promoting a book » Wally Bock's Zero Draft

5/17/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

May 172013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on building a relationship with your audience, digital book signings, the Ten Commandments of Twitter, and five must-have apps for writers.

From CopyBlogger: 5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience
“Today I’m sharing five tips to engage with your readers, make them feel at home, and to turn your blog into a nice and warm get-together.”

From Digital Book World: Build Digital Relationships with Consumers
“Ebook signings are powerful marketing tools. That’s because they create an immediate connection between the reader and the author, allowing for exponential social media and word-of-mouth banter—the sort that helps to sell books. And, “this kind of engagement allows authors and readers to create bonds that are much stronger and more interactive than ever was possible with paper book signatures,” writes Beth Bacon, a DBW expert blogger and children’s digital publisher.”

From Jeff Bullas: The 10 Commandments of Twitter
“The real power of Twitter is that you can build a follower base that allows you to share a focused stream of content that adds value to your followers daily lives. There are no fancy Facebook “Edgerank” algorithms to throttle your tweets and choke your content distribution. Its pure and wild. I like that. FromSo what are some fundamental principles that you should embrace if you want Twitter to work for you?”

From Duolit: 5 Must-Have Apps For On-The-Go Authors
“What I really want to share with you is how much time I’ve been able to save with my marketing efforts by using a handful of awesome (and free) apps on my iPhone (don’t worry, they’re available for Droids, too).”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

5/10/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips No Responses »

May 102013

You’re a businessperson. You may not think of yourself as a writer, but you know that writing well can boost your results and your career. Naturally, you want to do better. Here are some recent blog posts and articles that might help. This week I’m pointing you to pieces on ebook prices, improving your writing, and promoting your book.

From Digital Book World: Self-Published Authors Seeing the Wisdom of Higher Ebook Prices
“Last year at this time, the most popular price point for self-published authors using the Smashwords distribution platform was $0.99; this year it’s $2.99, according to analysis by Smashwords. This data dovetails what we’ve seen at Digital Book World through tracking price in the DBW Ebook Best-Seller list. It used to be that the self-published titles that made the list were mostly priced at $0.99 and $1.99. Now, we’re seeing $2.99 and $3.99 emerge as more popular price points.”

From Copyblogger: How to Immediately Become a More Productive (and Better) Writer
“You want to become a better writer. I know this because you’re reading Copyblogger. I also know that you fear becoming a better writer.This I know because you must change to become better, and to fear change is to be human. But what if I told you that you only need to change one thing — one small thing — to achieve your goal of becoming a better writer?”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Stay Centered.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

5/3/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips No Responses »

May 032013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on landing book endorsements, finding your writing voice, how Jeff Goins writes, and blogging tips from fourteen bloggers.

From Dana Lynn Smith: 8-Step Plan for Landing Book Promotion Endorsements
“Endorsements are recommendations from authors, experts or celebrities, in other words people whose opinion can influence sales of your book. These are the quotes you typically see printed on the covers and inside of books and they are sometimes referred to as /blurbs.’”

From Jeff Bullas: 7 Tips to Finding “Your” Writing Voice
“I don’t have a process or a magic potion to finding a writing voice or an expression formula but let’s have a look at what happens when you start to create, write and express yourself in an online world.”

From Kelton Reid: Here’s How Jeff Goins Writes
“Thankfully there are trailblazers — allies that arrive in times of uncertainty — our fellow writers and teachers who offer their wisdom, courage, and assistance. Jeff Goins is one of those guides, an author, award-winning blogger, and coach, who stopped by The Writer Files to share some of his battle-tested stories from his own journey as a writer.”

From ProBlogger: Do You Know These Time Saving Blogging Tips?
“When I asked these 14 bloggers about their routines I also asked if they had any tips for other busy bloggers. I’m glad I did because collectively they give some great insight below.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

4/26/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips No Responses »

Apr 262013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on Kindle Singles, the marketing snowball, great headlines, and waiting to post.

From the NY Times: Amazon Broadens Its Terrain
“Amazon Kindle Singles is a hybrid. First, it is a store within the megastore of Amazon.com, offering a showcase of carefully selected original works of 5,000 to 30,000 words that come from an array of outside publishers as well as from in-house. Most sell for less than $2, and Mr. Blum is the final arbiter of what goes up for sale. ”

From The Savvy Book Marketer: The Book Marketing Snowball
“In today’s guest post, book marketing expert Terry Cordingley shares his wisdom on the process of book marketing. In developing your marketing plan, remember that everything you do builds your platform and momentum and moves you to the next level.”

From Michael Hyatt: Headlines That Grab Readers by the Eyeballs and Suck Them into Your Message
“This is a guest post by Ray Edwards. He is is a marketing strategist, copywriter, speaker, and author.”

From ProBlogger: Stop. Don’t post that post! 7 questions to ask before you hit publish
“This is a guest contribution by Kate Toon, an award-winning SEO and advertising copywriter.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

4/12/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips 2 Responses »

Apr 122013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on making more time for writing, using relationship marketing to promote your book, and Chris Brogan on what he’s learned from 15 years of blogging.

From Sage Cohen: Make More Time for Writing
“Writers make time for writing. And everyone does it her own way. Your job is to find your way”

From Dana Lynn Smith: Use Relationship Marketing to Sell Books
“Relationships with other people and organizations that cater to your target market can be incredibly valuable in promoting your book. Here are some steps to developing and leveraging relationships:”

From Chris Brogan: 15 Years Blogging And Still Learning
“I started my first blog back in 1998, when it was called journaling. It was on some Geocities site whose name I no longer remember. From there, I moved to Tripod, and then to Blogger, a quick side-step into another platform or two, and then WordPress. Along the way, it went from being a place to share my fiction, and then my self-improvement efforts, and there were a lot of other iterations, too.”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Go ahead, buy the domain.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

4/6/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Wally's Writing No Responses »

Apr 062013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on the current state of publishing platforms and how to write good copy. There’s also a book promotion tip.

From Joe Wikert: Current state of formats and platforms
“Remember the old days when PDF was pretty much the only way to distribute content and those PDFs were read on computer screens? PDF still lives, of course, but now we’re also faced with offering content in mobi and EPUB formats for consumption on a variety of platforms and devices.”

From Kelton Reid: A Short Guide to Writing Good Copy
“The term “style” is thrown around a lot by writers, but it’s a misnomer for copywriters because “style” doesn’t work in the extremely short attention economy of the internet.”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Watch what others do.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

3/29/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips 2 Responses »

Mar 292013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on a blogging template that will help you create better posts more easily, how David Meerman Scott writes, how to do a better job of getting reviews and notice, and tech startup language in the publishing world.

From Michael Hyatt: Use a Blogging Template to Write Posts Faster [Video]
“In this brief video, I share the six-part framework I use to write my own blog posts. This enables me to write faster and with more predictable results.”

From Kelton Reid: Here’s How David Meerman Scott Writes
“Content marketing — at its core — is finding the successful integration of great content and time-tested marketing strategies. International bestselling author and marketing strategist, David Meerman Scott, has made it his mission to help you find that sweet spot.

From Wise Ink: How To Target Beta Readers, Reviewers, and Bloggers [Sample Letters Included]
“Bloggers, even newer ones like Wise Ink, get spammed a lot. And here’s how not to come across as spam:”

From Todd Sattersten: Dangerous ideas from the world of startups
“Dustin Kurtz, marketing manager at Melville House, wrote a piece last week about the incursion of startup vocabulary in the world of book publishing.”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Join with Others to Learn Best Practices.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

3/22/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 222013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on why things catch on, and how to write and e-course and how-to content. There, I’ve said it, there’s a post here about how to write how-to content.

From Jonah Berger: ‘Contagious’: Jonah Berger on Why Things Catch On
“If you have watched and shared PSY’s “Gangnam Style” video or gone into an unknown restaurant simply because it was full of people and appeared to be popular, you have the basis for understanding what makes things go viral. In Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger’s new book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On, he identifies six principles that cause people to talk about and share an idea or product. Knowledge@Wharton recently sat down with Berger to learn more about his findings, including why people share cat memes, which organizations and individuals have conceived and implemented the most successful viral campaigns — from Blendtec to ‘Movember’ — and why making something contagious does not have to be expensive.”

From Problogger: 9 Steps to Creating a Successful e-Course
“It seems so effortless from the outside: Record some audio, shoot a little video, schedule a few emails, throw in a live call. Shaazam! You’ve got an e-Course. But when you dive in to actually create your own course, you may get:”

From Problogger: 7 Simple Steps to Writing Great ‘How To’ Content on Your Blog
“On Twitter a number of people told me that they were having a little trouble with writing a ‘how to…’ post because it wasn’t their normal style of writing on their blog so I thought I’d jot down a few tips for writing ‘how to…’ content (something I’ve been creating for 10 years now on my blogs).”

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week instead of a tip, Becky shared a poster that illustrates the way she measures book launch success.

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence

3/2/13: My Recent Writing on Writing

Wally's Writing No Responses »

Mar 022013

Here’s my writing about writing for this week. There were posts on best sellers, blog post openings, and this week’s selection of posts and articles to give you “The Writing Edge.”

Promoting a Book: Best Sellers
“Does it seem like every book is a best seller and every author is a best-selling author? Almost. But what if maybe becoming a best seller is not the most important goal for you?”

Blog Post Openings
The first few lines of your post are important. They’re also hard to get right. Here are some tips to help.

3/1/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers
Writing well gives you an edge in business and in life. Here are some posts and articles that will help you write better. This week I’m pointing you to pieces on the choice of POD publisher, the importance of quality assurance when you publish, how people choose which books to buy, and writing productivity tips from Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

You’ll find my writing about leadership and talent development on my Three Star Leadership Blog.

Current Client Projects

I’m writing blog posts for one client. I’m helping a strategy consultant write his book, and working on a book about what Professor Clay Christensen says could be “more important than disruption.” I’m also coaching two other authors through the process of writing and publishing their first book.

If you’re interested in writing a book, hiring someone to write for you, or just improving your own writing, you should read my Zero Draft blog about the writing that makes a business or career grow.

If you want to get a book done or improve your writing, let’s talk about options. My coaching calendar currently has space open.

Information Products

If you’re a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor’s Support Kit.

3/1/13: The Writing Edge for Business Writers

Writing Tips No Responses »

Mar 012013

This week I’m pointing you to pieces on the choice of POD publisher, the importance of quality assurance when you publish, how people choose which books to buy, and writing productivity tips from Dr. Sanjay Gupta

From Christine Rose: Choose CreateSpace over LSI
“As I said in my Publishing & Marketing Realities book: Amazon is an author’s best friend. Hands down. I stick by that statement even two years later. Even though so much has changed in the publishing industry it’s hardly even recognizable from what it was two years ago. Amazon, although it’s had its own changes, is still an author’s best friend.”

From Digital Book World: Avoiding Ebook Casualties: The Importance of Quality Assurance
“Without quality assurance, good ebooks can be, well, useless.”

From Joe Wikert: What’s going on with readers today?
“Some of the Goodreads member survey results will surprise you.”

From FastCompany: 5 Tips From Dr. Sanjay Gupta On Being Unreasonably Productive
“Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses how he works across platforms, his strategies for creative blocks, and why pressure is good.”

Tools and Events and Such

From Blogging Pro: A Blogger’s Indispensable Tools

Becky Robinson is my go-to friend and expert for launching business books. Every week, she publishes a book launch tip on her blog. This week’s tip is “Rejoice at Every Mention.”

Sources I Check Regularly

I find the posts and articles that I share with you on The Writer’s Edge in many places. But there are a few that provide insightful pieces again and again. Here they are.

The CopyBlogger Blog

Problogger

Digital Book World

Tools of Change for Publishing

jeffbullas.com

Becky Robinson’s Weaving Influence