Book Marketing Blogs

If you’ve ever searched your site on Google and then sat in wonder trying to figure out what page it was on, take heart. Many site owners are wondering the same thing. Search results ping back hundreds of sites, but when you find yours showing up on page five – or worse – page fifty, you know it’s time to take action. Studies have shown that 93% of web users don’t look past the first page of results. So what’s a website owner to do? There are a few things that are out of your control: algorithms for one and competing sites for another. But you can make sure your site is armed for effective ranking and high searchability. Here’s how:

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1.) Make sure you have an analytics system and know how to use it: first and foremost you want to make sure that you have access to your back end statistics. Why? Because they’re important and because you want to know how much traffic your site is getting and where it’s coming from. Also, learn how to read these reports. I would recommend considering Google Analytics, it’s the easiest to learn, manage and install. You’ll want to monitor this data a few times a month (especially if you’re knee-deep in book promotion) to see where your traffic is coming from and whether the work you are doing to send people to your site is paying off in unique visitors.

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2.) What is the one major goal for the site? Do you know what you want your site to do? If you don’t, then start here and make this your #1 priority. You must have one major goal for the site (yes, you can have additional goals for it but you need to identify your #1 priority first). If your goal is to sell books, then you need to be clear about this message. Why is Google going to care about this? Because part of the reason some sites don’t get consistent good traffic or ranking is that their site is a mish-mash of 9 different major goals and confusing messages. If your site visitor is confused, Google will be too.

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3.) Keywords: I know this is a tricky area. The term “keywords” often conjures up the idea that hours of research are involved in getting the perfect set of words. Well, it might take you a few hours but it’s worth it. You want to know this not only to identify what your users are searching on but also, what words Google will rank you best for. Identify first where your major searches are coming from via your back-end site statistics, then head on over to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool and see what’s coming up in your market search-wise. Once you have these keywords you’ll want to use them on your site. See #4

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4.) Use of keywords: there is a good way to use keywords and a bad way. The good way is to use them in sentences, headers, blog posts, articles, Twitter postings. The bad way is to do keyword stuffing, which is where you stuff a blog post or intro paragraph on your site with so many keywords that not only does that paragraph not make sense, the keywords won’t even get ranked in Google because there are so many of them used inappropriately. I’m not kidding. Google can spot keyword stuffers a mile away. Here’s a tip if you’re using keywords in a blog post – use them in your header, first paragraph and last paragraph – then sprinkle them throughout the 2nd or 3rd paragraph. Just enough to capture the traffic, but not enough to seem like you’re spamming the search engine world with an overabundance of keywords.

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5.) Linkbait: if you’re getting a lot of incoming links to your site, great! But make sure there’s a good reason for people to visit. This is called linkbait. Some SEO experts use this phrase to mean capturing people through a loss leader online that brings people back to your site. They will then capture them into their funnel via a “teaser” posted somewhere online. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as the teaser and the linkbait have good content. However, for the purposes of this piece we’re focused on the content on your site, and if you’re leading people back to your URL via linkbait, make sure both are substantial.

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6.) Have lots of content on your site: this goes back to #5 – linkbait. Content, content, content. Make sure you have a blog and that it’s updated at least twice weekly. If that’s all the content you have on your site, you’re doing better than most. A blog is a great way to develop content and keep the site fresh, focused, and personal.

7.) Dump flash: having flash on your site is like putting up a brick wall around your domain name and making sure no search engine can get in or see it. Now there are different types of flash and some of it can be searched, so check with your website people – but generally, flash is bad for the site (users don’t like waiting for the flash to load or display) and search engines can’t even see it.

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8.) Sitemap: if you don’t have a sitemap, have your designer add one. Google loves sitemaps, and it’s a great way to make sure all your pages are getting spidered in Google.

9.) All pages should be created equal: when you look at your site stats, check and see where people are coming in (what pages they’re entering your site on). You might find that most visitors aren’t coming in through your home page, they’re entering somewhere else. What’s on the page they are entering through? If there isn’t a lot of content on there you’ll want to make sure to make it substantial. Remember: Google sees all your pages, so be sure that they all pass muster.

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10.) Twitter: if you want to get a lot of incoming links to your website, then hop onto Twitter. All Twitter posts are searchable and live forever online so a) never post anything you don’t want your grandmother to read and b) make sure and post often, including links back to your site when appropriate. You shouldn’t put links to your site all the time, otherwise you’ll just look like a spammer. A successful method to offer a good number of links without seeming too salesy is to link your blog to Twitter via Twitterfeed. Then every time you update your blog it will update Twitter, send a link back to your site and voila: another incoming link. Yep, the stuff Google loves.

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A final tip for helping Google find your site is through incoming links. Google loves these and it will really help your site bump up in searches. You’ll want high-traffic, high-quality incoming links, so that means links from sites relevant to your own in topic and sites that are coming up high in searches. What’s the best way to get links? Well, you could offer them a review copy of your book (when they review it they will likely post a link to your site) or if the site has a blog (most high-traffic sites will) then you can post comments on their blog (see my article on Social Networking on Blogs for an explanation of how this works: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/social-networking-on-blog_b_408165.html).

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These tips might seem simple, but they work. If you’ve been perplexed about your site ranking and tempted to call Google and say “Hey, where’s my site??” try this. It’s effective and will not just get you ranking in the short-term, but it will help you build your site’s credibility for the long-term.

We had a great show that continues our Smart Self Publishing Series, with Part 2 focusing on Becoming Your Own Publisher.

About our guests: Eric Kampmann is President of Midpoint Trade Books, a leading sales and distribution company designed to provide crucial services to today’s independent publishers. Midpoint has built its excellent reputation as an innovative and powerful sales driven company designed to help independent publishers compete successfully in the trade book marketplace. Kampmann is also the Publisher and President of two publishing companies: Beaufort Books and Moyer Bell. Beaufort gained national attention in 2007 when it published the national bestseller If I Did It in partnership with the family of Ron Goldman. Kampmann has taught courses on book publishing at Harvard, Columbia, NYU and numerous publishing and writers conferences. He is the author of The Book Publishers Handbook (2007).

Tanya Hall is the Business Development Manager at Greenleaf Book Group, a publisher and distributor specializing in the growth and development of independent authors and small presses. Tanya drives Greenleaf’s efforts to develop strategic partnerships to grow Greenleaf’s reputation as a leading independent publisher. Prior to her current role, she built Greenleaf’s distribution program into major retail and wholesale channels. Before joining the publishing industry, Tanya worked as a television producer for Extra! and E! Cable Networks.

How has book distribution changed during the last few years?

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Tanya noted that Borders used to buy large quantities of books up front, but they also used to return a lot of books later. Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble started with fewer books and increased orders over time. When Borders starting having trouble, it whittled down Greenleaf’s avenues to sell and forced them to take hard look at diversifying by reaching out to special sales accounts (non-bookstore) to offset that change. What non-bookstore markets? Half of their list is business titles, so the markets include airports, where they do a lot of business. Gift markets include gift trade shows, hospital gift shops and corporate accounts, where a client might have connections. Greenleaf looks at where the author has existing connections, where his or her message resonates and the audiences the book addresses.

Publishing has disregarded every major change that’s come down the pike during the last 20 years. In 1996, Eric  started a publishing company during a bookselling revolution – not started by the publishers, but by Baker & Taylor, Amazon, B&N and to a smaller extent Borders, and other accounts. There was an enormous change in what was being bought, what was available. This changed the market. The traditional New York publishers have not had the ability to perceive these changes, for several reasons, he said.

Cover of If I Did It Confessions of the Killer

If you design these companies right and put together pieces right, then the need for capital is much more limited than people will tell you, Eric says. Lean and mean is the machine you want to have. Selling to the trade part of the world has never been easier. If I Did It, for example, a Beaufort bestseller, had a signed contract Aug. 15, and they shipped 125,000 copies to bookstores on Sept. 12… that’s less than 1 month, and soon after, the book was on the New York Times bestseller list. There’s a huge advantage independent publishers have, a flexibility in the marketplace. The key is teamwork. Many don’t understand the complexity of publishing, there are all these different parts, and they have to be working in conjunction with each other.

What does a distributor do?

A good distributor is a company that proactively sells your book … it’s not making your book “available,” Tanya says. You want a distributor with a sales force to sell your book, and handle packaging, shipping returns, etc. A distributor handles all of the logistical aspects of the book.

Can every publisher be a distributor? Tanya says it depends on the quality of the content. At Greenleaf, they work with authors from idea inception to publication, but do have cases where they only handle distribution.

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Distributors do all the things in publishing that no one else is willing or able to do, adds Eric. Most people don’t know what salespeople do, or the logistics of a warehouse. Authors should visit Ingram’s distribution center if they are getting into publishing. It’s an engineering marvel – their job is to get a book from A to B in the fastest amount of time at the lowest cost.

Eric says his company will take single-title book publishers. They’ve had success stories. It goes to the quality of the books. They assess the salability of any prospective title.

What is important to know about the submission process?

Once authors fill out the application form and send Eric and his team whatever they have (manuscript, proposal, etc), they can quickly assess if it’s a fit. What can help get a foot in the door? The secret with me is knowing somebody I know, Eric says. He would take an applicant much more seriously if he or she was recommended by someone he knows, over someone just coming through the door. Or if someone in his company has seen something, that’s very influential.

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At Greenleaf, they also assess marketability and the author’s platform. Tanya says another vital factor is an author’s willingness to work. If somebody comes to us from a publicist, I know they’ve made that very important step, that’s very influential. We’re looking for differentiated content and a platform, as well as who will approach this as a partnership.

Does an author need a strong social media presence?

Tanya says it depends on where the audience is  … for some content, having a strong social media platform makes sense. We don’t expect to see a strong social media presence with certain other types of content. Platform overall is huge, but what that’s comprised of should vary from project to project, based on where primary audiences are.

Eric says in the hierarchy of publishing we live in a realm of celebrity… whether they are a businessperson, from Hollywood, or a TV person, they have a huge following of some kind that can express itself through social media. Eric makes exceptions when they have an author come to them without a social media presence – but possessing a lot of drive. I would hate to put up criteria of a social media platform of 4,000… no, I look at what they can build. Sometimes we don’t have much to build with. We can harvest what authors have already done, that’s what distributors do. Big publishers are almost trapped by needing to have books by celebrities because they need bestsellers. I love the world we live in, our world filled with energy and possibilities.

What should a publisher expect from a distributor?

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Old truths remain true, says Eric: It’s a relationship business. I think it’s a judgment call and an experiential kind of business. What they should expect from us is a total commitment from our company to them on a relationship basis. We have to stop talking once in a while and we have to listen – often authors are your best salesperson. Listen, be involved, be connected, that’s the key to our continued growth and success.

So much involves managing expectations, says Tanya. We try to give ballpark ideas to publishers on what they can expect sales-wise based on what we hear from retail chains. Transparency is also important, such as the online sales reporting that Greenleaf provides to clients. They should also not expect to NOT do any work. They still have to pound the pavement, especially as the author becomes a brand. Don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to get the name out there, the book out there.

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The most important thing a new author has to think about is what’s best for them – it might not be finding an agent and trying to get published by Viking, it may not be the best route, Eric says. Sometimes it’s going to CreateSpace via Amazon and saying, I’m going to start out modestly. The beauty of that is it limits the investment, and if something good happens you can move out of that realm. It is a potential way of getting published on a very modest scale.

As an author, your first book may not be the most amazing success you’ve ever had. Your dreams have to be circumscribed by the reality of the enormous competitiveness of this business. I always say: the world is not waiting for your book. What I mean by that – we help the world care, we get the world to stop long enough to say “I want to buy that,” but it takes an enormous amount of work, energy, blood, sweat and tears to make that happen – because the world is essentially passive in nature when it comes to the next book coming out, he adds.

What are the biggest pitfalls?

Not doing your homework, says Tanya. It’s vital to understand the business of publishing.

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Eric agrees that not doing homework and understanding how publishing works is a huge issue. Not knowing what a sales person does, for instance. They don’t make bestsellers, they have a relationship with people at B&N and are a conduit through which books pass from our outlet into the stores. They aren’t predicting success, but estimating the possibility of success.

Also, less is more when comes to first printings. Large publishing houses operate on a short runway, and need a big press run, which loses steam quickly. With a long runway there is no timeline for a book to take off, it could be 1 year, 2 years or more before a book gets the word of mouth it needs. That’s the huge advantage smaller publishers have.

Predictions for book publishing in 2011:

At Greenleaf, Tanya says they’ll keep trucking along doing what they do well – they see changes in retail channels, but have been insulated from some of it due to relationships they’ve built. Ebook sales are up for Greenleaf and don’t seem to cannibalize print sales.

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The ebook phenomenon is very real and they aren’t necessarily cannibalizing traditional book sales, Eric says. Ebook sales might have more impact on paperbacks, but that’s only a theory. There may be changes in companies in 2011. But if you’re running a tight ship and being realistic about the economy, it should be a good year.

You can download the full show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/02/09/smart-self-publishing-series-part-2-becoming-your-own-publisher.

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Upcoming Episode:

Please join us Feb. 22, 2011 for the Smart Self Publishing Series, Part 3: Making Money with Ebooks

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/02/23/smart-self-publishing-part-3-making-money-with-ebooks

Ebooks currently make up almost 10% of book sales, and their stratospheric growth is expected to continue. With the various devices out there – Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iPad, among others – and the formatting issues, how should you even begin? More importantly, several indie authors are making significant money by selling ebooks. What are their secrets? We’ll discuss these issues and many more with our special guests, authors Karen McQuestion and Tony Eldridge.

About our guests: Karen McQuestion’s essays have appeared in Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Christian Science Monitor and several anthologies. She is the author of six books self-published on Amazon’s Kindle, one of which, the novel, A Scattered Life, caught the attention of an L.A. based production company and became the first self-published Kindle book to be optioned for film. Five of her previously self-published books will now be published by AmazonEncore. McQuestion lives with her family in Hartland, Wisconsin. Learn more at http://www.karenmcquestion.com/.

Tony Eldridge is the author of the award winning action/adventure novel, The Samson Effect, which Clive Cussler calls a “first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure.” He is also the creator of Marketing Tips for Authors, a site that publishes free tips and videos to help authors learn marketing techniques for their books. You can read the serial release of The Samson Effect at http://samsoneffect.marketingtipsforauthors.com/.

Part 1: What is a Platform and How Can You Identify it?

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There’s a lot of information out there on the “how” of social media: How to set up a Twitter account, how to tweet, how to build a fan page, etc. But there isn’t a lot of information on why you’d want to use social media. You might say, “Well, everyone is doing it and having great success!” I would observe that not everyone is having great success; in fact, many authors I speak to are still trying to find their way online.

One thing that I’ve noticed when it comes to social media is that most of the time we think that it’s ok to just jump in, and that’s true — up to a point. You’d never think of driving from San Diego to New York without a roadmap or GPS, so why would you endeavor to promote yourself online without first mapping out a strategy and surveying the terrain?

Why does any of this matter? Well, I will tell you that the more work you do in preparation for your campaign, the less of an effort it will seem once you get started. Also, the more work you do now can and should save you considerable wasted expense later. You will know exactly where to spend your time and money and you will have a campaign that will not only feel seamless, but also move more quickly towards your success. Sound good? Then let’s begin!

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Getting Started

One of the first things you’ll want to do when you start down this path of social media promotion is ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Well, you might say, to promote myself. Exactly! But (other than book sales), what is the motivation behind that promotion? The reason I say “other than book sales” is because you must have a broader scope to your work than just selling a book. If your single focus in promotion is to sell a book, you will be sorely disappointed. Your focus must be larger, such as:

• Expanding my business
• Increasing my speaking gigs
• Growing my platform

Then you’ll have a much better chance of success online and you’ll be ready to dig into online promotion. Let’s first look at growing your platform.

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What’s your platform?

Before we can launch into what your platform is, you must first have a good grasp of what a platform is. A platform is not who you know, but who knows you. It’s your area of influence. Still unclear on this concept? Take heart, most authors leap into marketing without knowing what a platform is or how to grow it. First, let’s look at what might be considered to be a platform:

1. Your business: this is pretty obvious. You have a business and your business is your platform. Your reach and your influence are through your customers.

2. Your speaking: any speaking you do, whether paid or unpaid, is considered a platform.

3. Newsletter subscribers: these are people who want to know what you’re doing; they are your tribe and also part of your platform.

4. Existing fan bases: any connections, whether through speaking, your newsletter, or any other fan base can be considered part of your platform.

5. Associations/groups: do you belong to any type of related association? These people and this affiliation can also be part of your platform. Though perhaps less direct and immediate, I’ll walk you through how to solidify these contacts and bring them into your funnel.

6. Work you’ve done in the past: anything related to what you’ve written about now is part of your platform. Teaching, classes you’ve taken, speaking, or just life experiences as it relates to your topic can also be woven into your platform.

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Identifying your platform

For non-fiction authors, the goal of identifying a platform you either have or wish to grow is pretty easy. But for fiction authors it can be a bit more challenging. Yes, you too must have a platform and generally, it is tied closely to your genre.

Every author, whether fiction or non-fiction needs a reach, and once you define where these folks are and how to get to them, you’ll begin to connect with readers both current and future, who can help you to expand your tribe. First, let’s look at defining those readers.

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Let’s say you’ve written a fiction book and you are new to the industry and perplexed as to how you might go about expanding your readership. I suggest if this is you that you find other, similar authors in your market and research them online. Becoming your own detective is really the quickest way to piece together a platform and learn how their platform might help you build yours. For example, if you have written romance you can research the top 15 authors in your market. If you do this, I suggest looking at the midlist authors, not the top sellers like Danielle Steele, etc. who, through years of publishing, have grandfathered themselves into a mega-platform. Instead you want to look at authors who are likely on their own, meaning without the resources of a personal assistant or staff of a thousand. Research these authors and see where they end up online. Do they have Fan Pages on Facebook? Are they on Twitter? What groups do they participate in, etc.? Now you’ll start to get a sense of how a platform is built and what you need to do to grow yours.

If you’ve written non-fiction and the idea of a platform seems foreign to you then I suggest that you do the same thing, Follow your market, research others who share your specialty and uncover the different ways that they expand their reach via their platform.

Next time, we’re going to dig into your platform even further. We’ll look at the steps necessary to grow a platform and how to break this down into a manageable action plan.

We had a great show to begin our Smart Self Publishing series, with special guests Grael Norton of Wheatmark and Mark Coker of Smashwords.

We started out with a tip from Search Marketing Expert Susan Gilbert, who observed that just as publishing is changing rapidly, so are social networks. We are all familiar by now with Twitter and Facebook, but there are also new sites to check out. One of the latest is http://dailybooth.com/ – where you can share yourself in real time through pictures. It’s difficult to predict how dailybooth will do – it could be the next Facebook phenomenon or fade into obscurity like FriendFeed. But, the site is simple to use and worth checking out!

For additional resources and tips check Susan Gilbert’s website, http://www.susangilbert.com.

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About our guests:

* Grael Norton, Acquisitions Manager, Wheatmark, Inc. helps authors get their manuscripts ready for market and coaches them on publishing success. He’s also a Senior Faculty member of the Authors Academy, where published and aspiring authors learn how to sell more books. Wheatmark, Inc., helps authors write, produce, and distribute their books successfully — even if they’ve never written a book or distributed a product before.

* Mark Coker is the founder of Smashwords, where more than 3,500 serious writers and 100 independent publishers publish and distribute and have complete control over how to sample, price and market their books.

In many ways, there has been a revolution in publishing, and growth has occurred at a tremendous rate. In particular, publishing has opened new doors for indie authors who choose to self publish, and they now have numerous options and opportunities – for both print and digital publishing.

Strong writing, good editing & compelling covers matter

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Quality is important – there are more books published now than ever before so competition is fierce. Books that make a great first impression – (yes, you *can* judge books by their covers) – will attract readers. If the content is well-written and edited, readers will become fans and help spread the word about you and your books.

This means that some of the “basics” associated with traditional print publishing still apply, Grael noted. Getting published is no longer a challenge, but publishing a *quality* book is the challenge now. Authors need to ensure their book is well edited – have friends, other writers, and an editor, go through the book carefully. Get rid of typos, poor grammar, etc. Consumers want quality books and books that aren’t up to standard won’t sell well – and also stand the chance of being “outed” on sites like Amazon.com, where reviewers will make note of shoddy quality. Don’t let that be you!

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Book covers are also vital – Mark agreed that even for ebooks, covers matter. They may appear online the size of a postage stamp, but a well designed, compelling cover will attract readers. Authors can and should check out book covers on Smashwords, Amazon.com and in bookstores – it’s a great way to get a feel for what other authors in your genre are doing.

Getting started on your self publishing journey

At Wheatmark, authors undergo an assessment before publication, starting with an editorial and positioning analysis. The editorial analysis ensures the book is professionally edited (to avoid the scenario of the book receiving scathing reviews that highlight every mistake). Positioning involves determining what markets exist for the book and how to reach those readers.

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All authors dream of seeing their book in bookstores, and while it’s certainly worth pursuing, it’s also critical to ensure that you don’t overlook other opportunities, Grael says. The setting and/or topic of your book may determine additional marketing opportunities. For instance, if you’ve written a book about golf (fiction or nonfiction), having your book available at golf shops can expose you to more readers more directly than any other option.

Smashwords allows authors to upload their books directly onto the site and it’s a simple process that begins by signing up and becoming a member. Remember that quality still counts. As Mark says: Write a great book. Then write another great book. Authors also need to make their books available at as many online sites as possible in order to reach the most potential readers. And, consider giving away some books for free. Not all of your books, of course, but a great way to get noticed and build a fan base is to offer a book or two for free to lure them in.

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The most successful authors on Smashwords tend to write a lot of books, and each book builds an audience for the next. (You can check out 7 Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success by Mark here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker/the-seven-secrets-to-eboo_b_751743.html).

Ebooks – a revolution in progress

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The ebook revolution has exploded in the past year; the Digital Book World conference underway this week has covered a number of aspects of digital publishing, including pricing. The traditional publishers seem unsure of how to proceed in this new world, while many enterprising indie authors have found a way to quickly, easily and cheaply publish their books *and* find an audience. Indie ebooks are priced lower than their counterparts from the NY publishers, and the indie authors also earn higher royalties (Success stories, tips and all things indie ebook publishing are available at http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/).

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Considering how versatile digital books are, this is one area that authors shouldn’t overlook. Readers don’t even need to own a digital device in order to read ebooks. Smartphones have free apps that allow you to download and read your digital books, such as Kindle, Kobo and aldiko (an app for the Android phone). Having your books available in multiple digital formats ensures you can be found one way or another by the millions who read ebooks. In fact, USA Today has reported for the past couple of weeks that the ebook editions of several of its bestsellers have outsold their print versions.

It’s a great time to be an author with all of the options for publishing and marketing available. There are also many ways to get help on your journey.

To learn the 7 Steps to Publishing Success, visit http://www.Authors-Academy.com. This an inexpensive, monthly continuity program from Wheatmark involving teleseminars, webinars, and Q&As. The current series is “Secrets of Highly-Paid, Highly Successful Authors.”

Visit Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/.

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Upcoming Episode:

Please join us Feb. 8, 2011 for the Smart Self Publishing Series, Part 2: Becoming Your Own Publisher

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/02/09/smart-self-publishing-series-part-2-becoming-your-own-publisher

Why would an author want to bypass traditional publishing and go it alone? There are myriad reasons to self publish, including the ability to keep your rights and creative license. But, there’s a lot you need to learn first: is your prospective publisher reputable? What should your contract cover? How will returns be handled? What will the process cost? What can you expect in royalties? Where and how will you distribute your book – and more, which we’ll discuss with our special guests, including Eric Kampmann, president of Midpoint Trade Books.

About our guest: Eric Kampmann is President of Midpoint Trade Books, a leading sales and distribution company designed to provide crucial services to today’s independent publishers. Midpoint has built its excellent reputation as an innovative and powerful sales driven company designed to help independent publishers compete successfully in the trade book marketplace.

Kampmann is also the Publisher and President of two publishing companies: Beaufort Books and Moyer Bell. Beaufort gained national attention in 2007 when it published the national bestseller If I Did It in partnership with the family of Ron Goldman.

Kampmann has taught courses on book publishing at Harvard, Columbia, NYU and numerous publishing and writers conferences. He is the author of The Book Publishers Handbook (2007).

Something I learned early on in this industry is that publishing, like any other industry, is full of scams. Not everyone is unethical; however, there are a certain number of people who prey on someone’s desire for success by offering them pie-in-the-sky promises they can never fulfill. In our series on smart self-publishing, we’re going to look at a few different industry segments, starting first with publishers and finding the right one for you.

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These days, there are more choices than ever to get published. Because of this, the options and opportunities within each can seen a bit overwhelming. Here are some quick tips:

1. Research, research, research: As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of choices. Take your time and do your research. If a publisher is unethical or has a bad reputation, you’ll find this pretty easily online. Some great sites for finding unethical publishers and other industry providers are: Writer Beware, Predators & Editors and Absolute Write.

2. Ask other authors: If your research hasn’t turned up anything consistent, it might be that the publisher (like any vendor) has had a couple of bad experiences, but that doesn’t always make them a bad publisher. I recommend that you look at the store page on their website and Google some of the authors listed. If you email these authors through their own personal web pages, asking them about their experience with the publisher, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how helpful they are. Publishing, unlike some other markets, is a very helpful industry. You can even ask some professionals you admire if you’re unsure. Most of us are always eager to help!

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3. Check your contract: There are a variety of reasons for an author to self-publish, one of them is being able to keep their rights and creative license. Regardless of the publisher, you should be able to keep all rights. If they keep any rights for any length of time, move on to a company that will allow you to keep all of your rights. This includes: movie, audio, foreign, and electronic.

4. Promises, promises: Don’t believe the hype. Yes, we are all selling services but there is only so much that a publisher can promise you. They can promise you a finished book. Beyond that it’s a lot of hard work and a little luck.

5. The truth about returns: Many of the print-on-demand/self-publishers offer you a returns program. I haven’t found this to be very helpful. It costs the author to get in and then the bookstores have to participate, and few of them do. If you’re not sure, ask your local Barnes & Noble if they accept returns from this publisher, their answer will tell you whether a returns program is a good investment of your money.

Image via Wikipedia

6. Book sales: Much like point #4, no one can promise you book sales, least of all the publisher. So be wary of any publisher who is promising you sales or a guarantee of book sales of any kind.

7. Cost to publish: In most cases, it should cost you less than $2,000 to publish your book. This will include the cover design, interior design, ISBN, bar code, ebook (in many cases) and anything else that needs to happen to turn this into a book. Like anything else, get this in writing.

8. Author discounts: The first 90 days of your book you will be your own best customer. This is why you want to be sure and get a good author discount on your book purchases. You’ll use the books you buy to promote the book, by sending it to media, book reviewers, etc.

Image via Wikipedia

9. Author royalties: Author royalties vary greatly from publisher to publisher but don’t be swayed by higher royalties because the calculation might be a bit tricky. Let me explain. Most publishers will give you royalty based on the cost of the book. So, on a $10 book you’d get 20%. I’ve seen some publishers who will offer upwards of 80% royalty to authors to lure them in, but when you do the math on this it really comes out the same. Many times a higher royalty rate is calculated on the cost of the book wholesale, so let’s say your $10 book is now $5, plus they might deduct their own expenses from this cost, bringing it even lower. So while the 80% royalty looks great on paper, the math is sometimes even lower than a 20% rate depending on how much they discount the book.

10. Customer experience: Before you put pen to paper and sign that contract, make sure that their customer experience matches your expectations. Now while I disagree that a publisher should respond immediately, they should respond to emails within 24 and sometimes 48 hours depending on when you send the message. I would call them and ask them some questions about their services, their packages, and their end-user experience. You are going to have a lot of questions, be sure that someone will be there to help you answer them.

Image via Wikipedia

11. Be realistic: Remember that regardless of how good any publisher is, they might not be able to be all things to all authors. Meaning that for certain things, you may have to get your answers elsewhere. If you aren’t sure what they will and won’t help you with, ask them.

12. Timing: Make sure you are clear on their timing as well as yours. You don’t want a book that’s going to be sitting in the cue for a long time while it’s waiting to see the light of day. Get the timing in writing, or at least a general estimate.

13. Book covers: I saved the best for last here, or rather the most important piece of this. The book cover is so significantly important that the NY publishers often spend weeks researching the perfect cover for the perfect market. To know if the publisher you are considering is good at book design: look at the other books on their website. If the covers there don’t impress you, move on. If you’re not sure what to look for in a good cover designer, spend the time and money and hire someone (a book marketing professional) who can look at the covers for you and tell you if they are quality. Also, if you find a publisher you love but their covers aren’t the best, you can always hire an outside designer to do the book cover design.

Image via Wikipedia

Keep in mind that most publishers are out there to do good work. We love the ones who do good work and help authors attain their dream. As you migrate through your choices, remember to not be swayed by flashy ad copy or high-end promises. Go with a solid, reputable publisher and you’ll be on your way to a successful career.

Here are some great recommendations:

Infinity Publishing: www.infinitypublishing.com
Wheatmark Books: www.wheatmark.com
Greenleaf Publishing Group: www.greenleafbookgroup.com/
Smashwords: www.smashwords.com

We’ve uncovered a few of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to help you with your promotional efforts. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover: publishing your Tweets, smart self-publishing, launching a book, using video for book promotion and Facebook marketing. Good luck on your marketing journey!

How to Turn Your Tweets into a Book:

Image by Patricia Oliveira via Flickr

Want to archive your social media messages or posts? Many new services are making it easy for you to transform your posts into books and more, http://bit.ly/eSDYEL.

7 Reasons Why Writers Need to Start Using Video for Book Promotion:

Why you should seriously consider getting your face, and your books on screen, http://dld.bz/E4Ba.

Facebook Marketing for Authors Jan. 26 2011:

Image by pollyalida via Flickr

Join Teresa Morrow (owner Key Business Partners, LLC.), Phyllis Zimbler Miller (co-founder of Miller Mosaic Power Marketing) and Penny C. Sansevieri (CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc.) as they discuss authors who are using Facebook to market their books and what they are doing right. You’ll walk away with tips to reach out to your audience, increase visibility for you and your work and sell more books, http://bit.ly/fLKywY.

10 Tips for Launching a Book Without Losing Your Mind:

A year ago my book was launching and I should have been on cloud nine. I was realizing a life-long dream at a time when many my age popped Lipitor.

I was edging close to a sedative habit, http://dld.bz/E4BW.

Image via Wikipedia

Smart Self-Publishing: How to Get Published Without Getting Scammed:

These days, there are more choices than ever to get published. Because of this, the options and opportunities within each can seen a bit overwhelming. Here are some quick tips, http://huff.to/gO0BDj.

We had a great show to kick off 2011 on Branding, why it’s so important and what authors need to know.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Consumers crave brands because they crave consistency – that consistency brings them in AND keeps them coming back. For an author, the key is to figure out what your message is and understand the look of the market.

What do we mean? People need to be able to look at your book and get who you are and what the book is about.

There’s a great example from mystery author LJ Sellers. Her first book is The Sex Club, which is not a traditional title for a mystery, and some mystery genre aficionados did not like the title. As a result, the rest of her books have titles more associated with the genre. Those titles make it easier for readers to know what they’re getting when they see an LJ Sellers book.

Image via Wikipedia

Do your research: Authors should do their homework before they start branding themselves. What are others in your genre doing, especially the successful authors? You don’t want to blindly copy someone else, but get a feel for the trends that could impact your brand and sales. You may see trends in color, message and/or packaging that say something important. It’s no coincidence that chick lit books tend to have colorful covers or that mystery/thriller websites often have a dark and foreboding look to them.

Look at how to brainstorm your brand and seek objective advice. You want to figure out who you are, what your goals are and then develop a plan to get there.

Help people find you: When we discuss platform building it’s about who you can reach through your message. For example, at AME our reach is around 30,000 followers, fans and subscribers based on our newsletter, blog, Facebook Page, Twitter and other social media, and that’s all part of our platform.

Image via Wikipedia

Branding involves a number of things: your book title, book topic, website, business cards, bookmarks, promotional materials, etc… and you want all of these properties to be consistent. AME uses bookmarketingAME on our social media properties in order to use our keywords (book marketing). This is vital because you want people to find you; at AME, we want to be found by people who seek book marketing expertise. Yours might be cozy mysteries, dark thrillers, life coaching – whatever fits your brand.

You’ll want to register your brand names before someone else takes them. Visit namechk.com, which lists a few hundred sites including social bookmarking sites, and see if your names are available. Be sure to secure all of the domains associated with your name and brand.

Know the why and what: When you’re building a platform, you must have a reason to do what you’re doing: why are you blogging or on Facebook or using Twitter or doing public speaking events? The answers provide you with a strategy to help you grow your platform.

Image via Wikipedia

Don’t cut corners: You’re obligated to give your readers a good experience: give them a book that’s vetted and edited and has a great cover (all areas authors are tempted to skimp on) – these are all your resume. If you lose a reader once because you’ve over-promised and under-delivered, you’ll never get them back. Also, get to know other people in your market – they may have vendors you can use, you can network with them and their followers, trade off on guest blogging or other marketing efforts and generally find ways to collaborate.

There are more opportunities than ever for people to get published, which means competition is increasing. A strong focus on your message and brand is really, really important in order to stand out.

Your website is analogous to your business card and therefore very important to your branding and platform. If money is an issue, you can start with a free Blogspot or WordPress site, and then you will be able to transfer those domains when you’re ready to purchase your own domain.

Image via CrunchBase

Be careful of not just Internet hype but book marketing hype in general – especially any offer promising sales – it just can’t be done. Marketing takes work and effort – you have to invest in yourself, develop a plan and market yourself consistently and regularly.

Email us at info@amarketingexpert.com for feedback, and there are a lot of people in the industry who are happy to answer your questions – take advantage of their knowledge!

To download and listen to the entire show, go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/01/12/branding-the-secret-to-selling-more-books.

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Upcoming Episode:

Please join us Jan. 25, 2011 for the Smart Self Publishing Series, Part 1: Print on Demand

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/01/26/smart-self-publishing-series-part-1-print-on-demand

These days, there are more choices than ever to get published, but publishing – like any industry – is full of scams. Most publishers are not unethical but how can you avoid predators with pie-in-the-sky promises that can’t be fulfilled? Our special guests, Grael Norton, acquisitions manager for Wheatmark, Inc., and Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, will show us how to see through the hype and discuss the how-to’s of contracts, publication costs, royalty statements, book covers and much, much more.

About our guests:

* Grael Norton, Acquisitions Manager, Wheatmark, Inc. helps authors get their manuscripts ready for market and coaches them on publishing success.

He’s also a Senior Faculty member of the Authors Academy, where published and aspiring authors learn how to sell more books. To learn the 7 Steps to Publishing Success, visit www.Authors-Academy.com.

Wheatmark, Inc., helps authors write, produce, and distribute their books successfully — even if they’ve never written a book or distributed a product before.

* Mark Coker is the founder of Smashwords, where more than 3,500 serious writers and 100 independent publishers publish and distribute and have complete control over how to sample, price and market their books. Learn more at http://www.smashwords.com/.

We enjoy providing you with publishing and marketing tips and inspiration all year long, and we hope you enjoy reading our posts as much as we enjoy writing them!

As dedicated readers of the Author Marketing Experts, Inc. blog, we have a request:

Every year Writer’s Digest magazine publishes a list of the “101 Best Websites for Writers.”

If you enjoy the AME blog, we’d be honored if you’d vote for us to be included on this list. To vote:

1. Email writersdig@fwpubs.com with “101 Best Websites” in the subject line.

2. In the body of the email, list our blog, http://ame.wpengine.com/blog/. You can also explain why you find our blog useful (although it’s not required).

Thank you for your support, and here’s to successful publishing and marketing in 2011!

~ The AME team

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to help our clients, the authors of The Kennedy Detail, host a book signing here in San Diego. We had it at Warwick’s books, and it was fantastic. Authors Jerry Blaine and Lisa McCubbin were accompanied by Clint Hill. He’s the guy you see jumping on the back of Kennedy’s car after the President was shot. He threw himself over JFK and Jackie as they sped to the hospital. Every time he retold that story, I felt like I was there. Hearing the gunshot, and reliving the moment that none of us will ever forget.

Clint Hill was, understandably, affected by this incident in such a way that for years, he never even spoke about it. In fact, after that infamous “60 Minutes” interview, in which he broke down, he wasn’t seen much again for 35 years – until The Kennedy Detail was released. Throughout the promotion, I wondered how this would affect him. Talking about “that day” over and over again, I couldn’t imagine how he was dealing with it.

Our San Diego event was towards the end of a fairly extensive book tour and I asked his co-author, “How’s Clint holding up…?” Clint later answered that question himself when he told the crowd, “Talking about this day over and over again has healed me in ways that time and years never could.”

Every once in a while, we are blessed to work on campaigns that remind us why we do what we do. Yes, the book was very successful and that’s great. But moreover, it touched people and it told a story. In the end, that’s what this is all about. At the Warwick’s event, a young girl walked up to Clint to tell him that she was writing a paper on the Kennedy assassination and wanted to know if she could quote him. She was 11 years old. She’d never know what the country went through on that fateful day in November, some 30-odd years before she was born. But through the stories, the book, and these brave Secret Service men, that snapshot in history can be shared again and again. In a way, they reminded us of a time when Camelot reigned and the country was still innocent. They reminded us of easier times and simpler days.

Was it ever that easy again? It’s hard to know. Maybe hindsight is 20/20, or maybe when that shot rang out, it really was the shot heard around the world. Nothing was ever the same. After a few years of a sliding economy, high unemployment, and a collapsing housing market, the country is yearning for the days of Camelot; and for a brief evening, these men told stories of working for the Kennedys. Playing touch football with John, Jr, watching out for Caroline, and revealing what a closet chain smoker Jackie was. The audience laughed, cried, and a few conspiracy theorists even shared their thoughts on “who really killed Kennedy.”

As I drove home after Warwick’s, I was reminded again why we’re in this industry: to tell stories. At the end of the day, that’s really all we can do. Help people tell stories. That’s really our job. Often we get wound up in success. What is success? Book sales? A bestseller? An interview on “Oprah?” Well, yes, it’s all those things. But in the absence of those trappings that we hope will accompany our book launches we must remember this: in the end, we are here to tell stories. And hopefully we can enlighten, entertain, help or, in Clint’s case, heal 47 years of pain. Because if we are lucky enough to touch a soul and share a smile, that’s bigger than any number a royalty check can offer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdTOHVJWDz8

We’ve unearthed many of the best book marketing Tweets during the past week to inspire your marketing endeavors. These tips come from bloggers, marketers, authors and others and cover a variety of topics, such as managing your online reputation, when to query agents, holiday marketing tips and the anatomy of a Tweet. Happy marketing!

* 4 Internet Marketing Trends for 2011, http://dld.bz/8YMQ.

Image via Wikipedia

* The Numbers Tell the Story: Why Social Media Matters, http://dld.bz/8YPW.

* What’s Happening in Publishing (& What it Could Mean for Writers), http://bit.ly/h8DsLD.

* 8 Holiday Marketing Tips, http://dld.bz/8YQx.

* Essential Info to Supply Your Book Publicist, http://bit.ly/fMGrZW.

* 52 Great Blogs for Self Publishers, http://dld.bz/8YQM.

* How to Land a Literary Agent: First, Get a Platform, http://ow.ly/1akCqU.

* 4 Scientific Tips That Help You Get More Blog Comments, http://dld.bz/98Gp.

* The Best Time of Year to Query Agents, http://dld.bz/98Gt.

Image by doug88888 via Flickr

* What Publishers, Authors & Journalists Can Learn from Indie Rock and Music Blogs, http://dld.bz/98G3.

* Secrets To Selling A Ton Of Books On Book Launch Day, http://bit.ly/ai5y64.

* 7 Secrets for Amazing Author Websites, http://dld.bz/98GV.

* The Rockstar Guide to Getting More Traffic, Fame and Success, http://dld.bz/98HW.

* HOW TO: Make the Most of Your Twitter Profile Page, http://ow.ly/3iAFi.

* Do I Need a Website or Can I Just Be Social? http://dld.bz/98Jm.

* 9 Tips For Great Web Copy: How To Keep Them Reading, http://goo.gl/fb/Nn6Ce.

* The Anatomy of a Tweet – What Do All Those Symbols Mean? http://dld.bz/98JY.

* 5 Ways to Effectively Manage Your Online Reputation, http://dld.bz/98Kx.