Author: selfpublishingadvisor

Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Uncategorized

Time For a Spring Reset!

Spring often signifies new beginnings in literature and poetry, a rebirth, if you will. All that which lay dormant in winter now slowwwly stretches its limbs, lets out a big yawn and sigh of relief and comes back out to bask in the sun. The trees are budding, the deer are grazing, we now awake to the calming sounds of birds chirping, the sun stays with us well into the evening, it’s finally warm enough for sandals and everyone seems to be in generally better spirits because of those things aforementioned.

spring stretch

The charm and warmth of spring should not only put a pep in your step in your day to day life, but it should also be a time to pep up your writing and marketing efforts!

 

  1. Let spring be a new beginning for you. Make a list of things you’d like to begin with a fresh start. Do you need to begin editing, creating a marketing plan, blogging, etc? Now’s the time to do it!
  2. Use some springtime writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing and to help you “reset” after winter. Write about how the sunshine affects your mood and creativity, write about spring as a symbol of birth/life, write about the your sensuous experience wandering around in the natural world in springtime, etc. etc.
  3. Host an outdoor reading event in your community. Pick a nice sunny afternoon to encourage members of your community to get outside and share their love of the spoken and written word. This is a great way to network, to connect with other writers in your area and to have some fun in the sun!
  4. Start being more active on social media! Take pictures of the beauty around you, toss in a quote from a work of yours or of your favorite author’s and share with your audience! Blog, post about new developments in your publishing process, connect with readers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Now that the butterflies are back, why not be a little social butterfly?
  5. Spruce up your website. Who knows more about you than…well, you? Write up a fresh author bio that includes recent accomplishments, publications, life developments and so forth.
  6. Join some forums, join Goodreads! These are both terrific venues for marketing your book and they help you connect more intimately with your audience.
  7. Host a drawing contest for the cover of your next book! The winner gets a free copy of your book and gets featured on your website and social media pages!
  8. Add a “Store” page to your website. This is a great way to increase sales and to have your readers buy directly from you rather than some third party website.
  9. Do some spring cleaning of your writing space and bookshelves. See our last few blogs for tips on how to “declutter” as a writer!
  10. Take advantage of this nice weather! Try writing outside, even if it’s just brainstorming. A little vitamin D and time in nature can go a longgg way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for reading!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com
from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

From the Archives: “Mailing Lists for Self-Published Book Promotion”

Welcome back to our Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

∗∗∗∗∗

[ Originally posted: November 24th, 2008 ]

Don’t you wish there was one single place where you could buy a mailing list that was specific for your self-published book?

You’re in luck! Check out www.listsyoucanafford.com for third party mailing lists that just may be the answer to your marketing goals.

I hope these lists help you get the word out to your specific book audience and just in time for the holiday shopping season to begin!

Good luck and have fun!

– by Kelly Schuknecht

mailing list email

It has been a while since I last talked about mailing lists–approximately eight and a half years, in fact, but I’m happy to report that listsyoucanafford.com is still active. I haven’t personally used their services in a while, however, so I did a little digging around. It turns out that this particular service has about a 44% failure rate, which may seem like a lot, but is actually relatively par-for-the-course when it comes to purchasing email lists. It does, however, exceed the amount they state in their “guarantees,” so if you find that you too are experiencing higher-than-expected failure rates on your purchased email list, I highly recommend contesting your payment.

Of course, buying email lists isn’t exactly a straightforward enterprise. Spend any time on Google with the subject and you’ll come up with articles and blog posts reflecting a range of experiences–both great and terrible and everything in between–and I don’t know about you, but that kind of puts the fear of God into me when it comes to doing my due diligence and using only trustworthy services:

email lists

But the fact remains, reaching people by email is still one of the most effective (and cost-effective) marketing strategies out there. We will address ways to build your own personal email list soon in our upcoming Wednesday series (starting, not tomorrow, but next week), but revisiting this 2008 blog has served as a good reminder that the world has changed a lot, and our priorities with it. Security concerns and legal concerns, wastefulness concerns … and they’re all deeply tied to how we approach this email thing.

Stick around on Wednesdays to hear more!

Thanks for reading.  If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.  Drop me a line in the comments section below and I’ll respond as quickly as I can.  ♠

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 4.17.2017

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

This week we’re going to take a look at self-publishing news from around the world!

In this article, garner some tips from six independent writers were able to make it big in the self-publishing world.

First up, Tracy Bloom, author of No-One Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday, a book which sold over 500,000 ebooks since it’s release in 2013. Tracy wrote this book in 2007, and after not being able to find a single UK publishing company that would pick up her work, she decided to self publish nearly six years later. Her piece ended up being a grand slam, overtaking Dan Brown on the top Kindle UK charts. “Her first three books have since been physically published but her digital sales lead the way (with 250,000 digital copies of her debut novel sold compared to 29,000 in paperback).”

Advice from Tracy? “Think commercial.” She says that the key to her self-publishing success was her ability to study the ways in which people navigate Amazon’s website and get them to stop and look at her work specifically.

Next up: Mel Sheratt, author of Taunting the Dead, which sold over one million ebook copies. That’s right, one million. Mel spent 12 years getting rejected by publishing company after publishing company because of her ‘cross-genre’ writing style which mixes women’s fiction, crime and thriller. “At the end of 2011 she self-released her debut Taunting the Dead which reached No 3 in the Kindle UK fiction chart, topped the police procedurals category and has been downloaded 200,000 times. Mel has written 12 more ebooks – six of which she has published herself.”

Mel’s advice to other self-publishing authors is also based on marketing; she recommends creating a yearly marketing schedule that includes offering your book at different prices throughout the year, that way you can promote your book whenever you’d like.

Janet MacLeod Trotter sold a whopping 800,000 copies of her ebook, The Vanishing of Ruth, a piece of historical fiction she self-published in 2011 after being dropped by her traditional publisher in 2010. Her book rose to number one in the Waterstones crime and romance categories the year she published it. “After the success of her first ebook, she self-published her backlist and now has 22 books to her name. The Tea Planter’s Daughter was one of the top ten bestsellers of 2012 for a self-published author.”

Janet’s advice for self-publishing authors is to constantly revamp their book covers, recommending that you “give your books a new look every so often.” After all, a lot of people will be judging your book by its cover. 😉

Rachael Lucas was able to sell over 150,000 ebook copies of her debut young adult novel, The State of Grace Sometimes Means Fitting in and Standing Out. This was a book Rachel wrote in three months “as a challenge” to herself to “see what might happen.” What happened was that she quickly rose to Amazon’s best seller’s chart.

Rachel’s advice to first-time self-publishing authors is: “Set yourself a writing target,” she says, “‘Signing up to NaNoWriMo – [National Novel Writing Month] a worldwide challenge where anyone is encouraged to write a novel in a month – gave me a time-frame and daily word target, and made starting a book much less daunting. Having written 50,000 words in 30 days, it didn’t seem too much of a challenge to finish writing my first novel.’”

spa-news

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry. This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

Kelly

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Saturday Book Review: “No More Tears”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? 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 to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of Midwest Book Review:

no more tears joseph j sollish

No More Tears

by Joseph J. Sollish

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478779957

Synopsis*:

No More Tears tells the story of a young girl’s aspiration to be a movie star, and what her life becomes in the years after she first leaves her home in New Jersey to travel to Hollywood. Candace Donato lives in many places; Perth Amboy. New York, Century City, Los Angeles. Her “family” is all she lives for.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Critique:

Written with a genuine flair for realism, “No More Tears” by novelist Joseph Sollish is a consistently compelling and unfailingly entertaining read from beginning to end. Certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “No More Tears” is also available in a Kindle format ($3.99).

[ reviewed on The Fiction Shelf of Midwest Book Review ]

Here’s what some other reviewers are saying:

Enjoyed this book a lot! I really liked the main character Candace who is a loving person, often putting her own dreams aside to care for her family, forgiving them when they behave badly, and bouncing back after any setback. A good story!

– Amazon Reviewer Claudia Moore

A real page turner! The author writes with fantastic energy and pacing and will keep your attention from page one. I found myself rooting for Candace. A truly satisfying read.

– Amazon Reviewer Mrs R E Brierley

saturday self-published book review

Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!

Self Publishing Advisor

selfpubicon1

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 4/14/2017

BENEFITS OF WRITING SIGHT AND SOUND SCENES – Part II

As mentioned last week, today’s Readers are addicted to the visual and sound effects offered to them in every part of their lives. However we know that there is nothing to match the human imagination as we read the words of a novel that create our own sight and sound experience.

With that in mind, I will mention one other book which my students selected for class discussion from the World Literature list: The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I’m sure they expected this to be a “quick and easy” grade because it is short and most had read it before. I won’t add their classroom experience here, but only say that they got more out of it than expected. However, now that working with writers of various levels of experience, I’ll share several concepts about Mr. London and his writing expertise that can benefit us, today.

  • London’s stories take the reader out of their comfort zone and force them to imagine, “What if.” Yes, the main character is Buck, the dog. Yet this character symbolizes a common mythic character who wins the day against all odds and returns to the peaceful bliss of nature. Did London develop this thread from reading such novels as Dickens’ Hard Times? Possibly. And it is alive and well today in the multi-media (magazine, book, film) super-hero productions.
  • This novel falls into the genre of “animal fiction.” However its blend of parable, fable and allegory is another reason it has never been out of print since first published in 1903. These three genre categories are excellent venues within which to practice and develop writing skills.
  • Finally, the bold content that almost forces Readers to feel the “flight or fight” adrenalin effect was part of London’s strategy to make a statement against what he saw as the destructive result of industrialization. His personal life experiences “in the wild” touched him deeply and he hoped others could appreciate its inspiration, beauty and value.

Most of us write and develop our novels to accomplish these same goals: offer examples of survival against all odds, inspire Readers toward happier, healthier lifestyles and (this is the BIG goal) never be out of print.

Now…keeping London’s Call of the Wild in mind—and the beauty of sights and sounds he experienced—consider the following book as a potential tool to inspire and develop your own creativity.

art experience and faith by william tolliver squireArt, Experience and Faith by William Tolliver Squires, a retired Art professor at the
University of Georgia and a current sculptor and painter, has been called a “guidebook of one artist’s evolving theory of his creative process.”  “Dr. Squires describes his early artistic career as…misdirected, without grounding in a mature sense of what is important in life and art. He now sees the best work of his life as…how the process is informed by a combination of his intuitive, spiritual self and his practical, rational self.”

I find it totally joyful when discovering additional ways to enhance my writing. It is even more exciting to share these tools with other writers! No matter what season we are in, or what genre we’ve chosen, ALL the tools to develop writing skills will help us produce the best book possible. Once that manuscript is completed then it’s time to publish! GO FOR IT! You’ll never regret it. ⚓︎

Royalene

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.