Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Reviews

Self-publishing Book Marketing: Magazine Reviews

The following list comes compliments of ForeWord magazine in the interest of helping you secure reviews with not only their magazine, but all magazines you pursue.

1. Become familiar with the magazine
2. Read the submission guidelines for each magazine before submitting your book for review
3. Create a good cover letter
4. Include a sales sheet (ask your self-publisher or publishing rep).
5. Follow-up

The best way to familiarize yourself with a magazine you want to review your book is to read the magazine first.

You can usually find submission guidelines for magazines on the magazine’s website.

When sending your book out for review, always include your contact information so the reviewer can get in touch with you if necessary. This should be a part of your cover letter. You can also politely request that a reviewer notify you when/if they review your book (but realize that many may choose not to do this).

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Ask the Book Doctor: Word Usage and Vocabulary

Q: I would like to know of a book or Web site that shows complete sentences in which a specified word is used. I have a good vocabulary and know how to use a thesaurus, but I’m fearful when it comes to promoting a word from my cognitive vocabulary to my active vocabulary; i.e., actually using a word I know in a sentence I write. (For example, I stepped out on a limb to use the word “cognitive.”)

A: First, never use a word in your writing that you wouldn’t use in casual conversation, and you’ll never go wrong.

Next, if you never stretch your own vocabulary, you won’t grow, so after the first caution, I’ll add my favorite source: American Heritage Dictionary. It often, but not always, uses words in a sentence.

A third warning: When you look something up in a thesaurus, be cautious, because each word has its own connotation, and choosing a word from a list does not ensure that the exact meaning you intend will be relayed to the reader. One of my clients for whom English was not a native language, for example, wanted to impart excitement, so after referring to a thesaurus, he wrote, “Oh, no!” he ejaculated. Yes, the sentence and word use are both technically correct, but Americans more often use ejaculate to mean something other than exclaim, so the word choice was less than ideal. It did give this editor a chuckle, however.

Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at http://www.zebraeditor.com.

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self Published Book Review of the Week: Through the Triangle

Through the Triangle

by C.P Stewart

This self-published book was recently reviewed by Reader Views:

August 13, 2005, started off promising for Jake Myers. He and his teenage son Nathan would be deep-sea fishing on a charter boat in the Atlantic Ocean. However, unbeknown to him, a fellow passenger has a dark secret and will stop at nothing to keep it from being discovered.

To make matters worse, a bad storm arises and after it passes, the crew has no idea where they presently are located. After exploring the seemingly deserted land, they discover they have been transported to nearly three-hundred years in the future. They befriend several other people who have “disappeared” in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. However, they also encounter the Azujos who are a race of hooded warriors who patrol the streets and are unfriendly to humans.

This work of science fiction will appeal to all adults. The author demonstrates an impressive imagination through his ideas of incredible futuristic technology. He foresees laser weapons, underground travel by automobile, and food preparation at the touch of a button. He also includes genetic experimentation as well as many other scientific principles to try to explain time travel. I love the science lessons but I was disappointed at the minimum amount of discussion about the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. In fact, most of the characters on the charter seemed to have never heard of the lore.

“Through the Triangle” contains several different elements to keep the story interesting. There is the aforementioned scientific aspect. There is a lot of suspense as they struggle to remain safe from the Azujos. There is an emotional side as the characters realize everyone they knew before they left on their trip have long since died and never found out what happened to their loved ones. It was emotional as they searched the news archives and learned of the events that occurred in the three-hundred years they missed. Sprinkled within the plot is also a bit of romance.

“Through the Triangle” by C.P. Stewart is a novel that will challenge the reader to think about the possibilities for the future. I enjoyed the subject matter and plan to do further research about the Bermuda Triangle and its mysteries.

For more information or to order the book, visit the author’s webpage: www.outskirtspress.com/throughthetriangle

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Viral Marketing

Viral Book Marketing: Video Trailers

Successful self-publishing authors know that book marketing and promotion are part of the deal, and ready to hit the ground running upon publication. Today’s market provides so many new venues to get the word out, including this cool new thing: book video trailers.

This tool alone isn’t going to make you a bestselling author, but used right, could be a colorful piece in your marketing map. Check out the web some interesting dialogue on the topic, and ask your publisher about book video trailers.

Editing Your Self-Published Book, Self-Publishing

Ask the Book Doctor: Punctuation

Q: What is the correct punctuation for the following?

“You makin’ fun of my name, or you be callin’ me a buzzard?” Linus asked.
Kendra’s infuriating “Whatever” was followed by “If the buzzard-shoe
fits, lace it up.”

A: The punctuation is fine as is, as long as the sentence beginning “Kendra’s” starts a new paragraph, which didn’t seem to be the case in the e-mail, but that’s a format issue and not a punctuation issue.

Also not a punctuation issue is my concern about the use of dialect (makin’, callin’) which is not recommended, for quite a few reasons. Rarely can an author maintain the dialect throughout, and when one does, dialectical dialogue grows tedious for readers. Dialect is not only difficult to write but also difficult to read, and many publishers shun it. Instead of dropping letters to show dialect, rely on word choice to show the speaking style of characters, as was skillfully done in the last piece of dialogue, “If the buzzard-shoe fits, lace it up.”

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Through the Triangle

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