Book Blurb Booboos

Today's special guest is Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. The Frugal Book Promoter is the winner of the USA Book News award and the coveted Irwin Award . Learn more about Carolyn including her fiction and poetry at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. And don’t forget to check out the Writers Resources pages on her Web site, too.

Book Blurb Booboos

Or Nine Ways To Avoid the No-Sales Book Blues

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Subscribers to my Sharing with Writers newsletter sometimes ask me questions for the "Q&A a la Ann Landers" section. One of my favorites was on blurbs (also called endorsements!). They are so important to the health of our books that I got excited anew!

THE AUTHOR ASKED

Do you accumulate quotes as people mention your book?

How do you use them? 

AND I SAID, OR PRACTICALLY BLURTED!

Oh, how I love this topic. Until recently I didn’t ask for quotes from really famous authors, so I’m eager to keep new or emerging authors from making that same mistake. Also—even with a background in journalism and publicity—I didn't have any blurbs put on the back of my first novel because I thought my publisher would do that for me. They didn't! Those were my two biggest blurb booboos! And I made them because the book business is very different from industries that seem similar, industries that I have experience in like PR, journalism, and marketing.

Other than those two biggies here are some tips I’ve gleaned since my booboo days.

Keep positive comments (from any source). They can be about our expertise or about our books. In The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo), I suggest that authors begin to keep folders that will eventually make up the innards of their media kits very early on. I tell how to do it in detail, but for the purpose of blurbs, you just need a folder titled BLURBS or PRAISE—and then remember to pop the quotes into it as they occur. That’s actually the hard part. It’s hard to remember to pay attention so we can identify positive comments that can be converted to blurbs. Hard to get up the courage to ask permission to use them.

Here’s how we can use blurbs:

1. Vary the blurb you use in your e-mail signature or the credit line of your freelance articles. (There is more on the importance of using e-mail signature and articles to promote in The Frugal Book Promoter, too!)

2. Put your blurbs on a special page in your media kit titled something like "Praise for The Frugal Book Promoter." Actually, I sometimes use a page that says, “Unsolicited Praise for The Frugal Book Promoter" because the word "unsolicited" carries so much more clout.

3. Blurbs may sometimes be used in a query letter.

4. Use blurbs  on your postcards, bookmarks, even business cards. (You do use postcards for special events, don’t you? )

5. Put blurbs on the poster you take with you to book signings. 

6. Use a blurb as a footer on your stationery.

7. Use one or more blurbs on handouts you give when you speak or appear at book fairs or signings.

8. One author who writes books for business people even has a blurb printed on her checks.

9. When you publish your book in another format or in another edition, put a page of your favorite blurbs either at the very front of the book or in the backmatter. This may sound brassy to you, but it’s  often done by the most prestigious publishers.

Gee, I think you get the idea. Blurbs, even if they aren't from the most famous people, help sell books. But please don’t avoid asking for famous blurbs. I asked Dan Poynter to endorse the second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter and he was back with a blurb within the day. That is the kind of a validation that no one should hesitate to stick their necks out for.

CONTACT CAROLYN

/ The Frugal Book Promoter: http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo
/ Web site: http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com
/ E-mail: CarolynHowardJ@AOL.com
/ Facebook: http://Facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
/ Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FrugalBookPromo
/ Pinterest: http://Pinterest.com/chowardjohnson

Book Fair Buzz: The What-Tos and What Not-Tos

Book Fair Buzz: The What-Tos and What Not-Tos

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

After you’ve been part of a book fair, all you want to do it put your feet up and rest. But wait! Not yet!  Evaluate your fair experience before you forget anything important. I do this so I can refine the procedure the next time ‘round, or avoid it all together.

There are three ways to "do" a fair:

1.     Renting a booth and doing everything by yourself. You do the work. You are the star.

2.     Renting a booth and getting fellow author-partners to help you with the cost and the work—including publicity.

3.       Paying your share of someone else's booth for a segment of writing time. (Caveat: This does not relieve you of the responsibility of publicizing your appearance. The booth won't benefit if you don't. You won't benefit either.

No matter what way you choose to do it, don't forget to take notes afterward. Doing so will help you refine your book fair technique—both the operation side of the venture and the marketing side. It will even help you gauge how many books you might sell next time around.

Here are some of the notes I took. Some I took after renting a booth on my own, but most were taken after I sponsored a huge booth—meaning I managed and publicized a booth at one of the most expensive and most highly trafficked fairs in the country.  

“I’m tired, coming down off the Los Angeles Times fair. Advantages: Great fair. Tons of traffic. Festive atmosphere, seminars, talks, panels. Two days is perfect. California upheld the exclusive contract I have with it for perfect weather.

“I rate this fair worthwhile: For exposure. For the experience. For inspiration from readers who think authors are wonderful. Doing it as a service to benefit myself and other authors (there were

plenty of them out and about on sunny Sunday) was a wonderful experience.

“Disadvantages: At this huge fair there is tons of competition for every dollar spent. I didn’t see many people carrying bags (watching this is a habit I developed when I owned retail stores). The price of the booth is so high it’s unlikely an author will sell enough books to cover the fee if he or she rents the booth on her own. Even if an author is part of a cross promotion effort, they may n ot break even on sales. Instead they should think of the effort as a marketing expense. Here's an alternative to consider: Rent space in a booth sponsored by your publisher or one of the bookstores where you’ve done readings, or one of the organizations you belong to.

“Tally: In our booth the highest number of books sold in two days was forty-five (nonfiction). The lowest was twelve (fiction). How well each author publicized their appearance also affected sales.

“I graduated from the School of Experience. Here’s what I learned. Before the event, ask about chairs. Try to have one for you and one for a friend. Our neighboring booth bought Staples’ three-sided display boards, the kind kids use at science fairs. One of these would have been great for displaying reviews, blurbs, pictures, and bookcovers.

“Selling books: I didn’t take enough change. My booth mates weren’t armed with a policy regarding checks. I decided I would risk taking a bogus check because I’d rather have my book read and the risks are slight. It may be better if authors accept credit card charges, but they won’t sell enough books to cover the expense banks charge for the credit card machine and their service. And then there is the learning curve required to apply for and process credit cards.”

Many of the nitty-gritty suggestions I share with you in The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) were gleaned from notes like these I took after I participated in fairs—both the things I did brilliantly and the booboos I made. Sometimes the booboos were better teachers. I also managed to write a poem from notes I took at one of the fairs I participated in.

Hint: Keep the nametag you were given for your fair participation, especially if it says AUTHOR on it. Put it in your glove box or in the box of books you carry in your trunk for sales anywhere you go. If you come across a fair in your travels and decide to stop by, wear the tag as you walk the fair. You’ll be surprised at how many attendees will want to talk about your book.

Hint #2: Sometimes smaller fairs result in higher sales. The sales area will be smaller and easier to walk. Visitors may be more loyal to smaller fairs.

A final word that bears repeating. If you expend the effort to participate in a book fair, please, pullll-eeze promote your appearance. And, at the fair use handouts, business cards, tons of signs, even little book-related souvenirs. Stand rather than sit (when you can). And talk to people who walk by your booth. Don't forget to collect names and e-mail addresses to grow your reach for the next fair you do.

-----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of book for writers (www.howtodoitfrugally.com). She blogs writers’ resources at the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites pick www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com and editing tips at www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com.

Network with her:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FrugalBookPromo

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100086817784349552304/posts

Amazon: http://budurl.com/carolynsamazprofile

Book Publicity 101 - Part 2

Today's guest blog is from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the author of so-called hard-to-promote genres (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/literary_books.htm) and of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers, http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/. And, yes, she will be speaking at the Book 'Em book fair in North Carolina in February of 2013. It's part of her overall marketing campaign and a way to help other authors avoid the same promotion potholes she once fell into.

This is Part 2 of Book Publicity 101. Part 1 was posted yesterday.

How do you find the best help with publicity possible?

1. Consider what you need and how much time you can put into it. Your budget may not accommodate a full-service publicist. You may not have the time to fully participate with all of those services.
2. If that’s the case, consider people who will work with you piecemeal like BookinSync. You may need an online book tour. I like Denise Cassino's book launch service. Contact her at dencassino@gmail.com . It shouldn’t be too expensive to get help when you do it in bits and pieces. And when you work with others, many of the contacts you get from your service will become contacts for the life of your writing career. Or you may need help writing your first release so you can do it yourself. That kind of help is available, too, from people like Mindy Philips Lawence, mplcreative1@aol.com .
3. Before you hire anyone consider their Rolodex. I'm talking about a file of contacts that are real
   

   personal, working relationships with editors, radio hosts, etc. Ask what kind of publicity have they gotten for their other clients? Consider whether those contacts are people who might have an interest in a project like yours. A book publicist who has had mostly experience with mystery writers, deals mostly with books stores that dedicate themselves to stories about crime, and has a huge file of names of reviewers interested in psycho/thrillers probably won't be able to do you much good if yours is a literary novel. And vice versa.

As you have already guessed, you want someone who has clients similar to you. Check that out, but also check with the clients. Were they satisfied? If not, why not. Their expectations may have been different than yours. Further, if there were some gaps that you consider important, you may be able to negotiate with your newfound partner to include those services in the publicity package you are contracting for.

Am I speaking from experience? You betcha. And lukewarm results were not the fault of my publicist. She did a great job with what she had. She just didn't have what I needed! If you do your homework, you’ll be happier with your publicity campaign and your publicist will be able to help you reach your goals more quickly…and they’ll be happier with you.

Today's guest blog is from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the author of so-called hard-to-promote genres (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/literary_books.htm) and of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers, http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/. And, yes, she will be speaking at the Book 'Em book fair in North Carolina in February of 2013. It's part of her overall marketing campaign and a way to help other authors avoid the same promotion potholes she once fell into.

 

Book Publicity 101

Today's guest blog is from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the author of so-called hard-to-promote genres (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/literary_books.htm) and of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers, http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/. And, yes, she will be speaking at the Book 'Em book fair in North Carolina in February of 2013. It's part of her overall marketing campaign and a way to help other authors avoid the same promotion potholes she once fell into.

This is Part 1 of Book Publicity 101. Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

If your name isn't King or Grisham or Roberts you've probably already figured out that you need to do a lot of publicity on your own because your publisher hasn't assigned a budget ample enough to shoot your book to stardom.

That publicist can be you or someone else, but somebody's got to do it if you want your book to sell.

I have a publicist friend who is also an author. He rightfully claims that he could never find a PR person who would do the same kind of job he does, including the time he spends on his own PR work. How could anyone argue with that? We all are our own best publicists, even if we hire someone else.

But what if we don't have the time or expertise?

We can learn to do it ourselves. After all, we are writers. We should be able to grasp the knack of how to write a release.

But the best way to do it is to learn a lot about the marketing of books and then partner with expert publicists or people who can help you with specific projects like online book tours. And partnering with them in a way that won’t eat up your advance or cost you more than you’re likely to make on your book.

Here are some suggestions for preparing yourself to be the best publicity partner around.

1. Join organizations like SPAN (Small Publishers of North America) (www.spannnet.org) where you’ll learn to understand the world of publishing from every angle—your, that of your publicist and that of your publisher.
2. Subscribe to newsletters sent out my experts in the field of publishing. Dan Poynter, John Kremer, Penny C. Sansevieri, and one of my favorite publicity gurus Joan Stewart are all online resources for getting online information that isn’t rooted in myth and gossip. You’ll learn tons from my Sharing with Writers newsletter, too. Subscribe by sending a SUBSCRIBE message to HoJoNews@aol.com.
3. Take a class in public relations. The only way I know how to avoid drastic mistakes in choosing a class is to patronize your local college or attend writers’ conferences sponsored by universities.
4. One of the most frugal ways to learn a new skillset is to read. Most of those who publish free newsletters like the ones I mentioned above have books that will get you off on the right foot. Find mine at www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo

The next question is how do you find the best help with publicity possible. Tune in tomorrow for tips!

Making the Most of a Writer's Conference

There are three times in which an author can make the most of a Writers Conference or Author Event.

I've teamed with one of this country's best book promoters, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, who will be participating in next year's Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference & Book Fair, to bring you a list of ways you can capitalize on your participation now, during the conference, and after the conference.

Carolyn will be coming all the way from California to participate in Book 'Em so we hope you'll stop by her table and say "hello" and welcome her to North Carolina!

BEFORE

If you'll click here, it will take you to Carolyn's blog, which was named one of Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites. This article is the first of three; this explains how to get the most media attention and advantages out of an author event even before the day it takes place.

DURING

The ways in which you can make the most out of your participation in an authors event continues here, with what you can do during the day of the event to make it highly successful for you.

AFTER

Some people think when an event ends, so does their possibility of making it a success. But don't make the mistake of overlooking the important things you can do after the event! Follow this link to Carolyn's website to see what you can do after the event to ensure that you've made the most of it.

These articles were written by p.m.terrell, one of the co-founders of The Book 'Em Foundation (along with Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney) and the co-chair of Book 'Em North Carolina (along with Katie Huneycutt).

Our events are held on the last Saturday of each February in beautiful, sunny Lumberton, North Carolina. Check out www.bookemnc.org for all the details! Our Writers Conference & Book Fair raises money to increase literacy within our communities and reduce crime because when you buy a book, you stop a crook!