Fabulous book promotion guide January 25, 2010

Oh my goodness, this lady is just brilliant!

I wrote about Stephie Smith a few weeks ago because she has an excellent chart on different writing contests you can submit to, but I just discovered a newer feature of her site . . . a book promotion guide!

Below is her list of every suggestion she has to promote your book. C’est incroyable! Hop onto this table’s contents as fast as you can.

Advertising
How To Articles
PR Agencies
Book Review Sites
Mailing Lists
Promotion Tips
Blogs / Interviews
Online Classes
Video Trailers
Chats
Website Stuff
                                                                                                                     
And is Stephie content with providing this to struggling artists such as ourselves? Mais non! She also provides the following list of writers’ resources.
                                       

General Writers’ Resources
Agents
Different Genres
Promoting Your Book
Blogging and Blogs
Grammar, Punctuation
Publishing Your Book
Book Review Sites
Money, Taxes & Jobs
Romance Reading
Contests & Exercises
News on Books & Publishing
Romance Writing
Craft of Writing
Pitching Your Book
Writing Scripts

Historical Resources
American History
Fashion & Costumes
Scotland
Architecture, Landscaping
Industrial Revolution
Ships & Naval History
Coinage
Medieval-18th c. England
Titles, Bios & Genealogy
Crime and Punishment
Pirates, Smuggling, Trade
Victorian Era
Culture (Art, Speech, etc.)
Regency Era
World History

You are probably thinking by now that Stephie is a good friend of mine and we have this pact to help each other out. Not so. I found her site quite by chance and feel that all her hard work must be proclaimed from the highest rooftops. This is a fabulous accomplishment and it’s all for us!

Ok, I’ll calm down now, and I’ll quit with the exclamation marks. Again, here’s her page of writers’ resources.

If you’d like to thank her for making all her hard work available at no cost, you can buy her booklet here.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Textbooks–new and free? August 26, 2009

The textbook world as we know it
Flat World Knowledge has decided to stir things up in the world of textbook publishing. As it stands, textbooks are published by recognized publishing houses that send out updated version of their most recent books every two years or so. They come in one format—hardback, and sometimes they’ll have a CD or DVD in the back. Some even give a unique code that can only be used once by the buyer, thereby rendering any resale of the book redundant because the new owners cannot access the same content.

Students are using book-rental stores
A textbook usually costs somewhere in the region of $80-$120, and even when students resell the books to try and recoup the cost of something they could not afford in the first place, they can forget about getting even two-thirds of their money back if the book has been updated.

Some publishers have put the textbook material online, but at a price. Colleges have to pay a set fee to the publisher for a number of log-in codes—the number of students in their class—and students have to cover this cost.

Second-hand bookstores, textbook rental sites, book sharing, and even scanning and printing off copies has been the norm for broke students until now.

Flat World stirs the pot
Enter the newest superhero of textbook publishing: Flat World Knowledge. When you look at cost, ease of use, and different learning styles, this crowd is definitely on the cutting edge of publishing.
Flat World’s textbooks are available in the following formats:
online (free!)
black-and-white print & color
audio file
single chapters in audio files
PDFs
and Flat World also sell study aids, mobile flash cards and online quizzes.

“Our books are free online. We offer convenient, low-cost choices for students – softcovers for under $30, audio books and chapters, self-print options, and more.”

Other bonuses from Flat World Knowledge
Students don’t even have to register to access the free book material.

“Are you reading this feeling a bit jaded? Something must be coming – some advertising, spam, a charge after a trial period, lock-in to a product, something. Breathe. Relax. It’s just not coming.”

Being a writer, my favorite thing about this company is that they pay their authors a 20 percent commission instead of the usual 15 percent. Another point of interest for teachers is that they can change the content to make it their own.

“Our books are open for instructors to modify and make their own (for their own course – not for anybody else’s).”

The printed version of books teachers have modified will be the modified version. This is possible because of the company’s print-on-demand business model. I wonder will colleges get their own Espresso printing machines as time goes by and this method of study becomes more common.

Students can also post questions online to a global community of students studying the same content. I’m sure that will give a great boost to the hopes of Donald Trump’s beauty queens for world peace.

Want to learn more?
If you would like to learn more about this new and ingenious business model, Flat World Knowledge have a webinar every Monday at 2:00 p.m. EST. You can sign up for the ones that best suit your schedule.

In the interim
And for those poverty-stricken students who still have to panhandle on the streets to pay for their books, lifehacker is a great resource.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Exacerbate the fears and make millions August 19, 2009

So we’ve seen how writers and sales people can capitalize on the four basic fears of others, but we only delved into two fears. Let’s continue. . . .

Example #3
You are afraid that you don’t matter to anyone, that you are not pretty enough/good enough/smart enough.

Sales pitch: Are you small? Would you like to be bigger? Being bigger would take care of all the problems in your life. No more will people overlook you when filling job positions. No more will people not notice that cute mole on your right cheek. No more will others not listen to your opinions. We want to give you, yes, give you, NoMoreShrinkage, because at this price, we’re practically giving away attention. NoMoreShrinkage works in such a unique way that you will not even feel it happening, and after your one hundred and thirty-five easy payments, you can walk tall.

Story: She stood in front of him, her eyes wide. He knew what she was thinking. Was there anything in there, behind those glassy gray eyes? She looked deeper, her pupils rushing from fleck to fleck in desperation. He held his own, hands in his back pockets, acting as calm as Tom Cruise on a dead motorbike. He just wished he had the shades. Her shoulders heaved, her eyes filled, and her body moved a step back. It was true. He was as dumb as a deaf, blind and mangy monkey, and there was nothing he could do about it, except, maybe, go buy those sunglasses now.

Example #4
You are afraid that you are irredeemable. You have messed up so much and so often that James Frey has nothing on you. You own the corner of the market on sin, and if you remind yourself enough (like, minute by minute) of what a loser you are, it will spur you to achieve incredible leaps of perfection (despite the fact that your dad tried that and it obviously didn’t work).

Sales pitch: Do you feel like cr*p? Have you failed again? Will you ever get it right? We have the answer! The Shoulda Button is attached to this tiny electrical wire that is attached to your neck that is drilled through your thick skull that is embedded in your brain. Every time you feel as if you should push yourself more, press this button and deliver 14 amps of electrical messages to your brain, saying such things like, “You shoulda not said that, you shoulda said this, you shoulda been witty, you shoulda smashed their face in.” Guaranteed for life, this only adds to the messages your brain already delivers, but we all know, it’s never enough. Exacerbate the pain, and maybe, some day, you’ll feel enough like the crud you really are to climb the highest mountains, drink milk with a moustache, and live your STD-filled life to the fullest.

Story: Grunt sat on the gritty floor of the granite cave grunting. Dadgrunt was out stoning bison, just like he did every day, only today he had asked Grunt to go along with him. Grunt grunted. He’d never be a stoner. His arm was too short, his aim was too high, his low was too low, but he couldn’t tell his dad that. Dadgrunt was the region’s top stoner. He’d never understand. Grunt lay on the gritty floor, and began to cry.

So it’s all quite simple really. Imagine the worst, write it down, and make your millions. Oh, and by the way, if you try and sue me because your writing career suddenly finds itself in the toilet, your worst fear might come true. Just think about that. Selah.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Use fear to sell your wares August 17, 2009

Having been a lay counselor for almost ten years, I have noticed that people’s problems tend to settle into four basic beliefs or lies about themselves. Writers and sales people then use those fears to sell their wares.

Example #1
You are afraid of being abandoned by loved ones and believe that no one will help you when you need help the most.

Sales pitch: Do you live alone? Are you nervous about strangers breaking into your house in the middle of the night to kidnap your children and steal the family jewels?
Then buy the Zillion Decibel Alarmifuss, the ONLY alarm that will not only wake you, but also all the neighbors on your street and the cops in the donut shops on 5th and 9th. Buy Alarmifuss TODAY, and don’t live in fear any longer.

Story: She was at the part of her dream when he pulled her to his manly studly body and lowered his soft lips when the noise woke her. So disturbed was Lady Antonia by the sudden breach of her dream that she fought to regain her mind.
Lady Antonia was alone. Sir Gallivant had left her for his weekly tirade of the servants down at the shed (or had he), and she, the weak and helpless damsel, felt her heart stir with dread. She traced a finger down her cheek to the floor. Soon it would all be over, and Sir Gallivant would find her in a pool of her own blood with the jewels that bedecked her ears . . . gone.
                                                               
                                                               
Example #2
You are afraid of emotional or physical pain and you fear that you will die if you experience too much of it.

Sales pitch: Are you sad ALL the time? Do you cry at Disney movies? Do you weep at comedies? Are there tears on your pillow?
You need CryNoMore, the laughing pill that will have you frozen in happiness forevermore, and it’s sunshine yellow, because once you start taking these pills, every day will seem to have the sun shining through it.

Story: He looked into her liquid-green eyes and saw the fiery sparks of resentment firing back up into a fire. His heart melted in the flames, liquid lava spreading through his gut like a fire in his belly—the flames of love and lustiness reaching new heights—only to be drowned in her fireman’s dousing of all that lay within. He backed away, one footstep at a time. His fire would never meet her hose again—he vowed, and then he dashed away.
                                                               

Subscribe to this website for Part Two, cuz if you don’t, you, too, might find yourself without all I have to offer.
                                                               
                                                               

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Becky Cortino—A Treasure Chest of Passion May 4, 2009

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Becky Cortino—a fascinating woman—who has managed to combine all of her favorite things (sales, gardening, magic, clown ministry, celtic harp, aromatherapy, training, speaking, and writing) and use them to bless others. Becky is an inspiration to many writers who wonder if they have anything to offer through their writing—she has chosen to follow her heart, learn as much as possible from each season of her life, and then teach others, through her writing and speaking, from her wealth of experience.

I sent Becky some questions so that readers could find out more about her current season of life and how she got to this place professionally.

Sales, gardening and clowning around . . . what attracted you to invest your time and talent in each of these areas?

Sales: initial passion for my work, in which I have experienced success. I LOVE people.

Gardening: began when I was small, after Master Gardener certification. I dove in head-first, with my family—learning never ends. Now I’m sharing 10 years of discoveries, research, and writing on the topic. I’m also a Garden Writer Association writer.

Clowning—that is, becoming involved in FRMC Charlie’s Chaplains in 1997, was an answered prayer: I was asking for a way that my family could become involved in a significant way to serve. It is that and SO much more. I am blessed to work with THE most dedicated peeps. YUM!

It seems like sales is your forte—how do you see your experience in sales helping you with your participation in the Charlie’s Chaplains ministry, and have you seen it help you with your writing career also?

I laughed when I thought of the images evoked by the aspects you have named, Sally; LOL! That “sales” would be my forte—I think of the typical sales person and how people view that, LOL, And THEN, I think of my PR side—WOW! A Flack! Hehe And then—a clown—now who could take that person seriously?! LOL!

In actuallity, it is my entire background that I bring to wherever I am. FRMC Charlie’s Chaplains has benefited immeasureably from my Marketing/PR career. I would have to say the underpinnings of all are “marketing,” and all else follows.

What drew you into the writing world?

I have always been a writer, and was encouraged by my mother. I have been a published writer in the media for 38 years.

Obviously, you have spent more time during certain phases of your life on different interests—which is closest to your heart these days—sales, gardening, writing, cheering up the sick, or entertaining at events?

Being a performing artist
Being mother of Magic’s Royal Duke Sammy Cortino
Being a magician’s assistant to BJ Cortino.
They don’t call me “Magic Mom” for nothin’!

What advice would you give to writers/artists who are a bit unsure about the future, or to those who wonder if they will be able to continue to follow their passion?

I have definite advice for writers/artists—to continue on! I just, literally, put pen to paper yesterday, as I am now working on book #3 in my A Heart 4 Clowning series.

Becky Cortino has 2 books and a CD available for purchase from this store: http://stores.lulu.com/beckycortino
Healing Humor: Live Happy – Be Healthy! (CD)
From the Heart: Injecting Healing Humor in the Healthcare Setting (book)
How to Establish a Hospital Clown or Creative Ministry Guide (book)

You can read more about Becky and her various interests on the following websites:
http://www.BeckyCortino.com/
http://www.youtube.com/HealingHumor
http://www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?find.member=writer&job=&exp=&LastName=Cortino
http://HerbalTreasures.wordpress.com/
http://SparkWritersWisdom.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F www.aheart4clowning.com%2F&h=2d11a16810ce30a69d3bcfa724e48eea
http://Healing-Humor.blogspot.com/
http://CharliesChaplains.blogspot.com

You can also follow Becky on Twitter @ Healing Humor.

Thank you, Becky. It is very encouraging to see how one woman can inspire so many.