Author-ized Articles

I’ll be moderating a panel on Writing and Publishing for Consultants at the July 27th meeting of the Bay Area Consultants Network. This will be a real challenge, as there’s so much to say about publishing and so little time to say it in, but I’ve been working hard with the panelists to coordinate the […]

A colleague recently put this question in the bluntest of terms: “If publishers won’t promote your book and they take a huge percentage, what exactly do they do for the author?”
I wouldn’t say that publishing houses won’t promote your book, but first-time authors get a very small piece of the marketing pie—and publishers have smaller […]

There’s been a veritable storm of discussion in the blogosphere lately on the topic of ghost blogging. Despite the number of people weighing in on the subject, very little new is being said. The great bulk of commentators—many of whom are PR professionals who’ve made up quotes and attributed them to their clients without batting […]

I’m starting to think I should put this over on the ’static’ half of my website in 24-point letters: hiring a ghostwriter is not less work than writing a book yourself. It’s just less writing.
Let me qualify that statement. If you just want articles, or even a book, written on a certain topic, and you hire […]

Most people who talk about book signings talk about how to attract attention from the venue’s patrons and how to get more people to show up. Authors give consistent recommendations for what to do before, during, and after signings in order to make them more successful. And pretty much everyone agrees that just sitting at […]

Self-publishing guru Dan Poynter, author of Writing Nonfiction and The Self-Publishing Manual, makes his YouTube debut in a ten-minute video taken at one of his seminars. The video is not as enlightening as his books, but it does serve to introduce Dan as a person. I’ve never attended a live seminar, but I’ve heard […]

Dan Poynter wrote in Successful Nonfiction that authors should never host autograph parties. Instead of merely signing their books, the thing to do was offer “mini-seminars.” In an August 27th, 2006 interview with Tee Morris for “The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy,” Annie Hololob, Community Relations Manager for the Harrisonburg, VA Barnes & Noble, confirms […]

First in a series of articles inspired by RainToday.com’s Business Book Publishing reports.It should come as no surprise that the more books an author sells, the better the effect on her business, but consultants who are considering writing their first book may not realize how little book sales actually contribute to a business author’s income.
RainToday.com […]

Rachel Metz’ August 24th Wired News interview with Steve Wozniak starts with his new book, IWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.I haven’t read the book, but was particularly interested in what Woz had to say about working with co-author Gina Smith. […]

 

 Interview with Steve Wozniak: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As multimedia comes to dominate the World Wide Web, a simple text blurb may not be enough to grab a prospective reader’s attention. And while actually placing an ad in a movie theater is very expensive, even a low-budget “movie trailer” on your website can increase your sales dramatically.
Animated Trailers
My first encounter with movie trailers […]