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June 5, 2013 By Andy Traub

To every author: Your book needs to start a conversation

Post 9 of 26 of The Self-Publishing Series

Books can start conversations. The first conversation happens between the reader and your text. It’s the job of the author to keep the conversation going. (Tweet that) If you don’t you’re missing an opportunity to build loyalty and add more value to their life. Whether you write the next Harry Potter or the next business book about moving cheese (I still don’t understand that book) you can start a conversation with your reader through your book and continue the conversation using several different platforms.

Photo Credit: mark sebastian via Compfight cc

To get ALL of the self-publishing posts emailed to you click on this link.

Readers consume their books in their own way, in their own voice, with their own preferences and prejudices. They connect with specific characters. They skip chapters. They highlight passages and turn corners of pages to remind them to revisit their favorite lessons. Readers are always in control of that conversation and that’s why readers like to read. Most authors screw up and miss the chance to keep the conversation going. So why keep the conversation going?

You need them for your next book
If you write another book and you don’t have a way of talking with your past readers then they have to come find you. You’re a traveling salesman with no phone number. You have to come to them again and that’s just bad marketing. If you switch publishers or genres how are your readers going to find you? (Tweet that) They’re not and you’re going to start all over.

Where to keep the conversation going
There are several platforms and methods to keep the conversation with your readers going. Email lists, Twitter followers, Facebook groups, text messaging subscriptions, Pinterest boards, LinkedIn groups and custom on-line communities. It’s not expensive to keep the conversation going, you just have to care enough to build offer them. Those custom communities can even make you money.

349 more people than most authors
This is an opportunity to make readers part of your idea and your future. 349 of the 4,678 people that have purchased my book that have joined a private Facebook group for accountability and encouragement. That’s 7% of my readers. That’s 349 more people than most authors ever connect with through Amazon. You have to move the conversation to a different platform and Facebook is just one of those platforms. It’s not even my preferred platform but it is for many of my readers so I’m there, having a conversation. Email is the best way to continue the conversation.

Email is best for long term conversations
1,423 (30%) of my readers have shared their email address with me. If I had launched a private on-line community I’m sure I’d have hundreds of members there too. The greatest benefit I get as the author is feedback and encouragement. These people want to talk to each other, express gratitude and most of all find community. We’re all looking for kindred spirits and readers of your book all have one thing in common, your book. (Tweet that) Give them a place and a way to connect or you’re missing a big opportunity.

Conversations create opportunities you’re weren’t looking for

Click for a free copy until release
The next edition of The Early To Rise Experience has already been written. 53 moms wrote it for me. Those 53 moms read my first book and accepted an invitation to help me write the next version, “The Early To Rise Experience For Moms”. Amazon didn’t help me do that. I did that because I had their email addresses, they followed me on Twitter or they had joined the private Facebook group. We were already talking to each other and I realized they needed more specific encouragement and that I couldn’t write the book that moms needed to help them. So I asked the community around my book if they wanted to help and they said yes. Seventy moms said yes. 53 of them went to the trouble of writing passages for the new book.

Reading is a solitary activity but most readers want to connect with other readers. Help them. Keep the conversation going. Readers also appreciate being able to talk to you. They want to know your recommendations for slippers (mens/womens). They want to know you’re human and that the book is just the start of the relationship.

You have no idea what might happen when you start a conversation with your readers. They might even help you write your next book (which we’re giving away for free until we release it later this summer).

[ois skin=”SPS Mindmap”]

Filed Under: Publishing, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

May 31, 2013 By Andy Traub

Questions with no answers until you publish your work

Post 8 of 26 of The Self-Publishing Series


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Great quests have obstacles. Self-publishing is one such quest. There are physical obstacles; writing and organizing your text, creating cover art and uploading your book to a publishing service. More difficult though are the internal obstacles. They are more powerful and will keep you from finishing.

Photo Credit: craigCloutier via Compfight cc

Internal beliefs birth our actions

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Filed Under: Self-publishing, Uncategorized

May 29, 2013 By Andy Traub

How to maximize the impact of your book’s endorsements on Amazon.com

Post 7 of 26 of The Self-Publishing Series


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If you trust an author you will buy their book but why do you buy a book from an author you don’t trust? You buy their book because you trust someone else who says it’s a good book. That’s a long way of saying that endorsements influence your buying decision. Amazon.com gives you control over several parts of your book’s page on their site and the very first one after your book description is another area you control, the endorsements area.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Publishing, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

May 20, 2013 By Andy Traub

How to achieve a distraction free writing experience in a feature rich program – Scrivener

If you want to be a writer you need to write. To write most of us need to eliminate distractions. In the past I’ve used programs like OmmWriter and ByWord to keep the distractions at bay. Somewhere in the past I forgot that the program I use to actually compile my books also provides a distraction free writing experience. The key is to use the “Compose” view in Scrivener.

Be Like Mike (Hyatt)
My friend Michael Hyatt recently announced he’s using Scrivener as his writing studio.

3rd try: I am now using @scrivenerapp as my writing studio for everything. Here’s how I have it organized. twitter.com/MichaelHyatt/s…

— Michael Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt) May 20, 2013

 

Attain Distraction Free Writing & Get 20% off Scrivener
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Self-publishing, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: michael hyatt, Productivity, scrivener, self-publishing

May 17, 2013 By Andy Traub

What the price of your digital book says about its contents

Post 6 of 26 of The Self-Publishing Series


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Price…the ultimate question for the author and for some the publisher. Here’s a list of prices and what I believe they say about your digital book.

To get the self-publishing posts emailed to you click on this link.


$16.99
You’re selling a very short business book about moving cheese

$12.99
You have a NYT best selling book
You have a traditional big name publisher
Your book is over 300 pages (or it has a code to an on-line test – i.e. Strengthfinders 2.0)
You were famous before you wrote your book and you may never write another book again

$9.99
You have a traditional publisher but not necessarily a big name publisher
This isn’t your first book
Your book is over 300 pages long or it’s a business book in it’s first six months of being released
You are selling a very popular form of porn involving a shade of a color
You’ve earned your audience

$7.99 and more…

Filed Under: Publishing, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

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