Get your FREE self-publishing checklist!

Complete Self-Publishing Checklist – - FREE

It’s easier than you ever imagined!

In only 2 concise pages, this PDF offers you everything you need to get started OR get inspired.  Turn your fabulous story into an even more fabulous ready-to-print-and-Kindle children's book.  This checklist distills my own experience - about five years' worth - into one quick and easy reference.

To get the checklist INSTANTLY, please fill out the form to be added to our mailing list.
Remember to scroll all the way down and click SUBMIT to be redirected to the download page:

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Trimming your tribe. 7 reasons a smaller mailing list is better for you as an author.

It may not sound like big potatoes compared to Stephen King, but as my mailing list grows towards 1000 readers, I'm trimming the tribe.  And you might want to consider it as well.

Here are 7 good reasons why a smaller list is better for "business" when you're a writer:

1) Smaller lists are cheaper. 

Most services charge more as your lists grow.  Trimming them regularly to get rid of those who don't read your emails will keep these charges down.

2) Smaller lists are targeted. 

You'll have a better idea who's reading and what their needs are.  Remember, you can't please all of the people all of the time - so quit trying.

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Reader Feedback – why you need it, and how it helps

Have you heard the expression, "a camel is a horse designed by a committee?"  It's because they're lumpy and bumpy and funny-looking and inefficient, and, well, you get the picture.

One thing that's NOT meant to be "designed by committee" is a children's picture book. 

But I sort of went and did it anyway.  I created a page using Google Forms to help me collect feedback from pre-readers about a Jewish children's picture book I wrote.

And you know what?  It really helped. 

Here’s the biggest thing I learned:

Even the greatest book in the world is still written only from your perspective.  Other people’s views can make it much broader.

Your book reflects you and YOUR world and YOUR point of view.  By opening it up to feedback, though, you let other people behind the scenes, into your creative process… and sometimes, their ideas and their perspective, are exactly what you need to broaden your book and make it more universally appealing.

Sure, some of the feedback I got wasn't helpful at all, like one person, who suggested I rewrite the whole thing in verse because she likes rhymes. But some really was, and it helped me figure out what the first draft of the book had been missing.

When you're asking for feedback, be specific.  Don’t say “did you like the book?”  Use questions that are specifically targeted to things that are within your power to change about the book.

For example, one of my questions was

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Happy Spring with a FREE CHILDREN’S BOOK COVER TEMPLATE

Around here, the weather is finally losing its chill (yeah, it gets chilly here in the land of sun, surf and palm trees!) and I just felt like celebrating.  We’re in that blessed period between “too cold” and “too hot,” and I feel great. 

Hope you do, too.

You probably know already that a great bookcover has the ability to move me.  You, too, right? 

That’s how we choose books, though sometimes we don’t like to admit it.  That’s also why I’ve put together the Indie Children’s-Book Cover Contest for independently-published books.  (Don’t forget to submit if you’ve published anything since November!)

So what does that have to do with celebrating???

It’s new – and it’s FREE

To help you really get into a party mood, I’ve created another FREE TEMPLATE – this time, to help you create compelling book covers.  You can use this template for any standard 32-page, 8.5" x 8.5" children's book.  And just to help smooth the process along, I’ve thrown in a 10-page help guide to creating dynamic, compelling covers.

Here's an idea of the kind of book covers you can create with this FREE template:

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Building an author mailing list: PART 3, How to get started (the nitty-gritty).

Ready to get started?

Great.  Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in.

I hope I’ve convinced you that an author mailing list is a great way to chat directly with people who love your writing. 

(If you’re not convinced yet, go back and read Part 1 of this 3-part series to find out why you need an author mailing list.  Then read Part 2 about how to convince readers to sign up (hint:  just ask them).)

So now the question is, where do you start?

Step 1:  Choose a provider

There are a few email list providers.  Some let you get started for free.  The top two are Mailchimp and Aweber.  I use Mailchimp, mainly because it was free to start out, and slightly less expensive on an ongoing basis, but to be honest, I don’t love it.  Aweber looks like it starts at around $29 a month, but they let you try it for a month for $1.

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Building an author mailing list: PART 2, Calls to action.

 

You know you want one.  You know you NEED one.  But how do you GET one in the first place?

(If you’re not convinced yet, go back and read Part 1 of this 3-part series to find out why you need an author mailing list.  And then take a look at Part 3, which takes you through the (super-easy) steps to get started.)

The best way to build your mailing list is… to let readers know it exists.

Sounds simple, right?

But are you doing it?  The way to do it right is with a call to action at the back of your book.  Calls to action are known as CTA in the marketing business, so that’s what I’m going to call them here.

Notice I said marketing business.  Lots of writers feel kind of slimy when they think about marketing.  If you do, that’s something you’ll have to get over.

A back-of-book CTA should be super-simple.  This is a two-step format that every reader will recognize:

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Building an author mailing list: PART 1, Do you need one?

Do you need an author mailing list?  Yes, you do.

Seriously.  You need a mailing list, period.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series that will convince you that you do.  And prove that it’s super-easy to get started.  Part 2 will show you how to get readers to sign up, and Part 3 is the nitty-gritty how-to (but don’t worry, it’s easy to get started).

If things were different, if Amazon and other sites told you who was buying your stuff, or gave you access to their information, then I might not think you need a mailing list at all.  Then again, do you want those sites to control your relationship with readers?

Didn’t think so.

Amazon is not your friend.  Amazon wants to suck your buyers in, then grab their info so they can sell them other writers’ books. 

Pretty nasty, huh?  So that means you’ve got to look out for yourself.  (Not to mention that you may want to sell through other sites, besides Amazon.)

Still, you might not understand exactly why you need a mailing list.  Maybe one of these sounds like you…

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