Today we’d like to introduce you to B Alan Bourgeois & Authors Marketing International.
B Alan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? In 2007, I started a publishing company to help fellow authors get their books published, and hopefully, to start some great careers. By 2011 I had to close it down as I became all too aware of the need for marketing for authors that was not only affordable but competitive.
It was for the combined reasons of helping authors succeed and saving them money in the process that I created the Texas Association of Authors. In 2018, we added Indie Beacon and in 2019, we merged the two organizations and created the first membership-owned company helping authors around the world: Authors Marketing Guild, LLC.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The response from self-published & indie authors for our services and educational programs has been well received. However, as we continue to grow, we ran into a lot of roadblocks from traditionally published authors and publishers along with dislike from Barnes & Noble toward indie authors and authors published with Amazon. We understood a lot of the pushback but also felt that it was not warranted, as many great authors these days start as indie authors. As we continued to grow stronger, going forward, we had to do a lot of educating with the old system of publishing.
The other issue we ran into was that so many authors wanted to sit back and let someone else do the job. That concept is the biggest hurdle for any author to overcome. Writing a book is only 10% of the work. The remaining aspect of a successful career these days is marketing and promotion of the book. With over one million books a year being published, each author has to work hard to have their book noticed and read. Getting authors to understand this is an ongoing struggle that we continue to work on and help them overcome. We’d love to hear more about your business.
Authors Marketing Guild is a unique company that helps authors learn how to better market and sell their books. We do this through our annual Authors Marketing Event held in July each year, as well as through a radio/tv show, and other events and programs. These are all specifically designed to give authors more opportunities to get exposure and find readers. In addition, we have created the only online fully indie bookstore, Indie Lector Store, that pays authors up to 80% of their book sales. No other bookstore does this.
Finally, we have created two nonprofits that also support authors in Texas and around the world: Texas Authors Institute of History, Inc., is the first museum that supports a state’s author group, and the DEAR Texas/DEAR Indie organizations help get books into Title 1 schools and libraries.
We provide multiple programs and opportunities so that, when authors take advantage of them, they can grow in book sales and exposure. These are key issues that are critical to the success of any author.
What were you like growing up?
I consider myself to be an average person who has a creative side. This was clearly shown as I created programs, when I was a child, to help other people. My first project was in Los Angeles, CA when I petitioned the state legislature to create a young adult’s congress to help the legislature to grow stronger. I was ahead of my time, and sadly, that didn’t go too far. The second program was Youth for Earthquake Safety (YES), which my friend Dale and I helped create in our high school. The concept was very simple, educate students about the proper procedures for earthquake safety, a critical aspect for those living in an earthquake zone. We received numerous awards and recognition for this and left high school with the program moving forward. It was the first of its kind and it led to more projects and programs that I worked on for years to come.
Pricing:
· Our membership dues are more than fair at only $12.95 per month o4 $149.50 for an annual membership.
Contact Info:
· Address: PO Box 41626, Austin TX 78704-1626
· Website: https://AuthorsMarketingGuild.com
· Phone: 5125549560
· Email:
· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Authors-Marketing-Guild-114701316623676/
· Twitter: @authorsmarketin
· Other: https://AuthorsMarketing.org