Logical Expressions Blog

One of the benefits of putting on the Self-Publishers Online Conference, is that we get to hear publishing advice from the other experts who speak at the event. Like attendees, we're still learning everything we can about book publishing and marketing. After this year's conference, we sat down and mapped out a plan for our next book, based on what we learned at SPOC. Instead of writing books and then publishing a blog or article site, we're doing the articles and blog first. Today, I'm pleased to say, we have the first glimmers of our upcoming TechnoHomesteaders book....

It feels like a long time since I've sent out the Publishize newsletter because we switched the dates around due to the Self-Publishers Online Conference. As an aside, if you attended SPOC, please fill out our survey. (We sent the link to you in SPOC News.) We need your help to make SPOC 2011 even better. Although attending a conference like SPOC can help you move forward, we've found that many people still feel "stuck" in their book publishing journey and need help getting unstuck. So we're starting up self-publishing training classes. If there's an aspect of...

Because we had at least one person who wanted to upgrade her SPOC pass today, but couldn't, we're leaving the registration link and site log-in open through May 31.

The third day of SPOC focused on turning your book into a business with a complete product line. If you joined us, you listened to some big names in the writing and publishing world. Here are a few gems from what they shared, and in case you missed a call, how you can get the audio downloads or CDs.

The second day of SPOC was chock full of helpful ideas for promoting your book to the world. If you joined us, you listened to some big names in the writing and publishing world. Here are a few gems from what they shared, a preview of what's coming tomorrow, plus, in case you missed a call, how you can get the audio downloads, CDs plus other must-have items for the soon-to-be author.

The first day of SPOC was a whirlwind of information. If you joined us, you listened to some big names in the writing and publishing world. Here are a few gems from what they shared, a preview of what's coming tomorrow on Promotion Day, plus, in case you missed a call, how you can get the audio downloads, CDs plus other must-have items for the soon-to-be author.

Here is a short run-down of the agenda for DAY 3, which is all about turning your book into a business. Friday May 14, 2010

Here is a short run-down of the agenda for DAY 2 - Promotion Day, which is all about building a relationship with your target market and ideal readership. Thurday May 13, 2010

Here is a short run-down of the agenda for DAY 1 - Writing & Publishing Day, a day dedicated to showing you how to write and produce a finished book from your manuscript. Wednesday May 12, 2010

Happy Cinco de Mayo! We're happy because on today's dog walk through the forest, we found our first morel mushrooms of the season. We plan to invite them to dinner. I'm sending out this newsletter a week early because I may or may not get one out next week. Next Wednesday is the first day of the Self-Publishers Online Conference! As you might imagine, I'm a little nervous about SPOC. I'm quietly hoping everything will go the way it's supposed to and people will love it. But I'll be honest; putting on an event like this...

It's hard to believe, but after all this preparation, the Self-Publishers Online Conference is next week! All the excitement got me thinking about my own book-publishing journey. I like to joke that it only took 10 years to self-publish my first book. Maybe you can relate to this ;-) In 1996, I read a bunch of self-publishing books and became completely overwhelmed. I had piles of notes, no idea how to write the book, even less clue where to get it printed, and zero money for my first print run. A mere 10 years later in 2006,...

As you might imagine, we've been busy with preparations for the Self-Publishers Online Conference, which will be held May 12-14. I've been talking with speakers and sending out press releases. It's a ton of fun getting to spend time with such cool "book people." As I've mentioned, you can attend the conference live for free, but if you want recordings or CDs, you need to upgrade your registration to a paid pass. If that's something you're interested in, be aware that our early bird discount ends in 2 days on April 30. On a totally non-work related...

It's only 15 days and counting until the Self-Publishers Online Conference and there's been a lot going on! SPOC Behind the Scenes If this is your first time attending SPOC, I encourage you to check out our new "Behind the Login" page, which shows you how SPOC differs from a typical "telesummit." http://leiurl.com/?spocinside Whether you have opted for a Basic (no charge) pass or upgraded to a paid one, your login gives you access to the private area of the SPOC Web site. There you'll find pages for each seminar, so you can...

This week, we have been busy with various promotional efforts relating to the Self-Publishers Online Conference. It's only a month away now, and I sent out the first 2010 edition of SPOC News yesterday. I hope you'll all mark your calendars for May 12-14! Plus, I'm pleased to report that when you register, you'll also get a discount on book promotion services from our new sponsor Send2Press. I've used their services to send out press releases about our own books, and of all the services I've used, they have offered the best online exposure. (I've gotten a ton of...

We just sent out the first press release about the Self-Publishers Online Conference, which will be held May 12-14, 2010. Like last year, the conference is free to attend live. If you want serious quality self-publisher education, you don’t want to miss it! You can register at the SPOC site at http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com   Authors and Self-Publishers Learn the Latest in the Business of Book Publishing from 15 Experts at Virtual Conference Online Conference to Be Held May 12-14, 2010 SANDPOINT, Idaho - The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC) gives entrepreneurial writers,...

Happy Saint Patty's day everyone. It's been a great day here! On a personal note, I'm adopting a fluffy white dog from a rescue group, so I'll be driving out to pick her up. (Road trip!) We are SO excited. And the as-yet-to-be named dog is SO cute! James and I are also fired up about a writing retreat for book authors that we've decided to do this fall. I wrote up some initial information on the event that we've dubbed the Cabin in the Woods Writing Retreat. Check it out here: Cabin in the Woods Writing...

As noted in this week's Publishize newsletter article, I've been distracted from work by life events, but I still have been lining up speakers for the second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC) which will be held May 12-14, 2010. Like last year, there is NO cost to attend the virtual event live, and you can learn from the comfort of your home or office. I haven't gotten to updating the SPOC site yet, but I can report that confirmed speakers include: Dan Poynter – author of the Self Publishing Manual ...

Fall is definitely here. We shut down the garden, and I've been taking dogs to the veterinarian for their fall checkups. (So far, everything seems fine with the all-furry team!) In the midst of all this activity, we've also been plotting out activities for next year. I'm pleased to report that the Small Publishers Artists and Writers Network (SPAWN) will be a sponsor of the Self-Publishers Online Conference in May. Yes, SPOC 2010 is coming! You can keep up with all the details by signing up for SPOC News at: http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com/ In related news, I also...

Some of you may remember that author Shel Horowitz spoke at our Self-Publishers Online Conference in May. The other day, Shel told me about a great deal he's offering on his book Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First. This self-published book is actually the basis of a new book he's working on for a traditional publisher (Wiley) called Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green, which he is co-authoring with Jay Conrad Levinson. The new book will contain quite a bit of information from Principled Profit. Once the new book comes out, Shel is prohibited by contract from selling Principled Profit...

Greetings from all of us at SPOC world headquarters ;-) The conference wrapped up with loads of information about how to take your book and build your business, info-products, speaking career--all to make more revenue. If you joined us, you heard some big name gurus of the writing and publishing world giving the "how-to's" for getting your message out there--lucratively.  Here are a few gems of what they shared, plus, in case you missed a call, how you can get...

Greetings from all of us at SPOC world headquarters ;-) The second day of our conference, "Promotion Day," brought more gems and insights. If you joined us, you heard some big name gurus of the writing and publishing world giving the "how-to's" for marketing and promoting your book. Here are a few gems of what they shared, a preview of what's coming today on "Platform Day," plus, in case you missed a call, how you can get the audio downloads, CDs...

Greetings from all of us at SPOC world headquarters ;-) What an amazing first day of our online conference we had! If you joined us, you listened to some big name gurus of the writing and publishing world. Here are a few gems of what they shared, plus, in case you missed a call, how you can get the audio downloads, CDs plus other must-have items for the soon-to-be author. ** Dan Poynter - "Confirming Subjects & Finding Markets" How to research your subject matter and draft your marketing plan ...

This week, both James and I have been preparing for the Self-Publishers Online Conference (http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com/). By the time you read this, we will have already gone through the first day of speakers. I'm crossing my fingers that everything turns out okay. Today, we had a hailstorm and I can report that it's a wee bit stressful conducting a teleseminar when you think you might lose your Internet connection (at best) or your electricity at worst. It would be nice if the North Idaho spring weather would calm down a bit for the conference. Speaking of stress, for many...

SPOC, the Self Publishers Online Conference, takes place this week and Friday, the final day of the conference, ends with a bang with speakers Michael Port, Jill Lublin, Patrick Snow, Melanie Jordan and Donna Kozik. It's free to attend the online conference - all you have to do is register here: http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ Click the Register button in the upper right-hand side. When you register, you can see that you can choose from several ...

SPOC, the Self Publishers Online Conference, takes place next week and next Thursday May 14 brings another panel of publishing experts to the calls including Shel Horowitz, Brian Jud, Sandra Beckwith, Penny Sansevieri and Carol White & Debi Flora. It's free to attend the online conference-all you have to do is register here:  http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ Click the Register button in the upper right-hand side. When you register, you can see that you can choose from several options. Attending live is free. If you want more...

SPOC, the Self Publishers Online Conference, kicks off next week on Wednesday, May 13, with an exciting slate of speakers including gurus of the industry Dan Poynter, Peter Bowerman, Matthew Bennett, Jacqueline Church Simonds and Susan Daffron & James Byrd. It's free to attend the online conference-all you have to do is register here: http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ Click the Register button in the upper right-hand side. When you register, you can see that you can choose from several options. Attending live...

Greetings from all of us at SPOC world headquarters ;-) SPOC, the Self-Publishers Online Conference, is a virtual online publishing conference that starts next week. It features presentations by Dan Poynter, Michael Port, Peter Bowerman and other publishing experts. If you haven’t officially registered for the conference, you can here: http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com Click the Register button in the upper right-hand side. When you register, you will see that you can choose from several options. Attending live is free. If you want more goodies you can read about the paid options on the Attendees page. After you’ve...

Today, I'm working on a lot of stuff for the Self-Publishers Online Conference, which is next week. I've been busily setting up pages for the Exhibit Hall, testing conference call providers, and telling other people about it. I'll be honest, I'm really tired and I've had a sinus headache all day. Bleh. We all have bad days sometimes. Acknowledging that sometimes work and being in business can be difficult happens to be the subject of this week's article. Enjoy! Key to Success #10: Don't Give Up! by Susan C. Daffron Accept the fact that...

Today I spent much of the day gathering head shots and updating the SPOC Web site pages with the line up of speakers. I don't think James has worked his magic on it and updated the live site yet, but in the next day or so if you visit... http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ ...you'll find that along with Dan Poynter, Sandra Beckwith, Shel Horowitz, and Brian Jud, we've now also signed up Peter Bowerman, Matthew Bennett, Debi Flora, Melanie Jordan, Jill Lublin, Michael Port, Penny Sansevieri, Jacqueline Church Simonds, Patrick Snow, and Carol White to speak. If you are...

I'm getting ready to fly off to Baltimore tomorrow for the Bliss Factor conference. One of the downsides of rural life is that we are 1.5 hours from the airport. So I have to leave here at 3:30 am to catch my morning flight out of Spokane. I'm thinking traffic will be light at least. In other news, we've uploaded new pages to the  Self Publishers Online Conference site with information about speakers we've lined up so far. After I get back we need to go through more speaker proposals, but I can tell you right now, it's going...

This week's big news is that registration for the Self-Publishers Online Conference is now open. So a big nerdy yay to James for making it happen! Check it out at: http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ As you can see, the conference is free to attend. (There are paid options too if you want downloads and other goodies like bling from vendors.) We already have 5 speakers lined up for sure and have a few "maybes" out there too. We also have been talking to a lot of businesses in the publishing industry about exhibiting--everyone from printers to book designers. It's exciting! ...

Once again it is snowing. I have to say that at the end of March, I'm kind of done with snow. By April, I will have totally and completely lost my sense of humor about snow. In much better news, last week we finished the Web site for the Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC), which will be happening in May. We're recruiting speakers, so if there is someone you would like to hear, please let us know. You can read more about the conference and sign up for the SPOC newsletter here: http://www.selfpublishersonlineconference.com/ Today's article answers another question...