Most authors think the most important decision is whether the main character lives or dies. But if you self publisher or go with a small press, the most important decision you will ever make is what cover will befront your book.
90% of all books are sold based on cover art. Remember that, it's a fact that is ground into the head of everyone in the publishing industry. Cover art literally makes or breaks a book.
Now, good cover art should be good art, but that is not the principle you need most to achieve. Book companies have spent a great deal of time, effort and money teaching book buyers what a book is based on it's cover. So there you go you can judge a book by it's cover.
Do an experiment, go into the book store and look at your favorite author. Then go and look for authors in the same genre. You will notice they all have similar covers. There might be three or four variations, but they all look similar. Especially among genres. This is less aesthetics and more psychological advertising. If Fabio is on the cover, it's a romance like the last one you read with Fabio on the cover.
It is important for the images you find there to be of good quality, but let's face it, the artwork on V.C. Andrews books is nothing you would hang over your hearth. It's more about elements and placement. The point of cover art is much the same as a hook. You want to make the picture so intriguing that the reader looks at it and desperately wonders what is beneath it. Conversely, you want them to look at it and find it so familiar, they know what to expect.
The first mistake most authors make is to make their own cover art. Unless you are a commercial artist, it's not a good idea. And if you decide to go the route of small press, look at their catalog and the artwork them have out there. If you don't like it, chances are no one else will too.
There are a lot of inexpensive options out there for small presses and self publishers. Most POD's and e-book companies offer artist services. It is worth it to you to pay for them. Look at the art before you pay, though and make sure you get approval on the work. Do your research, too. Look at other books like yours and find out what the industry standards is for your genre. Then make sure yours are similar. You need to be competitive. You only get one chance to make a first impression and and in the publishing industry, your cover art is your first impression.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Getting results - Tomoson, Bloggerdise
Life is often a fair amount of trial and error. You try something, it works or it doesn't you try something else. And if you are a blogger, you recommend or you don't.
Last time I blogged, I mentioned two sites, Tomoson and Bloggerdise, where entrepreneurs - especially writers, can put their work out there for bloggers to try out and review. Well, the results are in.
Tomoson. I found it to be a little difficult to navigate but after some trying, it got better. It's simple with only a few commands. I would suggest that you sign in as a promoter, not a blogger. It will remove the confusion. The menu system is the issue. You get different menus on different pages and there is no big shiny red button that says Messages. That being said the real issue is results and BOY I got 'em. I've had 15 respondents in 2 days. Wow. I'm very happy.
Some other things writers need to consider before opening their book to review - How many do you want to give away? (I say the more the merrier. Bloggers can get your product in front of hundreds, or even thousands of buyers. I'd say invite them to the party and pay for the cab!) Also, How are you going to get the book to the bloggers. You might save time by telling the bloggers up from to send you their e-mail addresses. You probably want to include as much contact info as possible and a blurb and maybe even a link to an excerpt. Entice them in. And don't cherry pick your bloggers first time out. You will get a lot of stay at home mom websites you might be tempted to reject. But understand, your demographic is (Guess what?) Stay at home moms. The demographic for genre fiction is the same as for soap operas. Stay at home moms and college students. Sure, Guys with tattoo shirts and satanic goatees might talk about horror, but they are watching gory movies, not reading books for the most part. It's mom. My theory is, behind every company website, every blog, every single facebook role play account is a person. That person, if they have friended me on Facebook or came to my website are interested in me and my book. I don't turn any money away. Don't discount anyone. if they ask for it.
As for Bloggerdise, I am less impressed. It is even more confusing and I have had no results at all. It is difficult to use and understand and all in all, has produced no results other then frustration. You might have different results, but I might not use them again.
Last time I blogged, I mentioned two sites, Tomoson and Bloggerdise, where entrepreneurs - especially writers, can put their work out there for bloggers to try out and review. Well, the results are in.
Tomoson. I found it to be a little difficult to navigate but after some trying, it got better. It's simple with only a few commands. I would suggest that you sign in as a promoter, not a blogger. It will remove the confusion. The menu system is the issue. You get different menus on different pages and there is no big shiny red button that says Messages. That being said the real issue is results and BOY I got 'em. I've had 15 respondents in 2 days. Wow. I'm very happy.
Some other things writers need to consider before opening their book to review - How many do you want to give away? (I say the more the merrier. Bloggers can get your product in front of hundreds, or even thousands of buyers. I'd say invite them to the party and pay for the cab!) Also, How are you going to get the book to the bloggers. You might save time by telling the bloggers up from to send you their e-mail addresses. You probably want to include as much contact info as possible and a blurb and maybe even a link to an excerpt. Entice them in. And don't cherry pick your bloggers first time out. You will get a lot of stay at home mom websites you might be tempted to reject. But understand, your demographic is (Guess what?) Stay at home moms. The demographic for genre fiction is the same as for soap operas. Stay at home moms and college students. Sure, Guys with tattoo shirts and satanic goatees might talk about horror, but they are watching gory movies, not reading books for the most part. It's mom. My theory is, behind every company website, every blog, every single facebook role play account is a person. That person, if they have friended me on Facebook or came to my website are interested in me and my book. I don't turn any money away. Don't discount anyone. if they ask for it.
As for Bloggerdise, I am less impressed. It is even more confusing and I have had no results at all. It is difficult to use and understand and all in all, has produced no results other then frustration. You might have different results, but I might not use them again.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Reviews
I want to thank my friend Stephanie Barmann for getting me hip to the following stuff.
On of the more important facets of your promotion campaign will be reviews. Lots of people read them and but the books or films based on what their favorite reviewer says. However, if you are like me, you won't get a response from the reviewer at the Los Angeles Times. (Seriously, I didn't even get a Snoopy letter - you know, thanks for your submission and thanks for not submitting again) So how does a self published author or a small press publisher or small indy film maker get reviews?
Internet to the rescue! There are a ton of new reviewers out there who want to review your book or film. And the good news is they are all in one centralized location, or rather, several centralized locations.
Bloggers are the new reviewers.
Tomoson.com -http://www.tomoson.com/ and Bloggerdise.com - https://www.bloggerdise.com/account/frm_modify.cfm are two sites that allow you to give away your product to reviewers - in your case, electronic copies of your books or screeners of your film. You can reach thousands of people all at once. It's easy to set up, you should open an account as a promoter, not a blogger for these purposes.
And having a blog isn't a bad idea either. You should do everything you can to get your name out there. Blogs, both reading and comment and having one yourself are great ways to let people know the real you and to promote you books. Just be sure you aren't comments simply to push your book. Try instead making a comment on the blog itself, add a salient reference and then sign with your website or tie it to your book or film.
There is also a site you can use to see how well you are being heard on the internet, it's called Klout.com. It is an invaluable tool. It tells you how much you influence and how good your network is. Sign up today. You need to make that number as high as possible.
Finally. I want to mention virtual book tours. I am sure these can be used for films as well. You can have your director or screenwriter do the tour and you never have to leave home. This is wonderful for authors. These are often set up by companies. You can pay hundreds of dollars for on month tours and it is probably with it, they can get you in some pretty big papers, but there are also some really good free sites like http://nurtureyourbooks.com/vbtblog/?p=2682. I haven't done much research on this and would be interested in feed back. I'm going to try them myself. :D
Explore these websites and good marketing!
On of the more important facets of your promotion campaign will be reviews. Lots of people read them and but the books or films based on what their favorite reviewer says. However, if you are like me, you won't get a response from the reviewer at the Los Angeles Times. (Seriously, I didn't even get a Snoopy letter - you know, thanks for your submission and thanks for not submitting again) So how does a self published author or a small press publisher or small indy film maker get reviews?
Internet to the rescue! There are a ton of new reviewers out there who want to review your book or film. And the good news is they are all in one centralized location, or rather, several centralized locations.
Bloggers are the new reviewers.
Tomoson.com -http://www.tomoson.com/ and Bloggerdise.com - https://www.bloggerdise.com/account/frm_modify.cfm are two sites that allow you to give away your product to reviewers - in your case, electronic copies of your books or screeners of your film. You can reach thousands of people all at once. It's easy to set up, you should open an account as a promoter, not a blogger for these purposes.
And having a blog isn't a bad idea either. You should do everything you can to get your name out there. Blogs, both reading and comment and having one yourself are great ways to let people know the real you and to promote you books. Just be sure you aren't comments simply to push your book. Try instead making a comment on the blog itself, add a salient reference and then sign with your website or tie it to your book or film.
There is also a site you can use to see how well you are being heard on the internet, it's called Klout.com. It is an invaluable tool. It tells you how much you influence and how good your network is. Sign up today. You need to make that number as high as possible.
Finally. I want to mention virtual book tours. I am sure these can be used for films as well. You can have your director or screenwriter do the tour and you never have to leave home. This is wonderful for authors. These are often set up by companies. You can pay hundreds of dollars for on month tours and it is probably with it, they can get you in some pretty big papers, but there are also some really good free sites like http://nurtureyourbooks.com/vbtblog/?p=2682. I haven't done much research on this and would be interested in feed back. I'm going to try them myself. :D
Explore these websites and good marketing!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
How booksellers work
I've been in the book business a long time. I started in Indy Book stores, then moved to a chain, then a wholesaler. One of the larger wholesalers in the world, actually. I love books and book people. And because of who I worked for and the things I know and the fact that I am a writer, too, I've had the moment to talk to a lot of writers with some weird ideas about how things work.
Like the writer who, upon finding I worked for Barnes & Noble told me how she always faced out her books when she was in a store. She went on to explain she knew it didn't stay that way for long, but she thought she might get a few seconds exposure.She said she knew we had a plan o gram.
1. The average bookstore employee makes 8 dollars and hour. For that you don't buy a lot of hop to. If there was a plan o gram, which there isn't, an employee doesn't have the time or inclination to notice when things aren't in it.
2. About that book store employee. He is a valuable resource. You're there, you have time to find your book. Let me explain something People work in bookstores for the love of books. It's not the pay. (See above) Let me reiterate. Booksellers love books. You have a book. And all of them have particular kinds of books they like so if your in the sci fi section, most likely in employee closest to it is a sci fi fan. They talk to at least ten sci fi fans a day. Do you see where this is going? This is why you need to carry a copy of your book with you any time you enter a book store. Booksellers can be bought for free books. Don't waste time facing out your book. Find the guy who likes sci fi and give him the book. As a former bookseller, trust me, he will recommend it to everyone who comes in if he likes it.
3. Booksellers are book groupies. It's an insular little group and they all know one another. They all have one thing in common, they think authors are cool. Making friends with one booksellers is a good way to get street cred. And what they talk about when they get together (and they do) is well you. Always be nice to booksellers. even if they are jerks. If you get one who is just an ass, be nice anyway. All the other booksellers know he's an ass and will be impressed with your professional decorum if you can endure him with good grace.
4. Booksellers not only talk to each other, they talk to Publishers, too. Yes, all publishers send out sales reps to all booksellers. and what do they talk about? AUTHORS!!!! So be nice.
5.Booksellers gather. At least once a year, sometimes twice they fly to a city, rent a hotel and get drunk for three days. You can go there too. They have a day where they let vendors buy table space and sell their wears. Independant book sellers have the ABA (American Booksellers Association ) and a number of regional groups, like NEBA (New England Booksellers Association) SEIBA (South Eastern) Mountains and Plains, Mid Atlantic... All you need to do is Google. Go be friendly, have dinner with the group and tell some good jokes. Big chains have managers meetings with the same perks.
6. Booksellers are by and large wonderful people. They love to chat and talk about books. You should make it a habit of going into every bookstore you see and talking to people. Most customers walk past the Best sellers lists to go to the Staff recommends list. I suspect it's the human touch. Booksellers like the human touch, too. Take in some free bookmarks, free books, tee shirts, whatever you got. they love free stuff and they are the ones selling your book. Befriend them
7. More and more, bookstores aren't doing signings anymore and I don't blame them. A signing is a writer sitting, looking bored behind a table while customers try not to get to close to the table. I mean, you don't know that guy, his book might suck and he might hard sell you. I suspect, though that if you went in with a plan for an event, like a speech, or a party or a contest that will drive customers into their store and which you will advertise with press releases in all the local papers. they might think differently. And they might do it because it sounds fun. More on this later.
8. Speak to the manager or owner. Just ask. They are booksellers too. And often they can arranges events, set up special displays let you sign copies of your book they have in stock - all sorts of things.
So to sum up. Booksellers are your friends. Be nice, give them free stuff. A sales person thinks that if they knock on every door in the world, they will get rich. A marketer thinks the same thing, except he wants someone else to knock on the door. Booksellers are already in those doors. They have hundreds of people who come to them every years says "Can you recommend a good book?" Do what you can to mane sure they say yes and think of you.
Like the writer who, upon finding I worked for Barnes & Noble told me how she always faced out her books when she was in a store. She went on to explain she knew it didn't stay that way for long, but she thought she might get a few seconds exposure.She said she knew we had a plan o gram.
1. The average bookstore employee makes 8 dollars and hour. For that you don't buy a lot of hop to. If there was a plan o gram, which there isn't, an employee doesn't have the time or inclination to notice when things aren't in it.
2. About that book store employee. He is a valuable resource. You're there, you have time to find your book. Let me explain something People work in bookstores for the love of books. It's not the pay. (See above) Let me reiterate. Booksellers love books. You have a book. And all of them have particular kinds of books they like so if your in the sci fi section, most likely in employee closest to it is a sci fi fan. They talk to at least ten sci fi fans a day. Do you see where this is going? This is why you need to carry a copy of your book with you any time you enter a book store. Booksellers can be bought for free books. Don't waste time facing out your book. Find the guy who likes sci fi and give him the book. As a former bookseller, trust me, he will recommend it to everyone who comes in if he likes it.
3. Booksellers are book groupies. It's an insular little group and they all know one another. They all have one thing in common, they think authors are cool. Making friends with one booksellers is a good way to get street cred. And what they talk about when they get together (and they do) is well you. Always be nice to booksellers. even if they are jerks. If you get one who is just an ass, be nice anyway. All the other booksellers know he's an ass and will be impressed with your professional decorum if you can endure him with good grace.
4. Booksellers not only talk to each other, they talk to Publishers, too. Yes, all publishers send out sales reps to all booksellers. and what do they talk about? AUTHORS!!!! So be nice.
5.Booksellers gather. At least once a year, sometimes twice they fly to a city, rent a hotel and get drunk for three days. You can go there too. They have a day where they let vendors buy table space and sell their wears. Independant book sellers have the ABA (American Booksellers Association ) and a number of regional groups, like NEBA (New England Booksellers Association) SEIBA (South Eastern) Mountains and Plains, Mid Atlantic... All you need to do is Google. Go be friendly, have dinner with the group and tell some good jokes. Big chains have managers meetings with the same perks.
6. Booksellers are by and large wonderful people. They love to chat and talk about books. You should make it a habit of going into every bookstore you see and talking to people. Most customers walk past the Best sellers lists to go to the Staff recommends list. I suspect it's the human touch. Booksellers like the human touch, too. Take in some free bookmarks, free books, tee shirts, whatever you got. they love free stuff and they are the ones selling your book. Befriend them
7. More and more, bookstores aren't doing signings anymore and I don't blame them. A signing is a writer sitting, looking bored behind a table while customers try not to get to close to the table. I mean, you don't know that guy, his book might suck and he might hard sell you. I suspect, though that if you went in with a plan for an event, like a speech, or a party or a contest that will drive customers into their store and which you will advertise with press releases in all the local papers. they might think differently. And they might do it because it sounds fun. More on this later.
8. Speak to the manager or owner. Just ask. They are booksellers too. And often they can arranges events, set up special displays let you sign copies of your book they have in stock - all sorts of things.
So to sum up. Booksellers are your friends. Be nice, give them free stuff. A sales person thinks that if they knock on every door in the world, they will get rich. A marketer thinks the same thing, except he wants someone else to knock on the door. Booksellers are already in those doors. They have hundreds of people who come to them every years says "Can you recommend a good book?" Do what you can to mane sure they say yes and think of you.
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