Do Interviews Sell Books?
By · Comments
I just bought a book I can’t wait to read.
Why?
Because I heard a great interview by the author on the radio. I knew I had to get his book.
Alex Mandossian often said, “You don’t make money writing books, you make money explaining books.”
Test it for yourself.
Think about the last time you bought a book. Wasn’t it either because someone recommended it, or because you somehow heard the author talking about it and it seemed interesting to you?
Notice too the viral element. I’m telling you about it, and word is going out via my blog, emails, Twitter, Facebook. All because of one interview! (And no, I do not work for the publisher. They don’t know I’m doing this, but I would love a review copy, hint hint!)
Check out my past Virtual Book Tours and see if you’re not at least tempted to get one of the books. Just browse the left-hand column for an author or topic that interests you. I’ve got lots of topics to choose from, from leadership to parenting to health. www.virtualbooktourexpert.com
The book, by the way, is Richard Swenson’s In Search of Balance: Keys to a Stable Life
Why is a topic for another blog post….
Is Your Idea Really a Book?
By · CommentsIf you have an idea for a “how-to” type book, or if you’re an expert at something, perhaps your idea’s best format is NOT a book.
Or at least, not only a book.
One reason people don’t get published by commercial publishers is their idea is not really a book. It may tell how to do something, but it’s not unique enough to stand out from a crowded niche. Publishers (and authors who self publish) invest a lot of money upfront for a physical book.
These days, there are other days to get information out, if it’s pretty much just information you are offering.
And these ways are faster and more profitable than publishing a book.
What I”m talking about is creating information products, which can (and should) take any number of formats. It can be video, audio, printed, or a combination thereof.
Another important and wonderful thing about information products is Read More→
Avoid This Domain Provider!
By · CommentsFor a long time, I got my domains from 1and1.com.
No more. And I recommend you avoid them at all costs as well.
This is the third incident I’ve had with them. This time they billed me before my “next due date” and refuse to credit me. The domain was transferred well before the stated “next due date” to me and to the registrar I transferred to (godaddy.com). 1nad1 said it was renewed before the transfer went through, but that’s not what Godaddy shows and what is clearly on the WhoIs record.
What they do, apparently, is bill BEFORE the time is up. Maybe even whenever they see you’re trying to transfer? Who knows. I started the transfer more than a month before my “next due date” for billing–plenty of time to have it go through. I did all the necessary things on my end and, in fact, got a notice from Godaddy that the transfer had gone through BEFORE even that earlier 1and1 billing date.
Here’s the kicker: When I told 1and1 that I would just alert my credit card company, 1and1 said they would shut down my account!
Do not do business with 1and1.com Internet!
As I said, this is at least the third time I’ve had an issue with them. What I experienced before was simply questionable practices.
This is egregious.
I spent the day transferring my many accounts to godaddy.com, which has always been great to work with. Their support is wonderful, and I’ve never had one problem. (I don’t use them for my web hosting, just domain names. If you want to use them, Google “godaddy coupon codes.” Those don’t work on transfers, though, as you get a really low price on those.)
I’m not the only one with an issue. Here’s another post about their terrible service.
So, be forewarned. I love to praise companies with good service, and I have many times. Those with especially bad service–I warn about.
Stand Out–Win an Award
By · CommentsOne way to stand out from the crowded field of published books is to win an award.
If you publish with a traditional publisher, they MAY enter your book in a contest and pay for it. Then again, they may not.
If you’re self-published, you will have to enter your book yourself.
Here’s a free service called AwardSync that allows you to search once – by keyword, by industry, by geography (and more) – then sit back and get automatically notified when applicable awards are announced.
It’s free and does the work for you. You’ve still got to win on your own, though! Sign up for free now here.
Review a Book–Get Traffic
By · CommentsDo you read much?
As an author or aspiring author, I assume you do.
Here’s a way to use your reading to get traffic back to your own website.
First, a pop-quiz question: What’s a site that gets a LOT of traffic? Like, thousands if not millions a day….
If you guessed amazon.com, you’re right!
So, when you post a review of a book that’s related to your area of expertise, you get to create a link back to your site.
Because the link comes from a credible, highly-trafficked site, you will rise in the search engines.
Here’s how: Read More→
Anatomy of a Great Book Launch
By · Comments
June 3 was the official launch day for The Healing Code, a truly revolutionary book that I have had the privilege of helping to “birth.” (Find out why it’s the most important book I’ve ever worked on here.) I h ope you’ll both read this post to benefit from their example, AND get this wonderful book. Update: On June 3 it made it to #1 in 5 categories, including “General.”
I was very impressed with the way they are going about the launch, which you can view here. Please view it in your browser after reading this post, and you’ll have an example of what I consider to be a “book launch” with panache–something you can model for your own.
What I like about it is, first, it’s not full of hype. Even the clean look of the site adds to this feel. (The actual topic is incredible enough, it doesn’t need any more hype. This truly works–I’ve tested it for 3 years, my own testimonial can be viewed here, and I’ve seen it work wonders with many, many other people as well–including my 78-year-old mother.)
Second, they give you a couple of free videos whether you buy anything or not. Yes, they are building their mailing list, but with integrity. The videos add to the value of the book (and yes, the desire to get it) in an honest way. (The Dr. Bruce Lipton video is in 7 parts, at least 70 minutes long.)
Third, you get truly valuable bonuses: access to a teleconference series, “Secrets of Dynamic Living,” as well as other bonuses. Classy bonuses, related to the book’s topic, from people who truly know about The Healing Code and want to promote it. Not a bunch of no-value bonuses from everyone under the sun.
So check out the launch page, buy the book, enjoy the bonuses.
And if you want to read an excerpt, you can do that here. Note: If you missed out on the launch, you may still get the book and the bonuses, but only here (my special, which includes free shipping and bonuses of my own, as well as the ones offered on launch day).
Publisher Reveals What Makes a Book Successful
By · CommentsMichael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, said too many books are being published (300,000 last year, around 700 by his company) and that we don’t need more books, we need better books. He says that they are able to predict fairly accurately which books will make it and which will not. In fact, they’ve been 95% accurate about which titles will do well.
So what makes an author successful? “[Successful books] are typically written by Read More→
“Does God Exist?” Virtual Tour
By · Comments
Is there actual scientific evidence that God exists?
You get to decide, when you register to listen to the Virtual Tour with Dr. Stephen Meyer. You even get to ask Dr. Meyer a question! (Though the live event is past, questions will continue to be answered at the TrueU.org blog.)
This is rare access to someone who speaks all over the world and is a recognized voice in the scientific community.
Dr. Stephen Meyer is currently director of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and a founder both of the intelligent design movement and of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, intelligent design’s primary intellectual and scientific headquarters.
Meyer earned his PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University for a dissertation on the history of origin of life biology and the methodology of the historical sciences. Previously he worked as a geophysicist with the Atlantic Richfield Company after earning his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Geology.
Dr. Meyer’s most recent book is Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design. Other books he has co-written or edited two books are Darwinism, Design, and Public Education with Michigan State University Press and Science and Evidence of Design in the Universe (Ignatius 2000).
He has also authored numerous technical articles as well as editorials in magazines and newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Houston Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, First Things and National Review.
Ask your question about scientific evidence that God exists at www.askstephenmeyer.com and you’ll get all the details of the event.
You’ll also see how a “virtual product tour” works. The product is not a book in this case, but a set of videos on DVD.
Commenting on Blogs-The Right and Wrong Way to Do It
By Diane · Comments (5)One very good way to get people to visit your website is to comment on other people’s blogs.
However, there’s a right and a wrong way to do this.
Wrong way: Add a general comment that means nothing, just to get a link. Also bad: commenting on blogs that have nothing to do with your topic.
I regularly get comments such as this one, which just came in today: “wow i didn’t think of that! thanks for sharing your knowledge
” It was in response to the post, “”It’s a New Era in Publishing–Are You Ready?” but the commenter was from the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre and I knew it was just a ploy to get a link. (Or worse. Who can keep up with all the nefarious Web activity out there?)
Fortunately, with Wordpress you can moderate the comments. I called this Spam. He will never get my link!
Right way: Make an intelligent comment (or just a sincerely nice one) on a blog that speaks to the same audience you do. The blog owner will be more than happy to add your comment, and you may get someone visit your site. At the least, you’ll get a relevant link to your site, which will help in the search engine ranking.
If you like this post (or any other here), leave me a good comment, and I’ll be happy to help you get traffic!