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.

Seek Feedback on Your Writing

Overwhelmed by the daunting task of editing your book now that you are a good chunk of the way through?

Here at Wheatmark, one of the questions we hear a lot is, "Did you read it? What did you think?"

Why wait to find out what people think?

Wheatmark offers editing services from copyediting to book doctoring -- but that is when the book is in its more finalized manuscript.

Many authors don't realize that earlier on in the process of creation is a great time to actually begin the editing process and seeking feedback.

One of the ways you can help focus your story and also help gauge interest in your work is also a great marketing tool: A blog.

I know. You're nervous about sharing your work when it is still very much in an initial draft. Think of it this way: Which is harder, having someone read a work in progress and have some constructive criticism you can take or leave or having someone critique your final, unchangeable product?

Using a blog to post sections of your book and allowing people to comment on your passages is a great way to get feedback, let people be supportive of your work, and eventually will be a great platform for launching your actual book.

Online channels are the most open and available for independently published authors to sell their books. Social marketing is a great way to tap into a population of book readers, buyers, and other writers.

Using your blog as a home base will help you gain readership and also help you create the book you have in mind.

Having trouble getting started? Check out a previous post I wrote on setting up a free Blogger account.

We offer some great resources on writing and editing for you to read also if you'd like to check them out!

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Book Reviews

One way to get the word out about your book is to have it reviewed.

Even when you can’t get the New York Times to even open your envelope, there are plenty of online book reviewers that can offer up insightful discussions about your book and can help lead other readers to it.

But there is a downside to having your book reviewed: you open yourself up to not always glowing reviews. Recently a post at http://botheyes.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/let-the-receiver-beware/ explored the issue of a negative review and the author’s reaction (lawyers were involved).

Understand up front that by asking a reviewer to read and discuss your book, you are asking for their opinion—which they are entitled to. If they don’t like your book, that is their opinion. Don’t get litigious. Get more reviewers! Someone will see value in your work!

Getting an Accurate Review of Your Book

First off, make sure your book is as professional as possible. Have it copyedited. Errors are a warning signal to readers that your book isn’t a quality venture--or worth their time.

Second off, before you ask for a review, make sure you do your homework. Do you like the reviewers style? When they don’t like a book, how do they write about it? Do they include images of the book? Do they review books only on the bestseller list or are they reading independently published work? Pick someone you feel good about.

Most reviewers will request a copy of your book. This does not guarantee they will review your book.

But those are just the “buyer beware” elements. The good parts are that online reviewers are generally more open to independently published books.

They also may be able to better able to reach your audience. For example, if your book is about weight loss, you’ll want to find a reviewer who is interested in your topic. The more expert your reviewer is on your book's topic, the more likely they will be to attract readers that want to learn more about that topic and will seek you out.

Let’s Talk Amazon Before We Go …

Those little reviews from readers on Amazon are gold. Particularly when they are positive! So ask people that have enjoyed your book to hop online and help you toot your horn.

The more positive reviews you have, the more confident someone will be buying your book.

Tweets and Other Things You Need to Know About

I've spoken recently to several authors frustrated with their book sales and when I asked them about their marketing tactics, they've kind of mumbled off into the realm of "not enough time" and "not enough money."

So here it is:

Intro to Social Networking and Marketing 101.

What you'll need:

• Computer with Internet access
  
• 1 free blog account (like Blogger)
  
• 1 free Twitter account (www.twitter.com)

What you'll do:

1. To get started, sign up and create a blog using the templates available. Keep it simple. You can change it up at any time usually.
   
2. Start blogging. Blogs (web logs) are like journal entries. A blog is a place to share your ideas about topics that you are interested in, would like to know more about, or are already an expert in.
   
3. Make sure that you add labels that are searchable to your blog entry. If you are writing about frogs, your labels should say so. Also include some other labels as well (i.e.: green, environment, reptiles, amphibians, toads).
   
4. If you've already written a book, make sure you've chosen a layout that will allow you to add a web site link that you can paste in the web site address (URL or link) to where it can be purchased.
   
5. Tell people about your blog. This is where Twitter comes in handy. Twitter is a social networking tool that allows you to search and follow people that are interested in you, your information, or that you find interesting. They, in return, will follow you if they think you have something to offer. Tell your tweeples (twittering has great slang!) about your blog when you make entries or when you find information you think they'd be interested in.
   
6. The relationships you create between your blog, other people's blogs, Twitter, and other social networking sites will allow you to build a network of people that you can market to, learn from, and establish yourself as an expert with.
   
7. Have fun! It takes time to generate an online community. But in time it will pay off as you meet people to chat with, that will review your materials, and ultimately (fingers crossed!) will purchase your book.
   

Want more tips on marketing your book? Check out Book Marketecture, Wheatmark's free downloadable book marketing workbook.

Thinking about publishing? Sign up for our Independent Author Guide to get information on publishing your next book!

More Online Book Marketing Help for Authors

Hey all you authors in search of marketing help -- there's more free and valuable stuff for you. Hopefully you have already downloaded Wheatmark's free Marketecture Workbook and found it helpful (give us some feedback - we're here to please!).

Well, if you liked that you'll be happy to hear (via the fabulous Mr. Joe Wikert) about the free downloadable PDF that Penguin Group USA has made available to all authors. It's called Internet Advice for Authors: Getting Started, Getting Online, and Getting Noticed and we're told it's a great guide for authors in need of online marketing know-how. Kudos to Penguin for sharing the love!

Now you authors have plenty to do! Happy book marketing to you and have a great weekend!

Microsoft to End Its Live Book Search Program

Today, Microsoft announced it was ending its forays into digitizing books and searching their contents online. This comes not even a year after opening the Live Book Search program to publishers like Wheatmark. (See our original post here.)

What it means is that MSN and live.com will no longer index and host the content of your book, but Amazon's Search Inside and Google Book Search will continue to do so. So when you want Wheatmark to submit your book for Inside Search, we will continue to submit it both to Google and Amazon for indexing.

By the way, this announcement doesn't mean that Microsoft has abandoned the indexing and searching of book content online. If you read it carefully, they are working on ways to get publishers to use their indexing technology to do the work themselves. When a publisher has done the online indexing and has set up the book content on its own site, MSN and live.com will continue to provide search results from the book's content! With indexing, hosting, and copyright headaches out of the way, this does sound like a smart move to me!