Sometimes the cover design process focuses too much on what looks good and feels right – this is especially true for indie authors who want to represent their story with accuracy. But try not to forget, the cover has ONE job – to sell the book. It’s the packaging. It’s the glossy picture of a The 3 secrets to book...
Recently I’ve been building several author websites, or helping authors tweak their WordPress blogs. Consistently I learn that they have no set plan in place, aren’t sure how to organize things, what to have on the pages or what to write about (which is fine – that’s where I come in). But for those of The 3 secrets to...
Recently I spent a few months in Mexico, culminating in a week-long stay at the all-inclusive resort, Sandos Cancun. Part of our package deal was a mandatory time-share presentation for Royal Elite, which filled me with dread. I went in convinced I wouldn’t be sucked in, but left having spent $6000 on lots of timeshare The 3 secrets to...
I’ve seen versions of this debate raging around the internet for several years. The short version goes like this: 1) Lightning source produces better quality books 2) Lightning source offers more professionalism and the right kind of discounts therefore 3) Even though it’s more expensive and a pain in the ass, you should go with...
One of the most powerful ways to promote your book is to offer it for free for a limited time. Why? You need to remove all resistance separating your book from your readers – including a price tag. Not forever, but enough to get a ton of downloads and some thoughtful reviews, which will help The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a...
I’m in Paphos, Cyprus, sitting in the bar downstairs of my hotel drinking a Mojito and listening to a trance remix of “Ain’t no mountain high enough.” I had a Greek Gyro for dinner, a welcome change after nearly 3 weeks of Turkish food. Yesterday we traveled from Sanliurfa to Northern Cyprus, spent the night The 3...
Recently a lot of my creative friends have been raving about “The War of Art” – a little manifesto about art, creativity and creative production by Steven Pressfield. It’s an inspirational book that’s popularity is based on the fact that it tells would be authors and artists the New Age message that...
I spent today making new business cards for Creativindie. I love making business cards. I’ve made dozens of sets of business cards for all my little projects, websites and books. Business cards are handy to give out to people when you’re casually talking about stuff, or new people you meet, and they can even serve The 3 secrets...
This week is our last week of a month and a half tour of Mexico. Although I’ve traveled extensively since I was young, and have made money online for several years, I’m only beginning to make enough money to really travel around, work from anywhere, and fully engage in nomadic living. During our time in The 3 secrets to book...
I’ve danced around Etsy for several years. As a fine artist, I’m not quite ready to sell my paintings for as low as I think I would need to in order to make a lot of money of Etsy. However, even in that regard I’m probably wrong, because I spend far more on shows and The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle...
I just read a post from Chris G. about his success with blogging and online business, where he says it’s mostly a matter of relationships, not specific technologies, tricks, etc. Then I got an email from an author who’s on the lookout for new ways to market books. Perhaps the combination of the two may The 3 secrets to book...
After I started doing book cover designs, I knew I needed to learn to make ebooks. All of my author clients needed to have their books formatted for Kindle, iBooks and all the other ebook stores. The problem is that making ebooks is a huge pain in the ass. You have to know a lot The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour...
