I Get by with a Little Help from my Friends

I've learned something over the past month. I mean, I think I already knew it, but now I really know it.

You can't market yourself as effectively as other people can.

The problem is, nobody will be as passionate about marketing you as you are.

But others can help, right? Right.

So I have an idea. I'm going to call it my "Authors Project." Each week I'm going to "adopt" a book, preferably an unknown book that I've read, loved, and is not seeing the public attention I know it deserves. And then I'm going to toot its horn EVERYWHERE. Remember me talking about the Kindle forums, where readers ask for books BUT YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT YOUR OWN? So, I'll talk about somebody else's book.

The first book I'm going to do is TRUTH TELLER, by Kurt Chambers, someone I met on an online review forum... oh goodness, about five years ago. (Has it really been that long??) First of all, Kurt is simply awesome. He's from England, and he's been a great supporter/critiquer over the years. Second of all, a few years ago we had a two-week review frenzy and I was assigned to read Kurt's middle grade fantasy, Truth Teller.


What absolutely shocked me was that a book that good wasn't being snatched up by publishers.

It's a wonderful story about a girl who gets sucked into a world where elves still battle evil. She's human, and thus lacking in magical powers, and yet something about her humanity makes her the very key to save her new friends.

After years of trying to get an agent, Kurt decided to do it himself. A few weeks ago, he launched Truth Teller. On Friday, Kurt is going to be a guest blogger here. I can't wait for you to meet him and learn all about his book. If you can't wait either, go check out his blog here.

And get yourself a copy of Truth Teller. At $2.99, it's a small investment to make to discover a fantastic author. Get it here for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Teller-ebook/dp/B006TI8JLY.

Want me to talk about your book? Let's talk!

The Kindle Boards: Not for me

So, I've spent about a month trying to be a part of the Kindle Board community. My conclusion: For me, it's not a good use of my time. Here are my reasons:

1) You can't talk about your books in the reading forums. So all the owners of Kindles asking for book recommendations, you can't recommend your book. Okay, that's kind of expected. But if someone asks a question about the appeal of self-publishing, you can't chime in about your experience. If someone asks why anyone would write about aliens, you can't share your opinion of why you would/want to/did. You are not supposed to let on that you're a writer at all.

So where can you talk about your book and you as a writer? In the writing forums.

Which leads to number 2:
2) The writing forums are full of authors trying to sell their books to authors. I have yet to see a single post from a reader in there.

But still, many of the authors are quite supportive. Of self-publishing. They encourage each other, they respond, they spread the word. They feel a sense of unity, of pride in bucking the trend of traditional publishing.

I'm not self-published.

And so, 3) If you are not what they consider "indie published" (never mind that Indie actually refers to independent presses, not self-publishing), they don't consider you a part of their group. No matter what I post about, how I try to contribute, my posts aren't responded to. Perhaps many of them feel that they've been snubbed by traditional publishing, and therefore this is their opportunity to tell traditional publishing where to go.

I haven't figured out where that is just yet, but anyway.

If you are self-published, you need to be on these boards. If you're not, it can't hurt to announce yourself and see what happens. But I wouldn't devote a lot of time to it.

Just my 2 cents.

Facebook ads: Are they worth it?

I'm going to share with you my experience with Facebook ads. There are a lot of variables here, of course, and I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had a different experience.

I set aside $10 a few weeks ago to run several ads on Facebook and see what happened with book sales. I let Facebook do the bidding for me, so it only took about four days and my money was all used up. However, it was enough time for me to collect some interesting data.

I created three ads with these titles: Young Adult Thriller, Suspense Novel, Mom Fulfills Dream.

Each ad had a brief sentence summing up the book. One had a sentence from a reviewer, one had a summary sentence, and one had a sentence about the history of the book. The book ads had a photo of my book, while the Mom ad had an author photo. Beneath the summary was the price of $2.99. If anyone clicked on the ad, it led them straight to the Amazon.com page for purchasing the ebook.

I had a few expectations. I designed the ads around different target groups, expecting only certain people to like certain ads. I expected them to attract people, though. I also expected that if people clicked on the ad, they would more than likely be interested in buying the book, and do so at the purchase page.

In reality, the book ads attracted very little attention, receiving only one click each. This could be because a) there are too many books available b) it just didn't look that interesting to people.

On the other hand, to my surprise, the Mom ad with the author photo and a one-line history of the book's publication process, received nearly 20 clicks. This surprised me. But here's the thing. The 20 clicks DID NOT EQUAL SALES. I sold the same amount of books that I usually do. Believe me, I would've noticed if there'd been so much as a ten-book sale increase. So why did these people click? I believe these were moms who saw the title "Mom Fulfills Dream" and thought for $2.99, I was going to divulge with them how to fulfill their dreams.

Either that, or they were men who thought my picture was pretty and were disappointed when the click took them to an Amazon.com page for a book.

My final consensus was that Facebook ads are not worth it. Even with my targeting parameters, I either didn't hit my target audience, or they just weren't interested. It's possible that if I'd run the ad for longer time, people might have clicked on it more, but I don't think so. I don't usually start paying attention to an ad because I've seen it so many times, I start ignoring it so that  I don't even notice it's there. I did not see a return of my $10 investment, which is quite sad.

If someone else has had luck with Facebook ads, please comment to know what could have been done differently. I won't try again, but someone else might.

For more details information of Facebook ads, check out this information here.

I'm LIVE and a Giveaway!

Okay, so it's not actually a live recording, but prerecorded. But still, you get the idea.

First, I have to groan and make fun of myself. When Linda Thompson says hi to me, I say hi back. But I wasn't supposed to, so you hear this brief squeak in the background while she continues to talk. :::Slaps forehead::: idiot.

Second, I'm looking at my webcam, as instructed, but it looks like I'm looking up. You get an unprecedented view of my nostrils.

Third, I look a bit white-washed....

But enough of me poking fun! It's an awesome interview and I had a blast talking about my book Perilous. How could I not? I love my book. I put my heart and soul into it.

The interview runs all day today and tomorrow. I know you want to see it, so here's the link: http://www.authorswebtv.com/.

That's not all! Today's a holiday, and I suspect the last thing on people's minds is watching me online. So I need some twittering and facebook help. Today and tomorrow, all day, I'm running a giveway for THREE books of your choice. Here are some of your options:

Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry
One hit Wonder by Charlie Carillo
Sisters by Danielle Steele
The Broker by John Grisham
Everything New by Shan Mann

And a whole lot of others.

To get entered in the giveaway, you can:

Blog about my interview (+3)
Tweet about my interview (+1 each tweet)
Facebook about my interview (+1 each status update)
Forward the information via email (+2 each email)

2 days, folks! Add up your points and please help me spread the word!

9 Reasons to find your State Library

Does your state have a library?

It might be worth finding out.

I recently received an email from the Arkansas State Library. They are making a poster to take to the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. in September, and they are putting my book on it. They asked for my permission to do so.

The reason they even know I exist is because I mailed them a copy of my book when it came out so they would have one for the state library. I never heard anything back and never knew how my book was received. Well, I guess.

After I got the email, I Google "Arkansas State Library." They have an awesome website with contact information to book clubs, festivals, librarians, etc. So here are some reasons to check out your state library:

9) Center for the Book. This campaign was started by the Library of Congress. My state library runs its own  version on a smaller, local scale. They provide book club suggestions and support to libraries across Arkansas.

8) Free promotion. The state library sponsors a book club called "If all Arkansas read the same book." It chooses 10-12 Arkansas writers and encourages every book club in Arkansas to read that book. How totally awesome if mine gets chosen!

7) Letters from kids. The library holds a competition every year where it encourages grade-school students to write a letter to an Arkansas author whose work inspired them.

6) Information on local conferences. Want to overload your year with conference events? The state library probably has links to them. All of them. So have fun!

5) List of state libraries. Instead of looking up every city in your state and Googling their library, you can just go down the list on your state library website and find every library you want.

4) Book awards. The library sponsors awards for children and young adult literature and allows (begs!) people to recommend books for the reading list. Nominees' books will be read by teens and librarians across the state.

3) Newsletter. Many state libraries send out a monthly newsletters with information about the library, books, contests, awards, and conferences.

2) Local author promotion. They might have a "native author" campaign. Arkansas does. It's called Arkansas Gems, and they feature about ten new books on a poster and bookmarks.

1) Recognition and publicity--for FREE. Posters and bookmarks are distributed across the state. They are given to schools and libraries as "ideas" so they will know what to order to support native writers.

Do you have any experience with your state library? What programs do they offer?

Creating a newsletter

There's a new gadget on the right-hand side of my blog. It's my newsletter sign-up form. Isn't pretty? I like it.

No, I don't have a newsletter yet. That's because I don't have anything to announce. And also because I don't have anyone to announce it to! :) But I will someday. And while most of you will get information about me from my blog, there will be people who's names and emails I collect through book signings and speaking engagements.

A newsletter is a great way to hold on to 'prospects.' Those people who looked at your book, blog, or website, but didn't buy. If they sign up for the newsletter, you know they are interested, but something held them back. So come up with a quarterly newsletter that details promotions, book signings, new releases, and maybe a few new favorable reviews.

Now I know what to put in my newsletter. I need readers.

There are many newsletter companies out there, but most of them aren't free. I found one that is. It's MailChimp. Mailchimp is free for the first 1,000 subscribers. So far, I've got 2, and one of them is me. If I ever get more than 1,000, I'll happily pay to upgrade my account! Chimpmail might be free, but it's got all the bells and whistles you could want. It gave me the coding for that sign up form on the right (and it works. Someone already used it). It creates your newsletter in pretty html designs. It--well, go check it out. It's pretty cool.

And in other news--my blog tour started today!!! You don't want to miss these contests. Not all of these reviews will be glowing, either, because I didn't pay these people. So hurry over to David J. West's blog and find out the good, the bad, and the ugly about Perilous.

Marketing: We're all in this together!

I'm excited to present to you Lori Calabrese, a fellow debut author! Her book, The Bug that Plagued the Third Grade, just launched from Dragonfly Publishing. Today Lori is going to talk about the marketing battle--one we are all quite familiar with.

You can find Lori on her blog here.

And here she is!

Fighting an Uphill Battle

By: Lori Calabrese

As authors, we’re required to devise a web marketing platform—website, blog, email marketing and social media—that will help spread our message, grow our reputation and hopefully sell books. But, sometimes, it can feel as though we’re fighting an uphill battle. That’s why many authors are forming their own armies, so they can take on the marketing machine in numbers.

The first army formed was the "Class of 2k…,” the brainstorm of debut novelist Greg R. Fishbone. He thought a group of debut children's novelists could grab more media and industry attention together than on their own and boy, was he right. The Class of 2K7 was the first group of authors who banded together to make their publication journey a pleasant one, and the group has evolved to The Class of 2k10. Along the way, many other authors have used Fishbone’s thinking to their advantage and formed their own niche groups to strengthen their marketing message.

In 2010, because of a failing economy, we saw the rise of the small press. The odds of getting published by a "major" publishing house have been dwindling, but the odds of attracting a small publisher have been improving. However, as many small press authors are able to see their books in print, they also find themselves without the marketing muscle or resources of the larger houses. So what are small press authors to do? Innovate their own strategies, that’s what.

Small press authors have created alliances with like-minded independent bookstores, and have taken advantage of online marketing platforms such as social media, e-mail blasts and blogs. But, they’ve also utilized the thinking of Greg R. Fishbone. Author Amy Cook realized that if a group of small press authors banded together, they too could grab more attention for their books through a collective blog, forum, facebook group and flyer. Cook put out a general call on as many places as she could - Verla Kay's Website for Children's Writers and Illustrators, her blog, etc… and within a few short weeks, Indie Debut was born.

Indie Debut can be called the first army for small press authors. Indie Debut 2010 is a group of debut authors whose books are published by a spectrum of small presses across America and range from picture books to middle grade to young adult. Each member is proud to support small presses that are championing new voices, focusing on niche markets, creating whole businesses by reissuing out-of-print classics, and maintaining the tradition of printing literary fiction. Within the first week of forming, they utilized each member’s artillery to produce a group website, logo, press release and discussion forum. Since then, this amazing group of dedicated children’s/ YA authors have put loads of time and effort into making their website a source of small press information, setting up speaking engagements, planning contests and giveaways, and developing a very close sense of community with each other.

Because of the tough economy, the whole industry has been forced to navigate a new route and utilize new tools to build and maintain momentum behind a book. Indie Debut has been able to make a small press author’s reach national by creating relationships with each author’s fan base, reach out to new ones, and utilize a group blog that keeps content fresh and allows one to develop their platform, what many editors and agents are looking for these days.

Rather than face it alone, it’s smart for an author to develop relationships with other authors and

brainstorm ways to market his or her book. Writers spend much of their time working alone, so to have a network of writers who are going through the same thing as you is a great way to garner information, and offer the much-needed support we sometimes need.

So as you devise your web marketing platform, remember that although marketing can sometimes seem like an uphill battle, with an army of troops on your side, you’ll find the courage you need to forge ahead.

Indie Debut is currently looking for authors who are interested in joining the 2011 group. If you’re a debut author with a children’s- YA book published with a small press in 2011, please use the contact form on their website.

About the author:

Lori Calabrese is an award-winning children’s author. Her first picture book, The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade, was awarded DFP’s Best Children’s Book Award. She writes

for various children’s magazines, is the National Children’s Books Examiner at Examiner.com and enjoys sharing her passion for children’s books at festivals, schools and events. Visit her

website to learn more, www.loricalabrese.com.

Marketing After You Publish

I already blogged about marketing before your book comes out. Here's the second half to that post: marketing after your book comes out.

Post-Publication

1) The most obvious: Book Signings. Immediately I thought of bookstores within twenty minutes of my home. Other bookstores I would like to reach include in other counties and in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. And then I'm going to travel all over the US 'visiting' friends--and arranging book signings close to them! I would also like to try the local grocery stores that also sell books.

To prepare for the book signings, have posters and bookmarks with the novel cover on them and get it into the local newspaper. The bookmarks should have author info and a snippet of the book, perhaps with brief excerpt on the back. And advertise everywhere: church, facebook, library, grocery stores.

At the book signing, ask every guest to sign an email list, if they don’t mind. This list will be to notify them about future signings, giveaways, sequels, etc. Have refreshments (like Dove chocolates) and something cheap to give away for every sale (like light-up key chains), as well as being entered into a drawing for every sale for something big (like bath and body gift bag, or gift card to the bookstore the signing's at). Also bring cookies for the bookstore staff.

2) Do an author reading of the first chapter and post it on youtube, etc.

3) Speak at local libraries/schools. Even if they don’t want you to sign books, sell, you can start a platform, speaking about writing, publishing, promoting, etc. And of course leave a bookmark so they all want to read the book/visit the website.

4) Speak at book clubs. Some of the ladies I know at the gym have already said they’d like me to speak at their book club. I don’t know much about selling books out of my car trunk, but I’m sure I’ll learn!

5) Blog tours! Of course! These are great and cheap and I love them. Of course with a book giveaway.

6) Book giveaway for a donation. For example (online): “For a limited time only, this book is yours for the monetary donation of your choice. Your commitment: An online review at Barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.” I collect email address and info and provide snippets so they want to ‘buy’ the book. I ‘sell’ books, though at a cheaper rate, and hopefully gain new fans. I also get online reviews! Probably easiest to do through paypal.

7) Contact radio stations (local and blogtalk) to arrange interviews.

8) Contact local magazines (most are free) and ask for interviews/reviews in exchange for advertising on your blog/website.

9) Word of mouth. Ask everyone who buys the book to tell ten people about it, if they like it. (But to keep their mouths shut if they don't!)

Happy promoting!

What's worked for you? What hasn't? What do you plan to try?

Marketing Before You Publish

Someone asked me yesterday to talk about some of my marketing ideas. Happy to oblige! (Coincidentally, WiDo's marketing team asked me to send my plans over in an email.) I can't remember what I was going to blog about today, anyway. That will have to wait until later.

I don't want to make this too long, so I'll split it into two posts. Today: Prepublication Promotion. Tomorrow (or the next time I blog): Post-publication Promotion.

Prepublication Promotion

1) Business cards. I just ordered my first set for the Storymaker’s conference. People are always asking about my book, and I tell them to visit my blog, but I doubt very many ever make it this far. This way, they will have a name, an expected release date, and my blog site.

I also spend a lot of time subbing in local junior high and high schools. My target audience is mature teens, 16+. Often the students ask me what I majored in, what I like to read, and I end up talking about my book deal. They are always very excited to buy a book from someone they “know.” The business cards will be an easier way to help them remember. And all the random people I meet on the street, at church, the store, etc.

2) blog. I started a blog last June after I got my contract, and it’s been a great way to meet people, interact with others, and post information about my book.

3) Website. I have purchased the web domain, tamarahartheiner.com, though I haven’t made a website yet. I hope to have one up by May 2010.

4) Networking. I believe that writer’s conferences are one of the best ways to network. I’m excited to attend the LDS Storymaker’s conference in April 2010 and meet a few people. I hope to make a good enough impression that people will remember my name and face, and maybe a few will be willing to read and blurb my book.

I am also planning on attending the Arkansas Writer’s conference in October 2010. Both of these conferences will be beneficial after my book is released, as well, since I can do book signings at the conferences.

5) Press release. Closer to release time, I will put together a press packet for the local newspapers.

6) book trailer. I have read books solely based on the book trailer. Post it online, website, blog, and youtube. I don't know much about technology, film, etc...I might be asking for favors on this one. (Emily? Emily, are you there?)

There you have it, folks! Some of my marketing ideas before your book even hits the shelves! You want to create the buzz...you want people talking, excited!

P.S. Tomorrow's the day.

Did I miss anything? What else can I do before the book is released?

I'm getting published!!

So it's official! Yesterday I got an email from WiDo Publishing Company offering me a publishing contract. I quickly thought about it and sent an email back accepting!

Granted, they haven't emailed me the contract yet, I haven't read it, and haven't signed it. The next step is, they will mail me two copies of the contract. I sign it and send it back. I'm very anxious to see what my terms and conditions will be!

I'm so excited! This is fantastic for me. I always wanted to be published. I don't know if I could've broken into the market with a bigger company. WiDo is growing and needs writers, which fits perfectly with my needs to find a publisher.

There were some conditions already, though. They want me to change the demographics of my book. Here are some things from the email.

We are very impressed with your submission, "Walk Beside Me." Several editors have reviewed it and all had a positive response. Our major concern with it is that the demographic it's apparently written for-- LDS adolescent and teen girls.

One editor's suggestion was to bring in the opening cop characters more, to intertwine their investigation into the story, and thus make it more of an adult adventure/thriller, in order to broaden the demographic. The four girls would still be the main characters and focus, but a team of investigators as introduced in your prologue would also be developed and followed in the background. Is this something you could consider doing?

Overall, your story is incredible, fast-paced and a really, really good read. Your plot development is excellent, and the characters are also well-developed and likeable, except for the villains, who are incredibly frightening. Again, this would make a highly marketable book as long as it could be broadened to an adult demographic. There still might be plenty of teenagers who would read it and enjoy it, but limiting its appeal to simply the Mormon teen girl might be a very dangerous road to go, marketing wise, for above-stated reasons.

In conclusion, WiDo would like to offer you a contract and work with you on the editing, as long as you are willing to revise "Walk Beside Me" so that it could be marketed to a broader demographic.

If you are agreeable to this offer, please respond by return email and a contract will be on its way. Once we receive two copies of the signed contract, an editor will be assigned to you, to work closely with you throughout the long, often rigorous editing process.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Wow! Can you believe it? I've been trying to get this book published for years!!

Okay, so right now, here's my game plan: I've got to finish Branca. I'll work on that one until the end of next week. In the meantime, I'm going to make an outline of where to make Walk Beside Me have more 'adult elements.' This is going to be fun! Hopefully by then I'll be assigned to me editor, and we can start rewriting. And then I think I need to start working on the sequel!