Blogger To Author

These days, more and more people are self-publishing books. That means more competition for readers and more noise for you to break through. How do you get your self-published to stand out? By finding what makes your book unique and special. In many ways, your book is like your business. To stand out and find people willing to buy your book (or invest in your business), you need to tell them how your book is different. How is your book THE book to solve their problem or help them make a transformation they've been working toward? Why should your book be the go-to book in your niche? As an added bonus, finding what makes your book special can also help you focus your writing and editing to make your book really good. When you know why and how your book is unique, you can double down on that uniqueness and make your book truly special. Yes, your book can still do a lot of good and help people even if you don’t know what makes your book unique. BUT, if you can find out what makes your book truly special…it’s g

"How do I know if my book is any good?" That's one of the top five questions I get asked over and over again. It's a tough question to answer, and my answer is always nuanced and dependent upon that author's audience and ideal reader. Really, it comes down to whether your book helps solve a problem for your reader, or if it helps them improve their life. Luckily, there are a few simple ways that you can improve your manuscript. So today, I'm giving you a little bit of insight into my thought processes as an editor and sharing three ways that you can expand on and improve your nonfiction book manuscript. These three strategies will help you write a better book — a good book. If you want to make sure your book helps your readers and helps you build a relationship with them, make sure you listen to this episode. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/82

Many food bloggers (and other fans of food) dream about becoming a cookbook author someday. They flip through cookbooks in the bookstore and fantasize about what it would be like to see their name on the cover and see their food photography on those glossy pages. But, many of them wait around for a publisher to come calling. They either wind up waiting many years for their dream to come true, or they never realize that dream at all. I'm excited to feature an interview with registered dietitian and author Maggie Michalczyk in this episode. Maggie decided that she wanted to publish a cookbook, but that she didn't want to wait around to get a deal with a traditional publisher. Instead, Maggie decided to take her cookbook's fate into her own hands and self-publish. Best of all, she leveraged her relationships with brands to get them to sponsor recipes in the cookbook, giving her money to fuel the production of the book. If you dream about publishing a cookbook someday, I think you'll find this interview with Magg

Bloggers are uniquely suited to become authors. Most bloggers today are actively working to build an audience of engaged followers who will want to buy their book. They don't have to create an audience of book readers from scratch. They've done the hard work of finding the people who need their message, which makes the process of selling books infinitely easier. Bloggers are also used to the writing process. They consistently create new content month after month. They have the skills that it takes to write a book manuscript. And, as a bonus, they can repurpose the content that they've worked so hard to create and use it in the first draft of their book. They've got a leg up when it comes to writing a book, and many bloggers can put together a self-published book very quickly. This episode is a dive into why every blogger should consider writing a book. Even if you ultimately decide that it's not for you, I think it's something that you should at least ponder for a little bit. A book can do big things for your

As self publishing becomes more and more popular, self-published authors are more and more likely to run into...well, let's call them haters. They look down on self-published books, and they tell self-published authors that their book is never going to go anywhere. There are even a few traditionally-published authors out there who think they're better than self publishers. I'm here today to tell you to ignore all of the haters. Your self-published book can be just as important as any traditionally-published book. That's especially true when you look at your book from the right perspective. Aside from a plethora of examples of very successful self-published authors, there's one thing that I think you should focus on when you gauge the success of your book. Hear what that metric is in this episode. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/79

I know that many of you who listen to the podcast are already authors. You've written, published, and launched your books, and you love hearing tips to help you sell more copies of your book now that the momentum of your launch has worn off. Whether you published your book six months or six years ago (or even longer), this episode is for you. Traditionally you think about retail stores getting ready for holiday shoppers. But, authors should take the time to get their books ready for holiday shopping season, too. There are shoppers out there who will want to buy your book as a gift...but is your book ready to find them? And, will your book stand out enough from other books in your niche so that it lands in someone's shopping cart? In this episode of the Blogger to Author Podcast, you'll learn five things that you should do (or at least consider) to get your already-published book ready for the holidays. I'm going to be applying these five tips and strategies to my books over the next few weeks, and I hope you

As you can tell by the title, "How to Get More Health and Wellness Clients with a Book," this episode is specifically aimed at those of you who are professionals in the health, wellness, and fitness industry. I've spent many years first being passionate about, then working in, this industry, and three of my four books are fitness books. Most of my clients are also in health and wellness, which means I have a LOT of experience with health and wellness books. I also interact with many, many professionals in the industry. One of the big things I notice when it comes to helping health and wellness professionals write their books is that they often don't see what a huge impact a book is going to have on their business. They often look at a book in terms of book sales and how many copies they can sell a month. But, by focusing on book sales alone, they're missing the big picture. In this episode, I'll walk you through all of the ways that your book will help you build your health and wellness business. I'll tell yo

eCommerce giant Amazon has been a game changer for self-published authors. But, getting your book seen by the shoppers who want it can be a little tricky. With hundreds of millions of shoppers on Amazon each month, all you need to do is load your eBook into KDP and the money will start rolling in, right? If only it was that easy... In this episode, I'm featuring an interview with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur. Dave is a Kindle publishing expert, the host of the Book Marketing Show Podcast, and creator of KDP Rocket software, which I've used to help my books and dozens of client books show up more often in Amazon search results. I invited him to come on the podcast to talk about his author journey, why he created KDP Rocket, and how KDP Rocket can help you sell more Kindle books on Amazon. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/76

Smart authors take full advantage of the holiday shopping season. They know that their book would make a perfect gift, and they want to make sure that it's on shoppers' lists. But, if your book isn't ready in time for the holidays, well...you're not going to see that nice holiday bump in your book sales and royalty payouts, either. If you want to publish you book in time to take advantage of the holiday shopping season, you need to be getting started NOW. In this episode, I'll walk you through everything you need to do to get your book ready for holiday shopping season. I'll also share the #1 thing you need to do to make sure shoppers actually buy your book as gifts (hint: you can't unwrap an eBook). And, I'll tell you how you can get a copy of my self publishing checklist for nonfiction authors. That way, it's easy to see what you've already done and what you still need to do to get your book ready for holiday shopping season. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/75

I've mentioned before that more and more authors with big audiences are choosing to self publish. I'm really honored to feature an interview with one of those people in this episode of the Blogger to Author podcast. I had the amazing opportunity to interview Dana Malstaff of Boss Mom. Dana self published her book Boss Mom: The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Business & Nurturing Your Family Like a Pro in 2015, and that book helped her launch her business into the stratosphere. In our interview, Dana and I chat about why she chose to self publish her book and the process she went through to write it. We also talk in depth about how she chose the topic for her book, why that topic wasn't what she had originally intended, and why that decision wound up changing the course of her business. And, Dana gives us a few suggestions for using mind mapping to plan out our books. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/74

Fiction and memoir writers, you're going to love this episode! I have Gabriela Pereira of DIY MFA back on the podcast to help you make your manuscripts amazing. We talk about how to write great characters, how to find a plot and story people will want to read, and how to choose the right ending for your story. And, she fills us in on what you should do if the first draft of your novel is...not good. You'll learn how important the first page and the first chapter are, and how you can make sure you're getting your reader interested in your book right away. Then, Gabriela tells us how you can use storytelling theory to write a compelling memoir. She tells us how we need to use the principles of great writing (characters, plot, and so on) also apply to memoir so it's more relatable or aspirational. You'll hear a great framework that you can use to decide which stories from your life that you should put in your memoir...and which ones you should take out. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/73

So you have an idea for a book topic, but you don't know what to put in it. Maybe you have one or two topics you want to discuss in your book, but you have no idea how that's going to fill out a book. Or, maybe you have so many ideas for what you could write about, but you're not sure they should all go in your book. Whatever camp you fall into, what you need is something to help you decide, "Yes, this goes in the book," or "No, this gets left out." In today's episode, I'm sharing an overview of the framework that I use to help my clients plan their books and create detailed book outlines. First, I'll help you get in the right frame of mind to help make it easier to choose what should go in your book and what shouldn't. Then, I'll give you some guidelines to help you brainstorm the ideas and topics you want to put in your book. At the end, you'll be able to go out and write a list of what you need to include in your book that you'll be able to easily turn into your book's outline! Show notes: bloggertoauthor.

Instagram is a bit of an enigma for just about every blogger and entrepreneur I talk to. Most of them really want to grow their Instagram platform, but they're not sure how to do it, especially when their follower numbers have been stagnant for months and constant algorithm changes leave them wondering what's really working. That's where having a go-to Instagram expert comes in. Jessica Norby is my expert when it comes to Instagram. She spends all day reading and thinking about Instagram so we don't have to. I absolutely love how Jess distills complicated Instagram strategies down to concepts that we all can understand. And, I love that she emphasizes the importance of authentically growing your following on Instagram instead of using spammy or underhanded tactics. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/71

In Episode 70 of the Blogger to Author Podcast, I'm really excited to feature an interview with Lyn Lindbergh of COUCH to ACTIVE. Through this amazing platform, Lyn is helping totally sedentary people build good habits so they can have an active lifestyle. Lyn's first book, the COUCH to ACTIVE Two Year Plan, was a DIY project (she designed the book in Canva) that has helped her exponentially grow her business. But for her upcoming book, COUCH to ACTIVE, she pulled in some extra help. In our interview we talk about Lyn's passion for fitness, how her books have helped her grow her business, and what it's been like to work with a team on her new book after DIY-ing her first. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/70

Bloggers, this one's for you! Whether you're hoping to eventually sell programs, coaching, or services, or if you just want to focus on your blog, a book will help you grow your blog and keep reaching new people! This episode is a deep dive into seven big ways that your book will help you grow your blog, including your page views, your revenue, and more! If you've been putting off your book because you don't think it's going to have a big impact on your blog and business, I think you'll change your mind after listening to this episode. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/69

We're getting deep into summer...have you made any progress on your book? Summer can be a special time of year with backyard parties and family vacations, but it can also be the PERFECT time of year for you to write your book. In this episode, I'll tell you exactly why you need to get your book written this summer so it's ready to launch in the fall. It truly is the best time of year to write a book...but to learn the exact reasons why, you'll need to listen to the episode. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/68

Today's episode is directed at those of you who are working to build a business, whether that's a blog as a business, or maybe you identify more as an entrepreneur. Either way, I want to chat with you about your nonfiction book and how it can help you build your business. Specifically, I want to focus on one mindset shift that I think that you should make as a author or prospective author: thinking beyond royalties. I want you to really take the time to consider what your book is going to do for your business or your blog. And, I want you to think about how your book is going to do so much more for your business than just bring in money through book sales. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/67

This episode is a dive into the top five self-publishing tips I think you need to know if you're going to successfully self publish a book. I have compiled these tips based on really my experience from working with my clients and students in the blogger to author course. I've seen a lot of the same problems come up where people get stuck in the same places. I also see the successful people doing the same things as well. So, I just wanted to pass along these five things that I think you should make sure you do to make your book a success. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/66

I get asked about book pricing a lot. And I get it—it’s hard to figure out what you should list your book at to make sure that the price doesn’t drive away potential book buyers and readers. So, in this episode, I’m diving into the question of whether or not book price affects sales. Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with the price of my books on Amazon. I always want to share what I learn from my own books with you listeners, so I’m sharing the results with you here. At the end, I’ll share the one thing that I think you should use to guide your book’s pricing. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/65

You've probably heard the saying, "Done is better than perfect." And, if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you've probably heard my tips to help you write your book faster. That might leave you asking whether you should rush to write your book just for the sake of having it out there. No, I don't think you should publish any unpolished manuscript just to get your book out the door. There's one important question that I think you should ask yourself, a question that will guide you to figure out if any aspect of your book needs more work, or if it's good enough. I'll share that question with you, and an example of when done was better than perfect for one of my own books, in this episode. Show notes: bloggertoauthor.com/64 And, please take a minute to take my listener survey so I can serve you better! You can find it at bloggertoauthor.com/survey.