Posts Tagged ‘author’

What Every Author Needs (and Most Dread)

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Do you dream of becoming a bestselling author someday?

Most authors do.

But most authors also have a problem.

There is a word in the phrase “bestselling author” that is troublesome to many of us.

Can you guess what it is?

(more…)

How to Build Relationships with the Media

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

I just listened to Steve Harrison give a content-packed teleseminar on “How To Get The Media To Love You And Feature You Regularly.”

He will be giving it again at 7pm Eastern TONIGHT, so if you possibly can, listen to it, sign up now.

Here are 7 tips he gave on how to build a relationship with the media:

1. Research the show and personalize your pitch. Study (more…)

When Self-Publishing Makes the Most Sense for an Author

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

It hit me forcefully just how much publishing has changed as I reflected on my recent interactions with a major publisher over a client’s potential book.

As I mentioned in one of my Publishing Coach Weekly teleseminars, there are three paths of publishing one can take.

1. You publish just because your life dream is to have a published book. The book is really all you care about.

You can go either the self-publishing route (faster, possible to get published if you have the money), or you can take the longer, more uncertain route of trying to get a publisher to publish you. If you do go the traditional publishing route, you will need

Read the rest of this new Publishing Coach Weekly article

Musings on What It Means to be a Successful Author

Friday, August 28th, 2009

The recording of the Great Author Promotions interview with Noah St. John is ready.

Those who were on the live call and frustrated by the sound level of my voice on the webcast will be pleased to know that the recording is MUCH better. I had no control over the webcast quality, but because I don’t trust technology, I had a good backup system in place and thankfully, that worked.

(You’ll be introduced to my dog, Millie, barking in the background at one point. She’s usually nice and quiet but missing her walk for two days due to rain made her jumpy, I guess.)

Anyway, Noah had some interesting things to say.

But I did not agree with EVERYTHING he said.

In fact, I want to say a couple of things before you even listen.

(more…)

Cutting Edge Author Promotion Strategies Revealed

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Noah St. John, author of The Secret Code of SuccessI am so excited about the next Great Author Promotions teleseminar!

My guest will be Noah St. John, author of The Secret Code of Success, the book published by Harper Business books that got him a six-figure advance.

Noah is a pioneer in what I call “New Era Publishing” strategies, and tomorrow he is going to reveal what he’s done in two specific areas: the media, and building a community.

I will also reveal some tidbits about what I’ve been learning about what big publishers are looking for now, from my ongoing dialog about one of my client’s books.

Learn too what Noah is doing to try to get on the Oprah Winfrey show–and how you can participate.

And of course, ask your question! If we have time, we’ll get to it.
http://www.greatauthorpromotions.com

One of the Fastest Ways to Become “Well Heard and Well Paid”

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

It was what Alex Mandossian calls a “pack-your-bags” moment–a moment when you have such an “aha!” that you could pack your bags right then and feel you’d gotten your money’s worth from the event.

And the event hadn’t even started!

The moment was over dinner, when Jay Aaron (brilliant guy, very nice too) was talking about Oprah Winfrey.

“There are two ways to be an expert,” Jay said.

“One is to be a guest on Oprah’s show.

“The other is to BE Oprah.”

He paused. Watch out, here comes the $64,000 insight. (more…)

Nelson Pioneers the Way in Key Aspect of New Era Publishing

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

One of the key aspects of what I call “New Era Publishing” is to provide content in more than one format, so that the author’s message can be consumed in the ways the consumer chooses. “Your content on their terms” is how Paul Colligan puts it.

Publisher Thomas Nelson just announced a new program called NelsonFree, which “allows readers to receive content in multiple formats—physical book, audiobook and e-book—without making multiple purchases.” With NelsonFree, the price of the hardcover book includes both the audio download and the e-book, available in several formats, including EPub, MobiPocket and PDF.

Once readers purchase a book with the NelsonFree logo, they are directed to a Web site where they register and answer a security question. They then can download an audio MP3 file and choose the format of e-book.

Interestingly, Joel Miller, v-p and publisher, business and culture, said Nelson will not raise the price of hardcovers in the NelsonFree program. “I only see the price going up if a particular project has unique added expenses in producing the audio and digital books,” Miller said.

Nelson president and CEO Michael S. Hyatt said, “I believe that the industry is shifting and we, as publishers, need to explore new methods of getting our content into the hands of customers. NelsonFree will give readers a new level of value and flexibility. It will enhance their literary experience and allow greater employment of the content without breaking the bank.”

I applaud Nelson for being proactive here and leading the way. As an author’s advocate, I can’t help but wonder, do authors get any added royalties for the digital content? My guess is not, if the publisher is not charging extra.

On the other hand, making the content available in many formats should only boost sales and gain an author more exposure and reach. And isn’t that what we want as authors?

How to Get Readers to Actually Read Your Book: Case Study of a Bookinar

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Noah St. John’s new book, The Secret Code of Success, just came out, and he’s doing some innovative things to promote his message that are worth studying.

(By the way, he got a six-figure advance for the book from a major publisher, no doubt on the strength of the content, the platform he’d already built, and his marketing plan.)

Noah is currently doing a “bookinar” in which, over the course of 4 or 5 modules, he is being interviewed by Alex Mandossian about the content of the book. The book is your “ticket” to attend the webinar, which makes sense, since the book is the curriculum. On the bookinar Noah explains the book, and gives exercises that will enable you to get the most out of the content.

It’s a lot like a Virtual Book Tour, but it goes a step beyond by becoming an interactive course, based on the book.

Brilliant. This is “New Era Publishing” strategy at its best. Noah is providing a way for readers to (more…)

How Profitable Can Teleseminars Be?

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

Alex Mandossian claims you can turn your annual income into your monthly or even hourly income. Here’s how he did it in three years … and how you can get VIP access to a teleseminar that will show you how you can do it, too.

Personal note: I took Teleseminar Secrets last year. I will return this year (alumni get to come back every year for free). What I can say is that within three months, my initial investment was earned back. In the past 18 months, the return has been 1,055 percent!

Teleseminars are an important part of the mix for any author or aspiring author. And they can be much more profitable than a print book. They can be a very powerful way for people to come into your circle of influence. Alex Mandossian gives you all the tools and knowledge you’ll need to create your own platform with teleseminars as a cornerstone.

What can you do with teleseminars? Sign up for Alex’s Preview Call and see. (The live call was on Dec. 4 but you can still get the recording and notes–well worth it.) You get some added bonuses of mine  that will show you specifically how to use teleseminars in the context of being an author. (Read about them here.)

“How Do I Get the Word Out about My Book & Build an Author Platform?”

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

Michael asked an excellent question:

“How would I be able to get the word out if I published a book? I currently have no “platform.’. I am not on tv/radio/public speaker . . . what are some of my options, or should I wait until I get a platform?”

I’m not sure if Michael already has a book written yet, but the time to think about “getting a platform” is before you even start writing.

And you don’t “get a platform,” you build one.

A “platform” is publishing and media industry speak for your following. So, what you need is to build a following. How?

A number of ways. First, you need to find the people who are already interested in your topic. Here are some suggestions:

(more…)