Streamline to Save Time in 2010

Streamline to Save Time in 2010
By Angela Wilson

It is incredibly easy to get lost in the labyrinth of online promotions.

There is so much to do and say and share on the Internet, a writer can easily lose an entire afternoon just "liking" posts on Facebook, or conversing on Twitter.

The best way to tackle online marketing so it doesn't take over your life is by streamlining. Keep it simple, fit it into your current lifestyle and find ways to do more using less.

Here are some top ways to streamline your time in 2010:

Get a timer. When marketing online - or even just emailing friends - you can easily lose an afternoon clicking links, dealing with crashes or submitting posts. Keep a kitchen timer handy to monitor your time. Figure out how much time you can truly spend online - and stick to it!

Eliminate unnecessary social networks. Choose only those with broad appeal to readers in your genre. Remember, writing networks have fellow writers who don't necessarily buy your books, even if they do provide solid feedback or encouragement.
Streamline blogging. Instead of logging in to several different accounts, you can easily manage blogs via one-stop sites like Ping.fm. It allows posts to microblogs like Twitter and FriendFeed, as well as posts Wordpress, Blogger and Typepad. Also, many blog platforms - including Ning.com - give you an e-mail address where you can send posts.

Streamline social network submissions. You can use third-party clients like Tweetdeck, Seesmic or Twhirl to submit updates to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook - all from one platform. The Streamy.com site allows you easy access to your RSS feeds, as well as email and instant messaging clients.

Update your Web site. Every author needs a Web site. Every author Web site needs a media center that includes a short and long biography, author photographs, book cover photos, book lists and more. If you want to be interviewed, you must have some information to give bloggers and traditional media. If you don't have a Web site, get one - even if it is on a free service like http://www.Moonfruit.com. If you already have a site, review all the information there to be sure it is current. Sending reporters and bloggers one link with all the information they need will save you a lot of time - and they will love you for it.

Use editorial calendars. Blogging is a necessity for many authors. Set up an editorial calendar to make it easier to know what to post when. Know the number of posts you can create each week. Be sure to remember that each post must not only be written, but edited, formatted and illustrated with photos whenever possible. Calendars also help you stay organized if you invite guest bloggers to your site. Also, try to stay ahead of the game by posting a week or two in advance. You can use a paper calendar to a program like Google calendar, which will also allow you to share your updates via social networks.

Stay focused. Marketing takes more perseverance than talent. You have to be consistent in your message - and deliver it on a regular basis. Don't just quit after two months because you don't see immediate results. Sometimes, it takes a year before your efforts are rewarded with more hits or more sales.

Be adaptable. If you aren't seeing results, then adjust your marketing plan. Drop items that aren't working and build up venues that are. Add new social networks or traditional marketing tactics that are promising when you can.

Work smart, not hard. Don't try to do everything at once. Sit down and map out your current family and writing obligations, then work marketing in around them. When your book is in print, then you will need to put marketing before writing to promote it. Promotional times vary by author and genre. It could be anywhere from four weeks to three months.

Streamlining your marketing life can make a huge difference in your stress level. Keep it as simple as possible, and have it fit your lifestyle, not the other way around.

Angela Wilson is an author, social media consultant, and online marketing strategist. Visit her blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com, to learn more about cost-effective marketing strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors.

Plot Your Marketing Efforts

Plot Your Marketing Efforts
By Angela Wilson

Marketing is a lot like writing a novel.

With a novel, you start with an idea, then flesh it out, write several drafts, revise them, critique them and revise some more until the final, finished product is ready to send to an agent or publisher.

Marketing takes just as much forethought and planning. Here are some tips to get you started:

Research your audience. Who reads your books? What other authors do they like? What social networks are they on? How old are they? Would they like your book as a gift?

Devise a plan. Sketch out ideas for reaching your readers. Don't hold back; just write down everything you can think of, from book signings to virtual book tours to appearances at virtual writing or reading conferences.

Revise the plan. Once the initial creative marketing spark dwindles, look over your list and pick out the marketing points that are doable based on your time and budget. Don't try to do everything - you will only get overwhelmed and spread yourself so thin none of your efforts will make a ripple. Do focus efforts on marketing tactics that you would enjoy. For example, if you don't like public speaking, but love Facebook, consider hosting a Facebook party instead of booking live engagements.

Execute marketing efforts. Authors spend anywhere from one to three months promoting a new release. It is up to you to decide what type of schedule works for you. Plan out each day with some type of marketing task - and DO it! Writing will take a backseat during the marketing phase, but once marketing is complete, writing can once again be your No. 1 priority.

Take inventory. Keep a record of what marketing efforts worked and which did not.
Don't expect to do everything right the first time. Every marketing strategy has ups and downs. The trick is to keep notes about what works and what doesn't, so the plan can be adjusted for the next book tour.

You may not want to market, but it is a requirement for most authors today who want to continue to sell books - and net contracts. The key to successful marketing is to work smart. Create a plan - just like you create a novel outline - so you have vision and direction. Don't overbook events and don't try to be a super-human marketer. Schedule marketing events around family and work life - the same as you do writing.

Angela Wilson is an author, social media consultant, and online marketing strategist. Visit her blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com Click here, to learn more about cost-effective marketing strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors.

Build Platform and Find Opportunity by Listening to Your Network

Build Platform and Find Opportunity by Listening to Your Network
By Don Lafferty

Most writers I talk with are concerned about the time suck when it comes to the effective use of online tools. When you add up all the resources available to us online, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the constant deluge of updates piling in from email, Google, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other online community outposts.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to maximize the time you’ve budgeted for online business development. You’ll wind up with a professional-quality “listening post” that will filter out most of the noise, and provide you with an effective tool for building platform, deepening your key industry connections, and creating highly targeted business development tactics.

1. Build a list of Key Words

Do you write YA Vampire books, or health related magazine articles? Heart-stopping military thrillers or political satire?

It doesn’t matter who your target reader is, a growing number of them are out there “talking” in millions of Internet-based conversations every day.

What words are people using when they talk about your stuff? What other authors, titles, publishers and industry terms tip you off to conversations your readers are likely to be having?

Brainstorm that Key Word List and come up with your top ten. Tuck the list away in a folder with your other social media tools. You’ll revisit this important list from time to time to keep it relevant, so remember where you put it.

2. Set up a FREE Google Reader

Go to Google.com [http://bit.ly/82uRW] Click here and take the Google Reader tour. There are plenty of articles out there on the Net that can guide you through the simple process of setting it up. Once you have it set up, check out my instructions for the simple process of setting up RSS Feeds here: http://bit.ly/ZrN23 Click here

Then every time you find a blog or a website you want to monitor, you simply click the little orange RSS subscription button that you’ll find in the address bar of your browser, click through the simple subscription process, and place the feed in the appropriate folder in your Google Reader.

You can also create RSS Feeds for the various searches you do, but I’ll go into more detail on that later.

3. Install a Twitter management application.

I use TweetDeck and it’s awesome. Go to www.tweetdeck.com Click here where you’ll find instructions for downloading and installing the application. Connect all your Twitter accounts to TweetDeck and create groups to which you’ll add the people you follow on Twitter.

I create my groups starting with the people closest to me, and categorize from there: Family, Colleagues, Authors, Indie Booksellers, Publishers, Agents, Reviewers, etc…

TweetDeck arranges groups in columns, enabling you to log on and quickly determine who has tweeted what. So instead of signing on to Twitter via the web and hunting down each person of interest individually, everything you care about is delivered right to the TweetDeck dashboard. You can quickly assess which messages you want to re-tweet, respond to, or dig into a little further.

If managed with discipline, a Twitter application like this will eventually become your primary source of new business opportunities.

4. Set up Twitter Search Feeds.

Grab that list of key words and combinations you brainstormed in step 1, then go to www.search.twitter.com Click here and do a search for the first key word.

You can scan down through the search results as you find them, or you can create a feed to your Google Reader. In the upper right corner of the screen you’ll see an orange RSS button next to the words “Feed for this query.” Click on the link and it’ll step you through the process of feeding the Twitter search for this key word into your Google Reader, where the most recent search results will always be refreshed and waiting for you.

Do this for all the key words on your list, and then again every time you come up with a new key word or key word combination.

Be sure to direct the feeds to the correct folder in your Google Reader so you can easily access the search results during your regular business development session.

5. Set up Google Alerts

Browse your way over to Google Alerts. http://bit.ly/z66No. Click here Using the key words from your master list, create Google Alerts for each term. In the drop-down menu under “Type,” choose “Comprehensive,” and under the drop-down menu “Deliver to,” choose “Feed.” After you click “Save,” click on “View in Google Reader” and finalize the subscription, making sure to direct the feed to the appropriate folder.

LinkedIn provides options to subscribe to RSS Feeds for groups, answers and news. If you’ve done your homework on LinkedIn and participate in these places, subscribe to the feeds and direct them to the appropriate folders in your Google Reader.

Okay, your basic listening post is built. The following description of my work process will give you a feel for the way you can customize this tool to meet your specific objectives.

I open Google Reader. The first feeds I look at are the Twitter Search feeds I built with my key word list to see who is saying what about each key search term.

I scroll down through the Twitter search results, discovering people I should be following (listening to) which usually leads me to more people I should be following, and blogs to which I subscribe using the RSS Feed. I find opportunities for work, people who need help, companies asking questions I can answer, and all manner of material I can use as writing prompts or for research.

As I follow new people on Twitter I keep a text document open where I note their Twitter username for later when I open TweetDeck.

I run through my Google Alert and LinkedIn feeds in the same way, subscribing to blogs, following people on Twitter, and bookmarking websites where I find something I can use later. I do this as time permits, usually for 15-30 minutes, and then I open TweetDeck.

As I mentioned earlier, I work in the publishing world so my TweetDeck groups are designed to capture the activities of publishing industry people on Twitter. Instead of sifting through the tens of thousands of tweets in my network in the hopes of find out who’s doing what, I’m able to go right to one of my TweetDeck groups and engage as appropriate.

This is where I have to filter what I find through the lens of my objectives.

If I’m promoting an upcoming event I may write a blog post about it, find everybody tweeting about the event, or about similar events, or about an author attending the event, or something else related to the event, and engage each -- again, as appropriate. Sometimes I’ll direct a person to my post with a link. Sometimes I’m more subtle, leaving the link on my own Twitter feed with an introductory headline designed to catch my target connection’s attention. Then when I mention my target connection in a re-tweet or a reply, they’ll find my link waiting when they come to check me out.

If I’ve done my homework right, chosen my key words wisely, and engaged appropriately, there’s a high probability I’ll connect with a new group of followers every time I execute one of these tactics. More importantly, I’ll be on their radar where they can engage me when they’re inclined.

This is where individual objectives, personal style, and social skills shape your moves and lead you to a completely different discussion.

Research has determined that you’ll receive 1 piece of social media love for every 12 you give. As you pick up momentum, the ratio shifts more into your favor.

This is why a well designed listening post is such a critical piece of your social media tool kit. It compresses the front end of your business development cycle, providing you with a focused, steady stream of high-value leads based on the key words you created which were, from the outset, designed to find the conversations being had by your consumers, your colleagues, and interested media.

The first step in every Internet-based strategy is finding the people you want to connect with, and the first step in accomplishing this is listening well.

Set up this simple listening post to get a handle on your social media activities, refine it every time you use it, and soon you’ll be hard pressed to keep up with the opportunities that’ll come your way every day.

Don Lafferty is a sales executive, writer and, social media marketing consultant. He's the Social Media Director of the Wild River Review, and the Web's wackiest canine comedy series, It's Todd's Show. You can find his blog, Don Lafferty’s Strategies, Thoughts and Instructions for Including Social Media in Your Marketing Plan, at:

http://www.donaldlafferty.com./
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Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences

Watch What You Say Online - Or Pay the Consequences
By Angela Wilson

Alice Hoffman acted like an idiot when she Tweeted nasty comments about a book reviewer who was just not that into her latest, The Story Sisters.

For those who didn't see it, the author of Practical Magic called the reviewer a "moron" and urged fans to call and email the reviewer to tell her the same thing. Hoffman even went so far as to print the reviewer's telephone number and email address. The author apparently didn't realize the reviewer only echoed things said by readers who commented on the book at Amazon.

Hoffman's chaotic, viscous comments ended up on sites like Gawker.com, and the L.A. Times did a story on her erratic, unprofessional behavior.

(Read more in Alice Hoffman Goes Ballistic on Twitter: http://www.marketmynovel.com/2009/07/alice-hoffman-goes-ballistic-on-twitter.html)

Soon after, Hoffman's Twitter account was deleted. However, her comments live in virtual infamy thanks to technology that allows us to grab screenshots to share with the masses.

The Hoffman episode is part of a growing trend of virtual social media rage, where someone who is insulted uses sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to get back at those who wounded them.

More and more, I see authors responding hatefully to bad reviews on Amazon, or sending snarky messages with their contempt for reviewers at Pop Syndicate who just didn't like their work.

Face cold, hard facts: Not everyone is going to love your work. Only your parents are going to fawn over every drag of the pencil you make while cultivating the next bestseller.

Hoffman's been around long enough that this may not have an impact on book sales. In the virtual universe, things happen quickly - and are forgotten just as quickly. Devoted fans may not feel the need to stop reading her for being stupid about one lukewarm review; however, some book reviewers tired of getting trampled on by ego-maniac authors have already said they won't bother requesting Hoffman's future works.

Newbie authors who pull a stunt like this could very well derail a promising career in publishing. If you do not have a proven track record with reviewers or fans, your attitude could easily crush any future interest in your work. People are pretty forgiving if you have a bad day and blog about it; they are not nearly as forgiving if you single out one individual and attempt to slaughter them in chat rooms, forums and social networks.

Before you sound off about a lukewarm or bad review, take a deep breath. Call a friend to vent. Write up a text file - NOT in your e-mail compose feature - about how you feel. Journal about it. If you must blog about it, be sure not to mention any specifics about the reviewer or site or publication, but share your feelings with your fans.

Then let it go. Don't waste time getting mad enough to get even. Focus your energies on networking with reviewers and fans that truly enjoyed your work. Build on this positive network to develop a devoted fan base that helps sell books - and keep you swimming in contracts.

Angela Wilson is a social media consultant who blogs about author marketing at Market My Novel (http://www.MarketMyNovel.com). She is the editor of Pop Syndicate's Book Addict Blog (http://www.popsyndicate.com/books) and pens dark paranormal romance when she's not catering to her 27-year old cat.

A Little Sabotage Goes a Long Way Online

A Little Sabotage Goes a Long Way Online
By Angela Wilson

Has your agent ever sabotaged a terrific marketing idea from your publisher?

It happened recently to one author when the agent put the ax on a dynamic Web site project the publisher wanted for promotions.

The publisher approached a well-known author Web site design firm about completely revamping the current site, which was an eyesore in desperate need of cyber love. The author had a three-book series coming out and the publisher was excited - and ready to back it financially with key Internet marketing strategies.

The author's agent had a different idea. Instead of redesigning a hopelessly outdated Web site, this agent felt that the Facebook-only promotions were good enough.

It was like the agent was saying, "I'll trade you this cool, long-term, author-owned Web site for Facebook, a third-party network that may or may not be around in two years."

Obviously, this agent did not thoroughly think through this plan - or its long-term impact to the client.

A dynamic Web site is key to online marketing success in the highly-competitive Web 2.0 environment. The Web has been around long enough that people expect authors to have Web sites that are professional, nicely designed and packed with key information like biographies, photographs, book synopses, cover art and reader group questions.

The fact that the agent turned down money the publisher was willing to pay is ludicrous.

Publishers don't pay for anything these days. If they wanted to pay for a Web redesign and use that site as a portal for online marketing strategies, the agent should have celebrated that little victory with the client instead of sabotaging the much-needed project.
The lack of understanding of online promotions is clear—and frightening, when you think about it.

Authors have limited brand control on social networks like Facebook. Users repeatedly have their Facebook identities stolen; hackers stole the profile of one author from Canada several times in one month. The impostor used her account to send messages to fans and even convinced Facebook that he/she was the "real" author. Imagine if you were a teen Christian author and someone hacked your Facebook page and posted photos of genitalia there, making all the world think you posted it. Your brand would be permanently damaged and likely would never recover.

Recently, Facebook changed its Terms of Service so it could own all content on the network. The recent outrage from Facebook users forced the network to switch back to the old TOS. The fact is, though, Facebook could change it again at any moment to own any content the author posts on their Facebook page, including excerpts, photos, cover art, promotional items and more. With a Web site designed by a professional firm, the author is in control of all content and branding.

The final nail in the agent's Facebook-only idea is this: Social networks are based on popularity. Facebook may or may not be around in a few years. Look at MySpace, formerly the leading place for authors to be. The niche there is so specific now that most authors are unable to use it effectively for marketing. Who says the same thing won't happen to Facebook, which is already seeing demographic shifts?

Here are other points to consider for social networking-only marketing:

*If all of your promotions are tied to a social network, you are at the mercy of that network. Its success is your success. Its failure is your downfall.

*You must play by the network's rules in the network's environment.

*You are restricted to their platform design.

*Your fans may be on this network now, but for how long? Will you need to move your promotions to another social network, recreating static content that would be better served on a Web site?

*What about SEO? If you are only found on a social network, you have limited or no opportunities to improve your search engine rankings, making it even more difficult for fans outside the network to find you.

Your Web site is your portal into the virtual world. It is the place where fans can find out more about you and your work. It is the first place book reviewers and interviewers check for your press kit, book information and more. It is the one stop everyone should make to find you everywhere on the Web. They are especially vital to small press or POD/self published authors, who have to work harder to sell their products.
I'm not saying that using Facebook is a bad idea. In fact, Facebook is an excellent network to integrate into an overall online marketing plan that builds your brand, finds fans and create a long-term Web presence that ultimately leads to sales.

However, dumping the Web site component in favor of the social network is a strategy destined to fail in the long-term.

If your publisher is anxious to pay for a new Web site to help promote your books, do not turn them down. Make sure your agent doesn't turn them down, either. A dynamic Web site is too important to let slide in today's market.

Angela Wilson is an author, social media consultant, and online marketing strategist. Visit her blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com, to learn more about cost-effective marketing strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors.

Find Ms. Wilson at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson

http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823

http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

http://twitter.com/angelawilson

Creative Cross Promotion

Creative Cross Promotion
By Don Lafferty

As much as we like to think our work is singularly compelling, the hard truth is, we’re faced with the daily challenge of breaking through the crushing onslaught of information bombarding our target readership.

Whether your promotional strategy of choice is print, radio, television, social media, or some combination of these, your ability to capture reader’s attention long enough for them to get your message requires just as much forethought and creativity as did grabbing the attention of your agent and publisher.

Step into the shoes of your target readers. What else do they read? Where do they surf the Net? What kind of music do they listen to? What movies do they watch and where do they shop? Which charities do they support?

The answers to these questions will provide you with countless opportunities to more effectively position you and your work in the places where your readers will take notice. Partnering with others will also leverage their networks to extend and multiply the reach of your own.
Create a local author marketing co-op.

We’ve all heard the sayings, “Two heads are better than one.” and “There’s strength in numbers.” This concept works for authors too. Bookstores, libraries, chambers of commerce and other local organizations are much more inclined to arrange a multiple author panel discussion [http://neterutour.com/Panelists.html] than a single, up-and-coming author appearance.

If you attend local writer’s workshops and other writer community events, you already know the other authors in the same boat as you, so start with your closest connections and build from there. Don’t be concerned with building your group around a single genre since the goal is to expand your circles through each other’s networks.

Five or ten authors promoting an event will create significantly more buzz and attendance than one author doing it alone, and it’ll expose each author’s work to a fresh readership with every event. Your host will LOVE the traffic and be more inclined to have the group back for future events.

Ten is a good number to shoot for with the understanding that each author won’t make every event.

Align with a charity or non-profit organization that fits the material of your work or resonates with you personally.

Organizations such as Reading is Fundamental [http://www.rif.org/] and The National Children’s Reading Foundation [http://www.readingfoundation.org/] are always looking for donations of new and used books which they distribute to organizations nationwide. Local homeless shelters, prisons and military units too, are happy to accept book donations, and are usually open to sharing a website banner or placement of free printed advertising in their newsletters and other correspondence. Tie the donation of used books to your author appearances and you have the ability to cross promote your events with these types of organizations.

Consider which charities might have synergy with your material and make a list of potential partners to pitch.

Drive your readers to independent booksellers.

In the current economy, independent booksellers are under tremendous pressure to compete with the big box bookstores, and are much more inclined to support authors who support them. Indiebound [http://indiebound.org] and The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) [http://www.naiba.com/] are both open to cross-promotion including author events, banner swaps and print ad placement.

Provide links to Indiebound from your website, blog and social media outposts and let your local independents know you’re on their team.

Mine your material for logical product promotional opportunities.

Product placement can be a slippery slope, but more and more we see this tack being adopted in all facets of the entertainment industry.

Is your protagonist addicted to a certain type of chewing gum, soft drink or snack food? No matter what your creative motivation for making this part of your character’s personality, there’s no reason you can’t contact the manufacturer of the product to let them know their stuff is being advertised for free in the body of your work.

Legend has it that Myron Bolitar’s addiction to Yoo-Hoo in Harlan Coben’s breakout series of novels captured the attention of Yoo-Hoo’s marketing department who went on to provide free Yoo-Hoo for every book signing Coben did.

Creative use of cross promotion is a highly effective tactic for an up-and-coming author and has the ability to dramatically expand an author’s outreach into like-minded reader communities.

Don Lafferty is a sales executive, writer and, social media marketing consultant. He's the Social Media Director of the Wild River Review, and the Web's wackiest canine comedy series, It's Todd's Show. You can find his blog, Don Lafferty’s Strategies, Thoughts and Instructions for Including Social Media in Your Marketing Plan, at:

http://www.donaldlafferty.com./
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Media Centers Essential for Authors on VBT (Virtual Book Tour)

Media Centers Essential for Authors on VBT (Virtual Book Tour)
By Angela Wilson

One of the most frustrating things about being a virtual book tour host for Pop Syndicate’s Book Addict blog is searching numerous Web sites for author information.

When I book authors for tour spots, I give them a brief paragraph of what we need and attach a PDF with more detailed information. Some authors read it thoroughly and follow through. Other authors are lucky to make their tour stop deadline.

When I pull together Q&As, photographs and book trailers for posts, I have to visit a variety of sites to get the information. It takes a lot of time, effort, and frustrates me when I cannot find what I'm looking for. What makes it even more infuriating is that the authors didn't bother to include that information with their completed Q&A or guest blog.

This is why every author who is serious about their work should have a media center on their Web site.

Your media center should be a one-stop shop of details about you. It should include anything anyone would need to do an interview with you, host you at their blog, write an article about you, include in reviews of your work, pass along to fans and link to from blogs and other sites.

Media centers also make it easy on you. When people ask for details about you, all you have to do is refer them to your media center.

Want to add a media center, but don’t know where to begin? Here is a quick checklist of items to get you started:

▪ Photographs of yourself in JPEG
▪ Cover art in JPEG
▪ News release archive (PDF)
▪ Guest blog appearance list (PDF or links list)
▪ Book tour and virtual book tour stops (PDF or links list)
▪ Links to your social networks
▪ Biography (include one short and one long bio) (PDF)
▪ Publicist contact information
▪ Excerpts (PDF)
▪ Downloadable audio clips
▪ Videos with EMBED codes

Your Web designer can help if you want to add this to your current site. If you don’t have a big budget, consider using a free blog like WordPress or Typepad, which allow you to add pages of information - not just blog posts.

Angela Wilson is an author, freelance author publicist and professional blogger and podcaster. She requests ARCs and manages the book blog for Pop Syndicate, where she hosts authors on virtual book tours. If you have a question about promotions, visit www.askangelawilson.com and fill out the contact form. Your question may be used on that site or in a future newsletter column.

Find Ms. Wilson at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson

http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823

http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

http://twitter.com/angelawilson

Get Real! Publishing Myths Exposed!

Get Real! Publishing Myths Exposed!
By Penny C. Sansevieri
http://www.amarketingexpert.com/
Click here

In the years since I've been in publishing I can't even count on one hand how many myths I've heard or how many of them have been pushed on unknowing authors. Arming yourself with knowledge is always a good idea and my intention is to share what I've found to be the biggest myths in publishing. There are twelve that rise to the surface for me, you might have a few that you’ve learned the hard way. I hope that I can help dispel a few myths and, in the process, give you a few promotional tips as well.

1) If someone writes a review I don't like, can I get them to rewrite it? No, this will never happen, nor should you ask for this. Doing this will show you are a novice. If you get back a bad review try to learn from it and move on. It happens to everyone at least once, it's disheartening but unfortunately, it's part of the business.

2) Radio is all I need to sell books. Not true. For some authors radio is golden but that's few and far between. Doing a lot of radio may be great for your exposure but it may not sell books. The best type of radio are interviews that are done to promote an event or workshop, that way you can at least drive people to something, rather than hoping they'll click on your site.

3) I'm going to take my independent title and get it on Oprah. Some years back, Oprah decided to be "unique" when selecting her books and she picked a title that came from a very small publisher. Because a mention on the Oprah show can produce a high demand, the publisher could not keep up with the orders, nor did they have enough in stock or stocked in a bookstore. The result? A lot of viewers called into the show when they couldn't find the book and Oprah vowed never to feature a small press title again. The challenge here is always availability. If you have a book from a small press but it has significant bookstore placement and availability, be sure to let the producers know this when you're pitching the book. It could go a long way to helping you gain consideration for the show!

4) I'm going to get my book on the New York Times Bestseller list. Bestseller lists are funny things, many of them (like the New York Times list) are not based on sales but rather on exposure and popularity. Meaning that if your book is gaining huge popularity, it might not be selling a ton of copies but bookstores are buzzing about it. The New York Times has around thirty or so bookstores around the country that report to them on what's hot and what's not. None of this is based on sales, just on what people are asking for. But regardless of the sales quota, in order to attain this level of exposure your book needs to have a significant print run of at least 50,000 or more. This also means that there needs to be placement of the book in bookstores. Yes, there are always exceptions to this rule, we saw that recently with the success of The Shack, but if someone is promising you bestseller status, take your marketing dollars and run.

5) If I get into Amazon does that mean my distribution is handled? No, Amazon is not a distributor, they are an online portal. Distribution means that there is a distributor actively involved in selling your book into bookstores. While it's great to be listed on all the online sites, having this as your only access point could hamper your book's success. If at all possible, get someone to distribute your title. Distribution can be tricky but it's often the one missing piece to a book's success.

6) How can I prevent my review copies from being sold? Unfortunately you can't, nor should you waste your time and energy on trying to get them back. Review copies are sold, it happens all the time and spending your time chasing used copies isn't a good use of your promotional efforts.

7) When I schedule a book signing the store will do all the promotion, right? Wrong. The bookstore may do some of the promotion, but not all of it. You will handle the lion's share of promotion for your event - this includes but is not limited to: notifying the media, printing up flyers and taking them to the store (if they'll let you provide bag stuffers to notify patrons prior to the event), getting a calendar listing in your local paper(s), getting posters done with your book cover on them, printing up and inviting every single one of your local contacts.

8) Will major media outlets review my book? Possibly, it depends. There's a lot of competition out there for review space, and review space is shrinking. While aspiring to a review in the New York Times is nice, it's important to be realistic. If your book is print-on-demand, major media may be less inclined to review it. Instead, take a look at trade or local (regional) media. And if your regional media says they won't review your book, try getting them to do a story on you.

9) Your book will be judged by its cover: This means unless your grandson is Rembrandt he or she may not contribute her finger paintings to your cover design. Period. End of story. There is a rare exception to this but it's important to note that it's rare. Having a professional cover is like trying to decide whether to use hot pink paper for your resume or stock white. Unless the job you're applying for welcomes a wildly creative bent, it's likely that an off-beat approach to your resume will turn off any future employer. Your book is the same way. Your book is your resume, your book cover is your cover letter. If you want to get them to read on you'd better be careful about the first thing you put in front of them. Don't take chances with your cover. Do your research, know what sells and what doesn't, and know what will get your reader to pick up the book and what won’t.

10) All of my friends will buy my book! Your friends may not buy your book; the truth is, strangers tend to buy books faster than friends do so don't be discouraged if your pals aren't snapping up your book.

11) How many copies should I plan to give away to promote my book? As many as it takes. Don't give copies to family and friends. I know this might sound mean but fair is fair, the only people who get a free copy are Mom and Dad. Friends and family need to pony up the money and buy their own copies. The rest (promotional copies) you’ll buy and give away like candy.

12) How long will it take for me to be successful? I don't know, no one does. I wish I had the answer to that question. We've worked with authors who are rising successes after six months, and others who are still plugging away two and three years after their book came out. The key is to have passion for what you're doing. Passion and commitment will keep you going through the good times and the dark days which will most certainly happen. Passion and commitment will remind you why you're in this and why you need to stay dedicated to your work. If you're not passionately committed to what you're doing, how do you expect anyone else to be?

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media relations expert whose company has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.

Tame the Self Marketing Beast: Start With the Basics

Tame the Self Marketing Beast: Start With the Basics
By Don Lafferty

Last month, Angela Wilson [http://www.askangelawilson.com/] reminded us why marketing your work and yourself is an essential plank in every writer’s platform, and how a bite-sized commitment to personal branding and self-marketing can grow comfortably into a more ambitious effort as you get a feel for the activities that produce results.

Self marketing is a broad term comprised of lots of different types of activities, all designed to accomplish one of three things: to connect you with readers who will buy your work, colleagues with whom you can collaborate and network, and media types whose only professional purpose is to talk about books and people like you.

But before becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of outlets available to accomplish these things, know this—nobody covers all the bases all the time, so start off by making sure your strategy is built on a solid foundation, and then grow your effort from there.

Get a real business card [http://jruckman.com/], not something you cooked up on your home printer. There are so many inexpensive options available, that not having a business card can be construed as unprofessional by some editors and agents. Stick with the standard size and spend a little extra money on chunky, robust stock.

When someone asks you about your work, be prepared to blow them away by having a concise, high impact, impeccably well-rehearsed description of your book or yet-to-be-published manuscript. If you’re fortunate enough to have the ear of an editor at a cocktail party or in an airplane, it would be tragic to misrepresent all your hard work simply because you haven’t taken the time to distill the synopsis down to a thirty second spot [http://www.elevatorpitchessentials.com/essays/ElevatorPitch.html]. This isn’t an option; it’s part of the process.

Create a press kit [http://www.writing-world.com/promotion/presskit.shtml], and in addition to having a digital copy ready to email, keep a hard copy close at hand, especially if you engage in live networking. If you want to grab the imagination of the media, you’ve got to deliver them the goods in the format they’re accustomed to. Keep it as brief as possible while cramming enough detail and nuance in there to make you and your work a compelling story.

The same goes for press releases. If you don’t know how to write a PR, go to one of the many online resources [http://www.lunareclipse.net/pressrelease.htm] available. Once you have a well crafted PR, it’s easy to push it out to all manner of media outlets via email and fax.

An author’s presence on the Interwebs is non-negotiable in today’s culture of media sharing, web-only content, and easy access to communities of common interest. Fortunately, this is one of the easiest, lowest cost places to start.

Create a Wordpress blog free of charge by visiting www.wordpress.com and following the easy setup instructions. In minutes, you’ll be up and running. It’s easy to customize your blog’s look to your personal taste, and with an inexpensive reference book like Wordpress for Dummies, you can take your blog to the next level. Whether you write nonfiction, novels, poetry or comics, a blog can be one of the most straightforward ways to give your work a presence for the entire world to see. I recommend Wordpress because the price is right, it’s simple to customize and extremely easy for visitors to leave comments.

Your blog will be Home Base [http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/] for all of your self-marketing activities going forward, so be sure the appearance and content portray the image you’re shooting for. Regular blogging may be more than you’re able to commit to, so just be sure the “About” page is tight, and use that URL as your home page on all correspondence and business cards.

Set up a Facebook page, MySpace page and Twitter account but remember—these are nothing more than digital outposts [http://www.chrisbrogan.com:80/using-outposts-in-your-media-strategy/] designed to bring visitors back to your blog where you’ll have the opportunity to dazzle them with your prosaic artistry—and sell them a book. That is what this is all about, right? So stop all the groaning and get it done. You don’t have to expend an enormous amount of energy in these places, but it’s impossible to draw from these communities if you’re not there.

Create a “signature” for all your correspondence that includes the URLs of your blog’s “About” page, your Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, as well as the title of your book and links to any other points of contact you might have out there, and then use it religiously.

Once you have these basic building blocks in place, you’ll be positioned to craft more elaborate and effective self-marketing strategies as time and budget permit.

Don Lafferty is a sales executive, writer and self-marketing consultant. One of his jobs is being the Social Media Director for the Wild River Review, and he can sometimes be caught “rambling,” as he puts it, in WWR or at his blog, Can Digital Communities Help You Sell More Stuff?

http://www.donaldlafferty.com/blog/about/
http://wildriverreview.com
http://www.myspace.com/donlafferty
http://twitter.com/donlafferty
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=694492233

Resolve to Market—Even If It Kills You

Resolve to Market—Even If It Kills You
By Angela Wilson

Authors spend endless hours toiling over their manuscripts. They use a fine editor's pen, axing every Little Darling, adding detail where necessary, to make sure it is just perfect.

Writers have no problem spending immeasurable amounts of time on this labor of love, yet they cringe at the thought of even using one second of their day for marketing. Their aversion is fierce and dedicated - and it leaves them sadly floating along while other authors gain traction in a tight market.

Authors who dawdle with marketing - or outright refuse to do it - are doing themselves a great disservice. Face facts: Most publishing houses - big and small - will not do it for you. Freelance publicists are not always the answer, and their fees could bust your budget big time. It is up to you, the writer, to get the word out about yourself and your work. If you do not market, how is anyone going to know about that wonderful MS that you finally got published?

The biggest excuse I hear is, "I don't want to lose any writing time."

My response: "You won't need writing time if you don't sell anything."

Let's face the inevitable: Writing is a business. Scary but true. If you want to succeed on your own terms, you need to take the marketing bull by the horns and own it, instead of relishing in your dislike of it.

As part of your 2009 goals, I strongly encourage you to make time for marketing. Add it to your writing time. If all you have is ten minutes a day, then use it to make Facebook friends, send e-mails to fans or slowly piece together an eLetter. Use it to search for new blogs that will host you on virtual book tours. Make a call to a local reporter, just to check in and continue building on that important relationship. Write a blog post about your day.

As you get into the swing of marketing, add a little more time to the clock until you reach at least three hours per week devoted solely to marketing. It isn't that hard - and it is not always dreary work. Do not be afraid to try new things. If something doesn't work, drop it and try something else. If something does work, but you hate doing it, find a friend or family member who will gladly do it for you—and treat them to dinner for their help.

Resolve to market in the coming year. Begin the process of branding yourself and your work. It will go a long way to creating a dedicated fan base that buys.

Angela Wilson is an author, freelance author publicist and professional blogger and podcaster. She requests ARCs and manages the book blog for Pop Syndicate, where she hosts authors on virtual book tours. If you have a question about promotions, visit www.askangelawilson.com and fill out the contact form. Your question may be used on that site or in a future newsletter column.

Find Ms. Wilson at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/angelawilson

http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela_Wilson/775118823

http://www.myspace.com/angelawilson

http://twitter.com/angelawilson

Author Leanna Renee Hieber discusses her short story "Seafound"

Author Leanna Renee Hieber discusses her short story "Seafound" available at Crescent Moon Press.