It’s Crowdfunding Unplugged!
Is there a Kickstarter in you? Should there be? Would you like to know savvy tips to be successful?
Find out and determine exactly how to create, use and succeed with any crowding funding activity.
Whether you need $1,000 or $100,000, crowdfunding is an option.
There’s money in the cyber clouds and Author U’s first regular Saturday pops with a topic that authors want to know about … where to get money to support, create, publish and market their books.
Crowdfunding: Raise Capital To Fund Your Creative Project
Crowdfunding is “the” method for creative thinkers to raise capital for their businesses and projects. It enables anyone the opportunity to raise money for anything, without going to a publisher, VC, or bank. In this workshop, Leigh Lepore, Founder of Crowdfunding Strategy & Information, will walk through what crowdfunding is, which type of crowdfunding (e.g., donations, rewards, debt, or equity) is ideal for which situations, and how to set up a successful campaign. We will discuss in detail the key steps for engaging an audience, presenting your project to the market (including creating the right video), and hitting your goal.
- Would you like money for your Book Project?
- Would you like to expand your book empire using OPM—other people’s money?
- Would you like to learn the how and why of how to do it?
- Would you like to learn about crowdfunding from someone who creates the strategy and copy for crowdfunding projects?
- Would you like to learn how to create your own crowdfunding project?
We’ve got the answers to all of the above and much more. See you Saturday morning for a late Brunch and Learn at Author U.
Author U is switching to a Brunch and Learn format after the recent survey with our members.
Leigh Lepore is a crowdfunding strategist. She raises funds for products, creative ideas and causes. Leigh has raised a total of $40K for her personal campaigns and has researched, blogged and trained with top platforms and crowdfunding partners to assist in the raising of mega thousands for authors and entrepreneurial projects.
Leigh is the Founder of Crowdfunding Strategy & Information. She advises small businesses and creative individuals on raising money for their projects through crowdfunding. Leigh has successfully raised $40K for her personal campaigns and advised others on campaigns of over $100K. She is passionate about helping others and being socially responsible. She is focused on crowdfunding especially for those who cannot fundraise for themselves and believes in a communal yet competitive approach to achieve success.
She began her career in crowdfunding while in San Francisco where she trained with the top funding platforms and worked with industry partners. Since then, her passion for democratizing funding and empowering others has led her to raise thousands of dollars and help people around the world.
Leigh started her career in Environmental Engineering and Strategy Consulting with a top global consulting firm. She later transitioned to work for a Fortune 200 financial services corporation until fulfilling her entrepreneurial spirit and successfully reinventing an antique African art business in San Francisco.
When: Saturday, June 15th from 10 am to 2 pm
Where: Hilton Garden Inn, DTC
Cost: $30 members | $40 nonmembers
It’s All About the “Book” … the Questions is Which Type of Book!
Get ready to explore which the latest if book styles, the how-tos and which is right for your book, your reader and you, the author.
Is it Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3? Find out on Saturday, the 14th with AuthorU excellent publishing service associates Nick Zelinger, Rebecca Finkel, Richard Rieman and Nick Taylor walk you through the latest and greatest in print, “e” and audio.
Door #1 Audio
Richard Rieman is a 25-time audiobook narrator on Audible, Amazon, iTunes and YouTube. He also produces audiobooks for authors doing their own narration, including Charles Clark’s The Bootlegger ’40 Ford, Steve Snyder’s Shot Down! And Judith Briles‘ The Crowdfunding Guide for Authors &Writers.
- Why you should produce an audiobook.
- Best-selling genres for audiobooks.
- Why you should and why you should NOT narrate your own book.
- How to get a professional narrator with no up-front costs.
- The most common and not-so common mistakes, how to avoid them and what to do to get out of them.
- Audiobook tricks of the trade.
Richard is the author of the upcoming The Author’s Guide to Audiobook Creation: Giving Your Book a Voice available this fall.
Door #2 Print
Nick Zelinger wears both author and book designer hats. He’s the author of Another Gig in Nightmare Hell and a multi-award winning designer of hundreds of books. Rebecca Finkel has also designed hundreds of books and covers working with traditional and independent publishers including international bestselling photographer and author John Fiedler.
- Why you should produce a print book.
- Best-selling genres for print books.
- Why you should and why you should NOT design your own book.
- How to kick your costs down and negotiate the best deal for your book.
- The latest trends in interior designs and book covers.
- The most common and not-so common mistakes, how to avoid them and what to do to get out of them.
- Print tricks of the trade.
Door #3 eBook
Nick Taylor wears three hats—eBook designer, audio voice and author of five books including the Legon Awakening
- Why you should produce an eBook.
- Best-selling genres for eBooks.
- Why you should and why you should NOT create an eBook.
- How to position yourself on Amazon and generate sales.
- What costs to expect.
- The most common and not-so common mistakes, how to avoid them and what to do to get out of them.
- eBook tricks of the trade
When: Saturday, November 14
Time: 8 a.m. registration, Intros and Member Showcase/Reviews 8:30; Program at 9.
Where: Garcias, 5050 S. Syracuse, Denver
Cost: $32 Members and $45 Non-members.
MEMBERS – $32: 
NON-MEMBERS – $45:
… You asked for it … AuthorU will deliver a GamePlan for Launching Your Book … whether it’s new or old, what you will get it bold ideas; strategies on how to implement them; what social media works and what doesn’t … and January’s program is just that. Whether you book is just birthing or it’s gone into remission… get ready for an array of ideas and how-tos to kick start the big day/week/month … or get it restarted after being exhausted. The way to start off the year.
- Create the ideal Book Launch for your book.
- Generate strategies to rebirth a book once it’s out.
- Identify which of the social media platforms will work (and won’t).
- Tips and Tricks for bestseller status on Amazon’s Print and eBook positions.
- How to deal with AFS … Author Fatigue Syndrome.
- Onsite, you will create social media blasts to support your campaign—whether it’s next week or several months from now.
- And so much more.
Create a Book Launch that will Skyrocket 
your Book’s Debut (or Redo)!
When: Saturday, January 9
Time: 8 a.m. for Networking and Breakfast … over at Noon
Where: Colorado Automotive Association, 290 E Speer Blvd, Denver CO 80203
Cost: $22 for Gold and Best Seller Members; $35 for Basic and Non-Members. Increases $10 on January 3rd.
Gold MEMBERS – $32:
Best Seller MEMBERS – $0:
Basic – MEMBERS – $45:
OTHERS – $45:
Get ready to get the “insider’s skinny” on the hottest tool in the Amazon Marketing Services offerings. We are going to DEEP DEEP Dive into the new advertising that you can do on Amazon for pennies … don’t miss this session–it will not be taped … meaning you need to be at the meeting.
Meet with R
ichard Rieman at the studios of Post Modern Company Studios in downtown Denver to learn The Secrets of Audiobooks and How to Use them to Showcase Your Book. In addition, Kathy Meis, founder of Bublish, takes you step-by-step through the process of conducting your own Book Positioning Study and implementing Bublish to your marketing strategy.
Get ready to create a 3-minute AUDIO onsite for the first 20 people who register. 
We have two studios that will allocate a total of 15 minutes for each of the lucky 20–this allows to retakes and editing. For those who will be in front of the mic, you will get instructions on how to script yourself so you maximize your efforts and minimize your time.
Note: this is a large studio in a commercial building with concrete floors–bring a sweater–it can be chilly.
Count me in … I need to get on the audiobook trail pronto!
Richard Rieman is a multi-award winning author of The Author’s Guide to AudioBook Creation, a narrator and audiobook consultant.
BONUS AM SESSION
What, Whys and How-tos in Using Bublish
Meet Bublish … the world’s first complete publishing system with integrated branding, book and author marketing and discoverability features. It has award-winning tools to help authors write, publish, promote, sell and track their work — all from a single dashboard.
Bublish’s mission is to empower author-entprepreneurs, or as the team calls them, “authorpreneurs.” The “authorpreneur” title captures the essence of what it means to be a successful author in today’s competitive book marketplace. Authors must be both creative and business minded. With this in mind, the Bublish teams has created a suite of empowering tools. Here’s a sampling of how Bublish can help …
- Grow your audience. Bublish helps you share enriched, author-branded Book Bubbles that are easy to create, put thousands of eyes on you and your book(s), and connect the dots for your target audience. The team typically tracks about 50,000 book bubble engagements each week.
- Build your author brand. Bublish also gives you a LinkedIn-style Author Profile to help you start building your author brand. Here readers can see all your books and Bubbles in one place. Like Book Bubbles, your Author Profile can be shared socially with one click. Did you know readers are 15 times more likely to buy a book from an author with a name they recognize?
- Increase discoverability by search engines like Google. Every time you socially share a Book Bubble or your Bublish Author Profile, you make your author brand and books more discoverable by search engines like Google. This is another important feature we’ve automated for you. When you upload or create a book on Bublish, the keywords and metadata (title, your name, book cover image, keywords, etc.) are optimized for discoverability by search engines. All you have to do is create and share Book Bubbles regularly. Bublish technology handles the rest.
- Track your progress. At the top of your Bublish dashboard, you’ll find real-time metrics showing you when and where readers are engaging with your Book Bubbles and Author Profile. You’ll also see when and where they convert to visit your book’s product page at the major online book retailers.
- Generate beautiful ePub files with one click. Our Cloud-based writing tool lets you input content chapter by chapter on the left-hand side of the screen and select a layout on the right-hand side. With one click, you can change the entire layout of your book. You can export your manuscript anytime either as a Word document for editing OR as an ePub file ready to share with reviewers.
- Engage readers WHILE you’re writing. Share excerpts and insights right from your manuscript with Bublish’s “rough cut” book bubbles. They take only moments to create, so they won’t distract you from writing. They will, however, help you engage readers, get valuable feedback on your manuscript and share your creative journey with potential readers. When you’re ready, you can even add a “pre-order” button to your rough-cut bubbles to start selling your book at all the major online book retailers.
Bublish Founder, Kathy Meis will be here to deliver a “hands-on” demo of the What, Whys and How-tos in Using Bublish the second half of the morning.
Get ready to “bubble” up your Book Fans!
BE PREPARED!To those signing up…“Please prepare a book excerpt or promotion for the audio-only recording in the Postmodern studio. It has to be very short, 2-3 minutes maximum, to allow everyone a chance to record in the time allotted.”
Location: Postmodern Company; 2734 Walnut Street Denver, Colorado 80205 (303) 539-7001
In the Rhino District just east of Downtown Denver. (Directions to be posted soon)
In the RiNO District, just east of downtown Denver (the building has a large eye on it and is painted green) – directions will be posted. 
Parking is available for attendees between the two buildings with green outer walls. Parking is often a challenge–even though we have “space” for many, we would suggest that this would be a good time to carpool with a friend.
Time: 8.15 AM until Noon.
Cost: Early Bird until March 26 is $30 for Gold members, all others $40. An additional $10 after the 26th
Gold members need to login to Member site to register.
The Top 10 Keys to Audiobook Success Webinar
August 17 4 PT, 5 MT, 6 CT, 7 ET
Do you have an audiobook for your book? Have you thought about creating one? Do you know that audiobooks are the fastest growing segment in publishing today?
It’s Audiobook Revolution time!
Learn why you should create one and the top 10 ways to soar your success. Our August webinar is any eye and ear-opener!
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3148302396777262083
The Top 10 Keys to Audiobook Success
Once you have created the audiobook version of your book, narrator and audiobook expert Mara Purl will share specific strategies for audiobook success, including:
1. Key reasons to go exclusively with Amazon’s ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) or to go non-exclusive
2. Top ACX Alternatives
3. Best options for getting your audiobook into libraries or on CD
4. How to give away your audiobook and get paid for it
5. How to place your audiobook in the 3 best Audible categories
6. Key options for audiobook reviews
7. Building your genre fan base
8. Why you can make more money with your audiobook than your eBook
9. How to use your audio files in your promotions
10. Best Audiobook award competitions
Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3148302396777262083
Meet Your Presenter … You know MARA PURL as the best-selling, multiple-award-winning author of the Milford-Haven Novels, known as the “Heart Books.” But behind the scenes, Mara has been a top professional audio producer for two decades. Her ground-breaking original radio drama “Milford-Haven USA” was the first American radio serial ever broadcast on the BBC, where her 100 episodes with an all-star cast found an audience of 4.5 million throughout the U.K. Next she created 75 radio drama trilogies with students she worked with in Alaska, Colorado, California, and Tokyo, Japan. Next she launched Haven Books Audio, where her audio books have won the USA Book News, Hollywood Book Festival, and EVVY Audio Book Awards. In addition, Mara is a sought-after Audible narrator who performs multiple character voices and who enjoys becoming unrecognizable when she performs American-Southern, as well as French, German, British, Australian, and Japanese foreign accents. Find out more about some of Mara’s audios at http://havenbooks.net/audio.
Wow! Wouldn’t you love to grab the top spot on Amazon’s bestseller list and learn how to keep the momentum going? Not just for an hour … for days and weeks?
-How would you like instant credibility and expert status?
-How would you like to be able to create a strategy to get buyers names and emails and grow your list in the process?
-How would you like to have a system you can use over and over again that works every time?
If you’re thinking, “Yes, I would,” you’re serious … and you want to learn Ellen Violette’s secrets in our all-new Webinar slated for Thursday, January 18th,
Our Expert to show you the way: Ellen Violette is an award-winning self-publishing and business coach, 8-time #1 bestselling author, and soon-to-be podcaster at Books Business and Abundance. She’s also a Grammy-nominated songwriter.
Register for Thursday, Jan 18 at 4 PT: http://bit.ly/Ebook2018tips
Working with Bookstores
ONLINE-ZOOM …Saturday, November 6, 2021
Authoring and publishing a book is a major event. And accomplishment. Your local bookstore could be the door opener at the beginning of the process; during; and post when you have book in hand. Do you know what steps to take in engaging a bookseller … what specific questions you should ask … plus what exactly you should be giving one about you and your book?
Start with Pre and During book development including what to do 3 to 6 months prior to publication:
- Why you should attend store events.
- Ideas on building your support community.
- Items you should be doing online.
- What to include on your website.
- How to reach out to a distributor.
- Tips on bold spine design that gets attention.
- Nurturing your author etiquette.
- Tips on how to work with the Tattered Cover.
Then when you have a Printed book:
- Must have elements to include on your Book Sell Sheet.
- Why blurbs are the next best thing to word-of-mouth buzz.
- How often to follow up with a bookseller.
- When to set up a book event.
Presenter: Jon Marcantoni, Colorado Author Coordinator for the Tattered Cover is the presenter.
WHEN: Saturday, November 6
TIME: 9 am Mountain
Where: Zoom – You will receive the link to the zoom event the night before.
Cost: $25 members
It will be recorded and the recording will be sent out to all registrants within 24 hours.
Sign Up Here $25 
