Your tribe, your followers, your rabid fans–the more you have, the more likely you are to sell books. That’s why traditional publishers want to see big numbers when they ask a prospective author about their platform. But having a platform is even more important for self-published authors because typically, they can’t get the full distribution…
Details
I was talking with Tara Jacobsen from Marketing Artfully (one of my favorite things to do) and she was saying how everything she does leads people back to her website and (hopefully) onto her email list. I can talk about your author’s platform all day long, but the most important plank of your platform—if you’re…
Details
You may already have one or more planks of your author’s platform in place. Maybe you have a popular podcast or a thriving professional practice. Maybe you’re already on the speaking circuit or are an expert guest on the cable news shows. Great. That’s a head start. But unless your following numbers in the high…
Details
Traditional publishers want to know if new authors (particularly in the nonfiction arena) have a “platform” that they can tap into when it comes time to sell their book. (Yes, that’s why celebrities get book deals — they have a built-in audience.) If you are self-publishing, you need a large, established platform even more than…
Details
I don’t know anyone who runs a marathon without training. I just got back from over a week of traveling which involved working two three-day live events. Our smart, motivated attendees were popping with ideas and were just plain FUN! We learned a lot, laughed a lot, and I may have eaten a tad too…
Details
I had the pleasure of being part of a high-level business mastermind this past week. We had people in a wide variety of industries, both business to business and business to consumer. The purpose was to talk about obstacles or bottlenecks in our businesses and see what perspectives and solutions the group could bring. One…
Details
There’s a strategy to completing your first book and that is to make things as easy on yourself as possible. Nine out of ten people who start writing a book don’t finish. Over the dozen or so years that I’ve been ghostwriting and coaching new authors, I’ve developed a number of strategies to help wannabe…
Details
15 pages and stuck is a pattern I uncovered after talking with many (many!) frustrated people who were trying to write a book. Someone would sit down to write their book, get about 15 or 20 pages in (sometimes 10), and get stuck. They had hit a dead end. Then they would contact me, either…
Details
Another year has gone by. I would say I’m another year older, but I don’t feel like I am. In fact, my brain still thinks I’m 15 years old. My body issues sharp reminders on an hourly basis that I’m not. Time is relative. Or maybe the perception of time is relative. I remember as…
Details
A few weeks ago we explored the forums on KBoards. This week we’re taking a look at the forums on Amazon’s KDP Community. Once you’re in your KDP account, you can click on the Community tab and you’ll find a refreshingly clean list of forum topic categories. Clicking on any category will bring you to…
Details