Juliet Clark is a six- time author, speaker and podcaster who has spent the last twenty years helping authors, coaches, speakers, and small businesses all over the world build expert audiences.
She started out as a mystery novelist and is best known or her books Gypsy, Granny Heist, and Dead by Dawn, and Pitchslapped. At age 46, she received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is an avid hiker and golfer.
Winter is here and 2023 is around the corner. This month, we have a fun article for authors who build characters as part of their writing experience. Mac Griffin helps authors build their fictional characters out with at least two generations of background history.
Julie Lokun talks about brand refresh. Most of us start our branding with a basic brand idea and refresh as we grow our business, brand, and life. Every brand goes through a metamorphosis and it is reflected in our colors and the way we would like our clients/ readers to feel.
The start of a new year is the best time to reevaluate the impact you want to make in the world and how to move forward in the coming year. Melanie Herschorn helps clarify what you want and how to get yourself in action.
Mario Bekes has a new book that is a must read for anyone interested in the military and politics. Mario was a child soldier who became a highranking intelligence officer. His new book, What is the True Price of Freedom, is a dive into what civil war really looks like and a caution to avoid it at all cost.
Lastly, we celebrate author Sarah Carlson and her bestselling book Facing Financial Fears: 8 Steps to Financial Freedom for Women. As we move into a recession, it is important to take a good look at where are finances are today and how we will set ourselves up for financial success in the future.
~Queen Elizabeth !!
Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly in wisdom.”
Withthe advent of the digital revolution and Print-On-Demand publishing, any writer now can become a published author with ease and minimal expense. This liberation of the printing press has created a proliferation of books. Because there is no barrier of entry to become a published author, many folks with good intention and many times excellent writing fall flat when they attempt to publish on their own. Here are five important tips to creating an easily digestible, well branded non-fiction book that is positioned for success.
Create a title that is distinct, suc cinct, and emotionally engaging. It is fine if it is abstract if the subtitle is concrete and defines what the book is about.
Make sure there is no other book with the same title and the URL is free.
Create a synopsis that is brief and defines the value proposition to the reader. It needs to answer this question: After you read the book, then you will_______________?
Make sure the chapter structure is in the right sequence for the reader, that each chapter nests
into the next. The final chapter needs to gestalt the total experi ence and leave the reader feeling fulfilled.
Make sure each chapter is subdi vided with well-branded subhead ings that carry the nuances of the subject and are guideposts for the reader.
Identify who you can get to write the foreword that has both name recognition and an author ity on the subject. Inform them that you just need an hour on Zoom to interview them and that you will transpose to the narrative and send to them for approval.
I have seen some self-published books that are well written but poorly branded and positioned. I have also seen some very well-branded and posi tioned titles that are poorly written, so the last tip is make sure you have an A+ editor that can ensure the writing is bulletproof and articulates your wisdom with literary excellence.
AUTHOR BIO Jared Rosen is the founder Of DreamSculpt. As an innovator in digital media publishing, he has published over 50 media enhanced e-books for many best-selling authors and filmmakers and has published dozens of books in print. Jared is the author of three books including the groundbreaking book The Flip. As a thought leader he has presented in venues ranging from TED X Malibu, to McKinsey and Company, Sydney, Australia. In 2000, Jared co-created the Children’s Emotional Literacy Project endorsed by Mayor Richard Riordan and Norman Lear.
If you are feeling a stagnancy in your brand, your book, or your business–it may be time to freshen up your look and messaging for 2023. Brands are ever evolving and often need a quick refresh without a total rebranding overhaul. A branding refresh may look like simple tweaks to your website or an updated cover for your book. Whatever the change, the slightest update to your messaging has the power to elicit connection and curiosity with your audience.
In early 2022, we did the unthinkable. We changed the name of our brand from “Femcasters”- a female focused media company to The Mediacasters.” Our total rebrand was, quite frankly, because half of our audience was male and we wanted to have a more encompassing presence. This endeavor of changing EVERYTHING, included changing our social media presence, our website, our logo, our podcast, and everything in between.
If you are not poised to rebrand in a bold fashion, take small steps to freshen up the look of your overall online presence. Here are my favorite tips to revitalize all that represents you!
1Chose a new color palette. Chose colors that represents the mood of your book and vision of your brand. If you are stuck, and do not know where to start, create a mood board that locks in your vision.
What is a mood board? A mood board is arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept.
2Get intentional about your messaging. Take a deep dive into the content on your website and remove all the fluff and extra verbiage that does not add value to your client or audience. Understand the pain points of your audience and curate a solution to their problems. Make your messaging personal and connect with them on a deep level. Your website should immediately reveal to your audience the solution to their problems. Your website should be clear in the offerings you provide to alleviate their pain points.
It is important that you have a strong call to action. Do you want your audience to read your book, sign up for a course, or listen to podcast you guested on? Make it a priority to have a clear call to action, so there is no doubt in the minds of your audience. A clear call to action evokes growth within the audience you wish to cultivate.
3Invest in new headshots. When is the last time you hired a photographer to take new pictures? Your face is your best asset and often we repurpose old pictures that do not represent who we are today. There is nothing more off-putting than a picture from a decade ago that does not represent the evolution of who you are today. Have you ever met someone face-to-face and you do not recognize them because the picture they use is outdated? (Hand raised). I have used the online booking website, SNAPPR (www.snappr.com). Snapper matches you with a local photographer and the pricepoint is reasonable. If a new photoshoot is not in your budget, recruit a friend who is a novice photographer.
Take the time to polish your online presence. A brand refresh requires minimal hours. Cleaning up your content and updating your look will pay back in dividends
Julie Lokun Bio
Julie Lokun, JD, is the founder of The Mediacasters, a mission-based company that elevates the visibility of entrepreneurs and creatives through podcasting, publishing, and public speaking. Julie is the author of 4 best-selling entrepreneurial books and hosts three podcasts. Julie writes for Entrepreneur Magazine and is a contributor to MindValley.com
Ifyou are a person who has a belief that you must work your tush off all the time, this may be difficult for you to get your head around. I encourage you to start with baby steps. Try setting your alarm for 45 minutes while you’re working. When the alarm goes off, give yourself a 15-minute break to move your body. Not only will this help your health and wellness, it will also serve to help your brain refocus when you return to your task.
The art of taking breaks comes with self-awareness. Do you prefer to work hard for x number of days in a row and then take a day or two off? Or do you need shorter, more frequent breaks? I personally take mini breaks during my workdays because, when I get tired, I start to feel blocked. Pushing through that feeling does not work for me. If I take a break, I can come back refreshed. But you will have to decide what works best for you.
What constitutes a break? Well, that depends on you. For me personally, sometimes I find I just need to eat something refreshing, like fruit. Other times, I take short walks, or do yoga stretches in my living room. Later in the day, when I get more fatigued, I like to go swimming. And when I really get to the end of my tether, I take a vacation.
Start a practice of checking in with yourself. Ask yourself, “Am I hungry or thirsty? Do I need to move? Do I need a nap? Do I need a day off?” Then give yourself what your body tells you. You will be amazed at how your forward progress begins to move.
One cautionary note – be sure your break doesn’t turn into never finishing your book. Decide on a return time or date and stick to it. For example: if you want to devote yourself to your family during the holidays, then do it. Decide on your return date. Perhaps it will be the first Monday after the new year. Then go ahead and relax, eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy. You deserve it.
Kristy Boyd Johnson is an award-winning children’s author, and has ghostwritten over 30 books for entrepreneurs over the years. She is a soughtafter developmental editor and transformational book coach. She recently launched Starseed Journey Retreats because she can’t imagine anything better than being a beautiful location with beautiful people who want to reconnect with their deepest selves through writing.
Every good fiction story starts with great, relatable characters. Fiction can be fun to write but is harder to market. One of the best ways to market fiction is building buzz about great characters in the book and writing killer back cover copy.
Mac Griffin is a whiz kid when it comes to building characters with depth and weaving them into the storyline. To make characters believable, they must have a history and backstory. That is where Mac Griffin comes into the picture. Mac is a researcher who can develop at least two generations of history. Since family is a big part of the development of all of us as human beings, this history allows people to connect with the character on a deeper level.
The first time I met Mac, I put him to the test on two characters I have been developing for a fiction novel. Ellie is a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl during World War II. Her parents are taken away by the Nazis and she escapes to the United States. I was stuck on how to get Ellie out of the Netherlands. Mac researched and found a plausible (and true) story to get Ellie to her aunt in New York.
Next, we moved on to Klaus’ character. Klaus is a Nazi soldier. Without giving the story away, I already had a story that brought Klaus to the United States after the war. Klaus and Ellie end up
married without Ellie knowing that Klaus was a Nazi soldier. Mac brought an interesting twist to the story with his knowledge of the way that soldiers were recruited that allowed the story to unfold as a love story instead of a mystery.
The best part of consulting with Mac was the humanity he brought to the story. Originally, I ran the story by an art expert (there is a mystery art component) and he thought that the marriage of Ellie and Klaus would be too controversial.
Mac embraced the storyline and brought the human element of fear: lying to protect Klaus and his fear of losing Ellie if she found out the truth. Mac also built profiles of each character to draw on during the story, including past thoughts and experiences that added to presentday dilemmas.
Consulting with Mac was easy and quite fruitful. My story has moved on from being stuck in my head to more notes and character development on paper. I ran my story by several people before I began writing and most of them said, “I would read that.” Always a good start to writing a novel.
Click here to hear my interview with Mac where we create some characters.
MY MISSION Mack Griffin VO, LLC. is a veteran-based, independently run voice-over and character development business that provides various services to authors and publishing companies. We also work with media and marketing companies nationwide and in the UK with voiceover services to give life to their client’s messages and emotionally connect with their target market. My goal is to create a voice-over for digital marketing plans and audiobooks, a legend of thoroughly fleshed-out characters with background stories, and a worldwide podcast platform to help promote unknown and newly published authors.
Contact Mac at: maccabeegriffin@gmail.com
Mario grew up in Communist Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia) and he witnessed a lot of social unrest – before finding himself in the middle of the Croatian War of Independence. Mario’s world quickly turned upside down. One morning when he woke to a knock at the door. His family and his girlfriend were gone. His neighbors were packing, fleeing the city. And the military were at his door, saying, “Report at the army barracks in one hour.” Mario’s book is a deep dive into what civil war really looks like and why it is so important to eschew socialism and communism.
Mario Bekes is a natural leader, public speaker, result-driven, best-selling published book author, relationship-builder, and facilitator with experience in investigative techniques and interviewing, interrogation methods, corporate human and competitive business intelligence.
Over the past 30 years Mario has conducted various types of investigations in government sectors, department of defense, department of foreign affairs, corporate and insurance sector in Australia and overseas applying my knowledge, expertise, academic
research and training in investigative intelligence and investigativeinterviewing techniques.
With proven investigative techniques and strategies from our analytical internal systems, you can stop worrying about the next investigation, insurance claim, intellectual property theft, industrial espionage, and whistleblowers in your organization.
Mario is also a popular Australian podcaster with a worldwide audience. Check out Mario’s podcast here: https://anchor.fm/mariobekes2
You can grab a copy of What is the True Cost of Freedom here: What is the True Price of Freedom: Are You Prepared to Die for Freedom and Democracy? - Kindle edition by Bekes, Mario. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
If you’re reading this article, chances are, you’ve already thought about being an author. In fact, you might already have published a book. Perhaps you’re even a best-selling author. With the barrier to entry that used to exist when only traditional publishers ruled the industry gone, subject matter experts are now able to publish their books with much greater ease.
And with social media, email marketing, and podcasting, the ability to share your book and its message with the world is literally at your fingertips.
So why do new and even second-time authors shy away from marketing their books?
2. They are fearful about paying “even more money” after the costs associated with writing, editing, and/or publishing.
3. They think they don’t have time to market the book when they’re busy with their business.
While I can understand all three of these concerns, when authors work so hard to write and publish a book, it’s truly a shame for them to throw in the towel and not leverage their book to make a big impact in the world. The key to making that impact is marketing.
Authors are of course not born knowing how to market their books. Even those who have a marketing background often work with a marketing consultant. When you’re too close to something, it’s really tough to objectively promote it. I specialize in working solely with authors because marketing a book isn’t typical marketing. It requires a blend of book and brand-related messaging and strategy.
Concerned about the money? Think of marketing as an
investment in your book, your brand, and yourself. Once you know how to effectively plan your marketing, you’ll be able to repeat it time and again. Publishing without marketing is like planning a party and not sending out invitations. No one will know about it.
The time required to market your book weekly is far less than what it took to write your book, even if you worked with a ghostwriter. The beauty of having your book written is that it’s a treasure trove of content just waiting to be shared and repurposed.
Ready to market your book and make that big impact on the world? Our new ondemand book and brand marketing program called Amplify Your AUTHORity is the best place to start. Click here: vipdigital.live/amplify.
Melanie Bio Melanie Herschorn wants to make your book and brand sparkle online. As a content marketing strategist for coaches, consultants, and speakers worldwide, she’s on a mission to support and empower her clients to create clear messaging and content that shines a light on their individual experience, skillset, and books. With her unique combination of entrepreneurship, award-winning journalism and PR experience, Melanie guides her clients to attract and nurture leads and position themselves as industry experts. She also loves to provide book marketing tips on her show, AUTHORity Marketing LIVE!
Intoday’s age of digital media, there are endless opportunities for authors to get their work in front of new audiences. However, with so many options, it can be challenging to know where to start. That’s where we come in. We specialize in helping authors create effective publicity campaigns that result in increased book sales and visibility. One of the most effective is leveraging the power of publicity. Publicity is a form of marketing that generates media coverage (such as in newspapers, magazines, websites, or TV and radio programs) rather than paid advertising.
We worked with an author and developed a press release to distribute to major news outlets. The press release included information about the book, the author, and why the book was worth reading. We also included quotes from experts in the field to add credibility to the book. Once the press release was written, we sent it out to our list of media contacts and started pitching the story.
If you want to give your book the best possible chance of becoming a bestseller, don’t overlook the power of publicity.
Pitching is an art form and takes practice to perfect. You need to know whom you’re pitching to (the outlet), what you’re pitching (the story), and why your story is worth their time (the angle). Once you figure out those three things, time to start writing your press release and reaching out to reporters.
And while some may view it as a “soft” form of marketing, make no mistake about it: publicity is extremely powerful. Ask any author who’s used it to help make their book a bestseller. In fact, one such author is Laura Smith Biswas. She used publicity and external services to make her bestseller to significant effect when launching her book: The Cosmology of Love: 70+ Ways to Experience Greater Love.
Biswas is just one example of the many authors that our Media Magic and Super Brand Publishing team have helped to become bestselling authors. We assist with distributing press releases with many existing contacts with major news outlets. This is a great way to get the word out about your book and generate interest from potential readers. To learn about publication services, go to www.
ShannonProcise.com/Superbrand
The moral of this story is clear: if you want to give your book the best possible chance of becoming a bestseller, don’t overlook the power of publicity. By working with a talented publicist and actively pursuing media opportunities, you can create the kind of buzz that sells books.
We assist with distributing press releases with many existing contacts with major news outlets. This is a great way to get the word out about your book and generate interest from potential readers.
Shannon Procise has successfully attained over $3.2M in FREE publicity and is notorious for being the owner of the "Million Dollar Rolodex" and teaching others how to do the same. She has trained and coached thousands of individuals in marketing, event production, business development, and personal growth. Shannon is the creator of a magnetic community - the Business Acceleration Network, where she guides businesses to build a successful enterprise while having fun and making lots of money.
Shannon Short BioSarahCarlson is on a mission to help women become more financially secure. In her new book Facing Financial Fears: 8 Steps to Financial Freedom for Women, Sarah lays out her eight-step approach to changing your financial future that really works. In more than thirty years as a Financial Advisor and Certified Financial Planner, she has guided many people on the path away from fear and led them to a secure, free, joyous, and peaceful money life. Sarah has also learned so much in her own life, not only as a professional, but as an athlete, entrepreneur, mother, wife, friend – and survivor. She has dealt with a crushing, life-changing accident, struggled with infertility and dark nights without hope, and, like so many of you, a painful divorce.
Like so many women who have experienced divorce and a division of assets, Sarah points out that sometimes our ego gets in the way of good financial sense. Defining what is really important to you at these crucial times, means that women must set their ego aside and focus on what makes the most financial sense.
Sarah points out, “We are not so different, you and I – no matter your income. In fact, you don’t need a lot of money to walk this path and achieve great results. You only need curiosity, courage, determination, and the commitment to devote a few minutes a day to working through the exercises I present here. They’ll help you reflect on your economic perspectives and take simple, clear actions to rewire your behavior and achieve a healthier, happier life.”
This book is designed to take the reader on a journey through stories and exercises. Sarah wants women to really think about their own situation and be motivated to take action. When the reader takes stock of where they are at financially and how they got there, they can assess and plan where they want to go next and implement some action steps to get there.
Sharon Lechter, co- author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, who follows Sarah in social media endorsed “Women need to believe in themselves, and establishing a solid financial foundation is the key to a happier life. Take control of your money or it will take control of you. Sarah Carlson will show you how to take control.”
Click here to purchase Facing Financial Fears: Amazon.com: Facing Financial Fears: 8 Steps to Financial Freedom for Women eBook : Carlson, Sarah: Kindle Store
