book: กันยายน 2008

วันอังคารที่ 30 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2551

Book Signing for Experts

Think of your book on the bookstore shelf trying to attract the attention of potential new owners. Crammed together with hundreds of other books, only the spine visible to the roving eyes of readers, your book needs a little help from its creator. So much effort has gone into publishing it; can you afford to abandon it just as it hits the bookstore shelves? Your book needs your help.Why not orchestrate a publicity-generating event such as a book signing with a mini-seminar, discussion, or reading where you can autograph your book? You can make a book signing tour worth your effort. If you are a new or emerging author with a small publisher, resources for promoting your book are likely to be very limited. If you are a professional speaker and an author, you can raise your celebrity status by doing a book signing in cities where you speak.A book signing in a bookstore places your book "center stage" for a while, away from the crowded shelf. The event establishes a "pull" system which means the bookstore and its patrons ask for your books rather than the author and publisher having to persuade the bookstore to stock them. The author arrives as a celebrity.There are many other venues in addition to bookstores. Jon Hanson, author of Good Debt Bad Debt, spent a lot of time writing in a coffee shop bakery. So many customers stopped by his table to check on the book's progress that the owner of the coffee shop asked Jon to do a signing when the book was published. Bagels and Books?If your book is nonfiction, conversations with your audience will indicate that you are a source of expert information. You have done a lot of research in this area. You may become a key resource in their future exploration of the subject matter. People generally take pride in having met and discussed a book with its author. There is reflected glory which sets that person apart from other readers and gives them a connection to the source.If you're not doing book signings, you may be leaving money on the table, overlooking an avenue to increase profits. There are many ways to promote your book, but none is as "up close and personal" as a book signing event.Jo Condrill is a professional speaker, author, and consultant. She has conducted successful book signings from coast to coast, including one at the Barnes and Noble Store in Rockefeller Center, New York City. Jo is the author of: "Take Charge of Your Life: Dare to Pursue Your Dreams" and coauthor of "From Book Signing to Best Seller," which was named the Best Writers Reference Guide of 2002 by the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. Jo is also coauthor of "101 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills Instantly." This book has been translated into five languages by foreign publishers: Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Turkish, and Arabic. All of Jo's books are available in bookstores and libraries throughout the US. Jo builds on her service as a civilian leader in the Pentagon and on the Board of Directors for Toastmasters International. <a target="_new" href="http://goalminds.com">http://goalminds.com</a>

Top 10 Tips for Book Titles that Sell Well

A clever title is great if it is clear, but a clear title is always preferable. The best? A clear and clever title. A shorter title is better than a longer one. Your reader will spend only four seconds on the cover. While some long titles have succeeded, usually the shorter, the better. A title is part of your book's front cover. Busy buyers including bookstore buyers, wholesalers, distributors and your audiences buy mainly because of the cover. Dan Poynter, author of Writing Nonfiction, says, "The package outside sells the product inside." Make your cover sizzle. Start with a working title before you write your chapters. Include your topic, your subject and use the book's benefits in your sub title if possible. Here's your ten tips for titles that sell: 1. Create impact for your title-check out magizine print and radio ad headlines. Check out other authors' titles on the bookstore shelves. Your title must compel the reader to buy now. Which title grabs you? Elder Rage or Caregiving for Dad? 2. Include your solution in your title. Does your title sell your solution? Make sure it answers the question rather than asks one. For instance, Got Minerals?, or Minerals: The Essential Link to Health. Use positive language instead of negative. For instance, Without Minerals You'll Die can be Minerals: The Essential Link to Health. 3. Make it easy for readers to buy. Readers want a magic pill. They want to follow directions and enjoy the benefits the title promises. For example, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer gives at least 1001 ways for authors and publishers to market their books. 4. Expand your title to other books, products, seminars, and services. Make sure that your title will work well with the title of your presentations, articles and press releases you'll need to promote the book. Such seminars and teleclasses titled "How to Write and Sell Your Book- Fast!" and "Seven Sure- Fire Ways to Publicize your Business" come under the umbrella "fast book writing, publishing and promoting." 5. Use original expressions--a way of expressing one idea for your book--yours alone. Sam Horn, author of Tongue F?!, puts her special twist on defusing verbal conflict. 6. Include benefits in your subtitle if your title doesn't have any. Specific benefits invite sales. For instance, Marilyn and Tom Ross' Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses. 7. Choose others' book covers in your field as models. Go to your local bookstore with five-colored felt tips pens and paper. Browse the section your book would be shelved on. Choose five book titles and covers that attract you. Photo copy or sketch those, noting the colors, design, fonts, and sizes of fonts. Add other colors you like. Place the book cover you love near your workstation to inspire you. For the final copy, use professional cover designers if possible. 8. Be outrageous with your book title. People do judge a book by its title. Your reader will spend only four seconds on the front cover and eight seconds on the back cover. It must be so outstanding and catchy that it compels the reader to either buy on the spot or look further to the back cover. Take a risk. Be a bit crazy, even outlandish. 9. Be your strongest salesperson self. Choose the strongest words, benefits, and metaphors to move your audience to buy. Titles do sell books. 10. Include your audience in your title. This gives your book a slant. When your title isn't targeted other famous authors' titles win out. Always make your title clear and make it easy for your audience to recognize they need your book. Your title and front cover is your book's number one sales tool. Short titles are best, say three to six words. John Gray didn't get much attention with his book "What Your Mother Couldn't Tell You and What Your Father Didn't Know." He shortened it to the now famous, "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus." An outstanding title sells books. Make sure to give this part of your book, the number one essential "Hot-Selling Point," some time and effort.Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at <A target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml</a> and over 140 free articles. Email her at <a target="_new" href="mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com">mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com</a>

Best Sellers Aren?t Written ? They?re Made - It?s All About Promotion

Writing a book is becoming more and more of a trend these days. In fact, an estimated 5,000 mystery books were published last year in the United States alone, and that number is expected to grow. With so much competition, making the best-seller list is no easy task. So how is it that out of the thousands of mysteries published each year, some become best-sellers while others never get past the publisher's front door? The answer is simple ? promotion.Strategy is KeyMany authors are so confident that their book will sell itself, but unfortunately, that simply isn't the case. To hit the best-seller lists, you need to devote a lot of time to marketing. Promotion is important, because even if you think your book is destined to be a best-seller, no one will buy the book if you don't market it and set up the appropriate distribution outlets.At this point many authors proclaim: "But my publisher is supposed to market my book, not me." That's not entirely true. While the publisher does want your book to sell (that is, after all, how they make money), with all the books a publisher represents, their PR department can't possibly give your book the attention it deserves. They're often promoting multiple books at once and must spread out their time and resources fairly between everyone.That's where the author comes in. By taking charge of your book's promotion, you can make it to the best-seller list.The first step in devising a promotion strategy is to create a powerful media kit. You can be the most brilliant book promoter in the world, yet fail at making your book a bestseller if you do not have a strong and persuasive media kit. Why? Well, you may be able to talk a good game and get people excited about your book, but when they ask for your press kit and see a measly, uninformative packet with a few clippings and nothing more, all your build-up will fall flat.What's in a Media Kit?Think of a media kit as your book's resume. If it doesn't look good, it certainly won't attract the interest of media, distributors, or bookstores. The kit should contain:1. A cover letter ? A one-page letter that entices the reader to open your kit.2. A press release ? Usually one page long, the press release describes your book and its timeliness.3. A mock book review ? A one to two-page overview of your book that gives the highlights.4. An author biography ? A one-page document that introduces your credentials for writing the book.5. A book sell sheet ? A one page flyer for your book that gives ordering information and sell copy.6. A book catalog sheet ? A one page information piece that gives the technical details, such as how many books come in a case, the book's sales handles, the author's publicity campaign, etc.7. A novelty item such as a postcard of the book's cover, a bookmark, a counter card, etc. ? Including a novelty item makes you memorable. It also showcases some of your marketing efforts.You Can Do It!With a powerful media kit, you can keep the momentum strong and get people begging for more. This, in turn, will lead them to buy the book, which could ultimately lead you all the way to the top of the best-seller list.Dawn Josephson is president and founder of Cameo Publications, an editorial and publishing services firm based in Hilton Head Island, SC. She is also the author of Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books and the co-author (with Lauren Hidden) of the new book Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros. . For more information, please call 843-785-3770, e-mail <a href="mailto:Dawn@CameoPublications.com">Dawn@CameoPublications.com</a>, or visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.CameoPublications.com">http://www.CameoPublications.com</a>

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 28 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2551

Book Publishing Without Pain

When I meet an author with a great book concept, one who's definitely the right person to write that book, right away I'll often encourage her to self-publish. This is because I know that, if that author is thoroughly invested in what she has to say, and if she is determined to create a buzz about her message, she'll discover5 Fantastic Benefits of Self-publishing1. Control. When you enter into a contract with a major publishing house, you're signing an exclusive agreement that prevents your having input into most of the important decisions that will affect your book's perception by the public, and its sales. You'll have very little say about the look and feel of your book cover, the endorsements that appear on the back of your book, or the wording of your press release, for example. And since all of the above elements are critical to giving your book its best chance for bestseller status, such loss of control can pose significant problems. "But don't publishers know better than I what to do to sell a book?" you may ask. Not necessarily. Authors usually know more about their book's subject-and hence, about their target audience (market)-than anyone else. Hey, they wrote the book!More food for thought about signing with a major publishing house: If for some reason your book doesn't sell quickly and the publisher lets it go out of print, there's often a "waiting period" before the author is allowed to self-publish the book to get it back on the shelves. In the meantime, the reading public sees that your book is "out of print" and a great deal of word-of-mouth damage is done. Self-publishing means that you are at the helm of your book project. Of course, it also means that the responsibility for its success rests in your hands. But when you believe in your message and know that you're going to do everything in your power to get that message out to your target audience, isn't it a good feeling to know that you're the one driving its success in the marketplace?I suggest a balance of control and delegation. The right publishing ally can coach you through the process of writing and editing your book, and will also advise you to design and market your message in a way that gets optimum results. Your publishing ally may be a book editor, a publishing consultant, a published author, or all three. If she's worth her salt, though, she'll know what it will take to get your book published, and she'll know how to help you make it happen. Reputable help can be found in Literary Market Place (online or in your local library). LMP is the publishing industry's by-nomination-only directories??here you'll find book editors and publishing consultants with a proven track record.2. Money. Why does it make good business sense to self-publish? Consider the following: a contract with the book publisher doesn't give you an ironclad guarantee that your book will ever and upon the shelves. If you're a new author, your publisher will allocate zero marketing dollars to promote your book. It's sink or swim! If your book does sell well, it will be due to your own hard work and ingenuity-and your reward will be a tiny fraction of the book's total profits. Self-publishing admittedly involves more capital risk, but it also means that the extensive footwork you do to market your book will go to producing income for the person who most deserves it. After all, you're the one who's doing all the work to ignite word-of-mouth about your book. Not only that, you wrote it! Don't you deserve to reap 100% of the profit?Makes sense, doesn't it? One of the greatest perks I experience collaborating with authors is seeing our self-published books consistently create more reader excitement and interest than their traditionally published counterparts.3. No Waiting, No Rejection. The Cinderella story of the little book that gets discover by a publisher and becomes an overnight bestseller is mostly just that-a fairytale. Yes , it happens. But it hasn't been happening a whole lot lately. In the current publishing climate, with major houses paying gigantic advances to celebrity authors-their "cash cows"-not much is left to spend on developing new talent. Let's be honest: a publisher isn't going to spend a dime marketing a book by an as yet unknown author. To get your book considered for publication in the first place, you'll need to have an extremely convincing marketing strategy in place which you intend to implement on your own, at your own expense! Such as the case in every genre from children's books to alternative health to historical novels. First-time authors are being turned away en masse. And since many nonfiction book projects are time-sensitive-well-placed offerings intended to respond to a specific market trend-their authors often while way their precious window of opportunity waiting for agents or publishers to respond to a proposal. It isn't impossible to get a major publishing house interested in a book by a first-time author, but it's getting more difficult all the time. Self-publishing removes the wait (and the accompanying weight from your shoulders) and the discomfort of rejection from the process of getting your book into print.Why wait? And why bother wading through a mountain of rejections?4. Independence. Self-published authors are usually people with confidence in their message. Many have already developed a following by giving talks and seminars in areas where they live and work. Experts know when they have a powerful personal message-they don't need a publisher's approval to pump themselves up. Such authors, many of whom are already seasoned professionals, self-publish their books because they love being in the driver's seat of their book project. Rather than gamble that a big corporation will treat their book with the respect it deserves, such an author takes the publishing reins to ensure that her message reaches the widest possible audience.No one cares more about your book than you do. Get someone on your side who will help you get your book the attention it deserves. A good editorial and publishing consultant knows how to (a) make your book irresistible and (b) market your book efficiently and effectively to your target audience.5. Power of Belief. The power of belief in our words is what makes promises good and turns dreams into reality. Authors who self-publish their books believe deeply that others will benefit from reading what they have to say. They have unshakable conviction. Such authors often tell me, "I had to write this book. I just have to get it out there!" Deep belief is the selfless power that drives all true service and makes a difference in the world. Authors with a strong sense of purpose know that they can make their books succeed. They don't want to wait around for a publishing house to "accept" their work. Aware that time is precious, such authors create their own publishing opportunities. They get behind their own message. They launch a campaign fueled with belief in the creative power of intention.A good publishing consultant knows that the best way to make your book a true success is to help you create and market a message that both of you will be proud of for years to come. Creating uplifting books is a passion. Make it yours, and every one of your books sold will be a vote of confidence in humanity.Copyright ?2005 Ceci MillerCeci Miller is President of CeciBooks Editorial & Publishing Consultation, a firm with a world-class professional marketing and design team devoted to creating uplifting, first-quality books and giving those books their best chance of success in the market. CeciBooks Editorial & Publishing Consultation is listed in Literary Market Place. Please visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.CeciBooks.com">http://www.CeciBooks.com</a> or call 206.706.9565 for a half-hour consultation at no charge.

วันเสาร์ที่ 27 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2551

Why Would I Buy Your Book? Six Steps to Your Tell and Sell - Part 1

How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your book and willing to visit your Web site to buy them? How would you even like to presell your self-published book before they are finished?Most authors and entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they think about marketing their products on it. What a shame!Let's say someone expresses an interest in your book. You get all excited and say, "My book is about?." You mention the features such as tips in a book. You tell your fiction plot or story. If the person is kind, he may hear a bit, but most people today including your agent, reader, publisher, bookseller or organization you want to speak for--all want concise reasons why they would buy your book. Remember they are thinking, "So what? Why should I buy your book?"You don't want to bore your prospective readers or turn them off with too much detail. What they want is a quick billboard visual of your book--your 30-60 second "tell and sell."Without your 30 Second "Tell and Sell" that strongly states the book title, audience, main benefit, and what makes your book unique, you will bore your visitor and lose that attention you need to entice him or her to take out their wallets and pay you on the spot.Your "Tell and Sell" gives your book audience a reason to buy. The "Tell and Sell" is the shortest sales letter you will write. You can also use this one to two-sentence blurb at any business meeting or appointment where you only have a few seconds to impress. Speakers refer to it as an "elevator speech." Coaches refer to it as your "defining statement."It's Not the Book, It's the Hook!It's best to know your sizzling title, unique selling points, preferred audience and benefits before you even write your book. But, even if your book is already out, you can still motivate endless book sales with your "Tell and Sell."Author tip: Be prepared to write five to seven versions until the best one emerges. Contact your friends and associates to vote on your best version. And, remember your "tell and sell" must be clear, compact, compelling, and commercial.Six Steps to Build your Book's Bullet Proof "Tell and Sell"1. List your title.Example: "Write Your EBook or Other Short Book-Fast!"2. Add your major audience after you say the title.Example: "Write your eBook. or Other Short Book--Fast.!" helps authors and small business people who want to write a saleable book to brand their business, become known as the savvy expert, make a difference in people's lives, get their word out to as many people as possible, and make a good living.3. Add the major 1-3 benefits of your book.Example: They can save themselves from headaches, disappointments, and money down the drain and short cut their time and write a saleable book for great profits.Knowing benefits sell books, you now can be ready when you meet anyone anywhere with your book's "tell and sell."Judy Cullins ?2005 All Rights Reserved. Part two of this article is available at www.bookcoaching.com/freearticles/article-185.shtml or article185@bookcoaching.com.Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Judy is author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell. She offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month," blog Q & A at <a target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com">http://www.bookcoaching.com</a> and over 185 free articles.Email her at <a href="mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com">Judy@bookcoaching.com</a> Phone: 619/466-0622 -- Orders: 866/200-9743

Dont Clone your Book or Business Marketing

Remember that the miracle of cloning sheep has its drawbacks. The main one--dying young.Don't let your business die young by following the herd. Instead, think of the natural ways you like to market.Here are some Marketing Ideas that Make Big Promises. And, when followed by investing a large amount of money and time, only a few will get the results they hope for.1. Make your book a #1 best seller on Amazon. This idea teaches authors that if they offer $1000's of bonus books, reports and the like, and tell all their email lists to buy the book on a particular day at Amazon, they will make extreme sales.In many sales letters that give away $1000's more than the price of their book, it looks a little suspicious or gimmicky. "Killer copy" and other web sizzle language doesn't bring confidence to most business people. The programs sold are over $2000. An old saying came from Robert Allen something like: "You make much more money teaching people how to make money than they ever will implementing the skills."2. Optimize your web site standings in the search engines with ads placed in Google.com and through ------.After putting a lot of time into writing ad copy, paying an upfront consultant fee, and paying monthly costs of the key words, I'd say the results for my top four business books were near 0.Yes, I heard of one author that didn't invest more than $400 a month to reap $4000 book sales, but her book was highly specialized. When another web master I know followed this tact, she invested thousands a month to yield here only 50% in sales. For $2500 investment for the first month, she made $1250. Once the competition caught on, her sales dropped and no longer gave her a desired income.Natural MarketingLike myself, if you are a writer or author, it will be easy and natural for you to write short articles and tips for opt-in (no spam) ezines you subscribe to. This one thing has kept me at #1 for the phrase "bookcoaching." for four years and has placed my writings on over 21000 sites, the number increasing 1000 each month.If you don't like to write much, maybe you'll love BLOGs. They bring similar results as the articles and your own ezine do. It's a mini web site, and an interactive process your visitors will like it because they see you more casually and personally. My blog's format will be question and answer, also letting my humor and opinions out to show I'm human.If you like to share yourself and your solutions with others publically, you may enjoy presenting to groups and have your product available at the back of the room. A similar venue would be joining a networking group. Bring your business card that features either your blog site URL or your ezine subscription information. When you collect these email addresses, you grow your lists of target to-be-buyers.Cloning isn't always healthy or profitable. Stay true to your own style of sharing yourself, your business, or book.Judy Cullins ?2005 All Rights Reserved.Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," "The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Targeted Web Traffic," and "Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The Book Coach Says..." and "Business Tip of the Month" at <a target="_new" href="http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml">http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml</a> and over 165 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.