The authors we work with are non-fiction specialists, and the majority of whom speak professionally or conduct training as part of their business. For them, books are part of their marketing collateral. In some cases they act as an extended business card, and for others, a giveaway or product to sell. What ever reason you […]

For all parents who have been through that final stage of pregnancy and the birth of a child, you know that sometimes it’s a matter of things not always going to plan. Then finally, jubilation at the arrival of that new life, and the pain and anguish of the delivery...

The Importance of Amazon Best-Seller Status. Over the weekend, I got busy with a colleague’s book and we worked out a strategy for her to rise up from number 1-gazillienth to Number 1 Best Seller status on Amazon.

Up until only a dozen or so years ago, in terms of author marketing it was OK to focus on going wide… who’s the general target market

As an author, you need more than just your own press to tell the world how great you are, or worthwhile your books are. You need to gather indisputable evidence that you’re great at what you do, and that you have bona fide fans, or an ability to back up your claims. But how to […]

Are You Writing One Book or Ten? I don’t know about you, but I constantly have ideas for books, blogs and articles racing through my head. Yes, it gets pretty darned busy in there at times. So prioritizing the potential output is sometimes the hardest part of the job. Here are a few things you […]

I was talking with an old friend this week, who is one of the most knowledgeable retail marketing specialists I know.  He’s written a number of books over the years, but his self publishing skills are by comparison, almost non-existent.    Sometimes life’s like that – we know so much about what we do, but […]

I’m a very big fan of a great writer named Richard Webster, who is well known for his 2000 words a day story.  In short, he visited the home of a famous author many years ago, and read on a plaque that this author was himself famous for a discipline of writing a minimum of […]

Apart from gaining a lot of enjoyment, readers know how fulfilling it is to be transported into the imaginary world between the pages of a good work of fiction. Also, educators and brain scientists are aware of the importance of reading in the development of the brain and the imagination. In a study, neuroscientists in […]

Before, During, and After your topic development – what you most need to think about: I was talking with someone today about what comes first – the chicken or the egg… ok… the book or the speaking topic! The issue is often a matter of priorities – and what you’re already doing.  What have you already invested in, and how […]

Another reason to write reviews is that it provides you an opportunity to improve your copywriting skills. Copywriting skills you might ask? Yes! Regardless of how they are published, authors are responsible for a huge portion of their own promotion.

Authors I work with are Non-Fiction specialists, and most of them speak professionaly or do training as part of their regular work.  For them, books are part of their marketing collateral, and in some cases act as an extended business card, and in others, a giveaway or product to sell.   What ever reason anyone has […]

I’ve just returned from Auckland, New Zealand, where I attended the extraordinary Global Speakers Summit of 2018.   While there, I connected of course with a number of high profile speakers, authors, and several extremely talented Game Changers working in their particular areas of expertise, determinedly changing the world one speech, connection, or radical idea at […]

One of my favourite things to do over the holiday season is to turn everything off.  No emails, phones, social media – nothing for a few days.   It’s THE easiest time of the year to ‘detox’ from all work related things.  And then… after a few days of lolling about in the sun (I live down […]

I work in an industry where a lot of people put their hands up and say ‘Oh I can do that for you’, or ‘me too’.  I’m talking about coaching – in any format, and regardless of speciality, there seems to always be someone waiting to offer their card, promote their services, and be ‘that […]

If you’re into various author and writing forums you’ll be aware of this looming thing tht happens every year now called NaNoWriMo…  which basically stands for National Novel Writing Month. Its a global call to action for writers to pen a novel of  50,000 words within...

“There are two kinds of people in this world… ” Well actually I think it’s more than that.  Let’s go deeper – there are two kinds of AUTHORs in this world – perfectionists, and every one else! Authors who are perfectionists by nature, are always going to struggle with...

“Aaaahhhhhh!  No, I dont’ want to do video.  I would not like it here or there… with green eggs and ham… or anywhere else… Sam i Am!”  That’s the phrase that typically runs through my head when anyone says – You have to start doing video.   I have avoided it like the...

WHO IS ON YOUR TEAM? Writing a book is not a ‘one-man’ job, and if anyone tries to tell you differently, they are wrong.  In fact, the ‘writing’ part is only a part of the process  and even that is team effort.  Now for anyone reading this so far and thinking, ‘Hold...

One of the things I keep going on about, and am often asked to explain further is the concept of having a great pre-launch team, or Beta Readers. WHO ARE THEY? Maybe friends, family, colleagues, or other writers.  Maybe perfect strangers.  But often the best people to...

One thing that I’ve learned through nearly a decade of working in the book business, is that you can never have too much help to market your work.   So I’m going to share with you some of my favorite author tools – and some of these are recently discovered....

I was asked this week to comment on the following email by the wife of a client, and so I’ve tried to simplify the response as best I can while ensuring the gist of the information is as clear as possible. You see there really is a formula for growing your database,...

I love that old saying – how do you eat an elephant… one bite at a time!  But sometimes it just feels endless doesn’t it?  I mean, the very nature of this industry – writing for a living – is one that takes time to develop.  It doesn’t matter how much you think you’ve...

Here’s Why you can’t rely on having a job anymore! This is the age of freelancers and consultants and investing in becoming one might be your only option for a healthy retirement. I have two sons. One works for a very large corporate industry and it’s hard to imagine...

You wrote the book, and the back cover, and the marketing material, and even a great press release… and you’ve uploaded the book to Amazon, put some ads on AMS and Facebook, and then what happened… ? Nothing.  Nada. Zip! So you sat down and cried – because all that hard work seems to have […]