Eating healthier, working out, making more time for friends… these are, even for us indie writers, common New Year’s resolutions. Which is to say, the resolutions that will soon go by the wayside.

But for writers, there’s one resolution of the utmost importance to us: finally finishing and publishing your book. This year — with the right preparation and planning — you can follow through on this goal.

I place emphasis here on “finishing and publishing” because if you’re just now typing “Chapter One,” it’s going to be hard for you to both finish and publish that book before the year’s over.

So, let’s assume you’ve already put in a lot of work — say, you’re halfway to your target length of 60,000 words. If you’ve made it that far, you can and will publish your book in 2019… IF you follow this checklist.

June: Finish and edit your first draft

The first step here is to finish writing your book. This will likely require some sacrifice. Cancel that Netflix subscription. Put a lock on your home office. Stay loyal to a writing schedule in which you write and make progress every single day.

Within a few months, you should be done with your first draft. But, that doesn’t mean you’re done writing. Next comes the rewriting. This is when you kill your darlings and shave down the story and the prose so only that which is essential and moves the story forward remains.

With focused effort, you can have this done in the next few months. The goal is to have a tight version of your manuscript which can serve as the foundation for what comes next.

July: Hand your manuscript to a professional editor

Are you done after you’ve finished your self-edit? Nope. Next, you should find a professional editor to edit your manuscript. Yes, this can be expensive. But it’s necessary and worth it to invest in a professional to take a second or third look at your every sentence, word, and syllable. At Purpose Publishing, my team and I tell all our writers the same thing: edit or regret it.

That’s one reason why we offer all our writers editing services. But keep in mind, a professional editor will need 2–3 weeks to do a thorough job, so make sure you’ve found an editor closer to the beginning of the month than later.

August: Editing is complete

Your next step is to read the edited manuscript to make sure you agree with the changes your editor has made. This is important, so take your time. Some authors accept all the changes and rush through this process blindly. Don’t do that! This is your book, and you get the final say on how it reads.

September: Prepare for publication

By September, you should have an edited manuscript ready to go. Next, you’ll need to take steps to make your book look and feel professional.

The best way to do that, outside of partnering with a traditional publisher — which for most people doesn’t make monetary or logical sense and isn’t really feasible to begin with — is to partner with a full-service self-publishing company (I recommend Purpose Publishing!). Your next steps include:

Cover design. The cover of your book is of the utmost importance. It will be the first thing new readers see when they come across your book. It must be both arresting and professional. It pays, then, to hire a professional cover designer. Your sister-in-law who knows a bit of graphic design won’t cut it. You want your book to look like the real deal.

Promotion plan. Next, you’ll need to start thinking about how you’re going to inform the world about the existence of your book. Savvy authors know that such promotion must start early — long before your book enters the marketplace. Will you hire a publicist? Solicit book reviews? Try social media ads? September is the month to make all these strategy decisions so when it comes time to implement them, you know exactly what to do.

Publishing plan. This is also the time to decide how, exactly, you’re going to deliver your book to the world. Are you going to use Print-On-Demand services? Will you create eBooks? There are many distribution options for eBooks, including Amazon. Another option is to partner with aggregators (Purpose Publishing provides such services) who can handle distribution for you.

October: Pre-sale

Once you hit October, it’s time to put things into motion. The first step? Pre-sale.

If you’re distributing your book online, that means you need to set up a pre-sale period for your book with the various online marketplaces and retail stores you’re utilizing. This is, arguably, the most important part of your book launch.

Mid-November: Time to hit the marketplace!

If you’ve followed all the steps above, your book should be available for pre-sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc. in time for the holiday and the end of the year.

If all this sounds like a lot of work — you’re right. It is. To get there will require discipline, patience, and grit. Here are some general rules to follow to help keep you on track.

Plan for good and bad days. You can expect to have some good days — when creativity flows and the words spill out without effort — and bad days. Life is full of distractions, after all. The important thing is to plan accordingly so you can get even a little bit of work done every day.

Turn off the TV. Television (and YouTube) is the biggest book killer known to man. So turn it off. There’ll be plenty of time for binge-watching this fall after the hard work is done.

Ask for help. Turn to your friends and family and tell them you’re living out the dream of writing your book. Ask for their forgiveness — and space — while you complete this mission.

Deadlines aren’t everything. Don’t beat yourself up if your manuscript isn’t done by June. A rushed book is never a good book. Publishing a book of quality takes time, just commit to the process and work until you’re done.

I look forward to reading your book this time next year!

To Your Success,

​MG

What You Can Do With A $100 Marketing Budget
 
Your book is an investment. It’s normal to put money into something you care about and invest in something that helps pay the bills. So, just as we put money into our publishing and content, we should also set aside money for marketing our work.
 
Naturally, this seems like a daunting task, as no one wants to take a gamble on marketing if the outcome is unsure, especially when labels and wealthier artists dump thousands upon thousands into their marketing. But it’s actually easier than you think. Even better, it can also be cheaper than you think.
 
Let’s say you only have $100 a month to spend on marketing your music. If you have no idea where to start or how you can get the most bang for your buck, here’s how you might want to split up that cash.
 
Facebook advertising: $25 to $50
Yep, this could eat up half of your monthly budget, but it’s an important facet of marketing. The wayFacebook’s current algorithm works is that posts that aren’t engaged with won’t appear on your fans’ timelines. Even if you have 15,000 fans, if your post gets zero interactions, most of those fans won’t even see it. Is this Facebook’s way of nearly forcing brands to pay up for reach? A little bit. But fortunately, even $5 or $10 could get you significant reach on Facebook.

There are a few ways of going about advertising on Facebook. One way is to promote your whole page for $5 to $10 a day for five days. Ensure you’re drilling down your audience, too. You can target people by interest, so make sure you include your genre, similar artists, and any other important details in your page information.
 
Another route would be promoting a YouTube clip that’s posted on your Facebook page. This way, you can also rack up on YouTube views. For $10 a day for five days, your post could easily reach a minimum of 2,000 to 5,200 people each day. Will this necessarily lead to a corresponding number of likes, views, and listens? Potentially! If your content is written well, it’ll certainly get some love. And if you can’t manage $10 a day, even $5 a day isn’t a bad deal, since it’ll get you a reach of about 980 to 2,600 people daily.
 
Google AdWords for video: $25 to $50
Obviously, you’ll have to adjust your spend here depending on how much you put towards your Facebook campaign. However, Google AdWords is a great way to invest a chunk of your marketing budget – namely in YouTube’s TrueView, which is AdWords for video. This creates sponsored video ads on YouTube which can lead people to your video, channel, or website.

There’s also a very easy and efficient walkthrough when creating an ad, which makes this very easy to use and customize. I’d recommend a total of $5 to $10 for five days. Since its PPC (pay-per-click), you’ll only be charged each time your ad is clicked – plus, you get to choose the cap on the amount you spend (i.e., your $5). With this budget of $5 to $10 a day, you can easily achieve up to 1,000 impressions daily.
 
Website, social media, or EPK cleanup: remaining budget
Let’s say you spent $25 between the Facebook ads and Google AdWords, or decided to forgo YouTube TrueView as you don’t have a video to push. Now, you have $25 or $50 left over. Think about spending that on a nice graphic set for an upcoming show, or even hiring a strategist to rework some of your bio or copy on your website. Now, I’m sure any designers reading this are cringing at the thought of only working for $25 on design, but for one or two simple social media graphics, or a new cover photo, that’s surely reasonable.

A final word of warning: when you start marketing your work, people are going to see it – lots of them – so make sure whatever you’re putting out there is clean and fresh. The last thing you want is money spent on promoting a post or video with poor wording or quality. So be prepared!
 
To Your Success,

MG

YOU can do it! It’s YOUTube

Social media is a fantastic tool for engaging with your customers and providing value where they’re already spending so much of their time – in their Facebook news feeds, Twitter streams, and elsewhere online.

As you’re creating your video content, be sure to focus on presenting yourself authentically and personably. If you can come across as someone your audience will connect with, you’ve already won their attention.

With that in mind, you want to do everything you can to resist the temptation of “SELL! SELL! SELL!” messaging. Don’t forget that people connect with people, not brands or companies.

Check out and try these strategies used by the experts to engage with customers and build meaningful relationships on YouTube.

1. Be Personal

People love to connect, have something in common, and acknowledge similarities with others. Don’t afraid to talk about your past mistakes and tell exciting stories.

2. Be Vulnerable

Even though it can be difficult, sharing your weaknesses and asking for feedback from your customers gets them engaged on a much deeper level. People love helping others, and most will jump at the opportunity to provide constructive feedback when they feel they’ve already gotten value from your content.
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3. Be Responsive

Everyone seeks human connection. Make the extra effort to respond to a comment, mention someone directly in your videos, and shout out those who’ve given you feedback or content suggestions. Chances are, you’ll make someone’s day and they’ll be that much more likely to organically share your content with others.

4. Be Entertaining

Be goofy. Do something crazy. Share your outtakes. Kick back, laugh, and show your customers that you’re human too!

A high level of customer engagement will come as a reward for being yourself, showing you’re human, and delivering content to your audience in an exciting manner.
 
To you the YOUtuber in Training,


MG

Here are a dozen ways to come up with Book Ideas From Your Experiences

Coming up with the right book idea can be a serious challenge regardless of how experienced you are as a writer.

Whether you’re a brand new writer or a seasoned author ready for a new writing project, it can be incredibly difficult to find the inspiration you need, in order to commit to an endeavor as arduous as writing a book. I’m a firm believer that the best book ideas must come from within.

However, the ways in which you find and cultivate the story ideas that have the potential to turn into a book idea (or best seller) you’re passionate about writing, are plentiful.

As a writer myself, I’ve gone through a lot of creative ups and downs. For this exhaustive list of potential book ideas, I’m pulling straight from my personal list of ways to find inspiration for my own writing process, when I’m lacking motivation.

Over the years, this list has grown with ideas and inspiration I’ve gleaned from a handful of my favorite experimental storytellers like Tim Ferriss, Dan Carlin, Alex Blumberg and others who’ve created some of my favorite dynamic podcasts.

These techniques to finding inspiration as a writer, come from pushing myself outside of my comfort zone with trying new experiences, conducting massive amounts of research on topics I’m interested in, running massive lifestyle experiments, taking a deeper dive into my thoughts and dreams, and so much more. Let’s dive in.

Here are my a dozen ways to come up with the best book ideas that’ll help you hit the ground running as a new writer.

1. Write About What Bothers You Off Most.

I could write endlessly about the mistakes entrepreneurs tend to make with their first businesses. It doesn’t quite piss me off, but I care so much about this topic and want to help others avoid the most painful mistakes I’ve made myself, that it fuels my ability to write ad nauseam on the complexities of how to start a business. What gets you most heated?

Take that topic and write about it without any creative restraints whatsoever. Let the words meet the page, don’t judge your ideas, and then structure the content later. This approach has fueled many of my best blog posts that could easily turn into book ideas in the future.

2. Do Something Remarkable, Then Write About It.

Imagine the story you could tell if you made a trip like Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman did on their 20,000 mile bike crossing 12 counties and 19 time zones in 2004. Of course, these were celebrities taking time off to raise money for charity. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably not in a position to travel unpaid for 115 days. However, there are still many smaller-scale remarkable endeavors that you could do, that’d be worth writing about.

3. Start a Blog and Write Chapters One Post at a Time.

This works particularly well for niche topics. Gain a loyal following writing a series of blog posts on something you’re interested in. Once you have built up a quality library of posts, you can repackage them into a book.

4. Create a Podcast and Write a Book Based on What You’ve Learned from Guests.

Did you know that one in four Americans ages 12-54 listened to a podcast last month? In fact, according to Jay Baer of Convince and Convert with an assist from Edison Research, the same number of Americans listen to podcasts each month, as use Twitter. One of the most popular podcast formats is to invite an interesting guest onto your show and interview them for your audience. Entrepreneur and CreativeLive instructor, Lewis Howestook this exact approach when he wrote his New York Times best-selling book, The School of Greatness, which shares everything he’s learned from interviewing hundreds of the world’s top creatives.

5. Write a Book and Publish One Chapter at a Time with Amazon Kindle Singles.

If the thought of writing a full-length novel is too intimidating, then one very real option is to break your book into smaller chunks that you publish one at a time. You would be in good company if you did, Charles Dickens wrote The Pickwick Papers, his very first novel, as a series of short stories in the 19th century. With easy-to-use blogging platforms, the Internet now makes this a very easy task. As an added benefit beyond publishing all of the stories at once, you’ll have the opportunity to adjust your writing style for the later chapters in response to feedback you get early on.

6. Ask Your Friends What They Like Reading Most, Write Something for Them.

Your friends are already a captive audience. Ask them what they like reading about, chances are there are more people out there who have similar tastes. Write your book imagining that your friends are your target readers. Of course, your friends are unlikely to be fierce critics if the first draft of your book isn’t up to snuff, so make sure you elicit honest (sometimes brutal) feedback on the first versions of your book, in order to avoid them just telling you what they think you want to hear.

7. Write About What Makes You Laugh Hardest.

This could easily tie in with the activity above, but I’ve found that it’s often more fun to expand upon just one instance when you laughed hysterically in the past. To me, laughter is a sign of a truly great story, and it’s usually highly contagious. Of course, you might be embarrassed about what makes you laugh most, and it may not be politically correct. However, the more outlandish or embarrassing the story, the more likely you are to attract an engaged audience for your book idea.

8. Write About the Most Upsetting Experience You’ve Ever Had.

One of the stranger quirks of the human state I’ve come to observe, is that we’re drawn in to read, watch and consume traumatic stories that highlight the difficulties others have triumphed over in life. While you may struggle to tell the world about your most upsetting experiences, it’s likely that people would benefit tremendously from hearing how you’ve gone through unfortunate circumstances or failures, and what you’ve learned on the other side.

9. Write About the Person who’s Had the Most Impact on Your Life.

Have you had a mentor that’s left a lasting impression in your personal life or within your career? Maybe it was your best school teacher, youth leader, business advisor, or simply an older friend or family member. Think about how they’ve impacted your life, pull out specific lessons they imprinted on you and dedicate the book to them as the ultimate thank you. Gratitude is contagious, and this format makes for an incredibly empowering book idea.

10. Take Inspiration From Your Favorite Songs and Musicians.

You could choose to write about your favorite musician from a fan’s perspective. Perhaps you’ve been to one their concerts and could write about the experience. If you have a good music collection, perhaps you could choose to write about the songs they have released, possibly looking at the messages behind them. Alternatively, you could examine some song lyrics, and see if these can inspire you to tell a tale. Here’s an example: a few years ago we took a girls trip to Vegas for my sister’s 40th birthday and went to the Michael Jackson show. After the show, I tasked each lady (there were four of us) to write a short story using the title to one of Michael Jackson’s hits and I’d publish it in a collective book about what Michael Jackson songs meant to each of us in our life. Uncovering a correlation between positive social changes in that time period and the positive music that rose in popularity would undoubtedly stir up a readership. Needless to say, we didn’t do it but it was still a good idea and one you could use when thinking about writing your book.

11. Write About Your Career Experience Within Your Industry.

Most of us have built up a wealth of life experiences. Many books have been written by people telling tales from within the industry in which they work. Have you been working in a job long enough to build up a series of anecdotes that might interest or amuse potential readers? How about teaching them something that’ll accelerate their path to becoming an expert within your space? I’ve done exactly this by chronicling my own personal journey of becoming a subject matter expert within the content marketing world, and have written a series of posts about how to start a freelance business, that have attracted a large readership.

12. Write About the Biggest Problem Facing Your Industry (and Potential Solutions).

Discuss any major problems or issues that you can identify within your industry and thoughtfully propose new solutions. If you’ve tested these solutions yourself, even better! This will be particularly useful if you can come up with practical and cost-effective solutions to the challenges other businesses in your space are facing, and will help you position yourself as an expert, one of the major reasons people decide to write a book in the first place.
 
Try at least one,
​
MG

THE REAL REASON PEOPLE DON’T WRITE THE BOOK INSIDE OF THEM

I’ve had people tell me they wrote a book in less than 24 hours, although of course I wouldn’t recommend that. I am also aware of a realistic approach to balancing the time it takes, but Carl Boyd worked with me and finished his book within 60 days.

And then, I’d say factoring in trying to schedule in writing time if you have a full-time job or family to take care of.

I could give you examples that show, no matter how you do it, you DO have time to write a book. Sometime between now and 365 days from now.

The reason you haven’t written a book, clearly has nothing to do with time. There is all the time in the world to write this book.

So what’s the real reason?

You are afraid to write the book.

WRITING A BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING
It’s true, writing a novel is scary. And the reason you are experiencing writer’s block or writing avoidance is because YOU ARE AFRAID TO WRITE THE BOOK.

Fear is a very strong motivator. It also is very good at wearing disguises.

You might read this and shake your head and say, no, no, I’m not afraid to write the book. It’s just I have to take care of my family/walk the dog/go to work/pay the bills/insert-any-reason-or-excuse-here.

The subject of fear is perhaps not the book itself, but you DO have fear in some other place.

Fear most often disguises itself as guilt. If you take 3 hours a week to write the book instead of spending time with the family, you might feel guilty.

The fear in that case is fearing that you aren’t a good spouse/parent/child/sibling/friend.

Maybe you are afraid that no one will read the book when you finish it. Maybe you’re like me and are actually afraid people will read the book once it’s done. After all, we can’t have critics if we don’t have an audience.

If you aren’t writing, but you want to be, it’s a good idea to think about your fears. We’ve just proven there IS time to write that book – and you can do it, once it becomes something you are not afraid to prioritize.

Writing a book also does not have to be any sort of crazy all-for-nothing-all-at-once dash. Balance is key, and as we all know from reading Aesop fables, slow and steady wins the race.

Don’t be scared, write!

​
MG
 

6. WRITE FIRST, EDIT LATER
 
One of the biggest mistakes new writers make is to edit while writing. Don’t worry about making your first draft perfect – this can be done in the revision stage AFTER the first draft is complete.
Try to avoid reading what you just wrote and just keep moving forward. You can always edit sentences and cut out scenes or add scenes later.


7. WRITE FAST

If you’ve set a deadline, writing fast will help you reach your goals. It also helps you stop second-guessing your work while you are in the process of writing.

Write from a stream of consciousness where you just write whatever comes to mind about your story. Don’t worry so much about it making sense. The important thing is to get words down.


8. CONNECT WITH OTHERS

Writing can be lonely. Joining a writing group can give you a lot of support! Your group can be the place to ask questions, stay accountable, and share tips and resources with others to keep you motivated and encouraged.


9. TAKE CREATIVE BREAKS

Writing is a creative process and sitting in one spot all the time staring at a screen does not do much for exercising the creative muscles.

Try drawing, painting, sketching or go for a walk or take your notebook to a coffee shop or park. Getting out and doing something will help you greatly in re-energizing you to keep writing.

10. DON’T GIVE UP!

You’ll feel like quitting many, many times. But persistence and diligence is key in finishing. Stick to your deadline and writing goals and keep at it. You CAN do it!

Now get going.

To Your Success,
​
MG

We know writing a novel can seem like a daunting task at first. Just starting can seem intimidating!

​Fortunately, there are many ways you can simplify writing a novel to make it easier. This list of 10 novel writing tips will help you stay focused, motivated, and organized throughout the writing process.


1. CHOOSE YOUR DEADLINE AND WRITING GOAL
When there’s no deadline or goal to finish, it can be very hard to complete your project.

This is why this is the #1 rule on the list: Set a measurable deadline and writing goal.

Most novels are between 50,000 and 100,000 words. Because it’s easier to add words than cut them out, it’s often better to set your word count goal lower than 75,000 words for your first draft.

To determine the best writing goals and deadline for you, think about how many words you can write in a day. I can generally easily write between 2,500 and 4,000 words a day, so setting a goal of 75,000 words in 30 days is reasonable for me.

A deadline will push you to your limits and write even when you’re not motivated to write.


2. PREPARE BEFORE YOU WRITE
While some writers just sit down at the keyboard to write with no plan or idea, it can be difficult to keep a story going or you may hit writer’s block. By preparing a basic synopsis, mind map, or outline for your ideas, you’ll have something to reference to anytime you come across a roadblock while writing.

There’s many different ways to prepare for writing a novel.

Here’s two examples for ways you can prepare:

• Write a 1-2 page synopsis of the novel
• Create an outline for your novel
  
  

A little prep work can go a long way in helping you stay focused and on task while writing. Having all your research and ideas in one place can also be very beneficial for keeping thoughts and ideas organized.


3. KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS

The better you know your characters, the easier the writing will unfold. Get to know your characters as well as you would know a close friend.

You don’t have to write every little detail about your character in the story – but the more you know about your character the more you will be able to imagine new scenes and develop the story.

Need help creating strong characters? See our list of Character Development Questions and How to Develop Strong Characters in Your Novel.


4. USE THE RIGHT TOOLS WHILE WRITING YOUR NOVEL
 
If you’re using Microsoft Office or Open Office to write your novel, you’re likely going to get frustrated during the process. While these programs are great for some writing projects, most professional writers use software specifically made for writers.

There are a lot of great programs and tools that can help you easily write your book. The key is to make sure that whatever you use is productive, reliable, and efficient.

Beyond just software and hardware, there are a lot of other important things – like being comfortable while you work! Never underestimate the importance of a good Ergonomic Office Chair!


5. SCHEDULE TIME TO WRITE – AND ACTUALLY WRITE!
There will never be a perfect time to write. Waiting for when you have more time is a surefire way to never start writing your book. Finding motivation to write may not be easy, but sometimes scheduling time is just as hard!

Schedule a time during the day when you can write with minimal distractions and sit down. Try to disconnect from the internet if you can and force yourself to write. Do it one word at a time. Making time for writing will help you complete your novel.

To your novel success,
​
MG

​

​Today, I have something interesting for you.

Did you know that the early morning hours are the most important hours in your day?

They affect your mindset and your productivity for the rest of the day.

So, how can you start each day off on the right foot?

Plan your day the night before
By thinking about what you want to accomplish the next day, you are essentially visualizing what you are going to get done successfully, instead of wasting time worrying about where to start and what to do when you wake up. This puts you in the right mindset for success and keeps you calmer and more efficient.

Set goals for the day every morning
When you wake up and get ready to act on the plans you made the night before, stop and take a second to remind yourself of what your goals are. This will refocus your energy into only what you want to complete and will promote more productivity throughout the day.

Avoid checking your phone
By making sure you have a morning routine that allows you to wake up, shower, get ready, and prepare a good breakfast, you are ensuring that you are more likely to feel accomplished and stay focused all day.

Checking your phone for emails, new social media notifications, or missed calls can cause you the anxiety that goes along with feeling like you have to have to start jumping in and handling everything immediately. Give yourself a break for some focus and you’ll thank yourself later.
Remember, it’s okay to take a few minutes for yourself.
 
To Your Success,
​
MG

People doubt all the time.

They doubt themselves, they doubt positive outcomes, and they doubt they will achieve the success they’re so desperately working toward.

Why?
Because the voice inside your mind takes everything you’ve ever heard or seen throughout your life and throws it back at you exactly when you don’t need it. Worries, bad dreams, and memories of people telling you that you can’t… all things that are completely unhelpful in most situations.

A lot of writers, even very accomplished authors, have doubt. They don’t feel like their writing is good enough.

That’s a dangerous game to play. If you convince yourself you’re  not doing well, then it becomes easier to give up -- and that is the opposite of what we want to achieve here.

To overcome your doubts and any fears you may have of writing a book, there are 15 practices you can use to help.

Write often, even when you don’t want to
One of the best ways to overcome your fears of writing is to write 1,000 words a day. The key to writing a book is to just write. Like most things, you can’t get worse at writing by doing it.

Stop thinking about what other people will think
Don’t worry about what others are going to think of your writing or of your book -- that’s what reviewing and editing are for. Right now, just focus on getting your message out of your head!

Say affirmations that rid your mind of the fear of failure
Rather than focusing on the fear of why you think you can’t write a book, focus on the future and how you’ll feel when it’s done.
 
Start today,

​MG

 

You can write anything. Even if it doesn’t directly add to what you see as your final book.

It’s important to keep your creativity flowing and to stay in the habit of writing your thoughts down and getting everything out.

Established authors never feel like they’re done growing and improving. They stick to strict routines, shut out distractions, and always look for new ways to focus and write more.

If you’ve experienced any writer’s block or frustration with your progress, it’s okay.

It’s normal! You’re not a dud.

But, if you are tired of that feeling and you’re ready for something that can help, try Brian’s free training.

With 3 Simple Tips to a Winning Writing Routine (That Actually Work!), you will learn how easy it can be to:

• Know how to start writing and organize your book
• Focus on the most important steps, one at a time
• Make writing a priority so you see regular progress

Whether you’re brand new to book writing, or you have experience and are just looking for ways to keep getting better, these tips can help you.

To Your Success,
​
MG

It’s time for a Thursday Throwback. Let's start it off with a major concept that changed my life forever:

If you want to be successful, you have to set goals.

But they can't just be any goals...

Success is based on accomplishing challenging, but attainable, goals. If you set easy or unattainable goals for yourself, how is that going to benefit you?

On one end, you're not challenging yourself, so you're depriving yourself of growing and succeeding.

On the other end, if you're setting hard-to-reach goals that you have no chance of meeting, it will affect your confidence and motivation to succeed.

In order to actually see the real benefits of setting and reaching your goals, you need to make sure that the goals you set, fit certain criteria.

Are you familiar with the S.M.A.R.T. Goals strategy?

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for a list of criteria that each goal should meet. The letters stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

A smart goal should be:

• Specific enough that it isn't ambiguous.
• Measurable enough that you will know when you are making progress on it and know when you have reached it.
• Attainable enough that reaching it isn't impossible.
• Relevant enough that it will actually help you achieve success.
• Time-bound in the sense that you have a deadline that you are working toward rather than simply planning to reach the goal "someday".

​By using the SMART goals approach, you can ensure that you are setting goals that will help you reach your overall goal in life - whatever that might be.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of S.M.A.R.T. Goals, I included some resources below that you can take a look at. They'll provide you with examples, show you how to set your own S.M.A.R.T. goals and the benefits of doing so.

To Your Success,

MG

I often get questions from authors and soon to be authors about publishing their book. It’s been a dream, an idea a thought for years and they’re getting closer to making a decision. Well, as you get close think about these things to help you in your process of getting starter. Here are 10 truths that I believe are very important to any aspiring author about publishing. It’s true that you don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way. Here’s help:

1. It takes time to build your audience-
Be patient. If you’re in it for the ride, you’ll be successful.

2. Shortcuts don’t work-
A daily commitment to your writing and promotion is the only way to succeed.

3. You will spend a lot of money-
Digital Publishing. Book printing. Publicity. It costs money.

4. Be skeptical of where you spend money-
Beware scammers and sharks who say they can turn you into a best-seller in 30 days! Ask questions, get references, and do your research.

5. Pricing is key-
Unknown authors shouldn’t charge too much for eBooks.

6. You may receive bad reviews-
Art is subjective. No book is perfect. And plenty of classics still don’t get 5 star reviews on Amazon. If the critism is contructive, learn from it.

7. Remember etiquette-
Concentrate on the positives. You’ve gotta let negativity brush off your shoulders.

8. You’ve gotta be tough-
“No one puts Baby in the corner!” Be persistent. You’ll have to fight for things.

9. Go after the big guns-
Every publicity opportunity begets another publicity opportunity.  Just because you’re self-published doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pitch yourself to CNN, the Today Show, etc. You might get lucky! But make sure you’re prepared.

10. Keep learning-
There’s a lot to figure out early on, and the landscape keeps changing. So you need to stay open to new ideas

To Your Success,

MG
 

It’s my hope that these ideas have been helpful in getting you up and out there with your book promo! Here’s the last five tips in this 3 part series of promoting your book on a budget:

11. Use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.– There are dozens of social networks out there. Find the 3 that you enjoy using most and that give you the best results– and then spend 20 minutes a day on each. An hour of social networking every day should be plenty, and by the end of the first month or two you should see results.

12. Follow-up with everyone that helps you- Whether they’re a fan, bookstore owner, literary critic, family member, blogger, or DJ, stay in contact and show your appreciation via email, thank you card, or gift (something inexpensive but personalized– maybe a bookmark with your contact info and elements of your book cover art?)

13. Be good to book clubs- Offer to Skype in for their discussion sessions, write up some discussion guidelines with questions that book clubs could employ in their meetings, and maybe even attend a few local discussions in-the-flesh!

14. Ask a friend to host a book party- It’s like a mini version of your book launch/reading/signing, but smaller and more informal. The intimacy of these events usually gets the audience engaged (and ready to purchase a book).

 15. Explore consignment options- It can be difficult to get shelf space for your book even in smaller independent stores. But I recommend visiting all the stores within an hour’s drive, talk to the person in charge of acquiring inventory, and ask if they’ll take a few books on consignment. There’s little risk for the store. If they don’t sell in 3 months, you can always come back and pick them up. But they’re going to sell, right?! Yeah, that’s right.
 
To Your Success,
​
MG

While I mentioned it wouldn’t hurt to have some serious cash to throw behind your promotional efforts, nowadays savvy and motivated authors can spread the word about their books in really effective ways for cheap, or even free! I will be back next week with another 5 ways to promote your book on a budget. Here’s the second five tips in this 3 part series of promoting your book on a budget:

6. Do radio interview, and lots of ’em- Getting radio exposure might sound daunting, but there are countless internet, community, and college radio stations that are happy to interview writers. News shows may be interested in your story to fill a couple minutes in their program. Other radio shows focus specifically on the arts or writing, and you might be able to get an hour of air time or more.
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7. Promote yourself in your email signature- You probably take your email signature for granted. But it’s valuable real estate. Make sure to include your contact info, your website and social media links, and maybe even a quote or blurb about your book!

8. Send your book to 7 reviewers each week- That’s one a day. And all it’ll cost you is a few dollars in postage and a few minutes of research. Make sure they’re open to unsolicited review copies first, though!

9. Craft a catchy press release- Make sure the story of your book launch grabs the media’s attention. Spend some serious time on this press release. When it’s ready, send it out through some of the online press release companies. Also, be sure to contact all the appropriate radio and TV stations in your area, local magazines, weeklies, newspapers, and events blogs.

10. Start your own email newsletter- This is the best way to interact with your fans on a regular basis. Find a way to entice your website visitors to leave their contact info (in exchange for a book discount, free chapter of a book in-the-works, etc.). Have an email signup sheet at all your events.
 
To Your Success,

MG