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What’s In Your Writer’s File?

Perhaps you’re familiar with Samuel L. Jackson’s punch line in his commercials for Capital One. After he tells you everything that the card is not, he tells you what it is and asks the viewers, “What’s in your wallet?” I’m going to ask you a variation on the question, though, and it has nothing to do with your credit cards or your wallet. I’m going to ask instead, “What’s in your writer’s file?” “What’s a writer’s file?” you might inquire in return. While its form may vary from one writer to another, its purpose remains the same.  A writer’s file is a repository of thoughts and ideas too good to risk losing, but that don’t have a place to call their own yet. Sometimes, they are things that strike us funny throughout the day. Other times, they’re thoughts or emotions that we know will fly away if we don’t capture them before they flee. My … Continue Reading

Is Writing a Book Right for You?

Way back in 2010, I started a small struggling business called “Aleweb Social Marketing.” It had started out as a consulting firm teaching small businesses how to get ahead by using social marketing. The problem was, many small businesses were still trying to figure out whether they even needed to incorporate social media into their businesses. (Can you believe it?) But one segment of my client base was growing organically: speakers who were authors. It took me a year and a half to clue into the fact that working with small businesses wasn’t getting me anywhere, fast! But when I finally did, the focus of my company shifted to figuring out the best ways to help authors and speakers market their books and presentations. Knowing that I needed a unique way to reach this target market and convince them that I was the best resource for them, I decided to write a book. Within three months, I … Continue Reading

How to Use Your Book as a Powerful Marketing Tool

Books can be a powerful marketing tool for a business. A well-written, designed and positioned book can demonstrate your expertise, clarify your message, qualify your prospects, build your mailing list, be part of your sales funnel, and so much more…

Join Tara R. Alemany of Emerald Lake Books and host Robert Imbriale as they discuss how a book can be used to solve some of your worst business problems. This video was originally recorded for the 2018 Marketing Thunder conference, hosted by Marketing Motivation author Robert Imbriale, and aired on September 18, 2018.

We help positive people create effective books, using our experience to get your message across, establish your expertise and build your business!

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How to Write a Good Review on Amazon

Let’s say that you just finished reading a book that you loved. Perhaps it was even one of Emerald Lake Books’ latest titles. Whatever it was, following it up with a review is a good habit to get into. Reviews provide encouragement, feedback and constructive criticism for authors, which is something we all stand to benefit from. But reviews also serve to help future buyers and prospective readers decide whether a title is right for them or not. Your honest review can help them decide whether to invest their time and money in a book. So let’s take a few minutes to understand how to write a compelling review for Amazon. Every review consists of three parts: a star rating, the review itself and a headline or title for the review. Understanding Star Ratings Every item on Amazon can be quickly critiqued by selecting a star rating from 1 to 5. So as you’re thinking about … Continue Reading

What Should I Say in My Acknowledgments?

Some authors struggle with what to write in their Acknowledgments. Others know exactly what they want to say and how. If you find yourself in the former group and want a quick starting point for writing yours, here’s a brief summary for you. Essentially, you want to create a list of those “without whom this book would not have come into existence.” It’s common to acknowledge friends who encouraged your research and writing, clients who inspired your specific subject, mentors and idols who set your thoughts aflight, beta readers who helped to improve the book with their feedback, and individuals specifically involved in the production of the book (namely editors, designers and publishers). The simplest way to do that is to group people together based on the role they played in relation to the book and allow those specific individuals who played a more significant role to have a line or two of their own. … Continue Reading

Using Author-Supplied Cover Designs

Occasionally, we are asked if we will accept a cover designed by someone else. The short answer is, “yes!” But it requires a bit of explanation… While our preference is to design the covers we use, as long as the covers provided meet our criteria, we’re happy to use them. Per our publishing agreement, as the publisher, we hold all final approvals of the designs and images used. But your input and approval are significant to us. Since the cover is a critical element of the book’s marketing efforts, we don’t begin its design until we’re sure of that direction. Therefore, we would ask that your designer coordinates with us regarding the appropriate time to start the design. If you have a specific designer, illustrator or photographer you’d like to use, please send us relevant samples of their work or a link to their website. We will arrange a conversation to discuss concepts, direction and deadlines … Continue Reading

What’s It Like to Become a Published Author?

Many writers dream of having their work published someday. And those dreams follow different courses to fulfillment. Some attempts are met with piles of rejection letters from literary agents and publishers, while the rare gem finds its way through the slush pile and onto a bookstore shelf with the backing of a “traditional publisher.” Other authors forego that route in favor of publishing their books on their own. Sometimes, this is because they have more time than money to invest in the process. And other times, it’s so that they can retain creative control of their work. And then there are those authors who opt for a middle ground, where they hire the services they need performed so they can focus more on their writing than on the publishing process itself. As an author, our founding partner, Tara R. Alemany, has six titles to her credit, and each was indie published in a variety of … Continue Reading

Facebook Author Parties/Events and Why We Do Them

Over the summer, I participated in a Facebook event unlike any I had ever been to before. It was an online Women’s Fiction Summer Party. A collection of women’s fiction authors banded together to hold a Facebook event that lasted several hours (5!). By cross-promoting the event, these authors were helping each other to increase their fanbase and mailing lists. This same group of authors is hosting their next event, a Facebook Author Holiday Party on November 7, 2017. So, if you want to see this phenomenon in action, check it out! The idea seemed ingenious to me and was one I wanted to learn more about, so I contacted one of the participating authors, Patricia Sands, to see if she’d be willing to fill me in on the process behind the event a bit more. After spending a lovely hour talking with her, I knew I wanted to share this information with you as well, … Continue Reading

What to Look for in an Endorsement

Before the design work on your book can be completed, we want to incorporate any endorsements you have secured for your book. The earlier we have these, the better, since there are design decisions that have to be made regarding the use of your endorsements. For example, do we include one (or a fragment of one) on the front cover? On the back cover, do we use more endorsements or an author bio? How many pages of endorsements do we include inside the book? Endorsements can be a compelling part of what convinces a reader who doesn’t know you to try your book. The ideal endorsement endorses you in a professional capacity and lauds the merits of the book as a natural reflection of your expertise. You can then use an endorsement like that both for your professional services (on your website), as well as for promoting your book. Elements of a Book Endorsement Therefore, a … Continue Reading

Sample Support Requests

Sometimes asking someone for help can feel awkward, making it difficult to figure out what to say. If you’re stuck getting started, here are some ideas and sample requests you can model your own emails after. Of course, if the person you’re reaching out to is someone you know well, then these examples will only serve to remind you which details you need to share with them. They don’t need to be as formal and linear as they need to be when you’re talking with someone you have a more professional relationship with. Influencer Influencers are people you want for endorsements and to be part of your launch team. Their name recognition and authority can go a long way in driving a successful launch for you. Before you ask for your support, though, make sure that you are 100% prepared and respectful both of their time and reputation. The easier you make it for them … Continue Reading

Identifying Your Source Files

Are you considering republishing your book with Emerald Lake Books? Perhaps it’s time for a second (third or fourth) edition? Or you haven’t received the results or support from your current publisher and it’s time for a change? Whatever your reason, Emerald Lake Books does periodically take on titles for republication if they’re a good fit for our catalog. If this is a move you’re considering, here are a few things you should know. Before republishing your title, check your existing contract to make sure that you have retained non-exclusive rights to your work. Carefully read through the agreement to discern whether there are any potential issues with your intended move, and what the procedures are to obtain the source files for your book. Oftentimes, a nominal fee is charged because the publisher will have to update the source files to remove all references to their ISBN and publishing house. Be prepared to wait as long as … Continue Reading

Everything You Need to Know About Editing

Types of Editing There are four levels of editing. Proofreading is the lightest, where someone essentially is reading for glaring errors. Oftentimes, you can use beta readers for this purpose. Essentially, you’re asking early readers to read your book before publication to point out any missed typos or errors. Next is line editing, where grammar and punctuation are specifically checked to ensure they are accurate and meet style guide standards. After that is content or copy editing, where grammar and punctuation are reviewed in addition to clarity. In other words, you’re asking the editor to tell you whether “this makes sense.” Lastly is development editing. It includes all of the above but also assesses whether your book as a whole flows in a way that achieves your objectives for the reader and doesn’t contradict itself or make too broad a jump. A Note About Ghostwriting Beyond these forms of editing, there is ghostwriting. In that instance, … Continue Reading

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