First Word

Best USA Book Awards FINALIST: BEST COVER DESIGN FINALIST: BEST MULTICULTURAL FICTION Purchase an eBook or print copy at Amazon ( click here ) Another 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com) book is an award-winner. Joining the ranks of our other award-winning books, Passenger from Greece is yet another example of why authors should work with 3L Publishing. We focus on quality not quantity. For more information, contact 916-300-8012, send email to info@3LPublishing.com or log onto the website at 3LPublishing.com.

1. Hire a publicist, which is the "no-fair" tip, but the most obvious . Make sure your publicist specializes in book promotion. You want him/her to have the right connections to the journalists and media contacts who interview or feature author and book reviews. A publicist sets you way ahead of the emerging self-published crowd and earns you credibility as a serious professional. 2. Sign up and attend book festivals . Book festivals put you as an author right in front of the consumer. It's targeted toward readers since it's a book festival, and people love to meet the author and have him/her sign their books. It also gives you an opportunity to see the public's reaction to your book cover and content (what they browse). And doing regional festivals throughout the country gives you a chance to build a national following by introducing those parts of the country to your work. Book reviewers are often at these festivals too, and it will give your book direct expos...

When business starts to wane, jump in and use the adage "outflow gets inflow". Many motivational books suggest you focus on gaining business vs. losing business. Whenever I face the slippery slope of decreased sales, I do the following: 1. Promote to my existing mailing lists some kind of special deal. Run a special seasonal deal or sale of some kind and promote it to your lists. This often has the results of spurring people to remember to think about your business and gives you exposure. 2. Follow-up on existing opportunities . I want to comment on this action in particular. Business people tend to leave opportunities on the table due to lack of follow-up or any kind of follow-up program. My rule is simple: follow-up with a handful of people per day. Set a goal such as following up with 5 people per day. I know it can be uncomfortable if you've been persisting with the same 5 people. but what do you really have to lose? What do you have to gain? I like to follow-up ...

I always tell business people that writing a book and the value it brings your business isn't measured by individual book sales. It's measured by opportunities. Here are three "opportunities" having a professionally published book can do for your business. 1. Subject Matter Expert. Whether you feel like an expert or not is beside the point. A book in people's minds means you know enough about a particular subject to write about it. Subject Matter Experts get asked to do the following, which provide more opportunities ... 2. Speaking Engagements. Speaking to a group makes you the center of attention. The aforementioned expertise creates credibility. Credibility impresses people. And speaking to a room gives your company exposure to the audience members. And what does exposure do? 3. Attracts Business. Now you've gained credibility and had an "opportunity" to share your expertise and business acumen to a group (audience). Exposure to your busines...

Chapter 3 I attended an annual multimedia trade show in New York City at the Convention Center every year. My company M Marketing and Graphics bought a 10 x 10 booth, and we always seemed to sit across from this Japanese electronics company where the diminutive Asian sales girls wore five-inch heels presumably to make up for their lack of height. I marveled at any woman, short or not, who would dare to wear platform shoes for more than an hour much less 10 hours on a cement trade-show floor. I, on the other hand, wore my comfortable, flat Mary Janes to match my slim black skirt and lavender silk blouse with silver buttons on the two breast pockets that gave it sparkle. I tucked it in with a wide belt with silver infinity clasps in the center to give it a modern, chic flair. I loved trade shows – the energy and meeting potential clients face-to-face. Most of my life was spent in my home office at my computer working on graphics and illustrations for marketi...

When I open my presentations, I ask two questions: “How many of you throw away books in the trashcan?” I follow up that question with the next one, “How many of you throw away brochures in the nearest garbage can?” The second question provides the audience’s a-ha moment. Most people feel value when they buy or are given a book. A book has weight. It has pages. It has merit. It conveys the perception of knowledge and expertise and time and money to publish. A feeling of guilt or at least a sense of environmental responsibility overcomes the desire to toss all that time, money, expertise, and most importantly “paper” into the garbage can. On the other hand, how many flyers, tri-fold brochures or one-sheets create such a moral or ethical dilemma that you actually feel guilty to throw it away? I’ll be honest. I’ve thrown away countless brochures. I even curse when someone shoves a flyer under my car windshield wiper because now I have to find a garbage can so I’m no...