Be my guest: Finding and connecting with blogs, podcasts, and video channels

Many authors are challenged by the thought of “creating” an author promotional platform, wondering “How do I best communicate with my readers and therefore potential customers about my new book?” Some of the first thoughts that authors have is to contact their colleagues and friends. They may also think of using social media. But one of the best ways that I normally suggest to potential authors to promote their books is to be a guest on various channels that others have created.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: January 28, 2022

What are your writing goals? What do you hope to accomplish and how will you get there? Sylvia Plath kept hers simple when she said, “Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.”

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we see strategies for keeping up with information, facing changes to the academic publishing industry, sharing or marketing our work, and managing our inner critics.

Whatever your writing goals, work towards those that let you live, love, and say what you need to – in good sentences. Happy writing!

The nuts-and-bolts of self-publishing

Self-publishing is on many aspiring authors’ lips as they decide how to bring their work to fruition. But how do you actually self-publish? What is involved with it and what are the steps? My last two posts have discussed the rise of self-publishing and considering whether it is right for you. Now let’s dive into the nuts-and-bolts.

Some brave souls or DIY type people might truly self-publish: that is create a publishing company, find an editor, find a typesetter, find a printer, contact Amazon, etc. This is all possible, but most people use a self-publishing partner like Kindle Direct,  IngramSparkSmashwords, or many others. For this post, let’s assume you want to use a self-publishing partner so as not to reinvent the wheel.

Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 26, 2020

Just “shut up and write”. Right? It seems simple to be a writer, until you realize that it’s not. Writer’s block, editing, reviews and criticism, etc. place barriers in a process that on the surface is quite simple. However, when we stop writing, when we stop moving forward. When we blame the culture, environment, timing, or circumstances around us we avoid failure. But, we also avoid progress.

In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we see a lot of opportunities to avoid progress as well as ways to embrace change and opportunity. How you perceive the content in this collection will determine your continued success as an author. Whether facing changes and challenges related to COVID-19, equity, open access, and accessibility issues or embracing opportunities for marketing, managing your time, grant seeking, and overall success, this collection has something to learn.

Someone once said, “Avoiding failure is to avoid progress.” This week, let’s focus on failing forward together. Happy writing!

13 ways to promote and market your book on a budget

In today’s publishing environment, author involvement in the promotion and marketing of a book is critical to the success of a title. John Bond, Riverwinds Consulting; Kathleen Reid, VP and Commerical Lender for Medical Learning, Elsevier; and Diane Harnish, Head of Primal Pictures, Global Director of Academic and Government Markets, Informa Group, shared their combined marketing experience with authors who are both budget-conscious and market-minded.  

These experienced marketing professionals from academic publishers focused on low to no cost ideas for how authors can become a partner in the marketing efforts of the publisher. After all, who knows the book better than the author? Below are some highlights from their 2019 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference session, “Promoting and Marketing Your Book on a Budget”.

Success, secrets, and finding our way! The inside story of TAA authors’ development

How do TAA authors find their way through a complex and ever-changing maze of writing and publishing? In April 2018, we asked TAA authors, via an online survey and follow-up interviews, to share their experiences in writing and publishing. From 139 survey responses and 12 interviews, we gained rich and insightful descriptions of TAA authors’ writing and publishing journey. We learned about: pitfalls and challenges that can be avoided as authors write and publish books, what authors wish they had known before beginning the book-writing process, and the top three strategies TAA authors leveraged to improve their skills.

To share TAA authors’ experiences and wisdom with you, this blog post reveals some of their pitfalls, lessons, and strategies for writing and publishing textbooks and academic books.