Category: product development

12 little things that publishers should know

OnThese are question answers from grizzled veterans during the opening Q-A part of the BAIPA meeting in Novato (near San Francisco) on 7/12. BAIPA is the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, meeting in Novato the second Saturday of every month. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down who said what, so there goes the source! (But I’ve […]

Monday July 21st, 2014 in articles, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, newsletter writing, niche marketing, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, pre-testing, product development, proofreading, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords | Comments Off

Are you selling your ebooks to libraries?

OnLast week this blog was the core item in my newsletter. I had so much response from it I’m sharing it as a (long) blog too. Two questions: (1) Why would you even care about selling your books to libraries, much less their lower-priced digital versions? (2) And what’s so different about it anyway? Don’t […]

Tuesday June 24th, 2014 in digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, Lightning Source, LSI, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, pre-testing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing | Comments Off

5 kinds of consulting (and mentoring) for nonfiction writers and publishers

OnI’ve been an editor and nonfiction consultant for writers and publishers for at least 20 years, so I was grateful when an association client asked me to break down in greater detail the kinds of consulting I do. I guess it was much clearer in my head than on my services data! Then when I […]

Monday April 14th, 2014 in Blurb, book title, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, empire building, first draft, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, pre-testing, product development, proofreading, publishing, second draft, self-publishing, small publishers, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

CHIROPRACTORS: Write and Publish Your Own Book

On There’s a straightforward, reliable way to earn at least $50,000 developing a niche book for a specialization, like chiropractic that I use in this how-to, step-by-step guide called Chiropractors: Write and Publish Your Own Niche Book (Start with a $50,000 buying base!). It starts with a pretest that will cost $550-750 or so to […]

Friday April 4th, 2014 in articles, book title, corporate seminars, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, empire building, finding a seminar subject, Lightning Source, LSI, niche marketing, niche publishing, open publishing, pre-testing, product development, public speaking, publishing, self-publishing, self-sponsored seminars, small publishers, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

25 blogs about Kindle, Nook, Create Space, LSI, Smashwords

OnI was asked what blogs I had about “open” publishing. Here they are, below, and I’m certain there are more too so if you have a specific word or topic you are hunting for, please type it in the search box to see if it pops up! The publishers mentioned in the blogs are Kindle, […]

Thursday March 13th, 2014 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, travel writing, writing | Comments Off

How to convert your book file into ePub format—fast and free!

OnSo here you are with a dandy book that millions of hungry readers want to buy and hide on their tablets, readers, or computers—but you can’t get it from Word (.doc or .docx) or other formats into .ePub. You probably want to use .ePub to post your book with an “open” publisher like Kobo or […]

Monday March 10th, 2014 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

8 ways where or why seminars are usually given (#3 of 15)

OnThis is a very short blog because I will discuss in much greater depth the ways that we identify (and create and present) seminars in later sections of this 15-blog series, which itself is an updating of a workbook that accompanies my How to Set Up and Market Your Own Seminar CD series that will […]

Friday March 7th, 2014 in articles, back-of-the-room sales, booking seminars, corporate seminars, emceeing, finding a seminar subject, hospital seminars, introductions, keynoting, kinds of seminars, markets for seminars, MC, niche marketing, pricing seminars, product development, public speaking, publishing, school seminars, self-publishing, self-sponsored seminars, seminar attendees, seminar descriptrion, seminar feasibility study, seminar guidelines, seminar income, seminar locations, seminar promotion, seminar sponsors, seminar title, seminar workbooks, Seminaring, setting appropariate seminar times, speaking | Comments Off

2014 tax tips for writers and publishers

OnFor years I spoke about tax tips for writers/publishers in my “How to Sell 75% of Your Freelance Writing” and “Writing Travel Articles That Sell” seminars in CA. Since I often had taxfolk in the audience (even the IRS auditor I was requested to visit every six years or so), I had to keep up […]

Thursday February 13th, 2014 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, Gordon Burgett, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, open publishing, product development, public speaking, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, speaking, travel writing, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

How to share the heart of your book 35 ways in Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin each!

OnSometimes you write a book or some copy that lends itself to being edited into

Thursday January 2nd, 2014 in articles, Blurb, book title, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, proofreading, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

Why would you change a book’s title once it’s out for sale?

OnOur newest book was printed 10 weeks ago and about 400 copies were sold within a few weeks, most to attendees at two late fall 2013 conventions in Illinois, for school boards and K-12 superintendents. We had finished the book under some time pressure because its author, Jim Burgett, was attending or speaking at the […]

Thursday December 19th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, book title, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, Gordon Burgett, iPad, Jim Burgett, K-12 school boards, K-12 school districts, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, new school board members, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, product development, publishing, school board, school board, school board members, school board president, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off