Many effective book videos don’t require audio at all, but for those that do, which is the majority, well placed stingers, hits, swells, drones, sound effects and theme music can make an average promo, awesome. Hollywood trailer techs are masters at incorporating compelling elements into movie promos, and with budgets pushing $400K, a fair chunk of those resources are allocated towards audio. The good news for the book video market is, accomplishing the same high level of audio is very doable using professional software like Adobe Audition or Final Cut Pro. In fact, a number of studios use these programs to mix complete movie soundtracks. The key is to be sure the timing of the audio lines up perfectly with the visuals, and the source files are clean. Voice-overs especially, can create a lot of extra work if the recordings didn’t originate in a sound booth (a closet surrounded with mattresses does qualify as a sound booth ;). Some hums, clicks, and minor pops can be fixed, but if the recordings are of poor quality, they may not be usable at all, especially if there’s no background music to help drown out the flaws.

A good place to seek out voice talent is at Voice123. Simply post a script for your project and within hours you’ll receive a number of voice over demos to select from. Technology has made it possible for many of these talented actors to record high quality audio right from their home studios, and then upload or email them instantly. After selecting the talent, negotiate a buy-out price (or post your budget before hand), have them record two to three variations of the lines, and presto – you get what you need.

Remember to never underestimate the power of good audio for your promo!

Ray Gross is the creator of StoryPromos.com

We hear a lot about Print-On-Demand (POD) these days, some good and some bad, until you’re not sure what to believe. For the self-published author looking to get into print without selling their first born, or mortgaging their home, or going into your retirement fund, it is a godsend.

The core of the good, the bad and the ugly is a lack of understanding of what a POD is or is not. Most of the bad we hear comes because someone thought they were getting one thing and ended up being disappointed, therefore giving the POD a bad wrap they don’t deserve.

If you have decided you don’t want to spend a life time chasing your publishing dreams waiting for some traditional publisher to say “yes,” then POD is the way to go.

So how do you use the POD effectively? First, you want to begin to put together a list of POD’s. The quickest way is to do a Google Search. You can put in either self-publishing, or Print-On-Demand. The numbers will probably be overwhelming at first as you wade through. You may even think it is a waste of time, or get tired, a little frustrated. If you want to make the best choices, then this is necessary.

It doesn’t take you long to figure out, after reading through a few paragraphs, POD’s use language that doesn’t mean anything to you at this stage in your pursuit. If only there was an easier way to get what you want, it would be welcomed right about now with a loud cheer and hooray.

Next, if you are going to self-publish– and that is what you would be doing– you might want to stop for a moment and examine books you have on your shelf. Look at how they are put together. You probably never noticed that before. You might even want to pull the cover off of one and take a closer look at how it was created.

When you strip a book down to its parts you have a cover, with a front and back; what I refer to as the “guts,” the contents, the text which make up the inside of the book. You will notice that this part has a certain format, a copyright page, maybe a dedication or acknowledgement page, plus a table of contents. This format is called a typeset copy.

This is the beginning of knowing what you need when you start looking for a POD: a cover designer, a typesetter, perhaps someone who can write copy for your back cover, if you don’t think you can handle it.

The first thing you want your POD to do is: take your cover ideas, make a cover and typeset your manuscript.

Your job will be to deliver a manuscript ready to be typeset. That means you have proofread it for as many times as it takes, since you are self-publishing and perhaps did the editing yourself, or hired someone to do it for you. If you don’t know how to typeset, you definitely want a POD who can deliver that service, preferably as part of your print package.

Because you don’t have the clout the big boys have, you would want your POD to give you an online presence, either placing you in their bookstore, or placing you in some of the major chain bookstores. In addition that positioning should include providing you with an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), which gives you worldwide exposure.

As a first timer, a pre-print proof is a life saving benefit you want your POD to provide, just in case you have missed something. This gives you a final opportunity to correct it before you go to print. You may have to pay for it but it’s worth it. Find out how many corrections you are allowed before being charged an additional fee.

You want to be at liberty to order one book or more so you won’t have to worry about storing inventory. The turn around time on re-orders is important to know when planning your future activities.

Some POD’s have Author’s Agreements; get a copy so you will know your restrictions, if any. Don’t be so excited about getting published that you forget to read the fine print. If you have trouble doing that, ask a friend to read it and underline the important points.

Consider any marketing tools your POD offers a plus, such as Post Cards, Book Marks, Press Releases, etc. Make sure that your computer programs are compatible and that you can upload pretty easily. You want to also be able to talk to somebody when you have concerns and problems. If you are an impatient person, some POD’s won’t work for you because they deal with e-mail, fax and very little phone interacting.

A good place to start when shopping for a POD, look for those that offer print packages, which include designing covers, typesetting, ISBN’s, giving you an online presence, with worldwide exposure.

Now, let’s look at what a POD is not:

They are not traditional publishers, though they may look like it based upon additional services like marketing, or they choose to print your book with minimal expense on your part; they are what they are, printers. Though they offer additional services, don’t forget who you are, an unknown, first timer, no experience. It will take time to get you where you want to be as a published author so don’t read the hype and expect miracles; otherwise it will lead to your disappointment. Using a POD will jump start and position your books strategically in the marketplace to make sales. If you get this, you will have a happier experience in the process of establishing yourself as an author.

In case you’re thinking, forget the POD’s, that’s not what I’m looking for. You would probably be surprised to know that traditionally published authors have to fiend for themselves after about the first year, if they’re not a big name. So don’t feel it’s just self-published authors who have to make their way.

The key is to know what you are getting into, how the system works and work it to your advantage.

What POD’s do: Keep great writers from dying with their works on the inside. They assist authors in carving out a place in history for themselves, their family and, leave a legacy for future generations. That’s the real power of POD’s and if you work them effectively, you can make your dreams of a published author come true.

Blondie L. Clayton, Realization Strategist™, Publishing Coach and Author of The Secret to Publishing High Quality Books For Under $299.00, Making It Into Book Stores, and Getting Worldwide Exposure; she is the host of the Christian Reality Show: Say It Like It Is; Co-founder of the Online School of Publishing (E-Course); works as a freelance writer; hosts the “Author’s Spotlight at Positive Change Radio.Com. You can visit her web site at http://www.blondie2book.com

You might think it costs money to get promotion or advertising or exposure but it doesn’t. It only takes a little research and the guts. Self serving means you have to get used to talking about yourself and always looking for new ways and angles to reach the media. I can use myself as an example:

Self publishing a book means I am constantly promoting my self. On my own I have managed to get into magazines and newspapers I never thought I could get into. Here are some tips on how I did it.

1. I know the topics inside my book and outside my book.

a. This means I can break my book down into different areas of promotion. From the topics found inside my book. My book is about modeling, but also it is about the Internet so for example: currently I am marketing it to the technology sections of magazines and newspapers.

b. I allow my book to be fluid, it can be sexy, but at the same time it can be very serious and depending on who I am pitching it too my press release and email changes.

2. I research books that have a similar topic. And I Google those books and I then research what magazines and newspapers and blogs have featured these books and I research the writers, what I mean is I research Who Has Written About This Type of Topic and I think of a way that I could gain this writers interest for an article about my book, including a similarity and also how my book is different.

3. Use the Internet as a source of promotion. Join blogs, make a Myspace page, facebook, get involved with the online community and charity’s and organizations that might have something to do with your book. This way also if an editor or writer wants to write about you, they can also find your website and your profile and learn more about you and your book.

4. Magazines print once a month so the chances for a magazine are slimmer than that of a newspaper which comes out everyday. So if you have a local newspaper send them a sample of your book or your book and don’t be afraid to seriously write your own editorial. As in, write a story about yourself and submit it. If the newspaper is really busy but there is space left for an article and the press release you sent is decent, they might as well just use it and publish the story.

5. Always look around you. Ideas are everywhere. Today on the way home, I picked up the Village Voice sitting on the subway bench, with it, tonight I plan to scout of all the names of writers and stories which have even the slightest similarity to my book. Then I will Google them. Then I will prepare a letter in Word personalized to their article and mention my book and ask for the chance for them to review it, I will pull in some points where my book shines, the unique factors but I will keep it to only about two paragraphs. The way to get press is not to go on and on. Just be quick, to the point and follow up with a phone call.

6. Write about your book in ten different ways. Come up with different ways to approach the press. I submit to the fashion, technology, books, lifestyle, and female editorials and magazines, and newspapers and don’t forget the website is a great tool to market yourself so email and contact websites that feature stories with similar topics that relate to your book.

7. Email! It saves a stamp and postage, and compared to mailing the book cold-mail, and usually you can email a sample of your book too, it is a quick way to pitch yourself without spending money.

http://isobellajade.blogspot.com/

Isobella Jade blogs daily at http://isobellajade.blogspot.com/ - and is a petite model living in New York City and by self server she has been featured on Media Bistro, The New York Post Pulse, Page Six, Advertising Age, Yahoo news, Yahoo Yodel, Gawker, The bookstandard, Fashion Television and magazines nationally and internationally. She has been modeling since 2001. She is the author of Almost 5′4″ Confessions of an Unconventional Model, which she is shopping to make into a film. She went to New York Institute of Technology and has her bachelors’ in Advertising and Marketing.

Book Writing & Marketing: 3 Sure-Fire Ways to Boost Business with a Book

Speakers, consultants and business owners can waste thousands of dollars marketing themselves with brochures, websites and Power Point presentations. But there’s a better—and more cost-effective way—to market yourself and your business: write a book.

In fact, many business people have found that their book has become, in effect, a “big business card.” A well-written book can set a professional tone before you enter the room and speaks well of you after you leave.

How Writing & Publishing a Book Can Skyrocket Your Business

What specific benefits will your book provide to your business?

1. Instant credibility. No matter what business you are in—real estate, insurance, finance, consulting, medicine, marketing, public speaking, the list goes on and on—a book establishes you as an expert. Writing and publishing a book can gain you more credibility than just about anything else.

Your book not only makes you the expert; it makes you stand out from your competition. After all, how many of your competitors have written a book? Bets are not that many. And turn that around and think about the most respected leaders of your industry. Chances are most, if not all, of them can call themselves “author,” too. Wouldn’t you like to be among them?

2. Relationship building. A second benefit in writing a book is that it helps you establish a relationship with your customer. Why is that important? A successful business is all about building relationships, so it should be a primary goal for any business owner. Your book helps you to build those relationships by revealing more about yourself. After all, you can’t really take every prospect to Starbucks and have a one-on-one conversation, but, through the pages of your book, you can make them feel like that’s exactly what you did. And when they feel that connection, they will contact you for to talk more about your products and services.

3. Your book, if done well, can kick your marketing—and your business—into high gear.

There are statistics to back this claim up. RainToday, an online site for business owners, did a study to see if publishing a book actually improved a business owner’s image, public relations and, most importantly, revenue. In the study, 200 business owners who were also authors were asked a series of questions for some interesting—and lucrative—results.

One of the first findings was that 4 out of 5 of the business owners/authors asked said that publishing a book improved their brand. In other words, it helped them make a name for themselves and their company. It got them noticed. Next, 3 out of 4 of the business owner/authors surveyed said their books had gotten them more public speaking engagements. (By the way, books are a great marketing tool for speakers to sell at the back of the room at events, which helps generate even more revenue and give opportunity to interact with customers.) Finally, more than half of business authors said that publishing a book allowed them to charge more for their product or service. So, by writing a book, they were making more money. It doesn’t get better than that.

Plus, there’s a bonus reason to how a book can grow your business and make you money: multiple avenues of income. After you write a book, the hard part is done. You’ve done the research, interpreted it in your own voice and put it all together in an understandable fashion. Now you can take some of that same information and create more products—products that will make you more money than what you will get from people buying your book. Some successful information products that have been developed from books include audio seminars, newsletters and workshops.

Establishing expertise, building relationships, generating revenue—these are just some of the reasons to pursue writing and publishing a book, your big business card, today!

About the author:
Donna Kozik, founder of MyBigBusinessCard.com, is a book writing & publishing consultant who shows business owners how to write their book quickly and easily to create a no-fail marketing tool. Find out what mistakes to avoid and how close you are to publishing success with a Free Special Report & Quiz at http://www.MyBigBusinessCard.com

Selling your old books is a good opportunity to make quick cash and gain some space on your bookshelves. You were planning to do it for a long time, but not sure how to do it?

Here are a few tips to help you to get started:

Tip 1.

Firstly, it is important to research book market. There are plenty web-sites that compare prices for books. This means that you have a good opportunity to find out the
best selling price for your books or textbooks. It is a good idea that you do some research before placing your books for sale. This way you will find a web-site with the highest prices for your books and will make as much profit as possible.

Tip 2.

Secondly, you need to find a web-site where you would like to sell your books. There are a lot of places that provide selling services, so this step should not be a problem for you. However, when choosing a web-site, make sure that it is safe. If you ever going to leave your personal information online, you need to make sure that it is safely stored. This is why when registering check if there is a lock sign at the bottom of the page. If it is there, then your personal information will be safely stored. Some web-site owners also inform their customers that their web-site is hacker safe.

Tip 3.

Best selling days for textbooks are, for example, the beginning of a new semester. Do a little research of the schools around your area to find out when Fall, Spring semesters and Intercessions start. Place your books for sale a couple of weeks in advance before the semester starts. Don’t worry if you don’t sell them right away.

Tip 4.

Also remember to adjust your price according to the prices of other booksellers. It is important to understand that a customer wants the best deal possible. So if your books are very expensive comparing to others, it is very unlikely they will be sold any time soon. This is why I advised you to research book market in the beginning, remember? It is easier to make profit by selling in volume with low prices, then put your prices up very high and sell books only occasionally.

The easiest way to sell your Books:

It can be a hassle to create your own selling account and constantly adjust prices. In this case you can sell your books directly to online book buying stores and make money instantly! All you need to do is to locate your books on their web-site by entering ISBN in the provided fields, then click on sell button and mail your book. You will be paid as soon as the book is received by the buyer! Some of the books buying stores also provide free shipping, and you will not have to pay shipping fees when mailing your book!

Ok, now that you know a few secrets, get that pile off the shelf and sell it! Good luck!

If would you like to read more about how or where to sell your books, or where to buy cheap books, visit our web-site http://www.bonbooks.com

You can also buy your favorite books at our online store, choosing from thousands of titles. We offer safe online shopping and great prices.

When you are planning your book’s marketing mix, there are 14 factors — each starting with the letter P — to plan. PURPOSE (or Passion) is definitely the most critical to figure out, since it will influence your decision on all the other 13 Ps. These 14 factors are found in this definition of MARKETING …

Marketing is the process of creating, implementing, monitoring and evolving a strategy for the complete marketing mix, which is:

• having a needed product (or service)

• available at a convenient place (and time)
• for a mutually satisfactory price (value)
• while ensuring that the correct segments of the public
• are aware (the promotional mix)
• and motivated (positioning),
• all in a manner which takes advantage of strategic partnerships
• and contributes to the overall purpose (passion).

The promotional mix includes:

• personal sales,

• publicity & public relations,
• paid advertising,
• and sales promotions.

Ideally, this will be done with respect and consideration to:

• financial profits,

• the planet (our environment)
• and people (society).

Take a moment to write down your PURPOSE (passion). Each author’s reasons for writing are unique. Allow yourself to be introspective and to list all your motivations, and you can then decide which are the top priorities.

Why write down an honest statement of your PURPOSE? Because knowing ‘why’ will GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS in the rest of the marketing mix.

Here are two examples, from about five years ago, of the way a self-published book can attain bestseller status - and achieve the author’s purpose - when the author is honest with himself or herself about the underlying motivation, and plans the marketing mix accordingly. The first example is Karen Couture and her book, The Lung Transportation Handbook, and the other is Chris Lear’s Running with the Buffaloes. Both self-published books became best sellers and - more importantly - the authors achieved their personal PURPOSE, using some simple marketing tactics.

Here are these inspiring examples…

If your purpose is to help a particular group of people, that fact will provide focus for your plans. Karen Couture did extensive research before and after she underwent a double-lung transplantation operation. She then wrote The Lung Transplantation Handbook: A Guide for Patients [ISBN 1552125041] to share her encyclopedic knowledge with others who would be receiving transplants, their families and the caregivers. Since sharing knowledge was her prime purpose (not ‘making money’ or ‘becoming famous by being on Oprah’), Karen chose to link up with transplant recipients groups, such as Second Wind, to publicize the book to all hospitals and specialists who perform the operation. Proceeds from sales go in part to the groups.

The result? The Lung Transplantation Handbook became the world’s top selling book on that subject, and is still widely considered a ‘must-have’ for all prospective lung transplant recipients and their families.

Karen Couture’s book has also encouraged the publishing of other books for that niche audience, including Taking Flight: Inspirational Stories of Lung Transplantation, complied by Joanne M. Schum [ISBN 1553696840] and I Call My New Lung Tina: Inspiration from a Transplant Survivor, by Shirley Jewett [ISBN 1553952707].

Considering Karen’s PURPOSE of educating people, her marketing has been a fantastic success. Her goal pointed directly to the optimal marketing strategy: enlisting the active support of transplant recipient groups and their networks around the world (a PARTNERSHIP). In effect, she recruited a huge team working on PERSONAL SALES to reach prospective transplant recipients, family and caregivers (her targeted PUBLIC).

Here’s the other example, which began in 2002 …

Chris Lear, a competitive cross country runner and freelance sportswriter, knew all about focusing on one’s personal goals. Chris saw publishing through an on-demand service as a cost-effective and fast way to refine and market-test his new book in order to get ’scouted’ up to the major leagues of publishing.

For 6 months, Chris threw himself full-time into publicity and promotion: speaking at athletic meets and camps, ensuring that elite running stores were displaying the book, securing reviews from Sports Illustrated, USA Today and other media, contacting everyone he knew. Meanwhile early readers were providing comments that fed into 30(!) rounds of revisions and corrections to perfect his story. Chris’s book was Running With The Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher and the University of Colorado’s Men’s Cross Country Team.

The result of Chris’s marketing sprint? Chris’s book was high on Amazon.com’s sports bestseller list, and The Lyons Press offered him a contract - with an impressive advance on royalties - for a new hardcover edition [ISBN 9781585743285] with a national advertising and publicity budget. Chris had won his first race as an author and was soon commissioned to write another running classic called Sub 4:00: Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile [Rodale Books, ISBN 9781579547462].

Chris’s PURPOSE (getting his book picked up by a major sports publishing house) pointed to the optimal marketing mix solution: refining his PRODUCT while PROMOTING through PUBLICITY and PERSONAL SALES, and ensuring it was available in influential PLACES.

When you, as a self-publishing author, are clear about your PURPOSE, you might find that the other 13 Ps in your book’s marketing mix will fall neatly into place. You could be on your way to becoming a successful author - more importantly, you will be achieving your PURPOSE!

Bruce Trelawny Batchelor is the inventor of print-on-demand publishing (POD publishing) and author of Book Marketing DeMystified: Enjoy Discovering the Optimal Way to Sell Your Self-Published Book [ISBN 978-1-897435-00-7]. He is the CEO at Agio Publishing House (http://www.agiopublishing.com) and a presenter at writers conferences.

When you are planning your book’s marketing mix, pay attention to your PURPOSE. Each author’s reasons for writing are unique. Take a moment to be introspective and to list your key motivations, and you can then decide which are the top priorities.

Why write down an honest statement of your purpose? Because knowing ‘why’ WILL GUIDE YOUR DECISIONS in the rest of the marketing mix.

Here is a real life example of how knowing your PURPOSE can bring focus to POSITIONING, PROMOTIONS and other marketing mix factors… In 1994, Fred and Peg Francis wrote Democratic Rules of Order: The Complete Official Parliamentary Authority for Meetings of Any Size [ISBN 096992604] not to make money but to have a beneficial impact on society.

Democratic Rules of Order is the one parliamentary standard that fully protects every member’s right to equal participation in orderly meetings. It does this with concise, common sense rules without jargon or unnecessary protocol.

Fred (who died a few years ago) wrote this on their website at www.democratic-rules.com to explain his purpose: “This book has been a very satisfying project for Peg and me, who see the urgent need for more justice and stronger democracies in our world. For a democracy to work successfully the populace itself must understand and want to obey the democratic principles. Citizens need practice in making the individual rights of each member and the rights of the majority work together. People using this book are practicing and learning these laws at the grass-roots level.”

This very concise book (27 pages of rules, a 14-page sample meeting plus questions-and-answers) explains meeting rules that are fair and easy for everyone to master - a far cry from the 600-plus pages of Robert’s Rules of Order! With Roberts, a knowledgeable chair can manipulate meetings to have his or her own opinions prevail. Because Democratic is so short and understandable, EVERYONE knows the rules and is on equal footing.

For Fred and Peg, a marketing plan had to reflect their mission, so they hired an editor to polish the text, making the book as understandable and credible as possible. They felt that this was really worthwhile, even though editing cost $30 per hour. Thus they has a superior PRODUCT.

Next, they decided to start a word-of-mouth phenomenon by donating about 2,000 individual promotional copies to leaders of church groups, associations of government agencies, schools and public libraries. This helped them secure free book reviews in religious newsletters and in magazines that go out to politicians and bureaucrats. The front pages of the book explain clearly how to order more copies, and the generous discounts for ordering larger quantities.

Fred was a mathematician who could master their marketing mix puzzle about allocating scarce resources: they refined their PRODUCT by using a professional editor over many editions, sent out samples (a form of sales PROMOTION) to targeted groups (their PUBLIC), allowed bulk discounts (PRICING), and sought PUBLICITY through newsletter and magazine reviews.

Fred and Peg’s plan has worked very well - the book is now in its 7th edition and has sold over 14,000 copies, sometimes purchased in batches of over a hundred by a single congregation or agency. Copies are being used in some high schools to teach parliamentary procedures in social studies courses. Buyers often reorder and refer others to this handy book, creating a chain reaction that is steadily spreading to people all around the world who are now able to have more effective meetings.

See how important PURPOSE is in creating the optimal marketing mix for your self-published book?

Bruce Batchelor is the inventor of print-on-demand publishing (POD publishing) and author of Book Marketing DeMystified: Enjoy Discovering the Optimal Way to Sell Your Self-Published Book [ISBN 978-1-897435-00-7].

He is the CEO at Agio Publishing House (http://www.agiopublishing.com) and a presenter at writers conferences.

The answer is very important - it is your motivation (your purpose or passion).

Each author’s reasons for writing are unique. Some want to change the behavior of others (possibly by teaching the reader about health or religion or politics). The simple desire to entertain is the motivating force for some writers, while many others feel compelled to record memories of a time and place they cherish. A book can be an essential tool to build a consulting or public speaking career. It could be the proud unveiling of a lifelong compulsion to create poetry or invent a sci-fi series.

Some people use the independent (self-) publishing process as a market test, hoping to attract the attention of a film producer or impress the acquisitions editor at a major publishing house. Your motives may have some urgency, or may have the long-term time frame of introducing a romance trilogy or series of thrillers. A few writers blatantly proclaim their quest for fame and fortune, while others value their privacy and time too much to thrust themselves 100% into promotional efforts. All are valid reasons, none better than others.

PLANNING THE MARKETING MIX

At its most basic, if you have a simple marketing plan, you’ll be way ahead of most other self-promoting authors and many industry pros because you’ll have a clear overview and can focus on those factors you’ve decided to emphasize. As important, you’ll have decided, and are comfortable with the decision, on what not to do.

Here’s a delicious story to illustrate how to concoct a great marketing mix…
THE GREAT TASTE OF MARKETING SUCCESS!

Back in 1981, Joan Bidinosti and Marilyn Wearring, two women living in rural Ontario, decided to create and market “the best book we could. We did a lot of research and really thought things out,” Joan told me. “We wanted to make a book that we liked. We wanted to be proud of it, then hoped other people would like it. Making money really didn’t enter into it.”

They ignored conventional wisdom in the publishing trade and created a book on a single theme: muffins. Muffins: A Cookbook [ISBN 0969134509] didn’t have photographs (another no-no), nor a hard cover. Instead they created a quite small, handy, coil-bound book. They tested every recipe thoroughly, had only one recipe per page and the page number clearly visible in large type. Directions were numbered and simply explained. The oven temperature and baking time were at the top.

Baking tips were printed on a colored sheet of paper inserted at the book’s center - this helped cooks navigate by remembering if a favorite recipe was before or after the middle. Joan’s daughter, Susan, created whimsical drawings for the cover and insides.

They knew the ideal gift price: $4.95, and found a printer who could work within their budget. One thousand copies were printed, a few letters sent to the local media, and the two authors took the first copies to a gift store and a book store. Marilyn sold copies to her friends at the curling rink and exercise class, who came back to buy more copies for their friends. Within a week, the local TV news program ran a short item, which prompted the newspaper to run a full-page story.

From that point on, the two authors had a tiger by the tail. During the next decade, they sold over 200,000 copies of Muffins: A Cookbook, plus 60,000 copies of a sequel called Salads: A Cookbook.

Looking back, Joan can reminisce about dozens of successful marketing initiatives. The authors made hundreds of personal sales appearances in department stores, bookstores, gift shops, trade shows … always passing out delicious samples and always selling large quantities of books. There was a sheet on the last page of the book, providing an address for ordering more copies, with a discount for ordering 5 or more. “It was word-of-mouth through friends who liked everything about it that sold our book,” Joan believes. “We’d get lovely letters with the mail ord