Don’t Sell Your Back Cover Short!

The number of self-published books has exploded, growing 287 percent since 2006, according to research by Bowker, the official ISBN agency for the United States.

“In 2012, more than 235,000 print and e-books were self-published in the United States, up from 148,424 in 2011,” says award-winning marketing strategist Catherine Foster, executive publisher/CEO of BlueSky Publishing Partner. 

Typos Matter

“This is an exciting time to be an author because the playing field is finally leveled – you can get your book published! You don’t have to beg an agent to take you on and you don’t have to deal with those heartbreaking rejection letters. There’s no longer a stigma associated with self-publishing -- in fact, many of my authors say it’s the very best option.”

CreateSpace was the No. 1 print self-publisher in 2011 with 39 percent of the market, and Smashwords was No. 1 for e-books, with 47 percent, according to Bowker’s most recent information.

However, while most readers no longer pay attention to where a book was published, authors should know they do pay attention to what it looks like, Foster says. 

“The most important overlooked element is not the front cover but the back cover,” she says. “That’s where potential readers will spend the most time deciding if they want to buy your book.”

Browsers spend 10 to 15 seconds reading the back cover. If you want to keep their interest, Foster says follow these four basic rules of book marketing.”

• Know your audience: You have to consider their point of view when you decide what to say on the back cover, and you need to know who they are in order to figure that out. This is your 10-second commercial, so be sure you give your audience what they’re looking for!
• Keep it simple: Many authors try to cram too much information on the back cover in the hopes that something will pique the reader’s interest. But too much information overwhelms browsers and their brain becomes sluggish. Rather than read everything, they read nothing and walk away. Treat the text on your back cover like poetry and keep the message condensed and poignant. 
• Choose the right fonts: Certain font styles appeal to different audience demographics. Whether your audience is mostly teens or college students, middle-aged adults or seniors, they’ll respond differently to the looks of different type faces. Choosing small red fonts on your cover is the worst thing you can do if your market is the reader older than 55 because red is one of the hardest colors to read when aging affects vision. Also, your fonts shouldn’t blend in with the colors on your back cover, or the words lose value to the reader.
• Typos will kill your book sale: If your back cover has a typo, even a small one such as a redundant word or two words with no space between them, it will doom your book. Authors are indeed “judged like a book by its cover” and readers will assume that your book wasn’t edited and that it will be full of errors. One of the most frustrating things for readers is finding typos in a book. It dilutes the meaning of the content, distracts them from reading, and most importantly, makes the author look amateurish. Even if the only typo in your book is the one on your back cover, readers will make critical assumptions based on that one fatal flaw.  

Foster recommends having your book professionally edited, cover to cover. If you can’t afford to do that, at least find a friend or family member with strong reading and writing skills to read it for you.

“No matter how good of an editor you are, you’re likely to read right over your own mistakes,” Foster says. “There’s a reason surgeons don’t operate on themselves; the same is true for authors editing themselves.

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Food for thought: 22 Books for Your Ultimate Summer Reading List

The Neon Museum

Before Twitter and Facebook and the whole word of mouth substitute known as social media hit the landscape, Las Vegas owned the blog-o-sphere when it was still called the “newspaper industry.” 

The primary reason was the glitter of their neon signs and endless string of lights that danced in front of us promising fortune to some and fame to others. Scrapped signs that lured masses to Las Vegas have a new home: The Neon Museum (770 Las Vegas Boulevard North) where the outdoor “Neon Boneyard” celebrates a bygone era with a flashy collection. 

In all of its kitschy glory, the abandoned La Concha motel has been turned into the museum lobby where $18 guided tours await. The junked… er, scrapped… uh retired casino discards include signs from The House of Lords (once a $100 a plate dining treasure), the Sahara Hotel (which hosted John, Paul, George and Ringo and Elvis at various times), the obsolete Stardust and Moulin Rouge, the Barbary Coast (home to Media Guy debauchery from the mid-80s to mid-90s) and the Pool Player who once stood proud on the roof of Doc ‘N’ Eddy’s Pool Hall.

For a city that treats its iconic architecture as a photo op for the next Michael Bay Transformers movie when a building needs to be destroyed, the Neon Museum stands tall in its passion for rescuing the flashing, radiant signs of yesteryear.

At a cost exceeding $100,000 to restore a single sign, you have to be passionate about restoring a special sliver of American Art.

Need a break? Here are some wild news stories...

Ok. Ok. I know. Fox Entertainment was supposed to run the full story. Perhaps I was a bit too full of myself. Regardless, here is the unabashed, unabridged version of wild news stories.

First up, gorgeous Amanda Seyfried is letting the world know she was much hotter during her younger years. The actress told Ellen DeGeneres that she used to have “huge breasts” but that changed when she lost 10 pounds after moving to Los Angeles. We can give her some pointers on how to put the weight back on.

Amanda Seyfried with Jessica Chastain at the 2013 Oscars.

A new twist on the old line “I was really drunk last night…Brad Pitt on Jennifer Aniston marriage. 

Next, have you heard of cat bearding? It’s a viral trend where people take their cats and, well, wear them as beards. Need a visual? Check it out to see some insane examples. 

Indianapolis Prostitution Ring busted. $200,000 found in the Sheraton safe! 

(c) REUTERS

In Indy, they make $700 an hour. In Cannes, prostitutes can make $40,000 … a night? 

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … UFO? California UFOs? We want to believe!

Still the “IT” girl…Marilyn Monroe photos stolen. 

Finally, if you don’t feel like working out, we have all the reasons why you should avoid hitting the gym. Click the video to find out more.  

5 Mistakes that Quash Corporate Innovation

We'll get to the story as soon as I get outside my office and act like an anthropologist…

I bet you already know that the biggest breakthroughs in the history of business – and the history of the world – are never the result of conventional thinking. The Media Guy ran into Maria Ferrante-Schepis, a veteran in the insurance and financial services industry who now consults Fortune 100 companies and she further confirmed that philosophy.

“To echo Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt back in 1960, ‘In every case, the reason growth (in business) is threatened, slowed or stopped is not because the market is saturated. It is because there has been a failure of management.’ Many of the world’s biggest companies are simply riding on inertia,” says Ferrante-Schepis, author of “Flirting with the Uninterested,” coauthored by G. Michael Maddock, which explores innovation opportunity through the lens of the insurance industry 

‘You Can’t Read the Label While Inside the Jar.’

“There’s a great saying in the South: ‘You can’t read the label when you are sitting inside the jar,’ ” says Maddock, CEO of Maddock Douglas. “It’s hard to see a need and invent a way to fill that need when you’ve been inside one business or industry for a long time.”

She adds that recognizing those needs requires stepping outside of the jar and viewing things from the outside. “You can’t innovate from inside the jar, and if you aren’t innovating, you’re just waiting for the expiration date on your business,” she says. 

Ferrante-Schepis and Maddock bust five myths relating to corporate innovation:

• The preference of four out of five dentists doesn’t necessarily matter: Many years ago, when the Maddock Douglas firm consulted with P&G to develop new oral health care products, Crest was recommended by most dentists. However, it turns out the market had shifted; consumers became more interested in bright smiles than healthy gums. Many industries make the mistake of getting their insights from their own experts rather than asking the consumer. 
• Giving all your love to those who already love you: In the interest of preserving customer morale, too many companies focus on those who already love their service. But that’s not what companies need to work on; they need to focus on what’s not working in order to improve. The haters very often offer well-targeted insights that can tremendously improve products, customer service, and/or operations.
• “We tried that idea. It didn’t work.” What idea, exactly? People who are in the jar interpret new ideas based on how they last saw them. You may think you’ve tried or tested an idea, but if you applied it in a conventional way, the way it’s always been used, you haven’t really tried it. Consider the term “auction” -- in-the-jar thinkers envision Sotheby’s and not the more practical and innovative eBay.
• Trying to impress with insider jargon: Communication is a huge part of innovation. Policies in the health-insurance industry, for example, include language that may make sense to insiders, but say nothing to the average middle-class customer, which is prohibitive. Be very careful about the language you use. In this case, “voice of the customer” should be taken literally. Customers recognize, respond to and build from their own words more than from yours.
• Staying at your desk and in the office: Doubling down on what already has not worked for you is not innovative. Get outside your office and act like an anthropologist. Spend time with your customers and bring an expert interpreter and a couple members of your team. Compare notes; you’ll be shocked at how differently you all see the situation. 

Taking Credit Where Credit is (Maybe) Not Deserved...

Is it any wonder that Christina Aguilera's Twitter followers went up 100k since the #jeffyandlola column hit two weeks ago?

Photo by: Michael Lloyd

TURKISH DELIGHTS

I just cracked a Skyfall DVD and seeing Daniel Craig cycling across Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar conjured up memories of a top secret mission press trip The Media Guy recently took to Turkey. I needed to get it all down in writing so you can take a similar trip if you so choose. Only 13 hours from Los Angeles and eight hours from New York.

Get to the Greek

The winding road to the Upper Greek House ($80-$150/night; +90 384 353 54 13) leads you to the top of the grand old Turkish village of Mustafapasa in Cappadocia. The high-end bed and breakfast is an actual villa that has been delightfully restored by John and Judy Warmerdam, its American owners, who sit with you in their comfy Internet-ready living room lounge area. Each sleeping room is a bit different; however. I was in the cave bedroom with a grand fireplace and the thickest, most luxurious blanket that I have ever had the privilege of sleeping with. The expansive bathroom was appointed with what felt like ancient Greek/Turkish marble and sumptuous bath products.

                 

Sitting outside on one of their high terraces, drinking tea or one of the locally made wines instantly transports you to another time and place that is foreign and familiar at the same time. The great pains the staff took to care for the guests were something out of an old novel. You wonder could this actually occur in this day and age? (Note: It can!) The authentic Turkish meals mixed with locally growth organics rounded out the stay very nicely.

A New Take on an Ottoman Palace

Gazing across the Bosphorus strait to the Asian shores while standing on the opulent terrace of a nineteenth-century Ottoman palace, once named Atik Pasha, is something you probably only can do in Istanbul at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus, (Ciragan Caddesi 28, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey; +90 212381 4000, $300+/night). It’s a view that catches you immediately upon arrival at the sumptuously polished entrance hall that leaves you in further doubt as to whether you are in a hotel or one of Turkey’s historic palaces and museums.

                

 A spa featuring three Turkish hammams and intriguing on-site souq area further beckons you to stay there. The hotel is the perfect landing area after 12-hour days searching the Old City for hidden treasures and delights, including the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and Hagia Sofia.

Illumination

What started as a way to reconstruct and utilize broken glass in times of war, the Turkish mosaic lamp has evolved into a hot export that illuminates the homes of American celebrities and dignitaries like George Clooney, Michael Strahan, and Madonna. High quality lamps start at $75 for desktop and $130 for triple drop ceiling model. FedEx shipping will cost you around $35. I was there shooting an interstitial for the Discovery Channel Europe. Yes, The Media Guy was the star and no, the pay wasn't good at all. The Grand Bazaar, however, was amazing. All that was missing was a Bond Girl.

  

Getting There: Turkish Airlines

The Sky Chef is your personal server and concierge.

Some airlines are trying to bring back the grand old days of air travel with superlative comfort and, yes, an on-board chef. Here’s a breakdown on the TABCE, or Turkish Airlines Business Class. 

Experience:

• Overall: A. What could be better than an airline that celebrates the humanity of the airline traveler?
• Beauty Factor: B+. Smart designers can turn normal materials and methods into art.
• Seats/Lounger: B. A little difficulty maneuvering the first hour of the flight. At the end, it was my most amazing sleep in flight.
• Bathrooms: A+. Roomy! Functional! Nice touches.
• Entertainment: A. Excellent.
• Dining: A+. You know when the chef comes out in full uniform, including his puffy white chef’s hat, and shows you all of his wonderful selections of mezzas and main courses. I did, and it was amazing. The chef spent (literally) 15 minutes explaining the ingredients and the provenance of some of the “fresh and never frozen” dishes from the menu. This touch remains the most outstanding differentiator from any other business class travel I have experienced.

Cream of asparagus with olive chutney bruschetta.

Meals:

Seafood mezza: Nova Scotia lox with dill sauce, jumbo shrimp and greens.

Dinner: Preferred meal was the pan-fried halibut. The smooth texture of the fish ranks it with any seafood in a Beverly Hills restaurant. The mezza included stuffed eggplant in olive oil, hummus, garden salad, spinach borek (pastry pie), cheese fatayer and a slew of bread choices. 

Dinner selection #2: Poached rosemary chicken breast with grilled stuffed zucchini.

Snack: Shrimp Louis antipasto with fresh lebneh dollop.

Breakfast: cheese omelet with cherry tomatoes, fresh fruit and cheese plate.

I really enjoyed the international flavors of the extensive selection of liqueurs, whiskeys and wines. What caught our attention were the Turkish wines and beers. On my flight, here were my category favorites (yes I tried them all): beer: Efes Pilsen; liqueur: tekel Ozel Uretim; red wine: 2006 Doluca Karma; and white wine: 2009 Kavaklidere Narince.

L.A.-Istanbul-L.A.: $5,200 business class / $895 economy. www.thy.com

Bring 007 home for a Staycation Turkish Experience