Book Promotion

Radio Interviews for Self-Published Authors

Have you tried to set up radio interviews to promote your self-published book? Keep in mind the more niche the radio station, the more likely you are to secure an on-air review, especially if the radio station’s niche matches the category of your book!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were an easy way to get a list of ALL the radio stations in your state? One that included the station’s frequency, call letters, address, website, and main listening subject matter/format?

Guess what? It’s just that simple. The link below will take you to Radio Locator. Scan the available stations in your area for formats that match your book’s subject matter and then give them a call, or pitch the producer via email or fax or mail. The bottom line is, get your book into their hands and let them know YOU are a published expert that their audience would value hearing about.

Here’s the link:
http://www.radio-locator.com/

Good luck and have fun!
Kelly Schuknecht
selfpublishingadvice.wordpress.com

Choosing a Publisher, Self-Publishing

Tips on Annotation for the Self-Publishing Author

Last week we discussed the book marketing value of professional cover scribing. Annotation provides an avenue to use that externally to enhance that marketing online.

ANNOTATION is used by Ingram during the distribution process. When the book is listed on Amazon or Barnes & Noble’s website, it’s the annotation that fills the PRODUCT DESCRIPTION/OVERVIEW section.   The ANNOTATION is also restricted in length, although very often can be substantially longer than the Back Cover Copy.  Ideally, the ANNOTATION should be as long and as detailed as possible, perhaps requiring multiple headings to separate elements of the ANNOTATION.  The total character count, including spaces, should be as close to 4000 as possible without exceeding it.   It’s okay to include the author biography again in the ANNOTATION, provided a separate heading (Like “About the Author”) separates the content. Both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have the capability of understanding basic HTML formatting tags, so judicious use of several tags can help an ANNOTATION really stand out.  Two specific tags that should be used are the <b>BOLD</b> tags and the <em>italics</em> tags, both of which can help draw a reader’s attention to specific words and phrases within the ANNOTATION. Bullet point and numbered lists are good here, too.

Whew. Have fun. Keep writing.

– Karl Schroeder

Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Self-Published Book Review of the Week: The List

9781439209578_frontcoverThe List

by Carmen Shirkey

 

Candace Saunders is a 30-something with a list of 50-something qualities she wants in her future husband. She meets two men – one is a perfect match for her list, as he earns check after check on her love itinerary. The second is her anti-list. When she falls for both men and has to make a choice, she wonders, can perfect be put on paper?

 

 

Read recent reviews for The List:

From Coffee Time Romance – 4 cups! http://bit.ly/WsQKF
From Love, Romance, Passion -4 stars! http://bit.ly/V911B
From Kay’s Bookshelf – Recommend! http://bit.ly/17mbYQ

Read more about The List at thelistbook.blogspot.com
Buy your copy on Amazon: tinyurl.com/buythelist

For more information or to order the book, visit the Author’s Blog

Self-Publishing

Celebrating International (Self-Published) Children’s Book Day

In honor of International Children’s Book Day we featuring some self-published children’s books:

www.outskirtspress.com/BouncingBilly
http://www.outskirtspress.com/BouncingBilly
www.outskirtspress.com/DawnMenge
http://www.outskirtspress.com/DawnMenge
www.joyfulpaws.com
http://www.joyfulpaws.com
www.outskirtspress.com/DaltonJames
http://www.outskirtspress.com/DaltonJames

 

Read some children’s book reviews at readerviewskids.com

Have fun!
Karl & Kelly
https://selfpublishingadvice.wordpress.com

Book Promotion, Choosing a Publisher, Self-Publishing

Self-publishing Book Pricing Note

Did you know that most publishers charge you the wholesale price (or higher) for your own book unless you buy it in bulk?

The wholesale price! How are you supposed to make any money that way? The wholesale price is what retailers will expect to pay.

Make sure your author copy price is always BELOW wholesale (and if you compare around, you will find that self-publishers with solid author prices are usually dollars-per-book below other publishers).  On a side note, some of these publishers pull authors in with low upfront fees. It becomes apparent where they do make their money.

Some publishers also attempt to conceal this by offering “bulk discounts” on large book orders of 100, 200, 500, or more.

Do you really want to buy 500 copies all the time, just to get a reasonable “per unit” price? Sure, when your book is first published, this might be okay because you’ll need marketing copies.

But what about 1-3 years down the road, when you just want 10 quick copies? Then what will each book cost you? Something to think about…

Have fun and keep writing.

– Karl Schroeder