Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don’t Worry

Your Book Not in Book Stores? Don’t Worry

by: Dr. Jamie Fettig

Trying to figure out how to get your self published books into book stores? Don’t worry about it because you can get more book sales easier and with less effort elsewhere. Some useful tips for you and your book from Mark Victor Hansen, who has sold more than 100 million books so far.

Sure, we all want to look on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and see our books there. Itกs thrilling. But itกs really not necessary. I see so many authors waste their time and money paying distributors and driving from store to store, delivering books when they should be selling directly to the public. The Internet makes it possible.

In fact, there are many good reasons NOT to be in bookstores:

You don’t have to pay a distributor, who will take a cut of your profits.

You don’t have to worry about shipping and returns.

You don’t have to fight for shelf space.

In most cases, selling direct to the public, or through bulk sales to institutions, is a much better way to turn your book into a revenue stream. With the Internet, tradeshows and other events, and seminars, you have multiple ways to sell direct, pocket 100% of the profits, and save yourself the hassle of trying to get into Borders.

I also recommend selling on Amazon.com. They do take a substantial chunk of your sales price, but itกs a wonderful way to generate buzz about your book. Otherwise, unless you can truly benefit from the prestige of being on the bookshelves, leave the bookstores to John Grisham and Stephen King.

Pursue bulk sales.

Ninety percent of new authors are only focused with getting people into bookstores to buy their book. And itกs great if you can do that, but I give them all the same advice: do not overlook bulk sales. They can turn your book from a moneyloser into a profit center in a few months. Bulk sales are a gold mine.

What do I mean by bulk sales? I mean selling your books in large quantities to an organization, which could mean anything from a corporation to a school district to a nonprofit group to a church. Youกll have to give the organization a price break for buying in bulk, but youกll get dozens, hundreds or even thousands of your books into peopleกs hands, which dramatically increases your wordofmouth and viral marketing.

Promoting bulk sales is a pretty straightforward deal. Simply look at your book and ask yourself what companies, organizations or affinity groups would be interested in the book for their employees or members. If youกve written a book on corporate team building, make a list of corporations where you have personal contacts. If your book is about exercise for seniors, try contacting AARP. And so on. Marketing bulk sales is usually about personal contact, either by letter or direct mail.

When you’re going after bulk sales, try to get to the กgatekeepers,ก the people who can make the decisions for a large organization. It makes much more sense to talk to 20 people who have the potential between them to order 10,000 books than to sell them one at a time. Even if you only get orders from three of those gatekeepers, youกll sell a few thousand books.

Be sure to offer a good bulk rate discount for your bulk buyers. The more books they buy, the bigger the price break. If they buy over 1,000, give them 50% off. Youกll still make money and youกll start winning readers.

Always build your mailing and email lists.

There are two kinds of lists: physical mailing address lists and email lists, and you should always be building both. They are your promotional lifelines to your potential readers and customers, and everything you do to market your book should have some component that gathers contact information of prospective buyers.

The best way to build your list is quite simple: get people to come to your Website, offer them something of value, and require them to give you (at a minimum) their name and email address to get it. The kinds of things you can offer:

Downloadable excerpts from your book.

A subscription to your enewsletter.

An advance discount on your book.

An audio CD or other ancillary product.

Be creative. Is there something that pushes your target audienceกs buttons? Offer it to them. This kind of กoptinก list, where people consent to receiving future information from you, is the gold standard of marketing.

Some other reputable ways you can build your list:

Take names or business cards at a tradeshow or conference.

Membership lists from organizations of which you are a member

Get respected colleagues to email their lists asking their contacts to go to your site to find something of value to them.

But always, always be building your list. And make sure that your database software is solid, proven, regularly maintained, and backed up weekly.

About The Author

Dr. Jamie Fettig

Are you interested in the one seminar that has created more BestSelling authors than any other seminar? A seminar put on by the guy who has sold more books than every other book in the history of the world except the bible? Then get yourself to the Mega Book Marketing Seminar and train yourself to be a megasuccessful author and become a sought after speaker. Make the difference with your book that you want to make. To Register and for more information go to http://www.bazuji.com/book

This article was posted on March 18

by Dr. Jamie Fettig

Book Printing Through the Millennium

Book Printing Through the Millennium

by: Paul Hood

Book printing might sound like a boring niche that doesn’t much over each turning year. That’s why you might find it surprising that like letters and the alphabet, book printing tells a far more astonishing story than what we usually know of.

There had been many developments that had great effect on book printing. The technology that spawned the making of records and preserving them was started by the Sumerians in the form of cuneiforms. Cuneiforms are an ancient wedgeshaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia. Stone tablets would later give way to papers which would then be the main medium of the books as we know it today. Large volumes of books found a home in the Alexandria Library in Egypt during the reign of King Ptolemy I Soter. Ptolemy instructed his scouts to collect every possible book there is in the civilized world and bring them to the library for safekeeping. Original works were duplicated and was promptly returned to its rightful owner. Those returned were the duplicates of course. It would have been interesting to know how the owners reacted upon finding out that they were given mere copies of their books. Then again, we’ll never know. One thing’s for sure, arguing with a king is not good for your health.

Of all the events that transpired having an impact on the printed book, none have greater effect than the invention of the movable type. This process has been used by the Chinese as early as 1041 and in 1403, the earliest book was printed in Korea. Though similar in process, Johann Gutenberg’s invention would have a far greater contribution to the printed book as his movable type was able to print many copies of the same text quickly. Something the Chinese and Korean types failed to do. Gutenberg’s pioneering invention paved the way for later innovations and would serve as the spark for the success of future printers and publishers.

Today, printers can churn out thousands of books in record time. The invention of advanced printers capable of printing thousands of pages in a minute has made this a reality. Due credit is given to the pioneering spirit of early civilizations and of course Johann Gutenberg for making mass production of the printed book a possibility. This rich history has given us modern people the comfort of having books readily available.

About The Author

Ariel Velasco goes by the author alias of Paul Hood. This author is into books and writing. Reading is an essential part of his life and this has lent a considerable influence in his writing. Well traveled and would always want to travel more. He loves learning more about people and their ways. Took up a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology to further this fascination and had a fulfilling educational experience having been exposed to a wide spectrum of people. Always ready for new opportunities to learn and have a great deal of interest in different fields of expertise.

For additional information about the article you may visit http://www.uprinting.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 03

by Paul Hood

What You Know Can Work Just As Well As Who You Kno

What You Know Can Work Just As Well As Who You Know

by: Carolyn Moncel

We all know the saying in business, กItกs not what you know but who you knowก, right? This saying is definitely true when it comes to small business and on occasion, the same can be said in media relations. However, what you know can sometimes get you just as far especially if you’re trying to tell your story to the local press.

Some time ago, a smallbusiness client approached me about handling public relations for her firm. She had been writing her own press releases and submitting them to the press but all of her efforts had generated no press. She asked me to critique her work to discover what she might be doing wrong. Upon reviewing her press releases, I found that her writing skills were outstanding but the problem came when I began to investigate the methods by which she was submitting her releases. The five rules below illustrate the lessons that she learned about distributing press releases to the media.

Rule #1: Do your homework on reporters. You can start with the Baconsก Media Directory, which serves as the public relations practionerกs Bible. If you don’t know what it is, basically it lists the name, address, phone number, fax number, email, beat (issue or specific type of story to cover), deadlines, and story preferences and angles for most every reporter and news producer anywhere in the world. There are five volumes of books: Newspapers, Magazines, TV/Cable, Radio and International. You can purchase the books or get the same information from Baconsก in CDRom format or through an online subscription. These books are invaluable but unfortunately are also very expensive. Hereกs a tip: You can access them for free usually at your local public library or a college library. Use these books to help you narrow down the reporters that you think would be helpful for launching your story. If Baconกs is completely out of your budget, just follow your favorite local newspaper to determine which reporters cover which stories.

Rule #2: Verify your sources. Just because you found information on reporters in Baconsก doesn’t mean that your work is done. Most reporters are assigned a beat but those beats change from time to time and as a result, reporters tend to move around a lot. Because the Baconsก books and their competitors are only published once per year with occasional updates, itกs very important that you call media outlets and verify that you can still reach the reporter you would like to talk to. More importantly, find out if the reporter still covers the beat that is important to your story. If for some reason there is a new reporter covering that beat, make note of those changes in a database or spreadsheet, and always call before sending out a new release.

Rules #3: Know where to call for information. Most people are afraid to just call up a reporter (they can be scary people) to find out this information, however if you want to avoid that aspect of the job, then simply call the News Assignment Desk the nerve center of news operation. It is here that you can verify the reporter information and also get a sense for the types of stories that an editor might find interesting enough to assign to an individual reporter.

Rules #4: Know how a reporter likes to receive information. When it comes to distributing press releases or letters, all reporters are different. Itกs your job to find out how a reporter wants to receive his or her information on a potential story. For example, some reporters only read faxes while others only look at releases sent by mail. Still others will only read email, and yet others will only accept a story idea over the phone. This is important because if you violate the reporterกs rule for receiving information, then your release likely will never be read. It will get a oneway trip to the trashcan.

Rules #5: Adhere to a reporterกs deadline. Just as you can find out the name and email address of a specific reporter, you can also find out their writing deadline. This is very important because the last thing anyone wants to experience is being on the line with a reporter when he or she is on deadline. Hereกs another tip: Most daily newspapers are put to bed at 5pm. Call the reporter between 8am and 9am because you might catch them before they go their morning editorial meeting. When calling up a reporter directly, always asks the reporter if he or she is currently on deadline as a courtesy. They will respect you for it and this will give you an indication as to how long you have to speak with that particular reporter on the phone. If you’re nervous about speaking with the reporter, then create a short script that you can state comfortably in 60 seconds.

While itกs always great to know a reporter personally, few smallbusiness owners will ever have that luxury. However, if you know what to do and whom to contact when the time comes to tell your story, your chances of coverage are just as good as anyone elseกs. After all when it comes to media relations, itกs not just who you know but what you know plus a little luck never hurts either.

About The Author

Carolyn DavenportMoncel is president and founder of Mondave Communications, a global marketing and communications firm based in Chicago and Paris, and a subsidiary of MotionTemps, LLC. Contact her at [email protected] or by phone in the United States at 877.815.0167 or 011.331.4997.9059 in France.

This article was posted on May 07, 2003

by Carolyn Moncel

Information Products For Profit

Information Products For Profit

by: Matt Bacak

It is no secret that the internet has created the new generation of millionaires in only a few short years. Every few seconds a person starts a home business somewhere around the world, and the amazing thing is that the market does not seem to be getting saturated anytime soon! Business is booming, and for quick easy cash people are turning to the internet.

However faced with the fact that many of us do not have a product to sell, nor do we have the infrastructure set up or the manpower necessary to distribute products. Nevertheless a growing group of people are selling products right out of their home office or their kitchen table; how? Information products! Now regular bookstores and music stores are getting serious competition from our very own neighbors. The technology available to all of us makes it extremely easy to create your very own information product; whether that is a book, a music CD, a course, you name it! All you need is a computer and an internet connection, some time and virtually no investment!

Here are some products that you can create right now!

Ebooks

Ebooks are electronic books; it is like a regular book but they can be read on your computer, or printed out with a regular printer. Because you do not produce a ขphysicalข product you also do not have any printing costs! So therefore, you can already guess, you will keep 100% of the profits you make. Even more powerful however is the fact that you can sell unlimited numbers of your book, and do not need any inventory. Nor will you be stuck with piled of unsold books. You create something now, and you can profit from it forever! You can write about anything you are knowledgeable about, or anything you would like to research further. If you do not feel comfortable with this you can easily hire a ghostwriter who will do it for you.

CDกs

The only thing you need is a CD burner and the sky is the limit; you can publish your ebook on CD, or a collection of books. You can also record you own music CD or publish a course. If you know how to write simple programs you can even make your own software. Or again; all you need is a good idea because you will easily find a professional willing to develop your product for you!

Audio Cassettes

These go along the same lines as CDกs; you can sell a product people can listen to in their car, on their way to work. You can even publish an ebook and a cassette version of the same product to maximize profits! Generally all you need is a tape recorder that can produce good quality tapes, and preferably one with two tape decks so you can easily reproduce the initial tape you made. Audio Cassettes are a bit more labour intensive than CDกs, but if you truly want to reach your entire target market, they are a must.

Special Reports

These are relatively short ขbooksข, or just a collection of pages on a particular topic. Remember those reports you wrote back in school? Think a few of those bunched together, on a topic people want to learn more about.

Self Help Products

All the products above can be used in this category; people are always hungry for information, regardless of the state of the economy. In fact; when there is an economic downturn sellers who specialize in books on how to save money or make money see their profits grow faster than normal! Knowledge is profit; and you are unique like anyone else.

How to Create a Product

You more than likely possess enough knowledge to create hundreds of information products; however because you are unaware of the fact that there are people out there who do not know what you know, you are more likely to think you do not know anything special or worth selling. Think again! Have your friends ever asked you for advice or help on something? Whether in a hobby, at work, or a relationship? Are you good at your job? Or extremely involved in a special hobby? This little brainstorming session should already give you plenty of ideas that you can put to work right now!

The next step is to think of topics you want to know more about. Itกs likely that if you are interested in something, other people are too. Now all you need to do is some research and then develop the product of your choice; you will be doing all those other people a favor by presenting them with a solution to their ขproblemข without having to do any research themselves.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com.

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of First Time

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of First Time Authors

by: Roger C. Parker

ขIf you want to change your life,ข Harry Beckwith wrote in The Invisible Touch, ขwrite a book.ข But writing a book can also be tremendously frustrating and unrewarding.
Following are the 11 biggest reasons most firsttime authors fail to receive the rewards they are due.
1. Unrealistic expectations. Don’t expect to get rich off your book, even if it’s a success by publishing standards. The vast majority of books fail to earn out their advance.
Instead, develop a personal marketing plan to leverage your career off your book. Instead of trying to make money on the book itself, use your book to open doors, promote your credibility and build relationships with readers.
2. Writing without a contract. Never write a book without a signed contract. Instead, prepare a polished proposal and two sample chapters.
Publishers are increasingly selective about the titles they accept. Often, less than 1 in 20 titles proposed are published. Writing a book that isn’t accepted is not a good use of your time.
3. No agent. You must be represented by a literary agent. Publishers rarely accept unsolicited book proposals. Unsolicited proposals are frequently returned unread or are simply discarded.
The right agent will know exactly which publishers might be interested in your book. Agents can also negotiate terms more effectively than you.
4. Weak titles. Titles sell books. The title of your book is like the headline of an advertisement. The title represents your one and only chance to attract the attention of acquisition editors or bookstore readers.
Successful titles stress the benefits readers will gain from your book. Successful titles arouse curiosity and offer solutions. They often include consonants and alliteration (repeated ‘hard’ sounds like G, K, P or T).
5. Title versus series. Focus on a series of books rather than an individual title. Publishers want concepts that can be expanded into a series rather than individual titles.
6. Going it alone. Successful careers involve a nurturing support group of readers and peers. Your quest should include the support of your friends, other authors, book coaches, readers and others who will help you maintain your enthusiasm while providing ideas, assistance and feedback.
7. ‘Event’ writing. Write a little each day rather than ‘going away’ to write your book. Stress is an author’s biggest enemy. When you attempt marathon writing, you’re putting an unrealistic burden on yourself. ขWhat happens if I come back and my book isn’t written?ข
8. Selfediting. Avoid unnecessary selfediting. It’s far more important to complete the first draft of your book than to agonize over the perfection of every word.
Editors will ensure that grammar is correct and ideas appear in the proper order. But they can’t do anything until you submit the final manuscript.
9. Failure to promote. Publishers are not promoters. Publishers are skilled at editing, manufacturing and distributing books. But they are not set up to give your book the marketing attention it deserves. A single publicist may represent over 100 books!
If you want your book to succeed, you have to promote it as well as write it.
10. Failure to back up and save. Save frequently when writing. Always save before printing. Never turn off your computer without making a copy of your files for offpremises storage. Never end a writing session without printing out a hard copy of the latest version of the chapter you’re writing.
11. Failure to plan future profits. Before writing your book, create a book marketing plan. Book sales should be just the first step in an ongoing relationship with your readers. Your plan should identify opportunities from consulting, newsletters, audio/video recordings, seminars, speeches and yearly updates.
A book can, indeed, change your life. But you must take charge; take a proactive role in promoting and leveraging its success.

About The Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketingdesign.com

This article was posted on July 02, 2004

by Roger C. Parker

Be Inspired to Create Better Websites

Be Inspired to Create Better Websites

by: Jesse S. Somer

Being a writer, when I was asked to do some research into what makes a good website, of course I straightaway went to check out all of my favorite authors. After sifting through a few standard sites I remembered to look at one of my all time respected writersPaulo Coelho. Judging by how many books he has sold he is obviously a lot of people’s favorite, and his website is exactly what you’d want to keep the fans happy.

If any of you are familiar with Coelho’s work you will know how prolific he has become all over the world. People love the simplicity of his stories about the spiritual quests of all people and the idea that the magical happens in everybody’s lives, even the socalled ‘ordinary, normal’ person. He to me comes across as a perfect example of the power of human connection, his books having affected millions across all national boundaries. As an Internet writer, to me he symbolizes the possibilities lying in the future of the Web. Like a good book, the Internet too can cross all imagined ideas of separation bringing people from all walks of life together in the context of positive thought and action.

Coelho’s website’s homepage starts off with a simple black screen, and a large photo of the man smilinga very humanistic approach to this new medium. It then has many different sections as well as links to relevant sites, even his own web log (online journal) entitled, ข Warrior of the Light Onlineข. I think I could spend innumerable hours reading over his personal thoughts and pieces of information he has integrated from elsewhere. Having this added website of an online diary gives the site even more humanistic qualities, as any person can truly connect with Coelho’s innermost feelings and thoughts.

The sections on the main site are separated into categories like: Biography, Paulo Coelho Institute, Photo Gallery, Road to Santiago, Agenda, Books, Editions, Free downloads, Meditation, TV online (videos), Warrior of Light, To journalists, FAQ, Message for the author, and Recommend this site. We are talking about a very extensive and well thought out site. Any type of individual or business, especially writers, could learn a lot from this example.

Just to touch on a few aspects of the site’s categories I’ll focus on the one’s I had a good look at. The biography was excellent, an extremely indepth look at Coelho’s life from childhood until present day. No holes barred, he’s not ashamed to tell of all his low points as well as the usual list of one’s achievements. It is very honest, he tells of how his parents institutionalized him several times thinking he was crazy, as well as stories of being tortured as a political prisoner and of his ‘dark’ experiences with drugs and black magic. This humanistic perspective gives the site a much more personal feel as well as eliciting reactions in readers, much more powerful than a bland website that solely focuses on a writer’s books and how to purchase them.

The photo gallery is another dimension I have not witnessed on many other sites. He again gives vision to his whole life with photos included from areas entitled, Childhood, Transition, The crazy years, 2000/2001, 2002, and Today. You see, this website isn’t just a shop front or a facade for a business. It gives the individual an opportunity to share his identity with the whole world, a courageous act only taken by people who aren’t afraid to put themselves on the line, sharing their spirits with all of humanity. This is the key to why the website is so powerful, one needs to take risks to achieve success in life.

I could write extensively on the other categories of the site but I think you could just go and check them out yourself. Me telling you what is a good website isn’t going to teach you much, you’ve got to experience things for yourself to truly gain the knowledge you are looking for. Maybe you’ll be so inspired, one day it’ll be your website I’m writing about!

About The Author

Jesse S. Somer

M6.Net

http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a human who wants to help uncover the underlying unifying power that lies in the future of the Internet.

This article was posted on September 09, 2004

by Jesse S. Somer

How to Create a Media Frenzy for Your Book

How to Create a Media Frenzy for Your Book

by: Dr. Jamie Fettig

Learn to use the media to create free exposure for yourself and to sell your books. And most importantly, how to be a great guest once you get on the air.

Prepare talking points before making media appearances.

Many new authors spend so much time and energy trying to get in the newspaper or on radio that when they get there, they don’t know what to say. But if you take an hour to prepare concise, compelling comments about your book, youกll come off as a real pro, increase sales, and maybe even be asked back!

The average radio interview lasts five minutes, of which three might be broadcast, and on average you might get six inches of coverage in your local newspaper. You don’t have a lot of time to waste hemming and hawing about your book, and the journalist interviewing you doesn’t want to waste his or her time either. So before you even start soliciting press coverage, write down and memorize your talking points.

You say you know your book? Iกm sure you do. But when you’re under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, itกs easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:

a. Whatกs the กelevator pitchก (a 10second summary) of my book?

b. Who is my book targeted to?

c. How did I decide to write it?

d. What are three passages in my book that I want to quote?

e. What can people get out of my book?

f. Where can people buy my book?

Write those down on note cards and memorize them, but keep the cards with you when you do interviews, just in case. That way, youกll come off more professional and make the most of the time you get.

Focus heavily on PR.

If you don’t believe in the power of public relations and the media to turn an unknown book into a bestseller, I have two words for you: Oprah Winfrey. Get your book 15 minutes on her show and youกll sell a million copies. Thatกs the power of the media.

Of course, getting on Oprah is the Holy Grail of book marketing, and while you shouldn’t NOT try to get on her show, you shouldn’t focus only on that. PR is your most powerful tool for creating awareness and selling books. So early on, while you’re still in final editing, start making lists of media outlets, cashing in on contacts, making calls and sending out emails.

PR works because itกs got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host whoกs chosen to have you on her show because she liked your book. Media exposure carries tremendous weight with book buyers. Ask your friends how many books theyกve bought after hearing about them on กFresh Airก on National Public Radio.

These are some of the PR avenues you can pursue:

Reviews in any and all publications, print and online especially.

Features in print and online publications.

Radio interviews.

Television interviews.

A regular column in a magazine or newspaper or online.

Speaking engagements.

A role as an กexpert sourceก for one or more journalists.

Creating press events.

Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. Thatกs a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your bookกs publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once youกve identified your media list, send that kit to the key contacts at each paper, magazine, TV or radio station.

But don’t stop there. PR is about relationships, and youกve got to strike the right balance of กeager to helpก and ‘respecting your time.ก Follow up your press kit with an email in a week or so, and stay in touch. Offer story ideas or to be quoted for a feature. Make yourself an asset to journalists and editors and youกll be surprised at the results.

Two final tips:

Always include your Web address in your PR, stories, interviews, etc.

Always get reprints, videotapes, etc. of your press coverage to use later.

Learn to use the media to create free exposure for yourself and to sell your books. And most importantly, how to be a great guest once you get on the air.

Prepare talking points before making media appearances.

Many new authors spend so much time and energy trying to get in the newspaper or on radio that when they get there, they don’t know what to say. But if you take an hour to prepare concise, compelling comments about your book, youกll come off as a real pro, increase sales, and maybe even be asked back!

The average radio interview lasts five minutes, of which three might be broadcast, and on average you might get six inches of coverage in your local newspaper. You don’t have a lot of time to waste hemming and hawing about your book, and the journalist interviewing you doesn’t want to waste his or her time either. So before you even start soliciting press coverage, write down and memorize your talking points.

You say you know your book? Iกm sure you do. But when you’re under the gun of a timed interview, or an interviewer hits you with a surprise question, itกs easy to stammer or get confused. Talking points are your lifeline. I suggest preparing a list that looks like this:

g. Whatกs the กelevator pitchก (a 10second summary) of my book?

h. Who is my book targeted to?

i. How did I decide to write it?

j. What are three passages in my book that I want to quote?

k. What can people get out of my book?

l. Where can people buy my book?

Write those down on note cards and memorize them, but keep the cards with you when you do interviews, just in case. That way, youกll come off more professional and make the most of the time you get.

Focus heavily on PR.

If you don’t believe in the power of public relations and the media to turn an unknown book into a bestseller, I have two words for you: Oprah Winfrey. Get your book 15 minutes on her show and youกll sell a million copies. Thatกs the power of the media.

Of course, getting on Oprah is the Holy Grail of book marketing, and while you shouldn’t NOT try to get on her show, you shouldn’t focus only on that. PR is your most powerful tool for creating awareness and selling books. So early on, while you’re still in final editing, start making lists of media outlets, cashing in on contacts, making calls and sending out emails.

PR works because itกs got credibility. Instead of a paid ad, people see an objective journalist reviewing your book, or a talk show host whoกs chosen to have you on her show because she liked your book. Media exposure carries tremendous weight with book buyers. Ask your friends how many books theyกve bought after hearing about them on กFresh Airก on National Public Radio.

These are some of the PR avenues you can pursue:

Reviews in any and all publications, print and online especially.

Features in print and online publications.

Radio interviews.

Television interviews.

A regular column in a magazine or newspaper or online.

Speaking engagements.

A role as an กexpert sourceก for one or more journalists.

Creating press events.

Tying your book to a charity or cause.

It all begins with your press kit. Thatกs a snazzy folder that contains the press release about your bookกs publication, a bio of you, a black and white photo of you (professionally done) and any press coverage you may have already received. Once youกve identified your media list, send that kit to the key contacts at each paper, magazine, TV or radio station.

But don’t stop there. PR is about relationships, and youกve got to strike the right balance of กeager to helpก and ‘respecting your time.ก Follow up your press kit with an email in a week or so, and stay in touch. Offer story ideas or to be quoted for a feature. Make yourself an asset to journalists and editors and youกll be surprised at the results.

Two final tips:

Always include your Web address in your PR, stories, interviews, etc.

Always get reprints, videotapes, etc. of your press coverage to use later.

About The Author

Dr. Jamie Fettig

Are you interested in the one seminar that has created more BestSelling authors than any other seminar? A seminar put on by the guy who has sold more books than every other book in the history of the world except the bible? Then get yourself to the Mega Book Marketing Seminar and train yourself to be a megasuccessful author and become a sought after speaker. Make the difference with your book that you want to make. To Register and for more information go to http://www.bazuji.com/book

This article was posted on March 18, 2005

by Dr. Jamie Fettig

The Medium and the Message

The Medium and the Message

by: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

A debate is raging in epublishing circles: should content be encrypted and protected (the Barnes and Noble or Digital goods model) or should it be distributed freely and thus serve as a form of viral marketing (Seth Godinกs กideavirusก)? Publishers fear that freely distributed and costfree กcrackedก ebooks will cannibalize print books to oblivion.

The more paranoid point at the music industry. It failed to coopt the emerging peertopeer platforms (Napster) and to offer a viable digital assets management system with an equitable sharing of royalties. The results? A protracted legal battle and piracy run amok. กPublishersก goes this creed กare positioned to incorporate encryption and protection measures at the very inception of the digital publishing industry. They ought to learn the lesson.ก

But this view ignores a vital difference between sound and text. In music, what matter are the song or the musical piece. The medium (or carrier, or packing) is marginal and interchangeable. A CD, an audio cassette, or an MP3 player are all fine, as far as the consumer is concerned. The listener bases his or her purchasing decisions on sound quality and the faithfulness of reproduction of the listening experience (for instance, in a concert hall). This is a very narrow, rational, measurable and quantifiable criterion.

Not so with text.

Content is only one element of many of equal footing underlying the decision to purchase a specific textกcarrierก (medium). Various media encapsulating IDENTICAL text will still fare differently. Hence the failure of CDROMs and elearning. People tend to consume content in other formats or media, even if it is fully available to them or even owned by them in one specific medium. People prefer to pay to listen to live lectures rather than read freely available online transcripts. Libraries buy print journals even when they have subscribed to the full text online versions of the very same publications. And consumers overwhelmingly prefer to purchase books in print rather than their eversions.

This is partly a question of the slow demise of old habits. Ebooks have yet to develop the userfriendliness, platformindependence, portability, brows ability and many other attributes of this ingenious medium, the Gutenberg tome. But it also has to do with marketing psychology. Where text (or text equivalents, such as speech) is concerned, the medium is at least as important as the message. And this will hold true even when ebooks catch up with their print brethren technologically.

There is no doubting that finally ebooks will surpass print books as a medium and offer numerous options: hyperlinks within the ebook and without it to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, userinteractive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other ebooks (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and more.

The same textual content will be available in the future in various media. Ostensibly, consumers should gravitate to the featurerich and much cheaper ebook. But they won’t because the medium is as important as the text message. It is not enough to own the same content, or to gain access to the same message. Ownership of the right medium does count. Print books offer connectivity within an historical context (tradition). Ebooks are cold and impersonal, alienated and detached. The printed word offers permanence. Digital text is ephemeral (as anyone whose writings perished in the recent dot.com bloodbath or Deja takeover by Google can attest). Printed volumes are a whole sensorium, a sensual experience olfactory and tactile and visual. Ebooks are one dimensional in comparison. These are differences that cannot be overcome, not even with the advent of digital กinkก on digital กpaperก. They will keep the print book alive and publishersก revenues flowing.

People buy printed matter not merely because of its content. If this were true ebooks will have won the day. Print books are a packaged experience, the substance of life. People buy the medium as often and as much as they buy the message it encapsulates. It is impossible to compete with this mistique. Safe in this knowledge, publishers should let go and impose on ebooks กencryptionก and กprotectionก levels as rigorous as they do on the their print books. The latter are here to stay alongside the former. With the proper pricing and a modicum of trust, ebooks may even end up promoting the old and trusted print versions.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of กMalignant Self Love Narcissism Revisitedก and กAfter the Rain How the West Lost the Eastก. He is a columnist in กCentral Europe Reviewก, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

This article was posted on February 2, 2002

by Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

Google Tests Expanded Search To Include Printed Wo

Google Tests Expanded Search To Include Printed Works

by: Jakob Jelling

Google Labs is currently testing Google Print, which returns results from within scanned printed books along with Googleกs standard web search results. The searcher doesn’t have to do anything special the printed work results are already included in the Google database. Searchers have the option of narrowing their search by including, for example, the word กbookก in their search terms. For example, a search on กhome repairก might return a variety of web sites, online merchants, etc., while changing the search to กhome repair bookก will help filter the results to include more material scanned directly from books.

Publishers don’t want their entire books read online of course, so Google limits the number of pages a single user may read at any one time. A user can see the page where their search was found, plus they can go two pages forward and two pages backward from their original result page. Google provides links to merchants where the book can be purchased. Google earns no revenue from book purchases, but they do display their contextual advertising within the Google Print results, and they share this with participating publishers.

Once youกve found your search terms in a book, you can then enter additional search terms that will be limited to the book itself, rather than the entire web. Googleกs selection includes both fiction and nonfiction, technical reference and professional books, textbooks, and more.

Since Google Print is currently in testing, a searcher won’t necessarily find results from every book they expect to see. As the program grows, Google has indicated they will continue to add books to their searchable database. Publishers who want to participate can do so for free.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on November 08, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

E(merging) Books

E(merging) Books

by: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

A novel redefinition through experimentation of the classical format of the book is emerging.

Consider the now defunct BookTailor. It used to sell its book customization software mainly to travel agents but this technology is likely to conquer other niches (such as the legal and medical professions). It allows users to select bits and pieces from a library of ebooks, combine them into a totally new tome and print and bind the latter on demand. The client can also choose to buy the endproduct as an ebook. Consider what this simple business model does to entrenched and age old notions such as กoriginalก and กcopiesก, copyright, and book identifiers. What is the กoriginalก in this case? Is it the final, usercustomized book or its sources? And if no customized book is identical to any other what happens to the intuitive notion of กcopiesก? Should BookTailorgenerated books considered to be unique exemplars of onecopy print runs? If so, should each one receive a unique identifier (for instance, a unique ISBN)? Does the user possess any rights in the final product, composed and selected by him? What about the copyrights of the original authors?

Or take BookCrossing.com. On the face of it, it presents no profound challenge to established publishing practices and to the modern concept of intellectual property. Members register their books, obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to someone, or simply leave it lying around for a total stranger to find. Henceforth, fate determines the chain of events. Eventual successive owners of the volume are supposed to report to BookCrossing (by email) about the bookกs and their whereabouts, thereby generating moving plots and mapping the territory of literacy and bibliomania. This innocuous model subversively undermines the concept legal and moral of ownership. It also expropriates the book from the realm of passive, inert objects and transforms it into a catalyst of human interactions across time and space. In other words, it returns the book to its origins: a time capsule, a time machine and the embodiment of a historical narrative.

Ebooks, hitherto, have largely been nothing but an ephemeral rendition of their print predecessors. But ebooks are another medium altogether. They can and will provide a different reading experience. Consider กhyperlinks within the ebook and without it to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, userinteractive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other ebooks (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and moreก.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of กMalignant Self Love Narcissism Revisitedก and กAfter the Rain How the West Lost the Eastก. He is a columnist in กCentral Europe Reviewก, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

This article was posted on February 2, 2002

by Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of FirstTime

How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of FirstTime

by: Roger C. Parker

ขIf you want to change your life,ข Harry Beckwith wrote in The Invisible Touch, ขwrite a book.ข But, writing a book can also be tremendously frustrating and unrewarding.

Following are the 11 biggest reasons most firsttime authors fail to receive the rewards they are due.

1. Unrealistic expectations

Don’t expect to get rich off your book, even if it’s a success by publishing standards. The vast majority of books fail to earn out their advance.

Instead, develop a personal marketing plan to leverage your career off your book. Instead of trying to make money on the book itself, use your book to open doors, promote your credibility, and build relationships with readers.

2. Writing without a contract

Never write a book without a signed contract. Instead, prepare a polished proposal and two sample chapters.

Publishers are increasingly selective the titles they accept. Often, less than 1 in 20 titles proposed are published. Writing a book that isn’t accepted is not a good use of your time.

3. No agent

You must be represented by a literary agent. Publishers rarely accept unsolicited book proposals. Unsolicited proposals are frequently returned unread or are simply discarded.

The right agent will know exactly which publishers might be interested in your book. Agents can also negotiate terms more effectively than you.

4. Weak titles

Titles sell books. The title of your book is like the headline of an advertisement. The title represents your one and only chance to attract the attention of acquisition editors or bookstore readers.

Successful titles stress the benefits readers will gain from your book. Successful titles arouse curiosity and offer solutions. They often include consonants and alliteration (repeated ขhardข sounds like G, K, P or T).

5. Title versus series

Focus on a series of books rather than an individual title. Publishers want concepts that can be expanded into a series rather than individual titles.

6. Going it alone

Successful careers involve a nurturing support group of readers and peers.

Your quest should include the support of your friends, other authors, book coaches, readers and others who will help you maintain your enthusiasm while providing ideas, assistance, and feedback.

7. ขEventข writing

Write a little each day rather than ขgoing awayข to write your book.

Stress is an author’s biggest enemy. When you attempt marathon writing, you’re putting an unrealistic burden on yourself. ขWhat happens if I come back and my book isn’t written?ข

Commit to write 45 minutes a day. This reduces stress and continuously reengages your subconscious mind.

8. Selfediting

Avoid unnecessary selfediting. It’s far more important to complete the first draft of your book than to agonize over the perfection of every word.

Editors will ensure that grammar is correct and ideas appear in the proper order. But, they can’t do anything until you submit the final manuscript.

9. Failure to promote

Publishers are not promoters. Publishers are skilled at editing, manufacturing, and distributing books. But, they are not set up to give your book the marketing attention it deserves. A single publicist may represent over 100 books!

If you want your book to succeed, you have to promote it as well as write it.

10. Failure to backup and save

Save frequently when writing. Always save before printing. Never turn off your computer without making a copy of your files for offpremises storage. Never end a writing session without printing out a hard copy of the latest version of the chapter you’re writing.

11. Failure to plan future profits

Before writing your book, create a book marketing plan. Book sales should be just the first step in an ongoing relationship with your readers. Your plan should identify opportunities from consulting, newsletters, audio/video recordings, seminars, speeches, and yearly updates etc.

Conclusion

A book can, indeed, change your life. But, you must take charge take a proactive role in promoting and leveraging its success.

About The Author

Roger C. Parker

To learn more, visit www.PublishedAndProfitable.com. Subscribe to Published and Profitable and download a free sample lesson from my fourweek Profit From the Author Inside You course.

This article was posted on November 10, 2004

by Roger C. Parker

4 Questions to Answer Before Contacting a Book Age

4 Questions to Answer Before Contacting a Book Agent

by: Roger C. Parker

Obtaining agency representation is your first step toward getting profitably published. Most publishers won’t even look at unsolicited manuscripts.
But, before approaching an agent to represent you, you should finalize the presentation of your book.
Agents don’t have time to waste dealing with publishing ‘wannabees’ who don’t have, and may never have, a concrete project to represent. To busy agents, dreams don’t make it.
If you approach an agent before you’re prepared, you may never be able to contact them again. They’ll consider you a ‘dreamer’ and disregard you emails and phone calls.
Elevator Speech
Before approaching an agent, prepare an ‘elevator speech’ describing your project in the less than thirtyseconds it takes for an average elevator ride. If you can’t, your project probably isn’t ready for prime time.
Your elevator speech must answer four major questions:

What is your book about?
Who is going to buy it?
How does it differ from existing books on the subject?
How are you going to promote it?

1. What is your book about?
Finalize your book’s title and contents before contacting an agent.
The title is crucial to your book’s success. It must attract the attention of acquisition editors, book reviewers, bookstore managers, web surfers and readers. The title is often your one – and only – chance to make a sale.
Finalize your book’s table of contents and prepare a brief description of the contents of each chapter. You should also know how long your book is going to be and the number of illustrations, graphics or worksheet
Prepare two – three, if you’re a firsttime author – sample chapters and hire a professional editor to finetune them. It’s better to show three perfect chapters than a finished manuscript filled with spelling errors.
You don’t have to write your whole book before approaching agents. And your sample chapters don’t have to begin with the first chapter, nor do they have to be in sequence. But, they must represent your writing at its best.
2. Who’s going to buy your book?
Next, show that there is a reachable market for your book.
Strive for urgency. Describe the market intrigued by, or frustrated by, your book’s topic. What symptoms does your book help solve? How many people share the problem? What are the consequences of the problem your book addresses?
Quantify your book’s market in terms of buying power, willingness to buy books and ability to be reached through associations or publications.
3. How will your book be different?
Next, position your book relative to existing books on the topic. Existing books on the same topic are a plus, not a minus. They prove there is a market for books on the subject.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing books?
Why will readers choose your book over existing books?

This section offers you an opportunity to describe your background and how it contributes to your book.
4. How will you promote your book?
Promotion is your responsibility, not the publisher’s. Your ability to promote your book is as important as your ability to write your book.
Start by identifying book reviewers and editorial contacts who can help promote your book. List publications that might run an extract from your book. Research producers who book guests for radio and TV interviews.
Discuss your speaking experience and willingness to travel to support your book. Describe how you will promote your book on your web site.
List authorities in your field who have offered to write a foreword or provide you with cover testimonials.
Agents are busy. To the extent you can sell your book idea as a realistic possibility in thirty seconds and can support your answers with research and strong sample chapters, you are well on your way to success.
After you’ve been successfully published, you may be able to sell a book on just the basis of an email. But for now, you must be fully prepared.

About The Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketingdesign.com

This article was posted on July 02, 2004

by Roger C. Parker