Topics Covered in this Program

Course Guidebook

You'll receive a content-rich 48-page guidebook with additional information critical to your success as an author.

The Winning Author's Mindset: The Psychology of a Book
Understanding the real reasons why you want to write a book and the five main categories of authors will place you miles ahead of the competition.

The Bulletproof Book Proposal: Staying Out of the Slush Pile
Follow us through the elaborate step-by-step process with your own sample book proposal included in the guidebook.

The Author Web Site: Constructing a Site that Works
There are five key components to include in any author website to address the needs of your primary markets: your core customers, media professionals, and event planners.

Choosing Your Path: Self-Publishing Versus Major House
Do you take the time to pursue a major book book publishing deal or do you take your destiny in your own hands to attempt self-publishing? The advantages and disadvantages of both are discussed and a self-publishing checklist is provided.

The Author's Team: The Vital Roles for Success
You'll receive a unique perspective on the important roles of literary agents, publishers, managers, and publicists.

Creating a Powerful Platform: Over 25 Book Marketing Strategies
Including article submissions, BOTR (Back of the Room) sales, database development, email strategies, tele-seminars, viral marketing, publicity strategies, advanced web marketing strategies, the "Amazon.com Push," and much more.

Download a Sample of the Guidebook (PDF, 1.7 mb)

Disc 1— The Winning Author's Mindset

Do you have what it takes mentally to become a best-selling author?

One of your most crucial discoveries will be the winning author's mindset. You'll learn the psychology of a successful writer and the "tricks of the trade," including:

How a person with an established career can still find time to write a book (The CEO did it four times!)
How publishing a book can change your life (Get ready to be inspired!)
How a publisher sees your book (You need to understand this to be successful in this business)
The different types of authors and books most likely to succeed in today's marketplace (including the current "hot topics")
The pitfalls of the writing business—what you need to be aware of
Learn how to conquer the infamous "writer's block" (And even prevent it from happening)
How to know when you have a "killer" book idea

Discs 2-3 Crafting a High-Impact Book Proposal

Write a Bulletproof Book Proposal and Stay Out of the Slush Pile

You'd be surprised to learn how rarely submitted book proposals and manuscripts are even opened. Discovering the key elements of an effective book proposal is a MUST. Using a lucid illustration, The CEO outlines the key components of an effective book proposal, revealing industry secrets including:

Why all major publishers require some form of a book proposal
How to get your manuscript read
The key elements literary agents and acquisition editors look for in a proposal
How to keep literary agents and editors turning the page
Surefire ways of getting your book proposal trashed
The most successful strategies for submitting a book proposal

Do you know how long the average Acquisition Editor spends reviewing a proposal? (If you said a couple of minutes, you'd be off by 90 seconds!)

Become a Best-Selling Author is a crash course in the book publishing industry for authors. I was dizzy with the amount of information The CEO and Mr. Jeffrey provided — I learned so much more on the second round of listening.

Esther Fedorkevich, Literary Agent
More testimonials . . .

Disc 4- Deciphering the Publishing Industry

Understand the Publishing Process and Avoid Common Mistakes

The CEO explores the "real business" of book publishing, examining the ins and outs of the publishing system, including the writing and submission process. This is critical information to help you better understand the complicated role of your publisher. In this "front-row" tour, you'll learn how intricate the book publishing process is from one of the largest publishers in the business (the CEO)!

Why you may need a literary agent to get a major publishing contract
How publishers and authors actually make money
How the massive consolidation in publishing affects a writer's ability to get published
Does an author need a major publishing house to become successful?
Learn what a pub board meeting is and the role they play
Find out the percentage of submitted book titles changed by the publisher
Become aware of how a book makes it to the shelves of Barnes & Noble
Understand the publishing process, from book idea to the final product on the store shelf
The Bestseller Lists—what they represent and how to get on one

Do you know how to best support your publisher? Did you know you needed to? Do you know what it really takes to get on bestseller lists like the "New York Times"?

Disc 5- Landing a Publishing Contract

Land the Publishing Contract of Your Dreams

This program will help you understand the importance of the literary agent and the best practices for landing one in today's crowded publishing climate. In addition, The CEO explains the book acquisition process. (This information will help you CRACK THE CODE to the major publishers!)

How publishers decide on which books to publish (Understanding their general decision-making process can save you years of frustration.)
How newbie authors can increase their chances of landing a literary agent and/or publisher (The average New York City literary agent receives thousands of submissions each year.)
Where most small press and self-publishers go wrong
If you self-publish, how much should a person plan on investing/spending on the first print run?
Three different ways to legally copyright your work
How to reference someone else's copyrighted material and get permission for use of another author's work

Scott and The CEO are awesome — they interact so well and are so, so informative. The information is practical and understandable. I feel a tad bit guilty. Scott and The CEO just shared with me in a matter of hours what took them years to learn through personal experience. However, my guilt didn't hold me back from acting immediately upon one of your suggestions. I have broken through my writer's block. Thank you!

Fonica Bullard, Point Clear, Alabama
More testimonials . . .

Disc 6- Understanding the Publishing Process

From Manuscript to Finished Product, Stay Ahead of the Curve

Scott and The CEO examine the ins and outs of the publishing game, including the manuscript writing and submission process, before gearing up for a dialogue on promotion.

Understand the writing process and what you can expect from the publisher
Take the steps necessary to prepare for the book's release before going to press
Submitting and re-submitting your manuscript
Learn the difference between perfect bound and hard cover
Ensuring the final product is PERFECT before going to press
Preparing to promote your best-seller
Building on initial success with multiple books

Disc 7- Mastering the Book Publicity Game

Master the Publicity Game and Generate $$$ in FREE Publicity

The CEO shares how he "wowed" radio and televisions producers and secured over 1,000 interviews (for FREE) to promote his own books. He also covers the basic elements of an attention-grabbing media/press kit and the psychology needed to interact with the media, including initial contact, creating a sense of urgency, following up, and landing your own interviews. You'll learn how to get free publicity as a guest on the top TV and radio talk shows AND how to give a high-impact interview!

Did you know that your publisher only covers your book marketing expenses for the first three months (IF you're lucky)? What's your strategy after three short months?

How radio and TV producers decide whether or not to put you on the air
Why certain books are more media-friendly than others—and which books are the most "media-UNfriendly"
Why all books can't be positioned effectively for the media
How the internet is changing the publicity/media game
Do you really need to hire an expensive outside publicist?
Why media training may be a must
The secrets to a knock-out interview
The best, most "innocent" way to sell your book during an interview
The basic components of a winning press kit—what the press kit is used for and the shift toward digital press kits

Discs 8-9 Book Marketing Strategies

Discover Book Marketing Strategies That Really Work

The CEO explains how to architect a results-oriented website, build a mailing list, and convert browsers to customers. Doing a 20-city book tour (which arguably doesn't sell many books) and hiring a publicist for thousands of dollars each month is expensive.

Book selling and promotional strategies any author can use
How to really make money selling your book on the web
The key personnel you must have on your "book team"
What speaker's bureaus and event planners are looking for
Learn everything you need to know about BOTR (Back of the Room) sales and how to make millions with them
How to turn your published book into speaking engagements—that charge higher fees
The value of e-Books and how to integrate them into your overall marketing platform
How to benefit from Amazon.com's successful e-Commerce engine
The five key components of an effective author website

You have helped so much to clarify and sharpen my focus with putting out the best book I know how. It has been a long process, but I feel I'm finally on the road to putting out my BEST work. I could not have done it without you.

Jared Kessler, Musician/Writer
More testimonials . . .

Disc 10- The Psychology of Publishing

Master the Psychology of Publishing and You're on Your Way to a Successful Career

As an author coach, Scott Jeffrey has been fortunate to work with an impressive list of clients including New York Times best-selling authors and popular public speakers. In a special bonus CD, you'll hear a live talk he gave to over two hundred artist managers in Nashville, Tennessee. You'll learn the real reasons why you may want to write a book, what a book will give you, the differences between self-publishing and working with a major publisher, and much more . . .