The Savvy Book Marketer

Save 30% on Book Marketing Tools for Authors

2013-05-24T05:00:00-05:00

Kick off the summer season with the Savvy Book Marketer's Summer Sale, now through May 28.

Save 30% on these powerful book marketing tools for authors and indie publishers:

Guidebooks

How to Get Your Book Reviewed
Virtual Book Tour Magic
How to Sell More Books on Amazon
Selling Your Book to Libraries
Facebook Guide for Authors
Twitter Guide for Authors
Pinterest Guide for Authors

Author Training Programs

How to Sell More Novels
How to Sell More Nonfiction Books
How to Sell More Children's Books
The Ultimate Book Marketing Plan Workshop
Make Money with Teleseminars and Webinars

Each of these resources features practical advice and step-by-step instructions to help you build your author platform and boost your book sales.

Remember, the summer sale ends at midnight on Tuesday, May 28, so head over to SavvyBookMarketer.com now.

To claim your 30% savings, just enter "summer" (without the quote marks) in the Discount Code area of the shopping cart, just above the Contact Information. You can return to SavvyBookMarketer.com and add additional items to your cart before checking out.

Don't miss this opportunity for big savings on the tools you need to sell more books!

How to Promote a Book with Video

2013-05-15T10:08:48-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

Videos are hugely popular online, from grumpy cats and music videos, to breaking news and movie trailers. In fact, YouTube (owned by Google) has become the second most popular website worldwide.

Today I want to share with you practical, actionable information on how to create and use video to promote your book and yourself. First, here are a few of the ways that authors can use video:

For nonfiction authors, content-based videos (where you discuss the book’s topic) can be very effective. You can even do a series of videos dealing with different aspects of your topic. Options include “talking head” video where you are filmed speaking about the topic, demonstrations of how to do something, a slideshow with voiceover, or a combination of these. Be sure to promote the book at the end of the content-based video and include your website link. You can also work in mentions of the book earlier in the video (“Here are some of the top tips for _____ from my new book ______.”) but be sure to provide useful content rather than just promotion.

Video trailers (short commercial-style videos, similar to movie trailers) work best for novels, narrative nonfiction, and children’s books. Usually these include a series of images and text with music or voiceover in the background, with a promotion to buy the book at the end. Don’t forget the link to your website or a short link to your Amazon page.

Children's book authors can post videos of book readings or related activities for kids.

Authors can also share short video clips from live events such as presentations, television interviews, and book launch parties. These work best on the author blog and social networks.

Videos can be used as blog posts in place of, or in conjunction with, written articles on your blog and guest posts on other sites.

Some authors include a video greeting on their website. These are most useful for nonfiction authors and it helps people feel more connected. I don’t recommend videos that start playing automatically when you land on the page because some people find that annoying and it may slow down your page load time.

Where to Use Book Promotion Videos

Videos are great for attaching to posts on Facebook and Twitter. Having a video or photo added to a Facebook post makes it stand out and usually causes the post to be shown on more of your friends’ timelines. Also post your videos on your Author Page on Amazon.

Video can also be used on your author website and posted on YouTube and other video sites. When posting videos on YouTube, be sure to include important keywords in the video title and description, and begin your description with a working link to the book sales page on your website or Amazon.

Remember that anything on YouTube can be “embedded” elsewhere online by simply copying the “embed” code from the YouTube page and pasting it onto your website or another site. For example, if you’re doing a virtual book tour or a guest post on another blog, you could offer a video to the host.

How to Make Book Promotion Videos

Remember to keep videos very short – generally 30 seconds to one minute for trailers and one to three minutes for how-to videos. People have a short attention span online and you don’t want them to click away before they see the end, where your book promotion is located. If you have a lot to share in content-based videos, make several different videos.

Professional video producers can create a slick video, but in general I don’t recommend spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars to produce a single video solely for book promotion. Before hiring someone, consider your goals, how you’re going to use the video and profit from it, and how many books you would need to sell as a direct result of the video to pay for the cost of production.

With a little research, you can learn how to make your own videos, and it's fun! Keep in mind that it’s okay for videos to look a bit "homemade," and once you learn how to make videos you can make several.

To learn everything you need to know about promoting with videos, check out the Video Idiot Boot Camp. Katie Davis designed this comprehensive training course to teach even the most technophobic authors how to plan, create and share a variety of author and book promotion videos.

Here are some other resources for learning how to make your own videos:

YouTube Marketing for Authors - how-to guide by Shelley Hitz

The Book Trailer Manual - how-to guide from Darcy Pattison

From Blog to Vlog – How to Turn Your Written Blog Posts into Video Blog Posts - article by Lou Bortone

Top 5 Tips to Use Book Trailers to Drive Sales - article by Darcy Pattison

Book Trailers: 11 Steps to Make Your Own - article by Joanna Penn

16 Types of Videos You Can Create - article by Lou Bortone

Here are some tools for creating videos:

If you have PowerPoint on your computer, check the Help menu for instructions on making videos from slideshows.

Videos can also been made using screen capture tools such as Jing.

Movie Maker is a video recording and editing tool that’s usually pre-installed on Windows PCs. iMovie is typically pre-installed on Macs.

If you're a nonficiton author who plans to use a lot of video, consider investing in a more sophisitcated video production tool like Camtasia.

What are some of the other ways that authors can create and use book promotion videos? Please share your ideas and experience in the comments section below.

To learn more about book marketing and promotion, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

5 Ways to Get Your Book into Bookstores

2013-05-07T05:28:00-05:00

While retail bookstore sales have a lower profit margin than most other sales channels, many authors dream of having their books available in bookstores. And even at a low profit per book you can make good money if you sell a lot of books through bookstores.

Although your local bookstore may be willing to buy directly from you, most stores prefer to buy through one of the two major book wholesalers, Ingram and Baker & Taylor. So the first step is to make sure your books are in the Ingram and/or Baker & Taylor systems on a “returnable” basis at standard discounts. See this article to learn more about working with book distributors and wholesalers, and remember that bookstores usually return books that don't sell within a certain timeframe.

In today’s guest post, award-winning children’s book author Jo Ann Kairys shares her own experience in getting her books placed in retail bookstores.

5 Ways to Get Your Book into Bookstores by Jo Ann Kairys

As a newly published independent author, I certainly had a lot to learn about marketing my book. Getting into bookstores takes time and strategy, but with a well-prepared approach, it’s certainly achievable. Here are some tips that worked for me in getting my books into bookstores:

1. Getting Your Book into Barnes & Noble

I naively assumed that once my children’s book was published, my distributor would submit it to the Barnes & Noble system. Wrong. I kept checking B&N online. Not finding it listed, I discussed the necessary steps to make it happen. Here’s an excerpt of what I learned from the small press page at the Barnes & Noble website.

Each year, the Barnes and Noble Small Press Department reviews more than 100,000 submissions from publishers of every size and background. Buyers review publishers’ catalogues, marketing materials and galleys or sample copies to help them make their decisions. Most of these books are added to our book database and a small order is placed for our warehouse. This makes a title available for sale on the B&N site and for order through stores.

If you would like your title to be considered by B&N buyers, you must submit a finished copy (no manuscripts) of the book along with marketing and promotion plans, trade reviews, and a note describing how the book meets the competition (what makes it unique).

These last points are key. A well thought out marketing plan makes a tremendous difference. Keep in mind that the buying staff/decision makers consists of fewer people now, so add any information that may help your book stand apart!

2. Independent Bookstores

Independent bookstores seem amenable to working with new authors. A great resource is the IndieBound Community, “helping people across the United States share and find independently-owned businesses.” IndieBound offers a comprehensive listing of independently owned bookstores searchable by name, type and/or location at the IndieBound.org website. I’ve used this site to identify many wonderful stores in my own community and beyond.

3. Cold Calls

Once your book is in Ingram and/or Baker and Taylor system, cold calls to bookstores really work. Here’s the way my script goes:

Me: Hi, I’m an author! Could you check my ISBN?

Store: Let me connect you with the right department.

Me: Hi there, I’m an author! Could you check my ISBN?

Store: Sure, What is it? (Checks the computer) Okay, I have it.

Me: Great! Could I ask you to order a few for your store?

Store: Yes, that’s fine.

Me: Thank you so much!

This short conversation has worked for every call I’ve made—literally hundreds!

4. Personal Visits

Once, or even before you’ve contacted a bookstore, it always helps to make a personal visit, especially if you’re a local author. With book and promotional materials in hand (e.g., business cards, flyers, sell sheets) take a casual stroll through the store, look carefully at other merchandise to see if your book might be a good fit, and ask to speak with the store manager. Have your two-sentence “elevator pitch” ready: “My book is about _______ and it looks like it would fit really well with your store’s other books and products.”

5. Follow up Phone Calls and Visits

If you were unable to speak directly with the manager, or if the manager seemed hesitant, don’t hesitate to visit again. Be sure to point out if the book received new awards, reviews, endorsements and mention where the book is selling in other stores. Call ahead to make an appointment at the manager’s convenience, to ensure ample time for further discussion.

About the Author

Jo Ann Kairys is the co-author and co-illustrator of the children’s picture book, Sunbelievable, winner of 7 national book awards, including 2012 Mom's Choice Gold. San Francisco and Sacramento Book Review says “You can’t take your eyes off of the illustrations!” Sunbelievable is also a fully customizable book app for mobile devices. Her second book, I Want Cake!, will be released in print and app versions in 2013. Information about her books is available at www.storyquestbooks.com.

Jo Ann also teaches Photoshop illustration classes for authors online and she’s the founder of Bloggers Read Across the Globe (BRAG)—Promoting Children’s Reading and Literacy—One Enthusiastic Blogger at a Time.

Learn more about selling to bookstores:

8 Secrets for Getting into Bookstores by Penny Sansevieri

How Do Books Get Stocked in Bookstores? by Terry Cordingley

8-Step Plan for Landing Book Promotion Endorsements

2013-04-30T04:49:00-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

Endorsements are recommendations from authors, experts or celebrities, in other words people whose opinion can influence sales of your book. These are the quotes you typically see printed on the covers and inside of books and they are sometimes referred to as "blurbs."

Having a well-known person endorse your book lends credibility and can really impact sales, so it's worth the time and effort required to land important endorsements.

But why would a high-profile individual do you the favor of giving you an endorsement? In a word: publicity. The person giving the endorsement gains exposure from endorsing quality products. And, of course, many people (especially other authors) are happy to help out an author who has written a good book.

Here are eight steps for landing powerful endorsements:

1. Schedule well in advance.

If you want to print your most important endorsements on your book cover or inside the book, you'll need to build time into your production schedule. It can be time consuming to track down well-know people and get their endorsement, so start at least 60 to 90 days before you need the text.

2. Go for the gold!

The next step is to make a list of potential endorsers who are a good fit for the topic or genre of your book. Do not be afraid to aim high! You have nothing to lose but a little time and perhaps the cost of mailing a book. And the rewards of scoring an endorsement from a highly influential person can be great.

3. Locate prospects.

It can be a challenge to track down an email or mailing address for top experts and celebrities. The first place to look is on the person's website. You might also try searching for their profile on Facebook or LinkedIn. For authors, check their personal or author profile on Amazon.com and the publisher's website. You might also find contact information printed in the front or back of their books. Also considering using your personal connections, if you know someone who knows someone.

4. Prepare your materials.

If your book is not yet finished, prepare a synopsis, outline and a couple of sample chapters, along with a killer cover letter. If the manuscript is complete, you may still want to send a specific chapter that's relevant to the person you're asking for an endorsement, and offer to send the entire manuscript upon request.

It's a good idea to include some sample endorsements in the material you send. This is not as presumptuous as it might sound. Keep in mind that the people you are contacting are very busy and you are asking them for a favor. It takes some thought to write a good quotable endorsement and you can save the endorser's time by making a few suggestions. Spend time drafting two or three endorsements that fit each individual, and of course make it clear that these are only suggestions and they are welcome to modify or write something original.

5. Consider Peer Reviews.

Peer reviews can be useful for getting feedback on your book and also generating endorsements. Nonfiction authors can send portions of their book to other experts in their field asking for professional feedback, and then send the completed manuscript later requesting an endorsement. Novelists can request peer reviews from authors in their genre.

6. Make contact.

The next step is to prioritize your list of potential endorsers and start making contact. You may have to go through assistants or agents, so be prepared to explain what you need. It is easiest to email a PDF document containing your manuscript or sample materials, but it’s a good idea to include a note offering to send hard copies if they prefer.

7. Follow up and confirm.

If someone has not responded to your query or has promised an endorsement but hasn't delivered, you may need to follow up with a gentle reminder. If the prospect asks for a full manuscript or more information, send it immediately. Once someone has given you an endorsement, be sure to get their written permission to use it.

8. Show your appreciation.

Follow up promptly with a hand-written thank you note, and be sure to send the endorser an autographed copy of the book upon publication.

Excerpted from chapter 5 of How to Get Your Book Reviewed.

The Book Marketing Snowball

2013-04-23T05:33:00-05:00

In today's guest post, book marketing expert Terry Cordingley shares his wisdom on the process of book marketing. In developing your marketing plan, remember that everything you do builds your platform and momentum and moves you to the next level.

The Book Marketing Snowball by Terry Cordingley

I was recently speaking on the phone with a new author whose first book was just getting ready to go to print, explaining how book signings work, why authors do them, the importance of niche marketing, how distribution works, etc., when I got this question:

"Well, that's all well and good, but how do we get my book into Walmart? They would sell a million copies of my book!"

I then explained that marketing a book is like rolling a snowball down a hill. When it first starts rolling, it is a small snowball. As it continues to roll down the hill, it gradually gets larger and larger. By the time it reaches the bottom of the hill, it is significantly bigger than it was when it started.

When a new, unknown author first becomes published, their book is the small snowball. It may go unnoticed at first, but with persistent promotion it will continue to grow. It may not grow as fast as the author wants it to, but in order to keep the sales and exposure going, the author and publisher must continue to keep pushing it down the hill. If the author stops promoting their work, what happens? The snowball isn't going to get any larger, and neither will the book sales.

Many authors want to begin at the top of the hill with the big snowball, but they only have a big snowball if they have a large platform from which to launch their book. Is the author famous? Are they well-known in their state, region or even across the country? Do they have a large following in their life or profession? If not, then they are starting with a small snowball.

You may have heard of the book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The book wasn't published until after the author had died, and it was released in Sweden, Larsson's home country. Nobody outside of Sweden had heard of Larsson prior to his book being published, but it won an award and was well-received in his home country. A publisher in Great Britain took a chance on the book and translated it into English, renaming it from the original title, Men Who Hate Women to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The book didn't sell.

The British publisher resorted to giving away copies; leaving them in public places like bus stops where people would find and read them. Like a snowball, word of mouth grew until book sales picked up and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo became a success. Eight years after it was published, the book was a Hollywood movie.

That is an extreme example of a small snowball rolling down the hill and becoming something very big. Not every author will have this kind of success, but the journey will almost always begin with a small snowball. If you keep pushing it, it will become something bigger. You just have to keep pushing.

About the Author

Terry Cordingley has been Associate Director of Marketing at Tate Publishing & Enterprises since 2006. His background includes 20 years as a radio and television reporter, experience he puts to good use in promoting his authors. To learn more, subscribe to his blog and watch for his upcoming book, Your Book is Your Business, a guide to help authors market and promote their books.

How Public Libraries are Cherished and Challenged

2013-04-15T05:08:00-05:00

National Library Week is the perfect time to reflect on the value of public libraries and the challenges they face. Between 2000 and 2009, the U.S. population increased by 11.7% but the number of public libraries increased by just 1.7%. Goverment budget cuts continue to put a strain on resources, resulting in staff cuts, lower materials acquisition budgets and shorter opening hours. But 91% of Americans in a recent Pew survey said that libraies are important to their communities.

To learn more about the state of public libraries, check out the infographic below, courtesy of City Town Info.

Courtesy of: CityTownInfo.com

Celebrate National Library Week April 14-20

2013-04-12T04:55:00-05:00

Each year the American Library Association designates a week in April to celebrate the contributions that libraries make to enrich communities.

Libraries provide a weath of resources including books, ebooks, magazines, newspapers, online databases, movie and educational DVDs, music CDs, educational programs for children and adults, free internet access, community meeting space and more.

Here are some articles about how authors can work with libraries:

Author Success Story - Working with Libraries

How to Sell Your Book to Libraries

Should Friends Request Your Book at Libraries?

Use Relationship Marketing to Sell Books

2013-04-08T05:00:00-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

Relationships with other people and organizations that cater to your target market can be incredibly valuable in promoting your book. Here are some steps to developing and leveraging relationships:

1. Identify the places that your prospects turn for information about your topic.

Search the internet to compile a list of the top websites, blogs, ezines, magazines, newsletters, online forums, books, ebooks, clubs and association that cater to your target market or cover your topic. For example, if your book is about fly fishing, search on terms such as “fly fishing blogs” and “fly fishing magazines.” Placing the search term in quotes may yield better results.

You can determine the popularity of a website, relative to other sites on your list, by looking at its Alexa rank. Click the Alexa Toolbar link on the Alexa site to download the toolbar. Blog directories such as Technorati and Google Blog Search are great for locating blogs on a specific topic.

To find forums and discussion groups, search Yahoo Groups and Google Groups. Search Amazon and Google for books and ebooks on related topics that appeal to your target markets, but don't compete directly with your book. Then locate the author's website.

2. Research each site, organization, and publication.

Study each prospect to get a good understanding of what they do and how it relates to your book. Look for possible promotional opportunities (do they review products, sell affiliate products, accept content from others, allow comments, etc.) and gather contact information.

3. Contact the owner or manager of each resource and seek to develop a mutually beneficial relationship.

Prioritize your list, and identify the prospects that seem to be the most important and have the most potential.

Do NOT write a generic "would you like to trade links" email. Instead, craft a thoughtful, customized message sincerely complimenting the prospect about their site, publication, or organization, and suggesting some specific ways that you might work together to your mutual benefit. Some possibilities include contributing content to each other’s sites, doing joint teleseminars, selling through affiliate programs, cross-linking, and promoting in ezines.

4. Follow up and follow through.

If you get no response from your initial email, try again. Follow up in a week or two with another email, or try sending an old-fashioned letter, making a phone call, or contacting the person through a social networking site such as Facebook.

When you get a favorable response from a prospect, follow through promptly to deliver whatever you've agreed to. Keep in touch with your new partners on a regular basis to build relationships, and look for additional ways you might work together.

5. Join the conversation.

Read the top blogs on your list and look for opportunities to comment on posts. For the online forums and groups, read the group rules and lurk for a while to get a feel for the group and the level of expertise. Then look for opportunities to respond to posts in a helpful way, using your promotional signature. Be subtle about promoting your book, follow the group's rules, and don't spam.

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Boost Your Profit Margin with Amazon Associates

2013-04-02T09:24:23-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

Here’s an easy way to earn a bit more profit from your sales on the world’s largest bookstore - join the Amazon Associates affiliate program. Even if you don’t have a book on Amazon, you can still profit from this program by promoting other books or products using your affiliate link.

Just sign up for an Associates account, then create affiliate links to place on your website for your own books and any other books or products you’d like to promote. As an Associate, you will earn a commission (called a referral fee) each time someone clicks on one of your affiliate links and purchases the product. This is extra revenue, above and beyond whatever you normally make when you sell a book on Amazon.com.

Even better, you’re paid a commission on anything else the customer purchases during the same shopping session on Amazon. So if they put your book in their shopping cart, then decide to purchase a Kindle, a new printer, or some vitamins, you get commissions on those items as well.

The amount of the commission depends on the type of product and your monthly sales volume, but it ranges from 4% to 10% of the total purchase made by the customer. You can read the fine print and find a commission chart here. Just remember that you can’t use your affiliate link when you make personal purchases on Amazon.

To get started, sign up for an Associates account at https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/. Amazon sometimes prohibits residents of a handful of states from having an Associates account, due to conflict over state sales tax laws. The eligibility rules change periodically, so the best way to find out if you’re eligible is to fill out the enrollment form.

Once you sign up for an Amazon Associates account, you will be assigned an “Associates ID,” typically a string of numbers or letters ending in 20. To create a link that will give you credit for sales, use this template:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/ASIN/?tag=ASSOCIATESID

Using the above template, replace “ASSOCIATESID” with your own Amazon Associates ID. Replace “ASIN” in the template with the Amazon product ID. For printed books, use the ISBN-10 (10-digit ISBN). For ebooks and other products, look for the ASIN. The ISBN-10 or ASIN is located in the Product Details section of the product’s sales page on Amazon.com, as you can see in the screenshot below:

As an example, here’s the Associates link for my paperback book, How to Get Your Book Reviewed:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982380402/?tag=texanpubli-20

Check your product link to make sure there are no extra spaces, and test it to make sure it leads to the correct page on Amazon. There are also some link building tools on the Amazon Associates page, and you can even create banner ads or a whole store full of products.

You can use your Amazon Associates affiliate links any place on your website or blog where you link to your own book or to other products for sale on Amazon.com. Affiliate links can also be used in your ebooks, special reports, and other information products. If you're writing articles that will be used on other websites, make sure it’s okay to use affiliate links. For instance, EzineArticles.com forbids the inclusion of affiliate links, and if someone has paid you to write an article it probably wouldn't be acceptable to include affiliate links.

What other products could you promote? Feature complementary, non-competing books and other products that would appeal to the people who read your books. If you’re a cookbook author, you can link to your favorite cooking gadgets for sale on Amazon. If you’ve written a travel book or a book on photography, you could link to cameras. Think about how the product categories on Amazon.com tie to your book and use your imagination.

Now that you know how to get more profit from each customer you refer to Amazon, learn how to maximize your book sales on Amazon with my ebook, How to Sell More Books on Amazon.

The Power of Publicity

2013-03-25T05:00:00-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

When you're sending out press releases and publication announcements for your book, be sure to include every organization that you belong to, including business and professional organizations and social and hobby clubs. Many organizations list member news in their newsletters. Also include your college alumni organization (whether or not you're a member), your hometown newspaper, and media in the town where you currently reside.

Another potential source of publicity is organizations and publications that are relevant to the topic, storyline or setting of your book, even if you're not a member or subscriber. You never know where publicity will come from.

Here's a great example of the power of publicity. Patty Shafer, who is the author of the Annie the Texas Ranch Dog series of children's books, recently landed a short feature and photo in Texas Co-op Power. If that doesn't sound like a big deal, consider that Texas Co-op Power is the highest circulation magazine in Texas, mailed to 1.2 million households and businesses that receive power through an electric co-op. The magazine regularly features Texas people and places and has an estimated total readership of 3 million. That's a lot of free publicity!

Patty's books also come with a terrific marketing hook. Annie the dog is owned by a park ranger and each book features an adventure in a different Texas state park, in a different area of the state. That opens up a whole range of regional promotional possibilities.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to get publicity for your own books!

To learn more about promoting books with publicity, I recommend these two how-go guides from literary publicity expert Sandra Beckwith:

Get Your Book in the News: How to Write a Press Release That Announces Your Book will teach you how to create a release that contains the information that journalists need and expect. While this book focuses on crafting and distributing a "book announcement" press release, much of the information is also applicable to other types of press releases that are used in book promotion.

Publicity Forms and Templates is the ultimate guide to writing a variety of press releases and media kit materials for all types of books. This step-by-step guide includes dozens of fill-in-the-blank templates to make it easy for you to create professional quality publicity materials.

A Gig at The Huffington Post

2013-03-18T05:00:00-05:00

Today's guest post by Judith Newton is part of the virtual tour for her new book, Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen. Judith shares how her book promotion journey improved her writing and led to a hugely successful appearance on the popular Huffington Post.

A Gig at The Huffington Post: How Promotion, Platform Building and Social Media Made Me a Better Writer

by Judith Newton

In my former life as a professor, I was unfamiliar with the word “platform” except as it referred to principles, a flat raised horizontal surface, or possibly a trendy shoe. Six months after I retired, I began to think about writing a memoir, and in March of 2009 I took a class with the express purpose of learning how not to write like an academic. Trained to do research, I began to read books and articles about writing and publishing for a general audience. I learned more about self-promotion, “platforms,” and social media than I ever expected, or wanted, to know. I had never sent a query, posted a blog, used Twitter, visited GoodReads or heard of Pinterest, and had only joined Facebook to keep track of my daughter’s life.

As I wrote the memoir, however, I began to think that maybe it could be published and, even more, that perhaps it should be. I began to feel I owed it to the book and to myself to make the attempt. Thus began my head long dive into self-promotion, platform building and social media. In the late summer of 2012, having finished a respectable draft, I read and downloaded dozens of articles on writing queries. I hired a consultant to help me craft a proposal that would promote me and make my work look good, and I proceeded to query four or five agents in New York.

Some wrote back to say they couldn’t “place” the book. Others, apparently out of the country, never answered the email. I stopped writing to New York. But drafting the queries and the proposal had not been a waste of time. The proposal, especially, which had required chapter summaries and a comparison of my book with comparable titles, had clarified what the book was really about. I revised the book accordingly.

Next, I hired a West Coast agent for a consultation. She liked the idea of the story, a food memoir that was also a love story about a marriage between a straight woman and a gay man, and she suggested that I write a piece based on the romance and send it to the editor of a Sunday column in The New York Times. I completed the piece and sent it to the editor who wrote back politely that “we have decided not to use it.” Nonetheless, I had distilled the essence of the romance in my book and saw its trajectory more clearly. More revisions followed.

Shortly thereafter, a young woman I’d met in a poetry class contacted me. She wrote for iPinionsyndicate.com, a collective blog. They wanted a food writer, and she knew I was writing about food because we’d been in a memoir class together as well. “Would you be interested?” she asked. I said I would and I began to blog bits of the memoir on this site. Blogging chapters of Tasting Home, forced me to re-examine my materials, to sharpen the arc of my chapters, and to interact with an actual audience. The blogged chapters, and even my rejected romance piece, improved.

By September of 2012, I had downloaded and underlined a stack of articles on self-promotion, platform building, and social media almost one foot tall. I had my own website now and was duly revising and republishing pieces of the memoir. I had also learned to Tweet and when the Tweets were about Tasting Home, I was forced to condense and sharpen my understanding of what I was trying to do. I had created a fan page for the memoir, posted descriptions of myself and of my work on LinkedIn, She Writes, and GoodReads and had joined and been active on several writing sites. Every time I set up a page, I reinforced a new identity. I was a writer, writing for a general audience. There’s nothing like a firm identity to give you confidence, and confidence makes you a better writer.

Learning these new technologies was sometimes painful. Those who grew up with computers in their strollers cannot comprehend the technophobia of older folks who wrote their dissertations on Smith Coronas and still prefer to write first drafts on plain white paper with a Ticonderoga pencil—number 2 ½. But Pinterest, at least, was fun. I spent many happy hours pinning pictures of the food and landscapes of Tasting Home. And I could justify my investment in these stolen pleasures because even Pinterest had its writerly effects. By inviting me to visualize what I was writing about, it improved my ability to imagine scenes.

By November of 2012 Tasting Home was accepted and being readied for publication by She Writes Press. I was advised to hire a publicist and I did. I hired two. One was to set up a blog tour which required me to write short pieces linking my memoir to larger social issues. I began to better understand the relation of Tasting Home to the present world. The other, who wrote a press kit for a reasonable price, had read some chapters from the book and told me, “Send something to Huffington Post, something tied to a holiday.” I pulled out the romance piece on my gay ex-husband. Perhaps there was something here for February 14. I revised the piece again, pared it down, changed the ending and the beginning, entitled it “A Valentine for My Gay Ex-Husband” and dutifully sent it in. Fifteen minutes later I heard from a Huff Post editor who she liked it a lot and wanted to see it in print. I was amazed.

I was even more amazed when people began to read it—a lot of people. It was posted on a Thursday and by Monday it had 10,000 likes and 500 comments. It had struck a chord. People wrote to say they found it beautiful, that it made them cry. They shared their own stories. It was like receiving an unexpected flood of valentines. A glitch on the site prevented me from answering the comments for the entire weekend, but the glitch was corrected by Monday, and I began trying to answer as many as I could. Overwhelmingly, the comments were kind and had obviously come from the heart. By Monday, when the piece was being featured in the French edition of the Huffington Post, I noticed that several French men had begun to follow me on Twitter. Unfortunately, they wrote in French. But I was happy to have the connection.

The Post then decided to do a podcast and host a discussion of the column. The camera attached to my computer was aimed at the top of my head, and though I had read six or seven articles on how not to look terrible on Skype, I didn’t look very good. Still, the podcast went better than I’d anticipated. The next week, the Valentine piece was featured in Huffington, the iPad magazine. The “likes” kept coming and my book hadn’t even been released yet. Luckily my publisher had my book up for pre-orders and those began coming in. My Facebook fans increased and a site I hadn’t heard of suddenly asked to feature Tasting Home for the month of March.

Most importantly, however, I had begun to feel in touch with an audience that would be responsive to what the memoir, Tasting Home, has to say. This sense of being connected, of exchanging stories, moved and heartened me. It made me freer to be out there, to take chances. I believe it has emboldened me as writer. One sign of that emboldening effect was that I, who spent nearly half my life without a computer, began to write this piece on self-promotion, platform-building, and social media. I even generated this list of what I could share with you.

1. A query letter and book proposal, even if they fail to gain you representation, may succeed in helping you better understand and revise your work.

2. Social media sites are not only about building a platform. If used carefully, they can improve your writing.

3. Aim for quality. Write with heart, and try to connect with your readers. You are not just building a platform, you’re creating a community, and community is what writing and being read are all about.

About the Author

Judith Newton is Professor Emerita in Women and Gender Studies at U.C. Davis. Her culinary memoir, Tasting Home: Coming of Age in the Kitchen, released March 1.

What Should I Do About a Bad Review on Amazon?

2013-03-11T05:00:00-05:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

It's frustrating to get a bad review, but it happens to most authors sooner or later.

My advice for authors is to try not to take it personally and to remember that books (especially fiction) are subjective - some people will love your book and others won't. And many book buyers realize that most books will have some negative reviews, even if most of them are positive.

If a review contains factual errors (for instance stating that a nonfiction book was missing important information) you can click the "comment" button on the review and leave a note. But be very careful not to sound defensive - just state the facts. (e.g. Perhaps you missed chapter 6 where I discussed that topic in detail.)

If you think a review was really unjustified, you can also click the "no" button next to "Was this review helpful to you?"

If a review violates Amazon's terms you can ask Amazon to remove it. Amazon will not remove a review simply because it's unfavorable or you think it's unfair, but they sometimes remove reviews that are reported for violating their terms.

Also focus on getting more good reviews to offset the bad ones.

And finally, take an objective look at negative reviews and see if there are any legitimate comments that you might use to improve your writing.

For in-depth advice on getting book reviews and profiting from them, see How to Get You Book Reviewed, available in paperback, Kindle, Nook, and PDF format.

Three Joys of Book Promotion

2013-03-04T05:14:00-06:00

I often hear authors say that they would rather be writing than promoting their book. In today's guest post, author Ellen Cassedy shares some terrific insight on how authors should embrace book promotion.

Three Joys of Book Promotion

by Ellen Cassedy

If you like to write, book promotion can be a joy, not a chore.

Why? Think about it.

Writing a book is about proudly having your say, joining in the conversation, being heard.

It means expressing in words who you are, what you think, how you feel, what you imagine – and sharing all that with other people.

Isn’t that exactly what promoting a book is all about, too?

So if you say you love writing but book promotion is not for you, I sympathize – to a point. But I don’t agree.

Here are three ways I’ve found to take joy in book promotion:

Start before you publish. Long before I found a publisher, I sought out opportunities to be heard about my journey into Jewish Lithuania, past, present, and future. I gave talks at synagogues, libraries, and Jewish cultural centers. I wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. These opportunities were energizing and inspiring. They gave me a chance to test out the best ways to communicate what I had to say – which helped me write a better book.

Target your “super fans.” In the run-up to publication, I made a list of the people I most wanted to read the book. My list included not only people I knew (family, friends, mentors, people who’d read drafts) but also people I didn’t know –writers and thinkers I admired; scholars in the fields of Holocaust studies, European and Jewish history; tolerance leaders and public officials. The first book promotion task I gave myself was to inform these people about the book. Reaching out in this way felt as important as writing the book in the first place.

Embrace the challenge. My book promotion plan requires me to communicate my “message” in lots of different ways. I have to – or, as I see it, I get to – write articles, op-ed pieces, guest blogs, website copy, press releases, e-mail blasts, Facebook messages, and tweets. I have to – that is, I get to – craft book talks and conference presentations, give interviews, and succinctly describe my book to people I run into. All of which involves solving problems, finding the right words, expressing myself to the best of my ability. Just like…writing a book.

About the Author

Ellen Cassedy’s book, We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust (University of Nebraska Press, 2012), begins with her personal journey into the old Jewish heartland and expands into a larger exploration. See her Tips for Writers at www.ellencassedy.com.

What's the Best Way for Authors to Use Twitter?

2013-02-25T05:00:00-06:00

by Dana Lynn Smith

Twitter can be a great networking tool, but many authors wonder about the most effective ways to use it. Here are some common questions:

How often should I tweet?

It's best to post several tweets a day, but it is hard to say what is the optimum frequency. Personally, I would like to post 5 to 10 times a day. Some people post several times an hour and repeat the same posts frequently, but that takes a lot of time and it may annoy your followers. And it's not a good idea to post unless you have something interesting to say.

As each new tweet appears at the top of people's home page, it pushes the earlier ones down a notch. Most people probably don't read beyond the first page when they log onto Twitter. If you make several posts at once, they will all be bunched together on your follower's screen. But if that person doesn't happen to be on Twitter at that time, they might not see any of your tweets if they have already been pushed beyond the first page. If you make several posts spaced out during the day, it's more likely that one or more of them will be seen.

You can save time by using a scheduling service such as HootSuite (the service I use) or SocialOomph (formerly TweetLater) to pre-schedule your posts on Twitter and other social networks. HootSuite is free but you can pay a modest monthly fee to be able to upload pre-scheduled tweets in a spreadsheet.

What can authors tweet about?

Most of your tweets should be about sharing and interacting with others, but it’s fine to make occasional promotional posts. Here are 7 ideas for tweeting:

1. Link to helpful or entertaining books, articles, websites, and blog posts. Add your own comments or ask for feedback.

2. Re-tweet good posts by other people, but don't go overboard—most of your tweets should be original. Include "RT" and the original tweeter's name in your post to indicate that you're re-tweeting someone else's post.

3. Invite people to subscribe to your ezine or blog, and offer an incentive.

4. Announce your live and virtual events, such as book tours and teleseminars.

5. Ask for advice or ask questions that encourage responses.

6. Introduce other authors or experts in your field who are also on Twitter.

7. Post an inspirational quote or message.

For more information on using Twitter most effectively for book promotion, see Twitter Guide for Authors.

Your turn: What do you tweet about? What is the most effective ways for authors to use Twitter? Please share in the comments section below.

The Power of the Author Interview

2013-02-18T05:00:00-06:00

In today's guest post, book marketing expert Sherrie Wilkolaski shares some terrific advice on how to use author interviews as a book promotion tool.

The Power of the Author Interview

by Sherrie Wilkolaski

A marketing tool all authors need to utilize to market and promote their books is the author interview. It’s quite simple to create and the investment of 30 minutes or less will go a long way to produce a tool that can be used time and again, both on and offline. If you’re interested in treating yourself to one of the most valuable 30 minute book marketing exercises…please read on.

What is an author interview?

An author interview is a series of questions and answers that is prepared by the author. Questions are typically pulled together by the book publicist and coordinated with the overall goals of the author’s marketing and PR campaign. The questions are developed and put into a Word document and then the author types (writes) out their answers. That final interview Q&A is then ready to be used and re-purposed in a variety of ways.

What kinds of questions should an author be asking themselves?

Authors should be asking basic questions (see list of examples below) about how the book came to life as well as questions that provide a deeper insight and teasers about their new book release. Once the book basics have been covered, then the questions can get more personal and the author can talk about everything from their writing style and what books are on their own bedside table. This is an opportunity for authors to share more about who they are. Authors should have fun with their questions and answers. Asking questions about things outside of writing, like favorite foods, or types of music make for an interesting interview.

7 tips to capitalize on an author interview:

Use the author interview on their website. Authors can use their online Q&A and publish it in their “about the author” section of their site. It is more than just an author bio.

Incorporate the Q&A into the book media kit. Every successful author media kit has prepared questions and answers for the media to use. An author’s book publicist will use the author’s media kit to pitch the author to the media for interviews, both on and offline. Radio interviewers will always require this of every author before putting them on the air, so why not be ready for the invitation.

Online author interview is ready for instant guest blog appearances. There are thousands of book sites looking for online author interviews. Once the Q&A has been pulled together, it can be submitted along with the author’s bio and book summary to any website looking for this type of content. Makes for quick and easy book marketing.

Elevator-pitch preparation. Amazingly, authors learn a lot about themselves doing this exercise and it helps to prepare them their elevator pitch and for any typical questions they are likely to encounter while marketing their title.

Book signings and events. Bookstores and other venues that may be interested in considering an author for a signing will see how professional an author is because they have their Q&A pulled together.

Social media. Authors can use their online author interviews to promote their books in an interesting way. Send out a Tweet to your online interview, post random questions to your Facebook fan page or pin it. So many possibilities!

Get creative! There are so many ways for an author to use their author interview to present themselves to their audience and the media, think outside of the box.

Embrace the author interview.

The author interview opens so many doors for authors and is a marketing cheat sheet that will be used more than an author could ever anticipate. It will showcase the author as a professional while creating interest from readers looking or an insider’s peak at what the author is all about. Questions for fiction and non-fiction authors will be different.

As an example, see how the authors of the Salem Witch Trilogy included Q&A in their online media kit, as well as on the individual “about the author” pages for co-authors Jack Heath and John Thompson.

Here are a few interview questions you may want to consider using for your own Q&A.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. (Short author bio)
Can you tell us where people can find you? Website, social media, blog, etc.

Fiction:

Here’s your chance to market your book. Describe it. And why readers should pick it up?

How did your book come to life?
Who is you favorite character in your book and why?
How did you name your characters?
Are the characters in your books based on people you know?
Why do you think your readers are going to enjoy your book?
Are your characters’ experiences taken from someone you know, or events in your own life?

Non-fiction:

Here’s your chance to market your book. Describe it. And why readers should pick it up?

How did your book come to life?
What other books are most similar to yours?
Why do you think your readers are going to enjoy your book?
How long did it take you to write your book?
Who designed the cover?
What are you doing to market the book? Are you using social media?
In two sentences or less can you tell readers something unique about your book.

Don’t forget personalize your questions and answers so that they best position your book. If you’re looking for a customized author interview and need help with building your personal media kit, please email services@authorsboutique.com.

Best of luck!

About the Author

Sherrie Wilkolaski is a public relations and book marketing expert for independent authors and traditional publishers, specializing in small to mid-sized publishers. She is the former Director of Publishing Services at Lulu. She is a columnist for Press Pass. In 2011 she co-founded Pressque Publishing, a traditional publishing house. She is a bestselling author, radio talk show host of Pub Smart, and IFWTWA board member and treasurer. To learn more go to www.authorpublishingservices.com.