Over the past month, I have fielded numerous inquiries about book development and promotion, so I figured it would be helpful to share with you my tips for both. In this first installment, I'll focus on the starting point question of whether to self-publish or pursue a mainstream publisher.

It's about time that readers -- and the media, which breathlessly repeats the best-selling claims of these authors -- wised up. So let me show you exactly how I became a became a #1 Amazon bestseller for $3 and a photo of my foot in less than five minutes (with screenshots and proof).

We've all witnessed the explosive growth of social media during the past decade. Now, a growing cadre of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Instagram and others are morphing into professional publishing platforms.

If you're an unknown quantity, and you aren't sleeping with someone at a literary agency--or even if you are, in some cases--it's virtually impossible to get face time with a publishing professional, be it an agent, editor, or publisher.

Much of what we thought motivated web users in the beginning, such as speedy pages, has now become a hygiene factor that you simply must have, but which won't motivate a customer to become a loyal follower.