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 From time to time I like to direct you to parties, newsletters, websites and/or resources that can be helpful to your writing efforts and exposure. The following is such a case...Francine Silverman's BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER. As a regular subscriber I have found it to be a must read and so without further ado, permit me to introduce you to her newsletter in its entirety. Thank you. Jay Johnson, Banyon Publishing ISSN 1545-5599 BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER Issue 53: March 2, 2005 EDITOR: FRANCINE SILVERMAN www.nystatetravel.com www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com REMINDER - The annual subscription fee is $5. Residents of the U.S. may send a check to Francine Silverman, P.O. Box 1333, Riverdale Station, Riverdale, NY 10471 or make payment to Book Promotion Newsletter at PayPal if you have an account with them. Non-residents may use PayPal or send $5 in cash to the post office box. =========================================================== INTRODUCTION I learned a hard lesson. Those of you who are self-published may not have made my mistakes. I was accustomed to a traditional publisher, where the editor contacted me with questions, fixed inconsistencies, and was just an email away. What's more, I was used to manuscript pages to edit. Little did I know when I received the first batch of books that they were simply proofs!! I had to call Infinity Publishing to make sure that they were not the final copies. Moreover, I had no idea that the text would be placed in the book exactly as it was formatted. I had been careless about separating the anecdotes with straight lines or broken lines, figuring that the editor would fix them. First mistake. It took me two days to correct it. I sent the corrections back to the publisher. When the second shipment arrived at my house, I was unnerved because there were still problems. I called the publisher and soon realized that I had assumed the editor would fix the obvious errors without my pointing them out. Second mistake. I'd been spoiled by my nurturing editor at Hunter Publishing. Lately, I've seen too many books with typos, including those published by illustrious houses, and share this experience to help subscribers who face similar straits. Today, you must be your own editor. Hopefully, Book Marketing from A-Z will be perfect the next time around! ******************************************************* In This Issue 1) Feature Article 2) Grist for Your Mill 3) Feedback 4) A Good Question 5) Kudos 1) FEATURE ARTICLE Feather Schwartz Foster shares some of the lessons learned while promoting her book during her lectures. During the past year or so, I have done nearly a hundred talks about my book, LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities (PublishAmerica 2003). It's about the First Ladies - the OLD First Ladies, Martha through Mamie. Since they talk to each other and cross through centuries, it is, of course, an historical fiction. In doing so many lectures, I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of the things I have learned…. 1. Sadly enough, while my audiences LOVE my talks (and they are never the same), not too many actually BUY the book. A lesson learned: People need to be interested in the subject or genre. They read what they like to read - sci-fi, romance novels, murder mysteries, etc. So while they may enjoy spending an hour listening attentively and say lovely things about you and your presentation, it doesn't mean they will outlay twenty bucks to read the book. Do not take it personally. 2. Be selective in choosing your target audiences. A book about raising two-year-old twins probably will not appeal to the Rotary Club. My book about the “old gals” appeals to a wide range of audiences, but mostly women, and mostly older women at that. I have done well by appealing to Woman's Clubs, Historical Societies, Libraries, Senior groups, etc. A lesson learned: Be very selective choosing senior groups. The “younger” seniors are wonderful. They are still working, still driving, still traveling, etc., and reading. They love having interesting speakers. The older seniors, or "super seniors” who live in senior residences or assisted-care facilities are not your best audience for obvious reasons of frailties. Go if they invite you (and if they will pay). Do not solicit them. Another lesson learned: Be very selective choosing religious groups as an audience. Of course this depends upon the subject matter of your book/lecture. Many church or synagogue groups will be happy to have you as their guest and will enjoy your talk, but few actually purchase books that don't deal in some way with their religion - at least not in that venue. 3. To charge or not to charge: Fortunately for my financial circumstances, I am not dependent on book sales for a living. So I started out by doing my programs for free, hoping that publicity and book sales would follow. I wound up doing a lot of talks and driving a lot of miles for limited publicity and very few (usually under 10) books sold. Like I said, you have to be interested in the subject. By the time I did a couple of dozen free talks and having my audiences LOVE me and refer me along for more FREE talks, I did a little soul-searching. If I am good enough for FREE, maybe I am good enough for PAY. After all, I reasoned, when people call me, they always ask about my fee, indicating they are prepared to pay an honorarium. So I decided that “I don't charge but my CAR does.” I've kept it nominal: If the group is within 20 miles from my home, I charge $50; if it is more than that, I charge $100. A lesson learned: Few groups object. My car is happy. Occasionally I still do a freebie, or go to a senior care facility (although those facilities usually have a budget for programs). I like doing a good deed, and the “oldies” love hearing a talk on something other than cataracts, blood pressure or managing their incomes. Another lesson learned: Do not be afraid to turn down a group if it is far away and they won't pay. Unless, of course, you usually sell a heap of books. Then you can go to the North Pole if you like. 4. Finally, know your audience: This is important to any speaker, of course, but doubly so for me, since my subject is so varied and can be arranged to suit my listeners. Always ask the Program Chairman (or whoever contacts you) to tell you a little about their members: their general age category, general income category (particularly if you are contacted by a social worker), the general purpose of the group, i.e. charitable, social, academic, etc.) and anything else that may be of importance to the speaker. For instance, I was invited to speak at a banquet given by the Ladies' Auxiliary of a large hospital. So I decided to talk about the health problems of some of the “old” First Ladies. At a “Red Hat Society” program, I picked three First Ladies who I thought they would enjoy having as “honorary members.” For other groups I sometimes choose one or two “old gals” that might be pertinent to their organization. A major lesson learned: Do not forget to promote your book and read to them a little. Sometimes I get so carried away about my subject matter that I neglect to encourage book sales. Make sure you talk about your book, why you wrote it, why they should purchase it, why it makes a wonderful gift, and why they should recommend you and your program to their friends. Feather has been an “amateur” presidential historian for around 35 years and has a “personal presidential library of more than 1,000 volumes on each individual president, plus another few hundred on ancillary subjects.” http://www.authorsden.com/featherschwartzfoster 2) GRIST FOR YOUR MILL Here's a tip from Paul Steward, author of TALES OF DIRT, DANGER AND DARKNESS (Greyhouse Press 1998). “One thing to keep in mind when promoting your book is the CIP Data that is listed on the copyright page,” he says. “The CIP Data [Cataloging-In-Publication] lists subject areas that you might not have thought of to promote. My next book, True Tales of Terror in the Caves of the World, due out in April [from Cave Books Publishing], is a volume of short nonfiction stories about murders, massacres, and general mayhem that takes place is caves throughout the world. Believe me, there is no shortage of material. “The CIP Data lists: 1. Crime--History--Case studies. 2. Murder--History--Case studies. 3. Caves. “I never thought while writing this book that it was anything more than a bunch of stories that take place in caves. After seeing the CIP Data, I plan to broaden my marketing not only to cavers, which there are 12,000+ in the USA, but also to people interested in reading unusual stories of crime and murder. What I thought was a little niche book for cavers might have much broader appeal to the crimes lovers out there. We'll see.” Joan Swirsky discovered a resource that she feels might interest her fellow subscribers: http://www.thepermanentpress.com. She finds this independent press special for three reasons: “(1) They have a division that reissues out-of-print books. (2) They are a small house that has a great track record. (3) Their subsidiary reissues out-of-print books (which is attractive to many authors who don't know where to look for such a feature).” Joan is author of several books on health and relationships. Her latest are MOMMY, I WANT TO KILL MYSELF ~ The True Story of a Mother's Fight to Save Her Mentally Ill Little Boy (Tempest Books 2005) and MAP OF DESTINY: PINPOINTING A CANCER EPIDEMIC ON THE KITCHEN TABLE (Tempest Books 2004). http://www.mapofdestiny.com. Dotsie Bregel, founder of http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com, gladly promotes books written by, for, or about baby boomers. Browse her Boomer Books page, http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com/boomerbooks.htm and email her at dots@boomerwomenspeak.com if you'd like to be included. It's FREE and her site had over a half million hits in January. Dotsie invites you to join Patricia M. Terrell, author of The China Conspiracy, during March in the Featured Author Book Club Forum at http://www.boomerwomenspeak.com. “You can chat with her about her path to publication and the nitty gritty of how she created her suspense thriller. There's also a form on the site to recommend Featured Authors.” ======================================================= ParaFantasyRom Newsletter "The official newsletter of Fantasy, Paranormal and Romance" by Julie Darcy. The E-zine for Paranormal, Fantasy and Romance Writers FREE SUBSCRIPTION~ tell your friends! Groups Home Page http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParaFantasyRom Come aboard for helpful hints and tips on the creation of your fantasy world. A world where vampire, shapes shifters, and fantastic creatures roam the fertile fields of your mind. Publisher, agent news, reviews and contests. The newsletter is monthly. JULIE D'ARCY'S Books, Published by Mundania Press http://www.mundania.com/index.html Legacy of the Black Dragon, Silverdawn, COMING 2005~ Time of the Wolf, The Cross of Tarlis, The Sword of Niraz, Whisper of Yesterday. ========================================================== 3) FEEDBACK In response to Shirley Cheng's request for names of reviewers who review self-published books (aside from Midwest Book Review, Book Review Cafe, and Book Ideas), Celeste Downs offers the sites which have reviewed her self-published young adult fiction: Darlene Howard, dhjhoward@icqmail.com - she writes for RIO, escapetoromance.com and allaboutmurders.com Crystal Reviews, http://www.crystalreviews.com QuietPoly Writer's Magazine, http://www.quietpoly.com Writers Unlimited, http://www.writersunlimited.com Huntress Reviews, http://www.huntressreviews.com In the Library Review, http://www.inthelibraryreview.com Book Loons, http://www.bookloons.com Fallen Angel Reviews, http://www.fallenangelreviews.com The Coffee Cramp Reviews, http://coffeecrampreviews.tripod.com Betsie's Literary Page, http://betsie.tripod.com Jr. Top Notch Writers, http://www.geocities.com/jrtopnotchwriters/bookreviews.html Round Table Reviews, http://www.roundtablereviews.com Writers and Readers Network, http://www.writersandreaders.com The Romance Studio, http://www.theromancestudio.com Romance Junkies, http://www.romancejunkies.com “And, if that's not enough, there's a new site that I just visited called BookConnector http://www.bookconnector.com where you can type in the genre of your book and it'll pull up review sources for you. Very handy.” http://www.GeminiMojoPress.com Alicia Thom, co-author with Solihin Thom and Alexandra ter Horst, of BEING HUMAN - Exploring the forces that shape us and awaken an inner life (Ad Humanitas Press 2004), http://www.beinghumanbook.com, provides a few reviewers who reviewed their self-published book: http://www.thebooxreview.com (review and interview) http://www.rebeccasreads.com and ForeWord Magazine - "Reviews of good independently published books." http://www.forewordmagazine.com One of the reviewers cited in the last newsletter was Patricia Fry. Here is an addendum to that listing. “Yes, I do review books for the SPAWN Web site (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, http://www.spawn.org, but they must be writing/publishing-related books,” she says. “I would like to suggest to others who want their self-published or POD published books reviewed that they seek out magazines appropriate to their topic. A retirement, inflight, regional or travel magazine editor might review your book on getaway vacations or bed and breakfast inns along the coast, for example. Approach home and garden and craft magazines for a review of your book on making living wreaths. And religious, education, children's, parenting and general magazines might be interested in reviewing your children's book. “My favorite way to promote my books is through articles in appropriate magazines. There's a knack to getting your articles accepted, though. Your article must be service driven and not look like a promo piece. To promote my writing/publishing-related books, I write useful articles for Writer's Digest, Authorship, the SPAWN newsletter, Absolute Write, Canadian Author and so forth. I also have a book on grandparenting. My articles on long-distance grandparenting, teaching your grandchild money awareness, traveling with grandkids, family traditions and perfect gifts for grandkids, for example, have appeared in a variety of family, parenting, general, association, religious and senior magazines. “How do I promote my books through articles? Sometimes I mention my book in the text and I always include a tagline at the bottom of the article saying, 'Patricia Fry is the author of 19 books including, The Successful Writer's Handbook, or Creative Grandparenting Across the Miles.'” Referring to the blogs, Patricia notes that she's “been doing a form of blogging” on her website “without realizing it. I have a section at MatilijaPress.com for writers. Every week or month or whenever I am so inspired, I add tidbits of information, encouragement or resources for writers and authors. Often, my comments are lifted from the monthly SPAWN Market Update which I write for the SPAWN Web site. Patricia latest web comments include tips for shipping books. “This is a subject that comes up frequently at SPAWN,” she says. “There are some changes going on at the post office that will change the way we are approaching the shipping of books.” http://www.matilijapress.com/forwriters/wordsforwriters.html Patricia is president of SPAWN, a full-time freelance writer and the author of 19 books and counting. 4) A GOOD QUESTION Arlene Uslander, the queen of questions and author of 14 books, wonders “if the online book reviews really do promote the books, in contrast to reading a book review in your Sunday paper or even in People Magazine. (I read a lot of books based on their reviews, but have yet to read one that was touted in an online review.) http://www.uslander.net Saul Fathi recently finished writing his autobiography, FULL CIRCLE: ESCAPE FROM BAGHDAD AND THE RETURN, and would like to know how to promote the manuscript to literary agents and bona fide publishers. http://www.saulsilasfathi.com [Editor's Note - While it is obvious that his topic is timely, Saul may need help in tying his autobiography to the events in Iraq]. Shirley Cheng wants to know if anyone has heard of http://www.BookExhibits.com. “Are they 'real' and not a scam? Since I'm both blind and disabled, I have no way of attending any events outside my local area, and I know I am missing out so much!” Shirley would also like to know some ways she can promote her books offline. “It is hard for me to spread the word about my books,” she says. “I tried everything online; now I just need to do some offline promotion. I went to my first book signing recently, and had done great. But the problem is, I cannot travel far at all, only locally...and there aren't many places I can go to on a wheelchair. Plus, I'm blind. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I'd like to hear how fellow disabled authors (plus blind) go about promoting their books. I'll do anything I am physically able to.” http://www.shirleycheng.com Rose Beavers has a question about removing headers and footers from chapter pages. “As a small self published author/publishing company, we are experiencing something weird,” she writes. Although she is able to put the headers and footers in a book, she cannot put them in without it appearing on the chapter pages of the novel. “How do you put the headers and footers in so that it will show on every page except the chapter pages?” Rose notes that it's very expensive to hire a typesetter and that any helpful suggestions will save the money for marketing. Rose is author of SUMMIN T' SAY (Dodd Publications 2000), and BACK ROOM CONFESSIONS (Priority Books Publications 2004), and co-author of QUILT DESIGNS AND POETRY RHYMES (Dodd 2002), and A HOLE IN MY HEART (Prioritybooks Publications 2004). http://www.prioritybooks.com Fran Silverman would like to find an inexpensive place to design bookmarks. Neither Vista Print nor Modern Postcards list bookmarks as an option. (Sandra Kitt had recommended ALRHO in Great Neck, NY but it doesn't have a website so I can't tell what they carry). I would like to follow Mike Messineo's idea of putting something useful on one side of a business card or bookmark so that people are more likely to keep it. For Book Marketing from A-Z, I would put an A-Z Promotion Checklist. To learn more about Michael's innovative idea, read his feature article at http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com/issue30.index.htm 5) KUDOS On Valentine's Day, host Don Grady of the popular "Louisiana Live" radio show, told his listeners that IT HAD TO BE US (SANDS Publishing 2001) by Elizabeth Lawrence (Betty Jo Tucker) and husband, Harry, was the "Valentine book of the year." Read more about it at http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewnews.asp?AuthorID=7905 Max Elliot Anderson, a Christian children's chapter adventure author, was interviewed by Christian Book Distributor (CBD). http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=914730 His work has recently been compared to that of the legendary Jack London. http://www.tweenertime.com Palmist/Pyschic and author of three books, was the feature of a newspaper article: http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050213/LIFESTYLE/502130345&SearchID=73199034651263 Myrna's latest book is DIARY OF A PALM READER (Infinity Publishing 2004). http://www.myrnaloupalmistry.com Arlene Uslander reports that a story from her popular anthology, THE SIMPLE TOUCH OF FATE (iUniverse 2003), is reprinted in the February 2005 issue of Nostalgia Magazine. Katherine O'Neal Kimsey's touching story, "The Sapphire Ring," is featured, along with vintage photos from her family album. The story is about how Fate led a teenaged Katherine into a marriage that changed her life, taking her from rural Tennessee into adventures all over the world. http://www.thefatesite.com Francine Silverman is author of CATSKILLS ALIVE (second edition) and LONG ISLAND ALIVE, both published in 2003 by Hunter Publishing and geared to every interest. To learn more about her guidebooks and for links to hundreds of attractions on Long Island and in the Catskills, visit Fran's one-stop website at www.nystatetravel.com. Book reviews are posted at http://catskills.hvnet.com/guides.htm; www.blether.com/blether.php?id=7268 www.bookreviewcafe.com/longislandalive.html, http://longisland.about.com/cs/artsentertainment/gr/li_alive.htm, www.canarsiecourier.com/news/2003/0327/Arts_Entertainment/007.html www.blether.com/blether.php?id=7073 To subscribe to this newsletter, send an e-mail with your first name to: franalive@optonline.net, visit: http://www.nystatetravel.com, or check the archives at www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1333, Riverdale, New York 10471. PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint any items from "Book Promotion Newsletter" in your own print or electronic newsletter. But please include the following paragraph: Reprinted from "Book Promotion Newsletter," an ezine featuring articles, tips and promotional coups for generating book publicity. franalive@optonline.net www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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