June 26, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On June 21st, 2009  Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with professional speaker, humorist, and author Tweed Scott about how to profitably combine speaking and sales events. Tweed is an award winning speaker and the author of the 3-time national award-winning book, Texas In Her Own Words.  He has sold nearly 5,000 copies of his book almost exclusively by hand selling in the back of the room after one of his presentations. He’s here to share with you how he does it and how you can do it too. Tweed shared about what went into developing his marketing plan that led to the back of the room sales and a speaking career.  Key points include A system for selling in the back of the room Three ideas that will lead to moving more products in the back of the room How this approach changes your business model How to promote and grow your speaking business

Tweed Scott is the owner of Tejas Communications, a writing and public speaking company.  His book is sold at some remarkable places including the Alamo, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, both of the State capitol building gift shops, San Jacinto Monument & Battleground, the Sam Houston Statue & Park in Huntsville and even at the general store in Luckenbach.He is also the president of the board of the Writers’ League of Texas. He speaks statewide about Texas and the Texan character. Tweed loves spreading what he calls the ‘Gospel of Texas.’ He speaks nationally on Attitude, Leadership and Change.

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Posted in speaking, Regional Books, Marketing, Guests | Print | No Comments »

June 14, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On June 4th, 2009, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman interviewed book development and marketing guru Carolyn Howard-Johnson on the fine art of book proposal writing and why it matters. Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a poet, fiction writer and is author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers as well as The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book in Twenty Minutes or Less, an Amazon Short which she calls her “49 cent wonder.” We talked about the “A” to “Z” of book proposals and how to make your unique voice shine through, we also covered other aspects including: What made you write The Great First Impression Book Proposal What makes this how to on book proposals different from most–other than it’s being only 49 cents? What is the most important part of a book proposal? What about query letters? How are they similar to proposals and different? Why did you choose to use the Amazon Short format for The Great First Impression Book Proposal

Carolyn Howard-Johnson speaks on Utah’s culture, tolerance and book promotion and editing and has appeared on TV and hundreds of radio stations nationwide. She is an instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program and her how-to book, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t was named USA Book News’ “Best Professional Book 2004.” and the Irwin Award. Her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success also won a nod from USA Book News and won Readers’ Views Literary Award. Her marketing campaign for that book won the marketing award from New Generation Indie Book Awards.Carolyn loves to travel and has studied at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Hertzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. She admits to carrying a pen and journal with her wherever she goes. Her website is: http://www.howtodoitfrugally.comT

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Posted in Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Getting Published | Print | No Comments »

June 12, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers
Edited By: Irene Watson, Tyler R. Tichelaar, Victor R. Volkman
Publisher: Modern History Press
Publication Date: November 2008
ISBN: 978-1932690989
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: June 2009

Authors Access is an internet radio show that is broadcast live every Thursday on Internet Voices Radio. Begun in 2006, it is the brainchild of publishing entrepreneurs Irene Watson, Tyler R. Tichelaar, and Victor R. Volkman and features industry experts offering advice on all aspects of the publishing world for both first time and seasoned authors and publishers. Now, some of the best of those interviews are available in one easy to read book, Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers.

Authors Access is arranged in nine easy to read chapters, organized to follow a book’s progress from inception to publishing and marketing. Opening with a chapter on “The Craft of Writing,” the book next delves into “Genre Writing,” followed by writing “Children’s Books.” Other chapters cover editing, book design, building buzz, marketing, and using technology to sell books. In essence, Authors Access covers all the areas that need to be addressed to successfully produce and promote a book.

Within each chapter are several articles, extracted from the internet radio show, addressing that chapter’s topic. At the end of each chapter is a brief biography on the author as well as a small chart that lists the original podcast airdate, its URL, as well as the author’s website(s).

There are innumerable books on the market offering advice to authors and publishers. What makes Authors Access rise above the crowd is that instead of giving vague suggestions on what to do, the book presents specific advice and examples. In the writing sections, examples of poor sentence structure are presented, as well as suggestions to fix the problems so that those sentences grab the reader. In the editing section, the author carefully explains the editing process, what an editor will do, how a “dispassionate eye” is needed to pick up mistakes such as “the balance between action, description and dialogue; giving each character a unique voice; and using concrete, vivid, sensory language to show emotion rather than telling the reader from the outside.”

Interested in garnering more reviews for your book? There is an excellent article on “Building Buzz with Book Reviews” that discusses all aspects of the review process. Wonder why your book didn’t get any reviews? This article will tell you what might have been missing from your submission packet. It also discusses how to get a review, recognize scam reviewers, and something many authors forget – what to do after you get a review.

Perhaps one of the most interesting sections of Authors Access is the segment on marketing. With so many books being published each year, you must get your title seen and these articles will tell you how. There’s an article listing 21 mistakes to avoid when promoting your book; an in-depth discussion of selling your book online, as well as how to use social media and Web 2.0 to get your book into the hands of buyers.

Quill says: An invaluable guide to the often confusion world of publishing.

Posted in Victor Volkman | Print | No Comments »

May 29, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

World of One 3rd Annual Expo
Birch Run Expo Center
11600 N. Beyer Road
Birch Run , Michigan 48415
Frankenmuth exit

FREE LECTURES   *   FREE PARKING   * FREE DEMOS   *  KIDS 12 UNDER FREE
A love donation for the Featherlink Tea Women of Unity will be collected at the main entrance. This cause is to fight against breast cancer and to allow our Elders to teach our youth further education. Along with No More Silence against Domestic Violence- Let us all help Heal - Michigan
May we all reach for a healthier body, mind, soul together as “One”

PSYCHICS   *  BELLY DANCERS   * MUSIC   * AURA PHOTOS   * YOGA   * FENG SHUI   * ENERY WORKERS
CRAFTERS   * ARTISANS   * JEWELRY   * DREAMCATCHERS   * HERBS   * HEALTHY FOOD   * NATURAL TEAS AND COFFEE   * 50/50 RAFFLE   * DOOR PRIZES   * PAINTINGS   * INCENSE   * CRYSTALS/STONES ASTROLOGY   * HEALER   * REIKI   * MASSAGES   * MEDICAL   * HEALTH   * HOLISTIC
GREEN PEACE   * AWARNESS   * UNITY   * INTUITIVE   * MEDITATION ROOM…  * FUN AND
OVER 100 VENDORS AND MUCH …MUCH …MORE

Until then, walk in peace,
Artisans/Vendors/Practitioners/Speakers
www. thebonereader.com
877-BY-MARGO (877-296-2746)
worldofoneexpo@yahoo.com

Call for information and Hotel Discounts for
Guest and Participants
Volunteers please call -248-935-8441
COUPON $1.00 OFF ADDMISSION

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May 28, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On May 21st, 2009, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman interviewed Pete Masterson, veteran book designer, publisher, and owner of Aeonix Publishing Group. We had a wide-ranging discussion of all things vanity press, subsidy publishing, co-publishing, and employing a “self-publishing” company.  Key discussion points included: The pros and cons of traditional large or medium sized commercial trade publishers. The pros (very few) and cons (many many) of subsidy publishers (or “self-publishing companies” as they’re calling themselves these days). Discuss the pros and cons of a do it yourself self-publishing process — with or without help from a book coach, packager, etc.

Pete Masterson is the author of Book Design and Production: A Guide for Authors and Publishers. He founded Aeonix Publishing Group in 1997 after having owned a print shop, managed a book oriented typesetting service doing work for large and medium sized publishers, and after managing the publications and graphic production contractor at NASA Ames Research Center.He is a publishing consultant, book designer, and cover designer — he is accepting a limited number of new clients. During his career he pioneered POD production for price list publications at Southern Pacific Railroad, and was an early participant with desk top publishing in a print shop setting. He has supervised production of more than 1000 publications. Currently, he is focusing on sales of his book and in sharing his publishing knowledge with the independent publishing community

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Posted in Subsidy Publishing, Print On Demand (POD), Publishers Resources | Print | No Comments »

May 15, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On May 14th, 2009 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Internet marketing entrepreneur Irene Watson on how to effectively engage the persona (or archetype) of the visitors to your website. She has been effective in online marketing since 2004, learning and implementing various techniques to promote her books and businesses. We talked about The importance of website presence, Making the site about your visitor (not you), Designing your site to fit a specific purpose and pattern of interaction, and Tailoring your site to improve response to specific Myers-Briggs typed personas.

Irene Watson is the managing editor of Reader Views, Reader Views Kids, and Inside Scoop Live. She also maintains BloggingAuthors.com. She is the author of The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, and co-editor of A Story That Must Be Told and Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers. During this interview, we mentioned the following essential books: Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results - Bryan Eisenberg & Jeffrey Eisenberg Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web - Jon Wuebben

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Posted in Irene Watson, Regional Books, Tyler Tichelaar, Marketing, Guests | Print | No Comments »

May 12, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On May 8, 2009 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with computer training and accounting expert Edna Washington of Washington Consultants, LLC.  We previously recorded Edna at the 2008 Motown Writer’s Conference but response was so great that we invited her on for a full 40 minutes of Q&A about business records, taxes, and structuring your company. Edna Washington is a workshop presenter and has over 15 years accounting and computer experience. We grilled her on a variety of common startup questions incuding: Do I want to be a proprietor or a corporation? How do I setup my business so it is properly recognized? How can I amortize a large book printing over several years? Do I need QuickBooks to manage by business? What are 1099s and when do I give or receive them? How can I draw money from the business? What is the “home office” expense and can I claim it? What types of deductions are commonly missed by authors?

Edna is the owner of Washington Consultants, LLC in Detroit, Michigan. She attended University of Missouri at St. Louis. Washington Consultants provides accounting and computer services to small businesses. They also offer computer skills training for youth and adults. Mrs. Washington also volunteers with youth organizations to help young people succeed in life. She believes in giving back to her community. She believes that our youth just need to be encouraged and shown that there is a world to be conquered

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Posted in Edna Washington, Business, Self-Publishing, Publishers Resources | Print | No Comments »

May 8, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On April 22nd, 2009 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with author and marketing guru Michelle Howe. A former university professor, Michelle consults with companies to assist them in effectively positioning their online marketing message to match their offline branding. Michelle clarified key points in our thinking including: How website writing is different than offline (”brochure”) writing How and why websites fail to gather leads, the importance of capture How to make an impact in the first four seconds, before people click away and go elsewhere Creating valuable content that keeps people coming back and builds rapport New technologies for managing the conversation with your customers automatically

Michelle Howe, MBA, owner of Internet Word Magic, is an expert in search engine optimized copywriting for websites and the author of the award winning book, Turn Browsers into Buyers: Secrets for Turning an Internet Profit. She consults with companies to assist them in effectively positioning their online marketing message to match their offline branding. Her E-Mail Productivity System training is a customized training program that covers the issues of business writing, e-mail etiquette, e-mail security and the liabilities of e-mail.

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Posted in Websites, Marketing, Guests | Print | No Comments »

April 18, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

On April 8th, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author and publishing expert Lissa Warren on how to get your book into the sweet spot on those tables in the front of the bookstore. Lissa Warren has worked at several Boston publishing houses including David R. Godine, Houghton Mifflin, and Perseus Publishing, and is currently Vice President, Senior Director of Publicity and Acquiring Editor at Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Specifically, we were seeking answers to the following questions: Who chooses which books go on a store’s front table? What can authors do to help get their books on the front table at a chain bookstore? What are some of the different kinds of table space available at a chain bookstore? What can authors do to help get their books on a front table at an independent bookstore? What kind of media is likely to make a bookstore sit up and take notice? Does it help if you stop by bookstores and autograph copies? What about readings in bookstores—do you get better table space if you do them

The author of The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity, she has spoken about publishing for the Virginia Festival of the Book, Lesley University , Publishers Marketing Association, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, Publishers Association of the South, BookBuilders of Boston, ForeWord magazine, Grub Street, the New Hampshire Writers’ Project, and the Adirondack Writer’s Conference, among others. Since 2003 she has been an Adjunct Professor at Emerson College —in their Writing, Literature, and Publishing program—and she also teaches in Boston University ’s publishing certificate program. She serves on the advisory board to the MFA writing program at Southern New Hampshire University.Ms. Warren holds a B.S. in English Education from Miami University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Bennington College . Her poetry has appeared in Quarterly West, Oxford Magazine, Black Warrior Review, and Verse, and she’s a poetry editor for the literary magazine Post Road .

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Posted in Bookstores, Marketing, Guests | Print | No Comments »

April 18, 2009 by Victor Volkman.

Posted in Marketing, Authors Resources | Print | No Comments »