Writing and Publishing News

I talk a lot about book promotion. And this is the activity I’m involved in right now—promoting my own new book, Talk Up Your Book. Well, I guess you’d say that I spend most of my time promoting my books, especially those books and ebooks related to publishing and book promotion. It’s a rather constant activity for me—continually bringing you worthwhile information and concepts through this daily blog, speaking and participating in conferences, seeking and setting up new speaking gigs, writing articles for appropriate publications, maintaining a useful website, showcasing my books, updating my Amazon Author Page, using social media, making myself visible at book festivals and so forth. This is ongoing for me.

Currently, however, I have stepped up my promotional activities. I’m still doing all of the above, plus I am talking about my book wherever I go, soliciting reviews and announcing the new book to my email list and in member newsletters.

Yes, I do practice what I preach. Announcements about Talk Up Your Book have gone out to around 1,500 people on the lists of names and email addresses I have collected over the years. And I have around 500-800 more business cards I need to sort through.

I did a teleseminar with around 200 people in attendance last week. I’ve had three reviews, so far. I will contact all of those who participated in the book next week and find out what they are doing to promote this book. I know that some are featuring it in their newsletters and at their websites. Two have written reviews.

I will check to see what my publicist at the publishing company is doing. So far, there are few results, but often it takes time to get the promotions ball rolling. I’ll probably be bombarded with requests for interviews and such around the holidays. Yikes!

Do you have a new book out? Are you preparing to launch a book soon? Start now planning your marketing strategy and keep adding ideas to your plan. Here’s something that will surely help, subscribe to and read newsletters related to book promotion. You will pick up new ideas and become privy to new resources to help you along the very difficult book promotion road. Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and connect with other authors to learn what promotional ploys are working for them. You’ll also have access to the monthly SPAWN Market Update which has a strong focus toward book promotion ideas and resources. http://www.spawn.org Membership is only $65/year.

If you have a book to promote, watch our FREE enewsletter for an announcement about opportunities to display or sell your book in the SPAWN booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at a dramatically reduced rate. Did you know that a single booth space costs nearly a thousand dollars if you do it on your own? And this event attracts around 140,000 people. Subscribe to SPAWNews here: http://www.spawn.org

I’ve turned comments back on here. Would love to hear from you about the book promotion tactics you are pursuing or that you plan and how this is working out for you. And be sure to order your copy of Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More. You will learn volumes about using your personality to sell books. And, folks, more and more authors are attesting to the fact that the most effective way to sell your book is through your personality. Order your copy of Talk Up Your Book at amazon.com at my website (url below) or at any other online or downtown bookstore.
http://www.matilijapress.com

Need a book editor? Learn more here:
http://www.patriciafry.com

Wasn’t that a great series we had going all week? If you missed it, go back and read the blog posts from November 5-9 and you’ll be treated to some fascinating stories from interesting novelists. You’ll meet bestselling author Margaret Brownley; author of a charming humor mystery series, Wendy Dager; long-time writer turned novelist, Hope Clark; budding novelist and award recipient, Kathleen Ewing and a novelist with some interesting titles and stories to match, Raven West.

Today, I’d like to talk about book promotion. I hear from authors often who say, “I can’t get out to promote in person,” “I can’t afford to travel and speak at conferences,” “I hate social media and don’t understand how to promote that way,” or “I don’t know how to go about getting book reviews.”

You know, as an author, you should pursue many avenues of promotion. In one week, for example, you might talk to a few people you meet about your book, post two or three blogs related to the theme or genre of your book, ask someone to post a review of your book at Amazon, leave comments on a couple of related blog sites and set up a book signing at an appropriate specialty store.

There are hundreds more ways to promote your book. However, you don’t have to do it all and you shouldn’t try to do it all. But it is important to tap into the opportunities that arise at any given moment. And I urge you to train yourself to recognize the opportunities.

It is also important to have a plan. You hear people tell you and you read in books and articles how important it is to identify your target audience and know where they are and how to reach them. When you follow this advice, you will have a much better idea of which promotional activities to pursue. Choose a couple to start with. If they are working for you, expand on them, if not, change your technique or move on to another promotional activity.

Give each activity time. I’ve had people ask, “How do I know my efforts are working?” This can be a valid concern, especially if your book is with a publisher. Then you are not receiving orders. The best measure of sales in this case is your royalty statement. You can also go to amazon.com and check on your book’s rank and sales at Author Central. But if you are the publisher, you know exactly how many books are going out. And this is the case with most pay-to-publish contracts, as well because you are responsible for placing and selling your books.

Okay, so what about this confusing, complex thing called book marketing and how does one successfully engage in it? My best advice is, as I said, know your target audience, their shopping/reading habits and so forth. Do your best to address them in your promotion. And also try a few (not too many at a time) promotional activities and see how they go. Continue those that are working and discontinue those that are not. Don’t try too many intense things at once. You’ll wear yourself out. But you do want to have several avenues for promotion and sales.

If I were to help a novelist set up his or her marketing plan, I might suggest that they include the following: (And these activities might be pursued all at the same time or staggered—depending on how much time you have and the response.)

• Build a website.
• Blog at least a couple of times per week.
• Submit stories to publications your audience reads.
• Solicit book reviews.
• Get out and speak to your readers—maybe once a month to start.
• Send announcements about your book out to your massive email list.
• Sign up for a book festival in or near your community.
• Establish a few social media accounts and use them.
• Place books in appropriate bookstores, gift shops and specialty stores

To learn more about the publishing industry and your role within it, order my book, Publish Your Book. For a complete guide to book promotion, order my book, Promote Your Book. If you need help or want more information/guidance in public speaking and communication for authors, you must read Talk Up Your Book. All available at http://www.matilijapress.com and, of course at amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores.