ePub Clubs
ePub Clubs are small groups of writers who digitally publish and market their material. These small groups, 5 to 10 people, are a support network for successful e-publishing. Our main objective is to become more discoverable to our online readership.
Tools we use to reach our readers include blogs for authors, social media platforms, mobile options, and print forms of marketing, among many others. We publish our books and new book-forms for our readers who use all sorts of reading devices including Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, Stanza, and other apps & e-readers. We print things, too.
As we meet and grow, we are creating a body of work to inform the larger transformation now in process in the writing and publishing world.
ePub Club Checklist
Forming your own ePub Club is simple.
The Mission is: To support each other in the basic tasks of making our online books more discoverable.
Recommended:
Bring together a local group of up to 10 people. Keep it small, it works better! Best case scenario is when people can actually meet in person at least some of the time.
Checklist
1. SKILLS. Make sure everyone in your club can use the basic tools. Does anyone need help with a blog? How about getting their ebooks into Kindle? Take inventory of the strengths of each member.
2. LEARNING. Get help with the learning curves. If there’s something everyone is unclear on, find someone in your area who will teach you as a group. Chances are you can enlist someone who will be happy to give you a good group rate. After your sessions with your teacher, you can meet together and build your “collective brain area” as you use your new tools.
3. MEETING. Set a regular meeting time, at least once a month. Make sure everyone can get an email update of your meeting even if they can’t attend. At the meeting, check in and see where people are stuck. For example, does someone need help editing or finding an editor? Figure out who can help with what.
4. GOALS. Share your goals. Keeping each other accountable is a great way to move things forward. Make small goals so you can enjoy the feeling of momentum.
5. REVIEWS. For people who have books up on Kindle, get in there and write reviews. Reviews drive sales, and are mandatory for being discovered! Don’t write anything fake — that doesn’t help anyone. Write a short, honest paragraph of your experience of the book. Remember that you don’t have to read an entire book to review it. You can simply say “I’ve begun So’n'So by Mandy Milford. After the first 20 pages, I can see …” and so on. Be inventive. You will all need to do reviews for each other.
6. JOIN IN AND SHARE. Join the group here by getting into my email list. As our community grows, I’ll post ideas you share, answer questions, and report on current tools we are using. You can share with me on Twitter. Find my Twitter page here: Brainmaker — if you’re not on Twitter yet, I urge you to dip into this remarkable network which will help you sell your books and build your readership. In my ebook series written for authors, “Beyond Bestseller, Part Three,” I will share a template for newbies on Twitter. That section of the ebook will help you over the uncomfortable first moments and give you insight, as well as clear instructions, toward being effective and appropriate on this network. This is one of the most important skills you will learn for your book marketing, so make it a topic of discussion in your ePub Club.
7. CONGRATULATE. Any time a Club member publishes a new ebook, share the success in some way! Chocolate is my suggestion. I hope you know that embarking on this adventure takes courage and commitment. We’re creating the new world of publishing day by day, and you are part of it! Be sure you congratulate each other heartily for each success!
Very best wishes on your publishing adventure. Dream big and let me hear from you soon.
Suzanna Stinnett