GET PUBLISHED NOW!: Get Your Book in the Hands of Your Readers

Get Published Now! with Beth Barany

One of my clients recently asked about the return on investment for his book. He’s self-publishing his book to support his coaching and speaking career. His book is in the category of investing. I don’t want to say more than that right now. We’re still in the development phase. SO since his book is on an area of investing, his question didn’t surprise me. Though it did strike fear into my heart.

Me, a words person, had to confront something many words people hate to look at: the numbers. But the other part of me, the businessperson and entrepreneur, knew that facing the numbers was and is important.

SO we did. The answer to his question is that he needs to sell about 5000 books to make back the investment in our work together.

Who cares? Even If you want to self-publish a book as a marketing support for your business, you need to understand how you can get clients and/or sell lots of books. The focus of the rest of this article is about book sales.

You need to get up in front of a lot of people to sell 5000 books. My client will sell books, and no doubt get clients too.

How and where do you do that? Two ways: sell directly to your readers, or sell indirectly via a third party.

Which option lets you keep most of the cover price? You’re right. The first one.

Here’s the math and assumptions explained.

If you get your book printed with Lightning Source (yes, I recommend them, and no, they don’t pay me to). They are a print-on-demand company, meaning that they are a printer only, not a publisher. And when someone requests a book, Lighting Source prints and ships your book at cost, plus shipping, and a small fee. They are owned by Ingram, of the largest book distributors in the world. SO working with LSI means your book will automatically be on Amazon and you can elect for it to be on amazon.co.uk, and the Espresso Machine (a literal print-on demand machine that prints and binds a book in X minutes.)

Say your cover price (what readers buy it for is $15.95, like my book, The Writers Adventure Guide.

Selling on Amazon: the printer gets 32%, Amazon gets their percentage 30%, and the publisher/author, me in this case, gets 36% or $5.40.

When I sell at presentations and workshops, I sell it for $15. After the cost of printing, shipping and handling, I keep 65% or 10.18.

To give you the context, a traditional gives the author 8-10% on most but not all sales, after you’ve earned back your investment.

Yes, I’m a fan of publishing your book yourself. (Traditional publishing has its place. More on that in another article.) Self-publishing, more aptly called independent publishing, is an appropriate step for many entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches and consultants who want to use their book to increase their visibility to get more clients.

Get Your Book in the Hands of Your Readers

Your social networks online and in-person

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other networks are great vehicles for letting people know about your expertise and dropping tidbits of wisdom from your book. These networks aren’t for direct sales or even direct marketing. But are for letting people get to know you, your expertise, and how you help them. It’s all about building relationships – networking.

Your in-person groups

Be a speaker in your professional association, or club. Use meetup.com to find other groups in your area. Conferences and conventions. Speaker bureaus.

Used and independent bookstores

Be prepared to make a lot of calls and develop personal relationships with your local independent booksellers.

School and Corporate Sales

IF you’ve written a specialized book for a corporate or educational niche, investigate making bulk sales to these entities. Though you will probably sell your book at a discount off the cover price, you can sell direct to them and still make a large profit.

Gift Market

If your book is right for the gift market, check out [Gift Market conferences and distributors.] % of cover price.

Book Distributors

Typically challenging to get into, though doable, specialized and regional book distributors take a portion of your sales.

When you publish your own book, or have someone help you do that, you are in change of making all the decisions. For entrepreneurs, this is usually exactly what you want.

Your readers will buy your book if it:

1. Gives them what they want
2. Is packaged in a way that appeals to them
3. Is perceived as worth the investment

You can do all of the above with a clear message, an attractive cover, and a strong marketing campaign.

How do I recoup my investment? My client asked.

The same way you grow your business, I told him. “Network. Network. Network. And sell, sell, sell.”

If you’re curious about what it might be like to publish, market and sell your book, you’re invited to give me a call or drop me an email: beth [AT] bethbarany [dot] com.

c. 2010 Beth Barany

Author of The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book, and Overcome Writer's Block, and editor to the recently released anthology, When I Was There: Life at Berkeley 1960-2010. She's also a contributing author to several anthologies, including Writing Romance (and managing editor) and Creativity Coaching Success Stories. Typically Beth's clients are aspiring authors who want to build a business around their book. She helps them get their books done and out into the world, so they can generate revenue. Beth works with clients in the US, Canada, and Europe, and gives workshops nationally and internationally. For more information, see her site: www.bethbarany.com, and her blog: www.writersfunzone.com/blog.


For more information, please visit Beth's TNNWC Bio.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW!: Get Your Book in the Hands of Your Readers

GET PUBLISHED NOW: I Dare You to Step into the Conversation

Get Published Now with Beth Barany

I’m aware that not everyone likes dares. So for those of you who don’t, you can stop reading here. For the rest of you, read on! I dare you!

Are you a thought leader? A thought leader is “someone who enlivens old processes with new workable ideas.” (Thank you Wikipedia.) And Elisa Bauer says, a thought leader herself: “A thought leader is a recognized leader in one’s field… It is built on what others say about you.” (See in her article, #2: Write.) [http://elise.com/web/a/be_a_thought_leader.php]

Often thought leaders think that their message is cool enough to be published in a book, but actually a book is a conversation that you have with other books in your field. So, what's a thought leader to do?

Engage in the conversation.

What conversation, you may ask? Before your audience reads your book, they will have probably read many other books on your subject. For example, I’ve read over 50 books on writing. So when it came time for me to publish my book on book writing, I had a pretty good idea of what other books my potential readers would have read before they got to mine. In the mind of my readers, my book needs to fit into and make sense within the context of everything else they know about writing books.

Question:
How does the book you have in mind (I know you have a book in you!) fit into and make sense within the context of the other books in your field?

If you know how your message fits into the greater conversation, then you can have greater impact and visibility, and ultimately sell more books and services.

Because you are part of the conversation.

If you’re wondering if this article applies to you, the answer is, “Yes.” It applies to all experts who are or can be thought leaders, and who want to be published, whether you self-publish, mainstream publish, or independently publish.


You are cool. Your message is cool. You want your message to have an impact and change the hearts and minds of your audience and clients. So to make sure your message fits into the greater conversation, answer these questions to show the world just how cool you and your message are.

1. What successful books are already in the marketplace like yours?

By successful I mean, selling a lot, and getting a lot of attention. How are these books similar to what you want to create? These are your companion books. For those of you who have already done a book proposal, yes, this is one of the questions in there. For those of you who haven’t done one, I recommend you create one, regardless of the publishing channel.

2. What successful books are already in the marketplace that are similar but lack something that your book would address?

These are your competitive books. An editor and a savvy reader REALLY want to know why they should bother investing time (for the reader) and money (for the editor and publisher) in your book. Answer that concern satisfactorily, and you can win the prize of being published!

3. What conversation are you a part of?

Bad grammar aside (I can get away with it; so can you), this question is asking about your genre. Know your field. You’re either writing fiction or nonfiction. And within those two branches of books, each have subcategories. Know what your subcategory is. Nothing irks a literary agent or editor more for an author to write in their pitch, "I write fiction." And stop there. So know the nuances of your genre and subgenre. In fiction, we have such genres as mystery, romance, horror, fantasy, science fiction, picture book, chap book (for children), and on and on. In nonfiction, we have business, self-help, memoir, writing reference, sports, cooking, psychology, etc.

Not only do you need to know where your book fits – a decision you get to make – but you need to know it down to the micro. For example, in nonfiction, if you’re writing a book on real estate investing, as one of my clients is, we know that it’s nonfiction, then real estate and investing. A book can be in two categories, even three. If it's a mystery novel, know if it's a cozy, an amateur sleuth, a police procedural, etc.

How are you going to answer the three questions above?

• Go to the bookstore.
• Go to the online bookstores.
• Go to the library.

And:

• Scan the books for which ones are attractive and which ones just don’t appeal to you, but may appeal to your target audience.
• Take notes on which books are your companion and competitive books.
• Analyze how your book fills the gaps your companion and competitive books leave behind.

If you care about being a part of the greater conversation to succeed as a thought leader, then you’ll take the time do the research. Because your message can have an impact and effect thousands even millions of lives. And don’t you want that? I do!


c. 2010 Beth Barany

Author of The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book, and Overcome Writer's Block, Beth Barany is also an editor at The National Networker, and editor to the recently released anthology, While I Was There: Life at Berkeley 1960-2010. She's also a contributing author to several anthologies, including Writing Romance (and managing editor) and Creativity Coaching Success Stories. Typically Beth's clients are aspiring authors who want to build a business around their book. She helps them get their books done and out into the world, so they can get more clients, increase their national visibility, and ultimately succeed in their businesses. Beth works with clients in the US, Canada, and Europe, and gives workshops nationally and internationally. For more information, see her site: www.bethbarany.com, and her blog: www.writersfunzone.com/blog.


For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW: I Dare You to Step into the Conversation

GET PUBLISHED NOW: Books Are Magical

Get Published Now with Beth Barany

Even in the age of blogging and tweeting, a book is still one of the most effective ways of diving into the thoughts and imagination of those who would inspire us.

Books still represent a significant symbol of one of our most important and overlook missions on Earth.

Our legacy.

Who has secretly (or not so secretly) harbored a dream of writing a book? (Raise your hand proud.)

That used to be me, too.

Most of you gave up on that dream because of fears that it takes too much time and effort -- or fears that your ideas aren't good enough -- or that writing a book is just too large an undertaking.

Here, you're going to discover that none of that is true.

I'm Beth Barany. And I'm ready to get started. Are you?

With just 15 minutes a day, and recognizing how you're an expert in something, you can get started on your writing today.

15 Minutes a Day...

... keeps the writing blues away. The most powerful 15 minutes of your life are the ones you spend doing what you’re here for, what you’re meant to do. I’m talking about your passion, your message, your way of touching the world.

Develop your daily writing habit as simply as you make your daily cup of coffee. In fact, make your coffee, then sit down to write for just 15 minutes. Surprise yourself by writing what's actually in your head. Talk to your audience as your fingers tap across the keyboard, or scribble across the page.

And, breathe. Read more here, for a dose of inspiration.

You Are an Expert... in Something

You may think your ideas aren't good enough, but actually you're the wrong person to make that judgment. If you just share your ideas with your target audience, (I'm assuming you are in business and have a target audience), then you will see how much value they put in your expertise.

Then write down what they say is valuable. Trust them.

"Inch by inch, life's a cinch." -- Anonymous

Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that. Why do you think writing a book is?

Regularly (a few times a week is good, daily is best), drop in on your book like you would a good friend. You'll be delighted and surprised to watch your book grow. Look back after three months and see the progress you've made. Celebrate after six months, or year, and hold a finished book in your hands.

If you need support, ask for it! And yes, I'm here to help, support, guide, and kick you in the derriere, if you need that, too. Metaphorically, of course.

c. 2010 Beth Barany

*Thank you to executive coach extraordinaire, Bryan Franklin, for drafting the introduction to this article during my Facilitators' Master Class.

Author of The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book, and Overcome Writer's Block, Beth Barany is also an editor at The National Networker, and editor to the forthcoming anthology, While I Was There: Life at UC Berkeley 1960-2010. She's also a contributing author to several anthologies, including Writing Romance (and managing editor) and Creativity Coaching Success Stories. Typically Beth's clients are aspiring authors who want to build a business around their book. She helps them get their books done and out into the world, so they can generate revenue. Beth works with clients in the US, Canada, and Europe, and gives workshops nationally and internationally. For more information, see her site: www.bethbarany.com, and her blog: www.writersfunzone.com/blog.

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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The National Networker Companies™

“Empowering Emerging Enterprises”

Membership in TNNWC’s Global Interactive Cooperative Business Community is free of charge and entitles you to receive both The National Networker Newsletter and The BLUE TUESDAY Report, as well as access to our unparalleled Suite of Business Services.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW: Books Are Magical

GET PUBLISHED NOW: Alchemy of a Bestseller

Get Published Now with Beth Barany

You may think that writing a nonfiction bestseller is hard. But actually, a nonfiction bestseller is easy to create and sell, but not simple. If you just put into place a few key aspects, then you will have a book your audience can’t wait to buy.

What is a bestseller? A client asked me that today. And like many things in art and alchemy, I said, “That depends.”

The numbers in this week’s bestsellers lists (The New York Times, USA Today, Wall St. Journal, Amazon, etc.) are based on how many books sold this week, the season, the market, and the genre. For more on how bestsellers list actually work, check out this article, reprinted on my blog, "From Book to Bestseller: What it Takes to Crack the List (and why you might not want to).” And this article, “Getting on the Bestseller Lists” from the Midwest Book Review, an excerpt from one of Dan Poynter’s reports.

Essentially, a bestseller is created by selling the most books that day, in the case of amazon, or that week, in the case of the rest of the lists. And these five characteristics.


#1: You need to care about your story.
Otherwise, why should I? Or if you don’t care, at least make me think you do. The fact that you show you care helps us, the reader care, too. No, I don’t have an example or quote here.


#2: You need an audience.
No audience. No book buyers. Know your audience. And make sure your audience buys books. The quick and dirty way to tell if there is an audience for your book idea is to search amazon.com. There should be at least 3-5 good selling or best-selling books in your topic. If there are no books, it may be a sign that there is no market.

I recommend a useful resource: The Wealthy Author: The Fast Profit Method for Writing, Publishing & Selling Your Non-Fiction Book by Joe Gregory and Debbie Jenkins. (I flipped through it while preparing for this article, and wanted to excerpt more, but couldn't pick from all the juicy and valuable content. So you may want to check it out for yourself.)


#3: More than just a good idea, you need a good story.
Humans learn best through story, so make sure you have all the elements of a good story in yours: death-gripping conflict, a hero (or heroes) you can root for, and love or sex. Yes, even in a nonfiction book. In a C-SPAN Book panel event, bestselling author, Simon Winshester said, “People above all love to read a good story.”


#4: You need to give people what they want, including clarity in the writing.
We need to understand you. Make sure you have a good editor. Do your readers want a solution to a problem, or help in achieving something? Whether it’s good looks, a better sex life, a better career, to make lots of money, or to calm their fears, make sure you give your specific audience what they want.


#5: You need to tell as many people as possible about your book. (That’s called marketing.)
Authors, shyness has no room in telling the world about your book. Start telling people as soon as you commit to your book. And build your list now, so you can let everyone know when your book is available.

I researched on this article by googling "the anatomy of a bestseller." But what I discovered is that creating a bestseller is more alchemy than anatomy. (Thanks to Simon Winchester’s publicist for this reference.) I discovered that your job, as an author, is to make sure these five factors are in place, and to use your resources, your friends, and your absolute commitment to your book to make your book, a bestseller.

What can you do to make your book a bestseller?


c. 2010 Beth Barany


Author, speaker and coach, Beth Barany, can be found raving about books, authors, and the ever-changing publishing and book marketing world at www.twitter.com/bethbookcoach, Facebook and LinkedIn.


For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW: Alchemy of a Bestseller

BLUE THING #10: Backtalk: Comments from our Readers

by Beth Barany, BACKTALK^TM Editor

BACKTALK^TM is brought to you by
The National Networker and
The Writer's Fun Zone, founded by Beth Barany.


NEW: At the bottom of every TNNW article, we feature a COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE button. Click on it! We want your opinion on every article and author. Push our buttons. Spark us. Inspire us. Interact with us. We love hearing from you!

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Here are some of your comments on our recent TNNW articles:

Beth Barany: Get Published Now!
"Social Networking for Authors"

“Awesome article, Beth, very pointed questions. It actually got me thinking about several things. This may be overshare, but here are some answers I came up with re: your questions: 1. I would like to meet other people. Learn & teach new things. Help others with their online efforts. Drum up new business. 2. What's important is that I help people. That I increase my own income. That I have the standard of living and experiences in life I desire. 3. I would like to know how to approach and communicate with people effectively. I would like to know what is appropriate communication with others (as opposed to being 'salesy', pushy, or 'spammy'). 4. Providing value... or rather effectively communicating value to others. Greeting/approaching others is also tough. Generating dialogue. 5. Business is all about people. Networking is getting out there and meeting those people, getting to know their needs, and how you might be able to help them. 6. It's everywhere. So diverse. So many great people. Versatile, and powerful. 7. Technical stuff. Evaluating needs. 8. Create a steady stream of traffic, and revenue. Create powerful business connections and meaningful friendships.”
- Peter F.


Peter Biadasz: Write to Excite
"Your Networking Success Story"

“Great article! One of my greatest networking successes was meeting a new realtor at the same time I started selling insurance. He has become my greatest champion and a big reason for my success. Thank you G.P. for all the leads - you are a great friend indeed!”
- Joshua Lakey
joshualakey@allstate.com

“Peter, I have some great networking stories. However one of my best is how I met Adam & Douglas from TNNW. It was through Bill Doerr whom I met on another networking site called Biznik. You never know whom you will meet or where that will lead you down a very exciting 'rabbit hole.' ”
- Rick Itzkowich


Douglas Castle: DOUGLAS CASTLE RANTS
"People Don't Follow Ideas" “Douglas, Excellent article! One of your best works.”
- Peter Biadasz
Author/Speaker/Publisher
www.TotalPublishingAndMedia.com


Douglas Castle: "This 'Recovery' is giving the field of Economics a bad name"

“Oh boy!”
- Douglas Castle


Brenda Krueger Huffman: The Point
"Anyone can buy a truck.” No, Mr. President, they can’t"
“This is a very interesting article and brings up a lot of points (questions) in my own beliefs. I always thought of myself as a true Liberal or Democrat, however, having read this article and having lived in both countries - the U.S. and Canada - with two very different Government and political stands, I have to consider myself an Independent Voter. I have come to "not" believe in extremes myself. There has to be a middle ground with the citizens of a country paying taxes to support growth to increase prosperity and economic health which leads to economic confidence, job creation, lower debt, etc... On the other hand, there has to be reform so that unfair and wrong practices don't go unnoticed. My point of view comes from living in Canada the majority of my life where we have been burdened with very high taxes since the day we enter the work force to make sure everyone is taken care of -- even those individuals who are capable of working but choose not to. I have worked hard all my life and I believe that all citizens of any country who have done so to contribute to economic growth deserve a safety net by Government, and at the same time Government and politicians need to listen to its people. This is where Government has fallen very short.”
- astra_baltayan@hotmail.com


Rick Itzkowich: Being There When It Counts
"How far removed are you?"
“That's a very good concept, Rick. I was a networking sceptic when I started on social media marketing, and thought you could only get value from a small and trusted network. I am now a convert of larger numbers and serendipity. I now believe that adding (perhaps with some degree of quality control) large numbers to your network, the chance of you clicking with that "gate opener" becomes more likely. Also by talking to lots of different people, you suddenly get a different angle on where your product could enter the market. As you say via a partnership, endorsement, sub contract etc. You have to keep talking to people and keep your mind open. Social networks allow you to do more of that (at times to suit you) with a bigger network and therefore pushes up the chances of achieving a hit.”
- Les Potton Chartered FCIPD ACII


Chris Kauza: The Net-Tech Report
Technology Tutorial -- Introduction to Bluetooth Technology

“Chris, thank you for the easy explanation of these terms. I like when technogeek is translated into plain English.”
- Rick Itzkowich


Adam Kovitz: A Note from the Chairman
Five Years of TNNW, Part III

"Thanks for your kind words. They are appreciated."
- Ivan Misner


Dr. Ivan Misner: Network Like A Pro
“Referral Marketing: Top Ten Ways Others Can Promote You”

“These are great suggestions. In addition I would like to submit another one. Ask people to recommend you on LinkedIn. This greatly helps build your credibility. People can do this even if they themselves are not LinkedIn members.”
- Rick Itzkowich


“Your article, while interesting, fails to address a fundamental concern: 'I'm a newly minted entrepreneur. I don't have the luxury of developing long term relationships.' Your article might be mildly interesting to the veteran, bu to a newcomer to the world of 'entrepreneurship,' I fail to see how he/she would be even remotely interested, having learned your lessons from Kindergarden on. Have you ever had to start a business from scratch?”
- guitarman1811@aol.com


Ann Barczay Sloan: Especially For Women
"Ambassador of New Education and Bridge to Asia Pacific Shares Her Humanitarian Mission of Abundance World-Wide"

“Investment in education for girls increases the economic & social returns of development investments in all other sectors. Educating girls contributes to creating wealth through its impact on economic development.”
- Chiropractic Internet Marketing


Christine West: Go West!
"Honoring Thy Self... Part II"
“Christine, there is a fine balance between giving to others and taking care of ourselves. Finding that balance is essential to our experience of life. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
- Rick Itzkowich

“Hi Christine: Thanks for contacting me and sharing. I appreciate hearing from you. I found your article very interesting, motivational, and possessing the character of the person that wrote it. The most interesting point for me is that to live an efficacious life that reflects individual and personal goals does involve the discipline of staying true to who a person really is and laying aside those things which distract and encumber a person from success. It is not isolation but having a singular purpose that will challenge a person to color outside of the lines, stand alone, and exercise discipline toward success. Actually, my impression is that Christine is living in the words of the article and it reveals her inner processes and struggles. Thanks for writing ... you are a bright and shining star. Your Friend in Word and Deed.”
- Ronnie L. Murrill

“Excellent analogy of the horse and jockey...Christine hit the nail on the head!”
- Phyllis Wilson
http://www.3amstrategies.com


TNNW: The Blue Tuesday Report - 02.23.2010 (Bonus Story Included!)

“I believe that BLUE TUESDAY is the greatest thing to happen to civilization since ASH WEDNESDAY. Bless you folks and the wonderful work that you do.”
-Douglas Castle


TNNW: BLUE THING #9: This Week's Top Buzzed Items and Terms

“Adam J. Kovitz never ceases to amaze me.”
- Douglas Castle

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BLUE THING #10: Backtalk: Comments from our Readers

GET PUBLISHED NOW: 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Publish Your Book

Get Published Now with Beth Barany

Though technology makes publishing a book very easy these days, publishing a book isn’t for everyone. Often writers think that getting their book published is the be-all end-all of their professional lives, but there are reasons why you shouldn’t publish your book, at least not yet. If you knew the reasons why not to publish now, then you could focus your efforts on your future success.

Reason #1: You’re Not Ready

Your prose is not ready. You know this because you get rejections from agents that tell you so, or your critique group urges you to fix verb tenses, be more specific in your descriptions and characterizations, or to better substantiate your work.

When you get opinions about your work and no more comments about how you wrote, then you’ll know that your prose is ready to send out for submission, or ready for an independent publisher.

Reason #2: You Don’t Want to Work that Hard

You give up at the first sign of rejection. You’re not willing to do the work to get to where you want to go to achieve the success you want. What is your definition of success? Yes, you do have one, and it’s different for each of us. So clarify yours. And know why you want to work so hard.

Michael Stevens, author of the upcoming novel, Fortuna (Oceanview Publishing, May 2010), says, “It is a *huge* amount of work. I have probably spent a month, full time, getting ready for the launch of Fortuna. And even with a generous deal, authors get peanuts. You have to do it for love.”

Reason #3: Your Book isn’t Unique Enough

Many aspiring authors come to me and gush over with their story of transformation and self-healing, or wax poetic about their fabulous fantasy novel, and expect me to fall over with astonishment. I nod and ask them (gently, usually) what makes their book unique. They look at me with confusion. I can see the thoughts trickle through their mind: isn’t my story good enough? Well, yes, it’s good enough for you, and your loved ones. But, and here’s the big but, will it be interesting to a well-read and smart audience? Because as much as we’re all different, our stories are often similar enough to warrant no surprise.

And readers want to be surprised, delighted, and wowed. So, dig deep and find out how your book is unique. How do you do that? You do your homework. Research other books similar to yours and face facts, and ask the hard questions.

• How is my book different specifically?
• In what way can I stand out, both in content and by highlighting who I am as the author?
• What may I need to add or subtract to achieve that stand-out uniqueness?

What's Not On This List

One of the reasons I’m not listing here is “You have no audience.” Sometimes an audience is created once the book is out. Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, for example, unfolded a whole new genre of mafia fiction. How would we know the glamours of Mafioso fiction unless we had first been exposed to it?

Catherine Coulter, a bestselling author told our group of writers (in 2007) that she and her friends got together to discuss what makes a bestseller and admitted they didn’t really know. All they noticed was that their books happened to tap into a desire or dream readers didn’t even know they had until the book was in front of them.

I’m sure some of you will disagree that you don’t need an audience to publish a book, especially the nonfiction authors. In fact, I hope you will, and then we can discuss amongst ourselves. I believe an author can use a book to build an audience. It all goes back to #2: You have to want to work that hard.

Your reasons for why you shouldn’t publish your book yet may be different from mine. I’m curious to hear them. Comment to this post!

c. 2010 Beth Barany

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW! Social Networking for Authors

Get Published Now! with Beth Barany

You're an author, or an aspiring one, and you want to get the word out. Build a following. Make sales.

But, your budget is small, your time is limited, so where do you begin?

With social networking. It's free, fun, and perfectly suited for writers.

This article goes into the what, why, and how. The rest is up to you. (As in you take ACTION.)


WHAT is SOCIAL NETWORKING?
A tool. That's all it is. As a tool you get to decide HOW you want to use it. Also remember, that your writer's meetings and luncheons are social networking too. Social networking , both online and off, share several traits in common:

• it's chatty
• it's about building and maintaining social connections
• it's a conversation
  

Yes, I do mean Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Plaxo, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, etc.

Ultimately, social networking is about interacting with others. It's about having a conversation, like the ones you have with your neighbor, standing at the fence line with a cup of coffee in your hand. From there, you can invite people over (to your site or blog), or simply say, "See you tomorrow!"

Social networking is NOT: (IMHO)

• sales
• marketing
• a waste of time

though all three of those things sometimes occur a direct or indirect consequence of social networking.

WHY?
Why bother with learning about and doing social networking? The online kind. Really? This is a viable and important question to ask. I encourage you to decide whether or not social networking is right for you. Because maybe it isn't. Right now. You can always come back to this world of Twitter and Facebook, and whatever else we've dreamt up, later. But do let yourself off the hook in believing that you "should" learn social network, and consider giving yourself a few weeks or months to explore, play, adventure out into unknown territory. If you feel scared about what you might encounter, just put on your tourist glasses, ask lots of questions and be entirely curious about this world of social networking.

HOW
This is the core of any work. And the place I love to play in. So let's dive in!

To answer HOW, you need to start with your purpose.

Purpose
In all my work with authors we start here. We start by asking some fundamental and perhaps familiar questions. Let's dive in, for reals.

1. What would you like in your online social networking?
2. What is important to you about that? (Ask this a few times until you come to the heart of the matter.)
   
3. If you could wave a magic wand, what would you like to accomplish by the end of this class?
4. What is the most challenging aspect of social networking for you?
5. Why is social networking important to you?
6. What do you like about the online world?
7. What are you good at in this realm?
8. If you could wave a magic wand, what would you like to accomplish by social networking?

Some examples of what other writers have said about social networking:

"...to inform and invite interaction..." -- Carolyn Jewel

"One of my favorite things is meeting and hanging out with other writers. ... Apart from increasing name recognition and selling more books, I think it's really fun." -- Bella Andre

"... sites like these make it easy to reach out to people..." -- Shelley Adina

TAKE ACTION HERE
Answer the above questions for yourself, and share them with us! And if you're curious about learning more and setting up a social networking game you can win, go here for an article on my blog.

PS. I Twitter here, and hang out on Facebook here. Come on by and say, "Hi!" (Yes, friend or follow me, if you'd like. Thanks!)

C. 2010 Beth Barany

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.





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GET PUBLISHED NOW! Get Clear on Your Book's Purpose

Get Published Now! with Beth Barany

Be clear on your book’s purpose. That is, get clear on why you want to write this book? Why, specifically, this book? Why, specifically, now does this book need to come out into the world?

Why is why an important an important question to ask?

Because after the WHAT (What is the book about?), the WHO (Who is this book specifically for? And what’s important to them?), you need to know the why bother.

You’re a busy person. You have demands on your time. You have commitments, promises to keep, people to see, places to go…

So you need a really good story, um I mean, reason, to tell yourself about why on earth you want to spend your precious time, money and attention, on writing this book now.

Is two minutes of your time a reasonable amount to invest so you can get clear on the why of your book?

Good!

So, take 120 seconds and jot down a few notes on why this book is important and why now.

Really, I mean it. Do that now.

Good!

Now here’s the call to action. Ready? Now that you know your why, decide to commit to your book, or not, now. Either way is fine. You can always change your mind later. Your job now is to decide. Be clear and open about your decisions. To yourself.

To take your commitment a step further (for the daring ones out there!), and to show your commitment to outside of yourself, tell someone else. Tell me. Tell a trusted colleague. Tell your spouse. Tell someone!

Congratulations!

You just:

· Got clear about the WHY for your book

· Decided to commit to an action (to take action on your book now, or not)

· And told someone about your decision.

Until next month!

c. 2009 Beth Barany

**Who Beth Barany works with are aspiring authors. She helps them get their books written and out to market.

**Previous TNNW articles on the Writer’s Fun Zone.

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.





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GET PUBLISHED NOW! Get Clear on Your Book's Purpose

GET PUBLISHED NOW! The Secret of Author Branding

Get Published Now! with Beth Barany

I’m coming out of the closet. I am an author marketer and branding specialist.

My business didn’t start out that way. I intended to help authors write their stories and their books. But one thing led to another and now, I help authors get to market. This means not only helping them write and publish, but also market their books. And developing their brand is a key component to marketing.

You may think that a brand is something only to do with products and companies. But actually, branding is now a concern for entrepreneurs and authors, alike. If you understand how to create your brand, and implement it consistently over time, you will create more value for your audience and hence more sales.

We will start the brand inquiry with this article.

What is a Brand?

A brand is a promise.

For an author and speaker, your brand is a promise to your readers and listeners.

To discover and uncover your brand, I invite you to explore you, your author self, and your book through a series of questions.

There is no right answer to creating your brand. Only what is right for you. If you fake it, we will know.

Based on information by professional branding specialist, Jenn Stark, (see resources below), I’ve created three categories: Your Core Brand, Your Functional Personal Brand, and Your Shadow Brand.

Your Core Brand

This brand is for you, and communicated to you by you. No one else dictates it, though others may influence it. However, you get to decide what this is. Knowing your core brand forms the basis for the second level of branding, Your Functional Personal Brand.

1. What do you tell yourself about yourself?

2. What is your taste in music? In food? In travel? In the kinds of places you call home?

3. What are your goals for the next 3 years? (Examples: travel to Paris, speak to a national writer’s conference, get my fantasy novel published)

Your Functional Personal Brand

As an author, you have an author brand. You may also be a speaker or run a business, or both. Each of those roles has a brand. Answer this set of questions for each aspect you’d like to brand.

1. What motivates you to bring your message to the world?

2. What is your message to the world – in this book project, and overall?

3. List 5-10 adjectives that best describe you as it pertains to your message of your book.

4. What are your strengths as a communicator/teacher/coach/speaker in your topic area?

5. How do you want to be known? What words do you want people to associate with you?

6. When you imagine yourself in front of a room talking about your message, how do you see yourself dressed? How are you relating to your listeners?

7. What do you see as your promise to your readers and listeners?

8. What kind of emotional connection do you want to create with your audience?

9. What experience do you want them to have as a result of encountering you or your message?

10. What action would you like them to take?

11. What result would you like them to have?

12. What makes you different from your competitors?

13. What value above all others do you want to communicate through your work?

14. How do you want people to remember you and your message long after you have left the room, or after they have stopped reading your book?

15. If you could have anyone you wanted write a back cover blurb, who would that be? And what would your readers feel about that person?

16. How do you want to be perceived as an author?

17. Who do you admire and want to emulate as a brand? Creat screen shots of the sites you like and don’t like. You can use them as a model as you develop your brand.

18. What are some of the messages you absolutely want your audience to know? State them as phrases or sentences.

Shadow Brand

We all have messages emanating from us all the time, some unintentional. Our shadow side is often there to keep us safe. As much as we are able, it serves us to become aware of our Shadow Brand so that we may choose differently.

What is it that you absolutely don’t want to communicate to your audience? This could be an unintended vibe, or negative trait.

Now What?

Once you have answered all these questions, let the information sit. Come back a day or two later with fresh eyes. Cull through the information, noticing themes, words, and phrases that stand out. I suggest cutting and pasting them into a different document. Now, see if you can distill you Core Brand and your Author Brand into one phrase or list of adjectives.

In my last article, Get Published Now: Sell Some D*mn Books, I gave some examples, reposted here:

• Romance author Stephanie Tyler’: “Romantic suspense starring strong military heroes.” (http://stephanietyler.com/)
  
• Childrens and YA author Michael P. Spradlin: “Action. Drama. Humor. And stuff blows up.” (http://michaelpspradlin.com/)
• Mystery author Michael Connelly: crime journalist turns crime novelist inspired by Raymond Chandler. (http://michaelconnelly.com/index.html)
• Nonfiction author Malcolm Gladwell, Outlier, Blink and The Tipping Point, and now, What the Dog Saw (2009): Outlier Canadian journalist turns his cogent eye on the world. (http://www.malcolmgladwell.com/)

Your Turn!

Post your author brand below and I’ll post my reflections, comments, and probing questions. By posting you'll be testing the market. That’s the next phase: testing the market. And the subject of another post!

Resources

I’m grateful to these sites and blogs, bloggers and authors. Their information aided in the writing of this article.

http://www.knowyourbrand.com : Communications and Branding for Organizations, Authors & Entrepreneurs; site and blog by Jenn Stark

“Getting Your Brand On” http://wow-womenonwriting.com/32-FE2-AuthorBranding.html : Cathy C. Hall’s interview with author, Shelli Johannes-Wells

“Pre-Natal Care for Your Book by Lynn Sarafinn: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/2009/10/pre-natal-care-for-your-book-by-lynn.html (This blog created was by Tony Eldridge: http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/)

Malle Vallik's Blog about publishing, Harlequin, social media & entertainment: http://mallevallik.wordpress.com/tag/author-brand/

“How To Discover and Build Your Author Brand, article at the Creative Penn, by Joanna Penn: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/08/03/how-to-discover-and-build-your-author-brand/

PS. Last Note

Perhaps you don’t feel ready to consider branding. Then start with considering if publishing is right for you by reading my article, “Getting Published is Easy: 8 Things You Need to Know.

For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.

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GET PUBLISHED NOW! The Secret of Author Branding

GET PUBLISHED NOW: Sell Some D*mn Books

Get Published Now with Beth Barany

If you want to publish your book, you need to think about sales.

Many people think that writing and publishing a book automatically means a passive stream of income, passive revenue, easy money. But actually to succeed in the world of publishing you need to sell the book to make the money. And that doesn’t happen by itself.

Here’s the bad news. Publishing a book and all that it entails is a business.

The good news! You can sell books.

Okay. Now stop a second and make sure you’ve read up on the basics of publishing in my previous article “Getting Published is Easy: 8 Things You Need to Know to Get Published.”

Yes, we’re talking marketing. Marketing begins as soon as you decide you’re writing a book for more than just yourself. This moment can come before, during or after the book is written, depending on your publishing process –- self vs. independent vs. traditional publishing. Picking what kind of publishing is right for you is the subject of another article. :-)

To sell your book you need two things: you need a platform, and you need a list of prospective buyers. First you build your platform, then from your platform, you build your list.

More good news! You can do this! You wrote a book, right? (Or have the guts to plan to write one!)

Your Platform
A platform consists of three parts: your author bio, your book’s message, and your branding.

Your Bio
In the author’s bio, you need to put what makes you special and unique, and what makes you especially qualified to be the right author for this book, and future books. You don’t want to put in the kitchen sink! Just what is relevant to the book’s topic and theme –- so, put in your expertise and hobbies, if relevant to the book and the brand you're building.

Tip: For examples of author bios, read author bio’s on book jacket flaps and on author websites.

Your Message
Your author message will be framed differently whether you write nonfiction or fiction. However, regardless of your genre, your author message needs a unique hook, needs to be concise, and needs to emotionally connect with the reader. For example, author, Stephanie Tyler’s message is “Romantic suspense starring strong military heroes.” (http://stephanietyler.com/). Author Michael P. Spradlin’s message: “Action. Drama. Humor. And stuff blows up.” (http://michaelpspradlin.com/) Michale Connelly: crime journalist turns crime novelist inspired by Raymond Chandler. (http://michaelconnelly.com/index.html) Malcolm Gladwell, Author of Outlier, Blink and The Tipping Point, and now, What the Dog Saw (2009): Outlier Canadian journalist turns his cogent eye on the world. (http://www.malcolmgladwell.com/)

Note: Some of the authors’ messages are plainly written on their sites, i.e., the first two I cited. Other authors imply their message. But you can be sure they know their message, and we readers can determine what it is from their sites., i.e., the second two examples.

Branding
Branding is a meaty topic. While I’m not a branding expert, I am an author who has applied what I've learned from being a business person, and from working a web design firm that essentially brands authors, Waxcreative Design, http://waxcreative.com/. (In the interest of full disclosure, the first two examples from the point above are drawn from the Waxcreative's portfolio of clients.)

In a nutshell, branding is a promise. For authors, branding is your promise to your readers.

For example, when you pick up a Jack Canfield book you know you will be given a feel- good, inspirational, motivational, and how-to type book that can you can relate to multiple areas of your life. If you pick up a Stephen King book you know you’re in for a scary ride. Nora Roberts – empowered women find love. But J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts’ other author name, futuristic mysteries. Suze Orman – financial straight talk. The branding message then gets translated in visual elements and language, all to convey your promise.

The stronger and more clear you are on your platform, the better you will be able to build your list. Readers will be able to differentiate you from the competition. Your audience will be able to feel connected to you.


List Building: The Three Rings
Draw a black dot in the center of the page. Around that dot, draw a circle. Around that circle draw a second circle. Then around that circle draw a third circle. Those are your three rings. In the center of the three rings, the black dot is your platform.

Start an excel file to capture your prospective readers in a list. Make fields for all their contact information: name, address, phone, email, etc. Or use a different contact management system, if you prefer.

The first ring represents your friends and family already in your address book.

Smile. Who in your friends and family would be happy to hear from you and would be curious about the fact that your book is coming out? Put them on your list.

The second ring consists of acquaintances, people in your environment, past or present, that you’ve been around, or have some connection to: colleagues, fellow club members, fellow alumni, church/synagogue goers, etc. Gather their names and contact information by requesting it via email, chatting over coffee, seeing them at the gym, and so on. Add them to your list. Ask and you shall see who is curious to know when your book comes out!

Tell The World!
Now that you’ve built your platform, and your first two rings of your list, you can use marketing and publicity to fill out the third ring.

Your third ring, or two degrees of separation, or more, consists of friends of friends, friends of family, friends of acquaintances, and on and on, all the way to strangers attracted by your message, bio, and/or branding. And attracted because of your marketing efforts.

Before notoriety and media exposure, there’s word of mouth, or word of mouse. Also called viral marketing. Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful way books get sold, read and passed on!

You can and should collect names and build your list online by:
1) having a contact management tool like getresponse.com, constantcontact, webassist, emma, etc.
2) giving away a little something to get people’s email addresses, ie., a sample chapter, author forum access, a special mp3 or video.

Back to Selling
You want to make money selling your book. You gotta tell the world. If you can write a book, you can sell books. Go be in action!


For more information, please visit Beth's TNNW Bio.


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GET PUBLISHED NOW: Sell Some D*mn Books