Anne and I have known each other for several years and she always has great tips about writing. She’s even written a guest post for me about BookBub Ads. I am sure you will find helpful information in her interview.
Tell us a little bit about your book and business.
I’m a nonfiction author and unabashed writing geek, on a mission to help people communicate more effectively through writing. I’ve written four books about writing itself, including The Writer’s Process and Writing to Be Understood. My most recent book is Get the Word Out: Write a Book That Makes a Difference.
When I’m not writing books or blog posts about writing, I can be found coaching business writers, doing developmental edits of nonfiction manuscripts, or helping business authors through the messy middle of their works.
Why did you write your books?
I write all of my writing-related books for the same general reason—to help people communicate and connect more effectively through writing. I keep coming at that challenge from different angles, and for slightly different audiences.
How did you publish your book? Traditional publisher, hybrid publisher, self-published?
I’m an indie author or author/publisher. By that, I mean that I self-publish, but hire professional designers and editors, and approach the work like a publisher as much as a writer. My books should be indistinguishable from those produced by traditional publishers. It’s been a learning adventure.
How did things change in 2020 and how did you weather the year through the pandemic?
As an indie author, I was able to adjust more easily to the restrictions of the pandemic than many traditionally published authors. I don’t rely on retail bookstores for my sales, and don’t plan for big, in-person events. I could adjust the prices and run discounts to reach people when times were tough. The flexibility and control helped.
The pandemic also opened a few doors, such as speaking at a couple “overseas” events that I otherwise would not have done because of the travel.
Oddly enough, the pandemic also created clarity around the messaging of my latest book, Get the Word Out. I had been working with chapters and ideas for months, but when the world shut down, I realized that the theme of the book was really about making a difference. And I was able to snag interviews with all sorts of interesting people because their travel schedules were shut down.
So I weathered the year by connecting with other authors and immersing myself in writing a book. Not a bad strategy, and a great distraction.
What is your favorite book marketing tip?
My book marketing mantra is this: be generous and strategic. If you are only generous, you will burn out. If you are only strategic, people will burn out on you. Find that balance—help those people who are your readers, or who otherwise speak to your readers. Build relationships. You can do this by writing book reviews, contributing guest blog posts, doing podcast interviews … the possibilities are nearly endless.
What are your goals for 2021?
I hope to keep encouraging and supporting authors who want to step up to writing meaningful books. We’ll see what that looks like in 2021: more coaching or editing, perhaps a few small-group online courses, more podcasts and blog posts. And much more reading!
Where can readers find your book?
The best place to find out more is on my website: annejanzer.com. From there you can sign up for my every-other-week emails about writing practices.
All of my books are available on Amazon (here’s my author page) and Bookshop:
You can also find them on my Bookshop page (supporting indie bookstores).
Connect on social media: @AnneJanzer on Twitter, Anne H Janzer on Facebook, Anne Janzer on LinkedIn.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
For all of those authors who worry about, dread, or resent book marketing, consider reframing the way you think about it. Your book is like a beacon for the people you serve. Marketing is how you light that beacon and fulfil the purpose of your book.
Bio
Anne Janzer is an award-winning author, armchair cognitive science geek, nonfiction author coach, marketing practitioner, and blogger. She’s on a mission to help people spread important ideas through writing.
As a professional writer, she has worked with more than one hundred technology companies, writing in the voice of countless brands and corporate executives. She is author of the books Writing to Be Understood, The Writer’s Process, The Workplace Writer’s Process, and Subscription Marketing.
Her books have won numerous awards, including the Independent Book Publishers IPPY award, the Foreword Indies Book of the Year, Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal, and the IndieReader Discovery Award. They have been translated into Japanese, Korean, and Russian language editions.
Anne also regularly speaks or hosts online webinars for writing conferences, writer’s groups, and corporate marketing teams and writing groups.
The advertiser provided the image. At the bottom of the email, you can see that BookBub showed me this ad because I follow Daniel Pink. If I click on it, it takes me to my preferred ebook source (in this case, Amazon in the US).