Books! Books! Books! Listening, Planning, and Keywords
What to Read (listen to) Next: Filthy
Filthy is a new experience for me, and one I am still evaluating. First, it’s an audio anthology. Second it’s made up of letters from heroes created by your favorite authors and third, it’s read by men. Smooth-talking or gravelly-voiced men who will fuel your imagination, its true, but men.
I admit, I am a traditionally a reader, not a listener. Does that mean that I read in a female voice? Maybe, because I found Filthy hard to adjust to. However, it was worth sticking with it. This is an audio-only anthology from some of your favorite book boyfriends, inspired by some of your favorite romance novels. CD Reiss gives us a steamin’ hot read inspired by her Submission novel and Kate Canterbary from the Magnolia Chronicles. There are letters from Corinne Michaels and Louise Bay, all favorites of mine.
The letters are read professionally in warm enticing voices speaking directly to you. Sometimes the letters are sweet, sometimes they’re just plain filthy but always they touch you with outstanding writing and real emotion.
The only way to access Filthy is through Authors Direct. Authors Direct is an app where you can listen to audiobooks you purchase directly from authors. Authors can focus on their fans while Authors Direct focuses on your listening experience.
Available for iPhone or Android, Author Direct is easy to access, and it’s free.
To get your download, by visiting here. Add the book to your cart. You’ll then be prompted to create your account. It will link to your phone and give you a temporary password. Update your password, and you’re good to go.
Have fun listening! Let me know what you think!
Gem of the Week: It’s Planner Time!
I could not survive without a great planner. Seriously. My planner goes everywhere with me. I know, I know, you’re thinking that’s what your phone is for, but trust me, you’re wrong.
A phone tracks appointments, to-do lists and the like, but a planner keeps you focused and moving in the right direction. Whether you want to do more professionally or personally, a planner allows you to see where you are headed and track your progress on the road to your personal success. You need a planner.
And I have found two that might be my favorites. I say might, because while I love these – and use one faithfully – I reserve the right to find a better one down the road. I doubt I will, because these two are fantastic, but I like keeping my options open.
The Day Designer (my planner of choice) and The Sweet Life Planner are both comprehensive and inspirational. They have many similarities that make them great like solid construction that will last throughout the year, but they also have a few differences. With either, you will be better organized, focused and productive. So pick the one that best suits your life and get planning!
The Flagship Planner from DayDesigner.com
Pros: gorgeous covers to choose from, pages upfront for assessing your situation and your values then pages to help with goal setting. Each month has a month at a glance page followed by daily pages (with inspirational quotes) that get the job done. Top three tasks for the day, to-do list space, hourly activities, even a place to track money and food. This has it all. Did I mention the envelope for stray papers?
Also, Day Designer offers hints and tips throughout the year on their blog and in on-line free classes to help you make better use of your time.
Cons: This is not a small planner. Unless you carry a suitcase for a handbag like I do, it’s difficult to take a Day Designer planner everywhere you go. Even the smaller version can be bulky.
The Sweet Life Planner from I Heart Planners
Pros: Flexibility is what I love about The Sweet Life Planner. You can choose the way your weekly and/or daily pages are displayed. Like the Day Designer, it contains goal-setting pages, monthly, weekly and daily views and places for to-dos, meal planning and so much more. It is also more colorful than the Day Designer, on the inside. Did I mention it comes with stickers to help acknowledge your successes? That’s pretty cool. Also helpful blog posts throughout the year that keep you motivated and on track.
Cons: With the Sweet Life Planner the cover is the cover – you just get to pick from three colors. The Day Designer covers are more chic. There is no front envelope for those stray pages, and like the Day Designer, it is not something to tuck in your pocket.
But you can’t tackle all your goals, track your daily activities, stick to your values and your guns with a little calendar that fits in the pocket of your jeans. Just sayin’.
Just for Authors: Keyword Research You Can Use Now
Indie authors might struggle to write, to finish their novel, but that struggle is peanuts compared to getting their book exposure. Volumes have been written about getting your book discovered, especially on Amazon. Most of these volumes, and all of the experts, start with keywords. And now, one of the best resources on selling on Amazon, Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur has completed a keyword comparison and published the results. This is one you don’t want to miss.
As self-publishers we know that exposure means ranking higher in searches. Really, when was the last time you scrolled to see what was on page 10 of a search? So, the bottom line is: keywords matter. There are two schools of thought, when it comes to selecting keywords, according to Dave. Here’s what he says on the subject:
“Amazon presents us with seven boxes in which we can enter our desired target kindle keywords. In each box, we can use up to 50 characters.
Some book marketing gurus believe you should try to get as many keywords as possible into each box, using up as many of the 50 characters as you can.
Others teach that you should only enter a single target phrase in each box, even if doesn’t use all 50 characters.
These conflicting opinions have left many authors feeling stuck in the middle, unsure of what to do.”
Dave is helping us get unstuck. He ran an experiment to find a real, data-driven answer to which option is better.
In this article, he reveals the findings! It’s worth reading the whole article and understanding the findings. After all, it can mean more exposure – and more sales.