Episode 63 – KU Page Reads, Author-Customers, and the Oblivion Principle

Question of the Week: Will the new KU payout structure be good or bad for authors and why? How will it impact your own business? (Answer in the comments)

In the beach edition of the Sell More Books Show, Bryan battled sharks and hermit crabs to record the latest episode with Jim. Before they talked tips, Bryan launched his new service, Best Page Forward: A Description Writing and Marketing Service, which you can check out at http://bryancohen.com/bestpage Jim and Bryan discussed three tips this week on marketing services, procrastination, and book piracy. While the news included stories on direct-to-brain book downloads, Amazon’s publishing imprints, the  Oblivion Principle, and authors as customers, the focus was Amazon’s recent announcement about Kindle Unlimited and page reads. This week’s Question of the Week: Will the new KU payout structure be good or bad for authors and why? How will it impact your own business?

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Episode 62 – MacGuffin, Apple Royalties, and the 10k Book Design

Jim and Bryan topped Babe Ruth and Roger Maris this week by smacking number 62 right out of the park! After Bryan invited listeners to his Ted Head Games contest, the silver sluggers took on tips about profitability, internal defense, and series resurrection. The news included stories on MacGuffin, Nielsen’s ebook statistics, Apple’s possible switch to 85 percent royalties, the $10,000 self-published book design, and attitudes toward younger writers. This Week’s Question of the Week: If you could meet with the author who spent $33,000 self-publishing (Dr. Nancy Saltzman) what would you say and why?

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Episode 61 – Focus, Phones, and 10-Year Contracts

In a show bursting with info, Jim and Bryan welcomed back Mark Dawson for the conclusion of his Facebook ad experiments. They also touched on a trio of tips related to building your author empire, the latest tools introduced at BEA, and the essentials of any marketing campaign. The top 5 news focused on mobile phone reading, John Scalzi’s 10-year publishing deal, the Authors Guild’s attempt at positive PR, Phoenix Sullivan’s analysis of Author Earnings’ data, and Orna Ross’ editorial on the true worst time to be an author. This Week’s Question of the Week: Would you take a 10-year contract if it meant financial security but that all contact with your readers would go through the publishing company?

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Episode 60 – Google Play, Discrimination, and Going Pro

Bryan and Jim hit the big 6-0 this week, which made them feel old. This week, they covered a trio of tips on finding free or discounted local books, writing 5,000 words a day for a month, and perfecting your book’s title. They also touched on news stories about 12 essential book marketing tips, giving away books for free, discrimination against indies, Google Play’s shutdown for new authors, and the pros and cons of going pro. This week’s Question of the Week: Does the traditional publishing industry’s behavior toward indies count as sanctioned discrimination? Why or why not?

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Episode 59 – Planes, Clickbait, and Google Buy Buttons

The dynamic duo of digital debutantes took on their usual trio of tips and the latest in self-publishing news in their 59th episode. In today’s show, you’ll learn about Facebook Custom Audiences, Facebook funnels, and successful autoresponders. You’ll also hear discussions on news stories focusing on Kobo books on planes, clickbait advice, carving your own path, Amazon’s new sales pages, and Google’s upcoming addition of buy buttons to search results. This week’s Question of the Week: Do you like Amazon’s new sales page? Why or why not? Do you think it’ll increase or decrease sales and why?

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Episode 58 – Lifetime Bans, Community, and the Big 5 Decline

After a short (and live!) musical interlude, Jim and Bryan tackled the latest publishing industry news and tips. Tips included Chuck Wendig’s 10 authorial self-promotion commandments, Nate Hoffelder’s thoughts on writing for short attention spans, and Jane Friedman’s four questions to ask yourself when building a community. The news stories centered on 100 percent self-publishing royalties, the difficulty of selling digital products, a customer’s lifetime Amazon ban, the five dumbest business practices in publishing, and the latest Author Earnings report. If you answer this week’s question of the week with a video or phone call, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free year of Author Marketing Club! This week’s question: Should customers be allowed to return an unlimited number of ebooks at any time? Why or why not?

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Episode 57 – BitLit, PayPal, and Brand Building

After Bryan chatted about his Facebook Event product launch, the two troubadours tackled tips on brand building, persistence, and working hard to achieve success. They also discussed news on the federal government e-book program for kids, PayPal’s new digital product endeavor, BitLit’s expanding shelfie technology, the music industry compared to the publishing industry, and the latest on Author Solutions. Bryan and Jim are starting a Patreon campaign (like Kickstarter for podcasts), and they want your help to figure out what bonus content to give their followers. This week’s Question of the Week: What bonus content would you like us to provide as pledges on Patreon?

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Episode 56 – Disruption, Grazing, and Worst-Case Scenarios

On the launch day of Bryan’s new Facebook Event product, Kindle Sales Blowout, and Jim’s new Author Marketing Institute podcast, the Writership Podcast, the dynamic duo tackled the latest in self-publishing tips and news. The trio of tips included what to do in the worst-case scenario, how to come up with new marketing ideas, and giving your backlist new life. The news stories focused on the success secrets of super authors, the decline of indie bookstores in the U.K., how the Tragedy of the Commons theory applies to self-publishing, Facebook’s Contentgeddon, and the future of disruption in the publishing industry. This week’s Question of the Week: What will the reimagination of the publishing industry look like in 2017 and beyond?

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Episode 55 – Indies-Only, U.K. Earnings, and the Audio Revolution

Succinctly working their way through the top news in the biz, Jim and Bryan discussed the latest happenings in the industry. Their trio of tips focused on recording your own audiobooks, pricing your books, and how to market on Facebook. News stories included the topics of indie-only bookstores, a series of stories on audiobooks, London Book Fair, Mark Dawson’s recent feature in Forbes, and author earnings in the U.K. This week’s Question of the Week: Would you submit your book to a self-publishing book store? Why or why not? If there was one in your area, would you consider shopping there?

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Episode 54 – Luck, Oyster, and Seven-Figure Deals

In another succinct episode, Bryan and Jim talked tips, news, and the most pressing questions of the publishing industry. They discussed tips related to email lists, self-promotion on social media, and the new Book Report tool. News stories included Amazon’s fake review lawsuit, three recent seven-figure publishing deals for indies, the luck factor of publishing, the reasoning behind Oyster’s new online book store, and the traditionally published author survey. This week’s Question of the Week: If you were already successful in self-publishing, would you take a five-book deal for a million dollars?

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