I’ve noticed that nothing gets fingers pointing, phones ringing, keyboard clicking, and inboxes flaming faster than errors found after a piece of writing is published. It’s bad enough if it happens on a Web site where it can be quickly fixed, but when it happens in printed material, especially in books, it’s even worse. Errors found in books … [Read more...]

There are few things I've learned from helping so many authors get agents and I have developed what I like to call the "10 Deadly Sins".  Commit any of these sins in your query letter and you can kiss your shot at getting an agent goodbye. 1) Write a letter that's too long.-- Agents don't have time to read four page query letters. You should be … [Read more...]

I am sure you have heard about salespeople earning $200-300k, a million or even more. Do you think this sales person is better than you are? They are not much different from you; they are not geniuses or impeccable experts in their field. They probably don’t know much more about their products or service than other salespeople in the same … [Read more...]

Bookstore Distribution—Self Publishing Dream come true or The Emperor’s New Clothes? Remember the childhood story of the Emperor who paraded around in his underwear but the royal subjects were too afraid to say anything until one day a small child blurted out “the emperor has no clothes.”  Well I am a long way from being a small child but … [Read more...]

The demise of Biblio Distribution has some lessons for seasoned and rookie authors and publishers alike. That’s why I’ve written the following open letter to the president of Biblio’s parent company, National Book Network (NBN), a company that continues to try to drag down with it some of the small publishers formerly associated with … [Read more...]

The ultimate objective is to close the sale on your first visit with a buyer. However, this is unlikely to happen, particularly for a large order. The negotiating process begins when you try to close the sale and the buyer disagrees with, or objects to one or more of your terms or conditions. Start the negotiating process by asking questions. Find … [Read more...]

Leads are everywhere. No one should ever put off a cold calling campaign with the excuse of having no one to call. There are many excellent sources to find lists of potential prospects for your market. Many of them are online, some well-known ones are: Hoovers.com, SalesGenie.com and GoLeads.com. These databases, while excellent, require a fee. The … [Read more...]