As promised, here’s the continuation of that great piece by Penny Sansevieri.

3) Don’t fall in love with your own ideas. This is a big one. It’s
great to love your work; in fact, you should love it. You should be passionate
about it. But don’t love it so much that you aren’t open to feedback. Feedback
is critical to any successful book launch campaign. Further, if you aren’t open
to feedback, you might miss some advice that could save your book and you from
spending thousands of dollars pushing something that isn’t quite ready for the
mainstream – or worse, a book that’s missed its mark only slightly. Be open to
feedback and then seek that feedback from professionals you trust and respect. (more…)

If you have been reading my blogs, you know that I’ve been focusing on the marketing efforts for my book Women For All Seasons. However, I must confess that one of the big mistakes I, and I daresay other authors, have made is waiting until the book is published to begin promotion. Actually, as you will see in this article by marketing expert, Penny Sansevieri, you should be thinking about the market for your book before you even write the book. This makes sense, because if you spend months or years crafting what you think might be the perfect book and there is no viable market for it, then all your promotion will be in vain.

When it comes to publishing, there is a certain recipe for success. And while nothing is guaranteed, there are significant activities which must happen in order for your book to have a chance at success. I often speak of promotion, websites, and gathering a social media footprint. Today we’re taking a look at the equally important back-end issues. Now, I can’t guarantee if you follow this that you’ll come out leading the charge with the most perfect book, but you’ll certainly be close. Writers never intentionally write a bad book, or a book that’s not marketable. We do our best, and we often hope for the best. But in a world full of clutter, you have to do more than that. You have to step out to succeed, and you have to learn the ropes of your market and the publishing industry. Here are 11 points for you to consider: (more…)

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As a writer, time, and not talent is probably your most precious commodity.  Precious as gold. Just as valuable and, for many, just as scarce. When I first dreamed of becoming a writer, I envisioned myself sitting by a window in a mahogany-lined office from which I could see a sparkling lake in the distance and a pristine garden in the foreground. The window would be open and occasionally I would hear the lilting call of a sparrow to its mate. Well, it all came true – in my dreams. (more…)

I’m sure many of you have seen the movie Titanic, but did  you know that the  date it sank  was  April 15, 1912? If you are one of those people still sinking under a cardboard box of  bits and pieces of paper trying to decipher what deductions you can claim as a writer, here are some links that may be helpful:

http://www.publishlawyer.com/carousel8.htm

http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/tax_tips.htm

http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Tax+Tips+For+Writers.aspx

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/selfemployed/index.html

These are links by some authorities in the legal and writing industry and the IRS itself. Hopefully they will keep you from sinking before the deadline, however they are not a substitute for consulting your own tax advisor.  Happy April 15th!

Related articles

• TaxCast: Last-Minute Tax Tips (turbotax.intuit.com)
• TurboTax – Serving Uncle Sam: Tax Breaks for the Military (turbotax.intuit.com)

One of the tips I picked up from veterans in book launching is that you should pay attention to the props you use for your book signing. Some authors print their book cover on their T shirt, or on tote books which they give to attendees who buy books. A tablecloth with your book cover and title printed in front is also a good idea. And don’t forget the poster. A professional-looking headshot of you on a large-sized poster makes a good impression. I haven’t done this yet, but it will be a good idea to have one of these made up and mounted on a cardboard frame so you can take it around with you to various events.

Another helpful tip is to have a loaded camera on hand so if anyone is interested you can take a photo with them. See some of my photos here.

Note my headdress in the pictures above. I tried to wear something to convey a semblance to a Jewish woman – the head scarf and ankle-length skirt, but that’s where it ended. You may not be able to make it out in the photos, but there’s my book cover printed on to my T shirt. A meeting of East and West, you might say. I wasn’t sure how my audience would respond to it, but everyone said they liked my outfit and understood what I was trying to portray.  However, for my next book signing event I would make a better attempt at authencity.

Remember, you can still purchase Women For All Seasons at Amazon.com or Barnes & Nobel.com and in ebook form at Smashwords.com. As always, your comments are welcome.

Related articles

• Tara Taylor Quinn Brings “Maple Street” to My Place (deenar116.wordpress.com)
• Please vote on April 1-15…please (fatquarter.wordpress.com)

Cover of Breakfast at Tiffany's

Last month’s posts featured successful female writers whose accomplishments may seem impossible for some of us to emulate. After all, how many of us twenty-first writers would write and publish one hundred books in our lifetime? Or maybe fifty? Twenty-five? Ten? Writing a book can be hard work, but with motivation and persistence you can succeed. If you examine the writing habits of your favorite writers you would find that their labels for success mimic those of  successful people in other fields. Let’s examine some of them.  (more…)

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As a new author, I view my book marketing efforts with a whole lot of anticipation mixed with a small amount of trepidation. I know that in order to get my name  known in authorland, I have to showcase myself and my work. If I don’t do it, no one else will. And so in the past month I embarked on two book signing events at two different libraries for my book Women For All Seasons. My first one was a successful failure. And I do mean that. Apart from my son and my grand-children, only one person showed up and that was a friend I’d invited. (more…)

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Hot on the heels of Black  History month comes Women’s History month, a time set aside in the US to honor women and the strides we have made over the centuries.

The women’s movement began in 1848 by a group of women headed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton as a way to air their greivances at being treated as second-class citizens. It snowballed into a widespread movement that swept the world and changed the way women functioned in the spheres of politics, education, finance, employment, health and sexuality.  No longer would women not be allowed to vote or enter the halls of education, become lawyers, doctors or ministers of religion. No longer would they be relegated to jobs way below their abilities.  (more…)

One of the most effective ways an author can receive exposure for his/her book is to have an internet book launch. Pastor Bobby Keating is having an internet book launch for his new book  Apply Wisdom to Life’s Circumstances. The launch date is March 15, 2011, and if you purchase the book on that date, you will receive a number of freebies.

Here is what Pastor Bobby has to say about his new book:

It is my sincere belief that God not only wants each believer to succeed but He has also given us the instruction on how we can be successful. The Holy Bible (God’s Holy Word) is filled with exhortations and positive directions for our success. If you study the Holy Bible with an open mind, an open heart and a desire to understand, you can easily see that throughout the history of God’s relationship with man His desire for His believers is that they live life with abundance, that they succeed in their endeavors and that they draw closer to Him.

Apply Wisdom to Life’s Circumstances is a guide to applying the Wisdom given to us through King Solomon‘s Proverbs. This book shows in detail how to apply this wisdom to daily life now to help every Christian to succeed in relationships, business, finances and more. 

When you purchase  a copy of the book you will help Pastor Bobby fund his prison, addiction and evangelism ministries. Visit The Success Book or Amazon. com and help push Pastor Bobby’s book to the top.

Purchase for $14.95 at Amazon.com

Have you ever wondered why some people win and most lose?  These Success Books hold the answer to this and many other questions!

Cutting through all of the hype and double talk, the Success Book presents life principles that really work and their application to daily life. If you are fed up, frustrated and confused, this book holds the key to your success in every area of life.

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I could not let Black History month go out without writing something about Toni Morrison, recipient of many distinguished literary awards and the first black woman to win a Nobel prize in  Literature.  Her real name is Chloe Anthony Wofford, but she changed it to Toni to coincide with her middle name since many people could not pronounce her first name correctly. Toni was an excellent student who loved to read and in first grade she was the only black student who could read.

Toni graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC with a bachelor’s degree in English before moving to Cornell University, New York where she graduated with a master’s degree. Toni’s first job was as a teacher in Texas University. She was later offered a job as an editor with Random House where she edited the works of prominent figures like Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis and Andrew Young.  (more…)