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How to Market a Book: Clips and Articles

June 29, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
You have interviewed on TV, radio and in the newspaper. Now there is an upcoming magazine article for a local magazine scheduled to run next month. Also, you've been guest blogging on a well-known site for your genre.

You should make sure that you have all these great "clips" organized in one place.

Most websites for authors include a section that houses all their media appearances. Many authors also include their own articles they've written in this section, however, if you are a prolific writer, you may want to specify a separate section on your site for those.

What is the purpose of showing your clips?
  • underscore credibility
  • provides more information
  • creates a place for author platform building, potential readers will get to "know" you by your interviews
  • show your stuff: you've worked hard to get publicity and now it's paying off
  • if you are planning on lecturing, you can show some of your workshops here
  • interviewers can do background research on you
Having an area for your clips allows for easy access to them if you want to direct someone to them, it's a great way to show your credibility as an expert and author, and also says, "Hey, someone was interested in me! You will be, too!"

Also, it's better than a stack of clips and Post-Its on your desk that you'll "get to." Having the links, videos, and transcripts organized on your website creates and easy to use and organized warehouse for all your marketing results!

Sew, Do You Nim? Using Pen Names for Your Books

June 26, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
We are asked frequently about using pseudonyms by authors--should they use them, what are their options, etc.

I've compiled a list of the top reasons authors choose pen names and the pros and cons of each so you can decide whether you want to start flipping through baby name books.

Content will upset family and friends due to honesty, sexuality, or language
Frankly, this is the reason many of our authors consider pen names and for many of them, this was the correct choice.

Pros: If your family is wound a little tight and would disapprove of your thinly veiled character portrayals of them, or your church friends just wouldn't understand your desire to write sexy novels, or your language isn't suitable for your coworkers you may want to consider a pen name.

Cons: If you are writing a memoir, but don't want to let your family know, you are lying to your readers. Readers really don't like the veil of mystery when reading autobiographies. Those disapproving friends, family, and coworkers are the beginnings of your author platform, by alienating/not trusting them, you may be missing out on your most valuable reviewers.

Writing for different companies
Many musicians do this if they want to work off their contracted label. Authors may do this as well. By creating a new name, you can often shop your books to different houses without them knowing.

Pros: For traditionally published authors, this isn't always a bad idea, particularly if you want to write in different genres. However, it isn't always needed. Ricky Gervais, an often foul-mouthed comedian, writes very successful children's books.

Cons: This is a sneaky thing to do and if it comes to light (it usually does), you may find yourself having to answer for your behavior. Also, you limit the ability of your books to help market each other. Sites like Amazon.com automatically group books by the same author together, thus improving their chances of selling together. Multiple names won't create that valuable link.

Want a pen name that suits their genre
Many authors are concerned that their past success in one genre will damage their success in another. Stephen King did this. Concerned that his already burgeoning horror writing fame would prevent his ability to write non-horror books, he created the pen name Richard Bachman. He was found out and King eventually "killed" Bachman off.

A common form of this is male writers who work in romance. Some men feel that, because women are the majority market and majority writers, romance fans may balk at a hot little number of a book written by Lester Neebs.

Pros: You can create a dramatic name that suits your genre nicely. Pixie Sugardust is a terrible name for a legal historian, well actually, it's a bad name all around. Apologies to those named that.

Cons: Much like King was found out, it is possible you will eventually be brought to light and have to come clean.

Too common, too difficult or unsavory name
Pro: You say your name is John Doe? For an author trying to make a name for themselves, that's a bit to overcome. It already sounds like a poorly contrived pen name. Or maybe your name is impossible to say or type. That will also make it difficult for readers to order your book. Also, if your last name is really long, you may want to consider truncating it to make it easier to fit on a business card. And finally, if your parents named you something that you're almost embarrassed to admit (some playground tales of ignorant folks naming their girls after some nasty diseases because they sounded pretty do come to mind), you'll want to choose a pen name. Actually, if that is the case, you may want to look into legally changing it!

Con: Your mom might be mad at you for turning your back on the family name.

Better positioning with publishers
It isn't fair. But some authors have found that changing their name to a man's name or woman's name, depending on the circumstance, has actually made a difference in their acceptance to the (traditionally) published realm. In fact, many female authors have had better success when renamed more male-oriented names (cough cough Bronte sisters).

Pro: Your genre may be a bit tetchy about your gender. Like I've already mentioned, some people feel that romance novels are a sexist group. Another scenario would be, say, a book titled, The Women's Career Guide to Working with Other Women. I don't care if you are an expert on the modern psychology and sociology of women in the workplace. If you're a man, you are treading in choppy waters there. Gender studies that deal with gender-to-gender advice, generally should come from someone of that gender.

Con: I said it wasn't fair. And it isn't.

MOST IMPORTANT
If you are going to use a pen name and plan to send out marketing materials to all of your friends: Make sure they know it is you. We've historically had authors do this, but neglect to tell their friends, only to be confused when their loyal friends didn't buy the book.

The first surge of sales most independent authors experience are to their friends, acquaintances, and family. If they don't know who you are, you won't make the sale.

That may be the most important factor in deciding to use a pen name. How much is name recognition going to effect your entry sales and fledgling author platform?

In the end, it's up to you the author to decide!

Interested in some famous author pseudonyms? Check out this site here for a few you may not have known!

How to Market a Book: Story Suggestions for Media

June 25, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
Alternate title for this post: How to Make the Media's Job Easier So They Will Give You Free Publicity

When you think of the media covering you and your book, do you envision a reporter coming to your house, notepad in hand while you sit in your formal living room and they ask you about your inspiration?

If you do, you're going to be disappointed. Just like homes rarely have formal living rooms anymore, most media outlets can't spare the time for traditional, lengthy interviews. What they need is a quick and dirty idea about you that they can pad out with some details, a picture, and, if there is an event, the specifics about where and when it will be.

You can help your media staffer, and your coverage, by creating some easy materials for them to steal/crib/be inspired by.

Here are some items to consider:
  • Fast Facts
  • Backgrounders
  • Story ideas and themes your book goes with
  • Interview Q & A
  • Additional resources list
  • List of Events
Fast facts: Quick tidbits of insight a reporter can use to add interest to their story.

Backgrounders: By offering up research items, such as where you grew up, that you suffer from eczema and that's where your character's fear of rashes stemmed from, etc., you keep your reporter from having to dig. You can give them the info upfront and help them ask you better questions.

Story Ideas and Themes: Most reporters haven't read your book, and frankly, it's not likely they will. You'll need to clue them in that your book would be perfect for a Memorial Day package because your book is about war or soldiers. By creating a list of stories and angles in which your story could be presented, or maybe themes/holidays stories about your book would be good for helps reporters out. It helps them package stories together and you can be part of that story!

Interview Q & A: It works on Letterman. If you are going to be interviewed, why not try to be asked the questions you'd like to be asked? By making up a set list of interview questions and then answering them, you make it so that there is already background and structure before the interviewer even calls you on the phone! You can even work in all those mundane Q&A standbys like "What is the title of your book."

Additional Resources: Sometimes your book will be the jumping point of a piece, but, the media outlet may want to provide additional information about a topic. For example, say your book is about epilepsy. It would be helpful for their readers/viewers/listeners if they had access to further info and you can help direct them by anticipating this need and providing it. A simple list of books, online resources, and organizations is all it takes!

And finally ...

List of Events: Always provide the who, what, when, where, how much for your upcoming events when dealing with the media. If your story doesn't run for your first event, they may hold it for another in the future. Plus, many media outlets maintain calendars and will helpfully add your event to it. Always give them the information they need to help you!

When trying to get pieces done about your book or yourself as an author, remember that interviewers are on deadline and the more information you give them to work with and the less they need to probe out of you with questions, the more likely you are to have a great story come out that helps you sell your book!

How to Market a Book: How to Display Your Reviews

June 23, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
Blurbs and endorsements from readers are a great way to start out. You should keep them in one place--one document or on a tab on a website--so that interested parties can check them out. Always remember to get a name and title of the endorser.

What kind of people do you want to endorse your book?
The best endorsements, meaning the ones that will best be able to help you sell your book, are from people who are:
  • knowledgeable about books
  • knowledgeable about your topic
  • already famous and have clout with audiences.
Recently I flagged an endorsement on a book to be downplayed because the book's topic was very specific about something like molecular science but the blurb on the book was from someone who's title may have involved "insurance agent." Unless that insurance agent is also the vice president of the molecular science club, his kind words of encouragement are nice, but not necessarily helpful to sell the book.

How can you tell if someone will be a help?
Consider if that same blurb writer hated the book, would it really make any difference? If not, then likely they aren't going to be very effective in persuading your audience even if they like it.

For example, if your insurance agent hates your book on molecular science because, "the book was incredibly confusing and the concepts were just terribly explained," and your book isn't entitled, "Molecular Science for Insurance Agents" my guess is that the negative review wouldn't help or hurt your market share.

What about newspaper/magazine/blog mentions?
A write up from a media outlet can help your book sales. A mere mention in an author roundup is pretty good. A full article about your book is great.

One of the great boons to clip cutting in the modern day is that you really no longer have to actually cut your clips. So many media services are online, you can easily link to the article on your website or blog.

If you are sending a printed version of your marketing kit, you can simply refer to the article title, media outlet, and date. You can provide a link, and few choice lines of the article, or maybe just a solid quote.
"The advances in molecular science are amazing and this book will help scientists better understand the atomic world."
Booked for the Future: Molecular Science in the Modern Day, Science Geek Daily, May 3, 2009 View full article at http://www.nerdlings.com
Don't despair! If your orthodontist wants to weigh in on your molecular science tome, the perfect place for her, your mother, and your uncle Robby is on Amazon. In fact, the more people you direct to give you positive reviews on Amazon.com, the better off you'll be!

How many should I include?
Only include as many blurbs of reviews as will fill a standard sheet or two of paper (and only two if they are lengthy endorsements) if you are printing them out and mailing them.

For your website or blog, you can list as many as you want. Make sure to list your strongest, most compelling endorsements at the top. Readers tend to skim and don't have long attention spans for information on web pages, so you really want to get the key ones at the top.

Another thing you do with endorsement blurbs is to pepper them throughout your marketing materials. Use them in your press releases to give a quotable point of view to your book. Put one on a contact sheets of images to help dress it up and give it even more value! It's a nice way to get positive remarks about your book in from of people without touching that "look how great I am" nerve.

How do I get feedback if my book isn't out yet?
Something we recommend for some of our authors is to do an Advanced Review Copy or ARC. This is an initial small print run of books created for distribution to reviewers. They have an "eyebrow" that marks them as ARCS and not for sale. This is how your potential reviewers can give you feedback before your final print run. With Wheatmark, we will simply do a revision on your book when you are satisfied with your feedback on your ARCS, and send the new version to print. Yes, it costs a little bit more, but for some books, it's the most intelligent way to begin author platforming efforts and to give reviewers a jump on climbing aboard your bandwagon!

These are generally treated differently than having a book reviewer request a copy of your book. In most cases, ARCs go out to a preselected group of reviewers the author has asked to look at the book.

Getting great endorsements and reviews may not, in the beginning, do much for your book sales. What they do is provide credibility to your work. Just like when you go on a job interview you have a resume but are also asked for references, your blurbs are your references. Amazon is a great place to direct friendly reviewers to help you broaden your author platform. When it comes to blurbs for marketing you want to stick with the best!

How to Market a Book: About The Book

June 22, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
You've got your contact information figured out, started writing press releases, gathered up some images to provide to media outlets, but what about the actual book?

With your book you'll want to have a tantalizing book description, a strong excerpt to draw in readers, information on where to buy your book, and also a "Review Copy" request form.

Book Description
Your book description should be well-written. Actually, everything you write publicly should be well-written. Potential readers will be making judgements about your book based on their experiences with your writing. So make sure to have your description copyedited by another person!

Your book description's goal is to convert potential readers into readers. By making your book sound interesting, without giving too much away, you'll be sure to lure in readers. Think about how movie previews work when you go to a theater. They try to build suspense, excitement, and a sense that a story will be laid out that you will enjoy. Use those same techniques to build a "must-read" book description.

Book Excerpt
Often authors are more than happy to give readers a taste of their book by offering up an excerpt from their book. This is a great way to introduce reader to your book and help them make the decision to buy your book. However, be careful not to give them too much! Choose a page or two from a key chapter that you think is one of your best. That's all you need. Some authors will offer up a free PDF of a full chapter from their book to entice readers: that's a great idea! But for a press kit, website, or blog you'll want to keep it short.

Online readers aren't often ready to invest the time it takes to get through a full chapter if they haven't elected to do so by downloading it. If you just have a page that continues to scroll for ages on a site, you're likely to lose the thing you want: them to buy your book. They are likely to just click on their next bookmark and move along to another site.

Review Copy Request Form
A form like this allows you to screen who is reviewing your book. There are lots of people out there who would be willing to take a free copy of your book under the guise of being a "reviewer."

By making your reviewers do a touch bit more work and also providing a papertrail so you know who is reading your book and where they'll talk about it, you make it easy to select appropriate reviewers.

In our free book marketing guide, we talk about figuring out who your core audience is going to be. You'll want book reviewers who are going to understand the genre you write it, who are read by those interested in books like yours, and who will help you spread the word about your book.

Here is a sample form you can take and personalize!

Book_Review_Copy_Request_Form.doc

How to Market a Book: Gathering Your Images

June 18, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
One of the key elements to a successful book marketing campaign, I believe, is being organized. Knowing what you will need and having it ready at a moment's notice.

Getting your images together in the beginning will make all your publicity efforts smoother as you roll them out.

You don't necessarily need to have printed versions. In fact, digital versions that you can email are preferable. You can always print out a digital version, but having to scan in a printed version when you need to email it to someone can be a real hassle.

For all your images, you should have a high-resolution image (300 dpi) as well as a smaller version that is 72 dpi.

DPI for the less tech-savvy means dots per inch and reflects the quality of the image (nearly all websites use 72 so they load faster, magazines and other print media need high quality images).

The following are the images you should include in your arsenal:
  • cover
  • author photo
  • images from your book's interior if you have them
  • candid shots - from book signings, award ceremonies, writers groups, book clubs, speaking engagements, etc.
Each item should be in an easily transferable format such as a .jpg or .pdf versions.

Having these on hand not only makes it easier to send them out to bloggers, reviewers, and other media outlets, but it also can help give you a leg up in the free publicity area. Having quality, available art makes you more viable as a story because you have something most media outlets need: something to look at.

Also, anytime you want to create a flyer, button, name tag, etc., you'll always have the images available whether you do the materials yourself or hire them out.

By having these images ready to go from the start, you'll be able to meet deadlines, get more coverage, and not have to fuss with technology or calling editors for the pieces when it really counts!

How to Market a Book: Press Releases

June 17, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
Press releases are a common, useful way to tell media outlets and other interested parties (book clubs, writing groups, etc.) about your upcoming title releases, signing events, and other important milestones.

Press releases should include the following elements:
  • contact information at top
  • headline
  • dateline
  • body of information
  • additional requests information like website links
Here is the sample press release from the Wheatmark book marketing workbook:
samplepressrelease.pdf

You can also include a picture of your book cover or an author photo, bullet points of information, a list of upcoming events, and book purchasing information.

What should your press releases be about? They shouldn't just be about your book being for sale. If you can tie your book topic into a current event or holiday, you'll be in even better shape to get publicity for your book. For more about content, check out this previous post!

To get your free copy of the marketing workbook, sign up here!

How to Market a Book: Author Bios and Profiles

June 16, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager

Next thing to discuss is your author bio and profile.

You may be wondering, isn't that the same thing? Ah ha! No! OK, yes. Sort of. See? That's why I have to write about these things.

Author Bio
An author bio is similar to the blurb about yourself you put on your book jacket. It is a short overview about you that should include, if nonfiction, why you are qualified to write the book on the topic you've chosen.

If fiction, you may just want to mention something about what spurred you on to write.

The key to the bio is that it should be short, a paragraph. Bios are used for some of the following situations:
  • Captions on photos
  • On blog tours
  • For publicity materials like flyers
  • Blog and Amazon profiles
Author Profile
The profile can be a much lengthier description of you and your background. A profile is where you want to do what my mom calls "brain dumping." Anything you think people might be interested in, educational degrees, certifications, how many pets you have, what area of the world you inhabit, your hobbies, etc. Your author profile will likely be used in situations like these:
  • author interviews for background
  • on your website or blog
  • snippets may be taken to give articles layers
Credentials
One other thing you may want to list is your credentials as they relate to your writing topic. For example, if you've written a book about dealing with death and you are a psychologist, you'll want to create a list of all your licenses, certifications, whether you lecture or teach, and if you write articles. The reason for this is simple: your qualifications underscore how much trust your readers will have.

This is most important for nonfiction books. For fiction, you may be a certified Ford mechanic in your daily life, but if you've written a novel about a girl who wins a horse show after overcoming all odds, well, it isn't going to help sell your book. Now if you happen to be a horse trainer ... that's, well, a horse of a different color!

Keep checking in for additional posts about the "How to Market a Book Publicity Shopping List" Series.


How to Market a Book: Publicity Support - Contact Information

June 15, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
Many authors sign their proof approval forms and are waiting for their box of books to arrive, but haven't thought about the business of selling books. By writing a book and having it distributed to book retailers, you've essentially made yourself a business and your readers are your customers. By thinking this way, you'll realize there is a lot to think about in terms of marketing books.

One thing to consider early on is how you want readers and media outlets to communicate with you.

For example, do you want your personal email to be where you receive your review copy requests? Or do you want to set up a separate email account for messages strictly about your book? If people need to mail you things, do you want them sent to your home address? Many authors feel more comfortable using a P.O. Box for their book operations.

Also, if you are going to take phone calls, do you want them coming to your home line? And if so, is your outgoing message appropriate? If you are going to drive your marketing efforts to online retailers such as Amazon.com, you may not want to accept phone calls at all. Or you can choose to post the phone number for the Wheatmark bookstore for sales and only offer your email for additional queries.

There is a lot to mull and it would be best to decide earlier than later so that you can use the contact information on all your marketing materials and get your author platforms started!

How to Market a Book: Publicity Kit Shopping List

June 15, 2009 by Kat Gautreaux, Account Manager
For many authors, for their first book or their fifth, getting their marketing plans organized can be overwhelming.

As authors you will need to develop a basic set of support materials for yourbook in order to market it well.

Wheatmark emphasizes using online resources, such as blogs and social networking tools, to help spread the word about your book. But we should take a step back and review what kind of content you'll want to have ready to go when the time comes.

When developing your publicity kit, whether it is printed versions you hand to the newspaper reporter or tabs on your website, there are some basic pieces you'll want to have in support of your book.

Here is a list, taken from our marketing workbook, that we recommend!
This week, check in with the Wheatmark Blog for some more in depth looks at the items on the list and how to best prepare them!

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