

As an author you might be able to work on many, such as marketing and your platform and following, however some of the reasons have nothing to do with the quality of your writing. 

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An editor is going to look at your proposal – and if it doesn’t meet certain editorial standards, it will go no farther. If it passes basic editorial scrutiny, an editor will then consider whether you have done your “marketing” homework — analyzed and defined your audience, established a platform, shown that you know how and why this book will sell. From there, the editor will need to convince the publisher that they can sell this book, and sell enough to merit the investment in its publication.
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Perhaps the clearest message that emerges from this book is that getting published is a lot of work. The job doesn’t end when you finish writing the last chapter. Publishers are in the business of selling a product, and it’s your job to convince them that your book will sell.
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Or maybe you will decide to author publish. After all you have to do your book marketing anyway, even if your book is accepted by a commercial publisher. “Success is the best revenge”  .

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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

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

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Weakness of the 5 Big Publishers

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… and what you can do better as an author-publisher.

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Large traditional publishers have relationships with book stores and book chains. They have publicists working for them to promote their books and editors to polish the final products. They have established relationships with their customers over many years or even decades. They submit books to all the major book awards. Imagine trying to research, compile, address, and pay for 200 give-away books and shipping just to put them in the hands of jurors. And I’m sure there are a lot more things that they do to get books to the readers.
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To learn where they miss the boat is to gain access to a market segment and marketing ideas that you might have overlooked.
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1. New York Publishers Don’t Think Outside the Mainstream
Publishers have particular criteria they look for in a successful book; the first is mainstream appeal, which is understandable since they have to appeal to a larger bookstore-driven market. If you have a book that is outside the mainstream, this is actually good news, unless you’re trying to find a major house to pick you up. The idea here is to understand that traditional publishing dominates the mainstream, but it’s the niches that tend to do very well. You’ll see these books in places like book clubs or the Writer’s Digest book collection and smaller, niche publishing houses.
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2. New York Publishers Don’t Do Consumer Research
Yes, often publishers do not do consumer research. How do publishers know what to publish? They tend to rely on bookstores to direct their attention, as well as trends. What does this mean for you? If you have access to consumer data, you are light years ahead of the big six. Sometimes just having a mailing list on your website or even having a website where you interact with your consumer is sufficient. If you have access to this data and you are publishing mainstream, you are a very valuable writer to any publisher out there. Having access to this data is crucial for most of us and seen as a bonus when a publisher is considering a manuscript.
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3. New York Publishers Don’t Publish to Niche Markets
Niche markets have no appeal to publishers and ironically, that’s where the trend of successful authors is headed: into the niches. Niches can be powerful but New York publishers stay away from them. Their entire model is set up to cater to mainstream product, so to slot some obscure, niche work in there would never work.
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4. New York Publishers Don’t Sell Direct to Consumers
Publishers don’t sell from their websites; many have tried and failed. Why? Because the publisher isn’t the brand, the author is. This is starting to change in some areas as publishers seek to bypass Amazon and gather their share of the consumer market. Most consumers don’t really identify with a publisher as much as they do an author or a trusted online shopping portal like Amazon or BN.com.
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5. New York Publishers Only Promote Their Authors to the Top 30 Media Markets
When publishers develop marketing plans for their books, they don’t look at markets that aren’t in the top 30.  Knowing the landscape and marketplace will position you for success and you likely won’t get caught off guard by a stumbling block or situation that could have been avoided. Know your market – the more you do, the faster you will succeed!
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Excerpts, re-blogged from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free eZine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

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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 more than 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://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://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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.
Hyper Smash

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