Will a publisher do the book marketing for me?

I often receive emails from aspiring authors who want to know if they can find a publisher who will do all their marketing (or most of it) for them. Sometimes the author isn't confident they can promote their book; sometimes it's a matter of the author having no money to invest in their marketing endeavors. Getting a book published is only half the battle, and authors need to recognize that and prepare for the other half--marketing their books.

In my experience, and from everything I've read and heard from publishers, agents and other authors, there is no such 'free' ride. Authors must be willing to promote their books if they want them to sell. Publishers nowadays only want to take a risk on new authors who are enthused about marketing their books. In fact, they often ask you upfront, before they sign you, what your marketing plans are. And you have to have some. It's that simple.

Most publishers do little marketing beyond their initial catalogues, industry notices, ads in magazines or newspapers--unless you're a big-name author. It's really up to authors to get the word out. Your publisher might print some promotional material for you--posters, bookmarks or business cards. Most authors pay for their own expenses during book tours, including travel, lodging and meals. The distributors have sales teams who go into bookstores to try to sell books to the store owner/manager. Sales teams often don't do much for authors who don't promote their books. Why should they when they have other authors out there busting their butts to sell books? :-)

An author in today's world--who wants to be successful and actually make some money back to pay for their marketing endeavors--must be proactive.

The five musts that every author should have:

1. a professional author's site with domain name and no free hosting
2. a blog that's updated at least once a week
3. Facebook account and knowledge in how to use it properly
4. MySpace account and knowledge in how to use it properly
5. Twitter account and knowledge in how to use it properly

Those are the basics in today's marketing. Nothing is free. It takes hard, dedicated persistence to make a book successful. The meaning of success can vary from person to person. I look at success in two levels--basic level: lots of readers who love the book and enough sales to pay for the $5000+ it costs to market a book efficiently; and advanced level of success: major traditional publishing contracts, great distribution, and major bestselling status, which all equals money I could live on.

What I've described above is the real world of publishing. It's a tough industry to break into because the competition is HUGE! You're competing against billions of authors. If you want your book to sell and be successful, you have to be part of the marketing--a huge part.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author & book marketing coach
http://www.shamelessbookpromoter.com
http://www.cherylktardif.com

Guest Post: Literary agent Misherald L. Brown

GumboWriters: How did you get your start as an agent? Why become an editor instead of say, a fighter pilot or computer engineer?

I got my start by being a little busy body quite honestly. I knew I wanted to do something within the publishing world but I wasn’t sure what so I wanted to be a editor, publisher, writer, and all the other stuff but thanks to some mentors they helped me realized that I had to decided and I decided to try it all out one step at a time. I went on to become a writer, publisher, and a public relations guru not in any particular order to later become a literary agent. I became an agent instead of the neonatologist or pediatrician that I wanted to be because I was giving back to our children.

What are some of the exciting books you've represented that you're most proud of?

I would have to say that my most exciting book to date is my first sell Lil Sister because it only took me 6 weeks to make the sell. I was very proud and excited because I knew I was going places.

When you receive a submission what about it really grabs you and excites you to the point that you'd like to acquire it?

The characters my big thing is the characters and how they act.

What makes you decide to read a submission overnight compared to it rotting on the bottom of your slush pile?

If a book gets me to guessing then more than likely I will stay up to finish it.

What's the best way for a writer to contact you? Query letter?

Email me a query letter ( submissions@mlbrownassociatesllc.com )

Are you open to receiving submissions from self-published authors?

I will consider self-pub authors.

What are you personally doing in order to adapt to the changes in the marketplace?(Changes meaning: lower print runs, shrinking book review outlets, oversaturated market and chains stores being more selective about what books they put on their shelves)

I am paying attention to what editors are buying and being concise of the market itself.

How much of a books acquisition decision do you think has to do with the talent and how many books similar to it have sold great numbers?

I think a book acquisition has to do with the books similar unless the author already has a name. Many editors look at the trends.

Is it becoming necessary for fiction writers to have their own platform (built in fanbase) too? If so, if not, why?

Yes, a fiction writer needs to build their platform quickly.

Article provided by www.GumboWriters.com

Times Are Changing Fast. Are You Keeping Up?

I read an amazing article this week called “Brave new e-world” by Sarah Sheard in The Globe and Mail. Sheard is the chairwoman for the contracts committee with the Writers’ Union of Canada. Her article talks a bit about how book publishing used to be before conglomerates reduced a variety of interesting publishing houses into big box manufacturers interested only in bestsellers.

Sheard discusses the changes now taking place as more readers buy electronic devices such as Kindle and the Sony 505 reader, devices that can store literally hundreds of books in a reader the size of a paperback. I agree with Sheard that this form of publishing is here to stay and has a huge role in the future of publishing.

Since my books have been made available in electronic format, sales have increased at a much greater rate than they have in print form, and why not? Fatal Encryption sells for $19.95 in print, but $6.99 on Kindle, and even then Amazon often discounts the price of my 370-page mystery to $5.59. A bargain indeed.

But what I found most interesting about Sheard’s article were the posted responses. As Sheard suggested in the article, some writers and publishers still refuse to publish work electronically. They don’t believe, and don’t want to hear, that e-books might one day outsell print books, and some of the comments I read reflect this attitude.

The thing is, one recent study revealed that while e-book sales represent only 1.5% of the total market share right now, sales of e-books increased by 125% in 2008. I’ve spoken with Kindle owners and, while all of them love to read and once bought print books regularly, almost none of these people will now spend money on what they call DTBs (dead tree books). First, the price is too high and secondly, many just don’t have the space to store books. Would it surprise you to know that 183% of all e-books sold last year were bought by people age 65 and over? It’s true. E-books are catching on fast with all age groups and if you writers out there want to gain more readers and royalties, jump aboard because from my vantage point, it’s a pretty good place to be.

To read Sarah Sheard's entire article go to http://tinyurl.com/np5tnl And don't forget to read those comments!

To purchase Kindle versions of Fatal Encryption visit, http://tinyurl.com/lchxrd and for Taxed to Death can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/ld4pcf

Introducing Lazarus Barnhill, Author of The Medicine People and Lacey Took a Holiday

Isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing! Something happens almost two years ago, and there it sits like a time capsule for all to see.

I met Lazarus Barnhill during a writing contest on Gather.com in October 2007. Entrants posted the first chapter of their work for people to comment on and vote for, and the fifteen top-ranked chapters plus ten chosen by Gather management went on to post the second chapter for more voting. I read some of the chapters, including Laz’s The Medicine People, but I never knew quite what to say about them. Lazarus, on the other hand, wrote marvelous critiques of everyone’s chapters. And he responded to everyone who commented on his. (I didn’t realize this until tonight when I went searching for the comment I left him. Where did he get the time?)

My comment: I may have the (unofficial) lead now, but I have a hunch that things are going to be heating up. Great entry! Good luck. (I still don’t understand by what fluke I ended up in first place for a couple of weeks, but there it is.)

Laz’s response: Pat, I’m looking forward to reading More Deaths Than One. Your entry has run away from the rest of us and I suspect there’s good reason for that. Continued good luck in the contest. BTW, stay healthy. If something happens to the guy in first place, who are they going to suspect, eh?

Neither of us won the contest, but we ended up finishing consecutively, and yes, Lazarus passed me by. Almost a year later, we met again at Second Wind Publishing, which has released both More Deaths Than One and The Medicine People.

Now that I’ve read The Medicine People, I still don’t quite know what to say. Well, yes I do. “This is a good book. Read it.” But that’s not exactly a review, and I promised to write one. I can tell you that the book is a mystery with a sub-story of love in all its guises, but that’s not a review, either. I can tell you that it’s my favorite type of story, where some past action — in this case a murder that was committed twenty-five years ago — affected the characters’ lives, and now the search for the truth turns those lives upside down again. Hmmm. Maybe you could check out The Medicine People for yourself. That will get me off the hook!

Blurbs and reviews: The Medicine People
Find out more about Lazarus Barnhill: Author Bio

Top 10 Tips to Help Authors Successfully Promote Their Books

Most authors should know that it's really up to them to promote their books, not the publisher. The publisher will do what they can do, of course, but the author is the one who can really get the word out there to the masses. So here is my Top 10 list of things authors can do to successfully promote their own books.

1. Promote your book BEFORE it's even published. Think of this like movie trailers. Film companies are super intelligent; they give people a sneak peek to get them interested, then hook them with anticipation by announcing a release date. Authors can do the same. Give your readers a sneak peek--a free sample, a book trailer. Then as soon as you know the release date (and about 1-3 months in advance) start promoting this new release.


2. Have your book PROFESSIONALLY edited. If you want longevity as a writer, you must treat this like a career. This means that even self-published, author-originated works must be edited professionally by someone who knows HOW to edit. NEVER be the only editor for your book. If you put out an inferior product you will lose fans and sales, and bookstores will not promote you. If you're going to do this, do it right! You're competing with every other book out there, and there are millions, so find a good editor.


3. Once your book is published, promote the heck out of it! Too many authors leave marketing up to their publisher. This is your baby, no one else's. As soon as your book is released, you have a window of about 3 months to get it off the ground, and another 3 months to keep things rolling. Not even a publisher can market your book as well as you can, and if you don't know how, LEARN. If you don't know where to start, I'm a book marketing coach; I can teach you.


4. Create a solid internet identity. What will we find if we Google your name right now? Will we find someone else with the same name who sells lawn ornaments? Are there 10 hits? 1000? 100,000? Are the first 3 pages of any search engine all about you or at least 90% you? If not, you've got work to do. Make sure you have a professional looking website and blog. Don't use a free host with ads for your site. Invest in a domain name (your name preferably) and pay for hosting.


5. Blog at least 2-3 times a week. On numerous blogs. Blogging about anything sells books. Readers like to see the human side of their favorite authors, so blogging should not be a hardcore sales pitch every post. Find a controversial or thematic angle within your book and blog about that. My novel Whale Song dealt with assisted suicide. I not only researched the topic, but I blogged about it and was then contacted by a radio station because of my blog post and then was interviewed. Blog about the journey you took to get where you are in your writing career. Blog about editing, rejections, writer's block, courses, anything that might be helpful to other writers.


6. Hold a virtual book tour. VBTs are an excellent and inexpensive way to get the word out about your book. Other bloggers are now promoting YOU. There is, however, an effective way to do this and an ineffective way. Successful blog tours have the following main elements: thoughtful planning, research, themed articles/posts, calls to action, proper scheduling, advertising and high sales. Your book should reach the bestsellers lists on Amazon, at the very least.


7. Sell your book on a specific day by holding a contest. If you ask people to order from one major retailer, like Amazon for instance, on a specific day and offer them some kind of incentive, you will have the opportunity to make Amazon's bestsellers list. Pick a day, offer a prize they can't turn down (remember: never make your book your prize-at least, not the book you are trying to promote) and have a proof of purchase to ensure sales are submitted on one day. Once you make Amazon's list (and don't forget, books are broken into categories), you're a "bestselling author" with a "bestselling novel". That statement alone attracts more success.


8. Find out where your readers are. The goal is not to have your book in every bookstore. First, very few books achieve that. Second, having them in a store is no good if no one is buying them. So find out where your readers are. If you write mysteries, find out where mystery readers meet in your town. Become a guest author at a book club. Look for online reading groups or sites like GoodReads and start schmoozing with readers.


9. Cultivate personal relationships with bookstore staff. Most authors underestimate the power of signing books in a store. Too many authors focus entirely on sales, or lack of sales. Forget sales! Think about relationships instead--with store staff, customers and potential fans. That is what is important. When you build these relationships you will have store staff who will hand sell your book and go out of their way to promote you, invite you to special events and feature you on special front-end shelves that publishers have to pay for. Customers can turn into media contacts and interviews. Potential fans can turn into lifelong fans who will buy everything you write and recommend you to their family and friends.


10. Contact media for every event or set of events. If holding a bunch of signings during October, call it your "fall tour" and promote it. Send out press releases to local TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. Send out online releases to services like 24-7pressrelease and free online services. Just Google 'press distribution services'. Many authors consider interviews a form of success, and the more you create a need for your area of expertise (whether writing, getting published, or a particular theme from your book), the more media will want to interview you.

It takes a combined effort and partnership between author, publisher and retailers to make a book successful. A partnership. That's how you must think of it. So don't just throw your "baby" out in the world and expect someone else to baby sit it or expect it to fend for itself.

Take control and responsibility seriously. Being a writer is the emotional, creative side; being a successful author of a published book means you have to recognize the business side. It comes with the territory. Accept it. Embrace it. And be the most successful author you can be.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author and book marketing coach
http://www.cherylktardif.com/

Blog to the Beach

“To the Beach” the sign reads with an arrow pointing down the road. I sniff the air and follow the arrow and the scent of the ocean leads me to a sand path with wisps of beach grass and flowers. The walk is short and familiar; we have spent many summers on this beach, coming back to the same rental, year after year. Our only complaint is that it is never long enough, because just when we get a rhythm going we have to leave. Next year maybe we will stay longer, long enough to get bored. For now our beach vacation is over and we are packing up, going home and the sun has barely risen, and the beach is nearly empty when I climb the path one final time. The shore comes into view. I hold my breath for an instant caught in the intake of the oceans beauty. I walk to her edge and whisper my goodbyes. “I’ll be back,” I say. ‘Wait for me, don’t forget me.” The sand slips between my toes and the water laps my ankles in acknowledgment of my request.

“To the Beach” the sign on my refrigerator reads. The arrow points to the porch and beyond. “Remember me,” I say as I sniff the air and follow the tip of the arrow.

Join me on Friday, June 24th for a blog post about a writer’s worst nightmare: how to avoid distractions and stay focused. “Time Management In An Instant” by Karen Leland and Keith Bailey will spark the discipline writer’s like I need to better manage time and to keep writing.

Have the best day every day…

Linda