My favorite books for authors who want to sell more books

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe that people need stories and book marketing done well can help readers find the stories they need to craft a more hope-filled, compassionate, and meaningful life. The authors I meet are sharp and creative, but many don’t have experience with book marketing. I find coaching authors to amplify their platforms is a rewarding way to support the community. My front-row seat to watching my clients’ dreams become reality is so inspiring. This book was a collaboration of book marketing experts, whom I admire, and I was so honored they agreed to share their insights with our readers. 


I wrote...

Launch Pad: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book

By Mary Helen Sheriff, Grace Sammon,

Book cover of Launch Pad: The Countdown to Marketing Your Book

What is my book about?

Hooray! Your book is written, published, and headed for the NYT Best Seller List! Ah, if only that were true. Regardless of the path that got you here, even award-winning bestsellers have to embrace a marketing plan that helps their book soar. From Dan Blank's marketing mindset guidance to practical tips on leveraging social media, book clubs, reviews, and so much more, this book, the third in a series of three on writing, publishing, and marketing your book, Launch Pad will help you get it done! Each focused chapter engages you in a process that will raise your marketing IQ, build your skill set, and set you on a path for a successful book launch and marketing plan. Welcome to the Launch Pad.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did I love this book?

Writing, publishing, and marketing a book is hard. One of the biggest hurdles for me is my mindset.

Be the Gateway offered me a path to finding my creative why and using that to focus my creativity and my marketing efforts. If you find the creative life a struggle, this book can help you reclaim your excitement.

By Dan Blank,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Be the Gateway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many people feel the drive to do creative work, but get overwhelmed by the process of connecting with an audience. They follow best practices in marketing that never seem to pan out, don t produce results, and make them feel lost and oftentimes, frustrated. Be the Gateway offers a powerful way to have an impact. If you want to share your voice and inspire people with your writing, art, craft, or creative idea, you have to be the gateway for them. Instead of throwing products out into the marketplace, you open them up to a new way of looking at…


Book cover of BookBub Ads Expert

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did I love this book?

While BookBub ads are the easiest to set up, creating a successful campaign is more difficult. Since it costs money to test campaign features, it is wise to learn what you can before you start. 

The guidance this book provides can help you to find success with your ads more quickly and spend less money on the learning phase.

By David Gaughran,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked BookBub Ads Expert as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the author of Let's Get Digital and Strangers to Superfans comes a guide to advertising on the world's hottest book marketing platform: BookBub Ads.

*Create attractive ad images to turn browsers into buyers.
*Optimize your targeting to attract the right readers.
*Manage your bids effectively to drive more sales for less money.
*Learn when to run your BookBub campaigns for maximum impact.
*Boost discovery of your books and improve visibility.
*Train the retailers to recommend your books to the right customers.
*Turbocharge series sales to dominate the charts with multiple books simultaneously.

BookBub Ads Expert will teach you everything…


Book cover of The Author's Guide to Write Text That Sells Books

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did I love this book?

Writing the back copy of my debut novel was almost as hard as writing the book (I exaggerate, of course, but it was really hard).

This book was really helpful in guiding me through what to include and what to leave out. A great book description is essential to selling your book and makes marketing much easier. 

By Rob Eagar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Author's Guide to Write Text That Sells Books as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you enjoy writing a book but hate writing the marketing text? Learn how to describe your book in ways that readers can’t resist.

“I recommend Rob Eagar to any author looking to take their book campaign to a higher level.” – Dr. Gary Chapman, New York Times bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages

“Rob Eagar’s expertise was beyond my expectations…” – Wanda Brunstetter, 6-time New York Times bestselling novelist with over 10 million copies sold

Language is the power of the sale. But, does writing the marketing text for your book seem like a foreign language? Do you…


Book cover of From Page to Stage: Inspiration, Tools, and Public Speaking Tips for Writers

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did I love this book?

Public speaking is one of the best marketing tools for authors. Good speakers sell books and can often supplement their incomes through paid speaking gigs.

From Page to Stage helped me hone my speaking points. It is loaded with tips to help even the most shy of authors give a good talk. The author is a psychotherapist who has worked with many clients to overcome their fear of public speaking. I loved that this book was written specifically for authors, and so it directly addressed the types of events and talks common in the book industry. 

By Betsy Graziani Fasbinder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked From Page to Stage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this accessible, straightforward book, seasoned author Betsy Graziani Fasbinder offers readers the why, what, and how of public speaking, along with exercises and resources to support ongoing learning. She provides inspiration and encouragement to help writers to overcome their fears of public speaking, but she doesn't stop there; she also lays out the practical, nuts-and-bolts tools they need to select, deselect, and arrange the content of what to say when they're on a podium, in an interview, or in casual conversations about their writing, and includes a model for handling challenging questions from interviewers and audience members with confidence…


Book cover of The Business of Being a Writer

Mary Helen Sheriff Why did I love this book?

This book is a great primer to everything an author needs to know about the business side of the author's life.

Marketing is one aspect that the author touches, but the section of the book I found most helpful delved into how authors make money, how much money authors make, etc. This transparency was eye-opening for me as I was starting to transition from a “writer” to an “author.”

By Jane Friedman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Business of Being a Writer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Writers talk about their work in many ways: as an art, as a calling, as a lifestyle. Too often missing from these conversations is the fact that writing is also a business. The reality is, those who want to make a full or part-time job out of writing are going to have a more positive and productive career if they understand the basic business principles underlying the industry. The Business of Being a Writer offers the business education writers need but so rarely receive. It is meant for early career writers looking to develop a realistic set of expectations about…


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Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

By Mark Doherty,

Book cover of Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

Mark Doherty Author Of Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a highly experienced outdoorsman, musician, songwriter, and backcountry guide who chose teaching as a day job. As a writer, however, I am a promoter of creative and literary nonfiction, especially nonfiction that features a thematic thread, whether it be philosophical, conservation, historical, or even unique experiential. The thread I used for thirty years of teaching high school and honors English was the thread of Conservation, as exemplified by authors like Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Edward O. Wilson, Al Gore, Henry David Thoreau, as well as many other more contemporary authors.

Mark's book list on creative nonfiction books that entertain and teach through threaded essays and stories

What is my book about?

I have woven numerous delightful and descriptive true life stories, many from my adventures as an outdoorsman and singer songwriter, into my life as a high school English teacher. I think you'll find this work both entertaining as well as informative, and I hope you enjoy the often lighthearted repartee and dialogue that enhances the stories and experiences.

When I started teaching in the early 1990s, I brought into the classroom with me my passions for nature, folk music, and creativity. This book holds something new and engaging with every chapter and can be enjoyed by all sorts of readers, particularly those who enjoy nonfiction that employs wit, wisdom, humor, and even some down-to-earth philosophy.

Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration

By Mark Doherty,

What is this book about?

Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration follows the evolution of a high school English teacher as he develops a creative and innovative teaching style despite being juxtaposed against a public education system bent on didactic, normalizing regulations and political demands. Doherty crafts an engaging nonfiction story that utilizes memoir, anecdote, poetry, and dialogue to explore how mixing creativity and pedagogy can change the way budding students visualize creative writing: A chunk of firewood plunked on a classroom table becomes part of a sawmill, a mine timber, an Anasazi artifact...it also becomes a poem, a song, an essay, and a memoir. The…


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