by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Nov 10, 2015
As an author, you work hard to create a book that is flawless – you write a first manuscript, make revisions, make some more revisions, and toil for a long time to finally get your book “just right” and ready for sale. Now you have your book up on Amazon, but it’s not selling the way you want it to. When that happens, it’s discouraging after all that time and effort you put into creating the best book you could. So why the low sales? And what can you do about it?
To answer these questions, let’s take a moment for a quick marketing lesson. When building a marketing plan, it’s important to keep in mind the 4 P’s of marketing: product, place, promotion, and price. Briefly, I’ve defined them below:
by Sharon C. Jenkins
Bowker | Tue Nov 3, 2015
It takes a lot of courage to be an author. Particularly in the 21st Century, when the new literary pathway to success is still being charted. I liken being an author to being a hero. The other day I happened to be looking for synonyms for the word “heroes” and the following words were suggested: Supermen, Champions, Conquerors, Idols, Brave Men, Stars, and Leads. Now all of these words speak of individuals who perform above and beyond their human ability. It is my opinion that authors fit in every last one of those categories. Here’s why:
Authors are supermen and superwomen because they can lift unusually large boxes of books and a pop-up stand with a single hand while talking to their agent on their cellphone in the other hand.
Authors are champions because they still meet publishing deadlines while suffering from acute writer's block.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 27, 2015
People like what people like. I say this a lot to the authors I work with to emphasize the importance of having reader reviews. But what about the authors that already have great reviews, or even awards? Authors often tell me their books get great reviews (on Amazon, Goodreads, blogs, etc.), receive literary awards, and still, the book sales just don’t happen. Having great reviews is just one component of having a great marketing plan; the next step is maximizing those great reviews and converting them into sales. Below are six ways to leverage your reviews to drive more sales:
1. Leverage: How are you leveraging your book’s positive publicity? Are you leveraging it at all? If not, you should be. Your first step should be to promote any awards, and there are several free ways you can do that:
by Devorah Ashlem
Bowker | Tue Oct 20, 2015
You’ve probably encountered a less-than-desirable content experience on a mobile device, like not being able to “pinch” the screen to zoom in and out, or rotating a device and not getting the content to follow suit. You were left with a less than positive impression of that content (and its author), because you couldn’t consume it your way. Time to think about what you can do to avoid giving your readers a less than optimal impression of your work.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 13, 2015
Newsletters seem very 1990’s don’t they? They don’t have the flash of “new media” or the shimmer of a shiny new social media site just waiting to be discovered. What they do have, however, is visibility. In some cases, more visibility than you’re getting on all of your social media sites combined.
I speak at a lot of writer events and in the last year, the buzz has really increased around the need for a newsletter. Why? Well, Facebook has declined in reach; in some cases only 1% of your posts reach your fans. If you’re not paying for placement on Facebook, it’s very likely your stuff isn’t being seen. With everyone on sites like Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter (which also will start monetizing posts) it’s really hard to get your audiences’ attention.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Oct 6, 2015
Numerous studies over the years have concluded that people who are certain of their beliefs are more likely to buy, buy sooner and spend more. These findings can help you sell more of your books to corporate buyers.
Viscerally, it makes sense. You are probably more likely to make a purchase if you are confident that you are making the right choice. It is a gut feeling, a sense that you are doing the right thing that makes you comfortable plowing ahead. You can get your buyers to feel the same about you and your book, too. And you can do all that not by using advanced sales techniques, but by being objective, building consensus, reinforcing a positive message and building your credibility.
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Objectivity. Buyers are naturally suspect of a salesperson’s pitch. They listen and evaluate your comments in real time. Your words reinforce their beliefs, and they become more confident in their decision – whether to buy or not to buy.
by Rochelle D. Carter
Bowker | Tue Sep 29, 2015
In my Brand Your Expertise with a Book™ workshop I talk about creating content quickly, and this is another one of those great tools that can help you do that! As an award-winning publisher and award-winning author I get lots of questions on an almost hourly basis about the business of writing and publishing.
How do I put a book together? I have ideas and some written stuff, but nothing concrete as my topic.
This part is simpler than you think. First, when writing any book you have to start with the end in mind. What is the overall goal for your book? You should create your promise statement (aka mission statement) from the beginning so when you get confused with too much content or too little, you will know where to focus to pull it in. Your statement should have the following framework since the idea is to keep it short and sweet:
by Devorah Ashlem
Bowker | Tue Sep 22, 2015
You’ve done it—you’ve written a book. Chances are that you understand the process for getting the book to readers to enjoy in a print version, but then you’re met with questions such as, “When will this be available for my Kindle, iPad, or smart phone?”
If the world of publishing content for mobile audiences is new to you, you need to consider a few things before starting the process. If you’re self-publishing, you assume all of the cost and effort, and need to know what challenges exist to get your book findable and readable to meet varying audience requests (and sometimes, demands). If you choose to work with a publisher, you need to meet a high standard of quality with the delivery of your book to all formats. Let’s take a look at some of the common considerations you’ll need to make when you transform your books into mobile-ready content.
What kind of book did you write?
by Sharon C. Jenkins
Bowker | Tue Sep 15, 2015
“Hello, my name is Sharon and I am a Powerful Choleric.”
Writing as a child, was an extension of my controlling nature. I was raised in an era where children were spoken to and no response was required or desired. Your opinion did not count and if you felt that it did, you might be searching for your teeth. So, being the little “control freak” I was, I had to find a way to express my view without losing my life and I choose writing as my medium; it became my therapy at an early age.
As a prissy little girl, I decided my writing should be pretty and rhyme, so I embarked on becoming a poet. During my teens, I began to read about poets that looked like me who were popular in the 1960’s and well I became a literary revolutionary. Couple that with the fact that I was cute and you can change my name to TROUBLE.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Sep 8, 2015
When I was first in the industry, discovering a book was easy and pretty uncomplicated. Back then, publishing had seasons, and if you wanted readers to find the book, you stuck to the rules. Big books in the Fall; change-your-life titles in January; and summer reads, smaller books and fluff-type titles the rest of the year. Now, however, there are no hard and fast rules. Other than news or seasonal tie-ins, there’s little rhyme or reason to when a book is published. The landscape has changed, and we’re all just trying to figure out the rules.
