The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Marketing Tips

How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

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Customized products for marketing businesses have been around for a long time. The problem was you had to bulk order. I don’t have the budget for that. Do you?

Maybe you don’t even think of yourself as a business, but as an author you are in the business of selling your books. Unless one book is all you intend to write, now is the time to make that paradigm shift. If you are a writer, you are a business.

I’ll get down off my soap box now and back to today’s topic. [Read more…] about How to Use Customized Product to Market Your Book

3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics

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All the gurus say it: “Include a quality image with your blog post.”

And with the rapidly growing popularity of Pinterest, many authors have created a Pinterest business account. They pin attention grabbing, irresistible graphics that drive traffic to their blogs, market their books, and build their platform.

I agree, but I am neither artistic nor versed in Photoshop. What’s a person to do?

Keep reading because I’ve found an answer. [Read more…] about 3 Tools for Creating Attention Grabbing Graphics

Is a Literary Agent the Pot of Gold for Writers?

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Rainbow Literary Agent

In the words of author RJ Thesman, finding a literary agent is “harder than finding the perfect purse.”

Be that as it may, many authors seek an agent and for good reason.

Agents [Read more…] about Is a Literary Agent the Pot of Gold for Writers?

Struggling to find the best markets for your writing?

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magazines

You have a great idea for an article, and now you need to find a magazine that will buy it. But how do you do that?

You could visit your local grocery store and peruse the magazine rack.

Or visit the library and see what magazines are available there.

That’s how I did it when I first started freelancing in 2006. But I was not only attacking this task the hard way, [Read more…] about Struggling to find the best markets for your writing?

Are marketing and building your platform one and the same?

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No, these activities are not the same thing. According to Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary,

woman with megaphone, building her platform

Market means “to expose for sale in a market” (verb). Platform means “a raised flooring (such as a stage or dais) in a building on which speakers, theatrical performers, or other person show themselves to an audience” (noun) 

In his book Platform, Get Noticed in a Noisy World, Michael Hyatt defines platform [Read more…] about Are marketing and building your platform one and the same?

Should marketing be your focus right now?

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Do you cringe at the mention of marketing? Many writers do.

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the verb market as “to expose for sale in a market.”

As a beginning writer (to whom I chiefly speak), my question to you is “What have you got to sell?” [Read more…] about Should marketing be your focus right now?

How to Brainstorm a Marketing Plan

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Author Kathy Nickerson interviewed by writer, editor Debra L. Butterfield.It feels like old home week here at the blog with another debut author interviewee returning to guest post. Today we hear from Kathy Nickerson about developing a marketing plan.

How to Brainstorm a Marketing Plan
by Kathy Nickerson

When a potential publisher told me, “We’d like to offer you a contract for your novel, Thirty Days to Glory,” I did the Happy Dance all around my kitchen. Then I read the second sentence: “But first we need to see your marketing plan.”

Right. Let’s see. Where did I put that file? [Read more…] about How to Brainstorm a Marketing Plan

Improve Your Writing and Marketing Through These 11 Blogs

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Platform, audience, tribe, fans, followers. Call it what you will, today’s writers must market themselves much more than in years past. In fact, there are many aspects of the writing world we must learn—unless you have a budget that allows you to hire someone to handle it.

In no special order, here are 11 blogs I follow that offer a tremendous amount of valuable free advice. (Like all businesses, several of these sites also offer their products for sale.)

Do you have blogs you follow that have been particularly helpful? Tell us about them in the comments.