Authorpreneur Magazine - Issue 2

FROM COACH 

TO AUTHOR 

Andrew R Miller 

PITCHING FOR 

BUSINESS 

Hazel Edwards 

VIDEO BOOK TRAILERS 

AUTHOR WEBSITES 

THE BESTSELLER INCUBATOR 

March 2013 

E-READER 

DIGEST 

Alicia Freile

www.barefootbasics.com.au 

see page 16 to read how you can win this 

7 week online coaching program

CONTENTS 

04 

E-READER DIGEST 

Alicia Freile 

06 

FROM COACH TO AUTHOR 


08 

PITCHING FOR BUSINESS 

Hazel Edwards 

10 INDIE 

RECON 

11 

MEDIA CENTS & SENSIBILITY 

Christina Hamlett 

BOOK TRAILERS 

12VIDEO 

16 

BESTSELLER INCUBATOR 

17AUTHOR WEBSITES 

Jeannie Barker 

19 

20 WHITSUNDAY WRITERS 

FESTIVAL 

Gloria Burley 

23 

I WRITE. . . 

MENTION 

AUTHORGRAPH 

www.authorpreneurmagazine.com 

INTRODUCTION 

March 2013 


Founder & Editor 

Welcome to the second edition of Authorpreneur 

Magazine. 

Our featured authority publisher is Alicia 

Freile. She shares her story of being invited 

by a publishers to write a non-techie’s guide 

to e-books and e-readers. Authoring E-Reader 

Digest is helping Alicia build her professional 

reputation and giving her a foundation upon 

which to build her career. 

Coach Andrew R Miller shares his journey to 

becoming a published author in From Coach to 

Author. 

Renowned expert Authorpreneur Hazel Edwards 

shares tips on Pitching for Business in an extract 

from her book Authorpreneurship, the business of 

creativity. 

We welcome award winning author and media 

relations expert, Christina Hamlett as a regular 

contributor with her new column Media Cents 

and Sensibility. In her first column Christina talks 

about your book pitch and invites you to share 

yours in Twenty Five Words or Less. 

Don’t miss the opportunity to win The Bestseller 

Incubator 7 week online coaching program with 

Rochelle Stone from Barefoot Basics. It’s easy 

to enter with a like, follow or tweet! 

Until next time, 

To cater to different reading preferences the magazine is 

available in three formats: 

Web Magazine – If you prefer to read online you can read all the 

content online on the website www.authorpreneurmagazine. 

com 

Digital Magazine – If you prefer to read a digital magazine 

you can view it at the www.magcloud.com website, or via the 

MagCloud App 

Print Magazine – If you prefer a print magazine you can order 

your copy at www.magcloud.com or via the MagCloud App 

We invite you to share your author story or contribute 

an article or short piece on a topic of interest to 

authors. Please see our submission guidelines or email 

info@authorpreneurmagazine.com. 

AuthorpreneurMagazine 

3

AUTHORITY 

ALICIA FREILE 

talks about 

E-READER DIGEST 

4 

I thought it would be a great opportunity 

to ‘get my name out there’ as an expert 

on the topic 

In 2012, I did something I never planned to do... I 

announced the launch of my first book, E-Reader 

Digest. 

Why was this so unexpected? Because I’m not a 

writer by trade... Come to think of it, I wasn’t even a 

very good student in school. What I am is a graphic 

designer who works closely with the book publishing 

industry, but never before considered a foray into 

the editorial side of the field. Certainly, I had never 

imagined I’d be an authority author on a book! 

But I’m getting ahead of myself... I’ll backtrack a 

little, and tell you a bit about me and how I ended up 

writing my book. 

I have been working in the book publishing industry 

for 15 years and I absolutely love it. Starting my 

career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I worked as 

an in-house book designer for nine years before 

moving to Australia to pursue a master’s degree in 

Design Management. My plan was to get my degree 

and then return to America to continue working in 

publishing, hopefully at a higher level than before. 

Funny how plans get derailed, isn’t it? During my 

studies, I met my Australian husband-to-be and 

quickly realized that I needed to find a way to stay 

and work in Australia. It was easier said than done. 

Because sponsored business visas for graphic 

designers were like gold dust, I had to consider other 

options... including the notion of starting my own 

graphic design business. And this is what I ended 

up doing. 

In the past, I wondered why so many immigrants are 

entrepreneurs. And now I know! As an immigrant, it 

can be extremely difficult to break into an industry 

when your entire professional network (and 

reputation) is based on the other side of the world. 

Even if you have a wealth of experience, if people 

don’t know you then you may as well be invisible to 

them. 

In 2008, I launched Tango Media, a boutique graphic 

design company focusing on book design, layout 

and typesetting. I had a few American clients that 

I knew through my publishing career in the States, 

plus a couple of Australian clients that I managed to 

connect with since arriving down under. But I needed 

to grow my Australian client base and expand the 

business in order for it to be sustainable. 

AuthorpreneurMagazine March 2013 

www.authorpreneurmagazine.com

Around this time, e-books started to enter my 

radar. I knew about Amazon’s Kindle, and e-books 

in general, from friends and colleagues in the United 

States. But Australia was a few years behind in 

this technology; only the faintest murmurs about 

e-books were heard down under. It struck me as 

an excellent opportunity to get into this area early 

on, so I learned how to design, format and distribute 

e-books for my American and Australian clients. 

It was a great move because digital publishing in 

Australia (and everywhere) has grown steadily, and 

I was lucky enough to have a head start. 

A year ago, one of my digital publishing clients, 

Michael Wilkinson (Wilkinson Publishing), saw a 

gap in the market for printed resources geared 

to consumers wanting to learn about e-books 

and e-readers. This type of content was readily 

available online, but only the tech-savvy would 

know where to find it. Michael decided he wanted 

to publish a printed non-techie’s guide to e-books 

and e-readers, that would be written in easy-tounderstand 

language. He asked me if I wanted to 

author the book. 

I was surprised by his offer... I was no techie. I 

hated learning to use the computer during my 

undergraduate days and learning new software 

never came easily to me. I told Michael all of this 

and he replied by saying “That’s exactly why I want 

you to write it. You’ll explain e-books and e-readers 

to people who struggle with technology in a way 

that is clear and easy to understand”. 

I quickly agreed to write the guide. Aside from 

the fact that I’m passionate about the subject of 

digital reading, I also thought it would be a great 

opportunity to ‘get my name out there’ as an expert 

on the topic… especially in Australia where I’m still 

building my professional reputation and network. 

Authoring E-Reader Digest would give me the 

foundation upon which I could continue to build my 

career. It would allow me to gain recognition in my 

industry and online. How could I say no? 

Writing E-Reader Digest was hard work... way tougher 

than any book design project I had undertaken. And 

I was doing it on top of my normal workload! The 

writing took more time than I anticipated, involved 

a lot more research, and was quite frustrating at 

times. But Michael Wilkinson, the publisher, was 


encouraging and patient with my questions. His 

confidence in the book made me feel confident 

about it too, and pretty soon I had written the entire 

draft manuscript and submitted it to the editor. 

After the editor’s review, the manuscript came back 

to me so that I could design and lay out the book. 

(That’s right, I designed my own book!) I wasn’t 

sure if this was going to be a smart idea or the 

biggest mistake I ever made... It turned out to be 

a good move, as we saved a lot of time by keeping 

the design with me instead of an external designer. 

Since E-Reader Digest covered the latest technology 

in digital reading, we couldn’t afford to spend much 

time on the editorial process. The technology 

continues to change all the time and wasn’t going 

to stop because my book was on press. It needed to 

go to press fast! 

E-Reader Digest was published in November 2012 and 

is also available online and in stores in Australia, the 

US, the UK, and various other countries. 

It is early days for the book, of course, but I’ve 

noticed an uptick in Tango Media’s website traffic 

since the book came out. And I’ve been able to take 

advantage of being a published author by serving 

as an ‘expert’ for journalists to ask questions about 

e-books and e-readers. Only time will tell what else 

E-Reader Digest will bring my way... 

One area worth mentioning here is promotion. Many 

authority authors, myself included, need to handle 

the book promotion and publicity themselves. 

At times, this felt more challenging than actually 

writing the book because I quickly needed to learn 

everything I could about how to promote a book. I 

learned how to correctly write my own press release, 

how to navigate the world of newspapers, TV and 

magazines, and how to make the most of online and 

social media promotion. None of it was easy, but 

the lessons learned in this area were all extremely 

valuable and I can apply them to my business. 

As for publishing a book to set one’s self up as an 

authority, I realize I was lucky that an established 

publisher approached me to write a book AND paid 

me to do it. Often, authors who wish to write a book 

to promote themselves as an expert must foot 

the bill themselves... either by self-publishing or 

working with a vanity press. But I think the benefits 

are the same regardless of the path you take: Your 

March 2013 


5

professional profile 

gets a big boost, your 

byline is all over the 

internet, and you 

can always bring a 

copy of your book 

to a meeting with 

a potential client... 

which is sure to 

impress! 

6 

Alicia Freile 

Alicia Freile is the author of E-Reader Digest, 

a non-techie’s guide to the world of e-books 

and e-readers. She is also the Design 

Director of Tango Media Australia and the 

Director of Tango Media USA. At Tango 

Media, Alicia handles e-book publishing as 

well as traditional book design for a variety 

of American, Australian and UK clients. She 

manages an international team of book 

publishing professionals in e-book design, 

formatting and distribution, helping book 

publishers to get their traditional books into 

digital format in both English and Spanish. 

In the past, Alicia has worked as an in-house 

book designer for American and Australian 

publishing houses. She holds a Bachelor’s 

degree in Communication Design from the 

United States and a Master’s degree in 

Design Management from the University 

of New South Wales, Australia. E-Reader 

Digest is her first book. Alicia lives in Sydney, 

Australia with her husband. 

Website 

www.tangomedia.com.au 

Buy the book E-Reader Digest at 

www.angusrobertson.com.au 

by Andrew R Miller 

On 5 October 2012, a book titled Hope Won’t Pay the 

Wages was published on Amazon with me as the 

author. My very first book. 

After it was finished, I was thinking about all the 

people that had been instrumental in its creation 

and development: the idea itself; the people that I 

interviewed; the book coach who helped me to write 

it; the web developer who put the dedicated website 

together; the cover designer; the proof reader. And 

I realised that, when I thought back to how I met 

those people and where the initial connection came 

from, almost every single person could be tied to a 

conversation I had had whilst networking. 

The main concept of my book is to draw out learning 

points from business owners and entrepreneurs. 

But not from those that are fantastically successful 

(there are plenty of those types of book around) 

but from the people who faced their worst possible 

business nightmare - corporate collapse - and 

survived. For it is through adversity that we learn 

the most. 

I work with companies that are in distress or facing 

insolvency and, as I always said, there isn’t a LinkedIn 

group for companies about to go bust. This thought 

led me to adapt my day to day work into a book so 

that the experiences of those that had been through 

difficult times could be passed on to others. 

My initial idea was to just pull together a series of 

blogs or articles, although the concept of a book 

was flittering on the edge of my thoughts. Never 

having been a writer, if I thought about it too much, I 

became paralysed with fear. So I decided to just get 

on with talking to people, see what nuggets I could 

glean and worry about what to do with it later. 

I used breakfast meetings and online forums to find 

people willing to be interviewed. Ultimately, of these 

people, only two were prior contacts of my own. The 

rest were new and the tales and the learning points 

I got from them were dynamite. 



Once I had my research 

gathered, the big question was 

‘what was I going to do with 

it?’ I was introduced to a book 

coach, Gail Powell, who was 

running a course to help people 

get a business book written. 

Gail really helped me find 

focus and clarity; unlocking my 

limiting beliefs and giving me 

the tools to take action and get 

motivated about making my 

thoughts become reality. 

At another networking event, 

a web developer, Axita Ltd, 

liked the idea of the book and 

offered to develop my website 

www.hopewontpaythewages.co.uk and book cover 

for free. And, as if by chance, I was also mentoring 

an academic who ended up proof reading my 

manuscript; it was amazing how it all seemed to 

come together. 

Somehow it all just fell into place. The book is 

proving to be incredibly popular. As well as creating 

awareness of an area of business where greater 

support is needed, it also provides that support. But 

the lessons learnt are applicable to every business 

owner and everyone that has read it has found 

something that they can take away and use in their 

own enterprise. 

I now even have interest at a government level, 

with Vince Cable’s Enterprise Directorate Strategy 

requesting a copy and subsequent meeting to 

help them aid their own research and policy 

development. 

To become an author I would have to take my own 

advice. Prepare to be flexible, react and move; no 

matter what life throws at you. You have to be 

really passionate about what you do because this 

will translate into the book. Meeting and speaking 

to people and learning from others’ experiences, as 

well as listening to their feedback was invaluable 

to me. Without this input my book would certainly 

not have been published at this stage. Get out there, 

meet people, discuss ideas and see where it leads – 

believe me there is no one winning formula. 


March 2013 


Andrew R Miller has 

over 16 years experience 

working in insolvency and 

turnaround for one of the 

big 4 global accountancy 

firms, including a period 

spent in the insolvency 

unit of a well-known 

high street bank. He is 

a qualified chartered 

accountant and 

qualified insolvency 

practitioner. 

The nature of his work 

involved, predominantly, 

trading businesses that 

had gone into receivership or administration 

with a view to selling them as a going concern 

and saving the business and the employees. 

Andrew became more 

involved in internal 

management; leading and 

motivating teams and 

helping individuals develop 

and better themselves. 

This led Andrew to an 

interest in coaching. 

In 2010 he obtained the 

first of his two diplomas 

from The Coaching Academy 

and, in 2011, he set up his 

own coaching business; 

ARM Coaching Services. 

Andrew developed the concept of a Turnaround 

Coach, a confidential and independent 

service to help directors at a personal level. 

His combination of business knowledge and 

awareness of the turnaround and insolvency 

market coupled with his coaching training 

has helped directors stay in control, remain 

focussed, maintain their confidence levels and 

allowed them to make the right decisions, at 

the right time and for the right reasons. 

www.hopewontpaythewages.co.uk 

www.armcoaching.com. 


7

8 

Renowned Expert Authorpreneur 

Hazel Edwards 

shares tips on 

Pitching for 

Business 

A (Authorpreneurial) Hint 

Pitch a proposal this week 

in a way you haven’t 

tried before. 



1. As an authorpreneur you’re more likely to be 

initiating and so you may be ‘pitching’ a new 

process or concept as well as the content. If 

using terms, which are new to your audience, 

keep it simple. Don’t assume they know all the 

new verbs of how to do something technical, 

that you’ve just learnt recently. 

2. Pitchathon: Convince why your project is 

saleable/publishable NOW. Practice to a time 

limit, even to the dog! Or the mirror. Or record 

it. 

3. Speed Dating. Some publishers host bookseller 

events at which that season’s list authors 

have a limited time in which to explain why 

their book is relevant. Booksellers rotate in 

five minute slots around the author tables, 

ask questions and give feedback on what 

appeals to their markets. At the end, orders are 

placed with the publisher on titles, which have 

convinced them. In anticipation of next season, 

list 6 points on why your book or project may 

appeal. You’re permitted to use visuals like the 

cover. 

4. Chances are your project will cross media. 

Practise with the equipment, so there are NO 

technical hitches. 

5. Humour helps, if it is relevant. E.g. One 

illustrator presented a fast humorous 

autobiography in book covers she had designed. 

But it was the wit of her comments, which 

convinced future clients of the depth of her 

ideas and flexibility. 

6. Consider the project from the listener’s 

perspective. What do they most need from you? 

7. Play Devil’s Advocate. Point out the likely 

problems and how you will solve them with 

your innovation. E.g. Challenges of adult literacy 

addressed through simple performance scripts 

and reading with a purpose. E-scripts for easy 

accessibility in remote regions. 

8. Where would this project fit within their 

existing list? Show you have researched them. 

9. A creator profile & CV are different. Indicate 

your skills relevant for this project. 

A CV is where you have been. 

A profile indicates what you can do. 


10. List non- traditional markets. Consider three 

possible markets for your current project. 

11. Time-lag. It may be a good idea, but in the 

wrong place at the wrong time. Despite fear 

of imitation, leave your proposal on file with 

the producer. Often your current proposal 

may remind them when they are seeking new 

writers for another series. 

12. Prepare a very well presented folder with 

samples and contact links for later study. 

Especially if any translation or costings are 

involved. Non native speakers may need 

to have your words translated and their 

significance considered. 

13. Flexibility: Be willing to re-structure according 

to clients’ current budgets or requirements, but 

build in payment stages, rather than working 

on spec (speculation). 

14. Rates and conditions: Inform yourself of 

industry rates and don’t undercut. Decide 

whether to risk a percentage of eventual profits 

(gross or net are different) or take a fee now 

and no continuing interest. Do you want your 

reputation to be enhanced by this? Must your 

name be included? Or is it for a charity? 

15. Track record: Give examples of previously 

completed projects. 

16. Copyright your material and keep evidence of 

dated, earlier drafts. 

17. Investigate trade marking or patents if 

appropriate. 

18. Collaborative projects. Clarify rights and have 

signed agreements on expenses and income 

splits. 

19. Time frame. Some projects such as animation 

or film take years, and others never get past the 

initial stages. Stagger your projects, so you are 

not living on hopes. 

20. If this concept is emotionally significant to you, 

the financial considerations may be secondary. 

BUT you need to monitor how much time and 

energy can be given long term. 

March 2013 


9

This is an extract from Hazel Edward’s book 

Authorpreneurship, The Business of Creativity. 

Order the book here: 

www.asauthors.org/dvdbook/authorpreneurship 

10 

Hazel Edwards 

Authorpreneur Hazel Edwards is best known 

for There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating 

Cake but writes across media, age groups and 

non/fiction. Writing a Non Boring Family History, 

Authorpreneurship, The Business of Creativity are 

best e-sellers from her online bookstore. 

Hazel is a frequent confererence speaker, 

mentor and conducts web chats. f2m:the boy 

within a documentary is in progress about 

her co-written YA novel about transitioning 

gender. 

www.hazeledwards.com 

making indie publishing 

a mission possible 

The Indie ReCon free online conference presented 

in February 2013 featured over 25 guests who 

discussed the nuts and bolts of self-publishing 

from the pros and cons, all the way through to 

marketing and becoming a bestselling author. 

Guests included Darcie Chan, Lori Culwell, Joel 

Friedlander, C J Lyons, Joanna Penn, and many 

more. 

Topics covered included: 

- Branding You and Your Book 

- Breaking into International Markets 

- Building a Bestselling Publishing Team 

- Creating Unique yet Affordable Covers 

- Creative Book Launches 

- Entrepreneurial Authors Many Hats 

- Getting eBooks into Bookstores 

- Planning your Future 

- The Biggest Mistakes Indie Authors Make 

- The Future of Digital Publishing 

- The Future of eBooks as Apps 

- The Magic of Awards and Reviews 

- The Pros and Cons of Indie Publishing 

If you missed the conference you can still view the 

posts, videos and chat recordings on the website: 

www.indierecon.org 



Media Cents and Sensibility by Christina Hamlett 

Twenty-Five Words Or Less 

“What’s your book about?” 

Whether it’s still a work-in-progress or has just 

made its official debut, you probably get asked that 

question a lot. Depending on who your listener is, 

how much time you have, and what sort of call to 

action you want to create, you probably also have a 

short version and a long version of your answer. 

How do you reply, though, if that question is asked 

by someone in the media; specifically, someone 

in a position to give your book some favorable 

publicity? 

Unfortunately, authors typically make the mistake 

of rabbiting on ad nauseum about all of the wrong 

things. Giddy to be in the spotlight, they treat the 

question – and every interview - as a free commercial 

to aggressively push sales rather than a chance to 

calmly project credibility as an expert on the book’s 

core themes. By focusing entirely on the book rather 

than articulating why it will resonate with the media 

outlet’s target demographic, they ultimately miss an 

opportunity to become a recurring guest. 

From a reporter’s perspective, a writer who can’t 

distill the scope and purpose of his/her book in a 

pitch that’s less than 25 words is likely to deliver 

a meandering monologue without any takeaway 

value. 

I call this The Eugene Syndrome. 

Throughout his adolescence, I used to take my 

nephew, Eugene, to San Francisco every Christmas 

break to go shopping, look at Alcatraz through the 


Christina Hamlett 

Pier 39 telescopes, and experience fine dining. He’d 

often use the occasion of the long car ride to tell me 

about the latest movie he had seen. In his zeal not 

to leave anything out, his summaries were generally 

longer than any of the actual films and, by the time 

we rolled back home, he had yet to reach the ending 

and refused to exit the car until he had finished. His 

recaps tended to flow like this: 

“So it starts out with these horses and they’re wild 

and running around in this canyon that’s Wyoming or 

something and then there’s this girl who lives on a farm 

and this guy named Ned likes her but then there’s this 

other guy named Bob who likes her, too, and he and Ned 

don’t get along and Ned thinks Bob let Julie’s horses loose 

– Julie was the name of the girl – but meanwhile back 

in town everybody’s all mad because the Depression’s 

going on and nobody has any money and Julie goes to 

buy food to fix dinner for her father since her mother died 

when she was a little girl and…” 

Whether you make your media pitch in an email, 

by phone or in person, brevity is critical in selling 

yourself as someone who not only respects the 

reporter’s time but also understands the needs/ 

wants/interests of the readers, listeners and 

viewers the reporter is courting. 

Can you describe your book in 25 words or less? 

Please post your book description in the comments 

section on the website. The best three will be 

showcased in my next column. 

Former actress and theater director Christina Hamlett is a media relations expert 

and award winning author whose credits to date include 30 books, 150 stage plays, 

5 optioned feature films, and squillions of articles and interviews. In additional to 

being a professional ghostwriter, she is a script consultant for the film industry 

(which means that she stops a lot of really bad movies from coming to theaters 

near you). 

Christina’s latest book, Media Magnetism: How to Attract the Favorable Publicity You 

Want and Deserve, is targeted to authors, artists, entrepreneurs, business owners 

and nonprofits. www.authorhamlett.com 

March 2013 


11

Are book trailers considered an essential marketing tool for authors now? Probably not by many, however, 

when you consider the huge marketing potential offered by video sharing sites like YouTube, authors might 

be well advised to consider tapping into this marketing tool. But be warned - a bad book trailer may be 

worse for you than having no book trailer! 

Video book trailers come in a variety of ‘styles’. Everything from simple image and text montages, to authors 

talking about their books, right through to productions that resemble movie trailers. It is particularly 

important to consider which type of trailer will appeal to your potential readers. Not only do you want 

something that shows people what the book is about, but something they will enjoy watching and feel 

compelled to share with others. 

Read the experiences of these authors, who have used a variety of different types of trailers. View their 

videos and share your thoughts on these trailers on the Authorpreneur Magazine website. What type of 

trailer do you have for your book? Or what type do you think would suit your book / reader’s tastes? 

12 

Video Book Trailers 

www.ellyklein.com 

Elly Klein 

I produced a video book trailer for my humorous relationship advice book, Men 

Are Like a Box of Chocolates. I wrote it myself and used images from my book. I 

also selected the track from stock music. A friend, who lives in LA and works as 

an animator, put it together for me, as I don’t have the technical know-how. 

It’s difficult to measure how successful it’s been for driving traffic and sales. 

At the moment, it’s had around 500 views and has been live for 6 months. I’m 

glad I have it, because I think it’s a really fun and dynamic way to promote the 

book. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/Zhd_9AFVJn8?fs=1 



Marianne Cantwell 

I created a book trailer for my book Be A Free Range Human which launched 

at the beginning of January. My publisher (a traditional business house) had 

never had an author do a book trailer before and I did it all myself, with some 

outsourced help. 

The - rather unusual - trailer drove signups for my book site www. 

beafreerangehuman.com and as a result we got this book to a) sell out on 

Amazon.co.uk on its first day and b) be Amazon’s hottest new release across all 

books in mid December (based on pre-sales alone!). It is also a #1 bestseller in 

entrepreneurship and careers. Much of the buzz that led to that initial success 

was from the trailer (but now the book is gathering its own momentum). 

The trailer was filmed in two cities and put together in a third. I was in California for most of 

it (all the outdoor cliff shots!) then in NYC for the street shots and back in London, UK for the 

rest. I story-boarded it all myself and got a videographer to shoot and edit under my direction. 

The speaking you hear on it was from Skype-recorded interviews with some of my clients 

(their words were unscripted and we edited them together). 

What it is not - book trailer mistake to avoid 

www.beafreerangehuman. 

com 

It is not an ad for the book. I don’t mention the book anywhere in the trailer! It’s there to 

get people thinking, inspired and curious - I think that a lot of authors make the mistake of 

trying to do an info-mercial for their book, but you don’t pass a bland info-mercial around to 

your friends! This trailer is one I know has been passed around with people saying “you have to see this”, 

and it’s the message and passion that people buy into, and that in turn leads to getting the free chapter 

from the website and buying the book. 

In total, I spent only $600 US on this (I was 

going to be in those locations anyway so 

flights don’t count!). I could have done it 

myself (as I usually make all my videos) but 

I wanted something unusual and of a higher 

quality for the book. I think this video drove 

substantial interest and sales and it is still 

something people comment on when getting 

in touch about the book. 

www.beafreerangehuman.com 

George Ivanoff 

georgeivanoff.com.au 


I had a computer animated trailer produced for my book Gamers’ Quest in 2009. 

It’s been viewed over a thousand times on YouTube, but I discovered that I 

actually had to promote the trailer in order to get those hits. The most useful 

part of having the trailer was being able to show it to school groups whenever I 

did school talks and writing workshops. It proved to be a great way of engaging 

an audience and getting their attention from the word go. 

When the sequel, Gamers’ Challenge, came out in 2010, I had another trailer 

made by the same guy who did the first (Henry Gibbens). This time around 

I really didn’t put very much effort into promoting the trailer online. This is 

reflected in the smaller number of hits. But I did use it for school visits and 

again it proved to be very successful in this regard. 

March 2013 


13

In June this year, the third book in the series will be published — Gamers’ Rebellion. Henry Gibbens will 

again be making a new trailer. 

Alison Skate 

I I published a book in February last year called 

Ambush Proposals: The Hero’s Guide to Wedding 

Proposals. The promotional video has had 20,000 

views and was featured in The Huffington Post as a 

quirky and unique way to promote the book. 

The promotional video played a large part in attaining 

media coverage of the book, including reviews and 

articles in The Courier Mail, BMag, Mx Commuter 

Magazine, ABC Radio, The Knot.com.au and various online publications. 

The promotional video is interactive, and was created with the help of Paul Holland. Paul assisted with the 

animations and producing the video in an interactive format. The video itself was filmed in my home by 

myself and my husband. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/zilxbf69P9o?fs=1 

Ludwina Dautovic 

The video provides viewers with a number of questions, 

to which they respond by clicking on an icon on their 

screen, which prompts the next part of the video. They 

are eventually streamed one of eight possible proposal 

ideas based on their answers to the questions. The video 

functions on PC, but iPad and mobile users can scroll the 

‘description’ of the video to select their responses. (When 

viewing the questions, I recommend waiting until the end 

of the clip on Question 3 for an extra giggle.) 

It has been a fun way to promote the book, which won a 

finalist medal in the Indie Book Awards in 2012. 

My first book, It’s That Easy - Online Marketing 3.0, was a collaborative effort. 

I sourced eighteen authors (which includes myself), to show business owners 

how to better connect and engage with their market online. 

I’m very big on video marketing and know the power it has in terms of Google 

ranking, syndication and customer engagement, so producing a video that not 

only highlights the content but also the authors, in my eyes, is essential. 

14 

http://www.youtube.com/v/0vCCl34Fgo?fs=1 

http://www.youtube.com/v/ 

OPQc32qn2_E?fs=1 

www.itsthateasy.com.au 



I used an online program called Animoto which 

has a small yearly licence fee. It’s a program that 

allows you to draw in images and audio files along 

with your choice of text and then it magically edits 

it together based on the tempo and length of the 

music. The music is original and was written by 

one of my staff, Aaron James 

Lee. Anyone can use Animoto 

and it is simple and fast to 

put together. 

I know that the video will help 

with the decision process 

of potential purchases. It not 

only highlights the content 

and authors but will engage 

purchasers in a way that text 

and images alone cannot. 

Leigh-Chantelle 

What Do Vegans Eat? book started out as a 

scrapbook-style presentation for a Brisbane vegan 

group. I wanted my presentation to be fun and 

visually appealing, yet still have the important 

educational aspects of a vegan health talk. I 

combined my love for fun, easy to comprehend 

education, with food and animal photographs and 

myself posing to create what I hope is an inspiring 

look at how easy being a vegan is nowadays. 

www.vivalavegan.net The video idea for What Do Vegans Eat? and My USA Adventures was simply like 

my other videos: DIY, friendly and colourful, with basic information. 

My USA Adventures is a book based on my travel adventures to 14 out of 50 states in the United States of 

America. Throughout June and July in 2010, and July and August in 2011, I take readers along on my travels 

with journal entry-style narration of my adventures. 

My video book trailers have worked well for sales and I would suggest everyone include a video for 

promotional purposes. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/xmFAR7rH79U?fs=1 


March 2013 

http://www.youtube.com/v/64PqCo8svhI?fs=1 

Animoto video creation service: animoto.com 

http://www.youtube.com/v/7iMj2hdf0Ps?fs=1 


15

The Bestseller Incubator 

Authorpreneur Magazine is pleased to announce 

our first giveway! 

Rochelle Stone, Publishing & Marketing Specialist 

from Barefoot Basics, is giving one lucky reader 

the opportunity to participate in her 7 week online 

coaching program The Bestseller Incubator. This 

prize is valued at $450. You can read more about the 

program below or on the Barefoot Basics website 

www.barefootbasics.com. 

Focus Your Book Marketing Plan with 

The Bestseller Incubator 7-Week Online 

Coaching Program 

Are you looking to publish or be published in 2013? 

Or simply looking forward to finally putting pen 

to paper or fingers to keyboard in the new year to 

make your long-term writing dream a reality? 

Maximise your opportunities for Self Publishing 

success by investing in Barefoot Basics’ The Bestseller 

Incubator. Developed by Rochelle Stone, Publishing 

and Marketing Specialist at Barefoot Basics, to 

guide new and established authors through life 

beyond the manuscript and towards establishing 

their online platform, marketing and pr schedule, 

distribution model and book business plans. 

Throughout ‘The Bestseller Incubator’ journey you 

will learn how to: 

16 

Whether traditionally published or selfpublished 

an Author’s reality is the same… 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

MARKETING SELLS BOOKS! 

Define Your Vision 

Create Your Online Platform 

Build Your Distribution Model 

Maximise PR & Publicity Opportunities 

Build Your Profile 

Build Your Book Business Plan 

Build Your Book Marketing Plan 

The Bestseller Incubator has been developed to assist 

Author’s in creating a strategic vision for taking their 

book to market, maximising their results with the 

aim of ensuring they are in the top 10% of Authors 

that earn 75% of the income. 

The Bestseller Incubator: 7-Week Coaching Program 

is for self-publishing Authors, who understand that 

they are truly accountable for their own success. 

Each of the information packed modules and 

sections have been supplemented with Action 

Steps, to bring your book publishing journey to life. 

Read more about the program at Barefoot Basics: 

www.barefootbasics.com.au 

WIN THIS 

Visit the Authorpreneur Magazine website and 

like, follow, tweet about the competition or submit 

a testimonial. You can earn one entry for each 

action. 

www.authorpreneurmagazine.com/ 

the-bestseller-incubator/ 

Competition ends 30 April 2013 



Author Websites 

by Jeannie Barker 

Every author should have their 

own website - even if they haven’t 

published their first book yet! 

Your author website is your online business card, 

your book shop, your blog, your connection with 

readers, your showcase for publishers, your most 

important marketing tool and the ‘hub’ of your author 

platform. And you don’t have to wait until you have 

published your first book to create your website - 

start building your author platform now, no matter 

where you are at on your publishing journey. 

What are the main components of an author 

website? 

Essentials 

3 Bio - Your ‘about you’ page is essential. Your 

readers want to connect with you, identify 

with you, feel like they know you... so share 

some information about yourself on a bio or 

profile page. Make sure you include at least 

one image of you - people want to see what 

you look like. If you have an ‘author portrait’ 

that you use on your books, make sure this 

photo is displayed on your bio page. 

If you use a profile photo consistently across 

your social media sites make sure this 

appears on your website too. 

3 Book/s - This can be a page for your book, a 

page for all of your books, a separate page 

for each one of your books or page for each 

of your book series. You need to include an 

image of your book cover/s, the blurb for 

the book/s and information about where to 

buy the book - either a link to your online 

bookshop or your sales processing page on 

your own site, or the book sales site/s where 

your book is available for purchase. A couple 

of brief testimonials can also be included on 

your book/s page/s, or on a separate page. 

3 Contact - If you wish to make yourself 

available for direct contact from your website, 

include a contact form. Instead of direct 


Optional 

March 2013 

contact you may prefer to include your 

agent’s contact information, or your speaking 

agency contact, or even just your PA/VA 

contact details. Note: To avoid spam use a 

‘contact form’ - do not display your email 

address on your website. 

3 News / Events - Publish a calendar or listing 

of your past and upcoming book signings, 

speaking engagements, interviews, etc. 

This can be a page, a calendar or listings 

presented as blog posts (an easy way to add 

events). 

3 Reviews / Testimonials - Publish 

testimonials and reviews of your books, 

both professional and from your readers. 

A good way to get reviews is to offer a free 

review copy of your book. If the reviewer 

has a website, include a link to their website 

beneath the review. 

3 Excerpts - Include an excerpt from your book, 

either published on the site directly or as a 

downloadable PDF, or provide both options. 

3 Speaking - If you are available for speaking 

engagements have a separate page for this. 

Give examples of past speaking engagements 

and the topics you talk on. Include a link to 

your contact page for booking enquiries or 

info for contacting your speaking agency. 


17

3 Book Trailer - If you have a video book trailer 

for your latest book make sure you feature 

it prominently on your site. Book trailers 

for other books can be on the relevant book 

pages but the latest book trailer should also 

be featured on the home page. 

3 Blog - Some authors choose to blog, some 

don’t. Blogs can help your audience connect 

with you on a more personal level, keep 

them coming back to the site to read your 

fresh content, and enable them to interact 

directly with you via comments on your 

posts. Blog posts can be articles on your 

area of expertise, updates about your writing, 

comments about your events, personal 

stories from your life (how personal is up to 

you). Adding blog posts can help your site 

to rank better in search listings since your 

site is seen to be adding fresh new content 

regularly. 

Marketing tools 

18 

3 Social Media - If you are using social media 

marketing feature your chosen platform 

icons on the site so people can easily click 

on them and ‘connect’ with you. WordPress 

and similar Content Management Systems 

(CMS) have plugins and widgets which can 

make adding clickable social media icons and 

buttons quite simple. 

3 Sharing Tools - Tools like Add This or Retweet 

can be easily added to your site to encourage 

visitors to share your content. You can 

choose which social media platforms you 

wish to enable sharing on - make sure you 

enable all the platforms that you use, plus 

any others you feel appropriate to your 

audience. 

3 Newsletter Subscription - A sign-up form 

for a newsletter can help you build up a 

database list of people interested in your 

books. This means that when you write your 

next book you already have a list of people 

interested in your topic or your style of 

writing that you can pre-sell your book to. 

Plus, publishers consider this an important 

element of your author platform and may ask 

how many subscribers you have. 

If you don’t want to send regular email 

newsletters you can opt to simply have an 

auto-generated email sent whenever you add 

a new post to your blog. This is an easy way 

to generate regular direct contact with your 

subscribers / fans. 

3 Sell Sheet - A one page sales sheet is 

generally designed for book distributors, 

however, it can also be a great marketing 

tool. If you have one, make it available on 

your website media page and book page. 

3 Media - A media kit can include the key 

information and files that a journalist could 

use to write an article on you or your book, or 

as background information for an interview. 

This could include: a sell sheet for your book, 

print quality portrait image, book cover 

image/s, other relevant images, an extract 

from your book, audio file, etc. - all available 

for individual download or in one zip file. 

Other key points to remember 

3 Your site should be well laid out, with clear 

and easy navigation (menu). 

3 It should be attractively designed with a 

modern look (no scrolling text, animated clip 

art gifs!). 

3 Your images should be good quality, 

professional looking and low resolution to 

load quickly. 



Tip 

3 You, or your PA/VA, should be able to access 

and update your website if you wish - not 

have to wait on your webmaster to do it all 

for you. Using a CMS like WordPress can 

make maintaing and updating your website 

easy. 

3 Your website should be ‘mobile responsive’, 

enabling it to look good on mobile phones 

and tablets. 

3 Avoid Flash - the content cannot be read 

by search engines and cannot be viewed on 

some tablets and phones. 

3 Your design, the look of your website, should 

match the genre / audience you write for. If 

you write light-hearted romances the design 

should look very different from that of an 

author who writes gothic horror. 

Secure your domain 

name now! 

Don’t wait until you are ready 

to build your website - buy your 

authorname.com now if it is 

available. If you wait, 

another person with the same 

name may grab it and you will 

have to settle for something else. 

Check out some other author websites for ideas. 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started: Lee 

Child, Michael Connolly, Janet Evanovich, Emily Griffin, 

John Grisham, E L James, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, 

Rick Riordan, Nora Roberts, Michael Robotham. 

Awesome Author Websites 

Do you have any favourite author websites? Ones 

that blow you away with their awesomeness? 

Please share with us the author, the website and 

why you love them. 


author-websites/ 


March 2013 


Founder and editor of Authorpreneur 

Magazine; WordPress consultant and trainer; 

web and graphic designer. 

Jeannie is passionate about helping authors 

create their own author brand and market 

their books and services. 

I Write. . . 

Introducing our new short feature I Write. . . 

We invite writers to share where and how 

they write. 

Do you have an ultra-modern office space 

for your writing business? 

Do you have a cosy nook for reading and 

writing? 

Do you write on the road... with a tablet, 

smart phone or laptop? 

What do you need around you to get into 

the proper writing mode? 

What environment inspires you to write? 

What environment helps you focus on 

writing? 

Please tell us about your writing space in 

500 words or less and include a photo of you 

in the space (hi res for the print magazine 

edition), plus your website URL. 

Email your piece to: 

submissions@authorpreneurmagazine.com 


19

20 




12-14 July 2013 

wowfestival.blogspot.com 

Coral Sea Resort 

Airlie Beach QLD Australia 

March 2013 


21

Writers Festivals seem to be popping up all over 

– some in the most unlikely places. Those in the 

capital cities are becoming very crowded with little 

hope of getting anywhere near the presenting 

author, let alone being able to ask a question. 

There is one Writers Festival, however, that is very 

different. Now in its fourth year, the Whitsunday 

Writers Festival is the only one that offers the 

opportunity of close contact with the authors over 

drinks and dinner. 

The fourth festival 

promises to be diverse 

and informative. On Friday 

12 July there will be a 

thriller writing workshop 

with Louisa Larkin, who 

studied Literature at the 

University of London 

and then emigrated to 

Australia. She became a 

publisher and returned to 

the University of Sydney 

to study Corporate 

Responsibility amongst other things. Her latest 

novel, Thirst, is set in Antarctica where she spent 

time researching the subject. 

On Saturday Louisa is joined by Dr Tony Ayling who 

has written about a dozen books on the subject of 

marine biology and will give us an update on the 

Great Barrier Reef. 

Dr Anita Heiss is a member of the Wiradjuri nation 

of central New South Wales and is one of Australia’s 

most prolific and well-known authors of Aboriginal 

literature, and author of Am I Black Enough for You. 

She is an author, a poet and the recipient of many 

awards. 

Joyce Morgan has worked as a journalist for more 

than three decades in London, Sydney and Hong 

Kong. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The 

22 

. . . the 

festival has 

a lot to offer 

everyone, 

including 

the guest 

speakers . . . 

Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Bangkok 

Post and The Dawn (Pakistan). She is a former arts 

editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and now a 

senior arts writer. She has also worked as a radio 

producer with ABC radio. 

Conrad Walters has worked in the media for more 

than thirty years in the United States, where he won 

awards for investigative journalism, and in Australia, 

where he is a senior feature writer and book reviewer 

at The Sydney Morning Herald. Together wihth his 

partner Joyce Morgan, they have written Journey on 

the Silk Road. 

This promises to be an entertaining weekend where 

authors and guests will mix over wine and good 

food. 

Previous speakers include David Hill, ex CEO of ABC 

television and Susan Wyndham Literary Editor of 

The Sydney Morning Herald who both commented 

that the festival has a lot to offer everyone, including 

the guest speakers. 

Dates: 12-14 July 2013 

Location / Venue: Coral Sea Resort, Airlie Beach, 

QLD, Australia (principal sponsor of the event) 

Cost: $595 ($AU) inclusive (based on twin share); 

welcome drinks Friday; full day conference 

Saturday with lunch, morning and 

afternoon tea and divine 5 course dinner; 

Sunday conference with farewell lunch. 

Festival Website: 

wowfestival.blogspot.com 

Contact: 

Gloria Burley 

0422 026 793 

(International +61 422 026 793) 



Are You Tracking Your Mentions? 

Are you using Google 

Alerts to track your 

mentions? Or do you use 

a social media tracker like 

Social Mention? 

What if there was an 

app you could use online, 

on your Android phone, 

iPhone and your iPad? 

Mention is a cool new tool that tracks your name, 

your business name or your keywords. The free 

plan includes 3 alerts (names, keywords, etc.), 500 

mentions per month plus 1 month of history. Paid 

plans start at $19.95 per month. 

Check it out and see if Mention is something you 

would like to try, and please add your thoughts on 

the website: 


are-you-tracking-your-mentions/ 

en.mention.net 


March 2013 

Authorgraph 

Authorgraph (originally 

called Kindlegraph) 

was developed by Evan 

Jacobs, a software 

developer from Seattle. 

It came about when 

Evan attended an author 

reading in 2010 where 

the author offered to sign attendees books, 

having purchased the book on Kindle, Kevin had 

nothing for the author to sign. Now, through 

the Authorgraph website you can request 

authors to sign your eBooks. The signatures are 

downloadable as PDFs (viewable in applications 

like iBooks) or an AZW version (viewable in all 

Kindle apps on iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, etc.) of 

their Authorgraph. 

Authors can list their books on the Authorgraph 

website, gaining more exposure and another 

means to interact with their readers. Your 

book doesn’t even need to be in eBook format 

- readers can request an Authorgraph for print 

books too. And, authors can personalise the 

message for each reader. 

www.authorgraph.com 


23

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