Content
Appearance
Marketing
Who you Know
The answer --in the order of importance for SALES--is
1) Who you know (all potential buyers or influences)
2) Marketing
3) Cover & Appearance
4) Content
Why?
Who you know makes a difference in finding opportunities to tell people about your book and that's where it begins --whether it is in person or online--it starts with relationships
Marketing --where you talk about the book, how you talk about it, how others talk about it, how often images of the book are seen, or descriptions of the book are heard, affects how well it is remembered and that affects purchasing
Cover and appearance---we are all drawn to imagery --it speaks to us in an immediate way that words cannot. it is the image that most often drives us to pick up the book --to read the back cover, and thumb thru the index...
Content-this is what affects how we as readers perceive value--was it everything we expected and hoped? If so, we are likely to remember the author and be interested in future works.
So, the message is that they are ALL vital--what part is most importance depends on what you are trying to accomplish, but you can't get books into readers hands without relationships....
so, the message is really that its relationships that matter---
Next book blog bit form Deb --platform--why you need it and what it is!
Showing posts with label author helps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author helps. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
June Hall McCash in the Murfreesboro Post--by Deb Simpson
Local author June Hall McCash is well known to many in the Murfreesboro community.
As a former MTSU professor, with many published works, including eight books, McCash has attracted a solid following of readers and friends.
But, few know of the inspirational force that drives her writing and life.
“I believe in the resilience of the human heart and the power of love,” McCash said.
And it is this belief that echoes throughout her words and carries the reader on a journey that imbues her characters’ lives with her beliefs. These ideas are echoed in the reviews of her three most recent works, Almost to Eden, Plum Orchard and, the soon-to-be released, A Titanic Love Story: Ida and Isidor Straus.
McCash said she has traveled extensively and finds that her experiences often creep into her work.
“In Almost to Eden, my character Hector Deliyannis was from Smyrna, Turkey (now Izmir),” she explained. “Hector was a real person, a waiter at the Jekyll Island Club, who is buried in the little cemetery at the north end of the island. I had the good fortune to visit his hometown during a trip to Turkey shortly before the book was published. It certainly helped to know the terrain.”
People who know McCash, or her work, often say they aren’t surprised to learn that Jekyll Island, Ga., is a place that both inspires and invigorates her.
“Most of my writing I do at my desk, although much of it I do at Jekyll Island, where there are fewer interruptions and where I feel surrounded by history and great stories I want to tell,” she said. “But, I write almost anywhere if need be – on my porch, waiting in line, while I’m traveling, whenever there is time and I happen to have a pen and paper.”
For those who don’t know McCash, she is better known for her nonfiction books documenting the history of Jekyll Island, Ga., the place where the rich and famous vacationed 100 years ago.
McCash doesn’t just document history with words, she also does it with a collection of vintage photos, one of which graces the cover of Almost To Eden.
“When you look at a vintage photo, you are looking into someone else’s life,” she explained. “You are looking backward through time and into an era that no longer exists, nor will exist ever again. ... I’ve collected vintage photos for perhaps 15 or 20 years. I recall passing up a tintype of a Civil War soldier, which was being sold for $15. I’ve regretted it ever since. Most of my photos are cabinet cards, though I also have tintypes and ambrotypes. I probably have 50 to 75 good photos, maybe more – mostly of women and children or family groups. Every one of those faces and poses tells a story. Each one represents a life that could be discovered and written about – so many stories to tell, so little time.”
Knowing this, it is not surprising that much of her work focuses on the past, both in her nonfiction works and in her recent novels.
“Most critics consider a sense of place to be a quintessential element of the Southern novel,” she said, “and Jekyll Island is one of the places in the South that has inspired me most, perhaps because it has been a special home to people from both (the) North and South.”
She added her most recent novels also deal with the relationship between the North and South.
“For example, Almost to Eden is set on Jekyll and in New York City, (and) Plum Orchard is set on Cumberland Island and in Groton, Conn.,” she said. “Even the Strauses, owners of Macy’s Department Store, have a connection to Georgia, for Isidor grew up in the little town of Talbotton, Ga., where his father was a merchant.”
Her up-coming novel, A Titanic Love Story, follows the Strauses, who chose to die together when the ship sinks.
“McCash offers us a lucid portrait of two prominent and wealthy Americans who led a noble life, and who chose a courageous death,” said Paul A. Kurzman, great-grandson of the Strauses and chairman of the Board of Directors of The Straus Historical Society. “With an ever observant eye for poignant detail, the author has penned a biography that will have both interdisciplinary relevance for the scholar and a very strong popular appeal. It is such a powerful American story.”
McCash has been looking for that American story since she was 6 years old.
“I once heard an author say she wrote because she couldn’t do anything else,” she said. “What she meant was that it was in her blood, that she was unable to refrain from writing. I think that describes me. If I never published another book I would still write.”
As a former MTSU professor, with many published works, including eight books, McCash has attracted a solid following of readers and friends.
But, few know of the inspirational force that drives her writing and life.
“I believe in the resilience of the human heart and the power of love,” McCash said.
And it is this belief that echoes throughout her words and carries the reader on a journey that imbues her characters’ lives with her beliefs. These ideas are echoed in the reviews of her three most recent works, Almost to Eden, Plum Orchard and, the soon-to-be released, A Titanic Love Story: Ida and Isidor Straus.
McCash said she has traveled extensively and finds that her experiences often creep into her work.
“In Almost to Eden, my character Hector Deliyannis was from Smyrna, Turkey (now Izmir),” she explained. “Hector was a real person, a waiter at the Jekyll Island Club, who is buried in the little cemetery at the north end of the island. I had the good fortune to visit his hometown during a trip to Turkey shortly before the book was published. It certainly helped to know the terrain.”
People who know McCash, or her work, often say they aren’t surprised to learn that Jekyll Island, Ga., is a place that both inspires and invigorates her.
“Most of my writing I do at my desk, although much of it I do at Jekyll Island, where there are fewer interruptions and where I feel surrounded by history and great stories I want to tell,” she said. “But, I write almost anywhere if need be – on my porch, waiting in line, while I’m traveling, whenever there is time and I happen to have a pen and paper.”
For those who don’t know McCash, she is better known for her nonfiction books documenting the history of Jekyll Island, Ga., the place where the rich and famous vacationed 100 years ago.
McCash doesn’t just document history with words, she also does it with a collection of vintage photos, one of which graces the cover of Almost To Eden.
“When you look at a vintage photo, you are looking into someone else’s life,” she explained. “You are looking backward through time and into an era that no longer exists, nor will exist ever again. ... I’ve collected vintage photos for perhaps 15 or 20 years. I recall passing up a tintype of a Civil War soldier, which was being sold for $15. I’ve regretted it ever since. Most of my photos are cabinet cards, though I also have tintypes and ambrotypes. I probably have 50 to 75 good photos, maybe more – mostly of women and children or family groups. Every one of those faces and poses tells a story. Each one represents a life that could be discovered and written about – so many stories to tell, so little time.”
Knowing this, it is not surprising that much of her work focuses on the past, both in her nonfiction works and in her recent novels.
“Most critics consider a sense of place to be a quintessential element of the Southern novel,” she said, “and Jekyll Island is one of the places in the South that has inspired me most, perhaps because it has been a special home to people from both (the) North and South.”
She added her most recent novels also deal with the relationship between the North and South.
“For example, Almost to Eden is set on Jekyll and in New York City, (and) Plum Orchard is set on Cumberland Island and in Groton, Conn.,” she said. “Even the Strauses, owners of Macy’s Department Store, have a connection to Georgia, for Isidor grew up in the little town of Talbotton, Ga., where his father was a merchant.”
Her up-coming novel, A Titanic Love Story, follows the Strauses, who chose to die together when the ship sinks.
“McCash offers us a lucid portrait of two prominent and wealthy Americans who led a noble life, and who chose a courageous death,” said Paul A. Kurzman, great-grandson of the Strauses and chairman of the Board of Directors of The Straus Historical Society. “With an ever observant eye for poignant detail, the author has penned a biography that will have both interdisciplinary relevance for the scholar and a very strong popular appeal. It is such a powerful American story.”
McCash has been looking for that American story since she was 6 years old.
“I once heard an author say she wrote because she couldn’t do anything else,” she said. “What she meant was that it was in her blood, that she was unable to refrain from writing. I think that describes me. If I never published another book I would still write.”
Friday, February 4, 2011
To Family and Friends of Authors!
If You Love a Book Author and Want to Help Them ...
30 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love
Eileen Flanagan, author of The Wisdom to Know the Difference, wrote a blog post about a year ago telling friends of book authors how they could help the author sell more books. You can read her blog post here: http://bit.ly/9v5TgA.
I thought I'd include some of the highlights of her help list, add my own comments, and provide a few more ways that friends can help book authors to sell more books.
If you have a friend who is a book author, please use these suggestions to help them out. If you are a book author, please share this page with your friends (so they can help you out).
1. Buy your friend's book. Encourage other friends to buy the book. Go to your local library or bookstore and encourage them to buy the book. Buy books as gifts.
2. Don't put off buying the book. Don't wait for the holidays to buy the book as a gift. First, the sooner you buy, the more confidence you'll inspire in your friend. Second, media and other decision makers pick up on a book based on the momentum the book inspires. The more sales at the beginning of the book's life, the more attention it will get from key decision makers, the media, and consumers.
3. Where should you buy the book? First choice: the indie bookstore nearest you (that will help your friend get her book into that store on a regular basis). Second choice: a chain bookstore like Borders or Barnes & Noble (if they start selling the book locally, they might buy books for more stores in the chain). Third choice: the author's website (the author makes the most money when selling direct). Fourth choice: buy direct from the author. Fifth choice: Buy from Amazon.com (preferably from the link on the author's website).
4. Recommend your friend's book. If you like the book, recommend it to friends. Blog about it. Tweet a review or mention. Share a note on Facebook. Recommend the book to your book group. Review her book on Amazon.com, BN.com, GoodReads, Library Thing, and other reader social networks.
5. Tell your friend what you like about the book. Provide your friend with support by telling him something you like about his book. Was it a good read? Did it move you to tears or laughter? Did you learn something new?
6. Help your friend get speaking engagements. If your friend is comfortable speaking, recommend your friend to your Rotary Club, Jaycees, church, Friends of the Library, bookseller, garden club, school, etc.
7. Recommend your friend's website. Link to it from your website, blog, Facebook page, etc. Tweet about it. When your friend writes a blog post, link to it. If your friend tweets something great, retweet it. Feature a quote from your friend's book on your website. Or tweet the quote.
8. Create a Wikipedia page for your friend. While authors can't create their own Wikipedia page, other people can. Every book author deserves a Wikipedia page, since a published book grants the author at least a modicum of fame. On the Wikipedia page, feature a short bio, a bibliography, a link to the author's website.
9. Help your friend with the media. If you know of any newspaper editors or reporters, magazine editors, radio producers or hosts, TV show hosts or producers, columnists, bloggers, etc., send them a copy of the book or a note about the author. Or tell your friend about your connection, and introduce her to your contacts.
10. Pray. Prayer always helps. Pray for your friend and his book. If you're not into prayer, ask your favorite tree to help.
11. Ask. Ask your friend how you can help her. You may have some talent, connection, specialized knowledge, etc. that might be just the thing she needs. Or they might just need some of your time to help pack and ship some books or make a few phone calls.
12. Do a video review of the book and post it on YouTube and other video sharing websites.
13. Help your friend make some videos for the book. Every author needs a cameraperson, a scriptwriter, a producer. Again, share on YouTube and other video sharing websites.
14. Look for specialty retailers. As you drive around your own hometown or a nearby larger city, keep on the lookout for specialty retailers that might be interested in selling your friend's books. Cookbooks in gourmet shows, do-it-yourself books in hardware stores, children's books in toy stores, art or history books at museum shops. Make the contacts yourself or pass them on to your friend to follow up.
15. Look for other sales venues. If your friend's book is about retirement, check out accountants, tax lawyers, etc. who might be interested in buying copies to give to their clients. Health books, children's books, and cookbooks might interest doctor and dentist offices. Health clubs might be interested in exercise or diet books. Again, make the contacts yourself or pass them on to your friend to follow up.
16. Suggest catalogs, associations, and other special sales opportunities. If you receive mail order catalogs that feature books like your friend's book, tell her abour the catalog. The same with associations, groups, corporations, etc. that might be interested in buying bulk copies of your friend's book.
17. Help them sell rights. If your friend's novel would make a great movie and you have a connection to an A-list actor or producer who might be interested in making the movie, introduce your friend to your connection. The same with TV producers, audio publishers, agents, etc.
18. Be a mentor. Provide feedback on your friend's marketing ideas, book proposals, news releases, book covers, etc. Share your experience, if you have any, on marketing, writing, publishing, printing, design, etc.
19. Form a mastermind group. Create a group of five or so knowledgeable people who can help your friend with the writing, publishing, or marketing of his or her book. You can meet regularly (at least once a month) live, via phone calls, or via online webinars.
20. Write a testimonial. Or write an introduction to the book. Blurb it (give a great selling quote that can go on the back cover of the book).
21. Social network for your friend. Tweet about your friend's book. Retweet his tweets. Engage in a conversation with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Write comments on your friend's blog. Interaction and activity increase any person's visibility on the Internet and the search engines.
22. Champion your friend's book. When you visit bookstores, make sure they have your friend's book in stock. If they do, then put the book face out on the bookshelf.
23. Seed your friend's book. If you can afford to buy a few extra copies, start leaving them around town. Leave a copy on the bus. Donate a copy to the library. Leave a copy in a waiting room. Every additional book out in the world helps to generate exposure for your friend's book while also increasing the word-of-mouth about the book.
24. Host your friend. If your friend wants to do a book tour and you live in a city he wants to visit, offer to put him up at your home. Drive her around town to her media appearances and book events. Pick him up at the airport. Take him back afterwards. Do whatever you can to make their book tour in your town the best ever. You can, of course, also help her set up a tour in your town, with media interviews and author events.
25. Recommend your friend's book to your reading group. If you belong to a reading group, suggest your friend's book as part of your reading program. Or at least tell your reading group about the book.
26. Sell their books at your events. If you speak, do seminars, or display at trade shows or fairs, offer to sell your friend's book along with your book, crafts, tapes, or whatever you sell.
27. Reciprocal link. Set up links from your websites to your friend's book or author website. Better yet, create a special page recommending your friend's book or speeches and then link to his or her website.
28. Interview them. If you host an Internet radio show, podcast, or teleseminar series, interview your friend.
29. Create other products. Help your author friend generate other products to sell. Interview them for a CD or DVD product. Create a joint webinar. Compile a collection of articles written by your friend and other friends.
30. Buy your friend a copy of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Okay, this is a little selfish on my part, but your friend will love the gift and gain incredible value from reading the book and acting on all the ideas in the book.
30 Ways to Help a Book Author You Love
Eileen Flanagan, author of The Wisdom to Know the Difference, wrote a blog post about a year ago telling friends of book authors how they could help the author sell more books. You can read her blog post here: http://bit.ly/9v5TgA.
I thought I'd include some of the highlights of her help list, add my own comments, and provide a few more ways that friends can help book authors to sell more books.
If you have a friend who is a book author, please use these suggestions to help them out. If you are a book author, please share this page with your friends (so they can help you out).
1. Buy your friend's book. Encourage other friends to buy the book. Go to your local library or bookstore and encourage them to buy the book. Buy books as gifts.
2. Don't put off buying the book. Don't wait for the holidays to buy the book as a gift. First, the sooner you buy, the more confidence you'll inspire in your friend. Second, media and other decision makers pick up on a book based on the momentum the book inspires. The more sales at the beginning of the book's life, the more attention it will get from key decision makers, the media, and consumers.
3. Where should you buy the book? First choice: the indie bookstore nearest you (that will help your friend get her book into that store on a regular basis). Second choice: a chain bookstore like Borders or Barnes & Noble (if they start selling the book locally, they might buy books for more stores in the chain). Third choice: the author's website (the author makes the most money when selling direct). Fourth choice: buy direct from the author. Fifth choice: Buy from Amazon.com (preferably from the link on the author's website).
4. Recommend your friend's book. If you like the book, recommend it to friends. Blog about it. Tweet a review or mention. Share a note on Facebook. Recommend the book to your book group. Review her book on Amazon.com, BN.com, GoodReads, Library Thing, and other reader social networks.
5. Tell your friend what you like about the book. Provide your friend with support by telling him something you like about his book. Was it a good read? Did it move you to tears or laughter? Did you learn something new?
6. Help your friend get speaking engagements. If your friend is comfortable speaking, recommend your friend to your Rotary Club, Jaycees, church, Friends of the Library, bookseller, garden club, school, etc.
7. Recommend your friend's website. Link to it from your website, blog, Facebook page, etc. Tweet about it. When your friend writes a blog post, link to it. If your friend tweets something great, retweet it. Feature a quote from your friend's book on your website. Or tweet the quote.
8. Create a Wikipedia page for your friend. While authors can't create their own Wikipedia page, other people can. Every book author deserves a Wikipedia page, since a published book grants the author at least a modicum of fame. On the Wikipedia page, feature a short bio, a bibliography, a link to the author's website.
9. Help your friend with the media. If you know of any newspaper editors or reporters, magazine editors, radio producers or hosts, TV show hosts or producers, columnists, bloggers, etc., send them a copy of the book or a note about the author. Or tell your friend about your connection, and introduce her to your contacts.
10. Pray. Prayer always helps. Pray for your friend and his book. If you're not into prayer, ask your favorite tree to help.
11. Ask. Ask your friend how you can help her. You may have some talent, connection, specialized knowledge, etc. that might be just the thing she needs. Or they might just need some of your time to help pack and ship some books or make a few phone calls.
12. Do a video review of the book and post it on YouTube and other video sharing websites.
13. Help your friend make some videos for the book. Every author needs a cameraperson, a scriptwriter, a producer. Again, share on YouTube and other video sharing websites.
14. Look for specialty retailers. As you drive around your own hometown or a nearby larger city, keep on the lookout for specialty retailers that might be interested in selling your friend's books. Cookbooks in gourmet shows, do-it-yourself books in hardware stores, children's books in toy stores, art or history books at museum shops. Make the contacts yourself or pass them on to your friend to follow up.
15. Look for other sales venues. If your friend's book is about retirement, check out accountants, tax lawyers, etc. who might be interested in buying copies to give to their clients. Health books, children's books, and cookbooks might interest doctor and dentist offices. Health clubs might be interested in exercise or diet books. Again, make the contacts yourself or pass them on to your friend to follow up.
16. Suggest catalogs, associations, and other special sales opportunities. If you receive mail order catalogs that feature books like your friend's book, tell her abour the catalog. The same with associations, groups, corporations, etc. that might be interested in buying bulk copies of your friend's book.
17. Help them sell rights. If your friend's novel would make a great movie and you have a connection to an A-list actor or producer who might be interested in making the movie, introduce your friend to your connection. The same with TV producers, audio publishers, agents, etc.
18. Be a mentor. Provide feedback on your friend's marketing ideas, book proposals, news releases, book covers, etc. Share your experience, if you have any, on marketing, writing, publishing, printing, design, etc.
19. Form a mastermind group. Create a group of five or so knowledgeable people who can help your friend with the writing, publishing, or marketing of his or her book. You can meet regularly (at least once a month) live, via phone calls, or via online webinars.
20. Write a testimonial. Or write an introduction to the book. Blurb it (give a great selling quote that can go on the back cover of the book).
21. Social network for your friend. Tweet about your friend's book. Retweet his tweets. Engage in a conversation with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Write comments on your friend's blog. Interaction and activity increase any person's visibility on the Internet and the search engines.
22. Champion your friend's book. When you visit bookstores, make sure they have your friend's book in stock. If they do, then put the book face out on the bookshelf.
23. Seed your friend's book. If you can afford to buy a few extra copies, start leaving them around town. Leave a copy on the bus. Donate a copy to the library. Leave a copy in a waiting room. Every additional book out in the world helps to generate exposure for your friend's book while also increasing the word-of-mouth about the book.
24. Host your friend. If your friend wants to do a book tour and you live in a city he wants to visit, offer to put him up at your home. Drive her around town to her media appearances and book events. Pick him up at the airport. Take him back afterwards. Do whatever you can to make their book tour in your town the best ever. You can, of course, also help her set up a tour in your town, with media interviews and author events.
25. Recommend your friend's book to your reading group. If you belong to a reading group, suggest your friend's book as part of your reading program. Or at least tell your reading group about the book.
26. Sell their books at your events. If you speak, do seminars, or display at trade shows or fairs, offer to sell your friend's book along with your book, crafts, tapes, or whatever you sell.
27. Reciprocal link. Set up links from your websites to your friend's book or author website. Better yet, create a special page recommending your friend's book or speeches and then link to his or her website.
28. Interview them. If you host an Internet radio show, podcast, or teleseminar series, interview your friend.
29. Create other products. Help your author friend generate other products to sell. Interview them for a CD or DVD product. Create a joint webinar. Compile a collection of articles written by your friend and other friends.
30. Buy your friend a copy of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Okay, this is a little selfish on my part, but your friend will love the gift and gain incredible value from reading the book and acting on all the ideas in the book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)