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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Monday, August 27, 2007
Contest Opportunity - All Genres
Here is more detailed information about this contest:
LOS ANGELES (August 21, 2007)_ The 2007 DIY Book Festival has set Sept. 25,
2007 as the deadline for entry to its sixth annual celebration of independent authors and publishers.
This year, the DIY Book Festival is placing a special focus on the poetry, fan fiction, unpublished stories and comics/'zines categories. Special reduced entry rates, exclusive category cash prizes and special spotlights for select entries are among the plans.
The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children's books, teenage, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, audio/spoken word, photography, art, comics, 'zines, fan fiction, poetry and e-books published on or after Jan. 1, 2005. All entries must be in English and have been self-published or issued by an independent publishing house.
Our grand prize for the 2007 DIYBF Book of the Year is $1500 cash and a flight to the awards ceremony, held in October. All entrants receive free admission to the annual DIY Convention in Los Angeles each February and are eligible for special exhibition discounts at that event. Genre category winners will receive a combination of books, software and cash awards.
Submitted works will be judged by a panel of industry experts using the following criteria:
1) General excellence and the author's passion for telling a good story.
2) The unique use of guerilla marketing tactics to reach a wider audience.
This includes innovative marketing, merchandising, publicity tactics and other innovative methods of reaching an independent audience..
ENTRIES: Please classify your book and enter it in the following categories.Multiple entries must be accompanied by a separate fee for each book.
1) General Non-fiction
2) General Fiction
3) Children's books
4) How-to
5) E-books (word or .pdf file acceptable)
6) Comics
7) 'zines
8) Photography
9) Fan Fiction
10) Poetry
11) Art
12) Teenage
13) Biography/Autobiography
14) Audio/spoken word
15) Compilations/Anthologies
16) Best Unpublished Short Story
17) Cookbooks
18) Science Fiction
In addition to honoring the top selections in the above categories, The DIY Book Festival will award the following chosen from submissions:
1) DIY Author of the Year-Honors the outstanding book of the competition.
2) DIY Book Design of the Year --- Honors outstanding and innovative design.
3) DIY Independent Publisher of the Year-Honors the top publisher based on materials displaying excellence in marketing and promotional materials, as determined by our judges.
FESTIVAL RULES: DIY Book Festival submissions cannot be returned. Each entry must contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. All shipping and handling costs must be borne by entrants.
NOTIFICATION AND DEADLINES: We will notify each entry of the receipt of their package via e-mail and will announce the winning entries on our web site (www.diyconvention.com). Because of the anticipated high volume of entries, we can only respond to e-mail inquiries.
Deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close of business on Sept. 25, 2007. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail. Please note that judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis, comparing early entries with later submissions at our meetings.
TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at www.diyconvention.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you. Please contact our office for fax requests.
Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee of $10-$50 (see entry form drop-down menu for specific category prices) in the form of a check, money order or PayPal online payment in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.
You can also enter the contest by phone by calling 323-665-8080 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific time.
Entry fee checks should be made payable to JM Northern Media LLC. We're sorry, but entries must be mailed and cannot be delivered in person or by messenger services to the JM Northern Media offices.
Entry packages should include:
1) One copy of the book;
2) Your official entry form or a copy;
3) The entry fee or receipt for online payment;
4) Any marketing materials you wish to send. Marketing is used as a tie-breaking consideration by our judges.
Entries should be mailed to:
JM Northern Media LLC
attn: DIY Book Festival
7095 Hollywood Boulevard
Suite 864
Hollywood, CA 90028-0893
Phone: 323-665-8080
AWARDS: The DIY Book Festival selection committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project.
The 2007 DIY Book Festival is part of the DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books, which also produces the DIY Film Festival and the DIY Music Festival. The 2007 DIY Book Festival is sponsored by Final Draft Screenplay Software; The Hollywood Creative Directory; Imagic; Alcasid.com and The DIY Reporter.com.
I hope you do well and do let me know if you win or place in any category!
Technorati Tags:
marketing help for my book, help me market my book, online book marketing tools, book contests, book awards, win a book award, fiction book contests
LOS ANGELES (August 21, 2007)_ The 2007 DIY Book Festival has set Sept. 25,
2007 as the deadline for entry to its sixth annual celebration of independent authors and publishers.
This year, the DIY Book Festival is placing a special focus on the poetry, fan fiction, unpublished stories and comics/'zines categories. Special reduced entry rates, exclusive category cash prizes and special spotlights for select entries are among the plans.
The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children's books, teenage, how-to, cookbooks, science fiction, audio/spoken word, photography, art, comics, 'zines, fan fiction, poetry and e-books published on or after Jan. 1, 2005. All entries must be in English and have been self-published or issued by an independent publishing house.
Our grand prize for the 2007 DIYBF Book of the Year is $1500 cash and a flight to the awards ceremony, held in October. All entrants receive free admission to the annual DIY Convention in Los Angeles each February and are eligible for special exhibition discounts at that event. Genre category winners will receive a combination of books, software and cash awards.
Submitted works will be judged by a panel of industry experts using the following criteria:
1) General excellence and the author's passion for telling a good story.
2) The unique use of guerilla marketing tactics to reach a wider audience.
This includes innovative marketing, merchandising, publicity tactics and other innovative methods of reaching an independent audience..
ENTRIES: Please classify your book and enter it in the following categories.Multiple entries must be accompanied by a separate fee for each book.
1) General Non-fiction
2) General Fiction
3) Children's books
4) How-to
5) E-books (word or .pdf file acceptable)
6) Comics
7) 'zines
8) Photography
9) Fan Fiction
10) Poetry
11) Art
12) Teenage
13) Biography/Autobiography
14) Audio/spoken word
15) Compilations/Anthologies
16) Best Unpublished Short Story
17) Cookbooks
18) Science Fiction
In addition to honoring the top selections in the above categories, The DIY Book Festival will award the following chosen from submissions:
1) DIY Author of the Year-Honors the outstanding book of the competition.
2) DIY Book Design of the Year --- Honors outstanding and innovative design.
3) DIY Independent Publisher of the Year-Honors the top publisher based on materials displaying excellence in marketing and promotional materials, as determined by our judges.
FESTIVAL RULES: DIY Book Festival submissions cannot be returned. Each entry must contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. All shipping and handling costs must be borne by entrants.
NOTIFICATION AND DEADLINES: We will notify each entry of the receipt of their package via e-mail and will announce the winning entries on our web site (www.diyconvention.com). Because of the anticipated high volume of entries, we can only respond to e-mail inquiries.
Deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close of business on Sept. 25, 2007. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail. Please note that judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis, comparing early entries with later submissions at our meetings.
TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at www.diyconvention.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you. Please contact our office for fax requests.
Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee of $10-$50 (see entry form drop-down menu for specific category prices) in the form of a check, money order or PayPal online payment in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.
You can also enter the contest by phone by calling 323-665-8080 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific time.
Entry fee checks should be made payable to JM Northern Media LLC. We're sorry, but entries must be mailed and cannot be delivered in person or by messenger services to the JM Northern Media offices.
Entry packages should include:
1) One copy of the book;
2) Your official entry form or a copy;
3) The entry fee or receipt for online payment;
4) Any marketing materials you wish to send. Marketing is used as a tie-breaking consideration by our judges.
Entries should be mailed to:
JM Northern Media LLC
attn: DIY Book Festival
7095 Hollywood Boulevard
Suite 864
Hollywood, CA 90028-0893
Phone: 323-665-8080
AWARDS: The DIY Book Festival selection committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project.
The 2007 DIY Book Festival is part of the DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books, which also produces the DIY Film Festival and the DIY Music Festival. The 2007 DIY Book Festival is sponsored by Final Draft Screenplay Software; The Hollywood Creative Directory; Imagic; Alcasid.com and The DIY Reporter.com.
I hope you do well and do let me know if you win or place in any category!
Technorati Tags:
marketing help for my book, help me market my book, online book marketing tools, book contests, book awards, win a book award, fiction book contests
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Bookstore Returns Program
A bookstore returns program is something I advise to authors with a high degree of caution. It is always a more profitable option to focus on direct selling to customers and online sales, but many authors want to establish a bookstore presence as well. I suggest going directly to Baker and Taylor to set up as an individual vendor with them. Here is some information on how to do this:
Link: http://www.btol.com/inf_details.cfm?id=193
Email: pubsvc@btol.com.
Again, this is not something I advise doing as a general rule and if you have any questions on a returns program feel free to email. It is important to remember that this will not make any bookstore order your book - it only makes it less of a hassle for them to do so.
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marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing, returnable status, how to get a returnable status, make a self published book returnable, how do i get my book into a bookstore, getting my book into a bookstore
Link: http://www.btol.com/inf_details.cfm?id=193
Email: pubsvc@btol.com.
Again, this is not something I advise doing as a general rule and if you have any questions on a returns program feel free to email. It is important to remember that this will not make any bookstore order your book - it only makes it less of a hassle for them to do so.
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marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing, returnable status, how to get a returnable status, make a self published book returnable, how do i get my book into a bookstore, getting my book into a bookstore
Monday, August 20, 2007
Success Story - Getting a local appeal
Paige Cummings is one of my authors who has done very well at attracting a local appeal for her book. She has also found that combining her marketing efforts with other self-published authors has made the experience more enjoyable and productive.
In her own words:
I have learned that marketing is critical, and it is a lot more fun when you are doing it with other people. Dac Crossley, another BookSurge author, is a close friend and writing buddy. We, with six other writing buddy pals, created a loose coalition called Southern Scribes. As a group we actively market and promote each other's works. One of our initial successes came at the Comer, Georgia Farmer's Market. Dac and I each sold ten books the first time out, and they have invited us back for any Saturday we wish to come. While there we networked with an individual who is responsible for "unusual" vendors for another (larger) Farmer's Market, and we will be doing booksignings there. We have made it into the newspapers three times so far-- one article on the Southern Scribes, one article on the Harriette Austin Writer's Conference and one photograph of Dac and I each donating a copy of our books to the Madison County Library. >From those three articles, we have been invited to two festivals for book-signings, two libraries for book-signings and to an art gallery for a combination art-show, book-signing and story telling.
My best piece of luck came when an old friend in my hometown (where Under the Liberty Oak is set) read my book while visiting her mother in the hospital. She told her husband, who happens to be an AP columnist-- he emailed about 200 people in his list who like his short stories and essays-- and told them about the book. Said that they might find some of their own pranks in print. And he also contacted the Brunswick, Georgia newspaper-- I am going to be a featured article in the bi-monthly magazine "Coastal Times."
Her and her husband also actively contact independent bookstores, local gift shops, and have taken out ads in free circulations.
You can find Under the Liberty Oak on Amazon.com at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Under-Liberty-Oak-Paige-Cummings/dp/1419668013/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7613588-2714267?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187622536&sr=8-1
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marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing
In her own words:
I have learned that marketing is critical, and it is a lot more fun when you are doing it with other people. Dac Crossley, another BookSurge author, is a close friend and writing buddy. We, with six other writing buddy pals, created a loose coalition called Southern Scribes. As a group we actively market and promote each other's works. One of our initial successes came at the Comer, Georgia Farmer's Market. Dac and I each sold ten books the first time out, and they have invited us back for any Saturday we wish to come. While there we networked with an individual who is responsible for "unusual" vendors for another (larger) Farmer's Market, and we will be doing booksignings there. We have made it into the newspapers three times so far-- one article on the Southern Scribes, one article on the Harriette Austin Writer's Conference and one photograph of Dac and I each donating a copy of our books to the Madison County Library. >From those three articles, we have been invited to two festivals for book-signings, two libraries for book-signings and to an art gallery for a combination art-show, book-signing and story telling.
My best piece of luck came when an old friend in my hometown (where Under the Liberty Oak is set) read my book while visiting her mother in the hospital. She told her husband, who happens to be an AP columnist-- he emailed about 200 people in his list who like his short stories and essays-- and told them about the book. Said that they might find some of their own pranks in print. And he also contacted the Brunswick, Georgia newspaper-- I am going to be a featured article in the bi-monthly magazine "Coastal Times."
Her and her husband also actively contact independent bookstores, local gift shops, and have taken out ads in free circulations.
You can find Under the Liberty Oak on Amazon.com at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Under-Liberty-Oak-Paige-Cummings/dp/1419668013/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7613588-2714267?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187622536&sr=8-1
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marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Coffee And Books
A co-worker of mine provided this idea to some of his authors and it worked well so do read below and see if you think it might be a good idea for you!
What goes better with a book than a good cup of coffee? It’s a natural fit. How many coffee shops have you approached to do a book signing? Chances are if you live in or near a metropolitan area you are within short driving distance of a coffee shop. I’m not talking about a coffee shop in a bookstore. I’m talking about a free-standing neighborhood coffee shop. They specialize in serving a loyal customer base, and that loyal customer base is your demographic.
Here’s your assignment. Walk into your local coffee bar, order your favorite brew, and hand the manager a copy of your book. Let him or her know that you are available for a signing anytime and you are going to be doing some heavy marketing. If the manager’s not there, ask for his or her business card and send them a signed copy of your book and include a brief note outlining your proposal for the book signing. Stress your greatest asset, you’re a local author.
Now you’re ready for the coffee shop tour. Make sure you have plenty of books on hand.
Happy marketing!
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marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing
What goes better with a book than a good cup of coffee? It’s a natural fit. How many coffee shops have you approached to do a book signing? Chances are if you live in or near a metropolitan area you are within short driving distance of a coffee shop. I’m not talking about a coffee shop in a bookstore. I’m talking about a free-standing neighborhood coffee shop. They specialize in serving a loyal customer base, and that loyal customer base is your demographic.
Here’s your assignment. Walk into your local coffee bar, order your favorite brew, and hand the manager a copy of your book. Let him or her know that you are available for a signing anytime and you are going to be doing some heavy marketing. If the manager’s not there, ask for his or her business card and send them a signed copy of your book and include a brief note outlining your proposal for the book signing. Stress your greatest asset, you’re a local author.
Now you’re ready for the coffee shop tour. Make sure you have plenty of books on hand.
Happy marketing!
Technorati Tags:
marketing a self-published book, blogs to help me market a book, book marketing blogs, self-publishing blogs, should i self publish, marketing a self published book, book marketing tools, book marketing information, book marketing assistance, book marketing help, marketing books, self publishing, self-publishing, author marketing
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