Through an asynchronous video seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, takes you behind the scenes of the book publishing industry to explain how books become bestsellers—and what bestseller status really means.
Whether you're an author preparing for a book launch, a publishing professional, or simply curious about how bestseller lists work, this seminar will help you understand the business, strategy, and sales data behind the coveted bestseller status.
How books become bestsellers and what actually drives bestseller status
How bestseller lists work and how different lists calculate and curate their rankings
The differences between major book bestseller lists and sales rankings
What it really takes to get a book on a bestseller list
The true value of a bestseller designation
How book sales, book launches, marketing, publicity, and distribution can affect a book's success
An example of someone who tried to “cheat” the bestseller list…and how that worked out for them!
Legitimate bestseller strategies authors and publishing professionals can use to support a book's success
Private access to a recorded YouTube seminar explaining how bestseller lists function within the book publishing ecosystem
An expert, behind-the-scenes look at bestseller lists, book sales, book marketing, and bestseller strategy
Practical information you can use to better understand—and support—the success of a book
No bestseller promises. No gimmicks. Just a clear explanation of how bestseller lists actually work and what authors and publishing professionals need to know.
Before you invest in PR, publicity, or digital marketing, you need a strong author brand. Otherwise, you’re spinning your wheels! This introductory seminar will help you build a cohesive author platform and create a brand that supports your books, audience, publicity, and long-term career.
Through a private recorded seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, will walk you through the fundamentals of author branding, author platform strategy, social media, and book marketing.
Build a cohesive author brand and author platform
Choose the social media sites and digital platforms that make sense for your audience
Create a manageable author marketing and branding strategy
Develop time-management strategies for maintaining your brand
Determine which branding, marketing, PR, and publicity services you can handle yourself—and when to hire a professional
Create a foundation for future book promotion, PR, and digital marketing
Private access to a recorded YouTube introductory seminar on author branding and author platform strategy
A recommended take-home activity to help you put your branding strategy into practice
The option to contract for additional consulting hours or receive referrals to professionals specializing in author branding, book marketing, PR, and publicity
Build the brand first. Then use it to support everything that comes next.
Authors hesitate to hire public relations firms because PR efforts do not directly translate into sales. But building your brand is a step before the publicity and marketing work! And we can get started with a strong brand to support your PR and digital marketing strategy later.
This course includes:
Introductory seminar sharing theory and best practices for beginning a cohesive author brand. We’ll answer the questions posed above, and help you:
Choose which sites or apps you want to employ to communicate your brand
Learn time management strategy for working on book branding
Decide what services you need to hire out and which you can do yourself
One follow up one-on-one consulting session with me (after you’ve done a little prep work) so we can set you up for brand success!
Option to contract for more consulting hours or other work, or get references to colleagues who work in book branding, PR or marketing
This is for Author Branding 101 only, which includes the 1 hour group seminar, and then a separate one-on-one consulting session you privately schedule with Sara Wigal by email after you complete the online seminar.
This is for Bookstore & Retail Relationships only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
Bookstores are one of the most important parts of the trade publishing ecosystem, from nationwide retailers to independent bookstores. But how do bookstores actually decide which books to order, stock, display, recommend, and promote?
In this seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, takes you behind the scenes of the bookselling process and explains how authors can build productive relationships with booksellers and create opportunities for their books.
How to get your book into bookstores and how booksellers evaluate and order books
How bookstores merchandise, recommend, and sell books
What publishing sales representatives do and how they influence bookstore purchasing decisions
How book distributors, wholesalers, and sales channels get books to market
Why some books make it onto bookstore shelves—and why others don't
How traditionally published, hybrid, and self-published authors can work effectively with bookstores
How to plan, promote, and execute successful bookstore events and author events
Common mistakes authors make when approaching bookstores—and how to avoid them
How bookstores drive book discovery, word-of-mouth marketing, and bestseller momentum
Hear directly from Hannah Peterson, Kids/YA Events Manager at Parnassus Books, about the bookstore perspective and what authors should know when approaching booksellers and planning events.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
This is for Bookstore & Retail Relationships only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
Bookstores are one of the most important parts of the trade publishing ecosystem, from nationwide retailers to independent bookstores. But how do bookstores actually decide which books to order, stock, display, recommend, and promote?
In this seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, takes you behind the scenes of the bookselling process and explains how authors can build productive relationships with booksellers and create opportunities for their books.
How to get your book into bookstores and how booksellers evaluate and order books
How bookstores merchandise, recommend, and sell books
What publishing sales representatives do and how they influence bookstore purchasing decisions
How book distributors, wholesalers, and sales channels get books to market
Why some books make it onto bookstore shelves—and why others don't
How traditionally published, hybrid, and self-published authors can work effectively with bookstores
How to plan, promote, and execute successful bookstore events and author events
Common mistakes authors make when approaching bookstores—and how to avoid them
How bookstores drive book discovery, word-of-mouth marketing, and bestseller momentum
Hear directly from Hannah Peterson, Kids/YA Events Manager at Parnassus Books, about the bookstore perspective and what authors should know when approaching booksellers and planning events.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
This is for THE AMAZON EFFECT only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
This is for Library Roles in Trade Book Publishing only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
Libraries are a vital part of the book publishing industry, yet authors often overlook them as an important market for reaching readers and building a book’s long-term success.
In this seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, explains how libraries acquire, evaluate, distribute, and pay for books—and how authors can successfully position and market their books to libraries.
How to get your book into libraries and how librarians evaluate books for their collections
How library collections, acquisitions, and book distribution channels work
How to position your book for library acquisition and collection development
Effective strategies for marketing books to libraries and librarians
How public and school libraries are affected by book banning and censorship
How authors and publishers get paid when libraries purchase books
How libraries fit into the larger trade publishing ecosystem
The second hour features a live Q&A with Pat Bashir, Children’s Manager at Nashville Public Library Main Branch, giving you the opportunity to hear directly from a working librarian about how libraries select and acquire books.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
This is for Library Roles in Trade Book Publishing only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
This is for Library Roles in Trade Book Publishing only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
Libraries are a vital part of the book publishing industry, yet authors often overlook them as an important market for reaching readers and building a book’s long-term success.
In this seminar, Your Publishing Professor, Sara Wigal, explains how libraries acquire, evaluate, distribute, and pay for books—and how authors can successfully position and market their books to libraries.
How to get your book into libraries and how librarians evaluate books for their collections
How library collections, acquisitions, and book distribution channels work
How to position your book for library acquisition and collection development
Effective strategies for marketing books to libraries and librarians
How public and school libraries are affected by book banning and censorship
How authors and publishers get paid when libraries purchase books
How libraries fit into the larger trade publishing ecosystem
The second hour features a live Q&A with Pat Bashir, Children’s Manager at Nashville Public Library Main Branch, giving you the opportunity to hear directly from a working librarian about how libraries select and acquire books.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
This is for HYBRID, INDIE AND SELF PUBLISHING only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
This is for INSIDE LITERARY AGENTING and LITERARY AGENTS: GETTING THE DEAL only. Two live online meetings are in this course, and this is not for the entire 7-week series.
Whether you want to work in publishing, publish your own book, or better understand the business behind books, this introductory class provides an insider's guide to how books are acquired, marketed, sold, and discovered in today's publishing marketplace.
This is for PUBLISHING 1010 only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
*This order option is for public educators and librarians ONLY. Evidence of current employment required for this discount. Thank you for allowing me to honor my heroes in this way!*
Whether you want to work in publishing, publish your own book, or better understand the business behind books, introductory class provides an insider's guide to how books are acquired, marketed, sold, and discovered in today's publishing marketplace.
This is for PUBLISHING 101 only, a single live online stand alone course, and not for the entire 7-week series.
Whether you want to work in publishing, publish your own book, or better understand the business behind books, this seven-week course (split into 6 units) provides an insider's guide to how books are acquired, marketed, sold, and discovered in today's publishing marketplace.
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