August 7, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Tuesday, August  5th 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Jo Virgil, Community Relations Manager (CRM) at the Sunset Valley Barnes & Noble store in Austin, TX.  Jo shared the secrets of what it takes to get a book placed in a bookstore outlet, who to contact to get it in there, what kind of marketing is effective, and how to keep your book on the shelf. Along the way, she busts several cherished myths about the relationship between bookstores and authors.  This is one podcast that EVERY author should listen to.

Jo Virgil has served as a Community Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble for many years. She currently works at the Sunset Valley store in South Austin. A major component of her job is working with authors to produce successful events and book signings. She has worked as a feature writer, reporter, and columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and loves to dabble in any kind of writing, fiction and non-fiction. She has a Master’s degree in Journalism with a minor in Environmental Science, reflecting her love of writing as well as her deep appreciation of and respect for nature. She is Vice President of the Board of the Writers’ League of Texas and also serves on the Board of the Central Texas Storytelling Guild

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July 19, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, July 17th 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Jim and Linda Salisbury of Tabby House press about smart self-publishing ideas: tips and techniques for becoming successful without spending a ton of money. We covered essential knowledge for self-publishers and a lot of specifics about Children’s Books, a particular area of expertise for Tabby House.  Specifically, how to make your book conform to industry standards (and hence be sell-able), how to understand your market, effective no-cost and low-cost marketing and promotion techniques, and making money outside of the bookstore arena.

Jim and Linda are authors of “Smart Self-Publishing: An author’s guide to producing a marketable book” now in its third edition. The book has been mentioned in both Newsweek and BottomLine Personal.  Listen up to this podcast and find out how to get a FREE copy of this $16.95 book for just the nominal charge of $6.00.Jim is the publisher at Tabby House now based in Central Virginia, and was president of the Florida Publishers Association for many years. He and Linda offer self-publishing seminars in libraries, bookstores and for writers’ groups. They are members of FPA, Publishers Association of the South, and Independent Book Publishers Association (formerly Publishers Marketing Association).Linda is the author of the juvenile fiction Bailey Fish Adventure series, which has won four national honors. The sixth book in the series will be out this fall, and she has another environmentally oriented children’s book to be released soon. She is a former journalist and a free-lance writer.

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July 14, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, July  10th 2008  Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with publishing consultants Graham van Dixhorn and Susan Kendrick of Write To Your Market about  what makes a powerful book cover and how to transform your book’s cover into your most powerful marketing tool. We covered critical aspects of cover design including, Why starting your cover early in the process of creating your book is a good idea. When should you start marketing your book? How to build your brand using your book cover. What are the criteria for a great non-fiction book title and subtitle? What is involved in obtaining killer endorsements and testimonials? What if your book has multiple target audiences? What comes first on a cover, words or design?

Susan Kendrick and Graham Van Dixhorn, of Write To Your Market, Inc., help you develop a powerful brand with your book cover so that you can achieve the visibility, recognition, and results of today’s most successful “authorpreneurs.” Their clients report results like selling 125,000 copies of a first book, many based on the title alone. Their clients also use the cover language Susan and Graham create to increase Amazon rankings before their books are released; get national media coverage by the L.A. Times, The New York Times, and USA Today; appear on national TV talk shows, including Dr. Phil and The Today Show; and help them win more than 23 major book awards, including Ben Franklin, IPPY, Foreword Magazine, and DIY.Susan and Graham serve clients across the U.S. and in Canada, England, Europe, and Australia, who are experts in the fields of: health, relationships, business management, and many other topics.

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June 27, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On June 5th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Emily Heineman, Marketing Director at Perceptive Marketing.  Emily manages the details of the marketing and publicity efforts – working directly with clients in the book business. Emily laid down the basic facts for us on how brands work in the book genre and how important they are to long-term success.  Branding can take place at different levels: yourself as the expert author, your main character as a darling of pop culture (think Harry Potter), and of course as a book series.  We looked at the nuts-and-bolts of establishing a brand, ensuring your brand is associated with quality, and the importance of consistency among other issues in this wide-ranging discussion.

Emily works with Sandy Lawrence (CEO and Founder of Perceptive Marketing) as the Marketing Director for the company. Most of Perceptive Marketing’s clients are authors or publishers and Emily helps them realize their dreams. She helps to create marketing materials, including press releases, media kits, and press kits, and she facilitates the booksignings and other special events. Many of the Perceptive Marketing authors are children’s book authors who want to present their program and book in the schools. Emily works with the librarian to coordinate the events and make it enjoyable and fun for the author and the kids. Emily is one of the leaders in Perceptive Marketing’s latest project, Operation StoryTime, a program that helps bring authors and books to schools that do not have a budget for author visits – or money to buy the books.

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June 25, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On June 19th, 2008 Irene Watson spoke with publisher, author, and editor Victor R. Volkman about the fundamental numbers of the publishing business including ISBN registration and usage, working with the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication program, and the Book Industry Standards Group’s BISAC coding system.  Specifically, we talked about the publishing lifecycle and how library cataloging and sales fits in with rest of the picture in pre-publication publicity. Additionally, we explained the nuts-and-bolts of ISBN registration, working with Books-In-Print, and how distributors and bookstores learn about new titles.

Victor Volkman is the President of Loving Healing Press Incorporated, a small publisher which has been dedicated to producing self-help, psychology, trauma recovery, and personal growth books since 2003. LHP has produced more than 60 titles covering such diverse areas as physical disabilities, medicine and alternative health, abuse recovery, mindfulness, and critical incident stress management. Their books are sold in the USA, Canada, and the UK via Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bertrams Books, Quality Books, New Leaf Distributing, and other distributors. The overall mission statement is simply Redefining what is possible for healing mind and spirit. He is the author of six books on topics from psychology to computer programming and his next book will be called Power Publishing.

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May 12, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

 On Thursday, May 8th, 2008, Tyler Tichelaar and Victor Volkman spoke with Kenneth MacLean from The Big Picture press. He is the author of six books including The Vibrational Universe: Harnessing the Power of Thought to Consciously Create Your Life. He is an expert on collaborative marketing using the Internet through cooperative means including, but not limited to, reciprocal linking, email blasts, monthly newsletters, movie-style trailers, and sharing substantive content with the public.  His newest venture is a book editing service bureau.

Other books by Maclean include: Dialogues - Conversations with My Higher Self and several eBooks including What Do You Do and When all Hell Breaks Loose? and “Life’s Little Instruction Manual”. His latest projects involve using Internet flash movies to portray the key concepts of his philosophy. Ken’s most recent book is titled simply I Love You Dad, an exploration of communication after his father’s recent passing. Ken’s main area of interest is the relationship between science and spirituality, and his conviction, through personal experiences, that consciousness is not biologically based. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both Computer Science and Political Science.

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April 24, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, April 17th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Toby Heidel, futurist with Red Planet Audiobooks in Austin, TX. Toby shared with us the changing nature of the audiobook industry and how small publishers and self-published authors can take advantage of this burgeoning new market without spending a fortune. Trends such as online delivery and market fragmentation can actually work in your favor by creating a level playing field. Red Planet produces and distributes audiobooks for independent authors and small publishers.

Toby is in charge of long range planning for the company, implementing new technologies and responding to developing trends in the audiobook industry. In addition to his work with Red Planet, Toby has a solid background in spoken word entertainment as the long-time Executive Director for the Violet Crown Radio Players, a radio drama re-creation troupe based in Austin, Texas.

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April 11, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On April 3rd, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, publicity guru, and connection maker Gini Scott Graham of Making Connections, Gini spoke with us on the all-important subject of doing queries for the purposes of syndication, getting an agent, selling media rights, and finding a publisher. She has published over 50 books herself and has an extensive background in personal and professional development, problem solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, and interpersonal relationship techniques for over 25 years. She has gained extensive media interest for previous books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, Montel Williams, CNN, and hundreds of radio interviews. She has been frequently quoted by the media, such as a recent short piece in Cosmopolitan seeking advice on a workplace conflict.

Dr. Gini Graham Scott, is the Founder and Creative Director for Making Connections, a Web-based Internet service that connects clients by – email with publishers, agents, the film industry, the media, the game and toy industry, the music industry and others. The company helps clients write an effective query letter that will be received and read and sends out personalized queries to hard to reach contacts in these fields. The company has had over 1000 clients in the 5 years since it was founded, has been written up in the Wall Street Journal and other publications, and has success stories and kudos from over 250 clients – some who have gotten six figure deals through using the service.

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March 21, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On March 20th, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Dave Kuzminski, creator and manager of Predators and Editors, the infamous website where scammers and companies with a record of complaints are recorded. Dave helped us distinguish the dark side of book promotion, agents, and publishing by covering such thorny topics as: the difference between a bad business deal and a scam, the evolution of a scam and what types of people are running them, how to avoid a scam, and what to do if you think you’ve been had.

Dave Kuzminski is both a writer and the owner and editor of Preditors & Editors. As a writer, he manages to inflict words upon readers in order to entertain them. He’s been writing for several decades. As an editor, he manages to inflict recommendations upon publishing businesses who sometimes aren’t entertained. He’s done that for eleven years though it probably feels like several decades to some of those businesses that are recommended against. One of his favorite titles is Knight Spirits and its available from Double Dragon Publishing.

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March 10, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, March 6th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with pioneering gay author Victor J. Banis. In his 40+ year writing career, he has learned a lot and shared with us writing techniques for audiences and how they differ between gay and straight fiction, how the writing market has changed in the past decades, advice for new writers, and amazing stories from a life in print in every genre imaginable.

Victor J. Banis is the critically acclaimed author of more than 150 published books and numerous shorter pieces, both gay and straight oriented, in almost every genre - fiction and non fiction, humor, mystery, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and even, recently, a cookbook.

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