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|---|---|
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| RTF (readable on most word processors) | Download |
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Review by:
R.A. Lee
on Jan. 28, 2012 :
Thank you for all the advice!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Monterey Bay Forum
on Jan. 01, 2012 :
Definitely worth reading and following the suggestions. For example, the book recommends authors create a signature with a link to their book on SmashedWords.com so friends and acquaintances can easily know about the book. And its free!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Sean Roney
on Dec. 31, 2011 :
Sound marketing advice, and all very logical. Useful for any ebook author, not just the Smashwords writers.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Karl Drinkwater
on Dec. 08, 2011 :
Many thanks, it has given me a number of ideas to try out which I hadn't already thought of for my book. Having read the guide last night I am now going through it a second time and putting the ideas into practice.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tantalus Press
on Dec. 06, 2011 :
This is a very useful book, helped me get started with my Erotic stories. Plenty of useful and relevant advice.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ron Celano
on Nov. 22, 2011 :
Publishing my third book ("Create Realistic Portraits with Colored Pencil") on Smashwords. I used other publishing services for my other books, but this site is the easiest and most complete to date. I enjoyed this book on marketing and will use many of the suggestions.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Lisa V. Proulx
on Nov. 01, 2011 :
An invaluable tool for any author whether their work is digital or print. Well written in an easy to read and follow guide. Thank you for the awesome tips! :)
(review of free book)
Review by:
Naima Haviland
on Oct. 30, 2011 :
The Smashwords Marketing Guide contains great advice not only for marketing within Smashwords, but beyond the site and even in person-to-person real time. I have it downloaded to my Kindle so I can refer to it again and again. Thanks for writing this guide and the Style Guide and, in this way, helping writers like me get started on the right foot!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Vanessa Storm
on Oct. 30, 2011 :
A perfect read for publishing.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Marcella Spelman
on Oct. 29, 2011 :
I started reading it the other night and had taken in all the details, and had finished it. It is done well. That's about as strong as an endorsement I can give.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Shirlene Haley
on Oct. 20, 2011 :
You've cut the clutter that bog down most guide books. It gave simple, precise, ways authors can promote their own work. I would recommend it to anyone.
(review of free book)
Review by:
J Harley
on Oct. 19, 2011 :
Covers everything ...
(review of free book)
Review by:
John M
on Oct. 16, 2011 :
Covers marketing and is not complicated.
(Now all we need better marketing concepts for greater sales and to advertise authors)!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ronald C
on Oct. 16, 2011 :
Great book for marketing books. Every writer should read and use it.
(review of free book)
Review by:
M Spelman
on Oct. 15, 2011 :
Highly recommended to anyone who wants to seriously market their books.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Judy Gillis
on Oct. 14, 2011 :
A most informative and easy-to-follow book, sure to boost sales of even the most green author... like me. Thanks Mark, this is really super!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jamie Busby
on Sep. 16, 2011 :
All great advice, covers everything without getting over-complicated. Will no doubt prove a great help with my own ebook marketing, Thank you!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ron Houston
on Sep. 15, 2011 :
With no knowledge of how the eBook market worked, I was truly a follower of your lead with this informative book. Thank you for presenting such great market opportunities.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ben Kalcher
on Sep. 14, 2011 :
Very helpful indeed. Has given me some great insight on different ways to market my work including taking the ways I currently do that extra step. Thanks.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Anna Florin
on Sep. 06, 2011 :
Wow! What great information. Now I feel like I can really get this writing business off and running. Thanks Mark for giving us this book for free. You're a kind man. I'll remember you when I'm famous. Thanks!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Pamela Olson
on Aug. 31, 2011 :
Terrific basic guidance for marketing your new book. I published my first book in May and since then have been researching the marketing side of things like mad. I can safely say this is the most immediately useful beginner's guide I've seen, with the best, most actionable, and most useful tips for new authors without a lot of funds, without wasting your time with any fluff. He's very kind to offer it for free.
(review of free book)
Review by:
J.F. Kristin
on Aug. 27, 2011 :
This is a very helpful guide not just for authors, but for anyone involved with online retailing. Outside of fiction writing, I work in and write about ecommerce, and some of the tips listed here (updating email signature, social media, an announcement email to friends, family, and other colleages, coupons, etc.) are ideas or best practices I encourage online merchants to explore. Good work, and well worth an author's time to read!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jack Nothing
on Aug. 21, 2011 :
These [and the style guide] will be perennial bestsellers (most downloaded, I mean) but they're eye opening (tounge twister, there!) Thanks Mark. I'm never the same. Am bettter for having read them. Now I'm published! Where? On smashwords, damnit!...and I've dedicated a poem for the style guide in my book called Letter from Justin Biber [sorry for self promoting!]
(review of free book
(review of free book)
Review by:
Vanessa Finaughty
on July 28, 2011 :
There are some excellent marketing tools in here that I'd have never thought of, but that I've found to be easy and effective. The usual tips also helpful, since most of us can't think of everything when we really need to!
I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about marketing their books.
(review of free book)
Review by:
David M. Brown
on July 27, 2011 :
Of all the marketing books I've read recently (and there have been a few, both paid and free!) this is certainly the best. Realistic, straightforward and easy to follow, this title has one main message: 'You'll only get out what you put in... so get on with it!'
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joseph Valentinetti
on July 19, 2011 :
Read this book. Even if you just get one or two ideas it is worth your time. It is full of good ideas for the self published author told in a easy to understand and implement form.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joseph Veramu
on July 14, 2011 :
The book provides excellent marketing tips for all e authors and e publishers.
Very constructive insights and tips on how to promote one's works.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Akintunde Lawal
on July 11, 2011 :
This book is an essential asset to all self published authors.
It is a down-to-earth easy-to-comprehend literary treasure trove for all published and aspiring authors who want to succeed.
Read this heavily loaded stuff!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Peter Cawdron
on July 09, 2011 :
Everyone's heard of the guy that wrote an overnight best seller. Mark Coker, though, show how reality is far different.
Even for the "overnight sensation" there would have been months/years of toil, doing the small things, pushing their wheel barrow slowly up what seems like an insurmountable hill.
For a first time author like myself, this book was a great introduction into the hard-yards of marketing. I've started a blog, tried to tap into social media and will keep these simple keys in the forefront of my thinking as I tried to peddle my wares.
To all budding authors, be sure you realise... writing is only half the story :)
(review of free book)
Review by:
Emile Sissac Jr.
on June 29, 2011 :
Do yourself a huge favor.
Read the book.
You'll thank yourself a thousand times that you did when
things really take off!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tiffany Haynes
on June 29, 2011 :
Excellent read if you're a author and wants to market your book. this book is a must read!!!
(review of free book)
Review by:
L.D. Wiggins
on June 04, 2011 :
Awesome book full of great marketing concepts that can be used by authors and small business owners too. It has so much information that it can be used as an ongoing checklist and reread often. Well done!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jack Forge
on May 31, 2011 :
Well written guide, covering more clear information and direction in one cybertome than available in numerous sites on the internet. Remains to be seen if the apparently good advice will help me sell my books.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Rusty Fischer
on May 23, 2011 :
What a GREAT resource! I thought I knew it all, but found half-a-dozen tips to do TODAY that it would have taken me weeks, even months, to stumble across on my own...
(review of free book)
Review by:
Nick Pawluk
on May 23, 2011 :
Fantastic book. I am using what I learned to promote my iPhone app Hollyweird Zombies via ebooks to zombie fans. This guide has been very informative and valuable to me. I will keep refering to it with the other books I write.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Peter Simon
on May 22, 2011 :
With the brand-new grinder, the process of submitting our work only takes a few minutes and we can see the different versions of our e-book to check how it works. This book and the staff at smashwords work really well! I wish more symbols could work in more formats, but for most people, it doesn't matter.
(review of free book)
Review by:
D J Lowbridge
on May 15, 2011 :
This is an excellent book for the newbie indie author and those who are experienced alike. If you want your book to succeed, then this is a must read! I am implementing a lot of the advice right now, ready for my own books' release in the future.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Tom North
on April 30, 2011 :
I have followed Mark's marketing guide as if it were holy writ passed down from the god of ebook publishing. Which, of course, is exactly what it is. And you know something? If you have something worth reading, it absolutely works. Not that I do, of course...well, I like to think that I do, but it's not my decision...Anyway. Enough blithering. What I want to say is: "read this book". It will prevent your ebook from sinking without a trace.
Tom North - Author of 'Puttypaw'
(review of free book)
Review by:
Dr. Ramendra
on April 21, 2011 :
(no rating)
I find the marketing guide useful. I have already implemented some of the tips. As Mark Coker says, the easier ones first.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Peter Simon
on April 13, 2011 :
This book made it very easy for me to re-format my manuscript into a doc required by smashwords, and to understand what happens after uploading. Special thanks for info about how to check the different formats. One thing is missing, though, for me, which is a mention of the behaviour of book-marks and internal hyperlinks: these don't seem to work in HTML or in Java, and in Java even illustrations don't show. Now I must be sitting on edge waiting for what'll be accepted and in which formats. Besides, no apostrophes, quotation marks and the like work in plain text or .rtl either, which we have to be warned about too. But I'll see how it'll pan out. Even then, great many thanks to Mark Coker!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Pastor Bobby Keating
on April 04, 2011 :
It is so difficult for an author, no matter what his level of writing expertise, to learn all of the ins and outs of marketing a book after all of the work involved in writing and publishing has been done. This book is a refreshing and informative look at some very interesting techniques for marketing an eBook. Kudos and copious praises to Mark Coker!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Maria Papadopoulou
on April 03, 2011 :
I just finished this book and i have nothing but praise for it. It is well-structured, properly organized, highly informative, easy to read and to the point. Highly recommend it!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Nancy Lauzon
on March 25, 2011 :
Excellent book marketing advice (both e-book and print), which I will absolutely try to follow. Also some great insight on Twitter, which was a bit of mystery to me. Thanks for this Smashwords!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Rachel Whitley
on March 14, 2011 :
There are so many innovative suggestions in this guide! It's clear, concise, and a must-read for anyone who wants an eBook to be a success in the online marketplace.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Coinneach Fitzpatrick
on March 10, 2011 :
More good stuff. Some of it is pretty esoteric, some horrifying (Twitter - my instinctive reaction to that suggestion was a flinch and a groan), but overall Mark covers a lot of unfamiliar territory and does it very well.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Khairulsani Ismail
on March 09, 2011 :
Great for marketing strategy. Thank you,MC....!
(review of free book)
Review by:
June Ahern
on March 05, 2011 :
Always looking for marketing tips and have learned some from this book; ones I'm ready to act on now! Simple, fast read. Thank you, MC, for what you are doing to support and encourage all authors, Indie's (like me) and traditional published ones too.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Danielle Raine
on March 02, 2011 :
A quick read but bursting with helpful tips and ideas. Another great ebook from MC - champion of the Indie Author!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Earleen Smith
on Feb. 18, 2011 :
This book contains a mind-numbing number of practical suggestions and advice. It's a fairly quick read and I highly recommend it to any author publishing an ebook.
There are so many possibilities that an author can pick and choose or dedicate the time to implement most if not all of them.
MC leaves no stone unturned and opens the door for his reading audience to help him improve his advice. You can only win by reading this free book!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Forever Young Publishing
on Feb. 16, 2011 :
This is definitely a good read for any indie authors out there. I have been implementing my own marketing, some of which is outlined in this book. However, there are tips in here that go beyond what I would have known to try. And another benefit is that the book explains why the marketing suggestions work. Great read and very educational.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Joseph Radosti
on Feb. 07, 2011 :
Great ideas for marketing your book. I am in the process of implementing these recommendations. Every author should read and study this guide.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Warren Peas
on Dec. 21, 2010 :
(no rating)
This is great, Authors need advice to get their book(s) out there (it's hard!)! there were alot of ideas I hadn't thought of. This is a must read for authors.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Quarter Castle Publishing
on Dec. 16, 2010 :
This book is an excellent starting point to marketing books. I'm anxious to put some of the tips into practise. It is recommended reading for anyone new to publishing.
(review of free book)
Review by:
S.P. Wish
on Nov. 24, 2010 :
A great book for all marketers. It is filled with practical advice and also contains links to all the sources and sites mentioned saving a lot of time. In teh competitive world of book publishing, every writer needs to have marketing skills.
Smashwords Book Marketing Guide is a great place to start.
(review of free book)
Review by:
aobibliophile
on Nov. 19, 2010 :
what's interesting about the tips is that they not only apply to writers but to bloggers as well. writers need help on how to increase their sales in a competitive market.
bloggers too need tools on how to boost their site traffic.
i am not an author but i am a blogger. this guide has opened a can of fresh ideas on how to attract more readers to my blog and where to find them. in fact, right after reading the guide, i immediately implemented a couple of Mark's tips and they worked for me.
i recommend this free marketing guide to amateur and professional writers and bloggers. in fact, i recommend this to anyone who does marketing and want to see positive results - whether they be short or long-term ones.
thanks Mark for writing and sharing this with us!
A Smashwords fan,
Abe
(review of free book)
Review by:
Poppie Dee
on Nov. 19, 2010 :
(no rating)
I have read hundreds of internet marketing guides in my day and this one surpasses them all...free and paid!
I found it so helpful as it filled in the blanks for me and tied everything together.
I also liked the fact Mark uses Blogger as a blogging platform. Gosh it's hard to find people who use it. I think Blogger is so simple to use, but no one I knew, knows anything about it.(Thanks so much for that too)
The book has obviously been written with not only marketing your book in mind, but links the publishing platform with the outside world of people who will get your book from "somewhere" online.
Try going into Amazon and finding an awesome guide like this book on how to use their lucky dip!
Loved your book Mark and am now off to read the other one for newbies to this site.
Thanks again,
Kindest,
Poppie
(review of free book)
Review by:
Mark Van Dyke
on Oct. 30, 2010 :
Mark, first of all thanks a million... Great marketing resource!
Your easy-to-implement advice on how to market our books at Smashwords and elsewhere is valuable and fantastic to say the least.
The 26 DIY Marketing Tips are very useful and I will make sure to implement them for my free ebook on how to "Sell House Fast For Cash".
I appreciate your time and effort here and look forward to much success with SmashWords.
Regards,
Mark Van Dyke
The Carefree Writer
Author of Sell House Fast For Cash
http://www.ez.com/sellhousefast
http://www.SellHouseFastForQuickCash.com
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ian Woodhead
on Sep. 23, 2010 :
(no rating)
Thanks for the tips Mark. The book helped a lot but perhaps you may want to revise it as the Ebooks Just Published site appears to have died.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Roger Lawrence
on Sep. 20, 2010 :
(no rating)
Thanks for the guide. Could never have uploaded my book as it was before. Even better since it was free.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jani Zubkovs
on Sep. 08, 2010 :
Thanks Mark, you've put together a great book marketing guide.
Some of your tips I have used for years, but HARO was new to me. For those of you that don't know, HARO is a free site that helps reporters and writers find sources --- in other words YOU.
Great tips ... easy to read ... well done ... thanks.
Jani
Author of:
"Why Women Love Cavemen - A Man's Guide To Tame the Bitch"
"Got Milked? How to do a Prostate Massage (Milking) for Sexual Fulfillment"
(review of free book)
Review by:
D. K. N. Yuko
on Sep. 01, 2010 :
This is a very good book, with great advice and ideas. A must read for any Indie author. Thanks again, Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Peter Lawrence
on Aug. 06, 2010 :
Concise & Useful!!!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Angelo Cann
on July 31, 2010 :
I'm so glad I downloaded this book. There were a lot of tips I never even thought of myself. Thanks for putting this together.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Timmy Polu
on July 04, 2010 :
(no rating)
I found this book very informative. Thank you for providing this as a free download.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kyle W. Bell
on July 01, 2010 :
Just like the Style Guide, the Marketing Guide is an invaluable tool for would-be self-publishers. A minimal amount of investment and a modest amount of time can pay big dividends when selling your e-book. Even better, the tips are free for anyone in the Smashwords community to view and use.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Adra Young
on June 30, 2010 :
As literary artist, it's important to understand the many and various ways to sale books in the 21st century. Coker provides the marketing and promoting information necessary for todays self published authors to take their books sales to the next level through the utilization of e-books. Ofcourse, nothing comes without the hard work put behind it however, it's good know that the steps necessary to get your literary works exposed to the e-book world is only a few tips to follow through on and joining several e-book board communities. Thank you for your wealth of knowledge. In addition I truly appreciate the don't waste your money tip on board circuit press release companies.
Adra Young
Author of: The Everyday Living of Children & Teens Monologues Series
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kate Kindle
on June 25, 2010 :
(no rating)
Mark's nearly last line was: "Won't you share it with a friend?" Heck, no! I'm keeping it to myself. I was busy looking at other books about marketing and missed the most important one I've seen to date. Thanks, Mark.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Will Hallewell
on June 22, 2010 :
(no rating)
Don't even think of starting to format your book without using this. Saved me a huge amount of time. Thanks a million!
(review of free book)
Review by:
A. J. Lath
on June 11, 2010 :
I cannot recommend this highly enough! By following the advice in this book, I was able to get over 100 new readers within a few days of publishing my first ebook. Wowzer!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Michelle Read
on April 29, 2010 :
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent! Packed with goodies. So glad I have this guide to turn to, it's indespensible.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Sheena Ignatia
on April 28, 2010 :
What a great guide! I've read this quite a few times now, and I would advise others to do the same.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Ten
on March 18, 2010 :
Although I haven't even finished my first attempt at an ebook, I find this full of inspiration. In a world where we are able to access anything so easily, it only serves to provide up and coming authors with chances to spread their words even farther across the globe.
Thanks Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Crescent Suns e-Books
on March 18, 2010 :
Thanks to Mark's advice in this book my ebooks are already generating more downloads. It's not hard advice to follow (not rocket science for sure) and works easily enough. Thanks, Mark!
(review of free book)
Review by:
Bonnie Turner
on March 08, 2010 :
This is a great marketing guide for today's e-publishers! The conversational style is easy to read and understand. I already use some of Mark's suggestions, but there are some I hadn't thought of.
Bonnie
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jerry Hooten
on March 06, 2010 :
Good grief! I forgot to give the five star rating. My bad!
Jerry
(review of free book)
Review by:
Jerry Hooten
on March 06, 2010 :
(no rating)
I've downloaded this book and the Stylebook for my writers group. The two books provide enough "How-to" to get any writer started with ebooks. I like the straight talk and easy directions provided by these books. I personally use them both.
www.jerryhooten.com
(review of free book)
Review by:
Kellen Lynch
on Feb. 21, 2010 :
Mark continues his tour de force of providing the most straightforward guides possible. If you want to thoroughly market your work, this guide is the key. While I knew some of the things that this guide goes over, Mark provides readers/authors with so many new possibilites as well as tips to better utilize the tools I was already using.
A must read.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Greg McQueen
on Dec. 09, 2009 :
Mark's straightforward writing style makes it easy to grasp his ideas, and I came away from the book a lot more savvy about how to utilise many of the websites that I already use daily.
Greg
http://www.ireallyshouldbewriting.net/
(review of free book)
Review by:
Wayne Watson
on Nov. 24, 2009 :
(no rating)
Excellent!- lots of new ideas- some of which I have already followed up with and more that I will use soon.
I'm also pleased to see that some of my own ideas are confirmed- especially those around using blogging as a promotional tool!
I started my main blog http://oswaldbastable.blogspot.com/
with a view to promoting my book when I finished it. The blog now has taken on a life of it's own and is in the top 50 New Zealand blogs (yes, I know- big frog- small pond!)
;-)
(review of free book)
Review by:
Anne Lyken-Garner
on Sep. 28, 2009 :
I found this book extremely helpful. It's well-written and all instructions are easy to follow. Thank you for an inspirational and informative guide.
(review of free book)
Review by:
Sheila O'Kelly
on Aug. 07, 2009 :
This is a great practical guide to promoting your e-book. It includes many tips that are obvious when someone points them out. And some others that I can't wait to try like going on a blog book tour. Wish I had read it before I went headlong into promoting my own one.
(review of free book)
Review by:
William von Reese
on April 20, 2009 :
(no rating)
Like a stepladder offered a novice bareback horseman, this book readily gave me a leg up, providing useful help at an appropriate (entry) level. Thank you, Mark Coker. (May I call you "Mark"?)
The prospect of editing one's marked-up (npi) html file, returned by Amazon/Kindle, is truly daunting. How does one use those "tags" so fliply mentioned? Equally scary is learning Microsoft Script Editor (Word>Tools>Macros). Don't want to go there.
So thanks again, Mark. How sweet it is to submit one's book in familiar .doc format--and let Meatgrinder do all the work!
(review of free book)
Review by:
George Angus
on April 01, 2009 :
(no rating)
I arrived here from a blog post over at Editor Unleashed. Timely indeed, since I am just about finished authoring an ebook, and I've had no clue about how to market the work.
Well, I spent the time reviewing the entire site and decided to sign up. After signing up the first thing I did was read this guide, and I'm so glad I did. The guide is spot-on in terms of the marketing advice. I'm a blogger and the tools that Mark mentions here pertain to a blog site as well, and I know they work.
The writing style is real and conversational. The tips are great.
This HAS to be your first read at Smashwords.
George
(review of free book)
Review by:
Christopher Pinckley
on March 28, 2009 :
Like all of Mark's works here at smashwords, if you are an independent author then you would be a fool not to read it. I consider myself one of the more successful independent guerilla marketing authors out there, so I am always skeptical that anyone is going to suggest something that I haven't tried or am not presently doing. And yet, I found a few very useful items for marketing myself and my book within the epages of this book.
I highly recommend this for all new writers who are looking to become more well known(who isn't?!).
(review of free book)