When Dr. Amy Luscher Smith launched her new book–My Faith Sparkles–this past month, she positioned herself as a Speaker Author. The event was held in Frankfort at the Paul Sawyer Library, a beautiful venue that offered plenty of space for Amy’s big crowd of friends, family, colleagues, and others, which she promoted on social media. As guests entered, they were …

Fred Johnson wrote his book, Five Wars, because he wanted to tell his story, both in written and verbal form. He had been able to secure some speaking engagements and wanted to do more. When he sent Cathy his “About the Author” narrative, there was no mention of Fred as a speaker, of his high program evaluations, or that he’d …

One of the best ways to sell books and increase the revenue you obtain from any speaking engagement is to sell your book in bulk when you book the speech. Let’s say that XYZ organization has just booked you for their upcoming conference. As you are gathering the details for the engagement and before you finalize the deal, ask one …

Many conferences and programs use a process where speaker proposals are solicited from Speaker Authors. Generally, a Call for Proposals is posted on the organization’s website or sent to their list of speakers and members anywhere from one month to more than a year in advance of the conference. We bet you’re wondering: are these a waste of time? We …

80% of success in life is showing up.  -Woody Allen I love this Woody Allen quote, and I’ve been thinking about how we as authors “show up.” I believe that the following statements are those that are made by authors who are not only showing up, but making real progress with their work. How many of these are messages with …

When speaking for larger association conferences, you may have the ability to place your book in the conference bookstore. Here are some suggestions for making the most of this opportunity.   Ask if the conference or program offers a bookstore. Not all conferences have a bookstore program, and each is run a little differently. For example, for several years Cathy has …

Preface or prologue? Foreword or introduction? How much do you know about the stuff that comes before “the real book”? Let’s break it down. Foreword: Prefatory comments for a book. A foreword is written by someone other than the author. The foreword (not foreward or forword) is styled like the rest of the text and typically is only a page or two …

It’s almost holiday gift-giving time, and you’re probably thinking about the search for the perfect, thoughtful gift for clients, friends, colleagues, and family. In thinking through my favorite gifts, among them are the books I’ve received. Reasons to Give a Book This Holiday Season There are so many reasons that a book is the perfect gift. Consider these: Books can …

This past month I had the opportunity to travel to Greenville, South Carolina with my NSA Mastermind group and work with Chuck Gallagher in his remarkable video studio, VTA. Jeff Nally, Meredith Oliver, Chuck and I worked together to create multiple clips that we plan to use on our websites and on social media. We were incredibly productive (and had …

It wasn’t that long ago that self-publishing was called vanity publishing. Authors who couldn’t find a publisher willing to put their books in print were thought of as vain if they stopped to paying for a publisher. But times have changed, and today it is nearly impossible for a new author to find a publisher unless he/she has thousands of …