Writing and Publishing News from

This is a subject of interest to many who venture out to start a blog. But first, two announcements of interest:

1: My guest blog post on how to get your self-published or pay-to-publish book picked up by a traditional publisher is featured at Joel Friedlander’s blog—The Book Design—today, January 14, 2011. http://www.thebookdesign.com

2: You can still get your FREE copy of 50 Reasons Why You SHOULD Publish Your Book at http://www.patriciafry.com

Yesterday a friend and colleague invited me to her brand new blog site. (If you like kitty cats, you’ll want to check it out at: http://www.thekittycorner.typepad.com.) I told her how much I love the look and the information she’s presenting and she asked, “Now how do I get it out there so people know it exists?” I thought you might be interested in what I suggested:

• Add your blog link to business cards, brochures, etc

• Submit more articles to appropriate online and print magazines/ezines and include your blog in your bio.

• Sign up for Google Alerts, and use keywords such as “cats,” “birthing cats,” “British shorthair,” “raising kittens…” etc., you will be alerted every morning to articles and blogs that are discussing those things that day.

• Seek out other cat-related blogs on your own, leave comments and give your blog link.

• Sign up for twitter and tweet every time you put up a new post.

• Offer to be guest columnist at other pertinent blogs.

• Invite other experts to be guest blogger at your site.

• Announce your blog to the Cat Writer’s Association online discussion group. (We both belong to this organization.)

• Visit other cat-related (or pet-related) boards or discussion groups.

• Does Cat Fancy have a blog site? Comment there.

Let me know about some of your clever ideas for successfully promoting your blog.

Two major bookstore chains are closing stores in one California city this month. Now that’s a sad sign of the times. What’s even more tragic, it was probably those two chains coming in that caused one of the most charming of independent bookstores to close several years ago. And now they’re going down, too.

But this isn’t an isolated situation. How does the rampant closure of bookstores nationwide affect authors? Traditionally published authors may actually be most seriously affected because most publishers still depend so heavily on our neighborhood bookstores for sales. While I notice that some publishers are stressing in their submission guidelines the importance of authors having a web presence, many are still in “bookstore” mode when it comes to selling books.

The major publishers were thrown for a loop recently, however, when Borders management began meeting with them personally to talk about a new payment plan. In other words, rather than the common ninety days AND the wretched returnable policy, they want a larger payment advantage.

While it’s a tragedy that bookstores are failing, jobs are being lost, publishers are taking a hit, some of us won’t feel the extent of the pain. Sure, as citizens, we’ll miss having bookstores in our communities—we’ll miss it a lot. But from a business standpoint, independent and pay-to-publish authors won’t even notice they’re gone.

Those of us who do not rely on bookstore sales—whose books, in fact, were not welcome in bookstores—may even see an increase in book sales through our websites, at book festivals, through online bookstores, etc. We were taught by the masters (major publishers and booksellers) to bypass the bookstore when marketing our books and seek out specialty stores, the premium opportunity, face-to-face marketing and other creative methods of selling our books. We’ve been groomed to look beyond the bookstore (as Brian Jud suggests), to take charge and to find our own way in the world of bookselling.

Are we sad to see the bookstores take a fall? Of course. We’ll miss them as much as the next guy who enjoys the bookstore atmosphere and convenience. We’ll suffer along with others when we see signs of increased illiteracy. None of us likes to see anyone fail. But, as an independent or pay-to-publish author, there’s no reason why you should miss a beat in the promotion of your book because you were trained not to rely on bookstores.

To learn much more about navigating the publishing industry, techniques for choosing the right publisher for your particular project, tips for locating and working with an agent, a self-publishing timeline, how to promote your book and so much more, purchase my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book this month FROM MY WEBSITE and receive a second book or ebook of your choice FREE. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

FREE books/ebooks include:
The Author’s Repair Kit
How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less
A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles
The Successful Author’s Handbook (NEW ebook)
The Successful Writer’s Handbook
Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book

PLFry620@yahoo.com

Yesterday I shared with our SPAWN Discussion Group that I had posted my 1000th blog post. One SPAWN member asked me if I have noticed any benefit from my blogging efforts. After all, we all do what we do for reasons, right? We hope to get something back. And one pleasure I derive from blogging is knowing that I am helping new and struggling authors and freelance writers. I also enjoy the process. Most days, I look forward to sharing something of value with you. Like many of you, writing somehow soothes my soul. And writing a blog post is as much a morning ritual for me as is pouring a tall glass of orange juice upon rising.

This woman asked if I was selling more books or if I had more traffic to my website as a result of my blog. I will respond to her questions this morning and I plan to answer her in this way:

There is really no way to precisely track your book sales or even your web traffic when you are promoting in many different directions. It used to be that you assigned different codes to your mailing address for the various advertising that you did. This helped you determine whether someone ordered your book through an ad in Woman’s World Magazine, your article appearing in the Los Angeles Times, from a book review in Publishers Weekly or from a radio gig. This is how you tracked sales. You can still use little tracking tricks, but it is more difficult since so much of your promotion and many of your sales are done online.

If the only way you are promoting your book is through a blog and your website, and you display your books at one book festival per year, then you pretty much know what is and what isn’t working for you.

A savvy author/publisher today, however, will promote much more widely than that. I post daily to my blog. I have two websites—one introducing me and my services and another displaying my books and offering them for sale. But I also post comments on other appropriate blogs, write many articles for magazines and ezines and solicit book reviews. I go out and speak on publishing and book promotion, I hand out brochures and business cards wherever I go, I attend several book festivals each year and I run a networking organization for authors. I review books related to writing, publishing and book promotion and I write a newsletter for the member area of the SPAWN Website. When I produce a new book, I contact my extensive mailing list and make an announcement. Oh yes, and I also have a Facebook page and Twitter account.

So, unless someone tells me they visited my website or bought a book because of my blog, I really don’t know what inspired them. All I do know is that, in order to be heard, be read and be helpful to your audience, you must put yourself out there in as many ways as makes sense to your project.

You Have Access to Over 125 Articles on Publishing and Book Promotion
We’ve just added over thirty new articles to my Matilija Press website. You’ll find articles on writing, publishing, book promotion, writing a book proposal and public speaking. Here’s a sampling of article titles:

“When the Book Promotion Well Runs Dry”
“Writing and Promotion Go Hand in Hand”
“How to Give an Awesome Author Interview”
“Novel Ways to Promote Your Novel”
“How to Turn Your Book Idea Into a Product”
“What Can You Expect From Your Editor”
“Guarantee Your Publishing Success”
“Write a Better Book: Produce a Better Product”
“Are You Writing for the Right Reasons?”
“Five Reasons That Publishing Might be a Bad Idea”

http://www.matilijapress.com/articlespublishing.htm

While I make it my business to keep up with publishing news and trends, sometimes something slips through the cracks. (How’s that for using clichés right off the bat?)

I subscribe to several publishing newsletters. I scour the Internet frequently for information. When I speak at a conference, unlike some of the presenters, I attend sessions and always pick up new tidbits. And, of course, I listen to other authors at all stages of their projects.

Well, yesterday I was working on a book revision and stumbled across information I was not aware of—about Kirkus Reviews. In December of 2009, I reported that this seventy-seven-year-old library review journal had closed. What I didn’t know was that, in February of this year, Herb Simon bought it and revived it. Kirkus Reviews, one of America’s oldest and most respected prepublication review journals lives on.

Kirkus Reviews is one of six prepublication review journals read religiously by librarians and booksellers who are seeking new books to stock. And, as far as I know, it is the only one that offers self-published and pay-to-publish authors review opportunities.

This is not to say that self-published and pay-to-publish authors are exempt from inclusion in any of the prepublication review journals. But it is a rare occasion when a book published outside of the traditional realm is accepted for review by any of them. Kirkus, however, started Kirkus Discoveries—a program whereby authors can pay to have their book reviewed by Kirkus staff. It will cost you, though—from $425 to $575, depending on how soon you want your review to appear. Here’s the link to the sign-up page: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/discoveries/add.

Do reviews in the Kirkus Discoveries program sell books? I would do some research on my own, if I were you. If you read the testimonials at the Kirkus website, you would be convinced that it is worth the money. But I’ve spoken with authors who say, “Don’t bother.” Kirkus lists some of the books they review through this program on their Kirkus Discoveries page. Contact some of these authors of books similar to yours and ask them if sales increased once their review appeared in the Discoveries newsletter. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/discoveries

By the way, the other prepublication book review journals are: Booklist, Library Journal, ForeWord Reviews, School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly.

Visit my websites to learn more about me, Patricia Fry, and my work and services.
http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com

Sign up for my FREE online Book Proposal course starting December 27, 2010. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Put “Free Course” in the subjectline. Learn more about the course here: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookproposal.htm. Space is limited, so contact me now.

I’ve been blogging here for exactly five years this month. This is post number 981. I should hit 1,000 before the end of December. Any ideas for how we should celebrate? Perhaps some discounts for all of you. Let me know your preferences among my services, classes and books.

Today, I’m sharing a rewrite of the post I presented on this day five years ago. While a lot has changed within and around the publishing industry since then, there are some things that have remained the same.

Many of you are published authors with books to promote. In the process of promoting your books, do you ever think about the various levels of promotion? Have you wondered when promotion becomes obnoxious? When is it promotion and when it is in-your-face-pushy, aggressive marketing?

We all complain about SPAM. But SPAM, after all, is often simply advertising. It’s junk mail. Only instead of coming in your tin mailbox, it lands in your bulk email box. SPAM is a nuisance, for sure. For those of us with very busy email boxes, it can interfere with real work and the receipt of real email.

SPAM is so annoying that those of us with books to promote hesitate using email to spread the word about our books. We wonder, is it appropriate to promote our books through email? Should you promote through email only to people you know? What about people you’ve met in passing—those whose business cards you’ve kept? Is it still considered SPAM when you send your message individually to one email box at a time? If you send to multiple email addresses, should you use the blind copy function or is it best to reveal the other recipients? How many people can you email your promotional material to before it is considered SPAM?

Is it cool to sign up for message boards and chat rooms in order to promote your books? Is it okay to send your book announcement to the people whose websites you visit?

What about promoting outside of the computer—the old-fashioned way? You’re told to talk about your book everywhere you go. But when is enough, enough? How much is too much promotion among your family, friends and acquaintances?

Just today, I decided to send my Christmas cards early along with a note suggesting some of my books as gifts. Is this overkill? Will my efforts be well received?

I believe that it depends on the individual. While some people will lambaste you for sending them an email announcing your book, others will warmly thank you. While some will be insulted to find an advertisement in their Christmas card, others will be thrilled that you made the suggestion.

There’s no pleasing everyone and it’s futile to try. I believe that it is more important that you find your comfort level with promotion than to worry about what others are going to think. Once you’ve established and implemented a promotional plan, stretch some and strive to expand your level of comfort. It’s a process of setting a goal, reaching the goal and then raising the bar. And
don’t try to second-guess potential customers to the point that you talk yourself out of some valuable promotion.

Last year, I received an email notice from a SPAWN member telling about her newly revised book. I placed an order that day. When the author received my order, she emailed me and said, “I almost didn’t send you my announcement because I knew that you were already aware of my book.” What she didn’t know was that the first time I heard about her book, it sparked an interest. I saw it at a book festival and made a mental note to purchase it sometime in the future. When I received her announcement, the timing was right.

As for my Christmas card promotion back in 2005, I actually did get some orders from friends and acquaintances. And there were no complaints—to my face, anyway.

What are you going to do this holiday season to promote your books?

I’d like to invite you to check out my array of books for your gift list and to put on your own wish list. In particular, you might ask for The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Send Santa here: http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html.

If you want to start an article-writing business, ask Santa for a gift certificate for my article-writing course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

(I also teach an online book promotion course, book proposal course and others.)

Here’s an idea: if you have a query letter, book proposal or manuscript ready to be edited, a gift certificate toward my services is the perfect present for you: http://www.patriciafry.com PLFry620@yahoo.com.

And for all of those animal-people on your gift list, they are going to love an autographed (and paw-graphed) copy of Catscapades, True Cat Tales, http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html.