Everyone says, “Some day I’m going to write a book,” but few
actually do. So congratulations on a noteworthy achievement! Now
that you’re holding your book in your hands, after years of
research, writing, editing and rewriting, the last words you’ll
want to hear are, “That was the easy part.” Well, unfortunately,
that was the easy part. Unless you don’t mind your only fans
being family and close friends, or unless you’re already a
celebrity with a big publishing house behind you, your new
challenge will be letting the world know about your book so
someone will actually read (a.k.a. buy) what you’ve so
laboriously created. And the hard reality is that, in the
madness of today’s publishing environment, the onus for
successful book promotion lies almost exclusively with the
author. Whether you fought your way through to a mainstream
channel or decided to self-publish-whether you’ve written a
self-help tool or a novel-odds are good that a publicist won’t
be calling you tomorrow morning with a jam-packed itinerary of
book signings and television interviews. Some of you may have a
little help if you’re mainstream, but all of you will carry the
lion’s share. So, where do you begin? First of all, your book is
no longer “your baby,” but a business-and as with any business,
you must have a Marketing Plan. Number One in your plan should
be creating a website that will help facilitate everything else
we’ll cover in this article. If you already have a website
(business or otherwise), add a banner headline announcing
publication on your Home page. If you don’t have a website
and/or don’t know how to create one, Google how to create a
website, and plenty of user-friendly links will come up. The
point is that your website should showcase your book as the
feature, and you should offer the book for sale right there.
Sign up for a Pay Pal account, if you don’t already have one
(www.paypal.com ). This is an easy,
affordable way for you to offer buyers a means to pay with a
credit card, and that feature alone will help drive more books
out the door. Next you’ll need to develop a Sell Sheet
consisting of: a) a summary of your book in 50 words or less; b)
an author biography in one paragraph; and c) your field of
expertise and how that relates to your book (not always relevant
with fiction). Then identify your Target Audience-the “who” you
had in mind while you were writing. If you’ve written a novel,
will interested readers be male or female, young, middle-aged or
seniors, action or romance devotees? If your book is
non-fiction, are you targeting a certain business or profession?
Do you already have a client or seminar base that will be a
built-in market? If you don’t have a built-in base, what media
outlets (radio, television, print) will help you build one, and
which will be relevant and feasible? How do you get to Book
Reviewers? (Reviews are golden, even if they’re not glowing-and
reviews are mandatory for success. Without them, you don’t get
interviews, and the good ones become marketing tools.) Each
category and media market, by the way, can be easily researched
via the Internet, and each will have to receive a Review Copy of
your book. Once your target audience is clear, identify your
book’s Position with a single sentence that explains why someone
would want to buy your book over others in the same category.
This is an extremely important element because, with every
Review Copy you send out, you’ll have between 5 and 15 seconds
to catch someone’s attention. Finally (and you’ve probably
figured this out already), you need to decide how much money
you’re able and willing to spend on your book promotion. Guess
who buys all those Review Copies, for example? You’ll also need
business cards (focused solely on your book), bookmarks, “Just
Published” posters, announcement post cards, travel expenses and
so forth. But before you send out for oxygen, this new challenge
isn’t as daunting as you may think, because the majority of
Best-Sellers begin their successes locally. Your first contact
won’t be to the New York Times, but rather your local newspaper.
Send a copy of your Press Release (similar to your Sell Sheet
but a more familiar format to the media). If you Google how to
write a press release, you’ll find a wealth of tutorials. Then
use a “local author” angle to approach the Manager or Event
Coordinator in nearby book stores (small independent book
sellers and big chains like Barnes & Noble), first about
scheduling a book signing, and second about stocking your book
on their shelves. (The former will be easier than the latter.)
Check each store’s Event Calendar and attend several book
signings to see how they’re done. When you have a signing
scheduled, send invitations! Include everyone you’ve ever known,
if you can afford the stamps. Although you’ll want to do a
broadcast email to announce your book’s publication, signing
events require old-fashioned invitations to bolster turnout. The
book store(s) will also do a little advertising (usually very
little, i.e., a flyer by the cash register), but your best hope
for a large crowd resides in the people you already know. Use
your successes with local papers and book stores to secure
interviews with other media outlets. Google to seek out venues
in your area such as noon television news broadcasts and radio
talk shows that are willing to feature new authors. Remember,
every contact you make-through media, book stores, book
reviewers, libraries, everyone-will need to receive a Review
Copy of your book. Be sure to write REVIEW COPY in big, black
magic marker letters on the inside front cover to minimize
bootleg sales of all the books you’re sending out. Distribute
widely and generously all of your other promotional materials,
as well (Sell Sheets, Press Release, Business Cards…), and never
travel without two copies of your book. Take a handful on your
vacation. You just never know when a future fan will be standing
in front of you. This local focus will not only build success
from the inside out, but will also help minimize cash outlays
for airfare and hotels in the beginning. At the same time,
however, expand your base by listing your book for sale on sites
like Amazon and eBay (both sites have links that walk you
through the process), and by entering your book in contests
(have four or five on-going at any given time). Google again for
those contests germane to your book, but research the sponsoring
organization(s) before entering. Some are less reputable than
others. Contests offer tremendous publicity potential, though,
and many judges return valuable comments whether you win
anything or not. Lastly, set up an automatically inserted tag
line promoting your book at the bottom of every email you
generate. That’s free advertising that could circle the globe.
Obviously, the how-to’s of book promotion could fill volumes-but
the short version begins and ends with you. If you believe with
a passion that your book can be a Best-Seller, then others will
believe, too. Just keep in mind that, as with any project or
craft, the devil is in the details. Orchestrating a book
promotion can be a little like managing a goat rodeo, if all the
basics aren’t in place. Make your plan, have your props, and
then start calling on your local segment of the world. Every
success will breed another, and the boundaries of “local” will
continue to expand as far as you wish to push them. Of course,
none of this happens overnight, and wisdom suggests putting your
plans in motion while the book is still in the production cycle.
Then allow yourself a few captivating moments when you first
hold the “real thing” in your hands. Celebrate and feel that
well-deserved pride. Okay. Time’s up. The window of marketing
opportunity is the first year after publication, which doesn’t
leave room for many wasted days. Even though writing your book
was the easy part, selling your book is the fruitful part-and
nothing compares to the sound of someone saying, “I bought your
book, loved it, and recommended it to my friends.” May those
words ring familiar time and again along your personal path to
your own Best-Seller!

I love anything that’s about life, relationship, love romance novels, fairytales, fantasys or anything. Or something that’s entertaining but can be sad or funny.
I’ve read & Liked:
Twilight books
Sarah Dessen’s books
“When it happens” Susane Colasanti
“shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater
Chicken soup for the:girls, teenagers & teenagers 2 soul
stuff like that.

If you recommend a book can you put alittle description what’s it about and your opinion on it.

Books about eating disorders, not ones that describe them, but books where girls are struggling with eating disorders and anorexia. Also, books on how teen ages are hardest for girls. Any books out there?

I like fantasy books like Harry Potter, Eragon, Eldest, The Gift, the Riddle and the Crow. What are some other good fantasy books to read?
I’ve read Artemis Fowl and His Dark Materials Trilogy
Oh and I read the first LOTR but I thought it was really boring

Apart from writer’s block, one of the most frustrating things about writing a book can be the trouble that you have to go through to get it noticed. In the fluid modern market, even authors of top selling novels have to do a bit of personal publicity. Considering the vast expanse of available titles, it is imperative to give your book every opportunity to be noticed. Here are a few handy tips on how to promote the sales of your title:

Book signings

The first point to take of when it comes to book signings, is that the purpose of a signing session is not to sell your book – it is to sell yourself! A book signing creates the ideal platform for the promotion of your book as the ‘book store’ environment is crawling with people who love to read i.e. potential customers.

Depending on your target market, book genre and your personal attitude toward the signing – you could expect to make anywhere from 5 to 100 sales per signing. However, as with every idea of product promotion, you will only get out what you put in.

Here are a few quick tips on preparing for a book signing :

Promote yourself to everyone that you know

Make an effort to invite everyone that you know to your signing. Also, feel free to tell your friends and family to invite everyone that they know. Essentially all that you are trying to do is guarantee a good attendance, so make every effort to get the word out about your signing!

Don’t do it on your own

Try to arrange a book signing with other writers. Believe it or not, the book industry is not always about competition. By having a group book signing, you will feel more at ease and have the benefit of learning from more experienced writers i.e. learn the best way to interact with readers, find out how you can prepare yourself personally for the event and maybe even how to professionally handle ‘groupies’.

Dress appropriately

Essentially, you need to look good, while still being comfortable. The best way to go is ‘causal business’ attire.

Smile

Be as friendly as you can possibly be – greet people, wave and most importantly, smile!

Just remember: a book signing gives you the opportunity to have a bit of fun with your readers, so go ahead and enjoy every minute of the lime light.

Public Talks and Interviews

One of the best ways to gain local publicity for your book, is attaining public exposure amongst your potential target market. While it may sound rather ‘old school’, public talks and radio interviews are highly effective vehicles for publicity – radio itself is one of the most widely used media sources in most first and third world countries. If you are working with an agent, you should definitely try to get a word in about either of these mediums.

If you are handling your own publicity, you should make an active effort to hunt down any interview opportunity. Approach websites like Barnes & Noble Explorations, John Scalzi’s By the Way blog, and Suite101.com

This is an example of a good public speaking idea:

If you find that your book targets children, why not go to its source? It has been noted that schools are the best location to do a reading and give a talk. Firstly, you are guaranteed an audience and secondly, children are highly opinionated and that will give you an accurate reflection of your target market’s interpretation of and comments on your book.

When it comes to public talks and readings, your priority should be the location of your target market.

Online Book Promotion

Online promoting is probably the most powerful marketing tool available to you. Any successful book must make use of online media to boost sales. Here are a few tips for effective online book promotion:

Start a blog well before the release of your book and begin consciously trying to write about topics that will hopefully garner you an audience.

Make use of your current social media sites i.e. MySpace and Facebook, and seek friends with interests in the genre of your book.

Create a personalised webpage for your new book – maybe dedicate an entire lens on Squidoo to it and use that page to display your book’s events info, reviews etc.

If taking on the pressure of marketing your book personally, is something you could do without, it may be a good idea for you to make use of an online service. International promotional companies offer various marketing packages. You could pay anywhere between $10 for a mention on a website for one week, to several thousand dollars for a larger scale online promotional package.

The only downside, apart from forking out hefty bundles of cash, is that these promotional packages don’t let you see exactly how your title is doing. One company, RankTracer, allows you to see how your book is faring while simultaneously promoting and marketing it online – giving you the best of both worlds for a mere $2 per month.

If blogging about your book is the type of online promotion that works for you, you may be interested to hear about the embeddable Amazon sales ranks and graphs feature that RankTracer has recently added to its list of services.

It comprises of a unique html code snippet, which is automatically generated for each tracked book or any other product. This snippet will display a specific product’s sales ranks, performance statistics, with a graph included. Another embeddable snippet displays your book’s best sales rank along with an authentication link for verification. This allows you to show your readers exactly how well your book is selling, plus your shout out can be verified at the click of a button.

By way of example, take a look at this link: My Blog. It will help you visualise the displayed version of the code (the graph, stats and subsequent line about the ‘best sales rank’ are produced by Ranktracer for inclusion into your own blog, site and promotional material).

All that’s required for RankTracer subscribers to achieve this, is a snippet copy and paste into any page that allows html. With the creation of such a code, avenues for personalised online book promotion are endless, plus sales ranks are neatly verified by the company. Remember too that the actual snippets provide direct links to the product in question allowing readers to purchase it at a click of a button.

If your book’s online sales could do with a boost or it simply needs tracking, why not visit the RankTracer website and let the leaders in sales tracking technology help you out.

So I just bought a guitar and was wondering if there are any good books/websites that can teach me beginners stuff.

I’m not looking for tabs, but actual notes and stuff. Also, I want to know exactly how to hold a guitar, where to strum, etc.

Thanks

First, your e-Book needs to have an attractive title. The title should grab the attention of your intended target audience. The more appealing the title, the more your e-Book will be downloaded. Your e-Book needs to have quality content. You can contact other business owners and ask them if they would like to include their ad in your e-Book. Just ask them in return to advertise your free e-Book on their web site or in their e-zone for a set period of time. This method will get your free e-Book marketing campaign off to a fast start. You can write your own content or ask permission to use another author’s content. Your e-Book will be read more if the content is original.

You will want to put your ad on the title page or on the table of contents. It’s important to put your e-Book in as many formats as possible. Most e-Book software only allows the e-Book to be read by certain brewers and software you can visit www.make-your-ebook-sell.com People may not take the time to download a new software program in order to read your e-Book. Other versions of your e-Book could be in HTML, auto responder and downloadable text format. This will give the most exposure for your web site or the products you’re selling.

It’s important to put your e-Book in as many formats as possible. Most e-Book software only allows the e-Book to be read by certain brewers and software. People may not take the time to download a new software program in order to read your e-Book. Other versions of your e-Book could be in HTML, auto responder and downloadable text format.

You can contact other business owners and ask them if they would like to include their ad in your e-Book. Just ask them in return to advertise your free e-Book on their web site or in their e-zone for a set period of time. This method will get your free e-Book marketing campaign off to a fast start.

Allow the people who download your e-Book to give it away to their visitors. This will multiply your free e-Books’ exposure you can visit www.ebook-marketing-exposed.com you can contact other business owners and ask them if they would like to include their ad in your e-Book. Just ask them in return to advertise your free e-Book on their web site or in their e-zone for a set period of time. This method will get your free e-Book marketing campaign off to a fast start. Submit your e-Book to the growing number of free e-Book directories on the internet.

These web sites also offer more information about e-Book marketing. It’s important to put your e-Book in as many formats as possible. Most e-Book software only allows the e-Book to be read by certain brewers and software. People may not take the time to download a new software program in order to read your e-Book. Other versions of your e-Book could be in HTML, auto responder and downloadable text format. Some of them also have e-Book discussion forums where you can ask questions and learn more about e-Book marketing.

I need some book recommendations. The main character has to kill demons/be a demon slayer. Preferably a female main character. No young adult books unless they don’t involve romance. NO VAMPIRES, NO WEREWOLVES, JUST DEMONS. Please don’t give me books with vampires, werewolves and say “Oh, it has some demons.” Absolutely no vampires or werewolves. Thanks.
No romance. Not humor.
Ugh. No witchs.

I’ve read the Twilight Series, When it Happens, Just Listen, The Truth About Forever, and sooo many other books like the Private Series and such, but i need to find more. Any other books that you have read and loved?

Getting free targeted and sincere reviews for your book requires research, commitment and follow through.

I’m going to share with you the mistakes I made and the things I did right about getting book reviews for my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT.

First the mistakes:

I waited until the book was published instead of sending out the manuscript or the first page galleys from my print-on-demand publisher BookSurge.

I used pay-for-review services whose reviewers were not committed to the subject of my novel – for them this was a job for hire.

I sent copies of the book to book bloggers who responded to my email that they indeed wanted to review the book but who never reviewed the book. I later realized that I wasn’t anyone to them so my book obviously got buried in the avalanche of books they receive.

Now what I did right:

I researched on Amazon for reviewers who had written good reviews about similar-themed books. I contacted them through the Amazon friend feature and offered my book for review. (Note — there is no payment given for these reviews.) I got a few replies, including some who told me they were too busy along with some who really wanted to review the book and did.

When I emailed these Amazon reviewers to consider reviewing the book, I gave them the link to my website with the first four chapters available for free. I suggested they read those chapters to see if the book might appeal to them. Obviously, if they didn’t like the first four chapters, they probably wouldn’t want to read the whole book.

I took a virtual book tour through virtual book tour organizer Pump Up Your Book Promotion, and several book bloggers agreed to review the book. (Again, no payment.) I said yes to providing a second free book for a contest connected with the review (or interview). And the winner of the contest often had her/his own book blog.

I started using social media platforms – especially Twitter and Facebook – to make “friends” online. Now when these people said yes to reviewing my book I was no longer a nobody to them. We had a relationship.

More valuable reviews from people who were interested in my book:

The reviews I got by approaching people interested in my book’s fiction genre were much more valuable than the reviews I got using, for example, pay-for-review services where the reviewer might not even like my type of book.

And, yes, doing the work to find and contact reviewers who like your type of book takes time and effort. It can be much easier to use pay-for-review services even thought these reviews might not be as targeted and sincere.

If you do use pay-for-review services, ask if the reviewer will be someone who likes the genre in which you’ve written. You could even ask to see samples of the reviews the proposed reviewer has written on books of this genre. In this way you may have a better chance of getting a reviewer who will appreciate your book.

And if right now you’re still writing your book or it’s still in the publication process, this is an excellent time to start forming relationships on Twitter and Facebook. The key to both these social media platforms is to freely share information that can help others. If you do this wholeheartedly, in return your online “friends” may sincerely help you.