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 →

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 →

One of the things I like about Dorothy is her use of the word alchemy, in relation to what she does. She says her work as a copywriter is to make something out of words that didn't exist before. A formula using letters and words for her clients. Making cool stuff happen. 📌 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 →

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 →

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 →

We served our authors as editors, guides, teachers, book designers, publishers, and to a small degree, marketers. At the time, we encouraged and taught them to blog. Back in the early 2000s, blogging was a successful way to get noticed. Much as podcasts are today. And we did other things to help them get noticed. The hard work, of course, was always at their end. That's just how it is. As the author, the work of marketing and selling is up to you - no matter who publishes your book. Read more →

For whom are you writing the book?  Generally, people choose a wide and deep audience. For instance, you might say, "It's for women over 50."  That's all well and good, but women over 50 is an enormous audience. You can't possibly hope to or need to write for ALL women over 50. Read more →

Lucy believes we spend too much time 'intellectualizing' - and isn't that the truth? I know I spend a good bit of time justifying my behavior and the behavior of others by thinking it through, rather than allowing my 'intuition' or my 'heart' dictate how I should feel about a situation. Read more →

"I was so excited to hold my book in my hand," a friend of mine told me. "It's just marvelous to have it here, done, and ready to be shared with the world. I can't even believe how heavy it is!" The awe in her voice was shining in her eyes, and I couldn't help but share in it. That finished book, that magnificent manuscript is so much more than a collection of words and paragraphs. Yes, it's an accomplishment few achieve, but it's also a birthing of a new you. Read more →