Writers in the Sky Podcast, E-zine, & Blog

Freelance Success is Defined By the Relationships You Build

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

By Nick Usborne
One of the mistakes many freelancers make when trying to market their businesses is to misunderstand the definition of a business “relationship.”

• Sending a tweet does not establish a relationship.
• Having someone Like you on Facebook does not mean you have a relationship.
• When someone leaves a comment on your blog, it doesn’t mean you have a relationship.
• Talking with a prospect on the phone does not mean you have a relationship.
• Completing that first job for a client does not mean you have a relationship.

What you have is a start, the beginnings of a relationship. Even having completed one project for a client equates only to having survived a first date.

However, the growth and success of your freelance business depends on strong relationships.

Let’s look at two imaginary freelancers.

Jack – Freelancer #1 … who doesn’t build deep relationships.

Jack is a talented copywriter and gets pretty good fees for the work he does. But he spends a lot of his time on outbound marketing, trying to get the next few jobs by jumping up in front of new prospective clients.

He’s a good salesperson, so he converts a reasonable number of the strangers he approaches for work.
But this is what he does, week by week … he does work and he looks for work.

In fact, he spends too much time on his outbound marketing. This cuts into his billable hours. He also finds it hard to raise his fees, because he has no trusted, deep relationships, and has been unable to establish any kind of authority status.

Frank – Freelancer #2 … focuses on building a few solid relationships.

Frank really likes to get to know his clients. And he really takes care of them. He sends them gift baskets at Christmas and he meets them face-to-face when he can.

He also follows up on every project, and lets his clients know he is available 24/7.

Actually, he really likes his clients, and they have become an important part of his life. These relationships mean something to him. As a result, he does his best work for them, and is perceived as being part of the team.

This means Frank doesn’t have to spend much time prospecting for clients. No cold calls. No panic promotions to fill gaps in his work schedule. His clients come back to him again and again. And his new clients are almost all referrals from the few, happy clients he works with.

His billable hours are about double what Jack manages. And his fees have gone up consistently over the years. His clients don’t object, because they see the huge value he brings to their companies.

Redefining relationships in your business.

It’s great to have your tweet retweeted by a prospective client. Don’t get me wrong. And it’s good when a prospect comments on your Facebook update or your Google+ post.

But what you have established is a tenuous, delicate connection, not a relationship. It’s just a start.

The next step is to strengthen that connection by taking your communications to the next level … by email or by phone.

By all means, create dozens of connections with prospects. But then your job is to choose the most promising of those connections and transform them, step-by-step, into real relationships.

To make a six-figure income as a freelancer, year after year, all you need is three or four strong, enduring relationships.

My own story …

Back when I was a direct-mail copywriter, in the UK and then in Canada, I never had more than three or four clients, and barely spent any time on looking for new clients. I was Frank. I was always being given more work by my existing clients, and new clients came to me by referral.

When I started out as an online copywriter, I spent a few years as Jack. I spent way too much time looking for new clients, and not nearly enough time deepening my relationships with the clients I had. Bad move. I still made six-figures, but had to work a lot harder to keep the revenue up.

Over the last five years, I have moved back to being Frank. Most of my income now comes to me through three partner companies. The people I work with in those companies have been my clients, and friends, for about 10 years.

Wrapping it up …

First, understand the difference between a casual connection and a relationship.

Then, identify the connections with the greatest potential and work hard to transform them into real relationships.

Finally, nurture those relationships, and take care of your core clients.

Do that, and you’ll make six-figures without all the stress and anxiety associated with constantly having to go out and find new clients.

This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI) The Writer’s Life is a free newsletter that gives you opportunities that enable you to live life on your own terms. Whether you’re looking for a new career, looking to make some extra money on the side, or looking for an easy work-at-home career, there is an opportunity at AWAI that’s right for you. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/the-writers-life/

A Book to Help Spiritual Seekers Understand End Times

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Metaphysical author, Yvonne Perry releases a book to help mystical seekers manage symptoms of rapid spiritual growth and understand the end of the Piscean Age.

After more than a year of success with her groundbreaking and best-selling book, Whose Stuff Is This? ~ Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You (http://whosestuffisthis.com), Yvonne Perry is releasing a follow-up book to help those who are experiencing physical and emotional symptoms during the current planetary awakening as we enter the Age of Aquarius.

If you have been experiencing strange body sensations, headaches, fatigue, depression, panic/anxiety attacks, hot flashes, increased emotional responses, or have noticed that your psychic abilities are opening up, you may be one of the millions of people who are spiritually growing faster than your physical body can tolerate. What you are experiencing is a normal response to spiritual changes. These are known as ascension symptoms, which also include changes in careers, sleep patterns, and dietary preferences.

In this time of social, economic, and political unrest many people are in crisis, strapped with fear, and stressed to the limit. Some have lost jobs and financial security; there’s an upheaval in government systems worldwide; the global economy could topple in a heartbeat; the religious institutions we once looked to for guidance are wrought with deceit; our youth are rioting; health issues are escalating; and relationships are failing. Why does our world seem to be going crazy? Is this the prophesied end of time?

Undoubtedly, we are living in a crucial time in world and cosmic history. Perry’s book explains what is going on in the universe, our planet, and with ourselves as we are encountering a vibrational increase, which is creating tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, global warming, and volcanic activity throughout the Earth. Addressing many end-time prophecies, Perry concludes that the next phase of human development depends upon what is held in our individual and collective minds; for it is there that we co-create our reality.

“Everything is being shaken from within,” says Yvonne Perry, the author of a new book titled Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience. “It may feel or look bad during the process, but patriarchal world systems and our old way of thinking are breaking down in order for us to create something new. A lot of what we are experiencing is our unresolved personal issues and cellular memory being pushed up and out as the ‘separation mindset’ comes to the surface to be healed.”

“Shifting into Purer Consciousness is astonishing in its breadth and depth of knowledge in what it means to be a spirit being in human form at this particular time,” says Steve Brannon, an interfaith spiritual minister. “Never will we find as truthful and candid a discussion of the human condition and ascension consciousness. One must admire the freedom with which the myriad of spiritual experiences and paths to a purer consciousness are described. Within these pages, we discover vital guidance to help us in finding our way. For religions fail us but God provides our spiritual food in grace and abundance.” Brannon is the author of The Two Agreements: A Good News Story for Our Time.

Yvonne’s book will be launched with a virtual tour in June. You are cordially invited to come along with the author as she posts audio/video clips, written and recorded interviews, book excerpts, and content-rich articles on more than twenty blogs. The virtual tour will be followed by an ascension training telesummit in July 2012. Topics to be addressed in this telesummit include global awakening, oneness, near-death and spiritually-transforming experiences, walk-ins/soul exchanges, working with angels and ascended masters, immortality, DNA restructuring, the light body, merkabah, integrating cosmic frequencies, and managing ascension symptoms. See http://integratingfrequencies.blogspot.com/p/ascension-training-telesummit.html for details about the tour and training sessions.

Read reviews and endorsements for the book, sign up for the free telesummit, and see the virtual tour schedule at http://integratingfrequencies.blogspot.com.

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Contact: Yvonne Perry
615-415-9861
Email: writer [at] yvonneperry [dot] net
Website: http://ShiftingintoPurerConsciousness.com

Poetry & Prose Corner

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Administrative Professionals’ Day

by Rita Janice Traub

Years ago, the teenaged worker was promoted to s*y. “I’d rather stay a steno,” she protested. “S*y means somewhere there’s a boss,” she explained. They smiled at her earnest child’s face. On S*ys’ Day the boss took the girls out to a real restaurant to nibble daintily at the Special Luncheon. On returning, they found each desk adorned with a small vase, in it a fresh sweet red rose. But the teenager’s rose mysteriously withered within the hour.

Gradually, everybody realized the s*y term just wasn’t cool. Way too feminine. People even said it with a wink, so you’d know the girl being referenced was something other than a bona fide s*y. And members of the opposite sex who worked as s*ies felt demeaned, preferring to call themselves “assistants.” So the offensive term was finally sunsetted, replaced by a cumbersome mouthful, “administrative professional,” mercifully shortened to “admin.” Workers no longer are called “girls” and “boys” as in days of yore. Offices are more diversified, not as gender- and race-specific as in decades past. For some arcane reason, U.S. Cabinet posts retain the S*y word.

Yet subservience survives and thrives in the digital age. Luncheons are yearly held, red roses adorn desks, cubicles have impenetrable glass ceilings. And the ex-teenager still sees that day through a cataract haze of pink bitterness. On her walker tray is an imaginary vase with an imaginary red rose, which she kills with one imaginary smile.

Sunday's Child by Anne Lyken-Garner

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Author Anne Lyken-Garner's new book, Sunday's Child, will be released tomorrow May 22nd!

Sunday’s Child is an inspiring, true tale of a little girl struggling to rise above appalling living conditions, poverty, violence and abuse.

Sunday's Child tells of the harrowing systematic abuse of a little girl by her grandmother, while giving the reader a glimpse of the political and cultural climate of 1980's Guyana. In a desperate economic crisis, Guyana is forced to resort to food and energy rationing. Acclaimed author Anne Lyken-Garner's tale picks up on the humorous aspects that the young girl experiences while forced to spend hours in food lines, simultaneously unfolding the sadness and desperation that is her everyday life. A soldier in Jonestown, where more than nine hundred people committed mass suicide, the young girl's uncle tells her of the dead bodies he's seen - but she doesn't mention the one that she herself has witnessed. When she loses the one person in her life who cares for her - and tries to save her - she knows in her heart that her life is about to end...

Anne has also started an event on Facebook towards this release. You can join this event at the link below to ask her any questions about anything relating to Sunday's Child or her publishing journey. Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/385124968204320/

Sunday's Child is available as a Kindle download from Amazon and a Nook download from Barnes & Noble. It will also be available in PDF and EPUB format from Pulse online bookstore. The PDF version will be viewable on all PC and laptop systems, as well as smart phones, and the EPUB version will be viewable on all eReaders (Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, BlackBerry Playbook, etc.). No matter which particular platform they prefer, they will be able to read a copy in a wide variety of different electronic formats, all for only $2.99.

Please go to the author page on release day to purchase this book: http://www.pulsepub.net/Anne_Lyken-Garner.html

A special discount allows you to purchase an electronic copy (EPUB or PDF) for only $1.99, using the promo code: FFSCALG. Simply enter the code in the appropriate field while ordering a copy of Sunday's Child from Pulse online bookstore: http://www.shop.pulsepub.net

Anne can also be found on her How To Build Confidence blog. All her confidence-building articles here are gleaned from her life's experiences, which have taught her that your past doesn't' have to shape who you are today. It can be found here: http://getconfidence.net .

Virtual Book Tour Schedule for Shifting Into Purer Consciousness

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Here is the line up for Yvonne Perry's virtual tour for her new book, Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience.
Register to get a reminder about this event by filling in the form below.

On Saturday, June 16, Carolyn Howard-Johnson @FrugalBookPromo) will host Yvonne with a book review on The New Book Review http://www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/ as well as offering an article titled “Authors Must Learn to Sell What They Write” on Sharing with Writers http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/
On Sunday, June 17, Jacqueline Stone @JaqStone) will share an article titled, “Sending Light to Others” on her blog, On the Journey. http://consciousnessjourney.blogspot.com/
On Monday, June 18, Shelly Wilson (@consciousjourny on Twitter) will host the tour stop on her blog, Journey into Consciousness, with an article: “Embracing Divine Feminine Energy.”
On Tuesday, June 19, Pat Bertram will share a Q&A written interview on her blog, Dragon My Feet: http://dragonmyfeet.wordpress.com
On Wednesday, June 20, , Shelly Wilson will host Yvonne as a guest on Journey to Consciousness Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/journeyintoconsciousness.
On Thursday, June 21, Barbara Techel (@joyfulpaws) shares a video clip and her book review for Shifting into Purer Consciousness on her blog: http://joyfulpaws.com.
On Friday, June 22, Carol Lawrence (@intuneparenting) hosts the tour on Social Media Help 4 U with an article titled “How Human Energy Affects the Earth.”
On Saturday, June 23, Janet Riehl (@riehlife) shares a video on her blog, Riehl Life.
On Sunday, June 24, Carl Bozeman (@CarlBozeman) opens the blog door at Spiritual Intuition where he shares his book review for Shifting into Purer Consciousness.
On Monday, June 25, Doreen Pendgracs (Twitter: @wizardofwords) will share an article about how Yvonne published her book. See Wizard of Words: http://doreenisthewizardofwords.blogspot.com
On Tuesday, June 26, Karen Gonzalez (@FolkheartPress is her Twitter name) will present “Why Yvonne Wrote the Book” on her blog, http://folkheartpressblog.blogspot.com
On Wednesday, June 27, Denise Demaras (@ddemaras) will share her review of Shifting into Purer Consciousness on her blog, Works in Process: http://www.denisedemaras.com/blog
On Thursday, June 28, Alpha Chick Mal Duane (@alphachickbook) will share an article titled “Signs Indicating a Spiritual Awakening” on http://alphachick.com/blog
On Friday, June 29, Lisa Molinelli (@bluedragonfly8) shares an article: “How to Shed Personal and Collective Structures and Belief Systems That No Longer Support the Highest Good of Humanity” on her blog, Empowering Minds.
On Saturday, June 30, Dr. Caron Goode (@IamHeartWise) shares a media release and an excerpt from the book on Live-Spirit.
On Sunday, July 1, Maxine Thompson (@Safari61751) shares her book review of Shifting into Purer Consciousness on her blog, Maxine Thompson Books,

http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com
On Monday, July 2, Irene Conlan (@ieconlan on Twitter) will host Yvonne Perry on The Self Improvement Blog by presenting a review of Shifting into Purer Consciousness.
On Tuesday, July 3, Lynn Serafinn (Twitter ID: @LynnSerafinn, @SpiritAuthors, and @GardenOfTheSoul) will interview Yvonne on Garden of the Soul Radio. She will also share her Q&A written interview. See http://lynnserafinn.com/ for details.
On Wednesday, July 4,Shelagh Jones (@SpiritusShelagh) runs an article in Spiritus Spiritual Marketing Directory about how Yvonne published her book.
On Thursday, July 5, Callie Carling (@MoonPoppy) will share an article: “How to shed personal and collective structures and belief systems that do not support the highest good of humanity.” Her blog is http://createavity.com/musings.

Also on Thursday, July 05, Shifting into Purer Consciousness Ascension Training Telesummit starts. There will be two speakers each Thursday throughout July sharing important info to make the shift easier. See http://integratingfrequencies.blogspot.com/p/ascension-training-telesummit.html for more information.

Register to get a reminder about this event by filling in the form below:

Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience is a follow up of Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You written by Yvonne Perry. See http://whosestuffisthis.com/ for more information. Personal coaching available at http://weare1inspirit.com.

THE Event for the Writing Industry is Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Promo day is an annual event for people in the writing industry dedicated to promoting, networking and learning. This years event will take place on Saturday 19th May 2012 at the brand new website www.PromoDay.info

The online event organized by Jo Linsdell has evolved since its humble begins on the writers personal website and grown into a world recognized event attracting thousands of visitors from around the globe.

The 2012 event promises to be the best yet with the launch of the new website and internationally renowned workshop presenters. The program is filled with fabulous and knowledgeable presenters and workshop topics are ones you can sink your teeth into. You'll be sure to come away with valuable connections via the networking areas and have opportunities to promote your own work and services throughout the day.

This unique event is completely free to attend and registration is now open via the website homepage. Once you're signed up you will be emailed the password to gain access to the forums where the conference takes place.

Since its inception in 2007, Promo Day has been incredibly successful and is a 'must-attend' for everyone in the writing industry.

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Contact:
Jo Linsdell
Founder and Organizer of Promo Day
email: promoday@ymail.com
www.PromoDay.info

WITS Book Reviews May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

The Two Agreements
By: S.L. Brannon
Publisher: CreateSpace (October 15, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1461171598
ISBN-13: 978-1461171591
Reviewer: Dana Micheli

The Christian that Came in From the Cold: Steve Brannon’s The Two Agreements offers a New Path to God

Historically, in times of crisis people have turned to their religion. But what happens when people have problems and questions that their church is either unable, or unwilling, to address? This impasse is the cause of the growing rift we are seeing in fundamentalist Christianity. Millions of people, particularly the young, are leaving the church in droves. They hunger for a closer relationship with God and are tired of being told “they don’t believe strongly enough” if they have questions about the traditional interpretation of the Bible. Some of these questions are nearly as old as humanity itself, and although many remain unanswerable to us on this plane, their exploration is something that must be attempted if we can hope to understand our Divine purpose.
In this incredible new book, The Two Agreements, Dr. Steve Brannon reinterprets the New Testament and sheds light on the true nature of Christ’s life and work on earth. Brannon explores Jesus’ journey as he walked between two worlds—the relative existence of human life, and the absolute world of love, unity, acceptance and perfection created by The Source. But perhaps even more important, the book also chronicles the origins of “the Lie”, introduced in the story of Adam and Eve, which has been used for centuries to illustrate man’s inherent “sinful” nature and his separation from God.

The Two Agreements is also a companion of sorts to Brannon’s work as a spiritual counselor/coach. Licensed as a minister at the age of 19, Steve planted a fundamentalist Christian church soon after. But over time, he began to feel a need to know Christ in a way that Christian dogma did not seem to allow. After much soul-searching, he began a slow, painful extrication from organized religion that led to his transformation as a true follower of Jesus.

Today, Steve’s interfaith ministry specializes in helping those with mental health challenges develop their spiritual lives. He hosts two weekly groups: one is for patients at a mental health facility; the other is open to the public, for individuals suffering with mood disorders, as well as their close friends and families. Both groups are comprised of a plurality of faiths.

The Two Agreements is an invitation to a new level of spiritual awareness. It opens a door to a new consciousness and most importantly, a deeper relationship with God and with each other.

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Walk Ins/Soul Exchange
Author: Karyn K. Mitchell
Mind Rivers, 1999
ISBN: 978-0964082243
Reviewed by Yvonne Perry

A psychologist discovers that her patients are revealing a phenomenal event in their lives in which the soul born into the body has left and a new soul has taken up residence. Not like a possession, it was done with full permission and cooperation at a soul level, but the changes it created in the person's 3-D experience was quite disturbing until they had the knowledge of what had happened.

With that knowledge one can begin to put the pieces together and get on with life.

If you think this might have happened to you, Mitchell gives helpful information such as common characteristics of a walk-in and what a soul braid or twin flame is. A portion of the book shares the stories of these patients and what went on during their sessions.

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The 5 Minute Motivator
Author: Eric Kaplan
Red Willow Publishing (November 15, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1936539413
Reviewed by Yvonne Perry

One thing I enjoy about Eric Kaplan is his ability to tell entertaining stories and list quotes or sayings that stick with you and help illustrate the valid point he is making. The 5-Minute Motivator has tons of these examples, interlaced with humor, that make this book an interesting read as well as informative. This manual can be used to get organized, get clear on your goals and objectives, and get on track with all life has to offer.

Clear concise steps and tips to get even the worst procrastinator in gear. So, grab this book and step on the gas—just make sure the brake is not locking one of the wheels. See Chapter 23 for that story!

6 Ideas for Writing a Successful E-book

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

by Mindy Tyson McHorse

Here at the Wealthy Web Writer, we’ve talked a lot lately about the many benefits of writing an e-book:

• It’s a major credibility booster
• It typically means a 100% profit margin
• You don’t have to store inventory
• There’s no hassle over shipping or printing costs
• E-books make an excellent passive income stream, potentially creating thousands of dollars a year in extra cash

But, because there are so many benefits, there are a LOT of e-books out there … and a lot of them are bad.

So, how do you write an e-book that stands above the rest?

Below, I’ve laid out six steps you can take to ensure you create and structure a quality e-book that brings you both value and profits.

#1: Decide why you’re writing an e-book in the first place

If your sole purpose for writing an e-book is to make money, you’re missing out.

After all, the best e-books (and the ones that sell well over time) are the ones that satisfy a genuine need.

Before you write your first word, commit to creating the best product you can. Resolve to help your buyers solve a problem or satisfy a need, and make sure you know your topic well (or at least make sure you can research it well).

A poorly-written e-book will not only fail over time, it could also come back to haunt your reputation indefinitely.

#2: Think hard about your topic

Your e-book topic plays a major role in whether it’ll sell and pretty much decides whether you’ll pull in any revenue.

The first rule of thumb is to write about something you know. After all, your audience is likely to be educated on your topic and will see right through you if you pull all your information from a quick Internet search.

So, think about what you have to offer that provides the biggest benefit to others.

Beyond that, one of the smartest steps you can take is to find out what your readers want to know.

How?

Ask them. Use surveys and ask direct questions. Look for clues in blog comments or on forums frequented by your prospects.

It’s also wise to look for ideas on sites related to your topic. You might even study the social media streams or top blogs in your industry to find out what issues are big and what’s being promoted.

Pay close attention to topics that are hot-buttons for your industry.

Once you have a great topic, there’s just one final thing to remember:

Don’t put yourself in direct competition with someone who already wrote an e-book on the same subject. Come up with a new angle.

#3: Put together a writing plan

Even if you come up with the most marketable, saleable topic ever, it’s no good to you unless you actually write something.

The best advice for this step is to keep things simple. Write a little bit every day, and aim to have it done in a month. (I once tried to write one in a week and found that was a little too compressed … I recommend a month, minimum!)

If you get hit by “writer’s doubt,” tell yourself you’re really just repackaging information. You’re providing a service of convenience for your readers.

As a bonus, there are lots of different e-book creation tools and software packages out there. If you want a leg-up, plug “e-book software” into a search engine. Survey the tools available and see if one suits your needs.

#4: Include affiliate links inside your e-book

As long as your main focus is to provide excellent content to your likely customers, it’s fine to consider including affiliate links.

In fact, thoughtful affiliate links placed inside an e-book can improve the perceived quality — especially if they connect the reader to a service provider or product you genuinely recommend they try.

Your overall goal should be to make things easy on your readers. If you earn some income for your links beyond that, it’s all bonus.
#5: Create a quality PDF

A truly professional-looking e-book needs to be in PDF-format. Ideally, it’ll have bookmarks within the document so the reader can jump between sections (also known as the navigation pane for most PDF readers).

It’s a good idea to include a footer that’s consistent throughout the document, as well as tasteful graphics and enough white space so the content doesn’t feel cluttered.

Peppering your copy with lists, either numeric or bulleted, is also a good way to break up the content.

Along with that, include a short bio about yourself in the back of the book. And, before you convert the entire document to PDF format, check any hyperlinks you included to make sure they connect to the correct websites.

#6: Don’t be boring

This probably seems like an obvious tip, but it’s surprising how many e-books out there offer generic tips in a dull format.

If you’re going to do it, do it right. Construct your e-book with purpose and write about your topic as if you unequivocally know it’ll be a game-changer in your reader’s life.

To show your commitment to your reader, include testimonials within the book and throughout your landing page or blogs that promote the book.

Finally, give yourself plenty of time to edit and cut, revise and edit, then edit and cut again.

A Powerful Tool to Advance Your Web-Writing Career
If you put forth the effort needed to write and market your e-book, you’ll find it has a pretty high ROI.

Even better, e-books can be perennial products in your marketing arsenal: they’re easy to update and good information is always in high demand.

Make the effort to put your e-book together in the next 30 days and watch as it gives your web-writing reputation a big boost. Ideally, your wallet will get a lift also.

Visit the Wealthy Web Writer for additional tips on e-book creation. Check out this article for tips on marketing the final product and this article for guidance on finding a shopping cart and payment system.

This article appears courtesy of American Writers & Artists Inc.’s (AWAI) Wealthy Web Writer, a free newsletter for learning how to effectively write online copy and market products on the Web. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/signup/web-writing/.

Join Us for Part II of Our Interview with Apostle Kevin A. Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:34:00 +0000

Last week Apostle Kevin A. Johnson spoke with us about Dust Collector, his step-by-step guide to holistically transform your life. Today, the dynamic minister, author and counselor will discuss his follow up book, Sabotage.

Whereas Dust Collector focuses largely on our inner dialogue, Sabotage helps us rid our lives of outside negative forces. Unfortunately, these forces are not always obvious, so Sabotage teaches us how to spot the seemingly innocuous people or circumstances that can lead us down a negative path. He uses as an example the group of college friends that ask you to go out for "a few drinks" the night before a big exam. They probably don't mean any harm; like most college students, they just want to have fun. Johnson's point however, is that they lack focus, and if you put their agenda ahead of your own, you could be making a choice that will haunt you later on.

But Sabotage also covers much more serious issues, such as drug abuse and criminal behavior. It is a tool to help us combat the “spiritual terrorists” that are the source of fear, despair and pain. In order to do this, he feels, we must be positive in word, deed and thought.

Click here to listen to the podcast:

Apostle Kevin A. Johnson is a minister, counselor, and writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a minor in Pastoral Studies from the American Baptist Theological Seminary, where he graduated magna cum laude and was twice-named Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He also received special recognition for outstanding service by former Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist.

In addition to his ministry, Apostle Johnson and his wife Terrah own and operate Just Breathe Ministries, LLC. They have five children. To contact Apostle Johnson or learn more his work,visit http://www.facebook.com/Kevin.a.johnson3 or email him directly at apostlekaj@yahoo.com

Sabotage is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AuthorHouse.

Editor's Corner May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another issue of Writers in the Sky Newsletter. I’m glad to have you as part of our interactive community of writers, editors, and book marketers.
I have the draft version for the cover of my book, Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience, ready for you to see. Vickie B. Majors did a great job with painting the artwork for the front; and Rick Chappell put together a beautiful layout for the wrap. See the results and leave comments at http://dld.bz/bxt9z.

Thank you to those who responded to my invitation to endorse and review the advance reading copy of the book. I’ve put all these excerpts here: http://dld.bz/bxt9w.

I will be launching my book with a virtual tour (http://bit.ly/I8Hobf) in June and an ascension training telesummit in July (http://bit.ly/InbSDC). I invite you to follow the tour and listen to the free calls. Register to get a reminder now: http://eepurl.com/ldFyr.

Yvonne Perry,
Owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services
http://writersinthesky.com
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Tune in this Friday for Part II of Our Interview with Apostle Kevin A. Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Mon, 07 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Last week Apostle Kevin A. Johnson spoke with us about Dust Collector, his inspirational guide to holistic transformation. This week, we welcome Apostle Johnson back to the WITS podcast to discuss his follow-up book, Sabotage.

With the same compassion he used in writing Dust Collector, Johnson’s new book teaches us how to banish negativity from our lives and embrace God's love. This negativity shows up in many forms, including drug and gambling addiction, as well as other destructive behaviors. Sabotage provides the tools to help us combat these “spiritual terrorists” that cause us to experience fear, despair and pain. In order to do this, Johnson believes, we must be positive in word, deed and thought. “Before defeat can occur in the physical world,” he says, “it first occurs in the mind. We must overcome this way of thinking and allow God to do the rest.”

Be sure to tune in this Friday to hear more about Apostle Johnson's extraordinary work!

Apostle Kevin A. Johnson is a minister, counselor, and writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a minor in Pastoral Studies from the American Baptist Theological Seminary, where he graduated magna cum laude and was twice-named Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He also received special recognition for outstanding service by former Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. In addition to his ministry and writing career, Apostle Johnson, along with his wife Terrah, owns and operates Just Breathe Ministries, LLC. To learn more about Apostle Johnson’s work, visit http://www.facebook.com/Kevin.a.johnson3 or email him directly at apostlekaj@yahoo.com

Writer and Comedian Melanie Vare Brings Her Hit Female Storytelling Show to Nashville

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:41:00 +0000

They say the truth is stranger (and funnier) than fiction. If you want proof of this statement, look no further than the work of comedian Melanie Vare. For years, Vare has been making us laugh by sharing her hilarious, real-life stories on the stage and on her blog, The Nail Biter . Her show, That Time of the Month, convenes an incredible group of funny ladies (and 1 token male) for a potpouri of professional and very personal experiences. After bringing California audiences to tears (of laughter), she has taken TTOTM on the road...the southern route.

If you're in the Nashville area, be sure to check out the show this Sunday, and visit That Time of the Month for their shedule, or to submit your own story.

You may recognize Melanie Vare (formerly Reno), from her appearance on Comedy Central, although she doubts it. She’s also been featured on The Moth Radio Hour and the podcast series, Story Worthy. Her blog, The Nail Biter, is filled with stories that will make you giggle and make you anxious. Melanie has been making audiences laugh for over a decade, and is forever committed to adding more humor to the world. Currently, she is working on a collection of stories, also entitled That Time of the Month.

Author Blogging 101: Widgets, Sidebars,and You

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:07:00 +0000

by Joel Friedlander
At some point in the mythic past, soon after blogging itself was invented, some enterprising web designer married the blog to a sidebar.

Sidebars—the narrow vertical area next to the text of a blog, on one or both sides of the text column—seem to be intrinsic to blogs.

Over the years, fashions in sidebars change like the length of women’s hemlines. Some years lots of bloggers have only one sidebar. Other years, the 2-sidebar look is in.

When I started blogging, my original design had one sidebar on the right. Now I’ve got sidebars on both sides.

These sidebars seem to be like a “junk drawer” or “utility closet” in some odd way. Everything you don’t know what else to do with gets thrown in there, and pretty soon you’ve got a right good mess on your hands.

Don’t get me wrong, part of the fun of blogging for a lot of people is being able to show their passions, their affiliations, and their activity.

Just from looking at the sidebars, you get a feeling for the blogger and what engages her, and you also sometimes get a feeling of what her refrigerator looks like, too.

Before you can make good use of your sidebars, here are a few terms we’ll be using to discuss this area of your blog:

• Widget—A WordPress feature that allows you to drop a piece of HTML code into a special box in the WordPress interface. Once you save it, magically, a box or badge or list of posts will appear. These are widgets and you can get access to them on WordPress blogs through the “appearance” menu in your dashboard.

• Badge—A graphic that indicates an award, or membership in a group or network. These badges are usually displayed by widgets in the sidebar, and typically contain a link to another site.

• Display Ad—Also a graphic placed in a widget to show in your sidebar, with a link to the advertiser’s site. There’s no real difference between ads, badges and any other graphic you put in a widget to display on your sidebar.

• Feed—Any kind of automatically syndicated posts. For instance, every time you publish a new post to your blog, it’s added to your blog’s feed. You’ll frequently see Twitter posts in a sidebar widget, and they come from your Twitter account’s feed, and so on.

The Many Roles of Blog Sidebars

There are lots of things you can do with the sidebars on your blog. Some of these uses are intended as community building, since they will attract people with similar interests, or as evidence that your blog is worth reading.

Another use is “social proof,” and it can be a powerful motivator. If you show the number of people who subscribe to your blog, for instance, it can have an effect on people browsing your site. A large number suggests that a lot of other people find your content interesting. A small number might be “negative social proof,” implying that not many people were moved to want to be on your subscriber list.

This is a pretty good reason to hold off on some of these sidebar items until you’ve established yourself well enough to show browsers that you’re the real deal.

Here are some of the things you’ll find in bloggers’ sidebars:

• Memberships—Badge or graphic that shows you belong to a network or group of some kind.
• Awards—Badges issued by whoever gives out the awards, like Alltop or AdAge.
• Counters—Show how many followers, likes, or subscribers you have, these widgets typically update in real time.
• Opt in form—bloggers use these to invite people to join their email list, and the forms are usually provided by the email company you use to maintain your lists.
• Recent/popular posts—another common widget that can keep readers on your site longer by displaying links to some of your best content.
• Social media activity—widgets that display your Twitter feed are particularly popular.
• eCommerce—if you have a product for sale, showing it and linking to a sales page is a natural use of your sidebar.
• Internal links—if you have special pages on your blog, like a big resource list or contest you run regularly, you can link to them from your sidebar, making sure that the link shows up on every page of your blog.
• Surveys/polls—there are widgets that will allow you to run a real poll, and change the poll often, from your sidebar.
• Video—many bloggers have a “welcome” video, and this is ideally placed in your sidebar.
• Pay-per-click ads—millions of bloggers make money from services like Google’s AdSense, and most of those ads go into a widget on your sidebar.
• Blog roll—a common feature of blogs from the beginning of blogging, most bloggers run a list of favorite blogs in their sidebar.

I think you can see how each of these items helps to create an immediate impression on browsers who discover your blog. You’re giving them information about your network, things you like, who has recognized you and what kind of audience you have.

All this will help people to figure out if this is a blog they want to visit, explore, or forget about.

Later in this series we’ll talk about how to use all these elements to make the impression that will advance the aims you have for your author blog.

And I’ll show you step by step how to create your own widgets that can be placed in your sidebar, or given to other bloggers to place in theirs. These placements can have a great effect on your site’s search engine ranking and traffic, so watch for it.

Joel Friedlander is a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at TheBookDesigner.com. He's also the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, where he helps publishers and authors who decide to publish get to market on time and on budget with books that are both properly constructed and beautiful to read.

Join Us for A Conversation with Apostle Kevin A. Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Apostle Kevin A. Johnson about Dust Collector, his inspirational guide to living a Christ-centered life. Apostle Johnson brought the same passion and positive energy to the interview as he does his books, ministry and family life.

Dust Collector explores the sins and sorrow universal to the human condition: addiction, drug dependency, broken marriages, and sadness. These painful experiences build up in our psyches and souls as “dust”. Johnson’s goal is to help people realize that while the dust may make them feel worthless, it has no impact on how God sees them. On the contrary, it gives Him something to work with. He will take this dust and turn it to gold, but first we must invite Him into our lives. The book provides a step by step method to holistically transform our lives through the love of Jesus Christ. But while it is an expression of Johnson’s life mission, he does not take credit for it. "God breathed life into every page of this book,” he said, “I may have typed the page, but it was He who provided the words that can free every person from the dust in their lives.”

When he is not writing books or running his ministry, Apostle Johnson--along with his wife Terrah--own and operate Just Breath Ministries, LLC. They also have five children.
To learn more about Apostle Johnson’s work, visit http://www.facebook.com/Kevin.a.johnson3 or email him directly at apostlekaj@yahoo.com Dust Collector is available at Xulon Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google Books.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Like what you heard? Tune in Friday, May 11 when Apostle Johnson joins us again to discuss his follow up book, Sabotage.

WITS Announcements May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

As a subscriber to Writers in the Sky Newsletter, you are entitled to share your announcements with our readers. See guidelines at http://writersinthesky.blogspot.com/p/submit-your-material.html and send your material to us before the 24th of each month to make the next month’s issue. Anything posted in WITS Newsletter is also shared with our blog readers at http://writersinthesky.blogspot.com.

Contact Katie@writersinthesky.com to learn how you can add your tips for online promotion to the book marketing blog http://onlinepromotionmadeeasy.blogspot.com.
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The Dream Quest One Poetry & Witing Contest is open to anyone who loves expressing innermost thoughts and feelings into the beautiful art of poetry or writing a story that is worth telling everyone! Write a poem or short story for a chance to win cash prizes. Postmark deadline: July 31, 2012. All works must be original. Visit our website for details: http://www.dreamquestone.com
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Read the first chapter for free and then decide if you want to download the 3-hour-long mp3 audio book of More Than Meets the Eye ~ True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife for only $7.00 at http://deathdyingafterlife.blogspot.com/p/chapter-1.html
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Dr. Charles N. Toftoy gave a talk to George Washington University's Society of the Emeriti last Fall. It was on publishing and e-books vs. hard copies. Publishing trends with predictions (all have come true so far), such as the fall of Border's were discussed. See two video trailers on Charles’ website at http://www.charlestoftoy.com. His second book Eyes of Cold Case Killers, was published about two onths ago, which is a sequel to the first one, It's in the Eyes.
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Summer applications are now being accepted for A Novel Idea. This summer, we are adding a Little Middle class for rising 5th and 6th graders. http://anovelideanashville.com
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Each story in The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children focuses on life skills such as environmental awareness, helping others, being true to one’s self, overcoming fear, and following inner guidance. http://TheSidSeries.com
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Coming Soon: Chocolatour: Your Passport to Chocolate Culture of the World!

Doreen Pendgracs has been researching for this book since the fall of 2009 when she travelled to Belgium, France and Switzerland—three countries most known for their chocolate. She’s always been a chocolate lover, but the seed for the book was planted in January 2009, when Doreen was in the Dominican Republic and visited a cocoa plantation. This blog post talks about that experience: http://diversionswithdoreen.com/the-launch-of-my-chocolate-journey-of-exploration/. She’s been dialoguing her travels and premise for Chocolatour on her chocolate travel blog at http://diversionswithdoreen.com/. Doreen also publish "Chocolatour News," an li-paper that connects chocolate lovers with chocolate movers and shakers at: http://paper.li/wizardofwords/1310439305.
Doreen plans to publish Chocolatour in a series: The 1st edition will be out this fall and will focus on Europe and the UK. The 2nd will be out next year and will focus on the Americas and the Caribbean. And the 3rdedition will be out in 2015 and focus on Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. She says, “Yes, I've eaten a lot of chocolate ... but there is much more left to experience!”
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Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those around You is a guidebook for empathic people who have been unknowingly carrying energetic burdens that belong to someone else. See all purchasing options at http://whosestuffisthis.blogspot.com/p/purchase-book.html.
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The North American Institute for Oriental Studies will join the CoolSprings Festival of Arts and Culture. On Saturday May 19th the group will perform traditional music on one of the many stages set throughout the mall. They have very rich collection of books which can take your consciousness to next level and give relief from daily stress.

Local and national celebrities reading for a great cause...

Actress, photographer, keynote speaker, seamstress and designer, Daphne Maxwell-Reid creator of "Fresh Prints from Behind the Camera" will read to students during the 2012 CoolSprings Festival of Books. The"Celebrity Read Out Loud" places students, youth and those who are young at heart with mentors who take thirty minutes to read a book to an audience. This effort encourages listeners to read books weekly, as a part of the R2Books initiative. The program also donates 1,000 brand new books to students from Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Davidson Counties who otherwise might not have one.
Maxwell-Reid, best known for her portrayal of Vivian Banks (Aunt Viv) on the "Fresh Prince of Bel-air," will be a featured artist at the concurrently running 2012 CoolSprings Crafts and Art Festival. She will display and sell the first in her series of "Doors" photographs and the first edition of her book on "Doors". The Fresh Prints From Behind the Camera showcases her talent as a photographer and visual storyteller. Maxwell-Reid wife of Tim Reid, (Venus Flytrap) WKRP in Cincinnati and (Ray Campbell) "Sister, Sister," will have a display beginning Friday May 18th through Sunday May 20th at the CoolSprings Galleria.

More information, contact the Author Collective at tac@44th.net or (313) 446-2262.

The May Issue of Writers in the Sky E-zine is Now Available!

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:08:00 +0000

The May issue of Writers in the Sky E-zine is now available! This publication provides a rich resource of articles and information about the craft and business of writing, publishing, and book marketing. Go to http://writersinthesky.com/writing-newsletter.html and scroll down to the archives and click the link to this month’s issue. It will download as a PDF. If you would like to get once-a-month email delivery of the e-zine, you may subscribe for free at https://app.quicksizzle.com/survey.aspx?sfid=13065

WITS & WAO Podcast Schedules May 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000

Writers in the Sky Podcast is a Nashville-based talk show about writing, publishing, and book marketing. An educational tool for people who want to learn more about the craft and business of writing, this show offers interviews with authors and writers, as well as the latest news about books currently on the market. You will also learn about publishing methods and marketing techniques as we interview publishers and publicists. Listen to archived shows via RSS Feed. Download WITS Podcast on iTunes for your iPod or iPad.

May 4 - Join us for part one of a two-part interview with Apostle Kevin A. Johnson. In this segment, Apostle Johnson will be discussing Dust Collector, a step-by-step guide to spiritual transformation. He also recounts his own inspiring story of how, in depths of one of his most trying times, God took the "dust" collecting on his soul and transformed it into a prosperous and fulfilled life.

May 11 - Apostle Kevin A. Johnson returns to discuss his follow-up book, Sabotage. Whereas Dust Collector focuses on the miracle of life transformation, Sabotage provides excellent advice on how to rid our lives of negative people, events, and-- most of all--our own destructive inner dialogue. Johnson will also speak about Just Breathe Ministries, LLC, the transformational organization he owns and operates with his wife, Terrah.

We Are One in Spirit Podcast

We Are One in Spirit Podcast allows for people of all walks of life to discuss their spiritual journey and life-transforming experiences that remind us that we are all ONE IN SPIRIT. Uplifting, enlightening, and insightful topics include healing, empathy, intuition, spiritual/psychic gifts, metaphysics, soul development, afterlife, spirit communication, and more. This interactive podcast has with a Q&Asession at the end of each guest presentation. To join the call, dial 1-605-475-6350 and enter participant access code 356172.The metaphysical shows are archived at feed://nashvillewriter.audioacrobat.com. You will also find us on iTunes.

On May 17 - Rick DiClemente will join us to discuss his new book, The Exquisite Zodiac. Rick is not your typical astrologer. Widely known as a “way shower,” he blends math-science and spiritual-psychic ability with empirical knowledge in order to reveal the multi-faceted story in each chart. Rick’s intuitive-astrological readings are like a sit-down with a trusted friend who has your ultimate best interests at heart. At the same time, he brings alive the applied discipline of consulting with the cosmos for timeless wisdom that helps others better understand themselves, their relationships and their lives. The Exquisite Zodiac focuses on WHY the signs are the way they are. What your archetype is like and why you feel as you do, better known as your "Sun Sign." We will discuss six major reasons the signs are different from each other and exactly how they are all tied together. You are more than just your Sun sign!

On May 31- Medicine Song Woman Brenda MacIntyre will be joining us on We Are One in Spirit Podcast. Brenda is a healer, business coach, spiritual mentor and award-winning singer. She helps women healers who are struggling with getting clients, to express themselves and their sacred power with confidence and charisma, and enrol committed clients, so they can make a massive difference in the world AND enjoy the freedom and prosperity they deserve.

This Week's Podcast Guest: Apostle Kevin A. Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:34:00 +0000

There is a famous saying that “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Apostle Kevin A. Johnson takes this one step further in his new book, Dust Collector: Experiencing the God Who Collects Worthless Things and Makes Them Into Great Things in His Hands and for His Purpose. Join us this Friday for the first half of our two-part interview with this inspirational author and minister.

Dust Collector is a compassionate yet no-nonsense guide to holistic transformation through the love of Jesus Christ. It offers advice on everything from having a happy, Christ-centered marriage to overcoming childhood traumas. But the book’s most important message is not how God heals what others have done to hurt us, but what we have done to hurt ourselves.

Through our sins, addictions, and other destructive behaviors, we become bogged down. This is the “dust”, and it clouds our vision to all that is good in our lives. But, as Apostle Johnson writes, “a little dust on a silver cup does not make the silver worth any less!”, and like the silver, our dust does not make us any less valuable to God. He does not advocate that we try to rid ourselves of these bad memories, for this is often a painful and futile exercise; instead, he counsels us to simply commit them to God, for with His help, we can turn our junk into gold. Dust Collector provides an excellent, step by step process by which to rid our lives of the debt, dependence on drugs, and drama in our lives.

Apostle Kevin A. Johnson is a minister, counselor, and writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a minor in Pastoral Studies from the American Baptist Theological Seminary, where he graduated magna cum laude and was twice-named Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He also received special recognition for outstanding service by former Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist.

In addition to his ministry, Apostle Johnson and his wife Terrah operate Just Breathe Ministries, LLC. They have five children.

Dust Collector is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xulon Press.

To contact Apostle Johnson about his work, visit http://www.facebook.com/Kevin.a.johnson3 or email him directly at apostlekaj@yahoo.com

12 Steps to Blog Tour Success

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

by Joel Friedlander
The growth of online book sales, web 2.0 technology and social media have given indie authors unparalleled opportunities to promote their books.

One of the best innovations in online book marketing is the blog tour, or virtual book tour. In its briefest form, a blog tour allows an author to virtually visit lots of communities where their host—a blogger—will introduce them to a new audience of readers who are likely to be interested in the author’s book.

Before we take a look at how this works, let’s lay out some of the advantages of doing a blog tour.

• The tour allows you to reach many more readers than you can by yourself.
• The tour also introduces you to lots of bloggers as you make contact with people who might host you on your tour.
• You get to interact with people who are new to your work and, consequently may have questions or comments that will also be new to you.
• The tour will undoubtedly grow your fan base, but it will also grow your subscribers and your email list if you set this as one of the goals of your tour.
• You’ll get to know the bloggers in your niche much better than you knew them before.

The Enhanced Blog Tour

You can level up your tour by adding elements to draw in more people and to reward whatever engagement you’re trying to promote.

For instance, if you want blog comments, have a random drawing the day after your post where you choose from the commenters and give away an autographed copy of your book.

This can also be done with a competition on Twitter or your favorite social network. On Twitter, you can ask people to Tweet your post and randomly draw a winner for a prize from everyone who participates. Stipulate a hashtag (#BobsTour or your choice) that has to be included in the Tweet so you can easily aggregate them for the drawing.

There’s really no limit to the tie-ins or promotions you can run during or alongside your blog tour. Since these tours usually take place during your book launch period, if you have a community of people following you there should be some built-in interest in the book when you get started.

Start Here: 12 Steps in Your Blog Tour Process

Although I can’t give you all the details of a blog tour in this one article, here’s a quick rundown of the process you’ll go through to get organized and use this powerful marketing strategy.

1.Research blogs—you probably know many of the blogs in your niche already, but even if you do, it pays to do some research. There are lots of ways to do this, but probably the fastest one is to start looking through the blogrolls that you’ll find in the sidebar of the most popular blogs in your niche. Simply clicking through to these blogs will open lots of doors for you.

2.Draft a query—Try to keep your query email pretty short. Bloggers are busy and are much more likely to read and respond to a short query than a long one. At this point you’re looking for expressions of interest, you don’t have to tell the whole story of how you came to write the book. Make sure you mention the title of the book, its genre, and the general idea, story, or topic it covers. Tell them the dates you will be touring, too. Ask if they are interested and tell them exactly what to do if the answer is “yes.”

3.Contact the bloggers—Now you’ll want to get in touch with the bloggers who responded to your query to settle on dates for your appearance and the subject matter of your guest article or whether you’ll do an interview instead. Talk about any contests or giveaways you want to run on the tour to see if they want to participate in that aspect of your promotion.

4.Maintain a schedule—Keep a detailed record of who you’ve contacted, proposed dates and subjects, and all the other stuff you talk to the bloggers about. You’ll be talking to a lot of people over a short period of time and you want to make sure you don’t forget anyone or miss an appointment.

5.Prepare articles—Now it’s time to really get to work. You’ll want to get all the articles you’ve promised written before your tour starts. It might seem like you can write them while the blog tour is going on, but don’t leave it for then. You are likely to be quite absorbed with appointments, contests, comments from readers, requests from hosts and all the other details that pop up when the tour goes “live.”

6.Make sure books are available—Did I mention that, especially if you are touring a new book, you need to make absolutely certain your books are available for sale before you start the tour. If you are selling at Amazon, BN.com and other online retailers, verify the books can be ordered well before the day the tour starts.

7.Get your links set up—Also make sure you have the links to your book’s pages on the retailer sites you want to promote. It’s handy to have both the full URL and a shortened version (through bit.ly or another service) available.

8.Verify dates and topics—Make sure ahead of time that you and your hosts have coordinated your appearance. Confirm the date, time, topics and especially which time zone you are in to avoid accidental no-shows or embarrassing your host.

9.Show up!—I’m not kidding. Set an alarm, create a big chart on your wall, have a friend call or email to remind you, but don’t forget to show up for your scheduled interview or to send in your guest post. You went to a lot of trouble to get this far, don’t stop now.

10.Say thanks—It adds a fair amount of work for a blogger to host you on their site, and a leap of faith that you won’t alienate their readers or otherwise damage their brand somehow. So thank them. When they book you, and after your appearance. Think about your next book, and thank them again.

11.Send out freebies and prizes—If you’ve offered prizes, giveaways or freebies, it’s really important to get these out in a timely fashion. Don’t make people wait, they won’t appreciate it. Following through on your end of the deal will inspire trust and reassure people that you mean what you say.

12.Evaluate your tour—Once the dust has settled, take some time to step through the process you’ve just completed. This is a great time to make some notes about what you would do differently next time. This crucial step is easy to overlook, but it will never be fresher than it is just after the tour. You’ll be doing yourself a favor, and you’ll collect when you’re ready to plan your next blog tour.

I hope you’ll think about using the power of a blog tour when you launch your next book. There’s nothing else that will give you the marketing punch of a blog tour for almost no cash investment. So tour and prosper.

Joel Friedlander is a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at TheBookDesigner.com. He's also the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, where he helps publishers and authors who decide to publish get to market on time and on budget with books that are both properly constructed and beautiful to read.

This Woman's Got Moxie: Join Us for a Conversation With Inner Wealth Coach Valery Satterwhite

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

From the outside, Valery Satterwhite's childhood was idyllic. Born into a life of privilege, she had everything most of us dream of. To Valery, however, the money was nothing more than a "gilded cage", preventing her from connecting to "real life" and discovering her true potential.

After years of self-exploration, Valery redefined her relationship with money and now works as an Inner Wealth Coach and Sports Psychology Coach to help others do the same. Although her practice is based in Los Angeles, she works with people around the globe who are trying to transcend their wealth and uncover their soul purpose. If you feel like your wealth defines and enshrines you, pick up her new revolutionary book, Money Moxie: How to Transcend the Paradox of Privilege & Liberate Your True Worth.

Valerie helps her clients and readers deal with such universal feelings as powerlessness, low self-esteem and loneliness. These people are often vilified, envied, and ostracized—even downright hated--for their wealth. As such, Valery also helps them cope when society tells them they " have nothing to complain about", simply because they have money.

Click here to hear Valery speak about her work as an Inner Wealth Coach.

Money Moxie is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
To contact Valery about her Inner Wealth or Sports Psychology Coaching, visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/MoxieTherapy or email her directly at valery@worthywealthywise.com

TODAY: New Book Guides You to Discover the Divine Human Within

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

The Oneness Gospel by Charlene M. Proctor is celebrating its official Amazon launch on Tuesday April 24th, 2012. Get your copy of the book and a collection of downloadable "thank you gifts" at http://onenessgospel.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html

If we were to believe what we see in the media, it would seem there is an overwhelming amount of suffering in the world. Even in the affluent West, chronic stress and depression are frequent topics in the News, affecting so many people in their personal and professional relationships, and their overall happiness.

But in spite of all this, there walk among us a few "spiritual messengers" who see the world quite differently. These guides tell us that the root of suffering lies in our belief that we are separate and alone, when in truth we are all intimately connected to the Divine, the Whole—the One. And when we understand this Oneness fully, we will see and experience Joy all around us.

Author Charlene M. Proctor, Ph.D. is one such messenger. As an ordained Minister of Spiritual Peacemaking and a Deeksha facilitator trained by oneness guides from Fiji and India, Charlene is on a mission to spread this message of Joy. Truly, Charlene's her entire life's work is devoted to help awaken the Divine magnificence within all humanity.

That's why Charlene wrote her beautiful new book The Oneness Gospel: Birthing the Christ Consciousness and Divine Human in You.

The Oneness Gospel is a rich mix of East and West, and science and mysticism, transcending the boundaries of religion, and uplifting the reader to that place of Oneness where Joy resides. In a style that is both accessible and inspirational, Charlene expertly weaves together philosophy and practice, bringing us an understanding that there is ultimately only one purpose in life—to achieve Oneness with the Divine.
The Oneness Gospel is celebrating its official Amazon launch on Tuesday April 24th. When you buy the book during the launch, you'll also receive some very special "thank you gifts" from Charlene and her friends and colleagues:
• The MP3 download from Charlene's recent webinar "Your Journey to Joy " AND
• An invitation to "Twelve Principles for Becoming a Divine Human", a special online discussion with Charlene coming in May 2012, AND
• A complete library of downloadable spiritual and personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe.
I do hope you'll have a look at Charlene's beautiful new book The Oneness Gospel today, and that this message of Unity and Joy fills your own life, and the lives of those you love.
Again, to find out more about the book and the free gifts go to:
http://onenessgospel.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html

Wishing you a joy-filled day!

Discover Your Inner Wealth with this Week's Podcast Guest: Valery Satterwhite

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Financial security is an integral part of the American Dream, and something that many people strive for their whole lives. They think if only they had more money, everything would be perfect. But what do you do when you have all the money in the world, yet all is not well in your world? You go to Inner Wealth Coach and Sports Psychology Coach, Valery Satterwhite. This Friday, Valery joins us to discuss her new book, Money Moxie: How to Transcend the Paradox of Privilege & Liberate Your True Worth.

With an empathetic yet non-nonsense voice, Money Moxie offers guidance on dealing with common human problems that have been compounded by wealth. Often stemming from the belief that they are only as valuable as their bank accounts, these problems manifest in an array of unhealthy behaviors, including eating disorders and addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex and plastic surgery.

Although people of means are the target audience, Money Moxie is an excellent and inspirational guide for anyone struggling to find their own true worth. It is currently available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Be sure to tune in on Friday to hear Valery's personal story and groundbreaking work.

Blog Tour & Telesummit

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:05:00 +0000

WITS Owner Yvonne Perry here with an update about the progress on my upcoming book, Shifting into Purer Consciousness ~ Integrating Spiritual Transformation with the Human Experience. This book is filled with tips on how to make the ascension process easier and quicker.

Here is a brief description of the book:

You may be one of the millions of people who are spiritually growing faster than your body can tolerate. What you are experiencing is a normal response known as ascension symptoms. What if a multidimensional form of yourself—from a realm with a purer consciousness—has arrived to guide you through the challenging times we are facing?

This book will be a cohesive follow up of Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You. See http://whosestuffisthis.com/ for more information about that book.

Everything is set for the book to launch with a virtual book tour in June 2012. It's not a typical book tour that travels from one bookstore to another, with the author signing copies of the book. Instead, it is an online blog event and you are cordially invited to come along with me as I drop by more than twenty blogs. At each stop, I will leave audio clips, video clips, written interviews, links to radio interviews, book excerpts, media releases, and content-rich articles. Visitors get to read something new each day as they follow the book tour from blog to blog. If you would like to be part of the blog tour, please let Katie [Katie@writersinthesky.com] know you would like an article that you can post to your blog on a particular day.

The tour will be followed by an ascension training telesummit in July. Featured panelists include Dr. Caron Goode, Harriette Knight, Sondra Ray, Kristen Ann, Dr. Susan Allison, and other experts in the spiritual shift we are experiencing as we develop our souls and planet to a new level of consciousness.

I've gotten several really encouraging endorsements thus far and look forward to sharing the book with you soon. If you would like to write a review, I can send you an advance PDF copy of the manuscript.

Join Us for a Conversation With Award-Winning Author Michael Loyd Gray

noreply@blogger.com (Dana Micheli) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:49:00 +0000

It seems that with each passing day, our society is becoming more and more obsessed with fame. We spend countless hours watching, reading about, and sometimes even stalking, those who have it. For many people, fame is the ultimate dream, even if it means they have to air their dirty laundry on a reality show to get it. Rarely does anyone consider the downside of living in this golden fishbowl, but award-winning author Michael Loyd Gray does just that in his excellent new novel, Not Famous Anymore.

Elliott Adrian is in many ways a Hollywood cliché: small town boy who made good; a movie star with a mansion, a collection of sports cars, and an entourage of sycophants to fulfill his every desire; another celebrity behaving badly, without a care for anyone but himself. But beneath the flippant, arrogant façade beats the heart of an empty, desperately unhappy man. After his latest alcohol-fueled stunt lands him in rehab, Elliott decides he’s cashing in his chips and leaving L.A.—and fame—for good.

Disguising himself with a mustache, a cowboy hat and a series of vehicles that have seen better days, Elliott escapes his golden cage and begins driving back to the Midwest. He is not sure what he is doing, but he knows he is driven by an inexplicable need to make things simpler. What he finds, however, is that his life is about to get a heck of a lot more complicated.

In creating the rich world of his novels, Michael Loyd Gray draws both on his own experiences and the many pearls of wisdom he has gleaned from literature, music, and movies. His work, he has said, is inspired by that of Ernest Hemingway, but also writers such as Bobbie Anne Mason, Ellen Gilchrist, Raymond Carver, Stuart Dybek, Daniel Curley, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Whether you are a published author, aspiring writer, or just someone who loves a good read, you'll thoroughly enjoy listening to Michael Loyd Gray speak about his love of literature and his own creative process. Click below to listen to the podcast.

Michael Loyd Gray is an award-winning author, journalist and college professor. Born in Arkansas and raised in Champaign, Illinois, he has also lived and worked in New York, Arizona, Texas, and Michigan. He has a MFA from Western Michigan University and a Journalism degree from the University of Illinois. His novel Well Deserved won the 2008 Sol Books Prose Series Award. His story "Little Man" won the 2005 Alligator Juniper Fiction Prize and the 2005 The Writers Place Award for Fiction. Not Famous Anymore was awarded a grant by the Elizabeth George Foundation. December’s Children, another of his novels, was a finalist for the 2006 Sol Books Prose Series Prize and is forthcoming in 2012 from Sol Books as the young adult novel, King Biscuit.

Currently, Michael is a full-time online English professor at South University, where he co-founded Asynchronous, the student literary journal.

Not Famous Anymore is available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Book with a View April 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Yvonne Perry) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:05:00 +0000

Title: Cold Eyes
Author: Romina Wilcox
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (April 5, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-1425731694
Reviewer: Dana Micheli

Romina Wilcox’s Cold Eyes Will Send a Cyber Chill Down Your Spine

Joanne Gravitz is used to being the smartest person in the room. Her new computer security program, Cold Eyes, has placed OmegaSoft, Inc. among the Silicon Valley elite, and solidified her role as one of the company’s rising stars. Therefore it is no surprise when the FBI asks for her help in solving a high profile cybercrime case. Gravitz agrees, but she has no idea that her orderly world is about to be shattered.

The case involves the murder of world renowned AIDS researcher, Professor Brett Russell. Russell’s lifeless body had washed ashore on the very morning he was to announce his groundbreaking medical discovery to the world. On the night of his death, his computer servers were also hacked into, and that’s where Joanne Gravitz comes in. The FBI believes the two crimes are connected and is hoping that Gravitz can use Cold Eyes to track down the culprit. Not one to turn down a challenge, Joanne is soon hot on the trail of a person known only as CyberGod, an evil genius that even she may not be able to outsmart.

Cold Eyes has all the components of a must-read thriller: murder, mayhem, lies and love. I felt like I was right there with Gravitz as she raced against time—and her fears—to catch CyberGod before he can kill again. And every time I thought I had the story figured out, that illusion was dispelled with the turn of the page.

Cold Eyes will leave you wanting more of Joanne Gravitz. Luckily, she returns in Wilcox’s follow up cyber-thriller, The Calendar, also currently available on Amazon.

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Title: The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids: How to Create a Natural Diet and Lifestyle for Your Child
Author: Barbara Rodriguez
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books (February 28, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0738214894
Reviewer: Dana Micheli
The Organic Nanny’s New Book Will Not Only Improve Children’s Lives, It Will Save Them

Barbara Rodriguez, or the Organic Nanny as she has come to be called, lived an organic lifestyle decades before it became en vogue. Her grandmother, or Tata, was a pediatric nurse who combined her medical training with rich Cuban traditions to affect holistic healing. With Barbara serving as her apprentice, she created simple and very effective herbal teas and poultices. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and a connection to the soil, family and community were all essential components of their lives.

Barbara may not have known it at the time, but she was training for her life’s work as the Organic Nanny. Over the years she has cared for culturally diverse children from 11 months to 16 years, and whether the child has lagging energy levels or ADHD, she provides a holistic way to improve the issue. Using the acronym L.O.V.E. (Local, Organic, Vegetable-centric, and Environmentally Conscious) as a guide, Rodriguez has helped “her families” return to a more balanced, natural, authentic way—not just of eating, but of living. And now she brings generations of experiential wisdom to the rest of us through this book.

Her goal, she says, is not to pressure parents to be perfect, but a better version of themselves. To this end, she first asks them to assess the current state of their family’s heath, then to consider the future. For example, What do you envision for your child’s future?, and Who would you like them to become? These two seemingly simple questions open up entirely new ways of viewing their everyday habits. And that is the beginning of the shift.

Rodriquez not only discusses the known and unknown consequences of allowing your kids to eat junk food, she also exposes the bad things hiding in “good foods”. More importantly, she teaches us how to listen to the organic needs of your body, and to make changes when your family is already addicted to junk food.

This book is full of powerful epiphanies, yet offers simple, real world solutions. The best part is, she does not sugarcoat the challenges of living in today’s high tech society, namely less time spent exercising, being out in the sun, and hanging out with family—but meets them head on. Essentially, she is telling us that the more spoiled we get by modern conveniences, the further away we are getting from health and well-being.

But don’t worry, she’ll tell you how to change that too. The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids: How to Create a Natural Diet and Lifestyle for Your Child is a must read for every parent.

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Title: Fast Food and Gin on the Law
Author: Saira Viola
Publisher: FeedaRead.com (February 1, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-1781760123
Reviewer: Dana Micheli
“Fast Food and Gin on the Lawn.” It’s not your mother’s iambic pentameter.

Salman Rushdie once said, “A poet's work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.”

Well, if that’s true, then Saira Viola has a job for life. Her collection of poems, “Fast Food and Gin on the Lawn” is a raw exploration of social ills that are as current as the latest blog and as timeless as humanity itself. From Baghdad to Brooklyn, London to Long Island, Viola takes us on a tour of underbelly of the human condition in all its forms: war, materialism, and gut-wrenching despair.

If you are thinking you can decide on a favorite, think again, for your choice will change with each turn of the page. I know mine did. “Duke Ellington Blues”, with its vivid imagery of a soldier turned down-and-out musician, immediately brought to mind Hughes’ “What Happens to a Dream Deferred?”, and when reading “The Chromatic Bliss” I could feel the agony of every woman whose looks have been stolen by the cruel march of time.

While all of the pieces in Fast Food and Gin are melodic, the book also features Viola’s original song lyrics. With lines like “Elegant thugs and Escort girls, With boudoir secrets to sell the world”, Trash City Blues conveys the growing wealth disparity so powerfully that even those with no musical ability (like myself) could hear its haunting sounds.

Saira Viola’s travels around the globe have shaped her writing into an experiential tour de force. She crafts her poems using a unique style she calls “sonic scatterscript”, which draws on the fusion of music, nature and pop culture. She also writes satirical news articles for Stirring Trouble Internationally, and her poems have appeared in several journal and magazines, including the prestigious Cannon Poets.

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Title: The Two Agreements
Author: S.L. Brannon
Publisher: CreateSpace (October 15, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1461171591
Reviewer: Dana Micheli

The Christian that Came in From the Cold: Steve Brannon’s The Two Agreements offers a New Path to God

Historically, in times of crisis people have turned to their religion. But what happens when people have problems and questions that their church is either unable, or unwilling, to address? This impasse is the cause of the growing rift we are seeing in fundamentalist Christianity. Millions of people, particularly the young, are leaving the church in droves. They hunger for a closer relationship with God and are tired of being told “they don’t believe strongly enough” if they have questions about the traditional interpretation of the Bible. Some of these questions are nearly as old as humanity itself, and although many remain unanswerable to us on this plane, their exploration is something that must be attempted if we can hope to understand our Divine purpose.

In this incredible new book, The Two Agreements, Dr. Steve Brannon reinterprets the New Testament and sheds light on the true nature of Christ’s life and work on earth. Brannon explores Jesus’ journey as he walked between two worlds—the relative existence of human life, and the absolute world of love, unity, acceptance and perfection created by The Source. But perhaps even more important, the book also chronicles the origins of “the Lie”, introduced in the story of Adam and Eve, which has been used for centuries to illustrate man’s inherent “sinful” nature and his separation from God.

The Two Agreements is also a companion of sorts to Brannon’s work as a spiritual counselor/coach. Licensed as a minister at the age of 19, Steve planted a fundamentalist Christian church soon after. But over time, he began to feel a need to know Christ in a way that Christian dogma did not seem to allow. After much soul-searching, he began a slow, painful extrication from organized religion that led to his transformation as a true follower of Jesus.

Today, Steve’s interfaith ministry specializes in helping those with mental health challenges develop their spiritual lives. He hosts two weekly groups: one is for patients at a mental health facility; the other is open to the public, for individuals suffering with mood disorders, as well as their close friends and families. Both groups are comprised of a plurality of faiths.

The Two Agreements is an invitation to a new level of spiritual awareness. It opens a door to a new consciousness and most importantly, a deeper relationship with God and with each other.