Category Archives: Book Marketing

I received an email submission today from an author who claimed to have already ‘had published’ the first two books in his series and was now wanting to self publish the third and would I please click the link provided in the email to take a look at his work and then let me know what I could do for him. Well at least he said please!

He or she provided a name ‘Chris’ which was not gender specific, so I’ll just refer to him as a he for the rest of this article. First big mistake – his link did not work. I did try to take a look, just to see how bad the rest of his information was. He also failed to provide any details on what the book was about, fiction or non-fiction, how the previous books were published and how well they sold, but worst of all, he had copied in at least 20 other publishing services companies in the same email.

Now I, like most who work in this industry, am often receiving such poorly written email submissions but this was decidedly the worst I’ve ever seen. I was so a fronted by Chris’s arrogance in assuming we were all just dying to get our hands on his latest work, that I hit the ‘reply to all’ button. The response was outstanding! Many of those publishers emailed me back to congratulate me on delivering Chris a clip on the ear over the lack of information and tone of his (or her) submission.

Not surprisingly I’ve not heard further from the budding author.

I’ve been involved in quite a few discussions recently about people’s assumption that ebooks or self publishing are an easy and low cost alternative to working with ‘real publishers’. Yes this is true in some ways, as they will often bear the upfront costs of publishing a book, however, the assumption that a self published book or ebook does not need to be well edited, laid out, designed, or marketed to the same level as any other high quality book is madness on the part of the authors who are defaulting to this line of thinking.

I mean, have you seen some of the awful books our there which have obviously been whipped up in a single afternoon on someone’s laptop? It’s literary insanity! If you have the time and desire to put your words out to the rest of the world, would it not make sense to do so in the best, most professional, most marketable way possible?

While it is true that many of the large traditional publishing houses do take a very long time, if ever, to respond to submissions, and they all seem to have many rules on how to make a submission to their companies, it’s also true that they do a great job of creating high quality books out of simply typed up manuscripts if they are well written and professionally presented. They don’t however, ever take on manuscripts which are badly written, and poorly submitted.

Traditional publishers do offer a number of advantages to authors, but they are not the only gateways to creating a great book out of a good manuscript, as an increasing number of self publishing services and book shepherds are arising from the ashes of the Global Financial Crisis related redundancies around the world. Authors still need to approach self publishing as an option with the same care and respect for their manuscript as they would with ANY publisher. And be prepared to invest in doing it well.

If you want your book to make it beyond the first 50 you give away to friends and family, you really need to have it well edited – and that means use a professional BOOK editor. You then need to make sure it’s well designed, on both the inside and outside – use a BOOK designer, not a website designer or your cousin’s niece who does desktop publishing at school! Then you need to make sure you know how to market it, and to whom, so that your distribution system can help the books to sell.

These are critical steps for both printed and ebooks!

With ebooks you also need to work out what programmes you’ll produce in and just a standard PDF file is not the same as an ebook! A lot of 20-50 page reports as PDF’s are made free as downloadable items as a means of promoting their knowledge or providing a teaser for a book, but these are not really what I’m referring to in terms of properly presented ebooks which are downloadable from a number of sources and can be read by readers such as Kindle, Moby Pocket, Sony Readers, Palm Pilots and iPhones.

There’s so much to this business of getting it right, and because there are so many people out there all competing for the readers’ attention in every genre of book, the best written and presented books will always beat the books that have just been thrown together.

When you submit a book to a self publishing service provider or to a traditional publisher, we need to know things like: what is your book about, who is your targeted reader, what other work have you published, what other books would this one compete or compare with.

Work on your pitch – keep it simple but remarkable and professional, and there’s a very good chance your book will rise to the top of the submissions pile a lot more easily. If you have already self published your book and it’s not been properly edited, designed or marketed, don’t give up but next time find a really good publishing coach or book shepherd to help you. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

Happy writing….

Maria Carlton is an award winning business operator, brand communications expert for SMEs and international bestselling author and speaker. Her books and seminars make people think, take action and move forward easily. Maria is also founder and CEO of Maruki Books – specialising in assisting professional experts to create and market non-fiction books

Author: Maria Carlton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Programmable Multi-cooker

If you love to write and you’ve been writing for some time and your articles have been on self help, you might want to consider looking over those articles and see where most of your knowledge lies. If you see that there is something there that you know a lot about first hand and have found that it has helped you, you should consider taking that knowledge and try writing a self help book. This way you can share with others what has worked for you and share how they can learn to benefit from the same advice.

You need to start off by defining your goal. You need to have a message and a purpose before you even begin. You should be able to say why it is you are writing the book in just a couple of sentences. If you can’t do this and you can’t narrow down your topic then you’re probably not quite ready to put your book together yet.

If you have a goal then you are set and you need to make sure that the topic you have chosen is one that you know pretty good. You need to be really familiar with the different concepts of the topic or actually know from first hand experience about the topic. The more you have actually experienced the topic the better your advice is going to sound and the more believable it is going to be. Readers what to be able to feel like they can trust what you are saying.

You also need to make sure that you are inspirational. You need to make sure that your book gives off a positive mood. You want to be able to help the reader to want to change by motivating them. You should have a tone that will encourage your reader to follow your advice. You should include real life success stories or even anecdotes that will back up the advice you are trying to give. The story or stories will help your readers to visualize it.

You can outline your topic plan by setting it up in your table of contents. When a reader looks at the table of contents they should get an immediate sense of what the entire book is going to be about. This will help them decide immediately if they want to read the book or not, so make sure the table contents is put together well.

If you have sub-topics within your topic then you need to make sure that you use just one of these per chapter of the book. You want to make sure that the book stays clear and you don’t make it confusing to the reader by mixing up all of the different ideas together in one chapter. You need to lead your readers from one the point they are at to the next step and continue you to lead them step by step through each individual chapter.

You need to be able to validate what you are suggesting to them. You need to be able to give them some sort of proof that the advice you are giving really does work. You need to use true life examples as well as data to back up your claims. You should try to include yourself as an example letting them know that if it works for you it can also work for other people.

You will need to also make sure that your book includes different kinds of resources like support groups and websites that can be helpful to the reader if they want to learn more or get more involved in whatever it is your topic covers. This way you are giving your readers the opportunity to connect with others who understand the topic you are writing about as well.

Before you go and try to publish your book whether it is in eBook form or printed form, make sure that the language you have used in the book is in plain everyday language that others can easily understand and that it comes off inspiring. You should also consider letting a few people you know read it so that they can give you their feedback as well.

For more free Self Help & Personal Success Information download Amy’s Free Self Help & Personal Success Information Pack at http://www.free-self-help-info.com and join thousands of other people who are taking control of their lives and achieving personal success!

For other free information on a variety of issues please visit http://www.free-info-site.com

Author: Amy Myer
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric Pressure Cooker

I don’t care how brilliant your new Kindle ebook is. It won’t sell itself. If you have recently published a Kindle book, you may have already discovered that sales are slow, or nonexistent.

What you need to do is start actively marketing them. In this article, I am going to discuss just one strategy, but which actually combines a couple of different ways to bring attention to your Kindle books. So let’s get started.

The first thing you need to do is create a “Fan Page” on Facebook, dedicated to your book. It’s easy to do. If you already have personal Facebook page, just go there and do the necessary clicking to set up a Fan Page. It’s easy. If you don’t know how to do it, just go to the “Help Center,” which you will find under the “Account” menu in the upper right hand corner of your Facebook page.

The Fan Page alone will start drawing attention to your Kindle book. The key is to build as many members as possible by getting large numbers of people to “Like” your page. But once your Fan Page is up and running, there are many ways you can leverage it to drive even more traffic to your Kindle books, and sell them.

One way I have recently discovered combines the power of Facebook with a feature on Amazon. Kindle authors can and should create a profile page on Amazon. On this page you can do a variety of things, including write your own book reviews.

The great thing about writing book reviews is that Amazon allows you to put a live link into your review as long as that link connects to something selling on Amazon. That link, of course, should be a direct click over to your book. So every time you write a review of someone else’s book, you are creating a little ad and plug for your own book.

And now the Facebook Fan Page connection. Once your book reviews are on display on your Amazon profile page, post a link on your Facebook Fan Page, directing your Fan Page members to go read your book reviews! How simple as easy it that?

So what you are doing is leveraging the Amazon profile site to create free “ads” and links to your Kindle books, and then you are driving traffic to your Amazon book reviews with your Fan Page.

It’s just one more way to make things start happening for your Kindle publishing career. The key is to drive traffic and attention to your Kindle books in as many ways as you can. This Amazon-Facebook strategy is just one more weapon in your arsenal! The more book reviews you write, the more traffic you get. Make sure that you write high quality book reviews that are enjoyable to read, and really help the reader understand what the book is about, and what you think is good or bad about the book. Provide content with high value! When you provide readers with good quality writing and content, you build credibility and increase traffic, and win repeat traffic and customers.

This is my Facebook Fanpage where you will find tons more information on expanding the limits of your mind and intellectual capabilities, and also where you will find topics that will invite you to think outside the box… sometimes WAY out side the box!

Author: Ken Korczak
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How to make baked potato fast

As a writer trying to sell his book online, you’re not different from all these people attempting to sell their own products on the Internet. You require of course a good book, where you put all your thoughts, a well-written book, with a nice cover and a professional layout. But it’s not enough to make a sale.

You have to be visible: Are you on Google?

What’s about your own USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?

Do you really know your reader/customer? Is it a man or a woman, how old is he/she? Do you sell a story or do you solve a problem? Are you a storyteller or an expert in your field? You can’t be everything to everyone, so make a choice, find your niche.

Most of the time, writers think they will reach their audience by just putting their book on a web page. But it’s not enough, it’s just the beginning of your journey as a self-published author.

What I teach to my clients may sound a bit odd to you, but you really must learn Internet marketing. If you don’t write a good squeeze page, a brilliant sales letter, if you don’t use an autoresponder, you won’t make anything, even if you’re a wonderful writer. You need a blog, full of backlinks, you must build a presence on social media.

It takes times, it will cost you money, time and effort, but without all these tricks and methods, nothing will happen, I tell you.

Internet marketing got nothing to do with magic, it’s all about smart thinking, deep research and perseverance and obstinacy.

So how can you get started with your new career as an Internet marketer?

First of all, type Internet marketing in Google and download all the free special reports, articles, ebooks, videos, powerpoint slides available. Read specialized blogs, look for good and serious membership sites and forums.

When your master fundamentals and basic knowledge, start buying courses, books and magazines.

Internet marketing changes all the times, a good strategy can miserably failed if you wait too long to use it.

Don’t be fooled by « get rich quick » schemes and ways of making easy money, taking a shortcut to success, or otherwise performing miracles with money. Most of the time it’s just pointless rubbish, but occasionally you will find a very unusual trick nobody else talks about it.

So learn everything you can, compare, analyze, take notes.

You can really sell your book online with marketing for self-published authors, but it won’t happen overnight. It takes months, but with the right skills and tools, you can do it too!

Alain Jamot is a writer, publisher, and Internet marketer. If you enjoyed reading this article, go to [http://sell-your-book-online.com] where you will discover new marketing, writing strategies, and free tools, to sell more books.

Author: Alain Jamot
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric pressure cooker

Abstract:

In these days of computers, the internet, digital cameras, and on-line publishing companies, individuals can more easily express their creativity through writing and publishing their own written works. Whether it is a novel, a short story, or a how to guide, having a creative cover is important to help capture the attention of your audience. There is that old saying, “You can’t tell a book by its cover” is so true, but your job as an author is to make sure that the cover best reflects your written works. With the growth of E-books and on-line books, having a well designed cover is even more important. The web surfer can quickly have tens if not hundreds of books at their fingertips, but why should they select your book over another? Without spending many dollars in marketing, one of the best tools at your disposal is a cover that will get their attention and hopefully pique their interest to make a purchase. If you are writing on a topic that already has many similar topics, such as “Vegetable Gardening”, you have to compete even more for the consumers dollars.

You could purchase the different graphics tools of go off to a company to design your cover for you. Most of the covers that you are familiar with in a book store cost hundreds of dollars to design, and in some cases thousands. Now whether you are writing 10 pages or 5000 pages, this article will give you some basic ideas that will help you design your next book cover into one that is different, unique and personal. Remember that a well done book cover will boost your sales.

Designing A Cover For Your Book

– A guide for self publishers –

You have already expressed your creative side by writing a book, now lets express your artistic side. By using a collection of clip art, or a low cost digital camera coupled with some imagination can open the door for you to create unique cover that portrays your writings. Even with that saying, “You can’t tell a book by its cover”, the cover definitely gets attention. Think of the book cover as a marketing tool that promotes not only your book, but you as the author.

Software packages like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator have many capabilities that allow you to customize your pictures and illustrations. The question often asked is; “What should I do?” The intent of this article is to give you a few ideas to spark your creativity and see what fits your personality. Our focus has been on pet and automotive art, so we will use an automotive car show judging guide as an example, although these ideas can be applied to many other topics.

With E-Books and on-line publications, having an elaborate cover is a one time upfront cost since there is no printing involved, so it is worth it to do it right since the book revenue in part will be dependent upon the cover.

Publishers for hard copied books have the ability to use different papers, and cover media such as foil, and other eye catching materials. On-line publishing has to leverage the graphics appeal to grab the readers eye and entice them to read further. A brief list of tips to consider when designing your book cover is as follows:

1. Always try to use high resolution images (clear and crisp) for any initial artwork. You can always lower the resolution later on.

2. As an author, if you expect to have multiple books you may wish to have a common theme where there may be a similar layout or border between books. Define your own brand identity.

3. Design your a layout with layers giving a three dimensional effect. For example the palm tree in the background of the “Pet Photography Book Example”.

4. Some customers will also print out their book, so you want a design that is printable, and will still look good. Make sure that what ever resolution you use is sufficient for printing. Typically 150 DPI will work unless there is intricate details that may require higher resolution.

5. For best versatility and color representation use RGB color specifications versus CMYK.

6. Hard copied books use different cover effects to catch the readers eyes, such as fabrics, and embossing. You want to obtain a similar visual effect, so use different background textures to give a feel like cloth, diamond plate, fabric with out them being too pronounced. Select something that relates to the content. One example we used was a diamond plate border for an automotive engine book. The rugged diamond plate linked nicely to the bold metal engines.

7. Remember your target audience. If it is children, select clip art that they can relate to. For hobbyist, try to incorporate some aspect of the hobby on the cover.

8. Do not clutter the cover too much with images or text. It can make it difficult to read on line.

Use visual effects that reflect the contents and the value it brings to the reader. A consumer is more likely to purchase a book f they perceive the value more than the cost. Your cover needs to reflect the value, but it is equally important that the contents justify the cover. Do not mislead the reader. A judging book we have done has a trophy in the background implying if you follow the advice in the book, you could have a trophy on your shelf. Or the pet photography cover where it tells he reader it will help them create a picture like the one on the cover. These are things that have a tangible feel to them that reflects value. Many of the books we sold were purchased as a gift. The giver wants to make the receiver happy, and wants confirmation that it’s a great gift and often looks for a smile. When someone sees your cover you want them to smile.

This value in a cover that gets attention is dependent upon how well the design is done, and what message it gets across.

Marketing studies have show that having a catchy box or cover for a product sells more products, so take the ideas presented here and sell some books.

7. Final Remarks On Designing Your Book Cover

Even though we are only presenting a few examples and ideas, you should realize that like the words you have written on the pages, the book cover is an extension of the writers personality. As long as basic principles are adhered to, there is no right or wrong way, as long as the message gets across. Accurate representation of the books contents along with a cover that is memorable are two of the keys to make your book stand out.

Competition for consumers will continue to increase as more titles compete with yours. Look at what other authors have done and open your imagination and embark on the first step to create yours. By utilizing the tips here you are one step closer.

So to get started, take what you have learned here, finish your book and get a cover designed.

For additional information and ideas on how to designing book covers, visit http://www.PalmieriConcepts.com There are many examples that have helped authors like you have a great cover.

Anthony Palmieri founded Palmieri Concepts after 20 years of creating custom artwork for his own pleasure and enjoyment along with 30 years as a car enthusiast. This business initially grew out of a love for motor vehicles and was started to share with others what began as a hobby.

On the artistic side, it appears that his artistic ability to work with cars first surfaced around 4 years old, when he carefully used a large paint brush and white house paint to customize his grandfathers blue car. Since then, he has improved his technique! In addition to the custom artwork, he has also written numerous articles on automotive art and car shows, covering topics from custom show boards, to automotive theme garages and has designed book covers for these articles as well as marketing campaigns for major US companies. Links to some of these articles can be found on http://www.PalmieriConcepts.com

Author: Anthony Palmieri
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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