WritingSpirit Blog

Are You Ready to Become a Successful Ebook Author? Here's How...

 

.
Every day there are more and more AMAZING ebook success stories from independently published authors. We've all heard them:

Amanda Hocking & John Locke have each sold
a million ebooks on Amazon.

Darcie Chan & Chris Culver made it onto the Top 10 list of
Amazon's Best Selling eBooks of 2011.

J.A. Konrath earned $100,000 in ebook royalties in just 3 weeks!

While the level of SUCCESS these five authors have achieved is rare, it shows the incredible potential that ebooks hold to help independent authors turn their writing dreams into a writing career, or for traditionally published authors to turn their back list into a gold mine. The good news is that you don't have to sell a million ebooks to have ebook success. For every Amanda Hocking or J.A. Konrath there are scores of other success stories about authors who are:

• selling hundreds or thousands of ebooks a month
  
• growing their audience, platform, and business
  
• earning enough money to make their lives easier.
  

Would you like your success story to be next?

The eBook Revolution is still in high gear as ebook sales continue their explosive growth, especially on Amazon, which is FABULOUS news for both Indie and traditionally published authors!

What's particularly EXCITING is that an ebook can be any length, which greatly expands an author's publishing options. You can publish articles, reports, short stories, or a compilation of blog posts as an ebook. Past content that you've already written and polished can be turned into an ebook, allowing you to make money, expand your visibility, and promote your other books, products, and services fairly quickly and easily. 

Do you have any previously written, posted or published:

• articles
• short stories or novellas
• blog posts
• essays
• tip lists
• talk transcripts
• reports
• PDF ebooks

... or other content that you have the rights to, finished or unfinished, just sitting on your computer gathering dust that you'd like to turn into lead generation and income producing ebooks?

The good news is that ebooks are easier than ever to publish. You can upload an ebook in minutes, format it in hours, and in a day or two it will be live on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, or anywhere else you want it to be available, ready to start making sales.

But don't let anyone fool you--to be a successful ebook author takes knowledge, skill and work. I've seen too many authors upload their ebooks to Amazon, and elsewhere, before addressing some of the most essential elements of ebook success, and then wonder... "Where are the legions of ebook buyers I've been hearing so much about?"

The Formula for Success

Whether you want to publish non-fiction or a novel, an ebook or a print book, become an Indie author or go the traditional publishing route, the formula for success is the same.

You need:

  ... a good book
  ... a solid platform
  ... a strong ongoing promotion plan

This may sound simple, but it's amazing the amount of work and dedication to details it takes to have the best shot at writing success. So how does this apply specifically to ebooks? Well, let's see...
.

What does it take to succeed as an ebook author?

... a good book

• a great story or useful information
• well thought out and carefully edited writing
• a professional looking cover and clean formatting
• a professional appearance on Amazon and other book selling sites, which includes a well-written book description, reviews, a powerful author page, and use of appropriate keywords, categories and tags

... a solid platform

• be blogging regularly
• have a strong presence on at least one of the "BIG 3" social media sites: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
• have a presence on literary social media sites, such as: GoodReads, Shelfari, RedRoom
• do at least some speaking, teaching, interviews, article marketing, guest posts, press releases

... a strong ongoing promotion plan

• in-book promotion that gently, but firmly, leads people to your website and email list, as well to your other books, products, and services
• partnering with other authors for cross-promotion
• a fluid ebook pricing strategy
• a promotional plan that includes platform building, book launch strategies, and ongoing ebook promotion

Whew...

I know that sounds like a lot (and it is) but there's no need to worry... you don't have to do it all at once and you don't have to do any of it perfectly. Yet if you address these ESSENTIAL elements of ebook success--doing the best you can, from wherever you are in the writing and publishing process--when you receive royalties from selling hundreds or even thousands of ebooks, instead of just a handful, you'll be glad you did.

Of course, I can't guarantee how many ebooks anyone will sell as there are far too many variables to consider, but I can say with certainty that if you want to be a successful ebook author then it's important to build a strong foundation. Too many skimp on this aspect of ebook publishing in their enthusiasm to get ebooks out as quickly as possible, and end up paying for it with lost ebook sales and missed opportunities. Of course, one of the WONDERFUL things about ebooks is that you can update or redo any aspect of them, whenever you want, and then simply upload the new edition.

Do keep in mind that while ebooks offer the potential for amazing sales and success, ebooks are not a get rich quick scheme. If you study the successful ebook authors closely, as I have, you'll notice that they share several things in common. They:

• treat ebook publishing as a business
• care about the quality of their writing
• make sure every aspect of their ebook has a professional polish
• focus on growing the number of ebooks they have available
• are dedicated to ongoing platform building and promotion
• stay informed about the changes in the ebook industry

Success leaves clues that anyone who's interested can find and follow.

.

This Is an Exciting Time To Be an Author!

There has never been a time like this. Independent authors are having INCREDIBLE success. Amanda Hocking, John Locke, Darcie Chan, J.A. Konrath, and so many others have shown us what's possible with great writing, powerful promotion, and a savvy ebook strategy. But you don't have to be an ebook superstar to benefit from the ebook gold rush that's happening, now.

Publishing your own ebooks can help you:

• earn extra money every month
• promote your products and services
• gain greater visibility and expert status
• add "author of..." to your bio
• get speaking gigs
• share your stories, ideas, and passion with the world

So get your first ebook up, if you haven't already, and start growing your number of published titles. Begin with what's easiest, with a small ebook of previously written pieces. However, depending on the way you present the material and how seamlessly you want the stories or articles to flow together, when you're combining a number of pieces that weren't originally written as a series (or even if they were) you may need to edit, update, or re-envision one or more of the pieces in order to make them fit together better, or write a new article or two in order to make sure all the important points you want covered are included.
.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

.

I'm currently updating an ebook I wrote several years ago on one-page book proposals, which is a bit of a misnomer as they're typically 3 to 5 pages long.

Since this was already a complete ebook, I thought there would be very little work to do.

Whoops!

I may have underestimated that a bit.

.

Here's a list of what I've done, or still have to do on this ebook:

1. I updated my bio.
2. I updated my ebook cover to include photos of three ebooks I'm working on that will be coming out in the next few months.
3. I updated one of the sidebars that had book sales information.
4. I read through and edited the entire ebook.
5. This was written before the ebook revolution, so I'm adding a page on self-publishing and ebooks.
6. As this was written primarily for non-fiction authors, but can be used by novelists, as well, I'm adding a piece that highlights how fiction proposals differ from non-fiction proposals.
7. I'm also adding a One-Page Novel Proposal template to go along with the One-Page Non-Fiction Proposal template that's already there.
8. To make the ebook even more practical and helpful, I'm adding a previously written article on brainstorming your non-fiction book using competitive titles, and creating a new piece on brainstorming your marketing and promotion plan that both fiction and non-fiction authors can use.
9. I'm also adding some in-book promotion for How to Write Fast, Right Now! a one-hour talk I gave that I sell as a downloadable audio on my website, as well as a page about the work I do as a writing and ebook coach.
10. Lastly, I'm editing my hour-long audio interview with literary agent Michael Larsen, and will include it with the ebook as a bonus.

So much for quick and easy!

You may be wondering... why do all that extra work? As they say in internet marketing circles, "Good enough is good enough. Just get it out." It's true, this could have been up in a few days, instead of a few weeks.

So why am I doing all this work on an ebook that was already done? Because, as attractive as "quick and easy" is, I prefer "successful."

• By addressing fiction book proposals, I've doubled my audience (also known as: potential book buyers).
• By adding the brainstorming pieces, my ebook will be more useful and UNIQUE. This will help me turn readers into fans who'll want to buy more books from me or hire me as a coach.
• By adding the promotional pages at the end of my ebook, I'll introduce my readers to other books, products and services of mine that might interest them and turn into additional sales. 

Having success with one ebook is fabulous, but real success comes when readers like your ebook so much that they buy all the other ebooks you have available, as well as the next ebook you write, and the next. That's why it's important to have a number of ebooks available, and to make each one is as good as it can be within a reasonable amount of time. The challenge is always to find the right balance between quality and quickness that works for you. Don't forget, after you finish the ebook there's still more to be done—create a compelling book description, write some promotional blog posts, do some social media marketing on Twitter and Facebook--all while writing your next ebook.

If you want to make a living as an author, you have to treat your readers with respect and your writing as a career. That means caring about your ebook's quality, value and appeal. It means knowing who your audience is and what they want and need. It means being willing to promote your books and yourself, even if you'd rather be writing.

But please, PLEASE don't let the avalanche of details scare you away.They're the MAGIC that makes everything work! I love each and every one of these details in the same way I love every round of editing. I know that when I'm editing a piece, every pass through the material makes my writing better and my words SING. Editing helps me communicate the ideas I'm passionate about more clearly and powerfully.

In the same way, as I'm going through this process of editing, updating, and adding new material to my ebook, instead of getting frustrated by how long it's taking, I'm focused on the fact that every day my ebook is getting better and moving swiftly from "okay" to AWESOME! I know that all the work I'm doing is going to translate into greater success once the book is launched, which allows me to continue making a living doing what I LOVE. There's nothing in the world better than that!

Yes, becoming a successful author takes work, but it is SO worth it!

*********

I know this is a lot to take in, but as I said--you only have to do one thing at a time, and you don't have to do any of it perfectly (although you want your ebook to be as polished as possible). If you'd like some help navigating the details of writing and promoting your ebook, please visit my ebook coaching page. I love helping authors build a strong foundation for their ebook success. 

Write on!
Julie

2012 has just begun and is overflowing with possibilities! The eBook Revolution is continuing to explode, which is great news for both Indie and traditionally published authors!

It's a particularly exciting development for self-publishers because ebooks can be any length, and even if your ultimate goal is a print book, you can test market an ebook at very low cost and work out all the kinks before spending money on a print run.

Whether you publish an ebook or print book, through self-publishing or a traditional publisher, the basic elements are the same:

WritingSpirit's Top 7 Blog Posts of 2011

2012 is certainly starting off at a run! Ebooks are revolutionizing our lives as writers, and it's so exciting! I'm getting my first ebook ready to put up on Amazon in the next few weeks, and have another two lined up and partially written.  As I think about where I want to take my blog in the new year, I know that ebooks will be a primary subject, in addition to the usual suspects: writing, creativity, platform building and book promotion.

Based on my readers' retweets and responses, these were my top 7 blog posts of 2011:

.
WRITING EBOOKS

The new low priced Kindles, including the Kindle Fire color tablet, are going to mean higher ebook sales--so start writing your ebooks NOW!

If you've been thinking about writing ebooks, or like me have been working on several but have been too busy with other projects to get very far with them, it's time to make ebooks a TOP PRIORITY! And if you've already got some ebooks up for sale, it's time to kick it up a notch and add more. Even if you can only spend a half hour a day on writing or compiling content for your ebooks, think how many ebooks you can have up by the end of the year!

.
BOOK PROMOTION

Writing Success Secret #1: Book Promotion Can Be FUN!

You're an author, which means that writing and promotion are always in the #1 and #2 positions on your daily “to do” list. They’re as inseparable as the two sides of a hundred dollar bill. So it’s time to let go of any resistance, fear, or judgment you may have about promotion, and make peace with it. Life's too short to be stressed out by something so essential to your writing success!

Here’s something that can help. I'm going to tell you a little secret, and you're probably not going to believe me, at first. That's okay. I can take it...  Promotion can be fun!

.
BLOGGING

7 Key Questions To Ask Yourself Before Creating or Revising Your Blog Categories List

Blog categories matter, so choose them wisely. A category list is NOT a dictionary, nor is it meant to be a comprehensive index of topics covered. Think of it more in terms of a book's table of contents. Categories are broad, yet specific topics of great interest to your blog's readers.

How to Quickly & Easily Increase Your Blog's Alexa Ranking (or... How I went from 2.9 Million on Alexa to 411,779 in only 90 Days!)

For those who may not know, Alexa ranks a website's traffic. The lower your number, the higher your ranking. The top three websites are #1 Google, #2 Facebook and #3 YouTube. Many people use your site's Alexa ranking in their decision making process. For instance, if you've asked someone to guest post on your blog they may check out your Alexa ranking, as well as your blog, to help them decide whether or not to accept your offer. Since your Alexa ranking reflects the number of visitors your site gets, what this blog post is really about is how to get more eyes on your writing.

.
NON-FICTION AUTHORS

Book Writing FAQs: What’s the quickest way I can monetize my non-fiction book?

This is a question I often get from non-fiction authors. So, here are the two quickest and easiest ways to help your readers put the tips and techniques from your non-fiction book into practice, while also helping you make a living doing what you love.

.
CREATIVITY & PRODUCTIVITY

Romance Your Writing: Five Exercises to Vary Your Creative Routine and Spice Up Your Writing Life

Whether you're struggling to find the right words or they're flowing fast and free, it's always fun and inspiring to vary your writing routine, or try something new, to get another perspective. When you're regularly "mixing it up" by writing somewhere new, or experimenting with different brainstorming or creativity techniques, your romance with words will stay fresh, and your writing will thank you for it.

Throw Away Your TO DO List and Get More Done!

While To Do lists can be a useful productivity tool and help you focus in on and accomplish all the many activities that go along with a writing career, they can also--far too easily--become a source of stress and self-condemnation that ends up dampening your creativity and sabotaging your productivity. f you've turned your To Do list into a taskmaster, the quickest and easiest way to turn it back into a fun and useful productivity tool is to reframe it and rename it.

May 2012 be overflowing with passion, creativity, LOTS of writing, and--you guessed it--ebooks, ebooks, ebooks!

If you'd like some coaching and support around writing, blogging, creating and selling ebooks, platform building, or book promotion to start 2012 off strong, I offer new clients an introductory hour-long coaching session for $50 (that's 60% my normal hourly rate). You can get more info here.

******

If you'd like to read more of the best articles from Julie Isaac and WritingSpirit, check out:

WritingSpirit's Top 5 Blog Posts of 2010!

Blog categories matter, so choose them wisely. A category list is NOT a dictionary, nor is it meant to be a comprehensive index of topics covered. Think of it more in terms of a book's table of contents. Categories are broad, yet specific topics of great interest to your blog's readers.

eBook News: Two Indie eBook Authors Make Amazon's List of the Top 10 Best Selling Books of 2011

Amazon just released their list of 2011's Top 10 Best Selling Books of the Year. The list includes two indie ebook authors who published through Amazon's own Kindle Direct Publishing: Darcie Chan, at #4 with "The Mill River Recluse," and Chris Culver, at #9 with "The Abbey."

Darcie Chan's story was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article: How I Became a Best-Selling Author. You can learn more about Darcie at DarcieChan.com. Chris Culver's blog is IndieCrime.com.

Another interesting indie author fact... Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance," #10 on this list, is the last book in a series that began with "Eragon," a self-published book. I've written more about that, below.

 

Amazon's Best Selling Books of 2011 overall are:

1. “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson
   "So close on the heels of his passing, it's difficult to read Isaacson's portrait of Steve Jobs--his youth, his promise, and his relentless press to succeed--without feeling melancholic. Few have transformed their era like Jobs, and this book's intensity mirrors his intensity and vision. A timely and complete portrait, it pulls no punches and gives welcome insight into a man whose contradictions were his greatest strengths."
   
   
2. “Bossypants” by Tina Fey
   "From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago to her early sketches on Saturday Night Live, Fey gives a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy with equal doses of wit, candor, and self-deprecation. Bossypants is short, messy, and impossibly funny--an apt description of the comedian herself. Fey shows that you're no one until someone calls you bossy."
   
   
3. “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard
   "In 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop. For the next eighteen years, she was held captive by Phillip Craig and Nancy Garrido and gave birth to two daughters. A Stolen Life is Jaycee's story, told in her own words. In this stark, compelling narrative, she opens up about what she experienced during nearly two decades of captivity and offers an extraordinary account of courage and resilience."
   
   
4. “The Mill River Recluse” by Darcie Chan    Indie Author   
   "Disfigured by abuse and suffering from a severe anxiety disorder, the widow Mary McAllister spends almost sixty years secluded in a mansion overlooking the town of Mill River, Vermont. An arsonist, a covetous nurse, and the village idiot are among the few who have seen Mary. But only Father Michael O'Brien knows the secret she keeps--one that will change all of their lives forever. Darcie Chan's tale of triumph over tragedy reminds us that love can come from the most unexpected places."
   
   
5. “In the Garden of the Beasts” by Erik Larson
   "Erik Larsen's vivid portrait of 1930s Berlin through the lives of William Dodd, America's first ambassador to Hitler's regime, and his carefree daughter, Martha. Mesmerized by Berlin's salon society, Martha flings herself into heedless affairs, most notably with the head of the Gestapo and a Soviet spy. Both become players in the terrifying story of Hitler's obsession for absolute power. A gripping narrative with a climax that reads like a political thriller."
   
   
6. “A Dance with Dragons” by George R.R. Martin
   "George R. R. Martin has earned international acclaim for his monumental cycle of epic fantasy, A Song of Ice and Fire. In fifth book in his spellbinding landmark series, familiar faces and surprising new forces vie for a foothold in a fragmented empire. In a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all."
   
   
7. “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain
   "In The Paris Wife, Paula McLain captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley Richardson. After a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris and become the golden couple of the fabled "Lost Generation." Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living Jazz Age life. A poignant portrayal of ambition, betrayal, and love."
   
   
8. “The Litigators” by John Grisham
   "Fired by his fancy downtown firm, David Zinc joins the “boutique law firm” of Finley & Figg. His first case: track down patients who have suffered heart attacks while taking the popular cholesterol-reducing drug, Krayoxx, and convince them to join a class action suit against a giant pharmaceutical company. The partners at Finley & Figg smell fame and fortune. It almost seems too good to be true. And it is. A tremendously entertaining romp from America’s favorite storyteller."
   
   
9. “The Abbey” by Chris Culver     Indie Author
   "Ash Rashid is a former homicide detective who can't stand the thought of handling another death investigation--until his niece's body is found in the guest home of one of his city's most wealthy citizens. The coroner calls it an overdose, but against orders, Ash launches an investigation to find his niece's murderer. The longer he searches, the more entangled he becomes in a case that hits increasingly close to home. If he doesn't solve it fast, his niece won't be the only family member he has to bury."
   
   
10. “Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle)” by Christopher Paolini
    "The much-anticipated conclusion to Christopher Paolini's blockbuster Inheritance cycle. Not so very long ago, Eragon was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders. The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?"
    
    The first book of The Inheritance Cycle was self-published:
    
    Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle began in 2001 with the self-published book, "Eragon." Paolini wrote the first draft of "Eragon" when he was 15, and his family self-published it two years later. In 2002, author Carl Hiaasen's stepson bought a copy of "Eragon" and loved it. This led Hiasson to bring the book to the attention of Alfred A. Knopf, who published it in 2003. At 19, Paolini became a New York Times Best Selling author.
    
    Since then, The Inheritance Cycle series has been translated into 49 languages and has sold 25 million copies worldwide. The fourth and final book in the series, "Inheritance," has a first print run of 2.5 million copies.

Other recent eBook News that might interest you:

• eBook News: Indie Author Amanda Hocking Has Joined Amazon's Exclusive Kindle Million Club, Along with David Baldacci & Stephanie Meyer, Author of the Twilight Saga Series

• The new low priced Kindles, including the Kindle Fire color tablet, are going to mean higher ebook sales, so start writing your ebooks NOW!

• eBook News: Kindle's new @author feature lets you ask an author questions from INSIDE their ebook!

Whose Story Is It? -- Guest Post by Mark David Gerson

 "Without characters there's no story."

~ Karl Iglesias, Writing for Emotional Impact

"When I hit a real block, I find it’s usually because I've...said something false or made a character do what he doesn't want to do."
~ Anne Tyler

About two years ago, I was listening to a guest speaker -- let's call him Tom -- at a writer's group. He was talking about characters.

"In the first half of your story," he said, "let your characters do what they want. But when you get to the second half, you've got to reign them in."

Tom was pretty insistent, and it was all I could do to not jump up and shriek NO!...not to the first half of his statement, but to the second.

I was reminded of that story some months later when I began working with a new coaching client. She'd written a powerful memoir -- so powerful that it had been nominated for a literary award. Now, a fictional character had accosted her in a misty Irish glen and was insisting that she write his story.

"But I've never written a novel," she exclaimed. "I don't know how!"

"You don't have to know how," I replied. "All you have to do is write his memoir."

Thing is, whatever story we're telling -- whether it's a novel, short story, stage play or screenplay -- we're writing someone's story.

What we're writing is their story. And what we're often discovering in that first draft is not only what that story is but who that character is...who all the characters are who make up that world.

"I have never demanded of a set of characters that they do things my way. On the contrary, I want them to do things their way. In some instances, the outcome is what I visualized. In most, however, it’s something I never expected."
~ Stephen King

Tom's point was that we spend the first half of our story discovering who the character is. From there, we spend the rest of the story making sure the character hews to that portrait.

My point is that we may only truly discover who that character is and what she's about by writing through to the end. Why stifle the creative process just when we've finally surrendered to the story's unfoldment? Why limit ourselves and our characters by insisting that at a certain point in the draft, character and story are fixed for all time?

When I was working on the first draft of The StarQuest (the first of two projected sequels to The MoonQuest), I had a pretty good idea who the villain of the story was and to what unpleasant end she would come in the final scenes. At least, I thought I did...

Then, on my last day of work on that draft, as I was letting one of the final scenes write itself, something unanticipated happened: Instead of the ugly death I was expecting, the villain had a profoundly redemptive experience that, within a few paragraphs, had transformed her from ugly antagonist into a positive force for continuing good. I was stunned.

In that moment, I had two choices: I could follow Tom's advice and refuse the villain her redemption, or I could surrender to the character's higher imperative and permit the alchemy to occur. I chose the latter, not only because I believe my stories and their characters are smarter than I am, but because my villain's transformation supports one of the story's central themes in ways I would have been hard-pressed to consciously manufacture.

In The MoonQuest, much about the character O'ric shifted -- not only through the first draft, but through many of the drafts. He shifted not because I couldn't reign him in. He shifted because, through the writing, I began to understand more clearly who he truly was, both within himself and to the story.

In the "rules for character-building" that I use when I teach workshops on characterization, Rule #10 reads "How did John become Jane? And why is she suddenly the villain?"

Often, characters in our stories want to undergo radical changes through the course of that first draft. Too often, we follow Tom's advice and refuse them that freedom.

My view is that our job as Writer God is to give our characters absolute freedom through the entire first draft of our story...and, sometimes, beyond.

Unlike Tom, I say, Let your characters be as inconsistent and mercurial as they want to be. Let them veer off in completely different directions partway, if that’s what they choose. Let your villains become heroes and your heroes become villains. Let them change names, physical characteristics, motivations and story-significance. Let them change gender.

Only by allowing them that freedom in your first draft will you learn who they truly are and be true to their story. After all, it's their story you're telling.

I do my best work when I feel least like its source and most like its channel.
~Lawrence Block

Let your first draft, as I said earlier, be your journey of discovery: of your characters and of their story. Through that journey, you will grow into your story and its characters. You might, as I did in The StarQuest, only discover something of major significance about an important character on the final page of the draft. That’s okay. Use your next draft to bring consistency to the characters you now know more fully.

Remember whose story you're telling...and get out of the way!

"It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does."
~ William Faulkner

• How can you better trust your characters to reveal themselves to you?
• How can you stop trying to control your stories and, instead, let them emerge organically?
• How can you better surrender to the magic out of which all creativity is birthed?
• How can you trust that your stories and characters know themselves better than you do?
• How can you let yourself be surprised -- by your characters and by their stories?

(** Listen to my hour-long interview with Mark David Gerson, The Story Knows the Way through December 10th. **)

 

You'll get help answering these and other questions about your writing process and projects in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.

Mark David Gerson is the author of two award-winning books, "The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write" (one of my favorite books on writing) and "The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy," and has recorded "The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers" on CD. He has taught and coached writing as a creative and spiritual pursuit for nearly 20 years. Through workshops, online classes, coaching and consulting, Mark David has guided writers and non-writers alike to connect with their innate wisdom, open to their creative power and express themselves with ease.

MarkDavidGerson.com
Follow on Twitter: @MarkDavidGerson

Art credits: 1) Detail from the Zazzle "fictional character" t-shirt; 2) Image from the Talk Stephen King blog; 3) Detail from the cover of Karl Iglesias's book, Writing for Emotional Impact.

eBook News: Amazon Opens Kindle Stores in Italy and Spain

Amazon recently announced that it launched Kindle stores in Italy and Spain on December 1, 2011.

Amazon.it

Amazon's Italian Kindle Store offers customers "the largest selection of Italian-language titles in digital with over 16,000 Italian-language Kindle books, a wide array of best sellers and hundreds of free Italian classics." Diego Piacentini, a senior vice president at Amazon.com, said that, "Italian customers are passionate about books and reading and we believe they will love reading great Italian books like Roberto Saviano's 'Gomorra,' Tiziano Terzani's 'Un indovino mi disse' and current best sellers like the new Steve Jobs biography on Kindle." Italy's Kindle Store will offer ebooks from best-selling authors such as Umberto Eco, Susanna Tamaro, Erri De Luca and Marcello Simoni, as well as independent authors and publishers who use Amazon's own Kindle Direct Publishing.

(click image to enlarge)

Amazon.es

Gordon Willoughby, Director of EU Kindle, said that, "We are excited to introduce the new Spanish Kindle Store which features the most best sellers in Spain, the leading selection of titles in Catalan, Basque and Galician and also includes unique and exclusive titles from Rosa Montero." Amazon's Spanish Kindle Store offers customers "a vast selection of over 22,000 Spanish-language Kindle books, including 20 of the Top 30 El Cultural fiction and non-fiction best sellers, and over a thousand free classics in Spanish."

The ebooks will cover "a wide range of categories including popular titles from best-selling authors such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Julia Navarro and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, as well as short form content from El País and La Vanguardia, uniquely available on Kindle. In addition, the store will launch with three exclusive self-published books from award-winning author and journalist Rosa Montero, using Kindle Direct Publishing."

Both of the new Kindle stores include almost a million ebooks, including ebooks from independent authors who've published through Kindle Direct Publishing and chose to make their ebooks available worldwide. In fact, I can't wait to tell a coaching client, who published her first ebook in September, that her book is now available in Spain and Italy. I looked in both stores and the book was there. What fun!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

The new low priced Kindles, including the Kindle Fire color tablet, are going to mean higher ebook sales, so start writing your ebooks NOW!

eBook News: Indie Author Amanda Hocking Has Joined Amazon's Exclusive Kindle Million Club, Along with David Baldacci & Stephanie Meyer, Author of the Twilight Saga Series

It was announced today that indie author Amanda Hocking has made it into the exclusive Kindle Million Club, along with traditionally published authors David Baldacci and Stephanie Meyer, creator of the Twilight Saga series who said, "I know for a fact that this is the most awesome club I've ever been allowed into."

There's only one way to get into the Kindle Million Club and that's to sell 1,000,000 kindle ebooks on Amazon. With the inclusion of these three new authors, the Kindle Million Club now has 14 members. They are:

1. Amanda Hocking
2. Stephanie Meyer
3.  David Baldacci
4. Stieg Larsson
5. Janet Evanovich
6. James Patterson
7. Nora Roberts
8. John Locke
9. Charlaine Harris
10. Lee Child
11. Suzanne Collins
12. Michael Connelly
13. Kathryn Stockett
14. George R.R. Martin

Of the 14 authors in the Kindle Million Club, only Amanda Hocking and John Locke are indie authors who have sold their books independently through KDP--Kindle Direct Publishing. Because of their huge success they both signed deals with major publishers, but in very different ways. Locke signed a distribution deal with Simon & Schuster who will distribute his Donovan Creed novels under Locke's own imprint, John Locke Books. Amanda Hocking, on the other hand, went the more traditional route and signed a two million dollar four book deal with St. Martin's Press. While some felt disappointed by her taking the traditional publishing route after having earned two million dollars on her own through self-publishing, Hocking made it clear that she also wants wider distribution opportunities. She knows she can't get her books into Wal-Mart on her own.

"I'm so grateful to everyone who has bought one of my books, and to Amazon, for giving me a place to share my books," said Hocking. "None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you!" Amanda Hocking is the best-selling author of 10 books, including the My Blood Approves series and the Trylle Trilogy, which has been optioned by Media Rights Capital, who plans to turn her three novels into two movies. Terri Tatchell, co-writer of the hit science-fiction film, "District 9,"is already at work writing the screenplays. Because of her amazing self-publishing success Hocking has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post and Forbes.

Amanda Hocking and John Locke are not the only KDP publishers doing well selling Kindle ebooks. According to Amazon...

With the release of the new lower priced Kindles, as well as the Kindle Fire tablet, ebook sales will only continue to rise. If you'd like to see your own books for sale as Kindle ebooks, check out my article:

The new low priced Kindles, including the Kindle Fire color tablet, are going to mean higher ebook sales, so start writing your ebooks NOW!

And here are some other eBook News Reports that might be of interest to you:

• Indie Author John Locke's New Distribution Deal with Simon & Schuster... what does it mean to the future of publishing?

• eBook News: Kindle's answer to PDFs - Print Replica eBooks

• eBook News: Kindle's new @author feature lets you ask an author questions from INSIDE their ebook!

How to Quickly & Easily Increase Your Blog's Alexa Ranking (or... How I went from 2.9 Million on Alexa to 411,779 in only 90 Days!)

After HARO (Help a Reporter Out) wouldn't run a request for writing sources that I had submitted to them because my Alexa Ranking was "over 1 million," I got serious about raising my website's Alexa Ranking (which means lowering the actual number since the highest ranked site is #1). That was late in July when my ranking was 2.9 million.

My Alexa ranking today, November 8th, is:

For those of you who may not know, Alexa ranks a website's traffic. The top three websites are #1 Google, #2 Facebook and #3 YouTube. Many people use your site's Alexa ranking in their decision making process. For instance, if you've asked someone to guest post on your blog they may check out your Alexa ranking, as well as your blog, to help them decide whether or not to accept your offer.

A few helpful things to know about Alexa:

• Your Alexa ranking is based upon the number of visitors and page views your website gets.
• Your rank reflects the last three months of your website traffic.
• One of the main ways Alexa collects data about web traffic is through people's use of the Alexa toolbar. So if you haven't downloaded it, yet, go to the Alexa Toolbar page and download the toolbar that's right for your web browser, so that your visits to your own site will be included in Alexa's traffic data.
• Raising your Alexa ranking means lowering your number. Google's Alexa rank is #1,meaning their site has the most traffic on the web.  So the bigger your number, the smaller your traffic.
• Alexa ranks about 30 million websites.
• Alexa is owned by Amazon.

So how did I rise so far so fast? By optimizing my blog and using Twitter. Now, I have a Twitter following of 48,000, which I know most people don't have. But I had that same following three months ago when my Alexa rank was 2.9 million, and I know people who have Alexa rankings much higher than mine, who have far fewer followers, so however many Twitter followers or Facebook friends and fans you may have, if you follow these 3 tips you can begin to improve your Alexa ranking, right now.

I must warn you, however, that watching your Alexa ranking rise is highly addictive. It's also quite fun!

There are many other techniques you can use, as well, but these three tips are easy to implement and you don't have to do anything other than blog and let your Twitter and Facebook followers know about it, which you're hopefully already doing.

So, without further ado, here are my 3 quick tips to increase your blog's Alexa ranking:
 

1.  Promote your old blog posts!

Yes. It really is that easy. Promote several blog posts a day, every day (or as often as you can). You can do it live, whenever you think about it, or you can schedule tweets promoting your blog posts to be automatically tweeted throughout the day at sites like SocialOomph.com or HootSuite.com.

So many promote their newest blog post for a couple of days or a week, and then move on. But that post you wrote six months ago, or the one you wrote two years ago, are Alexa gold that you can easily mine by tweeting them, or posting links on Facebook. The first three weeks of my Alexa campaign saw my numbers rise every day (or fall, as the case may be), yet I didn't write a single new blog post. And when I look at some of the highest ranking writing blogs, and study the tweets of the people who run them, I see that they all do this! They do it because it works.

On November 29, 2011 I tweeted one of my most popular posts, How to Write Daily (or Meet Whatever Writing Goal You Set) More Easily and got so many retweets that over 900 people read my blog in one day!

2.  Increase your traffic generation ability by experimenting with your blog post titles and promotional copy, then tracking results.

There are several ways to gauge which are your most popular blog posts:

• The number of retweets you get at Twitter, likes you get at Facebook, and comments you get at both
• Social media plug-ins that give you the number of retweets, likes, etc.
• Google Analytics

          Or the one I use the most:

• A URL shortener that tracks the number of clicks each link gets (although it seems that some clicks are Twitter bots, still it gives me immediate feedback I can use)

Yet none of these let you know if your blog post title or promotional copy is as effective as it could be. The only way to know that is to experiment with different titles or copy, and then track the response you get. Keep in mind that your results will naturally vary depending on the time and day that you promote your posts. Nights and weekends, as well as Fridays on Twitter will generally give you a lower response rate than midday Monday through Thursday. So gauge your success accordingly.

What does this look like? A recent blog post I wrote about reframing how you look at your TO DO List started out with the title, "Turn Your TO DO List Into a Treasure Map." While that captured the post perfectly, very few clicked through. So I started experimenting with new titles. What I found worked best, as evidenced by my BudURL click-through rate, was "Having Trouble Keeping Up With All Your Writing and Promotional Activities? Here's a Productivity Tool That's Fun and Effective!" My first title essentially gave away the punch line, while the second title piqued people's curiosity and got them to click through, after which they enjoyed discovering the answer themselves by reading the post.

Here's another example, but in this case I experimented with how I worded my promotional tweets. Yes, the easiest way to promote a blog post is to tweet its title along with a link, and I do that often. However, it's helpful to have several different tweets that you can use to promote a post because you never know what's going to catch someone's interest, and you don't want to repeat the same tweet too often. I wrote "Four Authors Who Didn't Give Up Their Dreams" two years ago, to inspire writers not to give up. To revive the blog post, I experimented with tweeting quotes from the article and in the process stumbled upon one that lights up Twitter every time I use it!

Besides being a helpful promotional tool, playing with titles and tweets is also very creative and fun. So enjoy!

3. Link to other related posts on your blog to increase your page views.

While the first two tips were about getting traffic (aka: readers) to your blog, this last tip is about increasing your page views. The easiest way to do this is to have links in your posts that lead to other posts on your blog.

The three main ways to do this are:

• Hot words or phrases
  Once this blog post is live, every time I use the word Alexa on my blog, I can link it to this post. I used the search function and discovered I've used "Alexa" in two previous posts, so I can link this post to both of them, as well. You can link topic phrases that you blog about such as write an ebook or book promotion. I wouldn't overdo this, however. You don't want your posts to light up like a Christmas tree.
  
  
• Use your own blog posts as examples
  While you want to link to other websites and show a variety of examples when making a point, don't forget to use your own blog posts as examples when appropriate. You might even brainstorm some blog posts that will actually highlight your other blog posts.
  
  One of my upcoming blog posts is about the seven types of quick blog posts you can write, and I'll be using my own blog posts as examples. One of the types of quick blog posts I'm going to highlight is answering FAQs and SAQs, which I had never done. So, last week, I wrote a blog post based on a question that I regularly hear from clients, "Book Writing FAQs: What's the quickest way I can monetize my non-fiction book?" I wrote it expressly so that I'd have an example of all seven types of quick blog posts. The post you're reading, right now, was also supposed to be one of the seven types, a "3 Quick Tips" post, but that ship sailed over a thousand words ago.

• Add a recommended reading list at the end of a post
  If you're blogging on a platform that doesn't have an automatic plug-in for this, you can simply add a list of related articles at the end of your post. As you link to an older blog post, consider taking an extra few minutes and putting a link on it back to the current post, so they link to each other. Recently, I updated a year-old post about five November writing challenges, including the challenge that started it all, NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month. While I was dusting it off, getting it ready to trot out and promote during November, I added a list of three writing productivity posts, a NaNoWriMo post, and a link to my coaching page in case anyone wanted some personal writing or blogging support.

Doing these three things is how my Alexa ranking went from 2.9 million to 411,779 in three months, and when you start doing them, too, your Alexa ranking will begin to improve. But more importantly, what your blog traffic and page views really signify is that you're building your audience and creating a deeper relationship with them.

If you liked this article, you're definitely going to want to read:

• 5 Keys to Promoting Your Book With a Blog

• 7 Key Questions To Ask Yourself Before Creating or Revising Your Blog Categories List

• Lists: An Easy and Fun Content Creation Tool for Writing Blog Posts and eBook

============

If you'd like some help creating a blog strategy, focusing your categories and content, writing compelling and keyword rich blog posts, creating a list-building opt-in offer, and promoting your blog, I now offer a low priced introductory coaching session.

Book Writing FAQs: What’s the quickest way I can monetize my non-fiction book?

A coaching client who recently wrote a short non-fiction book that she self-published on Amazon as both an ebook and print book, asked me in our coaching session, “what’s the quickest way I can monetize my book?

Offer Coaching Services

The quickest way is to offer coaching services. You would need to add a coaching page to your book’s website describing what services you offer, and put a short blurb about your coaching services in the back of your book. You’d also need to decide whether you want to offer potential clients a free strategy session, a low-priced introductory session, or simply an hour at your regular fee, and then add a PayPal link for taking payments.

The Pros: It’s easy. All that’s required is a phone and an hour of your time. It’s simply sharing your knowledge and experience with others, and the book will help people get to know you and your unique take on whatever topic you’ve written about, as well as inspire their desire to work with you.

The Cons: Coaching is a very different form of communication than writing. Being good at one doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be good at the other. If you haven’t coached anyone before, find a couple of friends who have at least a small amount of genuine interest in what you’re offering, and coach them. This will give you a sense of what coaching is like, and whether or not you have an aptitude for it. There are many coaching programs and organizations that can help you strengthen and refine your coaching skills if you’d like some support as you pursue this further. The other con is that the number of book readers who will want one-on-one coaching will likely be small, and it’s a large jump to go from paying $2.99 for an ebook to $100 or more for an hour of coaching.

Write a Workbook

While writing a workbook takes more time than putting up a coaching page initially, once you’ve written it you can set a system up to sell the workbook automatically… forevermore. Your workbook will come together much faster than the original book, because it will follow the organization and structure of the book it supports, and much of the actual workbook will consist of empty space in which your readers will answer the questions you’ve asked, do some brainstorming, or gather the information that they’ve researched.

Even if your original book gives readers the steps they need to follow, your workbook will not only walk them through the steps of whatever you're having them explore, create, or do, it will walk them through the experience of it, as well. Think about what might come up for your readers as they're answering the questions you’ve asked or following the steps you’ve laid out, and several different ways they might handle what arises. When you add this information to the workbook, your readers will have a much richer and deeper experience.

What goes in a workbook:

• Simple and clear step-by-step instructions
• Tips and examples that make it easier for people to do
  the exercises, take the steps, or answer the questions
• Self-awareness questions
• Research based questions
• Brainstorming questions
• Worksheets
• Checklists
• Spreadsheets
• Plenty of white space for writing

The Pros: This will be relatively quick to write, will support and deepen the original book, and you can sell it as a PDF downloadable file with no printing costs. You can also use it to support your one-on-one coaching, as well as combine it with the book it’s based upon to create a four or six-week class or teleseries.

The Cons: Again, a workbook is a very different format than a book. If you’ve never done one before then test it out on friends and colleagues. It’s important to actually follow the steps in the workbook yourself, because that will help you discover what you’ve left out or put in the wrong order, where you need to go deeper, and what other questions you need to ask to help people achieve the goal of the workbook.

===========

If you'd like some help writing, promoting or monetizing your book or ebook, I now offer a low-priced introductory  coaching session.

Lists: An Easy and Fun Content Creation Tool for Writing Blog Posts and eBooks

Lists

We are surrounded by lists. Catalogs and calendars are lists. The weather forecast and the TV Guide are lists. And, of course, there's our daily "to do" list. As writers, we can also add to our list of lists: article outlines, our book's table of contents and index, conference schedules, and everybody's favorite, the New York Times Bestseller List.

Lists are everywhere. They're a natural way to brainstorm, organize and present information. A list's basic structure helps to order, illustrate, highlight, and clarify. When you add to that a list's ability to make writing and reading easier, it's understandable why so many people write list-based content.

Writing list based content is as easy as…

1.
2.
3.

Pick a number. Any number.

Okay, you've picked the number 7. Now pick a topic.

Put them both together, brainstorm and create a list, and -- presto! -- you have your content's outline, whether you're writing a blog post, an article, or a book.

Here are some examples:

The 7 Highest Grossing Movies of 2010

• A simple list of the top 7 movies and how much money each one made. Great for a blog post.

The 7 Hottest Self-Help Books of the Summer

• A paragraph on each book--what it's about, why it's hot, and who's reading it. Great for an article.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

• An in-depth examination of the habits (and the principles behind them) that lead to personal and professional success. Stephen R. Covey's bestselling book.

A list is not only a fabulous brainstorming and organizational tool, it's one of the easiest content creation methods around. Once you've brainstormed your list, all you have to do to quickly write a blog post or article (a book takes a little longer) is follow this simple formula: Introduction + List + Conclusion = Great Content!

Here are some tips to get you writing your own list-based content... easier/faster/better!

The Title

• 7 Ways, Tips, Hints, Secrets, Keys, Laws, Habits...
• Best/worst, most/least, mistakes/lessons, improve/solve, money & time wasters/savers, quickest/easiest/cheapest, surprising/unique/creative, what every newbie needs to know...

Introduction

• Briefly talk about the problem, and how these 7 Secrets hold the key to (or are) the solution.
• Describe why these 7 Steps are important to follow in order to achieve success.
• Simply introduce the topic that these 7 Tips address.

The List

• Depending on what you're writing, each item on your list can be a sentence or two, a paragraph, a page, or a chapter.
• The list can be organized randomly, step-by-step (from first to last), or as a countdown (from least important to most important).
• Each item's content covers the most important points on its subject, directly and succinctly (which is why it's easy to write).

Conclusion

• The conclusion can be a sentence or two, or a paragraph or two (some leave it off altogether).
• Restate the value and benefits of following these secrets/steps/tips.
• Offer hints to help the reader apply the information given.
• Pull it all together, and lead the reader to what s/he needs to learn or do next (your next article or blog post).

Short list-based articles convey a lot of information quickly, making them as popular with readers as they are with writers. You can use them to connect with your audience on a website, blog, tip sheet, newsletter or ezine. You can also use them to explore new ideas, to see if a particular subject sparks your interest or your audience's. If it does, you can expand your list by adding more items to it, or going more deeply into each individual topic.

Longer list-based content can be used to create an ebook or opt-in offer, can be broken down into individual pieces and turned into an e-course, can be read and recorded then burned onto a CD, and, of course, can become a book. The possibilities are virtually endless.

Now, pick a number. Any number.

Okay, you've picked the number 7, again! Now brainstorm 7 list-based topics you can write about.

Whichever one has the most energy for you, take it, create a list, and start writing.  

 

The TOP 5 List Writing Tips

Now that you've discovered how easy it is to create list-based content, here are 5 quick tips that will skyrocket the traffic generating, audience pleasing power of your lists.

#1 Mix 'em up
How to. Tips, tools, techniques. Top 10. Step-by-step. Glossaries. Resources.

#2 Make 'em buzz worthy
Hook to current events. Be controversial. Show the "other side" of popular/unpopular ideas. Seek out the unusual.

#3 Make 'em viral
Take a buzz-worthy, inspiring or especially useful list, add photos and music, turn it into a video and post it on YouTube.

#4 Post lots of lists
When one of them starts attracting attention and getting some buzz going, turn it into a free report and circulate it widely, or turn it into an ebook and sell it.

#5 Make lists of lists
List the top 10 subject areas that you write or blog about, or create infoproducts for, and brainstorm 10 potential list topics for each. Let loose and have some fun with this. The more fun you have, the better ideas you'll come up with.

 

Tip Lists: A Fast & Fabulous Way to Drive Traffic and Create an eBook, book, or Infoproduct

Creating and posting daily tips (written or audio--on your blog, to your list, or at a social networking site) only takes a few minutes a day, and in a month you'll have 30 tips. In another three weeks you'll have 50 tips. And in a little over 3 months you'll have 101 tips.

You can then turn these tips into an ebook, a 30 day e-course, a year-long weekly audio course, or a CD. You can also take these quick tips, add a couple of paragraphs of description and/or instruction to each, and you've written a book that you can self-publish or submit to a publisher.

Throw Away Your TO DO List and Get More Done!

While To Do lists can be a useful productivity tool and help you focus in on and accomplish all the many activities that go along with a writing career, they can also--far too easily--become a source of stress and self-condemnation that dampens your creativity and sabotages your productivity.

This happens in several ways:

• When you feel that you "have to" do something, even if you know it's important for your writing or even essential for promoting your book, it can bring up a feeling of resistance, which makes accomplishing what you want to do even harder. Just putting something on your To Do list can make it a "have to" in your mind.
  
  
• Because your To Do list is filled with things you truly need to do, you can feel a sense of pressure (or the potential for negative consequences) whenever you think of your list. You may worry that if you don't complete what's on your list, it will cause you problems.
  
  
• If your day is "getting away from you," and you haven't gotten to your list, yet, you can feel the pressure of it, or judge yourself because of it. 
  
  
• When you get to the end of your day and haven't done, or completed, something or everything on your list, you can feel like you failed. You set a goal for yourself, and didn't achieve it.

Your relationship with your To Do list is everything. If you see it, primarily, as an organizational tool that can help you be more focused and productive, moving your writing and promotional activities forward, you'll probably be alright. But if you see it as a taskmaster, as a list of things you "have to" do or "should" do, you're more likely to run into the above thoughts and feelings.

If you've turned your To Do list into a taskmaster, the quickest and easiest way to turn it back into a fun and useful productivity tool is to reframe it and rename it. Your To Do list is now your Treasure Map! The best part is that it's absolutely true. Your To Do list IS a treasure map, which, when followed, will take you to the writing success that you long for.

Do you want to write a book? Create a Treasure Map to put that book in your hands.

Do you want to build your author's platform or promote your book? Create a Treasure Map, and follow it to establish a large and loyal following.

Seeing what you used to call a To Do list as a Treasure Map does several powerful things:

• It makes productivity fun.

• It changes your focus from what you "have to" do, to what you "want to" do, which changes your energy and makes doing the work much easier.  

• It keeps your focus on the Treasure! By keeping your goal in front of you at all times, you're constantly reminded WHY you're on this journey, and that keeps you motivated.

• Your constant focus on the Treasure, on the outcome, puts the Law of Attraction into action in a positive and powerful way for you.

• Because you're focused on the outcome that you want, it makes you more open, eager, and willing to do all that is needed to achieve your dream.

• And best of all, it turns the journey into a grand adventure.

If you're having trouble getting to, or completing, the items on your To Do list, throw your list away! Create a Treasure Map, instead, and name the treasure you desire.

• You can name it the title of your book:   My "Unleash Your Writing Genius!" Treasure Map.
  

• You can name it what you're trying to achieve: My Full-Time Book Author Treasure Map.
  

• You can name it how much money you want to make: My $10,000 per month Treasure Map.

Whatever your goal is, name it and place it on your treasure map. As you keep your goal in front of you, surrounded by fun and forward moving energy, you'll get more done more easily than you ever thought possible.

Try it and see.

Productivity isn't the only aspect of your writing career that can be perceived and experienced in a new more joyful, open and creative way. You can transform your relationship with promotion, too. Read my post on Writing Success Secret #1: Book Promotion Can Be FUN!

What do you do to find the fun in, or make peace with, the aspects of your writing career that support your ultimate goals and are essential to your success, but may not be your favorite parts of the process?