It’s more than just putting the book online and going about your business. There are certain things that a nonfiction author (or really any author) needs to do to make sure that people are finding their books.

A book is intended to be a piece of the puzzle for your business, not some side thing that you do to check a box and never use again. Think of it like your website or a podcast. It drives people to your work, so you need to drive people to the book first.

Check out this month’s video to learn more!

The post How to Be a Successful Nonfiction Author appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

Your book cover is the first chance for you to hook readers. It’s like when you walk in a room: you only get one shot at a first impression.

So how do you know what to do? There are a few key rules to look at when working with a designer (or doing it yourself, if you have the skill).

1. It has to match your genre. Do your research before you get super excited about doing this or that with the cover. Especially look at traditionally published books that are similar to yours to get an idea of what the style is currently. Don’t worry about titles that are twenty years old. Five years back is plenty, and it will likely give you lots of candidates. Right now, in the coaching community, having a picture of yourself on the cover is popular, and that may be the right choice for you. As far as marketing goes, it’s a brilliant technique: connection through the eyes, a feel for your energy and passion about the subject, and whenever someone recognizes you on the cover, they want it. However, for certain goals, like New York Times Bestseller, this isn’t the best choice. Look at your goals before making this decision.
2. It needs to be appealing. Judging a book by its cover? Yep, we all do it. This is why you need to look at modern texts to make sure that the font choices and design elements are modern before you select them. This is also why you need to look at what appeals to your specific audience. Certain images and elements are more masculine or feminine, more professional or more relaxing, etc. Look at the avatar that you developed when working on your book and check out what kind of books they are reading that are in your genre. That should help you make decisions, as well.
3. It needs to look professional. Well, of course! This sounds like a no brainer, but missing the first two elements I listed here are actually the biggest problems with creating a professional book. I’ve seen several business books recently that the designer tried to make more fun and creative, which would definitely make them more appealing, but they ended up pushing the boundary into territory in other genres. Basically, one of them looked like chick lit (with a title that sounds like chick lit to boot!), and the other one looked like a thriller or mystery aimed at women. Business books need to be clearly seated in their genre because our eye picks up the artwork and design elements first and then the meaning of the words (typically). We get feedback from the entire experience, and if it’s sending off mixed signals, it could translate to a red flag, which means no sale. Professional also means a clear layout with some creative design (not boring old Times New Roman font) and high-resolution images. It should also coordinate with your brand.

Designing your book cover doesn’t have to be hard when you keep these things in mind.

The post 3 Things to Remember when Designing your Book Cover appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

I had a major epiphany earlier this year. 

I was at a networking event, and I introduced myself and what I do during the 30-second commercial period. It was pretty standard. I mentioned who I helped and what that’s so important. Dropped the info about being an author of 8 books and the executive editor of Inspiring Lives Magazine. Easy peasy.

Later, a woman came up to me and said, “I didn’t realize you had your own business.”

Wait, what?

We had been Facebook friends for a couple months, so I basically looked at her cross-eyed. “I thought you just worked for the magazine,” she said. 

Wow. How did she not know?

The obvious answer is that it was me. I didn’t reach out and introduce myself when new people friended me. I didn’t talk about anything on Facebook other than the magazine and my kids. In fact, the only thing I typically posted about was my kids, and I got tagged on anything that the magazine put out. I thought about what my Facebook timeline must look like: funny stuff with my kids, their achievements and milestones, magazine posts.

Heck, I even tended to lead with the magazine when I spoke at networking events!

At that point, I knew I couldn’t do that anymore! I had to improve my visibility. Visibility is about so much more than just existing in a space and hoping to get noticed. Visibility is active. You have to let people know what you’re doing and why it’s important to you. AND you have to make sure they understand why it’s so important to them.

Here is how I started and how you can get started too:

1. Lead with what you want to talk about. When you meet people, or even when you catch up with someone you haven’t seen in a long time, start by talking about what you do. I find that, so often, when I bump into an old friend and ask how they’ve been, they start rattling off a list of their kids’ achievements. It feels safe because it’s not us, right? But you are not your kids. You have thoughts, ideas, and a business that you need to let people know about. And when you’re at a networking event, don’t hide your passion. Start with the biz. I used to actually lead with the magazine because I thought the position title (which sounds fancy) would give me credibility. That’s true, but do I want to start with credibility or something that gets people thinking about how I can help them?
2. Change your personal profile to match your passion. Your business profiles should all match, be on brand, and contain pertinent information for people to find you, connect, and learn to love what you do. BUT, your personal profiles should have a spattering of that, as well, unless you are exclusively using it for close family and friends. Most of us friend the people we meet at networking on our Facebook business page. And because your personal profile usually has better reach than your business page, it’s a good idea to have it be professional and include a way to connect with you there, as well. Create a header in Canva that is on brand, even if it is just brand colors and your website. Make sure your job info is correct—not just a job title but what you actually do as a change agent! And if you have a Facebook group, create an Instagram post-sized image that tells people how to join it. Then, upload that as your only featured photo and make it visible to the public. Another option is to include images of you doing your thing.
3. Find new ways to keep what I do at the front of everyone’s mind. My business relies on referrals, and here I was keeping what I do a secret! Do a press release. Post new things that you’re doing on LinkedIn. Share your client testimonials on your different social media platforms. Focus on gratitude and how you are helping the people you love to help. You can absolutely be heart-centered and not slimy when talking about your passion!

Don’t fall into the trap that I did where I wasn’t making the most of the platforms I was on all the time anyway. Especially if you can’t get out to network much, make sure that what’s in front of people is ready to wow!

The post Key Visibility Components BEFORE you Launch your Book appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

Do you ever wonder why all the speakers at every big event that you attend have at least one book in their arsenal? They are sitting at the back of the room with a line of people excited to meet with them and chat about their impactful talk, and many of them are walking away with the book in their hands, eagerly announcing that they can’t wait to read it.

But that book is more than just a souvenir from the convention or conference. That book is important to the reader as a way to learn more about what they were just working on, and it’s important to the speaker as a bigger connection tool. This is a great way to make sure that the attendee doesn’t just leave the conference and forget about you. A book on the shelf or desk is hard to ignore, especially after a face-to-face meeting.

Here are some great ways to use your book if you’re a speaker, and some of the biggest reasons why books are such a popular tool for client connection.

Something to land the gig—The biggest reason to have a book at all is to have street cred. Being able to say that you are an author or a bestselling author makes a real difference when you’re trying to get the attention of the person booking speakers. Plus, a book can help you get your foot in the door in print, online, and on podcasts, which is just another way to get more speaking gigs. It’s cyclic.

Something to sell—If you’re going to spend 90 minutes, 45 minutes, even 20 minutes talking in front of a room full of people and NOT have something to sell afterward, then you aren’t using your time wisely. Sure, it’s great to have a program or event, but a tangible product is fantastic because someone who buys it has something to hold in their hand after the sale. It feels more like they actually got something. And the biggest reason to have something to sell that’s low-cost is to get people to your table to talk to you, which helps you build relationships . . . and build your client pool.

Something to give away—“You get a book! And you get a book! And you get a book!” Maybe not quite like that, but giving away a low-cost product could be a gateway to getting clients into your programs. If you’re targeted about your approach to giving books away, then you will be making an impact on those who would be ideal to work with you. Is there an event with 10 VIP spots where you could offer a book for your swag bags? If the people buying the VIP tickets would be ideal clients, then do it. At $3-5/book, you would only spend $30-50 on advertising that looks like you really put effort into giving.

A book is something that you can invest in once and use over and over. And it’s cheap for you to buy more. You don’t have to keep your basement stocked with tons of materials for conferences when everything that people need is right there in your book, either.

So if you’ve been thinking about a book, maybe this is the time for you to commit!

The post 3 Reasons a Book is a Must for Speakers appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

When you self-publish, there is a high chance that you will do some of the book yourself, not just the writing part. And if you’re in charge of the cover, you have to make sure that you collect the correct elements to put out a product that is not only professional, but also looks like a modern industry book.

So these are the pieces that you need to develop your cover. Yes, it seems like a lot for that amount of square footage, but to really look polished and professional, you at least need the basics.

Let’s start with the front of the cover.

• Title, subtitle – you can absolutely have a cool title that is also easy for people who don’t know the name of your book (or you!) to find. Remember that using key words is not only good for website SEO. It can also increase your book’s chances of being spotted by those who need it most. Check my post on book titles for more info. Also, make sure you use a font that is appropriate for your ideal audience.
• Author name – yep, that’s you. Make sure you use the name that you are most recognized for, especially if that’s different from the name you go by on a day to day basis. Think about whether you need to have your middle name, maiden name, pen name, Dr., or whatever else in the name to coordinate with your branding.
• Awards – did your book win an award? Often, the awarding organization will give you a stamp to put on your book, either in real life or on a digital version of the cover (sometimes both). If not, make sure you note on the front that the book won an award.
• 3-5 word testimonial (optional) – if someone high in your industry or a big-name publication (think Wall Street Journal) reviewed your book and said something nice, you may want to put a tiny snippet of that review on the front.
• Image – make it pretty! People, plants, and animals are the most attractive for your cover, and I encourage you to put yourself on the front. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, an image of your ideal client, even a stock photo, is also great for attracting interested readers.

And on to the back.

• Back matter – This is basically a sales pitch, not just a summary. Make sure you are identifying the ideal audience and what their major pain point is, as well as letting them know that you have the solution to that problem within the pages of your book.
• Testimonials – did someone like your book already? Awesome! It’s especially great if these are people of note, in your ideal audience, or higher up in your industry.
• Head shot/bio (optional) – I like to include my head shot and bio on a page at the back of the book, but many people like to put it on the back cover. Especially if you don’t appear on the front of the book, put your image and a 1-2 sentence bio on the back. It should be short and appealing to your ideal reader.

And don’t forget the spine! If your book is thick enough (not judging, 100 pages isn’t usually thick enough), then you need to include your name and book title on the spine.

Additional tips: everything should be clear and not pixelated. Use high-resolution photographs. Ensure that text isn’t running off the edge. Basically, don’t put out anything that looks like it isn’t high-quality. Remember that your name is going on this book, and you want it to be stellar!

The post The Most Important Elements for Your Book Cover appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

After you’ve built your business, especially in a niche that is overflowing with experts, you might feel like you provide unique value and can attract the clients you want. And that’s perfect!

But when you are ready to write a book in your niche, how can you differentiate yourself? You might want to follow certain formulas and structures to be successful, but on the outside, it might seem like you are about to write the same story as everyone else.

Here’s an example: you can’t throw a salad fork at a networking luncheon without hitting either a realtor or a fitness/health guru. Seriously, there are tons of them. But among those that I have met, they are able to differentiate themselves by specializing with first time home-buyers or with women recovering from pregnancy. They have an ideal client that they look for, and when they work with them, they truly thrive.

Just like with your business, when you write a book, you have a unique story to tell. You have a unique journey, a unique spin on things, a unique perspective. Plus, you have a unique client base, especially if you have been in business a couple years. You know who your ideal client is, as well as their needs.

Maybe you have looked to others for inspiration, and that’s ok! But you have to include some of what makes you YOU so you can write that book without making it sound like you plagiarized. Nobody wants to do that.

Ask yourself a few questions at the beginning of the writing process so you can figure out exactly what differentiates your ideas or your programs or your methods. Do a deep dive before you sit down at the computer and start pounding away at the keyboard. I know they show writers magically coming up with an idea and writing a whole novel in one sitting in the movies, but NOBODY actually does that.

Here’s how you can start:

• What can you offer that nobody else does?
• What info can you share that nobody else seems to be talking about?
• Where do you see holes in the common methodology?
• What is different about your perspective?
• What concepts do you turn on their head?
• Do you look at something that others in your industry typically neglect, but you consider essential for developing a plan that truly works?
• What is a question that everyone asks you when they are learning about your offerings?
• How does your x-step process vary and get results better/faster/etc. than most others in your niche?

You are an individual. You are unique. Your business is unique. Make sure that your book is unique as well!

Stand out by taking the time to write about why you actually stand out and what makes you shine.

The post How to Stand Out in a Sea of Books Like Yours appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

One of the tools in our marketing arsenal needs to be a way of collecting email addresses so you can send out a monthly newsletter, updates on blog posts, new releases and updates on your book, as well as workshops you hold related to your topic and anything else you can think of to tell your audience.

Sure, you could do that with Gmail or Yahoo, but you have to offer the option of easily opting out of your email list. The easiest way to do this is to select an email service provider that stores the list and sends out automated messages that appear to be from you to only one person.

I use ConvertKit (affiliate link)* to do this and so much more. Here are just a few of the cool things you can do with it to build your audience and stay connected with people.

• Collecting email addresses—When you do live events, it’s always a great idea to have a list for people to give you their name and email address so you can keep them up to date on your book and anything involving your business. But you aren’t limited to meeting potential buyers that way, so why limit yourself to collecting emails that way? With a service like ConvertKit, you can create something called an “opt-in,” which can be as simple as “Hey! Sign up for my list!” or can be a little more complicated. You can create a freebie or lead magnet to give people in exchange for their email address. Create a checklist, give away the first chapter of your book, or develop something else that relates to your book and business. Then make a landing page or put a box (like the one below this paragraph) on a page for people to sign up for the freebie. Boom, you have their email address, and they have a little sample of your expertise. (Also, you can add in any emails that you receive on an old fashioned piece of paper, so your lists can all be in one beautiful, digital place.)

[convertkit form=4911422]

• Email your peeps—That’s why you’ve been collecting all those email addresses, right? Each time you post a blog, you can send a teaser (short description of the post to hook the reader’s interest) to your list. Or, you can send a monthly newsletter updating your audience on relevant information. I also like to email my list whenever I’m doing a workshop, speaking at an event, or providing a free online training so people know what’s going on (and can actually go!)
• Sell stuff!—This has to be one of the coolest things about ConvertKit and other similar email programs. You can set up automatic emails to go out in a sequence to nurture your audience and sell things. That may be a little over-simplified, but that’s how it works. When people first join your list, you should have a sequence of emails set up that gives them some education and help them get to know, like, and trust you. Typically, a sequence like this consists of about 7 emails and lasts about a month. Don’t pitch in these emails, but do provide lots of value. You can even include a video of yourself greeting the person and thanking them for picking up your freebie. Following this sequence, you can do another sequence that gently explains what you’re selling, provides more value to the reader, and then makes them an offer that they can only get through your email marketing campaign (i.e. Limited time offer! 50% off! Free session this week only!) They would be crazy not to take advantage of that, right? That’s the point!

ConvertKit can seriously change the game for any author, especially one who hopes to sell products or services related to their book and their business. When writing the emails, however, keep these things in mind:

• Write to only one person, not “everyone out there.” You want the emails to feel super personal.
• Maintain focus. Share information or explain how the person can’t live without whatever you are selling. But don’t babble on forever and go off on tangents. People are busy, and you want them to keep opening your emails.
• Be kind. You can certainly play with emotions in the emails, but don’t belittle the person or make them feel guilty about the problem you are trying to solve with your services or product. We get enough of that everywhere else. Always keep your emails positive.

So don’t forget to connect with that audience and make each email worth their while! Provide value, guide, respond when people reply to your emails (yes, sometimes people do that), and have fun!

*Here’s the link again for ConvertKit. I love using it, and I hope you do too! If you order through this link, I may receive an affiliate fee; however, it will not affect the price that you pay for their service.

The post Staying Connected with Your Book Audience appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

This is amazing, right? I mean, writing a book is really hard. You have to come up with all the ideas and then come up with all the words. And the typing. There is just no way around typing. With all those fingers—not to mention all those letters!—it can take ab-sol-utely for-e-ver!

Going a little tongue-in-cheek here, but you get the point.

Writing a book really is tough. But really? This is something that is for YOUR business! Don’t you want your name on a book that you actually wrote? Wouldn’t you feel like a fraud with a stack of books that you didn’t write, handing them out or selling them to your fans, who are pointing at your name and thinking wonderful things about you?

A fraud? Well are you?

I don’t think so. You can write a book easily. No sweat. And if you think sweat will be involved, dab your fragile brow with thine pocket handkerchief and relax whilst I present a list of items that should put your mind at ease.

1. You actually don’t have to type the book. For real. You can have it transcribed by an actual person or use a software that converts audio to text on its own. Obviously, you would have to pay someone to transcribe what you say, but some audio-to-text software is actually free. Another trick is to use the voice text option on your phone’s typing program. I’ve used it to write blogs before, which was really handy because I could speak while I was driving and have a nearly completed blog when I arrived at my destination. I’ve run into a glitch with that method—sometimes it will beep and stop typing, which means I have to hit the button again to get it to type—but overall, it’s an efficient way to work.
2. Either way, you should be the one coming up with the main ideas. Have you ever played telephone? This is the children’s game where you start with a sentence, whisper it to the next person all the way around the circle, and by the time it gets back to you, it’s something completely different from what you said. Something similar can happen when you trust someone else to write your book for you. If you give them a paragraph concept for the entire book, or even just a few notes, they could go on tangents that you don’t want them to cover in the book, just to meet the word count or because they misunderstood what you meant. Circumvent this issue by just writing the first draft yourself. You can always work with a coach through the writing process and an editor when you’re done to make sure you have conveyed your thoughts smoothly. Plus, you want the book to sound like you! If you present to an audience and then sell them a book that doesn’t follow your speech patterns, words that you prefer to use, and ideas, they will be confused and possibly spot the fraud.
3. Writing a book is hard, but it’s not as hard as you may think. If you step back and look at your life, you’ve probably written enough text messages, grocery lists, Facebook posts, or articles to fill a book already. All those tiny increments really add up! If you’re concerned about not having enough to talk about, start by planning out your chapter topics and then writing a paragraph under each about what you want to discuss. Chances are, you will find that you have more than enough to talk about. Struggling? Talk to a friend about the topic, see what people are asking about the topic online, or hire a writing coach to help guide you. Maybe writing a book yourself isn’t so far-fetched.

You really can write a book for your business, without panicking, without spending years on it, without stumbling around clueless, and without investing your life savings. If you have questions, contact me! I’d love to set up a clarity call and discuss coaching options with you! And, I’m an editor, too. If you’d rather do it on your own and then have it professionally edited, that’s another great option!

The post Why Write Your Book for Your Business Yourself appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.

And suddenly, reorganizing your pantry is really exciting and important right now . . .

Basically, you have three options once you put down the can of green beans: you can pay someone to write it for you, you can cry in a corner, or you can tie yourself to your desk chair and write it yourself.

Option three tends to be the least painful physically, emotionally, and economically, so let’s look at my favorite trick for writing a great back cover blurb.

Go watch several movie trailers in your genre.

Seriously.

I’m mentioned before that humans are great mimics. If you’ve ever seen kids play after they have watched their favorite movie a dozen times, you know what I mean.

When we read, watch, or write a certain style, it’s imprinted on our brain, making it much easier for us to immediately write in that style some more.

We are so highly influenced by whatever we are immersed in that it makes this a perfect tool to prep yourself to write a great blurb.

As you watch the trailer, listen to what parts of the movie they talk about, and take notes. Are they giving you the full plot? Nope. Just the bits that will entice you.

As an example, let’s discuss the trailer for Moana, a movie that nearly everyone on the planet has seen by now.

The trailer starts with Moana’s grandmother briefing you on the general plot, but the mystery is who the hero will be. “For generations, this peaceful island has been home to our family. But beyond our reef, a great danger is coming. Legend tells of a hero who journeyed to find the demi-god Maui. And together they will save us all.”

After this opening, they show clips of Moana (who you assume will be the hero) going to find Maui and then of them talking. You see the tension between the characters, which makes you wonder how they are going to work together to accomplish their goal. Following this, you see lots of action clips from their adventure together, with teasers of the dangers they have to overcome.

For this particular trailer, they don’t show you exactly how they accomplish the mission, but they do evoke feelings. This is what you want to accomplish for your book blurb, too. Here are some of the emotions you may experience when watching the trailer.

1. Curiosity about the legend and whether Moana can be the one
2. Excitement because she quickly found Maui
3. Suspicion that they won’t be able to work together as they start their quest
4. Fear that something bad will happen because they must overcome 3 great dangers
5. Hope because you know it’s a Disney movie and the princess never dies

Finally, you are left wondering how all this pieces together to help them save the island. What’s the connection between the danger that’s coming and Moana and Maui? They don’t mention the actual quest that the pair embarks on either. You know they do something important to save the island, but what?

Also, many of us initially wondered, “Can Dwayne Johnson sing?” This is a Disney princess movie, after all. (The answer is “yes,” if you’re curious.)

Once you’ve watched some movie trailers, hop on the computer and start composing.

Think about the big questions that your book answers. Think about how you can give a little information and leave your reader curious about the entire book.

I’ll apply the Moana formula to my own Martina Mackenzie: The Diana’s Eye, a middle grade fantasy book.

Deep within the Earth, the Rhihalven, Elves, Fairies, and other magical creatures have been thriving in their own fantasy world for millennia. But when a dangerous secret society whispers that they all deserve more, perhaps something the humans have, it puts the balance of the world—both Sheardland and the surface of the Earth—in peril.

Martina, a clever middle schooler, and her two friends discover an entrance to Sheardland through her family’s ice cream shop. Unknown to them, they stumble upon the people of Sheardland at a time when the future of humans as we know it hangs by a thread. The curious death of the dreaming trees, wet footprints in the chemist’s shop, and a handful of Rhihalva behaving strangely lead them on an adventure to restore balance on Earth and hope for a peaceful existence among the magical nations.

But how can three kids with no magic persevere in a land where everyone is imbibed with a natural elemental power? . . . And why is the Earth key missing?

For my book, I set up the basic plot and followed with what the main characters are involved with. Then, I leave the reader with the questions that I hope will entice them to buy the book and read on. Because I’m working with text, I can actually spell out the questions that I want my reader to ask when they get to the end of the synopsis. It’s a direct lead.

Much like the Moana trailer, I left the reader with feelings, mostly suspense and curiosity. I gave them a scenario that seems impossible, hoping they will read the book to find out how the kids save the world. I mentioned nothing about the Diana’s Eye, which is a major driver of the plot, just like restoring the Heart of Te Fiti is in Moana.

Try it out for yourself, and see how you do! Let me know in the comments what your new synopsis is, or tell me some of your tricks for writing a great book blurb.

The post One Simple Trick for Writing a Stellar Book Synopsis appeared first on Aurora Corialis Publishing.