What do you think of Facebook as a marketing tool for self-published books? A month ago I would have told you that Facebook was a useless website where 15 years olds trash talked each other and otherwise wasted time. As a mater of fact, I originally opened my Facebook account to try to rummage around and see what my 16 year old was up to. Today … [Read more...]

Here, some seldom-considered tips on getting more publicity for your book and business, straight from the top journalists and literary agents who participated in our Expertizing Publicity Forum. Be prepared for The New York Times When a participant in the Expertizing Publicity Forum pitched the New York Times business columnist, the columnist was … [Read more...]

In some ways, books are like humans. They enter the world as babies, full of potential and opportunity, with proud parents boasting great visions for their children’s success. But as they grow, something happens and very few become the sensation their parents hoped they would be. The same process occurs to many titles, and their authors can … [Read more...]

Authors and publishers know that reviews and blurbs from reputable sources are the key to book sales. But with literally hundreds of thousands of books being published every year, it is impossible for every book to get the attention that its author and publisher hopes for from the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, ForeWord, and other review … [Read more...]

It's clunky. It's ugly. It's flawed. It just may change your life. Amazon's Kindle rolled out in November as a $399 e-book reader, destined to rule the world. It's cheesy retro, but loaded with EVDO-connectivity to allow speedy text-based downloads of books, newspapers, and even blogs through Sprint's network. It took three years to … [Read more...]

Do you often feel rejected because your email messages are ignored? Do you envision a black hole where your outgoing email is swallowed up, never to be read by human eyes? Well, that’s exactly what happens to thousands of email messages each year. And it’s mainly because of what the sender put (or neglected to put) in the Subject … [Read more...]

(1) Repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results The biggest enemy to sales is the status quo. When sales trainers say that phrase, we are usually referring to prospects. The idea is that most people find it to be very difficult to let go of what they are used to doing (even if it's not working for them) and so it … [Read more...]