Listen for Great Book Titles

Book Titles are Seen and Heard--Listen
for Ones That Catch Your Ear, and Why 

By Susan Kendrick
http://writetoyourmarket.com

This past week I was listening to public radio while driving and captivated by the very energetic introduction to the next program, "Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders" hosted by Jean Feraca. The guest was an expert on grains, but not in the eat-these-they're-good-for-you way. Somewhere in her early adulthood as a journalist living on frozen pizza, she had rediscovered a moment in childhood when a small bag of sweetened Greek dessert had delighted and transported her during a very sad time.  And now this writer, journalist, and cook has contributed to Gourmet, Saveur, and Gastronomica, as well as Marie Claire, and Elle.

In the introduction to this guest and her celebration of grains as comfort food, desserts, and more, I heard phrases like "gorgeous grains" and "ancient grains for modern meals." Feraca spun a web of words so rich, I couldn't wait to hear if the guest had a book and which of these delicacies was the title.

The guest, of course, did not disappoint. Maria Speck was passionate, personal, joyful, and highly articulate about every nuance of her topic. And, yes, she is the author of Ancient Grains for Modern Meals: Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries & More.

Take-Aways You Can Use

The Reason I am posting this book title and radio interview here is because there are a couple of good take-aways. First, a good book title needs to clearly communicate your topic, but a great book title "sounds" good doing it. It rings. Ancient Grains for Modern Meals is a great example of three good book title strategies that make this title sound good:

(1) Rhyming--Ancient Grains

(2) Alliteration--Modern Meals

(3) Parallel Construction-- Ancient Grains is a simple,
     two-word descriptor that sets up another simple,
     but contrasting two word descriptor, Modern Meals

Now, granted, authors and publishers do not always and do not need to create book titles on such a dissected level. These types of book titles are usually equal parts intent and serendipity. So listen. Listen to how you talk about your topic. Get your friends and collegues involved. See what rises to the surface in conversation. A great book title is easy to say, hear, and remember. It says what is new and different about you and your book.

Listen to this broadcast for a good example of how great a book title can sound.

One More Thing That Works

The other thing I noticed while listening to the introduction to this interview was all of the other descriptors that came up and initially had me wondering which one was the title. Was it "Gorgeous Grains"? Was is "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals"? This is a good time to point out that any phrase that does not make the final cut as title, can still be used to great effect as a headline or sound bite about your book. In this case, I imagine that "Gorgeous Grains" could have been on the table at some point as a possible title.

So, as the saying goes, listen and learn.

Happy Publishing!


© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market™. All Rights Reserved.

10 Reasons to Enter Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards 

By Susan Kendrick

http://www.writetoyourmarket.com/

Click Here for  Details -- Enter by June 30, 2011

"A major challenge with ebooks is a lack of visibility," says Dan Poynter, world-renowned self-publishing expert and bestselling author of The Self-Publishing Manual.

Why? Because at first glance, an ebook looks like a simple, streamlined alternative to a print book. But, many ebook authors and publishers just don't get their ebooks in front of enough people to make a difference. If you want to get your wisdom out into the world and start reaping the rewards now, an ebook is the way to go. Be an early player in the move by more and more people to ebook readers. Reach new audiences eager to download all the ways you can help them in business, life, leadership, parenting, relationships, nutrition, fitness, and more. But first, get it out there!

Eliminate "Post and Pray" -- Dan Poynter

Most ebook authors and publishers do not even know where to start,
so they don’t. This is how Dan describes the process:

They upload their ebook to a website

and sit back.

This is called “Post and Pray.”

We are longtime fans of Dan and his self-publishing education and techniques. When we heard about his new Global Ebook Awards, we were excited to learn that it is not just about putting your ebook in a competition. The submission and award process itself has a built-in ebook promotion program. See the 10 Reasons to Enter, below, and all the ways your ebook can get seen and sold through this competition.

  

  TOP 10 REASONS TO ENTER
THE GLOBAL EBOOK AWARDS
                     Watch this video

   

Plus, We May Feature Your Ebook Cover on This Blog

My partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, and I will be the judges for a special ebook cover category in the Global Ebook Awards competition. In addition to picking the best covers from those submitted, we will be featuring many covers right here on this blog over the next two months with a brief "What's Great About This Ebook Cover?" write-up. We will use your ebook cover to point out a key book cover strategy--always something positive--so you and your ebook look good. This gives you even more marketing visibility!

Get All the Details

Go to Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Awards website. You'll find entry rules, dates, ebook categories, and answers to any questions. The website is also designed as a complete resource for all things ebook.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market™. All Rights Reserved.

How to Break Into New Markets With Your Book

One of the Most Profitable Relationships
You Can Develop ... And 6 Ways to
Get Started Now

By Susan Kendrick
http://www.writetoyourmarket.com/

(First, it's good to be back! I've had a busy year. Lots to talk about.
Here's to May 2011 and getting reconnected. Warm Regards, Susan.)

What’s easier, a cold call or having someone personally introduce you to a new prospect? What’s a quicker way to build trust—jump through all the hoops of proving that you’re as good as you say you are, or have somebody your prospect already knows and trusts back you up as a great resource? In each case, either way works, but a third-party introduction and endorsement is definitely less labor-intensive. You move on much more quickly to building relationships instead of just trying to get them started.

That’s the way it is when you want to introduce yourself, your book, and your services to a new market. One of the best ways to do this in consulting or any industry is to become a part of that market and for someone already known in that market to make the introductions. Rather than creating relationships one at a time, this is the way to gain access to many prospects at once. 

Who Should You Approach?

Take a look at these three criteria. It should be an individual or organization that:
• Continually offers their followers quality information, perspectives, and resources
  that will help them be better at what they do
• Has a list of followers with whom they regularly communicate and who are used to
  signing up for educational programs and purchasing resources
• Reaches out to their followers in a variety of ways: enewsletters, magazine, webinars,
  blogs, podcasts, speakers, annual events, expos, conventions, and more

Who Does All That? Professional Associations
Professional associations exist on many levels—nationally as well as by state, region, and even by sub-industry. Approach each of them like you would approach a media outlet. In other words, offer to do things that help them achieve their goals. Be a good partner, an information hub, a source for quality perspectives, insights, and educational content.  In return, you get introduced as a go-to expert to potentially throusands of new prospects.

6 Ways to Get Started

1. You can start by offering to do something as simple as contributing articles to the association newsletter and magazine. They get great content--which they associations always need. You get your message across to a group of prospects eager to get them most from their membership through access to expert guidance.

2. Associations face a major challenge on a daily basis that you can help them solve--membership. Associations of all kinds are continually trying to acquire new members and keep existing members. Offer your book to the association at a volume discount as part of a new-member incentive package or as a renewal incentive for existing members.

3. Become a champion for one of the association's causes and post regular blog features about it. You attract those interested in that cause to you as a reputable source of information. The association gets exposure to your followers. And, you position yourself as someone valued by this organization and the team that runs it. You are part of a vital mission in this new market you are penetrating. It is a win-win for both you and the association--again, the key to a profitable partnership.

4. Interview the executive director of the association in a way that enhances their visibility and credibility. Make this interview available as a podcast, downloadable transcript, and video if possible for use by you, the director, and the association.

5. Offer to give the association a sample of your speaking abilities by doing a free breakout session at their next big event. Even if you don’t get paid for the engagement the first time, that live exposure to decision-makers in this new market is a huge opportunity. Use this session to give away a free gift (your book, related product, consulting package) at the end of your presentation, through a drawing of business cards you collect from participants.

6. Go through the vetting process. Most associations have some kind of process in place to help them select sources that will be a true value to their members. Your book—or even your forthcoming book—mark you as a recognized authority in your field. Use it, your website, blog, Facebook and Twitter following, testimonials, and other components of your existing platform to demonstrate your credibility and how you can add value to the association and its membership.

The idea is to enter a new market that you have identified as a good source of potential clients and revenue. Partner with an association in that market that meets the three criteria listed above. Then, do everything you can to add value to what the association is doing for its members in a way that introduces you, your book, and your services to those members.

What Does This Have to Do With Your Book Cover?

Planning for how you want your book to open doors in multiple markets—or at least give you the flexibility to do that over time—will directly influence what you include in your front and especially your back cover sales copy. It will even influence who you approach—and don’t approach--for endorsements.

I have seen partnerships with professional associations work successfully time and time again—both for myself, my clients, and my colleagues. If you have any questions about the finer points of putting this approach to work, or for more ideas that will help you break into a new market with your book or write and design your book cover so that it will open more doors for you, please feel free to contact me or my partner, Graham Van Dixhorn, at info@writetoyourmarket.com.

© 2011, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market™. All Rights Reserved.

Writing a Book to Build Your Practice -- PART II

Co-author a book,
like these two authors.

Writing Your Book: How to Get
Organized, Get Help, and Get Going

By Susan Kendrick
http://www.writetoyourmarket.com/

Once you start thinking about writing a book to build your brand and your practice, the first question is "How?" Like Part I of this article for medical and health experts, any professional can use this information, especially the free mini-course (see below).

Since my partner, Graham, and I specialize in creating book titles, subtitles, and back cover copywriting, we turn to our colleagues for help with other parts of the book publishing process. Our good friend John Eggen of Mission Marketing Mentors is a great resource. He provides what most busy professionals ask us for--a tested, systematic way to write and publish a book. He even shows you how to start making money on your book before it's released--a great way to fund your book project.

John just came out with a free mini-course that he has set up so that we can give it away to our readers.
Go to http://ultimateclientmagnet.com/newauthors.

A few tips from our end on the book writing process

A proven formula is helpful any time you take on an endeavor outside your immediate area of expertise. This is especially true when writing a book. It you don’t have a specific path to get from the idea stage to the final manuscript, you risk becoming overwhelmed by a project that can easily grow out of control. Ideas add up, tangents materialize that take you off course, and input from family and friends can send you reeling in a dozen different directions as you try to craft the “perfect” book.

Given these tendencies, it’s important to know that writing a book is first and foremost a function of organization.

Here's one way to think about organizing your book

While there are a few different ways to approach writing a non-fiction book--see John's free mini-course above--one is the 10-Point Book Writing approach. Here’s how it works:

• Choose a topic—something you are good at, like to do, or want to learn more about. This can relate to either your professional life, your personal life, or both.
• Tell readers why you wrote the book and what they will get out of it. That is your Introduction
• Identify 10 key points you want to make about your topic. Those are your 10 chapters.
• Break each of those 10 chapters down into manageable parts: An introduction, 3-7 key points, quotes, examples, stories, etc.
• The ideal length for a non-fiction book starts at around 144 pages, including the Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, Copyright page, and author bio. That means each of your chapters will be approximately 11-12 pages long. Think of it as writing a long letter to a good friend.

But, I don’t have time to write a book

You don’t have to go it alone. Busy physicians regularly hire ghostwriters, transcribers, and editors to assist them in the book writing process. You can even partner with a physician or non-physician to co-author the book with you. Do make sure you follow a tested process. Remember to check out John Eggen's free mini-course at http://ultimateclientmagnet.com/newauthors.

Whether you want to self-publish or work with a traditional publisher, make publishing a book another profitable part of your practice. Please email us with any questions at info@WriteToYourMarket.com or call us at 1-888-634-4120.

Happy Publishing,
Susan


© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.

Writing a Book to Build Your Medical Practice -- PART I

Reasons for Doctors to Write a Book

By Susan Kendrick
http://www.WriteToYourMarket.com

See all book and book website links at the end of this article.

Instead of focusing on book cover text and book cover design in this post, I am backing up a step to show what writing a book can do for particular group of author/experts. While this post is for physicians writing books, this information can apply to other areas of expertise as well.

I was encouraged to write this series of articles by my client, Dr. Kenneth Cohn, a board-certified general surgeon/MBA. Dr. Cohn reaches out to physicians in innovative ways through his physician websites, the Health Care Collaboration Blog,"Improving Physician-Hospital Relations" and The Doctorpreneur, "A complete resource for physicians interested in pursuing non-clinical career opportunities."

What Writing a Book Can Do for You

Physicians regularly write and publish books for a variety of professional and personal reasons. The following are some of the most common incentives: 

• Revive your passion for your practice and/or your life if you are transitioning to a non-clinical career
• Create uniqueness that differentiates your services 
• Stand out in your field as an expert
• Expand your reputation in a specific area of expertise
• Attract patients and others who are eager to work with you
• Discover and develop other parts of yourself
• Generate additional streams of revenue, such as speaking and information products

[We helped develop the book covers for the following five books by self-publishing physicians.]

What Kind of Book Should You Write?

Can you reap the benefits of being a published author only by writing about something related to your medical practice? Not at all. Professionals in many industries find that writing a book about a personal interest can also be a great way to connect with existing and prospective clients. Telling people something about you as a person builds trust, which goes a long way toward creating and cementing relationships that build your practice.

Create a Lead-Generating Brand

Building a professional or personal brand is a great way to improve your medical practice, and writing a book has long been recognized as the best way to build a brand. According to Alan Weiss, international consultant and bestselling author of How to Establish a Unique Brand in the Consulting Profession, writing a book is, "the best branding technique of them all."

Ask Yourself These Four Questions to Get Started:

- What energizes you—either in your practice or your personal life?

- What do you like to do and what are you good at?

- What would you like to learn more about?

- What would you like to be known for 3-5 years from now?

Depending on what you want the book to do for you, you can choose to write about something related to your medical expertise, or you can focus on a more personal topic. Or, you can do both. Again, the reason that writing a book or a series of books is such a good outlet for physicians is that it does very positive things for your reputation, your practice, and your personal well-being.

Professional, Personal, or a Blend: 

Writing a book gives you a way to reach into yourself and out to others in an extremely rewarding way. It begins to bridge what may have become a wide gap between who you are as a physician and who you are as a person.

You can even write a book for other physicians about how to survive and thrive in your professional. Based on your own experience and interviews with colleagues, you can cover a number of areas, such as how to reduce stress, find time to get to the gym, spend time with family when you’re on call, or just relax and recharge.

Expand Your Practice or Expertise: There are many books on the market that demonstrate the success of books written by doctors on some aspect of their medical expertise. We have worked with many doctors who use that expertise to delve into an alternative approach they have developed to a common health challenge.

Take a more personal route: On a more completely personal level, you can write a book about your passion for gardening and describe the health benefits of eating food you grow yourself. Do you like to travel? You can write a book about how travel helps relieve stress and renews your body, mind, and spirit.

Do you love to spend time with your kids? Outline some of your favorite suggestions for activities, road trips, or “vacations” in your home town when you don’t have a lot of time but still want to create family memories. Describe how doing things together builds relationships that benefit the emotional and physical health of your family.

Depending on what you care about and what excites you, the possibilities are endless. One important guiding principle to keep in mind is that the topic should be one that will hold your interest for a long time, both in the creation of the book and in promoting it.

Next in This Series:

Part II -- "Organizing and Starting Your Book"

All Book and Book Website Links for This Article:

- Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen book series

- Dr. Christiane Northrup 

- Dr. Helene Leonetti

- Dr. Steven Park

- Dr. Marlene Coleman

© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.

Create Book Cover Brands That Look Great Online

Creating Book Titles and Subtitles That
Still Work in the Smallest Online Formats

By Susan Kendrick

www.WriteToYourMarket.com

The last article here was What Makes a Good Subtitle and How Long Should it Be? There's another reason the length of titles and subtitles is coming up a lot lately, and that is because of the variety of ways your book is now seen.

A Brief History of the Book Cover

Think about it. A book cover used to be written and designed primarily as a physical billboard for your book. The book needed to create interest when seen on the shelf at the bookstore or anywhere else it was displayed for sale. Then came those small thumbnail versions on amazon and other online retailers. Your book cover still has to draw people in, even in its reduced size. But, now that miniaturization goes one step further as book covers make their appearance on Kindle, ipad, and smart phones.
 

Check These Out:

(Take a look at the books on this bestseller page on amazon. Which ones do you think stand out in their smaller format and which ones don't.)

One author of two published books recently questioned whether or not her third book even needed a subtitle, since it would hardly be visible online. We strongly encouraged her to keep her subtitle for the reasons a subtitle has always been, and continues to be, pivotal to the branding and marketing of your book. Again, see previous article.


PLUS!

Your subtitle will show up in search results for your topic, in the product text on amazon, and any other place your book appears online. Don't waste this opportunity.

An Exception to This Rule?

An interesting exception to standard subtitle use is Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier. This book does not have a subtitle, but it does have an endorsement, "Ignore this book at your own peril," by Seth Godin. It also gets a huge credibility boost from bestselling authors like Tom Peters and William C. Taylor, Founding Editor of Fast Company.This book's uber-clean cover and bold, off-the-grid feel--plus the quirky Godin-esque endorsement and amazon review--surely speak to the intended audience for this book and set it apart on a planet of its own.

Is This a Wasted Opportunity?

I wonder, though, what the back cover does for this book--it doesn't show up as a "Look Inside" option on amazon. And, when you look under "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought," the subtitles for each of those other books are included in the text box under the  book cover image. They get the benefit of this additional positioning and sales copy for their books.

Avoid Piercings and Tatoos ...
 

... Especially if you're going it alone. If you do not have a magic-carpet ride of high-end endorsements in place for your book, and especially if your book will be self-published, your cover needs to be of the highest quality and adhere to every industry standard to "look legit" and avoid looking self-published.

It's like going in for a job interview--the higher-end the position, the more tailored and professional you need to look. Your book is a candidate, too. It has to stand out from all the other books on the topic. Everything about the packaging must be impeccable. And, depending on your audience ... no tongue piercings, visible tatoos, or stilettos. There are better ways to get noticed.

Getting the Right Help Will Get You Noticed

From a branding standpoint, it is your title that is the basis of the iconic look for your cover, so do consider how your title will look even the smallest formats. Use as few words as possible and short words when possible. And, make sure your book cover designer knows how to turn those words and your overall cover into a an immediately recognizable visual brand--an iconic look that will get your book noticed at any size.

Happy Publishing!

Susan

© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.

Book Cover Coaching: Subtitle Tips

What Makes a Good Subtitle
and How Long Should It Be?


By Susan Kendrick
www.WriteToYourMarket.com


People work long and hard to come up with good book titles. The subtitle, however, is often an afterthought, something quickly thrown together before moving onto book cover design. Please don't
do this to your book. Your subtitle is not just some front-cover
formatting slot to fill. It is a critical piece of marketing real estate for creating your brand and selling your book.


The Role of Your Subtitle

There are many things your subtitle can do for your book. It can:
__ Identify and draw in your target audience
__ Differentiate your book in a crowded market
__ Clarify a key benefit or benefits of your book
__ Add definition to a provocative but possibly obscure title, like those in Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling series, Blink, The Tipping Point, and Outliers.

Long or Short--Is There a Rule?

First, I need to say a few words about length. We get asked this a lot: "How long should my subtitle be?" The answer is--it depends. Really. There are no hard and fast rules, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Say what you need to say. Simply do it in as few words as possible to keep your ideas crisp, authoritative, and memorable. See more under "Subtitle Tips," below.An example of a long subtitle is Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods. That's a lot of words, but they work hard together to say what this book is about. While longer subtitles are the exception rather than the rule, it's helpful to see how they can work when handled skillfully.

Tim Ferriss's highly successful book and brand, The 4-Hour Work Week, was released in an expanded and updated edition in December 2009. His subtitle is a semi-whopping nine words and it consists of three different elements. But, it is still clear, crisp, and strong. It hits a major nerve, and not by chance. Ferriss is known for testing his title/subtitle combos until the results reveal a sure winner.

Also, check out an Amazon Book "Bestsellers" list, like this one for Business & Investing. You'll find a range of subtitle lengths here, and with a few exceptions, they serve their books very well. Again, the "Subtitle Tips," below, will help you think about your subtitle as a way to reel people into what you have to offer without tangling them up in excess words or jargon. There is no guarantee that a certain length subtitle is best. What is important is how the words you choose create and promote your brand.

Subtitle Tips

Here are some tips to help you start thinking about what will work for your book.

__ If your title is long, keep the subtitle short. If your title is short, you have more flexibility with the subtitle. But, do say what needs to be said. A descriptive, yet still concise, subtitle goes a long way toward attracting readers, retailers, partners, and even the media.


__ Do not repeat in the subtitle words that you have already used in the title. A book cover is all about making the most of the very limited real estate on both the front and back covers. Make every word count. If you need to reinforce an idea, use fresh language each time. If your subtitle repeats words in the title, it looks like you have already run out of things to say--not a good signal to send to potential buyers.


__ Practice economy of language. Do this by first deciding what to say, then how to say it. Then, if you can use four-letter words instead of 12-letter words, do it. If you can say something in seven words instead of 14, do it. Be ruthless and be especially hard on adjectives. You'll be surprised how powerful a phrase becomes once it has been stripped clean of excess. Which brings me to the next suggestion:


__ Use parallel construction. These kinds of phrases are memorable and therefore create a strong brand for your book. Chip and Dan Heath, Authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, just released a new book this month called, Switch: How to Change when Change is Hard (above). Subtitles like this have what you could call a sing-song quality to them that simplifies the topic and makes it instantly apparent either what the book is about or what you as the reader get from it.


__ Remember that your subtitle is not just read, but heard--another good reason to create sound-bite appeal. For Amy Tiemann's new book, Courageous Parents--Confident Kids (above), I developed this subtitle, "Letting Go So You Both Can Grow." This is the essence of the book boiled down to a highly brandable sound bite. This phrase is also both powerful and memorable because it contains rhyming, alliteration, and the syntactically strong long "O" and hard "G" sounds. This is one more example of how just seven short words can build a strong, memorable brand and marketing presence for your book.


__ Consider your target audience when establishing the tone of your subtitle. This may go without saying, but a book on investing or entrepreneurship, for example, will have a different feel than a book about improving your marriage or taking care of elderly parents.


Need help creating the subtitle and/or title for your book? Contact Graham and me at info@WriteToYourMarket.com.

Happy Publishing,
Susan

© 2010, Susan Kendrick, Write To Your Market. All Rights Reserved.