First thing first
Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my bog this month - we did 315 comments. I decided to give 50 cents for every comment to Bridget Zinn towards her medical. I know its not much but its something.
BTW - for all you who bid or blogged about the auction - we raised $13,000 for Bridget on the auction. Someone even bid on my marketing package :)
Also I am adding a poll on the side: Should I split my blogs and do Market my Words specifically for marketing but do Srjohannes for my writing journey? Would you all follow me if I split off?
Now, here are my favorite marketing posts this week:
Some don't want any promotion at all. - Most of us eagerly grab all the book promotion opportunities we can get. And then there are those who want no book promotion at all.
Effective Speeches - 5 questions to ask yourself while preparing a speech. This is the basic structure every talk should follow.
Webinar class - Look at your marketing/promotion skills as a writer - are you a generalist or a specialist?
Simple ways to promote yourself - When it comes to online promotion, it's really about participating.
Everything I learned about twitter - Here’s how some of the mantras from our undergrad days now make the best tweets.
Thanks again for all the congrads! Have a great weekend!!
Note: If anyone out there is going to LA and plays acoustic guitar (and can learn something quickly) can you contact me offline - I have an idea!
Here are my fav posts on marketing your books:
A Book's Production Process - Learn how books are put together from cover to copy. (
Though this is not traditional marketing, I like this article because it gives you an idea of what goes into the book cover and book copy. As we all know that is what sells our book so I thought it was an interesting article for this week's roundup.
7 mistakes publisher's make when creating a book - Did you know 75% of booksellers say that the cover is the most important element of the book. No wonder we get nervous! John Kremer lists things you should avoid in a book cover. (This is for all those agent and editor lurkers - you know who you are ;)
Jacket Copy sells books - As authors you usually get a chance to see and possibly review your jacket copy. KNow what to look for!
Is marketing an art or a science? Seth thinks it's both. (So do I!)
When giving away free ebooks makes sense. Alot of authors give away free ebkkos to drive up their sales. Find out when that rerally works and when it doesn't.
Combine Virtual Tours with Live Tours - Authors can combine online book touring with live book touring and still reap the benefits of never having to leave their house, not to mention how much money it saves all the way around.
Have a great weekend! ;)
First Things First
1) TGIF Its been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG week here. As you may have noticed (because I know you wait with baited breath for my blog to have a new entry :) I have not been blogging as much lately. Well there is a reason (excuse) for that. Actually there are many but here are my top 3. (not including lazy, distracted, getting my toes done, cleaning, complaining, subbing and more)
1) last week was spring break (get this my kids were out from Friday April 3rd, through Monday the 13th! why do breaks seem to be getting longer and longer. It was a long week with a 2 year old and 5 year old. Both of which were sick at different times. My house became a prison!
2) I was working diligently on my final edits. I'd set a date of Easter and By George (who is that anyway??? does anyone know George??) I was going to make it. Come hell or high water.(Cliche alert)
3) This week my kids were home sick. What you say? yes. That means the Spring break from hell was extended all week long. Thank the Lord for moms because mine is here today. There is a God!
Needless to say I am stir crazy! Had to go out last night and get a
mani/
pedi just to relax. Oh yeah, and I had them throw in extra
massages on feet and shoulders. And can I just say I got all of that for 65$!? Is that awesome or what.
AAHHHHHHH (Thanks honey:)
2)
Woot Woot! I want to congratulate Vicki and Casey on winning the Marketing contest. I look forward to working with you. I've decided the next comment contest will be in July. So get your comments ready! The
rules will change a bit but the prize will still be great! (Think Tony the Tiger Great.)
3)
Aw shucks, You shouldn't have! I want to humbly thank
Kimberly Derting for the Fabulous Blog award and shout out. In case you guys haven't heard, she got a great book deal for her first book,
BodyFinder, which I think is coming out First Quarter 2010 (correct me if I'm wrong Kim, I know the date has shifted! :) I am going to
award the Fabulous Blog Award to the top 5 funniest blogs ever! Stay Tuned!
4)
Amazon Update - Well as you probably have guessed I did not make the semi-finals. To be honest, I am actually relieved. the version I entered was my old version and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my newer one better. It was a great experience and I am honored (blah blah blah) just to be in the top 500 (top 5%) out of 10,000. So onward and upward.
5)
The Girl's on Fi-ah!. And last, but not least, I wanted to congratulate my friend and hilarious blogger
Lindsey Leavitt for getting yet another book contract. That's right she just sold one more, in addition to her Princess for Hire Trilogy. Now she is in the hole for 4 books in 3 years. 2 of which come out in Winter 2010. Rock on
Linds, yous on
Fi-ah!!!!
Don't forget Marketing Monday - Now here for the exciting stuff, since I'm sure no one
could really care for my rants. This week our Marvelous Marketer is Anastasia
Goodstein. If you don't
recognize the name, she is the creator, owner, driving force, brilliant mind behind
Ypulse which tracks youth trends. She knows everything kids want, need and even some things they don't even know yet. So come back Monday! You don't want to miss it!
Friday's Marketing Round-UpDos and Donts of Book Trailers - Author MBA blog is down but they have some great past articles n marketing. Here is one I like about how to make dazzling book trailers.
Planning Your Publicity - We often forget that for most media, planning for lead times are crucial. Lead times can vary from a day to six months depending on the media you’re pitching. So be sure to plan way ahead.
Marketing That Makes A Difference - An interview on marketing with Kay
Cassidy, a 2008 Golden Heart winner, author of The Cinderella Society (
Egmont 2010), and former leadership development specialist.
Hate Twitter. Save Your Brand. Even if you do not want to Tweet, here are some reasons on why you should save your brand name anyway.
How to promote your book (author Richard Roach) Suspense author discuss his techniques.
45 Tips from Oldest Book Promoter - Planned Television Arts, the nation’s largest and oldest book promoter, celebrated their 45
th anniversary last month. Here are 45 free tips on what authors need to know about getting published, promoted, and distributed.
Why authors should do a Blog Tour. This is older but we haven't touched on it so I thought I would post it anyway. The simplest description for my idea of a virtual blog tour is: a
cyber “tour” which includes various blogs, websites, radio shows, newsletters, etc.
Have a great weekend!
Sorry for not posting this yesterday. A bad bug is visting our family, one person at a time so we have all been down for the count this week.
PR Tips from Debut author, Saundra Mitchell - Sometimes we manage to scare ourselves into inactivity because of an excess of information. Saundra gives us five things anybody can do.
Arts and Crafts of Self promotion - We can all raise the visibility of our books, and raising visibility is what marketing is.
Interview with Christina Katz - Author discusses her book, Get Known Before the Book Deal
Book Promotion tips from author, Marc Acito - Acito shares his advice to authors about promoting their books.
The New rules of Branding - A brand is a promise; a collective of perceptions.
Don't forget to come back and see who our Marvelous Marketer is on Monday. WE will also announce the random drawing winner for the Comment your Butt off Contest!
Happy Easter!
Welcome to this week's Poetry Friday round-up! It's great fun to be part of this community, and I'm thrilled to take my turn hosting. For those of you visiting my blog for the first time, welcome, and for those of you returning, welcome back.
In northern Illinois, we're finally shaking off the (admittedly gorgeous) spring weather and moving into true summer: hot, muggy, and buggy. At the same time, the days are growing shorter, this constant reminder of winter's approach. Here's a little Keats that seems fitting.
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
—John Keats
There's an interesting story to go with this poem. Keats and fellow poet and friend (James Henry) Leigh Hunt had a tradition of friendly competition, and "On the Grasshopper and Cricket" supposedly came out of a 15-minute sonnet-writing contest on December 30, 1816.
Hunt's poem, "To the Grasshopper and the Cricket" is also a treat, though I favor the Keats a little more. I think it's that lovely line, "The poetry of earth is ceasing never," that does it for me.
Round-Up
If you like, please leave your link to your Poetry Friday post in the comments below. I'll add it to the round-up as promptly as I can!
Poetry Friday Round-Up
Here’s the Round-Up for the 16th of May:
15 Words or Less
Laura Salas
Book Reviews were popular this week! Here are others who reviewed poetry books or excerpted poetry books:
6 Traits
Bill at Literate Lives
I just read 42 Miles to my class; they loved it!
Cloudscome
John Mutford
Just One More Book
Kelly at Big A, little a
MotherReader
Sylvia [...]
River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things is a new addition to my growing personal poetry collection. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this text when I saw it listed on Amazon, but I ordered it anyway, hoping that the poetry the kids wrote for this book would [...]
At their website, the
American Indian Library Association recently uploaded "I is for Inclusion." Prepared by Naomi Caldwell, Gabriella Kaye, and Lisa A. Mitten, the article is 21 pages long and includes these sections:
The BackgroundIntroduction and OverviewSelective Bibliography
Resources for Evaluating Books and Identifying StereotypesSources to Purchase BooksWhat to Look forDownload the pdf and share it with your fellow librarians and teachers.
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I love your friday links...thanks!
I love your friend's support group idea...I'll totally be checking it out!!!
Love the book signing article. Thanks for the link :)
I'm going to look into the support group. Thanks.
Really, I just don't know how you get anything done--including writing your fab books--and still give us all this great info. I do feel like I need a 12-step support group though...kinda like, "My name is Vicky and I procrastinate by surfing all these cool sites!" :o)