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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER! A newsletter all about SUCCESSFUL publishing and POWERFUL promotion. March 31, 2011 Issue #243 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ in this issue — Note From The Editor — eBook Conversion and Distribution — Feature Article: Ten Reasons Why You Should be Blogging — Social Media: There’s No Such Thing as Starting Too Early — Publishing Know-How From AME – At No Cost! — Book Bits and Bites — How NOT to Write A Query Letter: Comparing Your Book to a Mega Bestseller — Selling Your Book on Kindle — 6 Modern Ways to Create and Share a Press Release — How to Be the Perfect Guest Blogger — Penny in the News! — Hear What The Publishing Insiders Have to Say — Elements of a Successful Book Proposal — Top 5 Marketing Mistakes Authors Make — “Self-publishing is great, but it’s not easy.” — Submissions Needed for National Indie Excellence Awards — Twitter Tip – Q&A: Using Twitter to Market Your Book — Twitter Tip – Strategic Tweeting for Authors — Reader Tip! — WHO ARE WE — ———————————————————— Penny C. Sansevieri, Editor penny@amarketingexpert.com Welcome to a new issue of THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER. You are receiving this newsletter compliments of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. To opt out, please scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter. |
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| Note From The Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to another issue of the Book Marketing Expert Newsletter! Dear Author, I’m so excited this week! First off, we have another excellent newsletter (thanks, Paula) and we’ve just had so much great news lately. I’m thrilled for Amanda Hocking and her major publishing deal. Good for her. We should all be so lucky. It’s a great time to be in publishing, isn’t it? According to Bookbuzz.com, eBook sales are up 120%! Great news! People are reading and authors are selling. You gotta love that. I’m also thrilled because I’m in New York and have finally made it my home. I couldn’t be happier. I’m also in the throes of teaching for NYU – again – and very happy to be doing so. A big *hello* to any of my students reading this newsletter, you guys rock! I hope you enjoy my article on blogging this week, 10 reasons why you should get busy and blog away! Make it a great week and get out there and promote your book. You just never know what could happen! Wishing you publishing success, Penny, Paula, Susan, Sherrie, Yoonmi and everyone at Author Marketing Experts, Inc. |
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| eBook Conversion and Distribution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Turn your book into an eBook with our eBook Conversion Service! We take your original file (Word, PDF), format it for conversion and convert it into an eBook that you can distribute to all the major eBook retailers. We provide eBooks in both ePub (for Apple, Nook, Kobo, etc.) and Mobi (for Kindle) format. We guarantee fast service and great quality. We will custom quote a price for eBook conversion based on the length and format of your original documents. Custom quotes will be provided for each individual manuscript. Quotes are based on manuscript length and the complexity of the interior. For example, a 100-page manuscript with no images would most likely qualify for the $250 base price. A longer manuscript with images would be priced higher. We will need a PDF of your entire book to provide a quote – once provided we will get back to you with a custom quote within five business days, if not sooner. Pricing starts at $250 for ePub files. There is an additional charge of $125 for Mobi files. To provide a quote please email sherrie@amarketingexpert.com along with: 1) PDF of the manuscript With all quotes, we’ll give you an additional 10% off standard pricing! eBook Conversion & Distribution* Get your eBook into the most popular online stores! We will provide account setup and distribution to Apple, Kindle and Nook. Account setup includes creating an account and publishing the eBook to each online store. The author will be required to fill out a detailed questionnaire for their eBook and provide a new ISBN for their eBook. The author is responsible for maintaining the account post-setup. All books go through an independent review by the retailer – as such we cannot guarantee submission as all retailers reserve the right to reject any submissions. Apple applications may take up to 8 weeks to process. Nook and Kindle usually process within 5 business days. Pricing: Channel………………………………Cost Nook…………………………………..$125 *Distribution contingent on using our eBook converting service. |
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| Feature Article: Ten Reasons Why You Should be Blogging
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With all the Tweeting, Facebook Liking, and LinkedIn connecting going on, it’s easy to forget about blogging and finding the time to do so. Blogging, however, can be extremely useful for more reasons than just populating your website with content (although that’s important too). Let’s look at some reasons why you must blog and why it should matter to you! Blogging gives “voice” to a website: In an age where there are millions of websites and millions more coming online each month, how can you stand apart from the crowd? One way is to get a great-looking site, but as we all know, sometimes budgets allow just the basics. A blog can then step in and (through your voice) give content and character to any website, regardless of how fancy or plain it might be. In fact, some of the best blogs have carried the success of many a less-than-spectacular website. Content marketing: We all know that we need to create content and lots of it, but who has the time? Well, now you can use your blog as a content-creating machine. You can develop original content there and push it out to different areas. For example, I will sometimes use my blog posts for Twitter updates, Facebook updates, and article syndication. Search engine candy: Blogs are great optimization tools. Search engines (especially Google) love sites that are updated frequently. One easy and quick way to do that is via a blog. Each time you update your blog it pings the search engines and tells them the content on your site has been updated. Social media must: If you’re going to tweet, or want to be liked on Facebook, there’s no two ways about it, you must have a blog. That’s the site you send them to for your complete content, where they can comment, become a follower and help you grow your tribe. Blogger friendly: If you’re going to pitch bloggers, you must first have a blog. Love bloggers? Be a blogger first. Similar to the step above, you can become active on other blogs, commenting and sharing ideas, and attract them back to yours where they can return the favor. By the time you pitch them, you’re not just another email in an inbox, you’re someone they know and like. Be an industry leader: It’s hard to be a leader in the industry if you don’t have a voice. A blog can give you a voice. Also, by blogging on your market, you can stay in touch with your market and hot topics much easier. Stay dialed in, stay current: a blog can help you do that. Media, speaking: I’ve gotten media interviews and speaking gigs from my blog. If you blog enough and on interesting, relevant issues, you can gain some serious momentum for not only your website, but your career as well. The competitive edge: No matter what category you publish under, there is always a lot of competition. Yes, you can compete with a better cover, a better book, but on your website a blog will help define you as the author in a unique way that a book category can’t. When you’re in a cluttered market, like dating, dieting, or finance, a blog can really help to define and refine your message. Credibility: Blogs are great credibility builders. Getting on topic and giving your opinion (and yes, being different) can really help to build your footing and credibility in the marketplace. Site traffic/SEO: Aside from what a blog can do for your site as it relates to Google, an active blog can also help to increase site traffic and help further optimize the site. It’s a fantastic tool for getting your site better links, traffic, and a higher ranking in search engines. So now that I’ve convinced you to blog, I want to refer you to another piece I’ve written on blogging called “How to Become a Powerhouse Blogger in 15 Minutes,” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/how-to-become-a-powerhous_b_765327.html. I hope that this piece, along with the tips provided above, will help you launch or reinvigorate your blogging campaign. Good luck and Happy Blogging! |
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| Social Media: There’s No Such Thing as Starting Too Early
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Try three years before your book comes out – that’s advice from marketing guru Seth Godin. Learn why: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/03/social-media-theres-no-such-thing-as.html. |
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| Publishing Know-How From AME – At No Cost!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Like” our AME Facebook Page for marketing articles and tips, YouTube videos from our book marketing channel, notices about upcoming webinars, Publishing Insider shows, and more: http://www.facebook.com/bookmarketingame?ref=sgm. Need Book Marketing Content? Visit the articles page on our AME website and you’ll find a range of articles by Penny, which may be used along with her byline (provided at the top of the page) at no cost. The complete list is at http://amarketingexpert.com/articles/. Learn ‘How to Succeed Online and Sell More Books’ and much more on AME’s Book Marketing Channel on YouTube. New videos are added regularly to keep you up to date on all things book marketing! http://www.youtube.com/user/BookmarketingAME. |
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| Book Bits and Bites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big Deal for Indie Author: Self-publishing phenomenon Amanda Hocking gets a four-book deal in the $2 million range, http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/amanda-hocking-scores-four-book-deal_b26297. Better Than Books? Flavorwire lists 10 movies that were better than the books that inspired them, http://flavorwire.com/164039/10-movies-that-were-better-than-the-book. Literary Fun: Create cross-stitch quotes from your favorite book (enjoy), http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/cross-stitch-quotes-from-your-favorite-book_b26058. No More Excuses: Does Twitter take up your time? Too much fun on Facebook? Try the SelfControl app and block those wonderful distractions that keep you from writing, http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/selfcontrol-app-blocks-internet-distractions-for-writers_b25892. |
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| How NOT to Write A Query Letter: Comparing Your Book to a Mega Bestseller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the biggest mistakes I see writers make is calling their book the next Harry Potter. Never, ever, compare your book to a huge top seller. Doing this makes you look like an amateur to the agent and actually turns the agent off to your work. Often times, once a book becomes as famous as Harry Potter or Twilight, for example, the industry gets oversaturated with authors sending in their wizarding world or vampire books. No agent wants to represent a book like that because they know the chances of it being a success are slim to none. A better approach to take is comparing your writing style, rather than your book as a whole. For example, you can tell the agent in your query letter than the style of the book is like JK Rowling meets Toni Morrison. This is more likely to pique the interest of the agent rather than hearing that your book is the next Harry Potter. They hear stuff like that all the time and are sick of it. It doesn’t make you stand out and it doesn’t get them interested in you enough to request a manuscript. Tip by Jeff Rivera, who is the founder of http://www.HowtoWriteaQueryLetter.com. With over 100 clients to date, he has a 100% track record of getting at least 10 literary agents to request to read his client’s manuscripts and proposals. |
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| Selling Your Book on Kindle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These are tips M. Louisa Locke learned from others, and her own experience, after selling more than 9,000 books mostly through the Kindle store: http://thehendersonfiles.blogspot.com/2011/03/guest-blog-m-louisa-locke-on-selling.html. |
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| 6 Modern Ways to Create and Share a Press Release
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here’s a rundown of five services that can help you create and share press releases: http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2011/03/14/5-modern-ways-to-create-and-share-a-press-release/. |
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| How to Be the Perfect Guest Blogger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the best ways to raise your profile online is through guest blogging. And it never hurts to have a few tips to make your guest blogging stint effective and rewarding: http://www.bigbadbookblog.com/2011/03/09/how-to-be-the-perfect-guest-blogger/. |
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| Penny in the News!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Penny did a Learning Annex class on the Secrets of Getting Published, which you can view on Ustream for 99 cents: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13459164. * The Self-Publishing Carnival of the Indies ran Penny’s article, 50 Things to Tweet About, in its March 27 issue: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/03/self-publishing-carnival-of-the-indies-issue-6/. * Penny has a series on book marketing underway at BookBuzzr, http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/?s=Penny+Sansevieri&x=0&y=0. * Keep up with Penny’s latest blog for Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri. |
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| Hear What The Publishing Insiders Have to Say
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Be in the know and hear what the publishing insiders: Penny Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. – and her guests – have to offer in terms of tips and insights into the industry! Listen here. Publishing Insiders is now available on iTunes, so you can keep up with the show wherever you go! Upcoming shows: The Dos and Don’ts of Distribution, Tuesday, April 5, 7 p.m. Eastern http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/04/05/the-dos-and-donts-of-distribution Many authors don’t realize the importance and value of distribution, but if you self-publish there is a lot you need to know. Our show will provide an overview of distribution, including: what you must know about book size; how printing in color limits your distribution options; guidelines for manuscript and cover design formatting; going beyond ISBN – learn about Bowker, www.myidentifiers.com AND the time delay to get on Amazon and into distribution channels once the book is “published” (6-8 weeks); questions to ask up front if you’re distributing with a self-publisher’s name and whether this is a good idea or not. Shows available for download at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders: * SPECIAL GUEST Seth Godin: Poke the Box |
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| Elements of a Successful Book Proposal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everything you need to include, and the order in which it should appear in your book proposal, http://www.annemini.com/?p=14046 |
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| Top 5 Marketing Mistakes Authors Make
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not marketing your book is clearly a big mistake, but there are other things authors should know, regarding timing, publisher expectations and professionalism: http://www.bigbadbookblog.com/2011/03/02/top-5-marketing-mistakes-authors-make/. |
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| “Self-publishing is great, but it’s not easy.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you haven’t heard of author Amanda Hocking and her ebook success, you may be in the minority. Despite her bestselling status, she offers a realistic assessment of the challenges of self-publishing that is a must-read: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2011/03/some-things-that-need-to-be-said.html. |
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| Submissions Needed for National Indie Excellence Awards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 5th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards® announces a call for submissions. NIEA recognizes excellence in independent- and self-published books, a category that accounts for a rapidly growing segment of a publishing industry going through almost constant transformation. Books published from 2008 to the present by self-published authors, small press, and independent publishers can be submitted for consideration in the categories of their choice. Winners and Finalists will be announced nationally in mid May 2011. All winners and finalists receive extensive media coverage and top award recipients are eligible to win prizes valued in excess of $12,000. These include sessions with outstanding media and PR consultants, marketing experts, and others in a position to assist authors and publishers in creating greater success with their books. For information about the contest, including how to submit books, please visit www.indieexcellence.com. The deadline for entries is April 10, 2011. |
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| Twitter Tip – Q&A: Using Twitter to Market Your Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BookBuzzr had a webinar about Using Twitter to Market Your Book. The panel consisted of Carolyn-Howard Johnson (author of the HowToDoItFrugally series), Joel Friedlander (proprietor of Marin Bookworks), Laurel Marshfield (professional writer, ghostwriter and developmental editor), Phyllis Zimbler Miller (co-founder of Miller Mosaic Power Marketing) and Penny C. Sansevieri (CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc.). See what the experts had to say: http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book-marketing/qa-using-twitter-to-market-your-book/. |
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| Twitter Tip – Strategic Tweeting for Authors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Think of Twitter as a megaphone that can spread your message and attract readers: http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/03/20/strategic-tweeting-for-authors/. |
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| Reader Tip!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you’ve got a Reader Tip you’d like to share, please send it to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line “reader tip.” Submissions should be 75 words or less. |
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| WHO ARE WE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Marketing Experts, Inc. is a full-service book marketing, promotion, and publicity company. We serve authors at all stages of marketing and promotion. We offer a full range of packages and services to choose from. To see a price list or schedule a free consultation, send your e-mail to penny@amarketingexpert.com with the subject line “Author Services Info.” You can also visit our website at www.amarketingexpert.com. Reprint permission Reprinted from “The Book Marketing Expert newsletter,” a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://amarketingexpert.com/ |
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like this newsletter? Pass it on! We never rent or sell subscriber lists to any third party. Your privacy is very important to us. Always. To subscribe to this newsletter, click here: subscribe@amarketingexpert.com. |
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| Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: penny@amarketingexpert.com web: http://amarketingexpert.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
THE BOOK MARKETING EXPERT NEWSLETTER! Issue #243
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