Behind the Book
Book reviews

Behind the Book: Helping Rob Jefferies Turn a Lifetime of Ideas into Renaissance 2.0

Every so often, a project lands on my desk that reminds me exactly why I love this work. Rob Jefferies’ book was one of those. It’s rare to find a manuscript that weaves hard-won business insight, environmental theory and deeply personal poetry into a single, coherent story — but that’s exactly what Rob set out to do, contributing my small part a year or so ago. ____________ A Book That Refused to Fit One Box Rob came to me with a manuscript that was, on the surface, ambitious in an unusual way. Part memoir, part treatise, it draws together decades of thinking on the relationship between business and the environment, alongside a collection of poems he had written for his grandchildren and his personal tales. Two very different threads, both deeply personal to him. My role was to help those…
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why use IngramSpark POD
Self-Publishing

Why use IngramSpark Print on Demand?

If you’re a self-publisher, searching for a Print on Demand platform that helps your book get a wide reach (e.g. to libraries in Australia), then IngramSpark Print on Demand (POD) could be of interest. IngramSpark is a self-publishing option offered by Lightning Source International. They will make your titles available through Ingram Book Group, a leader in print and electronic wholesale distribution. They serve over 39,000 retailers, libraries, schools, e-commerce companies and other partners — including Amazon, Wheelers, and book wholesalers. I believe IngramSpark is suited to business-minded self-publishers, as an ABN is needed. It is also more viable to use InDesign to design your book – since making an exchangeable PDF (PDFX1-2001) is a real nightmare from Word and involves use of Acrobat Pro. They also provide a cover template for the cover art to sit on and also…
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Book Marketing

Going Beyond the Book, with Indie Movies

Creatorwood is a platform that turns books, scripts, and any written story into movies with AI. The ‘Movie Machine’ integrates with the top AI video, image, audio, and storytelling models to help transform your writing into immersive worlds, incredible characters, and gripping films with significantly less time and cost. In this article, I summarise how this platform originated and what they are useful for. What is going beyond the book? You don’t say you’re only a book author. It means taking a story’s characters and uploading it to Character AI for fans to play with, says Ross. Or creating something further in nonfiction — taking the main message and filming episodes in narrative style. This is a notion talked about on the Creatorwood Podcast (E46) Going Beyond the Book is the Future of Storytelling. Interview also says he needed to…
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why clever writing costs you book readers
Book Writing

Your Clever Writing is Costing You Readers

Why Clever Writing Fails When I’m editing someone’s work and a sentence tries too hard, I spot it immediately. The writing contains words like “synergistic” or “dynamic”: words that perform rather than communicate. The sentence loses power. Worse, it confuses readers. Here’s what most writers miss: authenticity creates authority, not fancy language. What this means: Your metaphors, anecdotes and explanations are there for clarity only, otherwise readers struggle to extract meaning and might abandon the content. Cliches are out; personal mottos are in. What is the One Clear Idea Rule? Every sentence should carry one clear idea. When you pack two or three concepts into a single sentence, something breaks. The reader’s brain stumbles. They re-read. They lose momentum. Research backs this up. The American Press Institute studied 410 newspapers and found that with average sentence length of 14 words, readers…
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marketing and media planning for how to books
Book Marketing

Where to Start with Marketing & Media Planning for How-To or Self-Growth Books

We all start with marketing somewhere, and I was a floundering beginner for many years. My first attempt: digital printing to self-publish a book in 1996 called The Total Image Manual. I sold it through flyers to business boxes and a very expensive print ad. Thankfully, options have gotten less risky in the book marketing game and now we can leverage a personal brand, upload to YouTube, and if clever in angling it, seek free mass media coverage. Actioning a Marketing & Media Plan You may already realise that taking a book to market is one of the hardest parts of being an author. It is hard to both plan the right tactics for you (tailored to your strengths) and confidently carry out those promotion tactics, week after week.  It brings out our inner imposter or makes us feel like a…
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marketing strategies for small publishers

Deep Dive into Micro-Publisher Marketing Strategies: A Focus on Niche Platforms

This post will utilise my knowledge of marketing to guide you to create a sustainable content marketing plan tailored for author-publishers. Are you experiencing the core challenges of running an indie/micro publisher:  limited time, limited budget, and the need for high-impact, long-lasting content? Some muck about on Instagram, even when they are not connecting at a heart level on there. If you don’t have a plan, you’re not going to keep up momentum and gain a niche audience. So I’ve mocked up a Content Plan to tweak below. Plus, always remember that comments are key to any social media. Make the most of groups by having your books in a banner and mention of authoring in your bio (INCLUDING ON YOUR FACEBOOK PROFILE!) 30-Day Content Marketing Outline: Niche Platforms for Indies This plan focuses on creating a single, high-value piece…
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