Category: Kelly Speaks

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Signings, Kelly Speaks

Frankfurt Book Fair 2011

Book fairs are a great way to promote your book and learn about the publishing industry. Frankfurt Book Fair begins today, October 12th, and lasts until October 16th.

The Frankfurt Book Fair has over 7,300 exhibitors and approximately 290,000 visitors. The exhibitors and visitors travel from over 100 countries to attend more than 3,000 events occurring at the book fair.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is a great place to make deals and establish or develop contacts. The event features seminars, conferences, readings and much more.

For information on attending the event, please visit http://www.frankfurt-book-fair.com/en/.

Also, if you are a visitor or exhibitor at the Frankfurt Book Fair, I’d love to hear about your experience. Please share your comments below.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT:
Kelly Schuknecht works as the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks

5 Ways to Promote Your Book in September

It is back to school time!  Now that summer is over, it’s time to get back the business of promoting your book.  Here are five easy ways to promote your book this month:

  1. I’m a little late this month, but Labor Day was on Monday. What better to do on Labor Day than sit back with a cup of coffee and a nice book to read? Remember that next year.  😉 Labor Day weekend is a great time to ask friends, colleagues and other potential book reviewers to read your book and write a review for you.
  2. Make a list of local independent bookstores you will visit to pitch your book or author event.  To find your local independent bookstores, visit http://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder
  3. Create a CD Media Kit to send out to the media and book buyers.  Be sure to include a high resolution image of your cover, an author bio, synopsis, any recent press and your contact information.
  4. The Beijing Book Fair takes place September 29th through October 2nd. Even if you’re not travelling to Beijing this month, pay attention to the buzz in the publishing industry and keep yourself informed about what’s going on throughout the event.
  5. Use FreeConference.com to record your own teleseminar. You can do this to promote your current book – present on a topic related to your subject matter – or record yourself discussing a different topic and have the recording transcribed into your next book!

DISCUSSION: How are you planning to promote YOUR book this month?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT:
Kelly Schuknecht works as the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks

5 Ways to Promote Your Book in August

Summer is almost over and temperatures are scorching!  During the shuffle of end-of-summer vacations and back to school preparations, don’t forget to keep promoting your book whenever you can.  Here are five easy ways to promote your book this month:

  1. Book Lover’s Day is August 9th.  Check your newspaper for local events.  If you can’t find any, consider planning something at your local library.  Perhaps a reading from a local author?
  2. Create a Book Video to promote your book.  Upload it to YouTube and then share it on all of our social networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google+).  For more ideas on book video marketing, read these five ways to use videos in your book marketing efforts.
  3. If your book was published in 2010 or 2011, enter it into the USA “Best Book” Awards by August 31st.
  4. Back to school time!  If your book is educational, contact schools/teachers about using your book in their class this year or contact  local bookstores who may feature educational fare around this time of year.  If you have written a Children’s book, contact local elementary school teachers to inquire about coming in to read your book to their class.
  5. It’s never too early to plan ahead.  Start planning your fall and winter promotional schedule now.  Consider school and holiday events (Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) that might present an opportunity for you to promote your book and register for them now, order the promotional materials you will need (such as business cards, bookmarks, posters, etc.), and begin stocking up on copies of your book to give away during the holidays.

DISCUSSION: How are you planning to promote YOUR book this month?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT:
Kelly Schuknecht works as the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks

5 Ways to Promote Your Book in July

Summer is here and temperatures are high!  While you’re sitting by the pool or at the beach, don’t forget about the importance of marketing your book.  Here are five ideas for promoting your book this month:

  1. Fourth of July.  If your book is about America, patriotism, US government or a similar topic, you may have lots of opportunities to promote your book to people over this holiday weekend.  Get involved in a local parade or book fair.  Check your newspaper for local events.
  2. Speaking of local, do you have a niche book?  Think about local shops whose clientele might be interested in your book.  Can you put a copy in their waiting area?  Would they be interested in selling copies in their shop?  Prepare a pitch and contact them.  You’ll never know until you ask.
  3. Going on vacation this month?  Be sure to carry business cards with you at all times so you can hand them out when you meet new people and have an opportunity to mention your book.
  4. Create a Facebook Page for your book.  You can do this in 6 easy steps.
  5. Start thinking about the Beijing and Frankfurt Book Fairs coming up.  Now is the time to register.

DISCUSSION: How are you planning to promote YOUR book this month?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT:
Kelly Schuknecht works as the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks

Should authors thank reviewers for reviewing their book?

What do you do when you receive a good review for your book?  Do you thank the reviewer?

Authors often ask me if this is something they should do.  Most reviewers don’t write reviews for anything in return, so they wouldn’t be surprised by not receiving anything in return.  However, if you really appreciated their review and want to take them by surprise, thank them.

I recently reviewed Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal.  Just like the other 40 or so books I have reviewed on Amazon, I didn’t expect any thank you or acknowledgement from the author.  But to my surprise, a few days later, I received this message on my Facebook account:

Was I surprised?  Absolutely!  The personal thank you from the author made me feel a connection with him.  I’m glad I read the book and I’m glad I wrote a review.  If Satyal publishes another book someday, you can be sure I will read and review it!  That is the power of connecting with your readers.

DISCUSSION: Do you typically thank readers for reviewing your book?  If so, how do you do it?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT:
Kelly Schuknecht works as the Director of Author Support for 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.