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Hey folks! This week on the Self Publishing Roundtable we welcome back friend of the podcast and the indie community, author and entrepreneur Bryan Cohen!
Bryan is the author of Ted Saves The World series as well as several non-fiction books on subjects like word prompts and creative writing. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps people to get over writer’s block and come up with new creative projects. He is also the co-host of the popular Sell More Books Show, where he and author Jim Kukral of Author Marketing Club give us weekly updates on new and different ways to market yourself and your catalog.
Bryan’s newest venture is a program called ‘Selling For Authors‘, a 12 module course designed specifically to educate indie entrepreneurs in the ways of copywriting, blurb writing, and all the little things that you should have set in place in order to promote click-ability and ease-ability.
Come chat with us live at the usual time of Thursday at 7pm PST/10 pm EST, and join in on the conversation!
We also ask that you check out Bryan’s site, sellingforauthors.com, if you think the course sounds interesting. Come back Thursday with questions for Bryan as the registration for his program will be open another 2 hours after the show ends. It will be the last live chance to pick Bryan’s brain as to whether this course is for you!
Looking forward to this conversation. SPRTing on Thursday always 🙂
Drink responsibly.
xgranville i still have pepsi leftover from last week 🙂
What has everyone been up to this week?
BatmanErica xgranville I’m not drinking this week but I thought it was just too good not to pass!
xgranville i was surprised that i hadn’t gone through all 5 bottles of pepsi yet o.O
BatmanErica xgranville That’s probably for the best!
xgranville one and three quarters of a bottle to go. hubby helped drink quite a bit as well 😛
BatmanErica Just discovered the Write or Die app this week. Great Googly Moogly, that thing is effective. Cleared over 3K words a day this week. o_O
BatmanErica NaNo-ing when I can. I’m a little behind but I’ll get to it!
xgranville BatmanErica I’m working on the first half of a fantasy novel for NaNo, PLUS a novella I need to kick out the door next month. *exhausted*
Go to your room. There’s still time before the podcast begins.
Make sure no one sees you. You want to be alone when you make the discovery that will change everything. Sit on the edge of your bed and count your breaths. Count slower. Calm yourself as you count even slower, in and…out. Sh. It’s okay. No, actually, it’s all fucked, but It’s going to be okay, right? You must beleive that.
Ready? Open your night table drawer. Before you are scraps of paper, shrivelled receipts, dust, bits of change and filthy pennies, dead watches from long ago and dried up pens. That old photograph of you is annoying. You’re thinner, but you ruined it with that perm. And look what you wore! What were you thinking?
It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing in the drawer of consequence. If you died tonight, the contents of this drawer would be thrown out in a week by strangers. Why did you hold on to that stuff? This detritus will be lost and forgotten, just like you. Unless….
Feel the wooden drawer roll out smoothly and take its weight, careful not to spill the useless contents on the floor. Don’t make a mess and don’t get your family curious as all those coins hit the hardwood. Pull the drawer out completely and put it on the bed. You’ve forgotten your flashlight, Sorry. I should have told you to bring your flashlight. No matter. The podcast will begin soon, so hurry up now. You’ll have to go by feel, through the old web with the dead spider. Shake that off. You’ll have to grope for what’s back there. You’ll have to get down on your knees — don’t break the spine of that book by the bed you’ve been meaning to get to. No. Reach all the way back.
I’m telling you there is something small in a crevice. It’s been waiting a long time, waiting in the dark for you. It’s something important. It might even give your tiny life meaning, if only your fingertips can detect it and your fingernails can scratch at the edge of the old packing tape, gluey and brown, holding that hidden treasure fast.
You find it. The paper is like old linen. You pull at the edge of the tape with aching, impatient fingers. Your back hurts and your knees ache.
You pull it free and sit back in surprise. It’s a number ten envelope. Curious and almost out of time, you tear it open and find a tiny note inside. The writing is spidery, as if written by an old person whose eyes are gone and whose hands are arthritic. The message is for you, just for you. The scrawl reads:
SPRT is about to begin.
RChazzChute Dear God…
RChazzChute A tear just came to my eye. Seriously, dude, have you had THAT dancing under your hat all week, just waiting to be unleashed?! *bows*
Hellooooo. Is anybody there!
Hello Bryan!!!
CateMorgan xgranville BatmanErica I’m working on a new fantasy one as well. I’m trying to do my Collective novella while I’m at it as well.
writerwade you should wait a few more seconds before you start talking as it seems you guys come on air part way through your first sentence
Hello, all!
CateMorgan RChazzChute Ha! Nah. Came to me a few minutes ago. I,,,um….I write stuff.
No Michelle? 🙁
ChrishaunKellerHanna ohai!
BatmanErica ChrishaunKellerHanna 😀 sorry, I’m late… was Nano-ing…
Byran your course better be good.
ReneeKelley what if it’s not?
I meant to say Bryan…You guys know what I’m talking about…lol
Anyone doing Mark Dawson’s paid FB ad course?
https://www.sellingforauthors.com/
Buy it now before he closes it
http://media.giphy.com/media/F95WSkkosQ9YQ/giphy.gif
ReneeKelley you can still edit it!
BatmanErica I am. Its good
ChrishaunKellerHanna Did you buy it?
I wish I can plot. I’m finding it hard to do.
ReneeKelley This plot I’m doing for NaNo is the loosest outline I’ve had in a while. Curse you and your ideas ChrishaunKellerHanna !
ReneeKelley are you reading any books about it, or do you need something like a piece of software?
xgranville ReneeKelley ChrishaunKellerHanna I’ll take that curse, X! The question is are you writing and how is the flow going?
ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley I just started reading ‘Take of Your Pants’ by Libbie Hawker.
ReneeKelley ChrishaunKellerHanna Yes I did… and I love that the first module is about why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask (don’t fear the selling)…
ChrishaunKellerHanna xgranville ReneeKelley I missed a day, but I’ve been averaging between 800-1600 each day. It’s the internal editor. He uses my hands when I type.
xgranville tell him to fuck off 😛
xgranville ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley that is really good… bite him in the neck and keep flowing…!
ReneeKelley ChrishaunKellerHanna Great choice!! It’s will get you started quick and is good if the character is focus of your story!
ChrishaunKellerHanna xgranville ReneeKelley Yeah I know haha. I look back on the sentence I go “Damn that doesn’t need editing… I’m doing something wrong.”
xgranville ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley good.. say that to yourself and keep going forward!
ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley Thanks
The course is called the Course Course, of course!
ChrishaunKellerHanna a horse is a horse of course of coruse
BatmanErica ChrishaunKellerHanna and no one can talk to a horse, of course…
BatmanErica ChrishaunKellerHanna My divorced horse feels no remorse about taking the Course Course.
Do the main course focus on blurb writing?
xgranville you divorced your hose?
RChazzChute Is that what we’re supposed to be doing? NOW you tell me.
BatmanErica xgranville No, I divorced my horse.
xgranville BatmanErica ChrishaunKellerHanna Of course, the divorced horse took the Course Course and now will endorse a divorced horse course called the Divorced Horse Course course of course.
ChrishaunKellerHanna xgranville BatmanErica Though the Divorced Horse’s Whore of Wife may have other thoughts on this, of course!
xgranville ChrishaunKellerHanna BatmanErica Sure! the horse whore swore she wouldn’t endorse the divorced horse course, of course.
I’m poor. Can someone buy this course for me…lol
ReneeKelley I took Mat’s advise and decided not to eat (really I just cut out my restaurant and movie budget) and bought it with the payment plan…
Toilet! Bryan…lol
The blurb horn:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/da/aa/b7/daaab7c13f1c4a6fd7e401ad31edaab2.jpg
ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley Is it helpful?
ChrishaunKellerHanna Is that a freaking geoduck?
ReneeKelley ChrishaunKellerHanna I’m only in the first module and yes… it starts with mindset which is all important, because you can psych yourself out before you even start if you’re not careful…
ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley Awesome!
xgranville ChrishaunKellerHanna nope… ram’s horn
Questions for Bryan?
Hey! You’re the Blurb man. And that’s what I want, Dammit….lol
ChrishaunKellerHanna xgranville Good. Just glad it wasn’t the penis of the sea.
xgranville ChrishaunKellerHanna right?!!?
Here’s a peek at the modules… I’m not going to post anything else from it…
Everyone: Who writes the blurb first or do you wait until after?
BatmanErica I write a blurb to test it out before I plot and write the novel, but then after it is completed and completely different, it tends to be different…lol
I think Book Bub writes their own book blurbs, without reading the books. I’ve learned a lot studying what they do.
ChrishaunKellerHanna BatmanErica Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do as well.
BatmanErica I just started doing it first, so kind of solidify the story in my brain before getting started on the outline. It helps keep me focused.
CateMorgan I’ve done a funny and probably stupid thing. At the end of the book I’ll include a blurb for the upcoming book. On a couple of occasions, I haven’t even outlined said upcoming book. Thought it might help me get the next book out sooner. Doesn’t always work 😛
Bonjour
CateMorgan They do. They have great blurbs.
BatmanErica CateMorgan that’s why I’m fast drafting al the novels first… I have a better idea of what is coming up…
BatmanErica after
Carl Sinclair G’evening!
xgranville Carl Sinclair I game the system.
Carl Sinclair hey you!!
ChrishaunKellerHanna that’s smart. That way you don’t promise a threesome in the next book 😛
BatmanErica ChrishaunKellerHanna exactly… I know I would be cross if the promised threesome is not delivered…
What, you can’t guarantee…lol I want my money back.
ReneeKelley uuuhhhhh….
ChrishaunKellerHanna ReneeKelley Oh snap!
LOL I’m going to get it!!!
ReneeKelley I want my money back from this podcast.
Carl Sinclair out of curiosity, how much does it cost you a month for this podcast?
BatmanErica Carl Sinclair X amount of dollars
xgranville but you’re X…
Carl Sinclair ReneeKelley Lol, Carl you’re crazy.
BatmanErica xgranville The only real cost is media storage.
BatmanErica xgranville how much exactly is an X worth if I was interested….
BatmanErica xgranville A-hah! You’ve caught on to my system!
ChrishaunKellerHanna BatmanErica xgranville Dream on! I’m priceless!
What is Bryan’s opinion on book trailers?
Bryan, do you mean getting likes and followers in opposed to building the email list?
It does nothing but give you Carpal tunnel.
There is now.. just registered it!
Carl Sinclair was waiting for that 😛
ChrishaunKellerHanna BatmanErica Wouldn’t we all?
Carl Sinclair did you really registered, Carl?
ReneeKelley Carl Sinclair No. I already have enough dodgy websites. Most of my money and time goes into my new social media experience. Trollster: Troll the world one dislike at a time.
ChrishaunKellerHanna I’m getting there!
Carl Sinclair ReneeKelley I hate it. You’ll make millions.
Carl Sinclair ReneeKelley I hear you.
xgranville Carl Sinclair ReneeKelley Then onto stage two. Buying an old russian sub to hunt the Wayfinder 🙂
I have a question for Bryan:
Who is Kylo Ren?
A) Han Solo’s estranged son.
B) Jar Jar Binks
C) Luke Skywalker
D) David W Wright
I know you’re a gameshow wiz so…
What does Bryan believe is the single most important thing for an author to do in the current market?
Just so…
Jar Jar is a sith lord!
You are correct.
Who dressed up for halloween as Dave?
BatmanErica I do that daily.
BatmanErica When they brought up the drunken martial art style it all clicked.
xgranville I unfortunately watched the first prequel (that isn’t canon) the other night. Was awful, no one was even bothering to act >.<
My invite must have got lost in the mail…
Carl Sinclair did you check your spam folder?
BatmanErica Carl Sinclair There it is… fuck.
I mentioned pancakes in one of my last newsletters
BatmanErica I just do random nude photos.
I should get a discount because I’m staying up pass my bedtime listening to you guys.
Carl Sinclair BatmanErica of you or of someone else?
ChrishaunKellerHanna probably of dave
ChrishaunKellerHanna Carl Sinclair BatmanErica Mainly of Jay Chastain.
Goodnight guys!!!
ReneeKelley goodnight Renee
https://hangouts.google.com/call/ny7ewaeuhrlmz5wex2hnnperkma
After party below
writerwade Just getting my pants off
9 minutes! My cat seemed to love me singing “Final Countdown.” My wife did not.