Writing and Publishing News from

Do you ever trade books with other authors? I enjoy trading for books I’m interested in and recently I traded my newest book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats with Mary Shafer who edited a book called, Almost Perfect, Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them. It’s a collection of heart-warming stories of handicapped cats, dogs and even a rat—all of them finding love in the most unexpected places. http://www.wordforgebooks.com

I also received a book to review yesterday. Did you know that I review books related to writing and publishing for SPAWNews? This one is called, Publishize, How to Quickly and Affordably Self-Publish a Book That Promotes Your Expertise by Susan C. Daffron. One thing she points out in her book—something that I think is a good reminder to all of us—book promotion is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time event. And it may require some experimenting to find what works.

Folks, when you find something that works—when one of your promotional activities is proving to sell book—keep it up. When you attempt something new and it doesn’t seem to be working, don’t stop too soon. Sometimes it takes a while for your marketing attempts to attract sales.

That’s why most professionals suggest that you promote in several directions and carefully monitor the results. But, especially in this economic climate, have patience. Keep putting yourself out there through your blog, magazine articles/short stories, by leaving comments and getting interviewed at other blog sites, through public speaking and so forth. Sales may be a bit sluggish despite your efforts, but they will stop altogether if you give up.

Authors are often encouraged to send press releases on behalf of their books. I agree that this can be a worthwhile activity. But keep in mind that your press release is competing with many other press releases for a limited amount of space in the newspaper, newsletter or magazine. In order to get noticed, you must present a topic, focus or story that is actually newsworthy, that is interesting and, perhaps, current. It should also be relevant or pertinent to the particular publication or the season, for example. Take advantage of world or local events or occurrences, when sending out your news releases.

For example, you may have been able to garner publicity for your book on safe flying or your airline-focused novel in newspapers worldwide during the week after that airliner crash-landed so successfully in the Hudson.

Newscasters are probably getting tired of reporting on the hard winter this year. They might welcome a creative way to present the news by quoting some passages from your book on global warming or your novel featuring the worst winter ever.

I recommend promoting for the season and the holiday. What’s going on in February? What special dates or celebrations could you connect your book to during this month? Well, there’s Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Flag Day. Oh yes, and Ash Wednesday.

But did you know that this month is also National Cat Health Month, Potato Lover’s Month, Black History Month, National Bird Feeding Month, Chocolate Lover’s Month, Pet Dental Month, National Crime Prevention Month, National Patient Recognition Month. This month we also have a week labeled, Pay Your Bills Week.

Now, can’t you just see some possibilities there for using some of these prompts to promote your book nationally or internationally?

Start now preparing your promotional press releases for March and April. Here are some sites to help you choose the appropriate prompts: http://www.holidaysmart.com and http://www.earthcalendar.net

Have fun. I’d love to have you report back to me about some of the promotional ideas these prompts generated. Just leave your comment at this blogsite.

News Flash: My article on how to target your market appears in the February edition of the IBPA (formerly PMA) Independent. Check it out!

In the meantime, for more book promotion ideas, order The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book or Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com

Are you promoting a book? Are your efforts being rewarded? When is the last time you did an Internet search to check on the whereabouts of your book promo? Do you subscribe to Google Alerts? If you do and if you use keywords related to the title of your book, you will be alerted every time the title appears anywhere on the Internet. But it isn’t going to show up if you aren’t promoting it.

Yes, it is time-consuming and it can be all-consuming to spread the word about your book. Just consider it a job that’s necessary if you want your book to actually sell and be read. Isn’t that your goal? And you are the only one who can make that happen. Sure, there are certainly others out there to help you—folks who will review your book, interview you at their blog sites, post or publish your article or comments, for example. But you have to seek them out, contact them, make the suggestion and, often, follow-up and follow through.

Book reviewers are seeking good books to review. Bloggers want copy for their sites. Editors need articles and stories. They are all waiting for you to provide them with what they can use.

As you know, I’ve been promoting my latest book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. And the book is getting quite a bit of attention in blogs, newsletters and at websites related to cats and writing. For those who are new to this blog, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats is my new book of mostly true cat stories. Check out Gerald Schiffhorst’s blog dated Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at http://mindfulwriting.blogspot.com

There’s a post at Writers and Editors website in the member announcement area:
http://www.writers-editors.com/Need_a_writer_/Member_News/member_news.htm

Barbara Florio Graham over at Simon Teakettle, has included Catscapades on her recommended cat reading page
http://www.simonteakettle.com/rescats.htm

As I already mentioned in previous blogs, the Cat Lady in Seattle reviewed the book as did the folks at All Cute Cats. And I’ve posted announcements at the ASPCA pet blot, Thoughts Fur Paws, The Cat Site, The Cat Coach, Pet Side, Amazing Felines, Cat Lovers Only and other places. In fact, word of Catscapades is in places on the web that I’ve never heard of. This is what happens when you start promoting a book in earnest. It’s like a small bud that, once it is exposed to the elements, it blossoms into a large, beautiful flower. And that flower spews seeds everywhere. It’s true.

And I can also tell you that that flower is a bit sluggish these days. It isn’t opening as quickly and completely in this economic climate. It’s taking a lot more energy and time, research and follow-up, and overall creativity to appropriately promote a book. Some authors are giving up—throwing in the towel. Others have been side-tracked by the extra demands of their day jobs. But many of us are still out there pushing ourselves to the limits as we attempt to locate those members of our target audiences who truly desire and need the books we so lovingly offer.

Any essence of glamour that remained in this profession, I believe, is gone. The numbers have helped to dim the bright lights of honor as an author. Authorship is no longer a rare privilege. In America, we mass produce authors and then throw them to the wolves. When these carnivores are finished with them, the sharks move in. And most authors today fail. The last figure I found said that 76% of authors sell fewer than 100 books in a year.

Do you know what a sign spinner is? This is someone who stands on a corner with a, usually, large sign, which he waves, tips, bounces and spins in an attempt to attract attention for his company. Sometimes, you’ll see sign spinners on every corner. Some are just standing there moving the sign from side to side while others are dancing and jumping around as they twirl the sign in the air. Who is going to get the most attention? Certainly, the most active sign spinner. And this is the way of book promotion. Those of us who are most active in locating outlets and other opportunities for our books, who continually come up with new ideas for promoting them, who keep studying, researching and pushing, will experience greater success.

So what are you going to do this week to promote your book? I’d like to know.

If you need help, sign up today for my book promotion course.
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

My book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book includes 3 chapters on book promotion. Order it today at:
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and stay on top of your book promotion game.
http://www.spawn.org
I write the SPAWN Market Update for the member area of the SPAWN website and I always focus heavily on book promotion opportunities and resources.

And for fun and smiles—curl up with a copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. Order the print (comb-bound) copy or the ebook.
http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

Do you seek opportunities to go out and read passages from your book to audiences at writers’ group meetings, conferences, book festivals, in classrooms, etc? Do you sell many books this way? If not, the problem may not be with your book, but with your way of presenting.

The fact is that few people can actually entertain others by reading to them. Unless you have been trained in reading out loud, you probably come across sounding like a 6th grader reading his book report. I’ve had the displeasure of hearing quite a few authors read passages from their books and most of them are plain awful. They look down at their books, mumble and stumble over words and speak in boring monotone. Even if you can understand the words being read, there is no life to them. They come across simply as words without meaning.

Folks, if you want to give readings to draw attention to your book, make sure you do it well. Reading in public is more than simply verbalizing the words on the page so they can be heard. In order for them to mean anything to the audience, they must be presented with the same emotion with which you wrote them.

Do you remember the emotional tugs and bursts you felt while writing various passages in your book? Even in a self-help or instructional book, you might feel a little hot under the collar while writing about the loose laws that don’t quite protect children in some child abuse cases or the number of animals who are abandoned every year by irresponsible people. Try to recapture those emotion when doing a reading.

Emphasize points with your voice. Here’s where vocal variety comes in handy. Sure, you’re going to use a more exaggerated vocal variety when reading to children or when sharing a passage that is rather exciting, for example. But you can also use variety in your tone and way of presenting important points in a nonfiction book and in suspenseful or mysterious portions in your book of fiction.

Enunciate! Oh my gosh, where do we get off thinking that if we mumble through a reading as if we have a mouthful of glue that anyone will get anything out of it? They won’t. Think about why you are in front of that audience. What is your ultimate goal? Selling books? Who’s going to buy a book that they still know nothing about even after the reading? No one.

How can you create the awareness and the habit of effective public reading? Here are my suggestions:

• Join a storytellers group. You will learn all sorts of techniques designed to discover your best and strongest voice and using it to your advantage.
• Join a local Toastmasters Club and work through the first manual of 10 speeches. You will learn much about vocal variety, storytelling, reading out loud, using gestures, speaking clearly and more.
• Practice reading to a child. And make it a point to exaggerate, exaggerate, exaggerate your voice and expressions. You probably won’t read to an adult audience with quite the exuberance that you will to a child, but at least this experience will help to loosen you up a bit.
• Consider talking about your book rather than reading it. Even if you make this choice, I would still advise that you follow the steps above. If you are not accustomed to speaking in public, you will probably need help with your way of presenting—making eye contact, speaking out, using vocal variety, speaking clearly and so forth. I’ve noticed many times over that the author who talks about his book—tells the story rather than reading the story—generally does a much better job with his or her presentation than the one who tries to read from his or her book.

For additional articles on public speaking as well as writing, publishing and book promotion, be sure to visit my website: http://www.matilijapress.com/articles.htm

My book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book also includes public speaking help. Check it out at my online bookstore. And be sure to take a look at my latest book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats.
http://www.matilijapress.com

As an author with a book to promote, how do you know which of your promotional efforts are working? If you’re like many authors, you are putting yourself out there in numbers of ways. You’re speaking in public, sending press releases, writing articles for publications, keeping up a blog, participating in other blogs and have an interactive website, for example. So which of these activities result in book sales? It’s important to know so you can do more of what is working.

Paid advertisements and mass mailings generally have built-in monitoring systems. You simply add letters or numbers to your address or post a code somewhere in the ad or circular. When you receive an order by mail, you can tell which effort generated this sale. Likewise, when a customer calls your 800 ordering number, you can ask for the promotional code.

You can also include a “How did you hear about us,” question on your online order form. We do this with the SPAWN membership application. That way we know if the new member was referred by an individual or another organization, if they learned about SPAWN through some of our promotional efforts, saw our booth at one of the book festivals we attend or found us through a random internet search.

Sometimes I get flurries of book sales and I can usually attribute this activity to an article that just appeared somewhere. Sales were up considerably after my article on publishing appeared in The Toastmaster Magazine over the holidays. Of course, if I have two or three pieces published during the same month, I’m not sure which one inspired the book orders, unless I ask. And sometimes I do.

We can also check our web traffic to get an idea of which aspects of our website and which of our books attract the most interest. Ask your webmaster about tracking your web traffic and then monitor it.

When book sales slow down, what are you going to do? Get out there and do more of the kind of promotion that works for your book. If you’ve been sending press releases to random newspapers and see no measurable results, perhaps you need a different approach. Try targeting appropriate newspaper columnists, instead. Maybe your novel features vintage automobiles. Contact the editors of the many car-related columns across the nation for a possible interview or book review. If your book focuses on how to stage your home to sell, contact real estate column editors. Of course, there are also gardening, senior, student, health, pet, music, hobby and sundry other types of columns in newspapers throughout the U.S. and beyond. Here are some links where you can do your own research:

http://www.newspapers.com
http://www.newspapers.com
http://www.onlinenewspapers.com
http://www.thepaperboy.com

News Bite
I’ve been recommending the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts site for quite some time to hopeful authors who have questions related to copyright law or permissions issues. Well, one hopeful author this week contacted me to say that the free service is only available to people who live in Missouri or South Western Illinois. I don’t know if this is something new or if it has been this way all along. When I first checked them out, I did not notice this policy. And, over all of these years, this is the first person to report back to me. And I thank him for the information because it is news I can use.

And in turn, I went on a research rampage and found these sites for those of you with copyright or permissions questions.

“Free Advice” offers Law and Legal Advice for free and sometimes a nominal fee: http://www.freeadvice.com

“Just Answers” also provides legal advice and you set the price. Check this site out at: http://www.justanswers.com

For advice on every aspect of publishing, no matter your publishing choices, pay $19.95 for my 312-page book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. When you consider that this book responds to hundreds of questions and offers countless bits of information and resources, you’re getting this advice practically free.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

And just for fun, check out my brand new book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

Do you get testimonials for your book? What is a testimonial? It’s a positive comment from readers—a tribute to your book—a testament to the story or the quality and usefulness of the material in your book. When you get such compliments or accolades, what do you do with them? I mean, after you jump up and down, throw your arms up in the air and shout, “YES!”, how do you use the praise?

Here’s what I do: First, I thank the reader profusely and ask if I can publish his or her quote. Most are quite pleased to be acknowledged in this way. Some even fancy up the quote—add to it. Then I publish it at my website and in my blog. I might use it in promo material. I publish it in the next edition of that particular book—sometimes on the back cover.

What I don’t do is to ignore the promotional opportunity. In fact, I’d like to share with you two great comments I received over the weekend. Kevin Donnellon, an author in Chicago wrote this about my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and the accompanying workbook, “Your book is a godsend. I love its systemic, strategic approach (obviously built on great experience and expertise.) And I look forward to reading and following your book and workbook systems to accomplish my goals.”

Ruth Miller is one of a very few people who has a copy of my brand new book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. I am still waiting for my webmaster to post it at my site. Ruth says, “I’ve been meaning to let you know how much I’m enjoying the book. You have such a wonderful relationship with your cats. I love the way you show how they teach you. I can see this as a coffee table book with fun photos throughout.”

Actually, I hope to expand this book to include more photos sometime this year.

I also have a couple of comments from my mother about the cat book, but she doesn’t like the limelight like I do and would rather not be quoted. I can tell you that she enjoyed the book and is eager to share it with grandkids who also love cats. Yup, an admiration for cats runs in the family.

When is the last time you received a testimonial with regard to one of your books? What did you do with it? Did you just bask in the glory of the comments and then promptly forget about them? Or did you use the compliments to your advantage—share them with your potential readers in hopes of selling more books based on customer satisfaction?

If you haven’t received a testimonial in a while, why not ask for some? Sure! Just get out your customer list. (You do keep track of your customers, don’t you?) Contact them with some sort of news, information, a resource—something of value to them. In your email or letter, mention the current success of your book. Say that sales are up or your book was just reviewed by the editor of some prestigious publication or something fascinating like that. Mention that you have received many accolades, and even insert a few positive comments. And then ask the customer for a comment you can use in your promotional efforts.

You might get more response if you provide a simple questionnaire. Ask, for example,

• Did you read the book?
• Did you find it useful/entertaining?
• How would you describe the book?
• Would you (or do you) recommend the book?
• What would you (do you) tell others about this book?

Ask permission to use the quotes you like if you wish to use the customer’s name.

Think about it, what causes you to see a movie or read a book or try a certain restaurant? For most of us it is word of mouth. If someone recommends it, it must be worth trying.

For those of you with published books, how about spending this week focusing on getting testimonials. Let me know how it goes. PLFry20@yahoo.com.

This is the 3rd and last segment of the sample class (lesson #2) from my online Book Promotion Course. If you’ve just “tuned in,” read the December 2nd and 3rd blog entries to get the entire lecture.

Classes consist of email lectures once a week for a 6 or 8 week period and, each week, there’s an assignment. This sampling represents just one class from just one of the 4 courses we offer through Matilija Press. All courses are taught by me, Patricia Fry.

The courses include, Book Promotion Course, Article-Writing Course, Book Proposal Workshop and Self-Publishing Workshop.

“Graduates” from the Book Promotion Course will have a larger arsenal of book promotion ideas, tools and skills and a greater understanding of the book promotion process and what is expected of them if tthey hope to succeed as an author.

Those taking the Article-Writing Course will learn how to create a business from article writing or simply use this skill and knowledge to promote their book.

After following the lesson plans throughout the Book Proposal Workshop, hopeful authors will have a complete book proposal to start showing around to agents and publishers.

Those who take the appropriate steps in the Self-Publishing Course seriously, will be prepared to start their own publishing company and produce a book by the end of the course.

Learn more about all of the courses offered through Matilija Press by visiting http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm Questions? Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Here is the last part of the sample Book Promotion Class (Class #2).

6: Identify and approach appropriate wholesalers/distributors. Not all of you are free to work with wholesalers and distributors because you are in a publishing agreement. Those of you who have self-published (established your own publishing company) can contact the two major wholesalers, Ingram and Baker and Taylor and appropriate distributors for assistance in distributing your book. But a wholesaler or distributor does little good for you if you are not out there promoting your book yourself.

If you have signed with a traditional publisher, he will arrange for distribution. If you have gone with a POD self-publishing company (you paid to have your book produced), hopefully, they have made some sort of distribution arrangement for your book.

Understanding Wholesalers and Distributors
A wholesaler makes your book available to retail stores and libraries. There are two major wholesalers of books in the US; Baker and Taylor, and Ingram and about a dozen additional wholesalers that specialize. To locate a wholesaler or distributor that specializes in your topic or genre, do an internet search using keywords: “wholesaler” (or distributor) and your genre or topic.

Distributors have sales reps out there showing your book around to booksellers. Most distributors either specialize in certain topics or genres or they are regional—they distribute books just in specific areas of the U.S.

Many authors are led to believe that a distributor is the answer to all of their promotional prayers. In today’s fiercely competitive publishing climate, a connection to a good distributor is definitely a plus, but it is only a piece of the vast promotional puzzle.

If you want to get your book into bookstores and/or other retail stores, choose one or more distributors related to the subject or genre of your book. Then create a demand for your book and the distributors can more easily place it in bookstores and libraries.

A distributor wants to know your promotional plans. They like authors with more than one book in the pipeline. The reasons why they will reject your book are similar to the reasons a bookstore manager might give—it has the wrong binding, you have no promotional plan or the subject matter is inappropriate.

To locate distributors, go to http://www.pma-online.org/distribute.cfm (This is the Independent Book Publishers Association free online directory of distributors and wholesalers). You’ll also find distributors listed at http://www.bookmarket.com/distributors.htm and http://www.parapublishing.com. I also list distributors and wholesalers and their contact information in my book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.” http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Assignment:

1. Create or update your mailing list. (I do not need to see this, but I’d love a report of the number of names on your list.)
2. Start designing or redesigning your website following the suggestions in this lecture. (Send me your website address, if you’d like for me to see it.)
3. Begin establishing a list of review opportunities. (I would like to see this list.)
4. Research wholesalers and distributors (where appropriate). Those of you who are locked into publishing contracts with publishing companies may not be at liberty to deal with wholesalers and distributors on your own. Discuss the possibilities with your publishing house representative. (Those of you with books not yet published, it is too early to worry about doing this.)