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 by: Jay Johnson Be sure to check out: The Aton Project Newsletters at: http://www.self-publishinghelp.com/TheAtonProjectNewsletters.html. This newsletter, by author Tony VanSluytman, has been receiving rave revues despite it not being directed to writers. and FREE Writing Course http://creativewritingworkshop.info. We are quite proud of the contributions of these two dedicated authors and wish for you to learn more about them. *** Moonspinners Writer's Page (http://www.maureenmcmahon.com), the website of Maureen McMahon, has been voted one of the 101 Best Websites by Writer's Digest 2006 - specifically her Ask The Experts section, created in collaboration with fellow author Fran Silverman (http://www.maureenmcmahon.com/bookmarketing.html). The Experts Site is composed of 150 subscribers to Fran’s newsletter, Book Promotion Newsletter (http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com), who answer book marketing questions at no charge. Download: 10 Ways to Promote Your Book... Welcome our two (2) sponsors... ADRdomainsPlus.com for Your Domain Names and Internet Products  BOTH have GREAT rates and EXCELLENT service.  You are the Box Office Smash: The Personal Screenplay by Gordy Hoffman Right this very second, in the heart of every struggling, undiscovered screenwriter, in the dark, hidden corner deep within, there is a voice, a clear whisper, saying one thing: You're never gonna figure this out. And this is not referring to the story with its gaping hole, the finale missing a payoff, the hit and miss humor, the flat title. I'm talking about freedom. The freedom to work as a screenwriter. Compensation for a home for family and a life. The resources to wake up and ply your craft and pay the freight, without obstacle. The chance to see your writing made into pictures, to work with the industry's best, to fulfill this goal of professional screenwriter. Hollywood success. Behind this voice is the idea that somehow, some way, you'll find the hero, or the hook, logline or pitch that will punch your golden ticket. If you could only figure out what the studio wants, if you can only get a solid bead to this game, you know you can write and execute. What is the script I should write to get an agent? What is the one that will sell? It's not that I don't know how to write, I know how to write screenplays, I just need to know what they want, even though I think I know what they want, but I don't think I have the idea that they want. Yeah. I'm not gonna figure this out, whispers the voice. Why this uneasiness? Does it originate within ourselves? I don't think so. But where does it come from? The daily obsession with box office grosses? The news of the seven figure deals to newbies? The endless procession of boneheadedly conceived franchises-in-waiting arriving in the theatres every Friday? People winning Academy Awards for movies you would not be caught dead writing? Recognizing an idea you came up with years ago on your couch, produced with a $130 million budget drowning in CGI? All these things are but a few of the possible reasons why this seeds unhealthy doubt and confusion in the modern screenwriter. Tracking these forces outside us and beyond our control in an effort to trudge the path to a successful screenwriting career will prove to most to be unproductive and corrosive. Basically, trying to figure out what Hollywood wants will land us in a resentment that makes "giving up" a sane response to the very challenge which used to inspire us. In short, we cannot chase a perceived trend and remember our dreams. You cannot look at the marketplace and find your voice. You can find ideas, trends, and inspiration there, perhaps, but you can find these things driving in traffic as well. But listening to your voice is the key to creating original, compelling stories. Your life is your own story. You have a completely unique thread of experience. By allowing yourself to express these emotional experiences, your screenplay, your story, will be different from any other and powerful, as original as your fingerprint. Why is it powerful? When we have the courage to be specific about what we know about living, we create an authentic world an audience recognizes as the life they are living on planet Earth. This connects your audience to your story. This connection is the foundation of the phenomena of story. Why does story mean so much to us? We recognize the triumphs and tragedies of our lives, with all the hilarity and tears. By seeing it, we are validated and it underscores meaning and purpose to living. If we don't use what we've collected in life in our hearts and spirits, then our story loses its authenticity and the connection the audience should make fails. They do not see themselves, and when they leave the theater, they do not call their friends. When people do not call their friends after seeing a movie, the movie bombs. When a writer opens their person to their work, when they allow themselves to be vulnerable, to risk exposure of the secrets of their life story, they take a huge step towards creating a screenplay of substantial value, a screenplay with a greater potential of a large number of tickets sold. This is precisely why art and commerce have remained bedfellows for thousands of years. To look at the relationship between art and commerce as adversarial or incompatible is just plain foolish. Art happens when people invest their spirits in their work without fear, and story is artful when the writing is truthful and the writer is authentic. And what do we have to be honest about? We can only lie about what we know, and we can only tell the truth about what we know. And that is what has happened to us, our life story. This is what we share. This is not a pitch to write "what you know." This is not about writing stories about where you work or where you live. This is about writing about what you felt. You can imagine characters and worlds and actions and speech you've never personally experienced, but if you remember to infuse your choices with your emotional and spiritual struggles and victories as a human being, your screenplay will be different in the very best sense of the word. The question you have to answer is not what does Hollywood want today. The question is how honest of a writer do you want to be. I guarantee you can write a blockbuster, you can write a box office hit. This will happen when you find an audience. And the correct path to this crowd of people is listening to yourself. If you practice, you will develop an inner ear for who you are and what you know and you will become masterful in loading your work with your fingerprints. Writing is personal work. You are the guitar. You are the box of paint. Give of that and your audience will remember why life is good and they will talk of you. About the Author Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival for LOVE LIZA, Gordy Hoffman has written and directed three digital shorts for Fox Searchlight. He made his feature directorial debut with his script, A COAT OF SNOW, which world premiered at the 2005 Locarno Intl Film Festival. A COAT OF SNOW made its North American Premiere at the Arclight in Hollywood, going on to screen at the Milan Film Festival and the historic George Eastman House. Recently, the movie won the 2006 Domani Vision Award at VisionFest, held at the Tribeca Cinemas in NY. A professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gordy is the founder and judge of BlueCat Screenplay Competition. Dedicated to develop and celebrate the undiscovered screenwriter, BlueCat provides written script analysis on every script entered. In addition, Gordy acts as a script consultant for screenwriters, offering personalized feedback on their scripts through his consultation service, www.screenplaynotes.com. For more articles by Gordy on screenwriting, visit http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com. A new radio show devoted to book marketing made its debut on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 on Achieve Radio, noon to 1 p.m., MST. Host Francine Silverman will talk with authors, publishers and publicists, providing listeners with a unique perspective on book promotion. To access Book Marketing with Fran, go to http://www.achieveradio.com and click “Click to Listen” at top of page. Should you miss the show, click “Shows & Hosts” on the left and scroll down to Fran’s show and click, “More-Click Here” for the archives. Patricia Fry, president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network) and author of 24 books, will be Fran’s first guest. Patricia’s latest book is The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (Matilija Press 2006), a comprehensive guide for hopeful and struggling authors. Fran is author of Book Marketing from A-Z and editor publisher of Book Promotion Newsletter, http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com Issue 116: August 1, 2007 ISSN 1545-5599 BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER Issue 116: Aug 1, 2007 EDITOR: FRANCINE SILVERMAN http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com http://www.nystatetravel.com Issued every other Wednesday since 2003 Please consider adding www.AuthorsandExperts.com and www.SchoolBookings.com to your list of resources. These are great places for authors, experts, and speakers to connect with members of the media, those searching for speakers, and schools. Free to schools and media members, and an economical resource for authors and experts. Ask us about partnership publishing! www.PartnershipPublishing.com In this Issue: (1) Feature Article (2) Grist for Your Mill (3) Promotional Coups (4) Feedback (5) Progress Report (6) Contest (7) Kudos 1) FEATURE ARTICLE Just Say, Yes And Sell More Books By Patricia L. Fry When you become aware of an opportunity to speak in public about your book, do you gleefully accept or shamefully decline? It used to be that when someone invited me to talk about my latest book at their club meeting, I would think about it for only a few seconds before responding. And, usually, I would say, "No." Well, it was a safe answer. I wasn't comfortable speaking in public. What if I messed up? Yes, it was the right answer. However, later, I often regretted my snap decision. So I started handling things differently. Accommodating my new stance; when someone called and asked me to do something that was outside my comfort zone, I'd say, "I'll think about it and call you back." Invariably, I'd talk myself out of it and still end up missing a worthwhile activity or an interesting event. Obviously, that wasn't the solution to my decision-making problem, either. So, I adopted a new tactic. Now, when someone asks me to speak, I say, "Yes." Then I figure out a way to do it. Do speaking engagements sell books? Absolutely. And I encourage you to hone your speaking skills, boost your courage and get out there and speak for your supper, too. You get to experience new places and meet new people. I love collecting memories from the various places where I've presented workshops. I was wined and dined quite extravagantly in Jacksonville, Florida a few years ago. I had a great time meeting women writers in Arlington, TX when I spoke before the National Association of Women Writers. I have made some wonderful friends in St. Louis, MO. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Honolulu. This year, I had an invitation to top all invitations. I was invited, all expenses paid, to Dubai (yes, in the Middle East) to give the keynote address before 800 Toastmasters at their annual convention. So how can you get to the point where you feel comfortable speaking in public as a way to promote your book? If public speaking gives you noodle knees and sweaty palms, I recommend: • Join a Toastmasters Club. Go to www.toastmasters.org or call, 800-993-7732 for the one nearest you. • Join an organization of your choice and gain speaking experience by participating in meetings. • Get involved with a storytelling group. • Hire a voice coach. (Generally listed under music teachers) • Observe other speakers. Note what techniques work and which ones don't. • Take on leadership roles at work. • Find a mentor-someone who's speaking abilities you admire. Here are some specific tips to get your started: Be prepared. You will be more at ease if you know what to expect at the speaking venue. Find out if there will be a lectern or microphone, for example. How many people do they expect? How will the room be set up? Make sure to have your props or notes organized so there will be no annoying fumbling during your presentation. Know your audience. Gear your speech to the needs and interests of this particular audience. Speak out. Many inexperienced orators speak too softly or they allow their voices to drop toward the end of their sentences. Practice speaking up and speaking out. Whether addressing a large audience or a small group, always speak so that you can be heard even in the back of the room. Make eye contact. Move your attention around the room as you speak, making eye contact with each person Use vocal variety. Make your talks more enjoyable by using an assortment of vocal tones and pitches rather than speaking in monotone. If you need help developing vocal variety, practice reading to children in the most animated manner possible. Eliminate non-words. Inexperienced speakers generally use filler words such as ah, er, um and even and where unnecessary. Practice speaking without filler words. Curb poor speaking habits. Rid your vocabulary of stagnant verbiage. Break yourself of those mundane phrases you like to repeat, such as, "yada, yada, yada" or "know what I mean?" Likewise, watch the overuse of words such as "really" and "very." Don't apologize. Avoid sabotaging your presentation by making excuses for not being well prepared or for poor speaking skills. Stand tall, appear self-assured and you will gain the confidence of the audience. Repeat audience questions. When someone asks a question during your presentation, always repeat it before answering. And respond so that everyone feels a part of the conversation. Instead of focusing on the negative possibilities and your perceived short-comings-rather than dreading failure-begin a self-improvement regimen and make it a habit of saying, "Yes." Many more opportunities will open up for you. You'll have fun. And you will sell more books. Patricia Fry is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 25 books. Find additional tips and helps such as these in her latest book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, http://www.matilijapress.com. Read Patricia's informative blog at http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog. Are book sales slow? Perhaps it's because you're targeting the wrong audience, you haven't established a platform or your promotions plan is weak. But it may not be too late to experience publishing success. How? Follow Patricia Fry's FREE guide to writing a Post-Publication Book Proposal. Request this FREE report today. PLFry620@yahoo.com 2) GRIST FOR YOUR MILL Michael Carruthers, host of the syndicated radio show, Something You Should Know, is launching a magazine in September called Best Guest Digest. Unlike RTIR (Radio-TV Interview Report), it is glossy and full color. He plans to send it out to 5,000 radio and TV hosts and producers. If you mention my name, you are entitled to 30% off for an ad in the first issue. According to the text on the back of the introductory issue, "charter advertisers who support our first issue will receive preferential pricing going forward." Michael cited these reasons why his magazine is a better resource than RTIR: "Easier to read, full color format where all the ads do NOT look alike Editorial content – listing people we believe would be good interviews even if they did NOT buy an ad Wider and deeper distribution Ads written by broadcasters for broadcasters" A 1x Advertising rate for a full page is $1190, half page $715 and $500 quarter page. A quarter page ad at a 12x rate is $420. Special position rates are, naturally, higher. http://www.bestguestdigest.com info@bestguestdigest.com Cindy LaFerle has been appointed to launch the first Writer-in-Residence program for her public library (Royal Oak, MI), which serves more than 60,000 in her city, plus additional surrounding communities in suburban Detroit. As the first Writer-in-Residence, Cindy has been asked to offer some of her own programs and workshops, but also to call upon the talents of other regional and national authors. "We've already received a grant from the state to get this off the ground, and will be working on additional funding for programs/speakers," she says. "My goal is to launch book discussion groups, author lectures and book signings, poetry events, and a variety of writing and publishing classes ... and more. With that in mind, I am inviting all interested authors to contact me with a list of their programs and speaker fees. If you've publish NEW books on the writing craft, especially, I want to hear from you. Even if you can't visit the Detroit area, I want to know about your writing books." While Cindy realizes that not everyone will want to travel to the Detroit area, she imagines that some readers of this newsletter are located in the Midwest. "I want to bring in the best talent available to us for these programs," she says. Contact Cindy at cindy@laferle.com with proposals by August 4. http://www.laferle.com I've run many feature articles by Fern Reiss, with her signature line inviting readers to join her Expertizing Publicity Forum (which is geared to businesses, but could be used for book publicity as well). Having just completed the first session of the forum, she has some statistics to share: "Participants in the Expertizing Publicity Forum, for anyone who doesn't recall, make a pitch each week for five months to a journalist from a top national publication. Each week, the Forum introduces the journalist, provides background information on the publication and journalist, and helps participants hone their pitches. The journalists review the pitches, and provide feedback to each participant--either yes, the pitch was accepted and they're interested in running an article on your book or business or no, but here's how you can improve your chances, here's what else we'd need to know, here's who else/what other publications might be interested. The forum wasn't specifically geared to authors or publishers, but several did participate. "The bottom line: Participants received an average of 1 1/2 placements in national publications, including: The New York Times, Inc. Magazine, Time Magazine, Forbes Magazine, and USA Today; the most interesting businesses, of course, received many more. In addition, two participants found literary agents and sold books to major publishers. "It worked best for the following clients: * Businesses (large and small) with a national or international (as opposed to regional) scope; and nonprofit organizations with an interesting hook * Startups and entrepreneurs with easily-explained businesses or business models (the one terribly-detailed high tech company didn't fare as well) * Publicists (who pitched different clients each week) * Nonfiction authors (novelists and poets didn't fare as well) We'll be starting the next round in September if anyone is thinking of trying it (http://www.Expertizing.com/forum.htm) Price is $1900." http://www.Expertizing.com/forum.htm http://www.PublishingGame.com The following was contributed by Elizabeth Pomada of Michael Larsen/Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents: The First San Francisco Writing-for-Change Conference will take place August 23--25, 2007, at the Wilsey Conference Center in Grace Cathedral. Dedicated to nonfiction books on change, from the personal to the planetary, we'll cover culture, the environment, health, the media, personal development, social issues, spirituality, and technology. Keynoters: Rachel Naomi Remen, "Kitchen Table Wisdom," Philip Zimbardo, "The Lucifer Effect," and Riane Eisler, "The Real Wealth of Nations." 150 writers will network with authors, agents, and editors. $395 includes breakfasts, lunches and party. For info, call Elizabeth Pomada at 415 673-0939. Or visit http://www.sfwritingforchange.org Please see http://www.larsenpomada.com for submission instructions (For fiction: mail first 10 pp. and 2 p. synopsis, with SASE & phone #) For info on the 5th Annual San Francisco Writers Conference: http://www.sfwriters.org. Do you write book reviews? I came across this in my search for radio shows: (WPSU is the radio station of Penn State and the name of the show is Book Mark: The Book Review). WRITE A REVIEW FOR US! Have you read a good book lately? Tell us about it! Send your 450-word book review to: WPSU-FM Room 174 Outreach Building 100 Innovation Blvd. University Park, PA 16802 Include a plot summary, something interesting about the author, and why you loved or hated the book. When you send your review, be sure to include your name and a daytime phone number. If your review is selected, we'll be in touch. We're sorry, due to the volume of submissions, book reviews can not be returned. http://wpsu.psu.edu/radio/bookmark.php Penny Sansevieri's publicity firm has been working with the folks at the Virtual Book Review Network and was asked to send over author interviews. Anyone wanting to be considered for an interview should send a one page book outline, bio and jpg of the cover (also the web site addy) to: bookreviewsonline@gmail.com There is no charge for this. The interviews will be listed on one or all of the sites in the Virtual Book Review Network (there are currently 10) You can see one of their sites at: http://www.bestbooksreviewed.com 3) PROMOTIONAL COUPS This subscriber demonstrates how promotion on the Internet takes persistence but pays off in sales. Velda Brotherton's latest book is a creative non-fiction called Fly With The Mourning Dove (Publish America 2007), a true story of a woman who moved to a homestead in New Mexico with her parents when she was six years old and today, at the age of 93, owns and manages two ranches in New Mexico and Colorado. The other book she is currently promoting is a reissue of a book that was published in 1994, Wandering In The Shadows of Time, originally published by Seven Oaks Publishing in Conway, Arkansas and reissued as a POD from Author House. "It is also creative nonfiction, but entirely different from the other," she explains. "This book allows the reader to go with me on a journey into my past as well as to interviews of those who, for generations, have remained on the land of their ancestors in the Ozarks. "When the New Mexico book came out, I was determined to promote it as I had never promoted my books and decided to include Wandering In The Shadows of Time in my promotional efforts. I began by spending hours on the Internet following up sites that claimed to help with author promotion. Any site that said I could post my book, my website or something about myself, I investigated. I asked bloggers to post an interview of me, I asked other writers to review my book. This is the first time I've had a PDF copy of one of my books, so that helps immensely in getting interviews over the Internet. I found most reviewers would read a PDF copy and give me a review. I ran across a book by Steve Weber, Plug Your Book, which is an online book marketing tool for authors. He states that the most important thing an author can do is develop a relationship with http://Amazon.com because they know how to market. Ask people who read your book to post a short review on Amazon..... Here are some websites to promote on: http://www.ning.com; http://blogger.com; http://facebook.com; http://gather.com; PRweb.com; http://writespot.org; http://writing.com. "Here's a couple of places to get your book reviewed or get interviewed or both: http://readerviews.com; http://violettereid.com "My promotion on the Internet increased my Google presence from ten pages to 28 pages in two months. That is about 279 separate sites where my name and/or my books are mentioned and Google has picked it up." http://www.veldabrotherton.com "One of our authors, Carol McCloud, wrote a children's book in 2006 called Have You Filled a Bucket Today? that is doing very well," reports Shannon Janeczek, marketing executive at Nelson Publishng & Marketing. "We are now going into a third printing. The book describes how every person in the whole world has an invisible bucket. In our buckets we keep our good feelings about ourselves. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids reveals the reciprocating benefits of kind words and considerate behavior. Through simple prose and charming illustration, the message becomes clear: filling other people’s buckets is easy and fun, and it’s also a wonderful way to boost your own happiness… and fill your own bucket! "Two of her promotional efforts were: -- A regional Hallmark store loved her book and kept selling out of it, and that got the attention of the national distributor. Now her book is featured in the Hallmark catalog! -- She wrote an article for http://www.GiftBeat.com about her book, and sent it to the editor of their nationally-distributed newsletter to gift store owners and industry people. It was published and the result was she had several inquiries about her book, along with total sales of over 500 books. That pushed her book to a 5,500 ranking on Amazon.com! Patience pays off." http://www.nelsonpublishingandmarketing.com 4) FEEDBACK Carolyn Howard-Johnson responded to Peter Bowerman's feature article in the last issue, in which he pointed out how simplicity worked for a billboard advertiser, Apartments.com. "This Apartment.com and Peter Bowerman know marketing, that's for sure," comments Carolyn. "The thing about billboards is that people have to absorb their message very, very quickly. And remember it, too. "So, a series of billboards works better than one (true with advertising in general!) but the message also NEEDS to be short and NEEDS to be BIG. Huge, in fact! Not many authors can afford a series of billboards (or even one, for that matter!) but the same concept applies to book covers. The big authors (Nora Roberts, anyone?) don't have a 12 pt font name on their books. That name is BIG. And often foiled so it glitters. And raised so you can feel it! Many authors can't go the foil and raised route, but we can encourage our publishers to up the font size on the cover of our books. (-: Yep, Billboard-Style!" 5) PROGRESS REPORT On Saturday, July 28, 2007, David Spero was the guest of Parthenia S. Izzard on Wellness, Wholeness & Wisdom on WWDB, 860 AM, Bala Cynwyd, PA, and simulcast on VoiceAmerica Radio's 7th Wave Network. On July 31, 2007, he was guest of Barbara M. Mendez on Healthy Lifestyles http://www.lifestylenutrients.net. He had sent Barbara his book, Diabetes: Sugar-Coated Crisis: Who gets it, who profits, and how to stop it (New Society Publishers Sept. 2006), winner of the 2007 Eric Hoffer Award for best small-press book from Writers' Digest [hofferaward.com] and a Silver IPPY in the Health category from Independent Publisher [independentpublisher.com] and she wrote back: "Got your book and I love it!! It is the first health book I've read that deals with the social aspects of health~ I am very impressed." http://www.davidsperoRN.com http://www.art-of-getting-well.com Joy Turner, host of Talk With Your Animals, KKNW 1150 AM, in western Washington, http://www.talkwithyouranimals.com, was a guest of Wendy Nan Rees on Wendy's Animal Talk on http://www.healthylife.net on Tuesday, July 31, 2007, talking on the subject of fighting dogs. http://www.wendynanrees.com Kim Bloomer, host of Animal Talk Naturally! was on DogCat Radio again last Thursday (July 26, 2007). http://www.DogCatRadio.com "I spoke about our upcoming online continuing education program, Natural Animal World Convention," reports Kim. "It was a fast interview but I got to get all the main points in." http://www.AnimalTalkNaturally.com On Monday, July 30, 2007, Walter Brasch was a guest on The Flipside Show with Don Crawford on Right Talk Radio, http://www.rightalk.com on which he discussed the Patriot Act and free expression. http://www.flipsideshow.com. Earlier in the day, he was on The Bill Dwight Show on WHMP-AM (Northampton) //WHMQ (Springfield) // WHNP (Greenfield), discussing media issues. Walter's latest books are America's Unpatriotic Acts: The Federal Government's Violation of Constitutional and Civil Liberties (Peter Lang Publishers 2005), named the Outstanding General Non-Fiction Book by the Pennsylvania Press Club, and 'Unacceptable': The Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Katrina (BookSurge Publishing 2006). http://www.walterbrasch.com Doris Helge will be the guest of Ilene Dillon, host of Full Lower Living on World Talk Radio on http://www.worldtalkradio.com(Studio A), on August 16, 2007, 9-10 am, PT, on which they will discuss the concepts in Doris's second book, Joy on the Job (Shimoda Publishing 2006). Ilene, who is interested in emotions, wanted to focus on Doris' first book, Pain Into Power (Shimoda Publishing 1998), so decided to have Doris on at a future date. "I'm interested in Pain into Power--which focuses more on emotions, as I understand it--for a future broadcast (mid September?)," Ilene wrote Doris. "I had Dr. Darlene Mininni on the show, who authored a book called Your Emotional Toolkit. I'm always interested in different angles on emotions." http://www.joyonthejob.info 6) CONTEST Dotsie Bregel is running her Boomer Women Speak August September Writing Contest, with the subject: Back to School Memories Deadline: September 30, 2007 Entry Fee: NONE, but great prizes The winner's story is placed in the Our Voices section at Boomer Women Speak, and they will receive the following: $50.00 CASH FREE membership or renewal for the National Association of Baby Boomer Women, NABBW, the only association devoted to addressing issues concerning 38 million of the healthiest, wealthiest, and best educated generation of women to ever hit midlife, baby boomer women. The following books: Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late Blooming Women, by Prill Boyle What Happens Next, by Chloe JonPaul A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Throne, by Georgia Richardson Back to School Memories Ah, remember the back to school days of youth? How about taking us back with you by writing your favorite back to school memory? You are welcome to write about the anticipation and excitement of beginning another year, or plunking yourself down in a classroom full of strangers wearing brand new clothes all the way down to your underwear. Maybe you loved having all new school supplies, or couldn't wait to get to the playground to catch up with friends you hadn't seen all summer. Whatever it is, take us back to the good old days. Send us your story by entering our contest and win prizes! Please read the guidelines at this link to submit: http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com/display_news.php?nid=8&PHPSESSID=49b36df588ff203e9276e491b866fd36 www.boomerwomenspeak.com www.nabbw.com 7) KUDOS Cynthia Brian has been booked to speak at the #1 destination spa in the United Kingdom, Grayshott Manor and Spa in Surrey in September. She'll be presenting Be the Star You Are! and How to Create a Live You Love! http://www.grayshottspa.com. Dr. Bernie Siegel and Cynthia spent an hour on the radio together recently discussing how to take charge of our own healing. They also talked about how much they have learned from the animal kingdom about living, loving, and laughing. Kathe Gogolewski and Pat Avery interviewed Cynthia for the launch of their new radio segment on The Mother Daughter Club which will air on September 20th. Beginning July 26, Cynthia will be teaching an on-line course called Dream it! Do it! through eMindful using web cam. You'll be able to see, hear, interact in a real live classroom. To register, visit:www.emindful.com August 17-24, consider attending Arts for the Soul Retreat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where writers, photographers, artists, and musicians will be inspired. Cynthia Brian is the special guest instructor. www.artsforthesoul.net http://www.artsforthesoul.net Cynthia's web site is http://www.star-style.com and all activities are listed. Velda Brotherton, whose book is Fly with the Mourning Dove (PublishAmerica 2007, was the subject of an interview on Riehl Life, http://www.riehlife.com. http://www.veldabrotherton.com Francine Silverman is author of CATSKILLS ALIVE (second edition) and LONG ISLAND ALIVE, both published in 2003 by Hunter Publishing and geared to every interest. To learn more about her guidebooks and for links to hundreds of attractions on Long Island and in the Catskills, visit Fran's one-stop website at http://www.nystatetravel.com BOOK MARKETING FROM A-Z (Infinity Publishing 2005) is written by 325 paid subscribers to Book Promotion Newsletter. TALK RADIO FOR AUTHORS - Getting Interviews Across the U.S. and Canada (Infinity Publishing 2007) is an intimate look into 230 talk radio shows that welcome guests. Both books are available at http://www.buybooksontheweb.com (Category: Marketing) and at http://www.amazon.com Subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on either book. Contact Fran at franalive@optonline.net for code. The publisher's toll free number does not work outside the continental US and orders cannot be processed from its website for shipping outside the US. Subscribers in foreign countries who wish to purchase the books with the discount may email Michelle at michelle@infinitypublishing.com or fax an order (610/941-9959). She will provide confirmation that your order has been received and will be processed promptly. When using these options subscribers should put everything to Michelle's attention and reference the Promotional Code (contact Fran for code). If emailing Michelle, DO NOT put your credit card number in any email correspondence as this is not secure. Mail: Infinity Publishing, 1094 New Dehaven St, Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428 Issue 117: August 15, 2007 ISSN 1545-5599 BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER Issue 117: Aug 15, 2007 EDITOR: FRANCINE SILVERMAN http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com http://www.nystatetravel.com Issued every other Wednesday since 2003 Please consider adding www.AuthorsandExperts.com and www.SchoolBookings.com to your list of resources. These are great places for authors, experts, and speakers to connect with members of the media, those searching for speakers, and schools. Free to schools and media members, and an economical resource for authors and experts. Ask us about partnership publishing! www.PartnershipPublishing.com In This Issue: 1) Feature Article 2) Grist for Your Mill 3) Promotional Coups 4) Follow-Up 5) Progress Report 6) Game 7) From the Pen of........ 8) Kudos NO JOB TOO SMALL: Need an editor? Sigrid Macdonald has extensive experience editing fiction, nonfiction, children's books, resumes, blogs and short stories. Visit http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com 1) FEATURE ARTICLE Business Calculations for New Authors By Marilyn Haight You may not like it, but once you start selling your book, you're in business-exchanging a product (your book) for money. Predators are looking for new author/business people who have not yet figured out how to earn a business profit from their books. Following is a sample calculation for determining whether a marketing service is worth the expense. This example evaluates the profitability of a book fair; the same calculations apply to other marketing services: 1. Determine the revenue you will earn from the sale of each book. For example, if you paid $8.00 a copy of your book and you sell it for $12.00, your revenue earned is $4.00 per book. Revenue is not profit-keep going. 2. Calculate the tax you must pay on the price of each book sold. For example, at $12.00, city; state; and county taxes might be 8.1%, or $0.97. 3. Subtract the tax expense from your revenue, $4.00 - $0.97 = $3.03 revenue per book-this is not profit.keep going. 4. Determine how many books you must sell to earn back your fee: $150.00 divided by $3.03 = 50. You must sell 50 books just to earn back the event fee. 5. Now calculate other costs involved. For example, for a one-day book fair in a town to which you must travel, add up the cost of your meals during the trip, hotel, and gas. Let's say these costs total $185. 6. Calculate how many books you must sell to earn back your $185 in other costs: $185 divided by $3.03 = 61. 7. Add the total number of books you must sell just to cover your expenses for this event: 50 + 61 = 111. This is your break-even point; you must sell 112 books to earn a profit. 8. Determine the probably of breaking even (earning back your expenses) by considering that the average number of books sold at a book fair, where many other authors compete for sales from same audience, is six. (Obtain this number by asking other authors how many books they've sold at such events-beware: they may inflate the number.) 9. Calculate your profit. If you sell 6 books, you will earn back 6 x $3.03, or $18.18. Subtract your expenses from your earnings: $18.18 - $335 equals -$316.82-a negative number. In this case, the event will cost you $316.82-the amount of your loss, the opposite of profit. The only business that earns money at this book fair is the vendor who charges authors $150 each. If there are 25 authors at the fair, the vendor earns revenue of $3,750; the vendor's expenses are the cost of renting the space to hold the fair, let's say $1,000; plus travel & living at $185; plus advertising costs of about $500. The vendor makes a profit of $2,065 ($3,750 - $1,685). Unlike naive author/business people, service vendors who prey on them do not operate at a loss. Before plunking down your money, ask yourself these two questions: How many books must I sell to make this expense pay for itself? How likely is it that I'll sell the number of books necessary to recover my costs? Marilyn is author of WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOSS, http://www.BigBadBoss.com, and THE INSTRUCTION WRITER'S GUIDE, http://tinyurl.com/3d9l82, both published in 2005 by Infinity Publishing, and HOW TO MARKET YOUR NONFICTION ADVICE BOOK ON THE INTERNET (Lulu 2006). http://www.lulu.com/content/531796 http://www.wordedwrite.com 2) GRIST FOR YOUR MILL Arlene Uslander has been asked to write an article on "ocular migraines" -- not headache migraines, but ocular, also known as ophthalmic or optical migraines. She would like to hear from any of you who suffer from these. auslander@theramp.net. Revvel Revati, one of the hosts in my new book (Celebrating Your Potential on Fresh Talk Radio), has just started a new podcast at http://podcast.TheBookCrawler.com JUST for authors, publishers, publicists... anyone having anything to do with books. She has also started a website where she'll featuring the authors she interviews at http://www.TheBookCrawler.com Revvell can be reached at revvell@celebratingyourpotential.com. If you are interested in an interview, be sure to put "interview" in the subject line and tell her that I sent you. http://www.Revvellations.com http://rawcast.rawkinradio.com http://web.mac.com/dancingdragon http://www.CelebratingYourPotential.com 3) PROMOTIONAL COUPS Malana Kliesh's first book was printed for her personal workshops and published by BookSurge in January 2007. GRINGOS IN PARADISE: Our Honduras Odyssey relates Malana and her husband's humorous misadventure of their move from Hawaii to Honduras and "offers insight to anyone making a major move, information about the coastal area of Honduras as well as taking readers on my personal journey of spiritual growth," she says. "I found that no matter how well one may feel prepared for life situations, the universe will offer opportunities to test the relevancy of your beliefs. I learned that visiting a third world country is much different than seeing it as your home." Before making a trip to the states for a family funeral, Malana set up workshops in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Florida and put together a DVD of Honduras to show at book retailers, libraries and any other gathering. "It shows the Caribbean coast where we live and then narrows its attention into the beach community of El Porvenir - the location of my story. My husband has created a web page for the book and connected my website, http://www.wisdompathway.com to Amazon.com." CHARTER ONE Bank is displaying all nine of Floriana Hall's books for the month of August at their bank on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, "because I opened my book business account with them," she says. [As I wrote Flossie, can you imagine that happening here in the Big Apple - where my local bank is Chase Manhattan? Hooray for small towns, where they appreciate their local authors]. "Recent publicity about my endeavors (published in all suburban newspapers) will accompany the books," she says. "My beautician displayed the publicity and some of my books have been sold from her shop because of that. She calls the people when I get my hair done and they come to her shop in order for me to sign my books. So far, they have all loved my book, DADDY WAS A BAD BOY, by CeShore of SterlinghousePublishers.com which they order from Borders." 4) FOLLOW-UP Walter Brasch read about the Virtual Book Review Network in the last issue and followed up. The instructions were to send a one-page book outline, bio and jpg of the cover to bookreviewsonline@gmail.com. Lauren Smith wrote back to Walter: "Wow, great book!" and listed a bunch of questions for their upcoming interview. "I just sent an e-mail, indicating what my next book was about, and some of the blurbs, then referred her to the website," Walter explained. "She apparently thought the e-mail was interesting, and then thought I might be interesting. She has already sent questions, which I'll be answering over the next few days. Book upcoming is SINKING THE SHIP OF STATE: The Presidency of George W. Bush." http://www.bestbooksreviewed.com 5) PROGRESS REPORT David Spero was invited back to Barbara Mendez's show, Healthy Lifestyles, on Tribeca Radio, http://www.lifestylenutrients.net, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 (EST), and Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the following week at 5 pm (EST), to talk about his book, THE ART OF GETTING WELL: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002). http://www.davidsperoRN.com http://www.art-of-getting-well.com Michele Avanti will be the guest of Christina Marino on Manifesting Miracles in Your Life on Contact Talk Radio, Monday, August 27, 2007, 2-3 p.m. (PT). http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/christinamarino.htm Michele is author of GreeHee The Journey of Five (GreeHee Publishing 2006), the first of five epic fantasies in the "Tales of Tamoor" series, which won The NCPA 2007 Best Juvenile Fiction Award. http://www.GreeHee.com http://www.TalesofTamoor.com 6) GAME Brenda Novak and Karen Rose are sponsoring a fun on-line whodunit game: You be the detective! Figure out who killed socialite/model Abigail Dafonte and you could see your name in one of our next books, or win one of several other prizes! Game will be played at http://www.brendanovak.com beginning August 1st and will end at http://www.karenrosebooks.com on September 15th. Don't miss: DEAD RIGHT by Brenda Novak and DIE FOR ME by Karen Rose (Available September 1st) 7) FROM THE PEN OF....... Periodically, marketing tips from subscribers' books on writing, promotion and publishing will be featured. It's a good time to solicit book reviews, media attention, book buyers and bookstores while your book is being published. "The simplest way to do this is to create a flyer that outlines the details of your book and estimated publication date. You can either include a tear-off coupon at the bottom of the flyer or insert a postage-paid postcard that the letter recipient can send back to request a complimentary review copy of your book. Send your letter to the following sources: * Bookstore owners/buyers * Trade associations * Specialty stores * Catalog companies * Local media (newspaper editors or columnists, TV show producers, radio show producers)" from ENTREPRENEUR TO INFOPRENEUR (John Wiley & Sons 2007) by Stephanie Chandler. 8) KUDOS Floriana Hall's poem, UNFOLDING GLORY, was Poem of the Month for July on http://www.LongStoryShort.us Janice Law's just-released third nonfiction book STRANGERS IN BLOOD: Distanced Lives, is selected for the 15th annual St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Festival of Reading. http://www.judgejanicelaw.com. With other authors, Janice will be honored at A Novel Night; an Oct. 26 Author's Reception, and will be a featured speaker Oct. 27. http://www.festivalofreading.com On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, Peter Bowerman was the guest of Gail Cohn, host of BookTalk on http://www.radiosandysprings.com in Atlanta, Georgia. Peter discussed both subjects of his three books, the lucrative field of commercial freelancing (The Well-Fed Writer titles), and self-publishing (THE WELL-FED SELF-PUBLISHER: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living, winner of an 2007 IPPY in Writing/Publishing, winner of 2007 Georgia Author of the Year honors, and a finalist in the 2007 Foreword magazine Book of the Year Awards). http://www.wellfedwriter.com http://www.wellfdsp.com Betty Jo Tucker made the front page of the Senior Beacon this month -- complete with photo - in an article about her award for SUSAN SARANDON: A TRUE MAVERICK (Hats Off Books 2004), at the 2007 New York Book Festival. http://seniorbeacon.info/Sr.Beacon8-07.pdf http://www.authorsden.com/bettyjotucker Francine Silverman is author of CATSKILLS ALIVE (second edition) and LONG ISLAND ALIVE, both published in 2003 by Hunter Publishing and geared to every interest. To learn more about her guidebooks and for links to hundreds of attractions on Long Island and in the Catskills, visit Fran's one-stop website at http://www.nystatetravel.com BOOK MARKETING FROM A-Z (Infinity Publishing 2005) is written by 325 paid subscribers to Book Promotion Newsletter. TALK RADIO FOR AUTHORS - Getting Interviews Across the U.S. and Canada (Infinity Publishing 2007) is an intimate look into 230 talk radio shows that welcome guests. Both books are available at http://www.buybooksontheweb.com (Category: Marketing) and at http://www.amazon.com Subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on either book. Contact Fran at franalive@optonline.net for code. The publisher's toll free number does not work outside the continental US and orders cannot be processed from its website for shipping outside the US. Subscribers in foreign countries who wish to purchase the books with the discount may email Michelle at michelle@infinitypublishing.com or fax an order (610/941-9959). She will provide confirmation that your order has been received and will be processed promptly. When using these options subscribers should put everything to Michelle's attention and reference the Promotional Code (contact Fran for code). If emailing Michelle, DO NOT put your credit card number in any email correspondence as this is not secure. Mail: Infinity Publishing, 1094 New Dehaven St, Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428 Issue 118: August 29, 2007 ISSN 1545-5599 BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER Issue 118: Aug 29, 2007 EDITOR: FRANCINE SILVERMAN http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com http://www.nystatetravel.com Issued every other Wednesday since 2003 * Women In Business* Did you know that you can exponentially GROW your sales and profits through Power Partnerships (strategic alliances, joint ventures)? Become a member of www.WomensCommunity.com and learn how. 1) FEATURE ARTICLE CRAVE Your Goals! Five Steps to Attract What You Desire and Deserve By Tricia Molloy We all have work and personal goals that we're trying to achieve. It may be getting that promotion, attracting ideal clients and customers, losing 20 pounds or becoming debt free. When we truly commit to our goals and crave it with our heart and soul, we engage the energy of the universe and receive what we need to make our dreams come true. This is known as the Law of Attraction. Commit to follow these five CRAVE steps to attract what you desire and deserve. 1) Clean Out the Clutter. Clutter distracts and confuses us and drains our energy. It often keeps us from doing what's most important and gets in the way of our goals. There's a universal law that states: The universe abhors a vacuum. So, when we clear away the physical clutter, as well as the emotional and technical clutter, we make room for the universe to fill it with what serves our highest good. Commit to begin cleaning out the clutter today. 2) Raise Your Vibrations. The universal law states: Energy attracts like energy. We are all energy beings and we all vibrate at different levels at different times. Vibration is just another word for feelings and emotions. When we vibrate at a high level, it is governed by love and trust and peace and is positive and constructive. We will attract people and circumstances that vibrate at that same level. Conversely, when we are consumed by fear and worry, we will vibrate at a low, negative level and we will attract people and circumstances that vibrate at that low level. To increase and maintain a high vibration, commit to love and nurture yourself. Eat healthy, exercise, enjoy a hobby, play, sing, laugh, forgive, limit your time watching TV news, seek out positive people, practice random and not-so-random acts of kindness, give thanks, spend time in nature and smile more often. Commit to make your own list and schedule these activities into your day until they become habits. Form a "High Vibration" club with your coworkers and friends so you can have fun supporting each other. 3) Affirm Success. Affirmations are powerful statements to remind us what we know to be true, despite what others may say or when our own ego plants that seed of doubt. The most effective affirmations are short, positive and in the present. Here are a few examples. If you want to be chosen for a supervisory position, your affirmation should include the qualities you possess that would serve you in that role. You might affirm: "I am a dynamic, empowering leader." If you tend to wake up each morning wondering how you'll ever get through your burgeoning to-do list, you might affirm: "I have more than enough time and energy to accomplish all my goals." If you are struggling with direction and finding the right resources to get the job done, you might affirm: "I am open to receive guidance and support." Commit to write down your affirmations and post them prominently - on your bathroom mirror, on the dashboard of your car and at your desk. Say them out loud throughout the day. 4) Visualize. Every top athlete has harnessed the power of visualization. The runner sees herself breaking through the tape at the end of the race and the golfer sees the hole in one. What can you visualize? Perhaps it's making a persuasive presentation that motivates your audience to take action. Or, you might visualize working in a clean, organized office. It takes more than just seeing to get the results. Visualization is a three-step, repetitive process. To give it the power you need to succeed, you must engage all your senses. What do you hear, smell, touch and taste? And, you must infuse it with the positive emotions you would feel if this were a reality-like happiness, pride and maybe even relief. Commit to seeing your goals as "real" and they soon will be. 5) Express Thanks. What you focus on expands. It's a universal law. That's why it's so important to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Commit to write in a gratitude journal a few nights a week, listing all the things you're thankful for at work - a great boss, doing what you love - and adding at least one unique entry each time - I spoke with everyone I called today or I completed that major project ahead of schedule. That programs you to become more aware of what's going right. Take the time to express your sincere appreciation to others with a phone call or a hand-written note. As it relates to your work and personal goals, give thanks in anticipation of your accomplishments. By committing to CRAVE your goals, you will enhance your journey and accelerate your success. Tricia Molloy is a seasoned entrepreneur, business consultant, speaker, trainer and author of Divine Wisdom at Work:® 10 Universal Principles for Enlightened Entrepreneurs (Aha! House 2006). http://www.divinewisdomatwork.com. Sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter for more information and inspiration. http://www.molloycom.com 2) GRIST FOR YOUR MILL COMING SEPT. 1ST 2007: The ultimate community membership website for writers, authors and industry experts. http://www.CallingAllAuthors.org is an organization that brings on-going, reality-based information and assistance to writers in a wholly interactive and innovative way. This is the place for writers to connect with other writers and industry experts who know what they need to learn, to share what they already know, to become a member with access to the latest writing, publishing and marketing information on the planet. Building an interactive community is made possible by the latest Open Source website concept called Joomla! Community Builder. Three levels of access --- Public, Registered and Member --- will provide site visitors opportunity for limited, broader and broadest access to site information and educational events. Articles from industry experts and innovative authors, the Great Links resources, polling on interesting topics, regularly scheduled teleseminars and webinars with Valerie Connelly (Nightengale Press Publisher and Global Talk Radio Talk Show Host) and a broad spectrum of expert co-hosts, will all bring the latest information and tips to writers and authors. Downloadable Audio Mini-Clip Libraries of useful writing, publishing and marketing tips, monthly 30-minute Publisher's Corner Lessons videos, as well as an on site daily newsletter, blog, forum, IM communications with other registered members, User Profiles, and much more. So watch for the launch date. This is where you will find the answers you've been looking for. CALLING ALL AUTHORS --- How to Publish With Your Eyes Wide Open, by Valerie Connelly ISBN 1-933449-43-3 $19.95 is NOW available at http://www.nightengalepress.com and all online bookstores Valerie still has these open Webinar slots. You can be a guest host. These topics can be changed. Just let her know what you propose by email at info@callingallauthors.org Feb. 2008: Mainstream reviews, online reviews, professional reviewers, and readers as reviewers paid and un-paid. Apr. 2008: Publicity and publicists. How to get the most for your money, and know when to run the other way. Jun. 2008: Writing as a profession, as a hobby, as a personal goal. Aug. 2008: Talk Radio and TV Interviews: How to get them, what to expect and why some are so hard to get. The annual September Sale of DC branch of the National League of American Pen Women has no fee to enter/participate. Proceeds benefit the League's outreach program to raise money for the care of the National headquarters and historic Pen Arts Building in Washington, DC. Twenty-percent of all proceeds earned at the sale go to the tax deductible Pen Arts Building Fund (501C3). http://www.NLAPW-DC.org Dina Matos McGreevey will be one of our famous authors not only selling her book but speaking as well. Patricia Daly-Lipe, the president, explains that "'Enter/participate' means either have someone you know in this area sell your books or come yourself. Or if you have nothing to sell and live within driving distance, by all means come and find the perfect gift! With books, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and much more, there is something for everyone. "For participants who can come and sell their own work, I would like a short bio to put on our web site. In either case, self-selling or having the books sold by others, I need to know in order to retain a table and chair (or chairs)." Patricia Fry is offering a prepublication discount on her new Author’s Workbook and the newly revised 366-page companion book, The Right Way to Write Publish and Sell Your Book. Discount offer good through September 20, 2007. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html A new product for writers was presented to me. I haven't used it and cannot attest to its efficiency. If you decide to purchase the software, please mention my name for a 20% discount, and be sure to let me know if it works. IdeaWeaver is a writing/creativity tool that helps writers get more writing done more quickly. It takes the old "index card" approach to writing and translates it into digital form. IdeaWeaver is designed to give users a place to store and organize ideas as you think of them. Instead of forcing users to think linearly, they can put ideas in as soon as they pop into their brain. This approach lowers stress and increases productivity. With IdeaWeaver, users can brainstorm ideas, reshuffle and rearrange their writing until it works, and then export the work for layout in their favorite word processor or desktop publishing program. IdeaWeaver runs on Windows PCs and is free to try for 30 days. The download is available here: http://www.ideaweaversoftware.com/freetrial.htm Here is another offer worth investigating: 1. BloggingAuthors.com gets more than 23,000 page views a month, and climbing monthly. (Up from 6 page views this time last year!) BloggingAuthors belongs to a network that sends its RSS feed out to major news sites, like USA Today, Reuters, several TV station sites, iVillage, etc. Of course, there is no guarantee the feed about the author will get picked up, but the operator will do her best to title the post in as enticing a way possible. http://asp.usatoday.com/community/othervoices/default.aspx?bbPostId=CzE1N3e5NZxgPB4vpD0UWd0xxCz1gli4oZ8Dd6B6QW3B4gLA9f&req=blogburst&tag=news http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/entertainment?bbPostId=CzE1N3e5NZxgPB4vpD0UWd0xxB5iEf3ICdhdgCz4JBFqCAgZ1j What ou get: One post that contains the synopsis of the book, the author's bio, book cover and author image; then two more posts (over the next two weeks) of either two reviews the author has permission to repost, or one review and one interview (Author's choice). Of course, bloggingauthors.com will link to the author's site. This dovetails perfectly with people who get reviews and/or interviews with you. Price to the author is $199, but if you mention the name of Francine Silverman, the price is reduced to $149. If the author ONLY wants an interview, (you will be sent an e-mail interview and the site posts the answers) the pricing is $99. 2. BloggingAuthors Social Bookmarking Package: Social bookmarking has become one of the hottest ways to start building traffic to a site, or getting attention for a site, topic, author, book, etc. It will social bookmark all three of the author's BloggingAuthors.com posts at five of the top social bookmarking sites, as well as post info about their book at one of the top Social Networking sites for authors. If the author prefers to just have their own site social bookmarked, $99. Standard: $149 Discount when you mention Fran's name is: $119 3. Book Talk Radio: The author can do three audios: record a 3-5 minute excerpt; and record two 30-60 second audio teasers. Bloggingauthors.com will send the authors a short manual on how to get the best results from their recordings. To record, they simply call in a number provided; they can re-record if they botch it. These recordings are syndicated to 16 podcast directories, including iTunes. Will also include bio, synopsis, book cover, author image, link to author's site. Price to authors is $199, if through Fran: $149 4. AuthorsList.com is a new site. If any of you do any of the packages, the site will waive the $25 set-up fee, and give you six months for free on this site. It will post synopsis and bio, along with book cover and author image (if desired), link to the author's website, genre specific listing, Buy The Book button. Readers can rate the book, comment on the book. Bloggingauthors will be linking to this from its other sites, so traffic will build quickly. But for now, the fees are waived, as noted. Standard: $25 setup fee. Catalog listing: $120 per year Free to you with any package 3) FROM THE PEN OF........... The Encyclopedia of Associations lists more than 100,000 membership organizations. Odds are excellent that at least one or two of them have a mission that would dovetail perfectly with the subject matter of any given book...Once you have the prospects, how can you get their attention? Learn about an association's mission..In the course of writing a proposal to a large national association for one of my titles, I pointed out how my book would help it achieve its goals in terms of every single sentence in its mission statement. What kind of offer do you make?..an association can use your book as: * an incentive to get members to join or renew * a product for its online bookstore * a gift as part of an educational seminar * a fundraiser From CALLING ALL AUTHORS - HOW TO PUBLISH WITH YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN by Valerie Connelly (Nightengale Press 2007). Today's Author is a relatively new radio show and host David Ewen has been emailing me notices like crazy, obviously looking for guests. Here's his last email: Today's Author is a radio show that, with photos, is also converted to video. We are always looking to place guests on the show. The show begins with a "Comedy Corner" segment. After a wonderful author interview, we close out with our musical guest. The Summer season was a success. We launch the Fall season on August 31. Participate by calling in on 646-478-5047 on Friday, August 31 from 9PM to 10PM Eastern Standard Time. David is no slouch. In 1998, he launched the New England Publishers Association that became affiliated with PMA & SPAN. He volunteered and donated his time to run the association for two years. He produced and hosted a live show on WORC 1310 AM and WGFP 940 AM called Author of the week, which aired every Thursday for an hour starting at 9am before going to ABC News. http://www.ewenprime.com Videos http://todaysauthor.livejournal.com 4) FEEDBACK Four comments came in regarding the last feature article, "Business Calculations for New Authors," by Marilyn Haight. Joan Isom found it "one of the most informative pieces I've read in a long time. Authors should read it and ask themselves Marilyn's questions before embarking on a book signing." Joan's most recent books are Offerings in the Snow: A Christmas Story (Foxmoor), a novel set in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas; The Leap Years (Beacon Press) and The First Starry Night (Charlesbridge). http://www.jsisom.com Tatyana Elmanovich agrees with Marilyn vis-a-vis book fairs. "People are losing money with all these fairs, competitions and exhibitions.... it is all the same story, exactly, as she described! For an unknown author -- nothing, absolutely nothing sells but speaking events in the interest groups and at signings!" Tatyana's latest book is Channeling Vysotsky (SPIRIT Communications Press 2006), in which a Russian superstar speaks from the beyond. Dar Hosta and Pinkie Paranya had a different reaction: "For an article that begins with a statement about 'being in business,' it is difficult to fault a show promoter for creating a profit for him/herself through this legitimate type of business venture," Dar says. "(I would also question the accuracy of her list of a promoter's expenses--she misses one very critical expense, that of event insurance which can be so expensive that promoters forgo plans for these types of festivals completely). "But book festivals provide a unique experience for a great number of attendees to meet and learn about many different authors and be exposed to their work in a single exciting day. Authors can talk directly to the public and let them know what is inside the covers of a book, participate in a reading, and let them know about the other ways that they are involved with the world, be it through a related profession or a speaking/presentation circuit. Book fairs can also lead to future wholesale and library purchase orders. "Instead of seeing the type of scenario that Ms. Haight paints as a business loss, I see it as an opportunity to communicate with the public and would consider it as a business expense that could lead to future revenue. Not every single event will yield high profits (or profits at all), however, if I scheduled even one school visit through this type of a show, I would consider it worth my time to participate. Labeling show promoters as predators is, in my experience, inaccurate and simply naive. Also, if you, as an author, are paying sales tax, you are doing it incorrectly. First, in order to collect sales tax, you must be registered as a business with the state you are doing business in (this can be multiple states--I do business in both NJ and PA and have business licenses in both states). When you make a sale, it is the customer who pays the sales tax, which you collect. Quarterly, you file your gross taxable sales and pay the collected sales tax to the state where the sales were made. Dar is an Artist, Author, & Educator http://www.darhosta.com http://www.darsart.com "I hope new authors don't become discouraged by this," says Pinkie Paranya, of Marilyn's article. "Everything she said was true, but there are intrinsic values that go beyond mere dollars and cents. We all hear about branding and word of mouth as ways to promote our books. If the conference or place that offers to let you sell your books isn't ridiculously expensive, you must also calculate how many potential readers will pass by your booth/table and pick up a book mark, read the back cover of your book or otherwise let you speak with them about writing and your books. "I've been to many book fairs where I didn't sell and book and neither did others in my booth, but people did come by and look at our displays and take away book marks and flyers, and I have heard from some of them later. Bottom line is, calculate your costs of going to sell books but also check out the amount of traffic that might pass by your table." Pinkie is a prize-winning author whose latest book is ONE...TWO...BUCKLE MY SHOE (Treble Heart Books), a paranormal suspense. http://www.pinkieparanya.com http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/WDParanya.html 5) PROGRESS REPORT Doris Helge, Ph.D was the guest of Ilene Dillon, M.S.W., host of Full Power Living on World Talk Radio http://www.worldtalkradio.com, on August 16, 2007. http://www.emotionalpro.com Doris is author of JOY ON THE JOB (Shimoda Publishing, Dec 2006) and TRANSFORMING PAIN INTO POWER (Shimoda Publishing 1998) http://www.joyonthejob.info 6) KUDOS An excerpt, entitled "Lucky Charms," from Julia Buckley's novel, The Dark Backward (Midnight Ink Books 2006), was published in an anthology of poetry and short fiction called IN OUR OWN WORDS: A GENERATION DEFINING ITSELF (volume 7). http://www.juliabuckley.com The latest book by children's book author, Marianne Berkes, OVER IN THE JUNGLE, A RAINFOREST RHYME (Dawn Publications 2004), won a 2007 "iParenting Media Award. Marianne didn't know about this award until her publisher advised her of it only recently and she wants to share it with other children's book authors. For more info, click http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fk4njdcab.0.widxpdcab.h7y9m7bab.308&ts=S0267&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iparentingmediaawards.com%2F and then onto "Award Winners" and "Books." "This program provides a credible and objective method of determining the best products in the marketplace for parents and children and recognizes those products with their "iParenting Media Award," says Marianne. "I am really delighted that parents will learn more about my book which combines music, counting and vivid clay artwork to present some of the most compelling animals of the tropical rain forest." http://www.marianneberkes.com Susan Kaye Behm's, book, THE JOURNEY: Beyond the Savage (Xulon Press 2006), an inspiring journey from abuse and shame to healing and hope, was a finalist in the 2006 Reader's Choice Award sponsored by Author's Island, in the women's fiction category. Francine Silverman is author of CATSKILLS ALIVE (second edition) and LONG ISLAND ALIVE, both published in 2003 by Hunter Publishing and geared to every interest. To learn more about her guidebooks and for links to hundreds of attractions on Long Island and in the Catskills, visit Fran's one-stop website at http://www.nystatetravel.com BOOK MARKETING FROM A-Z (Infinity Publishing 2005) is written by 325 paid subscribers to Book Promotion Newsletter. TALK RADIO FOR AUTHORS - Getting Interviews Across the U.S. and Canada (Infinity Publishing 2007) is an intimate look into 230 talk radio shows that welcome guests. Both books are available at http://www.buybooksontheweb.com (Category: Marketing) and at http://www.amazon.com Subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on either book. Contact Fran at franalive@optonline.net for code. The publisher's toll free number does not work outside the continental US and orders cannot be processed from its website for shipping outside the US. Subscribers in foreign countries who wish to purchase the books with the discount may email Michelle at michelle@infinitypublishing.com or fax an order (610/941-9959). She will provide confirmation that your order has been received and will be processed promptly. When using these options subscribers should put everything to Michelle's attention and reference the Promotional Code (contact Fran for code). If emailing Michelle, DO NOT put your credit card number in any email correspondence as this is not secure. Mail: Infinity Publishing, 1094 New Dehaven St, Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428 Betty B's Arcana Connection by Betty Bradford Byers INNER-VIEWS WITH CELEBRITIES Short Stories Corner Poetry Corner Write On Southwest...Book Reviews by Connie Gotsch The BOOK DOCTOR Book Reviewer's Corner Public Service links And so much more! | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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