publishing

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Should I Respond to an Amazon Review on my Book?

You’ve written a book (celebrate!)

You’ve published your book (MORE celebration!)

And now you’re getting reviews. This is awesome – people are reading your book and taking the time to comment on it. This is where you can break out the bottle of bubbly and enjoy that You. Have. Arrived.

012616-CommentButtonBut then… you notice that in addition to leaving reviews, you can actually RESPOND to them! When a reader leaves a review on Amazon, good or bad, there’s a little spot where other people can leave a comment.

Don’t Do It!

As the author, whatever you do, don’t respond to a review. If you respond to a 1- or 2-star review you are seen as whiny and can’t take constructive criticism. If you respond to a 4- or 5-star review, congratulations, you have officially entered into creepy stalker territory.

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What I’m learning hosting the Brew Your Book Summit – Part 2

Square-Promo-1I can’t believe that in less than 24-hours a HUGE 2015 goal will be coming to fruition. Whew! What a roller-coaster ride to put on the Brew Your Book Summit!

The event is being held live, September 30 – October 2. That’s three FULL days of training, stories, and advice from published authors to help you go beyond percolating on your idea and FINALLY write your book.

I wanted to share a “sneak peek” with you – and invite you to register! Every single expert is a published author – and many have best-selling books!

Did you see last week’s “sneak peek”? Check it out here!

2JacinthTraceyDr. Jacinth Tracey
Jacinth powerfully shares her “coming of age” as an author – starting from needing to prove to people that she didn’t make a mistake reinventing herself as an entrepreneur to now writing books to empower other people – and change the world! Her message: Be FEARLESS in your writing!

2MicheleGundersonDr. Michèle Gunderson
Words have power – and Michele is a master of words! She dives deep into story – the way humans interpret our world, live our lives, and explain how our lives change. If you think “story” is only for non-fiction, think again! And taking the message above and beyond just what appears on the page, Michele also shares how story gets embodied – how it resides in your physical body.
2MatthewPollardMatthew Pollard
Matthew Pollard, aka the “Rapid Growth Guy” shares how to leverage the successes you already have into huge growth. Matthew already has FIVE multi-million dollar businesses to his name and now he’s adding “published author” to his resume. You’ll want to tune in to hear how he was able to take his right message to the right people at the right time. (Hint: I smell book deal!)
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What I’m learning hosting the Brew Your Book Summit – Part 1

It was a goal of mine to host a telesummit in 2015. It’s a big goal! Identifying, inviting, and organizing 14 speakers to share their wisdom about writing books was a challenge. Then add in keeping track of promotion, schedules, bios, links… oh my!

But let me tell you… It’s been oh-so-worth it! The words of wisdom from these experts have inspired me to step up my own game.

Dreaming of writing a #book? Find out how on Brew Your Book Summit starting 9/30! Click To Tweet

The summit is September 30 – October 2. That’s three FULL days of training, stories, and advice from published authors to help you go beyond percolating on your idea and FINALLY write your book.

I wanted to share a “sneak peek” with you – and invite you to register!

2KeithLeonKeith Leon
Keith Leon, aka “The Book Guy” learned quickly to “fail forward fast” as he was writing his books. But through it, he learned to recognize that his message was just as valid, important, and awesome as the “experts”. You’re going to want to tune into this interview for a MAGICAL story Keith tells about meeting a reader. It gave me chills!

 

2AmethystWyldfyreAmethyst Wyldfyre
Think about how many people you can SERVE with your book! When she was writing her book, Amethyst always kept this in the forefront of her mind so she was able to distill her message into “baby bird bites” so her audience could receive the information she was sharing.

 

2JJFlizanesJJ Flizanes
JJ was hired by a publisher to write a book in her field – and then realized that the book she was being paid to write wasn’t the one she was being called to write! So in a super short time, JJ wrote not one book, but two! (And became an Amazon best-selling author!)

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Should You Offer A Bonus With Your Book?

It’s very common in the online sales realm:

Should you offer a bonus with your book?You buy a program for $997 and ALSO receive $2,000 worth of related bonuses. Really makes you feel like you got a lot of bang for your buck, right? The thought is that you’ll come for the meat of the topic (main offering) but stay for the potatoes, salad and dessert (bonuses).

But guess what, that doesn’t always translate from the online sale of information to the sale of books on the Internet. In the book publishing world, this “add in a ton of “value” with bonuses” approach often backfires.

Your reader purchased your book for a very specific reason; they were looking for a very specific solution. Offering them more than what they came for usually doesn’t scream “BONUS INFO! This author really knows her stuff!”

It says:

“This author couldn’t figure out how to stay on topic!”

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What’s the difference between self-publishing and a vanity press?

Last week we looked at what is a vanity press – so let’s take a look at the differences between a vanity press and self-publishing your book.

Vanity Press publishing isn't self-publishingVanity Press Recap:

  • You pay them to publish your book
  • They use an ISBN number that belongs to them
  • The vanity press takes a percentage of the cover price
  • Strict rules your book must adhere to
  • You’ll probably be charged for changes
  • You will have to buy (and sell) copies of your book
  • They may or may not own the rights to your book

When you self-publish your book, all the rights are yours and so are all the profits. You completely own the work – and have all the business decisions like title, cover design, internal layout, sales price, and marketing.

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What Exactly IS Vanity Press?

When you’re looking to publish your book you have three choices:

  1. Traditional
  2. Self
  3. Vanity (also called subsidy)

In my numerous chats with clients, many of them have no clue what vanity press is – or what they get when they use a vanity publisher.

Here’s a rundown:

  • Who owns the ISBN to your book? You or the publisher?You pay the vanity press to publish your book. This fee may include editing, formatting, cover design, and maybe even some marketing.
  • The vanity press uses an ISBN number that is in their catalog of books. That means they are the publisher of record and own the ISBN.
  • When a book is sold, the vanity press takes a cut. How much they take varies! Often times, the vanity press sets the cover price – and you don’t have much say in it.
  • Vanity publishers might also have strict rules about the book’s cover and title. They want it to fit in with the other books in their catalog – regardless of what might be best for your book.
  • You’ll most likely be charged for changes. If you need to make an adjustment to the text of the book you probably can – but they’ll charge you for it!
  • Expect that you’ll be forced to buy copies of your book – maybe thousands of them. Often the contact with a vanity press has one fee for publishing and then a second, mandatory clause that says that you’re required to purchase a certain number of books.

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Should You Use a Pen Name?

When should you use a pen name for your writing?It’s very rare that I meet with a client who thinks she only has one book to write. It’s much more common to know that this is the FIRST book – and that others will follow.

And what is even more common is for a client to want to write books that cross several different genres.

The question then is:

Do I use my name or write under a pen name?

Most of the time, I tell them to go with their real name. After all, we’re complex, multi-faced human beings so it’s ridiculous to think that you only have ONE interest that you’d want to write about.
Should I #write with a pen name? Here's how to know when to use one! #amwriting Click To Tweet

I’ve chosen not to use a pen name for my 16 books. I’ve personally written and published everything from cookbooks to poetry, how to’s about camping and fishing to a children’s book.

If people know me AT ALL they know that all of this falls inside my passions and areas of expertise. I have no problem whatsoever putting my own name on the cover.
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