Amazon Pays Advances for Your Book?

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Writers everywhere get excited about an email from Amazon, where they explain a glimpse into offering a new program, a crowd-sourcing program:  
Your readers and followers can decide if an e-book / audio-book will be published by Amazon – and you can keep the print rights.  There will be a (small) advance, royalties and certainly Amazon’s tremendous marketing power. Here are the first details:
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• This new “Scout” program is only for author in the USA!
• Focused formats: We acquire worldwide publication rights for the e-Book and audio formats in all languages. You retain all other rights, including print.
• Submit your complete! (means edited) never-before-published book and cover.
• After a few days, we will post the first pages of each book on a new website for readers to preview and nominate their favorites.
• Books with the most nominations will be reviewed by our team for potential publication.
• Should you be selected for publication you will receive benefits that include:
• Guaranteed advance & competitive royalties: You will receive a guaranteed $1,500 advance and 50% royalties on net eBook revenue.
• 5-year renewable terms, $5,000 in royalties: If your book doesn’t earn $5,000 in royalties during your initial 5-year contract term, and any 5-year renewal term after that, you can choose to stop publishing with us.
• Early downloads & reviews: One week prior to release date, everyone who nominated your book will receive a free, early copy to help build momentum and customer reviews.
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  Read here all the latest details in their contract:
  https://kindlescout.amazon.com/agreement

Update:  Not Yet Worldwide …

Amazon sent out this information (October 2):
We’ll be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres. Any adult with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number is eligible.

Here are the things that you should prepare to successfully submit your book:
Complete, never-before-published manuscript & book cover image – We’re looking for 50,000 words or more in Word format and a book cover image that reflects the essence and uniqueness of your book. Make sure your work is ready for others to read. Only the first pages will be posted to the website (approx. 3,000 words).

Book one-liner – A very short pitch (no longer than 45 characters) for your book that will be used on the homepage and throughout the website. Think of examples like “Space opera meets the Middle Ages” or “How far will one woman go to save her family?”

Book description- Help readers understand the content and quality of your book. Keep the description to 500 characters or less.

Your bio & picture – Give readers a chance to learn more about you. You will also have a chance to answer relevant questions regarding your book and personal story in a short Q&A section.
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We’ll also ask you to review and accept our submission and publishing agreement that grants us a 45-day exclusivity period to post your excerpt and tally nominations. If chosen for publication, you will receive a $1,500 advance, 5-year renewable term, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions, and Amazon-featured marketing. If not, you automatically get all your rights back at the end of the 45-day exclusivity period.
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Read Behind the Lines:
The titles selected for this Amazon program will not have their books published by Amazon Publishing. This is mainly why they are not offering book editing or cover art design. Instead, Amazon is hoping to give authors another reason to exclusively publish with them and forgo submitting their titles to the trade publisher competition. Net-Royalties could be 10% of gross list after deducting everything the publisher can charge to the project – including salaries and marketing…

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Hybrid Between Trade Publishing and Self-publishing
Higher royalty rates might lead to the expectation that some of those functions are the author’s responsibility.  Not only are the royalties higher than normal trade publishing royalties, Amazon offers very liberal release terms, both for rights not exercised within two years by the publisher and for situations in which the royalties are lower than expectations.  Amazon will put extracts of the books on a website and call for the audience to vote for their favorites, with the most popular going on to be considered by an Amazon panel for publication.

The rights cover ebooks and audio, but you get to keep the print book. The length of term depends on how much your book makes. If the book has earned less than $500 in royalties in the previous year, then you can get the rights back after two years and if the book doesn’t bring in $5,000 royalties in the first five-year term, then you can also quit.
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Author Comments:
“As an indie author almost anything short of my soul would be worth Amazon having an interest in my book and advertising it FOR ME. We all know, selling more of one book means selling more of your other books. Usually hardcore Amazon advertising is reserved for large publishing houses with huge budgets. We get bones tossed to us when we do a good job, but a targeted campaign? When Amazon wants to sell something they do a fantastic job of it. The big attraction is the fact that Amazon can push any book into their best-seller lists with their email campaigns and promotions. For sure, it will generate more name exposure, which could lead to more sales of your other books.”

“I assume Amazon will put a promotional push behind these books like they do the Kindle First books, especially since Amazon is invested in them. 50% of a promoted book could easily make more than 70% of a non-promoted book. It also means that if you publish an additional paperback, it will indirectly benefit from whatever advertising Amazon does for your e-book and audible.”

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The offer includes an advance payment of $1,500 and 50% royalties on net e-book revenue. A 50% royalty for being published (and promoted) by Amazon sounds a reasonable deal, but “net” doesn’t mean half of the retail price.  If you would like to sign up to be notified when this program launches, Amazon has started a mailing list. Details on this site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/gss/detail/29134490/ref=pe_1148920_123694410_pe_button/1?tag=skim0x9814-20

Most important of all for your success in this upcoming new program, is to have LOTS of FOLLOWERS on SOCIAL MEDIA to vote for your e-book’s and audio-book’s publishing deal with Amazon!

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Read more:
http://rogerpacker.com/blog/authors-got-talent-coming-soon-amazon/
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/09/22/amazon-publishing-crowd-source-next-books-now-recruiting-kdp-authors/
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/64103-amazon-launching-new-crowdsourcing-publishing-program.html
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/amazon-unveils-new-crowdsourcing-program-for-kdp-authors

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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

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 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.
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Benefit of Writing Contests and Book Awards

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How to Get More Readers from an Award
Publicity around a book award will boost your book sales. Contests are a great way to hone your craft and show the world how much better you are than other writers.  Winning a book award for your self-published fiction or nonfiction book is a great way to gain recognition and approval.  You will not only see an increase in your book sales – if you market it well.  You can add the award sticker to your cover and mention the achievement on your back cover, in your books’ description, and in all your marketing and promotions – online or offline.  Most awards call for entries every year, so if the competition is closed for this year, mark your calendar for next years’ contest call.

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Here are a few of the most popular book contests:

http://www.narrativemagazine.com/node/249923

http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/ipawards.php (IPPY awards)

http://www.usabooknews.com/2014usabestbookawards.html

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/nonfiction/

http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/selfpublished

http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/

http://readersfavorite.com/annual-book-award-contest.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/shortstory/index.html

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/poetry/index.html

http://indiereader.com/the-indiereader-discovery-awards-welcome/

https://www.createspace.com/abna?ref=478921&utm_id=5969

http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/writers-digest-self-published-ebook-awards

http://www.forewordreviews.com/services/book-awards/botya/

http://www.thefolioprize.com/

More awards can be found at http://www.pw.org/grants

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Writer Beware
Before you click on “accept” when applying, or pay any money: carefully read the small print, and avoid giving your rights away for free. There are hundreds of options that range from scams to high level and great exposure. Submission fees are anywhere from $25 to $250. Enter any book award contest only after careful consideration and review of its reputation. Google the awards name. You sometimes might be surprised … I ommited two links here in this article after reading about complaints.
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How Will You Market Your Award?
Having written or published an “Award Winning Book,” selected from a hundred or more competing titles by an experienced, professional team of judges gives your book the seal of excellence. Winning the award is one thing, but marketing the fact that your book has been chosen among hundreds of others is equally important. Have a plan how you can spread the word about your award-winning book, also outside of Social Media. Add it to your email signature. Post a press release and write a blog post about it. Create a guest post about your experience, with tips for other writers. Do as many book signings as possible, accompanied by a huge poster of your award. Offer your work to book clubs, mentioning your award.

What has your experience been with book contests and awards?

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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

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,150 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.
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Did You Write a Kindle Single?

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Many writers have taken a strong 70-page idea and stretched it into a weak 300-page book because that was what the industry demanded. Amazon gave short formats – Singles – an identity.
Any writer can approach Amazon directly, as Stephen King, a prominent author, did with Guns,  a nonfiction essay too long, at 8,000 words, for most newspapers or magazines. Another hit was his Single Mile 81, a top seller.

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Amazon’s Sub-Store
In January 2011, Amazon launched a sub-store on its US website to sell something it called a “Kindle Single” : “Compelling Ideas Expressed At Their Natural Length”, as they call it. The internet giant Amazon pays 70% royalties, for Singles priced between 99 cents and $4.99. “Typically between 5,000 and 30,000 words, Kindle Singles are editorially curated and showcase writing from both new and established voices – from bestselling novelists and journalists to previously unpublished writers.”

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The Guardian explained:
“It may not sound like a call to revolution. But Kindle Singles are. Writers can seldom express ideas “at their natural length”, because in the world of traditional print only a few lengths are commercially viable. Write too long, and you’ll be told to cut it (as Stephen King was when The Stand came in too long to be bound in paperback). Worse, write too short, and you won’t get published at all. Your perfect story is 50 pages long – or 70, or 100?  Good luck getting that printed anywhere.  Commercial print publishers have never liked novellas or novelettes, authors always have. Indeed, many writers have done their best work at that length, despite the difficulty of finding publication.  Hence the revolution.  Because the new length exploits this hole in traditional publishing.”

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How Much Do Kindle Single Authors Earn?
The top-ten list of bestselling Kindle Singles includes a number of big-name writers. But how is the format working for writers who don’t have the brand of a Stephen King or Jodi Picoult? Gigaom.com offers well-researched insights from their interviews:

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Author: Oliver Broudy
Bio: Former managing editor of the Paris Review; writer for Men’s Health
Kindle Singles: “The Saint,” $1.99 (3/2011), “The Codex,” $1.99 (10/2011)
Sales: “The Saint”: 41,826 copies, “The Codex”: 5,009 copies (both figures through January 2012)
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $65,241.16

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Author: Frank D. Gilroy
Bio: Author of the 1965 play “The Subject Was Roses,” which won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award
Kindle Single: “Lake,” $1.99 (11/2011)
Sales: 12,500 as of February 2012
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $17,412.50

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Author: Mishka Shubaly
Bio: Musician; bassist for The Freshkills
Kindle Singles: “Shipwrecked,” $1.99 (4/2011), “The Long Run,” $1.99 (10/2011), “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” $1.99 (3/2012). “The Long Run” is the ninth-bestselling Kindle Single overall, by units.
Sales: “Shipwrecked”: 21,024 copies, “The Long Run”: 60,567 copies, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”: 11,406 copies.
Estimated royalties ([price * number of copies sold] * 0.70): $129,544.82

Read the whole story by Laura Hazard Owen in her post: “Exclusive: How Much Do Kindle Singles Authors Make?”

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If You Want to Have Your Single Published
Amazon criteria’s – Submission Policies – are:
• Original work, not previously published in other formats or publications
• Self-contained work, not chapters excerpted from a longer work
• Not published on any public website in its entirety
• Currently not accepting how-to manuals, public domain works, reference books, travel guides, or children’s books
“A Kindle Single can be on any topic. So far we’ve posted fiction, essays, memoirs, reporting, personal narratives, and profiles, and we’re expanding our selection every week. We’re looking for high-quality writing, fresh and original ideas, and well-executed stories in all genres and subjects. You also can write to our editors at kindle-singles@amazon.com”
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The latest Kindle Single Bestsellers in a variety of genres can be found at Amazon’s “Singled Out” page.
If you are an author and already published a Single at Amazon, let us know about your experience and success.

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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

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 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.
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The Party is Over for Authors – Really?

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Aaron Shepard Wrote a Blog: The Party is Over.
“Amazon has been touted as fostering a thriving culture of self publishing with its level playing field for online sales and its promotion of new reading and publishing technologies, particularly the Kindle. Well, much of that is valid. Amazon has made self publishing more and more accessible to writers and for many years supported a good number of them with sales. But with the Kindle, Amazon has also commercialized books to the point that fewer and fewer self publishers can make a living from them.”
“Print-on-Demand (POD) books provided a handsome profit margin even at reasonable prices. But Kindle books, with their lower prices, have decimated POD sales. Meanwhile, Kindle customers expect more and more for the low prices they pay. Many feel cheated if they spend 99 cents or even less on a book that isn’t “full-length.”  And the flood of easily-published books makes it harder and harder for individual ones to stand out—a problem that can only worsen with time.”  Read more on his website.

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A Numbers Game
Nothing fundamental about the process or the business has changed. It’s purely a numbers game. More and more people are attempting to make a living from self-publishing, and that increases the amount of poor products that will never sell well.  Fewer people making a living at it, in comparison to the total number of people attempting it.  A relatively fixed amount of consumer dollars is being spread over a continually increasing number of books.

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Make a Back List of Books First, then Profit!
Too many books and articles with sensational articles have touted the fast, easy money-making opportunity with books / e-books. Sure, it is easy to put your self published work out there – although the process to reach that point and to promote it is hard work – but there is only a finite amount of readers. The best way into a writing career is to build up a back list of books first before seeing enough profits to make a living.  Every book (and also every article / blog / guest blog a writer releases, will increase their return and boosts their portfolio exposure.

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Compare Publishing with a Marriage
You can see it also philosophically: Writing is like a marriage. If you want to get into it solely for the potential monetary payoff, you will probably fail. But if you get into it with your eyes open, and with reasonable expectations, you will probably get a payoff in personal satisfaction.  And in regards of publishing, you might even make some decent money along the way.

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What’s a Writer to Do?
It feels like every other boom we have seen in tech: The Get-Rich-Quicker’s show up, make a lot of noise, get discouraged and declare the party over. One needs to see the reality: There is no successful business that doesn’t constantly create new products – books. And there is no success if no one knows of your products – books. Can you imagine Apple still selling their PowerBooks, and has not invented iPods, iPads or iPhones? And has not created fantastic public launches, nor established their Apple Stores? The company would be already bankrupt, and their party would be over…

The proportion of people who write well – and who are professionally self-publishing and marketing their books well in order to succeed – probably hasn’t changed. Many authors think, writing a book is enough “if you write it, people will buy it”.  But that’s not how it works…  Compare it with a retail business: Setting up a shop with only one single product and don’t market this product will not even bring a handfull of customers. Everyone would agree that this is silly. But some authors do the same in their publishing “business”. It is a long road for author-publishers from having no readers at all, being on ground zero, to start a small base and grow it to a large readership. It takes lots of time and effort to connect with a sufficient reader bases in order to make a living. And it cannot be based on Social Media only, an author’s writing should show up at blogs, guest posts, at newspapers, magazines, through book signings, readings, radio and TV interviews and maybe even speeches. Not to mention lots of reviews from reputable places.

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No Reason for Arrogance
I have heard it too often: “I like writing, but hate to go out in the public and market my book”. “I can post on Social Media, but I am a shy writer, or I am not going to do any book signings”. Compare it with a party guest who doesn’t talk with others, who doesn’t try the delicious buffet or doesn’t listen to music or dance … these is the equivalent to authors who go to the big “publishing party”, without really participating, not being interested to talk with other guests, expecting the whole audience accommodates them (and is buying their books).

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Conclusion:
The party is NOT over at all, it just has gotten more guests. To compete with millions of other writers means for writers to create lots of new books and to market them professionally. If not trained in book marketing – and I am not talking about just having a presence on Facebook or Twitter – then get professional help long BEFORE the book launch (even better before you write it) in order to have a smooth and successful publishing experience and to establish a great author platform. And for the writing part: there are hundreds of websites with writing tips, critique groups and even more writing teachers and classes out there. And even from editors one can learn a lot.
Yes, new authors will likely find it necessary to work harder than ever before. This isn’t the industry for people who expect a quick profit, or who think their single novel is going to make them rich or they can make a living from the first book on.

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More About This Topic:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/06/15/want-to-write-for-glory-or-for-money/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/free-brilliant-book-marketing-to-a-million-audience/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/how-much-do-self-publishing-authors-earn/

 

 

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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

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 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:

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http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

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It’s this Time of the Year

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Benjamin Franklin said that “nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  It’s that time of the year again when we all must sit down and face the reality of just how much we did or did not earn during the last twelve months. Many writers are not aware of how they should be reporting certain income to get the greatest benefit.  Writers can get away with business tax deductions that ordinary people can’t get away with. Michael N. Marcus wrote a great article and showed samples of “tax avoidance”:
“If you are an author or a journalist, the key to creative tax avoidance is to write about things you like.”

 

• If you like to travel, write about travel, and then deduct the cost of traveling.
• If you like cars, rent some really cool cars, and write about them.
• If you like to eat—and who doesn’t?—go to lots of restaurants, attend cooking schools, stock your pantry, and write about food.

Read his whole blog article here:  It’s Time to Think About Taxes

 

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Writers are presumed to be a professional if their writing made a profit in at least three out of the last five tax years, including the current year. Which means:  Not more than two years of expenses that are higher than the author income. Profits from your writing cannot be used to offset other income for tax purposes, such as a day job or other means of income, if you have more than two years of losses.
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Considerations of Profitability
There are a couple of other considerations that revenue agencies, such as the IRS, are listing, for example:

• Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past? If you have a successful book under your belt — or even a series of articles in paid publications, such as newspapers, magazines or online publications, which can be a predictor that you are a professional writer.
• Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business? How much do you know about running that business? Are you running it like a business, keeping records, keeping an eye to profitability? Did you take classes/seminars about the publishing business (e.g. marketing or tax etc.) no matter if online or offline?
• Have you created a professional book marketing and publicity plan? This might even be shown by including affiliate programs on your website/blog. If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond your control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?

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Expenses You Can Deduct
Always try to pay from a separate account, set up for your writing business, to make book keeping easier. Keep receipts or / make copies of payments to contractors, freelancers and agency fees for book production, such as:

• Proofreading
• Editing
• Illustrations
• Photos
• Graphic Design
• Book Layout
• Printing costs
• eBook Formatting
• Advanced Copy reviews
• Book Trailer Design
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Book Promotion Costs, e.g.:

• Advertisements, online and offline
• Giveaways (free books, review copies, pens etc.)
• Flyers, brochures, business cards, book marks
• Book Fair expenses
• Costs for newsletters (AWeber, MailChimp etc.)
• Entry fee for writing contests
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Other costs, such as:

• Transportation costs (note the dates, distance, reason)
• Rental for book readings
• Office rental or mortgage, heating, electricity for your home office by square feet
• Phone / Internet / e-Reader costs
• Website / blog costs, such as hosting or development
• Office Supplies
• Meal expenses: in the USA full for public events you might host, and 50% if it is for a business purpose (interview, writers conference, meeting with book professionals, publishers, agents etc.)
• Transportation to meetings, events
• Research costs
• Copyright registration and ISBN fees
• Your tax preparer or tax lawyer.
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Keep all your expense slips sorted by date and neatly filed to make it easier to find them
If you pay anyone of the above listed more than a couple of hundred dollars, you would need to include the contract and a form (in the United States it is IRS Form 1099-MISC). Note for each meal/entertainment expense the names, number of people participating and reason for meeting).

Further Reading:
http://www.freelancetaxation.com/deductions-writers
http://www.bus.lsu.edu/accounting/faculty/lcrumbley/tax_aspects.html

Disclaimer: These tips are meant to give general insight into tax information to writers, especially in the USA, and to give you an entry point so you can research further. While every effort was made to ensure the information in this article is accurate at the time it was written, we are not tax experts. Anyone filing taxes should consult a qualified tax prepare r for updated tax laws and further specifics on how these rules might apply to your individual tax situation.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! 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 or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1.070 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.

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The Truth About Author Platforms

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A publisher’s or a literary agents’ first question she / he asks you: What is your platform? Editors and agents are for sure attracted to authors who have a “platform”. They are looking for someone with visibility and authority, who has a proven outreach to a target audience. Why? The short answer is: Money.
Publishing houses are everything but non-profit organizations, they want to earn as much money as possible from the manuscripts they buy. They can only sell a considerable amount of books and make money when lots of people know about the author and his or her work – provided the author is able to spread the word about the book to a huge audience.
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What is an Author Platform
…. which is not only important for authors who want to sell their manuscript to a trade publisher, but equally or even more important for independent writers who want to author-publish:

• Authority:
  What other articles or books, blogs or articles for newspapers or magazines have you written previously? What’s your credibility? What are your credentials?
• Proven reach:
  For example the size of your e-mail newsletter list, your website traffic, blog comments, high-profile reviews, testimonials or references for your writing from bestseller authors in your genre.
• Visibility:
  What communities are you a part of? Who knows you? Who is aware of your work? Where does your work regularly appear? How many people see it? Who do you influence?
• Target audience:
  Being visible to the right audience for the book you are publishing. For example, if you wrote a book how career women can combine work and parenthood, you should have a large target audience of parents, career women, mommy-bloggers, maybe even kindergarten teachers or psychologists.
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No Hard-Selling:
It’s not about hard selling or constant self-promotion.  And it is also not a one-time event or something you can create overnight or in a month. Creating your platform is a long-term project and it cannot be developed by posting “Follow me!” on Twitter or “Like me!” on Facebook… Compare it to opening a business or becoming self-employed: it takes many months, sometimes years, until a solid foundation is grown, one customer at a time.
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How Can You Grow Your Platform:
Publishing or distributing quality work online, on blogs, newsletters or websites, or articles in magazines and newspapers, taking part at social networks, producing pod casts, webinars or videos for your target audience. Speaking at and/or attending events where you meet new people and extend your network of contacts and your visibility.
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Don’t Give Up – it All Takes Time:
Write content and reach out: Building your author platform belongs to the same project as the book you write. Use your creativity , and again: write lots of content, such as guest posts, blogs and short stories for weblogs, websites, magazines, newspapers, and give speeches and presentations at writers conferences or at local libraries. Reach out to potential fans of your writing – one reader at a time.

Becoming an author-publisher is a long term commitment and requires hundreds of small steps on the path to success!  Read more about author platforms and how to establish them:

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/dont-give-up-it-just-takes-time/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/how-to-create-your-author-platform/

https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/a-new-way-of-book-marketing/

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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 $159 for three months! 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 970 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.
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http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

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Making the Decision to Self-Publish Your Series

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Guest Blog by William Stadler

Writing a trilogy can be daunting. But deciding whether or not to sell your series to an agent can be overwhelming. I have considered this idea a lot, and really I don’t think that I would ever sell one of my series to an agent unless I was guaranteed a lot of bells and whistles on the contract…Here are the reasons.
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Publishers, as great as they are in some regards, really do writers a disservice, especially when it comes to a series. If I would have decided to publish Extracted, book one of The Pioneers Series) with a trade publisher, here’s what could have happened.  Bear in mind that I have already written books two and three of this trilogy. I would send in Extracted to the publisher (or the agent, depending on how you wanted to query). The publisher would read it over. If they liked it, I would sign a contract.
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Having a Publishing Contract 
Being under contract means that I cannot sell my book on my own, and I have just relinquished all of my rights (except for the copyright) to the publisher.  I now have lost all creative input into the book. The cover is out of my hands. The distribution channel selection is out of my hands.  And, I’m going to have to wait six to eight months before I ever see my book on the shelf. That’s after the first four to six months for them to review the work.

So let’s be conservative and say that this entire process took only twelve months. Finally, my book is on the shelf and it can be bought from any major book distributor in the USA. That’s great!

But here’s the thing about books: they only stay on the shelves for maybe three months if they’re not selling, which is usually the case for debut authors and those who don’t have a strong fan base.
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That’s not so bad. I mean, we gave traditional publishing a shot, so now we can just take our book and mosey on back to our desks and work on it some more – perhaps self-publish it pretty soon. Wrong!
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Publishers Own the Rights
The publisher owns the rights to that book. And since it’s a series, they not only own the rights to that book, but to all books within that series. Say I wanted to make a spin-off, using my main character from Dark Connection (since I’ve lost all my rights to the series). I can’t do that either. Why? Because Genevieve Solace, the lead character in this work, belongs to the publisher as well. So there will be no spin-offs, nothing. I have to start from the ground up.
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Author-Publishing is the Way to Go
I believe that a series should hit the market as a self-published work (unless you are able to keep your rights)  

• You have so much more flexibility.
• You can change your cover if you feel that’s the reason sales are down.
• You can change the interior design.

Heck, you can change the entire story! But if you submit your series to a publisher, then you have lost all rights.

And let’s say you are as lucky as JK Rowling with her Harry Potter series.  Keep in mind that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was her first book, so her royalties were probably only around 7-10% per sale. With her second book, she might have made more per sale, but the publisher does not have to grant her a higher rate. Why?

What’s in it for Publishers?
They know you’re going to write more of the series. And they know that you can’t sell that series through anyone else but them. So there’s no benefit. And here’s the thing: Even if by her seventh book they increased her royalties to 25% (which is right around the highest for authors at her level), she could have made loads more if she had self-published – right around the 70% royalty range for Amazon, with the lowest being around 30% starting out.
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Money, Time and Rights
So a series is best if self-published in my opinion. Traditional publishers don’t spend thousands of dollars to market their new authors. You are going to have to market for yourself anyway. Why lose money and time and rights in the process?
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William Stadler is a freelance writer who ventured into novel writing with the passion to see stories and characters come to life. He typically enjoys writing fantasy, where he believes creativity and imagination meet. You can visit his blog at http://www.wstadler.com

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! 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 or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 950 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:

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http://www.111publishing.com
http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

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Manuscript Finished? Tips for Pre-Book-Production

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I saw a brilliant poster at a print shop / book designer, which said:  “Pick Any Two, I Pick One”
It was a triangle and on each tip had these words:  Money – Quality – Time/Speed

Always keep this in mind when you hire freelancer / employees or subcontractors, such as editors, book and cover designers. You get what you pay for… Don’t shop for the cheapest, rather the best partners.
We give you here just an overview whats involved in book production, there are many other tasks that are covered in a great blue print, compiled in Joel Friedlander’s really helpful blog articles
Start with his article: Why Self-Published Books look Self-Published
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The Editing process:
Even though many authors are talented writers and even spectacular at grammar, they should never be the book editor of their own project. You might have logged long hours going through your manuscript with a fine-tooth comb, read, write, delete, re-write, re-read, delete… Then, after carefully reviewing the spelling and grammar and fact-checking the document, you may have even handed the manuscript over to your your former English teacher and every member of your writing group, however none of this is equal to a professional edit.

Contact editors whose sites inspire confidence and ask about their work process, rates, time frames, and any other information you need to know. Request a sample edit from the respondents you like. Samples are often free, and around five 250-word pages.
The editing process is not meant to offend you or detract from all of the perfecting you have already done. Rather, an edit is meant to increase the quality and success of your book, regardless of subject or genre.
Choose an editor on the basis of compatibility and how well the results of his or her editing appeals to you. ask for references, but learning about the editor’s background shows you how long he or she has been in the business. It also gives an idea of how many and which types of clients have actually trusted him or her to edit.  There are several steps involved in editing and professional trade publishers often employ special editors for each of these steps:

• Line editing
• Content Editing
• Copy Editing
• Proof Reading
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The Book Cover and Title

The correct title can really help to ensure the success of your project. Or not… A great cover will raise the attention of potential readers.  And yes, books are judged by their covers.

• It must be easy to understand and speak.
• It should ideally be less than 32 characters.
• You must be able to purchase the exact URL for the title.
• Buy your Author name domain also.
• The title should clearly demonstrate to readers what they will discover in this eBook.

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Cover Design

• Keep the design clean.
• Use a focal point to orient the user
• Make sure people can read it without glasses.
• Make the design match the content.

For Print:

• Use the spine properly.
• Include a photo of the author.
• The largest font size is used on the information that is most important

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Joel Friedlander has a great blog post series about book layout mistakes to avoid. You can learn almost everything about book design by following Joel Friedlander’s blogs and by reading his books, to be found at www.TheBookDesigner.com.  Technical information can be obtained at Basic Book Design http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Basic_Book_Design for answers to your basic book design questions.

Pre-Publishing Services:

Editing:
Suzanne Nussay, M.A., 
Editing, Writing and Constulting Services
snussey@sympatico.ca

Lisa Costantino Editing Services
http://www.lisacostantino.com/

Susan Uttendorfsky Adirondack Editing
www.adirondackediting.com

Daniel Kenyon Editing
http://danielkenyon.wordpress.com

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Cover design inspiration:

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/creative-book-cover-story/
http://faceoutbooks.com/ (print book covers)
http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.ca/
http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/
http://bookdesigner.com/53972/book-covers/
http://bookcovers.creativindie.com/cover-samples/

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Book cover designers I can personally recommend:

Anitra Jay http://www.anitrajay.com/page:designs
Laura Wright LaRoche http://www.llpix.com
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e-Book Formatting

Another important step in creating an e-book that should be done by real professionals,
here are two proven e-book designers:

http://e-bookbuilders.com

http://ebookarchitects.com
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After going through the pre-production stages – the editorial and design part – your next step will be distribution of your new book, covered in the next blog post. However, while your book is at the pre-publishing service providers, don’t forget to actively market your upcoming book! Prepare your author pages on Goodreads and Amazon, starts Goodreads Giveaways, if you have an ISBN and planned a print book.  Get as many pre-orders and reviews as possible, plan and invite all your potential readers to your book launch – virtual and in person.

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With 30 years experience in both, print and now e-publishing, we can provide you with many more tips, background information and support – additional to the huge amount of promotion you get in our online and off-line seminars.  http://www.111Publishing.com/seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 940 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/

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Authors: Which of Your Expenses are Tax-Deductible?

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Income tax preparation might be months away, but it is never too early to start collecting expense receipts. Many self-published book authors want to make a profit and become a professional author, having writing as their vocation.  Writers are presumed to be a professional if their writing made a profit in at least three out of the last five tax years, including the current year. Which means:  Not more than two years of expenses that are higher than the author income. Profits from your writing cannot be used to offset other income for tax purposes, such as a day job or other means of income, if you have more than two years of losses.
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Considerations of Profitability
There are a couple of other considerations that revenue agencies, such as the IRS, are listing, for example:

• Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past? If you have a successful book under your belt — or even a series of articles in paid publications, such as newspapers, magazines or online publications, which can be a predictor that you are a professional writer.
• Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business? How much do you know about running that business? Are you running it like a business, keeping records, keeping an eye to profitability? Did you take classes/seminars about the publishing business (e.g. marketing or tax etc.) no matter if online or offline?
• Have you created a professional book marketing and publicity plan? This might even be shown by including affiliate programs on your website/blog. If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond your control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?

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Expenses You Can Deduct
Always try to pay from a separate account, set up for your writing business, to make book keeping easier. Keep receipts or / make copies of payments to contractors, freelancers and agency fees for book production, such as:

• Proofreading
• Editing
• Illustrations
• Photos
• Graphic Design
• Book Layout
• Printing costs
• eBook Formatting
• Advanced Copy reviews
• Book Trailer Design
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Book Promotion Costs, e.g.:

• Advertisements, online and offline
• Giveaways (free book review copies, pens etc.)
• Flyers, brochures, business cards, book marks
• Book Fair expenses
• Costs for newsletters (AWeber, MailChimp etc.)
• Entry fee for writing contests
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Other costs, such as:

• Transportation costs (note the dates, distance, reason)
• Rental for book readings
• Office rental or mortgage, heating, electricity for your home office by square feet
• Phone / Internet / e-Reader costs
• Website / blog costs, such as hosting or development
• Office Supplies
• Meal expenses: in the USA full for public events you might host, and 50% if it is for a business purpose (interview, writers conference, meeting with book professionals, publishers, agents etc.)
• Transportation to meetings, events
• Research costs
• Copyright registration and ISBN fees
• your tax preparer or tax lawyer.
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Keep all your expense slips sorted by date and neatly filed to make it easier to find them
If you pay anyone of the above listed more than a couple of hundred dollars, you would need to include the contract and a form (in the United States it is IRS Form 1099-MISC). Note for each meal/entertainment expense the names, number of people participating and reason for meeting)

Further Reading:
http://www.freelancetaxation.com/deductions-writers
http://www.bus.lsu.edu/accounting/faculty/lcrumbley/tax_aspects.html

Disclaimer: These tips are meant to give general insight into tax information to writers, especially in the USA, and to give you an entry point so you can research further. While every effort was made to ensure the information in this article is accurate at the time it was written, we are not tax experts. Anyone filing taxes should consult a qualified tax prepare r for updated tax laws and further specifics on how these rules might apply to your individual tax situation.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! 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 or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 940 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/

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Your Success-Plan to Author-Publishing

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Before you explore author-publishing possibilities in this series, lets first have a look at your business plans as an author and the most important question: Why are you writing?  Are you creating for yourself (as a hobby, just for the fun of writing),  or for an audience? If you’re creating for yourself, it means: Writing is worthwhile for you, regardless of who sees your work.
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Can You Answer These Questions:

• How many books with the same topic / the same genre are on the market?
• What is the sales ranking of these works?
• How are these books priced?
• What is the social media ranking of the most successful writers in this genre?
• Where are these books sold on- and off-line?

The advise you read here is based on the assumption that you want to entertain, inform, increase your audience and eventually earn some money with your writing.
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If You’re Producing Work for an Audience:

• playing by at least some rules of the industry
• caring what others think of your work
• establishing an authors platform from which to communicate
• interacting with your audience and being available to them
• doing things not for your art, but out of service to your audience
• putting on a performance, or adopting some kind of “brand”
• marketing your work and being visible

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Why Should Authors Have a Business Plan?
Unfortunately many writers first create their work – and ask questions later.  Any author can write a book, but only a successful author knows she/he is now in business.  Again: “Writing is an art – publishing is a business!”  A serious business!
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There’s no point to go without some kind of strategy in place if your objectives really are in building a writing career. It’s never too early to treat your writing as a business – no one would open a brick&mortar business without a plan!

A business plan can help new (and established) authors to clarify the proper publishing path for their works. A business plan serves as a road map, helping to keep the project and related endeavors like marketing and platform-building on schedule and for the author to track the results of his or her efforts.

The business plan starts when you start thinking about writing a book, it covers all aspects of your future work. At the moment you begin a novel or non-fiction book, you must already have a clear vision of the message, the audience and even the venues where it can be sold.

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Traditional Business Plans Have These Components:

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Market strategies
• Competitive analysis
• Design and development plan
• Operations and management plan
• Financial factors

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Sounds a Bit Theoretical? OK, Here is the Version for Author-Publishing:

• The topic of your work fiction / non-fiction
• You target audience / readers
• Your competition online and in book stores
• The likely contents, length, format etc. of the book
• Your marketing and promotional strategies
• The expenses you face for publishing and promotions.

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It is vital to have a business plan because your books and you are the products to be sold. It makes some writers uneasy, but without a plan, you can’t figure out a way for your book to sell. Think of it as your map, guiding you from starving writer to successful author.
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What makes your book so special?
No point in writing a book if you don’t know why or if it’s special. Many writers write books they’d love to read, many write books who’s marketing studies show readers are buying, some write books because the subject is risky or has never been explored before. Know why you and your book is special – and most important: what is the readers benefit of buying your novel or non-fiction book.
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Who Will Want to Buy Your Book?
Jot down all those people who likely will want your book, why they’ll want it and how effective they will be at getting more people to want it. Know who your readership target is. Do you have enough (at least 2,000 on each social media outlet) contacts to spread the word about your book? And with contacts I don’t mean other writers, I mean READERS, bookworms, book lovers, book clubs, avid readers, reviewers! That’s the type of audience you will want to look for.
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What is Your Competition?
Research in bookstores and online, how many and which books will be comparable to the one you are writing. Check them out in libraries, on reader forums, such as Goodreads, Shelfari or Wattpad. Visit independent stores and go to big chains  research these books on all online stores, not only Amazon, find out what genres are they placed, what reviewers say, how their author pages are designed etc. to get a real picture of your competition – and your potential readers.
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Which Format For Your Book?
Books can be sold in many formats and also in many languages. Research at least these three popular formats:

• e-book format
• audio format
• Print format

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How Do You Plan to Promote Your Book?
You have lots of friends and you know people, hopefully lots of people. Online and off-line. And those people know people. Unless you can spend ten-thousands of dollars every months for advertising, you should plan now, before you write your book:

• our social networking,
• book events,
• gaining interviews,
• speaking engagements,
• seeking book reviews,
• attending book shows. 

Schedule all these activities in advance, add as many readers as possible to your current accounts on reader community sites, all social media sites – minimum are: Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Facebook.
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What Are Your Marketing Strategies?
OK, your book is available on Amazon or in your local book store, but where else might it fit in perfectly? Other online retailers where you can sell your book? Stretch your mind and think creatively: Libraries, book clubs, foreign right sales … there are so many possible outlets for your book. Find out what’s their commissions are, and how much you would make on each sale of your book.

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Calculations & Pricing
Both, digital and print books need to be proof-read, edited and then formatted, not to forget a really fabulous, enticing cover.
Pricing on print books is largely based on the number of pages in the book and quality of binding, costs for cover design and book layout. Pricing is also dependent on making print books available for a wider distribution than just Amazon. Since a wider distribution is used, books must be priced
so that the other outlets will be offered wholesale pricing.

Turbulence in the rapidly changing eBook world should also be taken into consideration. Pricing may be subject to change based on sales, current pricing trends and need to create upward movement in Amazon rankings. Books may be discounted if it fits with marketing strategy and promotion.
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Don’t forget other expenses, such as webdesign and hosting, advertising, marketing expenses, phone and internet, travel cost etc.  The good news: you can deduct ALL these costs from your writers income!
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What is Your Timetable for Writing, Editing, Book Production, Marketing etc.?
After you have figured out your market, your reader audience, your competition and your sales planning, you will feel much better, having a clear vision of your writing / publishing career.  A business plan does not have to be scary, especially for a simple business such as your writing business. In fact, a business plan should be somewhat comforting. It spells out what you want to accomplish, in which time frame and how you plan to do it.

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Further reading:
http://www.spawn.org/editing/sevenpublishingmistakes.htm
http://selfpubauthors.com/category/business-plan/
http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/business/writereality.htm
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-32373.html

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $159 for 3 months! 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 or your KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 940 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/

Home

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

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Has No One Told You This?

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There are lots of possibilities to let everyone know about your book, without even incurring any costs.  Browsing through our more than 1,500 blog posts, you will find an abundance of book marketing tips!  

However, most important is, to have a solid amount of friends and followers on Goodreads, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook  – at least 2,000 on every Social Media site, and a long list of opt-in email addresses to send out invitations for your book launch or any other news-worthy events – or for your readers to download single chapters or short stories as a teaser.
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Check out the genres that are popular and announce your books on these book reader’s blogs and websites:

http://www.Wattpad.com

http://www.ebooksjustpublished.com/about

http://jcphelps.blogspot.com/p/submit-content.html

http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=authors

http://www.Goodreads.com

http://books.google.com/googlebooks/tour/

Google writes:  “Once you send Google your titles (or upload them as PDF files), we’ll add them to our index for free. By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Books connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them. Each Google Books result will display the book’s title and author, a short excerpt containing the highlighted search terms, and other public data about the book.”
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Get as Many Book Reviews as Possible:
Finding reviewers is so much easier if you are well-established in Goodreads communities and other writer / book forums. Start a book giveaway on Goodreads at least a month before your book will be printed (create “dummies” with the help of a digital copy/print company or through “espresso book machines”. When giving out these early copies, try to solicit as many reviews as possible. Use the best reviews for blurbs on your final book cover.
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http://bookreviewclub.blogspot.ca/

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum

http://www.GoodReads.com

http://www.Wattpad.com

If you have an Amazon account, you could visit the Amazon Kindle forum, where Kindle users share their experiences with the Kindle reader, and also talk about books available for the Kindle. Many authors also post about their new books and join the conversations. When you introduce yourself, consider telling folks there about your book.  Be polite and conversational in tone, and be sure to provide direct hyperlinks to your book page.
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Benefits of Content Marketing
Why asking for (media) reviews, when you could get both: book promotion and at the same time (often) being paid?  I know, it is a new concept to many writers, but when you think about it – it makes really sense: why use your time and effort to chase reviewers, when you can use your energy to leverage your books content and your research content – to create articles that you can pitch to both, print and online newspapers and magazines?  And as an added benefit: You get valuable back-links to your website/blog or book sales page!
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Make use of your assets!
The three main assets you have as an author:

• your writing skills
• the content you already wrote
• the research you have done for your book(s)

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Again: Start Early!
If you’re waiting until the book is finished to start marketing, you’re already behind the curve. As an author, you should devote a portion of every day to get your name out there and to build relationships with prospective readers, partners and friends.  And with relationships I don’t mean advertising your book (tweeting: buy my book, buy my book, buy ….) this is not relationship-building!
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All books live or die, based on word of mouth!
If you try to build your network after you release your book, you’ll face a more difficult challenge. If you build a large social network BEFORE you release your book, your marketing efforts will be much more successful.
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Help is on the Way:
If you have a full-time job and / or other commitments and not at least an hour per day left to build your platform and network with potential readers, let us do a good part of your book PR, and at the same time we will coach you over the phone and teach you how book marketing can be done on a very low budget – all for less than two dollars / day.  Read more about this valuable and extensive package we offer to authors.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 900 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 to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

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

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7 Top Reasons for Writers to Be on Goodreads

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How Can Goodreads Help Your Book Take-Off?
Goodreads is a kind of Facebook / Google+ for people who love to read books. A free website for book lovers. Bookshelves, reviews, ratings, reader communities, author pages, book giveaways  … all this is Goodreads. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, or start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.
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1. Goodreads Author Program
Use it to promote yourself and your books. What is the Goodreads Author Program? It is 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?

a) Show Your Author 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.

b) Promote Your Books

• 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.

How do I join and who can join is explained in detail in one of our former blog posts about Goodreads.
The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are just in the process of
publishing a book. It’s best if your work is on a bookseller’s website, such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, but Goodreads will accept any author who has published a book. This includes authors from
other countries as well as authors who are self-published. If your book is self-published and is not yet in the Goodreads database, you may manually add it.

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.
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2. Reader and Writer Forums
Did you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads? Just go to the top of each page and click on Groups. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups” etc. and one the right hand site of the page “Browse by Tag”. This is were all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords. For sample:

• Book Club
• Historical Fictionistas
• Non-Fiction
• Young Adult Book Groups
• Suspense
• Super-Natural
• The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
• Womankind Worldwide Book Group

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As you can see, when you scroll down on the right hand site, there are ten-thousands of groups!!!
Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common
Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations
(3365) Student Groups (6129)
There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity
at Goodreads, were obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise. These groups are a hidden gem to meet readers and reviewers. Almost all are public groups. Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it’s not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception I just mentioned. ”Authors are welcomed and Goodreads supports authors in many ways, but the groups are primarily geared towards readers. Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.” Once you are known in these forums, your author site and your books will automatically be read – and often reviewed.

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3. Get and Give Reviews
When I was talking recently with an author, who desperately wanted more reviews. When I asked him how many reviews he has written in the last year, he stumbled … and said: “well, NONE so far”. Shall I say more? Don’t forget: To be a Goodreads member and to benefit, especially from reviews, requires that you are a bit more active on this site, for sample in shelving books of other writers, in participating from time to time in forums, read books and review them. How could someone expect to receive reviews if they are not writing some for others? Be a good pal in this book community!
From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

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4. Friends Can Recommend Your Book
And you can recommend books from your writer friends? To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook“.

Under the icon “friends” your Goodreads friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom
you want to send your book recommendation. Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads. The “Facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodreads to recommend the book to.
Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Once you read them, write a review!  Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.

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5. Share This Book
Another hidden gem on your Goodreads page, that your visitors, readers and friends can use in order to promote your books: “Share This Book“.  Did you realize that everyone of your Goodreads book’s pages has share buttons to submit your book to Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and to their Facebook page, even “like” it on Facebook?  Go to the right hand side of your books page and scroll down, until you see the button: “Share This Book”
There is another possibility to spread the word about your book:  Next to these Social Media icons are two unassuming words: Your Website. When you click on it, a window appears with some code that one can be easily copy and paste onto their blog or website and will show an image of your book and a link.  Another way to spread the work about your book! Let your friends ping to Google+ and FB
On the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.
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6. Advertise Your Events for FREE
Goodreads encourages you to publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. This is a feature, similar to the one which is offered on Google+  –  see our blog
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/announce-your-book-signing-on-google-for-free/. Start about 3 weeks before your book launch with your event announcement. Use Goodreads’ event listing form to start the process. It has an RVSP feature and people can state if they are “coming”.
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7. Give Away Copies of Your Print Book.
It makes sense to give away books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries.

Goodreads recommends even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits the stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves – visible for all their friends.” Read more about Goodreads Giveaway rules in a former blog post.

 

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 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 to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

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

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How Else Can You Leverage Your Manuscript?

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Do you remember my blog “Split Your Book Apart“?  What else could you do with your manuscript and your copyright?  One of the suggestions was to produce an audio ook.  In other words: Re-purpose your manuscript and make more out of it than just a book and an e-book. Why not additionally create an audio-book from your novel or even from non-fiction? Audio-books are becoming more and more popular!

• Your readers can listen to your audio-books, which can easily double their book consumption because they are using time that previously was not available and turning it into valuable “reading” time.
• They can listen in the car, bus, train, plane… while exercising, walking or hiking, on the beach or while doing mundane tasks around the house or yard.
• Special needs readers, such as blind ones will have access to your written words in form of an audio-book.
• Audio-books can be listened to on an iPod or iPhone/SmartPhone or other MP3 player, even on most e-readers such as Kindle and Nook.

A membership at www.Audible.com (owned by Amazon.com) is a good deal for your readers. They can choose from various plans, and easily download digital audio-books to their preferred device. Or your readers can go to their local public library to get audio-books for free.
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There are three ways of producing an audio-book:

1. You do it all yourself. If you are on a very tight budget you can make audios with some relatively inexpensive equipment.
2. You use a narrator who is specialized on audio books and who gets a percentage of royalty after production of your audio-book (for which they charge too).
3. You organize a professional production and keep all your royalties for yourself.
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Here are some tips to achieve a great audio book format:

• You should find an experienced sound editor and an audio director to get the most out of your studio time and ensure a quality production. Check the packaging on audio-books in stores to see if a producer is credited.
• Choose only the ones who are used to work with audio books.
• Get a good microphone and a screen to soften explosive sounds.
• If you choose professional help, try to find a trained speaker, such as a graduate from an actor school or drama school.
• A professional voice-over artist website has a large pool of excellent audio performers and will greatly enhance your project. Order sample audios, emailed to you, to evaluate talent.  The ball park figure for an audio book production service ranges from $500 – $1.200, but can be higher, depending on the books’ length.
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To have your audio-book sold, check www.Audible.com / Amazon.com. You will be referred to ACX, the Audiobook Creation Exchange  where you get tons of good advice how to narrate your own audio book or what to look for when outsourcing.  I was positively surprised how well they explain in detail the whole process for author on their website, including case studies, how much you will earn, contract samples and how to promote your audio-book. Check it out before you start your project!
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Further Reading about Audio Book Production, especially in Canada:

Joanna Penn describes her studio experiences, creating her audio book
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/07/15/how-to-create-an-audio-book/

Audio Books become an important substitute for old-fashioned reading
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/do-you-want-8390-or-15-million-competitors/

Professional Audio Studio Listing for Canada
http://revolutionaudio.ca/store/recordingstudioscanada.php

Sorted by Canadian Provinces:
Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
Eastern Ontario
Western Ontario
Quebec
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia (BC)
Nova Scotia

Overview of the Canadian Audio Book Market
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/005002/f2/005002-2100-e.pdf

Funding & Tax Credit Opportunities in Canada
http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1268230642921/s/q.s?l7c1l3=eng&S_S20RCH.l1ng91g3=eng&S_F8LLT2XT=audio+book&cn-search-submit=Search

Alternative Book Formats
http://snow.idrc.ocad.ca/node/188

Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology
http://www.oiart.org/
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Get a Sample of “Rabbit in the Jungle” available as e-book, paperback and now as an audio-book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EEAVS4E

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Another way to leverage your manuscript is to let it translate into other languages, such as Mandarin, Spanish, German, Portugese or Japanese. More about this in a blog post tomorrow.
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. 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 or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 890+ 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 to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

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

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1st Book in New Childrens Series: The Sockkids Meet Lincoln

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FREE TODAY ON AMAZON !!!
New, … and The Sockkids received already 31!!! 5-Star reviews!
“I was intrigued with how a bit of important history was weaved in such a creative and unique fashion. I thought it was one of the most beautifully written, entertaining, and substantial children’s books I have had the pleasure of reading. This book shows history in a way that will plant the seed for learning and encourage kids to expand their minds with creativity.”
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The SockKids – Solving The Mystery Of Your Missing Socks!
Where do our missing socks go?
Readers find out in our children’s series, “The Sockkids”. We follow the Socker family through many adventures; from encountering the slobbery mouth of the family dog to meeting Santa as he comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve to helping a fireman save a baby to the most shy Socker going to the school dance for the first time.  Thanks to the time-travel opportunities afforded by the spin cycle of the washer, they learn about some of the most important humans in the world.

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Great Gift and Delightful Read for the Whole Family
What a lovely and encouraging present – at the same time teaching children about US history through this first book in a series.  Everyone loves the delightful illustrations by Sugar Snail Illustrations.
Children two and up and their parents will be drawn to the diversity of the family and the universal and timeless lessons they teach: don’t be afraid of new experiences; treat others as you would like to be treated, and of course, beware of the spin cycle!
The SockKids Meet Lincoln
Kindle edition by Michael John Sullivan, Susan Petrone, Sugar Snail. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Sockkids Meet Lincoln.
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Author Michael John Sullivan

Michael John Sullivan is the creator of the SockKids. Constantly searching for his socks, he wondered whether the missing foot comforters had found another pair of feet to warm.
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About the Authors
Before his interest in socks, Sullivan started writing his first novel while being homeless, riding a NYC subway train at night. After being rescued off the train, he spent much of the past tow decades raising two daughters while writing at home.
Sullivan returned to his subway notes in 2007, and began his first novel Necessary Heartbreak (Simon&Schuster, Gallery Books imprint). “Library Journal” named Necessary Heartbreak one of the years best book for 2010. His second novel, Everybody’s Daughter (Fiction Studio Books, 2012) was named one of the best books of 2012 by “TheExaminer.com”.  In his novella An Angel Comes Home, Michael Sullivan takes the reader on a time travel journey filled with danger, mystery and intrigue. At the same time this book engages the reader in a soul soothing story.

Sullivan has written articles about the plight of homelessness for CNN.com, The Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Beliefnet.com, and AmericaOnline’sPatch.com service.
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Author Susan Petrone

When fiction writer Susan Petrone is not creating an arts or culture article for Cool Cleveland, she writes novels. Her first, A Body at Rest, was published in early 2009 by Drinian Press. An excerpt from the novel and some of her published short fiction are available at http://SusanPetrone.com.

Amazon.com
The SockKids Meet Lincoln eBook: Michael John Sullivan, Susan Petrone, Sugar Snail Illustrations.
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 880+ 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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Is YOUR Computer Save?

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Just a quick reminder …
Been a victim of computer viruses, trojans or malware already? You wouldn’t be the only one: banks, governments and big business all have been there.  If you are not, chances are high you could be, if not properly protected. Computer security software creators are working very hard to catch up with the ever expanding threats of malicious attacks of cyber terrorists.

Here is the ugly truth about this epidemic of computer threats:
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Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

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Computer Security has a lot of meanings
Locking your computer room and your machine, protecting your log-in accounts with passwords, using file protection to keep your data from being destroyed or encrypting network communications lines for example. The least you can do, is to get a security software for your laptop or home computer.

Emails saying you’ve already won money, pop-up ads that want you to click and claim a free prize. Online scams and viruses can not only put your computer at risk, but also your privacy, identity, and money.
Don’t rely on free programs. Sure they are better than nothing, but to be on top of the computer scams and viruses software, specialists have to work hard and when they charge just a few dollars per months, this small change is worth it.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 179 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/ Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 1,130+ 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 to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

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

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