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To-Do List Overwhelm? Try This Powerful – And Surprisingly Joyful – Tip to Tackle It

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Eilat Aviram is a Follow-Your-Truth Catalyst. During her twenty-three years as a sought-after clinical psychologist, energy-healing teacher, author and speaker, she’s discovered something surprising: life actually DOES come with an instruction manual! It’s inside us. Below, Eilat offers her insight on how to tackle your to-dos, no matter how intimidating that list may be.

Is your To-Do List like a wizard’s beard?

Mine is. Since I decided to self-publish my book, my To-Do List is long and hairy and no matter how much I cut off, within seconds it grows back to the length it was before.

I have however, discovered a magical method of managing my To-Dos in a way that’s actually fun! I’m going to share it with you here so your dreaded list can also become less dreadful. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but keep reading and see how empowered you feel to try this by the end of the article.

Why is my to-do list so long?

I’ve just launched my first book, ‘If You Loved Yourself, What Would You Do Now?’ first locally in print, then as a paperback on Amazon and this past weekend as an eBook on Kindle.

It went really well – I ran a free promotion over 48-hours and more than 800 people from over 12 countries downloaded a copy. The Kindle launch cost me a total of $35 but HOURS of my time and labor. (The $35 was to have Ebooster post it onto 45+ sites that advertise free book promotions. You can do that yourself but it takes a lot of time so I chose to pay for that.)

[Read more…]

Your Author Business Plan: A Framework for the Creative Entrepreneur

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Author Business Plan: A Framework for the Creative Entrepreneur | YourWriterPlatform.com

Does the thought of writing a business plan make you wince?

You’ve been struggling valiantly through most of the non-writing, left-brained activities that have been thrust upon you as a modern writer – do you really need to go through the formality of crafting your “executive summary”, “sales forecasts” and “market analysis”?

Well…yes. (sorry)

But if you’d prefer to skip the spreadsheets in favour of a more “writer-friendly” planning process – because deep down you know you could use a bit more direction to move your writing career to the next level – you’re in luck!

I’ve designed this business plan framework with the creative entrepreneur in mind.

Yep, it’s still a business plan.

But I’ve tried to soften the corporate jargon, as well as give you ideas as to how you can use each section to grow your writing career.

I’ve also created a free downloadable workbook to guide you through the process and that you can complete at your own pace: [Read more…]

The 9 Must-Haves for a High-Performing Book Launch Page

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The 9 Must-Haves for a High-Performing Book Launch Page _ YourWriterPlatform.com

Back with the second installment in this three part series on book launch pages, Ben De Rienzo and the Booklaunch.io team outline the key ingredients to make your book page sizzle!

Book launch pages are all the rage these days among authors, and for good reason—they capture reader attention and catapult book sales.

Jason SurfrApp launched his most recent book with a crazy-awesome book launch page. As of this writing, his book has a near perfect 5.0 star Amazon review average across almost 100 reviews. Wow!

All book launch pages have different creative angles, but all share a similar DNA. If you want to harness the power of a book launch page, then yours needs to have the following elements.

Add these to your page and your book will be positioned for success.

1. The Captivating Book Cover

If you don’t have a captivating book cover image, you need one. Once it’s created, you need to feature it at the very top of your book launch page. By doing so, you make a great first impression with your prospective reader. The captivating cover affirms that you are a professional author who has put quality time and care into creating your book. And it sets the tone for the rest of the book launch page.

2. The Irresistible Headline

Add an attention-grabbing headline somewhere near your featured cover image. Craft this headline to not only command attention but to also convey the value of your book. Impress the reader with what your book promises to do for them. That promise could be to solve some pressing problem. It could be to entertain them with an amazing story. It could be to challenge their thinking in a way that will stimulate personal or professional growth. [Read more…]

Want to Launch Your Book With a Bang? Then You Need This.

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Want to Launch your Book With a Bang_ Then You Need This _ YourWriterPlatform.com

Want to start marketing your book in less than 10 minutes? I’ve asked Ben De Rienzo, co-founder and designer at Booklaunch.io, to share his expert tips and insights on how writers can use this one simple tool to build buzz and drive their book sales–and it can be set up in minutes. Want to know what it is? Keep reading!

You’ve worked hard for months—even years—on a fantastic book to share with the world.

Tons of time, energy, affection, and other bits of yourself are invested in this wonderful creation, and now is the time to put it out into the world.

The moment tingles with excitement, anxiety, and more than a few doubts. But you’re resolved to go through with it—to launch your book! Which begs the question:

How do you position your book launch to be as successful as possible?

This question is a recent obsession among authors.

From bestselling authors like Tim Ferriss to upstart authors like Pat Flynn, more and more professional authors are treating their book launches as big, celebratory events.

The logic is simple: attract as much word-of-mouth buzz to your book launch as possible to spark momentum. A groundswell of initial momentum drives a flood of initial sales. This flood begets more buzz and more sales. It’s a virtuous cycle.

But to walk in the footsteps of these successful authors, you’ll need one key asset: a professional book landing page.

The best landing pages feature attractive book covers, engaging book trailer videos, personal info about the authors, positive blurbs from other readers and authority figures, and more.
[Read more…]

The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up: Does Your Elevator Pitch Stand Out? (Issue #30)

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The Writer's Weekly Wrap-Up _ YourWriterPlatform.com

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Crafting the Perfect Elevator Pitch

“So, what’s your book about?”

Umm…

Distilling the essence of your book, your author brand, or even your freelance services down into just a few sentences has mentally defeated many a writer.

But, it’s inevitable–and desirable–that people will want to know (briefly) what your work is about, and why they should care.

To help you overcome the stuttering, rambling, discombobulated answer you may be currently giving to the above question, here are a few pointers for creating an elevator pitch that stands out:

Tip #1 Be Succinct

The beauty of having to create a brief, but compelling, elevator pitch is that it requires you to dig deep for the true essence of your book, your brand or your service. In order to concisely share it, you’ll first need to know it yourself. Think sentences, not paragraphs, and keep fine-tuning until you’re certain you’ve captured the heart of your work. [Read more…]

Authors with Platforms Sell Books.

It’s that simple.

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