Authors, Creators and Visionaries

There are 4 core reasons why your book isn't (yet) a bestseller. They are:

• You haven't written it!
• You skipped over the critical steps thinking they were unimportant
• Your marketing plan is non-existent or stinks (just being honest!)

With regard to the first reason (your book isn't yet written), if you fall into this category, in all likelihood:

• You're waiting for a critical moment to get started (when we finish moving, once summer break is over, after the kids start school, once I feel like my story is complete...)
• You don't know how to get started or what to do once the writing is complete
• You fear that you don't have the credibility and/or platform to be successful

The truth: these are all different ways of justifying an underlying fear. And the best way to overcome that fear, not just as an author but as a human being, is to address it.

In today's episode, I get honest about these fears, where they come from and how to combat them.

Dan Kennedy - strategic advisor, consultant, business coach

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

The story behind the phrase ACHILLES' HEEL (note the placement of the apostrophe!)

Total listen time: 3 MINUTES

I frequently talk to writers about the WHY behind their book concepts. But, it's equally important to get clear on the WHY behind your overall mission at its highest level.

In this episode, you will discover:

-The reason kids have the right idea when they ask WHY over and over again (even though it drives us crazy!)

-How a moment early in Brooke Castillo's career proved the domino effect of each person's unique (and often -unintended) contribution

-The one way your WHY can be out of sync just enough to keep you unsatisfied long-term (and how to fix it)

-Why shows such as X-Factor and America's Got Talent as well as energy-filled weekend seminars create powerful (yet short-lived) motivation

For this week’s Business of Publishing a Successful Book podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing fellow entrepreneur Austin Distel, co-founder of the Entrepreneur Alliance, about the success mindset (among other topics).

Within the informative and insightful podcast, you will discover:

• The secret to selling (even if you’re an introvert)
• The philosophies Austin used to build a 6-figure MMR business
• Tips for not getting stuck in the feeling of “I’ll never be or I’m not yet as good as _______.”
• The importance of rest time (and we aren’t talking about sleeping)
• The ONLY way that competition works to your benefit
• The struggle between Progress and Perfection (and how to find a healthy balance)
• The most important quality of an email list (hint: it’s not its length)
• Tips for honing the perfect group of mentors
• …and, of course, what book Austin is presently reading

Entrepreneur Alliance (Referral Link)

Austin’s Facebook page

Austin’s Instagram page

The post Publishing Podcast 08: The Success Mindset with Austin Distel appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

In this week’s Business of Publishing a Successful Book podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing entrepreneur and branding expert Joshua Pearson. I first learned about Josh the co-founder of Influence Society, which helps influencers build powerful brands (including that of filmmaker, poet and speaker Prince EA) and CEO of Results for Life, It quickly became clear that we can all learn from his experience and mindset on what it takes to build (and sustain) a successful, effective brand.

Within the info-packed podcast, you will discover:

• How to pronounce Prince EA, once and for all (thank you, Josh!)
• Why being clear on your “superpower” is critical to an effective brand
• What’s required to be a leader and share your message of influence (which, Josh believes, everyone can do)
• The required mindset shift to become comfortable charging money for the service of helping others
• Pros and cons of selling a low-price product to a large audience versus selling a high-price product to a small audience

Influence Society (helping influencers build powerful brands)

Results for Life (training, nutrition, mindset and community to take your life to the next level)

Joshua Pearson’s Facebook page

Prince EA

The post Podcast #007: On Branding with Josh Pearson appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

PPB PODCAST: EPISODE 006

In this week’s Business of Publishing a Successful Book podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing author Elizabeth Ann West. I was thrilled to get an honest look at Elizabeth’s journey from “accidental writer”—earning $7 for her first article—to making $1000 per month writing articles to a solid 6-figure revenue as an author.

Within the info-packed podcast, you will discover:

• The marketing approach that sold 29 copies of first book and has now sold books in 50+ countries
• Elizabeth’s firm belief in publishing with purpose (and the unexpected value of having an ever-changing roadmap)
• The lessons she could only learn by jumping in and living the experience (that you can now learn BEFORE jumping you!)
• Her professional partnership approach that keeps drama at bay (as well as her strategy for gracefully exiting partnerships that aren’t working)
• The unique way she refers to herself to avoid the term “self published author”
• Why she’s learned that authors need not waste time reinventing the retail cycle
• How authors can position themselves to realize that they are WORTH charging $9.99 for an eBook—even if they’ve never before written a book and have no platform.
• Her (extremely outside-the-box) pricing strategy
• How to change your mindset to make you feel more comfortable selling your work
• The bare minimum content you need to include on a website to start building a mailing list and networking with other authors to generate organic promo opportunities (it’s FAR less than you’d think!)
• The one format you may not have considered that has proven highly lucrative for Elizabeth (meaning, you might want to consider it)
• Elizabeth’s research- and fact-backed opinion on what’s going to be the next big thing in self/indie publishing

Be sure to scroll down for links to resources mentioned throughout the episode! 

Elizabeth’s website

Elizabeth’s Professional Facebook Page

Elizabeth’s Personal Facebook Profile

Amanda Hocking

Mark Dawson

Joanna Penn

Elizabeth’s interview on BuildYourAuthorCareer.com

Adobe’s Photoshop CC Classroom in a Book

Think Like a Publisher (Dean Wesley Smith)

The post Podcast #006: Author Tips from Elizabeth Ann West appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

When you don’t have a traditional publisher to enforce a writing deadline, you have to enforce that deadline yourself. It can be hard to declare a book “done.”

In this week’s podcast, Genevieve and I discuss self-imposed deadlines as well as my definitive answer to the ever-burning “How many words do I have to have” question.

Finally, we talk about who owns copyright—author or publisher.

Oh, and a VERY IMPORTANT PSA on whether or not to single or double-space between sentences. *Hint: this could save you hours of editing re-work.

The post Podcast #005: Word Count, Writing Deadlines and Copyright Questions appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

PPB PODCAST: EPISODE 004

When Genevieve Georget’s Facebook post went viral back in September 2015, she was contacted by several publishers (both traditional and vanity/hybrid). And she was overwhelmed with questions.

• Is it best to sign away rights to an as-yet-unwritten book to get the advance from a traditional publisher?
• If she went with a traditional publisher, how long would it be until her book was available for sale?
• Was the $8000 quote she received from a vanity press reasonable when it only included 100 print copies? (It wasn’t.)
• If she self-published, where would she even start?

These are all questions we talked through and address again in this week’s podcast.

Additionally, we’ll let you in on what intangible quality won us over about the designer we’ve selected to create Gen’s book cover— and convinced us that, without doubt, she was the right fit for this project.

Book Trailer for If It Was Easy They’d Call the Whole Damn Thing a Honeymoon by Jenna McCarthy

The post Podcast #004: How to Choose a Publishing Approach appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

One cannot simply claim to be a New York Times bestselling author. Nor can one simply claim to be a Wall Street Journal bestselling author. One can simply claim, however, to be a national bestselling author, or an Amazon bestselling author, or a Top Ten bestselling author.

Why?

Because beyond the bigger, traditional publications, the term “bestselling” is loosely defined.

One can be a bestselling Amazon author and support that by showing that she hit the Top 100 on May 6, 2014 for 3 hours.

Or, one can be a national bestselling author because…well…because he says he is and who’s going to challenge him on it?

But while authors focus on the word “bestseller,” it’s important to realize that one can BUY his or her way onto the major bestseller lists. And, in the end, unless claiming (or legitimately having) bestseller status is the end goal, it’s not what authors should shoot for.

In this podcast, Genevieve Georget and I discuss (among other things, including the current state of book printing and cover design quotes for Gen’s forthcoming book) the question authors would be better served by answering as they prepare to launch their book.

What No One Tells You About Becoming a Best-Selling Author (Jeff Goins)

Ask by Ryan Levesque

The post Podcast #003: What Constitutes a Best Selling Book appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.

PPB PODCAST: Episode 02

As Genevieve and I move along in the publishing of her book (which now has a title: Her Own Wild Winds), our informal weekly call included discussion of the editing process as well as the processes of getting book printing and cover design quotes. We know it’s not as organized as a standard PPB podcast would be, but we wanted to let you in on the discussion and show you exactly what our thought process, questions and concerns are at this point. Enjoy!

The post Podcast #002: Tips for Book Printers & Cover Design appeared first on Publish a Profitable Book.