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Archive for the ‘Storytelling’ Category

What’s a Successful Book Signing?

December 9, 2016

library-book-signing-2016 Orion Township Library – Book Signing, December 3, 2016.

Before we really get into this, let’s agree on the term “successful.” I define it simply … your books are there, you have a place to sit and you sell a book.

Sounds nutty, right? Really, it’s not.

The Real Purpose
The purpose of a book signing isn’t to sell your books, it’s to sell yourself as an author. Any time you can sit in a library or a bookstore with your face, name and product in front of people who love to read, that’s great promotion.

For an author, a book signing can be terrifying. Believe me, I know. It’s like throwing a party and not being certain anyone will come. But there are ways around this.

Don’t do it alone. Go to signings that feature lots of other authors. With many authors in the same place, no one counts how many books you did or didn’t sell. Not even me.

Promote on your end. Tell your friends and family. Tell their friends. Make an announcement on all social media you belong to. Even if no one on your list is a local, they might have friends who are.

Dress comfortably, but nicely. “Business casual” best describes my preferred way to dress for a signing: comfortable pants, nice shirt (a sweater in the winter) and (for guys) a sport coat.

Bring stuff. I like to bring a water bottle, my business cards, lots of pens (you’d be amazed at how many people walk off with pens), and any promotional items you want to show or share.

Talk, Talk, Talk
Don’t be afraid to smile and wave and greet customers. I know it can seem scary, but please don’t sit there in a huddled lump. Talk to people. At the very least, make eye contact.

I always try a cheerful, “Hi there! What do you like to read?”

I stand often and speak to people passing the table. If someone stops and looks at the books, I put one in their hands. Not to tell them to buy it, but to make them feel comfortable picking it up and reading the back blurb.

Then I engage them in conversation about it: “This is my latest book. It’s about… ”

This may also be a good time to hand them a promotional business card or bookmark so they can pass it on to others who are interested.

I even talk to the kids.

That lady in a hurry, who doesn’t read your genre, may not ever buy your book … but she will remember you were nice and down-to-earth and will tell her friends who are avid readers that she met you.

As I said, at a book signing you’re not promoting books as much as you are selling yourself.

No act of kindness is ever wasted.

Be Observant
Observe the other authors and how they interact with the public. Check out their promotional stuff. Smile and look over their books.

Introduce yourself as a fellow author and be sure to trade marketing tips. Everything you see and hear at a book signing can be directly applied to your own efforts (or firmly crossed off as Things To Never Do Again).

I’ll tell you one more not-to-be-missed benefit of book signings: they make you feel real.

I’ve already published six books, won multiple awards, and still worry someone will write fraud on my forehead whenever I introduce myself as a writer.

But at a book signing, with your own books in front of you… well, you’re the real thing … and it’s great good fun.

At my recent signing I was approached by the local paper (who had already published my picture in the article announcing the library event) to send them information for an article about my latest book. I was also interviewed live by our local cable TV station.

I’ve been at signings where I sold more books, but the publicity from this one is going to make it a signing that’s tough to beat.

Thanks Orion Township Public Library!

**********

My books have all garnered some terrific reviews and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:book marketing, self-publishing
Posted in Book Promotion, Market Your Book, Storytelling | 5 Comments »

Do Book Awards Matter?

December 1, 2016

rf2016-award Receiving Readers’ Favorite Award, November 2016

That depends on you, your book, and what you hope to achieve from entering contests.

We know from Bookscan sales data that very few book awards actually help to sell books.

The Pulitzer does, but most others make no measurable difference.

Sadly, from experience I have to agree. I’ve written six books and collected five awards, but the world isn’t knocking down my door.

Still, awards are helpful.

They signal a book’s quality to potential readers. They add credibility that gives assurance the book is worthwhile.

You get a little touch of magic from a third party endorsement. When an authority says your work is worthy, that’s actually priceless.

If You’re an Indie Author
Here’s a list of my Top 8 book awards worthy of your consideration:

IndieFab Awards

ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards

2.Find out how to make it on the Indie Next List to win an Indies Choice Book Award

3.The National Indie Excellence Book Awards selects award winners and finalists based on overall excellence of presentation in dozens of categories. Created especially for indie and self-published authors.

4.Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Here’s your chance to enter a competition exclusively for self-published books. One winning entry will receive $8,000 with nine first-place winners who’ll receive $1,000 each.

5.Readers’ Favorite Awards receives submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants like HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times best-selling authors.

6.The Eric Hoffer Award for independent books recognizes excellence in publishing with a $2,000 grand prize and various category honors and press type distinctions. To enter, a book must be from an academic press, small press or self-published author.

7.Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Thousands of dollars in prize money. Finalists and Winners receive a listing in the Next Generation Indie Book Catalog distributed to thousands of book buyers, media and others. Plus the top 70 books will be reviewed by a top New York Literary agent for possible representation.

8.Shelf Unbound Magazine’s Best Indie/Self-Published Book Competition honors more than 100 indie/self-published books. In addition to $1,500 in cash prizes, they’ll feature the winner, five finalists, and more than 100 “notable” books in the December/January issue of Shelf Unbound.

Any independently published book in any genre in any publication year is eligible for entry.

Entering a Competition
Was it worth it for me? Definitely.

Judged by competent professionals in the publishing world and deemed to be one of the best in its category, potential readers do take notice when a book wins an award.

Did book sales for Blood Lake increase? Did I recover the costs of entering the contest? Not yet, on both counts … and certainly not when I add the cost of round-trip plane fare to Miami, car rental and reserving nights at the Regency Hotel.

However, the book, if nothing else, has gained a measure of prestige. Who knows what the long-term benefits will be?

What Do You Think?
Should you send your book off to be judged alongside others? That depends. Are you confident you have a professional product that can compete and perhaps even win?

If you think so, then go for it. As Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said “You Can’t Score Unless You Shoot!”

**********

On December 3, 2016, I’ll be signing books from 1:00-4:00 pm at the annual “Giving Season” event at the Orion Township Public Library (825 Joslyn Rd).

**********

My books have all garnered some terrific reviews and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:Readers Favorite, self-publishing, storytelling
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Awards, Self-Published, Storytelling | Leave a Comment »

Why Do We Have to Market, Anyway?

November 4, 2016

fair

Just saying the word marketing is often enough to send a chill through most independent authors. Some liken it to a carnival thrill ride that spins you ’round and ’round endlessly.

It can be scary. But I assure you it needs to be done.

Where to Begin?
Take an objective look at your website (you do have one, don’t you?). Also look at other social media presences you have (The Twitter, Book of Face, Goodreads Author Pages, Amazon Author Pages).

Pretend you’re seeing them for the first time.

Then answer these questions:
~ Do your sites clearly communicate who you are?
~ Are they similar enough to make them recognizable as yours?
~ Do they make the reader want to open his wallet and buy a book?
~ How easy is it to make the purchase, if they do?

Your web site is who you are to the online world, but I find it amazing how many indie-authors don’t have a web site at all or, if they do, have one that looks and functions like an afterthought.

Make sure you’re set up so potential readers can find you online. The first step to book-marketing success is really that simple: make sure people can find you.

It’s also important to have a social media presence other than a web site … but don’t get so wrapped up in it you forget what you really want to do … write books.

Narrow Your Audience
Step two is narrowing your audience. Take a good look at the genre your book really fits, and pitch it accordingly.

When you pitch, make sure they like you. Don’t oversell. Give them something they can use and tell them something about yourself they’re not going to find anywhere else.

Readers love to know their favorite authors are human, too.

If you can increase your online coverage, you have a good chance to add other selling opportunities as well, such as visits to schools and book clubs.

What Do I Have That’s Interesting?
You don’t have to create something new. More often than not you already have what you need. When in doubt, try an excerpt of your latest work … or a work in progress.

If you’ve already had some success with a book, what better way to entice someone than to let them see a tiny piece of the next one?

* * * * *
Draft copy from my novel-in-progress
“Dead End Street”

Six weeks to the day after I’d returned from Randy and Janice’s wedding, Jim and Eva dropped by again, totally unannounced.

I didn’t think much about it, even though that, all by itself, was strange. They were about as straight-laced and Ann Landers proper as they come, and they would usually call before dropping by.

That afternoon they just showed up at the gate.

Of course, I opened it to let them in as soon as I heard their voices on the speaker. I was looking forward to seeing them.

I watched their car come up the drive until it was just outside the front porch. When they came up on the steps I already had the door open.

Once inside, the first thing Jim did was show me a chilled bottle of white wine. “I’ve had this in the cooler since yesterday, just so I could open it here with you,” he said, tapping the bottle, “so don’t you even think of saying no.”

Eva smiled her shy-little-girl smile and gave me the quick hug and perfunctory kiss on the cheek everyone in the Rancho Santa Fe area used to greet each other.

Jim, despite his words, didn’t even hold out his hand.

Instead, he cocked his head from one side to the other. As he looked at me that way, his right eyebrow shot up with his question.

“Have you been sleeping all right, Paul?”

“Sure,” I lied, thinking he’d never notice.

“Well, you look like shit,” he muttered.

* * * * *

Try a Goodreads Giveaway. All you need is one copy of your already-printed work to set one up, and a site for known readers is a great place to get your work seen and known.

When you do land some coverage for your book, like I did recently when Blood Lake was selected as a Readers’ Favorite 2016 Bronze Medal Winner, amplify that publicity … even though your budget for the effort may be like mine … practically non-existent.

Targeted Audiences
Use the “Boost Post” feature of your Book of Face posts. You’ll find an array of options when you select “Create New Audience” such as location, gender and interests.

The Twitter has an ad platform that functions much the same way, and with a small targeted audience the more affordable it is to reach it. You can do wonders with a micro-budget under $20.

Your platform will grow as you continue to raise awareness about yourself. With any luck at all, you’ll become the author other indie-authors are emulating with their efforts.

Assuming, of course, you’ve written a good book to begin with.

**********

My book-signing at the “Books & Authors” event at Leon & Lulu in Clawson, on October 23 was a rousing success. Thanks to everyone who came by.

On November 19, 2016, I’ll be at the Readers Favorite award ceremony at the Regency Hotel in Miami, receiving my Bronze Medal.

On December 3, 2016, I’ll be signing books from 1:00-4:00 pm at the annual “Giving Season” event at the Orion Township Public Library (825 Joslyn Rd).

**********

My books have all garnered some terrific reviews and you can see the ones I have available by using the Amazon link below. Look for them. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

You’re invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow
some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.