Jennifer Lancaster

September 3, 2025

It’s All About You: A Weekly Marketing Club

Weekly Marketing Club is my new initiative that is free… for now! These live Facebook videos aim to reach those authors new to marketing where they are and take them, one step at a time, towards confidence in promotional activity. Though it could have been one of my overthought affairs, luckily a talk at by Tzara Attwater prompted me to address the fear and just get started! You may be thinking: but I don’t want to give away my insights. Reading top books has taught me: we all must give first to our ideal audience–before we ask for a sale. The foundation for any marketing is our personal brand and those teachings on our topic. No hiding behind pot-plants or blending in with ChatGPT-produced social media content. Inspirational resources for this include Seth Godin’s Purple Cow or for the business-minded,…

September 15, 2025

Selling eBooks and Media

Books about Book Marketing!

I noticed there are lots of books about marketing your book in various ways. Here I’ve compiled a list of my faves, recently updated. There is the book-first approach, and then there is an author-brand first approach, which I endorse for those building a career out of book publishing. Smart Marketing for Indie Authors by Mike Kowis. A favourite, that takes intending authors through all the tactics and ranks them on Mike’s scale. My Personal Brand and Set Up as a Micro Publisher. The brand book is about foundations, with a chapter on publishing and speaks of monetising as well, while the second one teaches you more about book marketing and getting that return on investment. Sell Like Crazy – Sabir Suby. Not about book marketing, but this book helps you see where you can add lead magnets to your online…

July 16, 2025

Self-Publishing

Xlibris Investigation and POD Comparisons

I recently spoke with yet another indie author who believed Xlibris (Hybrid Publishers) would help them publish books and turn a decent profit—after all, they’re paying good money for the services. But what’s the real story? Here’s what I uncovered using information on the websites concerned and some of my own knowledge. Be aware that XLibris is owned by Author Solutions Inc, who have 5 brands and who have been in court and out of favour with customers in the United States. If you Google ‘hybrid publishers’, do not click on the top four Sponsored results, okay? Xlibris Royalty Practices Xlibris does pay royalties on book sales, but feedback from authors has been mixed. Some have raised concerns about payment accuracy, transparency, and delays. If you’re considering signing up, read your publishing contract carefully and keep an eye on your…

May 14, 2025

Publicity, Selling eBooks and Media

How Newsletters Sell both Books and Services

Why are Author Newsletters a Low Hanging Fruit? (An extract from my Micro Publisher book) When building any information-based business, influencing new readers is all part of the process… and we don’t do that overnight. Monthly newsletters make this super simple. Rather than solely worrying over promos – what new campaign to offer your email list – you set up a systematic schedule of writing and emailing a newsletter. The beauty is, anything you put into a blog can be transferred to a newsletter, either with RSS setup or simply copying the details and headings. I would suggest putting as much real and actionable content into your newsletter as possible and don’t rely on ‘read more’ links. Over time, my list shows that 2-3% click the read more link, so I switched to one long article and one promotion of…

April 7, 2025

Self-Publishing

Top 16 Up-and-Coming Indie Authors

Those of us around long enough to know Beetlejuice movie #1 will realise that Indie Authors become their own micro publisher – they don’t pay some other company to publish. If you want to do this also, my new book on Micro Publishing is coming soon. This list includes (to my knowledge) authors who have made their personal brand into a publishing imprint – at least in the beginning – and have had success. I think it’s important to look beyond the obvious authors who have had a leg up. Most are emerging indie authors from Australia but a few are based elsewhere and some parlayed their success in indie publishing into traditional publishing deals. You’ll notice most actively publish multiple books. This is because we always get better when we do a process again, revising what didn’t work and…

Learning to do, not to have (writer learning)

December 5, 2024

Book reviews, Book Writing

Learning to Do, Not Learning to Have

Most of the educational learning we do is theoretical and ‘nice to know’, but, according to researchers, has little adaptation to the real world. This is alarming. However, there is a lot we can do to improve our learning and skill take-up. In ‘Ultralearning‘ by Scott H Young, he gives four ways to learn directly. These are: Learn through a Project – SkillShare and Coursera courses let you do this. It works on two levels: your project aim makes for practical outcomes and your learning becomes more enjoyable and fruitful. Immersive Learning – Going to the region to learn the language works far better than learning on an app. The Flight Simulator Method – Students of a US high school found that when trying an important matter in a mock courtroom, they got way more specific, adaptive learning. Critical thinking…