Case Study: needs a teleseminar line that will do a pre-set broadcast.

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Book Cover Design: BEA and How to Use it to Help you Research Interest for Your Book

I attended BEA with two intentions. First from the view of a Book Cover & Interior Designer and the second from the view of a new Author.

I noticed myself falling back into the comfort of the first since this is known to me and the way I make a living. I found many interesting services for authors from printers to doll makers for children’s books. I also came away with good information regarding what publishers are looking for to better inform my book design clients who use my services.

I attended on the last day of the show in the hopes of being a more welcomed conversation to the booth vendors, which turned out to be a good decision and I got some free books at the end!

And the second view as author being new and unknown brought several surprises. I eventually braved it up and asked at a few booths if they were taking submissions. Some were kind and handed me sheets of rules but no business cards. There were two publisher booths that actually had Reps sit down and discuss possibilities with me, they were interested in my topic…!

I’m not sure if it was the topic or the publisher or the fact that I smiled and laughed a lot! Whatever the reason, I did get business cards and a much warmer welcome than I did a few years ago when I just had a children’s picture book to sell.

I did hear from all the publishers I had the chance to exchange a few sentences with, that they were interested in authors who were savy to publicity and self promotion of their books and if they had an internet platform.

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Reviews…how they help move your book sales

Amazon and most other book sales sites depend on the reveiws buyers give to the books that are listed…so…list some…there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t post a review of your own book!

Extend your opinion to possible readers…don’t let your book just sit there waiting for a review…take the initiative and put the first one up yourself.

The websites algorithm examines the number of reveiew and rank of the reviews when determining exposure levels… and we all know what that means!

Call your friends, family, anyone you know to submit a review and make them 5-star reviews, and state that your book was informative and helpful or any other appropriate words that will motivate that next person out there looking to buy your book. The Amazon computer likes books that receive 5-star and considered helpful information.

Solicit reviews from others, after you write a review for yours begin writing reviews on all the books you’ve read and post to their listings rememebering to mention your book in the review…(for example, “this review by the author of –name of your book here— or also recommended by the author of — name of book and info —-

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Book Design: The Benefit to Filling a Lightbox…

There are lots of photo sites out there… both royalty free and pay for use. When taking on your own graphic design project, whether it be a self publishing book, brochure, or website, unless we take the photots ourselves, we need images to give our project that extra push.

How to use a photo site for best benefit.

1. What is the project, does it need a hi-res image?
2. Will that image be used across all your projects?
3. Be sure to read the licensing agreement you might want to get the extended license.

Once you’ve determined the use go to the site of your choice, and start searching by keywords and phrases. Open a lightbox, this is a place where you can store the images you like but aren’t totally positive you’ll be using. This allows you to gather lots and in one place that you can return to and weed our the ones that no longer match your criteria.

You’ll be gathering images based on keyword, look, feel, colors, vertical or horizontal, if they’ll be used with other images as a collage, what is the energy they project, composition, expression, structure. One keyword and supply of images may open the way to another search using a different word.

Remember, the lightbox is a tool for organizing and it allows you to see all the images together in one place before you purchase. As you find the images you like, then you begin purchasing based on what your use will be. Depending on the price of the images, you might want to purchase project specific, but if the images are only $15 or each, I suggest you purchase the large or xlarge and adjust its size as appropriate for your project. That way you won’t need to keep buying the image again at smaller sizes.

Contact me to discuss your projects.
Karrie Ross
Design – Branding – Websites

Question:

What has your experience been with lightboxes…do you use them?

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Book Design and Writing: Using Stories in your writing…

When you are in the process of collecting resources and data, don’t forget to write about yours or others experiences, stories leave a profound impression on your readers minds. Your stories will influence them more because they are able to relate to them. Some ways to use stories: open the chapter with one that best illustrates the point of the chapter; insert within the chapter a story as a teaching aspect. You might even solicit stories from friends to use, be sure to have them sign a rights to use statement for you.

When you get the hang of using stories you won’t want to be without them, they will move your book along in ways that you’ll never believe until you write it.

Remember, do something every day toward your book and promotion.

Karrie Ross
Click here to go to website.
http://www.bookcoverdesigner.com

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Want book sales? Get yourself a ‘Platform’

Is there a realistic formula to generating substantial book sales without a gazillion dollar marketing campaign or a rave reveiw from Oprah? There is, and it amounts to building a “platform” – industry lingo for a regular column, blog, newsletter, or seminar that allow an author to pitch to a ready-made audience.

An increasing number of nonfiction authors who have found success these days have parlayed their platform into book sales; T. Harv Eker, Jeffrey Gitomer, Rick Warren, and Joel Osteen (among others) are hitting the bullseye because they built an audience before they wrote their books which is why we’re seeing so many successful bloggers landing book deals with major publishers lately.

Posted by: Kareen on Apr 03, 05

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Places to get Publicity for your eBook….

Ebook Awards Bring Publicity to Your Ebook
http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/Ebook_Authors_Alert_Ebook_Awards_Bring_Publicity_to_Your_Ebook,201136707.aspx

Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards
Open to entries until June 30. eBooks in the English language from any country.
http://awardsforebooks.com/

EPIC’s eBook Awards(TM)
Open to entries from June 1 to July 15. Entries must be published in English and released for sale between June 1 of the previous year through May 31 the current year.
http://www.epicorg.com/competitions/epics-ebook-awards.html

These are just a few. Be sure to put your suggestions in the comments box on the actual post and thank you for sharing.

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Book Schedule: Are You Allowing Enough Time? How to Figure Out Your Timeline…

Time. There it is. Everything needs time, it doesn’t just happen over night. Start with your preferred date of release and work backwards through what needs to be done.

Your list will look something like this:

1. Release Date: the day your book is for sale
2. Shipping: allow at least 2 weeks depending on quantity and form of delivery
3. Printing: offset generally takes longer than POD so be sure to ask your printer how long to allow. Hardcover books take longer than paperback so ask that too. POD usually is a 7-10 day process… but some have a proofing period so be sure to research and allow for that.
4. Design time: be sure to ask your designer Read more »

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Obama Speech: Talking Speaker of the event….

No one can deny how amazing it is that 2 million showed up for the swearing in of our new President Barack Obama, it was an event to be watched. There is a company, TalkingSpeaker.com who takes recordings and then turns them into promotional vehicles for your product, service or business. Here is one he is giving away with the Obama speech

Get yours too… here is the link http://www.talkingspeaker.com/barack/obama.html

Remember, do something everyday to promote your product, service or company in a new and exciting way.

Karrie Ross
BookCoverDesigner.com
TweetGlitz.com

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services

Author Interview: Grant E. Fetters “Horace the Hopper”

Author Interview Category is the sharing of story. The story of the author’s journey, the writing and the book. I hope you’ll find this interesting, informative and helpful to your own journey. The authors interviewed submit their photo and text for posting on this site. This is open to all authors who have written a book and wish to share their experience. For more information us this link. Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.

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1. Please type your name as you would like it to appear on the post title.

- Grant E. Fetters

2. Who are you? Where are you from, what is your background, what is the one thing that motivates you most?

- I am a Design Engineer by trade, working in the Automotive Parts Manufacturing, Steering. I live in East Tennessee with my wife and four cats. I write because I have something to say and if it’s printed maybe someone will take me serious.

3. When/How/Why did your writing career begin?

- I hated English class in College, and High School for that matter. I barely read anything is school because of my Dyslexia, a mild form of the reading disorder, but it did cause problems in school. What started my writing curiosity was an audio book my wife gave me. “The Wastelands”, by Stephen King.  It took me over a year to actually listen Read more »

Remember, do something every day toward your book, web-presence, product, service and promotion.
Karrie Ross,  Book Designer, Web-presence, Branding, Coaching & Consulting Services