Books are treasures, to be sure, but earning a living as a writer, or building a business using your authorship as a marketing tool, is why you wrote the book in the first place. I am quite sure you didn't plan to write it or put it up for sale (on Amazon and your website and Barnes & Noble online, and so many other places) just for your own pleasure. Read more →

Have a spreadsheet to keep quotes you want to use in the book (and why; even where, if you are able to note that) and stories you want to share. Add people you might like to interview. Read more →

It takes courage to be vulnerable and authentic to the whole world. When I meet people who say to me, "Everyone says I should write a book," I nod and ask, "What's holding you back?" Usually, they are overwhelmed by the concept. And, of course, all that writing.  Read more →

Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead. Read more →

Two: Your book must be complete. No wishy-washy maybe endings. Even in fiction, you must bring your story to a close. You may have more to say. You may already be starting another book or planning a series, but this book, the book you're announcing, must be complete. If you don't know whether or not it's complete, ask your beta readers.  Read more →

Innovate. Give your book idea serious attention. Be that author who cares so much about his audience, you put your best effort into your book.  Read more →

Our talk begins with book clubs because I watched a podcast Penny did that talked about how to get your book into books clubs. Read more →

You are in charge of your social proof and your social shares. You are in charge of how many people see your work and how many people who might buy are told about it. These are your fans. Your audience. The market you're selling into. People who read the kinds of books you write. They aren't searching for you. They're searching for it - the story.  Read more →

Call me smart. Because I KNOW a book can do all of those things. It doesn't do them magically. There isn't a secret somewhere that you can uncover to learn how a book does all of those things. Launching a book and presenting it to the world doesn't change YOU - you're still the expert or master or guru or guide or whatever you choose to call yourself, that you were before you wrote your book. But just having that book, that product, that tool, makes you a marketing genius. Read more →

A good book. A well written book, with a great cover, is best-seller worthy no matter how many copies people buy. And the only way to make that happen - to get a lot of people to buy the book - is for you to sell it to them. Read more →