Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Contests, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

Why Self-Published Authors Should Consider Foreword Firsts

Competitions are one of the best way for self-published authors to market their books, increase exposure and improve credibility. Unfortunately, most authors aren’t aware of all the competitions available to them. For instance, it has been brought to my attention that many authors are not aware of Foreword Firsts, a debut fiction competition designed to showcase the best print-on-demand and self-published titles. Here is everything you need to know to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

How It Works

If you’re a first-time author who self-published your book, you’re eligible to enter. For the Summer/Autumn 2011 contest, entries for books published July through December 2011 will be accepted through January 10, 2012.

The cost is $25 per title entered. Mail your entry to the address provided below, and  ForeWord’s editors will review the selections and cull the best titles. Winners will be announced, published and posted January 30, 2012, and they will receive a free Clarion Review.

Why Enter

It’s affordable marketing you can’t afford to pass up. As a self-published author, you know the value of a book review. However, it can be difficult for new self-published authors to receive a book review.

However, if your title makes the ForeWord Firsts list, it will be sent out to 4,000+ book publishing insiders and buyers,  and it will be posted for 125,000+ web viewers to see. It’s the best buzz for the buck!

To enter this competition, please send your books to: ForeWord Firsts 425 Boardman Ave. Traverse City, MI. 49684

 

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.
Cheri Speaks

5W’s of Using an Imprint

One of the many decisions that authors must make is whether or not to use their own imprint, but like all facets of publishing, this decision can be confusing. To help answer your questions about imprints, I will discuss this topic using the 5W’s.

What is an imprint?

An imprint is the trade mark name under which your book is published. Many publishing companies have several imprints, and they choose an imprint depending on the type of book being published. As a self-published author, you have the ability to create your own imprint or use the imprint of your publishing company.

Why would you use your own imprint?

There are several reasons why authors choose to use their own imprint. Here are just a few.

* Full control – Authors want full control of whow their book is identified, discovered and sourced.

*Industry Standards – Depending on your marketing plans, a personal imprint may be the best option. For instance, textbook authors typically use their own imprints to make business with wholesalers easier.

Association – When you publish your book with a specific company and use their imprint, your book is associated with all of the other books that are published at that company. Some times, self-published authors don’t take advantage of all the services available to them. They might skip the professional copy editing services or choose a poorly designed cover because of a tight budget. Using your own imprint allows you to take advantage of all the services offered by self publishing companies without being associated with the poorly developed books sometimes published by those companies.

Credibility and Branding – By using your own imprint, you are building a brand for your current and future books. If you are an expert in your genre or topic, an imprint can help increase your credibility.

When do you choose an imprint?

You must choose your imprint early in the publication process because your imprint will be printed on all your books. Also, if you have a specific name picked out, you want to secure it before anyone else uses it.

Who can choose an imprint?

Anyone self publishing a book can create an imprint. Typically, the self-publishing company will still assist the author with other tasks such as inventory and accounting even if the author chooses to use a personal imprint.

How do you create an imprint?

If you decide to create an imprint, it is important to research your company name to avoid creating a duplicate. Also, talk to your self-publishing company to find out their specific process for creating an imprint.

I’d love to hear your comments and questions about imprints. Please feel free to comment on this post, and I will try to respond to your questions individually or address your questions in future posts.

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING: Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.
Wendy Speaks

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is a classic children’s adventure novel written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. The novel tells the story of Milo, a bored, young boy who receives a magical tollbooth that transports him to the Kingdom of Wisdom. Since publication, The Phantom Tollbooth has been adapted into a film and play.

Published in 1961, The Phantom Tollbooth is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In honor of this children’s classic, take a chance and publish your own children’s book. You never know, your book might just be the next Phantom Tollbooth.

ABOUT WENDY STETINA: Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction, or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Wendy Stetina can put you on the right path.
Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

3 Things that are Wrong with Your Book Marketing Plan

If you’re following the advice that you find on every site that talks about marketing a self-published book, you have already created a book marketing plan. From this, you may have tried to use various marketing methods (i.e. virtual book tours, book signings, etc.). However, your sales statistics aren’t showing any signs of improvement.

How could this be? You are following every piece of advice you have received to the letter. It may be that your book marketing plan’s structure is, in fact, costing you sales. This is actually a fairly common problem among self-publishing authors.

Here are a few ways that your book marketing plan is working against you:

  1. You haven’t clearly defined your target market. When you wrote your first book, you knew that everyone would love it. It would make you the talk of the town (or maybe even the talk of the nation or globe). It would be the “it” book that everyone would want to read. That’s a Book Marketing Planrather lofty goal. Even the most successful authors (Stephen King, Stephanie Meyer, etc.) aren’t able to reach EVERYONE with their books. That’s fine for them, though. They have developed a very loyal audience of readers who are committed to them and their books. That’s the type of audience you want to seek out. Figure out who will love your books and focus on marketing to them. If you don’t, you may find yourself wasting quite a bit of effort attempting to turn someone who loves horror books into a romance novel lover.
  2. You don’t know what differentiates your book from the other books available to your target market. Can you tell me why your book is better than any other book on the market? Is there a lesson taught in your book? Are your characters easier to relate to? There has to be a reason why I want to read your story about vampires versus reading Twilight. Find out what makes your book special and use that as your unique value proposition.
  3. You don’t update your book marketing plan on a regular basis. The book marketing industry, like any other, is changing rapidly. If you don’t keep your plans up to date, you can easily become irrelevant. I recommend that authors review and update their book marketing plan at least once per year.

Have you been making any of these mistakes? How did you bounce back to have a book marketing plan that “sticks”?

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Unlocking Potential

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 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 by Midwest Book Review:

Unlocking Potential

Hilderbrand Pelzer III

 Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432770273

Crime and education come together more often than one would think. “Unlocking Potential: Organizing a School Inside a Prison” is a guide to prison-based education to help those youths who are incarcerated not to lose their way  and to help them turn around their the future. “Unlocking Potential” is strongly recommended for those in charge of education of imprisoned youths.