I enjoyed meeting with a wonderful group of current and aspiring writers at the “Writer Showcase” at Open Books in downtown Chicago hosted by Book Coach 101 founder and director Patrice Turner.
The event was well attended, providing each participant an opportunity to take part in their choice of four, twenty minute table top sessions from among nine presenters.
My first choice was “3 Tips on Branding Your Book Cover with Canva”. Catherine Borzym of Kiwi Avenue gave a quick but thorough overview of the Canva software and some good tips about creating a cohesive visual brand. Thanks to Catherine I have already downloaded 30 new fonts for free on to my computer, which is going to be a great enhancement to my graphics in the coming months.
Terrance Leftridge of Unstoppablecoaching.com and I had a nice one-on-one session about the strategy of non-fiction writers using your book as your business card. Since my book is titled “Turn Your Business Card Into Business” and is all about face-to-face networking Terrance was preaching to the choir on this. We agreed that for many experts, coaches and service providers your non-fiction book can be a perfect way to get prospective clients to understand your methods and establish your authority. In the long run this has much more potential value than merely selling a book. I will say that in my personal experience my book has made me much more money by opening doors and creating opportunities then it has through actual sales – – and that’s a good thing.
Kathy Hays of Hays Digital Group went through the benefits of having a good email marketing strategy with me and Rob Besecker author of “ForEver Strong“. I would say that Kathy appears to be a first class Constant Contact consultant and email marketing authority. My seminar partner Rob is an amazing guy who climbed Mount Everest after being diagnosed with a serious heart problem and muscular dystrophy then wrote a book about it. I have to ask, “What’s stopping you and I from accomplishing our goals?”
High School biology teacher, public speaker and author Evan J. Roberts enthusiastically informed us of “3 Keys to Building a Following and Increasing Sales”. My quotable quote of the day from Evan was, “Better to have a lukewarm message and a red-hot market than a red-hot message and lukewarm market.” I speak with my clients about this all of the time. Understanding and knowing how to access your market is far more important than your message or great idea. If you can’t sell it – – it doesn’t matter how good it is. If you have teens or pre-teens who need some inspiration to achieve their full potential check-out Evan’s website.
My good friend Donna Smith Bellinger presented “3 Ways to Skyrocket Your Revenue.” She was accompanied by her husband Steve Bellinger, author of “The Chronocar” a scifi time travelling adventure that begins and ends in the southside Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. Another friend Kim Bookless who organizes the Chicago Self Publishing Group presented “3 Levels of Editing Every Author Needs.”
What a great event. Thanks to Patrice Turner ( and her favorite daughter)for their hard work in putting it together, including the yummy homemade cakes in a cup.
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Reno Lovison, Executive Director at AuthorsBroadCast.com