Writing and Publishing News from

First let me apologize to those of you who are accustomed to reading the daily blog first thing in the morning. I’m about 4 hours later posting it. Life does, sometimes, get in the way. Let me also report that I’ll be in San Diego for the next 4 days presenting 5 seminars on article-writing and platform-building at the San Diego State University Writers’ Conference. I hope some of you signed up. It’s one of the best around.

While, with any luck, I will have Internet access, I may not have the time to continue my commitment to writing a generous, informative blog each of the next 4 mornings. I will certainly try, however. Now to today’s theme: the sometimes overwhelming task of Book Promotion:

You might think you have all of your ducks in a row. Then one day, here comes a truckload of your books from the printer or the publisher. You jump around excitedly. You tear open the boxes and spend some time caressing your book. You show it to your co-workers, family, neighbors—whoever is close-by at the time. And then reality sets in.

You realize that you are no longer just a writer. You are also a published author with a book to sell. Now what? Where do you start? Do you get a distributor, head to the nearest bookstore, send out review copies, write articles, get on amazon.com, book speeches? The answer is, “Yes.” Do all of the above. But in what order? What comes first? What’s the most important task?

Here’s what I suggest—slooooowwww down. Take a deep breath. Do a few stretches and knee bends.

Now, go get your Author’s Workbook and review the “After Publication” section.
• Ship and deliver review copies, complimentary copies and prepublication orders.
• Send two copies to the Copyright Office.
• Send 3 copies to the Library of Congress.
• Fill out the paperwork for your State Board of Equalization application.
• Apply for a business license in your city/county.
• Start contacting wholesalers/distributors.
• Send announcements to your mailing list.

Next, take a look at the “Basic Book Promotion Plan” as well as “My Bold Book Promotion Plan” “My Book Promotion Plan Beyond the Bookstores” and “My Creative Book Promotion Plan” in The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your book and The Author’s Workbook and make a priority list of things you will do and when.

Try not to look at book marketing as a whole. It’s much too intimidating, confusing and overwhelming from that angle. Instead, write down all of the promotional activities you want to pursue. Then start prioritizing.

Maybe you’ll want to start by soliciting book reviews, visiting local bookstores, setting up a few book signings, arranging for a merchant account and submitting your book to Amazon.com. Set up a schedule including each of these tasks. For example, spend some time each day researching specific bookstores, review opportunities and merchant account services. Note those that you want to pursue. Set aside an hour or so one day to get your book on Amazon.com. It may go smoothly and take just a few minutes, or it may be a lengthy test of your patience.

Once you have these tasks underway, get bold. Begin the process of arranging speaking engagements, getting interviews and sending press releases to appropriate publications and newspapers.

Unless there is a book festival occurring nearby in the next few weeks, save this activity for a later time. You’ll also eventually want to submit articles/stories to appropriate sites and periodicals, establish a newsletter and/or blog and continue seeking other avenues through which you can promote your book.

Book promotion is ongoing and it can be intense. Don’t let the first few weeks/months as an author overwhelm you. Here’s my suggestion:
• Take it easy—relax and enjoy being an author.
• Keep things manageable
• Prioritize.
• Stay focused.
• Follow through.
• Watch for and jump on good book promotion opportunities that come along.

For additional help with your book promotion plan, sign up for my online, on-demand Book Promotion Workshop http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Writing a book and promoting a book are two very different activities. When you are faced with the foreign task of promoting your book, don’t get frenzied. Get organized.

First, let me direct you to Helen Ginger’s blog this morning. There, you will find my interview with Helen posted. Check it out. You may learn things about me that you didn’t know—and about the publishing industry. http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com/2008/01/patricia-fry-guest-author.html

Today marks the one month anniversary of my daily blog commitment. Within the last 30 days, you’ve had 30 opportunities to learn something about publishing, freelance writing and the industry as well as to glean many resources. There are a total of about 150 posts at my blog site now, and all of them offer something of value to authors and/or freelance writers. I plan to continue blogging daily and I hope that you visit often and that my offerings contribute to your publishing success.

I’ve been invited to present a workshop at the Wizards of Words Writers’ Conference in Phoenix, October 10-12. Once I have all of the particulars of the event, I’ll post it at my website.

This year, I’ll also be in San Diego, CA January 25-27; Atlanta, GA, March 29; Los Angeles Times Book Festival April 26-27; near Baltimore Maryland May 2-3; Ventura, CA July 11-13 and Phoenix, AZ October 10-12. There may be other venues and I will announce and post them as they become realities.

I’ll be in Nashville the week of March 30 through April 6 and am looking for an opportunity to conduct a workshop or two at a local bookstore, library or for a writers’ group, for example. If any of you have suggestions, let me know. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

What are you doing to promote your book this month? It’s a good time to start planning speeches, lectures, workshops, seminars locally and outside of your region. Do a Google search to locate opportunities. Maybe your book is on inventing and inventions. Google to see if you can find an invention convention or invention clubs near you. Contact the organizers/leaders and offer to come and speak. If your book is a memoir and you write about your life spent in several communities, contact bookstores, libraries and even historical societies in those communities and offer to come and speak. For a book of fiction, connect with civic organization leaders. They are always seeking interesting speakers for club meetings. If your novel is set around a golfing theme, contact golf clubs and organizations about speaking at their various events. Focus on cities where major golf tournaments are being played—arrange to do book signings at local bookstores and be sure to get lots of press before the signing.

If you have a book to promote and you’re not getting out and talking about it, you’re missing some great opportunities to make sales. If you’re still looking for your book promotions niche, consider signing up for my newest on-demand online course, Book Promotion. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Today’s theme is the one-sentence challenge and the 30-second commercial.

But first—this just in:
If you’re considering the fee-based POD “self-publishing” route, I suggest you read Angela Hoy’s recent response to a question on this topic. http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/004472_01162008.html

It has to do with AuthorHouse and their ability/willingness to help you market your book. This will be an eye opener for many of you—and one that could save you thousands of dollars.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program:
I promised you some tips for pitching your project to publishers, customers, booksellers, etc. I recommend two things—create a 30-second commercial and enter the one-sentence challenge.

It’s not easy to describe your book in one or two sentences, but I suggest that you figure out how to do so even before you start writing it. Why? Here are 4 good reasons:
• It will help you to focus on the scope of your book while writing it.
• It will become the theme for writing your synopsis.
• It may help you to decide upon a title and/or subtitle.
• It will be extremely useful in pitching and promoting your book.

If you can’t describe your project in one or two sentences, you probably don’t have a handle on the topic/theme of your book. Here are some examples:

Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book. A collection of low and no cost ideas for promoting your traditionally published or self-published book. (By Patricia Fry, Matilija Press.)

Fatherhood and Fathering, The Ultimate Guide for Today’s Dads. This book explores fatherlessness in America and its affect on our youth. It is also a guide for all fathers who want to be the best dads they can be. (Patricia Fry’s unpublished manuscript)

A Year of Sundays is the true story of my year-long travels through Europe with my blind wife and our cat. (By Edward D. Webster, VanderWyke and Burnham Publishers)

Ma Duncan, a true crime featuring an uncommonly evil woman whose incestuous relationship with her son impelled her to have her daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild killed. (By James Barrett, Pentland Press)

The 30 second commercial is little different animal than the brief, succinct descriptive sentence. This is a more detailed description of your book—a canned speech that you can use when meeting with a publisher, chatting with someone at a class reunion or business setting or when talking to potential customers at book festivals.

Here’s how I might word my 30 second pitch for my fatherhood book, “This book explores the history of fatherhood in America and chronicles how the different styles of fathering and fatherlessness are affecting our children today. This is a guide for loving, involved fathers and it’s a wake-up call for estranged dropout dads. This book is designed to create a lifeline to the millions of children who are suffering for the sins and the short comings of their dads.”

Your assignment this week is to write a one-sentence description of your book and a 30-second commercial whether your book is in the planning process or already published. Contact me for assistance, if you like PLFry620@yahoo.com

I promised you some tips and techniques for pitching your project to publishers, booksellers, potential customers, etc. And I will get to that—perhaps tomorrow. This morning, however, I am quite joyfully distracted by something I discovered yesterday.

I’ve suggested that you do an Internet search using your own name occasionally to see what sort of publicity you’re getting and where. If you’ve been doing any self- (or book) promotion at all, you may be surprised at what comes up.

Well, yesterday, I decided to see what I could find out about blogs and their ratings. Of course, I was interested in my blog’s ratings amidst other writing/publishing blogs. During the search, I discovered my name in places I didn’t expect. Here’s what I found in a matter of only 20 minutes or so:

1: Novelist Dwan Abrams published my article, “The Missing Link in Publishing” last year at her blog site. She said that the editor of Urban Christian sent it to her.

2: Loree Griffin Burns used her blog site to publicly thank me for helping her get her book published. She said it was what she learned in my online book proposal course that made the difference. Her book, Tracking Trash was picked up by Houghton Mifflin, children’s division. Learn more about my online, on-demand courses at http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

3: The host of a blog site related to community spirit had taken my article on peaceful neighborhoods, presumably, from my website and reprinted it.

4: Ruth Pealer mentions meeting me at the Central Coast Writers’ Conference last year.

5: Angela, over at Wow! Women on Writing, reproduced one of my articles in their blog.

6: Christy Lawler reviewed my book The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book in her blog.

7: Angela Booth posted quotes from my blog on her blog.

8: One blogger posted my response to an email question on her blog.

9: Someone I don’t know recommends my blog on his blog site.

10: One of my quotes from an article on relationships was posted at a bridal blog site.

11: ZDocs blog recommends my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book as an excellent resource for authors. Order it TODAY at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

12: I found my article on meditation walking posted at another blog site.

13: Lillie Ammann mentions one of my articles at her blog site.

I’d let you in on the secret of how I found pages and pages of links to blog sites containing my name, but I’m afraid it is still a secret. I don’t remember how I found it. And this morning, without thinking, I deleted all of my cookies and accumulated web files. I had such a good time doing this research, though, that I will attempt to locate the sites again. This time, I’ll make notes so I can share them with all of you.

In the meantime, keep putting your name and your book title out there through articles/stories in magazines, ezines, newsletters and websites; published interviews; comments at other blog sites and websites and so forth. Until I get a satisfactory comments option for this site, you can contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com

If you can’t find your name listed dozens of times on the web, you aren’t getting out enough.

It’s finally posted at my website—my new 6-week Book Promotion Course. Check it out at http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

You pay just $200 for the 6-week course and you can sign up for the 6 weeks that suit you best. Start now or start a month from now. (The course must run consecutively—not skipping weeks.)

For information about my other online courses, go to http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm Click on “How does an online class work” to find out—well, how an online class works.

Also, there’s been another appearance added to my calendar. Stay tuned in to my speaking and workshop schedule at http://www.matilijapress.com/activities.htm

Have you been to my website, lately? I have a lot there for hopeful and struggling authors as well as the seasoned author. New and veteran freelance writers can also pick up some ideas, tips and resources through the numerous articles and gigantic resource list. Of course, you can attend my presentations, read my books, enroll in my courses, sign up for an editorial consultation or hire me to edit your work. I offer a one-stop shop for the first-time, confused or overwhelmed author or freelance writer. If I can’t assist you with your particular writing or publishing difficulty, I can point you in the right direction.

Because you are accustomed to receiving instant gratification from my daily blog entries in the form of news you can use, concepts you need to know, tips and/or resources, I leave you with this:

Is your book conducive to book discussion groups—book clubs—reading groups? Do you know how a book club or reading group works? This is where a group of people (usually women) gather once a month (or week) to discuss a book they’ve all read. They agree ahead of time what book to read next. Some groups make a list of 12 books at the beginning of the year. They choose books that are interesting, in the news, with unusual plots/twists, that have controversial themes, that are recommended by other book clubs, etc. Some reading groups have themes: science fiction, thriller or chic lit, for example.

If you think your book would be of interest to book discussion groups, try breaking in locally or contact someone you know who belongs to a real time or online reading club. See if they will introduce your book to their group.

Locate book clubs and groups by doing a Google search. Here are a couple of sites that might help you get started with your search. Book Browse at http://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs Book-Clubs-Resources.com at http://www.book-clubs/resource.com

Questions? Contact me at plfry620@yahoo.com

I had the privilege of being interviewed this morning by Helen Ginger at http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com She said that my interview will appear on January 17, 2008, so watch for it.

When was the last time you participated in an interview? It’s a great way to get exposure for yourself and your book. There are interview opportunities in newspaper columns, at websites, in newsletters and magazines, on radio/TV, in person and now in blogs.

Here are some of the most common questions that come up about those opportunities and the process of promotional interviews along with my responses:

Q: How do I get interviewed?
A: You might be invited or you might have to solicit an invitation. If you are promoting quite heavily, you will be noticed and editors, site owners and bloggers will invite you to participate in an interview. It’s more likely, however, that you will seek out those who do interviews with authors in your genre or subject.

Do an online search for interviews with authors and others in your category of interest or genre. And check out sites and publications related to your topic/genre to see if they conduct interviews. Contact those interviewers and suggest that they interview you.

When you see (or hear) an interview in a blog you follow, a publication you read or a station you listen to, contact the interviewer with information about yourself.

Q: What can I say that will make them want to interview me?
A: Come across as professional, personable and confident in your topic/genre. Provide pertinent information about yourself, offer evidence of your expertise and suggest a slant or focus that might be a bit unusual and absolutely fascinating to their readers. For example, maybe you are the author of a murder mystery and your personal history includes the fact that you once sat on a jury for a major murder trial. Perhaps your book features dog tales and you are a retired veterinarian or a former dog sled competitor.

Q: How do I handle my nerves during an interview?
A: Many interviews, these days, are done via email—at your leisure—privately, so you can edit as you go. These are my favorite kind. However, there is much to be said for live interviews, as well. If something isn’t immediately understood, it is pointed out and you can clarify. Just remember that your interviewer and your audience probably don’t know as much about the topic as you do. Keep your level of confidence UP so you come across as the expert you are. Of course, avoid talking down to your audience. I often tell people, “Pretend you are having a one-on-one conversation with a friend.”

Q: What advice can you offer to someone who has never done an interview before?
A: Stay focused on your topic and your audience. What do they want to know about you, your book, the subject? Typically, you will share your story—just the highlights, please; talk a little about your book—think ahead of time about what makes your project interesting or unusual; offer your audience some benefit of your knowledge of experience. And be sure to lead interested audience members back to you for more. Tell them where to purchase your book, where they can get more information about your subject (hopefully, you have a blog and/or material and resources at your website) and how you can help them to accomplish what you have—write a book, become an expert in your field, etc.

If you aspire to be a published author, you’d better also prepare to be interviewed numerous times by a variety of interviewers asking you some common and some off-the-wall questions. Learn more about the interview process and almost everything else you want/need to know about publishing and book promotion in The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html I also have some articles posted at my site that reference the interview process: http://www.matilijapress.com/articles.htm#promotion