The Sell More Books Show: Book Marketing, Digital Publishing and Kindle News, Tools and Advice

With the current crisis going on, as an author what are some things you may be able to do to help your readers out? On today’s show Bryan is joined by Alana Terry, a Christian suspense writer and teacher for authors on paid advertising. They want to wish everyone peace an good health during these times! Alana has her course up as a pay what you can and a portion of the proceeds will go to helping out during this time of the Covid-19. Be sure to check out Claire’s free supercharge your protagonist workshop, she also has a sale right now on her story alignment consultation so be sure to also check that out and use the code FOURFOUR by 4/4/20. All the links for these will be available to you. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Liberty Speidel. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Get it Done, The House, and Dark as the Grave. The Top Tips of the week include how taking the sidebar from your blog can help you start up your author website, what you can gain from using a writing prompt regularly, and how easy it is to turn your book into the latest EPUB 3.0 format with Daisy.org. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how PublishDrive is making it easy for authors to publish your print and digital and audiobook formats, why something as simple as asking readers to review your books can make a huge difference, whats causing Macmillan to abandoned its unpopular ebook embargo, who is announcing that their entire library of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazine articles will be free for 30 days, and ACX is doing to help out due to the impact of Covid-19 to the creative community. Question of the Week: What are some ways that you feel like you as an author could help your readers handle this crisis?

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When working from home do you have a certain routine that helps you “get out of your pajamas” and start your work day? If so, what is it? Today is the final day of Bryan’s Blurb Bonus Package with Best Page Forward so make sure to check it out and H. Claire Taylor has a free chat on April 2nd talking about supercharging your protagonist, there are only 10 seats available so grab yours soon! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Blaine Moore. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Thawed: CRYERS Book 1, How To Drive Your Next Car Deal: The How-To Guide To Negotiating A New Car Deal, and The Tilt. The Top Tips of the week include how being quarantined may lead you to writing your best work like Shakespeare, why “writing crap” is a common tip amongst successful romance authors, and how putting on some pants can encourage you to get to writing. This week’s honorable mention goes to Amazon being flooded with coronavirus books. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what is the future of coronavirus vs authors, publishers, and booksellers, how learning the skills of publishing and web designing can save you lots of money, why British company DeepZen is already ahead of the game, why the UK government is saying goodbye to the 20% VAT, and what finding your niche can do for your book sales according to children’s book author Melissa Torres. Question of the Week: When you work from home, do you have any routines to make you feel like you have transitioned to the professional period of your day or do you just get into it and mix it up?

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The last calendar year has been filled with many different events, say you could create a subgenre based on a specific one, what would it be?  Bryan has a Sell More Books Forever Webinar this Thursday so be sure to check it out and H. Claire Taylor has a pre-order up for a new pen name! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is S. A. Schneider. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Where The Leaves Wither, The Three Story Method: Foundations of Fiction, and 5 Numbers of Destiny. The Top Tips of the week include why calculating math might be worth it for your read-through rates, how your not so happy ending books can partake in the hottest new literary genre, and why to start thinking about copywriting. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to make your non-writing tasks a bit easier, what is causing the Big 5 to possibly turn Big 4, why you should consider alternate plans when it comes to the London Book Fair, how tweaking and relaunching ‘failed’ books may start to earn you some money, and how Indie author M.R. Mathias went from being in a Texas prison to writing dozens of books that have totaled over $1 million through amazon book sales. Question of the Week: If you could create your own subgenre based on events of the last calendar year, what would it be?

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The first quarter of 2020 is almost over, what will you be doing in the second quarter of 2020 to market your books? Maybe something out of your comfort zone? Bryan mentions that he will be having a book description webinar coming soon and H. Claire Taylor is recruiting people for her new class. Be sure to check out Kirsten Oliphant's Launch Class. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Dan Thompson. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Woodpecker Wars: Celebrating the Spirituality of Everyday Life, Taking Charge: Making Your Healthcare Appointments Work for You, and The Final Arrangement. The Top Tips of the week include what is causing Indies to give up on google, how you can use content marketing to market not only non-fiction but also fiction, and why your best promotional tool is your readers themselves. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how Hachette’s 2019 revenue increased by 5% over 2018’s revenue, why Publishers Weekly believes Amazon Publishing has come out on top, how authors can learn from the marketing mistakes from the movie Birds of Prey, what is being done about book scams starting on April 27th, and why Hachette, Amazon, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin US are all pulling out of the London Book Fair. Question of the Week: What are you going to do to market your books in the second quarter of 2020? If you try something outside of your usual comfort zone, what will it be?

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What crazy and fun way would you try to promote your book if money wasn’t a concern? How would you go about it? Bryan announces that he is going to be getting back into non-fiction this year and H. Claire Taylor shares with us that she has been putting up medium posts on author and story strategy as well as writing productivity. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Darren Sapp. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Nolan Walker And The Superiors Squad, Journaling Power: How to Create the Happy, Healthy Life You Want to Live, and WordPress Security 101: How to secure your website against hackers. The Top Tips of the week include how to look out for yourself to prevent getting scammed, what Matthew McCreary’s five step process is to writing a book, and where you can find the best apps for writing projects. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why authors in the US income will continue to decline, how your biggest obstacle when it comes to writing productivity may just be yourself, how self-publishing can lead to more money and flexibility, what you can do to get your short piece of fiction shared with the public, and why Indie author and mentor Chris Fox funded a role-playing game version of his bestselling space fantasy series that is now over 133% funded. Question of the Week: If money weren't a concern, what wild and fun activity would you want to try to promote your book? And how would you get started?

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What challenges do you think you'd face as part of the adaption if you could acclimate a story of yours into any other medium, what would it be and why? Bryan and H. Claire Taylor are feeling very grateful to be able to talk to all the listeners every week whether it be diving deep into some big controversy or diving deeper into ideas relating to self-publishing. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Ethan Jones. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Removed, A Curse upon the Saints, and If You Give a Guy a Beer. Tickets are available for Self Publishing Live. The Top Tips of the week include how to get the most out of any author conference, why scheduling time to write is so important, and how getting your books into a library can create a domino effect. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how you can hire the right person for the job using self-publishing service providers, why self-publishing is also learning publishing and marketing for yourself, how to get books in the mail that you might have never considered, how learning to master ads will help you not suck at marketing, and where you can find a new documentary about self-publishing. Question of the Week: If you could adapt a story of yours into any other medium, what would it be and why? What challenges do you think you'd face as part of the translation?

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When AI learns to write a novel that's identical from human novels, how do you think that the writing world will shift? Bryan and H. Claire Taylor are getting things done and checking things off of their to do lists. This weeks Happy Books Review Winners are Jon Auerbach & Bethany Tucker. Thank you to our featured Patrons - One Survivor, Citizen Second Class, and Jasper Kaine. The Top Tips of the week include why you should have a copyright notice and a reservation of rights, why to consider donating a copy of your children’s book to Diverse Book Finder, and how to give your print books a new look. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what new technology will be affecting the writing world, how we know that the author business is continuing to grow, which transcription service is the best fit for you, why many people are not happy about how Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House celebrated Black History Month and how author Jayne Hawke recovered from burnout. Question of the Week: How do you think the writing world will change when AI learns to write a novel that's indistinguishable from human novels?

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What joyful moments have you had that led you to today in your publishing career? Bryan and Claire are in the same room! Thank you to all of our Patrons! The Top Tips of the week include how Booksprout is your cure all, why you need to join Brandon Sanderson’s class, and what is the best tool to write in. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how you can still be frugal when it comes to editing, how to hire a ghostwriter, what the numbers say about libraries and other activities, why Author Chris Fox didn't love his cover, and why you should write what you love. Question of the Week: Looking back on your writing and publishing to this point, what are three moments that brought you incredible joy in the smaller milestones that led you to where you are today?

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What would you want your readers to expect from you? Bryan is finally taking a rest day! Claire’s party is this week! This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Garett Robinson. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Dad's Girls, The Outline Book, and Cubicle Jail to Laptop Lifestyle. The Top Tips of the week include how to recover from a failed book launch, how you can still make a living in indie, and what you need to be productive. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what the Macmillan boycott has done to the bottom line, why you may want to get into self-help books, what procrastination may actually mean, how author Steff Green earned $200k, and what is changing with Penguin Random House. Question of the Week: In your ideal world, what would your readers' expectations be about what you write, how often you release it, what you price it, and how often you get in contact with them?

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How would your work change if you shifted your focus? This week is the final parts of Bryan’s Amazon Ad Challenge it's never too late to follow along! Claire is getting her launch party ready! This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Linda Fausnet. Thank you to our featured Patrons: Grand Theft Auto and Other Misdemeanors, Angelborn, and Time Code. The Top Tips of the week include how to edit your book faster, why you need to reach out to your superfans, and what ads are the best. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what new law has hit Missouri, how the lawsuit with Audible turned out, why Amazon ad school may be a great call for you, how author Howard Tayler sees success, and why your word count may be falling short. Question of the Week: If you changed your focus from looking for productivity to meaning, what would you stop doing and why?

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