Author: Elise L. Connors

Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week: Addiction by H. E. Logue, M.D.

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if they don’t know about it? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us let the community know about a great book. So, without further adieu, here’s this week’s book review:

Addiction book cover

Addiction

H. E. Logue, M.D.

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.

ISBN 9781432764807

Reviewed by: William Phenn for Reader Views

“Dr. Logue writes a very compelling book about the effects of various addictions on addicts and their families. He mentions the fact that the inspiration for the book was from actual events but, of course, the book is pure fiction. Sam Robbins is one such fictitious character. He has a wife and son and has just finished a bout with lung cancer. He is trying to quit his addiction, smoking; which brought him to this point.

The book suggests many good points on quitting and coping with the withdrawals and cravings of the addiction. There are even some very scary statistics that the doctor refers to. A few of them, such as “One out of four is a current smoker, one out of four is an ex-smoker and two out of four is or has been a smoker.” These facts and more were staggering to me as I read the stats that Dr. Logue wrote.

In the midst of Sam Robbins’ problem with his addicted nephew, the drama continues with stories of a “binge drinking alcoholic” that gets killed because of being in the wrong place and acting like a fool. Sam meets another friend and former co-worker and helps him with his drinking problem by attending AA meetings with him. All through the book, Sam partners with his psychiatrist and in the end, he gives back some of the help that he has had. His doctor sets up an addiction seminar and invites Sam and his wife to speak to the attendees.

Dr. Logue did a very good job of presenting addiction in its natural setting, portraying a typical family setting. He carried it through to show how it affects the rest of the family members and others that come in contact with the addict. I enjoyed Addiction: Yours, Mine and Ours and picked up a lot of good information, things I didn’t know about addiction and its effects. I gave it a solid A because it was similar to real life, well written and informative.”

DISCUSSION: Are you trying to obtain book reviews as part of your overall book promotion strategy?

Alternative Marketing Methods

Alternative Book Marketing Methods Series: Non-Profit Marketing

Last time, we talked about partnering with a local bookstore to offer a Groupon. This week, we’re adding another notch to your “alternative marketing” belt — non-profit marketing.

What do you mean non-profit marketing? I’m a career author, and I’m in this to make a sustainable income! This may be true, but you can still benefit from marketing your book in a way that is not profit-driven. What if you could use your book to change the world? Okay, thinking more reasonably – what if you could make a difference in a few people’s lives? What if you sold more books while you were doing it?

Before we get into the details, I have a confession. This technique isn’t actually anything new. Companies have been doing this for years, decades, and possibly even centuries. The good news is, though, that this type of marketing is not “the norm” for book authors. So, by using this to market your book, you may be a few steps ahead of the curve.

Imagine for a moment that you are back in high school (stay with me here). You want to go to college, but you don’t think you can afford it. What do you do? A smart student will turn to scouring all available resources for scholarships, grants, and possibly loans. While searching for scholarships, you find one that requires you to read a book and write a brief essay on your opinion of the book and how you can use the advice provided in that book to improve your life. You decide to enter, so you buy the book and enter. A few months later you find out you’ve won $1,000 to help you with school and related expenses. Wouldn’t that leave a mark on your life? That extra $1,000 can help you pay for books, food, etc.

Now step back into your author shoes — how amazing it is that you sold a book to this student, and they were rewarded with a $1,000 scholarship. But I don’t have $1,000 for a scholarship! That’s fine. A good way to finance this is to take a portion from your book sales. Say for instance, you make $2.50 for every book sold. If you set aside $0.50 for every person who buys your book during the scholarship and you get 200 sales during that time, you can offer a reward as small as $100. Of course, if you can take more from your sales, you can invest even more into the scholarship.

This will not only build buzz about your book, but it will also allow you to make a difference, and you may even be able to deduct the scholarship monies when tax time comes (be sure to ask a tax professional about this).

More good news is that offering a scholarship is not the only way to sell books using non-profit marketing. There are many other creative spins you can take on this, and you can find even more ideas by looking around your community and seeing what people need and figuring out how you can help fulfill that need while also selling books.

Have you ever used non-profit marketing to sell books? What results have you seen from implementing such strategies?

Happy Marketing!

Self Publishing Saturday, Uncategorized

Self Publishing Saturday: What Happened this Week?

On weekend mornings, I enjoy nothing more than reading the paper to find out what has happened this week (now I primarily read the news online) in one place without searching many places. With many “tweeps” (Twitter slang for “people”) using paper.li to put together information, you can keep track of things pretty easily. What if you don’t have a Twitter account? What about the sources the things that weren’t mentioned?

Here we aim to feature things that are going on in self publishing so that you don’t have to find out on your own. Plus, we want to share other resource with you so that you can be well-advised on the publishing process.

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s digest.

Have you written something our readers can benefit from this week? Post a link in the comments.

Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week: Russia’s Prestige by Kashif Parvaiz

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if they don’t know about it? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us let the community know about a great book. So, without further ado, here’s this week’s book review:

Russia's Prestige book cover

Russia’s Prestige: Historical Architecture

Kashif Parvaiz

Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.

ISBN 9781432766115

Reviewed by: William Phenn for Reader Views

“This is a very complete and concise volume of Russian architecture by a very talented writer. Mr. Parvaiz does more than just describe the beautiful architecture that is portrayed in the book. He goes the extra mile by giving the reader an insight into the history of the building. Beginning with Cathedral of the Dormition, to the Qolsharif Mosque, the chapters are descriptive and detailed. There is even a glossary at the end of every chapter that enlightens the reader to the terms used in that chapter.

Such amazing structures as the Catherine Palace in the Tsarskoe selo (the Tsar’s private city) are described with such detail that shows the author did his homework. He goes beyond the usual descriptions of the brick and mortar to include the reasons for its existence. It is this type of research that the author has done that makes this book stand out from the crowd of the usual architectural books.

The pictures are black and white, as would be expected in a book of architectural structures that date back as far as these do but that does not hinder the quality. The writing is top-notch and keeps the readers interest with the in-depth background and history.

The way the information is presented, with an in-depth history of the structures, makes it very interesting reading for everyone. He brought out some historical events that I had never seen or heard of in other books. It is general audience reading and full of wonderful pictures of all the old Churches and Cathedrals that are described and discussed. The cover graphics are appealing and the editing is a welcome change from most I have read recently. I enjoyed Russia’s Prestige: Historical Architecture and gave it my highest mark of an A+.”

DISCUSSION: Are you trying to obtain book reviews as part of your overall book promotion strategy?

Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Promotion Strategy

Alternative Book Marketing Methods Series: Partnering with Local Bookstores to Offer Groupon/Local Offer

There are many ways authors can market their books. Some of these include planning virtual book tours, scheduling book signings, distributing a press release, etc. However, many authors do these things. How can you reach an untapped market? How can you stand out from the crowd?

That’s why we decided to offer you the Alternative Book Marketing Methods Series. The goal of this series is to reveal and discuss possible success rates of marketing ideas that are a bit “different”. While there may be some authors that are already implementing these methods as a part of their overall book promotion strategy, these are not widely used and often can make the author stand out in the crowd.

Today’s tactic involves partnering with local bookstores to offer a deal for buyers of your book. There are several local deal sites out there, but the most popular is Groupon. Have you ever heard of them? On their website, they describe themselves as: “…an easy way to get huge discounts while discovering fun activities in your city. Our daily deals consist of restaurants, spas, massages, theaters, hotels, and a whole lot more, in dozens of cities across the country.”

Here’s a sample Groupon:

Groupon Example

How’s this for an idea? You contact a local independent bookstore and ask them about listing your book on consignment. In exchange, you can partner with them (split the cost) of offering a Groupon. A few ideas for the offer can be:

  • Save 50% on your purchase when you buy _______ (insert the title of your book here). You can vary the percentage to you and the store owner/manager’s liking.
  • Get _____ (the name of a popular book) for $5 when you buy _____ (insert the title of your book here). You can vary the money savings to you and the store owner/manager’s liking.
  • Get a gift certificate for $10 off your next purchase of $15 or more when you buy _______ (insert the title of your book here). You can vary the gift certificate amount to you and the store owner/manager’s liking.

These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Be creative, think up some more creative ideas, and (most importantly), share them with us here. Happy marketing!