Speaker/program proposal for Writers' Conferences

Brian Schwartz

My Mission: To bridge the gap between self-publishers and traditional publishing by teaching the proven strategies and techniques of successful independent publishers.

Getting Book Reviews

What’s the one thing you can do each and every day to grow your book sales?

Ask for a review.

In this session, Brian Schwartz will share his tips on how to create the essential foundation behind any successful book: a strategy to continually ask for reviews (and follow-up). Putting marketing dollars behind a book without reviews is the fastest way to blow through your budget. While Amazon reviews get all the attention, there are many other ways you can gather & leverage reviews elsewhere.

10 takeaways you can expect from attending this webinar: – How to ask for a review to increase the odds of getting a good one. – Indicators Amazon uses to remove reviews (and the importance of using a “barebone” url when pointing to your book). – How to get more mileage from each review. – Using reviews in your marketing materials and front matter. – How many reviews you need. – When a bad review can be good. – How to avoid getting banned by Goodreads. – What a successful reviewer outreach, tracking & follow-up system looks like. – How to uncover 100+ reviewers in your own network. – Using advance reviews in your launch. Bonus: How reviews help you increase your profit margin.

After helping hundreds of authors since 2009, Brian has seen firsthand what works and what doesn’t. How do you get a good review for your book? You put your book in the hands of the right reader. How do you get a bad review? You put your book in the hands of the wrong reader! Amazon.com began with a single line of code. Similarly, the success of any bestseller began with a single review. Brian and his team in the trenches have personally gathered hundreds of reviews for his clients.

Feedback from a past booking:

"Brian Schwartz was the most informative presenter I’ve heard so far, and the IAP project has overall been excellent. Brian was outstanding. I learned so much!""

Over 300 people registered for the event (many watched the replay):

Event Replay

The Hot Seat

Format: Keynote (Interactive Panel)
In this unique and original session, I will facilitate a highly interactive Q&A with a highly successful author (VIP). Piloted through SLO Nightwriters in 2017 with VIP Jay Asher, it was the most popular event of the year.

Attendee Takeaways

Feedback

You can read more about the format (and listen to a past event) here.

Self-Publishing Bootcamp

In this intensive session (which may also be part of a pre-conference bootcamp), I cover everything an author needs to know before they self-publish. It is based on on the self-publish pledge which touches on the key ideas I wish every author knew before they published. After nearly 10 years of experience working with more than 500 self-published authors, I aim to help authors avoid costly mistakes. It is modeled around the curriculum I have been teaching at Cal Poly and contains 12 modules. Even if an author is seeking to get traditionally published, having knowledge of the publishing process will be to their advantage.

  1. Editing Phase (Tips, tricks, and resources)
  2. Interior Formatting (for Kindle & print-on-demand)
  3. Cover design tips, tricks, and resources
  4. Marketplace Setup and Optimization
  5. Advance Reader Campaigns
  6. Building an Author Website
  7. Create & grow online profiles & presence (social media)
  8. Agent queries
  9. Getting book reviews
  10. Becoming an Amazon bestseller
  11. Amazon Optimization
  12. Book Marketing (strategic planning)

The framework I teach is modeled around the same process traditional publishers follow when publishing a new title.

Attendee Takeaways

The Uberization of Publishing

Format: Lecture with media presentation
Learn to build and manage an on-demand workforce. With the ebb and flow of publishing, comes the need to have skilled partners on deck. Learn how to effectively execute a complex production with fewer people in less time. Learn why adopting an agile framework can lead to increased opportunities, streamline processes and increased profits. Attendees will see first hand how I've managed a dispersed team to grow my own publishing business over the past 8 years.

Attendee Takeaways

The Amazon Bestseller Blueprint

The primary goal of a KDP bestseller campaign is to expand your audience and obtain bestseller status at some point during the 5-day giveaway campaign.

The long-term effect is that for every book downloaded, it is added to the readers profile. Because Amazon recommends products based on matching up buyer profiles, the more times your book is downloaded, the more likely your book will be recommended to similar Amazon shoppers.

Those who read the kindle book are also reminded by Amazon to post a review.

Additional titles from the same author will typically be recommended to the reader by Amazon as well.

Authors who follow the bestseller blueprint will achieve bestseller status at some point during the 5-day campaign. Once your book on the top 10 list of at least one category, you are bona fide Amazon bestseller for life.

Attendee Takeaways

Tapping AMS (Amazon Marketing Services)

Format: Panel Discussion
Based on availability, I will facilitate a candid discussion (not a sales pitch) with representative(s) from Amazon and reveal how best selling authors are using promotional tools from Amazon to promote their Kindle books and grow their audience.

Attendee Takeaways

Bio

Brian Schwartz is an instructor in the Cal Poly Storytellers and Bestsellers writer's program and former president of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. In 2009, he launched 50 Interviews and adapted his publishing company to provide a full range of consulting, publishing, and marketing services to over than 500 authors. He is the CEO of SelfPublish.org, and developer of two software tools for authors. He is the author of two books, was featured in Wild Ink: Successful Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market (Prufrock Press), and his Kindle Expert YouTube channel has received more than 100,000 views.

Past Conferences & Events (Resume / Credentials)

Endorsements ★★★★★

"I teach an entrepreneurship course as an Adjunct Professor at a pretty high end B-School. I invited Brian to share his own entrepreneurial experience as well as his insights from 50 Interviews with Entrepreneurs with my students. His ability to not only deliver content, but adapt it to the audience in real time was impeccable. I use guest speakers quite a bit in this particular setting, and Brian is an all time favorite over several years of this particular course. I will always beg him to share some of his insights with any collection of entrepreneurs that I might assembly, and would recommend him as a speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship, self publishing, and franchise creation to anyone interested in getting great content presented with humor, knowledge, honesty, and an awareness of who is actually in the room." ~ Les Makepeace - Source

"Brian is always popular with our clubs. We do not usually have speakers to our national Convention that have already spoken to our local clubs. In Brian's case, we made an exception. Our members love his story, his speaking style and the way each presentation is personalized to the group." ~ Sales Professionals International - Source

"Brian said things every aspiring entrepreneur in graduate school needs to hear. Paul M Bauer Chair, Information Technology Department, Daniels College, University of Denver - Source

"The book business is changing dramatically and exponentially and Brian is ahead of the curve. He was very generous in sharing his expertise and he alerted us about pitfalls to avoid. As an author and publisher he is a shining example of someone who knew what he wanted to do and then did it, expeditiously, successfully and efficiently." ~ Nancy Mills, Past President, Colorado Independent Publishers Association

"I received very positive feedback from all who attended Brian's Indie Publishing workshop at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference. I look forward to having him join us again at an upcoming conference.. to further arm attendees with the latest technology related to independent and eBook publishing. The face of publishing is rapidly shifting and we need more experts like Brian to lead authors safely down the ever changing path... to avoid the many minefields and arrive successfully." - Marlene Bagnull, Litt.D. - Director of Colorado & Greater Philly Christian Writers Conferences

"Based on the overwhelming popularity of the topic of eBooks, and given the fact Brian delivered a solid program for us last year, we are glad to welcome Brian back for a second year at the 51st annual Cape Cod Writers Conference. I would highly recommend Brian to other writer's conferences seeking to add an element of independent publishing to their curriculum." - Nancy Rubin Stuart, Executive Director, Cape Cod Writers Center

Testimonials from Clients

Professional References

  1. Judy Salamacha - Former chair of the Central Coast Writers Conference: judysalamacha@gmail.com
  2. Janice Konstantinidis - President of SLO Nightwriters: jkon50@gmail.com
  3. Wes Martin - Cuesta College Community Programs: phillip_martin@cuesta.edu

Questions? Book a call with Brian

If you would like to discuss the specific needs of your audience, please schedule a complimentary call with me below. As a presenter at dozens of conferences for nearly 10 years, I may be able to offer you a fresh perspective and new ideas.

Schedule a call

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