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Welcome to the Path To Publishing Free Newsletter, where you get literary & publishing tips and information delivered directly to your inbox.
Congratulations! You have signed up to receive the Path To Publishing free newsletter. You are officially part of the Path To Publishing community, which makes you a #Pathfinder.
PATH TO PUBLISHING MISSION & PURPOSE
One of Path To Publishing's missions is to help you find and stay on your right path to publishing. And one of the promises we make to the authors we work with is to provide them with access to publishing success. But the first step toward publishing success is choosing the right path based on your literary goals.
If you have not yet taken our quiz to help you determine the right path to publishing for you, be sure to take it now!
WHY PATH TO PUBLISHING WAS FORMED
Path To Publishing was founded for authors, writers, and content creators ready to make their transition from simply writing and "getting their books out there" to getting their books into the hands of the people who need them. To go from selling one book at a time to selling cases at a time through partnerships and collaborations (all of which we will be teaching at our 5th annual "Act Like an Author, Think Like a Business" conference this September - www.pathtopublishing.com/conference). And for those with the desire to do so, to turn their books into a business that generates multiple streams of cohesive literary income, positioning them to make a living as a writer. And, yes, you can make a living as a writer. Don't allow someone to tell you that you can't simply because they couldn't figure out how to do it. Many Pathfinders are doing it and doing it well based on the tools, information, and resources we have empowered them with.
CAN SOCIAL MEDIA HELP INCREASE BOOK SALES
We often hear that in order to sell books, one of the first things we have to do is hop on social media and get as many people as possible to connect with and follow us. That may be something you desire to do or are currently doing. But as you do so, remember, the only contacts you own are the ones you capture on your personal website or email contact list. So, be sure your website has a feature to capture email addresses. Encourage your visitors to leave their email address by offering something free (newsletter, eBook, tip-sheet, etc.), aka a lead magnet. This can be done by creating an opt-in link or lead page. If social media sites were to crash and go down tomorrow, your connections and followers go right down with it. If that is the only place you are connecting with readers, then your access to them will be denied.
So, in short, make one of the goals of being on social media be to get people off social media and over to your website. One way to do so is to make sure your website is listed in each of your social media profiles. Your website is your virtual real estate, and there's no place like home. You can do what you want in your own home, say what you want, and decorate it any way you please. So why wouldn't you ultimately want to spend more time on your own website, where you are the host? You get to head the conversation with a blog or chat/discussion area, and you get to display your beautiful artwork (book covers, logos, etc.,). To top it all off, there's nothing more warming than that portrait hanging over the fireplace (your author head shot). Guests can even sit back, kick their feet up, and go through your photo album (photo gallery of you and readers).
Here is the link to an author website that Path To Publishing CEO & Founder, Joylynn M. Ross, has a serious crush on: https://adeleroyce.com. "I have a crush on author Adele Royce's website like Peppermint Patty's crush on Charlie Brown! I love the time and dedication Adele took with the character profiles. How brilliant! When wearing my hat as a fiction author, I always say that I refer to the antagonists and protagonists as "characters" for industry standard sake, but I write about real people and real-life situations. Adele has taken this to a new level with those character profiles. I simply love it!
P.S. And check out how she has a spot for readers to leave reviews right there on the home page of her website. She refers to the section as customer feedback because that's who readers are, your customers, and your book is your business."
Definitely visit Pathfinder Adele Royce's website to get some ideas on how to make your virtual real estate a place readers will want to visit, hang out at, and feel right at home doing so.
Until next time, the Path To Publishing team and family is wishing you literary and financial literary success!