Irene Watson – Target Marketing for Fiction Writers: Why Some People Won’t Read Your Book

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On August 20th, 2009, Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book marketing guru Irene Watson on the importance of considering target reader personas in the book writing process. Irene is the owner of Reader Views, a full-service book reviewing and marketing agency in Austin, TX. Irene’s  psychology background and constant study gives her the ability to understand people and how they think, live, and for today’s interview, how they read.  Some of the things we considered:

  • Importance of knowing your target market before writing your book
  • Understanding reading preferences, temperments and personalities of potential readers
  • Creating a profile of the potential readers/target market
  • Fully understanding why some readers like your book and others don’t.
Irene’s career took her from career counseling, to business ownership, to working for a police force, to psychosynthesis counseling, to teaching at a college, to retreat/seminar/workshop design and facilitation to her most recent – owning/managing Reader Views and its branches. She obtained her B.S. in psychology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and her M. A. in psychology from Regis University in Denver, CO.After retiring in 2003 Irene authored an award winning memoir, The Sitting Swing, which was originally published in 2005. Having a hard time getting reviews for her book, she started Reader Views on a whim. Within a month it exploded to a full time business. So much for retirement! Since then she has pioneered many other innovative marketing sites including Inside Scoop Live, ReviewThe Book, BloggingAuthors, and many other services from press release writing to book videos to an international award contest now entering its 4th year.  
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Posted in Book Development, Fiction, Guests, Historical Books, Irene Watson, Personas, Tyler Tichelaar | Leave a comment

Patricka Vaughn – How to Write Your Own Story

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On August 6th, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with writing and publishing guru Patricka Vaughn about how to get started in your memoir/autobiography or biography of a loved one. Patrika Vaughn, world’s leading Author’s Advocate, is the CEO of A Cappela Publishing. She has taught memoir writing from Florida to Finland and is here to tell you how to do it. She addressed many key issues including

  • Why should you write your life story?
  • What do you need before you begin?
  • What are the forms a life story can take?
  • How do you get started?
  • How do you make your story interesting to others?
  • How do you turn your story into a book?
 Patricka Vaughn
Spanning a 25-year career as a writer, editor, publisher, lecturer, author and literary agent, Patrika Vaughn understands the written word and how to market it. She is also armed with an arsenal of tools to propel the works of aspiring writers quickly through today’s prohibitive publishing arena and into the hands of readers. Her 25 years of experience include every aspect of the trade:

  • Professional Writer: Columnist and feature writer. Articles published in more than 100 national journals and magazines. Author of books, audio books and ebooks. (see www.acappela.com)
  • Ghostwriter: Books of both fact and fiction for industrialists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists, world travelers and international executives
  • Editor: Editor for national trade and consumer publications
  • Publisher: President of A Cappela Publishing
  • Literary Agent: Placed writers with Prentice-Hall (Simon & Schuster), McGraw Hill Publications, Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, Cahners Publications, Conover Mast Publications, Advisory Enterprises, Inc., Larkin Publications and others.
  • Public Relations & Marketing Consultant: To business, industry and non-profit corporations; former media coordinator for Habitat for Humanity in San Diego / Tijuana
  • Lecturer, Seminar leader, On-line instructor: Adult education plus university and community college level presentations.
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Posted in Book Development, Historical Books, Memoir | Leave a comment

Fall 2009 Podcast Lineup Announced

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Victor Volkman

We are pleased to announce the Fall 2009 Podcast Lineup with an assortment of industry publishing and marketing experts for your delectation! Be sure to subscribe with the iTunes or PODCAST links at the bottom of this post.

03-Sep-09 Deborah Reynolds Creating First Impressions TBA
17-Sep-09 Maria Allan Writing For & Reaching the International Market TBA
01-Oct-09 Paul Muckley Writing and Publishing Christian Based Books TBA
15-Oct-09 Kate Harper Getting Into the Greeting Card Market TBA
05-Nov-09 Janet Riehl DIY Audio Books TBA
19-Nov-09 Paul Krupin Are Press Releases an Effective Way to Market? TBA
03-Dec-09 Deborah Heard Writing & Publishing Erotic Romance Novels TBA
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Cheryl Pickett – Unlimited Publishing Possibilities

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On July 23rd, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book coach, professional freelancer, and author Cheryl Pickett. Her first book Publishing Possibilities: 8 Steps to Understanding Your Options & Choosing the Best Path for Your Book (2009) is specifically designed to help other writers navigate the publishing industry. She educated us about the three major models in her system: traditional, independent, and fee-based/POD/pay to publish. Her approach is goal-directed in narrowing the possibilities to the solution that best fits your publishing needs. We also covered how and when to use an Agent, the importance of establishing a platform, and how your personal style is reflected in which route to publish. Cheryl Pickett
Cheryl Pickett has been writing professionally for almost a decade. She got her start as a freelance writer in 1999 just before the turn of the new millennium. She has well over 120 articles to her credit which have appeared both on and offline in newspapers, ezines a trade magazine and more.A few years ago, she decided she wanted to take her writing in other directions and ultimately combined her life-long love of books with her research and reporting skills. Her personalized, step-by-step approach is unique and empowers new and would-be authors to make solid decisions throughout their publishing journey. You can find out more about Cheryl and Publishing Possibilities by visiting her site PublishingAnswers.com. or her blog publishinganswers.blogspot.com
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Posted in Book Development, Self-Publishing, Subsidy Publishing | Leave a comment

Dan Oja: Digital Publishing / Beyond the Printed Page

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On July 9th, 2009 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with digital book guru Dan Oja on how digital and print media are converging. Dan is owner of Media Technics Corporation and has produced more than 200 college computer textbooks and is the author of a non-fiction World War II book titled Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window.  He has developed a multimedia book authoring system called BookOn which augments PDF documents with video and other interactive hooks.  Dan spoke with us about how he developed his proprietary system and what he sees for the future of digital publishing beyond the current PDF and Kindle paradigms.
Dan Oja was born in Ishpeming, Michigan and attended Ishpeming High School and Northern Michigan University. He has been working with computers since the early days of personal computers, back to the days of CP/M and the Apple II. Dan has written numerous computer programs including the BookOn digital publishing system. Dan currently lives in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands with his wife and co-author, June Parsons.

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Posted in eBooks, Tyler Tichelaar | Leave a comment