Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Get Ready for Write Your Book in 4 Week

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Next month, I start up my “How to Write a Book in 4 Weeks” in person course  … if you want to participate … get registered pronto on TheBookShepherd.com website.  Online is April 5, 12, 19, 26 and in-person May 3, 10, 17, 24. All info is posted on the The Book Shepherd site under Events.

Keep two things as a driving factor: Short is the new black … what you will produce is not designed to be the ultimate guide, a mothership or a tome—it’s a read that can be done on an airplane trip (and I’m not talking about from Hong Kong to Denver); and Don’t do well what you have no business doing … it’s easy to get sucked into things that don’t move you forward. Your new book will do that.

I love that Rhondda Hartman, Richard Rieman, Jill Christensen and Philippa Burgess all have books in hand and are selling them to exactly the audiences they envisioned in our first session.

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I believe in practicing what I preach. I did the same process and exercises throughout the four weeks that my “students” did. Originally, I planned on doing 50 snafus that authors get themselves into … it grew as the process developed and ended up being a bigger book than I had originally planned. After all, we authors need some flexibility in our DNA. The title morphed as well. Knowing what my topic was, I had my illustrator do the cover art as a vision for me to keep in sight. As I write this, the finishing touches are in place, the book is out for endorsements and I will be making my first presentation on it in Austin, Texas at the Texas Authors annual conference. How cool is that? This is my Ta-dah!

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 The first session will be all about GETTING READY and GO … 
To Do Before You Start My Intensive (and very fun!) Course:
Start noodling …
  • ID your topic
  • ID  “the pain” that your reader is experiencing … I want you to start thinking the 4 components of your book
    1. Problem
    2. Cause
    3. Effect
    4. Solution
  • ID a working title – we will have a Title Exercise before the first session is done to cheer you on or refocus the effort.
  • Do a Google search on your topic (is there anything late breaking?) … do the copy / paste / download into a folder on your laptop – one that you can easily access and won’t forget.
  • If it makes sense to print out, do so. Highlight, put into slotted folders and bring.
  • Bring anything that you have written in articles, blogs, etc., on topic.
Get ready to get your book DONE … if that sounds like something you want to do before summer starts, get signed up NOW. AND here's a bonus-- the first FIVE that register will get a $100 refund from me. Questions? Call me … 303-885-2207 
signature-full TRN




Ashography Event Photography
Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and 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 34 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms (ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year), Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences. Book #34 was published this summer: The CrowdFunding Guide for Authors & Writers. Get your copy.
Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Each summer, she holds Judith Briles Book Publishing Unplugged, a three day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. In 2015, the dates are August 27-29th.  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 bit.ly/PublishingShow .
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and Judith Briles – TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.

header-logo1.pngAuthor U is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the author who wants to be seriously successful. Monthly education programs delivered face-to-face and online, The Author Resource ezine, BookCamps and the annual Author U Extravaganza are tools designed for authors pre, during and post publishing of their books. Join AuthorU.org today.
 If you are looking for FREE author and book coaching ... call in to Judith's Author Monday Mornings at NOON Eastern each Monday. The number is 218-632-9854; Access Code 1239874444 ... have your questions ready--there's a full hour to ask and listen

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Why Goal Setting for Your Book is the NEW Black!

What better time than the first quarter of the year to get out the author and book crystal ball, shake it up, and gaze into it. What worked last year? What didn’t? If you have the magic wand, what would you like this year to do for you … for your book?

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Whatever it is … you need a plan. For You. Your Book. Your Publishing.
No author plans to fail; what they do is fail to plan.  
                                                                -Snappy Sassy Salty

When I completed Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, it was woven with quotations to kick-start and propel you forward. If you are going to succeed in this writing, authoring, publishing arena, you need to be kick-started and refueled to propel your forward. 

Most of us have resolutions at the beginning of each year, loaded with good intentions. By mid-January, they begin to dwindle. By March and the beginning of springtime, it’s adios.

Let’s not do that. First, start with realism. Not pie-in-the-sky … reaching to stuff that is more fantasy and fiction vs. “yes, this can happen” approach. Becoming a Kindle best-seller is totally possible; being a best-seller on Amazon is totally possible; getting in front of media is totally possible; having an awesome book event is totally possible; speaking at an event and selling lots of books is totally possible. Is being on the New Times best-seller list possible? Maybe … probable … hmm, not so sure. Necessary … no.

If you don’t know where you are going, you’ve chosen to go nowhere. Any road will do.   
- Snappy Sassy Salty

Being realistic is critical to tying in with success for you and your book. It’s goal setting time …

To set you and your book into a positive book strategy mindset for 2014, here are a 8 key tips that I used in one of our Blogs…if you missed it, it’s new. If you read it, it’s the perfect time to review.
  • Be realistic. You might want your book to sell 20,000 copies … do you have a GamePlan in place to initiate and support it. Do you have the time to support it? Do you have the energy? Do you have the network?  If not, perhaps it’s not a realistic goal for you right now.
Stop living your fears … live your dreams. If you believe your book will be successful, it’s the first step.
– Snappy Sassy Salty
  • Determine if your Goals are measureable and make them so they are. Don’t be vague or up in the air. Put numbers, facts by them. Don’t say “Get on TV” or “Sell more books.” State what TV show you will get on … how many books you will sell (a special amount of percentage increase).
Create Stepping Stones … ones that you can “measure” as you move along. Yes, start with “I’m going to___________.” Now, step up steps to get to the end result, one by one.

Stepping stones to success Sheep

  • Get a Goal Palsomeone you connect with once a week…a someone who will help hold you accountable and be an encourager as well.
  • Create a visual Goal Board. Write yours down.
  • Create an Action Plan for you and your book. Once you get these in writing, “ahas” happen. It is also a crucial and realistic checkpoint. 
  • Review as the year flows. Tweak here and there. Stay on track. 
  • Revisit your Goals. Record your accomplishments as the year progresses. It keeps you “goosed” and IDs what’s working … and what is not.
  • Celebrate when you achieve a Goal. And here’s the fun part… you design the celebration around what you want to do.
Ta Dah! Here’s to reaching all of your personal and book marketing goals in 2014! We have lots planned for you this year, starting with this month. Authors need BRANDING, big time. What’s yours. Most likely, it may need a makeover—the topic for the January Brunch and Learn. Instagram is hot, hot, hot and those who attend this month’s Tech Tool Box with be pros at the end of the session. The Salon is a composite of many of the top tools to be using for your marketing. And, there’s a webinar and a Hangout Air planned … not to mention our weekly radio show and the Author Monday Mentoring.

Wake up. Kick ass. Repeat. Don’t you love it?  -Snappy Sassy Salty
Get tuned in so you and your book can be tuned up!



Ashography Event Photography
Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and is the Founder of Author U, a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing signature-full TRNabout and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 34 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms (ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year), Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences. Book #34 was published this summer: The CrowdFunding Guide for Authors & Writers. Get your copy.
Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Each summer, she holds Judith Briles Book Publishing Unplugged, a three day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. In 2015, the dates are August 27-29th.  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 bit.ly/PublishingShow .
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and Judith Briles – TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.

header-logo1.pngAuthor U is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the author who wants to be seriously successful. Monthly education programs delivered face-to-face and online, The Author Resource ezine, BookCamps and the annual Author U Extravaganza are tools designed for authors pre, during and post publishing of their books. Join AuthorU.org today.
 If you are looking for FREE author and book coaching ... call in to Judith's Author Monday Mornings at NOON Eastern each Monday. The number is 218-632-9854; Access Code 1239874444 ... have your questions ready--there's a full hour to ask and listen