Increase Sales and Visibility with Your Story

If you haven’t read the ad explaining what this is all about, click here.

Who is this for?

If you set up a booth at trade shows, conventions or symposiums and you’re looking for something different and compelling, then this is for you. If you have a qualified lead mailing list and it’s worth spending a few dollars sending something special to each lead, then this is for you. If you administer a government organization and you want to present your services to the public with an exciting story, then this is for you.

If you have a web site and you’re looking for something special to offer your visitors, then this is for you.

If you’re not sure about whether this is for you or not, contact me at biff@biffmitchell.com and we can discuss it.

How Much Is This Going to Cost?

A forty to fifty page story of approximately 6000 to 6500 words (about 35 pages, with large type for easy reading) will cost $2700. That’s for the writing only.

Printing costs will be additional. I can arrange printing for you, but that will be an additional hourly fee. If you already have preferred printers, I can give you printing specifications to pass on to them.

Graphics will be extra. I have graphic artist friends who are capable of designing great book covers – one of them designed the covers for my first two novels well enough that the publishers were more than happy to use them rather than have them done in-house. If you have in-house graphic artists or a preferred agency, then I can make a few suggestions at no additional cost.

Printing costs will be billed directly to you from the printers. Graphics costs will be included in my invoice.

By the way, you can also offer this book as a free PDF download from your web site. As soon as I have the cover graphic, I can put this together for you at no additional cost.

Still interested?

About the Book

If you’re going to spend $2700 for the story, don’t skimp on the look and feel of the story. You’ll just be wasting your $2700.

The story should be presented as a book. The perfect size for this is 5 ½ inches by 8 ¼ inches. This fits nicely into briefcases, purses, book bags, and backpacks. It should also be perfect bound. This is the way the books you see in bookstores and airports are bound. You can use staples, but that turns a book into something similar to a brochure.

It should be approximately 35 to 40 pages. This is in the novella range. It’s something non-intimidating that people can read in 15 or 20 minutes. It’s something they can read over lunch, waiting in an airport, or in a hotel room at night. They can read it at work or at home when they have some free time.

The cover needs to be attractive and glossy. Honestly – studies show that people still judge a book by its cover. It’s human nature. If it doesn’t look good, people won’t read it, even if you give it to them free. The graphics will be a small part of the total cost of the book, and they’ll add to the printing costs, but they’re worth it.

The print should be large (14 point Times Roman). People are going to be reading your book in taxis, over lunch, in a hotel room after a busy day at a convention or trade show, in a jet, or in an airport. Make it easy for them – some taxi rides are bumpy. So are some flights.

You should have a compelling title – one that draws the reader into the story. But don’t worry – I’ll take care of that part for you.

The specifications for the ebook version will be slightly different, but you’ll still need a good cover.

What Do the 35 - 40 Pages Include?

First, a story with a compelling opening – something that will draw the reader in so that they’ll read your marketing or sales message. I opened a book like this with two women about to crash into a giant rock on a white water rafting trip. Your story can take place in any setting or circumstance that will provide an interesting and appropriate backdrop for the sales message. My novels are science fiction. Maybe a science fiction story would be right for you. If you sell software, maybe a cyberpunk story. Maybe adventure. Or romance. Or humor. Or mystery. The possibilities are endless.

Second, your message. After drawing the reader in with an exciting start, I begin to incorporate your message into the story, in a convincing, natural way that won’t scare the reader off with a blatant sales pitch. In the book I mentioned above, the message was about getting a piece of educational software into schools. I brought two women together on a white water rafting trip: one, a district supervisor and experienced rafter who had a business problem that the software was designed to solve; the other, a teacher using the software successfully, but who was on the trip to overcome her dread fear of water. The supervisor agreed to help the teacher with her fear of water in exchange for information about the software. This scenario created a relationship between the two women for a natural flow of information about the software as opposed to a blaring sales pitch. It also gave the reader a chance to see the benefits of the software through the testimonial of the teacher. The story followed the two women through hair-raising white water, relaxed lunch stops, long stretches of quiet water with wildlife sightings mixed with sales messages, and even a scene where they talked over a few beers the night before the trip down river. Did I mention that the possible story lines are endless?

Third, your contact information and branding. This appears at the end of the story. You can even use this space to create a standard sales message, though it’s almost always better to have the reader call for more information. This one’s your call.

Still interested?

Send me an email and tell me about your product or service and the kind of book you’d like me to write for you. My email is biff@biffmitchell.com.

My author web site is at www.biffmitchell.com.