Writing and Publishing News

The experts will tell you that it is up to you, the author, to promote your own book. They say that no one cares about your book the way you do and that you are the only one who can successfully promote it. I agree. But it is also true that we can’t do it all alone.

If your writing business has grown into something, over the years, that you simply don’t recognize, you probably need in-house help. Look at my business, for example. I am a full-time writer/author/editor. The month of June found me revising one of my manuscripts for a publisher, taking on 6 large and small editing jobs, continuing to handle the ongoing tasks involved with running SPAWN (such as compiling and writing the Market Update, managing our discussion group, welcoming new members, etc.), writing this daily blog, writing an article on assignment and attempting to do a little book marketing. My book marketing efforts were rather weak, in light of my other commitments this month. And it occurred to me that I should hire one or two employees or, perhaps, bring in a couple of interns.

I used to hire a friend to prepare queries to send and do light research. She also typed an entire 360-page book into the computer for me—one that I wrote on a typewriter several years earlier.

With employees, I would not have to stop promoting my publishing/book promotion books when editing work comes in. I wouldn’t have to put the book of cat stories on hold in the middle of a promotional project when a publisher or editor requests a manuscript.

The fact is that we all need help, a leg up, an opportunity and support along the way when we are attempting to promote one or more books. While, you may not be in a position to hire someone, you will find yourself relying on book reviewers, editors, website owners, experts in your field, organization leaders, conference organizers, program chairpersons, mentors, web hosts, booksellers, customers and many others as you journey along the book promotion path.

It may feel as though you are all alone in your quest to create a desire for your book. But it will behoove you to realize how essential others can be in your promotional efforts. Connect with them, ask for the assistance you require and be sure to acknowledge their contributions to your progress.

In the meantime, for editorial assistance and help with your book proposal, contact me, Patricia Fry. I’ll evaluate your manuscript or book proposal and give you an estimate. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

It’s a jungle out there. Yes, I know this is a cliché. I happen to love clichés, but publishers and readers would rather see fresh, clever, creative writing instead of tired, old clichés. So this is my first secret to publishing success.

In no particular order, I’m going to spew a variety of tips to help authors climb closer to the pinnacle of success they are striving to concur.

Hire a Good Editor
Do not rely on your pay-to-publish company when it comes to editing your book. First, self-edit. If you need help with this, sign up for my new Self-Editing Course: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_self-editing.htm. It will save you tons of money and move you ever so much closer to your dream of publishing success.

Next, hire a good book editor. An experienced book editor is very different from a co-worker with a good vocabulary, your son’s English teacher or the retired professor down the street.

Use Your Writing Skills
Establish a blog. Write articles or submit stories for magazines and ezines. Develop a newsletter related to the theme of your book. If your book focuses on a popular, intriguing or meaningful topic, create a column for an appropriate magazine. These are all ways to get and keep your name in front of your readers.

Your Blog
Blog regularly, make sure that your posts relate to the theme/genre of your book and get your blog listed everywhere. If you’re promoting a novel, you’ll be writing within the realm of your genre. You may want to submit your blog to some of the top 10 writers’ blogs you find posted all over the Internet.

If you have written a nonfiction book, use your blog to be helpful. Share tips, techniques, new findings, anecdotes, information, concepts, theories, examples, your perspective and so forth. Search for lists of top blogs in your book’s category—gardening, roping, fitness, health, business issues, budgeting, etc. Study those blogs that are listed and strive to maintain one that is as good. Then submit your blog for consideration on next year’s list.

Other Blogs
Ask to be interviewed at other blogs. Be a guest blogger. At the very least, use Google Alerts ( http://www.google.com/alerts) to find out what other bloggers in your area of expertise or interest are writing about. Comment at their blog sites.

Speak Out
The authors I know who are selling books are not sitting at home twiddling their thumbs. They are out becoming known among their readers, speaking in public forums, getting radio and TV gigs, doing podcasts, presenting workshops and so forth.

Sign up for book festivals throughout your state and beyond. This presents another great opportunity to meet your public and get exposure for your book.

If you are timid or unsure of yourself in front of an audience, join a storytelling group and/or a Toastmasters club and participate.

If you are already doing all of these things, good for you. If you are pursuing some of them, I suggest amping up your efforts. And if you have not done any of the above in order to promote your book, I challenge you to start today. Devise a marketing plan that includes all of these activities. Put that plan into action. And report back to me in a month or two.

In the meantime, if you need guidance in choosing a publishing option for your completed or almost completed book or help with book promotion, contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

There’s so much to do and so little time in a day. Are any of you finding this to be more and more true? In talking with other authors, it seems that part of the problem is the type of work we do. Most authors have only so many hours in a day that they can actually write something intelligible and meaningful. Creativity seems to have its bounds.

It gets even more dicey for authors who are writing AND promoting books. Ideally, an author sets a schedule of writing during his/her most creative periods—first thing in the morning or late at night after everyone has gone to bed, for example. And that leaves the rest of the day for promotion. Well, except for when you have to work, care for small children, handle household chores and tend to other obligations and responsibilities. I can hear the deep sighs filled with frustration. How does an author do it all?

I’ve been in this business for over 35 years and I keep altering my strategies to keep myself afloat. So far, so good. But it can become difficult, especially when it comes to book promotion.

Have you noticed how many ways there are to promote a book? You read books on the subject, attend lectures, study your various book promotion newsletters and discuss the subject with other authors—oh, there is no shortage of book promotion ideas. In fact, I’m revising my book, “Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book,” for a publisher who’s interested under a new title: “Over 100 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book.” And do you know what? I have closer to 300 ideas.

It’s mind-boggling. How does an author single-handedly use all of the tools available, try all of the ideas and address every member of their readership? It’s impossible. There’s not enough time in an ordinary lifetime. So what does an author do? The best that he or she can.

One of the beauties of my online Book Promotion Course is that it assists the author in discovering his or her strong-points within the realm of book marketing and encourages them to set reasonable priorities. I try to urge authors to find their comfort zone when it comes to promoting their books and then to push at least a bit beyond it in the direction that makes the most sense to their particular project.

New authors sometimes ask me, “What is the best way to promote a book?” And I always respond by saying, “It depends on the book and it depends on you.” And it also depends on the audience. You wouldn’t speak primarily before groups of college students and submit your book for review in pet magazines for a book related to elderly abuse. Nor would you focus your promotional efforts through a magnificent website with all the bells and whistles, high-end retail stores or expensive TV ads when your audience is comprised of homeless families. Likewise, if you are pretty much homebound, you can’t expect to go on the speaking circuit and do signings in every major city as a way to promote your book.

There are promotional activities within every possible category and it is up to the individual author to choose those few that he/she can reasonably pursue and then to pursue them with gusto. I recommend reviewing your promotional tactics every few months and making appropriate adjustments—crank up the activity on those you are involved in, add one or two new ones and, most certainly, drop any of those that are not working for you.

Note: Don’t give up on any ideas too soon. Sometimes the results are slow in coming. Make sure that you give each good idea a reasonable chance.

If you need help selecting and/or organizing your book promotion activities, sign up for my Book Promotion Course.
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Yesterday, my blog title promised something I realized that I didn’t provide—how to treat your customers well. In my early morning fog, I ended up talking about how to get customers rather than how to maintain a healthy customer base.

What comprises good business practices? How do you make a good impression?
• Communicate clearly with your customers.
• Provide what you promise in your advertising.
• Make all transactions as smooth and easy as possible.
• Give something more than your customer expects.
• Pack books so they arrive undamaged.
• Ship in a timely manner.
• Handle any problems promptly, cheerfully and satisfactorily.

I like the idea of giving something more than customers expect. I know one author who
wraps her poetry book in pretty tissue paper and ties it with a piece of ribbon before sliding it into the padded mailer to ship. I enclose a gift magnet with the image of the book cover with shipments of my cat stories books.

It’s actually fairly easy to please a satisfied customer. The real challenge comes when something goes wrong with the order.

One author I know inadvertently shipped out a box of books that included a couple of flawed books. When the customer explained the problem, my friend replaced the books at no charge and even returned the customer’s original payment for those two books in order to maintain good customer relations.

A few years ago, a customer called me to say that the Ojai history book I sold him had a signature of pages missing. To keep things simple and take care of the problem quickly, I did not ask him to return the damaged book. I immediately shipped him a new book. And to further repair customer relations, I enclosed a copy of my Nordhoff Cemetery book as a bonus. This man will not hesitate doing business with my company again and he may even tell others about Matilija Press and Patricia Fry.

Sometimes an author/publisher is asked to go beyond what should be reasonably expected and, sometimes the author loses. As an example, a few years ago, a gentleman from Australia ordered one of my books through my website. He contacted me almost immediately after making the transaction to say that his card was charged several times, but he only wanted one copy of the book. I checked my merchant account system and, sure enough, his card had been charged something like eleven times. He admitted to having clicked “buy” maybe twice, but not eleven times.

This was my first experience with this sort of problem and it was a slow go. When I completed the tedious process of hand crediting his card, I contacted the customer and he claimed that I was still charging him for two copies of the book.

What? I double checked carefully and discovered that I had accidentally inserted the wrong credit card number in one instance while attempting to issue him the appropriate credit. Turns out it was a valid credit card number and it greedily accepted the credit.

I didn’t know what to do, so I called the tech people for my merchant account system and they advised me to simply charge that same card in order to retrieve my money. I issued my customer one more credit in the amount of the book and I attempted to charge the card I erroneously credited. Guess what? This card was red-flagged and was being investigated. I never did get that money back. Consequently, for all of my trouble and time (because of a situation caused by the customer), I ended up with zilch. Regardless, I sent him the book he ordered.

Not every transaction is flawless. That’s for sure. But you will make more friends and attract more customers (including repeat customers) if you do your best to keep things simple and if you will give the customer the benefit of the doubt.

Visit my new website: http://www.patriciafry.com

One thing an author needs is readers. This is true whether you are a one-time author who just wants to get your memoir down on paper or a career author with many books in your future. Readers are your bread and butter, your best support system and your harshest critics. It is important to establish an excellent rapport with your audience, but how? There are many ways.

Maintaining a good connection with your audience isn’t unlike nurturing a friendship, partnership or any other relationship. Through your writing and your actions, you should strive to gain the trust and respect of your readers. However, in order to meet your goals of teaching, informing or entertaining others, you must first get their attention.

You know how to nurture a friendship, right? You communicate—you are present. You let others know that you care. You share. You respond to their difficulties, celebrate their accomplishments and offer constant support.

How do you establish and manage a meaningful relationship with your readership? Here are some suggestions:

• Write the book they want/need.
• Make sure you let them know that the book exists.
• Maintain contact with your readers through an active blog.
• Continue supplying readers with information and resources through articles.
• Be constantly visible through many channels, including social media.

This is probably what most of you authors are already doing. Good! But it is important that you continue posting meaningful material at your blog; communicating through your Facebook, Linkedin, etc. accounts; writing articles of substance; showing up at various events attended by your audience; making yourself available to respond to question and so forth.

Your audience is important to the success of your book. That’s why I join other experts in urging you to start thinking about your readers long before you actually write the book. And continue thinking about them and catering to them for as long as you hope to sell copies of your book.

For more about making all of the right decisions with regard to your book project, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book: http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

For a fun read this summer and/or as a gift, purchase my latest book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales.
http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html