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Boook-zeller cheeek, ve mizz yooo

This is one of those times where I wish the blogger (Seth Godin) would allow for comments. There are a few things I'd like to say about his post but he's disabled comments across his blog, which is most unfortunate.

At any rate, I blogged about HC's service last week and as a fellow publisher I think it's a great idea. I'm not applauding it because I'm a publisher; I just tend to think it's a nice service for HC to offer, especially since it lowers the barrier to entry for many authors who are scared of technology.

Here's the real reason why I completely disagree with Seth though: Thanks to RSS it doesn't matter who hosts your blog! 95% or more of the blog reading I do doesn't take place at the source. I read almost everything in my RSS reader instead. So regardless of whether HC or someone else hosts the author blogs it doesn't matter because I'm generally not going to that domain to get the content. I'm not alone, of course, as many, many folks are finding RSS is a great way to consolidate and aggregate all your blog feeds.

So if the publisher, HC in this case, is willing to host and lower that barrier to entry, what's not to like?!

Btw, the post I wrote about this on my own blog can be found here: http://jwikert.typepad.com/the_average_joe/2007/09/harpercollins-a.html

Thanks,
Joe Wikert
Publishing 2020 Blog
[email protected]

I prefer handling my own site, but it might be a good opportunity for others.

Hi Linsey -

I just found your blog through another writerly blog - MJ Rose I think? -- and I love reading this stuff, but only if it is entertaining, informative (at times) and funny.

I'll hang around because it looks as if yours is all three.

Just wanted to say Hey!

Having a lot of readers right now for some reason. Actually, I went to a "get-together" of Montreal bloggers, and I think they're looking me up.

Attending an event and taking pictures is a good way of getting clicks, too.

Mostly, it's visiting other blogs and leaving comments. They sometimes return the favor.
I've noticed since returning to the work force, I no longer blog even 1/16th what I used to. And the visiters has dropped dramatically.

It's like self-marketing. If you put yourself out there, people will check you out. If you don't, know one knows you exist.

If you don't keep up with your blog and let it wallow for days at a time, that also affects return visits.

It goes hand in hand.
I accept that I only have a handful of comments now. And I"m OK with that -I guess. I am not investing the time like I used to so I can't expect much else now, can I?

Good luck with your poll!

And being plagued with typos doesn't help my case either. Sheesh!

I got swamped with readers when I did well months ago on Miss Snark's crapometer. Other times it comes and goes. I try to write interesting posts every day, but my readership varies.
Hey, let us know if you figure it out, will you?

Thanks for encouraging people to answer our bookstore's questions (As a bookstore employee/owner, what does your store do to attract a crowd?
And as a bookstore shopper, what sorts of things do you look for in the stores that you frequent?) We are trying to grow our 2 year old bookstore in a tourist town on Cape Cod. We've already received some well thought out responses.

Hi Bookseller Chick!

By coincidence I just found your blog yesterday. Thanks for the link! Would you be interested in sharing your career story on my blog sometime? You can contact me at [email protected].

Aren't authors also readers? I'm an unpublished author with a blog and I love the connections I've made with other authors - I've also bought most of their books. So I think it's a win win. :)

As a fan, I like having a connection to authors I like, a way to know what they're up to and when I can expect their next book. I think it makes authors seem less like strangers and more like people I know, so I'm more likely to want to buy their books instead of borrowing them from a friend or the library. In short, I don't know if you gain new readers with a blog, but I think the blog help keep the readers you already have and that seems pretty important to me.

I like what kalika said. Sadly, I do have a myspace and went on one of my favorite authors myspace and saw a bunch of up and comming authors who had there covers of there books up. It got me wanting to investigate what they were all about. I end up reading there blogs and there adventures as an up and comming author. Makes me want to read there book even more when it comes out. Specially, if they seem personable. To me the blogging works.

I have bought books from authors I discovered in blogland.
Blogs give me a chance to get to know a person's writing style before I plunk down my bucks. I read a lot, so I am always looking for new authors.
Also for authors I already love, I agree with Kalika that it helps me keep up with that they are doing, and when stuff is out, and to feel closer to them. It doesn't mean I don't read people without blogs, but it sure can help.

I rarely buy books that I haven't already read and adored, but I've certainly picked up at least one book from the library because I stumbled upon her blog (ALL THE FISHES COME HOME TO ROOST, by Rachel Manija Brown--rachelmanija on LiveJournal).

I'm not sure if I've ever bought a book based on an author's blog, but I've definitely been introduced to magazines and anthologies that included bloggers' work. There are relatively few established authors whose day-to-day life and ramblings are that interesting to me, but I've definitely found some quality short story writers this way.

I've only ever had one purchase come out of my having a blog. But I'm also a self-published author/full-time student, so my blog is basically the only way to maintain interest.

I only have anecdotal evidence rather than actual sales results, but I have heard from a number of readers who read my blog first, and then bought my books. Some came for writing-related topics, others found me through various LiveJournal communities where I also post or were referred by friends.

I think the primary benefit of my blog is for keeping the existing readers fired up to go spread word of mouth. They feel like they know me, so they're more emotionally invested in getting people to read my books.

I don't know that I've read a blog of an author I hadn't already read, but oddly, I find a lot of good book recommendations from other authors' blogs when they talk about the books they love. Maybe the key isn't so much to use your own blog to promote your own books, but to hope that other authors will talk about your books on their blogs.

I started blogging because my agent and editor said all authors need to blog, and also because I thought it would be fun to try. But I was hazy on what the blog was really FOR. Pushing my own book? Bleah. Rambling on about my day? Please. Not even my dog is interested in my day, most days. (“She sat and make the clicky noises with her fingers…I fell asleep…woke up… still making clicky noises. Isn’t it dinnertime yet?”)

So I mostly post on topics that interest me and that I think will interest other people. I doubt I’ve sold any books as a direct result. But if it takes time, and isn't selling books, is it worthwhile continuing? Yes, because it's an open door, a way for people to connect, and that's important to me. Plus I'm still learning about tone, and focus, and voice, and that makes it fun.

Thinking about this has made me realize that my own favorite blogs are either snarkily funny -- a voice I could never pull off myself, btw (barista brat, Go Fug Yourself) or are great sources of information (Booksquare, here). Interestingly, I haven’t stuck much with other authors’ blogs. More food for thought...

I personally have purchased my last six books based upon either the author's blog (because I was a subscriber to it) or another blog that did a review of the book OR interview with the author as part of a "virtual book tour."

The 4-hour Work Week best seller completely built a marketing plan around the author's blog and others to build the promotion needed for the book.

Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist has significantly added sales through her own blog as well as virtual book tours at other blogs.

I would also point to The Long Tail as another book that published because of a blog.

The key to promoting your book on your blog is to consistently write articles on your blog about the topic of the book, not promoting the book itself.

So, yup, technology can help market your work. But you have to use it the right way.

Interesting comments, all. Scott, I note that some of your success examples are non-fiction, and I could see blogging working in that realm when the focus of the blog is on the subject of the book. But do you think the same truism would hold true for fiction? (Just tossing out questions for discussion/debate here...).

I think as well that Christine makes a very good point, and it's one I've made to BSC as well, that the successful bloggers also have a particular talent for writing blogs (such as BSC displays). They can take the mundane or the complicated and make it interesting, funny, and readable. But that in itself is a particular writing talent, and not every writer will be good at doing that as opposed to their normal mode of writing.

I certainly agree with BSC that every writer needs an online presence, whether that be a website, blog, message boards, or some combination. It's that combination part that is the question of the moment. As Christine noted, "everyone" is saying you have to blog. But there are a lot of demands on the writer's available marketing time, and is trying to maintain a daily or near-daily blog that's entertaining and informative the best use of that time? Or would participation in message boards, attendance at conventions (both, perhaps, best suited for genre folks) be more direct to your potential readers? Or is keeping frequent updates of "latest news" on one's own website just as good as the blog?

One cannot deny the whole interconnectedness thing (if that's really a word...) as outlined by Shanna. But I can also see one ending up spending vast amounts of time clicking and interacting with a lot of people's sites to try and maintain the connections and visibility. You might want to do that anyway because it's fun, but is it time effective from the standpoint of your own marketing efforts, versus other online or offline activities?

And one question I will also be interested in seeing, is how many people continue to respond to this day's blog, now that BSC has posted a more recent one. If one wants to have an ongoing dialog with readers or others on a topic, does the structure of blogging (with the emphasis on the most recent entry) work against that (as opposed to a message board, for instance, where the thread stays active as long as people have things to say about it). Just another thought to toss in her to make this entry as long as possible, lol! :o)

as an antipodean author (australia), i find my blog is a great way of making contacts overseas.

and i don't know if reading or seeing my blog makes people buy my books, but i certainly think that it raises awareness of them, and that's worth a lot in itself.

i've absolutely bought books after reading the author's blog. and i've stopped reading some authors' books after reading their blogs.

but the one thing no one has mentioned yet is: blogging is great writing practice! as a writer, it's great to have something a bit casual to exercise your ideas and writing muscles on.

I know a few of my blog readers have bought my books, when they might not have had they not "met" me through the blog.

For me, I love blogs. I love reading a favorite author's thoughts on things, especially when they take time to reply or otherwise indicate that they're reading.
It gives me a reason to invest personally in that author, which is always nice.

I actually learnt about Lynn Viehl through blogland and it lead to buying one of her books.

I am an author myself, but my blog still attracts a very modest amount of traffic.

However, it has helped to make a few readers turn into fans, actually. I know for sure that I sold some sixty more copies of my first book, just by having the blog.

It's not much, I know, but it is about 5% of the total sales, so far, last year.

FWIW

I agree with everything Kalika said. I have bought books as a result of enjoying an author's blog and I have also maintained connections to a favorite author by being subscribed to her blog. I find a lot of books that I look for at the library through virtual book tours and mentions by authors I like. I wish more of my favorite authors had blogs I could enjoy.

I'll comment as a reader.

I have absolutely purchased books because of the author's blog, and I have also purchased books because of that author's agent's blog. Further, I would not have bought them, had it not been for the blogs.

On the other hand, we are talking about maybe 6 books in total here, so I can't say that blogging is worth it for the author *just* to get book sales.

(I have also purchased books based on blog recommendations, but that seems like a different topic than you are raising here.)

I've never bought a book just because of a blog, but I like reading authors' blogs. It helps me stay up to date with when the next book in a series is coming out, or any projects they happen to be working on. I wouldn't say that blogs improve book sales, but they keep the reader informed and that keeps sales up. I also just like knowing that the author isn't someone who's full of themselves, but that they relate to me and are as down to earth as some of the characters in their books. =)

You will be glad to know that RTB is every 6 weeks or so, not every month--I'd be dead if it was every month, LOL.

I was trying to do that for June as well, since I'll be busy with exams, but I've been so busy, I'm just not going to get it done.

Dear BSC-
While I understand your goals and plans, please remember to have a life and not become one of those scary people who lives through their blog. Seriously? Twice a day? Plus two other websites? And a full time job? And grad school? The occasional blabber is fine, even if there isn't an interview posted the same day. Once a day is plenty.
Speaking from the perspective of someone who does too much, don't add more to your life right now!
The Druggie

I think the whole free book debate is fascinating, and I come down entirely in favor of free books.

Later, when I'm not in headache fuzzy headspace, I'll have a more complete response than that.

Will you change the blog to "Bookie chick" in honor of the new job?

The copyrighted material on YouTube is the genie out of the bottle, never to be put back in. It makes life difficult for the film/TV industry which already struggles with piracy. However, having said that, I like the Stephen Colbert joke: the only thing better than watching TV is watching it smaller and fuzzier on YouTube.

I've heard a lot about how Barnes and Nobles is a really big deal with publishers. Like, if B&N can't shelf it, publishers won't buy it. How much influence does B&N (and other big-deal booksellers) have on the publishing industry?

Thanks for the great blog, by the way. It's informative and it's fun. What more can you ask for?

Miri

You've seen many authors give readings. In your opinion, what made for a successful event. What types of presentations sold a lot of books (and I don't mean from the well-established James Pattersons and Nora Roberts of the world)and left the audience with warm feelings?

Thanks so much.

Those are both great questions. I second those.

And add this: what's your favorite thing that an author did when he or she stopped by your store? I'm talking about something that person did for you--whether it was bringing donuts or ordering pizzas or simply behaving in a way that made you feel great.

Thanks!

I'd like to piggyback on the question about author and readings/signings, if I might.

What's your take on give-aways? Say for instance, an author offers a gift basket or bookstore gift certificate to the first (or tenth, if you will) person who purchases the author's book. Have you ever seen this done? If so, did it prove worth the effort?

Thanks for being such a wonderful resource.

I am considering opening a bookstore soon and would like your take on the everyday life of being in a bookstore (as an employee) for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days (or however many you worked) a week.
Likes, dislikes... were you longing for the end of the workday, or did you wake up looking forward to going to work? From reading some of your posts, I assume you moved up to management.
Anyway, without going on and on, I think you get the idea of what I'm looking for.
I am trying to get on with B&N for some experience, but they are not hiring until April/May.

Thanks. Your blog is most informative.

How do you decide where to shelve something (ie Romance versus general fiction)? Do you have a sense if "special" sections work better versus the general area?

From one bookseller to another: If you owned your own bookstore, what genre(s) would dominate the shelves?

At the ripe age of 20, I have realized that my dream is to open an independent book store, contrary to my pending degree in Public Relations. What words of wisdom can you offer me in this venture? I have no idea where to begin after I graduate, except that I need to save furiously.

Thank you.