September 30, 2013 by

Why your book needs a website!

This may seem like a no-brainer for some of you, and then this may be the burning question many others ask themselves all the time.

A website is actually more than just a store front where your book will be displayed.

If it were only that, Amazon.com would do just fine. The problem with Amazon is it is very limited in the way it can bring you traffic. Put another way, suppose you had a store and you only allowed walk-in business. No phone orders, no internet orders, no ads in industry publications, no radio or TV ads, no delivery, etc. . . If all you did was utilize just one channel for sales, you would obviously be limiting your sales. Not a great business strategy.

Similarly if you used all the sales channels known to man, but used them as their own mini storefront, you would have many different addresses to maintain and monitor. What would you do if you found differing prices at a couple of different channels? More than likely you would be chasing problems all day long. Very hard to organize and run efficiently. Lots of wasted energy.

A good book website will be the HUB of all your book’s information.

Once you have your website created, you can then go and investigate other sales channels and use the text (copy and paste) for the sales copy in those other channels, saving you time and energy. You should also change your prices, titles, descriptions, synopsis, etc. all on the website FIRST. Then you can either change your other sales channels to match it, or you could even just point to the website from the other channels for “more information” and just change the website and all the other channels will immediately be pointing to updated information. Change once, fix everywhere.

A good book website will also be where you will send all of your visitors from offline channels.

Business cards, post cards, flyers, book jackets, etc. . . all should carry your website address so people can go there for more information and to even purchase your book.

A good website will help people find you when they search for your topic in a search engine, leading more people to your book.

A website shouldn’t be the only sales channel you use to sell your book, but it should be the one that helps you organize the other sales channels and keep them in sync with your latest information. Your book’s website should link to all the different formats your book comes in as well as all the other channels your customers may wish to interact with your book. Some may prefer Amazon, some may prefer iBooks, Goodreads, Audible, etc. . . Let your reader purchase your book where ever they prefer and let your website show them what all the options are.

Lead everyone to your book’s website, so you can sell your book anywhere.

Filed Under: Platform creation Tagged With: ,
August 16, 2013 by

The Garden Song

I need a hobby,
something to do
to keep me busy
a month or two-
thats all.

It must be simple
to ease my mind,
it must be soothing
so I can find
myself.

I’ll plant a garden
so I can taste
the fruits of labor
from which I’ve placed
my time.

But after two weeks
nothing did show.
Some old manure
should make it grow.
(I hope)

Before I knew it
the garden grew,
but within minutes
the bugs came too-
by two.

A little powder,
a lot of spray
did make that problem
turn out okay-
but wait  . . .

This little garden
was not so small.
I’ll throw some parties
and share it all
with friends.

But have a party
I do not dare;
this house I live in
needs much repair.
What next?

In the beginning
there was an end;
a simple project
with which to spend
Some time.

‘Twas like a hallway
with several doors;
each one I opened
had several more
Inside.

Nothings really over
this I have to face!
Each time one thing ended
another took its place.

OOOOO-Oh
What am I to do?
OOOOO-Oh
When will I be through?
OOOOO-Oh
How did I begin?
OOOOO-Oh
Will it ever end?

Pick up a hammer,
tear down a wall,
give this house beauty
from garden tall
and ripe.

I’m out of money.
I’ll get a loan
and turn this old house
into a home-
or bust!

Then buy new carpet,
some furniture
and lots of china
with which to serve
the food.

I’ll paint the outside
soft shades of blue
and build a bright red
brick barbeque
out back . . .

The party last week
was such a mess!
What my friends told me
I must confess
is true.

One thing I needed,
(ha!) one thing
thats all,
were womens touches
to fill the walls
with charm.

But then come children;
say two or three.
You’d think I planted
a family tree-
from seeds!

Then with the children
comes Pee Wee league,
long slumber parties
and much fatigue.
Good grief!

In the beginning
there was an end;
a simple project
with which to spend
some time.

‘     ‘Twas like a hallway
with several doors;
each one I opened
had several more
Inside.

Nothings really over
this I have to face.
Each time one thing ended
another took its place.

OOOOO-Oh
What am I to do?
OOOOO-Oh
When will I be through?
OOOOO-Oh
How did I begin?
OOOOO-Oh
Will it ever end?

Six kids in school now
all college bound…

 

Filed Under: Poems
August 16, 2013 by

Just Ship It!

So how do you know when your book is finished?

Great question.

“No work of art is ever finished, just abandoned.” Leonardo Da Vinci

I, for one, really understand what he means. You probably do too or you would have just skipped this post.

At some point an artist has to abandon his current work and get started on the next one, or there will never be a next one, just as the current one will never be either. If you don’t “Ship,” you have given nothing to society. You have risked nothing, and we have gained nothing.

Deep down inside you know when you have taken something as far as you can. From there you can either ask for help to make it better, or send it out into the world and move on. We artists must learn to be happy with that. I could re-write “The Dishwasher’s Son,” for the next several years. Who knows what it would turn out like if I did, but then you would never know would you? I would never “ship” it. It would  just languish in the re-writes and I’d complain about how long it’s taking and how hard it is to “finish” a book.

Well it does take longer than expected, and it IS really, really hard to “finish” a book.

You will have to decide at some point to let it go out into the world and become what it is destined to be.

And let’s face it, if you get really lousy reviews and they all say pretty much the same thing, you could do another re-write with those changes in mind. There is nothing written anywhere that says once you’ve shipped your product, you can’t improve it. How many versions of  popular songs are there? Have you ever heard an artist do an “unplugged” version of their own song? Your audience could actually help you become a better writer. But only if you “ship.”

I know it’s scary to ship your art. It’s a huge risk to put something you’ve been working on for a long time out there for others to see. (and judge) They are going to judge it. They are going to judge you. If you can’t handle this, maybe writing really isn’t for you. Maybe gardening is. Or TV, or six martini lunches. Or reading to your cat.

One thing is for sure, if you write or paint or sculpt or whatever, and you just keep your work in a drawer or garage some place, you just wasted a lot of time. It’s like that old question, “if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, did it make a sound?” Who cares? Nobody heard it. It never mattered to anyone. The world goes on like it never happened. Like you never happened. What a waste.

All for the want of a little courage.

Just ship it and get over it.

After a while, you’ll get used to the comments, and your art will change, and the comments will change, and one day you may find an audience that really likes your art. Then you and your art will have mattered. Wouldn’t that be better than to have not existed at all?

Art matters. You matter for having created it. So just “Ship It” and get over it. Move on. The next step is going to be a doosey.

Filed Under: Writing Your Book