Special Sale to Help Children in Haiti

January 27th, 2010

Saint Hilaire GermimaFor all my working life, starting when I graduated college, I’ve sponsored a child in Haiti with Compassion. In January 1990, I even had the privilege of visiting my child (a different one than I currently sponsor), along with author Janette Oke, Compassion President Wes Stafford, and others. It was an unforgettable trip.  (For more about that, see my Abundant Gifts blog post on this subject.)

As you can imagine, I have been very concerned about the child I sponsor, Saint Hilaire Germema, who turned 12 on December 5. I received a letter recently from Compassion, but nothing specific about the welfare of my child. I fear the worst, am praying for the best. I fear the worst, am praying for the best.

Please join me in praying for Saint Hilaire Germima, her family, Compassion International, ministries in Haiti, the relief efforts, and of course, the people of Haiti.

It’s often difficult to know how to help or to whom to give. I am giving to Compassion International because they have proven their integrity.

If you would like to help Compassion, go to www.compassion.com/haitiearthquake, or call 800-336-7676.

If you are an author or aspiring author, I am having a special Help Haiti sale on some of my products, and will be donating 75% of the proceeds to Compassion. (It would be 100%, but I have to take out taxes and administrative fees.) You can find out about those products at www.wordstoprofit.com/helphaiti.html.

“New Publishing Model”–Does It Help or Hurt Authors?

January 25th, 2010

An article at bookbusinessmag.com asks, “Is ‘Self-publish’ No Longer a Dirty Word?” There’s an interview with Author Solutions, Inc. CEO Kevin Weiss about this new “partnership model” that many publishers are embracing, such as Thomas Nelson and Harlequin.

Basically, what is happening is “publishers” (really they are publishing services companies) such as Author Solutions are offering traditional publishers a way to profit from the authors they don’t deem worthy of taking a risk on and publishing in the traditional way. Author Solutions is the parent company of self-publishing imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing and Xlibris. All of these are listed in the “Publishers to Avoid” chapter of Mark Levine’s excellent book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing: The Contracts & Services of 45 Self-Publishing Companies–Analyzed, Ranked and Exposed.

I’m not necessarily against this new “partnership publishing” model. It’s probably inevitable, because Read the rest of this entry »

“Exactly What Does It Take to Get a Book Published?”

January 22nd, 2010

My name is Katherine.  I am 17 years old and attend high school in Ferndale, Washington.  One of the requirements for me to be able to graduate is complete a senior culminating project, and I chose to write a book.  One of my learning goals includes finding out exactly what it takes to get a book published.  I was wondering if you could help me to get the answers I am looking for.

Boy, you asked a big question! Just about everything I’ve written on my blog and various websites are geared toward answering your question.  Many of my teleseminars also talk about what it takes to get published, especially the one I did with Terry Whalin at www.askaboutpublishing.com.

So I suggest you poke around my sites, especially this blog. Also, get the Author Success Plan. That 5-part minicourse is packed with insider’s tips on publishing and being a successful author gleaned from my 30+ years in publishing. It answers your question and shows you where to start: With the A-B-C’s of becoming a successful author.

Basically, it boils down to: Read the rest of this entry »

How a First-Time Author Can Publish for Free

January 18th, 2010

Ten-year old Kelsey asks, “How can I get published for free?”

Seventeen-year-old Katherine asks, “Exactly what does it take to get published?”

First-time author Kevin sends me his manuscript and wants me to edit it so it can be publishable.

My response to all three people is, “The best thing to do right now is to create a blog and see if anyone is interested in what you have to say and the way you say it.”

Listen carefully, please: Being an author is not what it used to be!

It doesn’t have to necessarily mean having a print book. Not anymore.

Now it means Read the rest of this entry »

Why Blogging May Be THE New Way to Be an Author

January 14th, 2010

In our teleseminar on blogging, Cathy Perkins told the true story of a friend of hers who has a blog and wrote a post that the Los Angeles Times contacted him about. The LA Times interviewed the blogger, and his name and blog url were included in the article. Traffic to his blog increased ten times, and who knows where that exposure will lead.

Nowadays, to the media, it’s less important if you have a printed book than it used to be. If you have a well-visited blog that looks professional and people visit and comment on, you are seen as an expert. Read the rest of this post and listen to the teleseminar replay.

Ask about Blogging, Find Answers

January 13th, 2010

4364_wordpressowl(1)This is your invitation to join me Thursday, Jan. 14 when for this week’s Publishing Coach Weekly teleseminar I will talk with Cathy Perkins, aka The Wordpress Wizard, questions about blogging in general and Wordpress in particular.

You also get to ask Cathy or me a question, before and during the teleseminar.

Just go here at noon Central (1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific)for details and to ask a question.

In addition to answering questions, Cathy will give you Read the rest of this entry »

The Modern Way to Become a Successful Author

January 11th, 2010


The times they are a-changing, and it’s easier than ever to be an author.

How?

By blogging.

Blogging is nearly as popular as having a phone–only you get to talk to and with a worldwide audience about anything you want!

Have you seen the movie Julie and Julia?

Julie–in real life–became a published author AND has this hit movie out about her BECAUSE she blogged about Julia Child and cultivated a huge, huge, HUGE following on her blog!

So what do you want to blog about!?

And if you don’t have your blog yet, you are in the right place at the right time, because Read the rest of this entry »

Make the New Year a Turnaround Year

December 31st, 2009

Happy New Year to you!

For many, I know 2009 was a year to forget. So much bad news in the world, and much of hits home.

Yet for me, 2009 was an unexpectedly good year. Despite the economy and the turbulent state of publishing, it was an incredible year for me.

In fact, it was a “turnaround year,” when when the “bamboo” I’d planted and had assiduously watered and cultivated finally took off.

You know I’ve often said (borrowing from Alex Mandossian), success is like bamboo.

Bamboo grows silently in the ground for 4 years. Not a sign of life.

Then, in the fifth year, a shoot pops up. In that one year, it grows 80-90 feet tall!

2009 became my “bamboo year.” Around halfway through the year, the shoot popped up. I’m talking about my business and personal life–everything.

The things that contributed to my success are eminently duplicatable, I’m happy to say. I’m not just “lucky.” Luck has nothing to do with it. I’ve just discovered some Read the rest of this entry »

A Holiday Greeting & Meditation

December 31st, 2009

I want to wish you a wonder-filled holiday season. May you and yours be richly blessed.

I look forward to serving you in the coming year as “your book publishing coach.” I have many new things in store for you!

If you would like to listen to an audio of me reading one of my favorite stories in my book, Abundant Gifts, just go to my abundantgifts.com blog.  I think you’ll like it.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the things that made 2009 a turnaround year for me, that may well make 2010 a turnaround year for you, too.

Listen to the George Barna Virtual Book Tour on Master Leaders

December 10th, 2009
MasterLeader_3D-IT

Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats by George Barna with Bill Dallas

On Thursday, December 10, I conducted a Virtual Book Tour with George Barna on his new book,  Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats. I invite you to listen to the replay (if you don’t have a question, feel free to write “none” in the box).

If you’re an author or aspiring author, listen–you ARE a leader! In fact, I asked George a question that was submitted: “Does a leader have to have a published book?” (I’ll let you listen to what he said.)

I grilled George on the most-asked questions about leadership, and his answers were based not only on his own insights, but on the insights gleaned from these 30 other leadership greats.

For instance: Ken Blanchard, Tony Dungy, Newt Gingrich, Henry Cloud, John Ashcroft, Colleen Barrett, Seth Godin, San Chand, Mike Huckabee, Laurie Beth Jones, Patrick Lencioni, Ben Carson … the list goes on.

Sign up to  get a free sample of the book and listen to the replay. There is also a very special bonus only those who listen to the VBT will know about (and it’s a limited time offer).

George Barna is founder of The Barna Group, a research and resource
firm whose clients grange from The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to
corporations such as Ford and Walk Disney, as well as The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army.

George Barna is a prolific author (more than 40 books), but the book we”ll be discussing is what he feels may be one of his best: Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats. This is a “leadership conference” in which well-known leaders from all walks of life cover the gamut of leadership topics, from defining leadership, developing leaders, team building, dealing with criticism and pressure, so much more.

I sure hope you’ll take an hour or so and listen in–George gave a lot of great nuggets such as “you get what you tolerate” and “we hire for attitude, we train for skill.” Ponder those for a while. The interview, and of course the book, is full of these golden nuggets.

Get this information now, okay?