Writing and Publishing News from

May 29, 2010

Authors, Choose Your Book Style Carefully

Filed under: Publishing,Writing — Patricia @ 5:24 am

Authors are writers and writers are creative beings. Thus, authors sometimes take extreme liberties in designing the books they write.

Think about the various styles you’ve encountered in books—narrative, character-driven, illustrated, instructional, interactive, handwritten, as-told-to, first person and collaborations/anthologies. There are stories told through poetry, vignettes, photographs, journals, cartoons/graphics and recipes. There are workbooks, picture books, how-to books, books with texture, 3-D books, scratch and sniff pages in books and oh, so many others. How about a book where the story is told from the end to the beginning? There are books for children of all ages, young adults, young women, seniors, grandparents, parents, men, alcoholics, diabetics, over-weight people, pet owners, fitness addicts and so forth.

And I can assure you that no matter what writing or book style you have in mind, there are others out there like it.

I’ve been told by authors, “There is nothing out there like this book.” And I’ve gone on line and found something not just close to it, but exactly like it—a memoir told using German recipes, for example.

I always, always recommend to my clients and students that, before they complete their wonderful books, whether it is unique in style or not, they must read other books like it. I suggest that they study these books inside out, from cover to cover and including the cover, before finalizing their own projects.

If you write young adult novels, you must become familiar with that genre. If you want to write a how-to or self-help book, please read several on your topic and other topics to discover what works and what doesn’t—what aspects you like and which ones you don’t. While you’re at it, consult with your friends/colleagues as to the features and elements they prefer in a book like this. And find out which books are selling. While Amazon isn’t the last word in book sales, you can get an idea of its popularity by checking its Amazon ranking.

Before you get attached to a unique, ultra-creative way of presenting your story or message, please do some research. Make sure your idea isn’t so far out that it will interfere with book sales. Maybe you see great promise for a book with a huge, colorful wire binding. Yes, it might look really cool, but without a spine, bookstores might not stock your book. Librarians will reject it. It may be awkward to ship. I once had a recipe book bound with a spiral, but it also had a wrap around spine. The design was almost perfect, except for one thing: it didn’t ship well. The spine was a little flimsy—there was no support other than the wire spiral—and it was easily crushed when shipped. I learned how to pack the books for successful shipping. But, when a bookstore or a distributor returned books, most of them had crushed spines—they were damaged goods.

So, my message today is, you are not an island. You are unique—yes you are—but your book project may not be. Check to see what else is out there like your book and discover what actually works and what doesn’t. If your book idea is unique—there is nothing else out there like it—you need to reassess whether or not this is actually a good idea. Why hasn’t this been done before? Maybe there is a good and valid reason.

Tip: If you go to the bookstore in search of a book like yours and you can’t find anything like it, define the area where your book would be stocked and study books on those shelves. If you’re not sure where your book would be, ask at the information desk where you would find a book on growing exotic plants in window boxes, cooking romantically for two, Mexican family traditions or grooming tools for various types of cat fur. There may not be a book exactly like yours in the bookstore, but the people at the information desk can tell you where that book would be stocked. That’s where you go to study other books in your topic/genre.

For more about researching your competition, defining your genre, choosing a style for your book and more, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

May 28, 2010

Author Lies on the Internet

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 4:50 am

You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet. And the more well-known you become in your field, the more “lies” (or shall we say “inaccuracies”) you will discover about yourself.

One way to help avoid having lies spread about you is to keep your website current. Update your “about us” page whenever you add a book, service or something else of significance has occurred with regard to your business. Refresh your “appearances” page frequently. And continually add testimonials.

Keep your signature current. When something changes, change your signature. I’m working on a new website—the Patricia Fry website. As soon as it is up and running, I will add it to the “signature” that automatically follows my emails. A signature, by the way, is that bit of promo that you can add automatically to your emails.

What do you include in a signature? Here’s mine:

Patricia Fry, freelance writer, author and editorial consultant.
www.matilijapress.com
Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network)
www.spawn.org

Patricia is the author of 31 books including,
The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
The Author’s Repair Kit (e-book)
The Successful Author’s Handbook (e-book)
and her newest book, Catscapades, True Cat Tales
www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

Visit my informative writing/publishing Blog often:
www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog

I do what I suggest and keep things up to date. But sometimes people just don’t pay attention. They don’t bother to check on the status of a product or an individual even though they may not have had contact with that person for over 5 years. Here’s a recent example of that:

Just this morning, Google Alerts brought to my attention that someone has recommended one of my writing/publishing books in her blog. Yup, she posted The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book as her top recommendation for authors. And she posted the cover image. But, alas, this is the first edition of the book which I produced way back in 2005 and it is out of print! Not only that, she used an amazon.com link for ordering this book and the price was listed as $37.95. (It was originally $19.95.)

Did I get mad? No, I am actually glad for the publicity and the promotional opportunity.

I commented at her blog, letting her (and her readers) know that I revised and reprinted that book in 2007 and the current version is available for $19.95 at Amazon and my own website. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Do you sometimes find erroneous facts, information or insinuations about yourself? Oh my gosh, the more people who write and talk about you, the more things they get wrong. If you interview people, keep in mind that businesses grow, individuals develop their products and services over time. In other words, things change. Always, always check personally with the subject of your interview or recommendation before writing about them or preparing a speech introduction, for example. Look at their website. Read the “About Us.” But don’t rely completely on this as not everyone keeps this very important aspect of their promotional program up. And this is unfortunate.

Discount on Online Patricia Fry’s Courses
Remember, I am offering a 20% discount on all of my online courses throughout the month of June. It’s okay to sign up now. Here’s how it works—sign up, pay full price using your credit card and I will reimburse you. Or send a check for the fee (less the 20%). See the May 24, 2010 entry for more details. The courses available include Book Promotion Workshop, Self-Editing Course, Self-Publishing Workshop, Memoir-Writing Course, Article-Writing Course, Book Proposal Workshop. Contact me with questions: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

May 27, 2010

Straighten Your Workspace and Unclutter Your Mind

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 8:14 am

It really, really works. Have you tried it? Simply put stacks of books back on the shelf, file piles of receipts and research notes and organize the other scattered papers, sticky notes, etc. in neat stacks and just see how much better you feel. Your cluttered mind will clear. Your writers block may even be cured. And your cat will have a place to sit and look out the window—although my cats seem to prefer lying on an open book or a messy pile of paperwork—especially if that’s what I’m trying to work on at the moment. Sigh!

This morning, I did some de-cluttering of my desk. I also made room in my office storage closet for two cartons of books I hadn’t put away yet and a new shipment of bubble mailers. Now the cats even have room to romp and play in my office. Ahhhh, it’s like a breath of fresh air. But then I like order and elbow room.

What physical or environmental conditions are most conducive to your best work? Are you like me—you prefer open spaces and order? And, like me, do you sometimes find yourself buried in paperwork, research material and important notes stuck here and there? What does that do to your productivity? For me, if it’s coupled with a list of details I need to handle, I can change from an organized thinker to a rather scattered, less efficient individual.

Maybe you do your best work when you are surrounded by clutter. Why do you think this is? Or do your surroundings simply not matter to you? If you feel that your surroundings don’t matter to you, let me ask if you are also oblivious to aesthetics in buildings, stores, hotels, homes, etc. I mean, can you truly enter a lovely home, hotel lobby or beautiful poolside patio that is impeccably organized and well-decorated with exquisite lighting features and soft music in the background and not feel the ambiance? Heck, I’m affected by the much nicer atmosphere in our newly remodeled and decorated grocery store in our neighborhood. Most people react in some way to their environments—by buying more fresh vegetables because they look so good in the lighting, relaxing in certain surroundings and even getting caught up in the excitement when entering a colorfully, creatively decorated hall.

Some people actually believe that a messy desk indicates a busy worker. But, for the home-worker/writer, it isn’t about what other people think. It’s about creating and maintaining the area so that you feel like working—so that you can be creative.

Have you been a bit lax with your latest writing project? Maybe you aren’t suffering from burnout. Maybe you just haven’t created the best working environment for yourself, yet. Take a look around you. Make some changes and then report back to me at this blog as to the results.

May 26, 2010

The Joy of Writing

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 4:11 am

What does writing mean to you? What do you feel like when you are writing?

Most hobby writers or writing enthusiasts happily write what they want. They write for pleasure when they have the opportunity or when they feel inspired. Writing is a relaxing process for them. They do it to de-stress—as a form of meditation. Some use writing as therapy—to work through an emotional glitch, perhaps. I remember those carefree writing days.

I carried a pen and pad with me everywhere and pulled them out at the slightest inspiration. I remember writing about the sad life of a majestic elk in Yellowstone Park after watching a family taunt it. I once pulled out my pen to capture my thoughts when I saw a silver jet cut through the blue Nevada sky one summer day. And I have fond memories of the hours I spent creating personalized poems for greeting cards to give family members on special occasions. But things have changed.

Maybe you can relate. Once you become a working writer—you write for publication—everything changes. Writing is no longer relaxing; it is even sometimes stressful because you’re usually attempting to write to someone else’s specifications. There are deadlines to contend with. There’s pressure to come up with the right story, article or slant for the right editor at the right time. And you live with the constant fear of rejection.

You no longer write for yourself. You don’t write from the heart. Now, your head is involved. You must try to follow guidelines and please others. There are editors criticizing your work, asking for rewrites and putting you on strict deadlines. You get to write a lot! Writing has become your life. But where has the joy gone?

Is this pretty much your story? Or are you still dreaming of becoming a freelance writer or published author? Do you still experience the joy in writing?

I read this morning about a young man who has a passion for math. That’s a hard one for me to wrap my brain around. How can anyone be touched by numbers? But I guess, as members of the human race, we can become excited, enthusiastic or passionate about anything—bugs, the stars, cars, building, soccer… even math. And I have to admit that I am still passionate about writing and words and the way words fit together (or not) and how you can manipulate them to communicate a point or a thought.

Even though I write as a profession, I am still in love with the process. I can look back on thirty-seven years of writing for publication and recall so many joyful moments. It is a lifetime of writing that I would not change one iota.

I still have an occasional burst of joy while I’m writing. Does this ever happen to you? I’ll be writing away, when all of a sudden, I feel such a strong and delightful sense of overwhelming glee. The words are flowing as if through (not from) me and I am so enjoying the process that I feel giddy. I catch myself smiling. I want to share this moment with someone, but I don’t want it to end. No one would understand, anyway—except maybe you.

People (even writers) are often shocked when I tell them that I post to this blog daily. They ask, “How do you come up with something to write about?” And I tell them that I have this condition—many writers do. It’s a sort of obsession. The truth is, I can’t not write. How about you?

May 25, 2010

Online Learning Opportunities for Authors and Writers

Filed under: Resources — Patricia @ 5:45 am

Don’t forget I’m offering a 20 percent discount on all of my courses throughout the month of June, 2010—even the newest ones on self-editing and memoir-writing. Check out the May 24, 2010 blog for details. Sign up now. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Have you ever taken an online course? What does it consist of? What is expected of you? How much do you actually get out of it? Here’s what I tell potential students:
Taking one of my online courses is as easy as emailing a friend, but much more rewarding and beneficial to your writing/publishing career. It’s like going to school in the comfort of your home. You will receive weekly lectures and assignments that you can work on at your convenience. Your instructor will respond to your questions and provide individual feedback. Plan to participate fully and you could complete a successful book proposal for submission by the end of the 6 or 8 week course, have an article ready to submit to an appropriate periodical, start selling more books or self-publish your book (of course, depending on which course you take). If you sign up for the new self-editing course, you should have a much cleaner manuscript to turn over to your editor by the end of the course—saving you tons of money. Check out the array of courses at
http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Have you noticed all of the new ways you can learn and tune-in to the information you desire? There’s the email course as described above where you can get quite a bit of personalized attention with regard to your publishing project. There’s the webinar, a web-based seminar where you can actually participate via audio hookup. The podcast is a one-way broadcast via the internet which you can download onto your ipod and other devices. It’s basically a digital audio or video file that is downloadable. A teleseminar is conducted through the phone lines—it’s a conference call and can involve hundreds of people at a time.

And then there is the one-way video webinar that some people are conducting at their websites. An expert in some field might record a video featuring him/herself presenting a brief lesson on flower arranging, grooming a cairn terrier, preparing a meal or writing a book proposal, for example.

What’s your pleasure when it comes to your education? I still prefer the conference environment—meeting my instructors/audience members face-to-face, sitting (or teaching) in a classroom or auditorium, breaking for lunch and networking with other like-minded people, etc. And I also enjoy the one-on-one feel you get from the email courses like I present.

Today, I will experience the convenience of a conference call in order to bring together the board of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). Board members are scattered across the US in California, Texas, Idaho, Illinois and New Jersey. And the telephone has the capacity to bring us all together as if we are sitting in one room discussing SPAWN business.

Questions? Contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com

May 24, 2010

My Thoughts on Writing

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 5:50 am

As many of you know, I’ve been writing for publication for over 35 years—actually it has been 37 years and counting. I did a lot of writing even before deciding to establish a writing career. I wrote stories for my three daughters when they were small, kept travel journals and was an avid letter writer, list-maker and poet. My dream, however, was to write articles for magazines and, in 1973, I began writing and submitting articles to a variety of magazines. I earned my living through article-writing for a number of years and I am also now the author of 31 books (number 32 is in the works).

I’ve found writing to be an interesting lifestyle. While I attempt to teach through my writing, I also learn. And I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned over the years.

1: The process of writing is more for me than for others. Sure I write to be read—like most writers and authors, I believe I have something of value to share. But it is the joy I derive from the process of writing that keeps me writing.

2: Writing, while my profession, is often also my escape.

3: Writers have different writing schedules for a reason. We really do have a natural rhythm that dictates when we are at our best/worst. Although, sometimes, when we’re working to establish a writing career or we’re writing a book while living a full life, we have to write when we’re not at our best.

4: Writers want to be heard/read. While some of us are natural communicators others have other reasons for writing—they want to make a difference—create change in the world.

5: Not all writers were born under the sign of the communicator, Gemini. There are other motivators that cause people to write. For years, anytime my astrological sign (Gemini) came up or I had a reading (for fun), I was told, “You should write,” or “You will become a writer,” or “You were a writer in a past life.”

6: Most writers and authors are not good promoters. We just want to write, thank you!

7: Most writers don’t take well to criticism. It’s painful when someone criticizes our writing or our ideas. Often, it seems as though some people just don’t understand you and that’s hard to take when you feel as though you’ve bared your soul through your writing. Don’t you hate it when someone nitpicks one minute point or idea in your book? Some reviewers or critics seem to miss the whole point of your story or your nonfiction book and focus on something they personally take exception with. Authors, stay far, far away from people who like to criticize just for the pure pleasure of it. But don’t ignore valid critique. If you’re not sure which is valid and which isn’t, spend a few days getting familiar with an editor’s comments, for example. You may eventually realize they do enhance your work.

8: A beautiful day can pretty much ruin an otherwise promising writing schedule. Good thing we have laptops that we can take outdoors with us on those delicious early days of summer.

9: Cats are more conducive to the writing life than are dogs or small children. Cats are generally calm. They love having someone around all the time. And if that person is sitting down, all the better because that means there is a lap that needs warming.

10: Cat fur is not conducive to writing equipment. Just this weekend I learned a nifty way to clean cat hair from the keyboard. Periodically, I turn my keyboard over and tap it on the desk ever so lightly in order to loosen and remove dust, etc. that has settled between the keys. This weekend, when I wasn’t writing, I was reading. I came across this tip—use the sticky side of a Post-It to clean between the keys. I tried this and you should have seen the cat fur that I pulled out of my keyboard.

Special Prices for Patricia Fry’s Online Courses
We’re closing in on summer and it’s a good time to sign up for one of my on-demand, online course. Also, June is my birthday month. So I’ve decided to drop my course prices for the entire month of June. Sign up now through June 30, 2010 and get 20% off. That’s a $40 discount for the following courses:

• Self-Editing Course (NEW!)
• Memoir-Writing Course (NEW!)
• Book Promotion Workshop
• Book Proposal Workshop

It’s $32 off the Self-Publishing Workshop and $25 off the Article-Writing Course.
Learn more here: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com

May 23, 2010

Your Successful Book Signing

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 5:19 am

Do you dream of having a book signing? Or maybe you have done book signings. Were they successful? How did you measure your success? How many book signings have you attended? How would you judge their success or failure?

I signed copies of Catscapades, True Cat Tales yesterday at a local upscale pet store and had a great time. Several friends came out to support me. I met some new cat lovers. I sold books to friends, family and strangers. And I assisted in helping stray cats. How? The owner of the pet store donated store profits from sales to GrayFoot Cat Rescue—a local cat rescue organization.

So what are the benefits of doing book signings? Selling books is the obvious response, right? But there is so much more. My signing was advertised in several newspapers. There were posters posted at the site for three weeks in advance of the event. I announced the signing to my email list, neighbors and others. So those who couldn’t make the signing, but who like to read about cats or who know people who do, were made aware of this book of cat stories. In fact, this morning, I had another order of 3 cat books from Amazon.com. These could well be a result of the promo for this signing.

So what are some of the other benefits? If the signing takes place in a busy store, you are getting some very personal exposure. People coming in for other reasons, notice you and see your book. Some will stop and pick it up. Many will look at it in passing. Some will linger at your signing table. But many more people are now aware of you and your book. Whether they purchase copies at the signing or not, they now know it exists and this comes under the umbrella of exposure.

Some marketing experts say that a potential customer must see or hear about a product 7 or 8 times before purchasing it. Now those for whom this is true, might not order your book when they receive your email blast. They will appear only mildly interested when they read about it in your newsletter. They may pass on purchasing it after checking out the book page at your website. They may linger over the article in the paper about your book signing. They might even show up at the signing and remain in the shadows. But then, when they read your article on the topic of your book in a familiar magazine—boom! They decide it is time and they go to amazon.com and place an order for your book.

Or, this person might first become aware of your book at your signing and not buy it. They may see it in local bookstores. They might hear someone talking about it. They may even notice it in the library and then hear you speaking about it on their favorite radio talk show. It could be at that point when they decide to explore your website and purchase the book.

That’s how it works for some people. In fact, marketing experts believe this is how it works for a lot of consumers. Think about this scenario as it relates to your purchasing pattern. Are you an impulse buyer or do you need to sort of warm up to a product before eventually purchasing it? For myself, I tend to forget about a book I don’t purchase on the spot. When someone brings it up again or I read about it, I may finally be spurred into action and purchase it.

If you haven’t scheduled a book signing for your latest book, consider doing it today. Be sure to read pages 223-228 of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book so you’ll make all of the right moves on behalf of your signing event. And be kind to your potential readers/customers. Understand their initial reluctance to buy your book. Be patient with them and continue your promotional efforts on their behalf. If your book is something they can use, would enjoy or desire, they will eventually purchase it.

They will not buy it, however, if they don’t have access to it—they can’t find it at their usual stores or sites where they like to buy books, they haven’t seen a reminder that this book exists, lately, they have not been invited to purchase it recently. In other words, keep on keeping on with your marketing plan so that your audience is well aware of your book and how to purchase it. Then make it easy for them to buy it from your website, at their favorite store downtown, through amazon, etc.

May 22, 2010

Celebrating 800 Blog Posts for Authors With FREE Ebook

Filed under: Announcements — Patricia @ 5:05 am

Wow! It’s a big day. This is my 800th blog post.

Now, what does an avid blogger who is serious about her mission write about in her 800th blog post? Hopefully, you realize that my primary mission is to help authors make better, more informed decisions throughout the process of writing, publishing and promoting their books. A secondary goal is to provide assistance to freelance article writers.

For today’s big blog, I decided to remind you of what you’ll find when you visit Patricia Fry’s Writing and Publishing Blog each day. Since November of 2005, I’ve been bringing authors and freelance article writers resources, information, news, announcement, tips, techniques and pertinent anecdotes. I’ve written on writing, preparing a book for publication, self-editing, locating and working with publishers/agents/editors, book promotion and other things related to producing and promoting a book and writing for publication.

I’ve covered interview techniques, self-editing, how to conduct research, public speaking techniques, how to make your book more saleable, how to be a successful writers’ conference attendee, tips for writing a book proposal, choosing a book cover, etc., as well as various book promotion activities—getting book reviews, using news releases, how to sell more books at book festivals, getting your book into bookstores, article-writing for book promotion, piggyback marketing and so much more.

If you missed any of the earlier posts, you are welcome to search them to locate information on specific topics. Much of what I share in my blog is also in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book—only in a more organized, easy to use form. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you have a specific question about your writing project, email me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Email me or leave a comment here if you have a request that I cover a certain topic in my blog.

I’d also like to hear from those of you who have learned, grown, improved and maybe even succeeded in your goals as a result of what you’ve read in this blog over the last five years.

Stick with me—keep visiting my blog. I generally post daily (except on rare occasions when I am under the weather or traveling—in which case, I will generally post every other day). On this schedule, we should be celebrating my 1,000th blog post sometime in January of 2011.

If you have a book in the works or in your hands or if you are interested in writing articles for magazines, hang with me for the next five years. I promise to continue offering the information and resources you require in order to experience success with your project.

As an 800th blog post gift, I’d like to offer those who are interested a FREE copy of my latest ebook, The Successful Author’s Handbook (2010). But I am offering it with a hitch. I want everyone who receives a copy of this ebook to report back to me if they gleaned anything useful from this book and specifically what it was. Email me here PLFry620@yahoo.com and request your FREE copy of The Successful Author’s Handbook.

May 21, 2010

Giggles With Google

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 5:26 am

This is kind of a silly title and not exactly descriptive, but I think it’s cute and fun. I actually did have fun with Google yesterday searching where my latest book is showing up.

As soon as you start promoting a book on the Internet, you can keep track of it by doing a Google search (or using Google Alerts). It’s good business practice to know where your title is being promoted and it is rather encouraging to find your book listed at a wide array of sites.

As many of you know, Catscapades, True Cat Tales, is my latest book—the one that is getting most of my promotional effort, energy and time, these days. So it’s the one I’m following—keeping tabs on. It was quite an interesting and satisfying Google search I conducted yesterday. I found 495 hits for “Catscapades” with my last name—Fry. I located 791 hits for just “Catscapades.” (Not all of these links were related to my Catscapades book, however.)

Many of the listings were expected—Amazon, my Matilija Press website, my Catscapades blog, Barnes and Noble, Twitter, Facebook and several sites and publications that did reviews or posted this as a recommended book. But there were also a few surprises—sites that I didn’t know where they had commented, featured or otherwise acknowledged this book.

This also gave me a chance to check for any discrepancies in representing this title. For example, I notified those sites that didn’t have a link to the Catscapades site, that didn’t have my name listed in the author list even though my book was featured and so forth.

I hope that you are keeping track of your book by using Google alerts http://www.google.com/alerts and by doing an occasional Google search. Then follow up with those site owners and reviewers who have done nothing with your book after a significant amount of time since they promised to do so or since they received a review copy.

It’s time consuming, that’s for sure, but well worth your effort to stay on top of your promotional game. And it’s really a cool feeling to find your book prominently displayed at site after site throughout the Internet. Set yourself up for some giggles today.

If you do a Google search and do not find your three-month old book listed at least 300 times or your year-old book listed at least 1,000 times, you may not be doing enough promotion.

My book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, when put in quotation marks—indicating a more refined search, results in 4,400 hits. My name brings up 1,550,000 results.

What does this mean? That I’ve been promoting my books and myself via the Internet. The results reflect my website, my blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. as well as my articles appearing at various sites and in various publications, my comments at other blog sites, interviews at other sites, book reviews, bookstores that carry my books, my memberships, my affiliation with SPAWN and so much more.

I’d like to hear the results of your Google search this week. You can comment here at this blog site.

May 20, 2010

What’s Your Book Promotion Style?

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 6:17 am

When you read about how one should pursue book promotion, do you sometimes feel a bit intimidated? Do some experts make the process sound way too complicated? Do we suggest ideas that you wouldn’t try in a million years? Are you just interested in finding your book promotion comfort zone?

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you are probably timid about responding to that question. You don’t want to admit to me that you are a book promotion slacker—that you aren’t aggressively marketing your book and that there are activities that you just can’t bring yourself to pursue.

While I sure try to encourage you to step outside the box, widen your horizons, stretch, expand your reach and so forth, I realize that some of you are going to settle into a book promotion style and pretty much stay there. Here are some of the styles I’ve observed and the potential downfall of each:

• The gung-ho promoter. This author is excited, energetic and full of promotion ideas right out of the chute. He signs up for every opportunity that comes along and follows every lead. He eats, drinks and sleeps promotion. This is admirable, as long as the energy and enthusiasm holds. Beware of burnout.

• The focused promoter. She envisions one avenue of promotion for her book and that is the one she pursues. It might be getting it in bookstores, soliciting reviews or doing a press release blast. This could work for a while. But it is important to know when to continue and when to shift gears and try something else.

• The scattered promoter. He tries a little of many promotional activities, but doesn’t stay with any of them long enough to experience much success.

• The organized promoter. This author has a marketing plan and is dedicated to sticking with it no matter what. Problems arise when opportunities come up and he is so committed to his plan that he doesn’t acknowledge or even recognize them.

In my opinion, the best approach to book promotion is from a place of knowledge. Educate yourself about the publishing industry and the process of book promotion before getting involved. I also urge authors to be flexible and creative. Be willing to try something new and be equally willing to back away from a promotional activity that isn’t generating results.

For a good lesson in book promotion—one that covers the basics—sign up for my online, on-demand Book Promotion course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm It’s like working one-on-one with me as your mentor for 6-weeks. The course is $200, and it could result in thousands in sales once you understand how to approach the process of book promotion.

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