Why Writers Need Lead Magnets

"Likes" on Facebook is one type of Lead Magnet

John Kremer, the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, says publishing is about building relationships. From my experience, often, who you know is as important as what you know. Yes you have to write an outstanding proposal and manuscript (foundational) but reaching the right person and readers with your writing is a key part of the publishing process.

One of the ways you build relationships is through consistent and regular communication. As I've mentioned in these articles in the past, every writer needs to be growing an email list. Whether you write fiction or children's books or nonfiction, you still need an email list. If you don't have a list of wonder how to begin one, I have an inexpensive ebook called The List Building Tycoon.

The focus of this article is on creating a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a list-building device. For someone to get the desired object (more on what they can be in a minute), this person has to give you their first name and email address. In exchange for them giving you their email address, then they join your email list. On every email list, the subscriber has the option to unsubscribe. Each time I send out to my list, people unsubscribe. It's part of the process and nothing personal. You want people on your email list who want to be there so you want to give them the ability to unsubscribe.

To create a lead magnet, first focus on your readers and the type of people you want to attract. What do they need that you can provide for them? Is it an ebook? Is it a teleseminar? Is it a video?

Lead magnets are tools to get people to subscribe to your list. I have a number of these types of tools:

Free Ebooks

Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to A Rejection-Proof Submission

Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author

Get More Mileage from Your Content

Free lists of information

My free list of over 400 literary agents (addresses, websites, phone numbers, emails)

Free teleseminars and training

AskSteveLaube.com

AskBobBly.com

AskTerryWhalin.com

YourBookReviewed.com

AskBuildBookBuzz.com

many others

There is not a single way to create these lead magnets. Some people do it with a simple video. The key is to have multiple ways for people to sign up for your email list. Then you have to promote these lead magnets on social media to encourage people to get your information. If you follow me on Twitter, you will notice I cycle through a number of these lead magnets through my Twitter stream (which also shows up on LinkedIn and Facebook). Nothing happens overnight but consistent action will build into something powerful which you can use to touch your audience and readers.

Do you have a lead magnet or a number of lead magnets? How are you promoting these lead magnets? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

What is a lead magnet? Why do writers need them? Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet)

 

A Simple Promotion Idea for Your Reviews

Several times a week, someone will email and ask me to read their book and write a review. It is a good strategy to approach well-known reviewers. Normally their request mentions a book that I have read and reviewed, then pitches their book. Because I've written almost 700 book reviews on Amazon, I get these requests. To be honest, I look at their books and in most cases I politely decline the offer—for several reasons. Most of them are ebook only books on Kindle and I do not have an Ebook reader. Also when I look at the books, I'm not interested in reading their book so again I decline.

Because I've been reading and writing book reviews for many years, I have publicists and publishers often pitching for me to read their books and write about them. I am committed to continuing to read new books and write book reviews about those books. I review the book on Amazon but also on Goodreads, where I have 5,000 friends (the limit).

Repeatedly I see authors launch their book with no book reviews on Amazon--zero. In fact, during the last week, I've seen two long-time publishing professionals (literary agents) launch new books with no Amazon book reviews. If Amazon is selling 70% of the books (a number that I've seen recently in the publishing press--unsure if true or not), then it is critical for every author to get book reviews. I've mentioned this resource from Tim Grahl but get it and use it: https://booklaunch.com/amazon-reviews/ Scroll down and on the bottom get the free download from him because it has templates for emails and spread sheets and all sorts of valuable tools. It doesn't matter if your book came out last month or last year, you need to be working on these reviews. If someone goes to the page on Amazon and there are no reviews or only one or two reviews, this information affects whether others will buy your book.

Last week I was traveling and met with Charles Billingsley, a well-known Christian recording artist. Charles released a new book from Worthy Publishing on March 7th. Charles he gave me a copy of Words on Worship. The book is a well-designed, attractive hardcover. Inside Charles had gathered four pages of great and well-known endorsements. I know that effort took work and is something every author should do for their new book. For my own curiosity, I looked on Amazon on his launch day and he had no book reviews on Amazon. 

To help Charles, I quickly looked at the book, wrote a review and posted it on Amazon--and also Goodreads. I also tweeted about the book a couple of times to my 200,000+ twitter followers. Writing book reviews is a simple way you can support other authors.

Here's my simple yet important idea for you when you write book reviews: include a live link to your own book at the end of the review. Within their customer reviews, Amazon allows you to include a link to another product. Why not use this tool to tell readers about your latest book?

Now take a closer look at my review for Words on Worship. Now notice at the end of the review, I write: “W. Terry Whalin is an editor and the author of more than 60 books including his latest Billy Graham, A Biography of America's Greatest Evangelist.”  Because this link is live to my book page on Amazon, a reader interested could go over to the page and purchase my book. 

As long as I'm writing about book reviews, I have a free teleseminar on this topic. Just follow the link and get the full replay and download the gifts associated with it.

Your work to tell people about your book is on-going after it is published. The key from my perspective is to always be looking for new ways and on-going ways to promote your own book--even when helping others with a book review.

Tweetable:

Here's a simple promotion idea when you write a book review. (ClickToTweet)
 

Five Ways to Boost Your Writing To A New Level

It's hard for every writer to begin and it takes work for every writer to move to a new level with their writing. I've been pouring words into stories since I was in high school and have had a lot of practice—yet I continue to learn new aspects of the publishing world.

Late one night at a writers' conference, I was sitting with several much published writers listening to their stories. At that point in my career, I had published only a few magazine articles. These writers discussed how each of them has huge doubts and fears every time they begin a new book. I found their honesty encouraging. It is like the actors or public speakers who admit to getting nervous or butterflies right before they walk on the stage. Such feelings are a part of life and these professionals have learned to acknowledge these feelings, accept them and yet move past them to produce excellent work.

If you want to move your writing to a new level of excellence, here's five ways to boost your writing. I encourage you to do as many of these ways as you can in the days ahead. If you take action, then in a few months your writing will be at a new place in the market.

1. Attend a Writers' Conference (cost: varies)

Published authors agree the step which propelled their writing life is attending a writer's conference. If you have never been to a conference, now is the time to plan to attend a conference. I'm going to be speaking at several conferences in the coming months (use this link to learn more details). There are many excellent conferences. Prepare ahead of time and this action will broaden your connections to editors and agents—but also give you key insights into your own writing life. Attend the workshops, take notes and follow the teaching. Also meet one-on-one with different editors and agents, then follow their suggestions and submit your material to them.

2. Read a Book on the Writing Craft Every Month (cost: free or low)

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction or have never written, I encourage you to intentionally read books about the craft of writing.  I have shelves of these books that I have read but you don't have to purchase them. Get them from your local library. I've written a couple of these books like Book Proposals That Sell or Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Weave these books into your reading plans then take action on what you learn—apply it to the writing and marketing of your books.

3. Take an online course (cost: varies)

There are many possibilities in this area. Bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins has launched a FREE three lesson course course. Or another alternative is listening to a number of my free teleseminars on different topics like blogging or book reviews or dealing with the media or special market sales. Also you can take my Write a Book Proposal course.  Finally for this method, you can use my Simple Membership System to create your own membership course. 

4. Read blog posts from respected leaders (cost: free)

A number of literary agents and well-known editors have created blogs. Look for their subscription button on the site and sign up. The updates will come to your email box and you can read them and learn from their expertise. To get you started, here's a new list of the Top 100 Writing Blogs for Authors and Bloggers. Notice how I qualify who you read. Select people with experience and follow their guidance instead of “so-called experts” who when you look at their credentials have published less than five books. I include this reality check to make sure you are taking teaching from real experts.

5. Follow my twitter feed and read the articles in it (cost: free)

At this writing, I've been on twitter since 2009 and tweeted over 28,000 times (almost every hour throughout every day). I'm committed to reading and telling my followers about solid teaching information in the publishing and writing area.  As you follow this information stream, it is a terrific education to help you take your writing to a new level of excellence.

Follow the links and advice in this post and you will take your writing to a new level. It is critical that you do more than read and absorb new information.  It's great to learn but in addition to learning, you need to take action and incorporate what you learn into your daily actions. If I can help you in this journey, don't hesitate to reach out to me. My personal email is in my twitter profile. You can boost your writing with these active steps.

Tweetable:
Use these five suggestions to boost your writing to a new level. (Click to Tweet)

Get A Top PR Firm to Market Your Book

What if in less than 18 months, you could accomplish the following without spending one red cent of your own money?

Have a major PR firm representing you and getting you booked on...
* ABC World News
* National Public Radio (NPR)
* Oprah & Friends
* 63 major radio stations
And then...
What if companies like Coca-Cola, Wachovia, Yahoo, Toyota, Sony Pictures plus other Fortune 500's and leading non-profits offered to...
* Buy 50,000 copies of your self-published book every year
* Make it possible for you to get $500,000 in advances for your next book,
* Pay you fat speaking fees for 65 speaking engagements
* Give you testimonials from their CEO
* Send emails to 100,000+ of their customers or volunteers promoting your book, cause or business
* Feature you on their website and guarantee you'll get at least 5 million impressions.
Is the above a fairy tale?
Can it REALLY happen ... especially if you're not already famous?
It already has for Brendon Burchard, an author and speaker who's figured out some really ingenious ways to land corporate and non-profit promotional sponsorships and use them to fund his marketing efforts.

To discover how you can use his methods to promote your own book, product or business, you're invited to a free telephone seminar on Thursday, April 18th in which you'll hear Brendon interviewed by Steve Harrison.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know I'm a compensated affiliate for Steve's programs. Here's just some of what you'll learn on Thursday's call with Steve and Brendon:
* What to do step-by-step to get a major company to sponsor your national promotional tour and pay for everything!
* Why the current economic downturn means more big companies and non-profits sponsoring authors, speakers and entrepreneurs -- even if they're not famous.
* A website you can use to find potential sponsors and promotional partners.
* The "secret phrase" which gets big nonprofit organizations to endorse your book and promote it to their members.
* The title of the BEST person to contact with your proposal and why you should never send one done with Microsoft Word.
* The #1 fatal mistake to avoid making when trying to land a deal a sponsorship deal with a Fortune 500 company.
* How to write a short proposal that gets huge companies to sponsor you -- even if you're an unknown, self-published author (HINT: there are five elements and he'll reveal all five on the call.)
and more!
Brendon's information works no matter what type of book you are working on—fiction or nonfiction. Again, to sign up for Thursday's call go here now.

Get Something Done for Five Dollars

Normally I am a pure do-it-yourselfer in the things that I do online. 

• My blog has over 1,000 searchable entries.
•  I have learned to create Ebooks which I sell or give away as tool to build my mailing list.
• I often teach through teleseminars which I do myself.
•  I’ve even created my own membership course about book proposals. And I've even launched a product where you can learn to create your own membership course.

You may have noticed I have a number of websites. Unlike some of my friends, I do not outsource the building and related tasks to others. I’ve chosen to do it myself.

Like many new projects, I’m always learning something and at times I make a few mistakes in the process—nothing severe but some minor goofs. It is one of the results of doing the work yourself.

Yet every now and then I get stuck. There is something that I need like a banner or a header or something that I can’t make myself. I do reach out and get help in these situations. For any entrepreneur, the trick when you do hire someone else is to do it economically and make it cost effective.

Notice I call myself an entrepreneur? I believe every author should gain a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. That bent toward business will help you in your publishing life.

Recently I was stuck. I needed a graphic artist to make a minor modification to four different images. I knew exactly what I wanted to change but I’m not skilled to use graphic programs like Photoshop. I had to hire someone to move forward with my forthcoming project.

I learned about Fiverr.com. It’s a site where people offer to do a particular task for Five Dollars. Other people had told me about the site but I had never used it.

You can look around Fiverr.com without registering. I planned to use it so I “joined” the site and created a username and password.

I was searching for a graphic artist. Looking at the feedback, I selected four artists who looked like they could accomplish the job I needed. Also I selected people in the United States.

Fiverr has a system where you can send a message to the prospective graphic artist about your task. I used the system to write a simple email to four different people. 

In my email, I described what I needed done and asked if they could handle this task. Within 30 minutes, I heard from one of the emails that this artist could do my work. Two other artists responded that they could also handle it and I never heard from the fourth person.

I hired the first person and paid my $5 through paypal. The site holds the funds until the job has been completed to my satisfaction.

In the internal email to the artist, Fiverr only allows one attachment. I had to bundle my four images into a single zip file and attach them for the artist. In my instructions, I was specific about what I needed done.

Under the guidelines, the artist promised to complete the task within three days. 

I received the completed work in less than an hour after sending it. I looked at my files and they were exactly what I need. I released my funds to the artist with my positive feedback. I found the process amazing that I could get something done quickly and for a low price.

There are several keys to notice:

1. I had a specific task and had specific directions about what I wanted done.

2.If I had not been as specific, the results could have been poor.

3. I selected several different possibilities and gave the task to the first person who responded.

Have some of you used Fiverr.com? What type of experiences have you had with it?

Create Your Own Events

Is your current project getting any activity in the marketplace? Are your books selling into the hands of your readers? What about the activity from your publisher? Is much happening there? 

From my experience, the longer a book is out, the less activity—but it does not have to be like that. Action breeds more action. In this article, I want to encourage you to do more on your own to stir this activity.

I encourage you to watch some of my activities and model them yourself. Can you give away part of your book or some combination of articles into a theme? Create your own ebook and give away this product—only if the person gives you their first name and email address. Use this giveaway to build an email list. I give much more detail about list building in The List Building Tycoon or you can get the Amazon Kindle version of this information.

Notice how I have the site: www.askterrywhalin.com On a regular basis, I have been speaking on different topics.

Currently it is blogging but earlier this year, it was on how to become a prolific author. I use a teleseminar tool. You can use the same tool to set up your event and get a trial at: www.myinstanttelewebcast.com.

Here's some of the steps: 

1. Choose a date several weeks out so you have time to promote the event.

2. Give away something as an incentive for people to sign up to your event.

3. Promote the event to your email list, forums and other places. I encourage you to create press releases and send it to different places. My friend Sandra Beckwith has a great new 50–page Ebook: Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book. This fantastic resource is only $9 and loaded with tested information for every author.

Getting the word out about your event takes a bit of planning on your part but it will pay off in good attendance.

4. Take some time to plan to present some detailed information before your event. As you can see from my event, I'm collecting questions from my participants. I will carefully go through these questions before the event. I've also got some teaching and content that I will present during the event along with answering questions. From my experience, it is easy to fill 70–minutes with valuable information for the participants. When you answer a question, it is likely that many others on the call have the same question and are looking for this response.

If you are not a self-starter with your book promotion and creating your own events, then who will do it? Ask yourself that question with honesty. I've found that the responsibility is mine. I encourage you to take action today.

Do you take additional steps to create your own events? Comment below and I look forward to your feedback.

 

 

An Important Marketing Tool

This weekend I'm headed to my first conference after my move to California. One of the most important marketing tools to take to conferences are business cards. From attending many conferences, I'm always surprised when an editor or agent only has a few business cards—and they quickly run out during the event. 

Or I will meet with a writer and give them my business card. As I extend the card, I always ask, “Can I get your card?” At every conference, there is a high percentage of first-time attenders. They will say, “No, I don't have a card” or “All I have is for my business.” 

I will pull out my notebook and get their email and phone number for follow-up. Often I suspect, I'm one of the few editors who make this effort. It has repeatedly paid off from my perspective with additional opportunities and connections.

If you are going to a conference or any face-to-face type of event, get some business cards. You can make your own cards with a package of blank cards at some office supply place and a simple Microsoft Word template. There is no need to be without business cards if you are taking some simple preparation steps for the conference.

In preparation for the conference this weekend—and also for my other conferences this fall (see the link for my schedule), I made a new personal business card. Yes I have my Morgan James Publishing Acquisitions Editor business cards and will use them throughout the events. In this article, I'm focused on my own personal business card. 

Because I moved, I needed new business cards. Since I was printing new cards, it gave me the opportunity to think through my information on the card. Yes I changed my office address but what about the other elements on it? Were they the right elements for the audience (the people who will receive them)?

This week I received a new book from a new author. It included her business card. From hard earned experience, I've learned to not throw away the envelope before I look at what is inside the package. Why? The author's business card included her name, phone number and email—but not her address. The only place her mailing address appeared was on the outside package. I suspect it was an oversight on her part. The most difficult thing to proofread is something not on the page.

Here's the front of my new business card:

It includes my business mailing address, my personal email, my website to purchase my latest book and my twitter name. I added www.askterrywhalin.com to this card because I hold regular teleseminars with a different focus at this website. 

Did you notice what is missing? I did not include my phone number but the information is on the contact page of my personal website. I'm not hard to find.

Now look at the back of my card:

My target audience are writers or authors or would-be writers or would-be authors. I'm giving away my free ebook, Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. Anyone can get this free ebook, 24 hours a day at www.StraightTalkEditor.com. 

I purchased my cards through Epic Print Solutions. Please check out their site because they can help with any printing need at a reasonable cost.

Finally, think about your own business card. Is it complete? Are you thinking through how the audience will use your card? Does it include something to help others such as a free Ebook? Are you using the card to build your list and connect with others? If not, can you take steps today to begin to put together such an action plan? I recommend you consider my Ebook, The List Building Tycoon or get the Amazon Kindle version of this Ebook. Read it and follow my advice in it.

Your business card is an important market tool for your arsenal. Are you using it?

Use Speaking to Increase Your Book Sales

In many ways they seem opposite ends of the spectrum: writing and speaking. When they've tested writers and editors, the results have shown the bulk of these people are introverts. They aren't the life of the party. Instead they prefer to communicate with their keyboard or pen and paper.

Yet repeatedly I find the truth in what my friend Alex Mandossian teaches: the money in books is not in the book itself but it is in explaining the book.

One of the ways you give your book exposure and “explain” the book is through public speaking. As I've written in the past, someone has to hear about your product at least seven times before they decide to purchase it. A key part of this repeat exposure comes through speaking.

In the weeks ahead, I have a number of opportunities to speak and teach at different types of meetings. I maintain my speaking schedule at this link and continue to add new events.

Would you like to make 2012 a breakthrough year for your speaking?

I'm always looking for new resources to help you be more successful with selling your books and your writing. One of those areas could be speaking.

Last week, I learned about the Speaker Expert Teleseminar series which begins on Tuesday, January 31. If you hear the speakers during the live recording, then it is FREE but if you want to hear them on your own schedule then you can get the paid version to receive the recordings and the transcripts from the calls.

It looks like every Tuesday night for the next few weeks, the Speaker Expert Teleseminar series has a terrific line-up of teachers and topics.

Train Without Leaving Home

Travel can be a hassle. I know first hand since almost every month I am on the road traveling to a different event. Especially since September 11th, 2001, just getting through the airport is more complex—much less all the other elements in travel.

Despite the hassle, I'm still excited about the live events and how important they are for every writer. Over the years, I’ve written many times about the importance of a writer’s conference. There are many key insights, training and relationships that I’ve formed at these events. I have a number of events scheduled for 2012 as you can see at: http://terrylinks.com/sked I encourage you to check the link from time to time because I update it on a regular basis.

I also understand the importance of constant learning outside of conferences. In the next few weeks, I’ve created a couple of events. They require no travel and you can gain this important teaching in the comfort of your home listening to it on the telephone or on the Internet through the webcast. If at all possible, I encourage you to listen to them live. Pull out a tablet and write down the important ideas which you learn. It will be different for each person. I often find several key action items which come from each of these sections—whether I'm hosting them or attending them. I provide these resources as a key way you to grow in your skills as a writer.

January 24, 2012

Ask Rick Frishman FREE Teleseminar Of the many people I know in the publishing community, one of the key experts is Rick Frishman. Just follow this link and read his bio. The founder of Author 101 University, Rick is also a publisher.

I encourage you to ask Rick any question about why you should attend a writers conference or anything in the marketing and publicity area where he has specialized. Rick is the author of numerous books and if you register for this FREE event, then you will receive immediate access to Rick's Ebook, The Top 20 Tips for Aspiring Authors. This Ebook is loaded with valuable insights for every writer. Follow the link to register and get the details. Join Us For A Live 70-minute Teleseminar Tuesday, January 24, 2012 (8 p.m. EST/ 5 p.m. PST). If you can't attend during the live event, go ahead and register because everyone who registers will receive the replay information. Then you can download it to your computer or iPod and listen to it at your convenience.

February 2, 2012

Ask About Book Proposals FREE Teleseminar One of my passions is to teach people how to make the best possible pitch to an editor or literary agent. Over seven years ago, I wrote Book Proposals That Sell which continues to help people.

During this event, I will be answering your question about book proposal creation and marketing. When you register for this event you will receive a free copy of my Ebook, Book Proposal Basics. Follow the link to register and get the details. Join Us For A Live 70-Minute Teleseminar Thursday, February 2, 2012 (8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST). If you can't attend during the live event, go ahead and register because everyone who registers will receive the replay information. Then you can download it to your computer or iPod and listen to it at your convenience.

I will continue to bring these valuable training events to you on a regular basis. Each one provides valuable insights. I hope to speak with you soon.

Answers for Your Proposal Questions

You pitch your book idea to an agent or editor. They ask for a proposal since these publishing professionals do not read manuscripts but read proposals.

Then you run into a snag and have a question. Where do you turn for answers? Or maybe you've been submitting your manuscript and getting little response or only form rejections from agents and editors.

You believe your idea is a solid one for consideration yet something is off and you don't know where to turn with your questions.

I've got good news. It's likely you are asking the same question that others are asking. Many years ago, King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

As an editor and literary agent, I've answered the same questions from different writers from different parts of the country. Thursday, October 13th I'm hosting another teleseminar about the creation and marketing of book proposals. I'll be answering your questions for a full 70–minute free event. If you can't make the live event, still register because it will be recorded and you will receive the replay information which you can download to your computer or iPod.

In addition as a resource, I've created a new Ebook, Book Proposal Basics. When you register for the teleseminar, you can get this free 24–page resource.

If you don't have a question, that's OK. I encourage you to go ahead and sign up. Just put “no question” in the box asking for a question and you will quickly reach the confirmation page where you can instantly download the free Ebook.

I look forward to answering your questions about proposals on the call.

A Valuable Free Resource for Every Writer

I will often find a book reviewed or mentioned that I would like to possibly read. During some periods of my life, I would often turn to an online bookstore or a physical bookstore and purchase that book. In these tight economic times, I tend to look in a different direction for my first course of action: the public library. Here's just a few of the ways I'm using my local library:

I have a public library near my home which I frequent several times a week. I've discovered an amazing array of movie DVDs at the library (and many of them are some of the newest releases).

I've become skilled at using their online catalog to request forthcoming books. If I read about a new novel which I'd like to read, I can often find the library has that book (or has it on order). I can get on the list of people to receive the new book when it is available.

If I look and the book isn't in the library, our library has an online system to "make a suggested purchase." It requires that I list the title, author, ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and the form that I would like the book (book, audio, etc) then the branch where I'd like to pick up the book if ordered. If my request is accepted, then I receive an email about it and I'm one of the first people to get the book when it gets into the system. Some of my requests are not accepted as well (par for the course but at least I tried). Recently I was looking for a new book from one of my American Society of Journalists and Author colleagues. It was not in the library system so I made this request and the librarian decided to order the book and I'm on the list for it. I wrote my author friend and she was naturally thrilled since I pointed a way that her book is getting into my local library system.

I enjoy listening to audio books in my car and the library is a perfect place to find some great books in this category. Last week I noticed some inexpensive audio books the Friends of the Library were offering. I've been wanting to read Barbara Walters' bestselling memoir, Ambition. I purchased the audio book for the grand sum of $3 and the audio for a Michael Connelly novel, The Fifth Witness that is currently on the bestseller list. I bought the audio for $8--at the public library.

As an author, I'm always interested to see if my books are in the public library. For my local librarian, I asked the name of the person in charge of the collection then called her and introduced myself. I offered to send a few of my bestselling books to the library (without charge). She wanted the books to put into the collection and explained how to get them to her. I followed her instructions and a few months later my books were in the public library system. Now I know we can't give our books away to every library but in a few cases like this one, it makes sense. If you donate books in my library without going to this extra effort, then the books are put in the "Friends of the Library" section and sold to the public. They don't accomplish my goal of getting them into the library collection. Make sure you investigate if you want to get them into the library collection.

If you want to know more about how to sell your books into the public library, I have a free teleseminar that I did with one of my author friends, Max Davis who has sold his book into over 3,000 public libraries. He gives the full details in the teleseminar so I hope you will listen to it. I will probably be changing this teleseminar soon but for now it is available and a great resource to learn about selling your book into the public library.

Do not overlook this valuable writing resource. Begin using it on a regular basis and you will be surprised at what you will gain.

Practical Help for The Author's "What If"

Most writers live some of the time in the world of "What If." We think about the reader for our words and the target audience. We dream about our publishers (and us) selling thousands of copies and some day even landing on the bestseller list.

I speak with authors all the time about their ambitions and dreams for their books or their "what if" plans. I appreciate their ambition and desires to get their book out to the broadest possible audience. This desire might not be focused on the financial gain from their book. Some authors are just eager to get their message out to the largest possible number of people. These dreams are healthy in my view because every writer needs to keep thinking about how to reach new readers with their work.

Many authors forget that over 60% of the book sales happen outside of the bookstore. There are large quantities of books which are sold to a single company and called Special Market Sales or Volume Buy Backs. It is an aspect that I encourage authors to think about and include in their book proposals so their proposal stands out from the others under consideration.

While you may be attracted to the idea of selling large volumes of your book, how do you do it? This technique works for any type of book. It does not have to be a new book or nonfiction or fiction or a children's book. I've been reading about these types of sales for years and encouraging authors to think in this direction for the "what if" possibilities for their book. I've created a way for you to learn about this concept through a free teleseminar on November 3rd.

Ted Rogers and Vickie Mullins are the founders of Perfect Bound Marketing, a company which specializes in helping authors and publishers to sell books by the truckload. They have broad experience of selling volumes of books. As they say on their website, "Ted signed his first Special Market Sales Campaign contract in 1993 and began creating relationships with companies, associations and not-for-profits where his book sold more than 100,000 copies in a single sale." While Ted has some amazing experiences, his partner Vickie Mullins also knows this area of the market. Their site explains, "In 2005, Vickie authored her first book of what grew to be a series of eight titles. She soon discovered the strategies and potential sales opportunities associated with Special Market Sales and began selling books in her series, I Want You To Know Me …, by the thousands."

Wednesday, November 3rd, I will be hosting a live 70-minute teleseminar with your questions about special market sales. Ted and Vickie will be answering your questions about this area and helping us understand the five mistakes which authors and publishers make and it prevents you from achieving massive book sales. Register today for this free session and ask your question at: www.massivebooksales.com.

In addition, when you sign up for this free event, you will receive a special report from Ted and Vickie: 26 Secrets & Steps for Book-selling Success. If you have a conflict and can not attend the live event, go ahead and sign up. If you don't have a question, then in the space mark "no question" yet go ahead and register now for this event. It will be recorded and everyone who registers will receive the replay information after the Nov. 3rd event.

Sign up today for this November 3rd event and gain this practical help about how you can sell large quantities of your book. These special sales are possible whether your book has been out for some time or whether it is brand new. They work whether your book was published from a major publisher or whether your book was self-published. You can open a window to the world of possibilities through special market sales. I look forward to seeing you at this unique event. Be sure and tell your author friends.