I have been at The London Book Fair this year and in this episode I share my impressions and takeaways. Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today I talk to Sommer Nectarhoff. Sommer is a twenty-four year old writer from Chicago. He’s the author of nineteen books and counting, and though he’s written everything from poetry to literary fiction he’s currently couched in the swords and shields of fantasy.Click to view: show page on Awesound

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We discuss why media exposure is so important and how one can get featured on media.Click to view: show page on Awesound

In the previous days I have come across the same topic several times. Then I thought that maybe you have not heard of it yet so decided to let you know about this. What I am talking is Amazon Giveaways. Amazon let’s you create and promote a giveaway of items that are sold there. The interesting part of this for us is that we can now create kindle ebook giveaways. What many authors did before was organizing book giveaways – mainly on Goodreads. Unfortunately you could give aways only paperbacks. I tried a giveaway of my first novel Highfall on Goodreads and although it did bring visibility to my book it did not impact the sales figure.So why is Amazon giveaway different you may think. Well before I dive into this, I have to make a disclaimer. It seems like the Amazon giveaway can organize only the US residents, so if you have amazon.com account but no US address linked to your account then you won’t be able to make it… Hopefully they will roll over to the other markets soon too. The good news though is that you don’t have to be in KDP Select to be able to organize giveaways and of course giving away ebooks is more affordable and there are no shipping charges involved obviously.Ok now let’s see why would you as an author possibly want to make an Amazon giveaway.The first obvious reason, of course is get your book front of more people. And since those who have already purchased your book are not eligible for your giveaway you will end up will be reaching new potential readers.The second good thing is that all the participants, who have not won the giveaway get the free sample of your book. Which means that the potential new readers will probably get the taste of your writing style.Another good thing is that when you organize your book’s Amazon giveaway you can choose chose an option where in order to participate people have to follow you on your Amazon’s author page. This means that whenever you have a new book out all who follow will be notified. It is not as good as having them on your e mail list of course, but it is most probably the closest thing you can get with Amazon.To wrap this topic up I’ll just need to say that your giveaways can last up to 30 days, ebooks purchased for the giveaway are non-refundable and you can check there is a Twitter hashtag #AmazonGiveaways you can follow. And maybe the best part of it all is that those who have tried the Amazon giveaways tell that it impacts book’s sales ranking.Ok, that was it about the Amazon.Now I will share my ideas about giveaways in general.I personally feel uncomfortable, when things are not under my control. That is why strategies, which rely on specific social media channel, or only one platform, or an audience, which is not mine are not my favorite. I mean what if something happens to Facebook one day? Where do I find all those people who liked my page… You see what I mean right?That is why I prefer to put time and effort bringing my audience to my place, that is my website and my e mail list. Are you already there btw? If no check out anialexander.comHaving that said I prefer to use KingSumo’s giveaway plugin for WordPress. The giveaway is done so that it increases participant’s chances to win when they share your contest like crazy and therefore it easily goes viral. But that is just the bonus. The best thing is that you are getting the list of all participant’s emails, which you can later use. I have used this only twice for now, but have seen great results with both giveaways.The things is… if you are unknown writer like me, most probably people will not be interesting in your book’s giveaway, because they have not read you yet and they have not heard your name either, right?Continued on anialexander.com/giveaways-and-your-book-marketing/Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today my guest is Tim Knox. He is a sought-after corporate speaker and comedian, published author, talk radio host, syndicated business columnist, and self-professed Mama’s Boy, Tim’s unique perspective is enjoyed by thousands who listen to his radio show, read his books and columns, and hear him speak every year.You should check out his show Interviewing Writers too.In this interview we talk about- the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing- how to markets your books- the business aspect of being a writer- building author brandFood for ThoughtIf passion was money every poet would be rich.If the great writers in history had to market their own work chances are we never would have heard of any of them.The hardest thing to do in a crowd is to get noticed.If you are are a writer - write!Be happy that you have the ability to write.If you’d like to share your thought with me and other Write to be Read listeners, make sure you join our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/write2bread/Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today I am talking to Ricardo Fayet. Ricardo is co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors with the best publishing professionals (think editors, proofreaders, designers, marketers). An avid reader and technology enthusiast, he likes to imagine how little players will build the future of publishing, further empowering authors and allowing them to publish to the same standards as the biggest publishing companies.In this interview I try to understand what Reedsy is, how it works and how writers can benefit from it.Make sure you check out their book editor tool - it's great.Click to view: show page on Awesound

anialexander.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/TimGilette-website.jpg" width="800" />Today I am talking to Tim Gillette. Tim is the Creator of the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Keys to Business Success – Using Music, Motorcycles and Mentorship to Teach Entrepreneurs to Become Leaders in Their Industry.”In his presentations, Tim uses lessons learned from his love for Rock ‘n’ Roll music, traveling an average of 30,000 miles annually on his Harley Davidson motorcycle, coaching clients, and speaking to audiences.I met him on Blab and we had several interesting conversations there, so I thought that it would be nice to have him over at the podcast too. Today we spoke about blogging, branding and many other things.Click to view: show page on Awesound

Ray Edwards is a Communications Strategist, Copywriter, Author, Speaker, and host of one the top iTunes Business Podcast. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, and with some of the most powerful voices in leadership and business. His clients include New York Times best-selling authors Michael Hyatt (author of Platform and co-author of Living Forward), Tony Robbins (author of Unleash the Giant Within and Money: Master the Game), Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (co-authors of Chicken Soup For the Soul), Jeff Walker (author of Launch), and many more. Ray’s copy and marketing expertise has helped sell an estimated $200 Million or more in products and services.Ray covered the most important points from his book in our interview, but I do recommend getting the book especially now when he is giving away a physical copy of the book for free (until March 1st).Click to Claim Your Book NowFood for ThoughtCopywriting is simply writing that persuades people to buy into idea or a product or a service or a believe.Nobody is going to sell your writing with the passion and the care and the intimate knowledge of the writing better than you.We are more effected by stories than we are by facts.What you are actually selling is the transformation that your product or service brings about.Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings. - Zig ZiglerYou have to have feelings about the product or service you're selling.About the BookRay Edwards's  book provides a step-by-step, fill-in-the-blanks system for writing persuasive copy for websites, sales and promotions. Ray’s sales copy is amazingly effective – having sold an estimated $200 million in products and services over the last 5 years. Now he shows you how, step-by-step, you can use the same methods he does. It’s all spelled out in the new book How to Write Copy That Sells.Click to view: show page on Awesound

I already had more than 100 guests, who shared their expertise, knowledge and stories at the Write 2B Read podcast. Some of those interviews have been very successful and some of the guests were more impressive than the rest. One of the names out there, about getting whom I've been asked most was Pat Flynn. It seems like being able to talk to him for my podcast back when Write 2B Read was relatively new and unknown was a big achievement in other people's eyes (I am not telling that it was not). So now I have Pat back with a new interview and new book.For those of you who don't know Pat yet below is his short bio. Pat Flynn makes a living on the internet and considers himself the luckiest person on the earth. Through his very popular blog Smart Passive Income and his Smart Passive Income Podcast  he shares his experience and helps his readers reach their goals. I think it is also important to mention that Pat was also from the very few people, who encouraged me to start the Write 2B Read podcast.This time we speak about Pat's second book Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money, which launched just few days ago. In this interview Pat explains:what the book is about and how he came up with the idea to write itthe struggles Pat had writing his second book and how he got over themwhen did Pat mostly write the bookhow did Pat Flynn get his first draft upwhat was the initial title of the book and how did Pat found the title that he uses nowhow to validate your non-fiction book idea before starting to write itI guess that was it for today.As I mentioned in this episode I am working on a coaching offer for my podcast listeners and other writers and/or entrepreneurs, who are looking to establish their personal brand online. In case you're interested and prefer not to wait until everything is set up please get in touch and we can start making things happen straightaway!If you enjoyed the interview, please subscribe to it below and you will not miss any upcoming episode. [text-blocks id="podcast-subscription-links" plain=1]Click to view: show page on Awesound

Stefano L Tresca was employee #8 at Wind, a telecom startup company sold for $12.1 billion. Before joining this venture, he was a teacher of Italian for Koreans, a web designer, and an ice cream maker, just to name a few.Bestselling author and passionate about travelling, he worked in over 20 countries, until he quit the corporate life in 2011. Today Stefano enjoys mentoring startup companies, writing and occasionally consults for corporations on innovation and investments.Many years ago, he felt in love with the city of London, and that's where he lives now when he's not traveling. In this interview we talk abouthow he wrote his book Future Cities that became a bestsellerwhat did the Amazon bestselling rank actually broughtthe 50-50 rulethe hidden secret superpowerthe mistakes he made with his very first bookUseful links: Stefano's book - Future Cities: 42 Insights and Interviews with Influencers, Startups, Investors Kindle Edition Lanyrd - the social conference directoryClick to view: show page on Awesound

Today I am talking to Dan Wood from Draft 2 Digital. This episode is the short official version of the Blab we did few weeks ago, back in 2015. We spoke about how to go wide as an author and make sure that your book is available in most of the possible platforms out there.The Full Blab Interview Wanna grow your audience and business with Blab? Check this out![text-blocks id="podcast-subscription-links" plain=1]Click to view: show page on Awesound

anialexander.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-website.jpg" width="800" />I hope you had nice holidays and amazing New Year celebration. And with this recording I’d like to share my wishes to you for 2016.I wish that we all read more and learn new things. Although we don’t talk about it often, I am sure that writers have not only to write but also read every day.I also wish that we travel and get out in nature a lot. Travels will bring new experiences and topics to include in your writing as well as help you become open-minded.I wish that we all toss away the self-doubt and start believing in ourselves, because no one will believe in us until we do. From now on I wish we don’t wait for the right moment and start right away. Don’t waste time waiting. Don’t make your life one long stay in a waiting room. Do what you always wanted to do in 2016. Believe me there will be no better time.I wish that instead of complaining and blaming others we practice gratitude and thank for everything we have. I wish that we all stop resisting the change and embrace it instead in the upcoming year. Changes will help you grow and bring in new opportunities you can’t get otherwise.Instead of worrying about the past I wish we get new experiences, meet like-minded people and celebrate our small victories in 2016. Let go and leave things in the past and move on. You’ve got another chance for a  new start. Make this your year.Let’s not make excuses. Let’s keep going and pursue our dreams without giving up. You are responsible for making your dreams come true. So make things happen in 2016.Let’s get inspired and inspire others. Let’s motivate and be motivated. Do it with your writings, with your talks, with your speeches, Facebook statuses, Tweets… anything will work. I wish you to set goals for 2016. Don’t expect immediate results in order not to be disappointed, but set positive mindset and fight back your fear of failure. One step at a time you’ll get closer to your goals, simply make sure you do make the first step.I hope that in 2016 you will be bold enough to be different. Don’t depend on peoples’ opinion and don’t follow the crowd. I wish all those who are not in love yet to fall in love in 2016. And those who are in love will keep working on your relationship.I wish you also take some time to spend it with yourself. Make a date with yourself and think, reflect and listen to your inner voice. Focus on your feelings, find your passion and make decisions. Believe me, no one knows you better than yourself. I hope that in 2016 you will be fair to yourself and to others. Don’t lie. It’s not productive.When you reach the point at some stage in 2016 when the stress is high and you are tired, take a vacation and relax. Take a break and get back your balance. And please don’t forget to daydream and smile on daily basis.And never get discouraged… but if at some point you do - tune in to the Write to be read podcast and I’ll do my best to inspire and encourage you, so youClick to view: show page on Awesound

Today my guest is Jay Alan Samit. Jay is a dynamic entrepreneur who is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on disruption and innovation. He launches billion dollar businesses, transforms entire industries, revamps government institutions, and for over three decades continues to be at the forefront of global trends. His bestselling book Disrupt You! is a go-to book for starting entrepreneurs. It will help you achieve success that you deserve!Food for ThoughtObstacles are really just opportunities in disguise.Failing is learning what doesn't work. Failure is throwing in the towel and giving up.If you think you can or you think you can't you're right.If you want get something done give it to busy person.A dream with a deadline suddenly becomes a plan.You can have everything you want out of life - you just can't get it all in once.The writing is the small piece of the puzzle.Too many people listen to everybody that gave up on their dreams to convince themselves to give up on theirs.Motivation is like shower - you need it daily.You don't get to live forever but what you create can - so why not focus on making what you create matter?Being a writer means that you believe that you have something that is worthy of other people's time.Building a global business has never been easier.The harder I work the luckier I get.There's always a way to connect your thoughts with the world.Jay has been throwing value bombs during the whole interview so I strongly encourage you to listen :)Click to view: show page on Awesound

In this episode Adam Bailey from Goodriter.com will explain how and why did they come up with the idea to launch Goodriter and why it will become one of the most valuable resources for all writers.I wanted you to know about the special limited time offer they have for us and make sure that you don't miss that valuable free bundle.In this bundle of 50+ resources the most respected names in self-publishing share their best content for free. The bundle contains 30+ Free ebooks, 9+ Free eCourses and 5+ Free audiobooks.click this link and get your Christmas gift from Gootriter now! I am proud to be part of that initiative and I am sure you have heard my interviews with most of those, who contributed to this (you can check the list of the interviews below). The special offer expired on December 20th, so make sure you go and grab it now. I assure you it's extremely valuable and you will learn a lot!Just click this link and get your Christmas gift from Gootriter now! Check out Write to be Read podcast episodes with those, whose resources are presented in the bundleHow to Organize a Successful Kindle Book Launch with Chandler BoltHow to Be An Author Entrepreneur with Joanna PennHow to Make Full-Time Income with Kindle Books with Steve ScottHow You Should Market to Sell More Books with Jim KukralGrabbing Attention with Derek DoepkerSell More Books with Bryan CohenAll You Need to Know About Book Covers with Derek MurphyHow to Promote Your Book with Matt StoneHow to Know if Your Book Will Sell or Not with Alex NewtonHow to Become a Kindlepreneur with Dave ChessonHow To Be Insanely Creative with Sean PlattSelf-publishing and Writing Live with Johnny B TruantHorror is Like Pizza with James ThornClick to view: show page on Awesound

Alex Newton (aka Niehues) is CEO and Founder of K-lytics.com, the leading Kindle market research service on the net. Alex brings more than 20 years of experience in publishing, data analytics and management consulting to the table. Today, we talk about his company K-lytics, publishing trends, and how he made the transition from a "traditional career" to online entrepreneurship. We also discuss how one can predict if the book will sell or not before even starting writing it.Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today I am interviewing Dave Chesson, who like many, is an Amazon Best Selling author, however, using advanced online marketing techniques, he creates books and platforms that keep all of his books at the #1 best seller mark for years.  Dave is a marketing nut and the creator of Kindepreneur.com, a free website devoted to teaching people the marketing side of being an author.In this interview we talk about the awesome free tools Dave has created for self-published authors, about publishing and of course, book marketing.Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today my guest is Jonny Andrews. My first interview with him about Embracing The Darkside Of Self Publishing Success is still one of the most popular episode of the podcast. This time we did a Blab together and spoke about how to build an author platform.Food for ThoughtBooks are a commodity at this point.You have to create daily ritual around creation of the thing that needs to be sold.Figure out what you wanna write first.Running giveaways are the fastest road to get bigger results.Give away your first book for free. You give it away so people can sample you.Don't target giveaway sites.The first book always takes the longest.You're not gonna make living on one book usually.Come up with more stuff more often.Being an author has become about generating leads.The Full Blab Interview Click to view: show page on Awesound

As most of you – especially the fiction writers know – November is the National Novel Writing Month and around 300k people are writing their novels right now. Their challenge is to complete 50k words in 30 days, which may sound hard but I think it sounds much harder than it is in reality.Many of you were reaching out to me asking if I am doing NaNoWriMo this year or not so I decided to make a separate episode letting you know and providing explanations and thoughts about the subject too. I wrote both of my novels Highfall and DreamDown participating in NaNoWriMo and it was a great experience.There are few elements to it that I think are very important for newbie writer. Most of us struggle to finish writing our novel – especially if it’s our first novel. NaNoWriMo adds motivation and encouragement to your writing process. First of all you have a deadline and target wordcount + a challenge. And second, the forums with writers like you who have the same struggles and are as excited as you are adds to the emotional support that you will definitely need while writing your book.So that is why I participated in NaNoWriMo 2 years in a row and as a result wrote and self published my 2 novels. This was the good part.Now let me continue by saying that this year I am not doing NaNoWriMo and am doing something different instead. Before you think that I am contradicting to what I just said let me explain why. NaNoWriMo is good at making sure that you finish writing your first draft. And as all of us know the first drafts are very bad.After that you will need to work on it. The first draft is definitely not what you’d like your readers to see. I guess what I want to say is that NaNoWriMo is good in making sure that you put out those words and that you complete your first draft. It is also very good in developing your habit of writing every day and if you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while you know how important that is.But NaNoWriMo has absolutely no impact on the quality of your writing. And that’s what differentiates the good book from the bad one.So what I did this year instead of NaNoWriMo was enroll in writer’s bootcamp, where I will hopefully learn how to write well. And as a non-English speaker the challenge for me is bigger than for most of you out there. This is the second month I’m learning at the bootcamp and I’d like to give a big shoutout to Randall Andrews, who is putting up with my complicated character and unpolished writing.The first side effect that I got from being able to differentiate good quality text from the bad one was realizing that what I had written up to now is not written well. It’s one thing when you know it as an abstract fact and it’s completely another thing when you have proofs for that. And believe me, that realization was not a very pleasant one and at some point it even made me think of not writing anymore. But then I understood that by learning how to write well I will be able to correct what was not written well up to now, instead of deciding not to write at all.So why I am doing re-writes and concentrate on the quality of the writing is because if I did my 3rd NaNoWriMo I would most probably write my 3rd novel in the same manner I did the previous 2 ones and end up with the same results in terms of quality. So what I am doing now is going through my first novel Highfall and applying what I have learnt so far to what I had written back then. Like that I will learn on my mistakes, make sure I am Click to view: show page on Awesound

Today I am talking to Morgan Gist MacDonald from the Paper Raven Books. She helps people in their writing journey. Morgan truly believe that writers can change the world. In this episode we talk aboutreasons why people don't write although they want towriter's blockwriter's doubtswhat to do when you lose inspirationwriting disciplinehow to come up with new writing ideaswriting productivity tipsFood for Thought[spp-tweet tweet="You write first and then only clarify the idea."] The energy that you bring into writing is as important as what you write. You can get Morgan's free ebook called 12 STEPS TO WRITE AN E-BOOK hereThe Full Blab Interview Wanna grow your audience and business with Blab? Check this out! Click to view: show page on Awesound