If you've read my previous posts, you know how critical your platform is to your success as an author. There are, of course, many ways to build your platform, from social media to blogging, public speaking, and more. One of the strategies I haven't discussed as often, although I use...

If every book is a new baby, then each launch is its birth. And no matter how many times you release your newest 300-page bundle into the world, there are new experiences to have, new lessons to learn, and surprising new highlights to remember (with a few late nights thrown...

If you've heard it once, you've heard it dozens of times. As an author, you need to blog.

It sounds simple enough. At first.

But then the questions begin piling up ... Should you start your own blog? Should you pitch to established blogs, like The Huffington Post, Shine,...

With each new year comes a fresh crop of aspiring authors prepped to inspire, excite, and motivate. To help you join that much-anticipated (and forever adored) group, I want to give you even more tools for achieving your dreams as an author.

In my last two posts I discussed how...

Listening to John Assaraf, bestselling author and 8-figure business owner, speak at an author event about "mastering the inner game of success" recently, I was reminded of how critical it is to take the time to nurture yourself on the way to becoming a successful author. So, rather than discussing...

As we approach another new year, and perhaps begin pondering our resolutions for 2012, I wanted to take a moment to share insights from David Ellzey, author of Ocean of Now and CEO of David Ellzey Companies. As an expert in The Sedona Method, David travels the world teaching writers...

"As authors, you have exactly what you need to make it really big in social media."

That's a quote from Amy Porterfield, social media expert and co-author of Facebook Marketing for Dummies. It's also encouraging news for us authors, given how many of us still feel...

Your book is so many things. It's your life's purpose, your contribution, and your baby--not to mention, a tangible representation of your own considerable sweat equity.

Let's not forget, however, that it's also the world's most convincing business card.

The question is, as an existing or aspiring author, how can...

For authors, being on television is one of those rare milestones that can boost your value, strengthen your reputation, and increase your book sales in a matter of minutes.

The challenge, of course, is learning how to get the attention of a national television show's staff, which is inundated with...

Watching Nancy Duarte, author of Resonate and CEO of Duarte Design, Inc., on stage at the recent "21st Century Book Marketing" event, I was reminded, yet again, how valuable good speakers are -- and how important it is for authors to parlay their command of the...

It's so much more than your manuscript. It's your essence, your being, your barely born baby, about to be ushered into the world as your brand new self-published book.

But who can you entrust with transforming your beloved into the printed -- and digital -- beauty it's destined to become?

Yes, all the rumors are true.

Being a successful author today is a big experience, one that involves a lot more than writing great books.

As tempting as it is to feel overwhelmed at the thought of growing your online following, speaking to live audiences, pursuing the media, networking...

When I say the word "networking" to a room of authors, two things happen:

1. Most assume we're about to discuss Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. Everyone else averts their eyes and begins fiddling with their smart phones.

Like sales, networking is the bane of many an author's existence.

But networking...

Great news, writers! Recently released statistics about the book biz show that the sky is not falling. In fact, sales have been on the rise for quite some time.

Here are a few of the facts, according to a report from the Association of American Publishers (AAP):

Publishers' net...

This wasn't how it was supposed to play out. They were supposed to see the brilliance of your new book idea. They were supposed to assure you it would be a bestseller.

And yet, here you are, surrounded by blank stares, drowning in awkward silence.

How could this be? you...

With Labor Day come and gone, it's time for that collective annual sigh -- our silent acknowledgement of the pending To Do's we willfully waylaid during the lazy, hazy days of summer.

For many authors, that means rebooting the writing habit we put aside in favor of beach outings and...

Congratulations, you have a publisher's contract in your hot little hands. For many people, this is a sign that you've "made it" as an author. You trust your agent to look out for your best interest and he/she has not disappointed you yet. So why should you consider involving an...

What does it take to successfully promote the release of your new book? Time, energy, and money? Yes, but the experience you gain from having been down that road before can be priceless when it comes to a successful book launch.

When my book The Soulmate Secret was released in...

I recently read a manuscript that was written like a stream of conscious to the author's closest friend. Had I been a close friend or family member I probably would have enjoyed the book. As someone who didn't know this author I was pretty bored most of the time and...

If you are anything like most authors and aspiring authors, you have an idea for a book and perhaps the title. As you move closer to the process of writing an outline, a book proposal and even a sample chapter, you realize what it's really going to take to make...