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Monday, March 31, 2008

Book Marketing 101: Under Wire Promotions

Book Marketing 101: Blogs

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Blogs-

Back when I first started teaching Internet Marketing, I called blogs "the train wrecks of the 21st Century." They aren't always pretty, but you just have to look. Grinning... I also postulated that I'd never find the time to keep up with one. All of this was stated to show how a person's mindset can change in a year or so. I now have more than a dozen blogs, five of which I actually post on with regularity. The main one averages 35 reads per posting, and that's averaging in the early days of the blog, when not much happened on it. Some of the newer posts have averaged 50-60 reads per post.

As I admitted even then (when I first started teaching about blogs), blogs give readers more of what they're hungry for...you, your books, insight. In some cases, blogs also educate. I wrote a blog entry (how ironic) on the subject of blogging a few months back.

Why is it that people think you don't feel strongly about an issue or don't know the issue unless you blog on it? Or...conversely...why do people think that blogging on it means you know jack about it?

[snip the long, boring description of the precipitator for this commentary]

Okay...This idea really floors me. There are tens of millions (or more) blogs out there. Does anyone actually believe that blogging on a subject makes you an expert on it? Or that not choosing to blog on it means you're clueless?

You see, most people realize that seeing it discussed in great detail on so many lists means that, just maybe, blogging on it is a general waste of time. Those who need the information or want it are asking in those forums and getting it directly.

The point is that blogs do not prove one way or the other that you know the subject matter you're blogging about intimately. If you blog and give faulty information, you're just another hack with a blog. If you blog only what you feel the need to blog but consistently give good advice and solid facts, you know what you're talking about. Having a blog or not doesn't mean a thing, in the long run.

Have I used blogs to promote my books? Absolutely.

The main blogs I maintain bounce back and forth between social issues I address, industry articles I write for it and promotion of what I have out or coming (mainly a newsletter to my blog readers, blurbs and announcements...I send them to the individual series blogs for excerpts). The two main blogs get the most hits.

The EPIC one I maintain is all about e-publishing and EPIC events and promo. The Mundania one is for Mundania, of course. The EWAG one is for EWAG.

The rest are for individual series or characters. I've had characters get in arguments, which Brenna the author breaks up...grinning. I've had free short stories on them. I've had characters grousing about me or the timeline to their book's release date. I've had excerpts on them. Those are my mess around and have a good time blogs. They don't get much play, but when they do, the readers get a treat.

I do NOT post early drafts on the blogs. I don't let anyone see something until at least the scene I'm showing is done, if not the book/story is close to being done.
MySpace, Facebook, Amazon Connect-

These are perfect examples of venues that will take you time to make, a little time to maintain and no money, but they offer great returns.

Jolie duPre recently updated her top ten things every author should have in his/her marketing bag, and the top five things are "MySpace." I don't know if I agree with her, but I can offer the following. Charlee Boyett-Compo reported that, since her MySpace has gone over 2100 friends, her sales have tripled.

Take the time to do MySpace or Facebook all the way.

Join groups there.

Remember to post your blog, and remember to cross-post all of your blog posts between MySpace, Ning, Connect, Blogger, etc. Don't put separate blogs in each venue, though you may need to tweak things, here and there for different venues.

Take the time to personalize it. Don't just leave it the bland page MySpace starts you out with. I am available to those who want a simple design but don't know how to code it.

The same sorts of rules apply to these pages as do to web pages. Watch what colors you choose. A graphic background ONLY does you good, if you can see the writing over it...or if you can see enough of the graphic with your form blocks covering it.

Amazon Connect. Once you have paper books on Amazon, go to http://www.amazon.com/connect and start making your bibliography page. This is the most time-consuming part of making an Amazon Connect page. You have to find your paper books and select them. Then, you have to have an agent, editor or publisher confirm that your e-mail address is you, the author of those books. Go in with the contact information for your editor, publisher or agent in hand. Once the books are confirmed (at least one of them is), you can friend other authors on there, you can post blog posts to your blog on Amazon and your book pages... including outside reviews of the books... You can announce new books coming out, and effectively link your books together on Amazon.

Not that a ton of sales COME from Amazon, in my experience, but it's a good thing to do. Update on Amazon sales... Two separate NY-published authors I know have set their Amazon sales at 1% of the total units sold of their books.

Writer's Online Courses
My Main Website
Enspiren Press

Book Marketing 101: e-Zines and Print Magazines

Buying Property

We are renovating our home. There is a book in that! We bought it just before real estate websites became popular, and long before they had all the features of a website such as the Wilmington real estate website.

If we had a resource like this, I might not have bought our house. We drove around the country side for months looking for a home. But, we had no way of gaging the neighborhood. The houses looked nice. The yards were well kept. There was a community pool, parks. It wasn't until we moved in that we found everyone else was moving out, including the gas station and the store. Next time - I'm going to research the real estate website first - then drive out to the house.

Book Marketing 101: Group Ads

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Group ads-

As I said, print ads need repeated, not necessarily in the same venue though that helps, but repeated often to show a good return...or so the marketing surveys attest.

So, You're Planning a Group Ad
By Brenna Lyons

The authors are picked. The money is pooled. It's time to plan the ad. That's when the problems start. Here is what you need to know.

If everyone has an equal share of the money going in, it only makes sense that they each get an equal share of the space. Simple? Not so simple.

If the ad is a group of authors from the same publisher, you have to agree on the publisher information. The point of such an ad, of course, is to get people to your publisher and looking for your particular books. What information will be included? Just the name and URL of the publisher, or will the pub have the logo or banner on the ad? How much space will the publisher get? You have to split the rest equally, you know. Will the publisher information go top, centered, or bottom? Will the publisher be paying a portion and using a full section for information about the company? Many publishers don't have the money to do this, so don't plan on it happening when you plan your ad, though you can ask. These are all important things to consider, and they make a difference in how your ad is ultimately set up.

If the ad was arranged via a group you all belong to, are you going to mention the group? That isn't as easily answered as the publisher question. You might want to, if it's a private group. You might want to as a service to a public group, though any ads for such a group should be run past the group officers first to make sure they have no objections to content. Keep in mind that they have legal grounds to pursue reparations if your ad puts them in a bad light, no matter how well-intentioned your ad is.

A balanced ad is pleasing to the eye, though a skewed ad of some sort is an eye-catcher. Wherever the information about the publisher or group goes, it should keep the ad balanced, if that is at all possible. Top, bottom or PRECISELY centered is always best. If a logo or banner is used, either putting a tag line on one side and URL on the other of a banner or putting that information centered between two small logos typically works best.

Before an ad gets rolling, the authors need to agree on what information will be going in the ad. An ad should always be balanced. It doesn't read well if one author's ad is nothing but a book cover and URL, another is all verbiage with no photo at all, and still another is a thumbnail picture with wording around it.

The ad spaces should be complimentary. If eye-catching covers are going to be used, they should all be the same size, and they should be arranged so as not to have clashing covers next to one another. The font size and style used should be the same for each section, and the information similar. By that, I mean that if sections 1-5 have book name and author, blurb and author URL; then sections 6-8 might have book name and author, review quotes and author URL. Similar but not necessarily carbon copies of each other.
Graphics should be of high quality! Never start making an ad with a low res thumbnail from the sales page at the publisher. I made that mistake with my first ad, and it's a lesson you NEVER forget. Always take the time to get a high res copy of your cover art for ads. Yes, storing a 300 dpi 2400x1580 (or thereabouts) cover on your computer – or getting it sent to you, may seem ridiculous, but it makes all the difference in the clarity of your ad.

Always choose a font that is crisp and clear. Italics and fancy fonts may look great on your screen, but print them out and see how good it looks at full size. There is always a bit of loss in translation. Remember that. If it's in the least fuzzy, it won't look good in the ad.

Unless you want to pay 15-25% more for your ad for a full bleed effect and leave yourself a large border of a background color, you might want to stick with a while background and a classic edging to add style to your ad.

What do readers look for in an ad? There is no denying that covers are eye-catchers, as are headlines, though covers rank 4th in what readers report as their reason for actually buying a book from an ad. Readers rank the information they want to see in an ad as a representative blurb for the book followed by author recognition, reviews and then a cover. Never forget to include URL for author and company.

Writer's Online Courses
My Main Website
Enspiren Press

What Do You Make of MS Bidding for Yahoo?

There is a lot in the news about Microsoft trying to buy yahoo. I have a few thoughts on the whole thing, not that I'm going to draw a lot of attention, but have you seen the latest comstock numbers? Now, I am not saying that I'm old. But I know when Google commanded a much larger share of the searches - 10% more? Do you remember?

Of course, I also remember the days when myspace was not considered a powerful traffic generating tool that out performed MSN.

You need to remember that MSN may have a small piece of the pie, but their 'decision to buy' ratio has made them a 'must' for ecommerce and shopping cart based businesses.

What I find as 'sad' is that Yahoo's generosity started Google. Yes, that is right. If it wasn't for Yahoo we'd have no Google.

Remember 2002? Yahoo bought Inktomi, a search engine, for $235 million and then went after Overture which disappeared from cyberspace for a cool $1.6 billion.

Of course - they really slipped up when they failed to realize that kids could drive facebook into a phenom! This was probably the beginning of the end.

Will I be upset if MS buys Yahoo? You bet. I tried using Google search today and had to go 10 pages back to get sites that had anything to do with my topic - not a closely related product for sale. I went over to Yahoo and found what I needed on page 1. I also don't need to let Yahoo store up to 10g of marketing information on my c:// - tracking every key stroke and website I visit.

I am proud of Yahoo for holding out - demanding that Google pay 'fair price' for the Golden Goose. Yes, because as the net grows, and as the users become more savvy, I believe they will start learning to hack Google and get 'out of its clutches' - when they do - they'll have no other choice than to go to Yahoo.

Where Do You Vacation

I'm always finding interesting places on the Internet. I love checking the vacation sites. IT is always nice to plan a vacation between jobs and deadlines. One of the most beautiful sites is Hilton Head rentals.

I love the new trend of renting an appartment, instead of staying at a hotel. This is a much nicer way to spend a week. I've never been comfortable in areas where I need to share common areas with strangers. I prefer a little privacy where I can realax and destress from the stress of my job.

My 'pick' is South Pines. I like the water, without feeling like I've been fenced in aroudn a pool.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Book Marketing 101: General Marketing

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

General marketing notes-

The biggest myths debunking e-marketing- There are those who will tell you that you can't sell books unless you go to the major reader cons, advertise in certain venues, get reviews from the right places... Those venues are primarily aimed at the traditional print market. Not that there is anything wrong with crossover, but e-book authors would be best served going to e-marketing first and then print marketing as a secondary measure. Even print authors shouldn't write off e-marketing, since many print-only readers are hanging out on lists and filling their TBB and TBR lists, from there. In addition, e-marketing, as a rule, costs you little more than time .

Fact! E-book readers are usually computer literate and spend time online. They cruise chats, lists on things that interest them and web sites. Fact! We have a growing market, often looking for the right information at the right place and time to flower.

Can it be my only form of marketing?- Of course it can! But, will you sell any books? The point is to meld the standard forms of marketing with marketing targeted primarily at computer users, not to exclude the traditional market. We want e-publishing to grow. That means we have to appeal to both markets. The problem many authors have is relying on one or the other exclusively. You have to promote. Unless you are Nora Roberts in a wig and sunglasses, your marketing is going to fall largely on your own shoulders, whether you're in NY or indie/e.

Even if you don't like interacting, always attempt to do so- Ads are pretty. Reviews are nice, but the bottom line is that readers like an author they can relate to, interact with, and come to know as a person. But, here's the twist...

Pros of e-marketing: perfect for the shy: the personal touch without the touch- E- marketing offers the ability to reach out and touch someone without having someone in your personal space. If you are the type of person who carries a book in your hand so you don't have to shake hands or hug, this type of marketing is right up your alley. It is perfect for the shy, the person who can't stand crowds...and we all know that many authors are actually introverts.

They allow you to lay out more of yourself to the hungry readers who want to know you. In short, they give readers what they want from you...but...

Promo CDs: The pros and cons of different types- We all love the business card CDs. They are small, sturdy, not as easy to damage as a full-size CD, hold more than enough information... Readers like them too; they are novel.

However, many people won't pick them up, because they don't know if the business card size will work in their machines. Many computers, especially older CD drives and laptops with the slide-style CD drive, cannot handle them.

Worse, some truly mechanically incompetent people will try to force a machine not equipped to use them and damage the drive in the process. Though this is hardly your fault, the reader in question may hold a grudge against you for the damage, and it is never a good idea to chance that.

There are pros and cons to each size, and you have to weigh durability and novelty against drive specs and limitations. Luckily, though the full size CDs don't fit in a wallet or back pocket, they are still popular with readers.

Make it something you can sign if it's a handoff- Many readers collect signed promo materials. If it can be personalized, all the better.

Be on the lookout for contests! Entering REASONABLE contests through a major venue can win you extra advertising for a small cost- Writers' Digest and Writers' Digest online offer a variety of contests. I personally wouldn't enter the self-published one. The prizes may be nice, but $150 plus 3-5 copies of the paper book is more than I can swallow. There are others, though. They sponsor flash fiction contests and timed/themed contests for $5-$15 entry fee. The prizes are, again, nice. I would love to win $3000, but I will be honest. Getting my story listed as a winner or honorable mention in the magazine is worth $15 to me. Winning contests, of just about any type, may get you coverage in the local paper. Don't discount that one.

Some contests I'd suggest? EPPIE (even NY-published authors have e-book versions of our books, these days), DREAM REALM (again, we all have e-books, and many of us are in the SF/F/H/Para and cross-genres thereof that DRA takes), PRISM (for our cross-genre romance authors), Passionate Plume (for authors with erotic content), LAMBDA (for authors with GLBT content), IPPY... IF you are an RWA member, I highly suggest entering the RITA, now that more publishers are eligible. If you're not a member... I don't know about you, but $140 plus book copies is too rich for my blood. For every genre, there are a ton of awards you might enter. Be sure to ask about genre-specific awards on your writer's groups.

Know your books: always have blurbs ready to pull out- NEVER make the mistake of not knowing your books inside and out. Practice answers to common questions with someone. What genre do you write? Blurbs for books. Get at ease with answering them. If you are excited (okay, sometimes it's manic, but the readers mistake it for enthusiasm), they will be excited for or with you.

Writer's Online Courses
My Main Website
Enspiren Press

Book Marketing 101: Free Content

Bathroom Lighting

Home renovations are never ending. We expected our house to be completely upgraded more than a year ago. There is always something new. We need a new bathroom lighting because our old, outdated fixtures, do not work with the new energy efficient light bulbs.

Shopping for lighting is another matter. I am never satisfied with the models in the local stores becuase i know that htere is something better out there. Wall scones are becoming more popular as people move away from ceiling lights.

I know exactly what I want in the hall, tall golden tubes that will light the hall without distracting from the living area, but the bathroom is another matter. I've been looking through the sites for months waiting for the new styles that hit online stores first. I'll find what I want - soon.

Don't Overlook Wikipedia

What is the #8 the sight on Alexandria? Wikipedia. This is not only the world's largest encyclopedia, but it is a user managed forum. Most of the editors are corporations. This is a great tool for anyone who wants to educate the world on a topic.

Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers. Since 2001, Wikipedia has grown into the largest reference Website with 75,000 active contributors maintaining9,000,000 articles in 250 languages. Visitors do not need specialized qualifications to contribute, since their primary role is to write articles that cover existing knowledge. The objective is to create a human conscious, a collection of the worlds knowledge - to move it from books to the web in 'bite sized' easy to read segments.

This is arguably the only downfall of wikipedia. There is not enough room to study a topic in full depth - say 10 000 words.

But there are other resources: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page Wiki Books gives away free textbooks .... sort of.

Wikiversity http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page offers free education .... sort of. I found a lot of course outlines and syllabus, but almost all the ones I looked into lacked a few fundamental elements - like lessons.

That could be seen in two ways. One, there is a lot of room to grow on wikipedia and there is room for people to build their credentials by editing the encyclopedia. Or, the project is a big bust. Only time will tell.

Editing Wikipedia

Step 1: Register

Go to Wikipedia.org,
choose a language,
create account,
follow the instructions.

Step 2: Read the Guides

This will avoid frustration. There are articles on editing, formatting, community rules, About Wikipedia, Editing Wikipedia Pages How to edit a page. If you don't plan to spend a few days reading, yes days, then don't read any farther. This is not a venue for the weak of heart or those who lose interest quickly.

Wikipedia in Brief, spells isn’t acceptable. I would start here.

Step 3: Start Editing.

Okay people, for Pete's Sake, don't write in the text editor. Go to word and do your work. Editing is fairly simple, click the edit link and start making corrections, additions, and rewrites, then click submit.

Like all content management systems, this is NOT WYSIWYG. You'll have to learn a hyroglypic but it won't be any harder than learning HTML. Wikipedia Style Manual. The code is tedious, but it is a very common form of coding - just not a public one.

I doubt you can jump on wiki and start promoting your business. However, you'll be able to have your say, and even though wiki is public, being an editor is something worth putting on your resume, well not being on par with being a DMOZ editor. but you can feel good that you are working for the collective good of all mankind.

Can You Be Famous?

I was recently interviewed by a large website, www.lovetoknow.com My persona, gracepub, has been known as a business guru in the home based business industry for several years now. I did not start out to be a guru. At first I thought it just happened. As I continued to study business and success I learned that I stumbled on a common method of establishing a business professional as a guru or industry expert.

I wrote a 5 step plan to use yourself as a sales aid for your business. Take a look at Establishing a Professional Internet Presence You'll find a few tips for promoting yourself on the web, as well as some advice that will help you start your own campaign.

Life Insurance for the Self Employed

Money is a constant problem for the self employed and small business owners. This doesn't lessen their need for necessities such as life insurance. There are always ways to buy the financial and insurance products needed. Instead of buying the heavy life insurance products, select term life insurance.

Term life insurance offers the same coverage as the more expensive insurance products, but at a fraction of the cost. However, for the best deals, avoid the local broker. It is important to go to the comparison shopping sites such as http://www.wholesaleinsurance.net/ I prefer these sites as they let me test different levels of insurance, different policies, and request quotes from different questions. All in my spare time.

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell 12 Stage Hero Journey

Joseph Campbell was a mythology expert. He is famous for his public television show called The Power of Myth and the famous book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Campbell said all myths (and bestsellers) follow the same ideas and the heroes went through similar adventures. This path has become fundamental in today’s fiction and is used in everything from thriller novels to Disney.

The Hero’s Journey has 12 stages. They are:

1.Ordinary World - The hero's starts the story in the normal world, trapped in a mundane existence. The hero is often suffering, boredom and neurotic anguish.

2.Call to Adventure - The hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure. It is the hero’s actions and decisions that force the plot forward – not random events. The hero may enter this for selfish reasons, to save their own skin, or because they are tired of life. Rarely, do they enter the journey for enlightened purposes, or to save the world.

3.Refusal of the Call - The hero refuses the challenge or journey. The cause for this is usually a basic instinct such as fear. The hero is unenlightened, uneducated, but does possess wit and cunning.

4. Meet the Mentor - The hero meets a mentor and is given advice or training for the adventure. In many of today’s novels the hero is forced into a series of conflicts, each of them teach and train, building self confidence, and skill, until the character is able to not only ‘survive’ the climax, but to ‘thrive’ the circumstances.

The mentor is often overlooked in today’s fiction. This is sad, as it gives the storyteller an excellent venue to enlighten their character, introduce a breather into the story’s structure, and explore the human condition in-depth.

5. Crossing the First Threshold - The hero leaves the ordinary world and enters the special world. This can be seen in many novels. It is sometimes shown by nightfall. Or, it could be a different location that is out of the main character’s comfortzone.

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies - The hero faces tests, meets allies, confronts enemies & learn the rules of the Special World.

7. Approach the cave - The hero hits setbacks during tests is forced to admit that their old habits and beliefs will not work they try a new idea. This is where they are forced to look inside themselves and see the true evil beneath, their weaknesses, the dark side they never see normally.

8. Ordeal - The biggest life or death crisis. This can be the first climax. The hero is often forced to deal with things that shamed him or terrified him earlier in the story. The characters in many of today’s books are forced to make a moral choice.

Is it okay to murder to save an innocent life? Can I blow up a building to murder terrorists inside? Just take a look at adventure movies to see this done.

9. Reward - The hero has survived death, overcomes his fear and now earns the reward. This may not always be a happy ending depending on the genre.

10. The Road Back - The hero must return to the Ordinary World. This may be very short, as in a horror or thriller, or long as in a saga or woman’s fiction.

11. Resurrection Hero - another test where the hero faces death – he has to use everything he's learned. This can be the second climax. They hero experiences more passion (not necessarily sexual) and a love for life. They are happier, more content.

12. Return with Elixir – The true hero archetype is selfless. Their quest has been for the good of mankind, or others. A person is not a hero if they only struggle to save their own lives.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Book Marketing 101: Writing Contests

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Entering contests-

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe
By Brenna Lyons
It's time to enter the contest. You're filling out the entry form: title, author, release date, category— This should be simple. You know your book intimately. You know what genre/s it lists as at your publisher, Fictionwise or book stores, and on review sites.

It's not so simple. Choosing the right category is paramount. If you choose wrong, you don't final, and you've wasted not only your own time and money but the time and patience of the judge.

If your book is erotic – no matter what other genre lines you cross, most contests will expect it to be entered in the erotic category/ies, if they exist. This isn't something you want to balk. Argue comparative kink all you want, but many judges are uncomfortable with highly sensual content. If they weren't, they wouldn't have added an erotic category to begin with. If your book is more than an ounce past Harlequin Blaze line sensuality, do yourself a favor and enter it in erotic.

If your book lacks one or more of the basic tenants of romance, most especially a "happily ever after" ending, do not enter it in a romance category. A cross-genre with romantic elements category is preferable as are categories like mainstream, chick lit, and women's fiction. A romance is commonly held to be a romance only if it contains the readily identifiable hallmarks of a genre romance book. One notable exception to this that I have found is the Dream Realm award (as of 2003), where a romance is more loosely defined and is not required to have a HEA.

Further, if your book is a cross-genre romance, and romance categories exist, do not enter your books in the straight genre categories. Now, this is a sliding scale type of thing. If your book has romantic ELEMENTS but is heavily weighted toward the genre it crosses with, it may still be able to compete in straight genre, but try to get a feel for the contest before making this decision. Some contests, as I noted with Dream Realm, do not follow the expected norm when defining genre "romance."

Which brings us to the next point... Always read the contest guidelines for each category carefully before deciding which category to enter in. You might be surprised at what you find.

I once entered a contest where I found myself placing my book in the fantasy category. Considering that there was a paranormal romance category and an action/adventure category, fantasy hadn't even been on my list of possibilities – until I read the category descriptions. As with many cross-genre awards where the focus is on the speculative fiction side of the equation, there were preconceived notions about what constitutes the other genre.

In this case, my first choice of paranormal romance was described in the category description as having two main characters, two-dimensional secondary characters and little plot development outside the romance itself. With twenty-six POV characters, all well-defined, and a balanced cross-genre book, I couldn't enter there.

My second choice of action/adventure not only presented the same problems as entering in romance but also a bias that stated that the main characters would not be "substantially changed" by their experiences in the book. Well, I couldn't claim that, either.

When in doubt, it can't hurt to ask the coordinator for clarification on some point in the description. This is especially important when entering RWA contests that specify "published" or "unpublished" categories.

Depending on whether they are using the RWA National idea of "published" authors being only those that are published with a recognized publisher or the more traditional definition of "published," where you enter your books may be radically altered. In some rare cases, the rules for "published" and "unpublished" in the same contest may be so vastly different that an e-published or small press published author may find herself able to enter both sections – or neither. Make certain you know which definition/s they are using before you enter.
Likewise, contests will sometimes state that a cross-genre book may compete in a choice of categories, depending on where the author feels the strength of the book lies. This puts the author on the spot for determining the right fit, but that's your job as author.

Also, keep in mind that not every contest will fit your book, even if the genre covered sounds like a fit at face value. If you want to enter a fantasy contest where time travel is seen as science fiction, no matter how it's accomplished in the book, it is a waste of your resources to enter your magical time travel book.

Always remember that the point isn't just to enter the contest but to attempt to final or win. At the very least, your purpose is to get your work noticed by people you want to buy it or critiqued by people whose input you value. None of those goals are served by entering your books in the wrong categories.

Writer's Online Courses
My Main Website
Enspiren Press

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Book Marketing 101: Press Releases

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

The rule of seven to ten-

Conventional wisdom says that a person considering a convenience purchase needs to see the item 7-10 times before it sticks (the latest number I've heard on this is closer to 13). ANY appropriate venue where you can list your books and name increases the chance that the reader will see it enough times to buy. Of course, the offering has to be something that appeals as well, but let's assume it is. The only question that remains is whether the number of people are worth any cost you will incur, in time or money.

Press Releases-

Online press releases: less is more

When is it worth the cost of upgrading?- When your news is something of general interest, it is worth upgrading. If it's a personal thing, it probably isn't. I'll talk about tie-ins in a moment. The stories you want to upgrade are the ones that you can supply tie-ins for or the ones you've managed to create mass appeal for. Not all press release sites allow you to do FREE press releases anymore (they do exist and can be GREAT for just posting releases and upping your web presence in sheer numbers), but you can still choose to only do a $10 or $20 release vs. an $80 or $120 release.

Is it possible to make people sick of seeing your name?- Absolutely. Reading many inane stories about the same person can easily turn people off from reading anything about you. Save the upgraded press releases for times when it's big news. However, if what you're doing is setting yourself up as an expert in some way, go for it. Just do it right.

For instance, an upgraded press release for every book I personally release would be a waste, because I am prolific. It's a different story when a person who writes a book every two years puts out a press release for a book release. For me, it would be more like...Brenna just released her 50th is news. Brenna released another is not. In the same way...Brenna finaled for her 6th EPPIE wouldn't be big news. Brenna finally won one would be, especially to the local news sources. Rule of thumb, local media love reporting on local successes.

Making the most of your release- Give people a reason to read it. We're authors. If we can't swing doctor something to make it something people will want to read, we have big problems. How do you do that?

Make it interesting, make it timely, make it fun- This is where we get to tie-ins. Theme your press release to a holiday or a world event/local event. Making it timely (or giving a local tie-in) increases the likelihood that people will want to read it, but don't stretch. If the tie isn't there, don't try to invent one.

Make it fun. Press releases do not have to be serious. The press releases Jeff Strand makes to lists are a perfect example. If he posted one to PRWEB, it would be passed along as a spoof link to lists all over the world!

Use popular images to capture attention...within reason. Don't get yourself charged with trademark or copyright infringement, of course. Writing about the spirits of the season (ghosts) in relation to Christmas is a good tie in, especially if you keep the idea of A Christmas Carol woven in throughout.

Play on themes people like. Example? When the SFWA authors stuck it to Publish America, it was an inspired move to make a press release of it! Like it or not, sex sells, tricking someone sells, conflict sells, babies and animals sell...

What are the common themes people will want to read as a given? Revenge. Stupid news. Love found or lost. Celebrity shake-ups. Average Joe makes it big. A first time for some event...or something that only happens once in a great while. Seasonal stories. Political or religious pieces, though these can backfire on you as well, so watch using that swing.

One more note here... Put the most important information FIRST. Don't meander. Get the good stuff out, then put in things people might want to read that are not vital to the message.

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Book Marketing 101: Reviews and Interviews

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Reviews, Interviews, Spotlights-

Does it do any good?- Do reviews sell books? Do interviews? Listings on sites? Promo spotlights? The answer to all of them is "possibly." Some people research reviews, some take the word of a few trusted reviewers and some disregard reviews completely. It is a selling point for those who pay attention to it, as any promo you try is. Nothing works for every reader. Not chats. Not tag lines. NOTHING. These things are selling points for people who pay attention to them. The question is, do you want to spend the time and effort to capitalize on it, or do you want to write them off as a waste, though a PORTION of the audience you want to reach use them?

Ideally, anything that costs you a minimum of time and effort and little or no money for the possibility of exposure is a good investment. Links raise your site in search engines. The rest tells people about your books and (hopefully) gets them to your site or your publisher site, and gets them buying.

It's not just enough to HAVE reviews and interviews. You have to let people know about them. Celebrate good ones on lists. Put them on your web site. Send people there to read the interviews. Always save a copy of the interview. You can even place it on your site later...as long as you give the site credit for the interview and the site doesn't mind. Even if they do, your PORTION of the review is yours. Their portion is theirs. You can paraphrase what they asked you and still use it, if it comes to that. This will add to your "all about me" sections without a lot of extra work from you.

Features and returns on features: what should you look for?- *How much leeway will you have in what goes onto the site for your feature? Will it fairly represent your book? Is it what you want to say about your book? Is there a cost involved and is it reasonable? (We'll get back to that.)

Here is a solid fact you need to remember. Promotion is cumulative. If I promote and bring people to my publisher, that is good for the publisher and all the authors at the publisher. If the publisher does promotion that gets people to the site, the same is true. Instead of viewing promotion as a race between authors of your company, you should be working with them. I'll get back to that, too.

You may not be able to afford $100 for a banner at a major site, but you can make a banner that features three authors from your publisher and the publisher's banner, linked to the publisher site, and split the cost for $34 per person...$25, if the publisher supports such ventures for you, which isn't likely, but it does happen sometimes. That means your book AND your publisher site get exposure, both of which are ultimately good for you...and it's in a major venue.

The same holds true for ads. You might not be able to afford a $200 business card-sized ad in a major magazine, but with 5-8 authors going in on a full-page ad, you can chip in $100-$150 per person and lower your costs. Again, you get your own book exposure and your publisher. Good all the way around.

How much is too much? Do your homework, site stats per price- How much does the site expect you to pay for a feature? How many hits per month does the site get? Where on the site will your feature show? How many hits does that portion/page of the site get? These are all important questions, and any reputable promo site/review site will be willing to answer them.

Paying $30 per month for a site that gets 20,000 visitors per month may sound like a good deal until you compare it to paying $30 per month for a site that gets 100,000 visitors per month. You see the difference? This is where you want to do your homework.

Get out the spreadsheet and research hits versus cost of promotion. Some sites, like The Romance Studio, offer a ton of services for a $2.50 per month member fee.

I HIGHLY suggest owning the programs to make your own banner ads. The software costs $60 or so, which you will reap back within three ads you design for yourself. Don't just place banner ads on other sites. Place them on your own! They are eye catching and add pizzazz to your site.

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Book Marketing 101: Chats

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for offering This series in support of Small Press Month. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Chats-

Chats work well for me. I have seen appreciable sales from a chat, but that's not always the case. They don't work for everyone, but no promo works well for everyone. The best thing you can do is compile a list of every promo you MIGHT do and choose the ones you think you will pull off best. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Another note about chats... It's good to do chats at a couple of different venues. Some readers only go to chats from venue A or venue B.

Chats: Readers love and author they can talk to!

Chat etiquette- It's a good idea to go to other author chats as well as your own, but you should always beg off if someone tries to drag you into the conversation of your books when it's not your chat, even if it's a chat for other authors at your publisher. Even if it is not your intent to intrude on their chat, it will create bad feelings. The correct response is to nicely move the attention back to the core author/s and promise to answer outside the chat or after the chat ends.

The same thing goes for books you have with publisher X, if it's publisher Y's chat. Unless the chat is you, not affiliated with a particular publisher you, beg off answering questions about other books until after the chat...or in private e-mail. Now, there are some publishers that don't expect this of you, but many do.

Gauge your responses by the room. If the room isn't a wild room, leave the discussion of sex toys at the door. Follow the protocol or moderation of the room. Don't ask questions out of turn. Be nice!

Making yourself at home: you have to be comfortable- Readers want to talk to you. They don't expect you to be perfect. Chatroomese allows for typos. It's almost real time, and mistakes are expected. They want you to relax, let your hair down and have fun. If you can't show a fun persona in chat, you aren't going to have many chat visitors. They aren't a firing squad, so think of them as your sisters or best friends, all having a glass of wine and discussing movies, if it makes you feel better. Just remember they aren't your personal confidants either. Grinning... There is a line of propriety.
Choosing a chat venue: moderation or not, wild or not- You have to choose chat venues that are comfortable for you. If you are a shy person who doesn't like a fast-moving room, you want a staid chat room with moderation. If you like a bunch of questions flying at you from all sides and cannot be embarrassed, you want a wild room with either protocol or no moderation. In some venues, you can call "no holds barred" and have a great time. Neither extreme is wrong. You cannot relax in a venue that is at odds with your personality, and the point is to relax and have fun.

Buddy chatting the RIGHT way- Authors, especially new authors, can benefit from buddy chatting, but you need to do it right. The buddies you chat with should have more in common with you than sharing a publisher or sharing a community like EPIC or WRW. You should choose chat buddies that are of a similar genre and a similar temperament.

Why a similar genre? The point of buddy chatting is not just to teach you to chat but to allow crossover of readers of author A to author B and vice versa.

Why a similar temperament? If one author is shy and the other outgoing, the outgoing author may end up taking over the chat. That leads to an unequal sharing of chat time, the shy author retreating into a shell and not relaxing into the chat, and hard feelings between the authors. The one time this is not the case is when you pair a shy author with a nurturer that will steer the chat to the shy author, but the author should learn to handle the chat on her own over time.

You can have more than two chat buddies, but it is important to schedule with an eye to time limitations. In an hour-long chat, the maximum optimum number of chat guests is three. If you have more, not everyone gets to talk about their books, the readers have no time for questions, and it's generally a miserable chat.

Promoting the chat- The chat site will promote on their web site, so make sure you get the information the coordinator needs to him/her in plenty of time to get it up on the site. In addition, it's always a good idea to put chats in the publisher reader list's calendar, MySpace and like venues, and your personal newsletter's calendar as soon as it's scheduled. Set the calendar to send a reminder to the list 2 days in advance and an hour in advance. Don't stop there. Invite people on lists that allow it to your chat a few days in advance of it. A reminder that chat is starting a few minutes before is usually allowed as well. It is typically considered in poor taste to announce your chat with site A on site B's list, so watch that. Remember that your chat announcement counts as your promo per month on many lists. Use the newsletter announcements via your publisher, lists like PNR, and promotion lists to get the word out. Put it on your web site. Put it in your tag line for a week before, if you have the room. If no one knows about the chat, no one will be there.

Chat cheats- SOME chat rooms will allow you to cut and paste a line or two at a time into the message bar. If you are a slow typist, consider having a cut and paste WORD file open with blurbs and such about your book in it. If you type well but can't seem to organize your thoughts, make up post-it-notes or tape 3X5 cards up next to your computer to help you type in what you want to say quickly. The more you can talk in your hour, the more readers like it. Always have a topic of conversation ready to throw out if the chat starts tapering off. There is nothing worse than dead silence in a chat room.

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Book Marketing 101: Getting Started

Book Marketing 101: Introduction

We want to thank Brenna Lyons for this information. Her experience as a senior editor, President of EPICauthors, and a 20 book (in print) published author is invaluable for our authors.

Book Marketing 101

By Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com/ http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons

Note...these are the notes from my two e-marketing classes, my blurb class, and my one general marketing classes, at the moment.
I'd like to start with a polling, just to make a point. http://www.livejournal.com/poll/?id=1007999 This polling asked readers what had prompted them, even in part, to purchase a book.

The responses that did the worst? Contests run on author sites, postcards received in the mail for books, promo e-mails sent by authors, toys and other goody gimmicks. Notice that the high-priced items don't do well. The toys and goodies may stick around for a while, reminding the readers about the book and you, but they aren't selling books, according to readers. I'd counter that they help add to the dozen exposures you need to get a sale, but it's a costly way to get there. The truth is, these sorts of promos serve a purpose but obviously should not be the mainstay of your promotional/marketing attempts.

What ones did the best? Name recognition and recommendations from persons the readers trust. Okay...those things are largely out of the author's hands, though all marketing helps, in some respects.

Let's focus on the ones that ranged more than a 50% return. Author blog or web site, mention of the book on other authors' blogs and web sites, reading the first chapter online or in print, cover art, representative blurbs, reviews and author appearances (signings, readings and conventions). Aside from attending a convention, these are all marketing the author can do for a little elbow grease and little or no money.

The web page, your #1 priority in marketing- Web pages don't have to be made and updated by a professional service. They just have to reflect YOU and allow readers access to the writer and the books. You can make web pages in many web browsers (I suggest Mozilla Sea Monkey for a browser/composer) and WORD, but you can purchase a program like FrontPage or Dream Weaver, if you feel comfortable with it. There are free web page servers like Yahoo, but most online services (ISPs) offer free web space that you can use for your web page with each e-mail account you have. With Earthlink/Mindspring or Comcast, that means you could have eight web spaces assigned to you and use them for your web page.

It's not enough to have a web page. You have to let people know you have a web page. Put it in your tag line. If your publisher will, have them link to your page from your book pages. Put it on your promo gear. Get people to cross-link with you. Get your link on sites that list authors in a genre or with particular content. The web site is useless alone. You must entice people to it. More on that later.

How not to offend readers- Choose colors that are easy on the eyes. A light color with a dark color type is usually best, though light type on a dark page works, as well. If you use a dark background, make sure your type is not close in intensity. Even if it's a contrasting color, dark on dark or light on light is difficult on the eyes...and possibly impossible for colorblind people to see. Don't use bright colors like hot pink or fluorescent...anything! Make the page easy to load. Remember that not everyone has DSL or Cable modem. Use small pictures; not only will they load faster, but they won't eat up your data allowance as fast.

Keep the motion graphics to a minimum. Motion is distracting and hard on the eyes. Don't use sparkly or flashing cursors or pointers. Get a site that doesn't have pop-ups, or make a generic site and buy a domain name and redirect to that site WITH FRAMES to block the pop-ups. Keep your site updated! If it's wildly out of date, readers will stop checking back. Remember, if you annoy the reader with your site, they won't be coming back.

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Small Press Month: Media Promotion 4

The Media Kit

Any event which has invited the media should provide a media kit.
The Media kit will contain the following:

Media release. This one page 'hook' will offer them blurbs which they can include in the article.

A short document describing your business, with contact names and numbers
The event agenda. An outline of what will happen through the day.

Text of presentations and speeches, if available.

List of speakers and affiliations and Biographies of speakers
Fact Sheets, documents, or briefs

The purpose of a Media Kit is to provide the press with enough information to produce a stunning article about your business.

With this in mind it is important to understand exactly what you are selling.
Most of the time sales are not made by selling a product, but selling: Image, Pride, Price, Security, and Pleasure.

One thing to keep in mind, as I've said before, is that people are more willing to change companies, or buy something new if they can 'protect something.'

If you knew someone was breaking into your house you would not hesitate to call the police. If a telemarketer phoned you up at 2 am and told you they could install a security system in your house within the next fifteen minutes, for only $20.00, because there has been ten break ins in your neighborhood in the last ten hours, your reaction would be to hang up.

The truth is that people can be taught to prefer one product over another by appealing to one of the four selling targets. (Pride, Security, Profit, Pleasure)
The Media kit will create an Image of your company - whether you intend it to or not.
The Media Kit will give an example of the VALUE for dollar a person can receive from your product, whether you intend it to or not.

The Media Kit will give an example of how much your company cares. The number one reason most people switch from one company to another is because they feel the company does not care. ChamberMaid lasted seven years, until its demographic faded, because it cared. We lived by taking other cleaning company's customers from them. Grace Publishing is investing thousands each year into service and community programs because it wants to build a reputation for caring.
You can type:

Media Kit

into the browser. Then type in the type of business you are involved in. This will give you access to examples of Media Kits to follow.

Another good idea is to go to a larger printers in your area and ask for help. They will be willing to help you design a good presentation folder and content, because it means more business for them.

A smaller marketing consultant is helping Grace Publishing with their Markeing Plan in return for advertising.

One, often overlooked, tool most new businesses can use is 'Good Will.' Trading services is a cheaper way to get what you need to succeed. It is also a great way to network with people and businesses that are interested in making their businesses grow and succeed.

Step One

Go onto the web and surf sites that offer services or products like yours. Look for good examples of Media Kits and print them out. You will use these as a reference when it comes time to make your own.

Remember, even a one page letter, or a simple brochure is enough for a home based business if everyone else is using the same type of PR - AND it is well thought out and does its job correctly.

Step Two

Brainstorm. Read books, watch television, read ads, ask questions, and try to make your media kit as creative, informative, and interesting as possible.

Step Three

As the local media for their guidelines for media kits. What are they looking for? What is their focus? What is their views on the community? Ask yourself these questions and then look at your Media Kit and see if it offers the answers. You need to offer the Media what they want if you expect them to put your business article in their paper.

These steps will help you create a good Media Kit. This is your calling card. It is your sales person, so to speak.

Small Press Month: Media Promotion PT3a

The Media Kit for an Event

Any event that has invited the media should provide a media kit for all journalists covering the event.

The Media kit will contain the following:

• Media release. This one page 'hook' will offer them blurbs which they can include in the article.
• A short document describing your business, with contact names and numbers
• The event agenda. An outline of what will happen through the day.
• Text of presentations and speeches, if available.
• List of speakers and affiliations and Biographies of speakers
• Fact Sheets, documents, or briefs

The purpose of a Media Kit is to provide the press with enough information to produce a stunning article about the business or event.

With this in mind, it is important to understand exactly what product or service is being sold. Most of the time sales are made by selling: Image, Pride, Price, Security, and Pleasure. The event may be the opening day of a spa, but the product sold will be relaxation, luxury, self-indulgence, and pleasure. The consumer will respond to these stimuli better than if you tried to describe the benefits of the new equipment, or a new type of mud.

Consumers are more willing to change companies, or buy something new if they can 'protect something’. This should be a prime focus of the media kit. It must be a visual sales aid, not a biography of the business.

If you knew someone was breaking into your house, you would not hesitate to call the police.
If a telemarketer phoned at 2 am and said they would install a security system in your house within the next fifteen minutes, for only $200.00, because there had been ten break ins in your neighborhood in the last ten hours, your reaction would be to hang up.

The first example describes the persons’ reaction when they know there is a threat. The second describes their reaction when they are told there is a threat. This is why it is a good idea to hire someone to write the press release, or spend considerable time learning the art of writing a press release.

The second example would suddenly become a pressing matter if angry citizens and police sirens interrupted the phone call. This is because the threat is real to the consumer. It demands an immediate response.

The truth is simple, people can be taught to prefer one product over another. This is done by appealing to one of the four selling targets.

Pride Security Profit Pleasure

•The media kit will create an Image of the company - whether the intent is there or not.
•The media kit will give an example of the ‘value’ for dollar a person can receive from the product - whether the intention is there or not.
•The media kit will give an example of how much the company cares and the level of service a consumer can expect.

The number-one reason people switch from one company to another is because they feel the company no longer cares. This is why it is dangerous to create a cheap media kit
ChamberMaid lasted seven years, until its demographic faded, because it cared. We out lived the competition by taking their customers.

Grace Publishing invests into service and community programs to build a reputation of caring and concern in the community.

A good idea is to approach a larger printing company and ask for help. They will be willing to help design a good presentation folder and content. It is always good to make sure they are not one or two person operations. Ask for referrals, and interview at least twenty before making a decision.

A smaller marketing consultant is helping Grace Publishing with their Marketing Plan in return for advertising. This is another way to receive expert help and advice. Bartering is an accepted business practice, but the government does see it as a transaction. This means they expect tax to be collected, in cash, and to see a record of the transaction in the books.

One overlooked tool new businesses can use is 'Good Will.' Trading services is a cheaper way to get what you need to succeed. It is also a great way to network with people and businesses that are interested in making their businesses grow and succeed. The business owner’s commitment to the community is one of the strongest media marketing aids they will ever have. It provides a free opportunity to become acquainted with the press, becoming familiar with the reporters and editors, increasing the chances of having the press release released.

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Small Press Month: Media Promotion Pt3

Purpose: A good media kit will:

•Gain media coverage.
•Increase sales by interesting new customers or building security with established customers
•Educate and interest potential investors and strategic partners.
•Educated potential clients on why they need a product.
•Build a solid foundation for the marketing plan.

Making a Media Kit:

The Cover

The folder indicates who the company is and what products/services they provide.

Content

A good media kit will include:

• summary of the company
• biographies of key company executives
• recent news releases
• recent media coverage
• company newsletters
• summary of upcoming events
• contact information (business card)

Make sure all media contacts receive updated media kits each quarter (with new articles, news releases, etc…).
Response

Follow-up calls can be made 3-4 days after the mailing has been sent out.

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Small Press Month: Media Promotion Pt1

Become Newsworthy

It's easy to make yourself newsworthy.

What is news? It is something other people want to know. From an author’s point of view, it gives the readers a ‘human interest’ story that touches a part of their lives. Something they may not ‘do’ on their own, but want to read about other people doing. This is the ‘feel good’ story.

They also want to read about people who are finding success, breaking out of the box, reaching their goals. If you can write a story that tells how you did this, then the newspaper will be interested.

Focus on the Media's Needs

The format is important. The story should talk about someone who is participating in an event, organize/support/oppose or observe a trend or activity. You can also tell a human interest story.

Newspapers, magazines, radio producers, and web managers are stressed, trying to come up with new stories every day, every week, every month. It isn’t easy. In many cases, they can’t even think of different ideas to explore. A writer or small business owner can turn in an idea that may seem ‘small’ but has never been explored.

Many newspapers want prewritten stories. An author who can send a story that is written, with the offer to write more, or to adjust this story to fit a theme will get more press than an author who just pitches ideas.

Your Achievements

The story must touch on your achievements and what the event/story achieved. This is a goal that can be sold. When you help editors sell their papers, you become an alie.
When you have credentials they can use to twist or promote a story, then you might receive several calls for articles and help.

Topics To Write About

•Organizing a public event
•Achieve recognition
•Release of a book
•Do something with/for a charity
•Perform a service for the community
•Offer a service
•Hosting an open house
•Being present at news events
•Join/take leadership in a community service organization
•Offering apprenticeships, training programs, classes,
•Teach, lecture, or present at a conference
•Win a contest

Most mail sent to editors ends up in the trash. The first step needs to be to contact them and ask if you can send information. Use a specific editor’s name and ask them if they are the right editor. The biggest pet peeve in the media biz is a writer who doesn’t take the time to find the right editor.

How Not to Get Publicity:

•Focus on you, not the community
•Do little more than talk about your service or book
•Do not use a grammar/style similar to what already appears in that periodical.
•Use the wrong editor’s name
•Make the article/press release too long, too short. (ask the editor)
•Not sending the report early enough. Suggest a Christmas story in June, earlier if you are pitching to a magazine.

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Small Press Month: Media Promotion Pt2

Act Like a Professional

Present yourself as someone editors want to deal with.
They are people first. Be friendly, articulate and brief. Be willing to answer questions, research the answers and get back to them. Never try to bluff your answers. Be honest.

Admit the press in for free to cover it.

Respect deadlines. In the newspaper business, 2 hours late is unacceptable.

Know the deadlines and understand their importance. Deadlines are written in stone. Do not assume that your first (second/third) draft is press ready. Never hand the article in at the last minute.

Create a Newsworthy Event

The easiest way to attract the press is by hosting an event. The press understands how to treat events as news. A good trick is to phrase your event as an event. Just because a bunch of people get together with a single purpose in mind, doesn’t make it an event.

For instance, don't have a sale or book signing. These are not a news events, but a retail venue. But a charity event that sells products will classify as an event.

Of course, it's not necessary to have a sale as part of your event. However, at the bottom of all release, mention: "To honor Author’s book signing," or "In conjunction with the charity event, Small Business is offering 10% off."

The Community Service Tie-In

It is easier for a business to find free publicity when promoting a cause. Food donations, community improvement projects, and raising/donating money attract publicity. This is vital: your sincerity is on trial. A false front will boomerang.
All small businesses can turn good deeds into money, as long as they are working hard to support their community.

Get the Media to Invest in You

If you have the right type of event - community service or entertainment events - newspapers and broadcast stations will come on board as cosponsors.
Typically, media cosponsorship means the station or publication provides free publicity, reports on the event, and may broadcasts from the event.

Electronic media is required by government to provide public service programming, and publications have a vested interest in maintaining their credibility as the eyes and ears of the community.

What's the difference between free publicity cosponsorship? Free publicity is something you trade. Cosponsorship is intended to improve the image of the station.

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All Writers Can Benefit By Writing Book Reviews Pt2

Here Are Some Tips To Help You Get Started

Learn everything you can about one genre. You will be more successful if you tell publishers that you specialize in one genre. It takes a true fan to write a great review.

Read as many reviews as you can.

Write a positive, up beat, letter. Customize one version to magazine publishers, and one to webmasters. Never use a ‘one size fits all’ contact letter.

Find places that need reviews by typing the phrase ‘book reviews’ into your browser.

Join writer’s associations, fan clubs, and promote yourself.

Make sure the post office can manage four or five large packages at a time, without charging extra fees.

Build a website. It will advertise to authors that you do book reviews, and allow publishers to see your work.

Advertise to writer’s groups and email groups. I posted a notice in all the local libraries and found a few local authors to review.

Review Copies Are Free

A reviewer should never pay for the review copy, or shipping. It is not necessary to join a book review group that sends you copies to review. They charge you a membership fee and offer nothing you cannot find yourself.

If an author asks you to pay for a copy of their book, politely decline. Writers, who are published by small publishing houses, or self-published, do not receive review copies.

Reviewing is a Free Service

Review writers are not paid to write reviews, unless they are on staff at a publishing house, or writing for an information portal website.

A book reviewer can expect to have their name attached to the review, and it is acceptable to require your website URL is also included. If you review for a publication that wants all rights to the review, then advise the author to include the publication name in the credits.

Maintain a Professional Attitude

Accept all copies graciously, proof galley, desktop printed, digital, used, and damaged. It is unprofessional to refuse to review a book because you do not like PDF versions, or the writer sent you a damaged copy.

Never copy another reviewer’s style. Let your personality and style shine through every review.

Never accept more books than you can review in thirty days. Writers expect large publishing houses to delay offering a book review for months, but they loose faith in a freelance reviewer who cannot supply a review in a few weeks.

Writers pay for their review copies. Even those writers published by large publishing houses rarely receive enough review copies. This is why it is important to review every copy received. This may be a fun hobby for you, but it is business for the author.

Contact the author when the review is finished, and where they can read a copy. Authors consider it the reviewer’s obligation to let them know when the review is published, and where they can see it. This is the single greatest cause of frustration, and lack of faith, between reviewers and authors.

Career Building Tool

Many writers can build their resume and sharpen their skills by reviewing books. Depending on whether the audience is a local newspaper, a journal, internet or church newsletter, the reviewer's aim is to share her experience of a particular work of art in a manner that appeals to the book review's readers and hopefully makes them want to buy the book.

This may sound exciting to some writers, and unnerving to others. Good communication skills, a little knowledge of yourself and the book's subject and the courage of your convictions are required. You also need a website, like www.inspiredauthor.com, local papers, or other venues that will publish the review. Then you just send out emails to publishers and authors telling them what you are doing. They will send you the books.
Here are a few tips on reviewing:

First, a review contains a blurb of a book. Depending on word count requirements, your blurb may be five paragraphs or five sentences. However, do not spoil the review by giving away too many secrets. Second, discuss the writing style. Is it conversational, academic, or gossipy? Has the book's author made a clear (or unclear) theme or stated purpose? In addition, do you agree with it? How about the characterization? Are the characters real? Or, is there a lot of kneejerk predictable characters? How is the plot development?

If you were telling a close friend about this book, what would you say? You must hold your own emotions in check, this is about promoting a book, not showing off your wit. Above all else, be kind.

Some basics to include in your review are the following: The Book's Title, the author's full name, Publisher, Publisher's address, ISBN #, price in US$ and CAN$, publishing date, and page count. Include a rating also: Fair, good, excellent, classic (reserved for prizewinners or literary classics.) Include author information: other published works, author's degrees or career if applicable. You are ready to begin.

Book Reviews for reviews are:

Bookideas.com! Book reviews in all categories.
Women Writers: A Zine
Mostly Fiction: recommended books, reviews, chapter excerpts and free bo
The Black Book Network Book Club!
Midwest Book Review
nonfiction books - nonfiction book reviews - science - history - medicine
The Compulsive Reader :: A Haven for Book Lovers
mystery, romance, historical - www.inspiredauthor.com
Curled Up With a Good Book--Review for us!
www.inspiredauthor.com
www.authorsconnection.com
www.coffeetimeromance.com

Writer's Online Courses
My Main Website
Enspiren Press

From Behind The Editor's Desk