This past week, I had the opportunity to miss not one but two fabulous multi-author book launch parties. But although I’m a thousand miles away and wasn’t able to attend personally, I knew about the parties, learned about the books, and have been able to share in the authors’ big moments.
Such is the power of a successful book launch party.
Publishing a book is no small task (it’s been compared numerous times to having a baby), and throwing a party is the perfect way to celebrate a book’s release.
Having a party can be a powerful promotional tool. In an interview about her launch party over on the Pub Rants blog, author Marianne Mancusi said, “Invite everyone you can think of – even if you’re pretty sure they won’t be able to attend. It’s a great way to announce your book release without coming off as an obnoxious self-promoter. Also, you may be surprised at who shows up!”
There seems to be a trend towards bigger launch parties, featuring multiple authors. A week ago, three Covenant authors – Annette Lyon, Julie Coulter Bellon, and Sarah M. Eden – got together to launch their books.
And then on Tuesday, Valor held a launch party with five authors – Michele Ashman Bell, Tristi Pinkston, Karen E. Hoover, Kimberly Job, and Daron D. Fraley.
LDSPublisher recently posted about the advantages of larger book signings, and I believe her argument holds true for book launches as well.
But that doesn’t mean an individual launch party can’t work just as well. Josi Kilpack did a solo launch last month for Devil’s Food Cake, and as you can read here, the event was a great success.
So how do you make your launch party successful? There are very good lists of suggestions here and here, but I believe the most compelling point I’ve come across is this: Offer your guests something of value (besides your book, of course.)
Food; music; door prizes; a festive atmosphere; a unique location; the opportunity to meet famous people – any one of these things, and many more not listed, can contribute to a successful launch party. What you offer will depend on your book and your budget, but make sure you give people a compelling reason to come.
What do you think? Have you been to a book launch recently? What enticed you to attend?
They are the two extremes of book signings: Lines out the door, around the block; a lonely author balancing a pen on her chin as potential readers stay away in droves.
Which kind of book signing will you have? Well, unless you are a major celebrity, the odds are your signing will be on the smallish side.
But don’t let that get you down.
The purpose of each and every book marketing effort is to get your name, and the name of your book, into the minds and hearts of readers. Book signings, have the potential to do just that. But as I’ve learned over the years, the word “potential” is a synonym for “needs a lot of hard work.” And that’s exactly what it will take to make a successful book signing.
While your publisher and bookstores both have an interest in helping your book signing succeed, it will be your efforts as an author that will make the real difference in creating a successful event.
As with your other marketing efforts, a truly successful signing will be a win for all three of the main players: The bookstore, the readers, and you.
Bookstores are in the business of selling books. When a bookstore agrees to host a signing, they generally do so in the hopes it will bring additional customers through the door. Established authors can do that with the power of their name recognition. Most new authors need more than just their name.
Make sure everyone knows you’re doing a signing – people in your social media circles; people who follow your blog; people you’ve met at writers conferences. Blog about it. Tweet about it. Get signs promoting it hung in every appropriate place.
And let’s not forget real world friends and family. It’s okay to stuff the line with your mother and her cousins, even if they already have a copy of your book. The bookstore hosting your signing may or may not promote your event, so it’s up to you to make sure people know they’re supposed to come.
There are two kinds of readers you will see at your book signing: Those who already know (about) you and came specifically to see you, and those who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Make sure your readers have a positive experience.
Bring extra copies of your book, in case the bookstore runs out. Bring hand-outs: Bookmarks, business cards, pens, pencils – anything that fits your book and your budget. And let’s not forget the power of food – Josi’s devil’s food cake was to die for!
Make your table attractive and yourself approachable. If the thought of walking up to a complete stranger petrifies you, know that your not alone. However, talking to people about your book is a skill that both you and your story need to have. I’ve found the best place to practice is at a writers conference, because talking books comes naturally – just as it would in a bookstore.
These are just some of the things I’ve seen and thought about when it comes to book signings. What’s worked for you, both as a writer and as a reader? How often should an author do book signings?
And now, since I fully confess to be lecturing without the benefit of actual experience, the all-important links to people who actually do.
Does anyone have a favorite book trailer to share?
Anyone? Anyone?
Bueller? Bueller?
Yeah, me neither.
I was going to look for some last night, but then I got sucked into the video of Dan Wells doing his How to Build a Story presentation at LTUE, and I ended up, um, building a story.
Yeah. Imagine that: Using writing time to actually write. Well, outline anyway.
It’s probably counter-productive for me to post that link here on the site and then ask for book trailers, but that’s what I’m going to do. If we have any videos to discuss on Monday, we will. If not, we’ll move on to the next Deep Thought in Book Marketing.
Book trailers – short little commercials for books – are all the rage right now. But do you need one? Do they even work? Are they worth the time, effort, and $$$?
The answers, of course, are: Maybe, maybe, and maybe.
Part One of this series will discuss the theory of book trailers. Part two will discuss specific examples. This is where I need your help: Give us a link to your favorite book trailers, so we have something to discuss on Friday.
If you do a search on Book Trailers, you will come up with examples as diverse and varied as the books they represent. Some are obviously home-brewed on the cheap, while others look like trailers for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. But production quality and effectiveness are not always one and the same.
The secret – as always – is to get people interested in your book. A slick, high-dollar video might look nice, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into sales – or even reader interest.
So what makes a book trailer effective?
Author Jeannie Ruesch is running an excellent workshop series about Book Videos on her blog right now, and she says an effective book trailer should “connect to one or more of [the reader's] emotions quickly” and “Make them curious.”
That’s it – pique the interest of the reader, and get them to find out more about your book.
It’s important to note that video is a vastly different media than the written word, and the book trailer needs to reflect this fact. Video is time and sight and sound. And while most, if not all, videos include written words, those words are generally not the focus. The focus is in connecting with the viewer on an emotional level – hooking the viewer (sound familiar?) – and then inviting the viewer to find out more.
So, how does one go about actually coming up with a video that hooks the viewer and entices them to learn more? This is where I defer to Jeannie. So far in her series, she has discussed what makes a good video, how to write a book video script, how to select (and where to find) images for the video, and creating the soundtrack. And the series isn’t over – she’ll be talking about tools for creating videos next.
So go read and ponder her posts. When you’re done, go out and find some examples of videos, and see what you think. After all, reading about videos only goes so far – we need something to watch. Below, I’ve included two very different videos for you to start with. Your assignment is to give me some videos, and on Friday’s post we will watch and discuss the videos you suggest. Share and Enjoy!
The whole point of any marketing campaign is to get your name – and the name of your book – in front of potential readers. In my experience, Blog/Virtual Book Tours can be a great way to do this.
Essentially, a virtual book tour is where an author sends books to bloggers, who then “host” the tour by posting information about the book and author on their blog.
As an author on tour, you can get some broad internet exposure for the cost of some books and postage – Bargain!. In addition to blog readers finding out about your book, having your name and book title in dozens of places on the web will help you and your story rank higher with internet search engines.
Tristi’s guide focuses on setting up a tour for your book, but being a host for someone else’s blog tour can be a good marketing move as well. The author on tour typically links to you and your review, which sends readers and their eyeballs to your blog, where they will also learn about your book. And even if you don’t yet have a book to promote, you and your blog will benefit from hosting a tour stop.
Blog tours are a Win/Win/Win situation, where the author, the host, and the reader all benefit. I think this is one reason blog tours are so popular.
I personally love hosting blog tours, because it gives me a chance to meet great authors and read great books I might not otherwise pick up. If you happen upon an author looking for people to host their tour, I recommend you consider signing up.
Here are a few suggestions I have for being the blog tour host with the most:
Before you offer (or agree, if the author approaches you) to host a stop on a tour, make sure the book is a good fit for you and your readers.
Give yourself enough time to read the book and prepare a thoughtful, well-written post. Remember that this post will reflect on both the author and you, so you want to make it the best you can.
Be honest, but be kind. Unless you have a reputation for hard-hitting book reviews (or are looking to build your name that way), it’s probably best to follow the old adage of not saying anything if you can’t say something nice. Don’t lie and say you liked a book you didn’t, but don’t slam the book, either.
If you want to include an author interview as part of the stop, give the author enough time to read and answer the questions before the blog tour date.
Now, what are your thoughts? Have you hosted a blog tour stop? Have you and your book been on virtual tour? What worked? What didn’t? What would you do differently the next time?
A little housekeeping before continuing the series on book marketing – I have a book to give away!
Congratulations to Melanie J. Your autographed copy of Devil’s Food Cake will be on its way to you shortly.
Now, then: Social Networking.
A year or so ago, I read an online news bit about how social networking – facebook in particular – was changing the way relationships are defined by today’s youth. The example it gave was that to many young people, a relationship wasn’t official until it was formalized in the couple’s facebook profiles. It also mentioned how an increasing number of breakups were being handled by one party changing their relationship status back to “Single.” Ouch!
After I read this, I realized that my characters, being thoroughly modern college students (and one a computer major), would be using facebook and other social media to interact.
Now, I know a little bit about electronic courtship, as my wife and I both had campus email 20(!) years ago. But I don’t think the facebook guys were even out of diapers then, so I decided to sign up for an account and see what this thing was all about.
What I found was a great way to connect with friends, old and new alike. And the more authors I added to my friend list, the more people I saw using it to market their books. As a consumer, some methods appealed to me, while others did not. (Read an article on Book Marketing with facebook here.)
The essence of marketing through social networks, such as facebook, is to generate word of mouth. In many ways, it’s the same as talking person to person: You want to be sure and tell people about your book, but if that’s all you talk about, your friends will tune you out.
Most people aren’t using facebook or MySpace or Twitter in the hopes that people will sell them something. They simply want to be friends, and it becomes obvious very quickly when one if their “friends” is only interested in making the sale.
I love it when friends announce good news about their book and invite me to their signings and other events, but that’s because they truly are my friends, and have spent time connecting in ways that don’t involve their books.
In addition to event invites and status updates, writers can connect with readers is by setting up Fan and Group pages. These allow writers to interact with their readers without necessarily becoming friends with everyone. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with this type of interaction, so I’m going to ask those who do to comment.
What experiences have you had with Fan and Group pages?
How has facebook/Twitter/MySpace helped in your book marketing? Have you ever bought a book based on social networking? Has an author done something to totally turn you off from ever wanting to buy their book?
Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the last post. I look forward to reading your about your experiences and ideas for using social media as a book marketing tool.
What exactly is an internet presence? Just like curb appeal is the way a house looks from the street, internet presence is the way a person or group appears to internet users. It’s the information about you – and your book – that people can access online.
The whole purpose of an internet presence, or any marketing effort for that matter, is to allow potential readers to become familiar with you and your work.
There are a number of different ways to connect with readers (and potential readers) using the internet, and successful authors are able to decide what tools work best for them. Today I’ll give a nickel tour of Blogs, Websites, Newsletters and Twitter. And then I’ll point you at sources who’s information is worth much, much more than five cents.
First – the Author Blog. I mention blogging first, not because it’s the most important, but it’s the area where I have the most experience. Blog is short for web log, and it provides a way for people to share their thoughts with the world. It’s essentially a self-published internet news feed.
So how does a blog help market an author and a book? Ideally, the author will write interesting things that attract and hold the attention of potential readers. These readers then become familiar with the author and seek out their work. The trick, however, is coming up with content. A blog where every post is “Buy My Book” will probably not get many followers.
Looking through the blogs I follow, they tend to be one of three kinds: Slice of life blogs by people I like, slice of life blogs by people in Hawaii (where my novel is set and my heart still resides), and blogs about writing and publishing. Oh, and the one with funny pictures of cats.
I read blogs that give me something – useful information, a personal connection, vicarious experiences, or a smile. The best blogs give me two or three somethings, and do it in an ADD-sized package.
As for me and my blog, the goal is to give you a little bit of each.
Second – the Author Website. You will notice I don’t have one. But not because I don’t think it’s important – I know that a good author website is very important. As I say around here often, “It’s on my to-do list.” My goal is to have one live by the middle of March. (There – now it’s in writing, and I’m accountable to you.)
An author website doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but in order to be effective it should be easy – easy to find, easy to navigate, and easy to maintain.
Now, I’ve done some web development in my time, but I’m by no means an expert. However, you are in luck, because it just so happens I know someone who is.
Jordan McCollum (not to be confused with Jordan MacDonald – my book’s main character [I didn't copy the name, I promise!]) is a talented member of my online writing group and an Author Website expert. Over on her blog, she has a series of posts about successful author websites, and gives highly insightful critiques on the websites of several brave volunteers.
Her tremendously valuable advice, along with links to the website critiques, can be found in this free PDF Guide to Aspiring Author Websites. (Believe me – you will want to check out all of her guides – they are great.)
Third – The Author Email Newsletter. As I’ve read authors and agents blog about internet marketing, they all mention Author Email Newsletters as a way to share information with a captive, attentive audience. For a long time, I disregarded this method as a pre-blog phenomenon that wasn’t really relevant any longer.
I now believe I was mistaken. True, newsletters and blogs have much the same goal – share interesting information and a personal connection with readers. And likely, the information shared would be very much the same.
So if an author has a blog, why would they want to have a newsletter, too? The answer, I believe, is that blog readers and newsletter subscribers aren’t necessarily the same people.
Blog reading is an active pursuit – if I want to read what a blogger has to say, I enter their address in my browser, or select a bookmark, or click their name in my blog reader.
Newsletters are more passive – I sign up once, and then on a regular basis, the newsletter comes to me.
My thoughts on email newsletters changed in part due to a guest post by Abel Keogh on Jaime Theler’s blog entitled Email Marketing Tips for Authors. In this post, Abel explains not only the why’s of email marketing, but does a great job at covering the how’s. I encourage you to check it out.
Fourth – Twitter. I confess, I avoided Twitter for a long time – I just didn’t get it. In fact, my twitter account (@writerdc) is less than two weeks old. But in the limited amount of time I’ve had to play with it, I think I finally understand why Twitter is such a big deal. I also understand why 60% of new Twitter users give up after less than a month.
Twitter is essentially like blogging, but with posts 140 characters or less. Just like email newsletters and blogs, Twitter has its own unique reach and a potentially different audience. And the secret to connecting with others on Twitter is also the same: Provide interesting and entertaining content.
While my adventure with Twitter is just beginning, others have become Twitter experts. I now point you back to Jaime Theler’s blog, for this educational and entertaining series of posts on Twitter, and how it can be used as an author tool.
How much do I really need to do? Not everyone has the time to blog every day – and that’s okay. My goal here on the Delusion Blog is to post tri-weekly (although sometimes that’s ‘try weakly’). I think it’s important to be consistent, so that readers know what to expect when they visit.
Twitter and the blogosphere and the internet in general can be a tremendous time suck if you let them. Find a mix of tools and techniques that work for you, and then have fun.
In keeping with the Hitchhiker’s Guide theme, I’ve decided to name this series Deep Thoughts on Book Marketing. During the next few posts, I’ll share things I’ve learned, read, observed, and deduced about selling books, with a sincere hope that this will be more of a discussion than a lecture.
But first, a quick WIP Wednesday update. I still need to cut ten pages. I should be doing that now instead of blogging, but I’m not – maybe tonight during the girls’ Young Women/Activity Days.
Now, then: Book Marketing.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an author in possession of a good book, must be in want of a reader. However little known the feelings or views of such a reader may be on their first entering a bookstore, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding authors, that they are considered the target audience for one or more of their books.
(With deepest apologies to Austenites everywhere.)
The fact is, even the best of books will languish on the bookstore shelves (or in boxes stacked in the warehouse) unless potential readers know the book exists and have an interest in reading it. The publisher has a vested interest in making sure readers know about their books, but resources are limited and tend to flow to the few authors and titles that promise the biggest return.
As a result, the bulk of the marketing effort falls squarely on the shoulders of the author. It does no good to debate the wisdom, fairness, or inconvenience of this arrangement. My aim is simply to acknowledge its reality and suggest ways to achieve success through – or perhaps in spite of – the system.
Ideas I have for future posts include:
Internet Marketing
Author Web Sites and Blogs
Virtual Book Tours
Social Networking
Book Trailers
In-person Marketing
Book Launches
Signings and Book Tours
Conference Attendance
Talks, Firesides, and School Visits
Business Cards, Bookmarks, and Handouts
I’ll simply start at the top and work my way down, unless someone requests that I begin elsewhere. Also, if I’ve missed something you would like to see covered, leave me a comment. I want this to be a helpful, comprehensive kind of guide.
Jordan MacDonald dreams of flying above his Hawaiian home, but his mother demands that he stay on the ground. Spurred by the pain of a failed relationship, however, Jordan secretly begins flying lessons. Just as he finds love again, Jordan's lies close in around him, and his dishonesty attracts more turbulence than he's ever faced in the air.
