Authors Access

On September 2, 2010 Irene Watson and Alan E. Smith spoke with author and media coverage guru Drew Gerber of PitchRate.com. L. Drew Gerber is CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc.  and creator of www.PitchRate.com, a free media tool that connects journalists, publicists, and experts. Drew informed us on critical aspects of the interface between author and media including: How to stand out from the crowd and brand whats unique about your book. How to make it easy for customers and journalists to find you and your book online. Who wants your expertise? How to position yourself as an expert. How to grab the medias attention by creating the perfect pitch. How to get to the point and use sound bites. How to maximize your publicity by leveraging the coverage youre getting to attract more traffic and leads to your website.

On September 16th, 2010 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, social worker, and busy mom Valerie Bradley-Holiday, PhD. Valeries doctorate degree is from The Union Institute and University, a distance-learning program based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her specialization is Social Psychology. She has a Master of Social Work Degree from Wayne State University. Valerie shared with us critical items to success as a writer and working mom: Time management: keeping it all together Respect for yourself and your craft as an artist Professionalism and its importance in producing quality products Dealing with frustrations and setbacks Accepting success and being prepared to act on it Self-publishing perils and benefits of using it.

Irene Watson and Alan E. Smith spoke with marketing guru Tom Wanek about the six essential ingredients (or currencies) to successful marketing Tom Wanek. His book, Currencies That Buy Credibility, teaches the foundation that every smart marketer needs to know in order to craft a believable marketing message.  Tom shares his views on marketing and advertising on his blog, MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com.  In a wide-ranging discussion, we talked about What is the books primary argument? Why is it important now? Can money categorically buy credibility like buying ad space? What was the inspiration behind Currencies That Buy Credibility? How can fiction and non-fiction authors exploit these currencies? Any surprising applications of your currencies? What are the most commonly credibility investments in business today? What are the key factors that will help marketers cut through the social media clutter and communicate with credibility

On October 20 Irene Watson and Brad Grochowski spoke with Julie Ann Stricklin about what every author must know before buying and/or commissioning artwork. Julie is an author, independent Illustrator, graphic designer, and fine artist working in the field since 1985. She constantly alternates her passion for design work, illustration and fine art. These passions have created a body of work that includes the illustration of six childrens books. We spoke with her about several key concepts of collaborating with an illustrator: What do I need to know about a potential artist? What is Work for hire? What are traditional media versus computer-generated media? What do I need to know about deadlines? How do I negotiate payment and delivery? What should I not ask the artist to do? What do I need to know about royalty free images and clip art vs. a commissioned work?

On November 4th, 2010 Alan E. Smith and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with author, blackbelt, and media access guru Jim Bouchard, about how to develop yourself into a successful personality sought by the media. Jim Bouchard has spoken to numerous companies and organizations including the CEO Club of Boston,  the University of New England, , the Association for Consulting Expertise, , and the Boy Scouts of America, to name but a few. He appears regularly on radio, TV and in person sharing his message of excellence, discipline, focus and opportunity. He spoke on a wide range of aspects including: What does it mean to Think Like a Black Belt?] What are some of the key characteristics of Black Belt Mindset? Why is Black Belt Mindset so important in todays world? How do you apply Black Belt Mindset to business or personal life? What exactly is success? Can anyone become successful? Is this just another positive thinking philosophy or secret? Whats wrong with positive thinking? Do you need to be

The following episode of Authors Access was recorded live at the 7th Motown Writers Conference in Detroit Michigan. Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke about how to be successful at getting book reviews.

On December 2nd, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Austin area librarians Kristi Floyd and Rhonda Kuiper about how librarians pick their books for the patrons at general (district) and school libraries. Kristi and Rhonda have experience in working with requirements and procurement for Young Adult and Juvenile audiences including teens and tweens. We had a wide ranging discussion including:* From what sources do librarians buy the books exactly?* What is the importance of book covers to library patrons?* How can local authors get involved in speaking at libraries and schools?* What review sources do librarians consult?* Under what circumstances do libraries accept books donated by authors?* How does patron input work into book purchasing?* How can inter-library loans trigger a book purchase?* Are bibliographies and indexes really that important to non-fiction?

Drew Gerber of PitchRate interviewed Elaine Wilkes, author of Natures Secret Miracles about how she got her book into bookstores with NO support from her publisher and NO interest from corporate buyers at Barnes & Noble and Borders.  Its a simple one-on-one technique guaranteed to get you results, all you have to do is be willing to pick up the phone with someone and have a 2 minute conversation about your book.  Theres no tricks, no smoke and mirrors, just good old fashioned saying Hi, Im an author and Id love it if your store could have a copy of my book for sale.

Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with entrepreneur, publishing, and marketing guru Dan Poynter about a wide variety of related topics. Poynters Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book has had more than 15 editions and is the most often referenced book on the subject by far. Dan has produced more than 76 books and revisions so far, of which some have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Russian, British-English and German. Heres just a few of the things we talked about: eBooks and the future of publishing Importance of a good book title Pre-pub reviews do they still matter? Marketing on a budget Self-publishing without the Vanity tax Proofing and editing Basics of good book cover design

Victor R. Volkman and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with best-selling author, award winning publisher, and entrepreneur Valerie Coleman about secrets of making a great book festival event. In 2010, Coleman joined forces with LaTonya Branham and Charlotte Brown to launch the Dayton Book Expo. The first event drew over fifty authors from across the nation and almost five hundred book lovers. We ranged over a wide variety of aspects of exhibition planning and execution including: What was the catalyst for creating the Dayton Book Expo (DBE)? Where did the authors come from What elements are essential for a successful book fair? How did you recruit the volunteers? What unique things did you do for the DBE authors? What things did you do for the DBE book lovers? how far in advance do you have to plan an expo? what should the well-prepared author bring with them How did you divvy the work load? How did you market the event? When is the next DBE? Are you doing anything differently for the 2011

Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, entrepreneur, and marketing guru Alan E. Smith on how to line up and successfully execute media interviews on AM, FM, Satellite, and BlogTalk Radio stations. Alan is the author of How To UnBreak Your Health.  Since the first edition of his book was published in late 2007 hes been interviewed on more than 70 radio programs.  Hes been on AM, FM, Internet and even satellite radio shows talking about his book about complementary and alternative medicine  Weve even had Alan Guest Host a couple of Authors Access shows and I highly highly recommend you listen to our roundtable episode called Podcasting For Authors which has all the resources you need to start your very own podcast.  Since his college education was in broadcast journalism he chose to make radio his primary marketing tool for his book, also because it was free.

Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with fantasy genre author Victoria Strauss about her research and reports on businesses that defraud writers. Victoria is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Victoria is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Writing Scams, and co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that provides information and warnings about the many scams and schemes that threaten writers. She maintains the popular Writer Beware website). She received the Service to SFWA Award in 2009 for her work with Writer Beware. Among the topics we ranged: Alerts for Writers (misinformation, urban legends, bogus rumors)# Contests and Awards# Copyright# Electronic Publishing# Independent Editors and Manuscript Assessment Services# Literary Agents# Print-on-Demand Self-Publishing Services# Small Presses# Vanity and Subsidy Publishers# Vanity Anthologies# Writers Services

Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with local historian, professional editor, and entrepreneur Tyler R. Tichelaar about the ins and outs of producing books on local history, from research to marketing and distribution. Tyler R. Tichelaar,a 7th generation Marquette resident, has written five novels with more to come, all set in Upper Michigan including The Marquette Trilogy, the award winning Narrow Lives, and the recently published history of Marquette, My Marquette: Explore the Queen City of the North, Its History, People, and Places. We covered a wide range of issues, including: What made you decide to write a local history book? What makes your book stand out from other local history books? How did you arrange the book and decide what to leave out and what to include? What was the most difficult part of the research and writing process? Beyond the writing, what other decisions had to be made, such as in acquiring photographs or the layout of the book? What have you done to market

Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with publishing expert and lawyer Stephen E. Gillen about book titles, trademarks, and your rights as an author. Steve is an attorney with 30 years of experience in publishing, media, and copyright matters. He has been in private practice for 15 years, currently as a partner with 140-year-old intellectual property boutique firm, Wood, Herron & Evans in Cincinnati. We covered a broad spectrum of rights issues including:* Is the title of your book protected by the copyrights in the book.* What does the copyright in a book cover?* Is there no protection for your book title?* How and when can a title be protected?* What are the advantages of trademark protection and registration?* Is there a downside to the intersection of trademark law and book titles ?

Brent Sampson Dispelling the Myths of Subsidy PressesIrene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Brent Sampson., president and CEO of OutskirtsPress.com, on subsidy press, vanity press, and what authors can expect from them. Brent is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist. Through Outskirts Press, Brent has helped thousands of authors successfully publish thousands of books. He speaks nationwide on the topics of writing, publishing, and marketing. You can follow Brent on his blog Our discussion ranged over a variety of topics including:* A question of semantics subsidy vs vanity* What is the difference between a subsidy press and a vanity press and a self-publishing company?* Different types of self-publishing (DIY vs full service)* Why does the stigma of self-publishing continue?

On April 21, 2011 Susan Violante and Alan E. Smith spoke with author, entrepreneur, and marketing guru Brian Jud. He is the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books and Beyond the Bookstore describing new ways to sell more books profitably to special-sales buyers. Susan Violante is an Assistant Editor at Reader Views and Alan E. Smith is host of the popular Unbreak Your Health podcast series. Our hosts and guest covered a variety of topics related to breaking out of the bookstore and employing non-traditional sales areans to tap enormous potential markets:* What is the definition of special sales?* What are examples of non-traditional sales?* What are the benefits of selling to these segments?* How big is the market for non bookstore sales?* Should publishers sell to non-bookstore markets instead of bookstores?* Can fiction be sold to non-bookstore markets, or are these only for non-fiction?

Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar spoke with e-book author and product designer Kate Harper about how to re-purpose existing articles and even blog posts as Amazon Kindle e-books. Kate is inspired by the current blending of arts with technology. A former adult education teacher, Kate Harper has a special skill of knowing how to assist the creative, non-tech person, deal with new and fast changing technologies that affect their careers, such as how to format books for e-reading devices like the Amazon Kindle. We covered a range of e-book production details including:  How e-book publishing world has changed (and how selling on Amazon is like having a free marketing department). How anyone can publish on Amazon quickly and easily (theres no excuse anymore for not finishing that book!) Why publishing articles are better than publishing books The advantages of selling an article on Amazon, rather than selling it to a magazine or newspaper. Rules of thumb for formatting and selling article

On May 19th, 2011 Susan Violante and Alan E. Smith spoke with writing coach Carolyn Scarborough on the Book Whisperer what one is and why you need one! Carolyn is a writing coach, who works with people to turn their whispering to write into a reality.  Her most recent book is Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life. She is an award-winning magazine writer, editor and newspaper columnist and has published more than 500 articles in magazines around the world.  We touched on many aspects of the writing process, including What is writers block and how can we dissolve it? How do we stay motivated to write? Why do we tend to get so sidetracked with distractions instead of writing? How do we get in touch with our writer voice. What can we do to make writing easier and more joyful?

On June 1st, 2011 Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar interviewed writer, publisher, and marketing guru Patrika Vaughn on how to choose the right mentor. Patrika Vaughn has 25 years of experience include every aspect of writing, publishing, and marketing. She is a columnist with articles published in more than 100 national journals and magazines. She spoke with us today on these key points:Know your audience and what potential mentors know about that audienceInterview them: find one who is on your wavelengthKnow what type of help you needBe able to take criticismDont choose a dictato

On June 16th, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with legendary punk rocker Bill See about publishing and marketing his own memoir. Bill See was the lead singer for critically acclaimed Los Angeles indie rock band Divine Weeks before continuing on as a solo artist.He shared his D.I.Y. know-how from his band days now to promote and market his own book and covered several topics: How the music industry was revolutionized and is still trying to adjust to the changes and speak to the theories and similarities to the literary world. The pros and cons of self publishing vs. traditional publishing. Marketing/promoting: Traditional media vs. underground, blogging and social media, etc. Pros and cons of hiring a publicist as a self published author. What is money well spent in promotion. Most important aspects of promotion before actually starting the campaign (i.e. title, keywords, metadata, keywords, social media, book trailers)