Reviewer's Tip - Sometimes Self-Publishers DO Have An Edge

If you're a self-publisher (or even if you publish with a small press), no doubt you've heard over and over about the disadvantages you will face.  And if you've been around for a few years, you've had to take on these hurtles in order to get your book "out there" "seen" and most importantly, discovered and purchased.

Self-publishers have to front the money for publication themselves, they have to find a good editor, graphic designer, get the book to market and get it distributed so it can find its way into the hands of buyers.  It's not an easy task.  You're competing against the mainstream houses that have decades of experience/contacts/know-how/financial backing.  How many times have you had a reviewer say, "sorry, but we only review books from mainstream publishers," or heard a distributor instruct, "we'll only carry your book if it sells X number of copies a month."???  And so on and so on.

But we have discovered one place where the self-publisher and even small press publisher are at a distinct ADVANTAGE over the large houses. When you do manage to get a reviewer interested in your book, when a reviewer requests a copy of your book (and isn't that a wonderful feeling?), how many self-publishers, oops, forget to send the book?  Here at Feathered Quill, that number would be a big, fat ZERO.  We have found, without exception, that self-publishers are on the ball, ready and willing, to respond in an instant to such requests.  Alas, those books coming from, er, um,. XYZ Publishers in NYC, frequently lose their way.  Turnover at these houses seems quite high, they're busy promoting oodles of books at once, and responses vary quite a bit.  This is all very odd to us because these large publishers seem just as eager to have their books reviewed and send lots and lots of press releases telling us that book "Blah, Blah" will surely be the next big seller.  They're eager to send a review copy, respond to our request and then.... nada.  Well, guess what?  We're too busy with other books to do follow-ups so if the book doesn't come, it doesn't get reviewed.  If there's a new person doing publicity and the previous employee forgot to tell them which books need to be sent out, oops, sorry, we're not going to remind you - we don't have time.

In sharp contrast, the self-publisher is typically promoting just one book at a time, his/her "baby."  Any response from a reviewer is treated as top priority.  Books get mailed out within a day and arrive quickly.  That means they get put on that hefty review pile quicker and get through the whole review process that much sooner.  So remember, although it may seem like a big, scary jungle out there in the book world, and that all is against the self-publisher, you do have at least one advantage.  Actually, now that I think of it, there are other advantages too.  Hmmmmm.....I sense another blog post coming along soon.  Stay tuned.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Prioritize. In the past, I’ve told you to do your homework. Know your market. Know your audience. Know thyself, in effect. There are so many avenues out there for self-promotion. There are a million websites and blogs. There are regional and local publications. There are trade shows and conferences. In order to be most effective, however, you must prioritize. Otherwise, you are spreading yourself too thin, and you are losing your efficacy. Therefore, do your homework in the proper way and pick media outlets, contacts, and events that will truly give your book sales a boost. Do not spread yourself so thin that you become transparent. You need to be seen. You need to be passionate about what you do. But if you try to do EVERYTHING, you will mess up and fall flat on your face. PRIORITIZE. So that being said, it’s time for me to say farewell. It’s time for me to prioritize and become the most focused, effective person I can be. I hope you’ve enjoyed my Self-Promotion or Death Tips. I hope you’ve learned a few things. I wish you all the best! Keep working hard out there! Keep selling your books! And never give up! To Ellen: thank you so much for this opportunity, and I wish you and Feathered Quill all the best!

For more info about Sara Dobie, visit her blog: http://saradobie.wordpress.com. For more about her company, check out their blog: http://sylvandellpublishing.wordpress.com. Sara’s on Twitter, too: http://www.twitter.com/SaraDobie (AND http://www.twitter.com/SylvanDell).

Tales from the Editor's Desk - Use the right words

Sometimes we forget we’re writing to read people who will be reading our books. We start writing writing. We dig into the thesaurus for synonyms. We stick in big words because they seem impressive.

Back when I was in high school—I used to tell my students that Shakespeare was still writing when I was in college (but some of them started believing me)—I belonged to the creative writing club. I was the only member who had a new story or essay for every single meeting. One of my sophomoric inspirations was to write a story about a woman living up in, say, Alaska who was all alone in her house. And there were prowlers outside. Trying to get in. They tell us to write what we know. I was a St. Louis girl; what did I know from women alone in houses in Alaska? Well, I had a good imagination, so I went for it. Most of the story was interior monologue, so I also went for the thesaurus. The woman narrating the story wasn’t speaking aloud; she was thinking, reflecting, cogitating, contemplating, pondering, puzzling over, musing, ruminating … well, you get it.

And to this day, I can still hear the voice of one of my friends as I came to the end of the story. “OPINE??? What does opine mean?”

That was a lesson I’ve never forgotten. As far as I can tell—and what I tell the authors whose books I’m editing—only judges opine. We ordinary folks can have and give opinions, but we don’t opine. Stay away from big words, I tell my authors. They’ll tip whatever you’re writing right over into unintended humor.

This could have happened to one of my authors, a young woman I’m very fond of. She’s writing a series of novels that are partly set in an archaeological dig in Turkey. Early in her first novel, the characters come upon a house built of troglodyte.

I nearly fell off my chair. As I explained to my author, a troglodyte is a prehistoric cave dweller. The clichéd cave man. When I looked it up, I learned that the word comes from Trōglodutai, which is the name of an Ethiopian people once considered to be very primitive. My author obviously thought the word was the name of a kind of rock—maybe like dolomite or igneous or gneiss. We find words that sound good, but we somehow neglect to look them up. So we get a house built of troglodyte.

I fixed it for her, of course, by finding out what kind of rock was common in Turkey. (No, I don’t remember anymore.) Then I went on to edit the rest of her novel, which she has submitted to literary agents and publishers. I wish her luck.

And I’m glad that once upon a time I used “opine” in a story and learned that lesson for myself. It’s lessons like this I can pass along to the authors whose books I edit: If you’re new to writing, be careful with vocabulary. Don’t use big, unfamiliar words until after you’ve looked them up and know what they mean.

To learn more about the editing services Dr. Barbara Ardinger offers, please visit her web site at www.barbaraardinger.com.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Submit your book for awards. The RIGHT awards. By “right,” I do not necessarily mean the ones that cost a fortune. I mean the ones that your book might actually win. I know I always talk about doing your homework, and I know you get sick of hearing it. However, homework is the key to award submissions. There are so many awards out there. You need to make sure that your book has a shot in the contests you enter. So check ‘em out. There are listings in the Writers’ Market. But you can also just search the internet. Try to find the awards that are FREE. Many of them cost money, and as an independent author, you may not be able to afford submission. So again, find the awards that are FREE. And submit away. Send something akin to a promotional package with your award submission, complete with cover letter, promotional materials about you/your book, and of course, your book itself. Awards function as publicity tools. If you win awards, people will be more attentive to you and your writing. They will be more likely to purchase your book, so go after those awards! So simple and so easy to forget!

For more info about Sara Dobie, visit her blog: http://saradobie.wordpress.com. For more about her company, check out their blog: http://sylvandellpublishing.wordpress.com. Sara’s on Twitter, too: http://www.twitter.com/SaraDobie (AND http://www.twitter.com/SylvanDell).

Tips for Authors - Radio Interviews

MAKING THE MOST OF AN INTERVIEW,

Today, we're excited to welcome Valerie Connelly, Radio Talk Show Host since 2005, and Publisher and founder of Nightengale Press as our guest blogger. Check the links at the end of Valerie's column to get more information about Valerie and the services Nightengale Press offers.

Internet talk radio is a growing entity, which provides low-cost, high-value opportunities for anyone who needs to promote themselves, a product or a business. Giving interviews helps to establish you as an expert in your area of interest. Authors and people in the book industry are wise to participate as often as possible.

As a radio talk show host, I have the opportunity to interview authors and business people who work in the publishing industry every week on CALLING ALL AUTHORS (www.globlatalkradio.com/shows/callingallauthors) . Personalities appear with me on the show each week, and for each program, we have a routine that works well for us and for our guests. Here are some tips and details of etiquette that apply to any interview with the media, including newspapers, television interviews and radio interviews.

* Be prepared. Provide your host with six to ten talking points you'd like to discuss at least a week before the interview. Organize these points in a logical order and actually use them when you are on the air.

* Keep the appointment and be on time. There is nothing more impolite than to not show up, or to show up late for an interview. Unless you've had a serious calamity in your life, call in at the appointed time. Make it a priority to participate. If you can't make the interview, call or email the host at least day ahead. Please, do not just "not show up." You will not be invited back---ever.

* Speak clearly. Remember that you are talking to promote yourself, your book or your business. Slow down if you usually talk too fast, speed up if you usually talk too slowly, and speak loudly enough to be heard. It is amazing how often people mumble into the phone. And, don't breathe heavily into the phone, the air muffles the conversation.

* No multi-tasking. Turn off your computer and your cell phone so you are not tempted to multi-task. Close the door to the room and ask your family to stay away till you come out after your interview. Please, don't do the dishes or tidy up your office while you are talking.

* Be polite and cheerful. It is okay to be happy on the program. Even if your topic is serious, an occasional, appropriately light-hearted comment is a good thing. Remember, you are showing who you are, so a cheerful demeanor goes a long way help listeners hear what you are saying. Also, smile as you talk. The smile will come through in your tone of voice. Have fun and it will show!

* Give the host a chance to interact with you. Be complete in your answers to all questions, but don't run on for several minutes without pausing. The host may have a question your listeners are thinking too, and if he/she can ask the question, your interview is even more valuable to you.

* Use an outline for your responses. All too often guests read from a written text. At the most, have your talking points list and a few short comments for each so you remember what you want to say about each item. But, do not write out a long answer. The temptation is to read it, as this kills the conversational style of an interview.

* Be sure to give your website URL. Your host will ask you to say what your website or email address is so listeners can contact you. Work it out ahead of time how to most easily give this information. Most people know you need the www. Ahead of the website, so you don't really have to say that part anymore. Point out anything unusual about the address --- perhaps a number or a strange spelling is part of your URL. Make sure to clarify that as you give the information.

After the interview is over, write a quick thank you email to your host. This goes a long way to getting yourself invited back on the show. Keep in touch with the show host for future events you'd like to publicize. Being on talk shows is a very valuable form of exposure, and the more of them you can do, the better. And, if there is a way to advertise on the show's home page, for a reasonable cost, jump in. There are plenty of other people who come to the show's archives, and will see your display ad. It may encourage them to listen to your interview as well, and if you are running a commercial, everyone who hears it will connect with you long after your show airs.

For more information on Valerie and the services offered by Nightengale Press, please visit

www.nightengalepublishing.com

www.nightengalepress.com

www.valerieconnelly.com

www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/callingallauthors

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

WRITE. Duh. Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m serious. You’re a writer, aren’t you? You’re good at writing. You have writing advice for others. So when was the last time you wrote an article about character development? What about a column on the topic of climax and resolution? You know about this stuff. You know the ins and outs—the creative and structural techniques that work and don’t. So why not share those techniques with your knowledge-thirsty audience? Write an article. Do some homework to see where it would fit. (Or vice versa, really. Find a website you like and write something catered to that website.) Whatever chicken-or-the-egg technique you use, WRITE. And then, submit your article for inclusion on an industry blog. Submit it to magazines. Submit it to writing newsletters. Anywhere your article might fit, submit it. It’s free advertising! (And hey, some places even PAY for this sort of thing!) This builds your reputation as Author Extraordinaire. It spreads word of your book, because of course, you will include a bio, including all your website/ISBN info, RIGHT?! It will make a name for you, which will make a name for your book. It’s a free and easy way to develop a fan following, and all you had to do was be a writer and WRITE!

For more information on Sara Dobie and her promotion tips, please visit her blog.

Tales from the Editor's Desk - Query Letters

You’re Your Own Book Cover - From the Desk of Barbara Ardinger

Welcome to my blog column. As a published author (seven books) and experienced freelance editor (more than two hundred books), I’ve worked with authors who haven’t had an English class since, say, sixth grade but have good ideas and feel driven to write a book. Sound familiar? As we go through the year together, I’ll be giving you tips that will help you write better.

Let’s assume for now that you’ve got what you think is a book and someone tells you to find a literary agent or a publisher. This is when you write a query letter. Nowadays, that’s usually an email. I also receive numerous queries from authors like you. What does your query tell a literary agent, an acquisitions editor, or a freelance editor about you? If your query looks like the one below (which my agent received), it means you can’t spell and probably can’t think clearly, either. This does not make a good first impression!

Here’s the query:

Hello ther,
My name is [redacted ] and i liv in [redacted]. Im 25, almost 26, and ive written three fiction novels. One sci-fi and the other, what ive been told is, “horror fantasy.” i am looking for a literality agent, as i’m in this for the long hall. i don’t want to write just one fiction novel, i want to write as many as i can in my life time. This is my passion, this is what i live for. this is what i am.

Tips: Always be sure to spell check everything you write. Don’t write in “text-speak.” If you need help to write a good query, get help.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Tip of the week: Don’t get an ear infection, because you will never get it to go away. (Sigh.) Okay, seriously, let’s talk Twitter. I’m a baby Twitter user. I just started to master this 140-character power tool a month ago. However, there’s one thing I’ve learned, and if you want to become a Twitter guru, you should know about it. The first thing you need to do when you sign up is find your local media. Sounds obvious, but we forget. In the publishing world, we daydream about CNN, Oprah, and Publishers Weekly. We forget about our local newspapers, TV stations, and radio announcers. And yet, these are the people who build your fan base. You have to start somewhere; I suggest you start local. So as soon as you get into the Tweets, start following your local media. Often, they will return the favor. And then, if you’re interesting and clever enough (and of course, you are), they’ll see how interesting and clever you are, and they’ll set up an interview. Case in point: within three weeks of being on Twitter, our company co-founder was fielding a phone call from our city paper. This is the city paper that seemingly had no idea we existed. And yet, thanks to Twitter, they heard about the good stuff we do in the community and beyond, and we had a story in the newspaper four days later. Tweet on.

Tips for Authors - Reviews vs. Ads

This week's tip focuses on a marketing tip rather than a book design idea.

Many new authors, in their excitement, will begin to place ads all over the internet as well as through more traditional methods such as newspapers and magazines. They want to get word out about their new book. Is it worth it? Will you, the author, get back your investment plus a little profit from these ads? The simple answer is... probably not.

Large, traditional presses are known to place ads, particularly is places such at Publisher's Weekly and other journals where the important library and bookstore buyers linger. But they also get their books reviewed in those journals. True, they also advertise in newspapers and magazines, but typically, those ads are for books by established, best-selling authors. First time authors with the big presses aren't normally given ads unless there is some unusual buzz about that author/book.

For the small press/self-publisher, ads rarely give a good return on investment. The reason? The buying public is much more likely to buy a book based on a good review or on word-of-mouth. An ad is simply the publisher's hype about a book (in the buyer's mind). Why should they believe it?

What about internet ads? How about placing ads on websites, and/or using resources such as Google AdWords? Talking with numerous authors, we've rarely heard of successes with these venues. True, it can sometimes be hard to measure the success of these ads. They do help build recognition of a product, a key element in creating sales. But do they, by themselves, sell books? For the most part, no. Also, consider how many books you'll need to sell to pay for that ad, let alone make a profit. For example, an ad on a popular website in your book's genre might cost $300/month. The book retails for $9.95, and when sold through Amazon (using Amazon Advantage, will garner the author/publisher $4.48. You'll have to sell 67 books just to break even (and that doesn't even take into account the actual profit on that $4.48 after you deduct shipping to Amazon, printing costs, design costs, etc., etc.)

A few ads placed judiciously might work in your niche, but try and swap ads for services, a free book to the site's owner, etc. Then concentrate your efforts on reviews. Readers trust reviews, readers buy books from reviews!

Technorati Tags: book promotion, book reviews, reviews vs ads, google adwords

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Follow up. You have to follow up, and you can’t be afraid of being annoying. Don’t get me wrong—sending an email repeatedly, every day, obsessively, like Andy’s library in Shawshank Redemption isn’t the idea. However, here’s how it goes in promotion. Let’s say you want to do an interview on a certain blog, so you send them an email. You don’t hear back. After a week, you should NOT pout and go eat worms. You should send a follow up email, as in, “Hey, wanted to follow up on that email I sent your way last week. Did you have time to consider my interview offer? Keep me posted!” And always include the initial email, pasted beneath your signature as a reminder. If you still don’t hear anything, start posting comments on the blog of interest. Sooner or later, you’re going to get the host’s attention. Then, you’ll get your interview. Success. So the lesson for today: FOLLOW UP!

Tips for Authors - Back Cover Design

You've no doubt heard that the cover of your book must sell the book. It should grab the reader quickly and make him/her want to purchase the book. While most attention on design is directed to the front cover, DO NOT forget the back cover! Next to the front cover, it is probably the most important element of your book that will convince your audience to pick up the book. As reviewers, we've seen plenty of good designs and also some that actually "unsell" a book. Here are some suggestions on what to do/not do with that back cover, taken from actual covers of books we've reviewed.

• DO NOT - use the entire back cover to talk about what a great writer you are, particularly if you are an unknown author.
• DO NOT - mention the writing award you received in third grade (yes, this was on a back cover!).
• DO NOT - start the book description with phrases such as, "the greatest book on..." "the new blockbuster..." "destined to be a classic..." "the incredible new story on..." etc. Yes, you want to promote your book but if you get carried away with such exaggerations, the only person who might believe you is your mother.
• DO NOT - use the entire back cover to describe the topic of your book. You should be able to do it in one or two short paragraphs. Shoppers will lose interest before getting to the bottom of the text and move on to the next book.
• DO NOT - have typos anywhere on that cover! Obviously, you don't want any typos in the book, inside or out. We've seen plenty of books with several typos on the back cover. Consider it one easy way to lose sales!
• DO NOT - include a picture that overshadows the text and makes it hard to read.
• DO NOT - use hard to read fonts or text that is extremely small. Remember the 40+ crowd doesn't like to squint at text.
• DO - include at least one quote from a well-known person in your book's field. Getting a top notch quote can sell a lot of books.
• Do - include a brief bio on the author
• Do - include a succinct plot overview - this is perhaps the most important part of the back cover. You need to draw the reader into the story/text, convey the need to read the book, without giving away the ending.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Tip of the Week: Be the hot topic version of an ambulance chaser. This tip is directed at the blogosphere, and it works—I’ve done it on my personal website. As a writer, you have a blog, because it’s what writers do. We WRITE. As a writer, you should also read, specifically issues of pop culture popularity and newsworthiness. Then, as a reader and a writer, you should write about what you read. Post the popular pop culture post on your blog, and voila, whenever someone searches for additional articles about, say, book burning in West Bend, Wisconsin (http://saradobie.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/we%e2%80%99re-still-burning-books/), your blog will pop up. This will drive traffic to your blog, which will drive traffic to you and your work. So stay up on all industry news and pop culture. Write about the hot topic when the mood strikes, and I’m telling you, your blog will explode with Google searches for weeks because of it.

Self-Promotions or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Being that my company is in the midst of a massive PR blitz (http://saradobie.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/hail-to-the-sylvan-dell-revolution/), the tip for this week is well founded on my experience over the past five days. The word is BLOG. I know I already told you to make friends with your local media. The same goes for your blog community. Your blog community does not have to be composed of your geographical neighbors. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Your blog community DOES have to be related to you and your book. First, find blogs that relate to your target audience. Second, build a rapport with said blogger, following his/her posts and commenting where applicable. Then, you can ask said blogger to review your book. Maybe said blogger can cover a new release or write about your upcoming events. Either way, I’m beginning to see the techie world is the world that matters. So go out there and conquer your blogosphere. (I just did a full month series on blogging, in fact, so if you want some extra help, visit ForeWord Magazine’s Publishing Insider, month of July: http://www.forewordmagazine.com/blogs/insider/.)

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Be a speaker and an author. I know we “writer people” like hiding behind glowing computer screens, Facebook, and Twitter. However, in order to become an author with impressive book sales, you have to be a speaker AND an author. Get a presentation together. If you’re a children’s book author, have a presentation for kids with props and craft activities. Also, have a presentation for educators! The educators are the ones who buy your book, so have a presentation revolving around literacy tips and getting kids excited about reading. If you’ve written an adult novel, host workshops and speak at conferences. Build your reputation. Become an expert. By becoming an expert, people will want to learn from you. They will want to buy your book and invite you to events to SPEAK. In order to SPEAK, you have to be a speaker and an author. So learn the tricks. Take a public speaking course if you need to, but learn fast! Because half the battle of “Best-Selling Author” is “Available for Speaking Engagements.”

Feel free to stop by my blog, too: Saradobie.wordpress.com. You'll find all sorts of useful information and interviews there.

Self-Promotion or Death: PR Tips from Sara Dobie

Tip of the Week: Make friends with your local media. I’ve told my clients a million times; I can do as much as possible on my end. I can send the review copies, email the press releases, and make the phone calls for you. However, it’s so much more effective for your local media to put a face with your name, as opposed to dealing with “Publicist Sara Dobie”—some faceless ghost person who only exists in the electronic realm and as a disembodied voice on the phone. If you have a book coming out (or heck, even if your book came out a year ago), be sure your local media knows you. Don’t be afraid to show up at your local TV station with a copy of your book, and just say, “HEY! I’m a local author. I’m amazingly important, and here is a complimentary copy of my book. And but of course, I would love to stay for a quick interview.” You will be making a reporter’s job much easier. You will be handing them a story. Don’t fear the media. They’re your friends. They will help you sell books. Just make sure they know who the heck you are and that you’re a literary phenomenon, thriving in their back yard.

Feel free to stop by my blog, too: Saradobie.wordpress.com. You'll find all sorts of useful information and interviews there.