InstructionSmith

Training and Certification for Professional Author's and Speaker's Assistants

WHY and HOW to Choose a Niche for Your VA Business

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Do you struggle with finding clients?

Are you currently making the income you desire?

Are the services you offer clearly defined?

If you answered no to any of these the answer may be you need to choose a niche.

The riches are in the niches

What exactly is a niche? Simply put, a niche is your area of expertise. Your specific specialty supported and strengthened by your enhanced education and experience is what defines your niche. Your niche can be the type of services you provide or it can be the industry you work in.

Having a specialty allows you to stand out from the crowd. It not only will help draw clients to you it helps you to find more work and command a higher rate of pay.

Working in a specific niche gives you the opportunity to become the known skilled professional in your field. It can also help provide a path to create an effective, well-designed marketing plan targeted to a narrow audience that is comprised of your ideal clients. This makes it easier to be very clear about who you help and what you do for them.

Saying you can help anyone and everyone makes it difficult for potential clients to identify with you. When you have a specialty, you can hone your skills. You learn the language and better understand the problems that are unique to your market.

Working in a specific niche and taking advantage of advanced training in your area will help you gain a greater understanding of a particular industry so you can help your clients on a more in-depth level. You become more valuable because your expertise within the industry means that you can help your clients make good decisions about maximizing their marketing efforts and their own services and fees.

And as an added bonus, when you’re able to be very specific about your ideal client it makes it much easier for your network to know who to refer to you.

The author assistant certification is a good example of how you can drill deeper to develop a specialty within your niche in order to better differentiate yourself.

Adding one or more specialty services needed by your target market will allow you to expand your offerings and make the services you offer more valuable.

How do you find the niche that’s right for you?

Here are a few things to consider and how we chose working with authors as our niche:

  • What skills do you already have?
  • What kind of work do you enjoy doing most?
  • What are your passions? Think not only of the kinds of work you enjoy doing but what industries are interesting to you.
  • Is there a demand for services within the industry? For instance, the publishing world is changing and more authors are choosing to self-publish. That means that there are a lot of people looking for help to manage all the details that are required to bring their book to the world.

Marketing your niche

Be very clear about who is a perfect fit for your services, products and programs. Market to those perfect clients, specifically.

Continuous, self-motivated learning helps set you apart as an expert in your particular field. Ongoing education is essential for those who wish to hone specific skill-sets and increase their knowledge in order to successfully reach their ultimate career goals.

Learn all you can about the industry of your ideal client. Learn the terms they use within the industry. When potential clients hear you speaking their language they are more confident that you can help them.

Put yourself in the same room as your ideal clients. Since our niche is working with authors, we research local writer’s groups, sign up and go to their meetings. We also attend book fairs and publisher conferences. This gives us the opportunity to not only meet potential clients but to meet other people who work with our perfect clients providing different services. They can become valuable referral partners.

Even after you have developed your specialty and niche you will still have to market yourself. Let people know what you do and the services you offer. Ask for referrals by letting people know what you do and the characteristics of your perfect client.

© InstructionSmith 2019

IPPY Book Awards

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The Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) Book Awards – Final entry deadline is February 23, 2019

The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award are probably the most well known and prestigious, but other book awards exist specifically for self-published or small press books.

Book awards can be tremendously valuable to the marketing efforts of the winning books.

When a book wins an award, the result is free publicity for the author and usually additional book sales.

About IPPY Awards

The Independent Publisher Book Awards is one of the most established and most recognized independent book awards event in the world.

Launched in 1996, these wards are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers.

Established as the first unaffiliated awards program open exclusively to independents, the “IPPYs” recognize hundreds of the year’s best books, bringing them to the attention of booksellers, buyers, librarians, and book lovers.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards contest is now accepting entries from independent authors and publishers with books intended for an English speaking audience. Books released between January 1, 2017 and February 23, 2019, or with 2017-2019 copyrights are eligible. Entry fee is $95 per title, per category with a $55 ‘add-on’ fee for regional/eBook entries.

How to Enter

There are two ways to enter: online with a credit card or the printable entry form to pay by check. Ship books with entry form tucked inside the front cover– the final step in the online entry process is printing out mailing instructions.  Results will be announced on about April 10, 2019. The award ceremony will be held on the eve of BookExpo in NYC, in late May, at the Copacabana Times Square.

Entry fees are $95 per title/per category. Regional and eBook category entries are just $55 when added to a general category entry for the same title. This a “postmark deadline,” so you can enter right up to the deadline and send books to arrive for judging the following week.

Note: All entries are automatically considered for Outstanding Books of the Year Awards at no extra charge.

Ebook category entries can be uploaded at the end of the online entry process, or you can send via attachment (PDF, EPUB, MOBI), via DropBox, or you can use Kindle Gift or provide iTunes access code.

Eligibility

Independent publishers, university presses, self-publishers and independent authors who publish books intended for an English speaking audience may enter. Books released between January 1, 2017 and February 23, 2019, or with 2017-2019 copyrights, are eligible. Books with release dates after the deadline may be entered if they carry a 2019 copyright and if a good judging copy is available.

You can download an Excel spreadsheet to use to log award entries below. This is just one of many forms and checklists available through the Professional Author Assistant Training and Certification Program.

Download an Excel version of the log on this page to use with authors

For more details about the IPPY Awards, or to send press materials, please contact:

Jim Barnes, Managing Editor & Awards Director
Jenkins Group
1129 Woodmere Ave, Ste B
Traverse City, MI 49696
IndependentPublisher.com / Jenkins Group
Ph: 1.800.644.0133 x 1011 / jimb@bookpublishing.com

 

Choose Networking Events that are Right for you

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In our last post we talked about goal setting and how planning ahead saves you time and will help you be more productive.

As we mentioned, attending conferences and workshops demonstrates commitment to continued education and personal growth.

According to IBISWorld conferences and trade shows are a $13.8 billion industry.

Since attending networking events is such an extremely effective way to connect with people in person and enables you to meet large numbers of people in a short period of time, we thought we’d share some information about how to make sure you pick the venues that best serve your interests and help you reach your goals.

Choose conference(s) that will help you meet your goals.

Attending conferences and networking events can take a lot of time and cost a considerable amount money so make sure when you attend these events that they align with your business and will help you meet your goals.

Have a plan.

What is it you are looking to learn or come away with?

Do you intend to connect with people you’re hoping to hire or work with? Or are you there to research other brands or businesses?

Are you interested in meeting the speakers? If so, make sure the speakers are in line with your industry.

Is the conference right for you?

If you’re an introvert like Michelle you might want to stick to some of the smaller conferences. This will give you the opportunity to mingle and get to know other attendees on a lesser intimidating and overwhelming level.

Budget. 

Know how much you can afford. Some conferences cost a considerable amount of money.

Find the conference or combination of conferences that works best and will offer you the most benefits.

Research and take into consideration all travel, lodgings and meal expenses.

Know before you go.

Research the other attendees. These events are great networking opportunities if you want to meet new people and connect or re-connect with a specific audience. I think most conferences publish a list of both speakers and attendees.

Look at the list of sessions in advance and create a schedule of the ones you’re most interested in attending.

As often as possible seek out and talk with other people in the industry who have first hand knowledge and are willing to offer advice and share their perspective. It is important for you to get as much feedback as possible on what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t.

Know where you are in your career. If you’re just starting out it is important for you to make as many connections as possible. Get out and network and meet and talk to as many new people as you can.

The longer you are in business and once your business is established you can become more selective about events you choose to attend.

Goal Setting and 2018 Writer / Author Conferences

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Have you set your goals for 2018?

Planning ahead will save you time and help you be more productive.

Prioritize your goals for the year. Be specific about why you want to realize these top goals then make a commitment to achieve those goals.

A lot of people find it helpful to use a full year calendar. That way it is easy to see a complete timeline of not only your goals but also important deadlines, holidays, vacations, business travel and conferences.

Being able to see your plans for the entire year makes it easier to adjust because you can see all 12 months in front of you.

Because attending seminars, workshops and conferences demonstrates commitment to continued education and personal growth we put together a list of a few conferences coming up in 2018 we thought you might be interested in knowing about and possibly attend.

2018 Writer / Author Conferences

February 3rd

ASJA’s Austin Conference

Location: AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, Austin, TX

Website: asja.org/for-writers/annual-conference

 

February 15th – 18th

2018 San Francisco Writers Conference
Location: InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill

Attendees will join with 100+ presenters and fellow writers from across the country and around the world at this year’s event. The SFWC events are consistently rated among the top writer’s conferences anywhere. Our goal is to help writers become published authors as we help them become better at the craft and business of writing. The SFWC is also one of the friendliest conferences.

The event spans four days…plus open enrollment Pre/Post Event Master Classes!

If you are working on your book, getting ready to publish it, or looking for ways to promote an already published book, this is the event you need to attend.

Website: https://sfwriters.org/

To register go to: https://sfwriters.org/sfwc-registration

 

March 7th – 10th

AWP Conference & Book fair

Location: Tampa convention center & Marriott Tampa Waterside

The 2018 AWP Conference & Book fair is an essential annual destination for writers, teachers, students, editors, and publishers. Each year more than 12,000 attendees join our community for four days of insightful dialogue, networking, and unrivaled access to the organizations and opinion-makers that matter most in contemporary literature. The conference features over 2,000 presenters and 550 readings, panels, and craft lectures. The book fair hosted over 800 presses, journals, and literary organizations from around the world. AWP’s is now the largest literary conference in North America.

 

April 6th – 7th 2018

IBPA Publishing University

Location: Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol in downtown Austin, TX.

IBPA is the premier educational event for indie publishers and self-published authors.

Website: https://www.publishinguniversity.org/

 

April 6th – 8th 2018

The Muse & The Marketplace

Location: Boston, MA

Grub Street, a writing center in Boston, holds its annual conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel for three days each spring. The weekend draws over 140 well-known authors, literary agents, editors and publishers.

Past faculty: Charles Baxter, Colum McCann, Roxane Gay

Why you should go: It’s a large conference with more than 800 people on some 100 panels. It’s a good choice if you’re looking to survey multiple sessions or want a conference aimed at all levels.

Highlights: The Muse draws a number of top New York agents and editors. For an extra fee, you can pitch them one-on-one by signing up for the popular Manuscript Mart. Don’t miss the Shop Talk Happy Hour for guaranteed face time with agents and editors if you’re looking to land a book deal.

Website: museandthemarketplace.com

 

May 18th & 19th

The American Society of Journalists and Authors Conference (ASJA)

Location: New York City

The ASJA annual conference is held each spring in New York City. Specifically aimed at freelance journalists and nonfiction authors, the conference attracts some 500-600 people each year. The two-day gathering focuses on helping independent writers survive and thrive as freelancers. Programs include pitch sessions with editors, agents and publishers. Can’t make it to NYC? Regional conferences are typically held in the summer and fall in places like Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

Website: asja.org/for-writers/annual-conference

 

May 30th – June 1st 2018

BookExpo

Location: Javits Center, NYC

The 2018 edition of BookExpo will be the first end-to-end business solution for the global publishing industry. You will experience, in-person, how content creation, rights trading, retail strategy and consumer behavior will increase profit and give you the tools to succeed in today’s shifting marketplace.

 

July 17th – 29th, 2018

Sewanee Writer’s Conference

Location: The University of the South, Sewanee, TN

29th session of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Thanks to the generosity of the Walter E. Dakin Memorial Fund, supported by the estate of the late Tennessee Williams, the Conference will gather a distinguished faculty to provide instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures in poetry, fiction, and playwriting.

If you have further questions about the Conference, please contact Adam Latham at allatham@sewanee.edu or 931-598-1654.

 

August 15th – 25th, 2018

Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference

Location: The Bread Loaf Campus of Middlebury College in Ripton, Vermont.

Faculty & Guests

Bread Loaf Writers’ will feature 20 workshops with ten participants in each group. In addition to their literary accomplishments, each faculty member has been specifically chosen for their skill at guiding developing writers.

Ways to Apply

Writers may apply as a general contributor with a manuscript or as an auditor without a manuscript. Thanks to the generous support of Middlebury College and to an endowment fund established by past Bread Loafers and other donors, several categories of financial aid are available for both published and unpublished writers. Financial aid is merit based and a writing sample is required.

 

December 6th & 7th

Literary Writers Conference (LWC)

Location: New York City

Carefully planned clinics, workshops and panels help you partner with key players in the publishing chain, and offer invaluable feedback on your creative work. Plus, Literary Speed Dating offers agent meetings for fiction and nonfiction writers, and a private consultation with editors from NYC poetry presses for poets—all included in your registration, which also comes with two vegetarian lunches and welcome coffee & bagels.

In our next post we’ll talk about how to determine which conferences are right for you. What to expect and what you need to do to prepare and plan so you get the most out of your investment.

Online Virtual Conferences — Learn and Network from Home

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We are big believers in continuing education and attending professional conferences. It is  always good to get more training whenever available. Conferences offer opportunities to increase knowledge and expand your network of peers and potential customers. Conferences don’t have to mean travel—some of the best are available to you from the comfort of your own home. The following are two we highly recommend. [Read more…]