All of my books for small business (and my book on beating high cholesterol) are now available in print editions

April 1, 2015April 14, 2015 Liz Dexter Book covers, Book marketing, Business books, Conquering High Cholesterol, Full-Time Self-Employment, Quick Guide to Networking, Quick Guide to Transcription, Social Media and Social Capital, Writing book covers, business books, writing

I’m really excited to announce that all of my books are now available in print editions, as well as the e-books which have always been available. This was in response to some market research that I did, and also people reaching out to me to ask whether and when the books would be available in print.

The new ones – the Quick Guides and How I Conquered High Cholesterol – are in a handy 5″ x 8″ format, so nice and easy to pop into your bag. They are priced as low as I can – I have never believed in charging a huge premium and making a large profit on either my print or e versions, so please be assured that they are priced to take into account the royalty that Amazon takes, the cost of production (in the case of the print books) and a small profit for me. I want to make sure they’re accessible.

The print books were produced through CreateSpace so available on a print-on-demand basis from Amazon. I know some people aren’t keen on Amazon – I’m committed to helping lobby the government on tax avoidance, but unfortunately Amazon is the main market for me. However, if you’re not keen on buying from there, you can buy my e-books from Smashwords and the very independent Selz, so hopefully that gives you enough options.

If you buy one of my print editions, please let me know and tell me what you think about it. If you take a photo of yourself or something representing your business with the book, I will post it on my photos and reviews page on this website, with a link to your business if you’d like.

Phew – it’s been hard work, but hopefully it will be worth it in terms of getting my books into the hands of people who they can help. That’s what it’s all about for me.

If you want to find out more about how any of these books can help you start and build your business, network and work with social media, take up a career in transcription or manage your cholesterol, do take a look at the individual pages for the books …

How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment | Running a Successful Business after the Start-up Phase | Quick Guide to Networking, Social Media and Social Capital | Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription | How I Conquered High Cholesterol

PS I made screen shots as I created my print versions and I’m planning to post instructions on here detailing exactly how I did that – would you find that useful? I’ve also blogged about whether this venture is proving successful.

Print edition of Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription available now!

March 23, 2015March 25, 2015 Liz Dexter Quick Guide to Transcription, Writing business books, Transcription

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve finally got a print version of my popular “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription” available in the shops. You can buy it from all versions of Amazon – pop over to the book’s page for a full set of links but you can see it here on Amazon UK. Market research has suggested that people are keen on reading print versions as well as e-books, so I’ve listened to my readers, friends and fans, and here you go!

It’s retailing at £4.50 in the UK (with the e-book still at £1.99) and I hope this means that I help even more people with no-nonsense and jargon-free information – there’s even a section to help you educate your own clients!

If you buy a print copy of this book, do send me a photo of you with the book or the book somewhere you have been, as I do like to see them in real life (and if you have a link or page, I will pop that on my Photos Page too as a little thank you). Here’s a photo of the print book in the flesh, so to speak (in the paper?):

Watch out for print editions coming in a week or so for “Quick Guide to Networking, Social Media and Social Capital” and “How I Conquered High Cholesterol”. I’m on a roll!

Ten 5-star reviews for “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription”

February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 Liz Dexter Business books, Indie authors, Quick Guide to Transcription, Reviews business books, indie publishing

The ninth five-star review for “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription” on Amazon.co.uk (and tenth five-star review in total) was posted this week! This is definitely a book I wrote in response to interest, as I noticed that I was getting a lot of searches coming through to my website on transcription, transcription careers, etc. I’d been writing odd bits on the subject but put this book together – and I’m so glad I did! I’m hoping to produce a printed version, too, after a couple of enquiries convinced me that that would be a good idea – watch this space for news on that one!

that will be very helpful and useful to me I’m so impressed with this fabulous book, which explains everything so clearly and concisely … I was able to highlight plenty of relevant points in the book, that will be very helpful and useful to me. (Read full review here.)

By the way, it’s worth noting that on the day I received this review, I noted that I sold …

Some copies of my e-books via Amazon
A print copy of my book “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment” via Amazon
An e-copy of my Business Omnibus via Smashwords
A PDF of my Cholesterol book via Selz

So it’s certainly working for me having as many different formats and platforms as I can!

Stop press – all of my books are now available in PDF via the Selz website – you can buy using PayPal, too!

For more information and how to buy, visit the “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription” page.

“How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment” receives its 25th 4 or 5 star review!

February 12, 2015February 11, 2015 Liz Dexter Business books, Full-Time Self-Employment, Reviews, Starting & Building your Business business books, reviews

I was thrilled to notice I’ve had my 25th review (all 4 or 5 stars) on Amazon.co.uk (it’s got three more on Amazon.com) for “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment“. I’m really proud of this book, and I’m enjoying rejigging it for the new edition purely for proofreaders and editors – I’m glad I shared my own experiences to write the book I wished I’d been able to read when I was starting out – everything was so pushy and risk-it-all or else wishy-washy without good worked examples and detailed information.

A really useful perspective … It has given me plenty to think about, but also boosted my confidence that I, too, can build a successful business. Thanks Liz! (Read the full review on Amazon)

I’m always glad to know when I’ve boosted someone’s confidence – that’s what I set out to do and it’s gratifying to know that it’s worked!

Read more about “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment” including how and where to buy.

A lovely new long review for “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment”

February 2, 2015 Liz Dexter Business books, Full-Time Self-Employment, Reviews, Starting & Building your Business business books, reviews

Author and editor Steve Dunham has posted a lovely long and detailed review of “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment” over on his blog. We did a review swap – I reviewed his “Editor’s Companion” on my own book review blog but, just like doing competitions offering free books or giving physical copies to reviewers or any other of the myriad ways we try to get our books out there, you can never assume that a) you’re going to get a good review, b) you’re going to get more than a one-liner, or c) you’re going to get a review at all.

Steve really “got” what I was trying to do with the book …

Liz invites you to take a walk with her through the year, encounter the ups and downs with her, and learn the lessons as she learns them.

and has understood that I’m explaining my process as an example, not a prescription:

Liz describes her methods for scheduling work and keeping accounts, knowing that readers will need to devise their own ways of organizing pieces of a business, and simply offers her ways as an example. Her description of how she handles her bookkeeping will encourage you to do yours promptly and regularly, even if your system is different. If you’re self-employed, or thinking about it, just reading how she does things will probably give you ideas for your own business.

It’s not a puff piece – Steve makes the very valid point that I wrote this (partly unintentionally) for a UK audience, and I will address this issue in the version I’m rewriting specifically for editors and proofreaders, making sure I explain British terms and provide dollar conversions, so I’m glad he reminded me of this. It’s also true that different kinds of readers will like the different levels of detail on various topics in the book (I know some people who’ve loved the bits on tea; others have memorably criticised me for including too many cardigans!).

So it’s a very fair review, with a lot of detail and understanding – and that’s the best kind of review, in (of!) my books. Thank you to Steve, and I’m glad he found my book worthwhile.

Read more about “How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment” including how and where to buy.

You’ve started your business … what (do you read) next?

January 14, 2015 Liz Dexter After the Start-up Phase, Business books, Full-Time Self-Employment, Starting & Building your Business business books

I received a delightful email from a reader this morning – it really made my day. They told me how they’d been inspired by my first business book (How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment) and had set up their business, and were now looking forward to my upcoming book on self-mentoring for businesspeople. However, they seemed to have missed the fact that I have also written a book specifically for people who have already set up their business, but want to look at the next stages.

Running a Successful Business after the Start-up Phase covers just these issues. It drills down into using social media and blogging to support and grow your business, but also talks about getting the balance right, increasing your income by getting the right mix of clients, deciding who to work with (once you have the luxury of not having to scramble for Every. Single. Job.) and how to say no (again, once you have the luxury of doing so – although sometimes you just HAVE to say no).

I originally gave this book the title “Who are you Calling Mature?” but feedback suggested the title implied the book was about growing old disgracefully! So I swapped the main and sub-titles round, and re-issued it, but it’s never quite had the success of my other books.

I don’t know if this is because more people start businesses than continue them, or if it’s because people know there are start-up books out there but didn’t realise there are other books on growing and developing your business (I can see that there are fewer of the latter, but I was looking for that information, just like I was looking for information on starting up a business, which is why I blogged about a few of the topics, then wrote the book).

You can also pick up both books together in my Omnibus: Your Guide to Starting and Running your Business, because both of them are useful for new businesspeople, and I want to offer as good value as I can, so there’s a saving on the price of the two books separately.

And now I’m saying it loud and clear: here’s a resource for you if you’ve set up your business, got the basics going, but you want to refine your customer base, get more profitable, get your life back and learn when to say yes and when to say no!

If you have read this book, do let me know what you thought about it, how I could improve the description on Amazon and Smashwords and whether you’ve been inspired to write a review!

Find out more about Running a Successful Business after the Start-up Phase.

Great new book reviews – hooray!

January 12, 2015 Liz Dexter Full-Time Self-Employment, Quick Guide to Transcription, Reviews business books

My book sales have returned to normal after a dip in December – I can only put this down to people avoiding Amazon (there was a lot of talk about people boycotting the company for Christmas) and possibly some stuff around their new e-book arrangements. Then there was the fear over the VATMOSS issue – I’m happy to say that my prices have only ended up going up by about 15p for the higher-priced ones and I’ve left them there for the time being. I won’t see any of that extra money – it goes straight to the government in the form of VAT paid by Amazon (I hope!).

Anyway, I’ve been mightily cheered by two lovely reviews for my books …

This review of How I Survived my First Year of Full-Time Self-Employment (was it really three years ago that I spent my January working hard once I’d got through my jury service?) was posted on 11 January …

Great break-down guide! … Liz’s tone is one you can relate to as it is approachable and warm. There are no gimmicks to this book; it delivers what it says … (see the whole review here)

It’s so lovely when someone really gets what you’re trying to do and picks up the aims of your book, so even though this review is short, it was very valuable and cheering to read. That’s my 24th four- or five-star review on Amazon UK for this book!

Find out more about this book here.

And this longer review appeared over the weekend for Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription. I’m so pleased when I hear that I inspire people – it’s what I write my website and these books for. So, thank you, all of my lovely reviewers!

The most helpful book for anyone wanting to get into transcription I have just finished reading your book Liz and am completely inspired … Your tips were invaluable … Your encouragement is truly inspirational. (read the whole review here)

Find out more about this book here.

Anyone who writes books will tell you that reviews (good ones, or helpful ones, anyway) really make their day. Making that connection, knowing you’ve entertained, inspired or helped someone – priceless!

A lovely Canadian review for “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription”

January 6, 2015 Liz Dexter Business books, Indie authors, Quick Guide to Transcription, Reviews business books, indie publishing

I received a message from a very nice woman who had read a few of my books and wanted to ask a few more questions about transcription careers. I noted that she was in Canada and checked Amazon Canada to see if she’d reviewed any of them (I wish I got automatically notified of new reviews – if you know how to do this, please let me know!) and found this lovely review for my “Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription”:

Marvelous book filled with very helpful information … I’m so glad I came across this book. (Read the whole review here)

I was particularly pleased to receive this after a rather horrid and misleading review on my Cholesterol book which I’m not going to dwell on, but was quite upsetting when lots of people are going to be looking at that book after spotting it in the magazine. If you have read and not reviewed that one, well, I’m hoping some new reviews will push the one-star one down the list of recent reviews a bit.

Anyway, I’m really pleased to have my Canadian review! If you’re in Canada and want to have a look at my books on Amazon, they’re listed here.

A quick note while I’m here – Amazon have put up my UK and EU e-book prices a little bit, to take account of the VAT increase imposed by the UK and EU governments but affecting us small sellers and buyers more than the big guys it was aimed at (search for VATMOSS or VATMESS for more info). I’ve left the changes as they are for the time being, to see how things settle – it’s only added about 10p to the cost of my most expensive books, so hopefully that won’t be too much of a burden.

Want to read this book? Have a look here for info and links to Amazon, Smashwords, etc., where you can buy.

Three lovely new book reviews!

December 11, 2014December 10, 2014 Liz Dexter Business books, Quick Guide to Transcription, Reviews, Starting & Building your Business business books, reviews

I’ve been seeing a drop in my book sales recently; whether that’s to do with the Amazon boycott or people not wanting to start new businesses in December, I’m not sure. But I was mightily cheered by these three recent reviews for my books!

First off, a lovely note about my Omnibus edition of my two business books – which I created to give the best value I could, as it’s a lower price than the two bought separately.

Wise advice. … The book is packed with calm, realistic advice drawn from Liz Broomfield’s own experience as someone who isn’t a high-flying, entrepreneur, but has built herself a sustainable and successful business … She makes no empty promises, but delivers sense and practicality on every page. (Read the full review here)

Secondly, this just in on my Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription:

Excellent, accessible guide. Really useful, pithy, no nonsense guide … I will definitely use Liz Broomfield’s advice and I’m sure I’ll regularly dip into this ebook for her useful tips. (Read the full review here)

I’m so pleased that this one is continuing to help people with new careers.

And last but not least, the third review for my newest book, Quick Guide to Networking, Social Media and Social Capital:

A useful and well-written guide to social media. … The information is explained very clearly so as to be easy for even a newcomer to internet social networking to use, yet the guide is detailed enough for those more experienced in social media to also learn something from. It is well worth picking up … (Read the full review here)

How lovely! As ever, I’m so glad I’m helping people – that’s why I got into writing books in the first place! And it’s encouraged me to push on with my next writing project, a version of the omnibus just for editors and proofreaders, and a self-mentoring guide for anyone who is setting up or running a small business!

Find out more about Your Guide to Starting and Building your Business, Quick Guide to your Career in Transcription and Quick Guide to Networking, Social Media and Social Capital including where and how to buy by following the links.

Liz Broomfield Books

Books on business for small business owners and the self-employed

business books