About Us
Between us, Yvonne and Tom, we have more than a half-century of experience with professional writing, editing, and publishing. We dove into the indie author space with Yvonne's first book in 2004. And that effort showed us how much better the indie author experience could and should be. So we started our own publishing company, WME Books, helping dozens of authors realize their dream publishing that book in them! After a business startup detour into the pet social media industry, we came back to our love of books and helping authors as Master Book Builders.
How We Got Started
After "retiring" from our last startup (BlogPaws.com), we both found ourselves coming back to a desire to help authors who feel stuck, or frustrated, or just overwhelmed at the options and platforms for book publishing. We learned how much the book publishing technologies, platforms, and formats had evolved just in the few years we were away, and that indie publishing is more vibrant than ever.
Now, instead of being the publisher, we not only help authors write, edit, design, publish, and market their book, we also help them understand the small business side of authorship and become their own publishing and media company -- own their imprint and ISBNs, EIN, barcodes, and so on.
Learn more at MasterBookBuilders.com
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (19)
"How can you NOT recommend Tom Collins from Master Book Builders. He's an expert in the book..."
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"How can you NOT recommend Tom Collins from Master Book Builders. He's an expert in the book publishing sphere, very helpful, FUN personality and more. If you want to publish a book, have written a book or just think you might - reach out and connect with Tom - an A+ resource on Alignable. "
"Expert book designer. Did a fabulous job on my book!"
Products & Services
Got a book manuscript that's waiting to be published? Think of me as your "book construction manager" -- ready to handle the details of cover and i...
Tell your story as it was meant to be. Hiring a ghostwriter is a great way to take the pressure off stretching your writing skills and focus on get...
Recommendations Given (19)
"Porsche is one of those experts who is at once highly knowledgeable, skilled at tailoring her..."
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"Porsche is one of those experts who is at once highly knowledgeable, skilled at tailoring her work to individual client needs, and FUN to work with!"
"Brian is an amazing entrepreneur and his businesses deliver enormous value for the price. We get..."
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"Brian is an amazing entrepreneur and his businesses deliver enormous value for the price. We get far more out of our subscription to his YES! services."
Recent Activity
Yes. And NO! As Ann suggests, you'll need guidance and accountability. But rather than looking for those things from friends, family, or other connections you may have, I think you should hire a coach or join a paid mastermind group. My reasons boil down to one word: commitment. By paying for...
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Yes. And NO! As Ann suggests, you'll need guidance and accountability. But rather than looking for those things from friends, family, or other connections you may have, I think you should hire a coach or join a paid mastermind group. My reasons boil down to one word: commitment. By paying for the guidance you need, you are demonstrating your commitment to your success, to yourself, to those close to you, and to the person(s) you are asking for help. By receiving payment from you, your coach or group becomes committed to you and to your success. And you become entitled to expect that commitment. Now I offer "guide dog" coaching via professional learning partnerships, so it's to be expected that I'd favor that way of gaining the guidance and accountability you're looking for. But over the years I've used both methods to get the advice I needed and experienced the difference. Too often, those we seek out for mentoring have a pre-existing relationship with us that colors their ability to provide the objective, even uncomfortable, feedback we really need. Or they have no relationship and, thus, are not invested in our success or not familiar enough to recognize whether we need a nudge on the shoulder or a kick in the butt. Coaches are trained and paid to find out, to help you dig for answers beyond the obvious, and stick with you through some trial-and-error, if that's what it takes. If you want a deeper dive into these differences, here's another coach's analysis:
https://medium.com/@refinedliz/why-you-need-a-coach-not-a-mentor-2f0c31bb54be
Best of luck with your venture!
As most have pointed out, you'll need to find a regimen that's tailored to your needs, capabilities, and resources, starting with advice from your health care provider. But to hone in on what will inspire you to start and stay with any regimen, you'll also need to learn all you can about the...
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As most have pointed out, you'll need to find a regimen that's tailored to your needs, capabilities, and resources, starting with advice from your health care provider. But to hone in on what will inspire you to start and stay with any regimen, you'll also need to learn all you can about the mind-body connection -- and how yours operates! I'd recommend these books, which dig deeply into the science and the spiritual aspects of how our brains benefit from exercise and return the favor to our bodies by improving our motivation and performance, among others: - Healthy Brain, Happy Life, by Wendy Suzuki, PhD (2016), https://amzn.to/2XYCJpb (with chapter subtitles like: Reconnecting my brain with my body and spirit; How does exercise really affect the brain; and Exercise can make you smarter). - Brain Rules, by John Medina (2008), https://amzn.to/2YlyCCW ("Rule # 1: Exercise boosts brain power"). - Footnotes: How Running Makes Us Human, by Vybarr Cregan-Reid (2016), https://amzn.to/2SvgS2s
(even if running is not your exercise of choice, this book will inspire you to stick with whatever you choose). - The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease, by Daniel Lieberman (2013), https://amzn.to/32KHDVi (this one covers 600,000 years of how our bodies evolved and includes why we need to keep exercise a part of taking care of what we have and adapt them to future needs). Good luck designing your personal approach and I hope you'll share how it's going.
Hi Judy! To your primary question, YES, both of those causes are important to me and would influence my decision to choose one business over a competitor, regardless of what I'm shopping for. I know you're aware of the other issues pointed out by Mark, but I think your simple question can be...
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Hi Judy! To your primary question, YES, both of those causes are important to me and would influence my decision to choose one business over a competitor, regardless of what I'm shopping for. I know you're aware of the other issues pointed out by Mark, but I think your simple question can be answered simply: Yes. Great to connect with you again, even if it's virtual now! Tom
Dear Publisher on Pause,
Adding my deep condolences for your loss. My wife and I are "partners-in-all-things" so your situation strikes home.
We even ran a publishing business (books) together for nearly a decade, with a division of labor that sounds similar to yours. And we've owned six homes...
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Dear Publisher on Pause,
Adding my deep condolences for your loss. My wife and I are "partners-in-all-things" so your situation strikes home.
We even ran a publishing business (books) together for nearly a decade, with a division of labor that sounds similar to yours. And we've owned six homes that have always included our offices over the years.
Having read/skimmed through the other replies, there are lots of good suggestions, so I just have two quick ones for you to consider:
One, on your graphic design needs, I think you're wise to learn for yourself, but don't wait for that to revive your business. As a self-taught designer, it won't matter whether you learn as you go or enroll in formal training, getting to a basic competence and then continuously improving will take years. That said, many of the other ideas here for finding the design help you need now have merit.
I'd urge you, though, if you're not a Mac person, don't add that to your learning curve. Subscribe to the Adobe Creative Cloud software that includes the InDesign publisher layout program and runs native on PCs (along with Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, and other graphics tools). The Adobe suite is "learnable" and will enable you to output commercial PDF print files with any specs your printer could want.
Then, require any designer you work with to know and be capable of teaching you how to use it on your PC. I know that will shrink the designer pool, but I think you'll gain a lot more than just skill from finding that kind of 2-way work/learning relationship.
Two, if it's not too late already, consider renting
one of your existing office spaces to a designer, perhaps bartering some or all of the rental value for design and training services. The many suggestions for tapping into local college design students might dovetail nicely with your bedroom + office conversion idea. Maybe even an instructor, who's looking for both housing and an office?
Do take care of yourself, too.
Tom
I don't have anything to add to the advice on getting more help with your Mom, only to urge you to ask for what you need.
On the business side, one specific idea would be to ask your existing beer and wine clients if you can do some new projects for them. They likely have tap/tasting rooms that...
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I don't have anything to add to the advice on getting more help with your Mom, only to urge you to ask for what you need.
On the business side, one specific idea would be to ask your existing beer and wine clients if you can do some new projects for them. They likely have tap/tasting rooms that need signage; local/regional beer fests, winery tours, and other events that need tickets, step-and-repeats, and lots of other graphics.
Because you already have their logos and know their design tastes, you may be able to quote them better deals than other designer -- you might want to offer "Shutdown Markdown" pricing for such special projects.
Plus, if you have any existing clients who've become friends, you may want to try being open with them about your situation and see if they can offer you help like accelerated payment schedules or even prepayment on work that hasn't yet been approved (especially if you have a great track record on your previous work).
I'll leave the unhelpful, uninformed, unrealistic political crap to others.
Hang in there and remember, the way out is through!
To John's "usual" starting points, I'd add proximity to the airport and highways for conferences with a regional or national audience. But to emphasize his mention of how a client may have other "hot-buttons," for our annual BlogPaws pet blogging and social media conference, our event planner has...
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To John's "usual" starting points, I'd add proximity to the airport and highways for conferences with a regional or national audience. But to emphasize his mention of how a client may have other "hot-buttons," for our annual BlogPaws pet blogging and social media conference, our event planner has to start with finding hotels and local governments that are pet friendly. That means no breed bans and the ability to accommodate 100+ dogs, cats, guinea pigs, ferrets, mini-pigs, and the occasional more exotic pet, along with the 500+ humans in the guest rooms, exhibit hall, meeting rooms, and ballrooms for the general sessions and meals. Those needs narrow the field a lot! ;-D
I agree with Bud and Maury that a major goal should be to create "know, like, and trust" relationships with people and their primary goal is not to buy stuff.
But I also think the way you phrased your question carries the key to successful business building on social media (and in person, too):...
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I agree with Bud and Maury that a major goal should be to create "know, like, and trust" relationships with people and their primary goal is not to buy stuff.
But I also think the way you phrased your question carries the key to successful business building on social media (and in person, too): what is the best way to engage?
Generally, you should not think of social media as a place to post ad copy at all and, while cute cat photos may fine on Facebook or Pinterest, they would rarely be helpful to you on LinkedIn. The type of content you post will vary a lot, depending on the social atmosphere of the site or groups within the site.
So the first thing to decide is which platform(s) are your ideal customers most likely to be using? Spend some time finding a few you'd like to get to know and commenting and sharing their postings. This will put some relevant content into your stream and get you acclimated to the way people interact there, as well as start some relationships with the people you're commenting on and the audiences they've built.
Your ultimate goal should be the conversations you can stimulate around whatever content you post. Once you've gotten comfortable with the topics and styles your prospects show interest in, you can start posting your own.
But the key, again, is for you to engage. Responding to comments from others and staying active in their comment streams matters at least as much as what you're posting. We've always advised that fully half of whatever time you're spending on social marketing should be on other people's blogs, pages, and postings.
Hope this helps!
