Bad Kindle Marketing: Don’t Do It!

I am continually amused (?) by the ads my Kindle displays when I open it for use. With two exceptions (Norelco men’s electric shaver shows up occasionally, and the Phillips Wake-up Light), they are always books (which would make sense), and I can tell at a glance they...

Everybody Knows How to Write, Right?

A friend of mine recently asked me a question on Facebook: I was browsing some business pages on FB and happened across this description: “We help our clients expose themselves at trade shows, presentations, conferences, events and celebrations.” Is it just me, or...

Short Saturday: Don’t Worry about Piracy

Are you worried about someone pirating your work and selling it as his own? Plagiarism exists, for real. But I think this article—a guest post on the brilliant Joanna Penn’s website, The Creative Penn—has a great point: The biggest challenge facing a new author isn’t...

Titling Committee Fail

The title of a book is a big deal. It’s the first thing readers see, so it’s an important marketing tool. But there’s no magic formula to creating a good title. Whether fiction or nonfiction, the title should be catchy, interesting, unforgettable; it should get the...