All posts by Jordan Smith

Why They Won’t Subscribe: Troubleshooting Your Mailing List Offer

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Troubleshooting Your Mailing List Offer

Let’s talk about mailing list offers. You know, the little extra free item you offer in exchange for somebody subscribing to your mailing list. I recommended that you set up an offer for your mailing list in an article about how you could grow your author platform, and many of you took that advice to heart and went for it.

Since then, though, many of you have written to me to say that the whole mailing list offer thing just isn’t working out. You have it all set up but you’re not seeing any change in your mailing list’s growth. What gives? Was my advice wrong?

Well, first of all, let me assure you that I stand behind my advice 100%. You most definitely should have a mailing list offer and I still say it’s one of the best ways to build an author mailing list. But there might be some things you need to fix before this strategy will really work for you. And that’s what we’re going to look at today with four reasons why your mailing list offer isn’t working.

Continue reading Why They Won’t Subscribe: Troubleshooting Your Mailing List Offer →

How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Readers

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How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Readers

When you’re working on your book, it’s always nice if you can start with a built-in audience. And it’s always good to get feedback on your book before you launch it. That’s where pre-readers come in.

Pre-readers are a small audience that you give early access to your book. It’s a key step in the launching your book, and you’ll want to make sure you plan to have some pre-readers help out in a couple places in your publishing plan. Let’s take a look at the two ways a pre-reader group can help you and how to make the most of your wonderful early readers. Continue reading How to Make the Most of Your Pre-Readers →

Delay the Gratification of Launching Your Book

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Delay the Gratification of Launching Your Book

It’s always an amazing feeling when you finish your latest book. You’re finally ready to release it, make your fans happy, and hopefully get some cash. You’re all set to hit that big red Launch button. But wait! Today, I want to tell you why you shouldn’t launch your book.

Yet. Continue reading Delay the Gratification of Launching Your Book →

Does an Author Really Need Goodreads?

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Does an Author Really Need Goodreads?

You may remember a little while ago I did a series on the online things an author needs to succeed. We examined websites, blogs, mailing lists, and social media in a quest to create a list of which things you really need to promote your book and which ones are optional. Today, I’d like to zoom in on one social network in particular: Goodreads. Continue reading Does an Author Really Need Goodreads? →

Loglines in the Wild Is Here!

Announcements, ,

Loglines in the Wild coverLast month, I let you know that my new book would be launching on June 8. Well, that day has rolled around and Loglines in the Wild is now available!

Several years ago, after the I released my first book about loglines (a logline is single-sentence story pitch), Finding the Core of Your Story, I worked with many authors to create story pitches for their novels. While helping people write great loglines, I kept getting questions about how the process really looks in practice. The examples in Finding the Core of Your Story were largely drawn from finished films and books, which means that it’s easier to see how a logline comes together, but more difficult to see the process.

That’s where Loglines in the Wild comes in. In this new book, I’ve written eight case studies using real in-progress stories that you aren’t familiar with, which lets you see the whole process of loglining from start to finish. Looking at these case studies can help you a get clear look at how you might logline your own story. Plus, I’ve also included six new chapters of logline tips that weren’t in Finding the Core of Your Story.

Loglines in the Wild is available today on the Kindle store for a special introductory price of $2.99. Next week it’s going up to $4.99, so grab your copy now!

Also, to celebrate, Finding the Core of Your Story is on sale this week for $0.99.

Get a Free Copy of Loglines in the Wild

Finding the Core of Your StoryEveryone likes a free book, right? Until June 30, I’m offering a free Kindle copy of Loglines in the Wild to anyone who leaves an Amazon review on my first book, Finding the Core of Your Story. Once you’ve done your review, send me a link using this form and I’ll get back to you with your free book. (Already reviewed it? Cool, and thank you! Send me a link and I’ll give you a free copy.)

The Platform Building Step You're Probably Missing

The Platform Building Step You’re Probably Missing

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The Platform Building Step You're Probably Missing

You’ve gotten your author platform started. You have a great website, you’ve started a mailing list, and you’ve even come up with something to offer in exchange for signing up for that mailing list that your target audience can’t resist. That’s all you need, right?

But still you’re discovering that maybe it’s not quite true that if you build it, they will come. You’re at the point where it seems like your platform’s growth has come to a standstill.

What’s missing? In this article, let’s explore the one last step you need to take to make your platform grow. Continue reading The Platform Building Step You’re Probably Missing →

Two Ways to Get a Free Copy of My New Book

Announcements,

Loglines in the Wild coverI’m thrilled to announce my new book: Loglines in the Wild: Case Studies in Crafting an Incredible Story Pitch! And I’m also very excited to tell you how you can get a free copy during my launch extravaganza. But first, here’s a little bit about the book:

Writers everywhere have learned to pitch their stories more effectively with Finding the Core of Your Story. Now author Jordan Smith is back with Loglines in the Wild, a first-hand look at the process of creating a great story pitch. Featuring eight case studies drawn from consulting sessions with independent authors and filmmakers, plus six new chapters of logline tips and tricks, Loglines in the Wild is the perfect next step for anyone who wants to learn more about crafting an effective story pitch.

The official release date is June 8, and you can pre-order Loglines in the Wild from me or from Amazon.

But I said you could get a free copy, didn’t I? Read on for two ways to do just that. Continue reading Two Ways to Get a Free Copy of My New Book →

I Answer Your Questions!

Marketing

You asked. I answered.

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on hiatus for the past month or so. That’s because my wife and I welcomed our beautiful baby daughter into the world in March, and I needed a little bit of time to adjust to a new schedule. Today, though, I’m jumping back in and answering a bunch of reader questions you guys sent in during my time off.

We’re covering quite the smorgasbord of questions in this post: everything from how to start your mailing list to ways to beat writer’s block. Let’s jump in! Continue reading I Answer Your Questions! →

Prove Your Book Is Good: Getting and Using Reviews

Marketing,

Getting and Using Reviews

We all know that a big stack of positive reviews makes for great proof that your book is good. But it seems like most of us self-published authors tend to have a hard time actually finding people to review our books. We all wish we had more reviews, but maybe you don’t know where to look for them.  Maybe you don’t know that there are more places than just Amazon where reviews matter. Or maybe you’re not sure how you can show off the reviews once you have them. So let’s look at how you can get a bevy of reviews and use them to prove your book is good. Continue reading Prove Your Book Is Good: Getting and Using Reviews →

The Killer Tool That Can Help You Sell Your Book

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A Killer Tool to Help You Sell Your Book

Let’s say you and I get onto an elevator together and I ask what your book is about. You could do one of two things.

You could start from the beginning and try to pitch me your entire 300-page novel in the brief elevator ride. If you take this approach, you’ll probably be eyeing the emergency stop button as the elevator gets closer and closer to my floor while you haven’t even gotten to the story’s hook yet. But, alas, you’re too late. We arrive at my floor and I get off rolling my eyes and wondering why I asked.

Or, instead of trying to pitch your entire book in such a short time, you could give me one sentence that summarizes your story’s hook and key elements. In the time that it takes to ride an elevator, you’ve hopefully tickled my fancy enough for me to give you my e-mail address and say, “I’ve gotta run now, but tell me more about this!”

That one-sentence pitch you gave me is called a logline. It’s a tool that originated in Hollywood and is used by screenwriters to pitch their screenplays to movie producers. Basically, it’s a one-sentence summary of a story.

Loglines aren’t exclusively for screenwriters, though. Every storyteller should be able to say in one sentence what his or her story is about. And so, let’s take a crash course in the art of crafting a great logline for your book. Continue reading The Killer Tool That Can Help You Sell Your Book →