[authorme] PUBLISHING EMERGING WRITERS, JULY 2011
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- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:33:46 -0400
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*In this issue...*
*Books as Products, by Bruce Cook
**Jump on the Giant to Promote your Book,** by Stephen G.
*
* *
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*Books as Products*
* by Bruce Cook**
*
When a new author publishes a first book, expectations are high. Book
reviewers, recognizing the book’s unusual qualities, will flock to the
volume, contests will be won, and a host of readers will purchase copies.
Sadly this is seldom the outcome, and the writer can feels regret or even
anger when it fails to thrive. But this is not necessarily a negative
reflection on the writer or the book’s content. Mostly, it’s explained by
market dynamics.
Imagine this. You are selling your used car. You make an agreement
permitting you to place it in a lot which displays 25 used cars, so you feel
you have a good chance to sell it, especially because there’s a salesman on
the car lot who will lead customers to your car. Or you offer it for sale to
a group of close friends. In these cases, the car is likely to be sold.
Compare this to placing your car on a lot with 130 million cars, and the lot
has no salesman to promote your car’s virtues. Unfortunately, your book is
on the latter lot, competing with 130 million books, and if it has no
marketing, sales will be few to none.
To lessen this problem, an author can create a marketing program. This
program, which might include radio interviews and the like, will cost more
than the writer will make in profit, but it can move the book.
Alternatively, the author can make the book part of a popular movement. Here
we see books by celebrities and political figures. Those books aren’t really
successful for their content – they sell because they are part of a social
movement of some kind. Or they are written by stars in the media.
How could the humble author do this? Well, if it’s a book on seaweed, the
writer can start a social movement promoting seaweed as a solution to the
world’s problems. Establish seaweed clubs and hold seaweed conventions, and
you can be sure to sell copies of your book at the annual Seaweed Conference
and in the Seaweed for Life newsletter.
If this can’t be done, it’s helpful to hire someone who is willing to
promote your work as part of current social and political movements. Here
your work will achieve exposure, along with similar books and activities,
and your book can have a measure of success even as it contributes to
important social dialogue. This seems the most productive approach. Our
authorme.eu publisher, Michele Ohayon, is developing this approach, and she
is working very hard to include author-me authors. If you’d like to know
more, please write her at headlinenews@xxxxxxx
==============
*Jump on the Giant to Promote your Book
by **Stephen G. <http://www.website-articles.net/Author/227/Stephen-G.html>*
You’re ecstatic about your new book and you should be. You want it to
succeed, and I can help you take one giant leap in that direction with one
simple word. That word is Amazon.com. Yep, it’s the internet monster that
dwarfs most other such companies. And I’m going to offer you ten quick,
quite easy ways to promote your book on Amazon.
1) First, if you aren’t registered on Amazon, do so---then set up your
profile. You can place your photo, your interests, your background, and, of
course, your book title and an attractive, concise description of the book.
You’re off to a great start.
2) I’m assuming that your publisher has placed your book for sale on the
site. Nowadays, even most self-publishers or print-on-demand publishers
include this in their sales package. Most publishers also include the book
detail page. This tells readers the book price, number of pages, publisher
name, book summary, and reviews/endorsements if you’ve received any.
However, ask your publisher to also include the Search Inside option. This
allows interested parties to check your back cover, your table of contents,
etc. If your publisher doesn’t do this, you will have to mail Amazon a copy
of your book so they can copy some pages out of it for the Search Inside
option.
3) Amazon has a feature called Listmania. This offers individuals like
yourself the opportunity to put together a list of some of your favorite
books on different subjects or genres. For example, you might make a list of
some of your favorite novels. If your own book is a novel, you would want to
place your book somewhere on the list. That way, when readers read through
your list, they will see your title and maybe order a copy. How’s that for
crass self-promotion?
4) Fill out some So You’d Like to…Guides. On your profile page you’ll see a
place to do this. On Amazon, people write brief articles like: So You’d Like
To Be More Popular or So You’d Like to Learn How to do Plumbing or whatever.
If your book is about becoming more popular, you’ll write a short article
about popularity, including your book title and some other book titles about
the same subject. When interested parties see your So You’d Like To… page,
they’ll click on it and read it. Then there’s a fairly good chance they may
click on your book title. Then, wonder of wonders, they may even buy your
book so they can learn how to be more popular! Cool, huh?
5) You will get a lot more attention and action on Amazon if you review
books. You can write a review for any book. One hundred book reviews seems
to be a magic number for grabbing significant attention on the site. Don’t
be overwhelmed by that number. Just set a goal of, say, reviewing 5-10 books
per week and you’ll soon reach the 100 mark.
6) Again, this may seem like embarrassing self-promotion, but you might want
to ask friends and relatives to write a positive review about your book and
give it a five-star rating. You should probably just ask them to write a
review of your book on Amazon but, hopefully, it will be understood that you
expect a good review and a decent star rating.
7) There is a wiki or dynamic book encyclopedia on Amazon too. The Amazon
people call it Amapedia. You can use this to describe your book. Remember,
this is not a review where you express opinions---just the facts, maam (or
sir). It’s a dictionary-type description of your book and its contents. This
is another way to get your book out there for people to see.
8) Amazon also has a blog and here you can say almost anything about your
book or what you’ve been reading. Just make sure it’s in good taste and
doesn’t contain inappropriate language. Maybe you’ll pick up some bloggers
who are interested in what you write.
9) A major objective of your profile, your book reviews, your listmania
lists, your blogging is to build a reputation as an expert in some area or
areas. Once people begin to see you as an expert, they’re more likely to buy
your book. Don’t expect to be tagged an expert within a few weeks. It will
likely take some hard work and some time, but it’s worth it in the end.
10) The last suggestion can really result in some sales but you’ve got to
shell out some fairly serious money. It’s called BXGY. What it does is pair
your book with a top selling book. Customers are told, “If you buy this
popular book, you should also consider buying this one too” (your book). The
catch is that pairing your book with a winner costs $1000 per month. If
you’ve got the extra money and believe your book has enough merit to sell
well with a companion book, then try it out for a month. Who knows? You may
earn more than the $1000 in royalties on your book sales. (Remember that you
won’t see this royalty money until your publisher pays you for that
quarter).
So dive into the Amazon site and begin learning the ropes. It will take some
time to navigate the site and find the various opportunities described
above, but it will be worth your time. I wish you the best in selling your
book. It may not be a New York Times bestseller, but if you can sell a fair
number of copies you can be proud as an author and gain some financial
profit along the way. I wish you the best.
Stephen has a Ph.D. and is a professional writer and free lance editor.
He can assist you with a wide variety of editing, proofreading, or
ghostwriting needs. Steve also occasionally researches a product or service
that he considers exceptional and offers it to others. His goal is to help
people with real problems in the real world. Check Stephen's publisher
comparison website: http://www.seeyourselfinprint.com Contact him at:
sfort1222@xxxxxxx
Article From Article Directory <http://www.website-articles.net/>
*APA Citation:
*
Stephen G. (2010-05-01 10:56:26). *Jump On The Giant To Promote Your
Book.*Retrieved 29 June 2011, from
http://www.website-articles.net/articledetail.php?artid=313&catid=498
============================================================
Publishing Emerging Writers
July, 2011 (No. 1207)
Publisher: Cookcomm - Bruce L. Cook, 6086 Dunes Drive,
Sanford, NC 27332 USA.
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