Historical Fiction Author Andrew Jalbert Joins Us on Author Day Today!

Join us on Friday, May 16, 2008 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when historical fiction author Andrew Jalbert visits us at the Author Day section of our social network at Pump Up Your Book Promotion! Leave a question and Andrew will answer them all on Friday, plus give away a free book to one lucky person who participates!

About Andrew:

Award winning freelancer Andrew Jalbert has been a professional archaeologist and scuba instructor for over 15 years. During that time, he has worked throughout the Great Lakes, the Caribbean, Central America, Southern Africa, the Florida Keys, and Hawaii. His work focuses on tropical subjects–both above and below the water–and he is a regular contributor to scuba diving, natural history, fitness, and travel magazines. Andrew currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

You can visit his website at www.jalbertproductions.com.

About the Book:

What are the elements of friendship that last a lifetime-the mysterious connection that can outlast great distances and more than half a century of separation to bring friends back together? For Lázaro, a salty Cuban mariner and Dominic, a brilliant Chicago engineer, the answers can be found in the game of chess.

From the time of their meeting and first chess match on Key West in the 1930s, each man’s win is scratched into the back of the board. As the game tally grows, so does their friendship. Now, both men are in their twilight years, but it’s Dominic’s life, weathered by cancer, which is reaching its conclusion. Lázaro, who fled from his island home and his friend years ago, learns that Dominic is rapidly dying and sets off on the long journey from Boston to Florida to see his old friend. Prior to leaving, Lázaro retrieves the old chessboard and makes a startling discovery. The number of scratches, first marked over sixty years before and uncounted until now, has the two men evenly tied.

As he drives towards Dominic and the keys, Lázaro is forced to confront a past he has struggled to forget while anticipating the reunion with his old friend and what could be their final game.

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Fiction Author Michaela Riley

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Michaela Riley, author of Embittered Justice.

Book Marketing for Embittered Justice has consisted of a daily search on the internet for new and innovative ideas on a budget.  The first step after Publishing was the creation of a web site. There are numerous places to get exactly what you want; I searched on Craig’s List for a local web designer. Started creating articles, posts, blogs, ezines about Embittered Justice.

My own website at http://www.michaelariley.com, email account authormichaelariley@gmail.com.

Publisher’s website at Publish America

Press releases sent the first month after release of book in February 2008.

I began advertising on various sites listed below. This is something that takes about an hour per day to keep up the buzz. I also purchased targeted traffic for my personal web sites. Receiving about 2000 hits per day on my site, also added Web store and set up Pay pal account to sell autographed copies of book  from my site.

Book Marketing and Social Networking sites:

http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/

http://www.bookslut.com/advertise/intro.php

http://www.razorpages.com

http://www.authorsden.com/

http://www.youtube.com

http://www.facebook.com

http://www.blogspot.com

http://www.myspace.com

http://www.bookhitch.com

http://bookmarket.ning.com

http://www.4greatbuys.com

http://www.craigslist.org

http://www.bookmovement.com

http://www.authorsonthenet.com

http:www.amazon.com

http://www.bookadz.com

http://www.authorsonthenet.com

http://www.articlemarketer.com/signin.php

http://www.writing-world.com

The book trailer was completed and submitted to all sites that would let me add the video.

Book Trailer

http://www.onetruemedia.com

http://www.gwextra.com

As a child Riley would spend most of her time reading every book she could carry home from the school library. She admits, “Being a writer was a fairytale for someone else’s life. Then I found a story that needed to be told.”

Riley has completed a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and a Master of Business Administration degree. She has been practicing as a Registered Nurse for almost twenty years and is the CEO of her own Professional Development Company.

Riley began to pursue writing when she had the misfortune of spending time in a local court room. Research revealed increasing rates of plea bargaining and malicious prosecution. “I have always been an advocate for people in need. When your right to speak for yourself is prevented, something has to be done. The story must be told, everyone has a story. Writing has become something I am passionate about and I am working on two other fiction novels.”   You can visit her website at http://www.michaelariley.com.

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Children’s Book Author Bonnie B. Cuzzolino

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Bonnie Cuzzolino, author of Letter of Love From China.

Marketing my book has been a challenge and time consuming but well worth it.
I am always finding new ways as a self published author. I started by promoting to adoption Yahoo groups, attending adoption events and children’s Book Fairs.

I have expanded to Virtual Book tours and entering book contests. My book recently won the prestigious 2008 Silver Mom’s Choice Award for the Best Children’s Book in the Family Life category. This win has offered endless opportunities to promote my book. Interviews and exposure to publishers at the BEA Book Expo in La, Dove Family product review, entry into the library and school children’s book catalogs and discounts to many promotional web sites including membership in Independent Publishers Associations.

I have sent flyers to my local schools and libraries offering book readings and a program centered around Chinese culture for children and their parents.

I have sent free copies of my book to adoption agencies to review and share with their families.

I have researched the net for marketing opportunities and subscribed
to the Writer’s Digest magazine.

My suggestion is for new writers to try all these opportunities and invest in as much promotional publicity as your budget can afford.
All the promotional tools I have used have increased my sales and have given my book exceptional exposure.
Best Of Luck to all.

Award winning author Bonnie Cuzzolino and her family live in New Jersey. Bonnie and her husband Ray are the parents to a beautiful daughter adopted from Hubei, China in November of 2001 at 12 months old. She and her husband are now waiting for a referral for their second daughter from China through Holt International Children’s Services. Bonnie has had a lifelong passion to write children’s books. This book is her first and is dedicated to her daughter, Jillian Mei. You can visit her website at http://www.plumblossombooks.com/.

Bonnie’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion at www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com and choreographed by Dorothy Thompson.

Happy Mother’s Day!

To my mother who left this realm 35 years ago and to all mothers still sticking it out and trying the best they can to become the most wonderful mothers in the world…

Happy Mother’s Day!

How to Get People to Comment on Your Blog

I get the ProBlogger feed into my email box (highly recommended for those wishing to learn more about blogging) and today’s feed focused on whether or not you think syndicating content on your blog is okay.

The subject matter did pique my interest as I have had my content syndicated on other people’s blogs as I know there are others who have had this happen to, too.

When you syndicate your articles, the content ezines make you check this box that allows them to syndicate your articles which is cool in one way – your one article is seen on many, many blogs. Some do not have a thing to do with your theme, but they run your articles for whatever reason – some of them are legit and some are spam blogs and you have no recourse unless they don’t use your bio and then it’s an uphill battle to find out who the blogger is and get them to take your content down.

I like using content ezines – www.ezinearticles.com for instance - because I like to use my articles for advertisement, as I know a lot of authors and business owners are doing.

But, that’s not what my post is about today. It’s about an idea on how to get people to comment on your blog.

I’m a busy, busy, busy person. My time is so valuable that I’ve not even had a chance to get into email as much as I like to and it piles up. This morning, I had a half hour before I had to run out the door and checking my email quickly, I found this post from Problogger.

Of course, it piqued my interest as it is a subject that would concern me greatly. The more I read their post, the more adrenalin started pumping until I found myself wanting to add to the conversation.

ProBlogger gets tons of comments, but they know how to hook you right in because they get me every time.

But, wait, there’s another incentive for taking the precious time to go over and comment. I get to leave my link on a # 1 blogging site and, hopefully, bring a little traffic my way.

So, what’s this mean for the author who wants more people to comment on their blogs?

Ask a question at the end of your post that is geared toward your readers and watch the comments pile up. If your blog doesn’t receive enough visitors to your liking, go into the social networks, ask the question and leave a link to your blog to where they can comment. Run the question through your newsletter like ProBlogger did. Are you a member of any e-groups? Ask them this question and tell them to leave their comment on your blog. If you keep at it, asking more questions as the days go by, you could build up a pretty good readership.

On that note, I’ll ask you all a question. Have you ever used this method to attract people to your blog to comment and how was your success rate?

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Suspense Author Karen Harrington

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Karen Harrington, author of Janeology.

I was suburban housewife mopping my kitchen floor when Kunati Books called last year with an offer of publication for Janeology. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hello.

Publisher: Yes, we’re calling about Janeology. Is it still available?

Me: Seriously. Who is this?

Publisher: We’re completely serious, Ms Harrington. We’d like to make an offer. We think Janeology would make a great summer read.

Me: Bob, is that you? Quit toying with me. It’s just mean.

Publisher: No, we’re very serious. All the books at Kunati have a distinctive voice. Your book would fit well with all of our great titles.

(Sound of phone dropping to floor.)

Okay, so maybe that’s not EXACTLY how the conversation went. But it certainly had the same effect. And from that moment on, it’s been as if I had to become fluent in a new language called book promotion. There are thousands of books released each season – most by authors who already spoke this new language with great aplomb. No pressure.

I quickly learned that the modern novelist needs more than a great manuscript to succeed:

• An engaging cover design
• Reviews in Booklist and Publishers Weekly
• A provocative trailer that interprets the heart of the story
• Guidance for those new to the blogging scene

Fortunately, my wonderful publisher, Kunati Books, put ALL these tools in my book promotion suitcase. I’ve been able to use every one of these items in some form of book promotion. One of the best things I did was to use the wonderful Janeology cover and incorporate it into a bookmark, along with my synopsis and my website address. Those bookmarks are always with me. I use them the same way others use business cards. And who doesn’t like to get a bookmark?

The book trailer has also been pivotal. Not only is it on my website, but I also loaded it on my laptop to show at booksignings. It’s a dramatic way to represent the conflict that sets the story in motion.

And of course the new writer would be lost without the Internet and all the social connections to be made there. You can link to all sorts of social networking sites with other authors and very soon, you are sharing valuable information, resources and in my case - great new friendships with other authors. I’m on MySpace, Facebook and Goodreads.com – all of which have increased my ability to meet readers around the world. (The only downside is that I keep discovering great books to add to my reading stack!)

No product is known without its own website. Early on, I set up a website for Janeology. I’m glad I started it early because I’ve been able to expand and change it as my fluency in the language of book promotion has increased. For instance, in addition to book excerpts and links to my blog, I now have a wonderful page featuring the complete family tree chart for all the characters in Janeology where readers can trace the birthdates, birthplaces and settings of the story. Because my own personal passion is genealogy, I also include many of the heirlooms and family photos which made me first ask the seminal questions about nature, nurture and who we descend from that inspired Janeology.

Check it out at www.karenharringtonbooks.com and let me know what you think.

Karen Harrington is a Texas native who has been writing fiction for more than twenty years. Her writing has received honors from the Hemingway Short Story Festival, the Texas Film Institute Screenplay Contest and the Writers’ Digest National Script Contest. A graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, she has worked as a speechwriter and editor for major corporations and non-profit organizations.

She authored and published There’s a Dog in the Doorway, a children’s book created expressly for the Dr. Laura Schlessinger Foundation’s “My Stuff Bags.” My Stuff bags go to children in need who must leave their home due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.

She lives in Plano, Texas, with her husband and two children.

You can visit her website at www.karenharringtonbooks.com.

Karen’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion at www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com and choreographed by Dorothy Thompson.

It’s My Review and I’ll Cry If I Want To, Cry If I Want To

I was listening to a radio show tonight and the host and author were talking about book reviews. The host said that if it scored below a 3, then she wouldn’t review the book, or wouldn’t post it, one or the other.

I know they say if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, but I absolutely adore honest reviewers. The snarkier the better because in my opinion, that’s telling me this reviewer has guts and doesn’t give a damn about how anyone feels. That’s telling me that this reviewer is putting her or his integrity on the line and feels that if they sugar-coat a bad book, then their reputation will go right down the toilet.

Sure, we can keep in mind that everyone’s opinions vary - what you like, I might not like - and that all goes with the territory.

Susan Jensen of Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books…now that’s a chick who will tell you how it is. She’s not sugar coating anything and that’s why I simply adore her. My authors might not adore her after they read her scathing reviews, but you gotta admire this woman’s chutzpah. If she doesn’t like it, she’ll let you know.

And, again, we all have to keep in mind that it’s one person’s opinion over another.

But to the author, well, it’s the curse of death. You might as well had advertised it on Oprah or plastered it on a bulletin board at the Super Bowl because the author gets really really upset when this happens.

When an author reads a bad review - even though they know in their heart that the reviewer hit the nail on the head - all she or he can think about is that fifty million people are going to zero in on that review and they start going psycho thinking now, because of that one review, no one is going to buy their book.

It happens. If you are an author, you know the deal. You’ve been there, done that. It isn’t pretty, is it?

Of course not because this is your book and this book is what proves to the world that you can write. If someone else tells you that you can’t write, it’s like a kick in the gut.

But you know what I think the worse part about getting a bad review is? The fact that it’s plastered on a public place for all the world to see. It’s not so bad that someone else thinks your book stinks, but when someone posts this fact or fallacy in a public place, then it’s hide my head in shame or get on the boxing gloves because I’m not going down without a fight.

About a year ago, I had a book that I wrote with two other writers. For four years, we let the manuscript sit. One of my co-authors decided to go for a publisher that had just started up and I knew that the book needed major editing but I figured (big mistake) that the publisher would take care of it. Well, the publisher didn’t take care of it.

A couple months after its release, the reviews came in. One “friend” decided to post for the world to see that the book needed editing bad. The thing is, it was posted at Amazon.

I knew it needed editing and had told my co-authors it wasn’t ready but I trusted this publisher to make everything right.

The publisher has gone bankrupt and the book is no more, but it only goes to show you what lessons we can learn with each review. Sure, it’s only one person’s opinion, but this is the very reason not to let your book go out without a professional editing job and then go over it yourself with a fine-tooth comb because once it’s out there, it’s prime bait.

I had my good cry, but it opened up my eyes to how important it is not to let your book go out there unless it’s the best it can be.

And I’ll guarantee that once it’s the best it can be and you feel there’s nothing else you can do to better it, then at least you can say you’ve done your best and you only have yourself to fault if you didn’t.

Bad reviews come with the territory. Have a good cry, lick your wounds and go on.

And, go on, you will.

I guarantee it.

Have you ever had a bad review?  How did you handle it?

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Literary Fiction Author Jean Hackensmith

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Jean Hackensmith, author of Checkmate.

As a former fiction editor and publisher, I probably realize better than most the importance of an effective marketing strategy for my books. I’ll go out on a limb here, however, by saying that I absolutely hate the promotional end of writing. I am an author first and foremost. I want to write, not promote. But that little monkey on my shoulder continually reminds me that my books will never make their way into readers’ hands if I don’t do everything possible to market them. I consider myself lucky to have found Pump Up Your Book Promotion. They’re an author’s dream. They do all the work, after all. All I have to do is write these guest posts, which will serve to introduce me and my work to readers and other authors. A Virtual Book Tour alone, though, will not make a book a best seller—or even close. That takes persistence, both on the part of the author and the publisher. It also takes money. The old adage that you “have to spend money to make money” holds very true when it comes to marketing a book. If you’re unwilling to invest in your book’s success, then it will never be a success. Today more than ever, unless you’re Stephen King or Dean Koontz, an author is expected to bear the bulk of promotional costs for his or her book. Publishers just don’t stick their necks out anymore unless they know a book will be a guaranteed success. Things were even tougher in the days before the Internet. Now it is virtually inexpensive to run a banner ad on a few web sites that tout your type of book. At least its inexpensive compared to the cost of print ads in newspapers and magazines, which generally have a much smaller reader base than most major web sites. (Unless you’re The New York Times or USA Today, and we’re not even going to talk about what they charge for an ad!)

In my opinion, though, word-of-mouth is and always will be an author’s best sales tool. There is no better advertising apparatus out there than a reader who loves your book and tells people that they love it. After all, people are more likely to invest in a proven product—and that’s what your book is. A product. Also, ask your readers to review your book at Amazon.com and other on-line retailers. Good reviews, and lots of them, will drive up your ranking in the search engines.

My most “unique” marketing strategy, I guess you would say, didn’t even start out with that intention. I wrote a play for our local community theatre. It received rave reviews and, consequently, people wanted to read my books. After the second performance, I set up a table outside the theater and sold nearly fifty books to theater patrons at the last four shows. Not a lot by some standards; but, hey, it was good enough for me!

Jean is the author of the literary fiction novel, CHECKMATE.  You can visit her website at www.jeanhackensmith.com.

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Author Andrew Jalbert

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Andrew Jalbert, author of WEST ACROSS THE BOARD.

As far as I’m concerned, marketing your book can be just as much work as writing it. Because I chose a POD publisher, much of the marketing fell on my shoulders and I can distinctly remember opening up the box with my author copies and thinking, “now what?”

I began marketing my book the way many authors (who don’t have a publicist backing them) probably do: I made a list of everyone I know and sent out emails with information about the book including a purchase link. While this sounds like a pretty unambitious first step, it proved to be a good start. Many of the people I contacted purchased the book and recommended it to others. As word got out that a local author had written a novel I began getting requests to attend book clubs and was even invited to be a guest on a radio show. My local focus only resulted in the sale of a couple hundred books, but I think is was necessary and when my next book goes to press I’ll start marketing the same way.

With an eye on online sales, I also set up pages in popular networking sites such as MySpace and sites that catered to book readers and authors. This too proved successful. By networking with other authors, reviewers and people who had an interest in my novel’s setting (the book takes place in the Florida Keys) I was able to get the word out and ultimately sell more books. My website, www.jalbertproductons.com already had a fair amount of traffic from people viewing and purchasing my photography so I simply rebuilt it to include the book as well. Because my photography focuses on marine and tropical subjects (I’ve been a regular contributor to travel and scuba diving magazines for years) I have a pretty good idea of the kind of interests the site visitors have. If they’re willing to purchase photography from the tropics, they’d most likely be interested in a novel set in the same environments.

Reviews are essential. I sent copies out to magazines, newspapers, and online reviewers and I was very pleased with the results. Every time I received a good review I asked if they would be kind enough to post it on Amazon and many of them did. While I was busy getting more information on the Amazon’s sale page I also made sure to include features such as “Search Inside.”

Because my book has a very specific setting (the Florida Keys- Key West in particular) I began targeting dealers and small shops in the island chain. I was surprised to find that even stores that didn’t typically carry fiction ordered copies simply because the story took place locally. In fact, I just completed an order to a scuba shop in Key Largo. This brings me to one of the lessons I’ve learned about marketing. I realize it’s usually first on the list in the “how to sell your book” manuals, but knowing your audience is essential. If your book takes place in Colorado, go after stores and readers there. People seem to have an incredible interest in reading a novel that takes place in a setting in which they’re familiar.

Define the people who would want to read your book, get it reviewed and get the word out any way you can. Sometimes even the smallest marketing effort can produce results.

Andrew Jalbert is the author of the historical fiction, WEST ACROSS THE BOARD.  You can visit his website at www.jalbertproductions.com.

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books with Author Theresa Chaze

Book Marketing Buzz: Book Promotion & Publicity Tips: How to Promote Your Books is a continuing series to help authors learn how to promote their books. If you would like to be a guest blogger for our book promotion and publicity series, click here.

Our guest blogger for today is Theresa Chaze, author of From Blank Page to Book Shelves: How to Successfully Create and Market Your Book.

Whether self, subsidy or traditional, the author’s work just begins when the book is finished and is sent off the printer. Promotions and marketing starts shortly before the book is released and continues until it is no longer available. Frankly, the writing is the fun, easy part of the process. Unless the author is a world leader, a world renown expert or has does something really naughty, she or he will have to work hard to draw attention to her or his book, which means the work truly begins when it goes to the printer. Even when the author hires a PR person, it doesn’t absolve her or him from promoting their book at every opportunity.

Every month thousands of new books become available to the reading public with each one of them fighting for shelf space and the reader?s dollar. If the author doesn?t create a brand name for her or himself, the book will have little chance of becoming successful. Creating a brand name involves defining who your target market is and how to reach them. In many ways, marketing is like a dartboard. The inner circle is your target group and each outer ring is an expansion into the general reading population. J. K. Rowling started writing for children. Although she started out branded as a children?s writer, she rapidly spiraled out into the general reading public. Her writing was not only suitable for children, but it was also entertaining for adults. However, books that are more specific rarely go beyond their target audience. Sam is not the only one who doesn?t like green eggs and ham; Dr. Seuss wrote creative and unique books for children, but very few adults pick them up other than to read it to a child.

Placing ads in the media are costly and if not done correctly will produce the opposite effect. A bad ad is worse than no ad at all. A good graphic designer can create an effective ad, but most are very costly. A good publishing and graphics program will help the author create her or his own ad; however, the old phase from the 1970’s is the best advice–KISS–keep it simple stupid. The more that is crammed into the ad, the more it will look amateurish and be counter productive. Smaller ads especially should be sleek with the graphics held to a minimum if used at all. Text should contain enough information to tease the reader into looking for the book and tell how it can be found–nothing more.

Marketing doesn’t have to be grand or expensive if the author is creative and clever. The internet provides a multitude of opportunities for an author to promote her or his book. Most email services provide for a signature at the bottom of out going emails; if used properly this is a great opportunity to announce a new book or to direct potential readers to blogs or sites. Internet groups, websites, messages boards, chat rooms, and blogs are also excellent ways to not only market the book but also promote the author. The key is to create a balance between creating interest without telling to much of the story or becoming a spammer.

From Blank Page to Book Shelves–How to Successfully Write and Market Your Book has several articles on marketing and promotion, including how to correctly use SEO keywords. It is available as an Amazon Kindle book and on the Theresa Chaze?s website at www.theresachaze.com. Those that buy the ebook from the Chaze will also receive a copy of her 345 page PDF listing of over 2000 independent bookstores for free.

Theresa Chaze is the author of From Blank Page to Book Shelves: How to Successfully Write and Market Your Book.  You can visit her website at www.theresachaze.com.