Marketing Your Self-Published Book

3 Reasons Why Friday is the Best Day to Promote Your Book

Ok, maybe that was a bit of an overstatement…

However, there are some ways that Fridays can work to your advantage.

  • Friday is payday for many people. Payday means more money. More money means more buying power. With that new buying power, people will most likely be more inclined to purchase things they wouldn’t have before – one of those things could be a copy of your book.
  • Friday is at a crossroads that represents a red light for the workweek and a green light for the weekend. We’re ready to relax. What better way to relax than soaking up some sun on the beach or by the pool while reading a new book? Doesn’t your book deserve to reach this audience?
  • Friday is today! Have you ever heard the old saying “there is no time like the present”? Though it may be cliche’, it’s rather apropos when it comes to book marketing. If you haven’t started yet, make haste.
How will you be using your Friday?
Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE CONNORS:
Elise Connors 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.
Book Promotion

Google Self Publishing Promotion

When you are a self published author, sometimes book promotion is about who you know. Other times it is simply about having the time to devote. 

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a fast way to find the people or places that were right for your book? Knowing how to conduct an advanced Internet search that yields applicable results is very important. Luckily, it’s also very easy, and in case you don’t know how, I’m going to show you. Go to the Google website at google.com but instead of simply entering a term, use the “Advanced Search” by clicking on the link that says “Advanced Search” in small type next to the “Search” button. You will find a page that enables you to fine-tune your search. By conducting smarter searches, you will find places to promote your book faster.

You can promote your books on Google for free. You’d sell a lot more books if a lot more people knew about them. Google can help make that happen.

  • Help users discover your books: By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Book Search connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them.
  • Keep your content protected: Users are able to preview a limited number of pages to determine whether they’ve found what they’re looking for.
  • Drive book sales: Links to bookstores, online retailers, and your website make it easy for users to go from browsing to buying — with new ways to buy and access your books coming soon.

Learn more at: https://books.google.com/partner/

Good luck and have fun!

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.
Alternative Marketing Methods, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

6 Ways Watching Real Housewives of New York Can Help You Market Your Book

Do you watch Real Housewives of New York? If not, surely you’ve seen all the press about the show. Did you know that you can learn a lot about how to market your book and build your author brand by watching it? Here are just a few of the lessons to be learned when watching the show for any period of time (some old and some new):

  • Follow trends: Take note from Ramona and her jumping on the “renew your vows” trend. Sure, it is a good idea to be unique most of the time, but sometimes you have to “do the stuff everyone else is doing” in order to get your momentum going. After all – it works well for everyone else – isn’t it at least worth a “try”?
  • Defend the grapes: Bethenny offered to “stomp the grapes” to make wine. Not if Kelly had anything to do with it – she planned to eat those grapes. If you take a stand on some issue or cause that you really believe in and make this public knowledge, that’s a good way to network and build demand for you and your book.
  • Start your own team: It works for the Twilight saga (remember “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob”?) and is even working for RHONY with the “Team Blonde” and “Team Brunette” fiasco. Have you considered starting “teams” for the main characters in your book? This will build audience excitement for sure because people love to choose sides.
  • Refer to yourself in the third person: Did you see how Sonja referred to herself in the third person on the recent reunion show? Well, don’t do it that way, but this is a great way to write an effective author bio that will stand out amongst the crowd. Author bios should never be written in first person (neither should social media profiles and the like).
  • Toss modesty to the wind: Also in the recent reunion show, Kelly mentioned that Cosmo rated her as one of the Five Nicest Celebrities. Why can’t you do the same as an author? Naturally, you don’t want to tout your achievements at inappropriate times, but don’t be afraid to brag a little – especially when it comes to your bestselling author status.
  • Wear cream to the wedding: This is not the best thing to do in “real life”, but it can be very effective when promoting a book. Don’t allow other authors in your genre to get all of the spotlight. It’s OK to steal the show just a bit for yourself.

Many newly-published authors are faced with the question of: “How do I market my book?” Believe it or not, your answer could be as close as your nearest TV set.

Editing Your Self-Published Book

I’ve Hired an Editor – Will My Book Be Perfect?

Today’s post was written by professional copyeditor, Joan Rogers.

When authors are deciding whether to purchase copyediting services, the question is sometimes asked: “Will my book be perfect when you’re done?”

The answer is no, it won’t be perfect. But it will be greatly improved. Authors who see my copyediting samples are often amazed that a small, randomly selected portion of text – a thousand words or fewer – will have dozens of style errors. This doesn’t mean that the author isn’t a good writer; storytelling, pacing, dialogue, and character development are skills and talents separate from knowing the exact usage of a semicolon. But it is the case that technical and style errors can be distracting to a reader. In the case of nonfiction, errors can undermine the writer’s authority, particularly if the text is educational or informational.

Is it possible to achieve a perfect book? Probably not. It’s useful for writers to know that a once-through edit will not catch all errors. This is true regardless of the editing service used; when a book is published with a traditional publisher, it usually goes to a copyeditor, and then to a proofreader. Even with this, extant errors are common in published books; I saw several in Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, one of the major releases in literary fiction last year.

I work on a large number of manuscripts that have already been edited once by professional editors prior to being submitted to me, and I still find errors. This is not because the original editor didn’t do a good job; it’s reflective of the fact that editing and proofreading are two parts of a process.

Joan Rogers ABOUT JOAN ROGERS:
Joan Rogers has provided services as an Author Representative and Editor for Outskirts Press since 2008. She studied at Oberlin College Conservatory. She also edits for several academic and scientific researchers at UC Berkeley, as well as for a nationally known journalist. 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.