A-ha!

Promoting Your Book in 2009

It's not as hard as you may think. And, it's not as easy as you may think. But, in the end, it's after your book is completed - and published - that the real work begins. Regardless of how you published it, you are still the best person to market your book.

With the publishing industry changing so rapidly - big publishers cutting back on manuscripts, small publishers closing their doors, even POD companies cutting back on personnel, some people may think this is not a good time to write and promote a book.

They would be wrong. Write your book.

Books as gifts?

  As the gift-giving season officially gets into full swing (not that there aren't gift giving times throughout the year) there has been discussion on many of the online groups to which I belong on: "Is it presumptuous to give a book as a gift?"

Thoughts on this seem to be split almost evenly down the middle. Sure, if your boss gives you a book on, "The art of personal hygiene" you may be inclined to take that personally but if he or she gives you a book on, "Becoming a million-dollar sales person" would you be offended? Does it mean that your boss thinks you are doing a bad job or is he or she just thinking of ways to make your job easier and therefore make you more money (you know, working smarter, not harder)? 

If someone pops a romance or mystery novel under the Christmas tree or in a gift bag for your birthday do you feel pressure to read it immediately (as opposed to putting it into your to-be-read pile by the bedside) and then once you've read it are you obligated to call the gift giver and tell them whether you liked it? Are you required to lie and say you liked it even if you didn't?

Never in my life did I consider that giving a book as a gift to be such a minefield of angst. Sure, I wouldn't give my mother a racy bodice-ripping vampire romance novel, but I certainly would give that to my sister. And likewise, I don't imagine too many people would boldly hand their boss a book on management skills but it seems with a little thought and inspiration, why not give a book? How hard would it be to notice that if your co-worker is always reading Robert Parker books to figure that they might enjoy a mystery from a different author? If a friend loves to cook, why not serve them up a cookbook? 

 

If I opened nothing but books for every gift giving opportunity, I would be one happy reader. 

Book Trailers: The New Marketing Tool: A How-to

Books are great marketing and sales tools. Books make the best brochures and/or business cards. We recite this litany a lot at Windsor Media Enterprises. Why? Because it's true. With a book, you have credible proof of your expertise. With a book, you have a valuable product that can represent you far better than a 3X2 card - which often gets misplaced or tossed. With a book, you become an author - a member of a respected group of citizens, revered by others.

The problem is - getting your book in front of people. If you buy copies yourself (and you can do this both with a self-publishing project and a traditional publishing project), to give away, you create your own demand. Many authors, both new and established, do this. The book is a means to an end, not the end means. These authors understand that publishing a business book is not a money-making project. It's the respect, the credibility for your expertise, and the ability to market your business via the book (speaking, holding workshops, giving webinars and teleseminars), that brings in the clients and, consequently, the income.

Graphically (and fictionally) wonderful

Now, maybe it's just me as I have never read a graphic novel before, but I was so drawn into the words and drawings in Frank Beddor (and Liz Cavalier's) wondrous "Hatter The Looking Glass Wars" from the opening page that I found myself a bit breathless during the scenes in which Hatter is dashing around Paris in his quest to retrieve Princess Alyss.

Ben Templesmith provided the compelling renderings of the authors' words. From page one to the final lushly illustrated, imaginatively written last page I found myself rooting for Hatter to complete his quest but was not too horribly disappointed when he didn't as I know there will be more to come!

I found myself "following the glow" until I closed the book and even after... Believe me when I say, once you read this book you will never blithely step foot into a puddle, especially if it is in a location where a puddle should not be (that's all I will say at this point!)

In the book, Beddor grabs Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and turns the story on its head, offering readers an entirely new take on the childrens' story many of us grew up with. In Beddor's story, however, Hatter Madigan is charged with protecting Princess Alyss after a bloody coup is staged at the palace. The pair escape through a puddle from Wonderland to our world (in 1859 Paris, France) but during the journey, Hatter is  separated from Alyss and thus begins his quest to retrieve the Princess.

What Hatter doesn't know (and Beddor and Cavalier explain in their re-imagined version) is that Alyss ends up in London, England, tells her story to an aspiring author (Carroll) who interprets it in his own way and publishes the "Alice in Wonderland" fairytale. Alyss had hoped that by telling Carroll her story, it would provide clues to Hatter to rescue her. Imagine her dismay when her story is published, her name is spelled incorrectly, and it offers no clues to Hatter as to her whereabouts.

At the end of the novel, the author offers a probing questions section in which he answers readers' questions.

For anyone looking for a new and interesting twist on an old story, "Hatter" is a story that should not be missed. And for readers who enjoy an intriguing on-line game, I recommend traveling to www.cardsoldierswars.com.

Check back soon as I am hoping to offer an interview with the author here.

The Bailey’s Book Project – A community responds to tragedy

It’s hard to express how deeply honored we felt when our friend Sandra Beckwith asked our advice about a proposed book project. You see, Sandy is herself a published author with lots of experience. And the project is dear to her heart: Bailey’s Book, in memory of Bailey Goodman, one of the five “Fairport Angels” killed in a car accident in Bloomfield in June 2007.

Now the project is getting under way as “a community-wide literacy project” under the auspices of the Fairport Central School District’s (FCSD) Developmental Assets® Initiative. Bailey was a student leader in the developmental asset initiative and, since it meant so much to Bailey, her family designated the program as recipient of contributions made in her memory. The donations will fund the costs of the project and lots of the work will be done by a committee of volunteers, many of them Bailey’s friends and family members.

The full title will be, Bailey’s Book: A Community Celebrates Its Assets. As the project announcement explains, the book will be “a compilation of essays and pictures to be submitted by Fairport students and community members later this fall. Each essay and picture will incorporate at least one of the 40 developmental assets identified by the district’s asset building initiative.”

“This is a wonderful way to remember Bailey’s passion for asset building,” says Debra Tandoi, FCSD asset coordinator. “Bailey’s Book incorporates the district’s commitment to literacy and supporting a caring school community,” she adds.

The project website also notes: “Excerpts from Bailey’s school writing assignments will be interspersed throughout the book in a way that helps people discover what made Bailey special.”

Yvonne and I will be volunteering our time to help the committee with some of the design, layout, and production aspects. WME Books will help arrange for printing and distribution.

You can help, too! One of the goals is “to donate copies of Bailey's Book: A Community Celebrates Its Assets to as many classrooms and students in the Rochester area as possible.” Details on how you can donate to help widen the impact are on the Bailey’s Book website.

Look for progress reports, as we work with the Fairport students, Bailey's friends and family, and community volunteers, to bring this wonderful book project to life.

What is your 'violation' rate

As I was out searching the web the other day I came across this quick and dirty test for 11 Rules that many writers break.

Are you an offender? I must confess that I sometimes struggle with "agreement" as it gets cumbersome, I find, to write him/her (or he/she... you get the pic) when writing about an individual who, for the purpose of my writing, can be "genderless."

Test your skills!

Class prep

As I sit here preparing for a class I am teaching tomorrow night on column writing I realized that if I put as much time into the prep of my manuscript as I do my teaching materials I could have written a book on column writing. And I could probably have written it three times over by now.

I have been teaching this class for close to five years and it was the teaching of it that prompted me to contact the local newspaper and pitch a column idea to them. It started out as a monthly piece (which I wrote for free) then they requested it become twice a month (and they were paying me) and now it is a weekly column (for which I still get paid).

In some writing arenas I am more than willing to "put myself out there" send in a query and let the chips fall where they may. But for some reason when it comes to penning my novel or pulling together information for a non fiction writing book, I feel like I can't breath. I grab for the brown paper bag and take a few quick pulls of air from there just to get calmed down from the fear. I can't figure out if it's the fear of actually completing it or the fear of not completing it at all that makes me do nothing.

If I am teaching this class I should be selling (or offering to sell) the students a book that they can take home with them for future reference. Something that expands on what I have offered up as words of wisdom in an eight hour session. What's holding me back? I still can't figure it out but I will sit here with my cup of hot chocolate and ponder for a while longer.

Spreading the word

When it comes to getting the word out about your book how will you do it? Newspaper? Radio? Speaking engagements? All good outlets but have you ever thought about video? Check out the new Book trailer posted by WME Enterprises author,  Dr. Susan Reid.

Book trailers, it seems are becoming the wave of the future for authors looking to find a new medium in which to reach potential readers. As with all promotions, there are low-cost as well as upper-level video services available.

When looking to promote your book, take on the attitude of "more is better" as you never know which medium your audience is most interested in and the more ways you can find to spread the word, the better chance you have of garnering readers and that's what it's all about one the writing and publishing is done. 

Do you have it in you?

Do you have a book inside you? Most people that I run into (and it could just be the circles in which I move) say they want to write a book. They have an idea for a book, or they have enough material from courses that they've taught that they SHOULD be compiling that material and putting it into a book.

Is that you? Have you done something for such a long time that you are considered an expert? If so, do you have all of your information written down? Could it be compiled into a book -- whether a print or an e-book? What's stopping you? Too much information?

Step back for a minute. If you were teaching a class or hosting a lecture, where would you begin? Introductions? A bit of a this-is-what-I-plan-to-cover overview then questions and answers? There you go! Oversimplified, of course, but that's your jumping off point.  

I say that to you but I look at the information I have compiled in my many years of teaching writing classes and wonder what's stopping me. I certainly have enough information so I can understand that it is an overwhelming task.

Tell you what, I will set myself a goal of at least compiling all of the information I need to start on my book (or e-book, or (bottom line) pamphlet!) and by the first of October I will have at least table of contents, an introduction and an idea of what the first line of my opening page will be.

Anyone want to join me as I dip my toe into the water?

Blogging Book Tours

For many authors, the idea of going on a multi-city book tour is the pinnacle of success. However, for many authors, unless you have connections, a lot of money and free time, and a killer book that will garner you a seat across from Oprah, Jon Stewart, or on Good Morning America, the chances of going on an all-expense-paid book tour are slim.

BUT, all is not lost. A blogging book tour may be the way to go. Now, I have to caution you, you may not sell hundreds (or in some cases, even tens of books) but the publicity and exposure could help boost numbers and pique the interest of someone who may have never heard of you but had certainly heard of the blogger who is spreading the word about your book.

There is a post out there that shows the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to blog book tours. The information on the blog could prove invaluable to the author looking to invest in a blog tour coordinator or who may be operating on a shoestring budget and plan to do his or her own blog tour.

From the coordination of, the follow through with, and the potential for book sales, a blog book tour may be the wave of the future. But, as with any marketing tool, it should be looked at as one of the many steps an author must take to get his or her book noticed.