WITS Podcast Schedule June 2008

June 6

Jerry Simmons, the author of What Writers Need To Know About Publishing, is coming to Writers in the Sky podcast on June 6, 2008 to share his experience and help authors understand what goes on inside major publishers. Jerry has worked twenty-five years for Random House—a major New York publishing house. His new site, NothingBinding, is an online social networking outlet where authors may sell their books and readers can find the books they are looking for. Join NothingBinding.com and submit your book now: http://www.nothingbinding.com//. Find out more about what Jerry has to offer authors on his Web site http://www.writerreaders.com/.

June 13

Barbara Milbourn will interview Marc Loranger—the previously published author of a young adult fiction book titled Diamond In The Rough. His second book, You’re It, is part two of an exciting, new adventure series. If you like reading a story that has you hanging on to every word, then this book will leave you breathless and wanting more after each chapter. Who would have guessed that an innocent looking baseball card would send three boys into a world of espionage and murder? Join James, Corey, and Jed on this nonstop thrill ride. Just make sure you fasten your seatbelt first. Read more at www.outskirtspress.com/youreit.

June 20

Sandy Powell will be joining Yvonne to discuss WordClay—a do-it-yourself publishing company. The interview will give authors an inside look at what this company offers the author who wants to publish quickly without the hassle of trying to find acceptance at major publishing houses. Learn more about ISBN barcodes, retail channel distribution services, Single International Standard Book Number, and WordClay’s online bookstore.

June 27

James Ross will be discussing his book, Finish Line, with podcast host Barbara Milbourn. Finish Line is a continuation of the happenings in and around the fictitious setting of Prairie Winds Golf Course on the East Side of St. Louis. Follow the adventures of two teenage boys as they explore a slice of life they never knew existed. Observe the special relationship between adolescents, a cast of grown golfing misfits, and a young man battling cancer. Explore the heart-wrenching relationship between an impressionable child and a pseudo big brother as they develop a love for the game of golf and apply those lessons to the challenges of life. Experience their reactions to drinking, smoking, and gambling as they battle a dysfunctional family situation, exposure to a life-threatening disease, and a summer to remember. Learn more at http://www.authorjamesross.com/.

Evaluate the Profit Power of Your Next Book Title

By Roger C. Parker

Titles are more than just words that appear on the front covers of books. Titles can create “brands” that not only help sell your book, but can change your life by pre-selling future books and positioning you as the obvious expert in your field, opening the doors to endless follow-up marketing opportunities.

I love titles, and I love talking about them and writing about them at my Published & Profitable website--www.publishedandprofitable.com—and in my blogs. The right title is crucial to a nonfiction book’s success—and the author’s future success.

Unfortunately, titles are often taken for granted. Worse, titles are rarely tested. As a result, a lot of helpful and well-written books are doomed to obscurity, while lesser books with better titles continue to sell, year after year.

Change and Nonfiction Book Success
As described in several of the articles, audios, case studies, and videos at Published & Profitable, there are ten key characteristics of effective titles—and books that enjoy perennial sales success typically incorporate many of the characteristics.

Change is one of the most important characteristics. The need for change is one of the major differences between fiction and nonfiction books. Whereas fiction books are purchased for pleasure, nonfiction books are purchased to achieve change. The desired change can be to solve a problem or to achieve a goal. Either way, it’s the reader’s desire for change that triggers the book’s sale, and everything that follows for the author. The implications of the need for titles that promise change involve clarity, specificity, and urgency.

• Clarity. The more obvious the change that the book offers, the more readers will be motivated to buy the book. Clarity involves simplicity; successful titles need no explanation, their promised benefits are obvious at a glance.
  
• Specificity. Details communicate credibility; details help titles target the intended market and can position a book apart from existing books on the topic.
• Urgency. Specificity can also trigger urgency, encouraging readers to buy the book right now, rather than putting off the purchase until “later.”
• Powerful titles make change obvious. Consider benefit and change-oriented titles like: Brent Sampson’s Sell Your Book on Amazon, Frank Bettger’s classic How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling, or my first best-seller, Looking Good in Print: A Guide to Basic Design for Desktop Publishing. In each case, there’s no ambiguity about what the book’s about, or the benefits that readers will enjoy.

Example: Case Study in Title Testing
One of my favorite books has always been Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown’s Customers for Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer. Isn’t that a great title? The benefit is obvious.

However, as co-author Paul B. Brown revealed in an exclusive Published & Profitable interview, that wasn’t the book’s original title! The book’s original title, one that the co-authors and the book’s editor liked, was completely different. The only people who didn’t like the title were members of a focus group composed of business book buyers who were given an advance copy of the book. They loved the contents, but wouldn’t have purchased the book with the original title. Several members of the focus group not only suggested the title be changed, they actually suggested the “customers for life” concept!

Today, of course, with the Internet, it’s easier than ever to test your book’s title before it’s too late. There are numerous low-cost techniques authors can use to ensure that their enthusiasm for their book’s title is shared with prospective readers.

To Learn More about Titles
To learn more about the twelve characteristics of choosing the right title for your book, visit www.publishedandprofitable.com and download my free Write Your Way to Success report describing a 4-step action plan. You’ll also get weekly tips and newsletters about planning, writing, promoting, and profiting from your book.

By signing up for my newsletter, you’ll also be invited to free teleseminars and webinars held throughout the year. Listen on the phone and watch how titles are chosen and topics researched on the screen of your computer in real time!

Roger C. Parker is the 32-Million Dollar Author. He’s written 38 books that have sold over 1.6 million copies around the world. He created his Published & Profitable membership site, to share what he’s learned about writing and publishing—and to help new authors avoid some of the mistakes he’s made, and seen others make. Published and Profitable contains hundreds of articles, audios, assessments, case studies, interviews, templates, videos, and worksheets to help members plan, write, promote, and profit from a nonfiction book.

Coffee and Ink: How a Writers Group Can Nourish Your Creativity

Anne Da Vigo will be our guest on Writers in the Sky Podcast April 4th, 2008!

Anne Da Vigo is a freelance writer, public relations professional and award-winning former journalist. She lives with her husband in Sacramento, California. Her fiction has appeared in literary magazines, and she has presented her work on Public Radio’s Valley Writers Read program. She has been a winner in the Sacramento Friends of the Library short story contest. For over a decade she has been a member of the Monday Night Writers Group, which has nourished and sustained her writing life. Anne edited and co-authored the group’s book, Coffee and Ink: How a Writers Group Can Nourish Your Creativity, which won a gold award in the Northern California Publishers and Authors annual competition.

Do you long to write but find a thousand reasons to delay? Is it difficult to sustain your creative energy? Do you want to improve your writing skills? Here's a book with a solution. Coffee and Ink: How a Writers Group Can Nourish Your Creativity shows you how to use a group to kick start your writing and keep going. The authors, veteran members of Northern California’s the Monday Night Writers Group, have over the years won awards for their short stories, poetry, and creative non-fiction. To help other writers, they’ve packed Coffee and Ink with plenty of tips and entertaining examples that will make your fingers itch to phone your writer friends and pick up a pen.

For more information, inspiration, and links, go to http://www.coffeeandink.net/

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Listening to Writers in the Sky Podcast on a computer is easy. Just click this link: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com and go to my blog. On the right sidebar there is a list of archived shows. Click on the interview you would like to hear and it will open a post that has a link to the audio file.

For information about being a guest on Writers in the Sky Podcast, see http://www.yvonneperry.net/Writing_Packages.htm#Publicity_Packages_

Learn to write a query letter on our podcast this week

Without a doubt, the two most feared words in any writer’s vocabulary are “query letter.” That’s understandable. Writing a query letter falls into the realm of the unknown—scary territory. Yet, every writer who wants to sell their work to an agent, editor, or publisher must venture into this fearful place and write a query letter. Because they aren’t clear about the purpose of the query and don’t know exactly how to craft it, writers inevitably set themselves up to receive the standard rejection letter. Nobody likes rejection, particularly writers, who tend to take it personally (even though it’s not!).

For a list of agents accepting manuscripts, see www.agentquery.com

Click here to listen. to Part 1..

Today, Friday, March 28, we are privileged to learn the #1 secret about writing query letters. Molly Nickell is a marketing coach, former publisher and Time-Life editor. In her March 28th pod cast with Yvonne Perry, Molli will tell it all regarding the current state of the book publishing business and what writers must do in today’s competitive market to get their work published.

Click here to listen to Part 2...

Former publisher, Time-Life editor and five-times published author, Molli Nickell, has created a one-of-a-kind website teaching writers to craft effective marketing documents. Having spent 11 years reading queries and book proposals, she knows what works and what doesn’t. The site offers evaluated query letters in different genre as well as guidance on how writers can make the vital shift from “teller” to “seller.” Insider information and marketing tips help writers craft query letters that motivate agents, editors, and/or publishers to respond with, “Yes, please send us your manuscript.” The site offers FREE query letter evaluations!

Molli Nickell has been helping writers get published since 1998. Find her online at www.getpublishednow.biz.

Click here to listen to Part 3...

Border's Bookstore Soon to Offer Self-publishing via Lulu.com

Borders is teaming up with self-publishing company Lulu.com to extend its services to customers that would like to create their own book. The service will soon be available at a kiosk inside Border's Bookstores and will allow your self-published books to be on the shelves at Border's.
Right now, the test Digital Center is in Ann Arbor, MI, but 13 additional concept stores will soon be offered nationwide.

Read more about the Border's/Lulu partnership ...