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Monthly Archives: February 2014

9 Tips Where & How to Query to Literary Agents

28 Feb

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Literary-Agents-NY
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A typical literary agency receives close to 5,000 unsolicited query letters/book proposals per year – or approx. 150 per working day. On average these agents accept only 10-12 new clients – only one out of every 500 submissions… Do you want to learn how to write a query, and how to approach the agent?
Do you want to get to know more about the person before hand – after all, she or he will be your partner for a long time?  My best advice: Read their blogs to get informed about the process and find out more about how they work and what they are like before you approach them. And have a “business plan” for your book ready: Who will be your readers, who is your competition and how will you market your book. You will be asked for this! Here are some examples of questions you might be asked.
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Rachelle Gardner Rachelle Gardner is an agent with Books and Such Literary Agency, representing both fiction and non-fiction. She offers query tips and book proposal advice.
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Nathan Bransford Nathan Bransford knows a lot about writing and publishing, and offers in his blog advice on: How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Write a Query Letter, The Basic Query Letter Formula, Examples of Good Queries, How to Format Your Query Letter …
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Agent Research Ask them about an agent and they will tell you if he or she has established a public record, and if we have had any negative reports on the agent’s business practices. This service is free.
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Agent Query Agent Query offers the largest and most current searchable database of literary agents on the web—a treasure trove of reputable, established literary agents seeking writers.
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BookEnds Agency BookEnds, LLC, is a literary agency focusing on fiction and nonfiction books for adult audiences. In their workshop Wednesdays everyone can post queries out there and will get comments open, also to anonymous posters.
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Nelson Newsletter Kristin Nelsons blog is a-must-read for every author about to send out a query. Subscribe to the Nelson Literary Agency newsletter.
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Query Shark Send your query in for critique. A wealth of resources and Janet Reid shares them all, she also dissects queries, posting lots of examples what writers are doing right – and wrong!
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Query Wednesday Gabriela Lessa, a Brazilian editor, writer, literary agent assistant and journalist helps you with your query. Have your query analyzed on QUERY WEDNESDAY.
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Call My Agent!
In which a literary agent in Sydney, Australia attempts to decode the world of publishing in order to assist writers. And sometimes to get things off her chest.

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Resources and More Blogs About Literary Agents:
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What Literary Agents Want to Know From You
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/what-literary-agents-want-to-know-from-you/
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How Agents work and How to work with Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/how-agents-work-how-to-work-with-agents/ .
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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
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http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents
How to Write a Query Letter
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https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/5-tips-for-successful-book-submissions/
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100’s of Links to Publishers and Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/100s-of-links-to-publishers-and-agents/
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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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Association of Author’s Representatives (lists agents)
http://aaronline.org/

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For more agent blogs go to the absolutewrite forum: 
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37784
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When you check out the agent, you’ll want to contact “Writer Beware”
Visit often and get the latest alerts from WRITER BEWARE:
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,030 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 28, 2014 in Agents, All things Legal, Publishing, Publishing Contracts

 

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The Problem With Book Returns and How to Solve it

26 Feb

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Bookstore
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Bookstores rarely host signings by self-published authors — maybe if the author is local and offers books in consignment.  “Why not?” I asked a bookseller.  “We can’t return them.  When we order books from self-publishing press, such as CreateSpace, the books are non-returnable. If the store can’t sell them, then they’re stuck with them, and lose money.
Archaic practices in the publishing industry allow bookstores to return unsold books, often just weeks after their debut – for full purchase price.  No risk for book sellers, but lots of frustration and loss for authors.
Trade publishers ship books on a refundable basis – pretty much a novum in retail –  so if a book store orders 30 copies and only sells 20, they can return the 10 unsold copies and will receive a refund, meaning no risk on the site of booksellers. 

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Booksellers Don’t Stock POD
Most booksellers will generally not stock POD books because they can’t return the book if it doesn’t sell and the percentage they get is lower. Printing one book at a time is more expensive per book (usually twice as expensive) than publishing a few thousand.
“That’s why many self-published authors can’t get their books into the large chains,” he explained. “It’s all about non-returnability. We only order the blockbuster titles they know they can sell. Books-a-Million, one of the book store chains, for example states it does not allow POD books into it’s stores at all.”

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Solution for Authors
However, author-publishers don’t need to be stuck with the current system of bookstore returns:
He pulled up several examples for me on his computer of self-published authors who use Lightning Source and offer both “Regular discount” (i.e 40%) and return-ability. He orders these books through Ingram/LightningSource, just like books from traditionally published authors. So it’s possible with Lightning Source, at least. The easier authors make it for independent booksellers and the big book chains, the more likely they will be treated like mainstream authors – if their books are well edited and have an attractive cover.

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Offer Both: CreateSpace & LSI / Ingram Distribution
If you don’t plan to sell many books, CreateSpace works fine. But if you DO plan to sell lots of books, you will earn a lot more from LSI (LightningSource Inc.) with a 20% discount than you will from CS with a 40% to 60% discount. Those setup fees everyone complains about at LSI are meaningless, compared to the difference in per-unit margin.  You will make up the difference in set-up fees within the first 100 books you sell.
in order for bookstores to order them you have to make your books returnable. In average, bookstores return about thirty-five per cent of the hardcovers they buy, according to the NEWYORKER and publishers (or author-publishers, that’s you!) write off the cost of producing those books. Don’t forget to deduct these returns from your tax.
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Benefit: Book Signings
You will be able to have book signings at Barnes & Noble and other stores, taking part in store events if you distribute for example through LSI / Ingram. Bestseller Author Stephanie Chandler wrote a great article how to sell to bookstores and also offers a free Consignment Agreement form for you to download and modify if you want to make an arrangement with a bookstore to carry your books as a consignment. Her statement: “It certainly can’t hurt to place your books at a few stores, but it probably won’t lead to fame and fortune!”  – It might work with an author who has a strong local following.  Last but not least: there is even some shifting in booksellers attitude towards the author-published books, read more about it in these blogs:

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,020 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 26, 2014 in Book Sales

 

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5 Tips for a Successful Google+ Presence

25 Feb

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Your presence at Google+ means you are high-ranked from the very moment you post something on your Google+ timeline, your Google+ author and book pages, and certainly when you post on Google+ community pages, even when you re-post and comment on other Google+ posts.

Treat Your Google Plus Page Like a Micro Blog, and Post Valuable Content wrote Stephen Walsh at Entrepreneur.com. 
Don’t just comment and “Plus One” the content of others. Post your own engaging content.  Make sure you are updating your Google Plus page on a regular basis. The content needs to be exclusive, valuable, and compelling, both in terms of visuals and substance. Knowing that Google Plus posts are searchable, you should treat them like a micro blog (and a very powerful one at that). For your business page, you should keep the content strictly on topic, but you can use your personal profile to post content on other areas of interest.

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64 Google+ Content Strategies [Infographic]

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  1. Use Hashtags on Google+ Too
    Just like Twitter, Google+ offers #hashtag benefits to make searching for topics easy. It’s a great way to get found, not only inside Google+, but in the larger world of Google search. If you create a separate page for each of your books and post frequently there, using keywords and #hashtags, your books will appear prominently on Google’s Search Engine – making it easy for potential readers to find you.
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  2. Link to Your Blog Posts
    As the main search engine Google indexes and ranks its own site much higher than any other content. Google+ posts are easily indexed by Google search, and unlike tweets or Facebook posts, are treated much like regular web pages. Whenever you have a new blog post, link to it from Google+, and make that post public. By doing this, you have made your post publicly available both inside Google+ and in Google search results worldwide.
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  3. Want Engagement? Write Resource-Type Articles
    Google+ posts that receive the most comments are resource-type articles with a lot of links. Those covering Google+ how-to information are heavily shared, along with any tutorials. Write a killer post and link back to your own blog for additional resources. Use #hashtags with relevant topics so it’s easily found, and you have created an outstanding resource that will get you noticed, and will increase traffic to your blog.
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  4. Connect Your Profile With Your Blog’s Homepage
    The first step in getting results from Google+ is connecting your profile with your blog’s home page. This is the gateway step to claiming your content in the eyes of Google. It will also go far in generating incredible results, including displaying your photo next to your blog post links and a Wikipedia-style profile listing in Google search results whenever anyone searches for your name. For WordPress blog publishers, there’s a very easy way to accomplish this. Google+ shows you how to use Google+ “Direct Connect“.
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  5. Display Your Photo in Google Search Results
    All you need is a Google+ page, and to connect it to the home page of your blog. See how important that #1 step was? Your photo will eventually appear next to your blog posts in Google search results, proofing your are the legitimate author of this content.

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What the Plus?
Take the time to learn Google+ (e.g. with Guy Kawasaki’s book What the Plus?) and engage with your community there. You’ll see results far beyond what any other social network can offer: both social engagement within Google+, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Google.

Free Copies of What the Plus!
Courtesy of Google. Please share this post, so as many people as possible can get a copy. Read also a short description: How to Get More Followers on Your Google+ Page.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,020 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 25, 2014 in Author Platform / Brand, Social Media Book Marketing, Social Networks

 

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7 Reasons You Are Better Off Self-Publishing

24 Feb

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Book Staple
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Are you eager looking forward to get a publishing contract or happy you received one?  Finding a publisher who will consider your book idea and then getting your manuscript published is time-consuming and can often be a frustrating experience. Going with a big publisher is not easier than author-publishing.  You will be surprised to learn about the following facts, often the hard way:
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Your Book Has Only 3 Months to Fly Off the Shelves
If your book does not sell within the first three months of its bookstore life, it will be returned to the publishers ware house and disappears from bookstores and could end up at “A Buck a Book”.  Shocking: 90 to 95% of books don’t pay back their advance. Royalty will only be paid if the authors advance is paid back. What you get upfront as an advance is usually all you will ever get.
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Screw Up on Your First Book?  You Are Out!
If you do well with it, publishers will be eager to see your next title.  But if you don’t sell a lot of books, your agent or publisher will not want to read your manuscript when you will offer your second book.
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Traditional Publishing is Very Slow
Unless you wrote a political tell-all, your book is going to ”be in the making” for up to two years until it goes into the bookstores.  You need to be sure your topic is timeless and that you will be interested in publicizing it years from now.
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No Foreign Rights 
Unless you have a savvy agent (preferably speaking several languages) who is trying to sell your book abroad, there is little chance that your publisher actively tries to find buyers in foreign markets.
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Most Likely You Will Only Receive Your Advance
You can get as little as $5,000 or as much as $500,000, but either way, you will have to pay 15% of this amount to your agent, and the remainder will be paid in thirds or quarters over the next couple of years. So you first need to “earn out” the advance, before any royalties will be paid to you.
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Slowest Get-Rich-Quick Scheme
Breaking into big money publishing is like becoming a movie star – being talented definitely helps, but luck plays a big role and the odds might not be in your favor.
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No Publicity for Your Book
Until a decade or two ago, publishers did some marketing for books.  Now, in the best case, they might send out some galleys and wait to see if anyone is interested. Then they focus all their publicity on the books they expect to be a bestseller.  If you want your book to be a success, YOU will have to do ALL the publicity yourself!
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Books don’t sell themselves, as most writers sooner or later find out – often too late. If you are interested in making money or selling your book for a long time, better consider e-books and self-publishing. But in any way, marketing skills or at least the willingness to learn about marketing and PR to promote your book, are essential for an author.
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Self-publishing Seems to be Easy
– if you know what your are doing. Sure, anyone can become a small publisher.  YOU call the shots. YOU retain the rights to your book.  And YOU take home a much higher royalty than you would normally get from a traditional publisher – IF you sell any books… And that’s often the problem.
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Books are Not Sold Automatically
We get emails, often several per day, from writers who have just recently published a book, with the question “what we can do for them.” Well, in almost all cases we have to start with Adam and Eve. And explain to them how exactly (author-) publishing works.
Think and learn first how to publish professionally, so that readers see you as a “real” author.  And learn how to establish your platform and how to market your book – before writing it. You would never start building a house with the roof, before even building the foundation, the frame and walls. Why would you then do it in your new publishing profession?

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,020 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 24, 2014 in Book Contracts, Publishing, Publishing Contracts

 

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6 Reasons for Making a Long-term Investment as a Book Reviewer

21 Feb

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Antique-Library
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Earning cash through writing book reviews is not really the primary reason for becoming a book reviewer. The more important reasons for a writer to become a book reviewer have nothing to do with money making, but have an intrinsic value to them that are a long-term investment.  Allow me to share six reasons for becoming a book reviewer.
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Feeding Your Passions.
As writers, we tend to develop our skills in only one or two genres. Essentially we have and must limit ourselves to our specific genres in order to compete well in the market. However, it is very likely that you love reading books of other genres and often not only desire, but need to remain linked to those books that fed your passion to become a writer in the first place.
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Making Friends With Other Authors.
I have reviewed several hundred books and have therefore exposed myself to the opportunity of friendship with several hundred other authors. That does not mean that they have all become my friends, but there are a few with whom there is a special connection. Something within their writing or within my review sparks a special relationship. The special relationships that you develop with people who suffer through the same maladies that you do, will serve you well as you continue to face the ups and downs of your career.
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Building Up Your Knowledge.
If you are wise, you will review books from which you might also learn new skills. In today’s world writers have also become business owners. By reviewing books that teach you the skills necessary to understand your role as a business owner, publisher, marketer and web site manager, you can expand your knowledge and become a better informed businessperson. You might also review a book that happens to be a part of the research for your next novel; something that you were going to do anyway.
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Improve Your Writing Skills.
Sometimes our dialogue can seem forced and dull or a particular, non-cliché words or phrases elude us. Often times, when I am reading, I come across a well turned phrase or a particular way of describing something that captures my attention. Just like I learned from the masters when I began reading the classics and studying their style, I often pick up contemporary tips and tricks from the books that I review and add them to my toolbox.
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Increase your library of ideas and characters. Besides running across well turned phrases which become a part of my tools, I sometimes create an image in my mind that develops into a new book. In the past year alone, I have added at least a dozen novel ideas or character sketches that lend themselves to, at some point in the future, become novels or be incorporated into other novels. The author does not even have to be writing in your genre to foster an idea in your mind that can grow into something bigger. If you take notes, you will find plenty of ideas to boost your collection.
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Helps avoid writer’s block.
Every writer has a different method for avoiding, preventing or overcoming writer’s block. The methods suggested are as numerous as there are authors, but two that often show up in nearly every author’s suggestions are inspiration and action. Inspiration can easily come from a well turned phrase or image that is gained from reading another book. The second, the action of writing out a review, often times, will get a writer’s mind flowing in the right direction and get them back on track.
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Bil Howard is an indie publisher and novelist whose works include: “The Wolf of the Highlands”,  “Zipaquirá” and “Rionegro”. Bil is also the author of a blog, which discusses reading, literacy and language development.  Bil lives in a small town near Medellin, Colombia where he teaches English, writes and reviews books.  Enjoy his blog or visit his website at Bil-Howard.net.
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars   Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,015 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 21, 2014 in Marketing

 

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How Far Would You Go in the Name of Research?

20 Feb

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Research

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Margaret K Johnson asks:  How far would you go in the name of research?
We have all heard about method actors who go to extreme lengths to get into character for their roles. These actors feel they need to really experience the lives of their characters.  For example, to play the character of Christy Brown in My Left Foot about a disabled man, Daniel Day-Lewis refused to leave his wheelchair for the whole duration of the filming. Robert de Niro became a taxi driver for his role in Taxi Driver, and learnt to box for Raging Bull. It’s also very common for actors to gain or lose weight for their roles – Christian Bale weighed only 122 pounds for his role in The Machinist, and Ann Hathaway lost 25 pounds and cut off all her hair for her role in Les Miserables.
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What about Writers?
These days we almost take such behavior by actors for granted.  But what about writers?  Do we need to deliberately set out to experience situations for the sake of our writing?  Surely not. After all, we are writers – we should have enough imagination without doing that, right?
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Well, actually, yes and no.  I think it depends on what you’re writing about.  Authors of detective stories are not going to kill people to find out what it feels like to be a murderer.  At least, I hope not!  But they are likely to draw on their experience of grief when writing about the victims of such crimes.
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When I was writing my novel The Dare Club, which is about a group of newly-separated people setting each other challenges in order to forget about their problems, I found that there were some things I could easily imagine – for example gate-crashing a total stranger’s 40th birthday party.  But when one of my characters wanted to perform stand-up comedy, I knew I would have to have a go at it myself. How else would I find out how to come up with material, to prepare for a performance, or to deal with the sheer, blinding terror of actually performing?
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Stand-Up Comedy Class fto Research
So, with everyone telling me how brave I was, I duly booked myself on a weekend stand-up comedy course in London.  And then, two months later, I returned to perform a 3-minute stand-up comedy routine in a Greenwich comedy club.  Here’s a link to a clip of me performing, in case you don’t believe me!  It was a completely amazing – if terrifying – experience, and it really gave me an insight that I was able to use in my writing:
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Now I’ve got a taste for challenging myself, in the future I might even choose to write novels that involve me doing exciting research. Though maybe not quite in the way I stated at the end of my stand-up comedy performance.
People say to me – “If you wrote murder fiction, would you actually kill someone to find out what it feels like?” I say, of course not.  But I might put an orgy in my next book…
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Margaret K Johnson Author Bio

Margaret K Johnson is the author of the women’s fiction novels the Dare Club and The Goddess Workshop as well as many books in various genres for people learning to speak English.  She has also written plays and screen plays.  Margaret has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and lives in Norwich, UK with her partner and son. Her Amazon Author Page is http://amzn.to/1j2tOov
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 20, 2014 in Author/Writer, Guest Blogs, Workshops, Writing

 

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15 More Online Retailers to Sell Your Book

19 Feb

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Antique-Cash-Register

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Authors: you can sell your books, e-books and audio-books not only through Amazon, but as well on Barnes&Noble, Apple and Kobo websites, to have your “eggs in more than one basket”.  And don’t forget the potentially huge potential market for hardcover books, selling them to libraries all over the country!

However, there are way more online retailers for e-books and books than just Apple, Kobo or Barnes & Noble. Oh, yes, and even Google sells e-books, but they pay authors and publishers a lousy royalty. I don’t know anyone, selling books through Google.
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Just to mention a few more online book retailers:

www.Scribd.com
www.booksonboard.com/
www.ebooks.com
www.ebook-store-review.toptenreviews.com
www.ebookmall.com
www.indiebound.org
www.powells.com/ebooks/
www.kobobooks.com/eBooks
www.rbooks.co.uk/ebook.aspx
www.whsmith.co.uk/eBooks.aspx
www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/browse/ebooks/4294964587/

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And here are two more lists of online book stores with even more sales possibilities:
http://www.infoagepub.com/iap-ebook-retailers.html
http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/ebooks.html

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Put Your Eggs Not Only in One Basket
If you don’t want to upload your book yourself, get help from this aggregator for one yearly fee and reap 100% of your books revenue:  eBookPartnership.com.  Aggregators will handle distribution, sales, accepting payments, and are managing your account with the online retailers.  Avoid aggregators who take a 10 or even 15% commission for every book sold.
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Read also about the experience of an author, detailed with all his sales numbers, costs associated and comparison of revenue on several online retailer sites from Amazon, Apple and Kobo to sales on his own website: 
http://andrewhy.de/amazons-markup-of-digital-delivery-to-indie-authors-is-129000/

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/  to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,015 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 19, 2014 in Author Royalties, Book Distribution, Bookstores, Marketing

 

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How Bookmarks Promote Your Books

19 Feb

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Sometimes I get a blank stare from younger clients at our Seminars when talking about business cards and bookmarks, these essentials to hand-out at book signings or at book fairs and writers conferences. Business cards are a familiar item but bookmarks? No, they have nothing to do with bookmarking and filing a URL address of a website : )
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What is a Bookmark?
Bookmarks are around for centuries and are used to mark the page were a reader ended – or better where she/he wants to continue to read next time they open their book. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says:
Bookmark  “A Bookmark is a thin marker, commonly made of card, leatherette, or fabric, used to … As the first printed books were quite rare and valuable, it was determined …”

In the past bookmarks were made out of thin metal, fabrik or paper and artfully decorated. I once received a bookmark, made of silk and decorated with real pearls. Well, nowadays they are made of thin cardboard, gloss-finished or plastic-coated …. but still some are equipped with a small tassel or a ribbon for easy use.
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Hand Out Bookmarks as Small Gifts
Instead of handing out a business card, give book lovers, friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, book clubs and visitors at fairs or conferences this more casual, but very attractive symbol that ought to show the cover or another image from your books content. It should be colorful and artistic designed, printed on both sides, and show the title of your book in bold letters on the bookmarks top or bottom. And you certainly want the reader to visit your website or blog, so don’t forget to add the URL and also a link to your Amazon author page.

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Get Quotes
Ask not only your business card printer, but also search the Internet for price/quality comparisons. Here are just a few of many companies that offer bookmarks:

Book Mark Printing Samples and Designs of Custom Bookmarks
http://www.uprinting.com/bookmark-printing.html

Bookmark printing – start with a FREE proof. Did you know that most of our products have custom size options? Simply select “Custom Size” on the size drop down and specify.
www.printingforless.com/Bookmark-Printing-Samples.html?
Printed samples of book marks showing a variety of designs and layouts and ways to promote and market your business, product or cause with bookmarks.
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Can I create a bookmark in Publisher? – Publisher – Office.com
office.microsoft.com/…/can-i-create-a-bookmark-in-publisher-HA00123…?
Bookmark templates that you can use to create bookmarks for books. … Publications that are set up to print multiple copies per page, such as postcards, …
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Fast Bookmark Printing Vancouver, Digitally Printed Book-Marks …
clubcard.ca/product/full-colour-bookmarks-digital-printing?
Full Color Bookmarks Digitally Printed, FAST Turnaround! Choose from rush same day, next day or 2-3 business day production time. Digital printing is the …
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Free Printable Bookmarks for Children – Activity Village
www.activityvillage.co.uk/bookmarks?
We’ve got free printable bookmarks here for kids of all ages – great for teachers to hand out in class, parents to slip into a party bag, grandparents to use to …

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Longterm Advertisement – Promote Your Books
An attractive Bookmark will not be thrown away, as many business cards get after a while. It is a long term ad for you as an author and often kept for good in books. How about you? Did you add an image of your bookmark to your Amazon author page? You know that you can post several images – and this would be one to show proudly on your author page.

Tips from readers: 
Stephen from LighthouseMediaWorks.com
Bookmarks should have a QR code so people can scan and buy your book directly from the card.

Marla from marlamadison.wordpress.com
Vistaprint does not have bookmarks but they have a wonderful postcard that costs only about 20-24 dollars for 250! Can’t beat it and it is a great thing to hand out when selling books at an event. They really help to promote your books to all the ereader people. They love it when you sign them for them!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,015 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 19, 2014 in Cover & Book Design, Marketing

 

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How these 3 Self-Publishing Tools Help Authors

18 Feb

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Tools-for-Author-Publishers
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Improvements everywhere:  New tools and technology for author-publishers will help to navigate the process from manuscript to finished print book or e-book more easily. Just to make sure you know what’s available for writers now:
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1. Scribd Subscription Service: The “Netflix” of e-Books
Read unlimited amounts of Books: Scribd launched an e-book subscription service for their readers at $8.99/month with unlimited access to books. Everyone enrolled in the subscription program gets e-books in bulk. Readers can try Scribd for free for one month, and are encourage to try unknown authors.
Distributing of your own e-books  is offered in Scribd’s Subscription Program: “Contact us if you would like to make your e-books available via our subscription offering. Our content acquisition team would love to talk to you.”

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2. Bowker offers Self-Published Author resources
Bowker’s database of books in print is huge and their interface sometimes a bit clumbsy. After so many complaints from author-publishers, Bowker offers at least explanations for self-publishers e.g. how to fill out each field in their forms. But that’s not all: Bowker launched the Self-Published Author website, a great source of information with tools, advice, and resources to help authors through the publishing process.
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3. Templates for Book Layout – Interior Book Design
“The Book Designer” Joel Friedlander offers templates in Microsoft Word that look as good as books that are professionally designed in Adobe InDesign. A custom-designed interior book might cost between $1,000 and $4,000 , the print book template is less than $40. There are over a dozen Word templates and counting to choose from and more are coming. Add your manuscript and create a PDF to upload to CreateSpace, Lightning Source, or any printing company. Using the e-book template in this series for another $10 and upload it to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Sony, B&N and others. All you need to know is how to apply styles in Word and how to copy/paste text. You certainly can customize your template. All you need to know is basic Word styles. Or you can hire a freelancer to help creating PDFs, upgrading or modifying templates and other tasks at Elance or Fiverr.
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Read about more tools in the publishing process, for example Dropbox:
http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/13359

For computer / software geeks and publishing professionals
http://voices.yahoo.com/top-5-software-programs-self-publishing-desktop-6465478.html?cat=15

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 18, 2014 in e-Books, Marketing, Self-Publishing

 

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Book Sales Plateau – 13 Tips What You Can Do!

16 Feb

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file0001742271534.

First-time writers are often puzzled when after a very successful book launch and many book sales, their ranking on Amazon drops and their sales numbers dwindle over time – which is a totally normal process, even for bestseller authors. So what can you do as a writer – besides writing your next manuscript:
Your book has been launched months ago or even last year and you had great sales numbers. NOW readers need to see something NEW from you. It doesn’t need to be a whole new book:
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The three main assets you have already

  • your writing skills
  • the content you already wrote
  • the research you have done for your book(s) can be used to write at least 20 – 30 articles or blog posts – and if regularly posted on Google+ it is raising your Search Engine Ranking on Google tremendously.
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1. Use the manuscript text from your “old” book to split it into tiny portions and write lots of short blogs / articles from the content – along with a two sentence bio and a link to your webpage or Amazon author / sales page. Make use of your assets! Which means not only your book, but using all the research notes and text, you have compiled to write it. Make it a habit to post/publish content at least two – three times a week!

More benefits of writing content:
– it is a subtle way to promote your book
– you receive valuable back links to your website or blog
– you will have lots of possibilities to post on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Facebook….
– include links to your articles in email newsletter (that you hopefully send out regularly to your readers)
Post these articles on your blog or contribute guest blogs to other sites that are focused on the same topics as your book.

Content is used to draw in your ideal readers / reviewers, it will link to your book sales page or your website and it helps a lot to build a platform. Last but not least it gives you a lot of material to post and to tweet. The result: you will increase your exposure, show your writing skills, grow a loyal following and attract reviewers – in one sentence: you will achieve success with your writing – and in many cases, even get paid for it.

Read more here:
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/prequels-authors-benefits-of-writing-them/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/a-new-way-of-book-marketing/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/free-brilliant-book-marketing-to-a-million-audience/
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/smart-authors-get-paid-for-marketing-their-books/

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2. Rewrite these articles a bit, add more material and offer them to magazines, newspapers etc., starting with Airline Inflight Magazines, Huffington Post and Salon.com etc., even The Atlantic could be interested if it is a longer article with great content. Focus more on discoverability rather than selling. Your work is important, so help readers to find it.

World-famous bestseller writers, such as Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Atwood, Tom Chiarella, Gloria Steinem and Stephen King did it: Writing occasionally short stories and magazine articles – before blogs became fashionable. In several former posts I explained in detail how easy it is for writers to create content, such as blog articles and sell them to magazines and newspapers or write guest blogs. Read more about brilliant book marketing and content writing, check out the links below.
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3. You Need More Potential Readers
Are you really adding at least 25 new followers per day to your Social Media networks? You often can add more, 25 is the restriction on Goodreads, but Google+ for example allows you to follow up to 5,000 people. However, don’t choose just anyone: type into the search function: booklover, avid reader, reviewer, book blogger… you get the point? These are the folks who might be interested in your book – and tell other about it. Make it a habit to add EVERY DAY new followers to each one of your Social Media sites. Future book campaigns will only be successful if you have enough fans!

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4. Post and Tweet more about borrowing your book for Prime Members.  After all you earn money with each lending (approx. $2 per book).  Every day new customers sign up for Amazon’s Prime membership program.
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What’s More:

5. Post something new on your website at least once or twice a week

6. Plan and create an email campaign to potential readers

7. Book Signings end Readings bookstores, museums or literary cafes

8. Readings at libraries & book clubs or Meetup Groups

9. Participate in Writing Contests (national and international)

10. Write a prequel for your next book and add a link to the first one

11. Join HARO (Help a Reporter out) to make yourself a name as an expert in your field
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12. As soon as your next book is written, contact the library distributors, read the useful blog article from SavvyBookWriters.com/blog with lots of tips and links how to sell your book to libraries.
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13. You Might Need More Distribution:
Use BookBaby or .eBookpartnership for example, to place your book on all Amazon’s Kindle Stores: US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Brazil, Japan, India etc .  In North America: Apple, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Ingram. In Europe to: Askews & Holts, Blackwell’s, BlioBook, Depository, Kalahari.net, Waterstones, Whitcoulls, WH Smith. Their yearly fee is less than $100 and you can save LOTS of hours for uploading your book, for accounting with these retailers and if you work on Windows, to use a Mac computer (for upload to Apple).  Best of all, they do not take commissions, such as with Smashword for example. You keep 100% of the revenue from online retail. However, you should buy your own ISBN’s, preferably a block of ten, and don’t forget to register your book worldwide with Bowker’s database, which goes to all bookstores and libraries in the world.
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Don’t forget:
If you have only one book there is nothing that readers can actually buy from you, after they have read your book! The only benefit is the lending program for Prime Members that gives you some revenue – but only if you have priced it higher than $2.99, as readers usually prefer to borrow higher-priced books. And: marketing means not only sales campaigns … so do everything to show your potential readers a bit of content that leads to your book. The key to success is confidence in yourself, persistence, and also knowing what you want!
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SECRET:
Your first book will very often increase in sales as a result of a successful launch of your second book. Every time you launch a new book, it has an impact on past titles, if they are written for the same audience.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 16, 2014 in Book Sales, e-Books, Marketing

 

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Damaging Self-Judgment of Writers?

16 Feb

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DownSpiral

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Candace Habte: “A few weeks ago when I first heard about the Insecure Writers Support Group, my first thought was this is a cool idea.  As humans, we have all felt insecure about something. And writers, despite what we may like to think, are certainly human.  My second emotion was frustration, even resentment.  I thought, great, all we need is more stereotypes.  I imagined cyber minions turning the twitter hashtag #ISWG into #whinywriters or #getarealjobthen.”
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I Soon Realized the Reason for my Thought Pattern
“I was projecting how I sometimes perceive that I am viewed. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dealt with a lot of people (even family and friends) that were downright rude when it comes to my life as a writer.
It’s been said that you are not a writer until you get your first rejection. My first rejection came in the 10th grade (my high school literary journal – I’m over it, really) so I guess I am a veteran. Well I would say that when you get your first weird stare, question about your life (you know the, “Okay, but what do you really do?”) it ranks right up there with rejection. I have had my share of both rejection and also judgment. But to be honest, the latter bothered me the most.”
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Damaging Self-Judgment
“But I’m beginning to realize how much more damaging self-judgment can be.  So let me explain: A few years ago I took my first yoga class. My teacher was the best, the class bonded, I did poses I didn’t think I could do, and I felt strong in body and spirit. I pretty much reaped all the benefits of yoga. It was
amazing.
Did I mention everyone in my class was fat? No, I’m not being mean. Everyone, including myself at the
time, was overweight or obese because the class was targeted for that demographic. Of course, no one
was being turned away for being smaller, but the class name (it had the word “belly” in it, if I recall
correctly) and description were definitely geared towards those of us who needed to lose some weight. It wasn’t about losing the weight in the class, though despite what some people think about yoga (you can lose weight with certain types of yoga) but that’s not the point…”

“So imagine my insecurity, having never before taken a yoga class, barely flexible, and a little “extra to
love”.  Yes, the class was targeted towards bigger people, but the studio was still filled with mostly slim
yogis. Okay, I wasn’t going to add this part but guess what? I ended up being one of the smaller people
there.  Ironically, this fact made me feel more insecure. Because now I was the only “sort-of-fat” girl in a “fat girl (and guy)” class sharing stories of what it’s like to be fat. I could feel myself getting the roll of the eyes. Was this actually happening? Probably not. My instructor and fellow students were some of the nicest, most encouraging, genuine and absolutely hilarious folks I have ever met.”
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Our Recording
“So what does all of this have to do with writing, or better yet, being an insecure writer? Well besides my pre-class insecurities that were pretty much assuaged before the end of the first class, I learned a really important concept from my instructor: the recording. We all have one.
This may sound insensitive, but if you have ever been called stupid, fat, skinny, lazy, worthless, etc. it
doesn’t matter. Okay, it matters but not as much as we make it. For the record, I’m not talking about
being bullied or harassed. Meaning someone or some group is excessively trying to make you feel like
crap. That’s always wrong. And that’s an entirely different topic. But no one has gone through life without someone putting them down in some way, intentionally or not.”
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“The reason? It doesn’t matter, because it is our recording that keeps it alive. Our recording – if you haven’t guessed – is the mental record that we repeat to ourselves, yearly, monthly, weekly, or even daily. This is why we can hold on to stuff from high school (or grade school) even after many years have passed. We hold on to words said by people who we have no contact with anymore. We hold on to words said by people who aren’t even alive anymore.”

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How We Keep Our Recording Alive
“We keep pressing “play”, over and over and over again: “Your writing is mediocre”, “You’ll never make it as … (fill in the blank), “You can write as a hobby, but not as a profession”, “Writing fiction is pointless”, “Blogging is stupid” etcetera etcetera.
No doubt, certain put-downs hurt more than others, and these are the ones that stick. Because the ones
that stick have made a home right next to our existing insecurities. Basically, we’re working off a blank
tape and adding our own damaging self-judgement as time moves forward.

Which is exactly what I was doing when I heard about the Insecure Writers Support Group: “Support
group? No way, I don’t need that. I don’t want to whine and hear other writers do the same.” People in other professions talk to their co-workers, complain about their boss, gripe to anyone in earshot and then they get back to work. Writers need that too. Then we can get back to our work of writing, mental recordings be damned.”
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About the Author:

Candace Habte published two books back in the “golden” days of self-publishing (2004 – 2009)
and somehow lived to tell about it. She looks forward to getting back in the self-publishing saddle this year with her first young adult novel. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their imaginary Yorkie. Find her at candacehabte.com where she blogs about writing, life, and all the awesome things in between.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing:  We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Posted by on February 16, 2014 in Author/Writer

 

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Interview with Author Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett

15 Feb

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Patt-Hollinger-Pickett

Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett

Our Interview today is with Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett, a licensed Family Therapist from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, who has written a fantastic book, that received already lots of praise and awards, and very positive reviews – many from other therapists, who recommend her book to their clients.
In September her self-help guide book The Marriage Whisperer was named the “Book of the Month” by MidWest Review.  To learn more about Dr. Hollinger and her work we asked her lots of questions:

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How would you describe your book to someone who has not yet read it?
My book, The Marriage Whisperer: Tips to Improve Your Relationship Overnight, explains readers how relationships of couples can be brought to the next level. It’s a self-help title, inspired by over 10,000 conversations I had with clients.  It delivers 70 couple stories with humor and includes practical tips and tools for lasting relationship improvement. Popular themes like communication, habits, chores, arguments, sex, and intimacy are explored in easy-read tales. It showcases simple stories and delivers simple solutions. Lots of couples found themselves in the book, and could through humor identify themselves. It’s not a blaming book, it offers solutions to take their relationship to the next level.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
My primary message in the book is to keep your life in balance, something that is important to avoid marital neglect.  Not having a balance in your life, such as work, marital life, family, hobbies etc. has long-term consequences for relationships.

“Will spend more time when …” we are in vacation, the kids are in school, the kids are out of the house, we are retired … NEVER works. If you don’t spent enough time together NOW, your interest changes and your attachment weakens. The challenge for couples is to find out how much is enough (time to spend together).
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What inspired you to start writing?
I am a Marriage Therapist for over 20 years, and often heard from my clients: “I never thought about it

The-Marriage-Whisperer

The Marriage Whisperer

In seminars I asked: “Who wants a better marriage?” Barely anyone raised a hand… No one wanted to admit that their marriage was not in the best shape. However, now with my book reading it together with their partner, working together with the book, having debates and conversation / in a non-blaming, non-threatening way, couples can work on their relationship in privacy.
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Are your characters based on real people?
Yes, but certainly keeping their anonymity.
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What was the most difficult case you ever had.
Not one particularly, but often with couples where one thinks he/she is “right”, and constantly blaming the other person. The other stays either defensive, and argues, or the “yes, dear” person, who freezes in the relationship, and finally stepping out of it.
Challenge in therapy is to make people seeing their situation from a different angle, and opening up their line of thinking.
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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?
Hearing people that know me : “That’s just like you” And I wanted the book to be my voice and have my voice. I did my best to write it, like I talk with my clients.

What’s your least favorite part of writing a book?
The meticulous editing process.
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What is the best part of being a writer?
To be able to share what I have learned with a larger population.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
I would have written it sooner. But at that time I had other priorities and I wanted to keep my life in balance.  Relationships are often struggling due to the lack of balance.
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What’s the most challenging part of being a writer?
Making the time to write.
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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Speaking engagements! And presentations.
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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?
Egypt.
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What is your favorite book?
I like to cook and like to read cook books.
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How would a close friend describe you?
Very creative and honest to the point, without being insulting.
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I am painting, do sewing, doing quilts, even a Firefighter T-shirt quilt. I am an avid gardener and love flowers and being a home gourmet cook. I am not a perfectionist.

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Meet Dr. Patt Hollinger Pickett and her book here too:

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6456762.Patt_Hollinger_Pickett

Amazon Paperback, 214 pages, $18.40
http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Whisperer-Patt-Hollinger-Pickett/dp/1933455659

Authors BroadCast
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOJ_dTh5HE5MqaPnxPxfWa6hnjSjzkIgU

MSI Press Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhnG9-mNvMM

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What Reviewers Said About the Book:
“The Marriage Whisperer is a practical, accessible book for married couples seeking to improve their relationship. The chapters, on helpful topics such as communication, trust, intimacy, roles, etc. offer relevant illustrations, practical insights and excellent discussion starters for couples. I have begun working through it with my wife and we are finding it very helpful in enhancing our intimacy and communication, in particular. I also perform wedding ceremonies and am trained to do pre-marital counseling for the couples whose ceremonies I perform, and will be enthusiastically recommending this excellent book to this whom I counsel. Highly recommended!”

“The author clearly understands the various dynamics that impact how couples navigate their life issues, and has an amazing handle on why difficulties may be occurring and what can be done to improve them. With a wise, sensible, and professional touch, she invites the reader to consider respectful options and accommodations. The inclusion of tables, lists, and short paragraphs, which offer specific ideas on what needs to be done and how one can proceed, makes this a user-friendly support to couples.”
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing:  We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting  for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

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Posted by on February 15, 2014 in Author Interviews

 

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Happy Valentine’s Gifts – eBooks with Romance

14 Feb

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Happy-Valentines-Day.

Today the celebration is primarily for lovers. But, also for your friends. Sending her or him one of these e-books via email from Amazon, let them know how much you enjoy their companionship on Valentine’s Day.  Elie Wiesel said: “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.”  Share a great book!

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KENTUCKY RAIN by Jan Scarbrough: Kate is a recently divorced single mom who can’t make it on
her own Amazon.com/dp/B00BXPIENG
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xKentuckyRain200x300

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Spannende Kurzgeschichten “mit Herz” von Claudia Westphal: “SCHATTENFRAU”
Amazon.de/dp/B008Y15YYO  (auf Deutsch)
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Schattenfrau
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Romantic Suspense novel in the ski mountains of Montana “BURN ON THE WESTERN SLOPE” by
Angela Smith http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DL3ALDE
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Burn-on-the-Western-Slope

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He and Jen restart the brief, fiercely passionate affair that he abandoned, to his regret, 20 years ago in Paris … TREASURE OF SAINT-LAZARE   http://amzn.to/LjHHmD

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TREASURE-OF-SAINT-LAZARE.
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Reviewer: “J.H.Walker has written a cracker of a debut YA novel that begs a sequel.” REWRITE REDEMPTION   http://bit.ly/14XqFls
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REWRITE REDEMPTION

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BETTING ON LOVE: A Bluegrass Romance by Jan Scarbrough
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/betting-on-love-a-bluegrass-romance/

BETTING-ON-LOVE

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FRENCH ILLUSIONS: Memoir of an American au-pair for an aristocratic French family
Linda’s fascinating real-life story inside & outside the Loire Château http://bit.ly/18NyiJP
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FRENCH -ILLUSIONS

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FIRST KISS by Ann Marie Frohoff – YA Novel – romance of a rock musician and his “groupie”
http://amzn.to/1cEUt6w
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FIRST-KISS

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“This book is the definition of a page turner”: TIMELESS – a Gothic Romance by Jan Scarbrough
http://bit.ly/14vZXze

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TIMELESS.

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PAINTER OF THE HEAVENS by Bart Stewart, called “A Novel of Crime and the Heart”. 
Penny & Lyle aren’t Bonnie & Clyde, but they become desperadoes in a way…
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F849FMM
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PAINTER-OF-THE-HEAVENS.

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e-Books are great gifts for Valentine’s Day: a fabulous reading experience, no postage or delays and are inexpensive. See more at http://www.e-book-PR.com and http://www.international-ebooks.com

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<><><><><>

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,010 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

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Posted by on February 14, 2014 in Bestsellers, New Books

 

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Show Off Your Writing Skills: Write Guest Blogs

13 Feb

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Valentines-Day

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Hi everyone : ) For the past 36 months I have written more than 1,060 blog posts for SavvyBookWriters.com/blog – which have been read by more than 450.000 individuals at
SavvyBookWriters. These posts are submitted several times to Google+, Twitter, Pinterest,
Facebook, Tumblr, StumpleUpon, dozens of Google+ Communities, Goodreads etc.
However, this blog would benefit from a variety of voices, additional advice and different points of view. I am now inviting guest posts on this blog.

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Guest Posting
It is a great way for your blog and your books sales page to get some fantastic exposure. You certainly can add links from your guest blog via the re-blog function to your website, your own blog or the online retailer where your book is sold.  At the same time you will be helping readers of this blog by providing them with useful and relevant information.  I welcome posts from writers or bloggers and others in the publishing industry, who know from their own experience what they are writing about.
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Here are Some Guidelines for You:

  • Topics should be related to writing, publishing and book marketing only. It doesn’t have to be specific to e-books. Write about victories and … in your writing career, or great tips you can give other writers or small publishers.
  • Your Guest Post must be original. It should be a new, original post, written entirely by you – No articles from article directories.
  • Length: Your guest blog should be at a minimum of somewhere between 500 words to 700 words.
    Longer posts are certainly welcomed.
  • Exclusivity will be for 30 days. By submitting a guest post to us, you agree not to post it anywhere else online for a period of 30 days after it first appears on this blog- re-blogging on your page is fine.
  • Use examples and anecdotes to clarify your points
  • Offer fresh content that has not been published before
  • Send us a pitch only if you are a blogger with your own blog
  • Ensure that your post does not violate any copyright laws
  • Have a conclusion at the end of your article
  • Have a call to action for readers after the conclusion

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Important: Learn to Write for the Web & Social Media
Writing for blogs is totally differently from writing a novel. Learn how to write the “inverted pyramid” from most important on top to less further on. Is your text easy to read? Eye-tracking studies have shown that readers SCAN text (in an F-shaped pattern), rather than to READ it. And: website visitors read more slowly on the screen than in print. So, how to you use this knowledge for your writing?

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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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Don’t Query or Inquire About Topics.
Just send your entire post to 111publishing *at* gmail . com – directly in the email-body – NO
Word or other attachments will be opened!!!
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Subject: Guest Post
Please include a short “About the Author” bio of approximately 70-80 words (not including the
link to your Web site. Include your Twitter, Google+ or FB ID with the post.
The link back to your blog or author sales page should be within the author bio, NOT within the
article itself. Your bio link must link to your own author site, writing- or publishing-related web
site or book sales page. No affiliate links and no links to unrelated sites.
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Please submit a polished post that you would be proud to have published. You will be contacted within three working days. Thank you for your interest and I do look forward to hearing from you!

Doris @111Publishing

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.

If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/  to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,060 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, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/
http://www.international-ebooks.com/
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Hyper Smash

Pingate

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 13, 2014 in Blogging, Guest Blogs, Social Media Book Marketing, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

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