Writing and Publishing News

You’ll hear people say, “Don’t pay any attention to your book reviews—they’re meaningless.”

Well, I beg to differ. I find both positive and negative reviews often helpful. Not all of them, of course. There are mean-spirited people who leave nasty reviews. There are readers who download Kindle books free just because they’re free even though it isn’t the type of book they would ever read. And they have the gall to leave a review—a negative review, of course.

No, those reviews should be ignored. Let’s focus on the two types of reviews that can be helpful.

• Rave reviews. As authors, we love positive feedback. We thrive on compliments and accolades. The 5-star reviews with a gush of praise let us know we have an audience and they enjoy our stories or find our nonfiction books useful. Positive reviews keep us writing. We can use phrases from these reviews in our promotion—for back cover copy, etc. And numbers of these reviews serve to influence other readers—or at least we can hope they do.
• Critical reviews. Oh do we hate to see a minimal line of stars next to a new review and we shudder when we read a complaint or unfavorable comment. Granted, some of them are a bit unfair. I’ve had readers ding one of my Klepto Cat Mysteries simply because they don’t like cats, they were uncomfortable with the discussion about the plight of feral cats, they disagreed with a word I used, etc. But I’ve also learned a lot from reviewers and reader-reviewers. I have used the wrong word. I have drawn outside the lines when it comes to being true to my genre. I have forgotten to cross a T or dot an i occasionally and I appreciate it when an astute reader or reviewer points it out.

Certainly, I’d rather they contact me personally rather than blast it on my Klepto Cat Mystery page at Amazon. I’m very easy to find on the Internet. But I do take all comments to heart and act on those that it makes sense to. If it is a suggestion about my style of writing or the way my storyline flows, for example, and if I agree, I consider this for the next book in the series.

If you’re an author, you’ve probably learned that not every reader sees the same thing in the books they read. If you’re not yet published, prepare yourself. Take a look at the reviews for my Klepto Cat Mystery books and you’ll see what I mean. http://amzn.to/1kAI8I2

I’m starting to get requests for interviews from newspaper reporters and radio show hosts and I know how important it is to give some sort of real sales figures. So I took time yesterday to go over all of my carefully compiled statements at Amazon. Wow! To date, we’ve sold over 40,000 Kindle copies of the Klepto Cat Mysteries and we’ve given away an additional 12,000 Kindle books during some of the promotions Amazon offers authors.

I published the first Klepto Cat Mystery as a Kindle book in June of 2013. These are sales figures through March of 2015.

What are my secrets to success? Well, there are actually no secrets. I (and other professionals) have been teaching and preaching three major concepts for years.

• Write what is wanted/needed by a segment of readers. And then write for that reader—keep the reader in mind throughout the entire writing process.
• Hire a good book editor before launching that book.
• Promote, promote, promote. No one will buy a book they don’t know exists. Books need exposure. It is up to the author to know who his audience is, where they are, and how to approach them. Then you must do the legwork—go ahead and approach them, entice them. And continually remind them to read your book. Nudge them, give them incentives to read your book instead of (or along with) the others in this genre or topic.

If you write fiction, consider publishing your books for Kindle. We first publish each of our Klepto Cat Mysteries (revved up cozy (or light) mysteries), for Kindle. We have 10 books currently published for Kindle. We then follow up with print copies. Six of the books in this series are in print. But they sure don’t sell as well as the Kindle books do.

Now this is not true across the board. We sell more print copies of my books for authors—“Publish Your Book,” “Promote Your Book,” and “Talk Up Your Book,”—than we do Kindle or audio books. But we’ve learned that the majority of those who read fiction, do so on their e-readers.

I hope this bit of advice from someone who has experienced it will help you to enjoy the success you desire. It’s not easy. It may be a stretch for you to write within a popular genre when you’d rather write your memoir, for example. But if you want publishing success, it is important that you follow these suggestions.

If you’re curious about the Klepto Cat Mystery series or you know someone who would enjoy reading a light mystery involving cats, here’s the link to the Amazon page: http://amzn.to/1kAI8I2

Today is day four of our Klepto Cat Mystery Blog Tour and I’m engaging quite a few readers new to the series. You might avoid doing a blog tour because you believe that everyone who visits blogs related to your book genre or theme already knows about your book. Probably not.

This is my second tour with some of these blog sites and many of those commenting have never heard of my series. For me, that’s the point of conducting a blog tour—to attract new readers as well as inform former readers of any new additions to the series.

A blog tour is just one way to promote your book. There are hundreds of others. Check out my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Prove, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Promotional activities such as the blog tour are all about exposure. In order to sell books, promotion is absolutely necessary. Yet, I still meet authors who refuse to do more to promote a book than build a website and get a Twitter account.

That’s a good start, but this is not going to put your book in front of very many potential readers. There’s so much more that an author can do and those who understand that and who are enterprising, energeticm and creative in their promotional efforts are apt to sell more books.

So let’s take the blog tour as an example. Once you’ve chosen anywhere from four to twenty-four (or more) stopovers where your particular readers might congregate, start promoting your tour. Use your blogs, your newsletter, your email list, your social media accounts, and post notices in other newsletters, at these and other blogs and so forth.

During the week(s) of the blog tour, use these means again to encourage visitors to stop at each of your blog stops.

When you are guest blogger, write something specific for each particular audience. For example, today’s Klepto Cat Mystery blog stopover is at Mochas, Mysteries and Meows. Reviews and posts at this site are often attributed to Truffles, a cat. So I wrote today’s post from my cat, Lily’s point of view—what it’s like to be an author’s cat.

If you’d like to join in on the fun, here’s the link: www.mochasmysteriesmeows.com

Be sure to sign up for a free Kindle copy of my latest Klepto Cat Mystery, Mansion of Meows.

This is the fourth in the Publishing Series. Be sure to read the former 3 posts, as well.

We start out on the publishing path with dreams and expectations. Some of us crave the prestige that comes with authorship. We might long to tell our story, to be noticed, to achieve credibility in our field all through the publication of a book. And landing a major publisher is often part of the plan.

We even believe we know what the publisher wants. A good book, of course—well written, professionally edited… But there’s more. There are aspects of the author that publishers are interested in and few authors have what it takes.

Remember that, when a traditional publisher accepts a book for publication, he is investing money in the project. And in today’s publishing climate, a publishing project is more than just a book, it is a whole package. The publisher wants to know that the book is a viable product, but he’s also interested in what the author can bring to the table. Here are some of the things that will impress a publisher:

• You (the author) have a marketing background.
• You have a following—numbers of people who look to you as an expert in the field of your book or as the writer in the genre of your book.
• You know who your audience is, where to find them and how to approach them.
• You have already started promoting your book—spreading word that it is coming—talking about it everywhere you go.
• You have a massive email list.
• You send a newsletter to hundreds or thousands of people regularly.
• You are comfortable with public speaking and willing to present programs around the theme or genre of your book.
• You have collected hundreds of leads related to promoting your particular book—appropriate reviewers, sites, newsletters, magazines, organizations, etc.
• You have a strong background in book promotion or in the field/genre of your book.

Yes, a publisher wants to know that you understand the concept and the process of book promotion and that you have what it takes to promote this book.

What if you aren’t seeking publication by a major publisher? You still need to take this post to heart. Whether you go with a smaller traditional publisher, hire a pay-to-publish (self-publishing) company, or produce the book yourself, you still need these attributes, skills, and tools. The only authors who can ignore this message are those who do not want to experience some measure of success.

Remember, it all starts with you. If you want a successful project, you must write a book that is needed/wanted by a segment of the population. Then, groom yourself to be the best agent to represent this book.

In order to better understand the publishing industry and how to successfully navigate within it, be sure to read my book, “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” For a great education on book promotion, read my book, “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.” Both are at http://www.matilijapress.com in print ($19.95 each). Or purchase them in print, audio, or for your Kindle at amazon.com