DEMO: Writing Theme

If you’re like me, you have a book and the passion to spend the rest of your life making it a success. But, with all the ways to market your book, the costs and the inevitable sinking feeling of utter helplessness, what can you do?

You COULD run around in circles trying to get your book in every bookstore in town. You COULD write Oprah or the Today Show, and hope for a call-back. You COULD spend months crafting a book proposal and wait another six months for the exact right time to send it to the exact right editor at the exact right publishing house with the exact right level of interest to stand behind your book.

But those are lies (well, for most of us, most of the time, they are) and here are the TOP TEN LIES and how you can avoid believing them:

Lie #1: You NEED to get your book in bookstores.

No, you don’t. Visit your local bookstore-any bookstore-and you’ll see thousands (maybe millions) of books crammed, piled, stacked and displayed. Do you really think that simply adding your book to this haystack will catapult you to success?

Do you know how readers decide to buy a book? 1) They get a referral from a friend. 2) They see an interesting book title on the best-seller list. 3) They look up a topic (generally non-fiction) and look for a book closest to their interest (generally based on titles). 4) They browse in the bookstore looking for an interesting title ? then they read the book jacket copy. 5) They look on an Internet bookseller’s website to find out what other people bought under that title or subject, then they look at book reviews. 6) Finally, generally based on title and book jacket copy or book reviews, they buy your book.

Have you ever bought a book just because of the title? I remember one time when I was browsing in a local bookstore and the book title I was looking at was so provocative; I just had to have it. It turned out to be a humor book, very funny and entertaining. But I never would have purchased the book if it weren’t for the title. I wouldn’t have even noticed it! Many other times I’ve seen ads for business books relating to marketing or sales and found an irresistible title, I simply had to have it!

Your book expresses your wondrous information, your creativity, and your genius. It’s your dream come true. Or is it? You have already tried a few venues–maybe an expo, book signings, press releases, book reviews, distributors, wholesalers, speaking and book tours.

Now, there is a new way to market those unsold books. Use the Internet. And you don’t even have to have your own Web site or spend money.

Get ready to create a continuous, passive income. Be ready for those checks and charges coming your way often!

What Kind of Books Can I Market?

Depending on your passion, your willingness to learn a new way, and putting energy into your campaign, you can market any kind of book: how-to, non-fiction, fiction, short special reports, booklets, training manuals, workbooks, poetry, short stories, articles.

Sell your Print Books and Create New eBooks

If you already have a print book, you can still sell it Online. One way to draw attention to it is to write a short eBook on the same subject. This won’t take long.

Surprise your potential buyers. Give them chocolate frosting!

After we entered school we had a lot to learn. We left the sand box, the nap, and the all day playing with our imagination. No wonder we have lost touch with our original, playful, creativity. Now in the information age we expect to read short, concise pieces. Yet, we can, if we play a little, add more of our original ideas to our books if we use metaphor.

Metaphor means wedding a word to an image, sound or feeling. Metaphor is a fusing of dissimilar entities into one new image. Metaphor asserts a likeness between two unlike things. Images are word pictures that give language power and richness by involving our senses in the experience. When you wed an image or feeling to something totally unexpected, you produce a new pattern–a metaphor that creates a powerful picture and reader enjoyment.

The purpose of metaphor is to intensify your awareness of the images around you. Clichés are worn out metaphors. Avoid platitudes because your reader will be bored with them and not read on. Write naturally and avoid pompous words like “utilize.”

Want to sell a lot more books? Want clients calling every day to find out more about your service? Most emerging businesses forget the #1 way to promote anything–the Internet. Specifically, writing and submitting articles.

These ten Tips will help you write a winning article that top ezines and Web sites will want to publish.

1. Include your non-fiction book’s chapter how to’s or your fiction’s juicy chapter excerpts in your articles. Your book coach encourages novelists as well as self-help authors.

2. Keep your articles around 200-800 words each. Remember today’s audience likes short copy. They want it one, two, three. Online writing is so different from what print magazines want.

3. Keep your article focused on just one thesis or point. That means mindmap your article or make a linear outline what points to keep before your write it. A plan helps.

4. Create a hook for your two or three-sentence introduction. Notice this one asked you a few questions to engage you.

5. Forget the old school of writing for print magazines and getting paid. Follow the Internet way– give your article away like Mrs. Field cookie samples, so people who read them and notice your signature file will want to visit the site where you sell your book.

Imagine your book at the top of the Best Sellers List of the New York Times. Most authors do. The question is, “How do I get it there and sell millions of copies?”

When planing your book, there is one critical thing that most authors forget - marketing. In the case of book reviewers this means pre-marketing.

Most reviewers require a copy of your book at least three months before publication. This is because most book reviewers need time to read it and review it plus publish all the reviews on books that they have reviewed for those who came before you. Also many publications come out on a weekly or monthly basis instead of daily. This means that book reviewers have a huge backlog.

So the best way to get a book reviewers to review your book, is to get them a quality copy of your manuscript or a galley, as soon as possible.

What if your book has already been published?

Is it too late to get a book reviewer to review your book? In some cases yes and in some no. There is an easy way to get your book reviewed without calling it a review.

As a literary publicist I often am asked about publicity tips, tricks, and the magic behind my work. It’s not magic. All you need to know are the basics and from there you will be able to create an effective book promotion. Below I’ve listed the most vital and basic tips to a successful book publicity campaign.

1. ALWAYS Take ‘No’ for an answer

It can be frustrating when the media isn’t interested in your book or story idea, but always thank them for their time and move on. If you try and persuade or argue with them you will leave a bad impression of yourself and your chances of working with this particular media in the future are slim. Try back in a couple months if it’s a show or publication that you’re particularly interested. The media changes with the seasons, and trends, so they may love your show or feature idea then, rather then now.

2. Don’t Hound Your Publicist

Review Your Reviewer: You will be sorry if you do not take the time to get a pretty good picture of your reviewer. Use e-mail, snail mail or anything else you’ve got to pop a few questions to your reviewer. If the review is on radio or TV place a few phone calls in advance. Why? You must get a fix on your reviewer’s position and general inclination. If your writing is in religion, check the doctrinal position of the reviewer. A Pentecostal book is bound to come up short in a conservative catholic review. If your book is written with a conservative political bent, it will not do well under the scrutiny of a liberal democrat. You must check out every aspect of the reviewer’s mindset that you can by any means you can. If you disregard this advice you will suffer for it.

Why Should Your Book Be on Amazon.com?
Credibility. If your book is important, it should be available at the world’s biggest book store.

Visibility. People (including members of the media) will find your book and learn about you through your appearance on Amazon. (That’s how I got into Woman’s Day magazine.)

Money. You will sell books you wouldn’t have sold otherwise. Many buyers won’t buy from your Web site or other sources, but will buy at Amazon. And, Amazon pays like clockwork.

Get Your Book Listed on Amazon.com
Your publisher or distributor will handle getting your book into the Amazon catalog. If you are self-published and don’t have a distributor, join Amazon Advantage at http://www.Amazon.com/advantage

To participate in Advantage, you must have distribution rights, and your book must have a scannable barcode of the ISBN.

Amazon Marketplace
Once your book is listed, you can also sell it directly to consumers through Amazon Marketplace. You will find more information about this on the Advantage information page listed above.

Amazon Associates
Once your book is listed on Amazon, join the Associates program http://www.Amazon.com/associates

Great! The Chamber of Commerce, or a similar group, has asked you to talk about your latest book. Though words are your business, you may terrified of public speaking. What should you say? How should you say it? These tips will help you to give a five-star book talk.

Confirm arrangements. Mistakes happen and you don’t want them to happen to you. One or two days before you’re slated to speak, confirm the date, time, place, and your audiovisual needs. Toastmaster’s International says you should visit the site beforehand. Make sure books will be available if you’re autographing after your talk.

Greet the audience. Arrive early and greet audience members as they enter the room or store. This gives you an instant connection with your audience and makes you an approachable person.

Check the audience. According to the Advanced Public Speaking Institute, males and females respond differently to talks. Females laugh more easiily than males and “an all-male audience is more critical to bond [with] . . . especially if you’re a famale speaker.” Be prepared to make some last minute changes in your talk if you are female.