Get Your Book Seen and Sold

Children's author, Jen Rendazzo, releases her third book and shares writing, publishing, and book marketing tips in this jam-packed podcast episode.

Jen Randazzo has written three children’s books and she is going strong. She combines her writing talent with energy and motivation to get her books seen and sold. In this podcast episode, Jen shares her publishing and book marketing wisdom from the trial and error of her publishing experience.

Jen names names! She shares the independent publisher and vendors that she worked with to create, publish and promote her beautiful books.

You can find Jen at her website: JenRandazzo.com

Jen Randazzo’s books (mentioned in the podcast) They are perfect holiday gift ideas:

* The Empathetic Elephant - just released 11/26/23!

* F.R.O.G - Fully Rely On God

* Grandpa & Lewy: A Story of Hope and Empowerment for Children Touched by Lewy Body Dementia

Resources that Jen mentioned in the podcast:

Argyle Fox Publishing - an independent book publisher who actually shows his prices on his website!

Leeway Foundation - Apply for a grant to self-publish your book… What?

How To Publish A Children’s Book by Yvonne Jones

Publisher Rocket: Software To Teach/Help You Identify the Categories and Keywords of YOUR Book to compete on Amazon and other online retailers.

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Upcoming Event: Help for Authors and where I will be! Dec 4th thru Dec 8th: Authorpreneur Summit - a totally online summit for authors, who want to turn their writing into a business and it’s free and run by Self-Publishing Guru, April Cox. Authors can upgrade to a premium pass to the summit for extra goodies and privileges for just $89. The online classes, that you can watch at any time, start on Dec 4th thru the 8th. I’ll be there along with 35 other publishing experts, with a presentation on, you guessed it, book marketing promotion ideas! All the speakers have a special expertise to help authors succeed.

Each day of the summit focuses on core topics about the business side of authorship and features speakers who will cover the best software, tools, and more. You’ll also be able to network with fellow authorpreneurs in online, and private forums. Sign up today!

Get Your Book Seen and Sold - consider becoming a paid subscriber.

It’s Cyber Monday! (as if you could miss it with all the ads today…sheesh!) I have some deals for authors, too. Check them at the bottom of the post.

In today’s podcast episode, we have a real treat to share with authors… a great new children’s book but also, inspiration and resources, for you to keep writing and potentially self-publish your book with an author who has done just that!

Meet Sheryl Bass! Sheryl Bass, the author of Baby Dragon Finds His Family, her latest in her children’s book series that started with Baby Dragon's Big Sneeze, is our guest today.

Sheryl shares her self-publishing story through the releases of her two books so far - how and why she wrote, published, and promotes the books as well as the trusted resources she used to do it.

She also shares:

* Tips on Book Reviews and the cool platform she used to get them, Pubby.co

* The Self-Publishing Book Shepherd she hired to guide her self-publishing, April Cox.

* Her timeline for publishing a children’s book

* How the editors she hired were critical to her self-publishing process

* Why joining Children’s Book Writer’s Professional Organizations is important for children’s book authors

PLUS

All about her latest release, Baby Dragon Finds His Family

Sheryl used her professional background to share the book’s messages:

* social emotional learning

* teamwork

* apologizing

* community

You can buy Baby Dragon Finds His Family at book retailers online.

You can find Sheryl Bass at her website: Be-Kind Publishing.com

Sheryl is also on Instagram: Be.Kind.Publishing

A few of the resources that Sheryl mentioned:

* Self-Publishing Made Simple - Owner, April Cox

* Pubby.Co - Book Review Resource

* SCBWI - Children’s Book Writers Organization: Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

* Claire McKinney PR - Publicity Firm that offers book marketing services

*** Special Cyber Monday Discounts For My Substack Subscribers**

GET YOUR BOOK SEEN AND SOLD Substack Subscription discount. If you have been considering a paid subscription to this newsletter/podcast, now is the time to do it. A SPECIAL Black Friday thru Cyber Monday 20% off Discount is available for a limited time. Click here to subscribe at the special price!

SPECIAL BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT for the New Video Course! Sit & Write: Begin. Use the promo code ‘thanks’ for $10 off the course that merges fun, engaging writing lessons with an introduction to book marketing concepts to spark a successful writing career. The course is a motivating, informational, inspirational, self-paced, and reasonably-priced. Fellow Substacker, Kate Brenton (Sit & Write) and I, host this fun course.

Consider sharing this fabulous, self-paced writing course with that aspiring writer you know who is just waking up to their own dream to write.

UPCOMING Dec 4th thru Dec 8th: Authorpreneur Summit - a totally online summit for authors, who want to turn their writing into a business and it’s free and run by Self-Publishing Guru, April Cox. Authors can upgrade to a premium pass to the summit for extra goodies and privileges for just $89. The online classes, that you can watch at any time, start on Dec 4th thru the 8th. I’ll be there along with 35 other publishing experts, with a presentation on, you guessed it, book marketing promotion ideas! All the speakers have a special expertise to help authors succeed.

Each day of the summit focuses on core topics about the business side of authorship and features speakers who will cover the best software, tools, and more. You’ll also be able to network with fellow authorpreneurs in online, and private forums. Sign up today!

Subscribe today to Get Your Book Seen and Sold Substack at 20% off. Offer ends today!

This podcast episode is the audio version of the Substack post: To Sell Your Book You Need A ToolBox: The Tools a Book Marketer Needs.

I discuss the four tools that an author needs to promote (or book market) a book: Query, Book Proposal (w/ Competition Section), Media Kit, Media Contacts.

Other Substack Posts mentioned in the podcast:

A Great Query (and pitch) The Key To Get Your Book Seen and Sold

Book Proposal: How to Write it and When to Use it

Listeners, if you learned something from this podcast, consider becoming a paid subscriber! Now thru Cyber Monday get 20% a subscription. Thank you.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast here.

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Special Discounts For Subscribers:

GET YOUR BOOK SEEN AND SOLD Substack Subscription discount. If you have been considering a paid subscription to this newsletter/podcast, now is the time to do it. A SPECIAL Black Friday thru Cyber Monday 20% off Discount is available for a limited time. Click here to subscribe at the special price!

SPECIAL BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT for the New Video Course! Sit & Write: Begin. Use the promo code ‘thanks’ for $10 off the course that merges fun, engaging writing lessons with an introduction to book marketing concepts to spark a successful writing career. The course is a motivating, informational, inspirational, self-paced, and reasonably-priced. Fellow Substacker, Kate Brenton (Sit & Write) and I, host this fun course.

Consider sharing it with that aspiring writer you know who is just waking up to their own dream to write.

The book - Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Publishing and Marketing Guide is available TODAY! Authors, this is YOUR publishing and book marketing resource. At 122 pages, it’s pithy and powerful.

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Contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or niceties at [email protected].

Wouldn't it be great to know how to sell your books in bulk to airports, grocery stores, associations and corporations? Brian Jud, author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books, has been selling and helping authors sell to “special” outlets for years.

In this comprehensive podcast episode, Brian shares what special sales are and how to secure them to retail and non-retail outlets. You will learn:

* how to pitch your book for special sales to a corporation

* where to go for special sale distribution to airports, hospitals, etc.

* how to creatively pitch and more

Brian offers articles, newsletters subscriptions and services on his website, BookMarketingWorks.com. Brian offers a free, 15 minute conversation if you would like to chat directly with him . Consulting is available as well as placement in special sale catalogs.

I’m so excited to share Brian’s interview with authors to offer them a completely new avenue to sell their books and get their message and stories out into the world. Brian generously offers detailed website resources for book distributors, possible sales outlets and associations. You will love his detailed description of pitching your book for special sale for these entities!

Don’t miss Brian’s demonstration of an actual pitch - specifically how to do it.

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Thanks for listening and don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast here.

My latest book, co-authored with Julie Murkette, is available for sale NOW wherever you buy books and is YOUR publishing and book marketing resource. At 122 pages, it’s pithy but powerful. Buy your copy of Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Publishing and Marketing Guide today!

I also offer book marketing consulting to help YOU come up with a plan to Market Your Book. Sign up for 30 minutes or an hour consultation today!

Contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or niceties at [email protected].

“We want to help authors” ~ Kate Brenton

Kate Brenton is a Substack writer, The Golden Thread, the author of the book Rebirth, host of the Podcast, Rebirth, and an inspired teacher - in short, she helps writers!!!

You can find her at katebrenton.com 

Kate teaches writers at all stages of an author's process in writing a book. In her latest digital course: Sit & Write: Begin, Kate teaches the beginner - the writer who is just deciding what to write and how to go about sharing their message with the world. I am a contributor on the class and teach the basics of book marketing to make it a little less scary for authors. The self-contained course is distilled, helpful, motivating, inspirational , and reasonable priced.

In this podcast episode, we get a sneak peek of what is offered to writers in the course, plus Kate identifies who it is for, who it is not for, and what students can come away expecting - confidence and a plan to guide their writing. We dive in to the difference between inspiration and intention and why it is important to understand the difference before putting pen to paper (of fingers to computer keys). You’ll hear about Kate’s experience as a writing coach and her goal to help people achieve fulfillment in their lives through the many courses she offers as well as the wisdom and insights she offers in her podcast, Rebirth, her latest book, Rebirth, and her Substack newsletter - The Golden Thread.

Find out more about Kate at her website.

Sit & Write: Begin video class

Holiday Gift Idea - Purchase the Sit & Write: Begin course as a gift for a friend. You purchase the course and at check-out mark it as a gift with the recipient’s information. What a treasure to receive the gift of learning how to make your writing dream a reality!

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Thanks for listening and don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast here.

My latest book, co-authored with Julie Murkette, is available for sale NOW wherever you buy books and is YOUR publishing and book marketing resource. At 122 pages, it’s pithy but powerful. Buy your copy of Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Publishing and Marketing Guide today!

I also offer book marketing consulting to help YOU come up with a plan to Market Your Book. Sign up for 30 minutes or an hour consultation today!

Contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or niceties at [email protected].

This podcast episode is the audio version of the Substack post My Book Is Written, What Is My Next Step? Explaining Book Distribution for Traditionally Published and Self-Published Authors.

For more information and a beautiful, colorful chart detailing book distribution options, check out the original post in written form.

Listeners, if you learned something from this podcast, consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the podcast. Thank you.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast here.

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For You, Writers:

The book - Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Publishing and Marketing Guide is available TODAY! Authors, this is YOUR publishing and book marketing resource. At 122 pages, it’s pithy but powerful.

The New Video Course! Sit & Write: Begin merges writing lessons with an introduction to book marketing concepts to spark a successful writing career. The course is a motivating, informational, inspirational, self-paced, and reasonably-priced. Fellow Substacker, Kate Brenton (The Golden Thread) and I, host this fun course. Consider sharing it with that aspiring writer you know who is just waking up to their own dream to write.

Contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or niceties at [email protected].

Linda Wisniewski is a writer, author, and memoir teacher. You can find her at her website: LindaWis.com.

Linda has published two books so far. One fiction, Where The Stork Flies and one non-fiction memoir - Off Kilter: A Woman’s Journey To Peace With Scoliosis, Her Mother, & Polish Heritage.

She is also a memoir teacher so we got a chance to chat about the following:

* At what stage in their writing do your students take your memoirist class?

* The difference between mean criticism and constructive criticism

* How to select what to include in a memoir and what not to include - what is too much sharing or too revealing.

* Family considerations to revealing secrets in a memoir

* A great exercise that Linda teaches students to use to identify the theme of their memoir.

* Who said “if people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better?”

* What people learn from memoirs and why the lessons are important. 

* Linda’s book marketing suggestions and how her author platform was enhanced by her book marketing choices.

* How much time book marketing versus time writing. 

* The health aspects of journaling - who knew?

Seriously listeners, this podcast is a listener-supported publication. To receive new podcasts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber, like now

In this podcast, Linda mentions:

the book, “Opening Up’ by James Pennybaker 

Writers Beware online - on the look out for book industry charlatans 

The blog tour book promotion site: Kate Rocks Book Tour https://sites.google.com/katerockliterary.com/katerockliterary/services?authuser=0

Below is Linda’s Pushcart nominated essay that she mentions in the podcast titled "My Body, My Self," published in Mindprints:

I have moved through my life off kilter. My left side curves inward. On my right, I have no waist; my right side goes straight up and down. My left shoulder is lower than my right, and my left hip is higher than the right hip. I am about two inches shorter than I would be if I didn’t have scoliosis, a side-to-side curvature of the spine. When I sit, I often feel like I am about to tip over to the left. My spine is curved into a C-shape between my shoulder blades so that no matter how straight I stand, I look like I am slouching.

    When I grew up in the 1950s, for some reason I have yet to understand, “having good posture” was a big deal. Perhaps because posture was so often discussed by the nuns who taught at my school, I thought that “good posture” was like having “good morals.” I stood as tall as I could, but by the time I was in eighth grade, my back was visibly curved. I felt inadequate and even guilty. I thought, surely, if I tried hard enough, I’d be able to stand up straight. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said, “Don’t slouch, Linda.” Now that I’ve taught Sunday School myself, I feel some sympathy for those nuns. There isn’t much you can do to control forty squirming kids, but if they have “good posture,” the class looks somewhat orderly. And the 1950s, I recall, were very big on social orderliness.

    I’ve tried chiropractic and massage therapy to keep my muscles from stiffening up on one side of my body. I walk every day, and do stretching exercises, but I still feel out of balance much of the time. I start out each day off kilter, and move through the hours trying to straighten up. When I stretch out my left arm and leg in opposite directions as far as they will go, my cramped left side is extended for a few seconds of exquisite openness.

    Recently, I’ve begun to think of scoliosis as a metaphor for my life. I’ve struggled to please teachers, employers, parents, boyfriends, husbands, twisting myself into someone I can’t be. I hurt when I do this, because it’s not natural. And it never works. But when I stretch my Self, instead, the results are different. When I’m reaching for my personal goals—to be a good mother, wife, friend and writer—I feel my balance return. And the sense of relief, as I become more the woman I truly am, is simply grand.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast here.

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My latest book, co-authored with Julie Murkette, is available for sale NOW wherever you buy book and is YOUR publishing and book marketing resource. At 122 pages, it’s pithy but powerful. Buy your copy of Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Publishing and Marketing Guide today!

New Video Course! Sit & Write: Begin is a motivating, informational, inspirational, self-paced, and reasonably-priced, video course that merges writing with an introduction to book marketing concepts. Created with fellow Substacker, Kate Brenton (The Golden Thread), the course is fun and relaxing and could be your first step toward a successful book. (or you could share it with that aspiring writer who is just waking up to their own dream to write)

Contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or niceties at [email protected].

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Josh Bernoff’s tagline is: I help non-fiction authors succeed. The perfect guest for us at Get Your Book Seen and Sold Podcast!

Josh has authored, coauthored, or ghostwritten eight business books.  His latest titled, Build a Better Business Book: How to Plan, Write, and Promote a Book That Matters. Josh works closely with nonfiction authors as an advisor, coach, editor, or ghostwriter. He has collaborated on more than 50 nonfiction books.

You can find Josh at Bernoff.com

In this podcast interview:

** Josh shares his 5 step process to help authors succeed in promoting their books - PQRST - Positioning, Question, Reach, Spread and Timing.

** We learn why it takes hearing about a book three times before a sale is made.

** We learn how non-fiction authors can use their expertise to make money through their expertise. In fact, many authors make more money from their consulting than from their book sales! Josh shares his own business model and explains the services that he offers. Helping authors to develop their book idea before they write start writing is a great example of one of the services Josh provides.

** We also chat about hybrid publishers and Josh explains how they work and a few that he has had personal experience and would recommend.

For more information, you can read Josh’s blogposts, which generate more than 4 million views, on topics of interest to authors every weekday at Bernoff.com.

Josh mentions the hybrid publisher, Amplify, as one that he would recommend.

Thanks, as always for listening.

Feel free to send any questions my way at [email protected].

Consider a paid subscription today - there are goodies at the yearly and founding membership levels!

People, Get Your Book Seen and Sold is a husband- supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Podcast Episode: Book Launches - what to expect, how to plan, PLUS what a publicist can do for authors with Publicist, Kathleen Schmidt

Kathleen Schmidt has worked in the publishing industry for 25+ years. She’s been a literary agent, editor, ghost-writer and publicist, including being a Publicity Director at Skyhorse Publishing (WOW) and creating unique book marketing ideas for the best-selling book, YOU are a BADASS, by Jen Sincero. She has also met Victoria Beckham, which if you have seen the new NetFlix “Beckam,” might get you pretty stoked!

Kathleen owns her own publicity firm, KMSPR, and writes about publishing and her experiences to help authors, newbie and seasoned, to understanding publishing and do right by their books on her Substack at KathleenSchmidt.Substack.com.

She offers listeners the opportunity to reach her directly at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to chat about hiring her as your publicist.

In this podcast interview, Kathleen and I chat about book publicity and her philosophy plus, specifics about her Substack post, The Guide to Book Launches:

* … Why Goodreads is “Complicated”

* … How Book launches are like Christmas Morning

* … Using AI to create pitches? Yes or No?

* … a sneak preview to her upcoming “subscription publicity” offering to author-clients

Kathleen’s podcast, Publishing Confidential, is a favorite of mine. I learn about current publishing industry goings-on, publicity that works for authors and thoroughly enjoy her product recommendations. (which are giving my monthly budget a stretch, btw) But how can you possibly turn down somersault bodysuits? I haven’t owned a bodysuit since I was in the seventh grade but this bodysuit is delicious!

I suggest you have a notebook by your side as you read her substack because each post is chock full of great information, resources, book recommendations and other fun stuff.

I mention our previous interview, What a Publicist Can Do For You? Part One & Part Two - Here and Here. Enjoy!

Thanks for listening!

You can contact me with any book marketing or other related questions at [email protected].

Finally, don’t forget to leave a review of the podcast, or support me by being becoming a paid subscriber on Substack or purchasing a copy of my new book, with co-author Julie Murkette, Get Your Book Seen and Sold!

Just the title of Kara Cutruzzula’s latest book, Do It (Or Don’t) A Boundary Creating Journal, is enough to set you free as a writer. In this podcast episode, author Kara and I talk to each other but really we are talking to you, the writer.

* How to give yourself permission to write

* How to “make it easy on yourself” to keep writing

* How to survive post-publication blues

* Finding the time to write

Plus, we discuss Kara’s writing and publishing process with all of her books!

* how they developed

* who they are for

* what she has learned through the writing, publishing and book marketing process

More about Kara:

Kara Cutruzzula (pronounced as “muthusula”) is a writer, lyricist, playwright, editor and writes the popular Substack, Brass Ring Daily, which Vanity Fair called “a life coach in your inbox.”

She is the author of the motivational journals Do It For Yourself; Do It Today: An Encouragement Journal, illustrated by Tyler Spangler; and Do It (or Don’t): A Boundary-Creating Journal, illustrated by Jasmina Zornic.

Kara is a wise woman with advice and encouragement for all authors. She is generous, too, in sharing her writing journey and advice with us! Kara’s substack advice could find its way to your inbox every day. Find her substack at Brass Ring Daily.

As a writer and editor, her articles and essays about work, creative process, and culture have been published in The New York Times, Quartz, The Daily Beast, TIME, Vulture, and other publications. She began her career as a magazine editor at The Daily Beast and Newsweek, where she was homepage editor, deputy features editor, and culture editor. She has consulted in senior-level editorial roles at DuJour, Billboard, MONEY, and NextAdvisor, the personal finance arm of TIME magazine.

You can find Kata at her website KaraCutruzzula.com.

Subscribe to support me today!

Comments and questions? Email me anytime at [email protected].

. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming paid subscriber.