Question of the Week: What are three things you could do to improve your emails to your readers?

May Sage joined the guys this week for an awesome Lab segment as they discussed tips on holiday marketing, preparing for the worst, and mind-mapping. After thanking their patrons Ethan Jones (and his book The Secret Blush https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDH2J1G ), Megan Haskell (and her book Sanyare https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ROBHMFY/ ), and Tara Ross (and her book Cubicle Jail to Laptop Lifestyle http://amzn.to/1ZNNHWl), they took on news stories about Kobo contracts, trad pubs learning from indies, audiobooks in indie stores, Facebook tracking miscalculations, and the iOS Unsubscribe feature. This week’s Question of the Week: What are three things you could do to improve your emails to your readers?

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Question of the Week: Now that the exclusivity requirement is dropped, will you try KDP Ads with your non-exclusive books? Why or why not? Also, what book should Abigail review next for our new segment?

Back from his day at the polls, Jim joined Bryan to talk tips on hustling, writing a novel quickly, and reader social network Litsy. After thanking their patrons, Chris Syme (and her book Sell More Books With Less Social Media http://amzn.to/2dRIefz ), David King (and his book Hitler Out of Time http://www.hitleroutoftime.com/amazon ), and Simon Goodson (and his book Wanderer’s Escape http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AZ7YSFQ ), the troublesome pair took on stories about book covers, European ebook lending, post-election book bumps, KU Australia, the future of audio, and Amazon’s new policy on KDP Ads. This week’s Question of the Week: Now that the exclusivity requirement is dropped, will you try KDP Ads with your non-exclusive books? Why or why not? Also, what book should Abigail review next for our new segment?

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Question of the Week: Have you noticed a decrease in email subscriber numbers? If so, what have you done to try to help numbers pick back up?

H. Claire Taylor subbed for Jim this week as the comedy duo of Cohen and Taylor took on the Sell More Books Show. After thanking their patrons Patrick O’Donnell ( http://bit.ly/mdcitypod ), C. Steven Manley ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U3DW6MY ), and L. Penelope ( http://lpenelope.com/books/song-of-blood-and-stone/ ), Bryan and Claire chatted about tips on advertising, dictation, and BookBub featured deals. News stories included Books-A-Million self-publishing packages, an Amazon reading service for kids, a new pricing policy at Amazon Books, Steve Scott’s 17 steps to $1,000 in publishing, and authors struggling to get email subscribers. This week’s Question of the Week: Have you noticed a decrease in email subscriber numbers? If so, what have you done to try to help numbers pick back up?

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Question of the Week: Which stage of technological adoption is self-publishing in and why? Innovation, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, or Laggards?

Happy November! Jim and Bryan welcomed back Derek Siddoway of Book Review 22 for another Lab segment, but not before thanking their latest patrons Jennifer Evans (and her book Peaks of Passion http://bit.ly/pleaspnt ), Matthew Paulson (and his book The Ten-Year Turnaround http://www.amztk.com/tenyearturnaround ), and Randy Stapilus (and his book What Sells Books http://www.ridenbaughpress.com/whatsellsbooks/ ). This week, the candidate champs discussed tips on working smarter, diversifying income, and Amazon review rules. News stories included Nook Press changes, a recent scam, the dissolution of a big Author Solutions Relationship, a new freelance law, the likelihood of books disappearing, and being an early adopter. This week’s Question of the Week: Which stage of technological adoption is self-publishing in and why? Innovation, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, or Laggards?

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Question of the Week: Have you used visualization or other personal development tactics to achieve your goals? Why or why not?

Honoree Corder visited the show to talk about publishing, books, and the Amazon Breakfast! After thanking Honoree (and her book You Must Write a Book http://bit.ly/ymwabhc ), Craig Lea Gordon (and his book Hypercage https://amzn.com/B01KPGFQXY ) and Kirsten Oliphant (and her book Email Lists Made Easy for Writers and Bloggers https://amzn.com/B01HLLYCA4 ), the trio discussed tips on author training, creative visualization, and finding your ideal readers. News stories included a nonfiction NaNoWriMo, Free Book Zones, interactive YA entertainment, the “wall of content,” horror bleeding indies, and tips from the Amazon Breakfast. This week’s Question of the Week: Have you used visualization or other personal development tactics to achieve your goals? Why or why not?

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Question of the Week: Will you stick with CreateSpace or test out KDP Print and why? Also, who would you like to be SMBS President?

After sharing the results of the first ever SMBS Presidential Election, Jim and Bryan took on the latest in book marketing news. Tips included solidifying your successful author mindset, the importance of focus during your writing time, and which type of marketing works best. Following their honoring of recent patrons Ethan Jones (and his book The Secret Blush http://bit.ly/secblush ), Chris Syme (and her book SMART Social Media For Authors http://amzn.to/1JLTwYI ), and Geoff North (and his book Thawed: CRYERS http://http://bit.ly/thawcry ), they touched on news stories related to Ellora’s Cave, publishing submission fees, Amazon Prime Reading, KDP page read errors, and KDP Print paperbacks. This week’s Question of the Week is: Will you stick with CreateSpace or test out KDP Print and why? Also, who would you like to be SMBS President?

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Question of the Week: Will Amazon’s error in reporting KU pages read impact your decision to put your books in KU? Why or why not? Also, who gets your vote for Sell More Books Show President? Jim? Bryan? Or a third-party candidate (a listener)?

With the news being a negative nelly, Jim brought the positive in the latest episode of the Sell More Books Show. After tackling tips on selling dozens of books at a time, optimizing BookBub Ad campaigns, and taking part in Amazon’s indie author celebration, the two triple-threats thanked their patrons Michael Alan Peck (and his book The Journeyman http://bit.ly/commjour ), Susan Illene (and her book Stalked by Flames http://bit.ly/stalkill ) and Brecht Ryckaert (and his book WordPress Security 101: http://bit.ly/wpsec101 ). News stories included Amazon’s Disney subscription, Facebook’s Marketplace, a new scammer, a trad pub author turned indie, Facebook video stat reporting errors, and Kindle Unlimited reporting errors. This week’s Question of the Week: Will Amazon’s error in reporting KU pages read impact your decision to put your books in KU? Why or why not? Also, who gets your vote for Sell More Books Show President? Jim? Bryan? Or a third-party candidate (a listener)? read more

Question of the Week: Are you in support of a law that provides publisher transparency AND additional author earnings if companies turn enough of a profit? ALSO, who would you want to see speak at a live author event in 2017?

Jim and Bryan welcomed their first patron G.D. Leon to the show to talk about what he’s learned from the podcast. After thanking their patrons Jamie Arpin-Ricci (for the book The Last Verdict http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1523952687), Gillian Felix (for her service Plain Talk Book Marketing http://www.plaintalkbm.com/ ), and Emma Alisyn (and her book Character Sketch & Color https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692671463 ), the self-pubbed pub-lovers talked tips related to Nook Press, harassment, and cupcakes. News stories included reactions to the Merritt Tierce mail carrier piece, laws about autographed books, TOR’s indie marketing play, the Society of Authors’ request for income protection, the predatory vanity presses at major trade shows, and a new threshold for leaving reviews at Amazon. This week’s Question of the Week: Are you in support of a law that provides publisher transparency AND additional author earnings if companies turn enough of a profit? ALSO, who would you want to see speak at a live author event in 2017?

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Question of the Week: If you could choose literary fame as a pauper or financial success without acclaim as an indie, which would you choose and why? How would your answer have differed when you just started out as an author?

After plugging the upcoming Indie Author Day (on October 8th, 2016), Jim and Bryan chatted with Ashley Durrer from InstaFreebie for their latest lab segment. Following their big thanks to two patrons, Craig Lea Gordon (and his book Hypercage ( https://amzn.com/B01KPGFQXY ) and Megan Haskell (and her book Sanyere: The Heir Apparent http://bit.ly/sanyare2 ), the publishing pilgrims took on tips related to relaunching your books, Shelfie’s new reader tool, and a “caring” social media strategy. News stories included Google Play’s new recommendation algorithm, Amazon’s big news about Audible, the end of the authors vs. Harlequin lawsuit, one author’s tough road, and another author’s joke-turned-success story. This week’s Question of the Week: If you could choose literary fame as a pauper or financial success without acclaim as an indie, which would you choose and why? How would your answer have differed when you just started out as an author?

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