April 24, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, April 17th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Toby Heidel, futurist with Red Planet Audiobooks in Austin, TX. Toby shared with us the changing nature of the audiobook industry and how small publishers and self-published authors can take advantage of this burgeoning new market without spending a fortune. Trends such as online delivery and market fragmentation can actually work in your favor by creating a level playing field. Red Planet produces and distributes audiobooks for independent authors and small publishers.

Toby is in charge of long range planning for the company, implementing new technologies and responding to developing trends in the audiobook industry. In addition to his work with Red Planet, Toby has a solid background in spoken word entertainment as the long-time Executive Director for the Violet Crown Radio Players, a radio drama re-creation troupe based in Austin, Texas.

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Posted in audiobooks, Book Development, Authors Resources | Print | No Comments »

April 11, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On April 3rd, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, publicity guru, and connection maker Gini Scott Graham of Making Connections, Gini spoke with us on the all-important subject of doing queries for the purposes of syndication, getting an agent, selling media rights, and finding a publisher. She has published over 50 books herself and has an extensive background in personal and professional development, problem solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, and interpersonal relationship techniques for over 25 years. She has gained extensive media interest for previous books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, Montel Williams, CNN, and hundreds of radio interviews. She has been frequently quoted by the media, such as a recent short piece in Cosmopolitan seeking advice on a workplace conflict.

Dr. Gini Graham Scott, is the Founder and Creative Director for Making Connections, a Web-based Internet service that connects clients by – email with publishers, agents, the film industry, the media, the game and toy industry, the music industry and others. The company helps clients write an effective query letter that will be received and read and sends out personalized queries to hard to reach contacts in these fields. The company has had over 1000 clients in the 5 years since it was founded, has been written up in the Wall Street Journal and other publications, and has success stories and kudos from over 250 clients – some who have gotten six figure deals through using the service.

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Posted in Agents, Self-Publishing, Marketing, Getting Published | Print | No Comments »

March 21, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On March 20th, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Dave Kuzminski, creator and manager of Predators and Editors, the infamous website where scammers and companies with a record of complaints are recorded. Dave helped us distinguish the dark side of book promotion, agents, and publishing by covering such thorny topics as: the difference between a bad business deal and a scam, the evolution of a scam and what types of people are running them, how to avoid a scam, and what to do if you think you’ve been had.

Dave Kuzminski is both a writer and the owner and editor of Preditors & Editors. As a writer, he manages to inflict words upon readers in order to entertain them. He’s been writing for several decades. As an editor, he manages to inflict recommendations upon publishing businesses who sometimes aren’t entertained. He’s done that for eleven years though it probably feels like several decades to some of those businesses that are recommended against. One of his favorite titles is Knight Spirits and its available from Double Dragon Publishing.

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March 10, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, March 6th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with pioneering gay author Victor J. Banis. In his 40+ year writing career, he has learned a lot and shared with us writing techniques for audiences and how they differ between gay and straight fiction, how the writing market has changed in the past decades, advice for new writers, and amazing stories from a life in print in every genre imaginable.

Victor J. Banis is the critically acclaimed author of more than 150 published books and numerous shorter pieces, both gay and straight oriented, in almost every genre - fiction and non fiction, humor, mystery, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and even, recently, a cookbook.

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Posted in Romance, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

February 22, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, Feb. 21st, 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Deborah Herald, the 31-year-old managing editor of Amira Press. She is a published author and enjoys both the process of writing and editing. Debbie shared with us the secrets of writing erotica, the huge demand and advantage of selling erotica in the e-publishing marketplace, the shades of explictness from “spicy” to “sweet” (romance), lucrative sub-genres of erotica, and how the publishing and delivery mechanism works

Although Debbie is relatively new to the writing scene, having spent most of her life working with the dually diagnosed adult and juvenile population, it is her hope that she will continue to work in the world of writing for many years to come. Debbie has been with Amira Press for a little under a year, and is thrilled to work with such a wonderful company! She also uses the pseudonymn Jordana Ryan.

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Posted in eBooks, Romance, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

February 8, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Feb. 7th, 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Irene Watson spoke with Brad Grochowski of AuthorsBookshop about what it takes to sell books online. Brad has been running his own online bookstore for several years and it provides many of the same features that Amazon does: blogs, reviews, forums, PDF previews, and complete control of the product detail pages.  We talked about marketing strategies and tactics, how to use your time online effectively, quality and the market perception of independently published books, how we can emulate the success of indie music and films, and why you would choose to self-publish or work with a small press.

Brad Grochowski is a web entrepreneur and programmer, author and actor.  He is the founder of AuthorsBookshop.com, an online bookstore that specializes in selling independently published books, as well as the website RandomBookMachine.com and the soon to be launched OurLittleBaltimore.com.  His is also the author of the book The Secret Weakness of Dragons and Other Tales a Fairy Whispered In My Ear

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Posted in Self-Publishing, Childrens Books, Marketing | Print | No Comments »

January 18, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, January 17th, 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Irene Watson spoke with astrologer and teacher Laura Waldman.  Laura educated us on the impacts that your astrological sign has on what you should write, when you should write, and whom you can succesfully collaborate with. An Astrological birthchart is a complex and highly individualized method of personality typing. Predictive astrology can help you with timing your marketing moves. Relationship astrology can help you choose compatible editors and publicists. Astrology can predict general social and cultural trends that help you research the saleability of a book.

Laura Waldman has had a private practice as a Consulting Astrologer since 1984. She lives in Austin Texas and has clients all over the world. She is the Vice-President of the Astrological Society of Austin. Laura is the staff astrologer for The Crossings Austin, an affiliate of the Omega Institute. Laura has taught astrology classes, presented workshops, and given astrology lectures in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Laura also leads Women’s Dream Circles. She specializes in making astrology accessible and useful and enjoyable for everyone. She writes a monthly Astrology Newsletter.

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Posted in Marketing, Guests | Print | No Comments »

January 4, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

Hello and welcome to a special edition of Authors Access where Authors get published and published authors get successful. I’m your host Victor Volkman, from Loving Healing Press in Ann Arbor Michigan.  Tonight we will be listening to my lecture “Amazon Adventures” delivered live at the Motown Writers Conference on November 9th, 2007. In this lecture, I’ll be covering a variety of Amazon programs and strategies including: Amazon Advantage, Amazon Associates, Amazon Connect, Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Mechanical Turk.  I’ll also highlight how to make Advanced Tactics work for you such as Listmania!, Search-inside-the-book, social networking, video reviews, and much more.

Be sure to download the accompanying PowerPoint presentation that goes with this lecture  so you can read along as we cover the material (PDF version).  This lecture was recorded about two weeks before the release of the Amazon Kindle eBook reader so we won’t be mentioning it.  However, we hope to have a show in early 2008 that highlights the strengths of this platform and how to parlay your Amazon experience with the Kindle reader.  Now sit back and listen to Amazon Adventures recorded in the Southern Fires restaraunt in Detroit Michigan.

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December 29, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

Victor R. Volkman presents a special edition of Authors Access recorded live at the Motown Writers Conference on November 9th, 2007 at the Southern Fires restaraunt in Detroit, Michigan.  Our guest is author and publisher Linda Daly, who is also the owner of Light Sword Publishing.  Linda brings her hard-won knowledge of book marketing to the table including: developing a visual image, creating flash movies, focusing on your message, and developing concise marketing materials.
Light Sword, is a full-service, time-honored, conventional publishing company, dedicated to providing the reader with both fiction and non fiction books from established authors, as well as talented newcomers. The range of genres that we offer, include, but are not limited to: Suspense Romance Fantasy Self-Help Paranormal Historical Romance Mystery Sci-Fi Thriller

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December 14, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, December 13th, 2007 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author and publishing veteran Robert D. Reed about how to be successful in writing and publishing non-fiction works. Bob is the publisher of nearly 1,800 books and co-author of more than 50 books and resource guides on a wide range of subjects, including: environmental issues, current affairs, health, business excellence, responsible leadership, education, effective parenting, psychology, ending domestic violence and child abuse, homelessness, and much more. He spoke with us about key issues of the nonfiction market including pre-publication publicity, sizing of print runs, finding distributors and wholesalers, and what an author has to do to be successful — where self-published or not.

Profits from one of his cookbooks fed millions of children worldwide through the C.A.R.E. Organization in New York City. Many of his authors have been featured on television and radio programs, and in newspaper and magazine articles throughout the world. The founder of Robert D. Reed Publishers, Bob has produced and distributed over 165 titles, including House Calls: How we can all save the world one visit at a time by Patch Adams, M.D. - the compassionate and humorous doctor portrayed by Robin Williams in Universal Picture’s hit film, “Patch Adams.”

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