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, Cheri Speaks

How to Choose A Genre for Your Book

Once you decide to publish your book, you must choose a genre. This sounds like an easy decision, but it can be one of the most confusing for new authors. Below are six tips to help you choose a genre that will make your book successful.

Wait Until the Manuscript is Finished

Many authors want to decide the genre of their book when they begin working on their manuscript. However, our books  often take on lives of their own and turn out different from what we expected. For instance, you may  start out writing an adult novel but later realize that it would be a great read for young adults. Don’t try to label your book to soon. Trust the creative process.

For Once, General is Better

You may think that a specific genre will help you market your book, but this is one case where general is better. If you choose a genre that is too specific, you may discourage certain buyers from purchasing your book. Don’t limit your readers by being too specific.

Think of Key Words

In today’s world of technology, readers often find books by searching key words. Consider who you want to find your book. What would they type into a search engine? However, don’t let this confuse you will being overly specific.  You want to pick a genre that is effective but not limiting.

You Can Choose More Than One

Many publishers let you choose up to three genres. The first one should be general: fiction or non-fiction. The second and third can be more specific. For instance, you may label your book as Fiction – Mystery or Fiction – Young Adult.

Search Online

Visit the websites of online retailers and search the genre you are considering for your book. Would you want your book placed next to these titles? What does your book have in common with these titles? How is it different from these titles?

Talk to Someone at Your Local Bookstore and Other Authors

The people who work at your local bookstore are up-to-date on publishing trends and can offer great advice when you are considering a genre for your book. Also, ask other authors about their experiences. It is always beneficial to seek tips from published authors. They can provide insight that no class or book can offer.

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

Famous Self-Published Authors: Mark Twain

At some point in your education, you probably had to read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, but did your English teacher ever tell you that the famous novel was originally self-published? Mark Twain reportedly self-published the novel in 1885, selling over 40,000 advanced copies before the publication date. When his book was banned by a public library in Massachuset, his book sales shot up.  Today, there are more than 150 American editions of the novel, and 200,000 copies are sold each year.

The next time someone says that self-publishing is not real publishing or remarks that self-published books are of poorer quality than traditionally published books, tell them that Mark Twain not only sold millions of copies of a self-published book, but he became one of the most well-known and respected names in American literature.

Self-published books are just as reputable as traditionally published books. Not convinced? Check back each month for my post on a famous self-published author. You may be surprised by the names on the list.

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.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-Publishing Weekly Book Review: The Strange Life of Walenty Karnowski

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:

The Strange Life of Walenty Karnowski

Gerald R. Schimidt

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432772260

Faith can be a wonderful thing, but at the same time, it is the catalyst for violence. “The Strange Life of Walenty Karnowski” delves into a conflict of 1842, where Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews go to a subtle war over those who worship evil in the forests of Poland.”The Strange Life of Walenty Karnowski” brings readers in without pulling any punches on faith, and the novel depicts what people do in the name of faith. This book is highly recommended.

Blogging Tips for Authors, Elise Speaks

8 Ways for Authors to “Be” More Successful Bloggers

Many book marketing experts are advocates for blogging. I personally believe that having your own blog allows you to connect with your audience in ways that authors never experienced in the past. It is entirely possible to blog your way to more book sales. Quite a few authors, however, start blogging but give up early on. Why do they do this? More often than not – they are seeking instant gratification of some sort. While a blog has the potential to be a very effective book marketing tool, it can only be as successful as its writer.

So, how can writers market themselves using this sometimes inconspicuous tool?

  1. Be consistent. Many author blogs fail because the author never returns to update them (or does so on a very inconsistent schedule). You must choose a blogging schedule that works for you and stick with it. Even if you are only blogging once per week, stick to that and your visitors will know when to come back for more content.
  2. Be factual. Many times it’s necessary to conduct a bit of research to ensure the information you are posting to your blog is correct. Bloggers are not exempt from the rules of plagiarism, so you if are using someone else’s work, be sure to cite your sources.
  3. Be epic. You should begin every blog post with the goal of writing something that people will love. It should be something they want to share with their family and friends. To determine whether your content is “epic”, use the “Did you see that?” test. Summarize your blog post and try asking yourself (aloud): “Did you see that post about ____ (insert your summary here)?” If it doesn’t sound interesting to you, it’s not worthy of posting to your blog.
  4. Be interactive. When people comment on your blog, reply to them. You should aim to answer every blog comment. As your blog grows, this may not be feasible, but you should stay focused on doing this in the beginning.
  5. Be patient. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of these because the most successful bloggers (authors or otherwise), have to have a great deal of patience. Many times bloggers “talk to themselves” for months before they get even one comment on their blog. This is the time period that most blogs fail. In order to see any success from your blog, you must be able to stick with it.
  6. Be diligent. Make sure to proofread your posts before you publish them. Blatant grammatical/spelling errors can turn readers off of your blog. Keep the readers that take the time to visit your site by double checking your work for mistakes.
  7. Be savvy. Schedule your blog posts. If you know you won’t be available when you normally publish content, use the scheduling feature (if available) of your blogging platform to write the post in advance while sticking to your original schedule.
  8. Be friendly. Two ways you can increase your blog’s traffic are: linking to another blogger’s post within your content (they will likely get notification of this and visit your blog in return) and commenting on other blogger’s blog posts.

What other ways should you “be” to have a more successful blog?

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.