Writing

Authors, especially self published, small press and Print on Demand authors should understand the power of the Internet when promoting a book. There is POWER in cyberspace authors and it’s only getting bigger and better. More users will be online buying books next year than this year. More people are buying books today online than they were yesterday.

Guess what the last item I bought at a brick and mortar store? It was a Vanilla Soy Late coffee w/ two sweetener packages while I just looked and browsed the bookshelves - The last 10 books I purchased was online. Internet 10 - Bookstores 0. Get the point?

So what is the definition of the Internet? One dictionary says, “The Internet, sometimes called simply ‘the Net,’ is a worldwide system of computer networks — a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers).”

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 discover

5 Fantastic Benefits of Self-publishing

1. 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!

With the large increase of books being published by self-publishers, and the up-rise of print on demand, there is still a lot of death taking place in the publishing industry. Thus far, 175,000 books have been published in 2005.

Are you a part of this population? There are many aspects that make up these individuals. However, let us target just three that are undeniable to anyone reading this article.

As in anything we do, a large portion of it is about taking risks. Are you a risk taker? You’ve completed your manuscript or just published your novel; it is time to open the entrepreneur portion of your brain.

Risk takers do not mind the possible end result because the thought of success in pure motivation. Many writers and authors remain reclusive within the safe haven of their creativity. What makes this ideology costly? It is the slow return on their investment.

Are you wondering if you fit into this population of authors? Sure you have published your work for the whole world to read, even critique. But that is just the beginning of this venture. What makes you any different than the other hundreds of thousands of writers and authors?

Marketing your book whether you went the POD, e-book, or traditional route can be a daunting process. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t can take time, energy, and if you’re not careful a lot of money. When I first self-published my science fiction novel GETTING OUT ALIVE, I had already done quite a bit of research into ways to market my novel that didn’t eat into my pocket book.

Here are the top 8 ways I’ve marketed my book and seen results:

*Create a presence on the web. There are many ways to do this, but having your own website to promote your writing is the best way. There are lots of places that have free webpages, but Bravenet.com has everything you could ever want (webjournals, tell-a-friend service, guestbook, and mailing lists to name a few) and this includes free hosting.

*Sign other author’s guestbooks. The author is not the only one who reads the entries, and make sure you add your website address even if they don’t give you a spot to put it. Put it beneath your name when you sign your entry.

Many self-publishing authors plan on eventually selling their book to a large publisher at a good price. The fast track way to achieve this goal is to push up the market value of a book with a push v. pull strategy. This article shows you how to do exactly that, using a simple Internet strategy that any self-publisher can afford.

PUSH v. PULL EXPLAINED

Books with push like Harry Potter push customers through the doors, and the registers go kachink, kachink. With self- published titles, booksellers must pull customers through the door and that costs money. Put yourself in their shoes. Giving preference to books with built-in push makes sense.

Remember this formula: push stacks chips on your side of the bargaining table and pull sweeps them away. With a transferable Internet presence strategy, you can stack chips to the ceiling just like the big boys do.

WHAT THE BIG BOYS ARE DOING

The push is on with major publishers to build market value for their intellectual properties with the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system.

If you are reading this article then you have already toyed with the idea of self publishing. You may be unsure at this point and without a doubt, the decision to self publish, should not be taken lightly.

Before you go any further you should be very clear about what self publishing means. Put simply ? it means that instead of sending your manuscript off to a publisher with a hope and a prayer ? You become the publisher and as such, You and You alone are responsible for every step it takes to turn your manuscript into a book worthy of sale.

There are several things you should consider.

1. Have you absolute faith in the merit of your story?

2. Do you know to which market it is intended?

3. Can you afford the cost of printing?

4. Are you prepared to put in the hours and effort necessary to promote your book?

There are over ten thousand daily, weekly and monthly newspapers in the United States and Canada. For the first time author they are a valuable source of free publicity. They are hungry for news and your new book is news. When approaching these papers there is a list of things that are frowned upon and another list of things under the heading of ?don’t you dare. We will examine the latter category first.

Never start your press release with the headline in all caps or in bold or underlined type. Capitalize your heading as you would a title for a book and no more. Never use a barrage of personal pronouns as you must stay in the third person. Never forget to place a summary statement just after the headline. That is a few sentences that will bait the reader so to speak. It should make them want to read what follows next in the main body. Never, never, never include any personal or contact information in the summary statement or body of your press release. Save the contact info for the last "about" section of the press release, that is what it is for. In that final section, go gently. It is ok to include such info as the projected target of your book, telephone number, web site and other contact information. A note on your credentials is ok too, that is your degrees or experience or anything that qualifies you to have written your book.

Some of us write simply because we can’t not write. Ideas grab us, move us, and demand to be written. We strive to make it as real as we possibly can, to improve at our craft every day, hopefully to make it into the realm of literature as well as entertainment. We want to craft an entire world where the places and people are so real that the reader doesn’t feel like he’s reading a book as much as he is going to another place. In the lofty world of literature that we strive for, the reader will still think about the book after reading that last page. It’s our gift to the reader, something to take with him. Given sufficient skill, this can even happen long after we are dead.

Then we learn that doesn’t sell. Oh, there are exceptions. Some novelists make a living by consistently writing quality literature. But, there are quite a few best sellers who have no such goals. They write for money, and they make it.

Recently, someone rated my "Online Book Marketing" article a 2 out of 5. That person apparently didn’t like the article. My guess is that he or she was turned off by the marketing angle. Writers write; they don’t sell. Some writers even view the concept of selling or marketing their work as somehow inherently wrong.

That’s fine. But unless you get a lucky break from a huge publishing house you will probably not go far with book sales unless you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do some serious marketing.

There are many ways you can market your writing and build a readership online. But you should also start thinking about your writing differently. For example, instead of trying to write and sell one book of short stories or one novel, why not break it into separate small books (each one a short story or two) or sell your novel as a serialized version-a new chapter or two every month? (Eventually you can sell this material in a physical book.)

Is your mind muddy on book marketing? Do you wake up each day and say, “I’m not a social person and I hate to beat the drum for my book” or “I just wish someone else could market my book for me”?

If you could market your book a pleasurable way, you may not think it a chore. Natural marketing refers to the action you take to get the word out about your service and product that rings true to your heart. It feels effortless without struggle, where ideas pop out, you lose track of time engaging in them, and you can’t act on them fast enough! Natural marketing feels authentic and inspired.

Unnatural marketing feels like your actions go against what feels true for you. It isn’t what you like to do normally; it isn’t what you can do easily. Using this tactic, you may feel bored, fearful, or ambivalent. You go through the motions, but a part of you resists. When resistances and doubts pop up you can be sure they affect every marketing decision that can lead to small gains or a large success. They also do not attract willing readers and customers.