Digital Business Strategies for Indie Authors & Publishers

Workshop Announcement: Platform Building Tools and Techniques for Authors in a Digital World

July 25, 2011

Tomorrow, I’m teaching another workshop about digital publishing. Specifically, I’ll be guiding a small class through a sort of aptitude test, helping them find their strengths and showing them how they line up with various promotional efforts. Yes, that sounds very amorphous, but it’s based on solid business acumen I learned from Barbara Weaver Smith. [...]

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Being an indie author means more than just writing

July 8, 2011

I know things have been rather quiet over here. That’s largely been the aftermath of launching a new venture in digital publishing with Jeff Moriarty called ePublish Unum. It combines our knack for training, education & presenting with our fascination of the changes in digital publishing. No, we won’t edit your soon-to-be-penned blockbuster, but we [...]

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Soon ebook pricing will cease to be relevant

April 18, 2011

There has been more than a little freaking out buzz regarding ebook pricing. Specifically, this freaking out buzz is bi-directional. One side features authors and/or publishers pissed at morons who have lowered the value of ebooks by pricing them as low as $.99. The other side features consumers pissed at moronic authors/publishers who price ebooks [...]

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Self-publishing and big-publishing work together for one author

April 1, 2011

I’m a big fan of authors who work their way around the system. Take my friend and New York Times Best Selling novelist Scott Sigler. Even though he landed a sweet 3-book deal with a major publishing house a few years back, he didn’t sit back and start smoking expensive cigars. Nor did he assume [...]

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7 tips for authors attending SXSW 2012

March 20, 2011

I recently returned from SXSW Interactive, the giant geek-fest that happens in Austin, Texas every year. For my money, it’s the place to be to see what is happening in the interactive space. And I think that many authors could benefit from attending next year.
But let’s be clear: SXSW isn’t a publishing conference. It’s not [...]

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When is your next book coming out?

March 4, 2011

The world is full of wannabe would-be authors. Encouragement is nearly everywhere, with an entire month dedicated to showing people that they can, in fact, write a book.
Big deal.
If you want to impress me, tell me about your next book. Because if your first book is your only book, your next step towards becoming a [...]

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5 Tips for Digital Authors in 2011

February 9, 2011

Lately it seems my worlds are colliding. I’ve made my living as a digital business strategist for over a decade now. And for nearly that same amount of time, I’ve been peripherally involved in the publishing world. The chocolate of one is mixing with the peanut butter of the other.
Here are five themes to help [...]

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Digital Marketing Audio – Podcasting for Authors

November 24, 2010

Last weekend, I had the honor of speaking at PodCamp AZ 2010 to a small group of authors interested in using podcasting as part of their marketing efforts. And by small I mean two-authors-and-three-interested-friends-some-of-whom-might-become-authors-some-day-but-probably-not. Not that I’m terribly surprised — PodCamp AZ probably isn’t high on the radar for local authors, and the connection between [...]

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