The Author Resource Vol. 5 Issue 5
June 2014
Summertime and Authoring is Easy … Not! Is Your Key Message a Limp Fish or a Massive Whale?
Books without Editors Are Like Batman without Robin
Author Book Fulfillment Vocabulary Lessons For Today’s Book Industry
How to Convince Costco, Walmart, Target and Other Huge Chains to Sell Your Books
Common Self-Publishing Writing Gaffes Marketing Relationships: Applying the Friend-Building Skills You Already Have The Authors Hall of Fame The Joy of Instapaper
Self-Publishing: What You Should Expect to Pay The Care and Feeding of Your Social Media Fans Revisiting the Extravaganza
The Author Resource
1
Mark Your 2014 Calendars ... Save the Dates!
Visit our online Calendar on Author U - go to: http://tinyurl.com/AUdates June 10 19 21 23
Tech Tool Box … Turn Your Ideas into Eye-Catching Designs: PicMonkey and Canva Dinner & a Program ... … The Best of the Best … Extravaganza Revisited—Top Take-Aways Author YOU Circles from 9 to noon Salon … Is Your Key Message a Limp Fish or a Massive Whale?
July 15
Tech Tool Box … More Than Just Images: How to Use Pinterest to Promote Your Blog, Services, & Products Member BBQ, 5.00 pm
26
August 1-2 12
Judith Briles Unplugged Tech Tool Box … Capture a Moment: Instagram and Infographics—Share Knowledge or Tell a Story Through Images and Instant info to all things Cyberland and Beyond! ____________________ FUTURE DATES ______________________
September 18 Dinner and a Program - Dinner and a Program Meet and Learn the NEW, NEW Basics of the Cyber World … It’s Back to School Night! (October will change to Saturday programs) October 11 16-18
Brunch and Learn Colorado Library Association Conference-Trade Show, display of books
November 15
BookCamp
December 6
Holiday Party, 6:30 p.m.
2
The Author Resource
... and You If you are looking for a small group of enthusiastic authors … some in the beginning stages and some “old hats” … Author YOU may be the perfect fit. Author YOU is all about education, just like the many AuthorU.org functions; but this one is a bit different. Totally informal and casual, it’s designed as educational for mentoring in the field of writing, authoring, and publishing books. Designed as an old-fashioned “Circle” or “Salon,” Author YOU is held once each month for authors with inquiring minds—be it about publishing, writing, social media, marketing books, the latest gadgets and tools to use, you name it—that Judith Briles hosts in her open living room and kitchen area. It’s always held on a Saturday morning from 9 to noon—the coffee and tea are hot when you arrive— and it’s been around since the Fall of 2012. Take advantage of it—the cost is FREE ... what you need to bring is a healthy snack to share and yourself, along with enthusiasm, questions, and the willingness to learn and share info if you can provide it when a topic is in the Circle. Created in a loose-structure format, it has no set agenda ... the topics are created via posts on a flip chart as people arrive: what you want or need help in. It’s simple, it’s fun, it’s highly informative, and it’s FREE. As Author YOU member Gene Morton says, “It’s like a personalized MasterMind group—I always walk away with information that I can immediately use.” To find out more information and the next Author YOU date, check out the regular postings at www.Meetup.com/AuthorYOU
Did you know that Author U posts TWO Blogs a week?! Every Sunday and Thursday you will find something new. On Sunday, you get a general information/how-to/what to do. On Thursday, you get the Top Ten Twitter Tweets. (Did you know that Author U posts over 200 Tweets a week?) Subscribe TODAY and get your FREE info-pak of the Top 5 Things You Need to Know to Publish on the AuthorU.org website.
The Author Resource
3
7
5
45
Dinner & a Program The Extravaganza Revisited
Authoring is Easy ... Not!
New Members
21
47
12 Extravaganza Revisited
Convince Huge Chains to Sell Your Books
Member News
23 Key Message Copy Platforms
24 Oh the Mistakes We’ve Seen!
20 Extravaganza Photo Album
26 Are You an Author or a Fulfillment House?
28 Books without Editors are Like Batman without Robin
30 Self Publishing: What You Should Expect to Pay
52
36
TIPS
Vocabulary Lessons for Today’s Book Industry
56
42 The Care and Feeding of ...
43 Relationships: Applying the Friend Building ...
Member Perks
57 Code of Ethics
58 Contact Author U
The Author Resource
4
Savvy Authors Who Want Their Books to Soar Think ...
Author U stretches members to a higher level. Some will be publishers, some will not, but ALL will learn and grow. Author U shows YOU, the author, how to be the best you think you can be . . . and then how to to be even more than you thought you could be. Learn the ropes to become a publisher yourself. Heading to NY? Receive strategies that will hook both publisher and agent.
Visit us online at http://AuthorU.org
Continue to learn and meet terrific people and achieve success. Author U is waiting for you. Success comes from hard work, careful planning, learning your craft, and being in the right place at the right time ... Author U shows you how to navigate and implement strategies that will compliment you and your book.
www.AuthorU.org FOUNDER: Judith Briles
Contact Author U Phone: Judith Briles’ CEO, Skype: Twitter: Facebook: Google+ : LinkedIn: Pinterest: Office address:
(303) 885-2207 Judith.Briles @AuthorU http://Facebook.com/AuthorU Join the Community, Author U Join the Author U group http://pinterest.com/authoru Author U (niversity) PO Box 460880, Aurora, CO 80046
ADVISORY BOARD: Dan Poynter / Greg Godek Rick Frishman / Brian Jud Penny Sansevieri /Marcella Smith Susan RoAne / Peggy McColl BOARD: Judith Briles / John Maling / Amy Collins / AJ White / Mara Purl / Steve Replin / Georgia McCabe / Daniel Hall / John Kremer / Tom Campbell / Joan Stewart / Ed Hoskins / Kelly Johnson
NEWSLETTER: Nick Zelinger, Cover www.NZGraphics.com Linda Lane, Editor www.denvereditor.com Shannon Parish, Layout, www.CreativeVirtualOffice.com
The Author Resource
5
It’s Summertime and Authoring is Easy … Not! Judith Briles, Author U Founder
Authoring and book success is work, plenty of it. For some, it’s easier than for others. This could be your last issue of The Author Resource … if you aren’t a paid up member of AuthorU.org, that is. Over the summer, we will be clearly IDing all the member benefits. Special e-mails will be sent to paid up Author U members reminding them of individual benefits and the various codes to grab them. For example, did you know that Bowker gives Author U members a discount to get new ISBNs? And that some of our printers give first time users of their services a discount on the first order? Many don’t, although we have routinely included a list of our member benefits at the back of each issue. In the Author U group on LinkedIn … one that has grown from 60 members just two summers ago to over 4,900 today, one of our paid up members is Sid Grosvenor. In one stream within the group that now has over 70 comments as I write this column, Sid writes, “Make marketing your book a way of life.” He describes himself as the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at the Chapala Club in Mexico. His book, How to Live A Caviar Lifestyle on a Tuna Fish Pension At Safe, Beautiful & Affordable Lake Chapala, Mexico was positioned to support his expertise of Lake Chapala and his real estate business. Sid is known as “the guy who wrote the book …” for anyone who is visiting the area, which is exactly what he positioned himself to be from the get-go. As Sid says, “It’s exceeded my expectations.” For someone in real estate to be successful, marketing is crucial. Sid has created the tipping point for his business with his book—a fun title, one that is loaded with everything one could imagine to seeking out a new location and woven with beautiful pictures … almost a “come to me” adventure. Within, we have a special section on last month’s over the top Extravaganza. Lots of pictures, you can get the DVDs and CDs—the savvy author will do so. Get registered now for next year … and pay over several months. Reduces the cost AND you get the Deep Dive Dinner Workshop with the leading edge Internet Marketing Expert, Heather Lutze. We’ve got Tech Tool Boxes in June, July and August. You can attend remotely—remember, these are limited to eight participants. A great Dinner and a Program is planned for June which will ID the “best of the best” from the Extravaganza and bring it home to you PLUS and hands on Salon that asks, Is Your Key Message a Limp Fish or a Massive Whale? The Member Family/Friend BBQ is in July—it’s a freebie, sign up for those in Colorado. Author U is happening; have you brought it fully into your Book GamePlan life? I’m having a great time with the authors I work with within The Author’s Ark (found on TheBookShepherd.com website under Events). And don’t forget, if you want to spend TWO intense days just with me, come to Judith Briles Unplugged (also under Events on my website). It’s Summertime, and Authoring is Easier with Author U as a Partner. I’ll see you soon …
Judith
The Author Resource
6
For members and their family/guests only! Author U Members love to eat and schmooze. Come join in—the day will be warm ... perfect for gathering and a BBQ. Expect a musical surprise. Author U supplies the BBQ Fixin’s (brats, burgers, chicken), Beverages and Dessert ... you get to bring the sides and munchies. Who: Members and Family When: Saturday afternoon, July 26th Time: 5 to ??? Location: the home of Judith Briles and John Maling Cost: FREE Bring: a side dish for 8 (NO desserts please)
RSVP for this one ... PLEASE ... with the number in your party! I'm coming! Register: http://authoru.org/ai1ec_event/member-annual-bbq
The Author Resource
7
The Best of the Best … the Extravaganza Revisited … What the Key Take-Aways Were and How Can You Use Them for Your Book Starting Now? Your answer is in the “3’s”… June 19, 2014 / 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admit it … those of you attended the Extravaganza found it to be an INFO-FEST. The June meeting is going to get your author digestive juices rolling once again. For those of you who missed it … well … ’twas a mistake. We are going to ID some of the top ideas and actually use your book titles, and you, and create in the room, quasi-hot seats of what you can do next. How would you like to know … The 3 top social media things to do, starting now. The 3 main things to do in any crowdfunding program to be successful, starting now. The 3 insider tips for a kick-butt virtual blog tour, starting now. The 3 ways to monetize an audio program, starting now. The 3 ways to instantly build your Internet marketing campaign, starting now. The 3 things to soar your eBook sales, starting now. The 3 ways to get your book into the major stores, starting now. The 3 critical elements to get your blog noticed, starting now. The 3 factors to turn a blah pitch into an “I want to buy this book,” starting now. The 3 ways to shine above the masses in YouTube, starting now. The 3 easy ideas to repurpose any book to a new product, starting now. The 3 legal things every author must do, starting now. The 3 things that you can get off your “to-do” plate, starting now. The 3 critical things to ask every book and cover designer, starting now.
Have we nudged your appetite just a tad? Want to know some of the answers? How about all of them? Yes. Maybe. No. The choice is yours, your choose. We promise you will come away with tips, strategies, and plenty of ahas after this program is over. Continued on page 8 ...
The Author Resource
8 Dinner and a Program: Continued from page 7 ...
The Best of the Best … the Extravaganza Revisited … What the Key Take-Aways Were and How Can You Use Them for Your Book Starting Now? Your answer is in the “3’s”… on the 19th. See you there. Location: rado Room When: Time: Cost: Register:
Doubletree Southeast (Iliff and 225) in the ColoApril 10, 2014 6 to 9 p.m. $30 for paid up members, $45 for non-members Prices increase after April 4th. http://authoru.org/calendar.html
I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it. Ernest Hemingway
Have You Met Author U’s Premier Partners and Associates? Have you checked out Author U’s Premier Partners and Associate Services pages on the website? Recommended providers from shipping to printing and everything in between. http://ow.ly/dflYi
Did you know that Author U posts TWO Blogs a week?! Every Monday and Friday there is something new. On Thursday, you get the Top Ten Twitter Tweets (did you know that Author U posts over 200 Tweets a week?). Subscribe TODAY and get your FREE info-pak of the Top 5 Things You Need to Know to Publish on the AuthorU.org website. Catch up: http://authoru.org/blog.html
How Author U communicates with you—Did you know that Author U posts two Blogs a week? Sunday (general article) and Thursday (Top 10 Tweets) that includes what the topic is on Author U – Your Guide to Book Publishing. And twice a week, on Mondays, there is a general e-blast delivered to your email called It’s Monday at Author U and on Thursdays, Thursday at Author U. Get over to the website and subscribe twice: once for the Blog and once for the general e-mails and notices.
The Author Resource
9
All Tech Tool Boxes are for Author U paid up members only and limited to 8 participants who are paid up members of AuthorU.org to allow for in-depth work with each and are led by Kelly Johnson and Judith Briles. AND … ... a limited number of participants can attend via remote.
Turn Your Ideas into Eye-Catching Designs: PicMonkey and Canva June 10, 2014 How would you like to turn your tips, quotes from your book or show your creative side by designing your own images? With PicMonkey and Canva, we’ll show you how you can use these free tools to develop your own ideas into fun, stunning designs! Learn about PicMonkey and Canva through our demos and then you’ll have time to start creating your own designs! Time: 3 to 6 p.m. Cost: $60 each or 3 for $150 Register Online: http://authoru.org/calendar.html Location: Judith Briles’ Office in Aurora (you will get directions the day before and what to bring for each session) If you are attending remote, you need to contact Judith directly to set it up. Please put in subject line: Remote Tech Tool Box and e-mail her at Judith@Briles.com.
More Than Just Images: How to Use Pinterest to Promote Your Blog, Services, & Products July 15, 2014 With Pinterest having such a focus on images, we tend to forget that is just one aspect of how to utilize Pinterest. This workshop will review various methods of using Pinterest for your book and business including: •
How you can drive traffic to your blog through Pinterest.
•
Conduct a contest through Pinterest.
•
How you can add your Audioboo recordings to your Pinterest and not only grow your followers, but offer “snippets” from your book.
•
How to monetize your book and other products with a Pinterest boost.
•
… and more!
This workshop will help you set up your Pinterest account (if needed) and then walk through examples and demos to learn methods for using Pinterest. Time: 3 to 6 p.m. Location: Judith Briles’ Office in Aurora (you will get directions the day before and what to bring for each session). If you are attending Remote, you need to contact Judith directly to set it up. Please put in subject line: Remote Tech Tool Box and e-mail her at Judith@Briles.com. Cost: $55 each or 2 for $100
The Author Resource
10
Capture a Moment: Instagram and Infographics— Share Knowledge or Tell a Story Through Images and Instant info to all things Cyberland and Beyond! August 12, 2014 Instagram is a quick and fun way to share your life and stories, using pictures and video. Come learn about Instagram, and after a tutorial in setting up Instagram, we’ll start capturing those moments for you to share! Information Graphics or Infographics is a method to share knowledge or tell a story about a topic through a graphic image. Since “a picture is worth a thousand words,” Infographics allow you to present details and content in a compact, easy-to-understand way. Demos of programs to create your own infographics will be covered in the workshop. Instagram is fast and fun. You will laugh and learn this afternoon! Time: 3 to 6 p.m. Location: Judith Briles’ Office in Aurora (you will get directions the day before and what to bring for each session). If you are attending Remote, you need to contact Judith directly to set it up. Please put in subject line: Remote Tech Tool Box and e-mail her at Judith@Briles.com. Cost: $60
If you aren’t a member of AuthorU.org ... this is your last FREE issue of The Author Resource. Cartoon by www.ShannonParish.com
Monday Evening Salon: Is Your Key Message a Limp Fish or a Massive Whale?… Come and learn…dinner included. Register on the website. http://authoru.org/events.html
The Author Resource
11
Judith Briles, known as The Book Shepherd, is a book publishing expert and coach. She is the Founder of Author U, a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 31 books, including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, and is a speaker at publishing conferences. Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Her audio and workbook series, Creating Your Book and Author Platform is now available. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Author U - Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet Network at http://togi.us/authoru. Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.
12
The Author Resource
The Extravaganza Revisited The Author U Extravaganza … 3 Days of Awesome Ideas; Networking; Meeting Exhibitors who can create your book, manufacture your book, print your book; providers of book reviews and awards; visionaries of author websites; those who can publicize your book, fulfill orders for your book … you name it … they were here. The Extravaganza has come … and gone. Huge leaps for many of the attendees were taken as they absorbed and learned a plethora of ideas and concepts. From the setting of the stage Thursday a.m. with presentations sandwiched by Founder Judith Briles for Creating and Crafting the Author and Book Platform to the closing session on How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech Saturday afternoon, attendees learned about eBooks, Marketing, Social Media, Audio Books, Websites, Covers, Legal Issues, Blogging, Nuggets for Newbies, Crowdfunding, Working with Journalists, Pitching Your Book, YouTube, Creating One-Sheets, and Monetizing You and Your Book. Added in were four Author Shark Tanks where participants received support in a variety of ways totaling many thousands of dollars in services, programs, and support. One-on-Ones, Rounds with the Pros, and, of course, not to mention laughing till many literallyy had tears flowing g on Fridayy night g after dinner with the humor of Tim Gard. All the main sessions are available on DVD and CDs and posted on the AuthorU.org website under “Store.” Get the sessions that are relevant to areas that you need info on. Better yet, get them all—there’s a bundled discount rate. And put May 7-9, 2015 on your calendars now! Registering for the Extravaganza now includes the Deep Dive Workshop on Thursday that will feature the vision and expertise of Internet marketing expert Heather Lutze. You don’t want to miss this, which will go away before the year ends. It also allows for scheduled payments. All e info is now up on the website … watch for speakers to be identified before the year is out … most already have been.
The Author Resource
13
Thank You! Dear Team Extravaganza! I just want to thank all of you for all the hard work you all gave of yourselves to put on such an amazing 3-day last week. I know this type of event just doesn’t happen without dedicated people who believe in the mission. I hope you all know how much you are appreciated for all you do to help others on their book authoring journey. I just wanted to make sure you all know how much everyone thanks you, whether you hear from folks directly or not! - Mary Jo Fay
Tommy Waltner-Hats off to all of you, very impressive event. Thank you. Thanks once again for a terrific conference. As always, I walked away with a lot more knowledge and insight than I had before I attended. And that the time I spent with Philippa was invaluable. Please contact me about the book agents you’d recommend. I hope you consider adding a day to the conference for screenwriters. - Frank Victoria You did an amazing job putting together the Extravaganza! - Andrew Planck Thank you, thank you, thank you for insisting that I come to the extravaganza. It was awesome—a word I don’t bandy around much. - Mary Morony Many thanks for an absolutely first-class event. You brought it all together with top speakers, a large exhibit area, healthy food, and fascinating projects. Everyone appreciates Author U. - Dan Poynter
The Author Resource
14
What a Trip to the AuthorU Extravaganza! Mary Morony Note: Mary traveled from Virginia to attend her first Extravaganza. Not only did she come away from a variety of ahas, connecting with many Exhibitors who she will engage to support her and her book, Apron Strings, she landed in the Author Shark Tank and came out swimming with support from our friendly sharks. Mary’s words from her blog: On days two and three of the conference, for twenty dollars you could book a twenty minute one-on-one with any of the speakers, the proceeds of which went to the Colorado Writers Hall of Fame. My first choice was a talk with Mark Coker, founder and CEO of #Smashwords. The sincere desire to make publishing and distribution of an e-book available to all writers who wanted it was evident in everything he said in his presentation the day before. His taciturn but boyish charm made him immediately appealing as he took off his backpack, sat down, and placed his hands in his lap. Since I thought I had only twenty minutes, after a quick introduction I started describing my book with my well-rehearsed elevator speech. With laser focus, he asked why I wrote the book and what he could do to help me. In the process of explaining my reasons, I also told him that due to an excellent piece of luck I had been booked for a whole hour interview on a regional NPR program on Monday. He asked, “Do you have an e-book?” I nodded in the affirmative. “Kindle.” “You need the most distribution you can get before the interview. Smashwords will get your book to libraries, iBook, Barnes & Noble and numbers of others. It would be really great if you could get it up on the site this weekend.” As he said this, he pulled his computer out of his backpack opened it up while still talking: “I’m going to send you a link and the style guide. Follow the link to open an account and then read the file guide. When you finish, send it to me so that I can approve it. It will go up right away.” As I was about to thank him and get myself together to leave, God must have whispered in his ear, “She doesn’t do style guides.” Mark then said, “Can you send the manuscript to me? Do you have a copy of the cover?” All the while, trying to find a Wi-Fi connection. I jumped up and ran to the registration desk to ask for the Wi-Fi password. As I returned to the table, Mark was still fidgeting with his portable Wi-Fi unit. I gave him the password and said, “Let me go get my iPad. I think I have it all on there.” I hustled to my room and back, hurriedly searching for the files on the way down in the elevator. Wi-Fi kept fading in and out, but I found the files and sent the link to Mark. He waited patiently for an Internet connection while I sat dumbly by, only vaguely understanding that Mark Coker, the founder and CEO of Smashwords.com, had just decided to put my novel Apron Strings on Smashwords.com, as Ethel would say, his own self. Mark set up my account and advised me on an appropriate username. We agreed on a password (that I would later update, he advised) as the Internet connection faded in and out. Finally my manuscript file downloaded to Mark’s computer. He opened the file and scanned the formatting, “It looks pretty good . . . oh, this is formatted for print.” Continued on page 15 ...
The Author Resource
15
What a trip ... Continued from page 14 ....
My heart fell. “Not a problem. It won’t take long to re-format,” he continued. He whipped that word document around like a champion cattle roper in a rodeo. He indicated that I should pull my chair closer so that I could see how he uploaded the cover file, which he perused to make sure it was the correct size. As we waited for the huge JPEG file to upload, his computer died. Well past the allotted twenty minutes, I was sure that this fantastical ride was over. “Come up to my room, as the power cord is there,” he stated. I laughed. “Ha! I knew it this was all a ruse. Your real motive . . .” He laughed as he got up. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” I wish I could tell you all of the wonderful images racing through my mind. Alas, I was too stunned to even consider for a moment that paying attention to what was going on in my mind might be worthwhile. Glued to my seat, I sat motionless for about five minutes watching the world go by until Mark emerged from the elevator armed with a new battery. In a blink, the battery was installed and we were back where we left off. “We are going to upload the manuscript.” The Wi-Fi blinked off and the spinning wheel of death commenced to spin at about the rate of the churn in my stomach. Finally the gods of Wi-Fi smiled down on our endeavor, and my manuscript was ensconced on the Smashwords.com site. “Okay,” Mark said, “We’re ready to publish?” He looks at me expectantly. I nodded like a crazed bobble head. He pushed the publish button just as the blasted Wi-Fi signal disappeared. After three more attempts on several different browsers (as the next appointment waited ever so patiently) Mark took a picture of me as I pushed the button that actually activated the publishing process, and presto! Done! And that is how Apron Strings came to be published on Smashwords. Part 1: http://www.marymorony.com/what-a-trip-to-the-authoru-extravaganza/ Part 2: http://www.marymorony.com/what-a-trip-to-the-authoru-extravaganza-ii/
What a trip to the AuthorU Extravaganza …The quality of the speakers, presenters, and vendors was outstanding.
Once is never enough … 2014 Extravaganza DVDs and CDs Are Available! If you were at the Extravaganza, you know that many of the sessions had “your name” on them … beckoning to you that this was “your next step” … or you may have missed a session. Experts cite that to get it, truly “get it”—repetition is critical. Listening and/or viewing learning modules is the ultimate to implementing an idea. Author U was able to post within a week of the Extravaganza all main sessions, including Penny Sansevieri’s Deep Dive Workshop on Thursday night. All you need to do is indicate your preference from the AuthorU.org website and Mark Camacho and 81 Media International will get your order to you promptly. Summertime is a perfect time to watch, listen, review, and create a plan of action for you and your book.
NOW … take home all the main speakers from the Extravaganza in either audio of video. Complete details are on the website—get yours today! http://authoru.org/ex14-order.html
The Author Resource
16
Author U Supporting Organizations
coloradoauthors.org
“Stop
thinking about it. Start writing about it.� Judith Briles, author of Snappy Sassy Salty
www.tatteredcover.com
Author U Extravaganza May 1-3, 2014 Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
www.authoru.org
www.usabooknews.com
The Author Matrix: Creativity. Connecting. Community.
www.wavecloud.com/
www.arapahoe.edu/departments-and-programs/a-z-programs/writers-studio
303-885-2207
www.authoru.org
The Author Resource
Exhibitors
17
The Author Resource
18
Author U Extravaganza debuts the
Colorado Authors Hall of Fame At the 5th Annual Author U Extravaganza, the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame formally debuted. During the event, an Auction was held that consisted of over 70 items … from gift cards to local eateries such as Outback, Carrabba’s, Elephant Bar, White Chocolate and goodies from Trader Joe’s, Target, condo retreats, Maui vacation, star gazing venture, a variety of crafts and other items our members donated and/or made, and so much more. All proceeds went to the seeding of the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. All present had the opportunity to bid on a variety of items and services that were tax deductible to the donor. One of the items won by Lynn Hellerstein was the Wall of Wine … she walked away with 48 bottles of wine (she shared some with friends on the spot—after all, that’s four cases to carry off) that was won by Thomson Shore, who put it into a drawing for one of the attendees—and Lynn’s name was first out and present. The fun part was that not only does Lynn enjoy a glass of wine, Thomson Shore printed her last book, 50 Tips to Improve Your Sports Performance. Kudos to A J White for dreaming up the Wall of Wine—a huge hit. The Colorado Authors Hall of Fame (CAHF) is a registered 501(c)3 charitable group, operating under the umbrella of Author U (niversity), a 501(c)6 organization. At a bi-annual event, CAHF will induct published authors who have contributed to literacy and were born in Colorado, lived in Colorado, or have created or seeded a nationally recognized work while visiting Colorado. Colorado Authors Hall of Fame Inductees are living and historical authors nominated by residents of the state and selected by an independent Board. Copies of their works will be donated to libraries throughout the state along with the creation of a travelling gallery of those honored within the library system. The generous donations toward our first Auction brought in over $4,000 … a wonderful way to seed this new “sister” of AuthorU.org and support the cause of literacy and education throughout Colorado. The first Induction will be a gala evening event slated for the summer of 2015. Watch for more information as the year rolls out—this was an exciting night for authors.
The Author Resource
19
1940 Lincoln Continental convertible, one of only 300 made
Timothy Madden was the grand Silent Auction winner. Along with his date Sarah, Author U member Charles Clark chauferred them to a wonderful evening concert with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bank at Hudson Gardens in Colorado....
20
The Author Resource
2014 Author U Extravaganza Photo Album View Album on the Author U website: http://authoru.org/2014-extravaganza-photo-album.html
The Author Resource
21
How to Convince Costco, Walmart, Target and Other Huge Chains to Sell Your Books by Joan Stewart A quick trip down the aisles of your local Costco might leave you wondering how—or if—you could ever get your book onto the store’s shelves. Most of the books I saw recently at my local Costco in Grafton, Wisconsin, have “New York Times Best Seller” on the top of the cover. That makes sense. Competition for shelf space is fierce, and those big chains only want titles that they’re convinced will sell. A quick peek inside the covers showed that most of the books were published by one of the big publishing houses or their imprints. But what about Anatomy of Muscle Building by Craig Ramsay? The beautiful artwork on the cover caught my eye. The oversized paperback was published by Firefly, a small press out of Ontario, Canada. The book had only six reviews on Amazon. How do books like that one compete with those in the Big Leagues? On the Publishing at Sea cruise in January, New Shelves book distributor Amy Collins, one of my co-hosts, did four presentations on book distribution. I was fascinated when I heard her say that, with persistence and hard work, indie authors can get their books into the giant chains, as well as into supermarkets and airport bookstores. On a recent webinar with me, Amy delivered discussed How to Convince Costco, Walmart, Target and Other Huge Chains to Sell Your Books. Some of those tips included 1. Local authors can get special attention. At my local Costco, an endcap in the books section prominently displays books by two Wisconsin celebrities— Gov. Scott Walker and former Green Bay Packer Donald Driver. You might find those books in Costco stores in New York or California. But I bet you won’t find Food Lovers’ Guide to Wisconsin: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings by Martin Hintz and Pam Percy. The book has only one review on Amazon—just one! But this isn’t Amazon. It’s Costco. And foodies in these parts would snap up a book like that because it’s about local restaurants and food festivals. So while your book might not make it into all the Costcos nationwide, it might make it into the stores near you, especially if the fiction or nonfiction title pertains to your area. 2. The cover of your book must be perfect. If you enlisted your cousin Sue to design your cover, chances are pretty good you won’t make it into any of the big stores. Why? Because Sue most likely knows nothing about book distribution. She doesn’t know what makes a winning cover. Even if she had to guess, she’d probably be wrong because the elements of a perfect cover this year for a particular genre might be very different than what they were last year. Continued on page 22 ...
22
The Author Resource
Huge Chains to Sell Your Books ... Continued from page 21 ....
In other words, your cover needs to look very much like the covers of all the other books in its genre. If the cover passes the first test, it then must pass two more tests before the buyer opens the book to see what’s inside! 3. You can convince a store to carry your book even if it carries similar titles. When I was at Costco yesterday, I saw two books on gluten-free food. Why two books and not one? Because the best-seller Grain Drain by David Perlmutter delves into the dangers of eating wheat. The other title was a gluten-free cookbook. Two very different types of books on the same topic. 4. You must agree to a deep discount on your book. If you want play in the Big Leagues, you have to be willing to pay. Major chains expect you to discount the book at least 55 percent. There are ways around this problem, however, such as getting the book printed very inexpensively overseas. If you work the numbers, you’ll quickly see that selling 200 books at your regular retail price won’t make you nearly as much money as selling 30,000 copies at a deep discount. 5. Don’t ask a big store to carry your book until you’ve done your homework. Go to the store. Walk the aisles. Make note of the kinds of books they’re selling. Talk to the person responsible for deciding which books the store sells. Pay attention to the price on the stickers. How does your price compare? Is the retail price of your book correct? On Thursday, Amy will explain the sweet spot for pricing and why the price of your book has absolutely nothing to do with how much money you want to make on it. The Big Payoff If you’ve done everything Amy will teach you and you’ve successfully gotten your book into one of the big chains, you have more opportunities. Costco, for example, might let you do a book signing, even on the weekend. Many authors hate book signings because they don’t sell many books. But have you been to a Costco on a Saturday? The place is a madhouse! And that could mean more invitations to speak when a member of a local book club sees you signing books. Your title in Costco, Walmart or Target—or even a big supermarket chain—gives you bragging rights when approaching other specialty retailers like airport bookstores. You now have a track record. And a darn impressive one.
Publicity expert Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, works with authors who want to use traditional media for publicity and social media to build a loyal base of raving fans. For almost two decades, she has also trained and coached thousands of CEOs and business owners, nonprofit executives, PR agency staff, publicists, marketing directors, speakers and experts via live events, online training, consulting, and her private mentor program. A prolific blogger, she is the author of four books on publicity and has an international following of subscribers to her popular e-zine, The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week, in its 13th year of publication. Joan has helped her clients get coverage in top-tier media such as the Wall Street Journal and the Today show. http://publicityhound.com/
The Author Resource
23
Key Message Copy Platforms: The Secret Weapon to Creating Killer Marketing Materials for your book. By Casey Demchak – Copywriter & Consultant Selling books is all about spreading the word. And to spread the word you need a series of dynamic digital and traditional marketing materials that have a persistent and consistent voice and message (repetition builds reputation!). But you don’t want to knock out marketing materials for your book on a “one-at-a-time-make-it-up-as-you-go” basis. This leads to muddled, hurried, and inconsistent messaging that usually sucks. Instead, you want to work from a well-crafted Key Message Copy Platform that serves as the central, master messaging document for all your book campaign materials. Once completed, Your Key Message Copy Platform becomes the springboard for writing your back cover copy; sales sheets, promotional eblasts; website sales pages and other marketing materials for your book. Creating a Key Message Copy Platform for your book is a must, and a typical one usually includes these sections: • • • • • • • •
Enticing 75- and 150-word descriptions about your book A tight, concise 30-second pitch about your book A series of attention-getting key messages for your book (including headlines) Emotional selling messages that hook your target audience A half-page author bio that speaks from the heart Messaging about why the media should want to interview you A series of social media posts for use on Twitter, Facebook, and Google + “Benefit-driven” and “thought-provoking” headlines about your book
Remember, a Key Message Copy Platform for your book is your baby. So you can organize it any way you want and add and subtract sections as need. The main takeaway here is that working from a Key Message Copy Platform assures your marketing materials always have persistent and consistent marketing messages. Remember: For people to focus on your message, your message must be focused A Key Message Copy Platform is the secret weapon that assures all of your book’s promotion materials have strong, focused statements throughout your book’s marketing cycle. Plus, with a completed Key Message Copy Platform in your hand, you’ll always have the ability to create specialized materials on a moment’s notice when you’re pleasantly caught off guard by unexpected marketing opportunities that have tight deadlines. Casey Demchak is an award-winning Copywriter & Consultant who specializes in writing marketing materials that sell books. You can learn more about him at www.CaseyDemchak.com; or you can just give him a call at (303) 697.4793.
The Author Resource
24
Oh, the Mistakes We’ve Seen! BlueInk Review details common self-publishing writing gaffes By Camilla Sterne In our mission at BlueInk Review to review self-published books, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. While it’s difficult to explain how to create stellar prose – as there’s always a touch of genius involved in the best literature – there’s no secret about where writers go wrong. As our reviews show, authors tend to make the same mistakes, book after book. Below, we have compiled excerpts from the more than 2,000 reviews we’ve done, each of which exposes common writing blunders. So what makes the bad review rear its dreaded, beastly head? Here are three traps you should avoid at all costs: Writing rife with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors: The fact that this is at the top of the list is both discouraging and heartening. Discouraging because, let’s face it, writers, a book should be free of all spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors long before it’s reviewed or even published. Heartening, because this is one of the simplest problems to remedy. Mechanical errors can detract from the plot by forcing readers to wade through a veritable pool of inaccuracies in an attempt to decipher meaning. Don’t punish your supporters for reading your book; reward them with flawless mechanics. Simply put: Hire a professional copy editor. And when he/she is finished, don’t rest easy. Proofread, my friends, proofread. Here’s a sample of what our critics have said on the subject in various reviews: “More frustrating, however, is the inundation of spelling and punctuation errors in the novel, specifically the incorrect use of the question mark, which is employed improperly in countless sentences. The seeming lack of any proofreading leads to an exasperating reading experience that is made even more challenging by a storyline that is disjointed, aimless, and, at times, self-indulgent.” “Minor editing and punctuation errors mar the otherwise smooth writing.” “Unfortunately, the book appears not to have felt the copy editor’s touch, as it is riddled with errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, possessives, plurals, homonyms, and use of quotation marks.” Flat and uninteresting characters: Unrealistic or flat characters frequently dissatisfy our reviewers. And why shouldn’t they? Ask yourself about the sort of people you’re writing about: Are they stereotypical? Do they lack depth? Are their actions unexplained? If so, it’s better to revise than publish. Sit down and make character profiles. Think of each character’s quirks, fears, aspirations, weaknesses, and strengths. Make sure logical motivations continuously drive your characters. Continued on page 25 ...
The Author Resource
25
Oh the Mistakes ... Continued from page 24 ....
Last words: Get up-close and personal with the characters you are developing. “… [the author’s] characters aren’t particularly interesting or sympathetic, especially the women, who seem to have little in the way of dignity or self-awareness.” “The bad guys in these stories are so bad, and the good guys so upstanding, that [the author’s] characterizations seem sanctimonious.” “The overall character development is superficial at best — and without fully realized, emotionally compelling characters, the story is ultimately flat and unengaging.” Overall inconsistency: Plot threads that disappear, accidentally altered names, changed tenses, unintentionally fickle points of view—all these things can make books cumbersome and confusing, even baffling. Why should a reader follow the narrative if its author can’t? Get your facts straight. Outlines or timelines can be particularly beneficial in maintaining the reliability and uniformity of a work. Pick a tense, and stick with it. When you proofread for mechanics, simultaneously proofread for consistency. Tip: Draw a web. Does everything connect? Where are the loose ends? “[The author] also changes points of view in scenes throughout the book. These problems, combined with her tendency to switch from the third-person, limited narrative to second-person narrative, makes the book an extremely difficult read.” “The story, written in a conversational tone, holds the reader’s interest, but lacks drama and sometimes misplaces details… In addition, there are occasional misspellings and one big error: The widow’s baby’s name is changed from Holly in the first reference to Amy some 20 pages later.” “The third-person narrative wobbles from overall omniscient to third-person-limited, and there are jarringly abrupt shifts in time and place.” These are just a few common mistakes, but stay tuned for more “Oh, the Mistakes We’ve Seen!” blogs.
BlueInk Review offers credible and unbiased reviews of self-published books exclusively. Visit us at www.blueinkreview.com. Camilla Sterne is a senior at the University of Denver, where she studies creative writing and media studies. She is a freelance writer at the Boulder Weekly and assistant lifestyles editor at the DU Clarion. She was BlueInk’s Summer 2013 Intern.
26
The Author Resource
Are You an Author or a Fulfillment House? By Bret Ridgway
Bret Ridgway was a Gold Sponsor at the Extravaganza. Author Fulfillment Services has the best-priced deal for any single and multiple book fulfillment as well as warehousing that Author U Founder Judith Briles has found. Take advantage… after all, wouldn’t you like to ship a book anywhere in U.S. for $2 (including Amazon) and multiples for $3 (when’s the last time you shipped a case of books for $3?) and warehouse at $12 for a palette (that’s about 1000 books) a month? This is a benefit to Author U members—take advantage of it pronto. You’ve poured your heart and your soul into the writing of your book, and it’s time for you to share your wonderful message with the world. Helping your book become a bestseller is all about marketing; you know, in the scheme of things, writing your book was the easy part. Marketing requires an ongoing commitment to the process. You’ve got to invest some time almost every day in building your audience, piece by piece. It doesn’t matter whether you’re marketing online, via social media, through direct mail, on radio or TV. You simply need to make sure an ongoing investment of your time (or someone working with you) is happening in regard to your marketing. But marketing is just one of the many hats you may need to wear as an author. When you’re starting out, you’ll invariably find that you’ll be the chief cook and bottle washer of your publishing enterprise. You’ll also find you may be your accountant, your travel planner, your customer service manager, your best salesperson, etc., etc. You get the idea. So what do you value your time at? $10 per hour? $20 per hour? $50 per hour? $500 per hour? More? Whatever it is, the problem you’ll need to overcome is burying yourself in the $10 per hour tasks. Take book fulfillment for example. If you’re spending your time stuffing books into boxes, printing off address labels, and running down to the post office every workday to mail packages or get more supplies, then you’re probably not spending your time the way you should be. You’re doing those $10 per hour jobs. Do too many $10 per hour jobs and you significantly impact (in a negative way) your chances of growing your platform to the level you could. When you have a powerful message to share with the world, your time needs to be spent on critical tasks that only you can do. And book fulfillment certainly isn’t one of the things that’s going to fall into that category. Never mind the fact that you may have cases of books stacked in your family room that you’re constantly stepping around or in your garage where your car should be parked.
Continued on page 27 ...
The Author Resource
27
Are You an Author or ... Continued from page 26 ....
That’s why it’s important to find a fulfillment company such as Author Fulfillment Services to hand this task off to so you can focus your efforts where they should be focused. For just a couple of bucks per book, your orders can be handled for you. Your fulfillment partner will integrate with your online shopping cart so orders are automatically sent to them, freeing you up. It’s an entirely hands-off process once it’s set up. When folks are starting out, I sometimes recommend they do their own product fulfillment so they can understand what’s involved. In most cases they quickly realize fulfillment isn’t so fulfilling for them, and they’re ready to hand that off. That pain point is different for different people, so only you can determine when that is right for you. Bret Ridgway is co-founder of Author Fulfillment Services and Speaker Fulfillment Services, an organization dedicated to helping authors, speakers, and information marketers achieve greater success. For more information please visit http://SpeakerFulfillmentServices.com
The Author Resource
28
Books without Editors Are Like Batman without Robin By Bruce Goldberg Misspelled words, bad grammar, subject-verb disagreement, or poorly constructed sentences quickly will undo the best book or proposal in the world. Those factors undermine an author’s credibility and may prevent offers for future projects. I’ve collected dozens of examples of poorly written press releases and story pitches gleaned through several decades of working in journalism. The lessons learned from these messes apply to members of Author U: It’s good to have several sets of eyes review your work. But it’s even better to hire a professional copy editor for the final, most thorough, and most reliable read. Besides the usual duties, a solid copy editor may offer you insights and perspectives you didn’t consider. Examples of bad press releases: •
Don’t use had-to-translate sentences, such as a company calling itself “a global provider of software and services-based business support solutions that help clients generate revenue and maximize customer and partner relationships.” Still wondering what that company does? It’s a cable-billing firm.
•
Mindless ledes: “The Republican Presidential candidates may disagree on issues, but a number of them agree on one thing – ITC mediaConferencing.” Yeah, we’re sure that’s uppermost on their minds.
•
And another: “We’re number one! We’re number one! A chant heard often this time of year as many championships are finalized. Another area of interest of a company that’s number one and how this standing has made one of its executives choose his community service is… ” Huh? I omitted the name of the Denver-area company to prevent embarrassment.
•
Misspellings: “A penal of judges”; “ex-patriot” instead of “expatriate.”
•
Screwy salutations aimed at a reporter or editor: “Boob” instead of “Bob”; “Hi XXX”
•
Overly long ledes: I have an 87-word example, but will spare you the pain.
•
Missed edits: “ ‘ … infrastructure,’ ” said [NAME, TITLE] at Aanshi Gems. And on the next page, “ABOUT AANSHI GEMS … insert Aanshi boilerplate.” Apparently the boilerplate wasn’t available.
•
Copy not meant for journalists: “The following press release is our official announcement for our Tenth Annual Celebration and first time in Asia for our organization. I encourage each of you to get this information in front of any press or with your PR staff to distribute.” And it gets worse.
•
Ridiculous headlines: “Marcus & Millichap sells [name of property in city] for $(XXX million.”
A professional copy editor will improve your book, provide valuable feedback, and prevent the kinds of mistakes outlined here. Bruce Goldberg is a professional writer, copy editor, book editor, and proofreader with decades of experience at newspapers, magazines, websites, and working with authors. Reach him at bgindenver@aol.com or 303-369-4088.
The Author Resource
29
Summer Tech Toolboxes Hot tools for communicating your book, expertise, words. Limited space—sign up now. Register on the website. June 10th
Turn Your Ideas into Eye-Catching Designs: PicMonkey and Canva July 15th
More Than Just Images: How to Use Pinterest to Promote Your Blog, Services, and Products August 12th
Capture a Moment: Instagram and Infographics—Share Knowledge or Tell a Story Through Images and Instant Info to all things Cyberland and Beyond!
taking you
FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY
CREATE | PRINT | MARKET
CHG
Color House Graphics | 800.454.1916 | www.colorhousegraphics.com
30
The Author Resource
Self-Publishing: What You Should Expect to Pay By Michele DeFilippo, 1106 Design
As with everything, in self-publishing you get what you pay for. And, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t anticipate paying nothing for book design, editing, or printing; if a self-publishing company offers you something for free, expect to pay something at some point, because—after all—these companies are not nonprofits; their mandate is to make money! Editorial rates vary widely according to the task, the editor’s experience level, the project’s complexity, and the deadline (the same goes for book designers). Some professionals charge a flat fee; others charge by the hour, the page, or the word. Remember that these professionals are business entities and must be paid enough to cover their business expenses. Some professionals work for companies that provide the administrative and marketing services for them—a great arrangement but one for which these companies must be paid accordingly. Allow the vendor to see your manuscript and provide a firm quote in writing that includes the amount of time allotted for corrections and the rate thereafter. Feel comfortable asking for references. Someone will always offer you free services. But unless your aunt is a professional editor and owes you a favor, or your best friend is a renowned book designer, you run the risk of sloppy work as a trade-off for that freebie. So what about websites offering free book design? By laying out your book using one of their free templates, you run the risk of creating a book that is not unique and can’t compete with professionallydesigned books. In fact, these companies count on you getting frustrated or not being happy with the end result, and they will happily provide design services to you for a fee (along with editing, proofreading, marketing, and more). Also, be wary of “free” services that include a one-time “set up” fee. Bottom line: be clear on your goals, do your research, and set yourself a reasonable budget. If your book is meant as a hobby or a gift and will not be sold publicly, you can probably get away with offers of free editing and free online templates. But if your book is meant to compete with the other thousands of books in the marketplace, you should expect to pay.
Michele DeFilippo owns 1106 Design, a Phoenix-based company that offers cover design, interior design and layout, manuscript editing, and more with expert self-publishing advice and hand-holding every step of the way. Please visit http://1106design.com to download her free e-book, Publish Like the Pros: A Brief Guide to Quality Self-Publishing.
The Author Resource
31
The Technology and Tips Toolbox
The Joy of Instapaper: A Fast and Easy Free Tool to Save Information When Researching or Browsing Online By Kelly Johnson
How many times a day do you go on the Internet to search for information, an article or a website, and end up having several tabs/windows open on your computer so you can try to keep track of the sites you want to review or check out? Have you accidentally closed those tabs/windows or had to re-start your computer and then lost those sites? You won’t have to worry about saving information in the future if you use this great free tool called Instapaper. https://www.instapaper.com With Instapaper, you can save all of the intriguing and interesting articles, videos, recipes, song lyrics, quotes, etc., that you discover while browsing or researching online. Once you set up Instapaper, in just one click, you can save, read, and manage the items you discovered online. Instapaper syncs the content you save so you may access it on all of your devices: computer, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android. Anything you save, you can read it anytime - even offline! Steps to Setting Up and Using Instapaper 1. Go to https://www.instapaper.com and create a free account.
Continued on page 32 ...
32
The Author Resource
Instapaper ... Continued from page 31....
2. Once you set up your account, click the Welcome to Instapaper message that appears on the home page of your account. 3. Under the Welcome message, click the link for bookmarklet.
Continued on page 33 ...
The Author Resource
33
Instapaper ... Continued from page 32....
4. Drag the bookmarklet (Save to Instapaper) to your Bookmarks Bar on your browser.
5. When you are on a web page you want to save for future reading or reference, click the Save to Instapaper button in your Bookmarks Bar, and the information will be saved in your Instapaper account. When you click the Save to Instapaper button, a “Saved!” message will briefly appear. Enjoy reading at your leisure the wonderful information you discovered online!
To your success,
Kelly
Kelly Johnson works with authors to manage technical, creative, and administrative projects for their businesses and books. She’s an article-writing coach, does blog and website maintenance, knows how to implement an online shopping cart strategy, and is the principal of Cornerstone Virtual Assistance. She can be reached at kjohnson@cornerstoneva.com. Her site is www.cornerstoneva.com.
The Author Resource
34
Author U - Your Guide to Book Publishing with Judith Briles ... Everything You Want to Know, But Didn’t Know What to Ask launched live last year and now has over 18,000 downloads each month. Every Thursday, Judith hosts an hour radio show with guests and features. Live with callins. For the beginner and intermediate author— all episodes will be available for downloads and podcasting. Listen live or click on the podcast from the website. Recent programs focused on how to maximize social media, how to create book publicity, how to market globally, beyond Amazon, how to market fiction, and so much more. If you want to write and publish a book ... if you want to be successful as an author, Your Guide to Book Publishing ... Everything You Want to Know, But Didn’t Know What to Ask is for you. You will hear about statistics, scenarios, and strategies on what to do now! As The Book Shepherd, Dr. Judith Briles is in, and each week she will include publishing professionals that will reveal tips and secrets to the author’s journey. If there is a book in you, you want to listen, learn ... and, yes, call-in with your questions each week. http://togi.us/authoru
Reserve Your Spot now ... MAKE IT SO… the Author U Extravaganza slated for May 7-9, 2015
May 7, 2015, Deep-Dive Dinner Workshop with Heather Lutze, author of The Findability Formula, Thumbonomics, and the forthcoming Marketing Espionage from 6 to 9 p.m. Prior to Penny’s first session is the Eaglet/Newbie sessions. The Author Shark Tank will be held in one session on Thursday. Brainstorm with the Pros will be back. There will be a session on Agents, Book Reviews, and Legal Issues ... and the Author U Shark Tank will be revealed. Lots to do. Get the dates on your calendar now—you don’t want to miss this. The Early, Early Bird left and flew the coup … Prices are low right now—lock yours in pronto. Register: http://authoru.org/extravaganza.html
The Author Resource
35
Lick your lips. Whet your appetite. Start salivating. It’s time for …
The Authors Cookbook Author U is gathering up recipes. An author cookbook is in the works. The Authors Cookbook is the working title, most likely waiting for the magic morph to it. The goal is to create a cookbook of favorite Author U member recipes that may have inspired you, created the comfort food needed when a chapter just isn’t coming together, or a favorite dish that creates the happy dance when celebrations are in order. The proceeds of the cookbook will fund the Authors Hall of Fame, our 501c3 organization that rolls out “officially” next year at Extravaganza. Your contribution could be a beverage, appetizer, dessert, side dish, main dish—seafood, poultry, meat, soups, sauce, salad, sandwich, casserole, different cultures/nations/seasons, vegetarian, breads, menus, something for kids, special celebrations, entertaining tips … you name it—we are game for anything. Not sure what the category is? Just call it Miscellaneous … we will figure it out.
We need recipes, tips, and goodies to include—the more, the better. Here’s what we need to have: • How about a brief tidbit on where it came from or how you created it?—of course a short bio as well (as in very short bio of no more than 75 words about you and your book). • Your magic recipe(s). • Nifty name/title for your recipe. • Both prep and cooking time. • If you just happen to have a pic of the finished masterpiece, include the jpg. Submit soon and submit many. You will be acknowledged on both the recipe page and in a special section in the book—that makes you a contributor. Alert … you will not be paid for your participation. You will be able to get a teaspoon of a discount when the books are available for sale. We have to select the final title and get it assembled. This will be an author and publishing community project with all proceeds in sales going to the Authors Hall of Fame. Would you like to be in it? Start sending in your recipes. A J White (author of The Bloomers), Judi Monsour (ghostwriter For the Love of Paprika) and Judith Briles (author of Author YOU) will gather them—they are cooks. They create their own recipes, and they read cookbooks; they will edit, work closely with the interior designer, and get it printed and on the reader’s plate. Send all your recipes to AJ White at: mailto:AJ@Bloomerwise.com Put in subject line: AU cookbook
36
The Author Resource
Part 1
Vocabulary Lessons For Today’s Book Industry By Amy Collins
Many published authors got their deals after proving that their books could sell. They did this by publishing and selling their books themselves. Why do people buy books? What kinds of people buy books? What kinds of books do they buy? The answers to these questions are changing rapidly. It used to be, if you had a specific need (a job interview, wedding, new baby, etc.), you would go to the store and pick up a book on that topic to educate yourself on the newest thoughts on the subject. Books were the preferred tool for disseminating new information. Not anymore. Magazines (also a changing animal) hit the scene and trained readers to grab for the “highlights” on a topic. No longer did people feel that they needed a deep, thorough understanding of their topics. They learned that they could “get the gist” in three to five pages at most and, in most cases, do just fine. Then came the Internet. Think you have lupus? Log on! Want to cultivate a pink-and-white-only garden that your local deer population won’t eat? Then www.girlydeerresistantgardens.com comes to the rescue! The people who think they are too busy to read a whole book and cannot find the time to catch up on the stack of magazines piling up on the counter can now have seventy-five words on any given subject electronically handed to their inbox to be downloaded and absorbed in seconds. But what about novels? Yes, there is still a strong market for beautifully written, well-edited, sharply crafted fiction. Keep in mind, however, that the competition from popular, established authors and celebrities with clever marketing/ghostwriting/PR teams have driven the chances of a new writer’s work appearing on a national chain’s bookstore shelves way, way, way down. Therefore, many talented writers are moving to Web-based and printed digests. Fans of savvy, edgy writing are flocking to Web sites to get their daily dose of prose. Every day, established, talented book authors are writing 3,000–5,000 words for readers who will never see those words in a book. ’Zines, Web digests, salons, and blogs are changing how fiction readers get their fix. Even so, there are still a great many first-time authors courted and guided by established publishers, and even as this is being written, there is a freshman novel being purchased for $1.2 million somewhere. I hate to have to tell you this, but … that won’t be you. I can confidently say that because such deals only happen once in a great while, and the rate is slowing because editors must report their decisions to committees of accountants. Continued on page 37...
The Author Resource
37
Vocabulary Lessons: Continued from page 36 ...
I repeat…many published authors got their deals after proving that their books could sell. They did this by publishing and selling their books themselves. Self-publishing has become a very popular way for authors to invest in their book’s future success. If you have the means and focus, publishing your own book can often give it a better chance of being picked up by a traditional publisher. Forget the naysayers who insist books are not the way of the future. The future is filled with those who will always be seeking connection, inspiration, and information. Simply put, books are not dead. In spite of the Cassandra-like warnings from experts over the last 100 years that the book is becoming obsolete, books are here to stay. Newspapers, radio, and television did not kill the book, nor will the Internet or iPod do so. Books offer a sense of comfort and reliability that other mediums simply can’t touch. For people who hear a particularly compelling speaker and want to learn more about his or her message, there are books. For those riding to work each day who want to escape into a good story, there are books. For those who want to deeply explore a topic and have a reference to which they can always go to, there are books. Continued on page 38 ...
The Author Resource
38 Vocabulary Lessons: Continued from page 37 ...
Let’s return to our previous questions: Why do people buy books? What kinds of people buy books? What kinds of books do they buy? People buy books for entertainment, for information. Many book readers express a sense of connection and community that cannot be duplicated by videos. Books bought today are inspirational, informational, entertaining. As previously noted— this is important—you need to forget the naysayers who insist books are not the way of the future. The future is filled with those who will always be seeking connection, inspiration, and information. No matter what form or format it might take, there are readers who will be in the market for your book. Let’s look at the path a book takes from publisher to store. To do this, we will have to agree upon current definitions for some industry terms. These may or may not be the same definitions of similar terms in other industries, but you’re living in the publishing world now, so it’s best you learn the lingo. Your first vocabulary lesson begins with the three places most stores go to get their books: publishers, distributors, and wholesalers. PUBLISHERS Publishers are the manufacturers of books. They usually own the rights to the material and pay for the developing, design, and printing of the book. They will edit, copy edit, proof, design, lay out, and print the book. They will sell a book to a store at a discount of the retail price. That discount is usually between 40 and 55 percent. It can sometimes be 60 percent or more if the store is part of a co-op or chain that has a central warehouse or agrees to pay for the shipping costs of the books. The store or the buyer for the group of stores will contact the publisher, place a purchase order for books, and expect to receive them in five to seven days. They expect to be billed for these books, but will usually require at least ninety days to pay. If you want to become a publisher, here are a few things you should think about. You have to plan and budget carefully. Small presses usually aren’t paid for three to four months. It’s just the way things are. Plan for not getting paid for 6-7 months.
Continued on page 39 ...
The Next, Next Thing in Publishing The Book Shepherding concept is simple: the publishing world is changing … and so must you. You need an experienced Shepherd and Guide to partner with you as you create, strategize, develop, publish, and achieve your publishing goals. You can’t do it alone without paying the price … you can spend your money creating a book that turns out to be soso; or you can create a book that looks and feels classy, builds your brand, and is a financial success. A best-seller. It’s your choice – you choose.
The Author Resource
39
Vocabulary Lessons: Continued from page 38...
Now, are you ready for the big hit? Publishers may not even see that money because the books are bought “returnable.” Fully returnable. One hundred percent. No backsies. After a publisher has shipped a book to a store, the bookstore has the right to ship it right back for any reason. Please make sure that you factor returns (the shipping costs, processing costs) into your profit and loss statements. When deciding on a budget for your self-published book, figure bookstore returns at 40 percent. This is much higher than the industry average, but statistics show that self-published books have a much harder time getting into bookstores and a much harder time selling through the registers than traditionally published books. The reasons for this are many. Bookstores are often reluctant to risk their limited dollars and shelf space on an unproven publishing company’s first book. You can get around this, but without an established, experienced publishing company’s PR and marketing efforts behind your book, you may experience lower sell-through than the industry average of 70 percent. There are very successful small presses that claim very few returns. We interviewed a number of publishers with return percentages in the low teens and here is what they suggest: •
Avoid black or dark covers when possible. Black covers accentuate scuffing and smudge marks more than other colors, thus increasing the odds of returns
•
Print extra dust jackets (30 to 40 percent) for hardcover books. In most cases, a dust jacket replacement will make a “damaged” book look as good as new. Any excess jackets may be used for promotional purposes.
•
Use film laminate or UV coating instead of varnish. The type of finish you choose for your book’s cover is critical to its shelf life.
•
Make sure your books have price-specific Bookland/EAN barcodes. By barcoding your book, you will avoid retailers’ stickers and smudge marks from sticker removal.
•
Notify book wholesalers and major book retailers at least three months before new editions are available, so automatic computer reorder triggers can be turned off for higher-sellthrough and fewer returns of old books.
•
Promote, promote, promote!
Publishers have also developed strategies for dealing with books returned in shelf-worn condition. This is usually the case, since by the time the publisher receives them back, they have been handled five to seven times in the marketplace (printer -publisher -wholesaler -retailer -returns center -wholesaler -publisher). Some options for using returned books are: Continued on page 40 ...
“Author U is the premier authoring resource in the country, creating community, education, guidance, vision, and success for the serious author.”
The Author Resource
40 Vocabulary Lessons: Continued from page 31 ...
•
Send to media contact when arranging promotional events
•
Use as Give-aways
•
Mark down and sell to discount buyers, remainder houses, book fairs, or swap meets.
•
Sell to your employees at a discount
•
Strip and rebind damaged books with fresh covers.
•
Donate to charitable organizations
Bookstores usually get books from distributors. A distributor handles all of the après-production elements of getting a book onto a store’s shelves. Next month, I will dive into Vocabulary Lessons in Working with Distributors.
Amy Collins is the CEO of New Shelves Distribution, www.NewShelves.com and serves on the Board of Author U.
The Author Resource
41
Meet Premier Partner ...
Author Fulfillment Services and Speaker Fulfillment Services has the best-priced deal for any single and multiple book fulfillment as well as warehousing that Author U Founder Judith Briles has found. After all, wouldn’t you like to ship a book anywhere in U.S. for $2 (including Amazon) and multiples for $3 (when’s the last time you shipped a case of books for only $3) and warehouse at $12 for a pallet (that’s about 1000 books) a month? This is a benefit to Author U members, take advantage of it pronto. For more information, visit http://AuthorFulfillmentServices.com … ask for the Author U deal. Bret Ridgway Author and Speaker Fulfillment Services 2001 N. Hunt Street Terre Haute, IN 47805 Phone : 812-878-2234 eMail: Bret@sfsmail.com Website: www.AuthorFulfillmentServices.com Dedicated to working with authors, speakers, and other information marketers. We handle the behind the scenes production, warehousing, and shipping of your physical information products so you can focus your energies on the more highly valued tasks of marketing and product creation.
42
The Author Resource
The Care and Feeding of Your Social Media Fans By Melody Barnes Jones
Remember that person (when you were a kid) that took the time to listen to you? Made you cookies after school? Used a little tough love when you didn’t clean your room? Remember the person that invested the time to teach you new things? Honored that certain wisdom only a 5-year old can possess? Held tight through your adolescence? Mentored you on your career path? So far I’ve only asked questions, but bear with me because here’s the pivotal question. Do you do the same for your social media fans? The truth about social media is that it’s not about numbers, it’s about people. It’s tempting to brag that you have 5,000 followers on Twitter, but what does that matter if they don’t value what you share or interact with you? If you had 500 followers on Twitter and you established true connections with 25 of them, you are a far more successful social media networker and connector than that other guy. Your fans don’t value or interact with you until you value them first. Value means taking action in some way: retweeting a tweet they sent, commenting on a post on Facebook, repinning a pin you find inspiring, sharing their blog post with credit to them, or simply saying thank you. Value can mean liking a colleague’s fan page or following them on Twitter. Sometimes value could mean that you do not delete a negative comment, but instead do your best to acknowledge that person and fix the problem if you can. The value here is that you may create a fan for life because you took the time with them, but even if that doesn’t happen, everybody else was watching your reaction. An honest and authentic attempt to deal with negativity wins respect. Pay attention to the care and feeding of your social media fans. Develop true connections. Strive to be a real person in a virtual world. You never know what these connections will bring to you.
Melody Barnes Jones is owner of Social Media Management Services, where she takes care of the day-to-day so you don’t have. Check out her current or future offerings at www.socialmediamelody. com/social-media-workshops. Melody was recently published in Stories Gathered at the Kitchen Table: A Collection of Women’s Memoirs. E-mail her at melody@socialmediamelody.com.
Spring and Summer brings longer sunshine hours. Author U will hold the monthly meetings April through September in the Dinner and a Program format.
The Author Resource
43
Relationships: Applying the Friend-Building Skills You Already Have By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
As important as book marketing and promotion are, building relationships is even more important. In fact, it’s really part of marketing and promotion—the most important part. In marketing classes, it’s usually mentioned as “networking,” but the word “networking” can obscure the real meaning behind relationship building because it sounds so—well, commercial. We all know what building relationships is. The thing is, with the advent of the Net, the possibilities for relationships are so much greater than they were. Relationships have become—if not a more important part of a good promotion campaign—at least more widespread. “Social networking” is the new term for some of that relationship building, and I don’t neglect that concept in the new edition of my The Frugal Book Promoter (http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo). Having said this, I must note that the basic concepts and tools of public relations (especially building relationships) still drive any kind of marketing. Marketing and all it encompasses (PR, branding, promotion, building relationships, and more!) works. But it works incrementally better when relationships are built and maintained. You may well ask, “How do I do that?” Fair question, but unneeded. You’ve been doing it all your life, so you know how. Parents. Friends. Teachers. The trouble is, too many writers don’t put that knowhow to work when they promote their books. In order to do that “maintenance part,” you will need to keep up your contact lists. But when you think about it, you’ve been keeping lists all your life, too. Think “holiday greeting card list,” and you about have it. Until we get into the habit of applying “relationships” to everything we do, it might help to make yourself a little sign and paste it to your computer. It should say something like “Relationships First.” That sign will also remind you to apply relationships to every aspect of your marketing campaign. That means encouraging interaction. Maintaining your voice. Using humor. Keeping in contact. Writing thank you notes. Sending birthday and/or holiday wishes. But especially in trying to be as helpful as possible to those who are helping you. So you make relationship building an integral part of • • • • • •
Your newsletter. You blog or blogs. Your social networks. Your contact list building process. Your events. Your everyday e-mail correspondence. Continued on page 45 ...
The Author Resource
44 Relationships: Continued from page 43 ...
• • • •
Your online launch campaign. Your book signings at bookstores. Your book reviews. Your interactions with editors and bloggers.
What else do you do to promote your book? Relationships are a part of it. In the interest of building relationships, I’d like to know the ways you use relationship building in your marketing campaign. E-mail me at HoJoNews@aol.com. Put RELATIONSHIP BUILDING in your subject line, and include your contact information and a quick pitch (with a buy link!) for your book. And, if it’s something new or has a new slant to it, I’ll try to include it in my newsletter. In any case, I’ll answer and we’ll build a relationship. Promise.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson is celebrating the longevity of her popular Frugal Book Promoter now in its second edition, including an edition for Kindle. It is the first in the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers that includes The Frugal Editor (http://bit.ly/FrugalEditorKind), The Great First Impression Book Proposal (http://bit.ly/BookProposals), and Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers (http://bit.ly/Last-MinuteEditing). Carolyn will be speaking at the Author U Extravaganza May 7-9, 2015 in Denver, Colorado.
It's Author U's Annual Member BBQ for members and their family/guests only! FREE … sign up for it on the AuthorU.org website. Date is July 26th at 5 pm.
... for Authors Jerusha Stewart, J.D. Small Business & Group Benefits Specialist
JerushaStewart@LegalShield.com Call now! 772-925-9110 << View this video on http://authoru.org/legal-shield.html
The Author Resource
45
New Members Polly Letofsky traveled across 4 continents and over 14,000 – by foot – to become the first woman to walk around the world, and she did so as an awareness campaign for breast cancer. Strangers welcomed her into their homes, but it was never an easy road. She struggled with earthquakes, muggings, languages, even religious riots. The ultimate challenge came in the middle of her journey when September 11 flung us all into a crossroads in world history. In her bestselling book 3mph: The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World, Polly shares her story with humor and honest reflection, the good times and the hardships, and shows us all that we can tackle life’s biggest challenges – one step at a time. 3mph recently won Best Memoir at the Writer’s Digest Best Book Awards and Best Memoir at the IPPY Book Awards.
Nancy Sprowell Geise’s first novel, The Eighth Sea, is an Amazon best-seller in Historical Fiction and Historical Romance with over 60,000+ promotional free downloads, and a Quarter Finalist 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Awards. Raised in Ames, Iowa, Nancy graduated from Iowa State and has lived in Austin, Texas; Fort Collins, Colorado; Topeka, Kansas. She devotes her time between writing and speaking with her presentation Have You Found Your Eighth Sea? Her hilarious experiences as a former teacher, realtor, and retirement community director provide great fodder for her writing/ storytelling endeavors. Nancy’s latest book, the remarkable account of Holocaust survivor Joe Rubinstein, will be released fall 2014.
Barbara Mertus Munyon was the District Administrator and Executive Director of the Snake River Water District, in Keystone, Colorado, District until 2013, one of the few woman in Colorado to oversee a water district. During this time Barbara wrote continually and published little as water rights and delivering a potable water supply to the public was priority. However, she advanced her writing skills with numerous writing seminars and ultimately left the Snake River Water District to work full time on her writing career. In 1997 Barbara began the original Natalie Goldberg Writing Loop. It was a linked group of writers who wrote with each other via e-mail and who studied with Natalie. The list was administrated by hand prior to list serves and closed to the general public. She continued as Administrator of this group until 2012. She has won various awards for her short stories and her poetry. In April 2014, her short fiction story About Gingersnaps long-listed in the Fish International competition. She identifies a valuable co-creative connection between her analytical and imaginative traits. She is currently in the edit process of her Memoir titled Zbohom A Pis. Continued on page 46 ...
The Author Resource
46
New Members Neeli Clute Lambert is a Neuroeducator; Founder of MindCraft Unlimited LLC; and an Innovator in Education, Technology, and Professional Development. Encapsulating the latest brain research and its potential is her passion. She bridges neuroscience and education, thinking out of the educational box and innovate. Debunking neuro-myths and translating research lingo, Neeli presents at professional conferences, teacher and parent workshops. Creating curriculum, writing, and developing technology applications naturally parallel these efforts. She is grounded by experience in the neurobiology lab, hospital, public and private classroom, special needs inclusive classroom, and vocational-technical programs, she thinks like a scientist and teacher. At the same time, Neeli is immersed in reality as a teacher and parent, and she connects with the challenges of modern life. This combination has created a passionate advocate for working smart with the biology of the brain in mind.
John Doehring is The Maverick Advisor! and an accomplished speaker, author, educator, and (certified) management consultant. Founder and principal of J. Doehring & Co., John helps organizations plan for the future, grow their business, and make more money. Clients are primarily professional services firms and other middle market companies, and range from large to small, broadly-diversified to niche-specialist, around-the-block to around-the-world. J. Doehring & Co.’s mission is to help clients achieve extraordinary results with growth, profit, and sustainable success! John’s forthcoming book is entitled Fast Future: Ten Trends Changing Everything, and What You and Your Business Need to Do About It Right Now. Learn more at www.JDoehring.com.
Alert: Beginning in July ... Only paid-up Author U members will get the nine month a year copy of The Author’s Resource as part of membership. Anyone else who wants it will do so through a separate paid subscription. Take advantage of the many Member Benefits that Author U brings you. They are posted the website as well as within each e-zine. Join or Renew now! http://authoru.org/join-author-u/benefits-and-costs.html
The Author Resource
47
Member News Ever wondered what a book shepherd is and does for authors? Associate member of Author U, Blue Ink Review, did a recent blog with Judith Briles... here tis: http://ow.ly/vtLuG
Laurie Weiss, PhD was featured in the Douglas County Libraries Author Showcase series on May 10th for her book, 99 Things Women Wish They Knew Before Saying, “I Do” to a standing-roomonly crowd.
Pat Morgan, and her book, The Concrete Killing Fields, continues to rack up publicity.
Bill Gonseaux and Connie Strasheim have sent Create a Toxin-Free Body & Home … Starting Today to the printer for a first run of 3,000 copies. Books 2 and 3 are in editing and layout.
Charles Clark has gone to print for his first book, The Bootlegger ’40 Ford. An amazing tale that has intrigue, a bit of a thriller, and quite a yarn as you learn the fate of the car as it exchanges hands six times, all for $500 each. Add it to your gift list.
A recent newspaper called her the “Mother Theresa of the Streets.”
Are you in Colorado? Did you know that there is a special “Author YOU Circle” once a month for author inquiring minds—be it about publishing, writing, social media, you name it that Judith Briles hosts in her living room and kitchen? Always held on a Saturday from 9 to Noon—the coffee and tea are hot when you arrive. The cost is FREE ... what you need to bring is a healthy snack to share and yourself, along with enthusiasm, questions, and the willingness to share info if you can provide it when a topic is in the Circle. Created in a loose-structure format, there is no set agenda ... the topics are created via posts on a flip chart as people arrive: what you want or need help in. It’s simple; it’s fun; it’s highly informative; and it’s FREE. As Author YOU Circle member Gene Morton says, “It’s like a personalized MasterMind group—I always walk away with information that I can immediately use.”
Dates are posted for Janurary through May now on the site. You need to join Author YOU Circles via Meetup.com, sign up to come. Here’s where to register:
http://www.meetup.com/AuthorYOU/
The Author Resource
48
Member News
Book Awards are being announced … many authors are doing a Happy Dance and gathering kudos and bravos! Bouquets of delight go to… Bravo and WOW to Dianne Maroney for The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love took home the Silver Medal in the Benjamin Franklin Awards in the Inspirational category and won 1st place in the Motivational Category in the New Generation Indie Awards competition announced at the prestigious Harvard Club of NYC. To add icing to her book plate, The Imagine Project also won a grand prize of 3rd place in overall non-fiction. Whew… what a way to start the summer!
Bravo to Chuck Fischer! His book, Beyond Infinity (Sienna Books), picked up the BRONZE IPPY in the Young Adult Fiction category.
Bravo to Debbie Wilde! Her book, The Sustainable NonProfit, is a Finalist in the Business category with Next Generation Book Awards.
Bravo to Rhondda Hartman for being a Finalist for Natural Childbirth Exercises for the Best Birth Ever in the General NonFiction category, Colorado Authors League competition.
Bravo to Judith Briles for being a Finalist for Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms in the General NonFiction category in the Colorado Authors League competition.
The Author Resource
49
Member News
2014 International Book Awards …
Bravo to Larry Kesslin and Chris Winter, a Finalist in the Business: Entrepreneurship & Small Business category for BreakPoints: Where Businesses Get Stuck…And How They Get Unstuck!
Bravo to John Czingula and his For the Love of Paprika, a Finalist in the General Cookbooks category
Bravo to Gail Mencini for being a Finalist for To Tuscany with Love in the Fiction: Chick Lit/Women’s Lit category.
Bravo to Courtney Miller for being a Finalist for The First Raven Mocker in the Historical Fiction category.
Bravo to Vivian Reeves for Behind Closed Doors: About Teens, By Teens, For Teens for being a Finalist in the Parenting and Family category.
Bravo to Mara Purl, a double Winner for Where the Heart Lives in the Fiction: Chick Lit/Women’s Lit category and Where the Heart Knows in the Romance category.
Bravo to Rhondda Hartman for being a Finalist for Natural Childbirth Exercises for the Best Birth Ever in the Health: Women’s Health category.
Bravo to Judith Briles for Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers … Winner in the Business: Writing/Publishing category and a Finalist in the Best Cover Design: Non-Fiction – kudos to Nick Zelinger of NZ Graphics for design.
The Author Resource
50
Member News 2014 Indie Excellence Awards are in â&#x20AC;Ś Winners include:
Bravo to Reena Schultz for Devorahrella in Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Religion category.
Bravo to John Czingula for For the Love of Paprika in the General Cookbooks category.
Bravo to Jerald S. Altman, M.D. and Richard Jacobson for Don't Stick Sticks Up Your Nose! Don't Stuff Stuff In Your Ears! In the Picture Books 4-8 category.
Bravo to Joseph Schultz for The Bravo to Barb Warner for Keep Kabbalistic Journey in the Religion, Your Fork, Dessert is on the Non-Fiction category. Way: Savoring the Second Half of Life in the Aging category Bravo to Linda Spangle for Friends with the Scale: How to Turn Your Scale Into a Powerful Weight Loss Tool in the Diet and Nutrition category.
Bravo to Joseph Schultz for In Search of Higher Wisdom: Conversations About Religion, Spirituality and Mysticism in the Spirituality category.
Bravo to Courtney Miller for The First Raven Mocker in the Historical Fiction category.
The Author Resource
51
Member News
2014 Beverly Hills Book Awards
Bravo to Gail Mencini for To Tuscany with Love, in the Chick-Lit category as the Winner.
Bravo to Judith Briles for Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms in the Writing and Publishing category as the Winner.
Bravo to Mary Jo Fay for Blatant Deception in the Erotica category as a Finalist.
Finalist Bravo to Courtney Miller for his debut novel, The First Raven Mocker in the Historical Fiction category as a Finalist.
Bravo to Jerald S. Altman, M.D. and Richard Jacobson for Don’t Stick Sticks Up Your Nose! Don’t Stuff Stuff In Your Ears! in the Picture Books, Ages 4-8 category as a Finalist.
Bravo to Debbie Wilde for The Sustainable Nonprofit: 10 Strategies to Grow a Successful and Exceptional Organization in the Social-Political Change and the Miscellaneous categories—a double Winner.
The Author Resource
52
Tips Don’t get caught … how many times have you signed up for something at a deep discount price online and didn’t realize that there was only a 10 day (or whatever the timeframe) window to cancel. And if you didn’t, your credit card gets dinged, whether you want the product or not. Tip: note the fine print, and enter into your calendar two days before the “free zone” or “deep discounted” rate expires … then go in and cancel. Will save hassles and money. You are welcome.
Author Fulfillment Services and Speaker Fulfillment Services has the best-priced deal for any single and multiple book fulfillment as well as warehousing that Author U Founder Judith Briles has found. After all, wouldn’t you like to ship a book anywhere in U.S. for $2 (including Amazon) and multiples for $3 (when’s the last time you shipped a case of books for $3?) and warehouse at $12 for a pallet (that’s about 1000 books) a month? This is a benefit to Author U members, take advantage of it pronto. For more information, visit http://SpeakerFulfillmentServices.com … ask for the Author U deal.
Get FREE Online OCR (Optical Character Recognition software) service that allows you to convert scanned PDF and images (jpg, bmp) into editable Word, Text, Excel, PDF, Html output formats. Use Optical Character Recognition software without installation on your computer. Recognize text and characters from PDF scanned documents (including multipage files), photographs and digital camera captured images. Free Online OCR service supports 32 recognition languages. •
Convert scanned PDF to Word, Txt, Rtf
•
Extract text from image (JPG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF) and convert into editable Word, Text, Excel, PDF, Html output formats.
•
Converted documents look exactly like the original - tables, columns and graphics.
•
Free
OnlineOCR.net is a free service in a “Guest mode” (without registration) that allows you to convert 15 images per hour. http://www.onlineocr.net/default.aspx
The Author Resource
53
Tips New Ways to Register a Copyright & New Rules … Registration with Electronic Copyright Office (eCO): the Copyright Office online system. Some of the advantages include: Advantages include: • Lower online filing fee for a basic claim • $35 for a single author who is also the sole claimant in one work that is not made for hire • $55 for all other online filings • Fastest processing time • Online status tracking • Secure payment by credit or debit card, electronic check, or Copyright Office deposit account • The ability to upload certain categories of deposits directly into eCO as electronic files • Available 24 hours a day, except for routine maintenance every Sunday from 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m. eastern time Processing Time: The time the Copyright Office requires to process an application varies, depending on the number of applications the Office is receiving and clearing at the time of submission and the extent of questions associated with the application. All info is at: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/ Registration with Fill-In Form CO: The next best option for registering basic claims is the new fill-in Form CO, which replaces Forms TX, VA, PA, SE, and SR. Using 2-D barcode scanning technology, the Office can process Form CO submissions (when properly completed by the submitter) more efficiently than paper forms. Complete the Form CO on your computer, print it out, and mail it along with a check or money order and your deposit. The fee for a basic registration on Form CO is $50.
Aha #TweeterTip: Are you Tweeting? If you want all of your followers to see your tweet in their stream, you MUST start a tweet with a character and not an @username. ie: @AuthorU will send it to just to Author U (Judith Briles) ... with a character “.” .@authoru sends it to all your followers—just put the period mark in front of the user name that includes the @ sign as well with no spacing. Instead of going to one person, it can go to many thousands.
Feeling blocked for a word or phrase? Are you looking for odd-ball words, slang, to accent your writing? Make friends with the Online Slang Dictionary, http://bit.ly/OoKaNk
The Author Resource
54
Tips Why enter book awards? First, entering gives the author exposure— others that are “unknowns” are seeing it. Second, if you are a Winner or a Finalist, you have a marketing tool—for your website, your blogs, your signature on your e-mails, the press release you will create, any potential buyer, including a bookstore. The press release you create attracts the search engines when posted online. If it is picked up anywhere, the search engines will discover it. Sometimes, adding an award sticker may attract a buyer, or a book store. Before you part with your entry fee dollars to enter, do your research—is the contest legit. Contests such as the Indie Book Awards, Writers Digest Book Awards, USA Best Book Awards Reader’s Favorites, and International Best Book Award (sponsored by USA Book News), IPPYs, and Foreword are recognized by many as having klout and respectability. Don’t forget some of your own state and regional contests as well.
Editing Ahas from Judith .... Step 1 ... Of course, edit yourself before you pass it to another. Step 2 ... If you need structure, developmental help, get a content editor on the scene—it’s imperative that your “voice” be maintained. Back to you ... reread, make adjustments. Step 3 ... Next up is copy editing. Typos, proof, etc. Back to you ... reread, make adjustments. READ it out loud. Fix where needed. Step 4 ... Layout ... make sure your have a “cold eye” editor now post layout, this person does the read through in print, not on the screen— one who comes in looking for missing periods, backward quote marks, missing words—trust me, THEY ARE THERE, trust me. AND you print it out and do the same ... and read it out loud. Make corrections to layout professional. Step 5 ... Print/publish. TaDah!
Did you miss a show? Listen to any of the previous shows either on your computer or via iTunes. Always packed with useful information for the author who wants to succeed. Past shows are listed on the home page of Your Guide to Book Publishing and AuthorU.org. All you need to do is click on the one you want, and it starts immediately. http://togi.us/authoru
The Author Resource
55
Why Join Author U? A good question. Here’s your answer: If you want the latest in marketing strategies and how-tos for Authors … join. If you want high content information to make your Authoring life successful … join. If you want to work with Publishing Professionals who will make your book and you shine—many who offer special rates and discounts to Author U members … join. If you want to be within a Community of Authors … join. If your goal is to be successful … join.
If you don’t want any of that, if you want to gaze and just think about writing and publishing, if you aren’t committed … don’t.
The Author Resource
56
What does your Author U membership bring? A lot! For only $99 … here’s why you should be a member: Member of ...
• The Author Resource magazine, published online 9 times a year • All programs designed for the committed and serious author - rates are $15 less for members meetings; $50 for BookCamps … over $100 for the Extravaganza • Reduced attendance costs for monthly programs, BookCamps, and Extravaganza in May • Webinars and Teleseminars (free) exclusive to Author U members • Archive access to all past webinars, radio shows, Google Hangout Air, Author Mentoring Mondays (free) exclusive to Author U members • Attendance at Member-only events: Holiday, Annual BBQ, Tech Toolboxes, and Salons • Book Award discounts: USA Book News, Global eBook Awards • Book Blog Campaign discount: The Cadence Group • Book and Publishing Coaching discounts: The Book Shepherd, Get Published Coach • Book Cover design discounts: NZ Graphics, F+P Design • Book Display discounts: BookDisplays.com • Book Fulfillment and Distribution discounts: Author Fulfillment Services, Pathway Book Service, New Shelves Distribution • Book Interior Designs discounts: WESType Publishing, NZ Graphics, F+P Design, 1106 Design • Book Printing discounts and perks: Sheridan Books, Four Colour Print Group, Thomson-Shore, Color House Graphics, King Printing, MiniBuk, Lightning Source • Book Publicity discounts: Stephanie Barko, New Shelves, Smith PR • Book Review discounts: BlueInk Reviews, Foreword magazine • Book and Audio Cataloging-In-Publication discounts: Donohue Group • e-Books, Audio book discounts: NZ Graphics, Book Baby, Author Fulfillment Services • Credit Card Merchant Service discounts: The Free Terminal • Editing and Indexing services discounts: Editing by John Maling, Patti Thorn, Denver Editor (Linda Lane) • Graphics and Illustrations discounts: NZ Graphics, F+P Design, IllustratingYou • Legal assistance for authors and publishers: Replin, Rhodes, LLC; Legal Shield • National Book Distribution discounts: Pathway Book Service, New Shelves • Online Book Industry Optimization Discount: New Shelves Distribution • Shipping discount: FedEx • Virtual office assistance discounts: Cornerstone Virtual Assistant, 123Employee • Website design and implementation discounts: IllustratingYou, NGNG • Bowker discounts • Bookscan discounts
The Author Resource
57
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a good idea to review some of Author Uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original fabric. If you are a member, please take a few minutes to read over part of our core guidelines about how the business and the behavior of the authoring/publishing community should treat others.
Code of Ethics The Board of Directors of Author U(niversity) states that establishing and maintaining public confidence in the integrity of authoring and publishing by and through the organization are fundamental to the success and viability of the organization and its membership. In furtherance of its mission to create and sustain the highest levels of public and private integrity of Author U(niversity), the Board of Directors adopts this Code of Ethics. Accepting this Code of Ethics shall be a condition of membership, and fulfilling the terms and conditions and spirit of this Code of Ethics shall be a condition for maintaining membership in Author U(niversity). Actions deemed contrary to any article of this Code by any Author U(niversity) member shall be judged by the Board of Directors in accordance with the policies and procedures stated in the Bylaws of Author U(niversity). Any action deemed a violation of this Code of Ethics may result in disciplinary action, including terminating membership. Such disciplinary action shall be instituted by the Board of Directors. The findings and decisions of the Board of Directors shall be final and binding upon such member or members. No member shall have recourse against Author U(niversity), its directors, officers, members, or employees. The results of any disciplinary action will be formally announced to Author U(niversity) members in The Resource, Author U(niversity)â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s e-Magazine. The Board of Directors has the right to decline membership in Author U(niversity) to any applicant if it has knowledge, direct or indirect, of behavior, including speech, of such applicant which would constitute a violation of any provision of the Code of Ethics. By applying for membership to Author U(niversity) and by signing this Code of Ethics, applicant agrees to the following: Article 1: Author U(niversity) members shall treat other members with courtesy, dignity, and respect. Members will respect the personal and business confidentiality of other members. Article 2: Author U(niversity) members shall conduct their business on the highest professional level and not bring discredit to Author U(niversity), its members, or to the publishing profession. Article 3: Author U(niversity) members shall avoid using materials, titles, or thematic creations originated by others, either orally, graphically, or otherwise, unless the use has been approved by the originator. Article 4: Author U(niversity) members shall protect the public and other members against fraud and unfair practices, and shall use his/her best efforts to eliminate any practice that may bring discredit to the publishing profession, to Author U(niversity), or to its members. Article 5: Author U(niversity) members will not engage in any action or practice or agreement that will or will likely unfairly limit or restrain access to the marketplace by any other Author U(niversity) member based upon economic factors, race, creed, color, sex, age, disability, or country of national origin. Article 6: Author U(niversity) members will not engage in any action or practice that takes advantage of or exploits the comparative lack of knowledge or lack of expertise or the financial status of any Author U(niversity) member or member of the public.
Your joining Author U(niversity) and acceptance of membership signifies that you agree to the above.
The Author Resource
58
Everyone communicates differently. Judith Briles is the CEO and Chief Visionary Officer of Author U. She is at your service ... If you’re a Phone person, here’s the office: 303-885-2207 If you’re a Skype person, here’s Judith Briles’ handle, our CEO: Judith.Briles If you’re a Twitter person, here is the handle: @AuthorU If you’re a Facebook person, here is the page: Facebook.com/AuthorU If you’re a Google+ person, here is the page: Join the Community, Author U If you’re a LinkedIn person, join the Author U group If you’re a Pinterest person, here is the page: pinterest.com/authoru If you’re a Snail Mail person, here’s the office address: PO Box 460880, Aurora, CO 80046 If you’re an Impatient person, type an e-mail message to Judith below right now: http://authoru.org/contact-author-u.html