How to Launch a Book: A Report from Bill Glazer's Book Launch Party

Last weekend my colleague Grael Norton and I attended the launch of Bill Glazer's first book in Orlando, Florida. For three days about six hundred people from all over the country convened in a ballroom ... doing the ... book launch thing. What's more, they all paid to get in.
Paid to get in? Plus airfare and hotel for three days? For a book launch? Of a first-time author?

Absolutely. Let me explain how that's possible. I should also mention that the book was on many bestseller lists prior to its launch, including USA Today and Amazon.com.

Bill Glazer (seen here with me and his book, Outrageous Advertising That's Outrageously Successful), has spent years and years building his platform as a retailer, copywriter, and as an expert on direct marketing. In our materials we call this platform an author platform--regardless whether you've written a book or not. Therefore, by the time he wrote his first book he was already in a great position to sell lots of copies.

The secret to his "outrageously" successful book launch party last weekend, however, was that even as he organized this event, he kept in mind the question that's on every customer or prospective customer's mind: "What's in this for me?" (In fact, this question should be on your mind every single time you market a service, a product, or book.)

How did he persuade over 600 entrepreneurs to come to his book release party (who not only paid to get in, but were expecting to spend on additional products and services)?

Well, definitely not by inviting them to attend a "book launch party." As you know well, nobody cares about your book or its release unless there is something in it for them. Bill Glazer understood he needed to answer the question, What's in it for them? so he organized a three-day direct marketing workshop and conference with high-profile marketing experts and copywriters like Dan Kennedy (pictured right), Yanik Silver (he got away), Paul Hartunian, and many others. People may not come to a book party, but they would certainly come if there was something in it for them!

This was not a free event, but many attendees had the opportunity to get tickets by purchasing copies of the book ... in bulk. This did not only further boost the sales of the book, but also provided attendees with instant gifts (the book) to give to family or business clients. As my wife, who is not into marketing, observed: "Very smart! Everybody wins!"

Think about it. What was in it for me? I got to hear some of the best minds in direct marketing share their secrets and strategies. In other words, I got to attend a high-profile marketing conference. Not only that, but I was able to give away a number of these books as gifts.

What was in it for the author? A successful book launch with well over a million dollar's worth of books presold before the book even launched.

Now, think about this: Would I have gone to attend a book launch? Definitely not halfway across the country. But the author, Bill Glazer, asked the question, What's in it for Atilla? So he organized a marketing workshop and conference instead ... and we all went, paid, and came away thinking we got the better deal.

Meanwhile, Bill Glazer thinks he had an outrageously successful book launch party. And he did, all because he kept his customers' question in mind: "What's in it for me?"

Now, I realize that a book event of this magnitude is beyond the reach for most authors. However, it ought to give you a vision of what's possible, even if on a smaller scale, if you you, too, just ask that question every time you try to sell your book to your market: "What's in it for them?"

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Not everything went smoothly on this trip. After Grael and I (pictured in this "celebrity" photo) left the conference and went to the Orlando airport, we stood in the security line for a very long time. We took off our shoes and placed all loose items in the security baskets to be scanned. After going through the scanner and putting our shoes back on, Grael commented on how long the whole thing took me, and that we'd better hurry. I didn't say a word, just followed him out to the gates. However, we must have taken the wrong turn somewhere, because when we realized we were in the wrong place, we had passed the "point of no return" security sign and had to get back in line again to pass through security. We didn't talk much on the plane flying back to Tucson.

Achieving Success from Wheatmark Author Paul Kelso

We asked Paul Kelso, author of the Great Expectations title, Kelso's Shrug Book, and also the author of the upcoming title, Jack Ruby's Last Ride, to tell us a little about how he found his audience and then made his book a success.

Wheatmark has asked me for a few thoughts on how I came to connect with the firm, and some insight as to how I, make that we, created a modest niche book on weight training that has surprised everyone by selling over 6,000 copies.

My remarks will apply primarily to nonfiction and “how to” works.

Here’s how Kelso’s Shrug Book developed. I hold a MA in American studies and had written for newspapers when younger and magazines later, so I was at least literate. I also loved weightlifting and wrestling and competed in both, and in my forties became a college weight coach as well as an English prof.

One day in the weight room I had a brainstorm. I accidentally discovered how to apply an old training principle in a number of new ways. These variations became known as The Kelso Shrug System. This concept was spread by my magazine articles beginning in 1984.

I have to date published over one hundred articles on weight-game subjects and reported on eight World or Asian powerlifting championships and a World Games. I developed a lot of name recognition before I proposed the Shrug Book for POD. In fact, I was fortunate to be well known in the field before going with the book. But a lot can be done to build that recognition.

How did I come to choose a POD company? I had heard of the process and in 2001 simply cruised the net to investigate. Wheatmark seemed to have a good program and were responsive to my queries.

When I decided to put Kelso’s Shrug Book together, I was living and teaching in Japan (1989–2006). Obviously, printing off a thousand or so copies to get started, and finding a place to store them in my tiny apartment there, while I attempted to operate a 95 percent stateside mail-order business nine thousand miles away, was ridiculous. Hiring a fulfillment house in the USA or finding a knowledgeable old pal back home was a shaky proposition. Or, I could go with a traditional hard-copy publishing house.

Were I living in the States, I could have made more money per book by doing it all myself. That may still be true, but for me the services of Wheatmark outweigh such considerations, especially as I am now well into retirement (age 73 in February, 2010). I’d rather spend my time writing another book than licking stamps.

How did I market the Shrug Book? In addition to Wheatmark services, I used my contacts in the game to set up a number of retail distributors and sent out about four dozen freebie copies to website operators, equipment sellers, magazine editors for reviews, and net forum operators for comment. Before publishing I solicited a dozen editorial blurbs for back cover and ad one-liners about how great my ideas are. Most of those guys already knew my work, but advance manuscript copies to them helped.

But—first—a would-be author should consider whether he or she HAS a book. Another book I published with a conventional house was put together from fourteen Powerlifting USA stories about the adventures of a gang of demented college lifters and a suffering coach in Texas. Kelso’s Shrug Book was drawn from sixteen articles spread among five magazines. I expanded where pertinent and put additional info in each book. Both run about 44,000 words and one hundred pages. That's a master's thesis each time.

Not everybody can have a breakthrough brainstorm or enjoy wide name recognition to help kick-start a book. But a writer might keep these approaches in mind for getting a book together.

BUILD NAME RECOGNITION

• Write articles on the same subject for half a dozen different mags.
• Write a series of articles on different subjects for the same mag.
• Become a regular contributor for one or more mags or websites, Attend live functions in person. Interview established people. Arrange to do some straight reporting in the field as well as writing features or human interest pieces. Attend conferences, expos, contests, whatever, and report them.
• Contribute regularly to Internet forum discussions.
• Correspond regularly with big names in the field, and always answer those seeking advice. Network.
• Stay at it for a number of years. Doing or taking part in what you are writing about usually comes first.

By publishing my ideas as a series of articles first and then compiling them into a book I got paid multiple times for the same material. This is an established way to proceed and not my invention. I got paid to write my books. A writer should query mags in his or her area of expertise about doing an article or series of articles. Write 1,200 – 2,500 words a month and pretty soon that is the basis for a book.

Even if you are already established as a contributor, it is a good idea to query a magazine editor outlining your proposed article before you write the piece. If the editor says your article sounds interesting and he would like to see it, you have a leg up. You know you are on the right track, with less chance of rejection.

Using the POD services of Wheatmark has been to my advantage.

Kelso’s Shrug Book has sold several thousand more copies in seven years than the traditional-method Texas book has in thirteen. My articles on related subjects in the years leading up to it increased my name recognition, as did my reports from international contests. It all came together nicely.

The Shrug Book also received excellent reviews and forum comments. I doubt it would have without the years of buildup.

If one has a novel published by a major New York house and it sells six thousand, that’s a borderline so-so result. In a nonfiction niche field six thousand is pretty good. The result is that I have enjoyed a nice side income since the fall of 2002.

As Wheatmark authors and customers will soon discover, my eclectic short story collection Jack Ruby’s Last Ride will be published in April. I began writing straight fiction in the '90s, as a side activity. I played the snail-mail and SASE game for years, and began publishing short stories in the journals in 2001. To date I have published four in USA literary journals, presented four others in ex-pat rags, and two at a reading at Temple U. in Tokyo. One is new as of 2009.

I will of course send out comp copies and hope for reviews, but the truth is I have very few literary contacts stateside any more. (I’ve been teaching in Asia for twenty years). Getting published in lit journals is a very different game from breaking into iron-head mags, cactus-breeding weeklies, or model railroading monthlies. Some top literary journals, like Beloit Fiction Journal or Prairie Schooner, may get as many as eight thousand short story submissions a year. Beloit published only twenty-four stories in 2002, so I feel pretty good about getting Jack Ruby’s Last Ride in there.

And, it has occurred to me, the success of the Shrug Book is paying for the publication of the short story collection.

How about that?

-- Paul Kelso, early January 2010

Building an Author Platform: Video Presentation

A strong author platform is a key part of every successful book marketing campaign. Want to sell lots of books? Building your author platform is where you start! View this brand new presentation by Grael Norton, publishing consultant at Wheatmark, on How to Build Your Platform on the Web.

How to Market a Book: Tod Langley

Here on the Wheatmark publishing blog we talk a lot about how to market a book. Today we'd like to share with you some efforts of one of our recently published authors, Tod Langley.

Tod Langley's book, Prince Kristian's Honor: Book One of The Erinia Saga, was released in mid-August. In just two weeks his fantasy fiction book has sold dozens of copies and is on par with the sales of some of our recently released nonfiction books that had already established author platforms.

Langley has been actively scaling the learning curve of social networking and has found a few things that are working for him and I wanted to share some tidbits with the Wheatmark blog readers.

Website
Langley decided he needed a customized website and, after a few attempts on his own, decided to enlist the help of a designer. His site includes a blog where he's been writing about his experience as an author, a bookstore link, and other tabs that take fans and inquiring media to pages with lots of interesting information on them. Take a peek at it here at www.todlangley.com

Amazon
His book was released just 14 days ago, but he already has four excellent book reviews on his Amazon page. Reviews help bolster sales as they underscore potential reader's confidence that clicking the "buy button" won't be a mistake. Wheatmark author James Best uses Amazon to sell books and we've previously written a series of posts about his efforts on this blog. Check them out here if you haven't already.

Networking
To drive traffic to his site, Langley set up Facebook and Twitter accounts. Using the two social media sites, he's been able to provide links to followers and friends about new blog posts and other bits and pieces they might find interesting. You can follow him on Twitter by searching for his profile name TodLangley. On Facebook, you can become a fan of his book by searching for Tod Langley.

Tracking it all
Langley has been using Google Analytics to track the traffic to his site and see what phrases and keywords garner more hits and also to see where the traffic is coming from. GA is free and has tons of ways to track and view data.

Here's what he had to say about his recent finds:

Hi Kat,

Seeing something pretty clearly already. Nothing earth-shattering but the stats back it up on Google Analytics.

• Author website visits peak early in the week and go up and down til Friday
• Weekends have almost no visits.
• Since 60% of my visits are direct site visits - I know people are getting the address either through Facebook or Twitter rather than Google Search or Amazon or even Wheatmark - I'd bet my input into blogs, twits, and facebook anecdotes are driving potential business.

I don't get the chance to write on weekends because I am very busy with "honeydo lists" and then play catch up on Sunday nights once I get back to my corporate apartment.

• Until you get the word out enough that interest drives itself, you HAVE to routinely contribute things of interest to social sites. You also have to re-visit old conversations and often reference your author website because you get new followers daily that don't go back in time to see your old chats.

• There is a direct correlation between social networking and immediate website visits (within 1-2 days).

What Langley is doing is exactly what I try to get authors to do: create a hub (website/blog) with spokes of communication (Facebook, Twitter, forums) that drive traffic back to the hub and help turn the axle (Amazon/Wheatmark bookstore) that propels the vehicle (book sales) forward.

Visit www.todlangley.com and read his author blog for more tips and to follow his journey. The entry about his experience with the publishing timeline is a really good one.

I'm still waiting on the post where he congratulates Wheatmark, Hayley Love, and me for being just oh-so-awesome...

Wheatmark has gathered a lot of free information about publishing and marketing into one hand area of our website. Check it out next time you get stuck!

What is an Editorial Analysis and Why Do You Need One?

One of the first steps many of our author manuscripts go through is an Editorial Analysis (for those who want to geek out Wheatmark-style, we call it an EA around the office).

What is an Editorial Analysis and why do you need one?

An Editorial Analysis helps determine what the likely usability of an author's book, in its current form, will be by identifying its strengths and weaknesses.

The EA is designed to determine if the book is written in a way that will speak to its intended readership, if the book is written with excellent English usage, proper grammar, punctuation, and if it is written in an organized manner. It also looks at how well the book follows Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) formatting. Successful, correctly done books are formatted to a particular style that dictates how parts of the book are formatted, including even how commas are used and where the preface goes.

By having an Editorial Analysis done on your manuscript, it is easy to determine how much more work should be done on the book before it goes to layout. The EA will tell the author what level of copyediting they should have: if they need a light copy edit or maybe a more intensive developmental edit. All which should be done before your book designer begins styling your pages for print.

The Reason You Need An EA and Why You Should Listen
Successful authors have several things going for them. The first step to being a successful author is having an excellent book. This is an area to not let hubris get in the way (and quite often it does). Here are the most frequent excuses we hear for not having a completed EA done and for not listening and acting on the results:

• I've already edited my book, it's fine.
• I had my friend, who is an English teacher, proofread it already.
• No one cares if the commas are CMS formatted.
• Readers will know what I mean. They aren't stupid.
• I don't want to spend the money.

First of all, an EA comes with nearly every package that Wheatmark offers, and, if you have one done before committing to a package, that cost will be deducted from your final sign-up fee. The cost of copyediting is more, but the final product will be worth it. It would be a shame to spend money on publishing a book, only to have it not perform because of some elements that could easily have been fixed for a few dollars more.

Two, you and your friend the English teacher are not professional book editors. It isn't a reflection on your skills, it's a reflection on how well-trained professional book editors are. They read tons of pages a year and are trained to know what to look for, how to look for it, and how to expertly make the correction.

And thirdly, your readers do actually care about the commas. They may not be fully aware of it, but it will bother them as they scan lines if they have been done incorrectly. Book readers have been trained for decades to expect certain guidelines to be followed and when you ignore that expectation, you frustrate them. It slows them down. Which is also why, just because you think your readers will understand a muddled concept in your book, it will be a hindrance. It will slow your readers down. Slow them down too much and they'll stop reading the book entirely.

You've taken the time and energy to write a book you would like to be a success. Don't sell it short by not using the resources available to help it be the most excellent book possible!

Shameless Plug: Want to know more about the steps to success? Sign up for our free 7 Steps to Self-Publishing Success minicourse!

How to Market a Book: Clips and Articles

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

• Contact Info
• Press Releases
• Author Profile
• Book Cover
• Author Photo
• Additional Images
• About the Book
• Excerpt from book
• Endorsements/Testimonials
• Fast Facts, Quizzes, Background information
• Radio Interviews/TV clips
• Story ideas for media pieces
• List of Media Coverage
• Available Articles by author
• Suggested Interview Questions
• Additional Resources
• Book Availability and Purchase Information
• List of Events
• Review Copy Request Form

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!

Using Social Media the Right Way

Social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook can do wonders for you author platform building.

Beyond just getting started on Twitter or starting your personal Facebook profile, it is important to use the sites to your best advantage.

Marketing your book on these sites is a great idea for several reasons:

1. It is a great way to drive traffic to your blog or website which in turn will drive these new visitors to potentially buying your book
2. It helps you find a community of other authors or people interested in your topic to share information with
3. Low cost. Most of these sites are free and may be more beneficial than buying ad space.

There are a few things to keep in mind though. One thing to remember is that these are social sites, not selling sites. If all you do is shout "Buy my book!" into the virtual world, you are not likely to make friends or sales. That behavior is the social networking equivalent to telemarketers calling you while you eat dinner. No one really appreciates that kind of approach.

What you should be talking about on Twitter, Facebook, and even your blog is what you are doing with your book. If you are editing your book, a great snippet to Twitter or to put on your Facebook status would be: "Editing my book on moose antlers. Moose antlers are hard. Editing is harder."

Later on you can post a tweet or status update mentioning that a section of your book on moose antlers is up on your blog and then offer the web address so that people can go check it out.

Is your book already out? You can talk about all the feedback your are receiving. Positive or negative. Negative comments that you receive and then share with others will often garner lots of chatter and often can help you turn a bad experience into one of community support!

Remember that these sites are for socially interacting with other people. Not a way for you to corner them with your sales pitch. If you wouldn't do it at a dinner party (or wouldn't want it being done to you at a dinner party!) don't do it on social networking sites!

For tutorials on how to get started on Twitter and Facebook, download the PDFs below!

TwitterTutorial.pdf
FacebookTutorial.pdf

Blog Content: What to write when you have nothing to say

Do you find yourself logged in to your blog account, ready to post, and all you end up doing is staring at your screen while your fingers occasionally mimic typing? Just me? Hmmm.

It can be difficult to sit down and write an entry for the sheer sake of writing an entry. However, to be blogging in an advantageous way, that's exactly what has to happen for your blog to be a useful information source and marketing tool!

Blogging a few times a week is the optimum for keeping reader traffic coming back to your site and hungry for more--leave your blog for too long and you may find that your readership wanes.

Here are some blogging tips to help get your writing juices flowing!

1. Write about your inspiration for your characters/topics. Did you base the character on someone? Did the idea come to you in a dream? Readers love to know why authors choose character traits and motivations and it is a great way to let your audience in to your book's world.
2. For nonfiction books, create a numbered tip list based on information in your book. You can always refer back to that blog and expand on any number of those topics for blogs in the future. Aim for about 5 or 10 tips.
   
3. Start your writing off with the sentence, "I don't really have anything to say because not much is going on." Then explain what the "not much going on" has been. You'll quickly find you can go back and change that initial sentence to read, "I've been really busy."
4. If you really can't think of anything to write, or, if you've mostly been reading online instead of writing offline, you can create a blog that provides links to interesting sites. Examples of this can even be seen on the Wheatmark blog where we share links to interesting topics we've come across.
5. On the days when you have TONS of ideas for blog posts, write them and either a) save them as drafts for your next dry spell or b) change your post options to date them for future release. You can do this on most blog platforms. On Blogger, the option is under the "Post Options" arrow at the bottom left of your composition window to the left of your labels for post field.
   

Remember, blogging is a great way to exercise your writing muscle and is also a great way to continue building your author platform. When in doubt, start writing some drivel. You can always delete an entry, save an entry that isn't working as a draft and come back to it later, or just write a little tidbit--not all blog entries have to be elaborate. Sometimes just a quick entry about a book signing or a photo of you opening your delivery of books (or simply a picture of your cat sleeping on your computer keyboard helping you "edit" your next manuscript) is all you need!

Can Your Readers Find You? Provide Author Contact Info

When you publish your book you are entering a conversation with your readers. Because you are starting a conversation, your readers--your conversation partners--will want to get in touch with you and provide you with valuable feedback that will move this conversation along.

You should add your author contact info to your book so your readers could get in touch with you!

We as book publishers receive lots of requests from readers to pass messages on to our authors, which we do as a courtesy to you. This is proof that your readers need to be able to contact you, otherwise it's just a one-way conversation.

What should you include as contact info?

The single most important contact information you should include in your book is the link to your website. For example, you could say, "To contact Jane Doe, visit her website at http://www.author-janedoe.info." Naturally, the website would list either phone, email address (email forms are great!), or even a post office box, depending on what level of information you feel comfortable with. Unless you are selling something, email contact should be enough. If any of your contact information changes later, you won't need to update your book, just update the info on your website.

You don't have a website or blog? You should have one, but for now include your email address in your book. If you don't want to give out your personal AOL email that you use to keep in touch with your family and friends, create a special email address just for your readers. For example, your book would say, "To contact Jane Doe, email her at author_janedoe@hotmail.com" or another email address. (Then think about having your own blog or website.)

Where to include contact info?

The best place to include your website or email info is on the back cover. Everybody looks at the back cover when they read a book. Just in case, do include it on the copyright page as well.

Your readers want to get in touch with you, and it would be rude not to let them!

Best Series Tip No. 6: Publish a Blog on Amazon

The Best Series is based on a presentation by Wheatmark author James D. Best, author of The Shopkeeper, The Shut Mouth Society, and the upcoming release Leadville. Best has offered 10 tips on how to use Amazon to sell your book and we'll look at each tip in depth in a series of blog posts.

Tip No. 6: Publish a Blog on Amazon

• Amazon has few restrictions on author blogs
  
• Keep it professional and well written
  
• Make it interesting
  
• Add relevant links
  

Amazon isn't just a place to put a picture of your book and then have people buy it. The savvy author will also realize that it is a place to interact with your readers. One of the things that Amazon offers (and doesn't put a lot of restrictions on) is a free blog on the book page.

Part of your job as an author marketing a book is to be creating a concrete author platform. Your author platform is like a club that talks about you, your books, and also buys your books. It would stand up to reason then that the bigger your club, the bigger a success you will be as an author.

A blog on your Amazon page is an entry point into the club. It keeps people on the page longer, giving them more time to decide to buy, and also it allows you a way to get your message onto the sell page. Bad review? Address it in your blog post! Working on a new book? Start your marketing early by talking about it in a blog post on your already published book!

A few tips on writing an Amazon blog:

Keep it professional and well written.

This is your chance to show people what you and your work are all about. This is not the place to start introducing poor grammar, typos, and it is for sure not the place to rant on using obscene language about how no one is buying your book.

Your blog posts should reflect your skill as a writer (you know, 'cause, like, you're trying to sell your book which is, like, totally your culmination of skill as a writer, duh). If your entries are well written and include delightful wit and insight, you are more likely to persuade someone to put your book in their cart because they'll want to read more of it!

Make it interesting

Your Amazon page blog is not the place to discuss what you had for breakfast (unless you've written a cook book) or where to discuss how your dog just destroyed your couch (particularly bad if your book is about dog training).

So what should you write about? You should write about you the writer and also about your book.

Here are some suggestions of topics:

How you came up with the idea for you book.


The most trouble you had writing your book was blank


Your favorite thing you've heard from a reader


Ideas you're working on for your next book

Relevant links

Amazon is not too restrictive about blog content like they are about other pieces of your page. In your blog you can (and should) include external links to your website, other websites that talk about positively review your book, your external blogs, and even to your book trailer on YouTube.

Blogging on Amazon is a great way to keep your potential buyer on the page and to help reinforce their decision to buy your book. By blogging, you have an active way to talk to your buyers and help bring them into your author platform. As more and more options become available to buyers, it is the personal connection that will put your ahead of the rest. Your blog is a great way to establish that feeling of familiarity and to help sell those books!

Next in the Best series: Tip No. 7: Review Amazon Products

Laying the Groundwork for Your Book Marketing Outreach

“The mistake so many marketers make is that they conjoin the urgency of making another sale with the timing to earn the right to make that sale. In other words, you must build trust before you need it. Building trust right when you want to make a sale is just too late.” ~ Seth Godin

It's never too early to begin marketing outreach for your book. Book not published yet? Great--that's an ideal time to begin your marketing outreach, or ramp up your efforts in that direction.
It takes a great deal of time and effort to establish yourself as a trusted presence with the audience to whom you are trying to market your book.
Begin your publicity, sales and marketing research and networking as early as possible:

• Use your existing contacts
• Start commenting on relevant blogs
• Join pertinent groups and attend meetings
• Volunteer for a related cause
• Partner with another person who shares a common interest or expertise in your book’s subject.

Make the effort and give yourself time to establish relationships and make valuable connections that will help when you’re ready to begin marketing your book in earnest.