Why “Building a Following” on Blogs, Facebook & Twitter often Fails – Consider These Alternatives

This is the outline of a seminar I’m teaching this weekend at Socon 12 at Kennesaw State University. If you find this helpful and want my e-book on the  subject, you can find it on Amazon.

Social Media Frenzy
Why Time Consuming Facebook, Twitter & Blogging Strategies
May NOT Work for Your Business
(Consider These Alternative Social Networking Initiatives)
J. Steve Miller

Introductory Exercise: Help this Blogger – http://dannykofke.blogspot.com

How can he be more successful?

When “Building a Following” Probably Won’t Work

Yes/No 1. Are you selling high profit products, or products that people buy repeatedly? ( Whole Foods )

Yes/No 2. Does someone (or a team) in your business have all three of these characteristics: the necessary knowledge (a legitimate authority in your field) and skills (in social media and writing) and enjoys social networking?

Yes/No 3. Are you already a recognized authority? ( Michael Hyatt )

Yes/No 4. Are you willing and able to become a legitimate thought leader/expert on your subject?

Yes/No 5. Do you have the time necessary to research, write posts, study blogging, and market your blog?  (Or, do you have the money to pay a competent person to do these tasks?) ( CreateSpace , Lightning Source, www.character-education.info )

Yes/No 6. Does your industry lend itself to building a social media following?

a. Does your industry have few raving fans and many discontents? ( www.facebook.com – Search “Wachovia Sucks” vs.  Pepsi’s Facebook page )

b. Do people in your target group want regular news and wisdom on your topic? ( Rubbermaid blog posts )

c. Does your industry lend itself to repeat customers?

d. Is your target group too busy to follow you?

e. Does your target audience tend to follow blogs?

Yes/No 7. Do your products exhibit continuity? ( www.wisdomcreekpress.com )

Yes/No 8. Will most of your followers likely be your target group for sales/services?

Yes/No 9. Does your industry need to connect with the public?

Yes/No 10. Have you found a unique niche within your industry?

Yes/No 11. Is there enough relevant, interesting, practical information to write on your topic for years on end?

Yes/No 12. If time is limited, is blogging/tweeting likely to be more effective at selling your products/services than other marketing initiatives?

Relevant Research to Guide Our Social Media Marketing

1. Gallup found very few people responding positively to companies trying to sell their own products directly via social media. (http://gmj.gallup.com/content/148694/social-media-three-big-myths.aspx

2. The same study found people buying products based upon recommendations of people they either have a close relationship with or trust, like family, friends (real friends as opposed to Facebook “friends”), and experts.

3. The study further suggests that the most effective use of social media is to allow fans of our products to spread the word on their networks.

4. Malcomb Gladwell accumulated studies showing that harnessing the power of influencers such as connectors and mavens and salesmen is key to successful marketing. http://gmj.gallup.com/content/26770/Power-Social-Networks.aspx#2.)

5. Harnessing the power of influencers requires first locating these influencers. (Social Media Marketing for Dummies, p. 160)

6. Research by Razorfish found 61 percent of responders relying on user reviews, compared with 15.41 percent relying on editorial reviews.

7. A Nielson Online study found 81 percent of online shoppers reading online customer reviews.

8. According to the (above) Gallup survey, “Your best bet to acquire new customers is to engage your existing customers, then align your strategy with the wants and needs that encourage them to engage their social networks on your behalf.”

9. People should seek out marketing methods that maximize their unique strengths and interests. (See Marcus Buckingham in First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths.)

10. 39% of people surveyed unfriend people on Facebook who try to sell them something. http://www.nmincite.com/?p=6051

Social Media Principles, Tips and Tricks beyond “Building a Following”

Social Media Principle #1: The Optimal Recommender Principle
“Let others praise you, rather than praise yourself.”

1. Use existing forums and listservs to get early input and to jumpstart product reviews.

2. Continue to seek reviews after your product launch. ( Amazon page for Sell More Books )

3. Create an online press page to collect your reviews, interviews, etc. ( press page for Enjoy Your Money )

4. Keep finding reviewers on forums, listserves, and wherever your niche gathers.

5. Monitor your Amazon pages and other places people buy. ( conversing with reviewers )

Social Media Principle #2: The Optimal Setting Principle
“Go where people already gather, rather than gather a crowd around yourself.”

1. Get reviews on top blogs. ( See list of reviews on bottom of press page. ) (On finding blogs)

2. Hang out at popular forums, rather than starting your own forum.

3. Help Journalists with HARO.

Social Media Principle #3: The Optimal Recipients Principle
“Address the interested, rather than interrupt the disinterested.”

1. “Listen in on” conversations and news with Google Alerts.

2. There are ways to use Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., in legitimate ways. (Karen O’Tool’s Facebook Page)

3. Provide great content and optimize your landing pages with Search Engine Optimization. ( www.character-education.info )

4. Related to #3, on your blog, strive for occasional, quality “anchor posts” that people continue to comment on and find over time.

Social Media Principle #4: The Optimal Marketer Principle
“Consider your strengths and passions,
rather than assuming you can replicate any marketing scheme.”

Marguerita McManus’ YouTube videos on quilting.

Connect with Us!

J. Steve Miller is president of Legacy Educational Resources ( www.character-education.info ) providing web based resources for those teaching character and life skills in public schools and through service agencies. He and his wife Cherie also write and market their books on various subjects, including their award-winning Sell More Books! Book Marketing and Publishing for Low Profile and Debut Authors, Rethinking Book Publicity after the Digital Revolutions , and their personal finance book, Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It.

Connect with Steve by interacting over Amazon reviews of Social Media Frenzy (I can comment on Amazon beneath your reviews), or at www.enjoyyourwriting.com (leave a comment or question, even if it has nothing to do with the post), www.jstevemiller.com (author site), www.sellmorebooks.org , Facebook, LinkedIn, and various other blogs and sites and forums.

I’m looking for input on this important theme. I’d love to hear your comments!

Friday, February 3rd, 2012, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , , , | No Comments

Must Authors Pay Sales Tax? My $1200 Lesson

This Fall I paid over $1200 for “late” reporting of sales tax on my self-published books. Here’s how it happened, and how you can avoid it.

I currently publish my books through CreateSpace, so that when they sell on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or to bookstores through Ingram, I’m not responsible to pay sales tax. Even if my book sells through Amazon to a Georgia customer, Amazon tells me that I’m not responsible, as the author, to pay sales tax on that purchase. Here’s how Amazon put it to me in an e-mail:

When customers order copies of your book through any of our distribution outlets, including Amazon.com, they will pay the full amount of the order, including any applicable tax. It is not necessary for you to cover the cost of any aspect of order fulfillment through these sales channels and you will receive all associated royalties from these sales.Additionally, if order are placed through your CreateSpace Member Account, you will not have to pay sales tax on items shipped to Georgia. CreateSpace currently charges sales tax on applicable items shipped to South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Washington, or New York. Sales tax is not refundable for retail orders.

I also talked to someone at the Georgia Tax office, who confirmed this as their policy.

This makes sense when you consider the traditional brick and mortar book sales model. When publishers sell books to bookstores, the bookstores charge and pay sales tax on each purchase, not the publisher or author.

But let’s say you speak at a local seminar and sell your books after your talk. And what if you sell your books directly to people from your website? Whether you’re traditionally or self-published, you  must pay sales tax to both the city in which it was sold and your state.  What if you sold only two books locally, decided you hated doing seminars, and decided to  sell exclusively through your publisher or through Amazon. You still owe taxes on those two books, and if you wait a year or two to pay, you could owe a lot of money.  Here’s why.

Paying for Late Reporting

Until last summer, I didn’t push local sales. For two years prior, I  just sold through Amazon, so I figured I didn’t see the need to sign up with Georgia sales tax. Why report to them each month that I had no sales and owed them no tax?

Last summer I self-published Sell More Books, which lent itself to selling after seminars. I dutifully signed up to pay Georgia state tax and they set me up online to report each month what I’d sold. They asked how long we’d been in business and I reported that we’d started Wisdom Creek Press two years prior. So on their web-based reporting form, they asked me to report monthly sales for the past two years. I filled out each form and reported no sales for 24 months. The next month I began to receive bills in the mail from Georgia sales tax. They claimed that I owed them $50 in late fees for each month that I had not formerly reported my lack of sales. Bottom line: I owed them $1200 for reporting late that I’d sold no books in Georgia.

I tried to clarify over and over – by e-mail, by phone, by certified mail – arguing that I didn’t have anything to report until I started actually selling locally. They kept replying that I was late in reporting, and that even though I had no sales to report, I owed them for not reporting my lack of sales. They said that since I was a business located in Georgia, I should have applied for a “Sales and Use Tax Number” (see below) and began reporting no sales each month.

I’ve searched the web and have yet to see a law stating that if I start a business in Georgia with no intent to sell directly in state that I must sign up with Georgia state tax to report my no sales every month. Yet, I don’t want to start the time consuming and potentially expensive process of hiring a lawyer to argue my case.

The Takeaways

  • If you’re selling any books locally, you owe sales tax on those sales. Set up your account by submitting the appropriate forms (see below concerning Georgia) and begin to report regularly online (pretty easy in Georgia, once you’re set up) .
  • Even if you’re not selling books locally, check with your state tax folks to see if you should sign up with them. In my case, since I’m selling so little locally, after a few months of reporting sales, they told me I could just report annually. Again, it’s not that time consuming to report online once it’s set up.

How Georgia Authors Can Register for Sales Tax

1. The first step is to apply for a “Sales and Use Tax Number” (STN) by filling out and sending in the Sales Tax Registration Application, Form CRF-002. (In Section 1, check “New Registration” and “Sales and Use”.) Within several weeks, you should receive a “Certificate of Registration” with your official STN.

2. Start reporting your sales (or lack of sales) using form ST-3:

https://etax.dor.ga.gov/salestax/st3forms/st3_indx.aspx

3. After turning it in, they should set up to report online.

My Apologies

And you thought that writing was this solitary creative work that had nothing to do with yucky business stuff. Well, I suppose that’s true of writing, as long as you never publish your writing.  If you want to keep publishing, welcome to the business side of writing.

Do you have any helpful experiences or questions concerning publishing and taxes? Feel free to post a reply and help us to learn more!

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , , | No Comments

Successful Book Marketing: Cut to the Chase!

Someone asked me to “cut to the chase” and tell them how to double their book sales. My first thought was that authors need to know a lot of things. They need to study book marketing. If I could have “cut to the chase” in a very specific sense, I wouldn’t have written a 300+ page book on the subject (Sell More Books! Book Marketing and Publishing for Low Profile and Debut Authors).

Yet, sometimes it’s helpful to try to consolidate “the main things” by identifying several key principles that people should apply in marketing their books. So here you go:

1 – Write a Marketable Book. It’s hard to sell a book that’s not well-written. Fiction should be riviting. Nonfiction should provide useful information that can’t be found elsewhere. Discover if it’s marketable before you publish it by getting it out many friends and people in your niche audience, asking them for candid, ruthless input. If enough early readers rave about it, you know before publication that you’ve got a market for the book.

2 – Publish in a Way that Allows for Maximum Marketing. Example: Whether you self publish or traditionally publish, make sure you can get cheap author copies and sell it at attractive prices. Many authors shoot themselves in the foot by choosing the wrong publisher.

3 – Build Strong Platforms. Get lots of early reviews and put them on your online press page. This web page or blog or Facebook page should have everything that popular bloggers or columnists need to see to convince them that your book is great. If you want people to book you to speak or to be a radio guest, list each time you speak or get on radio, linking them to audio and video clips to assure them you can perform. In other words, continually build a strong online platform targeting any type of publicity you want to pursue.

Also concerning platforms, make sure that your Amazon and other online bookstore pages have great descriptions and reviews.

4 – Find the People Respected/Followed by Your Niche Audience and Get Them Talking about Your Book. When we talk about our own books, we’re typically considered suspect and annoying. But if the top bloggers and influencers in your field talk about you, people listen and take their advice. Get influencers talking by offering them free copies for review (digital or print).

5 – Dedicate Yourself to Studying Book Marketing. There are hundreds of ways to market books. What works marvelously for one author or book may fail totally for another. By reading the best book marketing books and blogs and networks, you’ll discover the specifics that may work best for your book.

Does this help? What would you add from your experience?

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , , , | No Comments

Gallup Report: What Works in Selling with Social Media?

While many of today’s marketers tell us to sell books by blogging several times a week and tweeting several times a day, I’ve maintained that if you’re blogging and tweeting solely to sell books, you’re probably wasting your time.

If you love this type of social networking and have the time for it, fine. And a small percentage of authors with well-defined niches will gain significant followings.

But I’m more concerned with concentrating on what has the best potential for maximizing my time for selling more books. In chapter 16 of Sell More Books, I recommend finding the thought leaders for your genre/topic and trying to get them talking about your book. In other words, go where people already gather rather than trying to gather a crowd around yourself.

A recent Gallup report seems to reinforce this approach. I’d like to see more on the survey and the information they gathered, but this article reported that Gallup surveyed (completed in October 2010) “17,000 social media users.”

“According to the survey, branded social media initiatives don’t drive prospective customers to consider trying a brand or recommending a brand to others in their social network. But prospects are likely to try a product or service if they hear good things about the brand from an engaged existing customer in their social network.”

If this study is on target, then trying to directly attract buyers through Twitter, Facebook and blogging is probably a bad idea. However, an effective use of social media might be to communicate regularly with those who are already your fans and like to listen to what you have to say. Indirectly, those fans could spread the word on their social networks that already trust them. Fans influence their friends. They call it “the amplification impact of a trusted communication.”

So it would seem that the most effective use of social media is to allow fans of our books to spread the word on their network, rather than constantly trying to gather new followers and trying to sell them our books directly.

Thursday, September 15th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , | 2 Comments

Tip on Reviews: Check Your British Amazon Presence

If your books are available on the USA version of Amazon, they’re probably available on the British version of Amazon as well. We get a few sales there, but not many. So this morning I visited Amazon UK to check out my presence there, only to discover that none of my USA reviews appear there. Huge oversight! So everyone in England thinks my books suck!

The remedy is simple. When you give out books for review, ask reviewers to also post their review to the UK site. To post a review, they’ll need to log into the UK site with the same username and password they use for the USA Amazon site.

Here’s where to check out your books on UK Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

While you’re at it, check your reviews on Amazon Canada:

http://www.amazon.ca/

http://www.amazon.ca

I assume this is also true for UK authors who have collected reviews on Amazon UK and assumed that they were also visible on the USA site. Make sure to check out your Amazon USA presence here:

www.amazon.com

Are there any other important places to put up reviews that most authors miss? Let us know!

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , | No Comments

Publishing Options: Think Beyond the Traditional Book

My Infidelity to Traditional Books

I grew up loving books. Real books. The kind you can hold and smell and turn their pages and underline in ink and store on wooden shelves – all with no concerns about  batteries. I still love and prefer to read traditional books.

But as a publisher, it’s not all about me and how I like to read; it’s about my readers and how they like to read. So although with my personal reading I’m faithfully married to the traditional book, I confess that with my publishing, I’m sleeping around. It’s gone way beyond flirting. I’m emotionally attached to publishing e-books, selling memberships to databases of information, and beyond. In my publishing, I’ve outgrown traditional books. Now I’m married to the larger category that encompasses books: content. Here are four ways we’re thinking beyond the traditional book.

E-books

A couple of years ago, Cherie published BackWords: A Backwards Word List for Gamers. So you’re playing crossword puzzles or Scrabble and need a three-letter word that ends in Q. With Backwords, you can look it up in the Q section, where you find all the words that end in Q, listed according to word length. It was a great idea, but hardly anybody was buying it. All that changed last December when Cherie decided to publish BackWords as a Kindle. Now it’s our best-selling book. As I write, it’s ranked #2 in Kindle’s “reference” category.

Some of our books sell better in traditional paper. BackWords sells better as an e-book. You may never know how people prefer to read your book unless you offer it in various formats. And why not? If you hold the rights, you can format it for various e-platforms and publish it free of charge. Now we’re getting all our books available in three places: Amazon (Kindle) , and Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Smashwords (i-pad and other platforms). I plan to explain the process in latter posts.

Selling Collections as a Website Membership

At our character education site – www.character-education.info – we write resources for people who teach character and life skills in public schools. People pay to access the information for a year. Educators in every state and over 30 countries have used it. Since none of these resources are printed on paper, it’s very passive in nature. We don’t have to manually take orders or ship out books. When we’re on vacation, people are signing up and using the resources.

Kindle Singles

Traditionally, writers had outlets for publishing full length books and short articles, but nothing in between. Amazon is experimenting with a new breed called Kindle Singles, typically between 5,000 and 30,000 words. Amazon’s editors judge whether or not your book is worthy. If you’re accepted, you get 70% of each sale, even if you’re charging only .99 – $2.99, a price range that for a normal Kindles would net you only 35%.  Here’s their current criteria:

• Length: 5,000 to 30,000 words
• List price: $0.99 to $4.99
• Original work, not previously published in other formats or publications
• Self-contained work, not chapters excerpted from a longer work
• Not published on any public website in its entirety
• We are currently not accepting how-to manuals, public domain works, reference books, travel guides, or children’s books.

Apps

We’re additionally offering BackWords as an i-phone app (short for “application”) and an Android app, so that people can download it to their cell phones. Why not?

Conclusion

We’re not in the traditional book business. We sell content. We want to deliver our content to wherever people want to read it. If we have two chapters of a book that might sell as a stand alone, why not publish it as a separate e-book? If you’re not thinking outside paper books, you may be missing your greatest sales.

Are you finding success publishing beyond the traditional book? Tell us about it!

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Get Published,Sell Your Books| , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

New Marketing Network Targeting Christian Writers

Lorilyn Roberts, in her new $1.99 e-book,  tells her struggles to publish and market her books in the Christian market. It’s both honest and instructive on how to build and leverage relationships to get the word out. It’s called How to Launch a Christian Bestseller Book and is available in several formats through Smashwords.

Since I write and publish about book marketing (see Sell More Books! Book Marketing and Publishing for Low Profile and Debut Authors) I wanted to study her  approach. Here’s her thesis: Wouldn’t it be great if, after publishing your book, you had 150 or so people who, if they like it, would be willing to tell their networks and potentially ignite the best of all publicity – word of mouth? Such is Lorilyn Robert’s vision – authors committing themselves to help fellow authors get the word out about their books.

We know that much of successful marketing involves relationships. The challenge is how to make and leverage these relationships. I’ve heard some of these techniques talked about, but reading this book helped me to put it all together. I’d advise writing down the essential steps as you read; I jotted down 21 steps.

And don’t think that it’s just for launching a new book.  I plan to use this approach with one of my books that has been out for years, since I think the technique just might be more effective once a book already has achieved some great Amazon reviews.

Oh, and I should mention that she’s not selling a program. If you join the network, there are no fees for either joining or participating.

Friday, July 22nd, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Getting Amazon (and other) Reviews: Integrity Matters

I ran across a book that’s getting slammed on Amazon reviews. Interestingly, the bad reviews don’t indicate that the readers hated the book. Rather, they were turned off with what they perceived as a marketing ploy that manipulated the reviews. I’m not accusing the author or publisher of manipulating reviews – maybe they did and maybe they didn’t – but the perception of manipulation was enough to elicit a strong, negative reaction among reviewers. You can look at the glowing versus fire-breathing reviews here. (Note also some of the comments on some of the reviews.)

Readers perceived that the publisher probably sent free copies to some of their authors and asked for their help by #1 – reviewing the book and/or #2 – recommending the book on their e-mail lists. Now, if these reviews were done of their own free will (not contractually bound) and the fellow authors told from their hearts what they thought of the book, then I see nothing wrong with this practice (although some might see an inherent conflict of interest). Where it does become a problem is where people perceive a conflict of interest – you read my book and give a great review and I’ll read your book and give a great review.

Since we all realize the necessity of getting reviews for our books, perhaps a few suggestions are in order to keep us above board and out of trouble. If you disagree or have further suggestions, please reply below.

Tip #1 -Beware of having your immediate family review your books. Amazon officially frowns upon this and may raise a stink if they find it. Yes, your mom sincerely thinks your latest novel ranks up there with Gone with the Wind, but if people knew it was your mom reviewing, they wouldn’t trust her judgment.

Tip #2 – Beware of trading review for review. “I’ll review your book if you’ll review mine” means both parties feel obligated to give a glowing review. Again, there’s a conflict of interest. Fine to read each other’s books in your writing group and say, “If you like it and feel so compelled, please write a review,” but to enter into an agreement or to bug your group about putting up reviews leads to inflated reviews.

Tip #3 – If someone writes a review for your book that’s obviously over the top, contact them and suggest that they tone it down. This was the main concern of some reviewers over the book that provoked this post. Fellow authors were saying things akin to “best book ever on this topic.” When some bought the book because of such raving reviews, they expected revolutionary advice, only to perceive that it wasn’t saying much new over books they’d read in the field. Had early reviewers said something closer to “a good edition to the field,” they wouldn’t have felt deceived. As it was, they felt lied to and took it out on the author with their one and two star reviews.  Unfulfilled expectations breed disappointment, which can result in flaming reviews.

Tip #4 – Make sure there’s no pressure when you send a book out for review. We need to get our books into a lot of hands to get reviews, but we want to make sure that we get sincere reviews. I typically send an e-mail to ask someone if they’d like a free copy for potential review. A month or so after sending the book, I send another e-mail reminding them where to post a review if they want to. They may or may not post a review, but I don’t send additional reminders. To me, that would get into pressuring them.

Do you have other tips or experiences concerning reviews that you’d like to share?

Thursday, July 14th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Sell Your Books| , , , , , | No Comments

Learning Writing from James Herriot – All Creatures Great and Small

Steve and I love to learn from great writers.  I recently read Graham Lord’s  James Herriot:  The Life of a Country Vet, and wanted to share some of my most compelling takeaways.
1 – Persist in the midst of  discouragement.

“The truth – that he spent year after year writing and writing and trying to get it right – is much more impressive. It shows a deep determination and a strength of character lurking beneath the placid, humble, self-effacing persona he always preferred to show the world. In 1975 he said, [in an interview] ‘I bombarded the newspapers, magazines and the BBC with short stories. They were all sent back by return of post without comment. No one even said, “You show promise.” I became a connoisseur of the sick thud that a rejected manuscript makes at the doormat. My style was improving but I realized that the subjects were wrong. They were all adventure stories and not about something I knew. So I returned to the vet subjects.’”  (p. 132).
2. Learn from great writers.

“He dissected the books of writers he admired to try to see why they had been so successful – Conan Doyle, Dickens, Hemingway, Salinger, Wodehouse – and he even read several instruction books – he taught himself how to handle flashbacks by reading Budd Schulberg’s 1950 novel about Scott Fitzgerald and Hollywood, The Disenchanted.  He struggled constantly to simplify his style, to iron it out, to make it straight, direct, and unadorned.” (p. 135).
3. Never give up!
“Depressed by so many rejections, Alf [Alf Wight was Herriott’s real name] claimed that he gave up, decided he was a failure as a writer and threw the unwanted manuscript into a drawer, where it lay for eighteen months. He said that he would have forgotten all about his writing ambitions had Joan [his wife] not found the typescript and made him resurrect it and send it to the David Higham Literary Agency in London.” (p. 140)
4. Be a pleasure to work with.
McCormack, head of St. Martin’s Press – who published the book in the United States said, “Sandra and I have never enjoyed an author more than we have you. Absolutely everything we did with you was a pleasure—for us and for everyone else who met you. You are, say I, exactly the kind of man one comes into publishing for. (p. 164)
5. Consider the market for “warm” and “joyful.”
The reason these books were such a success? “They were warm and they were joyful.” (p. 164)
A reviewer said, “James Herriot provides a chuckle or a lump in your throat in every chapter.” “Full of warmth, wit, and wisdom.”
6. Perfect the art of telling a story.
“James was so skillful with such ease. Again and again he saw the right way to write a story. He saw the centre of the anecdote wonderfully.” (p. 167)
7. Don’t let success change you. Write a page every night.
“One afternoon he opened the door to find two dogs and sixteen Americans waiting. [Outside of his vet clinic.] Gingerly he backed blinking into the limelight and was sometimes appalled by his own celebrity. (p. 169).
“I’m going on exactly as before,” he told me, “And I still only write in my spare time.” He aimed to write a page every night. “At that rate, a book magically appeared about every eighteen months.” (p. 181)
8. Public speaking’s not for everybody.
[Alf, after speaking at the Booksellers Convention and getting warm accolades.] “Aye, Dick, it’s a heady brew and I’m giving it up. It’s dangerous, and it’s bad for my self-esteem. All this input from the public. He never spoke again.” He knew what he could do, but it was not what he wanted to do.
9. Get input from normal people who represent your niche.
Herriot’s agent was very impressed with the first book but couldn’t impress the publisher. “I’ll tell you what. Give it to Jennifer Katz.” She was an ex-hairdresser who was now a secretary.
“She’s never read a book,” The publisher complained.
His agent persisted, “She’s the market – if you capture her – the book will take off.”
“Very well – if you want to waste your time.” [the publisher]
They gave the book to Jennifer and said to bring it back Monday and tell us what you think about it. On Monday a.m. Jennifer said, “I laughed from beginning to end.” Publisher Anthea said, “Well, in that case, I’d better read it.” So Anthea agreed with the secretary and published the book.
“In effect, James Herriot was really discovered by an ex-hairdresser from Pinner.”

What strikes you about Harriot and his approach to writing/publishing?

From Graham Lord, James Herriot:  The Life of a Country Vet, Carroll & Graf Pub (November 1997).

Thursday, July 7th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Get Published,Writing| , , , , , , | No Comments

Book Giveaway

Fellow author Linda Weaver Clarke is hosting a giveaway on her blog that lasts until July 7.

Linda says, “In celebration of the Official Book Launch for Montezuma Intrigue, I am having a Book Give-Away lasting until July 7.”

“Win a mystery/adventure novel with a touch of romance at http://lindaweaverclarke.blogspot.com. But that’s not all! There will be more gifts for you! You may also be eligible to receive several free books as part of this contest: 2 children’s books by Sherrill S. Cannon and Lorilyn Roberts, a fantasy by Serena Clarke and much more.”

Help Linda celebrate, get some free gifts, and put your name in for the giveaway!

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011, by J. Steve Miller, Filed under: Uncategorized| | No Comments

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