Hello again; This week I’m here to share something very exciting and to ask for your help. Some of you may have heard that I have been working on my first ebook. It will be a short motivational one that I plan to expand upon later. On Friday I sent it to my editor the very talented Lorraine Reguly of Wording Well. She told me that she should have it ready to publish in about two weeks. However, this isn’t the end. I still need to choose a book cover image, set a price, and decide upon whether or not to offer it free to subscribers. And this is where I will need your help.
Some background
I always like to start with a little background, so first I’ll tell you how this all came about. A while back I left a comment on a post at Eve Koivula’s site. The post was about creating online products, and I had asked for suggestions on creating your first one. She was good enough to write back and offer to work with me. She even sent me a copy of her recently released ebook hoping it would help me focus on my target audience and their needs.
Later, she asked me if I wanted to participate in an online summit. She said that if I did I would need to have a product ready in time to offer it to the viewers. She also informed me that I would need to have an email auto responder by then. This is why I signed up with aweber. At first I thought about saying no because the deadline was coming up very fast by then. But Eve explained that it didn’t have to be a huge deal especially for my first effort.
So, I decided to go for it hoping I could meet the deadline. I started writing the book and had about half of it done when she informed me that they had decided to make it an all female event. I didn’t have a problem with this as I understand the value of inviting people who can put buts in front of the screens. But you know me I believe in finding the good in anything. I decided that it was way past time for me to create an online product of my own. So, I kept working on it.
Share your deadlines
And I learned a couple things about myself during this process. One, I do better with external deadlines than internal ones. Just like the rest of you I have to share plans and dreams with my friends to help with accountability. To solve this problem I gave myself a deadline of Friday to finish editing and send the document off. Then, I shared this on a couple of face book groups devoted to coaches. And as you know now I managed to put all the distractions and excuses out of my mind and meet the goal.
Not too good to get scared
Second, I learned that even for a confident positive person like myself there are still things that scare you to the point that you hesitate. I have never written an ebook and hadn’t really ever thought I would. I only recently came around to the understanding that I have something to share that can help others by inspiring them to take steps to improve their lives. I was holding back on this project. I kept having the feeling that it wasn’t good enough or at least wasn’t grand enough. I kept thinking I would get some burst of inspiration and this would all change. The truth is that this document was all it was meant to be. I just had trouble accepting that I was ready.
Delaying doesn’t help anyone
The text of my ebook hadn’t changed significantly in over two weeks. Everyone I showed it to told me that it was very good. But if it weren’t for the encouragement of my friends, especially Kelly Wooden at helpmatelifecoach.com; I may still not have taken that next step. She read it and responded by asking me what the heck I was waiting for. She even wrote a glowing review for me to post when the book is live. I would like to believe I would have sent the file eventually, but I’m honest enough to admit that I’m not sure.
Help me select the book cover
Now that the writing is finished, I have to turn my attention to marketing the book. This means posting it to amazon and other online sales sites. In order to do this I need to choose a cover. As a totally blind person this is something I’m going to need your help with. Me and my friend Chelsea Stark kicked around some ideas. This week. She came up with the following possible cover images. I want you to let me know what you think of them. If you like the idea, then tell me which colored one you would choose? If you don’t like the concept, then would you please give me some ideas for something better? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section.
option 1
option 2
option 3
What to charge for it
Next up, I have to decide on what to charge and whether or not to offer it for free to subscribers. I also need to consider the possibility of recording a video or several videos to release when the ebook goes live as a package offer. So, I was thinking you could give me some feedback. Lorraine suggested that I tell you a little about the book and then give you some price ranges to choose from. You could then tell me your thoughts or share what you have paid for other books.
The book shares my experiences and then relates them to life lessons. If you read my guest post on Harleena Singh’s site, then you will recognize some of the thoughts and ideas. It will be about 20 pages or so, and the reader is encouraged to work through a series of exercises. Many of them encourage if not outright require the reader to share their progress with me via email. This may be a mistake, but it felt right to me. So, this makes the setting of the price a little tricky.
Based on what I’ve told you so far what would you consider paying. Please leave your choice in the comments section. I would love to use one of those fancy poll widgets, but I prefer to do it rather than waiting until I can do it perfectly. So the prices to choose from are $5, $10, $15, $20, $30, $40, or $50. Of course, I plan to use $4.99 instead of $5 as an example, but it was simpler to write the choices that way.
The lesson
This post just proves that some of the lessons have to be relearned. No matter how successful we get, there will probably always be that one issue or that one person that brings out our fear reflex. We should know better, or in this case; I mean; I should know better.
For some reason I forgot all my experiences and failed to apply my number one rule to the task of writing an ebook. I am always telling people that you should do what you can and not worry about trying to achieve perfection. I have told people that waiting for things to be right means not doing anything at all. And here I was delaying. Dragging my feet is what I was doing.
I had planned from the beginning to submit it for editing before publishing. I should have trusted myself or at least trusted my good friend Lorraine better. I know she wouldn’t let me put out a terrible product. And for that I want to apologize to her, to myself, and to my readers. I am still nervous, but I’m moving forward again thank goodness. I still have that feeling you get in your stomach that is half excitement half nausea, but I’m committed and know it will all turn out great.
I do need your help
I want to remind you about the two questions I asked earlier. Please leave your suggestions in the comments field concerning the book cover image and what I should charge. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment, then please feel free to use the contact form. I trust many of you, and I really am looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Sharing is caring
I really do hope you share this post with your friends, family, and coworkers as well as on your social media networks. In addition to needing answers to a couple of important questions this is also the first time I have openly told people about the ebook. I am sincerely hoping that my friends will help me spread the word. And it would be great if I could bring in more subscribers to the email list before the official announcement that the book is live. If I’m doing it right, the sign up form should appear right after this post.
Donations welcome
If you have been inspired or motivated by my posts, and you feel like you need to support me in some way; then perhaps you would like to make a small contribution. If so, then here is the link to my pay pal account.
Well, that’s it for this week. I do hope you will get in touch with me. I really do love hearing from my readers. I believe that by getting to know you and learning what your problems are; that I am building a community. I hope you feel welcome here and comfortable enough to ask questions and share your fears. Thanks so much for being here my friend. Take care out there, Max
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Hi Max,
Congratulations on your achievements 🙂
I say this because your book IS complete after all and I can imagine all the hard work and effort you must have put into it. Of course, now the marketing aspect is also there and deciding the cover.
I would go for Option 1 with the white font, and I think the image goes with the book title too. About the price, I would have kept it free for my blog subscribers, so that could be an option if you wish, provided you haven’t spent much on the book itself. If you have then choose the lowest price, $5. I say that because it’s your first one and always good to start with less or give it away in exchange of subscription, and once you have a few, you gradually increase the rates, just my two cents. I am sure after Lorraine’s edited it, she’d be able to throw more light as shes written a few of them too.
Wishing you the best and waiting for the good news too. Thanks for sharing this with us. Happy new week ahead 🙂
Harleena Singh recently posted…Why Use Standing Desks? Win $600 Sit to Stand Workstation Giveaway!
Hi Harleena; thanks for the helpful suggestions and positive thoughts. I guess I should have made it more clear that deciding on whether or not to offer it for free was another decision to be made. I will probably end up doing that as it will help with future promotions. also, more subscribers could mean more people reading my blog posts and eventually more people hiring me as a coach. Five dollars sounds good to me. And Lorraine was the one who suggested throwing it out to the group. It sounds like the aha now group thinks the cover needs more work. 🙂 I am not really surprised but was hoping for some suggestions. thanks again and take care my friend. xoxo max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
I prefer number 1 too although I’d move the title down a little. You could have an opening special and charge $4-$5. Ask your the people you know who buy the book to leave favorable comments on Amazon etc. As it becomes more popular you could up the price.
Sue Bride recently posted…Teamwork and Humpty Dumpty
Hi Sue; Thanks for stopping by. I don’t think you have visited my site before. I wasn’t aware that you could raise the price on an ebook. and I already have one review from a friend who i asked to read it before I sent it off for editing. I believe more of my friends would be willing to read it and review it. would you want to be one of them? I know we just met, but you seem like a very straight forward person who likes to help others when she can. Looks like $5 is the leading vote getter so far with most agreeing subscribers should get it for free. thanks again my new friend, max
Congratulations on this milestone for you! I am sure you are relieved after all the hard work and possibly some sleepless nights you have put into it.
I love Option 2 but will not have a problem if you should decide on the first one. Most people these days keep their ebook (especially if it’s the 1st) free of charge to their subscribers. It is a way of rewarding them. Later on, if you so choose to continue publishing then you can set up a cost per ebook.
All the best with it. Have a great day!
Yvonne I. Wilson recently posted…Gratitude Is A Building Block For Inner Peace – 6 Healthy Habits To Do So
Hi Yvonne; Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I believe free to subscribers and $5 for non subscribers is decided. so far it seems that you are the only one who likes option two. Several on harleena’s site have suggested I need to go back to the drawing board. thanks so much, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Maxwell, first I’ll add my congrats to your achievement. I’ll share a couple of thoughts but before I do I should probably explain I’ve published 6 books and have 2 new about to come out plus I’ve published a book on building an author platform and am active in a lot of author groups in LinkedIn. I tell you this not to say “oh look at me I have a grain of experience” but because I have enough experience in this business of being an author to have seen the same questions asked and answered many times over.
Re pricing your book. Book marketing is all about positioning so rather than asking readers to tell you what they’d be willing to pay you should focus on finding your position within the books that yours will be competing with. Re the cover – I lean toward Option #1 but my first thought was looking at this I have no clue what your book is about and that is something that should jump out at the reader from the moment they see it.
Anyway, hopefully you don’t mind the feedback. Whatever you do I wish you all the very best … and keep on writing!
Marquita Herald recently posted…Understanding Who You Really Are
Hi Marquita; first, I appreciate your comments. If i didn’t intend for my readers to tell me the truth, then I wouldn’t ask. And your experience in the area of publishing gives you credibility. I’d be crazy not to listen. I put the question of price out to my readers because it was more effective in my mind than me browsing through amazon to find what other books are selling for. It seems that $4.99 or free to my subscribers is what most have suggested. And the cover image is something very difficult for someone who has absolutely no vision. so, if you have an idea that would make it better; I’d love to hear it. thanks so much for taking the time to read the post and give me the benefit of your experience. Take care, max
Max — you have such an easy and open writing style. You’re not afraid to reveal yourself and that’s essential for a writer, especially when you are sharing your experiences to motivate others. I like the first image because the white represents leading you into the light. For a short book like yours, and without having built a reputation yet as an author, I would definitely recommend the $4.99 price point. Good luck!
Jeannette Paladino recently posted…How Three PR Pioneers Opened Doors for the Next Generation
Hi Jeannette; Thanks so much for your opinion on my writing style. I know that you have spent years in the trenches of the public relations world, so I value your opinion very highly. And I think the decision is option 1 plus $4.99 plus free to subscribers but several have suggested that the image isn’t quite sexy enough or that it doesn’t convey my topic well enough. And my mom always told me and my dad that we were way too open. I don’t know how I would change that about me, so I’m glad you think it helps in my plans to be a coach and speaker. Now, I just want to sell enough copies to pay my expenses on the project and hopefully get some critical appreciation. Thanks again and take care, Max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Congratulations Max!
I’d prefer option 2
Eve Koivula recently posted…Using Content Marketing to Get the Business In Shape
Hi Eve; Thanks for taking the time to read and leave your opinion. I believe you are very responsible for me starting the ebook in the first place. thanks again, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max – congratulations on getting it done. I like option # 1 – it is clear and pulls you in.
As far as pricing etc, I have no idea because I don’t have an eBook out. I think it’s smart of you to listening to the members who do and they all seem to agree on the $4-5. dollar charge.
All the best to you Max. I’m sure this book will help many.
Lenie
Lenie recently posted…October’s Greatest Deals.
Hi lenie; thanks for being part of my online family. I appreciate your supporting me as you do. I agree that $4.95 to the public and free to subscribers seems to be the most common response. And most seem to agree with you on option one. and thanks for reminding me of what’s important. Yes, it would be nice to sell a bunch of copies and make some money off of it, but the whole point of this was to share my experiences and help others take action that leads to their growth. and as long as i remember that it will be a success either way. Take care my friend, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Unlike the others, I like the third cover. It is more striking. As to pricing, if you don’t already have a free one, I’d make this one free and you can always put links to ones that are not free in it or in your advertising.
Beth Niebuhr recently posted…What’s the Problem?
Hi Beth; thanks for the advice. this would be my first ebook so probably free or at least free to subscribers. and i am going to check out some posts by a fellow name tom morkes. apparently he has a way of listing a book or other product with a minimum plus letting the customer pick their own price. I’m thinking that even for people who get it for free i wil attach a link to my pay pal account in case they want to make a donation after reading it. Thanks again, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max,
It’s been a while since I last visited your blog. I really salute you for all what you do!! You are doing great and now look, you already finished your first ebook!! Awesome job and Congratulations!!
I would also go with Option 1 as the title applies, the white writing kind of represent the light you are leading people to.
I kind of agree with the ideas for giving it free for your subscribers and $4.99 for non subscribers, as a start and you can increase the price as you grow.
Wish you all the best Max and I know it will be a great experience and you will emerge even stronger to write the 2nd, 3rd and so on.
Appreciate you sharing it with us and asking for our opinion. Have a great week ahead.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Neamat Tawadrous recently posted…GIVING As An Effective Leadership Habit To Develop!
Hi Neamat; Thanks for your kind reply. I asked for your opinions because for the most part my comments come from people who have been following my blog and my over all progress for a while now. Many like you have come to be close friends. And when you have a big decision to make, who else would you ask but your friends. I’m happy that there seems to be agreement on the cover image and pricing. And at this point I’m just trying to finish the process of one ebook. whether or not there will be another I don’t know. but i suspect that at some point I’m going to share more about my early years growing up and it would be great if I could charge a higher price by then. As you reminded me its all part of the learning process. And I will consider it a success when it is live and people can download it. Just yesterday I heard that one of the people I sent an advance copy to is carrying it around in her briefcase. i was pretty jazzed to hear she printed it out so she could more easily refer to certain parts of it. well thanks again for being part of team ivey. I couldn’t do it without you. 🙂 take care my friend, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Dear Mr. Ivey,
Congratulations on you first ebook, and I enjoyed reading your post. To answer your questions here goes. I am torn between the black and white cover and the bright yellow. I think either would be good. I think the positioning of the text needs a little tweeking. Maybe center the by line or push it over to the far, far right. How would it look if “Leading You Out of Your Darkness” stayed the same size while “and into the light” became about half that size? If you go with the bright yellow make “and into the Light” white text.
People always want free stuff, but is that good for your bottom line? How about an exerpt for subscribers instead of the entire ebook?
Well that’s my opinion for what it’s worth. Lots of sales.
Hi Wanda; Thanks for taking the time to read the post and leave your thoughts. As a photographer I will take your suggestions seriously. I like your idea about giving them an exerp for free. I have also heard that there is a way you can let people set their own price with a minimum. I hear this is getting really good results for your bottom line as many people will decide to pay much more than the minimum. You at least had some unique suggestions. Take care my new friend, Max
Hey Max,
I’m a little late to this party and sounds like through your comments that you’ve already made a decision.
I’m going to add my two cents worth in anyway.
If you want to be a published author on Amazon then your goal should be to write a book like every month and lead up to becoming an authority author on their site. If that’s not the direction you want to go then I wouldn’t even bother going that route because you’re not going to make a lot of money off of it.
I would focus more on building your list because when you get ready to create something else down the road then building that relationship with them is much more important because they will buy from you and support you with whatever you’re doing.
In the beginning it doesn’t have to be about making money but helping people and building your list. That’s what will benefit you down the road. Having a great opt-in will definitely help with that.
That’s my opinion anyway and as far as the cover, I’m not real crazy about any of them but I would chose #1 over the rest.
Hope that helped and I wish you the best.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted…How To Build A Popular Blog Especially If You Are New
Hi Adrienne; well i figure your two cents is worth a lot more. You have done a lot of what I am doing and have done it much longer. I agree that the ebook isn’t going to be as useful bringing in money as it will be for building my mailing list. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the list I have built up for the midway marketplace. this time instead of free links they will get a free ebook. I don’t know if I have it in me to do a book a month, but we’ll see. I really think my next move for this site is some videos. Maybe I’ll do five to ten minutes on each section of the ebook. and then as you say i will have a track record and a list. You know me, I understand the idea of being professionally successful without being financially successful. sometimes you are investing in the future. I will be very happy if the book can at least pay most or all of the editing costs. as for the cover since I can’t expect to generate a lot of cash i was trying to get it done on the cheap. maybe have a blind man come up with the concept wasn’t such a great idea. thing is the lady who did the midway logo offered to do this but her situation has changed and now i would have to pay her usual rate which isn’t in the budget at this time. Perhaps I can use her if there is a second book. or if things improve maybe i can have her develop a new cover add it to the ebook and do a relaunch. thanks again for your help and support. I value your opinions. and i had to do this. take care my friend. xoxo max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hey Max,
If you end up including videos with the book then that’s more added reason for them to want to opt-in. To get all the information you’ve acquired and are sharing with them.
As far as the cover or anything, just go to Fiverr.com and hire someone to create it for you and they’ll do it very cheaply. Now you might have to get someone to help you with seeing the end results of course since it will be an image but that’s where I got mine created. They’ll do your header for your site, whatever you need. Just a suggestion but I’ve had some very good work done there.
Hope that helps and good luck.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted…How To Build A Popular Blog Especially If You Are New
Hi Adrienne; thanks for the suggestion. Lorraine told me that was where she got her cover done too. the other issue with the cover is time. I know the cover image makes a big difference to sales, but I’ve already put this off so long that I didn’t want to wait to go through that process before finally publishing. I think I would like to know who you have used on fiver. I will ask lorraine the same. I’d feel better about using someone from there if i at least knew who to look for. Your opinions thoughts and suggestions are always helpful and very welcome. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Congrats on all you’ve achieved and for sharing the steps in the process as well. I’m most drawn to the first cover as the white font pops the most. In all three the lettering could use more depth.
Jeri recently posted…#CreativeWriting: Horse Crazy
Hi Jeri; Well thanks for your helpful comment and kind reply. the idea behind the image was mine, but maybe I need to rethink it. I haven’t heard from Lorraine yet. will be interested to see what you think of my writing. perhaps you would like to review the book when she is finished editing it. great share on your site by the way. keep it up my friend, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Max, I’m going to jump in and throw you a curveball.
You could (I could) take part of what you sent me and make it into a book you can give away, and then put the entire thing into a book you can sell. Have you considered this?
As I’m only about a third the way through the editing process, I will keep this in mind as I finish it.
As for the cover, I would like to be able to do this for you, too. The lettering needs to be changed, as a few previous commenters suggested. If you send me the original image, I could add a combintion of both yellow and white lettering – white for the title and yellow for your name.
Also, I’m currently sick. I’ve a sore throat and cold and my chest hurts. I realize that this is a bad time for me to get sick, as I know you are depending on me to get this done as quickly as possible, but you of all people know how important one’s health is. Sorry to bring you bad news when you are relying on me to be quick! 🙁
Think about the suggestions and if you can send me the original image without any lettering on it, please do.
Also, tell me where this image came from and if you have full ownership rights to it. I’d hate for you to be using a copyrighted image.
Look forward to hearing from you, even though it might be a few days until I’m well.
Thanks for the great mentions, too. I sure appreciate it!
Lorraine Reguly recently posted…“F.I.T.S.” SERIES: Featuring #freelancewriter Joe Warnimont
Hi Lorraine; you are so sweet. First, any delay is my own fault for not having the confidence to send it to you weeks ago. and after all i have written about good health being critical to our continued ability to help our clients and build our businesses, I can’t believe you would think I would even worry about it. You get well first. As for the suggestion of giving them part of it for free and then selling the whole book that agrees with something one of my subscribers wrote me earlier today and for an unpublished first time author it makes a world of sense. as for the photo chelsea took it herself and owns all the rights to it. she said it is mine to use. I will double check that and get her to send me an email making it clear. I can also send you the original image. as usual you are a star. You remind me of that old sports cliche. 75 percent of lorraine is better than 100 percent of most people. and i only write the truth. Its my thing. People love me for it. so any praise is earned. thanks again and get well. that means take your meds, get your rest, eat your soup, etc. take care sweetie, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Max, I love that saying and will have to remember that! LOL
Thank you for understanding, too, and get the untouched image from her if you can, and send it my way.
I’m off to eat some soup. 😉
Lorraine Reguly recently posted…“F.I.T.S.” SERIES: Featuring #freelancewriter Joe Warnimont
glad to hear you are taking care of yourself. for us bloggers and sole proprietors the hardest thing to do is not work. I’ve gotten good at it but then i have a digital book player on the desk beside my working area, an exercise bike in the room, and a sweet puppy that thinks I’m neglecting her no matter how often I pet her. 🙂 will get you the image. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hello Maxwell
I am so happy for you that you have achieved this milestone. Now you know that skies the limit.
You are really a brave man for speaking out about your weaknesses. We have also learned a lot from your experience.
Now, If you have not decided yest about cover that I also want to take part and I will go for Option number 1.
If you want to have yellow writing, you can also put some yellow shade in rays, so yellow color will go with rest of background other wise black and white will appeal more than black white with yellow writing.
I came across in a post from BHB about pre-selling before the release of book on Amazon , I hope you are also considering that option.
All the best.
andleeb recently posted…World Teachers’ Day
Hi andleeb; first thanks for leaving the comment in spite of your keyboard. i recently had to spend about 200 dollars to have the one on my laptop replaced and man has my life gotten easier. as for the post I have trouble hiding much from people. I did struggle with pressing send and thought you all should know that. plus i figure by sharing I may help one of you avoid or overcome something I have already gone through. it seems that option one is the preferred with a little tweaking. and sweet lorraine reguly is going to fix that for me in addition to editing the document. I hadn’t heard that you could presell on amazon. could you please send me the link to that post you mentioned. I think this post has already made a good start of creating a buzz for the ebook. now if I can just record at least one video to go live about the same time. i’m also thinking of offering a discounted rate on coaching for anyone who buys the book or offering a package of the book plus an hour of coaching for one low price. 🙂 thanks for the help and support my friend. Keep writing yourself, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hello Again
OMG it was a lot to change to keyboard. I got scared to hear this. My daughter has already soiled one before :'( .
Yes Lorraine is such a nice lady , she will do a lot to help, I am sure.
About the link , I saw that on BHB, I will try to check and send you the link but I just suspect that it was some guest post on Jeri’s website, I hope I can remember this correctly. I will try to find, If I got I will sure with you. I have to go through few last weeks on BHB.
It is nice that you are ready to help many.
All the best BTW thanks for a swift reply.
andleeb recently posted…World Teachers’ Day
hi andleeb i appreciate your kindness. if you don’t find it right away don’t worry about it. I can always google pre sale on amazon and move through the search results until i find a post by a familiar name. yep lorraine is also very helpful. You do your own part to help people to my friend. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hello
http://jeriwb.com/6-hot-trends-in-indie-book-marketing-43097/
You can check this, pre-sell has been mentioned here.
All the best.
andleeb recently posted…World Teachers’ Day
Max, I like the cover image you are working with and my choice would the first one, which is all black and white. I think the different color text dulls the image a bit and it is the image which to me in the strength of that cover design. I really have no idea what you should charge so I’m going to pass on that one.
Ken Dowell recently posted…17-Ton Marilyn, Enormous Abe and a Pitchfork in the Sky
Hi ken; thanks for sharing your thoughts. the image is obviously the harder part since i have no way of personally reviewing the finished product. I think we are probably going to go with posting a sample and then people paying or subscribing to download the rest. take care my friend, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Congrats on your first ebook!
Jason B recently posted…If Everyone Was Honest At Job Interviews
thanks jason; seems like its taking forever. writing is done but now waiting on editing and then submitting and promoting and hoping for sales email sign ups or at least people wanting more help. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max,
Isn’t it exciting when we get pushed out of our comfort zones? Well, it may not feel like it at first but it is when you start to wrap up the experience and see the light at the end of the tunnel (no pun intended).
I too like option 1 with the white text.
I like Harleena’s idea of offering it free to your blogging community and build up your comments and stars on Amazon, then release it to the public at the $4.99. I wouldn’t go any higher than that on a first book.
I’m right there with you, I’m about to start writing my book. It won’t take me long and I’m going to offer some folks to read it free and give me feedback.
I’m looking forward to reading your book Max!
Have a great weekend!!!
~ Don Purdum
Don Purdum recently posted…Dare to Be Different and Reach More Prospects, Buyers, and Earn Raving Fans
Hi don; thanks for the comment. I’m touched to hear that you want to read it and I will definitely send it. You just made a point I hadn’t thought of. I may not have a huge mailing list yet, but I do have a solid community of friends like you who I know I can count on to review the book and post to amazon for me. the people I have shown parts of it to so far have all been impressed by it. and i would be happy to email you the rough draft if you would like to see it. as for the tunnel comment i better get used to it. 🙂 with the image i have people are going to make that comment and more. I’m kind of surprised you are the first one to do it on this post. And $4.95 seems to be the one thing we all agree upon. loved your post. thanks for the encouragement and take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max,
I would love to read it.
I was surprised that no one picked up on the tunnel vision idea in their comment either, lol…
~ Don
Don Purdum recently posted…Dare to Be Different and Reach More Prospects, Buyers, and Earn Raving Fans
hi don’ am glad to hear you want to. I have sent it to you. let me know if for some reason you don’t get it. and thought it would be best to edit out your email address. don’t want to help out the spammers if i can help it. 🙂 but that too shows how generous you are. you didn’t think a second thought about doing that. I appreciate it a lot. Looking forward to your thoughts on the ebook. just remember its the final draft but not the final product. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max, I am going with cover option 1 but I would center the text. I think Lorraines idea of yellow for your name could work as well. As for the price I think free to start with and again Lorraine has a good idea of repackaging into a book for sale. Congratulations on this achievement Max and all the best. Tim
Tim recently posted…Sands of the Sinai
Hi Tim; thanks for sharing your opinion on this. I have requested the original image so lorraine can fix it up for me. hoping everyone gets the idea behind the image. and i do believe that it will be free to subscribers and people like you who i consider part of my online community. then the reviews from these readers can help sell it. either way when i make the announcement and when i add it to the blog; i do plan to mention that people can donate. take care out there, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Great post Max and I loved the first piece of advice about deadlines. I also find that I meet external deadlines more than internal ones due to the accountability issue. And it is so true what you said, you can be so successful and still have that issue or person where your fear never really goes away. Congratulations!!!
Welli recently posted…Your own hidden record
Hi welli; You did a good job in your post too making people realize that they are valuable and important but sometimes you only know this if you take the time to really think about what it is. I believe in being authentic with my readers. and after all my honesty is one of the things people comment on all the time. we all have a boogie man or nemesis that we can’t shake. and i’m told by other authors and performers that just because I’ve written this book doesn’t mean it will go away. 🙂 thanks for your friendship and support. take care, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Hi Max,
I finally made it here! Yay! 🙂
I guess you already read Harshajyoti Das’ guest post at Harleena’s regarding Kindle Publishing. I have actually bought one of his book “No SEO Forever” and it’s very well written. He is a great writer.
You know another great writer for kindle publishing is Rob Cubbon, I believe this year and last year he had published 4 kindle books and at the last quarter of 2014, he made $1800. So that’s like $600/month he made there. That’s pretty good for a passive income, don’t you think? I believe all 4 books he wrote were number one at Amazon. Once you produce the best books, Amazon will promote it for you. Well, I’m sure you already know this.
…um I’m not sure if producing a book each month is necessary in order to make money at Amazon. Rob didn’t produce an book every month and yes, he makes money!
Now I’d you want to produce a 6-income figure like what is Steve Scott is doing, he produce an ebook every month, then you might wanna write a book every 21-days!
Anyway, I don’t think you have to do that. Write a book each month in order to make money. If you write a very well written book, an epic of your own experience in life, you turned your failure to a success…people love that kind of stuff.
As far as the book cover is concerned, I like number one. But I would center your text or font in the middle. Center your name. And center the title of the book. Make your font, the title of the book bigger, perhaps twice as big and then center it. You want the title to be the “first attraction” right? Then you want the title to stand out more, coz the picture is drowning the text. If you want the photo your first attention then leave it it “as is” coz that’s the first thing that caught my eye — the image.
Anyhoo, Congrats on your book!! Now I need to finish my book. Goodnight and…
Have a lovely week.
Angela
Angela McCall recently posted…How to Get a Job Interview
Hi angela; thanks so much for making it by. everyone is just so busy and I’m sure you are doing your best to visit those who have read your posts and left comments. I do appreciate all your suggestions. quite often the more important lessons need to be heard more than once. Yes I read Harsh’s guest post and he and i have been exchanging emails as well. He has promised to read and review my ebook when lorraine is through editing it. I don’t know what to think about how often you have to publish to make money. My plan is to use the ebook to encourage people to hire me as a coach or speaker. I am thinking seriously about offering a package of the book and an hour of coaching as a package when it is released. and once we get it online, Lorraine says the next step is to use amazon’s creative publishing to offer the book in print not only for sales but also so i would have something to display at any face to face networking events. as for the image people seem to agree with you on image one. and I will be posting four more images this week that lorraine has edited taking all of the suggestions from the comments into account. I am hesitant to do another blog post. I don’t want to be one of those people that has only one topic to talk about. but it is important to promote the ebook and blog posts as i build up to the release all help with that. thanks so much for being part of my online family. Looking forward to your next amazing post, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
This is Great Work , Congrats on your first ebook! Thanks For Sharing me Keep it up ,
Regard
Leena Shah
Leena Shah recently posted…Health insurance plan for you Draft a Working
Hi Leena; thanks so much for visiting my blog. If i am not mistaken we are both in robin hallett’s healing practitioner class. I look forward to reading some of your posts too and also getting to know you. take care my new friend, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…What I learned about myself from my first ebook
Team Ivey…I like that. 🙂 I understand the struggles you have with figuring out cover images. I am dealing with that same thing right now with my travel website. I want a few pictures on the home page to help draw in the mostly sighted viewers, but just long enough to get them reading further to learn of my motto of painting a picture with my words. I hope all this feedback people have been considerate enough to offer has helped. I wish I could be one of those friends to offer my opinions, but I am bad with pricing and I can not see your covers. 🙂 Loved the book though. You will do well with that, on content alone, I am sure. Have a good weekend.
hi kery; thanks for reading and leaving a comment. yes picking an image or images is a hard thing for those of us with no vision or close to none. yes their comments have helped a lot. I’ve narrowed it down to choice three of the group provided by angela McCall in the follow up post to this one. the reasoning is it is in the format that most people are used to for book covers online and off. also it has the figure in the middle of a tunnel leaning into the light or so i’m told. its like someone with a toe in the water who you can tell is going to go in instead of going back. and i’m told it would make a good cover for when i am ready to have the book published in print via amazon’s creative space program. all i can say is pick a few images and write a post asking for help. I’d be happy to promote it. you could also speak with a couple of the people who helped me chelsea stark and wanda anthony both visually impaired photographers and designers who obviously have more vision than i do. hope that helps, max
maxwell ivey recently posted…Making progress towards publishing my first ebook