Podcasts about market your book

How is the German market different to English speaking markets, and why might it be worth looking into translation? What are the best ways to translate, self-publish and market your books in German? With Skye MacKinnon. In the intro, thoughts on feeling empty after a book, and the benefits of SubStack for authors [Stark Reflections; Wish I'd Known Then]; AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars 16 and 23 May. This episode is sponsored by Publisher Rocket, which will help you get your book in front of more Amazon readers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing. I use Publisher Rocket for researching book titles, categories, and keywords — for new books and for updating my backlist. Check it out at www.PublisherRocket.com This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why the German-speaking market is much bigger than just Germany, and which genres sell best there Title protection laws, the Impressum, and translator copyright How to find and vet human translators, and what a quality translation actually costs The current state of AI translation for fiction, and why quality assurance passes are essential Distribution decisions: the Tolino Alliance, Skoobe, libraries, and why IngramSpark doesn't work in Germany Marketing in German: BookDeals, LovelyBooks, ads, BookTok, and why pre-orders matter even more You can find Skye SkyeMacKinnon.com and her children's books at IslaWynter.com. Transcript of the interview with Skye MacKinnon Jo: Skye MacKinnon is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books across romance and children's books under multiple pen names, most of which are also available in German, which is her bestselling market. Her latest book for authors is Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Publish and Market Your Books. Welcome, Skye. Skye: Hi. Thank you so much for having me. Jo: This is such an interesting topic. But first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and publishing. Skye: I've always loved writing, but I was always told, “Well, you can't be an author. Get a proper job.” So I became a journalist and did that for a few years, but there was always that love of creative writing. At some point when I was getting more active on social media, I was following some other indie authors and realised they're just like me. They're not special people. I had always pictured authors as these mythical beings high up above the rest of us. That gave me the courage to put out my own book. I self-published from the start, never even looked into trad publishing, and that was in 2017. I was really lucky because my first series totally hit it off. I was able to quit my job a year later and I have been a full-time author ever since. I started with romance and then, by accident, got into children's books. Which has been great fun. I don't even have children myself, but it's just that palette cleanser in between. Writing about cute animals and unicorns and just bringing some fun into everything. Nowadays I have about five or six pen names, depending on how you count, across genres, although most of it is romance, and that's my bread and butter really. Jo: Yes, I'm certainly one of those people who wish I could write romance. It always just seems to be the most profitable market in any language, I guess. Let's get into the book. It's a fantastic book. I've been through it myself. It's really packed full of everything you need, so we can't cover everything. Let's start by considering the German language in general. Why is German a good language market to consider expanding into? And for anyone who might not realise, why is it more than Germany? Skye: Well, Germans love to read, and depending on the statistic that you look at, they're generally seen as the third largest book market in the world after English and Mandarin Chinese. So it's a huge market, even though you think of Germany as a small little country in Europe. As you said, it's much more than Germany. Yes, you've got about 83 million people in Germany, but then you've also got Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, parts of Belgium, Luxembourg, and even Italy. So if you look at the whole footprint on the map, it is much bigger than just the one country. A lot of young people there still read and go to bookshops. There's a huge bookshop culture. You will find, if you go to a high street there, way more bookshops than you do here in the UK, for example. There's demand for quality and for really gorgeous books. They have been way ahead of the curve when it comes to special editions and sprayed edges, and they also like translations. I found one statistic where about two thirds of all newly released titles in German are actual translations. Readers are used to translations, but until a few years ago it was all trad-published translations. So this transition is coming now. It's coming very, very fast, especially with AI. They generally are very open to translations as long as the quality is there. Jo: So what about specific genres then? Obviously we mentioned romance there, and romance is not just one genre anymore. Whatever they're writing— How can somebody tell if it's worth expanding into German? How do we do this? It takes time and effort and money, potentially. Skye: It can take a lot of money, so it is worth doing research. There's one easy way, which is just looking at your current sales and looking at how many books you're selling in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland at the moment in English. That can give you an indication of which of your books might be already quite popular there. Sometimes it's quite surprising. A lot of my books sell very differently in German than they do in English. I've got one series that did okay in English, and I almost didn't translate it. The German version is, I think, my second bestselling series in German and has completely surprised me. So sometimes it's worth just experimenting a bit. Otherwise, obviously as you said, romance is doing really well. There are a few surprises though. I had a chat with Draft2Digital and they gave me lots of information from their statistics, and they said about 40% of all the western title sales on Draft2Digital are actually in Germany, which is just a huge percentage. Jo: In English? Skye: Across languages. Jo: Mm-hmm. Skye: Germans, to be fair, they love their westerns. My dad in Germany, he has been watching westerns for I don't know how many decades. It is one of those things that is just really popular there. Another thing is anything that is set in other countries and really has the location as almost like a character. There's lots of Cornwall, Scotland, different islands, but also mountains and cities. So if your book is set in, even in New York City, if it has a clear setting—if it's not just that it could be any city—then that's a good one to think about translating. In general, most genres can do well. There's a few where you have to be a bit careful. Second World War books, for example. If you have a book that portrays every single German as a Nazi and as evil, it might not do as well in Germany. So some common sense when it comes to historical books. Otherwise, just look at German retailers, look at what is selling there—and not just Amazon. Places like Thalia, which is part of the Tolino Alliance, and they have about 40% of the market. So it's really important to look at them too, and not just at Amazon. Jo: We'll come back to the distribution in a minute. There are some important differences between the German market and the US/UK market. Obviously we're talking about a different language, but of course there are a few things that are different that some people might not think about. So give us a few of those things that people definitely need to think about. Skye: Okay, so even before you start publishing, you need to be aware that title protection is a thing in Germany. Your book can't have the same title as an already published book. That is a law that is basically there to avoid readers being confused. So if you had five books with the same title, readers might not realise which book is by which author. You have to do your research and check if anyone else is using your title. There are some exceptions—if it's a completely different category, so if there's a children's book with that title but you write spicy romance, then the chance that the reader gets confused is much lower. Quite often you can then contact either the author or the publisher and ask, “Can I get written permission to use that title?” I did that for one of my series and it was totally fine. Just be sure to get it in writing, because if your book suddenly becomes a huge bestseller, they might reconsider. So title protection is an important one. You need to research that before you publish. One thing that people sometimes get confused about is reusing their English title. That's totally fine because it's your own title. So if your English title hasn't been used and you want to keep that same title, that works. It's just about other people's books where you can't use those titles. Another important legal bit is the Impressum. It's the copyright page. To be fair, websites that are targeting German readers or a German audience have to have that Impressum. It's usually on page two of the book, and it has things like your legal name, your address, and then the usual things like the translator's name, cover design, and other things you would usually put on a copyright page. The problem is that technically you need to put your legal name in there unless you have a limited company, in which case you can also put the business name there, and your address. A lot of people obviously don't want to do that for privacy reasons, especially romance authors where it's sometimes a bit sketchy when it comes to some readers who get a bit too obsessed. There are services where you can pay a monthly or yearly fee and then use their address. It's a bit of a legal grey zone, but a lot of German authors are doing it because—especially as indie authors—we don't always want to put our legal address out there. Jo: Just for people listening, I use my accountant's address. That's quite common. I mean, you have to share your address on your email for anti-spam laws and all that kind of thing. As you say, there are ways to use other addresses. That just needs to happen. What else then do we need to think about? Skye: There are things about the translator. A lot of things that people are sometimes scared about is when they hear that there is a copyright issue with translators and they think, “Oh, my translator has the copyright. I can't do anything.” Actually, the translator is seen as an author—almost like a co-author of the translation in German law—because, to be fair, it's not just putting one word into another. Translation is quite a creative job, especially when it's fiction. It is a very creative job where the translator has to put a lot of their own creativity into it. So in German law, they're recognised as the creator of that translation and therefore have certain rights. But you as the author, as soon as you have a contract with your translator—which is why you always, always, always have to have a contract—you get the usage rights. This means it's exactly the same as with your English books. You can do with them what you want. You can get audiobooks, you can do print books, you can do whatever you want in different formats. It just needs to be clear in a contract that the translator is giving you the usage rights of that translation. That's something that people sometimes find a bit scary, but actually it's really simple. Translations have been done for so long. It's a normal thing. It's just called slightly different. It has to be set out in a contract. Jo: Just on that, that's when the translator themselves is in Germany, because if they are based somewhere else, still doing a German translation, that's not necessary. So that's something else for people to consider. Skye: Yes, definitely. To be fair— I would always try to get a translator based in the country. I mean, I'm a native German speaker, but I've been in Scotland for so long now that I am not confident enough to translate my own books anymore because I'm not surrounded by German 24/7 and my grammar is slightly off and I don't have that up-to-date, modern lingo. So if it's a translator who's only just moved somewhere else or a few years, that's fine. But if it's someone who's been in the US or UK or somewhere else for 20 years, I would be a bit more hesitant. That's just a personal perspective on that. One other thing that's different is Sie and du. There are two different kinds of “you” when you talk to someone. There's the formal Sie, which you use basically amongst adults, in business contexts. But even my German grandma—she had a friend and they used the formal Sie for about 10 years as friends because in German etiquette, the older person has to offer the younger person the informal du, and they never did that for some reason. We found it hilarious as kids that they were still using the formal Sie as really good friends. So there's an entire culture there that people who haven't been to Germany or haven't lived there for a while just find a bit difficult, because there are so many different unwritten rules about when you use Sie and when you use the informal du. It's weakened a bit over the years and nowadays even strangers would sometimes use the informal du depending on the context. It really depends. A good translator will usually handle that themselves. They will find a scene where, for example, especially in romance, you meet as strangers in the beginning, so you use the formal Sie, and then at some point that formality turns to informality. The translator will usually choose that moment and add a little extra scene or a sentence where they either offer it to each other or they just naturally switch into it. But then there might be an internal little monologue of, “Oh, he just used the informal du—I guess we're at that stage,” or, “I really appreciate that.” Just to make it more natural, because that's something I quite often see with AI translation where that doesn't happen, and readers get confused. Why did they just switch from Sie to du without any kind of acknowledgement of that? Jo: This is the same in Spanish and other languages, I imagine. Skye: Yes, French as well. Italian too, I think. A lot of European languages have this. Jo: I think that's something that English speakers just don't get. It is a really interesting moment. I guess that might not happen so much in other genres—that really is a thing in romance. I was just thinking about some of my thrillers. They may never have time to get to du. Skye: But then sometimes using du can also be a rude thing. So if you have an antagonist who really doesn't like your protagonist, they might just use du as a rude sort of address. Again, that's something that English speakers just wouldn't understand or even think of because we just have the one “you.” Jo: We just have the one. Jo: It's the tone. Of course, it's the tone. Skye: Exactly, yes. Jo: Okay, well let's get into the actual translation of the books themselves. Over the years I've worked with lots of humans. I've also licensed my rights. I've used different AI tools. I mean, there are tons, but as we record this— What are the options that are available for translations? Give us some tips on working with humans and finding humans. Because it can be super pricey. And of course most of us will never know about the quality until we publish it. Skye: Oh, yes, definitely a note on that. I found that quite often you will already have German people on your newsletter list or on your social media, and most of them will be super happy to give you some feedback on your translation. That's something I've used a lot. Not for German, because I speak the language, but when I did French and Italian translations. My French is—well, it used to be quite okay. It is passable at best now. So I would never feel confident enough to rate a translation. So I asked my newsletter list, “Are there any French people here who would be happy to read the book? I'll send you a free copy at the end, and some swag.” There were a surprising number of people who got back to me. The same applies to German and other languages, because if you don't speak the language, you sometimes lack the confidence of knowing if this is any good. Getting some reader feedback is super helpful. For finding human translators, the easiest of course is word of mouth, and I'm a big fan of that because you get instant feedback on whether someone is good or not and whether it's easy to work with them. Then there are freelancer platforms. Reedsy is one where everyone is vetted, so that's pretty good. But there are tons of other ones like Upwork and Fiverr, though there you have to do all the vetting yourself, so that takes a lot more time and effort. There are also more and more agencies—translator agencies who specialise in doing indie book translations. There's Literary Queens, there's Valentine Translations, there are tons of them. Then there's also, which I think a lot of authors ignore or don't know about, translation databases. There are two databases for German translators, for example, where you can search and you can usually narrow it down to whether you want literary translators, what kind of fiction or nonfiction you want. An important thing is that a literary translator is very different from a standard translator who translates birth certificates or formal documents. You want someone who has experience with fiction if you write fiction. Someone who knows about adding drama through language. Sometimes, for example, when you have an action scene, you might have shorter sentences. If you have someone who doesn't know about stuff like that, they might just think, “Oh, in German it sounds really nice to have this really long sentence.” Those little nuances are where having an experienced literary translator is a big bonus. There are some platforms that do royalty-split translations that have been quite popular in the past. Most of them I wouldn't really recommend because you just don't get those professional translators there. You usually get people who speak the language but don't really have much experience. So you might end up with a pretty bad translation, or people might just be using AI translations without telling you. If you use a human translator, always, always get a sample, because yes, they might have amazing credentials, but until they've actually translated one of your books or a scene from your book, you don't really know how good they are. I like to always use, if I write romance, a slightly sexy scene, because sex seems to show you if someone can translate or not. It's just what I've found, because if it sounds absolutely awkward or more like mechanical rather than an emotional, spicy thing, then that's a clear point for me to say, “No, thank you. I'll look for someone else.” Action scenes, sexy scenes, really emotional ones, dialogue that has a bit of colloquial language or humour—those are good scenes to choose as a sample because that really shows you if a translator can do their job or not. Then, again, have some German people from your list give you feedback on that. Also, if you work with human translators, always try to make sure that they will be available for your entire series. And not even just a series—if you have lots of books, try to grab that translator, lock them in your basement, and never let them go, because you want their style for all your books. Just like you have a style as an author, translators have a style and that will always shine through, as much as they try to be as close to your original. A bit of their style will always come through. It helps to have the same translator for at least the same series, preferably for as many of your books as possible. You really want to tell them in the beginning, “This series has nine books. I want you to do all of these, even if we only do a few of them at the beginning. Are you available to do the rest later?” Because you don't want to end up having to find a new translator in the middle of the series. That gives you a whole lot of extra work with trying to have a world bible that explains which words get translated and which get left as the original, and stuff like that. When it comes to non-human translation, it's very different because of course you don't need to do all that vetting. Tools have different capabilities and abilities, but in the end, if you put your book into a translation tool, you will always get a slightly different output. So it's not quite the same where you need an entire vetting process. Jo: Just on the human translation, I think I'd be right in saying that every single author in the world would love to have the best human translator translating their book, whatever genre it is. That would just be amazing for all of us. But let's face it, that's extremely expensive. So if I've got, let's say, a 70,000-word thriller, how much money are we talking about? An approximate number, so people know what that might be. Skye: Usually it goes by the word, but by the target language word count. Although it depends on the translator, traditional translators usually go by the target language because that's what they actually produce as their output. The average at the moment is anything from about seven to nine euro cents per word as the medium price. You will find cheaper people. You can go up as high as you want really. I have definitely seen translators who charge 15 cents and above per word, but those will usually be the ones who have worked with a lot of trad publishers who are used to being paid like that. Although even in trad publishing, the rates are going down. With more and more authors wanting translations, I think in general rates are going down. Good for us, not so good for the translators. You're definitely looking at thousands, even if you translate novellas. Then it depends—some translators have editing included, sometimes they don't. A lot of them will have arrangements with other translators where they give the translation to another translator for them to edit it. Sometimes that's included in the price, sometimes it's extra. Always make sure it gets edited, because just like when we write a book, it will never be exactly perfect. I say that as someone who writes very clean because I have a journalism background, so I'm used to writing really fast and clean for deadlines, but there will always be a few typos that just wriggle their way in. Typos are evil like that. It's the same with translations. Jo: So we are probably looking at 2,000 to 10,000 pounds, dollars, euros. We are talking about quite a lot, and this is the main reason I think that now, with AI becoming a lot better, people are looking at this. Originally—and I don't even know, probably eight years now since I did my first, might even be a decade or more—I did at some point do a version in DeepL, which was an early AI translation tool. This was nonfiction, and then paid an editor, a German editor, to then edit that in German. Those books still get good reviews. But now people are looking at options like GlobeScribe and ScribeShadow, or even just using Claude or ChatGPT. I'm actually working at the moment on a Claude Code pipeline through lots of different QA passes. That's been really interesting for me, because I can say, “Okay, now you are a reader who likes these kinds of books. Read it for that.” And because we can now put really big books in, I can actually get a lot of really interesting feedback. So I feel like there's a lot of potential with AI—potential for good stuff, potential for bad stuff too. So talk a bit about that and what to watch out for with AI. Skye: Okay, so I'm very much pro-AI and I use AI in lots of different things in my business, just to preface that. However, with translations, I'm still a bit wary, just because I have seen a lot of bad AI translations. To be fair, I've experimented with it myself for one of my other pen names. It was readable. It was definitely readable. It had sometimes beautiful, gorgeous prose. Really. But there were, occasionally—quite often even—bits where I stumbled as a native speaker. It's readable and, if I just need a little quick book in between, I would be mostly happy with that. I would read it. It's the same as some of the early KU days where you found a lot of bad quality writing, but you just wanted to read it because the story was pretty good or because you were reading it in KU and so it didn't really matter that much. There is that spectrum of quality where you have the, “Yes, it's good enough to read,” but, “Is it good enough to be up to your standards?” That's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves. If they want the same quality that they put into their English book, or if they're fine with just offering that book to a new audience because maybe you wouldn't be able to do it otherwise. I totally see that. Translation is so expensive. I don't even know how much I have spent on translations over the past few years. I'm lucky that most of my books make it back within the first weeks or months. I've never had a book that didn't make its money back, but I have heard a lot of people where that's not the case. It is a lot of investment and I would never tell someone to go into debt or anything to do translations. Do it when you're at a time where you can afford it, or where you can also afford the loss if it doesn't work out. Now, AI has changed that slightly because it now opens it up to almost anyone. Some of the AI translation tools are a few hundred pounds, but if you do it in Claude or ChatGPT or something where you already have a subscription, it can actually be quite cheap. You can do it for a few dollars or pounds. I love, by the way, having someone in the UK. I'm so used to automatically saying everything in dollars, but actually I should be using pounds. I think if you know what you're doing—and you clearly do, with your several passes, you know what you're doing with AI—but if someone just puts their book into Claude or ChatGPT or some random tool, it might just not be good enough. Jo: Let's say it won't be good enough if you just do that. We know that. You have to have QA passes—quality assurance. You have to have rules per genre. There are ways of doing it. It's kind of like you have to get to know how translation works. It's a process. It's not just a translation, like you put something in Google Translate or a menu or something, because we do care. I think that's really important. Skye: Yes. I think if you don't know how AI works—that you need detailed prompts, that you need a style guide, that you need all that extra material and not just your book, all those rules—then please don't do it. If you value your German readers—and I think sometimes when I see people just churn out those translations without doing any quality control, using exactly the same cover or even just putting a German flag on it or something—I really feel bad for German readers because they're not being valued as having the same sort of value to us as authors as our English-speaking readers. Maybe I'm a bit biased there because I read in multiple languages. I want to be able to get the same sort of quality in all languages. I want the author to think of me as being special because I'm their reader and I'm their customer. I think we are on the way where AI translation can be almost autonomous. I would personally always have a human look over it. I know what I'm doing, and I'm almost happy with my translation system that I've built now in AI, but it still needs that human touch for a few things. It still needs me to tell the AI, for example, “This is where we switch from Sie to du.” This is where I need to keep certain words in. For example, I write a lot of Scottish books, and so words like “glen” or “loch”—they are words I want to stay the same in my German translation. I don't want to translate it to the German equivalent of “lake” because that just misses that Scottish context. Things like that need instruction. A human translator will usually know that and chat to you about which words you want to keep and which ones you want translated. AI just needs our guidance, our helping hand, and if we don't know enough about the target language, we just miss knowing that. Now, a lot of tools do it all for you basically, and they set up all these rules. I think many of them are at a very advanced stage now. But AI isn't perfect and it likes to hallucinate, it likes to add random things. So I will always still have a human touch at the end, even if it's just a quick edit. A lot of people think that they just need a proofread after an AI translation, but AI doesn't really make typos—or not to an extent that humans do. So proofreading isn't really what's needed for an AI translation. It is actual editing where you go for the style, the phrasing, and sometimes the context. There's one example I always like to give. I have an alien romance where they go on a honeymoon, and because he's an alien and she's human, he misunderstands and thinks she wants to go to an actual moon. So it's a little pun in the book. It doesn't work in German at all because the word “honeymoon” has nothing to do with moons or planets in German. An AI would probably just try to translate that in a way that's quite close to the original. But my German translator, she had to come up with several different ways of fixing that issue, because humour is hard. It's hard even for humans to get the humour translated in a way that is still funny but also culturally appropriate. If you have a book that is full of puns, it gets harder with AI. I am not saying it's impossible, but it needs a lot of handholding. Jo: Yes, I think humour is hard to translate in general, isn't it? Let's move on to the distribution, because again, having done quite a lot of different languages over the years, I do use Amazon KU for my books in German and Italian and Spanish and some French. So I haven't gone wide in terms of ebook and print or audio, in fact, because I have a lot of books and it is hard to go wide in English, let alone in other languages. But you mentioned earlier that Thalia has 40% of the market or something, and that special editions and print books are important. So what are the decisions we have to make around the actual publishing? Skye: In Germany they did a really cool thing, and I wish they'd done that in other countries. When the bookshops saw that Amazon was growing and posing a threat to them—not just with print books but also with ebooks—a lot of the German bookstores got together and they formed the Tolino Alliance. They have big book chains like Thalia, but also I think it was over 1,500 indie bookshops that all got together. They all support this ecosystem for ebooks, which means they all share the same e-readers. They share the same sort of backend for the shops, which made it really easy for them because they didn't all have to develop an ebook system. It saved them a lot of money. It made it really easy to tell readers, “This is the Tolino system. You can get your books at our bookshops, but you can read them on your Tolino e-reader no matter where you get the books from.” The Tolino e-readers are actually the same as Kobo e-readers, just rebranded. They've got that big advantage there—these independent bookshops and book chains all got together. Now it's hard to find numbers because Amazon doesn't really like to share their numbers, but it's about 40% of the German ebook market, which means it rivals Amazon. They have about the same. Then the rest is split by Apple Books, Google Play, and some of the smaller players. So it is a huge chunk of the market. I'm wide with pretty much all my English books. So for me, I looked into KU, but when I saw that I was going to miss out on 60% of the market—even if Amazon has 45%, that's still a big chunk—I decided to go wide. To be fair, I haven't regretted it, because Tolino are amazing to work with. I like to compare them to Kobo because they have a really lovely human team where you can just email them and tell them, “I've got a new release coming up,” and they will put you into different promos and it's all free. Jo: Do you publish direct to Tolino, or do you use Draft2Digital? Skye: Yes, you can publish direct to Tolino and that's actually the best way of doing it. You don't have access to their marketing opportunities if you use a distributor. The Tolino dashboard is annoyingly all in German, but by now every browser has a translating plugin built in. I know lots of authors who don't speak a single word of German who navigate Tolino very successfully. They started with only ebooks in the beginning, and then about two weeks after the first edition of my book on German translations was published, they introduced print books, which meant my book was immediately out of date. I was fuming. But this time they introduced audiobooks a few weeks before my Kickstarter launch for the second edition, so this time the audiobook part is included. I was very happy about that, because it was a pain to just tell everyone, “Well, this book is out now but it's actually missing a big part of how to do print books in Germany.” So Tolino does print, ebooks, and audiobooks. And just because you're in KU with your ebooks doesn't mean you can't publish your print books via Tolino. I highly recommend that, because IngramSpark—which most of us indies use for distribution for print books—doesn't get you into the German bookstores. They used to. Then German stores have fixed price laws where books have to be the same price in all stores, and IngramSpark kept going against that. They kept sending them the wrong prices. So German bookstores at some point just said, “Nope, we've had enough of this. We no longer take books from IngramSpark.” So now Tolino, in my opinion, is the best way of getting your books listed in German online bookstores, but they can also help you get into brick-and-mortar stores. One of my books was featured by them, I think two years ago, and it was in about 300 of their shops all across Germany. It had its own little pedestal and it was amazing. Tolino love working with their indie authors. They also love romance, which is always a bonus because some stores are more prudish than others. It's really easy to work with them. They speak perfect English, so you can do all your communication outside of the dashboard in English. Their audiobooks feature is very new. Until they did that, it was much harder for German audiobook distribution because places like Findaway Voices and other distributors wouldn't get you into the Tolino Alliance stores for audio. That's a big chunk that we were missing out on. I was always looking for ways to get my German audiobooks into those stores, but the German distributors that I found were really difficult to upload to, to be honest. I'm a very technical person, but it challenged even me. I did not like that experience at all. At some point I really just gave up and wanted to throw my computer out of the window. So when Tolino introduced that, I was celebrating internally. The only problem with their distribution at the moment for audio, because it's so new, is that you can't exclude any shops. So it's all or nothing. They will get you into all the different places, including Audible, Spotify—you name it, lots of different streaming services and retailers—but you can't exclude any. So while they don't actually want exclusivity, if you published it yourself at the same time through ACX or Findaway Voices or something else, you would have duplicates, and of course, we try to avoid those. Jo: Is it human narration only, or do they also accept AI narration? Skye: They accept AI narration. The thing with Tolino is that they want everything made very clear. If you publish any books with them that have an AI production aspect, you need to put that into your Impressum. For audiobooks, there's a box to tick to make it clear. Jo: Hmm. Skye: So they are open to it all. You just need to declare it. Jo: Which I think should be true everywhere, to be fair. Skye: Oh, definitely. And a lot of German distributors—while I was researching for this book, one thing I always looked at is, “Do they need you to declare your AI use?” More and more German distributors and retailers now want you to do that. I think that's the way it's going. It's not a judgement thing. I think it's just making it clear to readers. In Germany, it's all about transparency. That's why there are all those laws with GDPR—everyone will have heard about that one by now. But there are lots of other laws where it's all about consumer rights and transparency, and that's one of them. Jo: Is there anything else on the distribution side we need to think about? Skye: One thing I like to highlight is libraries, because that's quite a big thing in Germany too. They love books and bookstores and they love libraries. Some of the ways we get our English books into libraries—like a distributor like Draft2Digital for OverDrive—OverDrive is growing in Germany. There are other systems like Onleihe, just to name one. You can't get into those through, for example, Draft2Digital or PublishDrive or StreetLib. Tolino gets you into those. There are also subscription platforms that are growing. I think it's the same as in the English-speaking market. People love a subscription, and I love them. I just don't like exclusivity. So I very much support any subscription platform that doesn't require me to be exclusive to them. Skoobe is one of them. They used to be an independent platform, and then the Tolino Alliance bought them. So now they're integrated into the Tolino stores. That means it's really prominent. Basically, any time you go to an ebook on, for example, Thalia, it will have a banner there saying, “You can also get this in our subscription.” So it's taken a while to grow, but actually in December I now made more with their subscription programme than I made in book sales. I think three of my books were in their top 10 in December. To be fair, that was a pretty good month. But it definitely shows that it can take a while to grow these subscription platforms, but when you do, it can be really successful and very much worth it. So I highly suggest looking into those sorts of platforms too, not just the standard retailers and the platforms that you're already used to. Jo: Fantastic. So we've now got translations, they're on the various stores, and then just like in English, one of our next challenges is actually marketing the books. Now this becomes another challenge, because one of the reasons I am in KU for foreign languages is because you get the five free days and you can do Amazon ads. I mean, you can do Amazon ads for wide books too, but it's easier to know that there are some options for marketing at all. I don't do email marketing. I don't do social media, so I'm pretty bad at marketing in foreign languages. So what are your suggestions for those who want to do more active marketing in German especially? Or even if we don't speak German, it can't be all the personal stuff. But are there also advertising things like BookBub? What are our options basically? Skye: There are quite a few things. It's not quite as easy as in English, of course, but I think sometimes you have to remember that you already have most of the material for marketing when you've released a book. You will have made graphics in English, you will have written a newsletter, you will have done some social media posts. All that material is already there, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can just translate that, and for that, AI translation is really good because it's very quick. You don't have to bother your translator. You can just get that done. That's what I had to remind myself, because in the beginning I did everything from scratch and it took me forever and I was hating it. Then I realised, well, I could just look at the newsletter I wrote three years ago when that book released in English and translate that. That's done within a minute and I can send that out. So remember that you have a lot of content already. There's no BookBub or nothing as big as BookBub. There is a site called BookDeals, which sends out newsletters for both reduced or free books and also for new releases. I use them for pretty much all my new releases, or at least always the first in series. They're nowhere near as big as BookBub, so don't expect miracles, but I generally always break even or a bit more. It's hard to tell, of course, especially if you do several things for a new release. But my instinctive look on this is that it's worth it. BookDeals is the big one. There are a few other promo sites, but to be honest, I've not really found any of them to give me a positive ROI. I experiment with them occasionally and I listed them all in my book just for completeness, but BookDeals is the big one. Then there is LovelyBooks, which is the German Goodreads. Some Germans also use Goodreads, so always make sure to have all your German books listed there. But LovelyBooks is the big one. I love that place because people are so much kinder than on Goodreads. I avoid Goodreads completely. If I need a review, I send my assistant there to look at reviews. I don't go there. It is scary. LovelyBooks—the name is kind of telling. It is a more lovely place. People are generally more friendly. They are probably a bit more critical when they write reviews than they are on retailers, but I have found it really nice to build a community there. You can do these book clubs where you give away a copy of your book, either as print books—or I always do ebooks because I don't want to send books to Germany. Then people discuss the book as a sort of book club and then they review it at the end. I have had great success with that. I've built up a community of readers who will now buy my books too, even if they don't get them for free. I found some beta readers through that. So I love LovelyBooks. The annoying thing again is it's in German. However, their support all speaks English and you can email them with questions. They're really good. Even if you don't plan to run any book clubs or anything like that because you don't speak the language, I would always advise just setting up an author profile there because it makes it easier for your books to be found. You can track reviews, you can track reads, and that just gives you an extra place to get more visibility for free. Ads—there's not much difference compared to what you do for your English-language books. The one thing is with Facebook ads, now because of EU data protection laws, it's much harder to target because people can opt out of ads and targeting. In general, cost-per-click ads are cheaper than in the US or the UK, so that's a bonus. BookTok is big and only growing there. I don't really do social media for my German books because I just don't have the bandwidth. I wish I could, and I know some people who outsource that. In an ideal world, I would have a social media account for every single language, but it's not an ideal world and I just have limited hours in the day. But even just creating an account so that people can tag you, so that people can find you, can already be a good start. One thing that's not maybe a marketing strategy as such, but something I like to highlight, is pre-orders. If you write in series, always, always make sure that the next books in your series are up for pre-order, because— German readers have been burned so many times by authors or even publishers who just translate book one in a series and then stop. They are quite hesitant sometimes to start a new series when they see it's book one of something and they don't see the next book up for pre-order. To be fair, it's similar in English. I always make sure to have a pre-order up for the next book. Because people would just not read the series until it's complete or until they know it will be complete at some point. So always set up a pre-order if you can. Don't set it up when you don't actually know when your translation is being done, or choose a date far in the future. Just make it very clear to your readers that you are intending to translate the entire series, that you're not going to disappoint them, that they're not just wasting their money on a book one only to never find out what happens next. Jo: Fantastic. Well, this is a big decision for people to make, I think, because there's no point in doing one book in German and then not doing anything else, in the same way as doing one book in English or any language. You have to think about investing in an audience. So lots for people to think about. The book is fantastic. It's called Self-Publishing in German. So where can people find you and your books online? Skye: For my author-facing things, just go to SkyeMacKinnon.com/authors, and there you find the book about German translations. You also find more information on what I do. You can book consultations with me. I love doing those one-to-ones, especially about translations, because you can really dive into someone's catalogue and look at what would be a good strategy for someone, rather than just in general. Otherwise, it's SkyeMacKinnon.com for all my romance. If you want adorable children's books, it's IslaWynter.com. That's Wynter with a Y. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Skye. That was great. Skye: Thank you so much for having me.The post Self-Publishing in German: How to Translate, Distribute, and Market Your Books with Skye MacKinnon first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Learn how to market your book in a way that aligns with your values, builds genuine reader connections, and feels sustainable instead of draining.Book Marketing. These two words make most writers want to close their laptops and hide forever. But what if it didn't have to feel that way?In this episode, I'm joined by award-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist and certified creativity coach Beth Barany to talk about what she calls heart-centered book marketing: A values-driven approach to promoting your story that actually feels aligned with who you are.We break down how to market your book without feeling salesy, how to identify the core values behind your writing, and how to build meaningful reader relationships that energize you rather than drain you.Here's what we cover:[04:35] What heart-centered book marketing actually means and how it differs from the traditional advice you'll find everywhere online.[07:57] Why chasing other people's book marketing strategies leads to burnout, and a key question to ask yourself before adopting any tactic.[11:01] How to uncover your core values as a writer and why your novel characters can actually help you do it.[15:47] A real example of how Beth uses her values to choose her book marketing platforms, including a creative Reddit strategy she's currently exploring.[22:18] Why you should ditch the "buy my book" approach and use your story's tropes to invite the right readers in instead.[24:36] Why fangirling authors you love is the easiest free marketing strategy and how it can lead to real collaborations and unexpected opportunities.Whether you're pre-launch, mid-series, or just exhausted by marketing advice that doesn't feel like you, this episode will give you a refreshing, permission-giving framework to promote your book in a way that's sustainable, authentic, and actually kind of fun.

For the current episode of her Sponsorship Talk podcast, Roberta Vigilance interviewed John Kremer on how he went about getting sponsors for his book, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, joins Sponsorship Talk to share his experience with book sponsorship and how he secured sponsors for his book.In this episode, we explore what book sponsorship looks like, what authors should understand before approaching sponsors, and how positioning plays a key role in success.You can listen in via the video above or through the Spotify podcast player below:Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, joins Sponsorship Talk to share his experience with book sponsorship and how he secured sponsors for his book.In this episode, we explore what book sponsorship looks like, what authors should understand before approaching sponsors, and how positioning plays a key role in success.Listen now.John Kremer, The Book Authority, is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, mentor to authors who have sold over a billion books, and founder of the Billion Book Initiative to help the next generation of book authors sell another billion books. Over the past 40 years, he has helped thousands of authors, both major celebrities and those just starting out, to sell more books! Lots more books! Watch and engage with John on YouTube here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyJgZNcOKSg

Introducing Author Short Stack, my six-episode standalone show that helps you keep your book front of mind when you're short on time.Follow the show here:https://authorshortstack.buzzsprout.com

I received a wonderful testimonial today — and then created a gospel music version of that testimonial. This, of course, is another way to use music to promote you and your book. By the way, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!John's guidance brings clarity when ideas feel scattered. The insights he shares are practical and thoughtful. They help turn vision into action. 1001 Ways to Market a Book has been a real resource for me. Clear, useful, and easy to apply. I've gained confidence, direction, and real results. And I continue to grow through his work. I'm grateful for his support, his knowledge, and his generosity. Looking forward to learning more and building even further. — Roberta Vigilance, author, Sponsorship Now, Sponsorship Misconceptions, and other books on getting sponsors for events, online and IRLHere is the testimonial laid out as lyrics for the gospel song above. As with most songs I create with AI, I repeat some lines as a chorus to make it more song-like.Testimonial as LyricsJohn's guidance brings clarity when ideas feel scatteredThe insights he shares are practical and thoughtfulThey help turn vision into actionOne Thousand and One Ways to Market Your Books has been a real resource for meClear, useful, and easy to applyI've gained confidence, direction, and real resultsAnd I continue to grow through his workI'm grateful for his support, his knowledge, and his generosityLooking forward to learning more and building even furtherBest regards, RobertaOne Thousand and One Ways to Market Your Books has been a real resource for meClear, useful, and easy to applyClear, useful, and easy to applyNote: I had to spell out the title of my book so the AI performers would pronounce it correctly. So, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books became One Thousand and One Ways to Market Your Books.I've been creating these songs with my lyrics or content while the music and performance are created by MurekaAI: https://www.mureka.ai/?utm_source=rewardful&via=7aa6ddBook Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

Does book marketing feel confusing, overwhelming, or like something everyone else understands but you? You're not alone. And more importantly, you're not stuck.In this episode, Jason Fishman, CEO of Digital Niche Agency is my guest expert. With over 15 years of experience scaling digital marketing strategies, Jason pulls back the curtain on what actually works when it comes to marketing a nonfiction book. Not hype. Not hustle. A clear, practical path you can follow with confidence.You'll learn why most authors struggle because they blur the line between marketing and selling, and how separating the two instantly brings focus. We also discuss why understanding your niche and your competition saves time, money, and frustration before you promote anything.We explore simple ways to build momentum using content, partnerships, and small tests that show you what works without blowing your budget. You'll hear how to create early interest, activate your existing network, and make your launch work harder.In this episode, you'll discover:• What your competitors can teach you (without copying them) One quick audit that reveals how to position your book more clearly.• Why most content fails and how to fix it How simple offers and funnels turn attention into real interest.• The hidden purpose of a pre-launch It's not about hype. It's about momentum and visibility that lasts.• Why reviews are easier than you think How repetition, follow-up, and volume do the heavy lifting for you.If you want a simpler, smarter way to market your book and stop guessing what might work, this episode gives you a clear place to start.Here's how to connect with Jason:LinkedIn  YouTube Website*************************************************************************How to Turn Your Ideas into Endless Content Feeling stuck every time you try to write for your business? Lisa Bloom's free training, AI Storytelling for Business Growth, is here to change that. She'll show you how to tap into the stories you already have, build a reusable content vault, and use AI to stay creative and authentic. No more blank pages or forced ideas. Three live sessions to choose from. Grab your free seat now and make storytelling your easiest growth tool.

In order for us to change things, stories ae at the center of it all. To give people light and joy within the messiness: it is the flower that grows out of the concrete. …To have a movie that entertains and has a message is a delicate dance. If I go all the way in on just entertainment, the reason to do it goes away. And if I go all the way into just meaning and no one comes to see it, then what's the purpose? — John M. Chu, directorSource: an interview in Time magazineJohn Kremer is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, mentor to authors who have sold over a billion books, and founder of the Billion Book Initiative to help the next generation of book authors sell another billion books. Over the past 40 years, he has helped thousands of authors, both major celebrities and neophytes, to sell more books! Lots more books!John Kremer, 76, lives with his wife Gail and dog Poe in the Mohave Desert community of Dolan Springs, Arizona. His neighbors are no more crazy than he is. It takes one to know one.John Kremer is the creator and host of the Book Marketing Success podcast at https://bookmarketing.substack.com/podcast.John Kremer is the editor of the Book Marketing Success newsletter at John Kremer is a consultant on writing, publishing, and marketing books. He charges $400 per hour for his consultations. He has consulted with authors and publishers around the world.John Kremer has created courses on Pinterest Marketing, Book Marketing Success, How to Create a New York Times Bestseller, and other courses. He is currently co-creating and promoting the Pro to Published course with Peter Johnson at https://www.protopublished.com.John Kremer has spoken on book marketing, book writing, internet marketing, and business in London, England; Singapore; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Accra, Ghana as well as in every major city in the United States.John Kremer is the webmaster, author, editor, and curator of the following websites:https://www.BookMarketingBestsellers.comhttps://www.BookAuthorAuthority.comhttps://www.MyIncredibleWebsite.comhttps://www.BookMarket.com/bookstoreBook Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

Most nonfiction authors think they're “writing a book.”But the moment you decide to write one… you've actually become an intellectual property company.In this episode, you'll learn why this mindset shift changes everything about how you publish, market, and monetize your work — especially if you're a coach, consultant, speaker, or thought leader.This episode breaks down how authors can think bigger, protect their ideas, and treat their book as the gateway to a scalable ecosystem—not a one-off product.In this episode, you'll learn:Why every nonfiction author is an IP company (whether they realize it or not)How to turn your ideas, frameworks, and stories into long-term assetsWhat Taylor Swift can teach authors about rights, licensing, and content ownershipHow top authors like Brené Brown, James Clear, and Donald Miller built multi-product ecosystemsWhy “your book is not your business”… your IP strategy isHow to protect your content in an AI-driven worldThe key questions that help you identify the next asset in your author businessMake your mark as an author.Learn more about The Author's Mark — Juxtabook's 12-month professional publishing experience that helps nonfiction authors go from idea to published platform in 12 months or less.Juxtabook.com/authorsmarkLearn more about Your Path to Book Publishing by visiting Juxtabook.com and discover if traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing is right for you. It's time to make your mark and connect with like-minded authors to publish your book, build your author brand, and book marketing. Join TodayLiked this episode? Share it and tag us on Instagram @juxtabkLove the show? Leave a review and let us know!CONNECT WITH US: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Can self-publishing actually pay off?If you've ever wondered whether you can make real profit from your book — not just cover your costs — this episode is for you.In this week's Your Path to Book Publishing, we break down how one nonfiction author launched their book just a few weeks ago and is already seeing thousands in profit from a direct-sales strategy that outperforms Amazon and traditional publishing combined.Whether you're a coach, consultant, speaker, or thought leader, you'll learn how to turn your book into a real revenue stream — even if you don't have a huge platform or marketing team.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:Why self-publishing is more than a publishing path — it's a revenue modelHow to use direct book sales from your website to dramatically increase profitThe real profit-per-book comparison between direct sales, Amazon, and traditional publishingHow one author earned nearly $5,000 in profit in the first month after launchWhat tools and setup you need (like BookVault + WooCommerce) to make it all work seamlesslyHow to pair simple, consistent marketing with strong ROI — even without adsIf you've ever felt unsure about whether self-publishing can be profitable, this episode will show you the numbers, the process, and the path forward.Make your mark as an author.Learn more about The Author's Mark — Juxtabook's 12-month professional publishing experience that helps nonfiction authors go from idea to published platform in 12 months or less.Juxtabook.com/authorsmarkLearn more about Your Path to Book Publishing by visiting Juxtabook.com and discover if traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing is right for you. It's time to make your mark and connect with like-minded authors to publish your book, build your author brand, and book marketing. Join TodayLiked this episode? Share it and tag us on Instagram @juxtabkLove the show? Leave a review and let us know!CONNECT WITH US: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Ever feel overwhelmed trying to market your book?Wondering if you should post on social media, run ads, hire a publicist, or just cross your fingers and hope readers find it?You're not alone.In this episode of Your Path to Book Publishing, you'll learn the four audience signals that tell you exactly how to market your book — so you can stop guessing, stop chasing every new trend, and finally create a book marketing strategy that fits you and your ideal readers.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER:The difference between demographics and psychographics — and how to identify what truly motivates your readersWhy understanding where your audience spends time online (and offline) is the key to connecting effectivelyThe emotional triggers behind book buying — pain, aspiration, and proof — and how to use them ethically in your messagingHow to match your content format (posts, podcasts, visuals) to your audience's learning habits for stronger engagementA simple system to align your message, audience, and delivery — so your marketing feels natural and actually worksIf you're tired of doing “random acts of marketing,” this episode will help you focus your efforts and build a sustainable author marketing plan that resonates with your readers.Make your mark as an author.Learn more about The Author's Mark — Juxtabook's 12-month professional publishing experience that helps nonfiction authors go from idea to published platform in 12 months or less.Juxtabook.com/authorsmarkLearn more about Your Path to Book Publishing by visiting Juxtabook.com and discover if traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing is right for you. It's time to make your mark and connect with like-minded authors to publish your book, build your author brand, and book marketing. Join TodayLiked this episode? Share it and tag us on Instagram @juxtabkLove the show? Leave a review and let us know!CONNECT WITH US: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Note: The attached video is one of three videos created by NotebookLM from Google using the 10 Ways to Market Your Books report created by the Comet browser from Perplexity AI as input. I shared the first two videos in the past few days/ It's interesting to hear how each of these videos approached the 10 Ways.1. Building Your Foundation: Author-Owned Assets (website, email marketing)2. Engaging Your Community: Dynamic Social Proof (social media, reviews, buzz with teasers and giveaways)3. Amplifying Your Reach: Leverage Audiences (partner with another author, podcast recommendations)4. Driving Sales: Convert Interest into Action (paid ads, author events)xHow to Write an Article Trove Book (Write a Book in 10 Days or Less Series)The easiest lengthy book to write in 10 days or less is to collect a number of your articles on your website, text from podcast episodes, blog posts, or social media posts and compile them into a themed book. This book shows how you to create such a collection quickly and easily.Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

Note: The attached video is one of three videos created by NotebookLM using the 10 Ways to Market Your Books (via Comet AI) as input. I shared one video yesterday and will share the third video tomorrow). It's interesting to hear how each of the videos approach the 10 WaysThe top ten most effective ways to market a book in 2026 combine digital footprint, author community, and direct outreach to maximize reach and sales.* Digital Footprint - Be Findable Online* Author Community - Strategies to Build Trust* Direct Outreach - Ensure You Are HeardHow to Write an Article Trove Book (Write a Book in 10 Days or Less Series)The easiest lengthy book to write in 10 days or less is to collect a number of your articles on your website, text from podcast episodes, blog posts, or social media posts and compile them into a themed book. This book shows how you to create such a collection quickly and easily.Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

You're posting about your book on social media, but nothing's happening. A few likes from friends. No real engagement. No significant growth.Here's what most authors don't realize: the problem isn't just your content. It's that you skipped the three essential steps that make social media actually work.In this video, I'm showing you exactly what successful authors do BEFORE they start posting - the foundation that transforms random posts into strategic marketing that actually gives you results.Stop guessing. Start building the foundation that makes your social media work. LINKSFREE Book Marketing BlueprintBook Marketing Starter Kit

 You're a Christian entrepreneur who has heard all the benefits of writing a book -attract new clients, become seen as an authority or thought leader in your field, be invited to speak on bigger stages...That all sounds great, but you have an even bigger purpose than that. You want to share your expertise to help others and make a meaningful Kingdom impact.And all of that sounds like it will take a lot of time and effort. You WANT to write a book but you simply don't feel you have TIME to write a book.You're not just busy juggling all things business - you also have family responsibilities, church commitments, and personal goals you're trying to reach.It's a lot. But it doesn't mean you have to give up on your dream of becoming an author. Today I'm going to share three ways busy Christian entrepreneurs like you can get your book done.  RESOURCESSchedule a 1:1 Book Profitability SessionSnag a free copy of Your Path to Publishing Ep. 128 - How to Market Your Book without Feeling Salesy or SpammyEp. 119 - How to Improve Your Book Sales ... even before it's published Ep. 71 - 7 Book Marketing Strategies Authors Can Learn from Costco Connect with Dalene:Contact - > info@inkandimpact.comPodcast -＞www.inkandimpact.comConnect -＞ Join the free Facebook group Publish Like a ProFB/IG/LI -＞@dalenebickel Next Steps:Step 1: Join a supportive community of nonfiction Christian writers at the free Facebook group Publish Like a Pro.Step 2: Get more personalized support through 1:1 book coaching at www.dalenebickel.com/bookworthy-coaching What additional topics would you like to learn about?Ready to write and self-publish your first nonfiction book and make a kingdom impact? Join the FREE Publish Like a Pro Facebook group!

If you're watching other authors' books take off while yours feels invisible, this one's for you.Those "overnight successes" you're seeing? Most aren't real, and they're definitely not sustainable. What you need isn't another viral moment or gimmicky tactic - you need a marketing strategy that builds a real audience who actually wants to read your books.In this episode, I'm sharing:Why speed isn't the metric that mattersThe "Sustainable Authority Approach" to building long-term readershipA real client story of tripling book sales without going viralThe three parts of sustainable marketing: depth over speed, systems over scrambling, and relationships over reachRemember: you're not behind. Your timeline doesn't have to look like anyone else's.LINKSThe Book Marketing Starter KitNewsletter Starter Kit for Authors

Have you ever wondered:"How can I reach more readers?""How can I sell more books?""How can I improve my book marketing efforts?"If so, you're not alone. I don't know a single author who wouldn't like to sell more books and reach more readers to make a bigger impact.The good news is that in order to sell more books, you don't have to spend a fortune or block off large chunks of time.You just need to apply the four simple strategies I share in today's episode of the Ink and Impact podcast.Get ready to sell more books!RESOURCESSnag a free copy of Your Path to PublishingEp. 128 - How to Market Your Book without Feeling Salesy or SpammyEp. 119 - How to Improve Your Book Sales ... even before it's published Ep. 71 - 7 Book Marketing Strategies Authors Can Learn from Costco Connect with Dalene:Contact - > info@inkandimpact.comPodcast -＞www.inkandimpact.comConnect -＞ Join the free Facebook group Publish Like a ProFB/IG/LI -＞@dalenebickel Next Steps:Step 1: Join a supportive community of nonfiction Christian writers at the free Facebook group Publish Like a Pro.Step 2: Get more personalized support through 1:1 book coaching at www.dalenebickel.com/bookworthy-coachingWhat additional topics would you like to learn about?Ready to write and self-publish your first nonfiction book and make a kingdom impact? Join the FREE Publish Like a Pro Facebook group!

So what's all the fuss about video anyway? My friend Danielle Wallace, copywriter and video marketer, is here to share about the power of storytelling on video. She has great tips for getting comfortable being seen on camera, and even ideas for faceless videos if that's not your jam.Connect with Danielle:Website☑️ START YOUR AUTHOR PODCAST CHECKLIST

Scammers are back with a new scheme that targets indie authors using the old Nigerian prince angle—except now, they want to market your book. Meanwhile, Bookshop.org is showing major growth with $1 million in ebook sales, but most authors still don't know what it is or how to access it. And Findaway Voices is officially gone, with INAudio taking the reins. What does that mean for your audiobooks? Let's break it all down in this week's publishing news update Bookshop.org Reports 65% Growth, E-books Add $1 Million in Sales - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/98300-bookshop-org-reports-65-growth-e-books-add-1-million-in-sales.html  Return of the Nigerian Prince: A New Twist on Book Marketing Scams - https://writerbeware.blog/2025/08/01/return-of-the-nigerian-prince-a-new-twist-on-book-marketing-scams/ Introducing Voices by INaudio - https://www.voicesbyinaudio.com/article/introducing-voices-by-inaudio BKLNK Site Up for Sale - https://www.bklnk.com/contact.php Spoken - https://spoken.press ProseWrite - https://DaleLinks.com/ProseWrite (affiliate link) Written Word Pod - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwLRSmSbsmlms6EVDGMsso0SDkjA0MnB ALLi: How Indie Authors Build Loyal Readers with Dale L. Roberts and J. Kevin Tumlinson - https://selfpublishingadvice.org/podcast-loyal-readers/  Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com  Subscribe to my email newsletter - https://DaleLinks.com/SignUp  Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord  Check out my main YouTube channel  - https://www.youtube.com/@dalelroberts  My Books - https://DaleLinks.com/MyBooks Wanna tip me? Visit https://dalelroberts.gumroad.com/coffee. Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts  

Which of the following best describes your current thoughts about marketing?Are you an author who stresses over book marketing so much you avoid it as much as possible?Do you want to get your book into the hands of your readers, but you simply don't know how?Are you afraid of marketing too much and annoying all your followers/subscribers?Regardless of which one resonated most with you, make sure you listen the whole way to the end of today's episode because I'm going to share 5 ways to market your book without feeling salesy or spammy.SCHEDULE YOUR BOOK MARKETING AUDITWhat additional topics would you like to learn about?Ready to become a better, more confident writer and make a kingdom impact? Join the FREE Christian Authors in Action Facebook group!

Top Strategies on How to Market a Self-Published BookYou hit publish on your book—now what? Whether you're on a tight budget or just overwhelmed by options, marketing your book doesn't have to be complicated or chaotic.In this episode of Your Path to Publish, Zach breaks down a simple, proven framework for self-published authors to build visibility, attract readers, and start selling books. From your author brand to advanced tools like ads and influencers, this episode will help you build a strong marketing foundation that scales over time.BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL LEARN:Why your author brand, website, and email list are the foundation of any successful book marketing strategyThe biggest mistakes authors make when starting to market their books—and how to avoid themPractical tactics you can start today to get your book in front of more readers without burning outIf you're ready to move your book forward and finally feel confident about your marketing plan, don't miss this episode.Learn more about Your Path to Book Publishing by visiting Juxtabook.com and discover if traditional publishing, self publishing, or hybrid publishing is right for you. Join the Author Edge Community and learn how to publish, and market your book and build your brand. Learn MoreLiked this episode? Share it and tag us on Instagram @juxtabkLove the show? Leave a review and let us know!CONNECT WITH US: Website | Instagram | Facebook

Join Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and a powerhouse group of experts for a FREE 3-day immersive online event that could become the catalyst to your next (and BEST) chapter.

Bestselling author and book coach Stacy Ennis joins the podcast to share her sensory-driven method for helping authors create the outline they need to write their book right the first time. By taking your time, figuring out who your "one reader" is to keep your audience and market demand top of mind, and clearing out the noise of conflicting ideas, you will build a defined road map that takes the uncertainty out of writing and allows your creativity to blossom as you draft your book.  In this conversation, Stacy breaks down exactly how to approach outlining with clarity and confidence, shares common pitfalls to avoid, and gives practical advice you can start using today.  

Drop Everything and Read Day is coming up on April 12th! Get ready to celebrate!D-E-A-R Day, which stands for Drop Everything and Read, is a national celebration of reading designed to remind families to make reading a priority in their lives.It's celebrated every year on April 12th, which is the birthday of Beverly Clearly, the author of the Ramona books. A main feature of the Ramona books was the DEAR Time, a reading practice where everybody would drop everything and read for a while.I'm giving you advance notice to celebrate Drop Everything and Read Day on April 12th by inviting your followers, your email subscribers, and your social network to celebrate the day with you and drop everything and read your book.Or if you don't want them to read your book, then have them read my book 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.Either way that's fine with me: Your book, or mine!Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

Host a Podcast and Be a Podcast Guest!John Kremer: Every author should have a podcast. I still believe that. I've been promoting it for a long, long time.I still really believe that because I think podcasting is one of the most powerful tools you have for getting the word out about yourself.The neat thing in today's world, it's easy to create a combined audio-video podcast that you can syndicate on 40 or 50 platforms.Judith Briles: How many people come in and start a podcast with absolutely amazing intentions? Kind of like when people are going to do a blog and then within six months the blog is dead. Is there any stats on the startup for podcasts that start petering out?John Kremer: I don't know of any specific stats, but I do know from my own anecdotal experience that probably 80 or 90% of podcasters give up on their podcasts within six months. It becomes too much work. It's too hard. It's every week. But the thing is, you don't always have to do a podcast that's going to be a forever podcast. You could do a limited edition 10-episode podcast.Some of the most popular podcasts in the world are limited podcasts. They cover a true crime case, and then once you're done covering it, the podcast is done. But the podcast lives on in all the podcast syndication sites. It lives on in Audible. It lives on in Amazon. It lives on in lots of places.Judith Briles: Some of the news shows I'll pick up once in a while, they have both the ongoing, like in perpetuity, like ours has been, and we're seven years old now. But they also have limited edition episodes, almost like a serial book and then it's over. And then maybe they'll come back again when they have a new serial to start up.John Kremer: Even a limited podcast series still gives you the benefits of a podcast, especially the power of syndication.One of the incredibly powerful things about podcasts is that it puts you on 30, 40, or even 50 of the major websites on the Internet, including Apple, Amazon, Audible, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, and more!You know the power of a podcast because you built up a listenership for your podcast, and you've had millions and millions of listens and possibly views because I know you also put it up on YouTube.Podcasts not only allow you to syndicate it to all these powerful websites, but it also gives you the opportunity to exchange views and podcast episodes with other podcasters.Ask key influencers and authors this question: I'd love to interview you for my podcast, but I would really like it if you would also interview me for your podcast. I think we have complimentary audiences that would like to hear both of us talk on each other's podcasts.The Book of the Month ClubJohn Kremer: I'm going to talk about the Book of the Month Club. Now, this isn't the old line Book of the Month Club, which died a sad death.Judith Briles: So, how do we create our own Book of the Month Club?John Kremer: I met somebody once at one of your seminars, and I'm still trying to track down his name now because I seem to have misplaced it in my move to Arizona.But he offered a book of the month club. He was a business speaker and consultant to corporations. What he did is he wrote 12 short books. I'm talking about short books, 96 to 128 pages, somewhere in there.Then whenever he'd go out and speak or whenever he attended a convention, whenever he met somebody that might be a potential client or customer or speaking agent, he added them to his book of the month club.Once a month, he mailed out real books to his prospect list, a list of about 500 potential customers. He kept adding people to the list as he spoke in different venues and met people on planes, in hotels, or at convention sites.His book of the month bluc not only justified him printing hundreds or thousands of copies of his books but it also impacted his speaking engagements and his corporate consultations.From a business standpoint, his book of the month club made perfect sense for him because he picked up all kinds of coaching clients, speaking engagements, and corporate programs that he would do.To be successful with such a club, first you have to write 12 books. And you can't produce junk. You have to produce real content worth reading, something that would showcase your experience and help to sell people on other products and services you have to offer.The neat thing is that at the end of every book, of course, he included a pitch for his coaching and his speaking and his corporate programs.His book of the month club was designed for a business audience. But the thing is, novelists, memoir writers, cookbook authors, and other writers could release five to 10 pages per week instead of releasing a book a month.One chapter per month, a recipe per week, something like that. They could email it out. Or they could podcast out episodes. They could even do YouTube videos.I just ran across an old friend of mine, Peggy Glenn, who's now doing videos under the name Grandma Potty Mouth where she shares fun recipes. She's a little spicy in her videos. They're entertaining and fun. She obviously enjoys it. And she actually got a book deal with a New York publisher to publish a cookbook.It wouldn't be that hard for any author, regardless of what kind of book they're writing, to offer a book of the month club or pages per week club or something like that.As you share, be sure to collect listener email address so you can email out the episodes or posts or videos to your list.It means that you don't have to invent new content for your email every week. You can simply be podcasting a book. Or email out a book a few pages at a time.The classic case of this is the novel, The Martian, which the author originally released as a series of blog posts. The story became so popular that Andy Weir ended up self-publishing his book before he got a contract offer from a major publisher to publish the book. Of course, it got made into a movie. He ended up making millions of dollars on what began as a simple blog.Judith Briles: Many authors sell their ebooks on Amazon, but they don't go any further.John Kremer: The neat thing is now with Amazon Kindle, you can do a paperback and a hardcover as well. And they actually encourage you to do those now. And an audio, an AI-generated audio that's actually not bad.Give Away Your BookJudith Briles: Yeah, it really can make a powerful difference to have different versions of your book.Authors are too often afraid to give away their book. I really think it's important to get rid of that mindset because I think in some ways giving away pieces of your book.John Kremer: For novelists, I recommend giving away your first book because I know you got three more books in you. I don't know any novelist other than Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell that don't have a dozen novels in their heart and soul.One of the best ways to market the second novel is to give the first novel away.Offer the 1st Book in a Series to Sell the 2nd BookJudith Briles: Here's a little trick I found when I've been in bookstores. I have a historical fantasy fiction book called The Secret Journey. Book two is The Secret Hamlet and book three, The Secret Rise.When people meet you for the first time, they usually want to start with book one. If they like it, they'll come back to the trough. I typically tell a bookstore to order 20 to 25 copies of my book. I've learned to ask booksellers to order 20 to 25 of the 1st novel in a series and a dozen of the 2nd novel.In one instance, I asked readers, “How would you like to read book one for free if you buy book two?” That got their attention.So I said, “Do you ever read e-books? Are you on Amazon's Kindle? Let me sign book two for you and you can go up on Kindle Unlimited and download book one for free.” Within five minutes, I sold another five books of book two.Reach Out to InfluencersJohn Kremer: The first step to marketing your books is to reach out to influencers in your topic area.Judith Briles:; How do we find the influencers?John Kremer: It should be easy for you to find influencers in your topic area. If you don't know who they are, you're probably not writing on the right topic— because you should be a fan of that topic if you're writing in it.For example, I think it's terrible to write science fiction if you've never read science fiction. It's terrible to write a business book if you don't read business books.That's a crucial element in researching your audience, researching your topic, and making your book 10 times better.Work with Your CompetitorsJudith Briles: Many times I talk with authors and I ask them, who are their competitors? One author told me, “Well, I don't have any competitors.”I said, what BS? She just looked at me startled.That is total BS. We all have competitors. Ask yourself, what are the names of authors who are comparable to what you write? Or, who is competing for your services? Who is competing for your wisdom? Who's out there trying to get people to buy their books that have storylines in your genre? Those are your competitors.So I don't actually call them competitors. I call them friends or potential friends. And they can become friends, right?John Kremer: Back when I started out, Dan Poynter had written The Self-Publishing Manual. We partnered together, and he sold thousands of copies of my 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. And I sold thousands of copies of his self-publishing manual. I did the same for Tom and Marilyn Ross with their Complete Guide to Self-Publishing.I didn't see them as competitors at all. I saw them as people who were offering great content, and I could sell their content. So one of the first things you should do is ask your competitors is: “Can I sell your books?”Via the Amazon affiliate program, you can easily sell competitor or compatible books.You can also publish a catalog that you send out to customers when they order your books direct from you. That's how I created my first catalog. If you create a catalog to send out to customers who order your book direct from you, you can generate lots of extra orders. With my catalog, I ended up selling thousands of other authors' books that I stocked in-house.Potential competitors should be cooperating with each other. One of the best things that writers can do is work together with other people writing similar books to reach out to their audiences and expand each author's audience.The Audience as Super FansJudith Briles: You're talking about the audience as super fans. Who are these unique animals out there? Number one, they're mostly women, but they devour anything in the genre because they're always on the prowl looking for new things. So, why not create a cooperative collective of other authors like you?Or you can create a collection of related author books on Amazon and collect referral fees for encouraging such sales.Earlier when we were talking about the Book-of-the-Month Club, we both said we miss them because they were curating books. And there's still room for curators.John Kremer: I could see you doing a science fiction podcast that interviews your favorite SF authors and promotes their books. Any author can do that.When authors tell me that they can't think of anything to podcast about, I'm going, duh. All you have to do is interview people. Just interview your favorite authors.If you started interviewing a few famous authors, you can also start to become famous by associating and interviewing those celebrated authors. You start to become well-known. Their audience starts to seek you out because they say, wow, this person seems to know what they're talking about.Back in the day, I would have loved to interview Isaac Asimov or Jerry Pournelle or other science fiction authors. I went to a couple of world science fiction conventions and actually got to sit down with some authors and talk to them. In today's world you could easily go to the next world science fiction convention and record a whole year's worth of podcasts.And that's just the first half hour of the podcast. Listen in for even more great ideas!Book Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.ResourcesThe I-Don't-Have-Any-Time Hour-a-Day Book Marketing Plan: https://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/the-i-dont-have-any-time-hour-a-day-book-marketing-plan51 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love: https://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/36-ways-to-help-a-book-author-you-loveThe Ultimate Guide to Social Media Hashtags for Book Authors (439 author hashtags): https://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/423-social-media-hashtags-for-book-authorsBook Marketing Success is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmarketing.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Writing Momentum podcast, Chris and Gena tackle one of the top questions they receive: How do I get people to buy my book? Chris and Gena discuss the importance of doing this early, even before you publish it. The topics include getting your newsletter audience invested, using social media and grassroots efforts to create buzz, and introducing yourself to others through various media outlets. Gena also shares a ton of “freebie” practical tips that will help you get ahead. Whether you're a seasoned author or just starting out, these strategies will help you build relationships and generate excitement for your upcoming book.00:00 Introduction: Marketing Your Book Before It's Published00:50 The Importance of Pre-Publication Marketing04:03 Building Your Newsletter Audience08:36 Engaging Your Audience Through Social Media10:22 Networking and Media Outreach13:59 Conclusion and Final TipsLINKS:Liz Wilcox's Email Marketing Membership at http://wmdeal.com/liz Get your FREE Move the Needle goal-setting for authors ebook at https://www.writingmomentum.comWrite with us! Join our writing membership and get your book DONE! https://www.writingmomentum.com/membership

In this week's AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing, Host Dr. Judith Briles invites John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books to be her guest. Can you initiate end-of-the-year book marketing strategies that work within the final months of the year? Get ready for an hour with two masters of book marketing and what you should be doing for the rest of 2024 and planning forward for 2025 author success. John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book and Dr. Judith Briles via the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast are for updates, getting back to basics, and adding to your marketing mix. Your takeaways include: • More tips for 2024 to do starting now. • Why you should give books away … and who to give them to. • What should be included on bookmarks and any swag. • Create a chapter a month club. • Do podcast exchange with other podcast hosts. • Create your own book of the month club. • Become an Amazon Associate. • Are you ready to start? • And, of course, much more. If you don't want your book marketing to be mediocre, it's time to tune in for lots of ideas and how-to tactics via the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast ranked in the top 10 of book marketing podcasts. Since its inception, over 18,000,000 listeners have downloaded various shows for practical publishing and book marketing guidance. Join me and become a regular subscriber.

In this week's AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing, Host Dr. Judith Briles invites John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books to be her guest. Can you initiate end-of-the-year book marketing strategies that work within the final months of the year? Get ready for an hour with two masters of book marketing and what you should be doing for the rest of 2024 and planning forward for 2025 author success. John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book and Dr. Judith Briles via the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast are for updates, getting back to basics, and adding to your marketing mix. Your takeaways include: • More tips for 2024 to do starting now. • Why you should give books away … and who to give them to. • What should be included on bookmarks and any swag. • Create a chapter a month club. • Do podcast exchange with other podcast hosts. • Create your own book of the month club. • Become an Amazon Associate. • Are you ready to start? • And, of course, much more. If you don't want your book marketing to be mediocre, it's time to tune in for lots of ideas and how-to tactics via the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast ranked in the top 10 of book marketing podcasts. Since its inception, over 18,000,000 listeners have downloaded various shows for practical publishing and book marketing guidance. Join me and become a regular subscriber.

Get your free ticket here: https://kingdomwritersconference.com/withoutsocialmedia/

Can a book be the ultimate tool in your professional toolkit? Discover how to transform your book into a client magnet using the Short Book Formula's five high-impact strategies. From gifting personalized copies after client meetings to leveraging your book for supercharging referrals with CPAs and other key influencers, we cover it all. Learn how offering your book as a takeaway at speaking engagements can enhance your credibility and keep you top of mind. Plus, find out why your book should be the ultimate business card at networking events and a key component in new client welcome packages to make a lasting and impactful first impression.Learn more at https://www.theshortbookformula.comClaim your free audiobook copy at: www.theshortbookformula.comSupport the show

www.TheBookPreneur.com This episode explores 3 simple and effective ways to use AI to market your book. It covers strategies like AI-powered social media marketing, personalized email campaigns, and AI-enhanced advertising. Additionally, it introduces AI tools for generating content ideas, designing book covers, and creating audiobooks. These AI-driven methods can help authors streamline their marketing efforts, reach a broader audience, and ultimately boost book sales without needing extensive technical knowledge.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/good-morning-gwinnett-podcast--3262933/support.

Get a copy of your GrowBIG Playbook today!   In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are continuing our series about how to write a book and use it to help grow your business. We have spoken with multiple experts who help you get started, and now we are moving onto the next level - marketing the book! Marketing is extremely important because it can lead directly to people hiring you before your book's even published. To talk to us about it, I sat down with return guest Tim Grahl. He's one of the top book marketing experts in the world and he is going to show us how we can do this and do it well.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    The shift in how people see you when they hear you are an author of a book The key to marketing your book in a way that will win you business The true power of a book The key to getting clients before your book even publishes How to actually use your book to get more leads  The difference in how you market different types of books   The impact a book can have on your business is truly mind-blowing when you know how to market it. Everyone you meet should get a copy of your book. You'll be amazed at how it opens doors that were closed to you in the past!   I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Tim! If you are interested in learning more from him, you can check out his books on Amazon.    Resources Mentioned: Get a copy of Tim's books   Order your copy of Give to Grow Get the Supplemental materials for Give to Grow Get a copy of your GrowBIG Playbook today!  

Get a copy of your GrowBIG Playbook today!   In this episode of Real Relationships Real Revenue, we are continuing our series about how to write a book and use it to help grow your business. We have spoken with multiple experts who help you get started, and now we are moving onto the next level - marketing the book! Marketing is extremely important because it can lead directly to people hiring you before your book's even published. To talk to us about it, I sat down with return guest Tim Grahl. He's one of the top book marketing experts in the world and he is going to show us how we can do this and do it well.    Topics We Cover in This Episode:    The shift in how people see you when they hear you are an author of a book The key to marketing your book in a way that will win you business The true power of a book The key to getting clients before your book even publishes How to actually use your book to get more leads  The difference in how you market different types of books   The impact a book can have on your business is truly mind-blowing when you know how to market it. Everyone you meet should get a copy of your book. You'll be amazed at how it opens doors that were closed to you in the past!   I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Tim! If you are interested in learning more from him, you can check out his books on Amazon.    Resources Mentioned: Get a copy of Tim's books   Order your copy of Give to Grow Get the Supplemental materials for Give to Grow Get a copy of your GrowBIG Playbook today!  

Are you ready to transform your business with the power of kindness?Join me for an enlightening conversation with Linda Cohen, also known as the "Kindness Catalyst." Linda, a professional speaker and consultant, shares her insights on the transformative power of kindness in the workplace. With over a decade of experience and two published books, Linda offers invaluable strategies to help authors thrive through compassion and empathy.Key Takeaways:The ROI of Kindness: Discover how kindness can significantly boost your bottom line.Strategic Media Engagement: Learn the importance of local media for book promotion and how to leverage it effectively.Pitching with Confidence: Understand the necessity of pitching yourself and your book with confidence, even when facing imposter syndrome.The Power of Social Media: Utilize LinkedIn to build authentic connections and promote your book and business.Incorporating Kindness in Speaking Engagements: How to weave kindness into your speaking, coaching, or consulting work.Tune in now for actionable insights to elevate your business with the power of kindness!*************************************************************************Sponsored by Aviva Publishing. For over 30 years, we've dedicated ourselves to support nonfiction authors on their journey to publish andsell their books in bulk. Our mission is to empower you to establish yourself as a leading authority in a niche market. Learn my Top 5 Book Marketing Tips! Sign up for the “Book Marketing Kickstarter 5-Day Challenge”—it's free! ************************************************************************

Send us a Text Message.This is our third most downloaded episode of all time!Why do we think it's popular? Because being an author can be exhausting, and most of us don't have time to waste on marketing efforts that don't produce results. And social media is typically at the top of the list of time-wasters, at least when it comes to moving the needle on sales and reviews. If you're ready to say goodbye to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, let's learn how to forge your success off of the social media hamster wheel! Buy Penny's new book, The Amazon Author Formula now!FREE BONUSIf you leave a review for the podcast email info@amarketingexpert.com and we'll give you our Book Launch Checklist! Just include your reviewer name or a screenshot of your review in the email.Check out our podcast page and learn more about the team at www.amarketingexpert.com/author-podcast

How can authors navigate the complexities of self-publishing to create a successful, high-quality book that stands out in the market?Unlock the secrets to self-publishing success with industry veteran Michele DeFilippo. Gain invaluable insights into maintaining creative control and maximising your revenues as Michelle shares her 50-year journey in book publishing. Learn why hiring experts for tasks like cover design and formatting is non-negotiable if you want to produce books that truly stand out. Michele's experience and passion for empowering authors will inspire you to take control of your publishing destiny.Navigating the complex world of traditional versus self-publishing, Michele outlines the challenges authors face with traditional publishers, such as the need for a large social media following and the sacrifice of creative control. In contrast, self-publishing offers more freedom but comes with its own set of hurdles. Michele stresses the importance of using professional services such as editing and proofreading to ensure your book meets market standards, and she clarifies Amazon's role as a platform rather than a publisher. This episode is packed with insights to help you make informed decisions about your publishing journey.Finally, get invaluable marketing advice tailored to self-published authors. Learn about the importance of using platforms like Amazon and IngramSpark for broad distribution and how to make your book stand out in a crowded marketplace. Explore two different marketing strategies: self-education through the resources available on our website, and professional guidance from trusted marketing experts. Learn about common pitfalls, such as the do-it-yourself mentality and reluctance to market, and get practical advice on how to overcome these obstacles. This episode is packed with insights to help you produce a quality book that will resonate with readers and stand the test of time.˚

In this episode Polly Letofsky shares how to market your book and 5 ways not to. She is the founder of MyWordPublishing.com and author of "Buzz, Your Super Sticky Book Marketing Plan." Polly shares her journey from walking around the world to becoming an author and discusses the challenges she faced with hybrid and self-publishing. She emphasizes the importance of authors retaining creative control, sales, and distribution rights. Polly introduces her approach to individualized marketing plans, stressing the need for early marketing efforts and forming a supportive launch team. She offers practical advice on using review services, avoiding certain pitfalls like hiring PR agents or paying for ineffective advertising, and highlights the importance of researching successful authors' marketing strategies to refine one's own approach. Links Mentioned in Interview: Independent Watch Dog group: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/best-self-publishing-services/ You can visit her website My Word Publishing at https://www.mywordpublishing.com/ Her Book -- Buzz! Your Super Sticky Book Marketing Plan - https://amzn.to/3UwCwpl How to Bring Your Book to Life This Year: An Exploratory Guidebook on Writing and Self-Publishing - https://amzn.to/3u6KOsW ReadingDeals.com OnlineBookClub.com Link for people to download the free book marketing calendar: www.BookMarketingCalendar.com Link to learn the Options in Publishing: What you should know and what you should never put up with: www.Publishing101Class.com If you enjoyed this episode you might also enjoy my interview with Melanie Herschorn where we also discussed Marketing for your book with a focus on social media presence - https://open.spotify.com/episode/625w... If you are interested in being a guest on my podcast, you may fill out the form on my website: http://authorsalcove.com/be-a-guest You can also follow me on: Facebook:   / authorsalcove   Instagram:   / authorsalcovepodcast   Linked In:   / agnes-wolfe-20bb47288   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EQYPBl... YouTube:    / @authorsalcove   [possible affiliate links above] --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/authorsalcove/message

If you don't market your book, don't expect anyone to read it.    That sounds harsh, right? The problem is, most writers assume that good writing is enough to garner reader attention. They pour countless hours into creating content, but give little thought to packaging and marketing it. Readers won't come to a book if they don't even know it exists.   If we're being real, few of us know how to market something in the first place. That's why today's conversation with literary agent Don Gates is so crucial. Don comes to his work with a pastoral mindset, along with some serious marketing muscle. He shares with senior editor Will Parker Anderson how to find your audience while refusing to compromise your convictions along the way. In this episode, you'll learn:   The basics of what a literary agent does  Why writers even need agents How to successfully market your ideas How to build a platform with integrity   Stick with us through this whole episode, because at the very end, Don gives some sobering advice to writers that you should definitely hear.        EPISODE LINKS   Subscribe to Will's weekly newsletter: willparker.me Please rate this podcast: Apple | Spotify Will's Instagram: @willparkeranderson Will's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willparkeranderson/ Don's website: the-gates-group.com  

There are many options for book marketing, so how do you choose the right ones for you? I give my thoughts on the different polarities on the marketing scale to help you figure out what might work for your book, your stage on the author journey, and your lifestyle. In the intro, Storybundle for writers; […] The post Different Ways To Market Your Book With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Are you ready to take your book marketing to the next level? Learn a 5-step marketing plan to effectively promote and sell your book. Listen to this episode and unlock the potential of your book!  Free: 27 Book Marketing Ideas You have finally written and published your book. Yay! Now, it's time to market and promote it to reach more people and inspire lives. Get instant access to our FREE PDF on 27 Book Marketing Ideas to help you with your book marketing strategy here. Book Marketing Templates to Save You Time and Money You've got a book you're proud of. Now you're looking for a simpler way to get it into the hands of more readers. One way you can do that is through social media. It's free to use...however, it can also take up a lot of your time.  Good news!  You can get your social media posts for the next month done in just 90 minutes so that you can reach more readers with your book (without being pushy or salesy) in the Mini-Marketing Messages workshop here.   

Recently, I conducted a case study with four authors using the book marketing and promotional service, CraveBooks. Wanting more insights about CraveBooks, I sat down with their Event and Outreach Manager, Kerrie Flanagan, to discuss her background, CraveBooks' tools, and how cash-strapped authors can leverage their services. Listen in for more details! - CraveBooks - https://DaleLinks.com/CraveBooks (affiliate link) CraveBooks Case Study Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PaCJJEJVZ0&list=UULFKv8xcrFntOERL7NUXgkypg Subscribe to The Self-Publishing Hub - https://TheSelfPublishingHub.com Join Channel Memberships - https://DaleLinks.com/Memberships Join Me on Discord - https://DaleLinks.com/Discord Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

Do you want to stand out with actionable tips to market your book?Join me as I interview  Anne Therese Gennari, author of 'The Climate Optimist Handbook.' Anne Therese takes us through her journey of balancing motherhood while making her book a success. Here's a sneak peek into a few of her secrets to success. It's all about passion, consistency, collaboration, and asking for help. Plus, keep a space in your heart for the unimaginable. If you're ready to turn your dreams into reality, listen to the full episode for more insights on book marketing and creating an impact.***************************************************************************************LIVE PURE proudly sponsors this episode!They offer 100% natural premium products blending science and nature.LIVE PURE NOW! *************************************************************************************** Click here to schedule your 20-minute brainstorming session with Susan!

What happens after you publish your book? How do you maintain the momentum to continue marketing and selling your book? Once your book is published, you don't get to relax. You still need to market your book if you want to continue to get sales and reviews, which ultimately increases sales. Post-publication, you still need to market your book In this Thinking it Through Wins and Wisdom episode of The Robyn Graham Show, Connie Jo Miller asked Robyn how to market your book post-publication. As a new author who reached Amazon best-seller status, Connie Jo Miller wants to continue building momentum for increased book sales. Strategies to market your book Humble brag - if you don't tell people about your book, and that you are an author, they won't know. When you have the opportunity, tell your friends and people you meet that you are an author. Include search engine optimization on your "author" website. Write blog posts about your book, your author experience, your creative process, etc. to include depth of SEO to help others find you. Be specific about the genre you are publishing in. Host or go to local events. This includes your local library, networking meetings, conferences, schools, etc. If you are like Connie Jo and are a children's author, do a read-along or story-time at the library or a local bookstore. Email list - send reminders to your email list about your book and your author journey. Do this especially around holidays so that people understand how great it is to give books, your book especially, as a gift. Ask people who have read your book to write a book review. This will help booksellers see that your book is well received and they will promote it for you. Donate books to the local library or schools. Children will like it and want to buy it or gift it. In addition, you can donate a book or raffle basket for a fundraiser to increase awareness. Create a lovey or stuffed animal to accompany the book. Do podcast interviews. Additional resources about becoming an author and marketing your book How to Become an Author and Self-Publish a Book Use these strategies to write a book How to Become an Author and Self-Publish a Book What is a book coach? Apply for a Thinking it Through Wins and Wisdom Conversation. About Connie Jo Miller Connie Jo's love of books and words started when she was ten years old with the Nancy Drew book, The Bungalow Mystery. Connie Jo loved the word bungalow: how it sounded and the picture it brought to her mind. Bungalow was the first word on her “Words I Love” list. Many, many have followed. If Connie Jo reads or hears an usual new word, she has to stop, look it up, and write it down. British murder mystery shows have added many words to her list. Her desire to share uncommon words and inspire their use in day-to-day conversations catalyzed Betty Bartholomew and the Vanishing Begonias. Betty Bartholomew and the Vanishing Begonias Website for Connie Jo Miller Connie Jo's publishing company: Highlander Press Publishing Company by Debby Kevin and Debby's interview on The Robyn Graham Show.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could find a balance between the different aspects of your writing journey? In today's quick episode, Shelley shares helpful tips on how to effectively market your books while simultaneously working on your next book and how consistently doing small marketing tasks can lead to long-term results. Free: 27 Book Marketing Ideas You have finally written and published your book. Yay! Now, it's time to market and promote it to reach more people and inspire lives. Get instant access to our FREE PDF on 27 Book Marketing Ideas to help you with your book marketing strategy here. Book Marketing Templates to Save You Time and Money You've got a book you're proud of. Now you're looking for a simpler way to get it into the hands of more readers. One way you can do that is through social media. It's free to use...however, it can also take up a lot of your time.  Good news!  You can get your social media posts for the next month done in just 90 minutes so that you can reach more readers with your book (without being pushy or salesy) in the Mini-Marketing Messages workshop here.   

Want to add some website design magic to market your book?In this week's episode, I enjoyed chatting with Emilie Davis, a marketing genius who can turn authors' websites into stunning reflections of their individuality.Our conversation revolved around whether authors should focus on creating a book or an author website. Emilie shared some powerful insights. Here are three of the most important ones:

How much thought should go into book cover selection? Today's guest shares five aspects we need to be clear on to have successful sales.  Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mts of NC. I'm your host, Linda Goldfarb.Today's guest is Samantha Evans – Sam's book Love Letters to Miscarriage Moms won second place in the Golden Scroll Awards for 2023. She and her husband live in Simpsonville, SC. Their cross-country move included two vehicles, three daughters, two cats—Pitter and Patter, and their husky.  Sam was overruled in her campaign to name the dog Onomatopoeia. Five aspects to consider when creating your book cover to maximize sales. The Title is our First Hook Think in Terms of Thumbnails Book cover Color Matters Clear the Clutter       Compare Shoppers vs. Readers  LINKSMore About Samantha EvansSamantha Evan's NewsletterSamantha Evans' WebsiteSamantha Evans' PDF Chapter GiveawaySamantha Evans on Twitter Samantha Evans on Author Central Samantha Evans on FacebookSamantha Evans on Instagram Samantha Evans on YouTube   If you enjoy Your Best Writing Life's content- consider a monthly donation through Patreon. Support Your Best Writing Life podcast. Linda would love to hear your thoughts about this episode.About your host - Linda GoldfarbBesides hosting Your Best Writing Life, Linda Goldfarb is a multi-published award-winning author, audiobook narrator, international speaker, board-certified Christian life coach, co-owner, co-founder of the LINKED® Personality System, and co-author of the LINKED® Quick Guide to Personality series.Linda and her hubby, Sam, are empty nesters leading full lives. With four adult children and 15 grandbabies– life is a new adventure every day. She loves sipping frothed coffee with friends, traveling the countryside with Sam, and sharing transparent moments with family.Visit Your Best Writing Life website.Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing LifeAbout your host - Linda GoldfarbAwarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Bing-Worthy PodcastAwarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast

If you've been thinking of co-hosting a podcast with a friend, you will love today's conversation with my friends, Kristine Brown and Carmen Horne. They are Christian nonfiction authors and have created one of the coolest collaborations I have seen. You will love learning about how they came up with the idea for the collaboration, tips they have on the planning and time commitment if you're considering it, how they are being generous to share each other's content to serve both their audiences, and especially how they are not in competition with each other.CONNECT WITH KRISTINE & CARMEN:Kristine's WebsiteKristine's YouTubeKristine's InstagramCarmen's WebsiteCarmen's PodcastCarmen's InstagramRELATED EPISODES:11 Ways to Host a Podcast to Market Your Book #725 Lessons Learned Guesting on Podcasts with Kristine Brown #26CONNECT WITH KIM:InstagramLinkedIn

It doesn't matter how good your book is if no one hears of it. You've worked so hard to get to this point, so let's make the most of it.In part 2 of this 2-part episode, 4x bestselling author and book coach, Jake Kelfer, reveals his favorite ways to market your book during launch week. You'll learn about building a launch team, using paid promotions, appearing on local TV spots, landing speaking engagements, leveraging social media strategy, and everything in between. Jake will share the tried and true ways to build buzz around your book so you can achieve the launch week of your dreams. Tune in to learn how to make the most of your book launch! Connect with JakeText FREE to 661-669-7363 for a free copy of Jake's Bestselling Book, Big Idea To Bestseller Follow Jake: @jakekelferSubscribe to Jake's YouTube Channel - @jake_kelfer Get Instant Access To Jake's Free Training: How To Write And Launch A Bestselling Book In 1 Hour A Day

It doesn't matter how good your book is if nobody ever hears about it. In this 2-part episode, 4x bestselling author and book coach, Jake Kelfer, reveals his favorite ways to market your book during launch week. You'll learn about building a launch team, using paid promotions, appearing on local TV spots, landing speaking engagements, leveraging social media strategy, and everything in between. Jake will share the tried and true ways to build buzz around your book so you can achieve the launch week of your dreams. Tune in to learn how to make the most of your book launch! Connect with JakeText FREE to 661-669-7363 for a free copy of Jake's Bestselling Book, Big Idea To Bestseller Follow Jake: @jakekelferSubscribe to Jake's YouTube Channel - @jake_kelfer Get Instant Access To Jake's Free Training: How To Write And Launch A Bestselling Book In 1 Hour A Day

Let's say you've written a book covering your area of expertise. How do you go about promoting it and using it to help grow your business? Paul McManus is the co-founder of More Clients, More Fun, and he has worked with over 500 professionals to help them write, publish, and market their books (specifically on LinkedIn).An interview with Paul first appeared in Episode 324 of The DigitalMarketer podcast, entitled 'Helping Business Professionals Become Published Authors with Paul G. McManus'. That episode is a great starting point if you are looking into why you should write a book, the process involved, as well as some of the benefits. This is Part Two, effectively. Now you have your book, and it's time to take it to market. From understanding the value of LinkedIn newsletters as a way to grow your subscriber base and then using the contents of your book on the platform in the right way, Paul is sharing some great insights into curiosity-driven book marketing. The status bump that you enjoy when you become an author and the way you are now able (with AI) to deliver consistent, on-brand messaging that comes from your book is part of what makes getting your book 'out there' across all the various social media and marketing platforms so appealing. Paul McManus is the co-founder of More Clients, More Fun and the author of 'The Short Book Formula', the ideal solution for financial professionals who want to write and publish their books quickly and efficiently. Key Takeaways:03:43 Paul shares his 5 key strategies for promoting your book06:40 The value of a LinkedIn newsletter to grow your subscriber base12:00 What content from your book should go into your LinkedIn feed?16:28 Creating curiosity-driven direct marketing18:00 The value of an accompanying audiobook20:20 Appreciating the status bump of having written a book23:50 Is it okay to repurpose your content?27:20 The importance of consistent messaging with your organic content29:13 How Paul is embracing AI to expand the author's original conceptConnect with Paul G. McManus:Website - The Short Book Formula - https://www.theshortbookformula.com/Linktree - @paulgmcmanus | Linktree - https://linktr.ee/paulgmcmanusBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of ScaleFREE EPIC Challenge More Shows You'll Love