Industry reports and publications have cited sluggish book sales over the past year showing a continuous decline month after month. Book retailers have been shutting their doors due to the lack of sufficient business. Publishing houses have tightened the reigns on their finances and as a result some have become more reluctant to offer deals in record numbers as they have in recent years.

I have been publishing this newsletter for over five years and have written on many different subjects effecting self-publishers. I tend to downplay my main role in this industry because I don’t want everything to look like an advertisement, which is probably one of the main reasons our monthly circulation is up over 40,000 subscribers. Maybe sometimes I down play it too much. In answer to your question… a definite YES.

As we move into the new year most of us are setting our goals for 2008. That is good, because firm objectives provide a target at which to aim, the standard against which you can gauge your relative success. And written goals provide a means for looking back to see how far you have come. If all these benefits of setting goals are true, how can goals be of no value? Goal setting is a tool, and like any other tool it is useless if used incorrectly.

‘Social networking’ has become the latest buzz phrase – but what is social networking exactly, and why would you want to get involved in it? The answer is that social networks—Facebook, LinkedIn, Ryze, Bebo, MySpace, etc—are fast becoming a phenomenon worth paying attention to, and are potentially poised to usurp many of the publicity and advertising dollars formerly vested in the more traditional media.

Talk to any book publicist, and you’ll hear the same thing: Getting broadcast publicity for a self-published or mid-list novel is at best challenging, and often nearly impossible. Unless your last name is Clancy, King or Rowling, chances are slim a radio or TV program is going to want you on the air to talk about your book. The reason is simple: Good interviews are usually based on real-life topics, and fiction – by its very nature – is creation by imagination, not real life.

What is a bulldozer book? It’s one designed to change minds. The author’s intent is to push his or her opinions or beliefs onto the reader. He hopes to influence people to change a habit, make new choices, adjust an aspect of their lives.

Would you like to be first in line for additional orders and repeat business? Would you like to keep your customers for a very long time? Then read on for:7 Tips for Building Relationships & Guaranteeing Repeat Business