Sam Henrie

28 June, 2013

Rewriting your book after the first draft

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:28:04-07:00June 28, 2013|Resources, Writing|Comments Off on Rewriting your book after the first draft

Once you have a first draft of your book, it’s time to rewrite it.

Plan to rewrite at least four times before submitting your book to an editor.

The first rewrite will be the deepest and cruelest but also the most necessary one. This is called a structural rewrite. Look at the big picture of the book and ask some serious questions:

What scenes are to stay and which ones are to be deleted?

Are the characters staying true to form throughout the story?

Are they believable, likable, and lovable?

Do the good people have any weaknesses and do the downright nasty, bad folks have any redeemable features?

Does the book flow well? Does it get bogged down in description or in dialogue?

Does the tension build too fast? Too slow?

Are the characters described in one massive word dump or are they gradually introduced through scenes, actions, conversations, and body language?

Step away from your book as the author […]

21 June, 2013

Which came first: The audience or the book?

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:28:54-07:00June 21, 2013|Marketing, Publishing, Resources|Comments Off on Which came first: The audience or the book?

Last time I revealed what to me was the most significant lesson learned during my last thirteen years running Wheatmark: that publishing success requires actively building an audience. A natural question many authors have about this is: Should I start building an audience for my book before or after I write it?

Ideally you’d write your book and build your audience simultaneously, so that your audience-building activities could inform the content of your book, and you could use your writing as a resource for your audience-building activities. But the deeper answer is: It doesn’t matter, because you’re going to have to do both to achieve publishing success, and you have to start somewhere! Let me illustrate this with two very different publishing success stories:

1. Start with an audience, then write a book: Just over a year ago, when Mark Baker published The Game Changer: A Simple System for […]

18 June, 2013

Sam Henrie: Why I Started Wheatmark

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:29:01-07:00June 18, 2013|News, Publishing|Comments Off on Sam Henrie: Why I Started Wheatmark

In the late 1990s I left my position as Director of Logistics at the mid-sized tech company I had worked at for nine years. I left with two great gifts: enough money to take some time off and the entrepreneurial bug. During my nine-year tenure I watched the tech firm grow from a local business with a handful of employees and under $1 million in annual revenues to a global enterprise with nearly a thousand employees and over $100 million in annual revenues. The experience had me hooked: I knew I would to start my own company. Doing what, I did not yet know.

At the time I was investigating the book publishing business; I wanted to understand why some of my relatives (I come from a family of writers) were having trouble getting their books published—books that were exceptional, and ones I was convinced had good chances in the market […]

10 March, 2013

6 reasons your self-published book will flop

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:30:33-07:00March 10, 2013|Marketing, Resources, Social Media|Comments Off on 6 reasons your self-published book will flop

Last year over 200,000 million books were self-published. The average self-published book probably sold less than ten copies.

The reasons for a book not to make it are many. Most self-published books need much more time, energy and yes, money, put into them than the author expects. If you plan to self-publish, here are ten important factors that stop most self-published books from making it big.

1. Poor writing. You cannot be your own judge. Nor can you expect your mother, siblings, and best friends to give you honest feedback. Your best and honest feedback will come from readers who judge your writing by the book they hold in their hand. Offer your book for free or at a low price and pay attention to the feedback. If it’s bad, don’t despair. Keep writing. You will get better.

2. Little or poor editing. No one can catch their own mistakes. You are too […]

20 February, 2013

Is Amazon Author Rank a good thing for Authors?

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:31:00-07:00February 20, 2013|Marketing, Publishing, Resources|Comments Off on Is Amazon Author Rank a good thing for Authors?

On October 9, 2012 at 3:55 am, Amazon rolled out another feature for their readers called Amazon Author Rank. It rates the most popular authors by the hour. Readers who are floundering for what to read next can jump on the “what’s popular” train and make a winning selection.

So, is this good news or bad news for beginning authors who are miles away from the “Most Popular” zone? Is this a case of where the popular gets more popular and the rest of the herd slips further and further back into obscurity? You can be the judge. Here are some pros and cons for what Amazon Author rank does for authors.

The Good News

If you have any ranking at all on this list, it can be a definite pat on the back. A confirmation that you are doing a few things right and making progress.

It can also be a goal, […]

25 January, 2013

Authors: How to sell more books with bookmarks

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:33:15-07:00January 25, 2013|Marketing, Resources|Comments Off on Authors: How to sell more books with bookmarks

The journey of selling thousands of books begins with selling one. If you can sell one, you can sell two.

Many times authors will neglect doing small book marketing practices because the results appear to be insignificant. But the truth is that a small practice done regularly over time can build up your marketing sales very effectively.

Book marketing is all about making connections. You never know when one connection will make a big difference. Providing as many different avenues for people to find and read your books should be an important part of your book marketing strategy.

Today’s book marketing strategy is using bookmarks to sell more books. And yes, even if your book is only available for eReaders, bookmarks can still be used quite effectively.

The basic marketing idea behind bookmarks is to showcase your book in an attractive way before your target audience. Following are seven simple tips and strategies for […]

5 January, 2013

9 guerilla book marketing survival tips for bestselling authors

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:33:41-07:00January 5, 2013|Marketing, Resources|Comments Off on 9 guerilla book marketing survival tips for bestselling authors

Ever wonder how popular authors seem to be everywhere at once and still have time to write another bestseller? Super authors do not have magic powers. What they do have, though, are a few secret weapons in their arsenal that keep them on the front lines while giving them time to type away on their laptops in the back.

Here are nine book marketing survival tips and tricks they use that make a difference:

1. Basic strategic planning is number one on their list. Getting to the top by luck might happen to a few authors once in a decade. Most of them, though, carefully calculated what it would take, mapped out a strategy, and kept to it. Many of these authors had a coach or special mentor that advised them. Others simply read and studied what worked for other authors and implemented those actions into their own battle plan.

2. Budgeted their […]

7 December, 2012

9 book marketing tips for introverts

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:34:15-07:00December 7, 2012|Marketing, Resources|Comments Off on 9 book marketing tips for introverts

Surprisingly, some of the best book marketing done today is done by introverts. It’s not how loud you shout your message but how well you spread it. Here are nine tips to get the word out about your book without appearing before a camera, holding a microphone, or standing on a stage.

1. Create a book marketing strategy that you will enjoy the most. If it’s interesting and fun, you’ll do it.

2. Pick a marketing project that is within your comfort zone. I know there’s a lot of self-help advice that says if you don’t get out of your comfort zone you won’t get ahead. Well, that’s one bit of advice. Here’s another just as powerful: Better to do something than nothing.

3. Create a blog. Most introverts have no problem writing and sharing in print. If this is you, then blogging is the perfect medium to get the word out. […]

5 December, 2012

It’s the End of the Publishing World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:34:51-07:00December 5, 2012|News, Publishing|Comments Off on It’s the End of the Publishing World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

I’m sure most of you are aware of the popular theory that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts the world will end on December 21 of this year—yes, that all life on earth may be extinct shortly.

I’ll make a bold prediction: the Mayans got it wrong . . . or people are misinterpreting their calendar!

I will tell you what is going the way of the dodo, however: big traditional publishing houses. (Could the Mayan calendar be predicting their demise?)

In October, Penguin and Random House announced that they will merge, bringing the number of large global publishing houses from six to five. Give it a couple more years and that number will likely drop even lower as a result of further mergers and acquisitions.

What does this have to do with authors? Nothing if you’ve self-published your book or plan to do so. But if you’re holding out for a call from that […]

28 November, 2012

28 press release sites for authors

By Sam Henrie|2023-06-09T11:35:39-07:00November 28, 2012|Marketing, Resources|Comments Off on 28 press release sites for authors

Getting media coverage is all about developing relationships. This is why when sending out press releases or news releases it is usually best to start with your local media. You will have a much better chance of making a connection. To get started, make a list of all the top TV stations, news radio stations and newspapers in your city. You can use newslink.org to find a state and national listing of US newspapers, radio and TV.

Once you have targeted a media website to send a release, look for a link such as “Contact us,” “News tips,” or “Submit press release.” If you can’t find a link or an email, call the news department and ask who you can email or fax a press release to directly. Many news sites have forms that you can paste your press release into and and submit it. Once you have […]

Sam Henrie

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