Reach Your Audience … 6 Quick Twitter Tips for You:

1. GET the Most Bang

Know when to Tweet and where the audiences are. According to RadiumOne, there are two peak times during the day to Tweet:

10AM to 12PM and 8PM through 10PM

That’s it, at least for now. If you want to see the most shares, with the highest click-through, you should be Tweeting from 12 noon to 2PM. Remember, Tweets are global, which means global times zones. These cover the basics and a broad span to optimize your visibility.

Of course, this content regulation changes based on where your audience is. Key point: Connect with your audience when they are online.

Authors need feedback, reality checks and plain old-fashion butt-kicking. And they need a little kindness. Few think about putting together an “official” type of board to serve in the feedback/reality check/butt-kicking honors. An Author Inner Circle … a type of Advisory Board.

Who Belongs in Your Inner Circle?

It’s time to create yours. The Author Inner Circle … trusted colleagues, pals, and always someone who has “been there, done that.” Most likely, it’s not going to be your sibling, mom or dad. Not unless they’ve authored or work with authors, publishing, books. You want someone who has got an inkling of what is going on in the publishing business; someone who is connected with others; someone who has a sense of humor; someone who has a kaleidoscope of business experience; someone who will say it as it is and not side-step the elephant in the room (which could be you); someone who loves to brainstorming and bounce off-the-wall ideas around; someone who will move you to action; someone who gets what social media marketing is about; someone who gets your Vision for your book and where you want to go with it.

Author Headlines: Be Smart … or Be Square

How many times have you noodled your lead or headline to trash it, over and over? It could be for a blog, an article, a speech … and gulp, your book. Don’t you wish the headline gods would drop in, give you your zinger, so you can write or finish what you are working on?

Or, have you gone blank and you just can’t get the promo piece together? Or, how about trying to come up with something that can tie into an event, happening, or even newsy type of item that you think would be a hook for your community?

For the annual Author U Extravaganza, One of Author U’s Premier Partners Dave Raymond and Thomson Shore created an email that was sent to his lists:

Have you wondered why celebrities being interviewed on television can look so calm when millions of people are watching them?  And have you ever wondered if you could do that?

At the Extravaganza you will learn how to perform on national television and radio while appearing calm and collected.

The key to any good performance is preparation. Just as actors do, media guests need to know what they are going to say during all their performances and practice their delivery of each word beforehand. Adequate preparation will make you more confident in your ability to perform and help you relax while you are on the air. 

You have probably heard that practice makes perfect. However, that is not necessarily true. Practice makes permanent, so you have to make sure you are rehearsing the right things. At the Extravaganza, you will discover the right techniques that you can make permanent.

Why video:

Do you want to be successful! How about seriously successful?

The Dates it will happen:  May 2-4
What will make it happen: the 4^th Annual Author U Extravaganza
Where will it happen: Denver, CO, Renaissance Denver Hotel
 

 Have you signed up for the Author U Extravaganza yet? Why not? Guy Kawasaki will be there; Penny Sansevieri will be there; Cevin Bryerman will be there; Georgia McCabe will be there; Daniel Hall will be there; Judith Briles will be there; Joan Stewart will be there; Joel Friedlander will be there; Greg Godek will be there; Brian  Jud will be there; Peggy McColl will be there; Dan Janal will be there;  Matthew Bennett will be there; Mary Agnes Antonopoulos will be there … and so many more to speak, to brainstorm, to mentor; 30 national publishing Exhibitors will be there–over 50 amazing publishing and author experts will be in Denver, Colorado May 2-4, 2013. The Who’s Who of publishing is coming to Colorado … and so should you. That is, if you want to be seriously successful.  The full Agenda is on the AuthorU.org website. The question is: Will you be there?   http://ow.ly/hM8aZ

Everybody knows that it’s Valentine’s Day … but did you know that it’s also National Organ Donor Day and Ferris Wheel Day?  

Reach out to those you love; have a good time; and share what you have with someone who needs it when you no longer do!

      Today, Your Guide to Book Publishing will focus on creating your book with Guy Kawasaki, author of APE-Author, Pulisher, Entrepreneur. Tune in at 6 Eastern, 5 Central, 4 Mountain, 3 Pacific and for our out-of-the-country members and followers … you are going to have to do the clock crunching for your time zone at http://rsrn.us/youpublish.  You can also go to the Home page of http://www.AuthorU.org, scroll down and click on any of the past five show—just click and you are instantly there!

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful. – Rita Dove

One of the most common questions that authors ask is about the Copyright page and “What should my copyright page look like?” Good question, here’s an answer:

The Copyright Page, which follows the title page of your manuscript, is a flexible document with respect to format, but several elements must be included.  The most confusing two are the ISBN and LOCN.  Detailed instructions for sending for them are included below:                                                                                                    

• Copyright

-The copyright symbol,

          -Followed by the copyright year

          -Followed by who (the author) or what (the publisher) is      responsible for (owner of) the copyright

          -Followed by the phrase, “All Rights Reserved”

Example: © 2013 Jane Johnson.  All Rights Reserved.

• The Title
• Warning against Copying without Permission
• A Disclaimer mentioning the author(s)’ name and/or publisher’s name (if different)

                      Get Your LCCN

(Library of Congress Catalog Control Number)

One question that most authors don’t know to ask is, “How do I get the LCCN?” What’s a LCCN? Good question—it’s the Library of Congress number that shows that you exist, and the one that any library that you are pitching your book to wants to know you have.

The good news is that these are free (although going through the two steps to get them can sometimes be a pain in the tush.

Here are your steps:

The LCCN:  The Library of Congress Control Number. It is free and can be obtained fairly quickly―a week or less― although we’ve received them within just a day or two. You must have your ISBN to get it. Once you have the LCCN, it will cover case bound (hard, paper, eBook)

Have you heard? Author U is going BANANAS over APE! Everyone who attends the Extravaganza will get a copy of Guy Kawasaki’s APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. With over 1.2 million Twitter followers, 4 million Google+ connections, multiple NY Times best-sellers, former Chief Evangelist for Apple Computer, Guy knows marketing, branding, books and authors … and he’s the Friday, May 3rd Keynoter. And he didn’t publish APE via New York. Saturday’s Keynote will be delivered by Cevin Bryerman, Publisher of Publishers Weekly—he’s allotting plenty of Q&A time.

If you have an eBook … Deadline tonight-January 31st – for Global eBook Awards Contest
Dan Ponter’s Global eBook awards entry window ends at midnight tonight. There’s a Special Offer on the table: first entry is $79, second is $29 (another book or category). Use coupon code: 50OFF2 during checkout.
If you have already entered an eBook in the 2013 Global Ebook Awards, you may add a category or another ebook for $29.00
(Use coupon code: ADDCAT during checkout). Visit http://globalebookawards.com/registration/
to add your entries NOW!
 Note: All Discounts for add-on entries will be matched with Global database before processing.

Are you a procrastinator? Are you looking for the perfect phrase, word, idea? Are you stuck? Wouldn’t getting unstuck and moving forward be a fantastic goal for 2013.  Today is Make Up Your Mind Day … why not kick off 2013 the last day of 2012?

For the 2013, make a decision to go forward or eliminate vs. the one that you have practiced—to do nothing.

Moving from wannabe author to the real thing is totally possible this coming year. Moving from wannabe speaker to the real thing is totally possible this coming year. Moving from wannabe anything to the real thing is totally possible this coming year.

Is there a book in you? Most think there is. And most don’t get them out. You could have the makings of a fantastic novel, a creative young adult series, and exquisitely illustrated young children’s stories. Cookbooks, health, space, romance, intrigue, how-to or business book may be lurking in your creative closet.