Monday, August 26, 2013

8 Lessons for Authors from the Shark Tank

I confess, I’m a devotee to ABC’s Shark Tank.




It gives a variety—and I mean HUGE variety of entrepreneurs at every stage the opportunity to pitch their company to five entrepreneurs who have been enormously successful in their individual endeavors—oh, you can rest assured that they have had some detours and potholes along the way.   If the pitch “hooks” them, the lucky, and very nervous budding entrepreneur gets a partner. The cost—part of his or her company. As I’ve watched over the past three years, there have been many of the pitches that I thought the Sharks were fools to bypass. And, because millions are watching, other angels are out there who track down the entrepreneur post the show.
One show had two women who were making customized, homemade ice cream. Ice cream is one of my weaknesses, so I was already salivating. The Sharks all agreed that the product was “hot” … but took a pass. My immediate response was, “Wrong!”
Recently, the Shark Tank did a recap of the “pass” and “gulp” reported that the public saw the show and business has skyrocketed.
The women are now looking at over $2,000,000 in sales within months and on their way … Sharks goof too. There are lessons that savvy authors can take from the Sharks … and at the annual Extravaganza, we introduced the Author Shark Tank … which we will continue to develop. Your lessons are:
1.     Be passionate. Whether you are pitching to your readers, the passion for your book, your characters, your all, should be evident. If you want to be a successful author, you better love what you’re doing—no exceptions. Otherwise, it won’t keep you going when you hit the hiccups of the authoring and publishing life. It’s the core of what drives you and your book.
2.     Get off your tush and demonstrate what you and your book are made of. The phone isn’t going to ring or email isn’t coming in unless you make the first move. Get over it. Show that you are the expert and that you have the solutions. Throw out freebees that you are a hoot (or a spook or a …) of a story teller. Be absolutely clear what the value you bring to your reader … and for that matter, who exactly your reader is. 
3.     Know your pitch—get it smooth and quick. OK, you probably aren’t going to be on the TV show Shark Tank, but you are out in the waters all the time. At a neighbor’s BBQ, a wedding, the airport, a conference … ANYWHERE … you have the opportunity of talk about your book. That’s a myriad of opportunities. Time after time, I cringe when I simply ask, “Tell me about your book …” and the other can’t.  “Tell me who your book is for,” and they either say “Oh, everybody.” Stop it. Get your author act together. Books are not for everybody. If your book solves a problem, say so. Who does it solve a problem for? Get clear and concise in a response that will leave me with “Tell me more.” It’s the #1 thing that authors repeatedly screw up.
4. Is your book, your idea, a must-have for a niche audience? Back to above—everybody is off your list. If you write nonfiction, you are solving problems of some sort—you are relieving pain. Oh, what a happy dance to be at.  If you are a fiction author, your books create some type of entertainment. Again, it’s a happy dance for the reader who finds you. You, dear author, need to know WHO that reader is—imagine they are directly in front of you every time you look up—write to them … speak to them with the words that they want to hear.
5. Create your GamePlan.  Your Author and Book GamePlan doesn’t have to go on in perpetuity. Keep it simple. Who is the audience; what is the value you bring to the reader; who do you need on your team to create and produce the book; who will be fans to shout out to others about your masterpiece; what are your financial costs in creation; where will revenues come from; what formats will you create your book product in; what about your personal time to create and support the book; what will you do to market the book? Start with just key ideas, then filter—delete and add. The savvy author gets prepared gets the book worm!
6.     Create a strong team—in advice and resources. There’s a lot of predators out in the publishing waters in both the creation and the production of a book. Start looking and gathering those who can guide you, and forewarn. Related: Read our blog: What “Some Ones” Are in Your Author Circle? http://authoru.org/what-someones-are-in-your-author-circle.html
7. Mini thoughts will sink you. The Vision is the book one; it usually starts with a series of mini ideas that come together, creating a wonder combustion. Certainly, start small, just don’t wallow in it. Start stretching yourself into our areas that your concepts are compatible. Once the author bug bites, more books breed. Some bigger; some smaller. Some connected to the topic you first start with; some delve into new fields. I started with an idea 34 years ago. It was to be just one book—only one. Book #31 went to layout this summer. Books breed more books.
8. Get the town hall behind you—the Internet. The single best thing that has helped today’s author in getting his or her word out is the Internet. Your Town Hall. Too many authors will say, “Leave me alone, I just want to write.” Will, if you have a trust fund that will support you or deep pockets, that’s not going to work. You are the single best person to chat up your book. YOU. Even for you introverts, the Internet is your ally. All you need is a computer and a keyboard—click and type away … and, and you need time. Time to find your audience, time to create content, time to follow up, time to market you and your book.

A guaranteed question the Sharks will ask is: “What are you doing to market your product?” Today, it’s the Internet that will propel you forward, creating and feeding the buzz you and your book needs. It’s the perfect shark frenzy.  

Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd, the Author and Publishing expert and the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Author U, a membership organization created for the author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. She’s the author of 30 books including Author YOU: Creating Your Book and Author Platform that has won multiple “best” in the writing/publishing categories in book award competitions. Her next book is Snappy, Sassy, Salty … Wise Words for Authors and Publishers. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Your Guide to Book Publishing on the www.RockStarRadioNetwork.com.
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. Join the Author U LinkedIn Group and the Author U Google+ community. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact her at Judith@Briles.com.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

New Author U Website Debuts this Week!

Watch for it to roll out … spend time exploring the AuthorU.org website. New features. Critical category to look at is “Events” each month–a grey tab on the dashline will be there AND a nifty new icon on the center Home page that you click on that opens up all events in a poster type format–Attend an Event.



On the Home page, you will see  Attend an Event (items on our calendar with full descriptions and links to sign up), On the Air (all the media we are doing–radio show, Your Guide to Book Publishing, Author Mentoring Mondays, Take Flight Thursdays, On the Air Hangouts and any special events including webinars), Read the Author Resource (our content ezine current and past issues are all here); Become a Member (join and renew); What’s New at Author U is new and on the right side of Home page … just short snippets of what’s happening in the community–to get yours up … you must tell us … send your latest and greatest to  Info@AuthorU.org; out latest Author U Blog will always pop on the Home page–yes, there is a tab for it–you will also so the topic/headline first thing when you go to the site. Two blogs are posted weekly; the Learn tab includes are video library; the Store tab will be added to with vides, books, online trainings that Author U recommends; About is all about Author U … what makes it tick and who are the people you can reach out for help including our Premier Partners and Associate Partners.

Less clutter.  More information. Thanks to Amber Ludwig and her NGNG team for our massive overhaul and revamp.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Calling All Authors … Book Selling in the Seasons

It’s Seasonal Book Selling Planning Time NOW!
We are in the heart of summer …and that means, it’s kick-start time for book promotions and book marketing for authors. Seasons occur all year—Fall-Winter brings a boatload of opportunities. Embrace, Halloween ( HUGE book buying month), Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, the New Year, Valentine’s Day 2014, President’s Day/Week, Etc., Etc.
Fall is heavy book media promotion time—on the air, on the TV and certainly in the bookstores. Keep media lead times in mind when planning for book publicity. Some you only need a short time (radio, TV, print); others you need lots (magazines, some TV and print). You need to be planning right now, what you will do … not on September 1st.
Virtual book tours for new and old books can be started at any time.  If you are using Amazon’s  KDP Select, remember that Thursdays is the best FREE day.
This is the time that a visual calendar—as in seeing several months at a time works well—get it out, create some timelines and set some goals. Book promoting is YOU!
Game plan your “kick-start” now by:
1. Creating an email offer for your “special” with a direct link to where you want them to purchase your book—include title, describe, and cover should all be included. Give them a heads-up with an estimate of how many days for arrival. If you are the sender, make sure you offer to personalize each book.
2. Contact all on your email lists your Twitter followers; your Facebook friends; LinkedIn connections and groups; Google+ Circles and Huddles; and Pinterest. Remind them who the ideal recipient is and that your book is a wonderful last-minute gift.
3. Don’t be shyask your friends and “followers” of the above to contact their local libraries and request your book Ask your friends and family to recommend your book as a gift item to others or buy your book to give to others.
4. Without being a pest—promote via your social media contacts with “hook” lines to entice the reader.
5. Ask your friends and social media contacts to re-tweet from Twitter—ask them to recommend your book to their personal networks. And spell out the words “please retweet”.
6. Remind them that most households have some type of “e” reader: a Kindle, Nooks, iPads or tablet—your book would be idea to give as a “gift”—Amazon.com, Apple.com/iPad, BN.com—all have ways to buy books for gifts via their sites. (Yes—make sure that you have them available on all these platforms—if you are using SmashWords only, make sure that you include the link to SmashWords—otherwise, the average person won’t know to go there to purchase an eBook and Amazon doesn’t let people know that a Kindle version is available through SmashWords.
7. Think about creating a “deal”—a buy one, get one free … or if you have additional titles—create a “bundle”—any three for: … Use your imagination.
8. Offer a coupon for “something” if they email a confirmation number that they bought your book or fax it to you—it could be a credit of money toward another purchase if they buy from your site. Or think about sending them a “bonus” gift. Maybe a special report you’ve created that ties into your book’s topic or expertise. Or possibly do a cross promote—offer a “gift” from someone else … and they in turn can do the same with your info.
9. Create a Gift Basket of Booksgather up a few other authors (books that are in a different genre than yours)—include covers, brief descriptions, links to buy—and everyone cross promotes to their lists. These can be morphed with different events—Mother’s Day; Thanksgiving; New Year Beginnings; Birthdays, etc., etc. Have fun—be creative.
10. Always be on the alert with media eventsif something is popping locally or nationally in the news—and it ties to your books title, theme or expertise—parlay it to your advantage.
Ten tips to move your book. None of this is difficult—just a little organization; getting your info and contacts together; and start your promo engines.
PS—my book, Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platform is perfect for anyone who is interested in publishing. Available pBook via Amazon and eBook for tablets and iPad formats on all platforms.   http://amzn.to/13OdAJi

Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd, the Author and Publishing expert and the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Author U, a membership organization created for the author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. She’s the author of 30 books including Author YOU: Creating Your Book and Author Platform that has won multiple “best” in the writing/publishing categories in book award competitions. Her next book is Snappy, Sassy, Salty … Wise Words for Authors and Publishers. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST forYour Guide to Book Publishing on thewww.RockStarRadioNetwork.com.
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. Join the Author U LinkedIn Group and the Author U Google+ community. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact her at Judith@Briles.com.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Identifying Your Book Categories for Amazon

It’s always a challengeto know what categories to put your book in with Amazon. Initially, you get two slots. Within them, are sub-categories which enable you to drill down from the main category.
amazon logo
If you start showing sales, contact Amazon via either the “contact us” tab on your Amazon.com/Advantage page orAuthor Central and ask if you can add additional categories. Once something is submitted, the respond quickly.
Note: If you are planning an Amazon campaign, notify Amazon at least a month before you launch. Do it through the “contact us” tab at the bottom of your Amazon Advantage page that includes “add an item.” Detail what you are planning, suggest how many copies they should have to stock up inventory. Most likely, you will get an order requesting the amount. The next step is to fill it promptly and get your campaign coordinated that will generate sales.
Here’s the main link for all of them: http://www.amazon.com/-/b/?node=1000













Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd (www.TheBookShepherd.com), an author and bookpublishing expert and the Chief Visionary Officer and Founder ofAuthor U (www.AuthorU.org), a membership organization created for the author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops onpublishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 30 books. Her latest, Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author andBook Platforms has won multiple book awards and hit #1 on Amazon. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Your Guide to Book Publishing on the www.RockStarRadioNetwork.com. 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 her at Judith@Briles.com.