A Nonfiction Author’s Guide to Citation Notes and Bibliographies

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Planning to refer to studies, articles, books, websites, or other published works in your book? You’ll need to provide full bibliographic information for each of your references. Compiling this material can feel like a chore when your attention is focused on completing your manuscript, but it’s a good idea to make it a regular part of your writing practice. By keeping accurate, comprehensive notes while you write, you’ll save yourself stress and aggravation when it comes time to format your citation notes and bibliography.

Why cite your sources?

The reas... keep reading

How to secure permissions for your book

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There may be places in your manuscript where you quote from a previously published work. If you’re quoting a substantial portion of the original material, you need to obtain permission from the copyright holder (and you may have to pay a fee). Otherwise, you could end up scrambling for a replacement quote—or worse, be forced to do a rewrite—if the copyright holder turns down your request.

What requires permission to reprint?
Not absolutely everything you quote requires permission, only the substantial quotations. What constitutes “substantial”? If it... keep reading

How to promote your book offer

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Running a pre-order campaign is a great way to spread the word about your book and stimulate advance sales. There are different pre-order strategies to consider and not every one will be suited for your particular book. But whether you choose to give away a free ebook, webinar, or something else, people will need to know your book promotion exists, and it’s up to you to tell them about it.

Here’s a look at two forms of online advertising and how you can leverage them to your advantage:
... keep reading

How to get top endorsements for your nonfiction book

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To attract the attention of new readers and booksellers, it helps to have the endorsement of relevant, high-profile people that the reader already knows and trusts. So, how do you get those endorsements? You’re going to reach out to experts, published authors, and influential people in your network to ask them to support your book with what is generally known as a “blurb” or “advance praise” in the book publishing industry. Advance praise can be immensely helpful in attracting instant credibility.

What you’ll do is ask potential endorsers whether they’d be willing to re... keep reading

2 Essential Tools of an Online Author Platform

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You might have seen the term “platform” tossed around online, but what does it mean for an author to have one? When publishers talk about an author’s “platform,” what they’re referring to is how visible or widely known the author is, and all the ways in which the author shows up in the world.

Traditionally, an author’s platform is composed of their fan base, media appearances, public events, and sometimes their professional network. Today, a strong online platform is even more critical for authors because of its almost unlimited growth potential. Your online fa... keep reading

“In hybrid publishing, it’s a partnership”: Edie Goldberg’s author journey

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HR veterans Edie Goldberg and Kelley Steven-Waiss had a mission: help other organizations change the way they work. To them, a book was the platform to share their knowledge. The question was, which publishing path should they take? Here Edie Goldberg talks with our publisher Maggie Langrick about why she and her co-author chose hybrid publishing for their book The Inside Gig, and how this option best served their needs. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Publishing a book is a ... keep reading

How to run a successful book launch media campaign

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Media coverage, also called publicity or public relations (PR), is often the first thing that comes to mind when we think of marketing. Publicity is, in essence, the spreading of information. Of course, you hope that readers will enjoy your book so much they’ll spread the word themselves through word-of-mouth. But in the beginning, you’ll need to give that process a jump-start with a media campaign. This is where a team of publicists pitch your book to their contacts in the media to obtain coverage on TV, radio, and podcasts, and in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. Ideall... keep reading

5 Questions about Book Indexing

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This guest post was written by Stephen Ullstrom, indexer and proofreader.

Crack open any nonfiction book and flip to the back. Chances are, you’ll find an index there. Although overlooked at times, the index is a useful guide for readers to locate specific concepts and subjects within a book. The author isn’t usually responsible for creating the index—that job lies in the hands of a skilled professional, the indexer—but it’s worthwhile for anyone writing a book to understand how the indexing process works.

Here ar... keep reading

“It’s given me a different kind of confidence”: Steve Dennis’s author journey

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A consultant, keynote speaker, and global retail influencer, Steve Dennis is also a prolific Forbes contributor. However, as he’s found out, writing short-form pieces are a different ball game compared to writing his first book, Remarkable Retail (published by LifeTree Media in April 2020). Here the new author talks with our publisher Maggie Langrick about what he’s learned and gained from the experience of going through the book publishing process for the first time. This interview has been edited fo... keep reading

How to Choose the Right Book Publicist

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Even in today’s world of digital and guerrilla marketing, publicity is an essential aspect of promoting your book and generating buzz. Media coverage is harder to come by than ever, but it’s still the most effective way to stimulate book sales, especially appearances on national TV.

Unless you are a publicist yourself, do not attempt to do your own publicity. Media outreach is so much more than just sending out a press release—this job is all about relationships that are cultivated over time and built on trust. That’s why it’s worth hiring a professional to run your media c... keep reading