Taylor-Dth Book Promotion

From One Unpublished Author to Another

2006-11-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

By Robert Crane

Ed Note: I could not resist this article even though it doesn't really help with marketing. A good laugh helps put things in perspective.
Enjoy!

If you are unpublished, you are one of my peeps and we are a nation of millions of poor saps who scratch our heads in constant angst with every killer query returned in standard issue rejection, while we squirm in our Costco desk chairs to take pressure off the nuisance of a new hemorrhoid.

For my own sanity, I like to share some things I have learned over the past ten years. It is the least I can do. But before I do, I must warn you, remove any loaded guns, put the arsenic away, tuck the noose under the bed, and pull the box of Kleenex near.

Are you ready? Let's do a little sharing then, shall we?

I dabbled in writing scripts about ten years ago, entering two of them in some smalltime but legitimate screenplay contest in Monterey County, California. When informed that both made it to the second round, I secretly allowed myself the simple pleasure of imagining my acceptance speech at the Academy Awards. When I daydream, I don't mince fantasies. A month later, I received the 'sorry but' letter for both scripts. I realized later that the second round was reserved for those scripts that were submitted in the correct format and with a check that didn't bounce. So much for Hollywood! I filed my acceptance speech away.

Lesson One: the second round of any writing contest only means two things: 1) your work was formatted correctly, and 2) your check/credit card payment went through.

Undaunted, I decided all I needed was to have one of the scripts read and critiqued by a Literary Agency. I found one, The Star Literary Service in Tucson Arizona. It was before Google was around. So I forked up $90 to have it critiqued, believing that once read, they'd clamor to represent me. I soon received a standard filled out critique form with a few standard critique paragraphs attached essentially saying 'the writer had promise but the script was not marketable, thank you very much'.

In all fairness, having dusted off the script recently for a reread, it was pretty amateur but not because it was not marketable. In fact, a few years later 'You've Got Mail' was released, a slightly modified version of my story called 'Roomance', right down to the actors I had in mind-so much for no market. The truth is the script was amateur because, other than the dialogue, the scene descriptions read like a Tolstoy novel, making it about forty three pages longer than it needed to be. Regardless, I would have been better served if I had just played the slots with the ninety bucks.

Lesson Two: if one pays an agency to read her/his work, make sure the cost can be covered by disposable income, as in trash disposable. The good ones don't charge to read!

Having felt the rush of finishing not one but two full scripts, I felt somewhat fulfilled, even though both were pretty lame. Meanwhile, my full time job was becoming quite intrusive. Content with two completed scripts, I filed the writing away, thinking I was over it. But if you are my peeps, you know the urge to write always lurks below the surface, kind of like a life long allergy that suddenly bubbles up on the skin just when you think you out grew the damn thing.

Well it hibernated for many years. And when it awoke, it was for poetry of all things. I was suckered into that 'poetry.com' site to submit a poem to the weekly $100 contest. If any of you have stumbled across this little ruse, you know what happens next. You receive an unexpected email or letter from that irascible Howard Ely and the folks from the International Society of Poets (or a handful of other related societies). Before you can say iambic pentameter, you discover you are in the semi-finals of some big contest and your poetry is going to be printed in some grand Anthology. For the uninitiated, I canít say this any clearer. If this occurs, pick up your quill and run for the hills! It is all about collecting cold cash from gullible poets to buy a copy of the anthology, or a CD of the their poem read by a professional, or a Poet Society sponsored convention to read your poetry to your peers, or a plaque or a pen or a glass football or a set of coasters or whatever they can imprint your twenty line poem on-always constructed from the best material found on earth and always available for a special member price just for you.

I must admit my vanity leaked out a wee bit at that initial unsolicited letter from Howie. But fortunately I was rudely snapped out of it by my son who said he thought the poem was 'somewhat pedestrian'. Now if I could write my unsolicited queries to agents like the folks from the Poets Society write their anthology invitations, I might not be writing this piece of drivel now. I might not be one of us! Anyway, with vanity in check, I have had my fun with them over the past few years, sending in really lousy poems from Inlin Freebosh, a North Pole elf friend of mine. By the way, he has been named one of the top two hundred poets in the world by Howie and the gang. It's true! I didn't even accomplish that!

Lesson Three: If vanity is your thing, writing can be a great endeavor to fulfill that need. There are ample slugs, I mean caring publishers, ready to turn your paper dollars into paper pages. (Note: if it is not your thing, visit 'www dot vanitypublishing dot info' for a really good 101 course in what to look out for; lest you find yourself suckered into purchasing an heirloom-quality depressing, demoralizing dust collector.)

Okay so the poetry wasn't very rewarding. But the allergy was back and I was itching to get something done. Determined to write a small novel based on a really simple idea that hit me one Christmas and a month away from trading in my corporate job for a year's severance, I decided to turn myself completely over to the urge and take the plunge about two years ago. With the next great children's holiday story in hand after months of writing/editing, writing/editing, writing/editing and then a dozen more rewrites/reedits, I started the literary agent query crusade.

I did my homework as I'm sure you have all done. I bought all the must-have books and agency lists; even found some fantastic query examples on the internet, one demonstrating the merits of humor, something that always resonates with me. Well, off they went, a few more than a dozen, all to agencies that had children's stories listed among all the other genres they represented; you know, the typical collage of categories: lesbian issues, war chronicles, New Jersey, children books.

I think I must have sent the serious queries to the ones that wanted humor and vice versa. Anyway, the rejection form letters came racing back; some completely pre-printed including the signature, some pre-printed except the signature, some with personal responses in real ink - one liners like 'sorry but good luck'; all of them claiming their personal torment of toppling query piles with only two arms to reject them; all of them telling me don't give up there must be an agent or publisher out there somewhere. I think one even had a pre-printed dried tear drop stain near the fake signature. It made me feel good to know that their lives were more dismal than mine.

[At this point, I want to check-in with you. I'm sure there are several of you shaking your heads in agreement, possibly reminded of your own bounty of rejects. What do you do with yours? I file mine away, occasionally pulling them out to read them in worst to best order, always filled with the delusion that someday I'll be plugging my book on the public access show 'Local Corner', at which time I'll build a small bonfire with the rejects, dancing around the flames screaming 'that'll learn 'em'.]

However, out of the darkness of defeat, a dull beacon pulsed. There was one response from Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio that gave me pause to indulge in a morsel of hope. She actually read the three chapters I submitted with the query and hand wrote a note back to me at the bottom of the rejection. She told me the main character, Inlin Freebosh, yup one of the top two hundred poets in the world, was 'charming'. I slept with that letter under my pillow that night, stained by tears of joy and a little champagne. I slipped into sleep as I thought of snappy answers to Oprah's probing questions!

Filled with a renewed passion, I took it up a notch. I wrote a memoir from limited memories of growing up in the Sixties, a collection of humorous stories about my pathetic uninformative years. I found a way to buy another year of dedicated time, and learned to build my own website to get my work out there. And the carrot for all this trouble was the next query letter I'd send off to Rosemary. It would be brilliantly constructed, reminding her of our past relationship and near connection. She'd be impressed with my persistence, resilience, and most of all, talent.

Well the day came a few weeks ago. With a very carefully worded query letter and best story attached, I decided not to just mail it but to hand deliver it. If she saw me, she'd see instantly I was marketable, someone she'd be proud to send to publishers and eventually to public access TV.

Lesson Four: The only thing more difficult than finding a literary agent is finding their actual habitat. [After a gallant attempt, I could not find Rosemary's office. I ended up mailing it. I think she is squirreled away within the safety of a gated condo complex, possibly drowning in a sad sea of crumpled queries.]

I did hear back from Rosemary. This time the response was a bit cooler, almost as if she sensed a little stalking potential in my latest inquiry. I probably should have toned down the salutation, "To my sweetest agent-pooh". Thank god I didn't find her office, she might have shot me. Oh well, I'm still thankful to her for that original response; it really did make a difference.

That brings me to the present. I'm sending my updated resume out to the corporate world, trying to spin the last two years into meaningful, job-related experience-probably some of the best fiction I've written to date. The fact is I need to find income to feed this addiction. Sad really. At the same time, I'm trying the competition route, but part of me, a big part, thinks it is a waste of time. I'm also writing a bunch of political and humor articles for an ezine in a desperate attempt to publish something somewhere; besides it does keep me occupied and off the streets while I figure out my next project and this little employment dilemma.

The website helps a lot. It has generated a lot of encouraging responses which keep me hopeful - but I don't know. This is tough stuff. It makes those author rags-to-riches stories almost unbelievable.

Lesson Five: Writing's a joy; query rejection a poke in the eye!

[Another check-in: I've been listening to a continuous stream of Nat King Cole classics while writing this piece. Does that mean anything? Am I close to the cliff? Has anyone experienced this?]

Well it's time to wrap this up. I just want to tell my fellow unpublished friends, those anyway who have not shot themselves yet, that there is little one can do to stop the madness. The truth is if you are blessed with the writing bug but cursed with enduring optimism, you are in for a long, lonely, hurtful ride.

I think Paula Abdul of American Idol fame said it best recently when she told a really talent-challenged crooner, 'when I hear ... I mean when you sing ... I mean when I look around ... I love the way you stand there ... you have the right outfit for that song ... never give that up'. Actually, I'm not sure that says anything best. What she was trying to say was never let the talent thing get in the way, just dress nice. Even that doesn't make much sense. Oh well, she should've said, 'if you love singing, sing already!'

I think the same holds true for writing.

Lesson Six: Never use a Paula Abdul quote as an example of anything.

This article was written by long-to-be unpublished humorist Robert Crane. Feel free to sample more at his popular website: http://www.cranelegs.com

[The opinions stated in this article are those of the author. Don't shoot the messenger! Ed.]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Crane

Top Three Mistakes Rookie Authors Make in Marketing Books on Their Web Site

2006-10-25T15:51:00.000-07:00

By Steve Weber

Today every author knows they must have a Web site to help sell their book. But most new authors make three dumb mistakes while trying to market their book on their site.

Insisting the customer buy on your Web site

Most authors try to sell directly to the buyer on their Web site, figuring they will reap the full list price of the book. That's fine -- IF it's fine with the buyer. But most would rather buy from an online store they've heard of, not an individual. So if you want to sell your book effectively, offer more options.

How? Offer an affiliate link to your book's product page on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. If you're a self-publishing author and set a short discount (say 25 percent), you can earn the same money by letting Amazon sell your book, plus you don't have to fill the orders.

You can reap some additional rewards through affiliate sales. I earn about $15 a day in additional Amazon affiliate commissions from folks who followed my site's affiliate link to Amazon and decided to purchase additional items in the same order. So in those cases, I earn a lot more money than I would have earned by selling the book on my own Web site, plus I don't have to handle the customer.

Static Web sites

Unchanging Web sites are another boneheaded practice employed by most authors. I've had a lot of success promoting my book through my blog, and it's easier than maintaining a regular site of static pages. (It's also easier than trying to sell books using Google Adwords, and cheaper.)

Offering no content

Authors can improve their Internet marketing efforts tremendously simply by adding a bit of free content. Offer your first chapter, table of contents, and index in a free PDF that visitors can download from your site. It's a no-brainer -- if you're trying to sell a book outside a brick-and-mortar bookstore, the buyer has to have a sense of what they're buying. I know I get a tremendous amount of buzz and sales from that (I offer my first three chapters).

Many authors are leery of offering a free PDF of their first chapter online. "My goodness," they say, "What would happen if people forwarded the chapter all over the place?"

What would happen is that you'd get a bazillion dollars' worth of free advertising, and the sales of your book would get a serious shot in the arm!

See Steve Weber's Self-Publishing blog.

Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online.

Steve Weber is author of "The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site" (ISBN 0977240606). For more information about selling books, go to: http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/selling.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Weber

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Marketing Your Book Eight Unique Ways to Promote Your Book

2006-09-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Whether you have just completed your first, third or fifth book you want to see it succeed. Book promotion is a daunting task that can leave even a seasoned publicist floundering for ideas. There are thousands of books jockeying for the readers' attention and you want your book to be their first choice. Promoting a book is like being a cross between Houdini and a detective. You have got to sleuth for creative promoting avenues then magically tie them to your book to maximize revenue-generating publicity.

With these super easy tips, you can promote your book like a pro. Promoting should be done off and on-line. Your goal is not only to be creative but to garner as much publicity for your book as possible. On all the items listed below be sure to include your book cover, website address, contact information, and, always a must, ordering information.

Magnetic signs: We have all seen these signs on vehicles advertising everything from AVON to plumbing services. Why not use them to promote your book? Full-color magnetic signs placed on the sides of your car are the ultimate advertising tools. If your daily commute is anything like mine, an hour each way to work, hundreds of people can see them on a daily basis. They are relatively cheap. Depending on the size and design you choose, you can get a pair ranging from $18.00 to $85.00. All you have to do is email the company the verbiage, a succinct description of your book, website address and a .JPEG of your book cover. Be sure to review the proof they send you. The company can have a custom sign to you within three to five business days.

Create your own blog: Blog, what a funny sounding word, it almost sounds like you are regurgitating lunch. But trust me there is nothing funny about it. Having a blog has become one of the coolest and in some cases most profitable things on the Web. Blog, nickname for web log, is an online personal journal on which you can add links to your favorite sites. A blog can take your diary ramblings and turn them into a publicity-generating machine. Depending on the popularity of your blog it can receive more than one hundred thousand hits a day. A blog provides an excellent venue to showcase your writing in addition to keeping your fans abreast on what is going on with you. Be sure to include a link on your blog that point visitors back to your main website for them to read an excerpt of your book and to purchase it.

A mug: My agent, Bob Diforio, had my book cover emblazed on a coffee mug. The mug can also serve double duty as a candy dish. If you work in an office, give one to the receptionist to use as a candy dish, that way every visitor to the office will see it.

An acrylic holder: You can make your own holder or order one from a promotional item company. Hang the holder on your car window to hold your postcards. Whenever you stop at a store, pull out your holder. Passersby can take a postcard while you are shopping.

Clothing: Make this a family event. Have your book cover, website address and succinct information on your book emblazed on a T-shirt, baseball cap, sweatpants, etc. Have family members wear their T-shirts and/or baseball caps whenever the opportunity presents itself. At the gym, out shopping, or just out getting ice cream. There's no better walking billboard than your loved ones.

Advertise on http://www.classmates.com: The creation of this website has allowed individuals to keep in touch with or renew acquaintances from years past. For a nominal fee you can send an announcement of your new book to the alumni of your high school and college. Although they restrict you from adding a URL to your announcement, you can still add information that will get noticed. For example I used: Desiree Day has just published her novel Crazy Love. Interested readers can then Google me to find my website.

Independent Book Sellers (IBS): By now you should know the names of all the IBS within a one hundred mile radius of your home. A number of them collect demographical information on their customers, such as name, mailing address and email address. This is vital information that you can use in promoting your book. Contact the owner to see if they are willing to mail out your promotional materials. However; if they do mail your information, be prepared to pay postage.

You: Keep a copy of your book with you at all times. Just having it is bound to elicit questions. This is an especially excellent technique if you are on public transportation. Anyone within three feet of you is bound to ask what you are reading. Also have a supply of your postcards to pass out to everyone you meet.

Do not forget that you can also promote your book by writing articles, facilitating a workshop, volunteer as a panelist, and joining an assortment of professional associations and organizations.

You can tack your postcards on local bulletin boards, post your web site on Yahoo and MSN groups, have a friend host a book signing/reading party and, finally, send press releases to independent booksellers.

Desiree Day
http://www.desireeday.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Desiree_Day

Selling the Sizzle: Three Steps to a Great Pitch

2006-08-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

By Dara Girard

Quick! In thirty seconds or less tell me what your book is about. Can't? Then you need to work on your pitch.

First, congratulations. You've completed your novel. You can't wait to see your words encased in the covers of a book, sitting face out on the bookstore shelves and being bought by the truckload. But before you can see that dream come true, you have to persuade a publisher to buy it.

Many new writers don't understand one fact about publishing that all established authors know. Those of you who are of a more artist temperament will find what I am about to say rather vulgar, but I will not apologize for unveiling the truth. Writing is a noble art, but once you enter into Publishing you are now in the sales business.

How so? You're selling a product (your book) to an investor (the publisher). Once you understand the true nature of this business, you will be miles head of those ego-lead writers who feel that the world owes them a living because they tell stories. Don't make this mistake. Nobody cares that you're a writer; your job is to make them care.

Developing a great pitch is a career writer's best tool. A pitch is a short summary of your story told in about three sentences or less. If you want to get an idea of what a pitch looks like go to your bookshelves or the library and read the back covers/ jacket copy of books. See how one story pulls you in and another leaves you cold.

Why? Because you're buying an emotion: fear, love, ambition. Authors who represent these emotions include Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and John Grisham. That's what pitches sell to readers: Emotion. To editors, pitches sell the emotion of "This will make money!".

You can also look at your TV guide to see how two hour movies are compacted into one to two lines. They're considered 'hooks' because they leave the reader wanting to know what happens. Here is an example of a basic hook:

"A battered wife fakes her own death and assumes a new identity in a desperate gamble to escape her abusive spouse. Sleeping With the Enemy"

A pitch will go further and reveal what happens (she does escape). A writer needs to know how to use a carefully crafted pitch. It will help sell a story in many ways: In a query, in a synopsis, at conferences and interviews, press releases, cover copy, etc. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First you have to plan your pitch.

STEP ONE: The Three Pre-pitch Steps

1) Know Your Product. A writing career is similar to opening a shop for business. You need to know what you will sell, so that you will know how to market it. What kind of book do you have to sell? What genre does it belong to? You need to be able to identify this in a short sentence. Not "It's a sci-fi, fantasy, coming-of ñage, mystery romance." But instead "It's a fantasy romance with elements of mystery." It's the same as knowing whether or not your store will sell upscale or custom jewelry. Once you know what you're selling, then you're ready for step two.

2) Know Your Audience. At this stage your shop is ready to open. Now you need to identify the customers who will benefit from your product. A number of aspiring romance authors think because romance is such a booming market that they will have a huge audience for their work. They don't. All romance readers don't enjoy every romance story. Some readers like stories with ghosts; others enjoy history, or family drama. Identify what your audience likes (demon hunting werewolves or long contemporary dramas) and keep them in mind when you're developing your pitch.

3) Know Your Investor or Client. You need money to start your business. That's fine, but what will the investor get? Research what your investor (agent/editor) needs. Are they over inventoried with historicals and are desperately seeking chick lit? Are they behind a certain trend or are they the best with a certain genre and your product could help improve their list? I am not implying that you 'write for the market', just know where to send your product for consideration. You wouldn't want to pitch your Christian romance to someone interested in erotica, would you? You would be wasting your time and theirs. Do your research.

STEP TWO: Breaking It Down

Now that you know your product, your audience, and your prospective buyer, it's time to develop the pitch. A basic pitch has four parts.

1) A Character

Stories are about people solving a problem. Who is this story about? Who are we rooting for or who should we hate? At this stage it is okay to use clichés to describe your characters. You've already made them unique in your story. Take the easy route for now. Why? Because you want to elicit an emotional response. When you describe your hero as a burned-out cop, what images/emotions come up? A tired warrior? Good that's what I want. How about a carefree party girl? Do you see her as a lighthearted, selfish innocent? What if I were to say they would fall in love, wouldn't you be curious how that would happen? That's what you want the editor to feel: Curious.

You don't always have to use an adjective/noun combination to introduce your hero/heroine. You can just state what the character is. Cara is a nurse (you think of a nurturer). Malcolm is a man with secrets (you think of a wounded soul or someone dangerous).

2) You Need to Tell the Setting

By setting I mean both where the story is set and how it begins. Does the story happen in the present day or the future? North Carolina 1975, 1875, 3275? Are we on another planet? When will the story happen? Is the character going through a divorce, has she lost a loved one?

3) Now You Need Conflict

What is the problem? What does the protagonist need? Give the storyline; not the story itself. This is where your theme comes in. What is your theme? Love conquers all? Patience is a virtue? Greed leads to death? Use emotionally stimulating words. Theme is what makes a story resonate and captures an editor's interest.

4) Resolution

How does it end? Does the protagonist accomplish her goal or not? How is s/he changed?

STEP THREE: Developing Your Own

AN EXAMPLE:

In the following pitch look for Character, Setting, Crisis, and Resolution.

"When Isabel Lawson's husband deserts her, she closes her heart and focuses on her career. World weary gardener Martin wants to get away from his past and is glad to be hired by Lawson's Landscape. But when these two damaged souls work together to landscape a wealthy widow's garden, they learn that true love can bloom in the toughest climate."

Okay so it's a bit hokey, but you get the drift. In a short time you know what the story is about. Now it's time for you to work on your own pitch. Make it short, sweet and emotionally stimulating; anything that will shout, "This will make money!"

Learn how to sell the sizzle and one day I'll see your novel on the shelves. Good luck!

Dara Girard is the author of How to Bounce When You Want to Shatter: Steps to Resilience in the Writing Life (http://www.howtobounce.com) and four novels. You can find more articles and links for writers at her website http://www.daragirard.com

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Everything You Should Know About Pay to Review Services

2006-07-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

By T.S. Johnson

Should you pay to have someone review your book? This is a question many small press, self published, or POD published authors are going to have to ask. With the entrance of the pay to review model many authors who could never get their books reviewed by the "mainstream" review outlets now have the opportunity to get that necessary and all important book review. But what are the pitfalls and pluses of such a decision? Well, that all depends on what you expect when you decide to enlist a paid service to review your book.

Guaranteed Review - Your book is guaranteed to be reviewed when you use one of the pay services. There is no waiting around wondering whether or not your book is going to be one of the few chosen to make the review pages. You're paying for a service and once you have paid you'll get what you've paid for.

Quick Turnaround Time - Anyone who has gone the traditional review route knows that it can take months, if ever, for a book to be reviewed. However, many of the pay services will review a book for you in a matter of days or weeks. From ten days to six weeks you can have a professional, signed review. Mainstream review outlets can't compete with that.

Ownership of the Review - When you commission someone to write a review for you, you own that review. Which means you can use that review anyway you see fit. You can reproduce it in whole or in part, ship the whole thing out with your other marketing materials, dance on it or rip it to shreds, it's yours. Most services require that anytime you use the review you acknowledge the particular writer and service that wrote the review but other than that it is yours to do with as you please.

Aid in Promotion - The New York Times Book Review is a promotion machine in and of itself. If they give you a good review then you may be on the road to bestseller status. And the same is true for the other major review markets. But if you're published via POD or you're a self-published author the likely hood that The New York Times Book Review is going to review your book is slim to none, or any other major market for that matter. So you're going to need all of the promotional and marketing help you can get. Paid review services can help you with this. Many of them will submit your review to other media sources which will give your book added exposure. So not only are you getting the review for your money but you will also gain extra promotional and marketing exposure you may not have had access to otherwise.

[Moderator Note: This attitude toward POD and self publishers is changing. Don't let this statement get you down! It IS changing!]

Any Book, Anytime - Backlist titles, books that have already been released, pay review services will review them all. If your book has been released longer than ninety days many reviewers won't touch it. A pay review service is a way to still get that all important review regardless of when the book was released.

Good Review vs. Honest Review - This is what the controversy surrounding pay review services centers on: how can you possibly get an honest, objective review of your book if you're paying someone to write it. Some would argue that you can't. Others would say it doesn't matter, if you're paying for a service then you should get what you want. I say the answer lies somewhere in the middle. There are services that will give you a glowing review regardless of what you write. And considering that some pay review services charge as much as $350 dollars per review, it isn't a surprise that an author would expect a positive review. But a book review isn't only about hearing glowing reviews of your work.

A good book review should cover what works and what doesn't work with your book, what improvements need to be made and how well you told the story you were trying to tell. If all you hear is the good stuff then you will never know what you need to do to make your work better. So instead of choosing a service that will only tell you what you want to hear, choose one that will be honest with you and give you a complete review of what you have created.

In Need of a Review? PrologueReviews.com Offers Professional Reviews for Everyday Artists. To Have Your Book, Music, Film or Video Reviewed Visit http://www.prologuereviews.com Today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=T.S._Johnson

[Moderator Note: I was unable to access the site listed above. I feel the information is valid, so I used the article. Perhaps the site's server is down, but I have been unable to get any more information. Check out Taylor-Dth Promotion & Marketing (www.Taylor-Dth.com/promo.html) for several links to reviewers.]

Hi, Can I speak with Oprah Please?

2006-06-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

By Wayne Kelly

Congratulations! Your book is finished. You have boxes and boxes of books in your basement and you're wondering, "Now what?"

You start selling your books door to door, you try friends, book stores, but there must be an easier way. There is.
It's Radio and TV. These mediums can reach hundreds-of-thousands and even millions of people with one interview.

I know what you're thinking (because every author thinks it)"If I could only get on Oprah." Right?

Admit it! I haven't met an author yet who hasn't said that.

But Oprah is the final Stanley Cup Game - The Masters Golf Tournament - The Superbowl - The Tour de'France. She is the best of the best.

But, you CAN get on Oprah - by starting small and working your way to the big leagues.

The first thing I want to show you is how to package your pitch.
Radio and TV are about educating and entertaining. If you show a producer that you can do either, you have a better chance of getting a ton of Publicity for free.

The number one mistake authors make when pitching to a radio or TV station for an interview is: they ask to be on the show because they have a new book. Producers don't care that you have a new book. They want listeners and viewers to stay on their station for five more minutes. IF they find something or someone who can help them achieve this, then they will put you on the radio or TV.

For example, if your book deals with children not being able to socialize anymore, try packaging an idea like this:

'Millions of teenagers have lost social skills because they spend too much time on their x-box or computers. Joan Smith has five tips on how to re-socialize your teen without them hating you.'

Do you see how that has a better chance of hooking a producer?

You identified a problem.
You told me it's a big.
And you offered a solution.

Once you start thinking education, problem, and solution, all while being entertaining, then I'll book you on my show!

I'll See You on the Radio!

Wayne Kelly

Wayne Kelly is the award winning Morning Host of the Wayne and Jayne Show in BC Canada. He's the founder of On-Air Publicity, the fastest growing radio PR program online today.

He's won 2 Canadian Association of Broadcasters Awards (The Grammy for Radio)

Been Awarded the BCAB 'Performer of Tomorrow'
His show raised $165,000 for charity in 10 days
He has broadcast his radio show live from Ground Zero with nothing more than a cell phone and a heavy heart.

He's interviewed thousands of people from Celebrities to UFO experts, Singing psychics and Inventors. Wayne Kelly - "The Radio Guy" Teaching Authors, Speakers and Coaches how to get booked and be a HOT Radio Guest in 30 Days or Less! http://www.OnAirPublicity.com

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The Business of Publishing

2006-05-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

By Penny C. Sansevieri

Congratulations, you're published! But what exactly does it mean to be "published"? Besides the fact that your work is finally in print and your college alumni has asked to interview you for their newsletter it also means fame and fortune, right? Well, ok, maybe not on the level of J. K. Rowling, but at the very least you can expect a call from Oprah, right? I hate to be the one to break it to you but you're probably not even on her radar screen. The truth about publishing is really stranger than fiction and the truth is: getting published is only half the battle. The other half is to keep your reality check in balance so it doesn't bounce.

While publishing is all about creative expression, it's also about business and it's those business savvy authors who will succeed in the end. Now you don't have to be an MBA to be a keen business person, you simply have to understand that the choices you make relative to your books future should be based on strategies that will enhance sales not just drain your pocketbook. So, how do you do this? First, take a long, hard look at your reader.

At Author Marketing Experts, we always create a reader profile for each book we promote. This reader profile will tell us where to find buyers for the books we represent. Taking this first step helps us sort through our choices when it comes to book promotion and make decisions on behalf of our authors that are sound and will help leverage sales.

There are times when it's a waste of resources to do a nationwide radio or TV promotion. In fact, some of our programs don't include any outreach to broadcast media. Why? Because as alluring as it might seem to appear on the Today Show, what's the point if your audience doesn't watch morning TV? And, if your audience isn't watching this show, the chances are slim they'll even consider you anyway. What? More rejection? Who needs it!

As you embark on or continue your campaign, ask yourself a few tough questions. First, what's your ultimate goal for this book? If it's just to give away at family reunions, that's great! But then you'll probably want to nix any marketing. If your book is an arm of your business and you have speaking engagements lined up through the end of the year. You probably don't need to spend a lot on marketing since most of your sales will come from your speaking engagements (i.e. back of the room sales). On the other hand, if you wrote this book to grow your business or to leverage your credibility then you will probably want to dial yourself into your industry through enhanced media exposure.

For fiction authors this area becomes a little tricky. First, you need to determine your long term goals. By long term we mean: do you want to stay in this business or was this book just "something you wanted to do." If it's a hobby, then treat it as such but if this is going to be your career, then you need to keep your message out there on a continual basis, through venues such as author events, talks, signings, print and broadcast media.

Make sure the choices you make, make sense for your book and aren't just made because you've always dreamt of being on Oprah. I've known authors lured into inappropriate marketing plans by big, flashy names and promises of stardom, wasting thousands of valuable marketing dollars and heading in a direction that wasn't right for them. If you're serious about your work, ready to let go of your muse and face the task at hand with some business savvy, then you're really ready to get published. Below are some guidelines that will help further your success!

1) Reader profile: create one of these at the beginning of your marketing campaign and keep refining it as you move through the process. Refine and redefine who and where your audience is and how to get to them.

2) Time commitment: determine what you can and can't reasonably do. If you have a full time job it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to commit yourself to forty hours of marketing a week unless your boss is on vacation.

3) Investment: how much are you willing to invest in your future? Are you willing to invest money without seeing much in return knowing that you are building a foundation or do you want to see immediate monetary results? Most authors don't see a return on their investment for a year or more. Are you committed enough to yourself or your project to keep this investment going?

4) Reality check: what's realistic for the industry you're in? Are you latching onto a fad or something with more longevity? Are you getting into a brand new market that will require lots of reader education? Or are you trying to go mainstream with a non-mainstream topic? While this is an admirable goal, it can be like swimming upstream.

5) Budget: while we encourage authors to invest in their future, we've also seen a number of people go into heavy debt, quit their jobs and even sell their homes just to promote their book. While that kind of dedication is certainly admirable, remember that although you have the potential to make a great deal of money it's not going to be overnight. The lure here is of course that "If I stick with it, this next sale will make me famous." Well, maybe or maybe not. If you've been plugging away for a while without any significant success get a professional to give you some honest, constructive feedback about your plan, your market, and your book. It might be that a poorly designed cover is the reason you're not making sales, or a topic that's fallen off of the public's radar screen. In the meantime as you're waiting to hit the big time you'll still need a place to sleep and Uncle Vinnie's couch will get old real quick.

6) Burnout: we hear this term often, even to the point of being overused. What we're really talking about here is author burnout. We've found that the average author only markets their book for ninety days. That means ninety days of day and night marketing, radio interviews at 3am and a book signing every weekend. On day ninety-one they are so tired, so discouraged and so broke they quit. You can avoid this by giving yourself realistic goals and a realistic timeframe in which to complete them. There's nothing in the world like seeing your book in print. If approached realistically, objectively and with sound business sense, it can be one of the most exciting times in your life.

Penny C. Sansevieri:
The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave reviews and is being called the "roadmap to publishing success." Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of courses on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at Author Marketing Experts, Inc.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Penny_C._Sansevieri

Write Your Story, Put It On A Website, Sell Millions of Copies

2006-04-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

By Mark Barnes

Although he has his own website, John Grisham probably does very little self-promotion. When you have Doubleday on your side, most of the marketing is done for you. There are not too many John Grisham's out there though, so the unknown authors, with small publishing houses, have to be responsible for marketing themselves. This is not hard work, but it does take persistence and ingenuity. Follow this model, and you'll be successful.

My first novel, The League, was picked up by DNA Press in November of 2004 and will be released in May 2005 (unusually fast work for a publisher). While the publisher works feverishly to put together the cover, the press kit and the final galley, my job is to promote the author, me. In just three months, I secured have five reviews, done a national radio interview with others already arranged, submitted my idea to ESPN for a potential movie, and I've already received nearly 1,000 hits to my website, which has been published for just one month. How have I done it? Non-stop hustle, that's how.

This is not hard work; it's actually quite exciting, knowing the fruits of my labor will be book sales. Here's my plan to get as many people excited about my book as possible, even before it hits the bookstores.

First, I started sending e-mails to publishers of magazines and websites, whose content is similar to the plot of my novel. I asked them if they would do a review or give me a quote I could use on my novel's cover. While I was waiting to hear back from the 50 or so people I contacted, I began creating my website. If you've never done this, it's extremely easy and inexpensive. Just visit Register.com for more information. I had my site up and active in one day. Of course, over the next few weeks, I continued to improve it, adding my picture and a picture of the cover of my book.

Next, I started fishing for radio interviews. There's a number of ways to do this. I'd recommend starting at home, using a local author angle. I also went to shows that talk about fantasy football, since my plot surrounds this game. This is how I got on a national show, the week leading up to the Super Bowl. That night, 60 people visited my website, and eight of them pre-ordered my book -- four months prior to its publication date!

As I continued to make contacts with media people, I created business cards with a picture of the book, my website URL, and a sentence on the back from the synopsis. I hand these out everywhere I go, and they lead people to my site, which leads them to the synopsis and an excerpt. This gets them wanting more. Your website is your most powerful tool. You want people there early and often. You want them telling others. I have my website beneath my signature on my e-mails. I send hundreds of e-mails each week to colleagues and friends. Again, this gets me hits.

I sent an e-mail to a colleague, who saw my website URL, clicked on it and looked at the excerpt. He came to me the next day and told me he had an aunt who was a writer for a local paper, and she could review the book for me. I was thrilled, to say the least. All because of a link to my site in an e-mail. The e-mail wasn't even about my book.

Finally, I'm beginning to arrange book signings, months in advance of the book's release. You want people coming out to buy your book, and guaranteeing bookstores customers is the best way to do it. I contact a store's events manager and tell him or her that I'm going to get 20-30 of my friends and family to attend my book signing. They are almost always willing to sign me up, because they want the traffic in their stores. Best of all, this guarantees that they will have your book on their shelves -- an obvious necessity if people are going to buy.

So, if you want to self-promote, get yourself a website, business cards, interviews and book signings. Then, hit the streets and talk up your work. Learn how I did it at www.sportsnovels.com. And have fun.

Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, the first work of fiction, based on fantasy football. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Increase Book Sales: When a Sale Is No Longer Just a Sale

2006-03-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

By Catherine Franz

Do you have books sitting in your garage that you haven't sold yet and looking for ways to move them? Then you will want to know about these five outrageous ideas that aren't difficult and can be just plain out fun.

Dede Hall, author of "The Starving Student’s Cookbook" had very poor sales for her books. Then one day an outrageously light bulb moment appeared. She added an inexpensive skillet with the book and shrink-wrapped them. Then she took 150 of them to two stores that she thought wouldn't sell them. Yes, to her surprise, all 150 sold in two days. Dede stumbled on an outrageous idea and it worked out big time. She sold over 100,000 copies in a few months. Where did she sell them? Thought you would never ask. Price Clubs and Kmarts.

Do you have a book that could be packaged with something else and create outrageous sales for yourself? It’s Christmas time and no it isn't too late. But before you dart off to come up with an outrageous idea for your book, continue reading so that you can get all the facts.

(Ed note: Okay, it's not Christmas! But this works year 'round!)

Another cookbook was repackaged with a scarlet ribbon and some imported cinnamon sticks and then sold at department stores in the housewares and gift sections. The book couldn't sell at $5.95 but flew off the shelves at $10 and went into second printing in 30 days.

Would your book sell well in a three-ring shrink-wrapped binder? Why not create and audio or CD version of the material. Just read directly from the material. You do not have to be fancy. Add "read by the author" language to the outside in big letters. Or maybe "F*R*E*E Bonus, Limited Time Offer, Free Audio read by the author" in big letters.

Another key is to look for an item that makes the package larger than the book. This requires a larger space and then bigger visibility.

What about a book on money? Add a mug labeled, "Millionaire" and watch it fly off the shelf. Do not forget the second part of the formula - the place you are going to sell it. When you add the mug, it is now considered a gift item. This opens the doors to more stores and places.

Try all the independent gift shops, especially at the airport. They are always looking for these types of unique combinations.

Have an exercise book? Add a "walking meter" with it. The one that measures how many miles you are walking. Have no clue what they call those things but I have bought three over the past few years. Again, now it is a gift item. How about contacting a sports equipment vendor and selling them copies of your book that would be a freebie for a limited period with a purchase.

Get the store to add a sign, "limited quantity" and watch them go even faster. What is great about this angle is that gift stores, department stores and similar stores are much more open to add things to their shelf. They will work with you much better than a bookstore.

Now that you brain is going a mile a minute with ideas, best wishes for selling many more books!

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Marketing Virus - Every Writer Needs to Catch It

2005-12-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

By Mark Barnes

For you writers aspiring to greatness, you might need a virus, before you can be great! You need a Marketing Virus. Every unknown writer needs a virus that will spread like the deadliest bug known to man.

So how do you get this virus, and how do you make it work? Simple, the virus comes with marketing – the kind of marketing that you need to do yourself. You can’t rely on publishers or publicists. If you are an unknown or if you work with a small, independent publisher, as I did with my first novel, The League, you will need to carry much of the workload in getting your name and your product recognized. Here are a few tips to create a marketing virus that will get your name and your book to spread like a wildfire.

Use the Internet. It might seem obvious, but most writers are not making the best use of the most powerful marketing tool in the world. Get a website with your name and your work. Keep it very simple. A picture of your book or books and a professional picture of the writer – you. You’ll need a synopsis page and a page for reviews and quotes from others on how wonderful your book is.

Get your site noticed. This is the most challenging piece of marketing you’ll have to do. Driving traffic to a website is an incredibly delicate matter. Anyone who suggests it’s easy is lying. It takes time and work. Get your website URL on as many things as possible. Put it on business cards, and hand them to everyone. Put it on brochures, magnets and e-mail signatures. Get it on search engines, and spend a little money on a professional who can optimize your site for those engines.

Another tip that might seem obvious is to market your writing to magazines, newspapers ad electronic media. The greatest free advertising in the world is the radio or television interview. There are thousands of talk radio stations just dying for quality guests. You could pay a publicist thousands of dollars to book interviews for you, or you could do it yourself. Just get numbers of producers, work on a 30 second pitch as to why your book will interest readers and get on the phone. You’ll be amazed at how many people will book you on the first try. Then tens of thousands of people will hear you, they’ll tell their friends and family, and the marketing virus will begin.

Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking, sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Sell More Books With a Powerful Back Cover

2005-11-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

By Judy Cullins

Did you know that your back cover information is, after the cover, the best way to sell more books? And, that most authors, emerging and experienced, miss this opportunity to engage more potential buyers?

Your book's front cover and sizzling title must impress your buyers in four-eight seconds. If they like it, they will spend ten or so seconds on your back cover—a great opportunity to convince them that your book is necessary for their success.

Does your back cover pass the test?

Best Solutions to the Biggest Mistakes

1. Mistake: Too many non-powerful words and too busy to have a focus.

Solutions: A back cover of 6 by 9 inches should have fewer than 70 words. Use sound bites; picture and emotional words; benefits, not features; and testimonials to capture your readers' attention to keep your message focused. Make every word count and be willing to get five-fifteen edits.

2. Mistake: Too much superfluous material on it such a long author's bio or large photo. Potential buyers want to know how the book will help them, teach them a skill, or entertain them.

Solutions: Print only a one or two-line bio on the back cover. Put your photo and more bio on the inside of the back cover. Omit features such as format information, which belong in the mini sales letter short introduction.

Connect with your buyer emotionally with specific, powerful ad copy. For self-help books use bullets with specific benefits, and enough of the right kind of testimonials to sell your book in under 15 seconds. For fiction, modify to include a startling scene with snappy including a bit of plot, and maybe a powerful quote. Use bookstore models to assist you.

3. Mistake: Repeating the book's title at the top of the back cover.

Solutions: Since your potential buyers already know the title and are stimulated enough to look at the back cover, hook them with an emotional question or headline that gives them the #one benefit of your book.

Create a "Hot Headline" that compels your reader to buy. Notice the headlines in your newspaper. Visit your bookstore and notice other best selling authors' headlines. "What's So Tough About Writing?" by wordsmith Richard Lederer, author of The Write Way; "Imagine Being an Author," in Dan Poynter's Writing Nonfiction; or "To Age is Natural…To Grow Old is Not! In Rico Caveglia's Ageless Living.

4. Mistake: Omitting testimonials.

Solutions: Testimonials sell more books than any other information on the back cover. Put at least three up. Contact a variety of people. Use one from a top professional in your field, one from a satisfied reader, one from a celebrity who cares about your topic, and one from a top media person. These can be local contacts.

In her book, A Kick in Your Inspiration, Ruth Cleveland got one testimonial from an ex convict! Jacqueline Marcell, author of Elder Rage, took eight months to get forty testimonials from celebrities. Her book is endorsed by: Steve Allen, Ed Asner, Dr. Dean Edell, Dr. John Gray, Dr. Nancy Snyderman/ABC, Regis Philbin. Jacqueline Bisset, and Phyllis Diller.

Worth the effort? Yes, because in April 2001, she made the cover of the AARP Bulletin distributed to over 35 million readers. It included a feature story, some how-tos and contacts and pictures of the author and her book. She had to dance fast, and order 10,000 books to get distributed by the time the piece came out. After it came out, she was inundated with speaking engagements. There's a problem you might love to have!

After you write several books and become rich and famous, you, like other professionals, will fill your back cover with testimonials. You won't even need to add benefits, because people have already bought your other books and liked them.

Potential buyers will purchase when they see people they trust and know recommend the book. Besides filling the back cover with testimonials, you may want to even add extra testimonials in the front pages of the book. The more testimonials, the better!

If you are unsure how to ask for testimonials the easy way, contact a professional book coach.

5. Mistake. Independent publishers submitting galleys to reviewers, distributors, and wholesales without ANY back cover information.

Solutions: "Make the back cover your first area of concern," says Susan Howard, Director of Consulting Services at top publishing firm, The Jenkins Group Inc., who write "The Publishing Connection" She adds, "Waiting for testimonials is generally the reason the back cover of a galley is left blank. Failure to realize the value of the back cover seems to equate with the failure to realize that the text for the finished back cover can always be changed before the printing of the book."

It's important for writers to "market while they write" with the "Essential Hot-Selling Points"-- To make each part of their book sell copies. The book's back cover is all-important.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," "The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Targeted Web Traffic," and "Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The Book Coach Says..." and "Business Tip of the Month" at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 165 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Moderator Comment:

I'm a little late updating this blog. At the end of October, I attended the SPANnet.org conference held in Denver, CO. Span is an organization for small publishers, self publishers and writers. The information presented on book marketing was incredible! All of the speakers gave so freely of their donated time.

Rather than make this blog any longer than it already is, please go to http://www.spannet.org/conference.htm to read about the conference. Then join Span!

One of the things we learned is the importance of an author web site, Whether it is www.TitleofBook.com or www.AuthorName.com, you need to have a web presence. I met Lars Clausen of http://www.AmericanAuthor.com the first day of the conference, but I didn’t get to chat with him until the last day, as he was packing to go. He’s a great guy full of ideas to help authors. He is the author of One Wheel -- Many Spokes, so he knows what authors go through. His book is available at http://www.onewheel.org .

If you don’t have a web site, and even if you do, you should check out http://www.AmericanAuthor.com. They have made it so easy for even the most computer illiterate person to have a beautiful web site. Okay, you do have to have a computer and you should know how to hunt and peck on the keyboard. But you will be delighted with the ease of use, the sophistication of design and incredible services. There are several packages to choose from, so don’t waste any more time! Tell them Nancy sent you!

Check out our newsletter for writing tips and tricks. (http://www.taylor-dth.com/news.html) This month’s article is about the dreaded writers block and how to deal with it effectively.

Thanks for reading!

Comments From A Book Reviewer

2005-09-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

By Norm Goldman

For the past several years I have been reviewing books for my own site, Bookpleasures.com, as well as many other sites. I am also a regular contributor to the Canadian Book Review Annual.

As editor of Bookpleasures.com, I would like to make a few comments about book reviewing and what to expect, particularly from Bookpleasures.com.

Today, with the advent of the Internet, there has been a proliferation of book reviewers, whom I shall classify as the good, the bad and the ugly.

Those falling into the last category are those that you have to be particularly on the look out for, as their only interest is to receive complimentary books without bothering to review them, or if they do review them, their reviews are very short and without substance.
On the other hand, there are many serious and excellent reviewers who devote a great deal of their time and energy in reading and writing a review.

Sometimes, I admit, the reviews are not exactly very complimentary. However, it is to be noted that it is not the objective of a reviewer to be a salesperson or a public relations representative for the author. If the criticism is constructive, a great deal can be learned from the review, particularly if the reviewer is also an author.

From the point of view of a reviewer, what I find most annoying is receiving a book without first asking me if I would accept to review it.
Bookpleasures receives on average about 10-15 email requests per week. Generally, I personally accept a few to review, others, I forward onto Bookpleasures’ international team of reviewers.

In all probability, there is a 20%-30% chance that a request to review will be accepted by a reviewer.

The reason why a book is not accepted is wide and varied. Many of our reviewers have a backlog that they would like to clear before accepting new assignments, or the subject matter is not one that interests any of them.

What I like to see in a request is not “hype” but rather a brief resumé of the contents of the book, who the author is, if the book is published by a main stream publisher or is it self-published, and if the book is available on Amazon.

Bookpleasures also conducts e-interviews with some authors, and if the author is open to have himself or herself interviewed, please indicate.

If you are a publicist or publisher, don’t be afraid to put Bookpleasures as well as other book reviewing sites on your emailing list. You never know when something catches our eyes. Sometimes you may be publicizing a particular book, and our reviewers will look to your site and see something else that interests them.

As for the time frame, this all depends on the reviewer. Anywhere from one week to three months is the norm. You can ask the reviewer to give you some idea as to his or her time frame. You can also inquire as to his or her credentials. Bookpleasures does provide links to the reviewers’ site that should give you some idea as to their experience.

I do hope this is of help to some of you.

Norm Goldman is a free lance travel writer and book reviewer.
His articles appear on his own sites, bookpleasures.com and sketchandtravel.com, as well as many other Internet sites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Top Ten Ways of Why and How to Write your Book's Sales Letter - Part 1

2005-07-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

By Judy Cullins

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. But after the initial one-year honeymoon, sales slow down. To counter this make sure your print or ebook will keep on selling from the first day, the first year, even for life. Count on this being a two to three- year project to become well known.

Write a short sales letter for each book.

Whether you have a web site or not, you can write a first class, must-buy-now sales letter. Since you are making your book a business write a sales letter for each teleclass and service as well. I even write one for my bookcoaching services.

What Every Sales Letter Needs to Pull Orders and Profits.

You can write each sales letter in less than four hours the first time. As you practice, you can an excellent one in two hours.

1. Start the Letter with a Benefit-Driven Headline.

Include similar headlines throughout your sales letter. Make them bold and in another font to stand out. Then, add the copy below that supports your claim. Here’s one. What do your think? “Want a Quick and Easy way to Quadruple your Online Income in Four Months?”

If you answered, "yes" to yourself, the headline succeeds, because you will keep reading. If you said "No, I don't believe this, " but I'm curious where this is going," the headline still succeeds. You win when your headline seduces your potential customer to read on in your sales letter to discover your book’s benefits and features, some fine testimonials, to finally click "buy now" that takes them to the order page.

2. Make a list of all the problems and challenges your reader has.

To know your audience’s problems is half of the solution. Before you can write your book’s benefits, you need to know the problems. Do they want to lose weight? Do they want a lasting relationship? Note where they are now with their particular challenge. Hook your reader to go on with engaging questions such as “Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?” “Are you ready to give up on attracting your ideal mate?”

After you list all the concerns and problems your audience wants solved, your answer for these will formulate your list of benefits. (See #4) Follow each specific problem posed as a question with your answer. Those are your benefits. Benefits sell.

3. Address your Potential Buyer's Resistances.

Remember to tell a background story of where they are NOW (see #3.) so they will emotionally connect with your book solutions. This is part of your introduction and is the hook to keep your readers going. Let's say they want to write an eBook or print book to make themselves the "expert," make life-long passive income, or share their unique message.

Many people don't write a book because they doubt it will sell well enough for all the effort, it may not be significant enough, it will take too long, cost too much money, and they really aren't writers. One, by one, your sales letter needs to address your audiences’ concerns and show these potential buyers how they can become an excellent author and make their books more saleable, while building their profits.

Author’s Tip: Make a list of these resistances before you write your sales letter.

4. List the Top Five-Ten Benefits of your Product or Service in Bullet Form.

From these lists, create and keep in a computer file called, “book benefits” a list of 5-10 benefits. Include the number one benefit at the top of the list. You need to know these before you can talk about your book to others.

If you are not rock sure of who your audience is, your sales copy dribbles away and doesn't meet its target. Keep redefining your audience and know as much about them as you can.

Remember that one benefit is the top undeniable benefit—usually more money easier, more clients faster, more profits from web sales, better relationships, and optimum health.

You will place the top five or so bulleted benefits after your sales letter Introduction. The rest you can sprinkle throughout your copy.

Without a book sales letter to guide your potential buyers on your web site, you leave them bored, uninspired, without enough information to make that decision to buy. Your web site and ezine must entertain, inform, and give enough benefits to convince your readers to order your book.

For all email promotion campaigns, without a sales letter for each product, your unique, useful and inspiring information will not get read, people won't know you as the expert, and you won't make the sales you want.

For part two of this article email article-165@bookcoaching.com.

Judy Cullins ©2005 All Rights Reserved.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," "The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Targeted Web Traffic," and "Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The Book Coach Says..." and "Business Tip of the Month" at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 165 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

A First Time Author's Publicity Kit Materials

2005-06-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

By Laura Hickey

If you're a new author who has been requested to send publicity materials, you may feel left in the dark on what to send. Here's a list of the usual items.

1. Author Bio

This is no place for modesty. You're competing with many other authors out there and need to show how your hot and worth it. Remember to include your accomplishments and give a little background information. Often readers want to know about the author's interests.

2. A photo

This is optional, but if you want to get your face out there, this could help. Keep in mind that not every editor will use your photo.

3. Interviews

Any newspaper/magazine clippings may be included if it's related to you and your writing, awards and accomplishments. Clippings about your personal life may bore the editor requesting your materials.

4. Reviews

If you have any reviews for your latest release, have them printed on clear 8.5 X 11 paper and include them in your kit.

5. Promotional Items

It may also be requested that you send any promotional items. Examples would be: Posters, pens with your web address, buttons, bookmarks, etc...

As time goes on, you'll expand your PR kit. A great idea is to have a press kit right on your website to save editors time and money. You may want to have all your current materials in one easy to download PDF file. Each time you have something new to add update the file.

About the Author: Laura Hickey is an up and coming author. Her works include Mysterious Chills and Thrills for Kids and a co-writer position for the TV pilot, Officially Lush. You can read more free articles by Ms. Hickey on her homepage:

http://www.laurahickey.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Don't Clone your Book or Business Marketing

2005-05-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

by Judy Cullins

Remember that the miracle of cloning sheep has its drawbacks. The main one--dying young.

Don't let your business die young by following the herd. Instead, think of the natural ways you like to market.

Here are some Marketing Ideas that Make Big Promises. And, when followed by investing a large amount of money and time, only a few will get the results they hope for.

1. Make your book a #1 best seller on Amazon. This idea teaches authors that if they offer $1000's of bonus books, reports and the like, and tell all their email lists to buy the book on a particular day at Amazon, they will make extreme sales.

In many sales letters that give away $1000's more than the price of their book, it looks a little suspicious or gimmicky. "Killer copy" and other web sizzle language doesn't bring confidence to most business people. The programs sold are over $2000. An old saying came from Robert Allen something like: "You make much more money teaching people how to make money than they ever will implementing the skills."

2. Optimize your web site standings in the search engines with ads placed in Google.com and through ------.

After putting a lot of time into writing ad copy, paying an upfront consultant fee, and paying monthly costs of the key words, I'd say the results for my top four business books were near 0.

Yes, I heard of one author that didn't invest more than $400 a month to reap $4000 book sales, but her book was highly specialized. When another web master I know followed this tact, she invested thousands a month to yield here only 50% in sales. For $2500 investment for the first month, she made $1250. Once the competition caught on, her sales dropped and no longer gave her a desired income.

Natural Marketing

Like myself, if you are a writer or author, it will be easy and natural for you to write short articles and tips for opt-in (no spam) ezines you subscribe to. This one thing has kept me at #1 for the phrase "bookcoaching." for four years and has placed my writings on over 21000 sites, the number increasing 1000 each month.

If you don't like to write much, maybe you'll love BLOGs. They bring similar results as the articles and your own ezine do. It's a mini web site, and an interactive process your visitors will like it because they see you more casually and personally. My blog's format will be question and answer, also letting my humor and opinions out to show I'm human.

If you like to share yourself and your solutions with others publically, you may enjoy presenting to groups and have your product available at the back of the room. A similar venue would be joining a networking group. Bring your business card that features either your blog site URL or your ezine subscription information. When you collect these email addresses, you grow your lists of target to-be-buyers.

Cloning isn't always healthy or profitable. Stay true to your own style of sharing yourself, your business, or book.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Sell Your Book At Book Fairs, Festivals & Trade Shows

2005-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

By Catherine Franz

Play a bigger game with your book sales by expanding your audiences at local or nonlocal book fairs, festivals or trade shows. Can't afford a booth or table, rent a space on someone else’s table and volunteer to be back for their book. In fact, rent a corner at various different tables in the same fair or show and triple your exposure.

The place on the net to go to find out what’s upcoming in your area, or an area you want to travel to, is at the Library of Congress’ website: http://www.loc.gov.loc/cfbook/bookfair.html. When you visit, the listings are in alphabetical order or by state. You will find shows for other countries, including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. International events, including Canada, listings available. Travel for a month, write it off for your taxes, and include several different fairs and shows while you there.

Since I live in Virginia and travel frequently to Washington State, I plan my travel and schedule around these two areas to start.

Virginia

Fall for the Book | Fairfax | Sept http://www.fallforthebook.org/

Hollins University Annual Literary Festival | Roanoke | Mar http://www.hollins.edu/news-events/litfest/litfest.htm

LAUGHS: Loudon's Annual Unforgettable Gigantic Hilarious Storyfest http://www.laughsfestival.org/ | Sterling | June

Newport News Celebrates the Book | Newport News | Oct http://www.newport-news.va.us/library/

Virginia Book Festival http://www.vabook.org/ | Charlottsville | Mar

Virginia Storytelling Alliance Gathering | Glen Allen | Mar http://vasa.communitypoint.org/archives/events/vasa_gathering_2004_call.html

Washington

If you prefer to view the list by date, visit: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bkevents.html.

The National Book Festival, Washington DC, an extremely large event, held every October on The Mall. For more information: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/natl.bk.fest.html.

Take a few minutes, visit the Library of Congress’ web site, and find the ones that fit into your schedule and location. Get bold and stand out, do book signings at Wine Festivals too (no matter what your topic).

You can even contact table renters in other locations and offer a commission for selling the books and you don't even need to be there. Look for people with integrity and give them a complimentary copy of your book. Write a "dedication" to them in the front.

For other possibilities to expand your book sales, visit your local and state government web sites for events, libraries, school district events, business organizations, civic or private clubs, bookstores at museums (private or public). Also, consider the arts and craft festivals and fun fairs.

Nonfiction Author Natalie Goldberg used to write instant poetry at booths at New Mexico area carnivals -- including the school carnivals.

If you are a technical writer look for Technology fairs and exhibits. Business Expos are the place to be if you are business writer. Are you a children’s author, ask to sell your books at Parent Day events at the local schools. Christmas shows are great for children books too. Did you write a historical book? Include all the history events on your tour for 2004.

Well, we shared some new places to find events to sell your books at in 2004. Don't stop here, be creative, and try anything at least once, if it is financially conducive. Stretch your imagination and your opportunities and watch your book sales soar. Most important -- have fun doing it. In addition, don't forget to write a book about it!

(c) Copyright 2003, 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.

Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specialized in writing, marketing and product development. Newsletters and additional articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Welcome to our blog!

2004-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
At Taylor-Dth Publishing we help writers get published. On accepted works, we do minimal editing and promotion. We try to keep our costs low, therefore we can't hire a full time publicist. We hope this blog will bring all authors together to share book promotion ideas. Regardless of your published, or as yet unpublished, status we hope you will share your book promotion trials and triumphs, thoughts and ideas.

We hope this idea will grow into many different threads covering who knows what areas of writing/publishing!

We are very excited about this and hope you will join us soon!

This is not the place to air grievances. This blog will be moderated, so inappropriate posts will not be displayed.