New Site for Blog

I have decided to use a different server other than blogger as a test to see how it works. This new service allows me to place my posts into categories, which I think will be much easier for you to search past posts.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW BLOG SITE - http://feeds.feedburner.com/wordpress/gHXJ

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE NEW BLOG PAGE - http://bookmarketing101.wordpress.com/

Using Amazon Upgrade Program to Increase Sales

One of my authors emailed me today to inform me of a new option Amazon has released that may help you get additional sales of your book by allowing customers to purchase a digital version of your book right after they purchase the print version. It is a fairly small fee and allows the customer to start reading the book right away while allowing you to earn a few more dollars on your book. As long as your book is in Amazon's Search Inside program you can use this feature. If your book is not activated with Search Inside and you are published through Booksurge you simply need to email customerservice@booksurge.com and ask that they activate this Search Inside feature for you. If you are not a Booksurge author and need this feature for your book see this link - http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=14061791

If you are interested in signing up for the Amazon upgrade service you can email digitalbooks@amazon.com.

If you have more questions about this program please visit the FAQ section on Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=110744011

I hope this program helps get you some incremental sales!


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Another Way to Build Visibility To Your Blog - Submitting Your Blog to Blog Catalogs

There are directories or catalogs of various blogs you can submit to and, if accepted, there viewership would then be able to access your blog. Most of these directories have a free option and this is the one I would choose. You can find some directories at the following link -

http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/best-rss-directories-and-blog-submission-original-list-part-11.htm

It is fairly quick and easy to do and I hope it will help you build visibility for your blog!

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Another Way to Build Visibility To Your Blog - Allowing Visitors to Subscribe

Feedburner allows you to make it where people can subscribe to your blog so that they then get an update every time you make a posting. This is a great way to build a dedicated following around your blog and your book.

Feedburner also gives you an RSS feed that you can place into your Amazon.com Connect account so that your blog feeds into Connect automatically.

To do this go to http://www.feedburner.com/ and do the following:

(1) Place the URL for your blog into the blank provided
(2) Choose the RSS option
(3) Setup a username and password
(4) Click next and select all the stat options and click next again
(5) Under Blogger (click one of the other options if you are not using blogger) clcik on the publish a chicklet to display your feedburner feed
(6) Then you need to follow the directions it provides you on how to proceed
(7) I chose the smaller version of the first two widget options and do make sure that you select "Use as a widget in Blogger" if you used Blogger to create your blog
(8) If you used Blogger it will then direct you right to blogger and will place the widget in for you.

You can see how this looks by looking in the upper left hand section of my blog - it is the field that says "subscribe in a reader"

Go ahead and subscribe to my blog while you are there so that you can receive the posting updates!

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How to Create a Blog

I have been posting quite a bit lately on how to build visibility to your blog and so I wanted to provide those of you who do not know how to get a blog started with a video that explains how to do this.

Please see this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnploFsS_tY

It explains how to create a blog using www.blogger.com, which happens to be the service I use.

It is free so give it a try if you do not already have a blog!

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Another Way to Build Visibility To Your Blog - BlogCatalog.com

This site can be a great way to build visibility to your blog and to find other blogs you might be interested in commenting on. In their words they are, "Blog Catalog is the premiere social blog directory on the internet. Whether you're looking to promote your own blog or find blogs on various topics, this site is for you."

Here is the site - http://www.blogcatalog.com/

First go to this site – then fill in info about your blog – the next step is to verify ownership – I picked the rate my blog feature to do this – I then put the html code they provided below the "my profile" section in my blog – then go to your personal blog where you can edit html – find where your profile is and then paste the coding in this spot (an easy way to do this is to click "ctrl F" and then type in "profile")

You should then be able to preview your blog – make sure it looks ok and you will now be setup in this blog catalog!

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More Ways to Increase the Visibility of Your Blog

An author of mine sent me some valuable information after my initial posting on increasing the visibility of your blog. There is information on promotional videos, free book downloads, and general visibility.

Here is his email:

John,
We review a few books at Blogsboro.com Contact and submission info is here: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/contact-blogsboro/

My recommendation is to read the various Team Blogsboro blogs and then decide which writer would be most like the sort who would enjoy your book(s).

Also, if any of your authors are doing promotional videos and uploading them to YouTube and other video sites I highly recommend they upload them here as well: http://blogsborocomvideochannel.magnify.net/ Videos uploaded to our channel have the best chance of being featured on the Blogsboro Network where we have over 80.000 unique monthly readers.

If your authors are poetry bloggers then they need to contact me so I can feature them at BloggingPoet.com and add their blogs to Poetsarus.com.

Anyone using free online novels as a promotional tool needs to follow this link: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/blogels-online-novels/

There's more here: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/blogsboro/how-to-promote-your-poetry-free-almost.html While it's geared towards poets most of it will work for any author.

And here is the world's most complete list of local English Language blog aggregators: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/blogsboro/local-blog-aggregators-by-city-state-and-country.html

And finally, because Booksurge products are available through wholesalers I can add them to BloggingPoet-Shoppes.com , BillysToyStore.com and several other of our aStores.

-Billy

PS. Beginning April 1st Blogsboro and BloggingPoet.com will be hosting the 4th annual Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere election: http://bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/bloggingpoetcom/category/poet-laureate-of-the-blogosphere I'm expecting well over 100,000 readers to tune in.

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How to Make your Blog More Visible - Generate Tags

So you have this great blog, but can't figure out how to get anyone to see it.

If you have this problem then it may be because you are not tagging your posts with keywords. This is very easy to do and makes your blog postings more likely to show up on the wider web. Here is a step by step guide on how to do this:

(1) Develop a set of keywords that you think fit the blog post you are creating. For example, I used the following keywords for this posting - how to use my blog, make my blog more visible, marketing help for my book, help me market my book, online book marketing tools
(2) Once you have your keywords for the post go to this link to generate the tag - http://www.egmstrategy.com/ice/tag-generator.cfm
(3) You should see that option one on this site is to generate a tag. In the blank that asks for keywords place the keywords you have developed separated by commas.
(4) Do not adjust any other of the options.
(5) Scroll to the bottom and click "generate code"
(6) Copy the code that comes out and make sure that you copy the entire code.
(7) Go to where you can edit the posting you are placing on the blog. There should be an option to "Edit Html" - click here - please note that you should have already written the posting and that you can do this to past postings
(8) You will then see the full code for this posting - scroll to the bottom - click enter - then paste the code at the end

You can do this for every posting and it will make it much more likely that your blog postings will be viewed by the wider web!

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How to Start Your Marketing Effort

I received this email from one of my authors:


John,
I thought you might be interested in some of my marketing:

1)I received a good review in a local Arts Magazine (circulation: 65,000) on 2/7. Here is a link to the online version. The print version includes the book cover.


http://artvoice.com/issues/v7n6/book_reviews/there_are_no_doors_on_a_cocoon_ugly_little_tales_of_nasty_little_humans_by_lou_rera

2) I am taping an interview on WKBW-TV (ABC), for a show called "Off Beat Cinema" on Thursday, 2/14. The promotional value is tremendous for online sales promotion. The show is part of the RTN network and is broadcast in over 40 markets across the U.S. I will focus on BookSurge and Amazon.

3) I am one of the vendors in a book fair in March in Buffalo, NY. Here are details for your blog:
The 2008 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair will be on March 22, 2008 at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, 453 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, NY.

4) Lastly,I have the book stocked in the Borders bookstores in Western New York, as well as other local book chains.

Thanks John,
Lou Rera


This is a great start to marketing your book so I ask Lou what types of activities he has been doing to get this attention. He responded with the following:


Hi John,
Here is what I did for these promotional efforts.

For the arts magazine book review I sent the editor of literary section a copy of the book. There is an editor specifically for the genre area I write, which is flash fiction. There is a larger hurdle to have self-published books reviewed, they don't always do this. That part makes it more difficult. I have had stories published by the magazine in the past, which may have helped. But nothing can guarantee a good review. I am grateful mine was.

The television show is produced by a local affiliate, which happens to be the taping station for this syndicated show. I sent the producer an email, followed by a press kit I had put together for book stores and media. The press kit had a brief bio with photo, a press release, a copy of the book, bookmarks from the book outline and a cover letter. I followed up on the press kit mailing with more emails. I was not accepted for the morning talk show, but I was accepted for the syndicated show. I am still waiting for another TV station locally to respond to a similar query.

The bookstore placement was set-up with press kits and personal contact with store managers, each with there own requirements. Borders and Barnes and Noble with other local stores.

I'm working on radio next. I have two readings/signings I've set up over the next two weeks and I cross promoted those through the arts magazine literary events calendar.

The tips from BookSurge, Writer's Digest and other web sites helped me formulate a promotional game plan. I'm hoping within the next few months to generate the bottom line: book sales. Persistence of vision.

Thanks John,
Lou Rera

Here is his book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/There-are-no-doors-cocoon/dp/1605305936/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202828092&sr=8-1

I hope you can take some of what Lou did for his book and use it in your own promotional efforts!

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Contest Opportunity - Many Genres

16th Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards

The deadline to enter the 16th Annual Writer's Digest's International Self-Published Book Awards is May 1, 2008. The competition is open to all English-language books for which the author has paid the full cost of publication, or the cost of printing has been paid for with a grant or prize. All books published or revised and reprinted between 2003 and 2008 are eligible.

Entrants must send a printed and bound book.

Entry Fees
First entry: $100
Additional entries: $50 each
The Categories
Mainstream/Literary Fiction
Genre Fiction
Nonfiction
Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
Children's Picture Books
Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
Poetry

For a complete list of rules and to download an entry form, visit WritersDigest.com

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Contest Opportunity - All Genres - IPPY's

2008 International Independent Publisher Book Awards

The 12th Annual Independent Publisher national and regional Book Awards (IPPYs) is accepting entries for its annual IPPY Awards that honor the year's best independently published titles. Entries are now being accepted in 65 subject categories and Best Regional Fiction and Best Regional Nonfiction categories in eight United States and two Canadian regions. All independent, university, small press and self-publishers who produce books intended for the North American market are eligible to enter titles copyrighted or released in 2007. Print-on-demand and other independent authors are welcome to enter their books themselves.

Started in 1996, the IPPYs were designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. Established as the first awards program open exclusively to independents, the IPPYs recognize hundreds of the year's best books, bringing them to the attention of booksellers, buyers, librarians and book lovers throughout the world.

Entry fee is $75 per title, per category. You can add a regional entry for only $45 per title, per category. Deadline for entry is April 1, 2008.

Download an entry form or learn more about the IPPYs by visiting their Web site

We have had several authors when awards through this contest and they occasionally will recognize winning authors at BEA (the world's largest book fair).

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Success Story - Getting on local TV stations

This author was able to get some interest from a local TV station after an article about her book was placed in the local newspaper. It is important to try and build off of your successes and Marta was able to branch one success by getting into the newspaper into another success with getting on TV. In her own words:


The television video coverage of "La Fiesta y el Mariachi" came about soon after our story was placed in the North County Times, a San Diego County area newspaper. This article was very well written and well received. We got many compliments. Channel 10 News in San Diego contacted Mrs. Hawes, the artist, and plans were made thereafter to set a date for us to show the book, read the story, and conduct interviews. Evie Ramos, of 10News.com, was our primary reporter. She was so professional and friendly. All of us felt at ease working with her. The entire taping took forty-five minutes. This positive experience was one Jefferson Elementary students and Dr. VanVooren, the principal, as well as Marsha Hawes and myself, really appreciate. (Recording was conducted 1-8-08/ airing: 1-23-08)

Here is a link to the airing:
www.10news.com/video/15124232/index.html?taf=sand

Here is her book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Fiesta-y-el-Mariachi/dp/1419663399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201539421&sr=1-1

Book Fairs

This is not a comprehensive list, but it does account for many fairs across the country. Book fairs are geared more toward visibility and making connections and not really a sales opportunity. Most authors would have give-aways at their booth. A good idea is to make yours a bag with the book name on it - this way the people attending the fair put everyone else's give-away into your bag and you get more visibility. Find one in your area and see if you can make some connections for your book!


Writing Rendezvous
Book Fair
Anchorage
AK
http://www.alaskacenterforthebook.org/
April

Bouchercon; the World Mystery Convention
Book Fair
Anchorage
AK
http://www.bouchercon2007.com/
September

Extreme Trail Tales: An Iditarod Event
Book Fair
Anchorage
AK
http://www.storytellersguildofanchorage.org/
March

Alabama Bound
Book Fair
Birmingham
AL
http://www.alabamabound.org/
April

Arkansas Literary Festival
Book Fair
Little Rock
AR
http://www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org/
April

Cowboy Gathering; Storytelling Weekend
Book Fair
Mountain View
AR
http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com
August

Arizona Book Festival
Book Fair
Phoenix
AZ
http://www.azbookfestival.org/
April

Cochise Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering
Book Fair
Sierra Vista
AZ
http://www.cowboypoets.com
February

Northern Arizona Book Festival
Book Fair
Flagstaff
AZ
http://www.nazbookfestival.org
April

Festival of the Written Arts
Book Fair
Sechelt
BC
http://www.writersfestival.ca
August

Vancouver International Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Vancouver
BC
http://www.vancouverstorytelling.org/
February

Bay Area Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
El Sobrante
CA
http://www.bayareastorytelling.org/
May

California International Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
San Francisco
CA
http://www.sfbookfair.com/
February

California Indian Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Fremont
CA
http://www.cistory.org/events.htm
March

Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival
Book Fair
Carlsbad
CA
http://www.latinobookfestival.com
October

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Book Fair
Los Angeles
CA
http://www.latimes.com/festivalofbooks
April

Mariposa Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Mariposa
CA
http://arts-mariposa.org/storytelling.html
March

Orange County Children's Book Festival
Book Fair
Costa Mesta
CA
http://www.kidsbookfestival.com
September

Steinbeck Festival
Book Fair
Salinas
CA
http://www.steinbeck.org/
August

Gold Rush Book Fair
Book Fair
Nevada City
CA
http://www.goldrushbookfair.com/
May

San Diego Open Air Book Fair
Book Fair
San Diego
CA
http://www.sdbookfair.com/
June

West Hollywood Book Fair
Book Fair
West Hollywood
CA
http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org/
September

Sonoma County Book Festival
Book Fair
Santa Rosa
CA
http://www.socobookfest.org/
September

Festival of Words at Beaver Creek
Book Fair
Beaver Creek
CO
http://www.festivalofwords.org
April

Rocky Mountain Book & Paper Fair
Book Fair
Denver
CO
http://www.rmaba.org/
August

Connecticut Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
New London
CT
http://www.connstorycenter.org/festival.html
April

Connecticut Children's Book Fair
Book Fair
Storrs
CT
http://bookfair.uconn.edu/
November

National Press Club's Book Fair and Authors' Night
Book Fair
Washington
D.C.
http://npc.press.org/programs/bookfair.cfm
November

Multicultural Children's Book Festival
Book Fair
Washington
DC
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/bookfestival/
November

National Book Festival
Book Fair
Washington
DC
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest
September

Delaware Book Festival
Book Fair
Dover
DE
http://debookfestival.lib.de.us/
November

Amelia Book Island Festival
Book Fair
Amelia Island
FL
http://www.bookisland.org/
October

Festival of Reading
Book Fair
St. Petersburg
FL
http://www.festivalofreading.com/
October

Cracker Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Homeland
FL
http://crackerstorytellingfestival.freeservers.com/
October

Key West Literary Seminar
Book Fair
Key West
FL
http://keywestliteraryseminar.org
January

Lee County Reading Festival
Book Fair
Fort Myers
FL
http://www.lee-county.com/library/ReadingFestivalHome.htm
March

Miami Book Fair International
Book Fair
Miami
FL
http://www.miamibookfair.com/
November

Much Ado About Books
Book Fair
Jacksonville
FL
http://www.muchadoaboutbooks.com
May

Sarasota Reading Festival
Book Fair
Sarasota
FL
http://www.sarasotareadingfestival.com
November

Tampa-Hillsborough County Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Tampa
FL
http://www.tampastory.org/tsf_fest.htm
April

ZORA! Festival
Book Fair
Eatonville
FL
http://www.zoranealehurstonfestival.com/
January

Florida Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
St. Petersburg
FL
http://floridabooksellers.com/bookfair.html
March

Georgia Literary Festival
Book Fair
Decatur
GA
http://www.georgialiteraryfestival.org
September

Roswell Magnolia Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Roswell
GA
http://www.cvb.roswell.ga.us/storytelling.html
June

AAUW Book Fair
Book Fair
Atlanta
GA
http://www.bookfairaauw.org/index.html
October

AJC Decatur Book Festival
Book Fair
Decatur,
GA
http://www.decaturbookfestival.com
September

Talk Story Festival
Book Fair
Honolulu
HI
http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/programs/talkstory/index.htm
October

Christian Book Fair International
Book Fair
Coralville
IA
http://www.christian-book-fair.com
August

Illinois Authors Book Fair
Book Fair
Springfield
IL
http://www.illinoiscenterforthebook.org/
November

Newberry Library Book Festival
Book Fair
Chicago
IL
http://www.newberry.org/
July

Printers Row Book Fair
Book Fair
Chicago
IL
http://www.printersrowbookfair.org/
June

Storytelling at the Prairie Center
Book Fair
Schaumberg
IL
http://www.prairiecenter.org/
February

Kansas Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Downs
KS
http://www.downsks.net/storytelling.htm
April

Cave Run Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Morehead
KY
http://caverunstoryfest.org/
September

Corn Island Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Louisville
KY
http://www.cornislandstorytellingfestival.org/
September

Kentucky Book Fair
Book Fair
Frankfort
KY
http://www.kybookfair.org/
November

Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Book Fair
Bowling Green
KY
http://www.sokybookfest.org/
April

Louisiana Book Festival
Book Fair
Baton Rouge
LA
http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/
October

Tennessee Williams Literary Festival
Book Fair
New Orleans
LA
http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/
March

Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Boston
MA
http://www.bostonbookfair.com/
November

Boston Globe Book Festival
Book Fair
Boston
MA
http://www.bostonglobe.com/community/events
October

Three Apples Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Bedford
MA
http://www.threeapples.org/
September

Baltimore Book Festival
Book Fair
Baltimore
MD
http://www.bop.org/events/bopaevents.aspx
September

Capital BookFest
Book Fair
Largo
MD
http://www.capitalbookfest.com/
October

The Portland Book, Print & Paper Show
Book Fair
88 Spring Street Portland
ME
http://www.bookfairs.com/portland.html
June

Michigan Storytellers Festival
Book Fair
Flint
MI
http://www.flint.lib.mi.us
July

Ann Arbor Book Festival
Book Fair
Ann Arbor
MI
http://aabookfestival.org
May

Children's Literature Festival
Book Fair
Warrensburg
MO
http://library.cmsu.edu/childlit/clf/
March

Greater St. Louis Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
St. Louis
MO
http://www.umsl.edu/~conted/storyfes/
May

Mid Missouri Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Jefferson City
MO
http://www.mrrl.org
April

Children's Book Festival
Book Fair
Hattiesburg
MS
http://www-dept.usm.edu/~slis/bookfest.htm
March

Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration
Book Fair
Natchez
MS
http://www.colin.edu/nlcc/default.htm
February

Oxford Conference for the Book
Book Fair
University
MS
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south/ocb
March

Montana Festival of the Book
Book Fair
Missoula
MT
http://www.bookfest-mt.org/
September

North Carolina Storytelling Guild's Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Greensboro
NC
http://www.ncstoryguild.org/events.htm
November

NOVELLO Festival of Reading
Book Fair
Charlotte
NC
http://www.novellofestival.net/
October

Sandburg Celebration of Books and Authors
Book Fair
Hendersonville
NC
http://www.sandburgbookfair.org
November

University of North Dakota Writer's Conference
Book Fair
Grand Forks
ND
http://www.undwritersconference.org/
March

Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
McCook
NE
http://www.buffalocommons.org
May

Kearney Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Omaha
NE
http://www.nebraskastoryarts.org
March

Children's Literature Festival
Book Fair
Keene
NH
http://www.keene.edu/clf/
October

New Hampshire Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Concord
NH
http://www.nhaba.org/bookshow.htm
September

Dodge Poetry Festival
Book Fair
Morristown
NJ
http://www.grdodge.org/poetry/main.htm
September

New Jersey Storytellering Festival
Book Fair
Hamilton,
NJ
http://www.njstorynet.org/events.htm
June

New Jersey Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Hanover
NJ
http://www.austinsbooks.com/NJABF.html
January

Border Book Festival
Book Fair
Mesilla
NM
http://www.borderbookfestival.org/
April

Taos Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Taos
NM
http://somostaos.org/
October

Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Book Fair
Elko
NV
http://www.westernfolklife.org/
January

Vegas Valley Book Festival
Book Fair
Las Vegas
NV
http://www.vegasvalleybookfest.org
November

BookExpo: America
Book Fair
New York City
NY
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com
June

New York Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
New York
NY
http://abaa.org/
April

Rockland County Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Rockland County
NY
http://www.timesunion.com/communities/hvstoryall/
October

Rochester Children's Book Festival
Book Fair
Rochester
NY
http://www.rochesterchildrensbookfestival.org/index.html
November

Small Press Book Fair
Book Fair
New York
NY
http://www.smallpress.org/events/bkfair.htm
December

NY Art Book Fair
Book Fair
New York City
NY
http://www.nyartbookfair.com/
November

Akron Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Cuyahoga Falls
OH
http://www.nobsweb.org/
April

Buckeye Book Fair
Book Fair
Wooster
OH
http://www.buckeyebookfair.com/
November

Oklahoma Book Awards
Book Fair
Oklahoma City
OK
http://www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb/obaward.htm
March

Toronto Festival of Storytelling
Book Fair
Toronto
ON
http://www.storytellingtoronto.org/Pages/Festival.html
March

BookExpo: Canada
Book Fair
Toronto
ON
http://reedexpo.ca/bookexpo/index.asp
June

Stories by the Sea Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Newport
OR
http://www.olaweb.org/csd/stories.html
September

Tapestry of Tales: A Family Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Portland
OR
http://www.multcolib.org/events/tales/
November

Wordstock
Book Fair
Portland
OR
http://www.wordstockfestival.com/
November

Three Rivers Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Pittsburgh
PA
http://home.comcast.net/~3rstf/
August

Augusta Baker's Dozen
Book Fair
Columbia
SC
http://www.richland.lib.sc.us/baker.htm
April

Patchwork Tales Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Rock Hill
SC
http://www.patchworktales.org/
March

SC Book Festival & Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Columbia
SC
http://www.schumanities.org/bookfestival.htm
February

Festival of Books
Book Fair
Brookings
SD
http://sdhc.sdstate.org/festival/
September

National Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Jonesborough
TN
http://www.storytellingcenter.com/festival/festival.htm
October

Ocoee Story Fest
Book Fair
Cleveland
TN
http://www.tntellers.org/osf/
March

Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Pigeon Forge
TN
http://www.mypigeonforge.com/winterfest-storytelling.asp
February

Southern Festival of Books
Book Fair
Nashville
TN
http://tn-humanities.org/festival/current.php
October

George West Storyfest
Book Fair
George West
TX
http://www.georgeweststoryfest.org/
November

Houston Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Houston
TX
http://www.houstonstorytellers.org/
November

Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Book Fair
Alpine
TX
http://www.cowboy-poetry.org/index2.html
February

Texas Book Festival
Book Fair
Austin
TX
http://www.texasbookfestival.org/
November

Texas Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Denton
TX
http://www.tejasstorytelling.com/
March

West Texas Book and Author Festival
Book Fair
Abilene
TX
http://www.abilenetx.com/apl/
September

Great Salt Lake Book Festival
Book Fair
Salt Lake City
UT
http://www.utahhumanities.org/BookFestival.htm
October

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Orem
UT
http://www.timpfest.org/
August

Weber State University Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Ogden
UT
http://www.weber.edu/storytelling
March

Fall for the Book Festival
Book Fair
Fairfax
VA
http://www.fallforthebook.org/
September

Hollins University Annual Literary Festival
Book Fair
Roanoke
VA
http://www.hollins.edu/news-events/litfest/litfest.htm
March

Malice Domestic
Book Fair
Arlington
VA
http://www.malicedomestic.org/
May

Virginia Storytelling Alliance Gathering
Book Fair
Richmond
VA
http://www.vastorytelling.org/
March

Virginia Festival of the Book
Book Fair
Charlottesville
VA
http://www.vabook.org
March

AWP Book Fair
Book Fair
Fairfax
VA
http://www.awpwriter.org/conference/2007bookfair.php
February

Bellingham Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Bellingham
WA
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~rvohs/
November

Forest Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Port Angeles
WA
http://www.dancingleaves.com/storypeople/index.html
October

Get Lit!,
Book Fair
Spokane
WA
http://www.ewu.edu/getlit/
April

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair
Book Fair
Seattle
WA
http://www.seattlebookfair.com/
October

Riverbend Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
West Bend
WI
http://www.riverbendstorytelling.org
October

Ohio River Festival of Books
Book Fair
Huntington
WV
http://www.ohioriverbooks.org/
April

West Virginia Book Festival
Book Fair
Charleston
WV
http://www.wvhumanities.org/bookfest/bookfest2.htm
October

Yukon International Storytelling Festival
Book Fair
Whitehorse
YK
http://www.storytelling.yk.net
August

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Google Books

One of my authors has been working with Google to get his book information into their system. This would be another avenue for visibility into your book and I highly recommend listing your book in this service. To my knowledge there is no fee to do this and it is basically where someone can learn more about your book. The listing will be very similar to Amazon.com's Search Inside feature. They then have buying options on this Google page where customers can go to Amazon.com to purchase the book.

It looks from the FAQ section that you need to have PDF files of the book so those of you who used our Express option will have no problem working with this program. If you used our help to create the files then you will need to send me an email and I can get you the low-res proof so that you can use it for this purpose.

See this link: http://books.google.com/support/

Here is his email:

John,
I have placed my book on Google books. You requested that I send you information about this program. The program is called "Google Books Partner Program" (beta) Now that it's live, I need to fine tune the parameters.

I am trying to narrow the keywords and category, which are a major factor in successful search criteria. Since I am unknown, I need to drive buyers to my book via those filters.

You can see that the links for sales are readily available. Here is the result of the basic Google layout. The process takes about two weeks from sign-up to a live link. Basically, it's a do-it-yourself process with a fairly straightforward user interface.
http://books.google.com/books?q=lou+rera&as_brr=3

Here is Lou's book on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/There-are-no-doors-cocoon/dp/1605305936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201189846&sr=1-1

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Charleston (SC) Area Book Events

For those of you who are local authors please see below. I am working on compiling a list of book fairs across the country, and hope to have this completed soon for the rest of you.

Piccolo Fiction Open 2008 call for short stories Jan 1, 2008 - Apr 9, 2008The PFO is a literary competition in its ninth year of the Piccolo Spoleto Arts Festival. The theme this year is “Endings.” $200 will be awarded for the top story, followed by a $150 and a $50 prize, as well as runners-up. Deadline for Entries: April 9, 2008 postmark.
http://www.charlestoncity.info/dept/content.aspx?nid=328&cid=9056


SC Book Festival- Fri Feb 22nd to Sun Feb 24th
http://www.scbookfestival.org/


Patchwork Tales in Rock Hill, SC- March 6-8
http://www.patchworktales.org/


Augusta Baker's Dozen

RCPL’s annual storytelling festival, cosponsored by the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science, brings to life the world of storytelling and children’s literature. The festival honors the works and achievements of nationally-known author and storyteller Augusta Baker, who moved to Columbia in 1980 and was appointed the Storyteller-in-Residence at USC. A(ugusta) Baker’s Dozen Set for April 21-22

Lois Ehlert, a renowned author and illustrator of numerous books for young children, will be the featured guest for the 20th annual A(ugusta) Baker’s Dozen—A Celebration of Stories on April 21-22 at the Main Library. Ehlert wrote and illustrated Color Zoo, a Caldecott Honor Book, as well as Color Farm and Circus . She illustrated many other books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., Crocodile Smile by Sarah Weeks, and A Pair of Socks by Stuart J. Murphy.

The two-day festival, sponsored by RCPL and the USC School of Library and Information Science, honors nationally-known author and storyteller Augusta Baker and continues her legacy of inspiring others to introduce children to the magic of literature and stories. Here’s What’s Happening at the 20th Annual Event

* Friday, April 21 - Storytelling for Fourth Graders Nearly 2,000 fourth graders will listen to stories on the grounds of the Robert Mills House. (By Invitation Only) * 7 p.m., Friday, April 21 - Augusta Baker Lecture: An Evening with Lois Ehlert Lois Ehlert will discuss the inspiration behind her artwork and award-winning children’s books. Reception, book sale and autographing follows. (Bostick Auditorium ) * 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Saturday, April 22 - Storytelling for Families (click for full schedule) http://www.richland.lib.sc.us/baker.htm

These events are free and open to the public. Questions? Call 803-929-3474

Beyond the Bookstore Ideas

It is imperative for authors to think beyond the bookstore when marketing a self-published book. A bookstore is where you have the most competition - the lowest likelihood of being carried - and would make the least amount of profit.

One of my authors has written a book that explains the sport of soccer at a very basic level. Instead of going to bookstores I recommended going to local YMCA's and other youth soccer leagues marketing the book to the parents of these kids. Try and get creative about your own book concept and look for opportunities such as this.

Here is a link to his book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Soccer-Sidelines-Whats-goin-there/dp/1419653423/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197906619&sr=1-1

Another one of my authors recently emailed me about one of his newest beyond the bookstore ideas. Here is his email:

"john here is a good lead for your customers.....cigarette cigar stores.....we just did one at a place called cigarette express....sold 18 books from noon till 2 pm (more there than a borders store)...lots of walk in traffic etc...."

Here is his book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/These-Scars-Are-Sacred-Written/dp/1419627988/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197906585&sr=8-1

Try and get creative about your own book concept and look for opportunities such as this.

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Video for Book

I posted previously on how to make a trailer for your book. One of my authors recently did something of this nature where she took images from her book and put them to a music score and then listed this on YouTube. This can be an additional avenue for people to find out about your book and can also be a good tool to send to prospective television interviews.

"I created the videos in Windows Movie Maker, just using still photos (many of which are in my book). It was fairly straightforward and simple to do, and I was able to complete it in one afternoon."

Here is her link on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB1iuyo9Mk4

Here is her link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Born-Without-Tail-Ariel-Wulff/dp/1419664360/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196435732&sr=8-1

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Contest Opportunity

One of my authors has started a company offering contest opportunities to authors with cash prizes available.

Please click on this link to learn more about this opportunity: http://www.sumthingnew.com/writing

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Know your book's online presence through Google Alerts

Google has a great program that allows you to be alerted every time a certain search term is inputted into Google. This allows you to be notified whenever someone searched for your name or possibly the name of your book so you can get an idea of what marketing efforts are building general interest in you and your book and which efforts generate little online traffic.

This program is free to use and you can find out more by going to www.google.com. Click on the “News” tab located directly above the Search tool. Then, click on the “News Alerts” link on the left panel. You can then enter “Search terms” and Google will send you a personal e-mail whenever these terms are found on the Web.

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Creating a Podio Book

One of the hottest new marketing waves to come over the book industry is the free podcast or podio book. It is virtually cost free and is a great way to create a fan base for your writing as they do not have to pay anything until they get a taste of what you are offering. The author to my knowledge to see great success with this technique is Scott Sigler. He has been releasing Podio books since 2005. His first podio book, EarthCore resulted in thousands of downloads, which later translated in to sales on Amazon and other online retailers. He’s continued to release serialized versions of all his books, and in the case of his book, Ancestor, he reached that much coveted top ten spot on Amazon. You can read more about Scott if you click here. He is a great example of a new breed of authors who are taking responsibility for the marketing of their book and finding success by utilizing creative ideas and innovative technology.

Click here to see an example of a Podcast from a top 5 book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Am-America-So-Can-You/dp/0446580503/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-9159004-3086846?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192048047&sr=1-1

If you want to make your own Podcast and get in the game, click here to find out how: http://www.newmediamusings.com/2005/02/how_to_podcast.html

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Creating a Book Trailer

A great new way to help market your book is to create a video trailer for your book. This can be used on your personal website, on www.youtube.com, and in your publicity packages that you are sending to TV stations. Here is an interview one of my colleagues held with an author of ours who has used this idea to successfully market her book.

SPA: Congratulations on the book and the video. Obviously the video is a reflection of the material in the book, but what kind of pre-production work went into it?

Author: Well, with virtually no budget there's not a ton of pre-production. Luckily, my background is live theatre and a bit of film so I had access to a lot of really talented people. For instance, my costume designer at the theatre built the gorgeous red cloaks (I use one for my readings now!) and my set designer made the actual flask for the Miist of Kalliope. However, this same kind of talent can be found working at fabric stores and paint shops, not to mention art schools. As for the sets, I have a room in my basement where there are no windows so it was perfect for creating dim, moody locations. Basically, I yanked out everything I had from my Halloween stuff...and let me tell you, as an official Halloween Freak, I had lots...and decorated the room like an old library. I made scrolls from dollar store parchment paper, used lots of candles and focused on tight shots as they would be easier to "make real". The fire was a total fluke. I had put flour on the book to look like dust and when I went to blow it off, it caught on the flame of the candle and made this awesome fire. Man, can't pay enough to get special effects like that! For the outside shots I just snuck into a cemetery not too far from my house, threw the cloaks on my sister and her two kids and said "walk". That was a laugh! I was also able to use a photography studio for a few hours. They had the big stone walls, which really helped for some shots.

SPA: Where did you find your actors?

The walking in cloaks is my sister and her kids. And then there's a shot of my nephew's eyeball and my niece reaching for an old teapot. The rest are me (opening the book, the creepy looking Simp) For the Simp I just used red food coloring, petroleum jelly and kleenex and mixed it all together to look like gross peeling, bloody skin. I think it worked as it freaked out my daughter! Oh, and I had a hideous wig! The growling teeth were my dog's.

SPA: The music is chilling and I think a key to the success of your video. Where did you find the music?

I was so very fortunate with the music. The composer in residence of your city's symphony caught wind of my project via a mutual friend and offered to do the music. How fantastic is that! Of course I said 'yes' or rather squealed 'YES!' and after viewing the rough cut of the video he composed this amazing score. I was blown away! I'll never forget hearing it for the first time. There I was crying with headphones on in the middle of this coffee shop. He'd just nailed it so perfectly! Obviously, this isn't something that will happen for everyone but there are many music options such as schools, free online stuff and even Garage Band.

SPA: What equipment did you use to shoot and edit the video?

We shot on digital video, with a pretty decent 3 chip camera. My friend did the editing on Final Cut Pro, which is a really accessible program. We got sound effects from free sites online and then he put it together, brilliantly I might add. But he has had quite a few years experience on the program. This is where I think the money should be spent.

SPA: How long did it take you to shoot and edit?

The shooting took two or maybe three days and about a week to edit.

SPA: Do you have any advice for other authors who may be thinking about putting a video trailer together for their books?

Well, I just did an interview with our local TV station and they were absolutely thrilled with all the 'stuff' I had for them to work with (book trailer, footage of readings, props, costumes etc). It made their job so much easier and made the entire story, not only longer (aka more air time, aka more exposure), but also much more interesting for viewers. Also, my readings are much more fun. I play the trailer on a giant screen (always supplied by the school or library) even before I enter. By the time I come in the kids are already with me. They're sold! And they can't wait for me to read more of what they've just seen. The book trailer has been absolutely my strongest marketing tool. It's a fantastic way of giving media a taster. This plus the website. I spent a lot of time and money on my website. Probably the most (aside from my book, of course:) But, keep in mind I am sharing with a demographic that has grown up 'virtual' so I wanted to impress them with the best of that. I think that, especially if an author is going POD, then a book trailer and website are essential. But don't go cheesy or cheap on the trailer. Do some research and some sniffing around at film schools. Do it right, the best way possible. A really bad trailer is worse than no trailer at all.

Thanks again for the opportunity to share with you, Richard. It was a real pleasure!

All the best,Kami

SPA: Thank you, Kami. Great advice and great video!

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Success Story - Why a Press Release matters

One of my author's recently chose to have a professionally written Press Release through our company and received some great feedback and landed on the front page of his local paper. A good press release in the right hands can be a good tool for getting the word out about your book.

Here are his comments in his own words:

I wanted to share my good news with you. Due to your skillfully written press release, my local news paper did a front page story and photo on me! Here is the link: http://www.snponline.com/

Here is the link to his story in case the front page has changed by the time you are viewing:
http://www.snponline.com/FRONT/Stories/1.HTML

Here is Mark's book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Preacher-Naked-Pulpit/dp/1419667939/ref=sr_1_2/103-7613588-2714267?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188248959&sr=8-2

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