Self Publishing and Life

By Colin Dunbar

Writing and self publishing with a 9 to 5 job, and a family can be challenging, but it is possible. Sometimes, when life's priorities come your way, writing usually takes a back seat (or, more accurately, dealines). The thing to remember is not to give up. That's what happened with my posting to my self publishing diary. Although I missed my weekly scheduled posting, I am able to post now.

On the plus side, work on my books didn't slip by the way side. The past 2 weeks I was still able to work on my books, and the new web project my son and I are busy with.

On to what I did...

Writing and Reading

FBIW. The next post at formatbookinword.com went up on time.

Invest in Yourself. Apart from formatbookinword.com, this is where most of my time was spent. I was able to write a few hundred words on this book.

Web project. This is progressing well, and we have received the first WIP version of the application. Soon we'll be getting the first draft and my son and I will be able to start testing.

I didn't do anything on TCRW, but that wasn't a problem as this book is low on my priority list at present.

I made a start on a free report that will be available at formatbookinword.com, and I will post about it here as well.

As I said in my last post, I can now share the title of the book I'm presently reading: Training Your Brain for Dummies. If you're interested in learning the basics of how the brain functions, this is a good book. I'm not that far yet, but there are also exercises to help keep the brain alert, and to help improve memory.

I also had the privilege of reviewing this e-course: Pick up Your Memoir Again... And Finish it! If you're writing your memoir, but haven't worked on it in a while, this e-course may be just the thing you need to get going again, and actually finish it (the link for the e-course is below).

Cyber Surfing

Children Say The Best Things in Bookshops
http://jen-campbell.blogspot.com/2014/04/children-say-best-things-in-bookshops.html

New AAP Stats Show that the US eBook Market Saw Excellent Growth in 2013
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDigitalReader/~3/i3vyZC_WKWY/

Pick Up Your Memoir Again…and Finish It!
http://thememoirnetwork.com/shop/pick-up-your-memoir-again/

This is from a newsletter I received a while ago... I thought it was really neat.

What Do You See?

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
What my kids see are flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.
When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
What my kids see is someone smiling at them and they smile back.
When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune, so I sit self-consciously and listen.
What my kids hear is the beat and move to it. They sing the words and if they don't know them, they make up their own.
When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
What my kids feel is they close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.
When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
What my kids pray is "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends."
When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
What my kids see are dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.
I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from?

~ Author Unknown ~

Remember, have a great writing week, and ALWAYS believe in yourself.

Productivity and the Self Published Author

By Colin Dunbar

 

Another productive week!

I was mainly tied up with two book design projects. These are 2 PDF ebooks, one is a web site that was turned into an ebook, and the other is an original ebook. I also designed the e-covers.

On the writing side, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. Mainly outlining and planning. On the plus side, I feel a lot more motivated to write again. This is actually something that intrigues me: ever since I posted about having writer's block, I've not once had a problem with writing (including posting here in my self publishing diary).

I have a new site planned, and have been wrestling with the site concept. I turned to a good friend of mine and asked for his help. His feedback put a new light on my ideas, and I'll be finalizing the site idea - it should go live soon. Thanks Ian.

Overall, it was a good week... until Saturday night, that is. We received one of "those" phone calls, you know, the kind that you don't ever want to get. My in-laws were attacked and robbed on Saturday. Even though they're traumatized (tied, kicked, jumped on, cut, burnt with a clothes iron), we are VERY grateful that they're alive. We now have to trust that the barbarians won't return.

Last week there was not a shortage of reading. I'm still busy with Writing Fiction for Dummies. Enjoying every word, and learning a lot! And, as usual, I read a load of articles.

Here's something I hope you'll like...

More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.

The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language...try it!

No word in the English language rhymes with month.

Shakespeare invented the words 'assassination' and 'bump'.

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand, "lollipop" with your right.

The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

The words 'racecar' and 'kayak' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters from only one row of the keyboard.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."

There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs five times: "indivisibility."

The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

If you have anything you'd like to share, or maybe a question you have, let me know in the comments.

Goodies for Self Published Authors

By Colin Dunbar

Hello there

Well... I've really been quiet hey?

Quiet posting here, but I've actually been busy with my own writing - and I have some goodies for you.

I've also decided on the format of this blog. It would be great to hear what you think.

Self Publishing Diary Update

All my client work is done (for now) which meant I could spend time on my own writing.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you will recall my going public with my writing projects.

Here's an update on my progress...

MLBE: I have finalized the contents of this book, and have a printed copy of the manuscript ready for editing/reviewing. My target for MLBE is moved to end of September, and will be publishing it at CreateSpace, Kindle, and Smashwords.

IIY2: Not much was done on this. I did do a little writing, but nothing earth shattering.

DSPB: Ah, this is where I spent most of my time. Instead of publishing this straight as a book, I decided to publish it as a blog (blog-to-book) first, and then make it available as a book (with a load of bonuses). I made this decision to pay it forward, and share my experience. My target date for launching the blog is the first week of September, and will announce it here when it goes live.

What's it about?

Sorry, but that's a surprise (I can say if you're interested in self publishing your own book even slightly, you'll want to give it a read).

And that's it for my diary update.

Self Publishing News & Views

As self-published authors, we're always on the look out for ways to sell more books, and this article offers some ideas.

The 3 Pillars Of Selling More Books

Do you struggle with grammar? Or maybe you just want to polish up on grammar. Then this site (with handouts and videos) can be useful.

http://www.chompchomp.com/

I found this useful video by Joanna Penn where she talks about her decision to go back to print. Worth watching.

Self Publishing With Print On Demand. Why I'm Returning To Print Publishing

Getting endorsement for our books is something that we generally feel is difficult. Well, the way Kristen, from UltimateBookCoach.com explains in this video makes it simple, and a lot easier than expected.

How to Get Published - Get Endorsements for Your Self-Published Book

Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless. Unknown Author

I goofed off... bite me

By Colin Dunbar

Yep, I goofed off and did a lot of reading...

21 Ways to Write & Publish Your Non-Fiction Book

How to Evaluate Your Book for SUCCESS! (workbook)

The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan

Re-read parts of...
Focus - Leo Babauta

PagePlus X6 Reviews

A BUNCH of articles...

Self-Publishing Diary Update

A-ha... I did do some writing, and came up with what I think is a good idea.

All will be revealed in the next post.

What I found on the web...

I tried to link to a great video here, but Blogger kept messing me around... maybe next time.

Book Review, Self Publishing Diary Update & Other Stuff

By Colin Dunbar

There is no progress to report in my self publishing diary this week, but hopefully I have some useful stuff for you, including a book review of an awesome book.

All the goal setting, strategies, and focus go down the tubes when life throughs you a curve ball. When something like this happens, it seems one's instinct's become acute and take over, especially when it's a matter of life and death. (I may still put this in a book, one day).

Anyway, on to better things... good self publishing things.

Self Publishing Diary Update

What I decided to do is let you know what the projects are that I'm busy with. And then it's my intention to update the status of these here in my self publishing diary. For some of my books I'll only use a code (I like surprises and mystery).

My Little Book of Encouragement (MLBE). It was the great Zig Ziglar who said, "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing. That's why we recommend it daily." Very real, very true words. My Little Book of Encouragement is to help us keep up our motivation, and encourage us when things don't seem to go according to plan. This book is about 80% complete, and my publishing target is to have it available the end of July.

Invest In Yourself (2nd Edition) (IIY2). In 2004 I self published this book, offline. This is a memoir about my home business endeavors. The first edition ran up to 2003, and in the revised 2nd edition I've added the years 2004 up to 2012. The revised part of the book is about 25%, and my publishing target is end of December.

DSPB. This is a how-to book, and is my big project. I moved this book down on my priority list as it needs my undivided attention. It's about 60% complete, and I haven't set a launch date for it yet.

There are other books in different stages of completion, but these are the three I'm presently working on (and the only books I want to put my neck on the line for, publicly).

I will be updating my self publishing diary with all the details on the progress of these books: writing, where they'll be self published, promotion and marketing, sales - the whole kaboodle. I trust this is going to be helpful to you, and would love to hear anything you have to say, suggest, or ask.

How's that for public commitment? Now I'm accountable (Or I land up with egg on my face. Not good.)

Book Review: Sell Your Book Like Wildfire

If I had to describe Rob Eager's Sell Your Book Like Wildfire with one word, it would be: Awesome!

In the Preface, Rob shares the following: "This book was written to serve as your personal guide to help you sell more books." And I can, with a clear conscience, say Sell Your Book Like Wildfire IS my guide. I'm using Rob's book to plan my self-publishing journey. Period.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Establish Your Expertise
Chapter 2 Light a Fire in Your Readers
Chapter 3 Make Your Mark with an Author Brand
Chapter 4 How to Build Book-Marketing Tools into Your Manuscript
Chapter 5 Start a Wild Fire with Your Author Website
Chapter 6 How to Capture More Media Interviews
Chapter 7 Turn Media Interviews Into Book Sales
Chapter 8 Feed the Beast: How to Use Amazon to Sell More Books
Chapter 9 The Skinny On Social Networking
Chapter 10 Working with a Publisher
Chapter 11 The Flammability Of Free: How To Drive Word Of Mouth
Chapter 12 Sell Books Through Public Speaking
Chapter 13 Create News Letters That Get Results
Chapter 14 Marketing Tips For Fiction

As you can see from the Table of Contents, Rob Eager covers all the essentials for an author to reach success, and sell your book like wildfire.

In Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, Rob covers the different elements, from your expertise as an author, to an author brand, to an author website - everything you need is in this book.

As Rob says, "I set out to try every strategy possible to sell my books. It wasn't easy, but within a couple of years I sold 13,000 copies on my own and built a nationwide following. I conducted more than 170 events across North America and spoke to more than 35,000 people.", you discover in the pages of Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, this book is written by someone who knows his stuff.

There is one section in this book that blew me away: Fifteen Ways to Build Marketing Tools Into Your Book (pages 59-66). I was astounded when I learned of these. Marketing tools IN your book... amazing.

If there was only ONE book I had to recommend to every self-published author (and traditional authors, for that matter), it would be Sell Your Book Like Wildfire. Get your copy now, and invest in your publishing future.




For my South African visitors, the book is available at kalahari:

Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature

Whoa, man... I read this article, and was going to respond with my own take on what this guy says, then I found the article at The Independent Publishing Magazine. Brilliant.

Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature

Open Letter Reply to Michael Kozlowski's Article - Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature

I would like to hear what your thoughts on this are.

Have you considered making your book available as an audio book?

Reach New Readers With The Magic Of Audiobooks

"Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value." ~ Albert Einstein

Great book for self-published authors (Red Hot Internet Publicity)

By Colin Dunbar

I'm kinda finding my feet with this self publishing diary, blogging thing. I certainly hope I'm offering something of value, and maybe even a little interesting. I'd really appreciate any feedback you want to share. In the next post I'll be sharing more on my progress on my own self publishing journey. Please enjoy.

Book review: Red Hot Internet Publicity by Penny C. Sensevieri

I couldn't wait for my copy of Red Hot Internet Publicity to arrive. The day I picked up my parcel at the post office, I wasted no time in ripping open the package.

Book out, I followed the normal routine of fanning the pages and smelling the paper/ink of my new book.

That night I began reading Red Hot Internet Publicity...

The book is divided into five Parts:

Part One: Red Hot Search Engine Optimization
Part Two: Your Website
Part Three: Red Hot Social Media
Part Four: Red Hot Blogging
Part Five: Driving Even More Traffic

As you can see, Red Hot Internet Publicity covers the main elements for doing business on the Web.

In the Foreword (by Joan Stewart), she says: "If marketing online was a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, Penny would be the one you'd want sitting next to you at the kitchen table. She's an author, a business owner, a publicist and a marketing expert who helped create 11 best-sellers in 22 months." And as I absorbed page after page, I never doubted Penny's experience and knowledge with respect to marketing a business online. This author knows her stuff.

If you've been online for some time, and feel you know it all, consider Joan's words: "Red Hot [Internet Publicity} is also a valuable reminder for experts like me who have been doing Internet marketing for 15 years." (my emphasis)

Joan closes off her Foreword with: "If you know the types of people who are ideal buyers for your book or consumers for your business, but you don't know how to use the technology to find them, you're in luck. Red Hot shows you how."

A neat little feature in the book are the Red Hot Tips. Short, valuable snippets of relevant tips, sprinkled throughout the book.

What I got from this book

Although Red Hot Internet Publicity offers a lot of information, it's not a how-to book. To be honest, such a book would be a monstrous volume, so it's not actually a negative.

I found Part Four and Part Five the most valuable. These are the topics I regularly research.

In the Chapter, WORDS ON YOUR WEBSITE, pages 50 to 54 offer very good advice about the text on your website. Very useful.

I bought this book because I read that it was for authors, and even though it's not for authors ONLY, I still found tremendous value in the book. Especially pages 56 to 58 (Media Room Tips) is very useful for the self-published author.

With what I just said, if you are a new self-published author (or considering self-publishing), you will find Red Hot Internet Publicity valuable. This is especially true if you're just starting out on the Web.

I certainly am pleased to have this book on my book shelf, and can without a doubt recommend it to anyone wishing to do business on the Web. Penny C. Sensevieri has done a superb job with Red Hot Internet Publicity.

Red Hot Internet Publicity

For my South African visitors, this book is available at kalahari.com

Self Published Books

Do you agree that most self-published ebooks are terrible?  In my experience, there are a lot of self-published ebooks that do look terrible, and difficult to read, but if it's most... The Overwhelming Majority of Self-Published Books are Terrible




4 Lessons for Independent Authors: A Recap of BookExpo America 2013

The following is an extract from this article. A neat article.

2. Write your business plan before you write your book

Many of the successful authors I talked to had similar advice: figure out the business/marketing details first.

Who is your audience? How will you find them?
What will they get from your book?
What will set your book apart from similar titles to make it an essential purchase?
What is the marketing hook?
What is the elevator pitch? Can you summarize your book in 3 sentences while conveying the
depth of its content?
Will it be part of a series?
What is your writing schedule and deadlines? How will you measure your progress?
What are my weaknesses, and how can I get assistance in those areas?
How can I build my platform WHILE I write this book?

By answering these and many more questions, you’ll have a clear vision that will not only guide you through the writing process, but fuel you with enough energy to begin the book in the first place (if you decide it’s worth your time). 4 Lessons for Independent Authors

Price Fixing for Ebooks?

Can prices be fixed for ebooks? Real (paper) books? How can prices be fixed for any literary or creative work? How do you feel about this?

"Amazon created the modern eBook market: Kindle was introduced in 2007. Amazon immediately grabbed over 90% of the market. Kindle proprietary files created a “walled garden” and shut others out. Once they got publishers on board, they started to demand more. Amazon played hardball with publishers and punished them by pulling titles for sale and charging below-cost for best-sellers." It’s an Apple and Amazon World

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Self-Published eBooks Account for 12% of the Entire Digital Market

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Are you a fiction author? This article may be useful...

7 Bestseller Book Marketing Strategies For Fiction Writers

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"Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too." ~ Will Smith

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Mini Survey

Will you help me with a mini survey, please?

If you were buying a how-to book on how to do something on your computer, which format would you prefer?

a. Hard copy (paper book)
b. Kindle ebook
c. ePub (used on Tablet or Smartphone)

Many thanks for your time.