Guest Post: Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion, by Rachael Oku

April 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
Rachael Oku

Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion by Rachel Oku   In every industry, the cliché goes that you have to “pay your dues” before you can make it. Is this really true of writing? Recently published author Rachael Oku wonders. . . . If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. Surely I’d have to labour over my ideas and live as a tortured artist in order to hone my craft? Not so. In this the digital age, it’s easier… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Book Launch, Book Marketing, Branding, Guest Post, Motivational, Pitching, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Reasons Your Tweets Are Not Working!

July 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
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You think you’re doing everything right–multiple tweets per week, retweeting the right people, using #hashtags, sharing interesting articles–but it doesn’t seem to be gaining you any new followers. Or maybe you’re just not tweeting the right way because you’re not into it…yet. Below are 5 reasons your tweets alone might not be working! Reason #1: You aren’t promoting others The culture of Twitter is very much tit-for-tat. The more you support others, the more they will support you. It’s easy to fall into the mindset that you have to be promoting yourself all the time. In reality, Twitter is a tool you should be using to find allies! To find allies who will support you, you need to reach out and show… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Pitching, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Back-to-School Marketing for ALL Authors!

July 9, 2012 by 2 Comments
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I know, I know—it’s not even really mid-July yet. The Fourth of July was last week, for crying out loud! You’re probably thinking, “But I’m not even fully healed from my sunburn yet!”   While that may be true, there are three important reasons to start planning back-to-school/fall promotions right now:   1)    Back-to-school is one of the biggest times for shopping in the entire year; 2)    Back-to-school shopping takes place from July to September, so it has already started; 3)    Retailers are making promotional plans for back-to-school right now, so you should too!   Back-to-school season isn’t just a time to market children’s books—it’s a time for fresh starts (and last-chance indulgences) for everyone. And let’s not forget who… [read more]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Motivational, Pitching, Planning Tagged With: , , , , ,

Words to Avoid When Pitching Your Book

June 15, 2012 by 7 Comments
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Right off, we want you to know that you should be shameless when it comes to marketing your book. Your success as an indie author depends on it. But there is an art to pitching your book to agents, booksellers, media, bloggers, and ultimately to your readers. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account there are even rules to pitching there, especially on Twitter. You can read our take on that here. As you’re moving toward a marketing strategy for your book, including developing copy for your book summary, resist the urge to use the following words in your updates, tweets, pitches, elevator speeches, and in any of your other marketing endeavors. These words are overused, redundant, and don’t… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Book Marketing, Media, Pitching, Planning, Press Releases Tagged With: , , ,

Does Your Book Have a Theme Song? Capitalize on Your Book’s Brand!

June 11, 2012 by 5 Comments
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Every book has a genre. But within in that genre, what is your book’s brand? What integral parts of your book make it truly different from others out there? Let’s use Charlene Harris’s vampire series (and by extension, True Blood on HBO) as an example. In the wake of Twilight, everyone and their uncle began writing YA/adult vampire romances. Charlene Harris decided to also roll in social commentary with hers, addressing social issues with sexuality and religion. Many members of the True Blood cast (the HBO series based on the books) partook in “It Gets Better” videos to address bullying, another extremely popular topic in the media today. These positive-message videos were appropriate with the original brand of the books and… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Book Marketing, Branding, Pitching, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Five Questions before Querying Agents

June 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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Over the eons of book publishing, agent querying became the obvious next step once an author finished a manuscript. Today, it’s not so simple. Sometimes, agent querying is the very best next step to publication–sometimes, though, querying isn’t the route that will lead to the most success in publication. Before spending hours and hours writing and sending out hundreds of queries, take a few minutes to ask yourself the following five questions: 1) Does my book fit into a genre publishers are looking for? Does your book have an obvious publisher-ready genre? Of course it should should be fresh and original, but does it have some logical ties to a  specific genre, and therefore a specific audience? Publishers need good… [read more]

Filed Under: Agents, Audience, Book Marketing, Editing, Indie Publishing, Literary Trends, Pitching, Planning, Pub. Industry, Query Letter Tagged With: , , ,

5 Mistakes Authors Make That Ruin Book Marketing

May 7, 2012 by 7 Comments
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You’ve gone through the painful and enlightening process of editing, proofreading, and other general wordsmithing (new word!). You’ve had your designer create the perfect cover for the perfect book. You’ve had your book printed and digitalized in Mobi and Epub files, and it’s finally available everywhere in all formats. In a nutshell, you’re finally there–you’re an authentic, self-made, 14-karat author ready to get out and start selling! Congratulations! I’ve enjoyed seeing hundreds of authors reach this stage, and believe me, it’s a great reward to see an author finally get “there”–if “there” means seeing the book’s live Amazon sales page. The greater reward? Seeing the author achieve a  real sales record, and a solid one at that. In order to… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Book Launch, Book Marketing, Motivational, Pitching, Planning, Self-publishing Tagged With: , , ,

The 5 Principles to Book Reviews and Endorsements

April 27, 2012 by 2 Comments
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In the book world, reviews and endorsements are extremely important… Both official reviews and unofficial consumer reviews are vital to a book’s launch into the market. Readers are becoming more and more dependent on reviews of all kinds when choosing which books to buy, and bookstore buyers tend to look at a book without reviews as less professional—but, of course, it depends on how the reviews are handled. Below is a list of the five principles for review/endorsement submissions! 1. Don’t solely target traditional book reviewers and book bloggers, such as Kirkus Book Reviews, Publishers Weekly, or Bookslut.com.  These sources receive tons of submissions every week, and while a review from one of these places will speak highly for your book, it… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Pitching, Planning, Pub. Industry, Query Letter, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

How to Develop an Emotion-Evoking Elevator Speech

March 2, 2012 by 2 Comments
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We know you’re emotionally charged when it comes to your book. Every author is! By the time you’re reaching out to publishers, agents, or editors, you’ve hopefully put your TIME, blood, sweat, and probably tears as well into carefully crafting the “perfect book.” After that, it would be a challenge for you to NOT be emotional about it. No one else has that luxury—and no one else cares how emotional it was for YOU. They care about how it can be emotional for them. It’s a big challenge to make your audience react emotionally. The biggest challenge? Making publishers, agents, and editors react emotionally—which, of course, you have to tackle first. In order for your readers (or industry professionals) to… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Book Marketing, Pitching, Planning, Query Letter