When Selling Books, Don’t Forget to Finish Your Swing

As many of you know, I have a daughter who plays college softball. Thus, I spend most of my weekends in the spring driving for hours on California highways and sitting in the stands at college stadiums, cheering the team on while trying to avoid the inevitable sunburn and rear-end numbness we softball moms lovingly refer to as “bleacher butt.” Yes, it can be tiring and time-consuming, but the end result is worth it – I get to watch my daughter and her teammates play the game they love, and nothing gives me more joy (except maybe, after a few nights spent on lumpy hotel mattresses, coming home and sleeping in my own bed).

While I don’t purport to know a lot about softball (I never played it, although I did play a season of women’s rugby in college and have the dental work to prove it), I’ve learned some invaluable lessons from this sport that my daughter adores. One lesson, in particular, that resonates is the adage to “finish your swing,” which my daughter’s hitting coaches claim is the most important part of sending that softball over the fence for a home run. And, just as in softball, finishing strong can be the best way to guarantee success for authors who are trying to promote their books.

As a publicist, I’ve been hired by many authors who are eager to succeed at the publicity game. They are willing to pay me for my services, travel to parts unknown to give talks and sign books, and spend lots of money on printing, postage, and other expenses to get the word out about their work. But while the majority of the authors are willing to part with their hard-earned cash, I find that oftentimes they don’t consider that the work of promotion isn’t finished once I’m able to garner whatever type of publicity they’re looking for, whether it’s setting up a book or blog tour, helping them place articles in magazines and journals, or scheduling media interviews.

And that’s because making these types of events happen is not all there is to it. Once an event or interview is set up, there’s a lot more work to be done – booksellers want display copies, giveaways, and sometimes even food and drinks supplied for their events, and most of them expect the author to fill the seats with attendees.  Likewise, other venues where authors appear (whether it be a library, a museum, a church, a specialty store, or a professional organization luncheon) often hold the same expectations. And even bloggers expect review and giveaway copies, along with the promise that the author will share the blogger’s link on social media sites.

This means that authors have a continued role to play once their publicists book gigs for them. Yes, getting the bookseller, producer, or venue host to say yes is the first step (and oftentimes a big one, depending on the importance of the event to the author), and yes, some events, blog posts, and interviews bring their own viewers. But, in most cases, the work isn’t finished with the confirmation. In addition to showing up (which requires a certain amount of preparation in itself), authors can expect to provide all the amenities for the event including, in many cases, the attendees.

But it’s not fair, authors say – I have to write the book, hire a publicist, pay a lot of expenses, and then I’m supposed to fill the room, too?  

The answer is a resounding yes – your publicist and the venue host can do a good portion of the promoting leg-work for you but, in general, the events your publicist sets up for you will only be successful if you follow through.

But where do I find people to attend my events? authors ask.  Many authors are reluctant to go back to their friends and family members who have already been asked multiple times to buy books and attend signings. But there are other ways to promote an event – here are some to consider:

• Think outside the friends and family box – post notices at work, school, church, book clubs, etc. Hand them out to your fellow yoga classmates, post them at the grocery store and coffee shop near you, and keep them handy when traveling, so you always have one to give to a potential attendee.

• Offer incentives for people to come – free food, drink, giveaways, etc., can often be a motivator for those who are considering attending an event

• Place notices in local media online calendars

• Send out press releases to local media and schedule interviews prior to the event

• Announce events on social media sites

• Blog about your upcoming events – share some insights into what you plan to do there or what the event means to you

• Promote your event or interview at related group meetings and on social media sites where you and your books’ content would be of interest

• List event dates and times prominently on your blog and website

• Send out reminders to those on your email lists

• Be proactive in promoting – tell anyone who might be interested, as often as possible, about your upcoming appearances, interviews, etc.

While completing these activities might sound daunting, consider the ramifications of not doing any social media promotion, not sending display and review copies, not providing giveaways on blog tours, not listing events on your blog and websites, and not talking about your upcoming gigs to anyone who might be interested. Without these types of author follow-up, your events run the risk of not being very successful. You might have connected by setting up the event, but the real power is in the follow-through. Ask my daughter – she’s hitting .415 this season, and she’ll be the first to tell you that even though her swing is strong, the really big hits don’t come unless she finishes moving that bat all the way through.

Defining Success: How Three Authors Made Their Publishing Dreams Come True

Success often means different things to different people, and that is certainly true for most authors. While the majority of authors would probably agree that being able to complete a book is an accomplishment in itself, many define success as more than just the act of writing.

For some, success is achieved through obtaining a contract from a major publishing house. Others want to build their own writing empires by going the self-publishing route. For many authors, success means landing a book deal after being self-published. Others wish to achieve a certain status on the bestseller lists, while others desire to develop a solid core of readers. Some aspire to become established in a particular genre, while others write only for themselves or their family members

There is no right or wrong when it comes to an individual author’s goals. And the definition of success will be different depending on what authors believe is most important to their personal plans for themselves.

The following authors are clients who have been successful in their publishing efforts. They come from different backgrounds and write in different genres. And although their individual goals differ, each of them has managed to achieve the level of success they envisioned. Here’s how they did it:

Corey Lynn Fayman
Author of the San Diego-based Rolly Fingers mystery series, Black Beach Shuffle, Border Field Blues, and the soon-to-be-released Slab City Rockers. www.coreylynnfayman.com

A powerful new voice on the crime-fiction scene (ForeWord Reviews), Corey Lynn Fayman is the creator of Rolly Waters, the San Diego, California-based guitar-playing detective first featured in the San Diego Book Awards nominated mystery Black's Beach Shuffle. Encouraged by this early success, he set about writing a second Rolly Waters Mystery, Border Field Blues, winner of the Genre Award at the 2013 Hollywood Book Festival, and has inked a deal for his third novel with Severn House Publishers. Corey hails from San Diego, where he's worked as a keyboard player for local bands, a sound designer for the world-famous Old Globe Theatre, and an interactive designer for organizations both corporate and sundry. He also teaches at various colleges and universities.

What specific goals do you have for yourself as an author and how have you achieved those goals?

My initial goal was just to find out if I could write a mystery novel, one based on the idea of a guitar-playing detective that had been rolling around in my head for a while. About halfway through the process I realized that one book wouldn’t be enough if I wanted to do justice to the character, as well as find finding my authentic voice as a writer. I committed myself to writing two more books in the series, not matter how long it took, no looking back. The second book, Border Field Blues, took much longer to write, but I learned so much in the process. It taught me how to write, and prepared me for the challenges of completing the third book on a much tighter deadline. My other goal in writing three books was to give the series a chance to be picked up in the marketplace. Getting a contract with a well-known and respected publisher like Severn House gave me a great shot of confidence. People like Rolly Waters. I’m on the right track.

What's the next step for you as an author?

Getting to know the business better, and figuring out how I can become more active in advancing my writing career without becoming an empty shill. There are so many ways to promote your work these days, from traditional book tours to blogs to social media to book trailers. You can’t do them all. You need to settle on the ones that work best for you. I’m partway there, but it’s still something I’m working on, finding my promotional voice, so to speak, now that I’ve developed my writing voice.

What advice do you have for authors who are just starting out?

Learn to read your own work with a jaded and objective eye. Don’t fall in love with the stuff you thought was brilliant and important when you first put it to paper. Let your characters lead. Let them help you discover the story. Your book may not turn out to be what you originally had in mind, but it will end up being a better book. I remember feeling surprised when I had Rolly Waters run from the crime scene in the opening chapter of Black’s Beach Shuffle. I didn’t know why he did it, except that it felt right at the time. It ended up being a great way to introduce a key fault in his character (poor impulse control), as well as setting up later plot points.

On the business side, try everything and find out what works for you. Go to conferences, develop a blog, enter contests, and join writing groups (online and in person). Anything that keeps you moving forward is valuable. Learning what you don’t like to do is valuable too.

Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Nonfiction author of several how-to books, including What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes, and How Can I Be One, Too?, and creator of the romantic mystery series, Saving Grace, Leaving Annalise, and Finding Harmony, and the first spin-off, Going for Kona. www.pamelahutchins.com

Often compared to Janet Evanovich for fiction or Erma Bombeck for nonfiction, award-winning author Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes romantic mysteries and hilarious nonfiction, and moonlights as a workplace investigator and employment attorney. She is passionate about great writing and smart authorpreneurship, and her books have hit the best-seller lists multiple times.

What specific goals do you have for yourself as an author and how have you achieved those goals?

The most important goals for me are to write and publish the books of my heart as best as I can create them, and to make writing novels my full-time occupation. To write the books of my heart, I had to eschew the traditional publishing path (although I had published one nonfiction book traditionally, before), where each agent wanted me to rewrite my novels differently to appeal potentially to their editor contact. I wasn’t on board for that, not at this time of change and opportunity in the publishing industry. I decided to publish them independently. To make my indie novels the best they could be, I modeled my process after traditional publishing and ensured that my books received multiple levels of topnotch interactive editing attention. It was expensive, but paid for itself immediately. While no author is the best judge of the quality of her own books, I hope that the contest wins, amazing sales, and the thousands of reviews are a positive indicator of the results of this process.

As to the full-time novelist goal, that has become a reality after three short years of publishing, but ten long years of writing. To meet this goal, besides writing books that would appeal to readers, I had to develop my own brand, cover my own expenses, and create my own income stream. I modeled my writing career after successful hybrid authors like J.A. Konrath. Konrath stresses that an indie writer needs to produce quality volume at an attractive price. To this end, I publish one full-length novel every six months. While working on my brand and visibility, I studied the paths of some successful erotica and YA indie novelists and their first-in-series-permafree strategy. While the thought of giving away my best-selling book scared me, I decided to try it, and it worked. I supported it with aggressive, ongoing online advertising, and my writer income became sufficient to give up my day job as an attorney. You can read all the ins and outs of this journey and process in What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes, and How Can I Be One, Too?, an updated version of which will be released in February 2015.

What's the next step for you as an author?

Write, write, write! I have my next seven novels lined up in a row to write, and I’m really looking forward to it. I brainstorm collaboratively with my husband, too, so that’s a lot of fun. After the impact of my 2013 60-cities-in-60-days book tour across 17,000 miles and the 2014 America-the-Beautiful tour over 11,000 miles of North Western states, I’m also hoping to schedule a book tour trip up the west coast of the US and Canada to Alaska one summer soon, and a bicycling-across-America book tour one spring in the not too distant future as well.

What advice do you have for authors who are just starting out?

I coach a lot of published and unpublished writers, on writing, on publishing, and on promotion. By and large, I see them in too much of a hurry to get through the writing part to get to the publishing part only to eschew the promotion part. Put in the work, and the time, up front. It takes hundreds of thousands of words to develop voice, and millions to develop your storytelling ability. I wish I’d seen different for any writer, but I haven’t. This goes double if you’re going to publish independently, without the extensive editorial support of big publishing. Slow down and write a book that won’t net you scathing reviews. The Internet is forever, my friends, and a name once sullied with a reader is hard to overcome. (And even if you write a super book, you are really the only one who can “sell” it, no matter how it’s published, so be prepared to get your hands dirty with promotion.)

C. L. Hoang
Author of the historical Vietnam War novel, Once upon a Mulberry Field www.mulberryfieldsforever.com

C. L. Hoang was born and raised in South Vietnam and came to the United States in the 1970s. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and earns his living as an electronic engineer, with eleven patents to his name to date. His debut novel, Once upon a Mulberry Field, a love story set at the height of the Vietnam War, has won multiple awards, including a Gold Medal (Historical Literature Fiction) in the 2014 Global Ebook Awards, a Grand Prize (Fiction) in the 2014 LuckyCinda Book Contest, an Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest 22nd Annual Self-Published Book Awards (2014), and a nomination as a Finalist (Historical Fiction) in the 2014 National Indie Excellence Book Awards.

What specific goals do you have for yourself as an author and how have you achieved those goals?

My goal in writing Once upon a Mulberry Field was to share different perspectives and stories from various people, both Vietnamese and American, whose lives had been affected by the Vietnam War. Thus, many of those stories may prove of interest to such diverse audiences as American veterans who served in Vietnam during the war, their families and friends, Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in America after the war, as well as the baby boomers who came of age during the tumultuous sixties. The general themes of love, loss, and redemption may appeal to a female audience, and there may also be interest from history buffs or younger folks curious about that chapter in history.

To try and reach all those different audiences, I offered to give a talk about my book at as many venues as I could get access to: book club, library, church group, rotary club, spa resort, writer’s group etc. It was nerve-racking at first since I’m not a born public speaker, but it did get easier with time and practice. The ultimate reward that makes it all worthwhile is the direct, personal connection with my audiences.

Book awards, both regional and national, also serve to validate and highlight the quality of a book, especially when it comes to self-published works. In my case, they helped to open some doors for me that might otherwise have been off limits.

What's the next step for you as an author?

After Once upon a Mulberry Field was published on Valentine’s Day of 2014, the rest of the year was devoted to promoting the book to its intended audiences. That was a full-time effort that left little room for anything else, which made me realize just how much I missed my quiet writing time. So hopefully 2015 will be a year of rejuvenation for me, if you will, as I will try to scale back on my book marketing duties and reserve some time to write again. There are still many stories floating around in my head demanding to be told, and I would love to capture them for a second book that I hope won’t take six years to write!

What advice do you have for authors who are just starting out?

Believe in your story with all your heart, and tell it in the absolute best way you can. Write, edit (with professional help), rewrite—until you start spinning around in circles! Then go out there and promote the daylight out of it, all the while remaining realistic about your marketing goals. Seize on any public speaking opportunity to share your story, no matter how uncomfortable you may feel (for it gets easier with practice). After all, who else can tell it better than you can, right? Enter book contests to get an idea how you stack up against the competition. Besides boosting your confidence, a book award can distinguish your work from the rest of the field and win you some good will—even potential new readers. Some contests also provide helpful commentaries from the judges. But most of all, stop and savor every small accomplishment along the way, and no matter what happens, never lose that sense of fulfillment already achieved just by finishing your book. Happy writing and best wishes with your publishing efforts!

Bookshelf Interview on Writing Native American Fiction

Earlier this month, I did a radio interview at East County Magazine's Bookshelf program about my novel, Favorite Daughter, with advice for authors on writing historical fiction. Click on the link below to hear the interview:

http://eastcountymagazine.org/hear-our-interview-paula-margulies-author-books-native-american-themes

How to Query a Book Publicist

When I first started offering publicity services for authors (many years ago), the winter months were often a slow time for me workwise. Now, with so many authors self-publishing, I receive more queries in the fall and winter than at any other time of year.

To help authors get the best response with their queries, I’ve listed some general tips on the best way to approach a publicist.

Do a little self-analysis first.

Before you decide to contact a publicist, take a few moments to consider whether your book and your own personal platform are ready for the kind of promotional work that a publicist will do for you.

Has your book been professionally edited? Has the cover been professionally designed? Do you have a website and social media sites? Have you thought about who your readers are and where you can best reach them? What kind of platform do you have? If you don’t have a platform, are you in the process of creating one?

Know what you’re looking for in the way of promotion and what you can afford.

If you have a platform and a book that has been professionally edited and is ready for distribution, your next step is to think about what kind of publicity you’re interested in pursuing. Some authors want to take their books on tour, others want media exposure, and some prefer online marketing. There is no right or wrong way for any author to promote, but those willing to do the most work to expose their books to their target audiences will make the most headway. If your budget is tight, that’s fine – know how much you’d like to spend, and then think about what you’d like to do within that budget framework.

Query only when your work is ready.

Even though I state on my website that I only work with authors whose books have been professionally edited, I still receive copies of books with typos, incorrect grammar, and significant writing flaws. The same goes for book covers – many of the samples sent to me have covers that have not been professionally designed. Please be sure your book is ready for publication before you send it to me for review.

Put your best foot forward.

The email message you send or the telephone call you make to a publicist is often the first indication of what it will be like to work with you. I receive many email messages where the author requests info about pricing or types of promotion, but offers no information about his book or the type promotion he’s interested in.

Oftentimes, these email messages demand information with no introduction. Messages like: “Hi Paula, Can you send me your prices on publicity?” are not likely to receive a positive response. If you truly want my help, then help me know more by telling me a little about what kind of books you write, what kind of background you have as an author, and what you’re looking for in the way of promotion.

Don’t send queries via Twitter and Facebook.

I’m surprised at how many authors will ask questions via social media, especially Twitter, about services and fees. Since we're only allowed 140 characters in a Twitter response, it’s difficult to answer questions in any kind of detail this way. If you’re serious about querying a publicist about publicity work, and/or if you have questions about the process, it’s probably best to email that person directly (you can reach me at paula@paulamargulies.com).

What I like to see in a query:

1. The title and a brief description of the book.
2. A brief summary of your background and experience as it relates to the book’s contents.
3. A brief statement of what you’re looking for in the way of publicity.
4. A sentence indicating whether the book will be traditionally or self-published and expected publication date.
5. If self-published, a sentence indicating whether the book has been professionally edited and designed/formatted and who has done that work for you.
6. For a book that is already published, a link to its Amazon page, website, or other retail site, so I can easily access that info.
7. Your full name and contact information, including email address and telephone number in case I would like to reach you by phone.

And here’s what not to include in your query:

1. Don’t attach a full manuscript. I may not represent the type of book you’ve written and even if I do, I generally don’t print out books sent to me by email.
2. Don’t tell me how much your friends and family loved the book or that others have deemed it a potential bestseller.
3. Don’t include pages of testimonials or blurbs from others about the book. A simple description or brief list of who has offered to blurb the book will suffice.
4. Don’t try to negotiate some type of commission structure for payment; most publicists charge a monthly retainer or an hourly rate for their services and do not work on commission. It’s best to wait until the publicist agrees to take you on before discussing payment options.

The majority of book publicists have websites with information about the types of services they provide, and specific advice as to what they’d like you to include when you send a query. It’s best to check the website first and follow the individual publicist’s requirements as you put your query together.

Finally, be patient with us if we don’t get back to you right away – sometimes we’re on deadline for current clients, traveling, or busy with other issues, so it can take a few days to respond.

As always, if you have any questions about what I’ve listed here, or about the query process in general, feel free to contact me at paula@paulamargulies.com. Happy querying!

Locating Your Tribe: Where to Find Readers for Your Books

First, a happy Labor Day to all of the hardworking readers and authors out there who got to enjoy a much needed day of rest (I know I sure needed one!).

I just returned home from a three-day weekend at the Barona Indian Reservation, where I sold copies of my books Favorite Daughter, Part One; Face Value: Collected Stories; and Coyote Heart. Before I discuss the powwow, please know that I am not Native American by heritage. I discovered the world of powwows when I wrote my first novel, Coyote Heart, which is a contemporary love story about a married woman who falls in love with a man from the Pala Indian Reservation here in San Diego.

When I was promoting the first edition of Coyote Heart (which was agented and traditionally published by a small press back in 2009), I discovered that there was a core group of readers here in San Diego County who were interested in Native American fiction. I learned this fact by getting out and doing book signings at local bookstores and libraries (there were still a lot of bookstores around at that time, so I was lucky to be able to do a four–state signing tour with the book).

After realizing that readers enjoyed the regional and/or native elements of Coyote Heart, I decided to see what it would be like to be a vendor at a number of local Native American gatherings (remember, I just had the one book, Coyote Heart, to sell) and rented booth space at powwows at San Luis Rey, Pala, Barona, Pechanga, Balboa Park, and Sycuan the summer after the book was released. As a result, I was able to meet a number of powwow attendees (both tribal members and local readers) who liked that Coyote Heart was about the Indian tribes here in San Diego (this was especially true of the Luiseno and Cupa readers who were familiar with the Pala Reservation). I sold a lot of copies of Coyote Heart that first summer, and then attended a string of powwows during the following summer, where I ran into many of my former readers who wanted to know when I would have another book out.

Much happened after those first powwow appearances – I hired a publishing attorney and got the rights back to Coyote Heart, which I rewrote as a second edition. I self-published the new edition of Coyote Heart, along with a collection of short stories I had written during 2001 – 2007, called Face Value: Collected Stories. I published both books in January, 2014, and then completed the final draft of part one of my historical novel about Pocahontas, Favorite Daughter.

I published Favorite Daughter, Part One in July of this year, which was, unfortunately, past the registration dates for a number of summer powwows held here in San Diego. But even though it was late in the game, I signed up for the Barona powwow, which took place this past weekend, and sold all three of my books there.

It was unusually hot and windy all three days, and the long hours of setting up, selling books, and then tearing down the booth every evening was tiring. But what a treat it was smell the scent of sage again, to view the gorgeous regalia and intricate footwork of the swirling fancy dancers, and listen to the hypnotic and soothing drumming and singing. Best of all, I ran into a number of my former powwow readers, who expressed great delight at seeing me there and who were happy to know that I had written some new books that they could buy.

I sold a lot of books this weekend (surprisingly, my first book, Coyote Heart, was still popular – it outsold the new book, Favorite Daughter). And what I learned was that once you’ve developed a core group of readers, they will stay with you, even if it takes years to produce another book.

So, my answer those who ask “How do I find readers?” is that in addition to all the promotional work you do online, you might also want to get out there where readers of the type of books you write congregate – whether it be at fantasy conventions, medieval fairs, children’s plays, young adult library events, mystery theater gatherings, professional meetings, historical reenactments, street festivals, or even regular book signings – and talk to them. Ask them what they like to read and listen to their answers. Tell them about your book and offer to sign copies for themselves and their friends and families. Most of all, treat them as members of a very special family – your tribe, if you will. They will buy from you, they will remember you, and, most important of all, they will be there when you’re ready to tell them about your newest publishing adventure.

What Your First Conversation with a Publicist Might Look Like

For those who've never spoken with a publicist and wonder what the initial conversation might be like, I've compiled the list below of the items we typically discuss when authors contact me about their books (note: these will vary depending on the type of book and the individual needs of the author). I always ask for a copy of the book to read first, so we usually won’t have this conversation until after I’ve finished reading.

1) Editing and Cover Art
I'm a stickler for books that have been professionally edited, and even though I specify that on my website, I'm often sent books that contain typos and grammatical mistakes or suffer from general writing problems. These are often easy fixes in the hands of professional editors, but many authors choose to skip this step in the publishing process. More often than not, authors will swear that their books have been edited (by multiple people, as one author recently claimed). But in most cases, authors assume that having a few beta readers (i.e., friends and relatives) review the book is enough to fix any editing errors the book might contain. Sadly, these are books I usually have to turn down, mainly because I cannot send them to reviewers, booksellers, bloggers, news editors, or reporters - the grammatical or typographical errors would not get past these folks, whose business is correct writing.

Similarly, the cover art is so crucial to selling indie books these days, that I will usually urge the client to consider a re-do if the cover seems overly homespun or inappropriate for its audience. If either the cover or the editing seems lacking, I'll discuss options for getting those issues taken care of before moving forward with publicity for the book.

2) Platform
I like to find out as much as I can about potential clients, so if the client's book is ready for publication, we’ll usually discuss platform first, including education, work experience, publications, awards, teaching experience, celebrity status, or anything else that can help me know how to best position the author and his book to the media, reviewers, booksellers, readers, etc. We’ll also discuss personal branding strategies and any other marketing efforts that an author has made that might be relevant to the selling of the book.

3) Genre/Audience
I also like to discuss genre, if relevant, and possible target audiences for the book, including different types of readers, tangential or secondary audiences, and content or themes that might be newsworthy or resonate with different groups.

4) Outreach/Appearances
We’ll discuss what areas are possible options for promoting the book, including book launches, outreach to bloggers and blog tours, personal appearances (bookstores/libraries/professional venues, etc.), conference appearances, university and corporate speaking engagements, general media, and targeted media, including written articles, social media, web and blog sites, etc.

5) Social Media
I like to go over the various social media outlets out there and discuss which might be best for authors to target so that they have a social media presence to tap into once the book is released. For those who are new to social media, I usually recommend working on building a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads as soon as possible, and also suggest that they consider developing relationships with readers via regular blog posts on their websites and blogs.

6) Beta Readers/Giveaways
It’s important to think about generating reviews both before a book launches and immediately afterward, so I’ll usually recommend reaching out to beta readers and using the giveaway features offered on sites like Goodreads and those who host blog tours.

7) Contests and Reviews
Entering contests and submitting the book to review sites is an important part of publicity, because winning awards and receiving reviews are good reasons to issue press releases once a book is launched. There is also some initial PR to consider, such as creating a general press release to be used for media and blogger queries, and getting that release up on the newswires. I’ll usually discuss how this might affect the book’s release date, along with the timing for certain PR activities (including pre-release activities, such as getting the press release written, getting a Q&A sheet formatted, gathering book cover and author photos, etc.).

8) Publicity Budget
I usually discuss my fees and what the potential client has in mind for a budget, along with items like initial deposits, how invoicing works, the duration of the publicity campaign, and what to expect for the amount of work the client is interested in having me do for his book.

9) Other Items to Include in Budget
I usually suggest that in addition to all the options listed above, authors should also be sure to budget for the following:
- cover design
- professional editing
- formatting (mobi/ebook files and pdf/print files)
- uploading to distribution sites like Amazon, Createspace, Smashwords, Draft to Digital, etc. (for those not familiar with the process or those who prefer to have someone else do it)
- printed copies of the book (for giveaways, contests, reviewers, book signings, appearances, etc.)
- promotional giveaway tools (bookmarks, posters, etc. – Vista Print is an inexpensive way to go for these items)
- postage (for mailing print copies to reviewers, giveaway recipients, contests, etc.)
- travel (if appearances are part of the author’s promotional plans)

11) Schedule
I also recommend deciding on a publicity budget and then prioritizing what the client would like me to do. If he wants a book tour, I’ll suggest making a list of dates, times, cities, etc., so I know where/when to focus those efforts. Also, I’ll ask clients to list any times when they will not be available for interviews, travel, and/or email communication.

12) Photos, Bio, and Book Cover Art
When we’re ready to get started, I’ll ask for jpgs of the author’s headshot (hopefully shot by a professional photographer) and the book front cover art, along with any biographical info the author can provide. Also, if he has any other descriptive text he can share (back cover copy with book description, blurbs, etc.), those are helpful for me to have on file.

As the Publishing Industry Changes, So Does the Way We Promote Books

As a PR professional who’s been working in the book publicity business for a number of years, I’ve watched the industry go through some major changes. And as the industry has changed, so has the way we market books.

But what's different now? Well, for one thing, authors who self-publish their work must hire professionals, particularly cover designers, editors, and formatting specialists, to help ensure that what they put out is a quality product. Some authors choose to perform these tasks themselves, but doing so is risky. Unless they’re experts in all these arenas (which is rare), the end product may be viewed by readers as low quality, and sales may suffer.

Even our concept of platform has changed. Where in the past, platform was dictated by the size of the audience an author could bring to his work based on celebrity status, experience, or expertise, now it is heavily influenced by the number of books an author has published and the size of his online presence.

Authors are finding that certain genres, including erotica and fantasy, seem to have an easier time finding an audience, while others, like traditional and literary fiction, sometimes struggle. Manipulating pricing is crucial, as authors lower and raise price points to help move online sales rankings, and new methods of packaging books, including bundling and box sets, have become commonplace. Authors are learning that they must continue to write new books in order to be known, and consumer familiarity with technology is opening the door to concepts like interactive books, apps, and online access for readers.

As the industry has changed, so have the channels for distribution. Brick and mortar stores have been replaced by online brokers, making the Internet the primary book sales and event channel. Authors are replacing book signings with blog tours and partnering with other authors online to bundle their work and cross-promote.

Finding readers has become one of the biggest challenges, as the sheer numbers of authors, along with the noise that readers face, makes it difficult for authors to create an audience. Many authors have found themselves relying less on traditional media and more on social media and word-of-mouth promotion, as access to readers becomes more relationship-oriented.

If the industry is changing, does that mean that the way we promote books has changed, as well? Absolutely. As authors create more books, they realize that being able to build their own brand, connect with readers, and get the word out about their work is all-important, and sometimes more difficult, than ever.

And what are publicists doing now for their authors given the industry changes? Well, in my own practice, I’m seeing changes in the services I offer authors. In addition to writing press releases and getting them on the newswires, I’m helping my clients find bloggers who are willing to feature their books in the form of interviews or reviews on their blog sites. I’m doing a lot of work with online media outlets to create buzz and helping with branding and identity by pinpointing what is unique about an author’s work. I’m also helping my clients to reach their target audiences by identifying niche markets and working to create exposure opportunities, including submitting written articles to targeted print and online publications, booking presentations, and setting up appearances at select venues and events.

For some of my clients, especially those who feel that exposure via traditional media is less important, I’m working to help them to reach out to readers via review sites, blog sites, social media, and online reader sites. Even so, I still feel it’s important for authors to connect with their readers in as many ways as possible, and that includes face-to-face meetings at book signings, launch events, private readings, presentations, and other author appearances.

The bottom line is that even though the publishing environment has changed, there are now more promotional options than ever for authors who wish to connect with readers. And the more of these options that authors are willing to explore, the more likely it is that they will be successful in finding an audience for their work.

What are you doing to get the word out about your book?