No, that’s not a misspelling. (Come on, I’ve been an editor for over 30 years.)

On July 4, America celebrates Independence Day. This year, VIP Authors can continue partying for the entire month when they take advantage of the new VIP Author Inner Circle 6-month membership program (July through December 2010).

The 2010 yearly membership is now closed, but savvy VIPs can hop on board the Inner Circle for only $75 for the rest of the year! (If you can’t wait to take advantage of this opportunity, join now and come back to read the rest of the post later.)

So why are we calling it Independents Day Month? Maybe you say you’re not an independent author—your book is already published by Simon & Schuster, or maybe you’re aspiring to get an agent and traditional publisher. Well, I say it doesn’t matter who your publisher is (you or HarperCollins). ALL authors are independent authors, because ultimately all authors are responsible for their own success.

You may have noticed that even the Big Publishers expect their authors to come ready with a platform, community of readers, blog and/or website, and marketing plan. So, indie authors and traditionally published authors have to do the same work…we’re all one.

In the spirit of the colonists overthrowing their tyrannical oppressors, break free of the stifling old attitudes and join forces with like-minded writers who are ready to take control of their  publishing success. The VIP Authors Inner Circle program provides education and support for all authors. See all membership benefits here>>

VIP Authors embrace independence! We rise to the challenge, eager to adapt the new technology and resources to our own advantage. VIP Authors don’t wait for permission, we’re too busy following our dreams IRL (in real life).

All we ask is your commitment–not for a year, but only 6 months! (And, at an insanely low price.) That’s why this offer is available during July only. Register this month, or be closed out for the rest of the year!

It’s not too late to turn those almost-forgotten 2010 New Year’s resolutions to get published this year into reality. Come January 2011, will you be where you are now…or will you be clinking your glass to celebrate your continued success in the new year?

VIP Authors choose NOW. What do you choose?

Good. Register here and start celebrating your independence in the VIP Authors Inner Circle program today.

BONUS OFFER: Register by July 10 and download all the VIP Author Talks and Open Coaching audio recordings from January through June 2010–an additional 6 months of value!! But act now, because on July 11, the material is being archived and will no longer be available!

Quick! Register now and start downloading! Remember, you must sign up by July 10 to get the extra goodies.

P.S. The new 6-month program is an opportunity for new members to join. If you are an Inner Circle member already, just pat yourself on the back and get ready to welcome new friends. If it’s time for you to renew, don’t worry…you’ll get a reminder email and you can get the special price, too.

P.P.S. Photo ©Joe Gemignani. All rights reserved. See more like this>>

Were you on last night’s call, “Using Social Media & Digital Publishing to Skyrocket Publishing Success”? If so, then you already know how to become a Google partner and place your book in its worldwide sales and marketing program. For free.

You also know how to get your book into Amazon’s free Digital Text Platform (DTP) program and sell your ebook on Kindle for free. And that you can do this with little or no technical knowledge other than how to upload a file.

Don’t despair if you missed it! Here is the link to the replay:

Social Media + Digital Publishing Skyrocket Publishing Success Audio

Something else you missed if you weren’t on the call was a very special offer for those who join the new For Authors Only program before the first class on Tuesday, June 15.

Many of you have contacted me to say you want to join the program, but feel that you don’t have the computer skills to actively blog or social network. You don’t really need a high level of skill for the program, but you do have to somewhat computer savvy, so you have a choice:

If you are working with a VA or a tech assistant who helps you with your social networking, blogging or online marketing, you can bring your assistant to the program at no extra charge. Your assistant might be your child, neighbor, college student or virtual assistant.  If you want to take advantage of this incredible value (2 for 1), simply contact me after you register with the other person’s contact information. (This is “on your honor” and I will send the appropriate information to your assistant so he or she can access the program calls and downloads. Please do not share member-only passwords or material with anyone.)

If you are NOT working with an assistant, here’s your special offer:

I will extend the early registration bonus, which has expired, to those who sign up by June 15 and are not bringing an assistant. Your bonus includes a free 30-minute consultation with me ($175 value) and a free audio teleseminar program of 4 recorded hours an 60 transcript pages ($199 value).

Join now and start downloading the bonus digital package that EVERY MEMBER receives, which includes approximately 10 hours of audio and 120 pages of transcripts.

Get all the details and join here>>

Remember, the bonus offers expire when classes start on June 15.

So, please don’t delay any longer! I’m looking forward to having you in the program.

I’m back from Book Expo America in New York and recovered from the metro-sized cold I brought home–so I’m finally able to tell you all about what’s really going on in the trenches of publishing straight from the trendsetters’ mouths.

In addition to trolling the Expo main exhibit floor, I focused much of my time at the small panel-size discussions held on the Javitz Center’s lower levels–that’s where the real action was happening, IMO. I attended these sessions:

• e-Strategy for Authors: A Publisher & Agency Perspective
• Are e-Books Good for Authors?
• How the Digital Book Cloud Works for Publishers & Users (sponsored by Google)
• Maximize Your Sales Potential (sponsored by Amazon)

These are some of the sessions I missed due to scheduling conflicts and time constraints:

• Bring Your Authors to the Social Media Party…and Getting Them to Stay
• Building Online Reader Communities with an Eye on ROI
• When Gutenberg Meets Zuckerberg
• Mobile Apps: A Publisher Roadmap for Creation & Use
• Who’s Reading e-Books?
• The Creative & Business Questions Surrounding Enhanced e-Books
• Community Social Networking
• The Next Decade in Book Culture (Guess what they were slated to talk about)

Are you starting to see where the future of publishing is headed?

The primary reason I attended this conference was to explore and experience firsthand the true pulse of the industry–not just read about it via someone else’s viewpoint in articles and blogs. When developing social media strategies for myself and my clients, I want to be absolutely certain that I know about the most up-to-date technologies and have a clear vision of how to apply them in this quickly evolving publishing environment.

I want to share what I learned with you and tell you about a program I designed to help you implement this new knowledge to launch or skyrocket your publishing success. Please join me for a free tele-class with an open Q&A session at the end so you can get your questions answered. Here are the details:

Topic: Using Social Media & Digital Publishing to Skyrocket Your Publishing Success

Date: Thursday, June 10, 2010

Time: 7:00pm Eastern (6pm Central, 5pm Mountain, 4pm Pacific)

Call-In Details: Dial (712) 432-0075, Enter access code 622330#

I’m expecting a big turnout (the last social media call went to capacity on the conference line), so call in at least 5 minutes early!

P.S. The cool photo at the top of this post is used with permission of the photographer, Joe Gemignani. All rights reserved. (Since he’s my hubby, you can imagine what would happen if he didn’t give me permission.) See more like this here>>

Pardon the expletive deleted in the post title. It’s not my choice of words; it’s the feedback I often get from writers when I bring up the need for authors today to be social media savvy.

But grumbling or sticking your head in the sand is not the answer. Just this morning I read an interview with literary agent Wendy Keller on MediaBistro.com’s GalleyCat. She said,

“The authors we specialize in have or want to have a massive platform, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people they reach before, during and after publication. We look for people who don’t sit around dreaming of how they’ll spend the money once they’re on Oprah and instead are out there making things happen.”

Although it seems almost daily that I read about some awesome blog-to-book deal or a self-published author who sold thousands of ebooks via Twitter and landed a publishing contract, the vast majority of authors with quality material are still failing to make that vital connection on the Internet via social media.

I can tell you why. Writers have specific needs and challenges that must be addressed for social media to be effective that are not issues for most business people. So, much of the social media hype out there doesn’t work or is way too complicated and time-consuming for an author’s needs.

But what if just a few simple changes in what you’re doing could result in massive traffic to your blog? How about adding a stream of income with your material as an ebook? Would that be helpful?

If you said, “YES,” I’d like to share some information with you that has helped me and many of my clients.

Please join me for a a Free tele-class for authors only. Here are all the details:

Topic: Social #@%&*#! Media for Authors

Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Time: 8:00pm to 9:00pm Eastern (7pm Central, 6pm Mountain, 5pm Pacific)

On this call you will learn:

• The secret to having time to write
• The 3 most important things to include in your social media profile
• The trends in publishing that you must know to get published today
• Where agents and publishers are finding their new authors
• Why having a social media strategy is critical to your success
• What’s working and what’s not for writers
• How some authors are paying their mortgages with income from ebooks
• A simple solution to turning social media overwhelm into social media success

If you’ve been struggling with blogging, social networking or trying to figure out how to get your book on Kindle, Nook and iPad, you MUST be on this call. So, what are you waiting for?

Registration for this event is now closed. You can access a recording of the teleclass here>>

Do you believe that marketing has to be difficult, time-consuming, expensive, and anything but fun? Many authors and other small business owners cringe at the idea of marketing their business. You may be one of those people, no matter how long you’ve been in business.

Find out how to turn that all around when VIP Author Talks interviews Paulette Ensign. Known as the “Booklet Queen,” Paulette will take you step-by-step through easily marketing yourself with tips booklets and other related information products, some of which will cost you literally nothing to produce.

You will learn simple and easy ways to transform your knowledge into products to use for motivating and making money, while marketing your books and other products and services in the process. This entertaining and information-packed class will prompt a new way of thinking about opportunities, many of which are delivered right to you throughout your week.

Discover how to get a large return on your minimal investment of time and money. Get your juices flowing and your actions moving toward successfully developing and promoting yourself with tips booklets and other information products.

During this class you will learn how to:

• Get paid for your business card
• Leverage your content into at least 7 products, with minimal costs, if any
• Identify new and larger bulk sales clients
• Create licensing rights deals for any product, online or offline
• Increase profits whether you like selling or not

Have a question on a topic not listed? Write it down now for the live Q&A at the end of the call.

Mark your calendar right now to join us for this informative teleclass!

Topic: How to Promote Yourself with Tips Booklets & Other Info-Products

When: Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Time: 8:00pm Eastern Time (7pm Central, 6pm Mountain, 5pm Pacific).

How to Register:

VIP Authors Inner Circle Members: You are already registered. Log on to the Members-Only page for call-in details. The audio recording of the class will be posted to the members page within 24 hours after the event.

Non-Members: Not a member yet, but want to hear the class? The monthly VIP Author Talks teleclass is free to members, but you can pay for the class only and sample the membership benefits before joining.

Tuition for non-members: $14.95 (includes mp3 recording download).

“I want to hear from you more often.”

If I sound like a mom, that’s because I am one!  (Here I am with my two fabulous children.) And being both a daughter and a mother, I know how it feels to be on both sides of the question, “Why don’t I hear from you more often?”

And, lately that’s what you’re telling me, too! So, I thought Mother’s Day would be a good time to catch up and also offer a special gift to my favorite peeps–YOU! Keep reading for all the details…

Yes, it’s been a while since I sent a newsletter. Have you noticed? Or, in the barrage of email that you get every day, are you just glad to have one less thing to delete?

Some of you have contacted me, looking for past issues that you may have missed. Well, the good news is that you haven’t missed any back issues. Publishing Success has been on hiatus while I tried to figure out a new format that made sense.

I want to stay connected with you. You tell me the best way to do it. Leave a comment below and tell what you think.

P.S. I didn’t forget ;-D. And now for my Mother’s Day gift to you! Join For Authors Only on or before Mother’s Day and get a free 30-minute consultation with me ($175 value). While you’re here, check out the Free Stuff page for some special give-aways, too!

Authoring a book instantly makes you an authority. A book is a great way to promote your ideas, causes, business or services, and can be one of the most effective marketing tools you will ever create.

But maybe you don’t have time to write a book. Maybe you don’t know how. Or maybe you just like to collaborate.

What can you do?

Find out when VIP Author Talks interviews Kim Pearson, a real, live ghost with six published books of her own and more than 30 ghostwritten titles to her credit.

In this one-hour teleclass, you will learn:

• Why ghosts are good for you – reasons to hire a ghostwriter
• Why it’s not cheating to hire a ghost
• What ghosts do and what they don’t do – and what is needed from you
• What ghosts might cost, and how long it takes them to do what they do
• Places to find ghosts, other than haunted houses

Have a question on a topic not listed? Write it down now for the live Q&A at the end of the call.

Mark your calendar right now to join us for this informative teleclass!

Topic: What to Know About a Ghost(Writer) Before You Hire One

When: Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Time: 8:00pm Eastern Time (7pm Central, 6pm Mountain, 5pm Pacific).

How to Register:

VIP Authors Inner Circle Members: You are already registered. Log on to the Members-Only page for call-in details. The audio recording of the class will be posted to the members page within 24 hours after the event.

Non-Members: Not a member yet, but want to hear the class? The monthly VIP Author Talks teleclass is free to members, but you can pay for the class only and sample the membership benefits before joining.

Registration for this event is now closed. The audio recording of the teleclass is available for purchase on the VIP Author Talks Audio page. To review this and all VIP Author Talks programs click here>>

Speaker Bio
Kim Pearson is an author, ghostwriter, and owner of Primary Sources, a writing service that helps others become authors of professional and compelling books and articles. She has authored 6 books of her own, and ghostwritten more than 30 non-fiction books and memoirs. To learn more about her books or services, visit her website>>