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Book Publicity: Are You Reaching Libraries?

October 24, 2008 by Atilla Vekony, Publishing Information Manager

If you are marketing your book to libraries, it can be frustrating not to know how many libraries (and which ones) have actually ordered your book as a result of your book publicity campaign. Your publisher sends you a sales report containing the number of books sold, but because of privacy laws you will never know the identity of the purchaser, or in this case, which libraries have bought your book.

Wouldn't it be great to know if your book made it to the libraries on your marketing list? Sure, you can call up every single one of them or search their online databases one by one, but now there is a better way. WorldCat is a site where you can search the holdings of thousands of libraries worldwide. Try it! Enter your book's title or just check out this sample title.

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How to Prepare a Press Release

October 15, 2008 by Wheatmark, Admin

Guest article by Mitchell Friedman, APR

The press release is the document most frequently used to communicate information to reporters. Given the flood of documents, phone calls, and email these professionals receive, it’s imperative that press releases be well written to cut through the clutter. The following guidelines should prove helpful.

* Issue a press release only when there is legitimate news to announce.
Promotions, awards, new products or services, and events merit press releases.

In general, information is more likely to be considered newsworthy if it meets one or more of these criteria:

      o It has a demonstrably significant impact on others;
      o It is timely (e.g. a weight loss program introduced in early January, when many people think about the subject);
      o It offers a different perspective or angle on a popular topic; it is new or unusual; there’s a human interest component (e.g. people, children, animals);
      o It highlights organizational or individual achievements;
      o A well-known person is involved;
      o There is a local angle (related either to a neighborhood, city, region, state, or nation);
      o Or it is related to a subject about which people always want to learn more (e.g. relationships, love, making money).

* Provide the name of a representative of the organization who can answer questions likely to be raised by a reporter. Offer a phone number (including cell phone number and/or pager, if appropriate) and an email address where this person can be contacted. If this person travels or is often unreachable for blocks of time, provide the name (and complete contact information) for a second knowledgeable organizational representative.

Place information on contacts in the upper right hand corner of the press release, and present it in the following format:

    For More Information Contact:
    Joe Jones
    Acme Manufacturing
    (123) 456-7890 office
    (123) 434-9087 cell
    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) email

    Seymour Smith
    Seymour Smith Public Relations
    (333) 879-4509 office
    (333) 887-4608 cell
    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) email

* Craft a clear, concise (one to two lines) and accurate title. It must communicate the main point of your press release and its potential newsworthiness.

* State your news clearly and concisely in the first sentence, which is referred to as the lead. The lead sentence must answer the following question: “hat is the main point communicated in the press release?

* Present information in order of descending importance, starting with the lead sentence as most important. You will then want to cover who, what, when, where, why, and how as related to your story, as succinctly as possible.

* Quote the words of an organizational representative only if they add essential details or perspective to the story you are telling. Do not simply include a quote for the sake of quoting someone or, even worse, to assuage the ego of an executive.

* Provide a general description of your organization or cause as the last paragraph. This section is commonly called the “boilerplate.” It consists of a one- to two-sentence mission statement, and your company contact information (including phone, fax, email, and Web site address).

* Write short sentences and paragraphs. Use simple, active verbs. Be interesting and engaging. Purge your writing of unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, and jargon. Tell you story forcefully and clearly but remember that you are not writing sales or marketing copy.

* Double space the text of the release, and leave one-inch margins on the sides.

* Tell your story in one to two pages, at most.

About Mitchell Friedman, APR

© 2001 Mitchell Friedman, APR. Provides training in writing, media interview preparation, presentation skills, Internet public relations, and other communication skills. For more information, see http://www.mitchellfriedman.com

Angry Booksellers, Angrier Bookmakers, and the Indie Art of War

October 07, 2008 by Wheatmark, Admin Book industry trade publications are not generally known for their attention-grabbing headlines, and booksellers are not generally known as war-mongering hot-heads, but this morning’s PW email greeted me with one of the most intriguing subject headings this book marketing chick has seen in quite a while: "Angry Bookseller’ Speaks Out at GLIBA."

Read the article and you’ll learn that Publisher’s Weekly isn’t above sensationalizing an email subject heading in order to increase their open rate.

Read the comments following the article and you’ll find that there appears to be a growing disconnect between indie booksellers and indie publishers/authors.

While I don't think so-called "Angry Bookseller" Carol Besse (co-owner of Carmichael's Books and outgoing GLIBA President) could rightly be labeled as anything more than perhaps mildly perturbed (at least not based on anything revealed in this little article. I mean come on, there were no chairs thrown, no hair pulled – I've seen angry – this is not angry; this is maybe miffed), her "call to arms" (in preparation for war against Amazon.com) did manage to catch the ear, as well as the ire of some indie publishers and indie (ie: self-published) authors who feel they’ve been too long ignored by their bookselling brethren.

Rather than argue as to which literary indie group has the most to be angry about, let's just assume that these days there are plenty of problems to go around in the independent literary community, and it sounds like everyone has more than their fair share.

What was it SunTzu said in (what could be considered his best book on the subject ever) The Art of War? Ah, that's right (thanks Google): "Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems."

Or something like that.

Point being -- maybe the problems that indie publishers, indie authors, indie distributors, and indie booksellers are facing individually, might collectively present a big fat opportunity.

Maybe, if we all put our indie heads together, indie publishers and authors could work with indie distributors and booksellers to form mutually beneficial relationships.

Maybe we could even involve the likes of the indie book and publishing associations such as Independent Book Publishers’ Association and SPAN; and indie print reviewers like Foreword Magazine and Midwest Book Review; and while we're at it we could include the indie book blog-o-sphere, etc. to bring readers' attention to those lesser-known, but deserving, self-published & indie-pubbed titles.

Maybe in this war of indies and locals versus big-boxes and online giants, the best defense for all of us indies is a collective, customer-focused and value-rich offense.

I'll take my comments off the air…

Self-publishing Children’s Books: Five Writing Tips for Successful Authors

October 02, 2008 by Wheatmark, Admin

It seems simple to write a children’s book. They typically don’t have a lot of words, the characters can be fairly shallow, and, frankly, they are usually really short.

However, a children’s book that will stand the test of time, be enjoyable for all readers, and be valuable in the market can be a bit trickier.

Five Tips to Writing a Successful Young Children’s Book:

1. Have a plot driven by problem-solving and moral dilemmas. Children are always being asked to solve something or to think about right and wrong. Books that follow this same thread are easy for them to identify with. Is it wrong to steal? Yes. If there are two people and only one apple, what do you do? Share! If you don’t let someone play with you, how do they feel? Sad. Using stories to teach and entertain is excellent, but only if it is something they can grasp.

2. Have repeating phrases. Children, particularly those on the cusp of reading, like to “read” along. Predictable and—better yet—rhyming phrases that occur throughout the book allow them to participate (or yell) along with the adult reader.

3. Create bright illustrations that are easily identifiable. Make sure the illustrations aren’t so sketchy that young eyes from a distance can’t identify the picture. Even sitting next to you on the couch can be a difficult angle if the pictures are too small or to “scratchy.”

4. Keep it short. How many times have you been asked to “read it again!” by a young, engaged reader? Too long of a book and they can often lose the thread. But more importantly, an endearing book is one that they can hear over and over again because the adult will be willing to invest the time for just “once more.”

5. Incorporate movement and sound. Young children like to be involved with the story. Often they’ll interact by telling their reader a “sequel” to the story about what happens to the character later on. However, a surefire way to hit a homerun with little ones is for them to get to make hand gestures or noises that accompany the story. Think about how animated children get when it’s time to sing “The Wheels on the Bus.” Between the hand gestures and vocalizations, that song is always a huge hit. Use those same techniques for you story, and you’ll have created a classic story kids will ask to read again and again.

Keep these five tips in mind as you write and illustrate your children’s book. Are you interested in publishing a book with Wheatmark? If you’d like us to consider your publishing project, please tell us about your book project here.