Writing and Publishing News from

My article, “You’re the Expert,” appears in the Book Promotion Newsletter this morning (October 21, 2009). This piece focuses on how to position yourself as an expert in your field and sell more copies of your book on this topic. When you read it, you may say, “Wow! This is the same stuff Patricia tells us to do when we’re promoting a book.” Yup! There’s no way to get around it. If you hope to become successful as a writer or author and/or if you dream of becoming an expert in your field, the processes are the same. It takes tons of exposure, which boils down to an incredible amount of time, energy, work and creativity.

If you aren’t aware of Fran Silverman’s Book Promotion Newsletter, check it out at, http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com
Fran also works with authors to get them spots on radio shows. If you have a book to promote, you might want to contact Fran at franalive@optonline.net.

How is your writing business doing this quarter? Are book sales up this month? Things are getting busier here in my office, lately. I am thankful. I have to admit that I am always busy. There is always something to do, even if it is filing (you ought to see my overflowing inbox—it’s disgraceful), trying out new promotional techniques, coming up with new article ideas, recycling articles, catching up on bookwork, seeking out speaking/workshop venues and so forth. But some activities don’t compute into earnings—at least not right away.

SPAWN has kept me extremely busy over the past months. Have you visited our new website, yet? Sign up for our free enewsletter, SPAWNews. http://www.spawn.org. Join SPAWN and you will have access to the incredible SPAWN Market Update. (For members only.) This monthly newsletter provides numerous ideas, leads and information bytes for working writers, authors, artists, photographers and others.

I’d love to hear from working writers and authors to learn how you are doing at this point in the recession. Are things getting better for you? Are you working harder than ever to sell books or articles? What techniques are you using to keep your head above water? Or have you given up permanently or temporarily on your writing work?

Leave your comment here.

Did you see my contribution to Brian Jud’s newsletter this week, “Book Marketing Matters?” I was the guest columnist. Brian’s newsletter is full of brief hints, tips, ideas and suggestions. Mine had to do with getting additional exposure for your nonfiction book by building on your credibility in your topic. In other words—how to become known as an expert in your field.

A good first step is to write a book. Presumably, you’ve done that. Or you could produce one or more booklets on your topic and distribute them widely. Then, go about the process of promoting your book or booklets, just like I (and other professionals) suggest, through articles on this topic to appropriate magazines, newsletters and websites; join related organizations; go out and speak (especially at related conferences); develop and maintain a blog and offer tons of professional resources at your website.

Yes, positioning yourself as an expert is not much different from promoting a book. So you can see that one activity fosters the other. If you have a deep interest in a particular field and you want to be recognized, write a good book on the subject and then heavily promote it. If you have a book on the subject and you’d like more recognition, heavily promote your book and you will gain credibility.

For more about book promotion and all other aspects of writing and publishing a book, order my book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book,”
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

To subscribe to Brian Jud’s newsletter, go to http://www.bookmarketingworks.com

The Internet is ever changing, isn’t it? Each time I teach my online courses, I have to check the links I give because they change, they disappear, they break and sometimes I mis-type them.

In case I have given you the link for Shaw Guides directory of conferences, lately, I want to make sure you have it right. When I checked the link I had in the latest book I’m writing, I noticed that the link was broken. Later in the day, I discovered that I had the wrong link. Here is the correct link for those of you who are seeking conferences to attend or to speak at on your expertise. http://www.shawguides.com. For writing conferences and workshops, type in http://www.writing.shawguides.com .

It appears that my favorite book festival directory link is gone. That’s www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bookfair.html. If anyone knows of another good book festival directory, I’d sure like to know about it.

Your Book Festival Listing/Banner
Another thing I’d like to talk about today is your banner and your listing when you secure a booth at a book festival. You may recall the story I tell about the time I went to the Los Angeles Times Book Festival (where they receive around 100,000 visitors) and sold very few books. The reason was the booth banner. When I display my writing-related books at the SPAWN booth, I do very well. Why? A huge number of our visitors come to us because they are interested in writing and/or publishing. They listen as we answer their questions about SPAWN and give them a few suggestions or resources related to their project and then they typically purchase one or more of my books.

The day that I sold so few (if any) books, I shared a booth with a guy who wrote novels and children’s books. His banner advertised “Novels and Children’s Books.” Guess who came to his booth? Readers of novels and children’s books. And he sold a lot of books.

My point is that when you go to a book festival with your book, make sure that your listing in their brochure and your banner reflect your book’s topic or genre. What is it about your book that attracts readers? That’s what you want to advertise—healthy eating cookbooks, science fiction, young adult thriller, books on grammar, travel guides, etc.

If you plan to share a booth with another author, make sure that your books are somewhat compatible. Will the people who purchase her books also be interested in yours and vice versa? Can you come up with something for the banner and program listing that will encompass both of your books?

Fall is a big book festival season, as is spring. Check out book festivals in your area or where you will be traveling by typing “book festival” or “book fair” and the name of the city at the Google prompt.

For more about participating in a book festival, read my article, “How to Work a Book Festival So it Works for You” at http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/promo_bookFestival.htm

Do you maintain a blog? Do you post daily (or practically daily, as I profess to do)? How do you come up with topics? If this is a problem for you, maybe I can help. This is my blog post number 590, afterall.

Presumably, if you are reading this blog, your blog reflects your book—it is a way of promoting your book to the world. Here are some blog post ideas for authors of nonfiction books:

• Use excerpts from your book.
• Tell some of the back-story around the writing of the book.
• Talk about what inspired you to write it.
• Share some of the concepts from your book.
• Share related resources.
• Talk about new findings, sites, etc. related to your topic.
• Write and post informational articles.
• Post how-to articles.
• Review sites/books by other experts in your field.
• Invite guest bloggers in related fields.
• Write about your background/experiences in this topic.
• Introduce new products.
• Announce any publicity you get—book reviews, etc.
• Describe interesting/pertinent conversations with customers.
• Create posts from experiences you have while promoting your book.
• Offer freebies or discounts as incentive to buy your book.
• Develop additional services/products and talk about them here.

For authors of fiction books:

• Use excerpts from your book.
• Describe some of your characters and how you formed them.
• Share stories from your experiences while writing this book.
• Write about some of the themes imbedded in your story.
• Talk about what inspires you to write.
• Interview other novelists.
• Review similar books.
• Publish reviews of your book.
• Post testimonials/reader comments.
• Share some of your other writings.
• Reveal the plot of your next novel.
• Describe some of your book promotion experiences.
• Involve readers in writing assignments.
• Offer freebies or discounts as incentive to buy your book.

This is pretty basic. You can take it from here and expand on some of these ideas, dissect them, analyze them…

Remember that the point is to bring attention to your credibility in your field, your skill/talent as a writer/storyteller and the value of your book and/or services/products.

For more about book promotion, sign up today for my on-demand, online book promotion course: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm.

Do you need an editor? Study my resume and my array of books at my website:
http://www.matilijapress.com

This is the blog post I prepared for you yesterday. But I guess the timing wasn’t right for you to see it as I could not get on my blog site most of the day. When I realized my blog site was finally available, I was at a colleagues home trying to help her with her new blog. And I never got back to mine. So I apologize for remaining silent yesterday–it was not because I wanted to. And I hope that you get something of value from this rather off-the-wall concept for promoting your books and yourself.
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Promotion, for most authors and freelance writers, is not an exact science. It’s sometimes difficult to know when to hit the pavement and when to step back. Why would I suggest that anyone, who is in promotion mode, ever step back? There are several reasons and they have more to do with timing, economic fears and perspective than technique or the true economic climate.

When fear drives our promotional efforts, we may tend to panic. You might lament, “What if I don’t get enough work (or sell enough books) to pay the bills?” If we market from a fearful place, can we be effective? I’ve watched authors at book festivals get so frustrated and disappointed in their book sales and so fearful that they won’t make a profit, that they begin to approach potential customers with a slightly aggressive attitude. They practically challenge people to buy their book and visibly dis them when they don’t.

Freelance writers sometimes become so frightened that they might fail and lose their preferred lifestyle, that they begin submitting indiscriminately. Rather than taking steps to better their chances of success, they jump in the way of the success they desire.

I sometimes wear myself out trying to attract clients who need editing services or help with their publishing project. I spend every free hour working on my platform—building it higher and higher and higher. As most of you know, this means that I am submitting writing/publishing-related articles to appropriate magazines, going out and speaking to authors, attending book festivals, commenting at other blogs, contacting former clients and so forth. And this is all good.

But there comes a time when I become spent. Perhaps you know what I mean. You feel as though you are doing a lot for no purpose. You are not getting the results you desire. At that point, it’s easy to do one of two things—give up or get angry. You either walk away in defeat or develop an intense dislike for all of those idiots who won’t buy your book, publish your articles or hire you to edit their manuscripts. And what do either of these scenarios do for your bottom line? Absolutely nothing.

There is another way. And it has worked for me numerous times. It’s called “stepping back.” It’s a change in attitude or perspective. I find that when I get out of “fear mode” and curb my sense of panic, I begin to trust the universe. When I am able to be sincere in my gratitude, I give thanks for the wonderful clients I’ve had and for always receiving just the right project at the right time.

When I stop forcing things—insisting that I get what I want, when I want it and in the way I want it presented—the universe hands me exactly what I need and just at the right time.

Sometimes, we get the best results when we get out of the way and allow the universe to respond to our requests. Now this does not mean that we should give up on promotion. Not at all. Instead, do the promotion and send each piece of it off with gratitude. Express appreciation to the universe for your many blessings and for the opportunity to pursue this avenue of promotion. Bless the press release, article or review copy of your book as it leaves your possession and trust that it will bring you many more blessings.

Ewwwww, that’s kind of “out there” for some of you, isn’t it? But hey, don’t discard it too quickly. I can tell you that it has worked many times for me. I’ve also seen this practice work for women who are seeking a man. No kidding. But you can’t use this technique if you don’t believe in it. If your gratitude and trust aren’t genuine, it probably won’t work for you.

If you’re making the effort to get word out about your products or services, but you’re not attracting sales or clients, you are probably getting in the way of the natural flow by being attached to your expectations.

Have you ever experienced what I am attempting to describe here? Maybe you recall a time when you just relaxed and quit trying to force something to happen—stopped focusing intently on one result and just let go of your perceived control. What happened? Did you realize some amazing success?

This would be a good time for you to comment here at my blog site. We could all use a little help and support even that which appears to come from outer space.

How many of you promote your books based on your comfort zone rather than what actually sells books? Maybe you haven’t figured out, yet, which promotional method or activity works best in selling your particular book. But are you giving each one a good try? And are you trying new ones out?

Or are you doing what so many authors do—market “my way” instead of the way that will actually sell your books?

What is the best way to sell copies of your particular book? Do you know? Are you still experimenting?

Have you visited the sites of other authors who have books in your book’s category or genre? You especially want to check out the sites of authors who seem to be most successful. If you spend some time at these sites, you will get an idea about how they’re marketing their books. You’ll get some clues as to which methods are working best for them (those they are featuring on their site and blogging about, for example).

When I explore the promotional activities of the most successful professionals in my books’ category (writing and publishing), I discover that they are all making personal appearances. They are offering a lot of information for free. They have incorporated additional ways to make money from their “brand” through seminars, tele-seminars, by offering services and by developing add-on items to offer for sale. And they make sure they are putting themselves in front of their public constantly, through writing articles, soliciting interviews and so forth.

Not one of my colleagues, who is selling books, is avoiding personal contact with his/her readers. None of them are settling in and settling on the status quo. They are all out meeting people, getting involved and attempting to provide their public with more of what they want/need. They’re seeking out new venues for their presentations, creating new programs, writing new books and developing new services and other offerings.

And authors whose novels are selling well are also reaching out to their audiences in many creative ways. They’re offering more than the next novelist (a free chapter, a discount, a bookmark, an autographed copy, contests, games, tee shirts, the opportunity to get involved in their sequel…)

We all need to remember that marketing/promotion—while definitely considered aspects of business—require a personal touch in order to be successful. As consumers, we want to feel as though the products we’re being offered are in response to our own needs. We respond to ads and commercials that seem to be speaking directly to us and that address our needs and desires. We want to know that the product (or book) will benefit us in some way. It is the author’s job to convince his/her audience that the book is worth reading—that it has information they need, that it will make them think, that it will entertain, thrill, frighten, excite or educate them in some way.

Readers first need to be aware of the book (that’s where the bells, whistles and exposure come in). Then they must believe that it was written for them (the personal touch). And they want to know that they will benefit from reading this book and how.

Folks, selling books is not just writing a good book, letting a Pay-to-Publish company quickly slam it together for you and then sending out a gazillion press releases to an un-targeted list. Start this weekend giving your promotional efforts the personal touch and see what happens.

I’m writing an article on this subject and would love to include some of your stories. Send them to me at PLFry620@yahoo.com or leave them as a comment here.

How many of you have (or at one time, had) these sentiments:

“I do not want to be a bookseller. I am an author. I wrote a book. I want to do more writing—I do not want to be distracted by the annoying, humiliating practice of book promotion.”

I’ve also heard authors say: “I will do XYZ, in order to promote my book, but you’ll never catch me doing ABC.”

Just this week, a first-time author told me that she would send out press releases by the millions, but she would not give presentations or interviews, nor would she write articles, keep a blog or anything else.

Think about what happens when your press release reaches its destination. Some of them have gone to bad addresses. Many of them (when sent through a service or your “pay-to-publish” company) are not well-targeted. And when your promo piece does arrive on the doorstep of a potentially appropriate publication, it is very, very often discarded.

Why? You are an unknown author, your book topic doesn’t relate to the audience, there is nothing really that interesting in the press release to warrant publishing it.

Press releases can be effective marketing tools, especially if they are well-written, timely and pertinent and when they are reinforced by the personal touch. Imagine this—that press release to the newspaper in a neighboring city announcing publication of your historical novel, children’s book or memoir will get more notice if you’ve also been speaking to local groups in that area, doing radio/TV interviews and had one of your stories published in a regional magazine, for example. That’s how you get exposure and exposure is the way to sell books.

Now imagine the press release going out to that newspaper and even being published without the extra publicity. How many people do you think will notice it and respond to it by purchasing the book?

You’ve heard/read me preach/teach about platform. I suggest that, if you are working on a book, you establish a platform (your following, your way of attracting readers). You should make every effort to build a readership before you even produce that book.

Many of you are writing your memoirs. You know that celebrity memoirs generally sell well. Why is that? Because they are known. People buy their books out of curiosity (is anyone curious about your life?), because they like the celebrity (how many people out there know and like you?).

Thousands (maybe millions) of readers purchase novels by James Patterson and Danielle Steel. Why? Because they know these authors and like their work. These authors have proven themselves.

You may not ever get the volume of sales that these authors do, but you can increase your potential sales by becoming known in your genre. How? Submit stories in this genre to appropriate magazines, newsletters and websites. Your potential readers are bound to notice them. If they like your stories and they have the opportunity to read many of them, the more apt they are to purchase any books you produce (that is, if they know about them).

If you are writing a nonfiction book, you’ll generate more sales for that book if you can establish yourself as an expert in your field. People buy my publishing-related books because:

• They are familiar with my name as an author and publishing professional.
• They know me as a leader in SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).
• They have seen multitudes of my articles for years published in the writing/publishing magazines and newsletters they read.
• They’ve attended my presentations in venues throughout the U.S. (FL, CA, MA, WA, WI, HI, TX…)
• They’ve seen my name associated with conferences nationwide.
• They’ve heard me on the radio, doing podcasts on the web, etc.
• They’ve read some of my many interviews online and in print.
• They’ve noticed all of the 5-star reviews of my books at Amazon.
• They follow my publishing blog.

What does it take to sell books? You must find ways to be noticed by your audience. And how hard can this be if you are, indeed, an expert or professional in your field? You should be doing all of the things I list here and more throughout the course of your day.

And if you write fiction, it makes sense that you would have scads of short stories filed away or in your head. Polish them up and submit them. It also follows that you would be involved in organizations and sites related to the genre of your book.

Avoid the huge mistake that so many authors make—holing up in your writing room until you’ve perfected your book and then expecting to promote it through impersonal press releases only.

For more about book promotion, you really must read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html.

To learn more about article/story-writing, sign up for my on-demand, online course on article-writing.
http://www.matilijarpess.com/course_magarticles.htm

I’m thinking about doing something new—licensing my online courses. If you or someone you know would be interested in teaching these courses (on book promotion, writing a book proposal, self-publishing and article-writing), let me know. PLFry620@yahoo.com

A website is a website is a website, right? Not anymore. No longer, do you necessarily land on a website and see a welcome page, then click your way around to visit other rather humdrum smatterings of information or promo. Not in Jane Howatt’s world.

Jane is a writer. She is currently working on a book featuring the most amazing life experience. I believe the title is going to be The Killer, the Cop and Me. This is the theme of her new website—a website like none I’ve seen before.

If you are looking for a great marketing tool, you’ve got to experience this website. If you love true crime stories, be sure to visit this site today and learn about this pending book. It’s likely that you will remember the high profile case she writes about—that she was actually involved in!

How can a typical housewife—a doctor’s wife—become involved in a savage serial murder case? You won’t believe how it happened. Man is this gal gutsy!!

Visit the site of The Killer, the Cop and Me at
http://www.thekillerthecopandme.com.

Read her new blog and leave a comment. I’d also like to have you comment here about her site. Do you like it? Did you feel as though you were entering some danger zone? Were you absolutely intrigued? How do you like the sound effects? Howatt’s website is definitely more than a website. It is an experience that you won’t soon forget.

Do you have a website that reflects the tone, focus, style, topic, genre of your book or your writing business? How do you attract visitors? Do you feel that you are getting more activity at your site or less? Why is that?

I think I am getting more interest in my own website, lately:
http://www.matilijapress.com.

And that’s probably because there are more people looking for information about writing and publishing. Would-be writers and authors are trying to supplement their incomes through writing. Unemployed folks have the time to web surf and are gleaning as much info as they can from others in order to build their own freelance business or appropriately approach the world of publishing.

Writers and authors will find a lot of free stuff at my website—a HUGE resource list (which I updated this year) by the way, numerous articles on writing and publishing, this blog and, of course, books for nearly every writer and author at every stage of their passion or career.

Do you have one of those filters or blocks on your email to keep the spam out? Why? When I consider signing up for a program that blocks email from unknown sources, I begin to weigh the pros and cons.

On the one hand, certainly, I would have around 100 to 300 fewer unwanted emails to deal with every day (700 to 2100 per week) through my personal, business and SPAWN email programs. But I would also miss out on opportunities to sell books, sign up new SPAWN members, work with new clients, help struggling authors, participate in events, and so forth.

Every time I open an email from an author who needs help, who is seeking an editor, who wants to buy a book (or 5), who wants me to write an article or give a presentation, I am so glad that my program allows their emails through. The time I spend every day deleting emails about Viagra, time-share vacation homes, printers in Asia, Amazon’s book pick and so forth, is well worth the benefits of the occasional opportunity.

When I get an email from someone at my website: info@matilijapress.com, or at SPAWN: Patricia@spawn.org, I always respond using PLFry620@yahoo.com. My email address isn’t familiar to the other person’s email system, so it’s possible that it will either block it (and the individual never hears from me) or the individual doesn’t recognize the email address, neglects to look at the usually meaningful/telling subject line and hits delete.

Protection is good. But, if you are attempting to promote a book, get freelance writing work, solicit help from professionals you meet throughout the internet, etc. you really ought to have a guest-friendly system that will allow you to receive the messages you want.

Do any of you have email blocks and filters? How do they work for you? Do you think that you are missing out on responses you solicit, book sales, freelance work and maybe even important invitations or messages because of the filter or block? How do you feel about that?

I recommend that, if you are attempting to build a writing or publishing business, you reconsider your spam filters. It’s sort of like choosing to stay in the house rather than going out and watching a family of ducks cross the road or a moose grazing or a magnificent rainbow because it’s raining and you’re afraid you will get wet. Wouldn’t it be worth the inconvenience of getting wet in order to experience the wonder of nature?

Like rain coming down on your head, spam can be annoying. But I am willing to put up with it in order to enjoy and benefit from those gifts that I would otherwise miss out on.

Comments?

Most of you have never taken an online course. Like many who have, I really like this type of education. The way my four courses are set up, you receive a lecture with information, resources and recommendations and an assignment via email each week for 6 or 8 weeks. You can, then, complete the assignments at your leisure during the week and submit them for comment, critique and direction.

Of course, the level of satisfaction and success you experience in any course, mine included, depend on your level of participation.

Here’s a FREE preview of my Book Promotion Course

Session 1:
With your help, I’ll become familiar with your project, your current promotional activities and marketing plans as well as any promotional limitations you believe you have. We’ll talk about your book’s hook and identify your target audience. Once I know something about you and your project, I can better guide you in establishing an appropriate plan.

Session 2:
This session focuses on the promotion basics that everyone should be pursuing—developing a massive mailing list, creating a website, soliciting numerous book reviews and dealing with distributors and wholesalers (if you are at liberty to do so).

Session 3:
This week, we’ll talk about bookstores, whether your book is conducive to bookstore sales and how to locate and approach bookstore managers. We’ll also cover specialty stores and discuss how to keep your books on bookstore or specialty store shelves (the secret is sales).

Session 4:
This class features personal appearances—book signings, book festivals, presentations in front of groups interested in your topic or genre, casual (or formal) presentations before organized gatherings, radio/TV and online interviews and special venues. You’ll find a most useful how-to element in this session.

Session 5:
Use the media to promote your book. I help you make your book newsworthy and I’ll teach you how to make news. We’ll also talk about library sales.

Session 6:
It’s time to reevaluate your marketing goals and make sure they are realistic. I’ll guide you in writing your short-term and long-term marketing plan based on your strengths, abilities, skills, finances, energy level, time commitments and motivation. We’ll also talk about working with a publicist, the extra services offered by your fee-based POD “self-publishing” service and attending writers/publishers conferences.

After the session, you’ll get one free email consultation.

Yup, it’s school in a bottle, more or less, but with feedback and guidance throughout. The main thing you must come to the course with is an open mind and the motivation to do what it takes to get the sales results you desire.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What is your best book promotion activity?
• Which activities fit into your comfort zone?
• If you were to venture outside of your comfort zone, would be more successful?
• If you spent more time in targeted promotion, would you be selling more books?

Think about where you are with your book sales and where you would like to be. If you are not satisfied—you know you could do more and gain more—and you would like some guidance through the rough book promotion road, consider signing up for my Book Promotion course.
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

I also offer the following:
Article Writing Course
Book Proposal Workshop
Self-Publishing Workshop
http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm