Are You a Real Author?

A book is a book and an author is an author, right?

Well in the not so distant past an author would write a book or proposal, submit it to one or more publishing houses and wait for weeks or months to hear back. After a decent amount of time, around six months, said aspiring author would send out the manuscript, making copies and mailing the documents of course, to another round of publishers and the waiting process would happen all over again.

Flash-forward to the present.

Now, if someone wants to write a book... anyone, even a child, can. All you have to do is create the file and upload it on one of the many services, such as Amazon's "Create Space," and voila! An author is born. Or is an author really born?

What is the definition of an author?

A. One who writes?
B. One is is published by the traditional means...publisher with a print product.
C. One who is self published with a print product?
D. One who is self published with a print and/or digital product?

Confusing right?

To add to the confusion we can include the caveat the author needs to sell books to be considered a published author. By selling I don't mean to 100 of your best friends or manipulate the system, such as Amazon to spike sales at 3 PM in the morning, or offer the book for free on a slow day to become an Amazon best seller.

This is a hotly contested subject and I know many of my readers are self-published authors or those who aspire to be traditionally published at some point in their writing careers. I turned down a 4-book publishing contract in 1996 after I had successfully self-published said books and was happy not having to make 15% commission when I was making 100%. However, does that still make me a published author if I self-publish? I can't join many of the professional associations because I am self-published however several of my authors, Susan K. Marlow is one, is part of these associations because I publish one of her books!

And so we go round and round and I'm sure you have an opinion, so let's hear it!

Your Idea to Amazon in 14 Days

By Guest Blogger, Marnie Swedberg

How long will you spend writing your next book? It’s a question you should ask, because minutes matter!

My first book took four years from idea to publication. It was published by St. Martin’s Press, enjoyed three printings and major media. I wouldn’t trade a minute of that investment.

I have gone on to write several books, my most recent taking four months from idea to publication. Again, that time was well spent.

In January of 2010, the director of a regional library system asked me to pinch hit for a trainer who was not able to fulfill his 3-day, 7-city speaking tour on the topic, “How to Write an eBook.” The events were scheduled to begin 16 days after the call and during those two weeks I pulled a team together, researched, wrote and published a book entitled, “eBooks: Idea to Amazon in 14 Days.” The book is the journal of every step I took in order to achieve that goal.

Now anyone can do it, including you.

I’ll be sharing more of my process during my interview with Felice on Information in a Nutshell, but here are a few tips:

1.    Write for Two Audiences. Write your manuscript for your target (niche) audience, but also write it with a publisher in mind. If you can answer the questions an acquisition’s editor will ask, you will be well on your way to having a marketable book. At that point, you can decide whether to self-publish or seek a publisher.

2.    Surround Yourself with Talent. If you plan to publish a book fast, you’ll need a team. Mine included researchers, editors, formatters and a graphic artist. I mostly rely on outsourcers, which is a new concept for many people, but saves me thousands of dollars each year.

3.    Turn on a Dime. As soon as you identify a roadblock to progress, shift, take a hard right or eliminate that element completely. The key is to keep writing.

4.    Get Unstuck Fast. When I get stuck, I hire a coach for 5-15 minutes to help me see what I am missing. My book, eBooks: Idea to Amazon in 14 Days, is like having me sitting next to you, coaching you through many steps of writing, including getting your ISBN, using waivers and obtaining a www.YourName.com website. If you need additional help, hire a coach. Arrange to receive “laser coaching” versus ongoing service. You are on a deadline: You need quick answers instead of weeks of hand-holding.

5.    Prepare to be famous. OK, you might not get famous, but it’s important to think ahead toward what it would be like if you were. Just today I completed 20 questions for a Celebrity Interview website. I love it when they send me questions and give me time to “wordsmith” my answers and have it all edited. More often you will have to answer questions on the spot – on TV, radio or for a print interview. Taking time to ask yourself the questions first is really helpful. (The book includes all the questions I was asked during my blog tour for its release.)

Publishing an eBook or book in 14 days may sound outrageous, but the shortcuts I used to accomplish that feat may be the catalyst you need to finish your book this year rather than next year or than never. 

Learn more of my stress-busting strategies for authors, speakers and other super busy women at www.Marnie.com.

Blog Tours for Authors

Years ago I created a Virtual-Field-Trips website for kids and parents to surf the net and learn from interactive, educational websites. Unfortunately, the site was hacked and while I was able to rebuild it in part, I ran out of time. I loved the idea of traveling virtually. No effort, no packing, no expense, no car sickness, and no kids asking the proverbial question, "When will we be there?"

Well, the idea of a Blog Tour is basically the same thing. You travel without leaving home! An author can use a blog tour as a platform to build momentum to coincide with a new book launch. It is a publicity tour for the book. What a wonderful idea! My radio show guest, Cara Putman, explained her success with running several for her newly launched books. I often take notes as I interview, and today was no different. Cara had excellent information to share. To listen to the interview go to WritingandPublishingRadio.com

How-To Find Blog Book Reviewers

Begin by searching for blog reviewers in your book genre. For example, you can search for:

"Historical Fiction Blog Book Reviewers"
"Christian Blog Book Reviewers"
"Mystery Blog Book Reviewers" etc.

Once you find the bloggers, look at their websites and read their blogs. Contact them to see if there is an interest in obtaining a free book for a review. Your blog blitz can be a one day, one week or one month tour. I had 100+ bloggers blog a review for the book, I co-authored with my daughter when she was a teen, Truth Seekers Mystery Series, "The Missing Link: Found." Some of those reviewers went to Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, etc., to post their reviews.

Ask the reviewers to contact you when the review posts. This is important for several reasons. Cara shared that when the blog is posted you should visit the blog and interact with those who post a comment. In fact letting the blog host know you will stop by to interact, is a good idea. More people may post a comment if they realize the author is coming to pay a visit. This makes sense, especially in regard to the idea of a "Blog Book Tour." In fact, not only will you be able to answer questions, comment on a post and direct them to your personal blog, you may sell some books.

Type of Review
The type of blog review can vary. It can be an interview, a guest blog post by the author or the typical, "this is what I think about the book" type of review. You may want to suggest your preference to the book reviewer, but use whatever method works best for you. Make their job as easy as possible by including as much information as you can, and if you have one include a press-release.

In fact, when I ask my radio show guests for a blog post the week the show airs I am sometimes surprised. Some guests send their posts in Notepad to remove all the "junk" associated with word files on most computers. All I need to do is copy, paste into my blog, and include a picture if they send one. Cara further surprised me by including all of the information in the body of the email including a link to her picture using HTML code. When I pasted the information into the blog post window and hit preview I was edified to see the finished product was perfect. The word "expert" comes to mind!



Follow-Up Via Email

Cara mentioned it is a good idea to follow up via email to make sure the blogger knows when the book releases, and hopefully with enough notice the Blog Book Reviewer will coincide the post within a few days of the release. This will create more "buzz" for your book. A follow up email is also a good reminder to post a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or CBD, or one of the other websites where you book may be for sale. Giving the blogger the list with a link of where your book resides on this website will save them time in having to search for your book, especially if you have many titles.

Will Sales Soar?
The jury is still out on whether or not you will see a major spike in sales by the Blog Review Book Tour. As authors what is important is publicity. Having name or brand recognition is the major topic of many author and publisher forums. How to become a household name is important in this industry. If you obtain this type of publicity and someone sees your book they may buy it based upon name recognition.


Either way, money can't buy positive publicity, and a Blog Book tour is one way to obtain this in a relatively inexpensive manner. Plan ahead of time, plan well and most of all be ready to send your thank-yous when the tour is over. If you keep track of those who were prompt with their posts you will have a basis for further tours in the future, with your next book!

Writing a book? It is time to get your book off the computer and into the hands of an eager reader! Felice can help you! She is the author of  many books and the creator of a new series of non-fiction how-to the: Information in a Nutshell Series, "Writing and Publishing." See what author Dan Poynter says about her book here!   Isn't it time you get a copy?