Podcast
Episode 64: Book Launch to Consistent Sales (a Case Study)
You’ve written your book and the hard work is done, right? Nope! As an author, you’re not just looking to write a book, but you’re hoping to sell that book, too. Our guest today talks about what she did for her launch and how it set her on the path to great book sales, as well as opportunities.
Amy Lyle is an author, comedienne, actor and screenwriter whose book launch kicked off with a party that set her book up for consistent sales and lots of publicity opportunities that followed.
Read MoreEpisode 63: Marketers & Coffee: Publishing Companies and Deals with Anna David
Many writers dream of the big day they are offered an advance from a publishing company for their book. But now that self-publishing is becoming more popular, authors are finding themselves questioning if they are better suited for going with a traditional publisher vs. going the self-publishing route.
Anna David has seen both worlds. Her first six books were traditionally published, but now she prefers to self-publish, and she also started a publishing company for others. She talks about the pros and cons of going with a traditional publisher.
Read MoreEpisode 62: Best Writing Tools for Authors
As an author, having a writing software program that works well for you is key. The right software will help you get your thoughts onto a page quickly and easily. Depending on your needs, you may want to compare different programs. But three of the most common ones to use are Microsoft Word, Google…
Read MoreEpisode 61: What Publishing Companies Are Really Like (Insider Story)
The four ways in which authors can leverage publishing companies, how companies structure their deals, and how you can set yourself up for a better position when pitching to them. I also talk about things to consider when working with publishing companies, both big and small, and what to expect.
Read MoreEpisode 60: Marketers & Coffee: Facebook Pages for Authors
Like it or not, Facebook is a mighty platform for exposure. As an author, familiarizing yourself with Facebook can come in handy, especially as a way for your readers to follow you and stay updated on your books. But many of us want to keep our personal and business lives separate, which is why…
Read MoreEpisode 59: How to Get Paid Writing Other People’s Books
When you first start out as a writer, you may be looking to supplement your income. One great way of doing this is to become a ghostwriter. A ghostwriter is an author who is paid to write a book for someone else. It may not seem like it carries the same weight as authoring your own book and seeing your name on the cover, but there are a lot of reasons not to discount ghostwriting.
Read MoreEpisode 58: Reviving a Dead Book (Case Study #4)
Writing a book is hard. Sometimes when we find our books aren’t selling well, we may have to make the choice between reviving it or letting it go. In this Reviving a Dead Book case study, we look at an author who decided not to revive his first book, but instead tried reviving his second. Then, he was able to look at both to see the difference a revive can make.
Read MoreEpisode 57: How to Make a Children’s Book
Writing a children’s book is not something to go into lightly. Sure, it may sound like less work because they’re typically fewer words, but there are things to think about you may not be prepared for. But if you have ever thought about it, it’s a great market to get into. About 40 million children’s books are sold online every year.
Eevi Jones has written more than a dozen children’s books of her own and uses her knowledge to teach others the skills needed to write, publish and market their own children’s books. The tips she shares in this episode will help you think about the different factors to consider when writing a children’s book, as well as get you started in the right direction.
Read MoreEpisode 56: Using AMS Ads to Increase Your Sales (CASE STUDY)
We’ve talked in past episodes about Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) ads and how they can help increase sales of a book, as well as how they compare to Facebook ads. Today’s episode features Michael Knight who went from doing OK with sales of his book to seeing some major changes after taking my free AMS course and using KDP Rocket.
One of the things I talk about in the course is that you may find keywords to use for your book you may not have immediately thought of before. Michael is still learning what keywords work best with his book for AMS ads, which he talks about in the episode and gets ideas for even more keywords that may attract his ideal reader to his book.
Read MoreEpisode 55: Book Price Hack that will Make You More Money
If you’re using CreateSpace to create and market your book, you won’t want to miss this ingenious way you can price your book higher, sell it for a lower price, and still get the royalties that come from the higher price. While you may not necessarily use this tactic, I do encourage authors to test different prices for their books anyway to see what works best for them.
Former guest Derek Doepker stumbled upon this hack and talks with me today about how it works and how we can use it ethically. This is within CreateSpace’s terms of service, but when you use this hack, you want to make sure you’re adjusting the price so it make sense for the size of your book and still gives Amazon and Barnes & Noble a profit.
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