http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog from Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:10:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I met an author recently who expressed a problem some of you might have. She said that she knows marketing. She understands how to promote a book or anything else. But she can’t bring herself to talk up her own book. Does this describe you? Are you hesitant to toot ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=929 What’s harder than producing an article or book by yourself? Writing it to someone else’s specifications and standards. I often get questions about the content and length of books and articles: “Should I include expert comments in my book? A bibliography? An Index? A glossary? An Introduction? Etc?” “What length ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=928 Do you sometimes need experts for your articles, blogs or book projects? Where do you find them? How do you locate them? I have been deeply involved in locating authors to interview for my upcoming book on book promotion (Allworth Press). In fact, if there are any authors out there ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=927 I talk a lot about the importance of getting book reviews. Yet, this seems to be an area of book promotion that is sorely neglected by authors. Perhaps it is because they don’t understand what I mean by book reviews. Another very real possibility is that they can’t afford to ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=926 People are still amazed that I post to my blog every single day. But it isn’t very different from those people who post to Facebook and Twitter every day, is it? In fact, some consider a blog an aspect of social media. Few of the authors I meet online or ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=925 I spoke to a group of serious writers yesterday in Woodland Hills at the Motion Picture and Television Fund Complex. The writers group is the California Writers Club/West Valley. It was a good group. And among them were a few writers I knew a dozen or so years ago. Fun ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=924 I talked to a writer yesterday who is stuck. She has been stuck for years—having never put more than a few hundred words down on paper during that time. Yet, she studies, she plans and she dreams of one day seeing her story in book form. But she doesn’t write. ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=923 Everyone is talking about “branding” these days. You must brand yourself or your company—create a brand. What is a brand? Some consider it an image. It’s what makes you or your company stand apart from your competitors. It’s your reputation. It’s how people measure you against others. While we typically think ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=922 "Are you still writing?" "What are you working on?" These are two questions I invariably get from people I haven’t seen in a while. My response to the first question typically generates a polite smile. When I answer the second one, the weak smile turns into a blank stare. It seems ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=921 Do you have a way for people to sign up at your website? If you are promoting a book, you really should. This is a good way to meet members of your audience—your readers. You can engage in dialog with them and, perhaps, prompt them to purchase your book. You ... http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=920