77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected

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77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected

Written by Mike Nappa, available as e-book and print book at Amazon. The author’s experiences as acquisitions editor, marketing copywriter, and literary agent uniquely qualify him to write on this topic. He is also the author of more than 40 books and received more than 2,000 book rejections during his writing career!
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The book is divided into three sections: Editorial, Marketing and Sales Reasons for Rejection.  Starting with: “It takes less than a minute to reject your book” (by big publishers that is) Mike Nappa goes on with all the legitimate and also the silliest reasons your manuscript or book idea might be rejected.

As an author you might be able to work on many, such as marketing and your platform and following, however some of the reasons have nothing to do with the quality of your writing. 

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An editor is going to look at your proposal – and if it doesn’t meet certain editorial standards, it will go no farther. If it passes basic editorial scrutiny, an editor will then consider whether you have done your “marketing” homework — analyzed and defined your audience, established a platform, shown that you know how and why this book will sell. From there, the editor will need to convince the publisher that they can sell this book, and sell enough to merit the investment in its publication.
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Perhaps the clearest message that emerges from this book is that getting published is a lot of work. The job doesn’t end when you finish writing the last chapter. Publishers are in the business of selling a product, and it’s your job to convince them that your book will sell.
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Or maybe you will decide to author publish. After all you have to do your book marketing anyway, even if your book is accepted by a commercial publisher. “Success is the best revenge”  .

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Is Your Book in These Lists on Amazon?

Amazon Book Promotion
You have listed your book on Amazon because it is the world’s largest book seller and everyone in the publishing field says you must. Once your book is published on Amazon, do you let it just sit, while waiting for sales?  And then you are not making sales to anyone but family and friends. You need to learn “how to work Amazon”!
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Book Sales Increases

 

Discover how brilliant their book catalog sales pages are structured and how you can promote your book continually and on multiple levels – if you use their free promotion tools.  Amazon structured their site for auto-promotion, promotion and more promotion for each and every book.

Unfortunately these automated systems and promotional layers are unknown to many authors. Also unknown is the importance of, and how easy it is, to rank to the top 100 in several high-profile lists, some without even selling one book. But being seen in these lists nearly always generates sales.
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Category Bestseller
Category and subcategory best seller lists were created to highlight an item’s rank in the categories or subcategories where it really stands out.  Choose the smaller categories that are more tightly targeted to your subject.  This sounds simple but you would be surprised how many authors don’t pay attention to this.  One example:  instead of placing your book in the Business category choose the smaller, less competitive and more precise sub-category under it, Business-Budgeting.

Why are the proper categories so important? Without the right categories you may never earn a category bestseller, therefore never gain the publicity needed for higher visibility, never be recognized by Amazon’s algorithms which gains you better rankings in the numerous other Amazon top 100 lists, which generates more sales, which gains higher visibility, which gains rankings, which generates more…

Top Rated List
Here is another Amazon top 100 list, where you don’t need to outsell anyone to make the list. You don’t have to sell one book, yet inclusion in this list nearly guarantees sales.
Amazon’s search algorithm finds and tallies the number of reviews for each book and its star rating. The more good reviews your book has the higher up this reader’s choice Top Rated list you go. So be sure to urge all your readers to write a small review on your sales page.

Top Rated – for Kindle books only
The Amazon top rated calculation is based entirely on customer reviews. In addition to average star ratings, the calculation takes into account an item’s total number of reviews and compares it with other items within a category or subcategory. This allows books with strong star ratings across many reviews to outrank items with a better average rating but only a few reviews. The Top Rated calculation also gives less value to older ratings in favor of more recent ratings to ensure that the Top Rated lists highlight items that customers currently think are best.

Customer favorites Top 100 of the year
Customer orders per year are measured by this rating.

Best books of the month
These books are monthly picks of Amazon editors.

Bestsellers in Books
These lists contain the top 100 bestselling book sold by every author in every category combined, and are hourly updated.

Best Books of the Year
Books editors at Amazon read all year, considering every book, “Is this one worth telling people about?” These are the books they have been talking about all year, and have watched customers spread the word about too.

Top Rated – Kindle e-books only
The Amazon Top Rated calculation is based entirely on customer reviews. In addition to average star ratings, the calculation takes into account an item’s total number of reviews and compares it with other items within a category or subcategory. This allows books with strong star ratings across many reviews to outrank items with a better average rating but only a few reviews. The Top Rated calculation gives less value to older ratings in favor of more recent ratings to ensure that the Top Rated lists highlight items that customers currently think are best.

Most Gifted
These lists, updated daily, contain books most often ordered as gifts.

Most Wished For
These lists, updated daily, contain books most often added to Wish Lists and registries.

Amazon created an ingenious marketing engine, in several layers of free and automated publicity, each layer completely unique, and each one reaching millions of readers every minute – but it helps authors only if they use it! Or get their friends, family and social media networks to help them reach top spots in these listings. Read also David Gaughran’s blog about Amazon listings.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 750 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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What’s an Elevator Pitch for Your Book?

You Never Get a Second Chance

….. for a First Good Impression!
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Book Marketing – Elevator Pitch

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Tips for a Winning Elevator Pitch

What is an Elevator Pitch? This is the 30-60 second description of your book and why someone should buy your book or work with you. It’s called an “Elevator Pitch” because it describes the challenge: “How would you explain your book or your business, if fate placed you in an elevator with your dream prospect and you only had the time it takes to get from the bottom of the building to the top?”

• The purpose of an elevator pitch is not to close a deal. It’s to interest the other person in continuing to talk, or to get someone to want to hear more. That’s IT. There is no other purpose. It is one of the most important parts of the marketing strategy for your book (business).

• Your pitch should be 30 to 60 seconds, and it needs to end with a question, “call to action” or other appropriate closer. Consider a generic closer such as, “Does that sound like something you would look at or that interests you?” That lets the listener respond and if they are interested, they will ask questions. • Content is as important as your delivery. If the content of a pitch is uninspiring or uninteresting it won’t matter if it’s well-delivered and the perfect length.

• There are differences between verbal and written pitches, between the way people speak and the way they write. Many people have trouble with this. But as a writer you are able to write a dialogue then you are also able to tell your elevator pitch to someone in a natural and conversational way.

• Show your passion. Act like a parent showing off pictures of their newborn or their star little children’s fashion model. If you’re not excited about your project, nobody else will be.

• Use your time wisely. Most people are way too busy and constantly overloaded with information. They have to make quick decisions about what deserves their attention and what doesn’t. Grab their attention immediately, work hard at making your pitch as compelling or intriguing as possible.
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See examples of elevator pitches on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98WlZJqscVk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMYD6snLI5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqsWKaR9Q6M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ZpP4j09s0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMFFZ0lj41I

You never know when you are going to come across someone who will ask, “What’s your book about?” At conferences, there are mealtimes, hallway chatting times and countless other times when someone might ask you this question. Always have yours ready! Always be prepared: you never have a second chance for a first good impression!

Read more: 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2013/03/26/six-simple-and-irresistible-alternatives-to-the-elevator-pitch/

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4034-elevator-pitch-tips.html 

http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/fix-your-elevator-speech.html

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 730 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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The Secret of Success with Social Media

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Word-of-Mouth Content Marketing

If you’re in the midst of developing one of the more than one million books that are published every year, it’s time to start thinking about how you are going to market your book … because in today’s publishing environment, it’s up to you to build momentum for your work.

However, if all you do on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook is to hawk your book or try to interest agents and editors in your manuscript you are probably not going to get anywhere.  This is not to say you can not ever talk about the interesting things you’re doing, this just can’t be all that you’re doing.

People on Social Media want content, and sharing content has become one important aspect of it. Create content that your target audience loves! The true allure of content marketing is in building an audience.

Social sharing provides signals to Google about which content is high quality; but more than that, social media provides networked, word-of-mouth publicity.
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10 Commands of Social Networking

Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, blogs, websites…

1. Social Media is instant communication.  Managing time for  requests, connections, and comments is important.
2. Be upfront and honest.
3. Don’t try to do everything at once. Take it one Social Network at a time.
4. Treat connections with respect. Followers and friends are so important.
5. You have a great reach across the internet? People want to connect with people.
6. It’s not about the most connections when it comes to Social Networking, It’s about having relevant connections.
7. Be comfortable in the network(s).  Be able to be your authentic self.
8. Automate posts – in order to save time you can spend individually with your followers
9. Ask questions and share, share, share. Everyone has questions, some have answers. Get a dialog going…. After all, Social Media is about sharing.
10. Set-up your bio(s) for optimization. Use key words that will attract the type of people that you want to connect with.
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Ask yourself ”how am I truly adding value to my networks today?”  Start thinking about Social Media as a conversation not a transaction.  You will get really frustrated if you think it’s an immediate fix. Social media is important, maybe even crucial for writers today. Don’ t forget: customers always buy from those they know and like.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 730 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

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How Can You Publicize Your Book for FREE?

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There are lots of possibilities to let everyone know about your book, here are just a few. Browsing through this extensive blog, you will find hundreds more!  Most important is to have a solid amount of friends and followers on Goodreads, FB, Twitter and Google+ and long list of opt-in email addresses to send out invitations for your book launch.
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Announce books on these book reader’s blogs and websites:

http://www.ebooksjustpublished.com/about

http://jcphelps.blogspot.com/p/submit-content.html

http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=authors

http://www.Goodreads.com

http://books.google.com/googlebooks/tour/

Google writes:  “Once you send Google your titles (or upload them as PDF files), we’ll add them to our index for free. By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Books connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them. Each Google Books result will display the book’s title and author, a short excerpt containing the highlighted search terms, and other public data about the book.”

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Get as many book reviews as possible:

Just some samples of many. To find reviewers is so much easier if you are well-established in Goodreads communities and other writer / book forums. Start a book giveaway on Goodreads at least a month before your book will be printed (create “dummies” with the help of a digital copy/print company or through “espresso book machines”. When giving out these early copies, try to solicit as many reviews as possible. Use the best reviews for blurbs on your final book cover.
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http://www.GoodReads.com

http://www.Wattpad.com

http://bookreviewclub.blogspot.ca/

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum

If you have an Amazon account, you could visit the Amazon Kindle forum, where Kindle users share their experiences with the Kindle reader, and also talk about books available for the Kindle. Many authors also post about their new books and join the conversations. When you introduce yourself, consider telling folks there about your book.  Be polite and conversational in tone, and be sure to provide direct hyperlinks to your book page.
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Start early! If you’re waiting until the book is finished to start marketing, you’re already behind the curve. As an author, you should devote a portion of every day to get your name out there and to build relationships with prospective readers, partners and friends.
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All books live or die based on word of mouth!
If you try to build your network after you release your book, you’ll face a more difficult challenge. If you build a large social network BEFORE you release your book, your marketing efforts will be much more successful.
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Help is on the way:
If you have a full-time job and / or other commitments and not at least an hour per day left to build your platform and network with potential readers, let us do a good part of your book PR, and at the same time teach you how it can be done on a very low budget – all for only a dollar / day.  Read more about the extensive package we offer for 3 months-promotion of your book.

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Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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@111publishing

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Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Remember the Time Before Social Media?

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Even your grandmother is now on Social Media. Do you remember the time before Facebook, Twitter and Google+?  See the steep curve of the user growth rate in all age ranges and demographics, and the continuing pervasiveness of social networking into every facet of work, play and life in general.

Social Media Facts – did you know:

• 53% of all employers research potential job candidates on Social Media?
• 80% of companies use Social Media for Recruitment?
• 43% of companies used blogs in 2012 and growing?
• 33% of companies use YouTube videos for marketing?
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Readers are making book purchasing decisions every day based on social media interactions.  Social platforms are a way to connect with your readers. Use it and be social!

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Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic
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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 730 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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How to Plan your Publishing Business

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Before you explore author-publishing possibilities in this series, lets first have a look at your business plans as an author and the most important question: Why are you writing? Are you creating for yourself (as a hobby, just for the fun of writing) – or for an audience?
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Can you answer these questions: how many books with the same topic / the same genre are on the market? What is the sales ranking of these works? How are these books priced? What is the social media ranking of the most successful writers in this genre? Where are these books sold on- and off-line? The advise you read here is based on the assumption that you want to entertain, inform, increase your audience and eventually earn some money with your writing.

If you’re producing work for an audience, it means:

• playing by at least some rules of the industry
• caring what others think of your work
• establishing an authors platform from which to communicate
• interacting with your audience and being available to them
• doing things not for your art, but out of service to your audience
• putting on a performance, or adopting some kind of “brand”
• marketing your work and being visible

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If you’re creating for yourself, it means:
Writing is worthwhile for you, regardless of who sees your work.

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Why should authors have a business plan?
Unfortunately many writers first create their work – and ask questions later.  Any author can write a book, but only a successful author knows she/he is now in business.  Again: “Writing is an art – publishing is a business!”  A serious business!
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There’s no point to go without some kind of strategy in place if your objectives really are in building a writing career. It’s never too early to treat your writing as a business – no one would open a brick&mortar business without a plan!
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A business plan can help new (and established) authors to clarify the proper publishing path for their works. A business plan serves as a road map, helping to keep the project and related endeavors like marketing and platform-building on schedule and for the author to track the results of his or her efforts.
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The business plan starts when you start thinking about writing a book, it covers all aspects of your future work. At the moment you begin a novel or non-fiction book, you must already have a clear vision of the message, the audience and even the venues where it can be sold.

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Traditional business plans have these components:

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Market strategies
• Competitive analysis
• Design and development plan
• Operations and management plan
• Financial factors

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Sounds a bit theoretical? OK, here is the version for author-publishing:

• The topic of your work fiction / non-fiction
• You target audience / readers
• Your competition online and in book stores
• The likely contents, length, format etc. of the book
• Your marketing and promotional strategies
• The expenses you face for publishing and promotions.

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It is vital to have a business plan because your books and you are the products to be sold. It makes some writers uneasy, but without a plan, you can’t truly figure out a way for your book to sell itself. Think of it as a map, guiding you from starving writer to successful author.

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What makes your product so special?
No point in writing a book if you don’t know why or if it’s special. Many writers write books they’d love to read, many write books who’s marketing studies show readers are buying, some write books because the subject is risky or has never been explored before. Know why you and your book is special – and most important: what is the readers benefit of buying your novel or non-fiction book.
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Who will want to buy your work?
Jot down all those people who likely will want your book, why they’ll want it and how effective they will be at getting more people to want it. Know who your readership target is. Do you have enough (at least 2,000 on each social media outlet) contacts to spread the word about your book? And with contacts I don’t mean other writers, I mean READERS, bookworms, book lovers, book clubs, avid readers, reviewers! That’s the type of audience you will want to look for.
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Competition
Research in bookstores and online, how many and which books will be comparable to the one you are writing. Check them out in libraries, on reader forums, such as Goodreads, Shelfari or Wattpad. Visit independent stores and go to big chains  research these books on all online stores, not only Amazon, find out what genres are they placed, what reviewers say, how their author pages are designed etc. to get a real picture of your competition – and your potential readers.
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Format of your book?
Books can be sold in many formats and also in many languages. Research at least these three popular formats:

• e-book format
• audio format
• Print format

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How do you plan to promote your product?
You know people, hopefully lots of people. Online and off-line. And those people know people. Unless you can spend ten-thousands of dollars every months for advertising, you should plan now, before you write your book social networking, book events, gaining interviews, speaking engagements, seeking book reviews and attending book shows. Schedule all these activities in advance, add as many readers as possible to your current accounts on reader community sites, all social media sites – minimum are: Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Facebook.
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What are your marketing strategies?
OK, your book is available on Amazon or in your local book store, but where else might it fit in perfectly? Other online retailers where you can sell your book? Stretch your mind and think creatively: Libraries, book clubs, foreign right sales … there are so many possible outlets for your book. Find out what’s their commissions are, and how much you would make on each sale of your book.

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Calculations & Pricing
Both, digital and print books need to be proof-read, edited and then formatted, not to forget a really fabulous, enticing cover.
Pricing on print books is largely based on the number of pages in the book and quality of binding, costs for cover design and book layout. Pricing is also dependent on making print books available for a wider distribution than just Amazon. Since a wider distribution is used, books must be priced
so that the other outlets will be offered wholesale pricing.

Turbulence in the rapidly changing eBook world should also be taken into consideration. Pricing may be subject to change based on sales, current pricing trends and need to create upward movement in Amazon rankings. Books may be discounted if it fits with marketing strategy and promotion.
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Don’t forget other expenses, such as webdesign and hosting, advertising, marketing expenses, phone and internet, travel cost etc.  The good news: you can deduct them from your writers income.
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What is your timetable for writing, editing, book production, marketing etc.?
After you have figured out your market, your reader audience, your competition and your sales planning, you will feel much better, having a clear vision of your writing / publishing career.  A business plan does not have to be scary, especially for a simple business such as your writing business. In fact, a business plan should be somewhat comforting. It spells out what you want to accomplish, in which time frame and how you plan to do it.

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Further reading:
http://www.spawn.org/editing/sevenpublishingmistakes.htm
http://selfpubauthors.com/category/business-plan/
http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/business/writereality.htm
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-32373.html

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 710 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Reader Statistics: How to Use them for Your Book’s Success

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Did you know that the main driver of e-book purchases is “referral by a friend”.  Number two was Media (including Social Media) and number three of the answers was Goodreads – the world’s largest reader community – as well as the Goodreads Choice Awards. 
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Equally important for authors should be the follow-up question in this survey: “What do you want to do once you get to the end of a book?”
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83% wanted to see what else the author had written.
75% wanted to find more books similar to what they just read
69% wanted to discuss the book with friends
35% read other people’s reviews
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Why not give readers exactly what they are looking for?
How can you achieve this? Add a highly visible link to your upcoming e-book – and a link to your author page on Amazon, B&N, Kobo or wherever you sell your book, plus one to your website and your Goodreads page at the end of your first e-book!
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Equally important: link to your mailing list.
To be successful, you need to have a list of people who have signed up to hear about your new releases. You will benefit from more initial sales, which will boost your rank and push you higher on new releases lists, plus other genre lists on Amazon and in other retailers ranking.

To make sure, even people who browse only and read the “look inside” feature of the Amazon website, add these links at the beginning of your book as well.

Every time you publish a new e-book, update these front and back pages of your previous books, as well as your Author Central page on Amazon, and make sure that it is updated with every book.
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“What’s Going On With Readers Today?”

It was the title of the poll, which was introduced at the “Tools of Change Conference 2013” in New York last month. Interesting fact in these statistics: readers are about two times more likely to learn about a book on Goodreads, than on Amazon!

As you can see, this is exactly what Goodreads’ site offers to their 15 million book lovers / members:

• browsing all the books of the author they read
• finding similar books to what they liked
• seeing what their friends read
• reading other member’s reviews
• deciding what to read next
• discussing books in their numerous communities

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The best course of action for every author – if not already done – should be:

1. Join Goodreads and invite / add as many friends as possible, which is very easy, just read a former blog post where we described it.
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2. Don’t forget to add the “Top Readers”  and the “Top Reviewers”  on Goodreads to add as friends. Only friends can recommend your book to others, you can’t do it!
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3. Fill your book shelves on Goodreads with lots of books from your friends, read, review and recommend these books to others (and let your friends know about it : ) Most likely they will return the favor.
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4. Learn about and use the many free features on Goodreads, such as “events” for your book signings and KDP free days, join one or more of their book communities in your genre, create Listopia lists,  participate in “creative writing”, just to name a few fun activities on this site.
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5. Make sure that each of your books is listed on Amazon, even upcoming ones are mentioned and that your author page is updated. Don’t forget all these other communities you might have joined, and update the list of your books there, e.g. in Amazon communities.
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6. Add links for your next and all your already published books: on the first and the last page of your e-book, to send readers to your author sales pages of all online retailers your books are listed with, to your website / blog and to your Goodreads author page.
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7. Try to get as many reviews on Goodreads as possible, do frequent giveaways, garnering reviews and recommendations.
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What an easy and totally free way of advertising! Yet, many authors are not using this small trick … Have you prepared your digital books already with links to your other books?

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS    111Publishing @ Google+

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Gratitude for 160,000 Readers – and Apology

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Today’s post is a big THANK YOU to all my readers of the last 22 months. 

Thanks for signing up, coming here day for day, and for recommending this blog to your friends and

fellow writers. And thanks for writing comments – of which 99% are praise and encouragement.
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I really enjoy writing these tips for authors and if I would have the time, I would write even more.

Well, time constrains … working on my computer, often for 16 hours a day, including weekends, I still

cannot follow up with everything. I am giving lectures in publishing and book marketing and have to

travel extensively and when I am back in the office, I struggle to make up for the time lost. My clients

who signed up for book marketing need help and advice, new books have to be created, articles to be

written, meetings with our computer whiz, social media tasks to be full-filled… the chores are never

ending. But I am sure, most of you have the same struggles.

Last night I was  shocked when I discovered that I had not yet answered 492 comments during the

last months. It’s not that I haven’t seen them from time to time, but always in a hurry to finish my blog

posts, I thought I will answer them later, and did not realize how many have finally accumulated, who

needs approval or answer. I immediately stopped and started to work on these, but certainly could not

finish them all and will work on more these days.
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Sorry to all of you who did not (yet) get a reply:  I really appreciate your comments a lot!  And I am

extremely thankful for such a loyal following.  Please bear with me :  )  even when I am not answering

immediately.  Please also know that English is not my mother language and I am writing

constantly with a dictionary and a Thesaurus on my screen, which sometimes slows me down a bit.

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Again, thanks for all you comments and your loyalty and I hope, you will get lots of encouragement,

from reading these tips  and implementing it into your publishing and book marketing career.

All the very best and have a great Easter week.

Doris

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3 TOP Reasons to Have Your Book on PINTEREST

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You might be addicted to Pinterest already. And I am the first to confess, it’s fun to browse their site and pin away… After all, it’s the third largest social network in North America. There are lots of reasons, not only female writers should be on Pinterest, just everyone who sells books or other items can benefit tremendously from joining Pinterest. Can it really help you sell more books? And how to sell your book via Pinterest?
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1. By showing your book on Pinterest
It means not only, to pin the cover image, but also illustrations and images representing the content of your book. Let’s assume you wrote a historical novel and the heroine lives in Scotland. It means you can show tons of images regarding to your story. Get them on free photo sites, use links we posted in former blogs. To find them, just type in free images into the search function at http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com

Search on these free photo sites for landscape photos of Scotland, antique furniture, dresses from the period, recipes… the list goes on and on. Possible board topics at Pinterest could also include book quotes, books turned into movies or book inspired art. Create a separate page for each of these topics, and in no time you will have dozens or even hundreds of “pins”, which makes it interesting for your visitors to browse your books’ Pinterest page.
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2. By creating a direct link to your sales page
Pinterest drives more referral traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn, combined. This means if you want people clicking through to the book page on your website or on Amazon, B&N or Kobo, Pinterest may be your best bet. Don’t post only your books. Treat it as a way to share things you love. Visitors to your page will be happy to “meet the author”.

And this is how your visitors can find – and buy your book:
Add a description of your book, the direct link to your sales page and add the price after the description with a $ sign. Example: $2.99. Pinterest will place the price in the upper left corner of the image. Pinterest will automatically link to your site or product when a person clicks on it. For example:  http://pinterest.com/pin/262053272040143005/
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3. By writing about your book & adding your book trailer
Your presence on Pinterest invites your readers into your life and gives them a reason to buy your books. Keep your presence welcoming. Have a dialogue and re-pin some of their images on your site as well. And if you are an established writer with several books, create separate Pinterest accounts and pages for each one of your books.

Writers who already have a personal account on Pinterest will be able to convert it to a business account. The process to open an author / business account with Pinterest is very easy and really fast. Visit their sample sites to learn more. Use Pinterest’s buttons and widgets to make it easier for people to pin items from your site, see what you’re doing on Pinterest, and follow you or your boards.

Unlike Facebook, Pinterest users don’t have to restrict their searches to information pinned on their friends’ walls. Users can choose to search the entire site. So while a user may not be following your profile, they can still look at and click your link even if they don’t re-pin the link, they will find your books’ sales page.

However, not only photos, also videos can be posted, which means you can add your book trailer (video) as well!

Pinterest is the hottest social media tool right now. How do you make your Pinterest page work for your book business? Have a look at these pins: Maximize Pinterest for your Business!

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Hidden Gems at Goodreads

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A commentator on this blog wrote: “I have been using Goodreads for a while now and I had no idea about the author program or how to really get the most use out of it. I am hoping that now, that I have claimed my book, to become part of the author program, I can make better use of the site.”

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Here on this blog you will find many Goodreads topics, such as: How to sign-up with Goodreads and add friends – old and new ones - and where to meet people, for sample top readers and the most popular reviewers.  If you are blogging, you might have incorporated your blog to your author page on Goodreads, added your book trailer or you have publicized your book signing.

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Did you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads?
Just go to the top of each page and click on Groups. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups” etc. and one the right hand site of the page “Browse by Tag”. This is were all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords. For sample:

• Book Club
• Historical Fictionistas
• Non-Fiction
• Young Adult Book Groups
• Suspense
• Super-Natural
• The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
• Womankind Worldwide Book Group
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As you can see, when you scroll down on the right hand site, there are ten-thousands of groups!!!
Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations (3365) Student Groups (6129)
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There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity at Goodreads, were obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise.

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A hidden gem for authors to meet readers.
Almost all are public groups. Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it’s not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception I just mentioned.  ”Authors are welcome and we support authors in many ways, but the group is primarily geared towards readers. Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.” Once you are known in these forums, your author site and your books will automatically read and often reviewed.
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I was talking recently with an author, who desperately wanted more reviews. When I asked him how many reviews he has written in the last year, he stumbled … and said: “well, NONE so far”. Shall I say more? Don’t forget:

To be a Goodreads member and to benefit, especially from reviews, requires that you are a bit more active on this site, for sample in shelving books of other writers, in participating from time to time in forums, read books and review them. How could someone expect to receive reviews if they are not writing some for others? Be a good pal in this book community!

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS   111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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As an Author-Publisher You Are Not Alone

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It’s an adventure for sure … and you never wanted to become an entrepreneur! You just wanted to write. Publishing and marketing are almost scary tasks for you. It seems, as if you have to learn a complete new profession. The writing is finished, yet there are so many new challenges approaching:

• proofreading and editing
• cover design and ebook formatting
• uploading to all online retailers
• choosing a print form and get a layouter
• getting articles published about you and your book

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And more questions are coming up:

• why do I have to market my book, even it is on Amazon?
• what on earth is a “platform”?
• why should I create a brand as author?
• why and how should I create a blog/website?
• why do I have to be on these social media sites?
• why join several reader forums?

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So, how can you make self-publishing and book marketing an enjoyable journey, how can you learn it all, without even studying economy, marketing, e-publishing etc ?
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Take advantage of our professional help to learn:

• how you can establish a brand as a writer
• the publishing and retail possibilities
• all the pre-publishing book marketing steps
• blogging & automatic posting of your articles to Twitter, FB, Google+, Goodreads…
• how to make lots of reader contacts on several social media sites
• researching your possible competition & popularity of genres/positioning
• how to identify your target readers & plan your blog content & marketing strategies
• how to get lots of readers & reviewers

… and the list goes on and on
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Would you learn to drive a car or fly a plane without instructor?
Compare learning to be a successful author-publisher to getting a drivers licence or learning a new language or to fly an airplane: It is frightening first, but once you have learned it – with a professional instructor on your site – and you gain self-confidence, it becomes sheer pleasure. Would you learn to drive a car, learn a new language or fly a plane without instructor?

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Everything you accomplished in life makes you proud and is fun doing! So will be author-publishing and book marketing.
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“Nobody ever made money writing a book – only by selling it”
If you want to get help and valuable support, for less than $1/per day: Sign up now for an individual Book Marketing online seminar & coaching, customized to YOUR book and your needs. Get practical support to market your book almost for free. Get all the details: www.111Publishing.com/seminar

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9 Reasons to Get Help Boosting Your Books Success

3 Options for Authors to Sell their Books

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Social Media and Your Brain

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It is no secret that we use Social Media a lot – and all this social media usage can be hard to curtail.  Resisting Twitter, Facebook and other Social Media sites is harder than other urges, such as smoking, drinking, spending money, sleeping and even sex.

Posting about yourself on Social Media sites rewards the brain the same way food and sex do.
Talking about ourselves became a tough habit to kick…  Read and see more on this info graphic,
created by OnlineCollegeCourses.com
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Related articles:

• Humor in Social Media (InsuranceFiles.com)
• How to Not Get Overwhelmed with Social Media (thetonyd.com)

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Million Dollar Question: How to Get Book Reviews?

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Not just a handful, but lots of reviews!

They are crucial, not only for Amazon’s algorithms, but also when selling through other online retailers, such as Kobo, Barnes&Noble or Waterstones.  Polls revealed that 70% of book buyers are paying attention to reviews before they make their purchase. They don’t read the reviews necessarily, but check the numbers of reviews a book has accrued.  Book reviewing, in the past a privilege of literary magazines, became mainstream, encouraged by the likes of Amazon and without any editorial controls. There is an ever-shrinking newspaper space for reviews, while the number of books published is increasing tremendously. However, book bloggers and book lovers all over the world become armchair critics at the click of a mouse.
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So, how can a writer find reviewers?

• paying for reviews, Kirkus Reviews comes to mind, who charges several hundred dollars
• asking followers and friends in their Social Media network
• getting to know book bloggers and hobby reviewers

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The worst method is to write an email and send it out to dozens of reviewers, without a salutation and without checking their websites/blogs carefully or reading their submission guidelines. If you would be a reviewer, would you answer a mass mail?
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Always remember that book reviewers don’t do it for a living.
They often have busy lives, full-time jobs, partners, children, ailing parents and other obligations. They barely can keep up with the growing demand for reviews.  Imagine if you would get an email from a total stranger, asking you to do several hours of work for free. Would you be excited?
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Get to know book reviewers and bloggers.
Careers everywhere depend on networking, same with a writing career.  Start making “friends” with reviewers, long before your book is finished: Search on your social media sites for reviewers, reviews, book bloggers, etc. when using the search function on top of Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook and Google+ pages. At Goodreads, reviewers are listed, so you can conveniently choose them as friends and follow them for a while, see which book genres they  prefer,  before you approach them.
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Check out the bestsellers in your genre (in bookstores or online) and find names of reviewers. If these reviewers have a blog (and most do), comment on their articles.  Offer them well-written guest blogs, geared to their topics and readership.
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These are invaluable and important contacts, as those readers do not only review books, but post their reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and the like.  On top of that, they often write a blog post about the books they read, which stays there for years to come. They are actually promoting those book reviews to readers and indirectly even to industry decision makers: librarians, booksellers, agents, publishers – like a publicist does it (for money). If compensated it would mean at least a couple of hundred dollars worth, what they provide you for free!
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Again: It takes often months until getting a review, start early with your search.
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If you write non-fiction, it’s a bit more difficult, as most book reviewers prefer fiction books.  Look for magazines that write about the same or similar topics and find out if they review books. You could also offer an article and in your intro at the end of the article, you could offer readers a copy in exchange for a review of your book. For sample, if you write about aviation safety, you search for aviation magazines, but also for history magazines, travel magazines, even more local publications where a certain incident happened in the past. Or if you write about nutrition, check out all magazines of health food stores, women’s magazines, medical magazines etc. to find out if they write reviews.

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Paid book reviewers
are not hard to find, just type into Google: Book Review Submission Guidelines and you will find lots of them. The most famous:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/
http://www.bookrooster.com/
https://www.forewordreviews.com/

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Free book reviews
The best source are friends and followers on social media site, starting with Goodreads. Offer a print version of your book as a giveaway (you can do this several times a year). In average, half of the recipients write a book review.
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But again: just don’t email them out of the blue, friend them on social media, read their blogs and get to know them, before you make an approach for a review. If they state in their submission guidelines, they will only read print books, don’t tell them to “just print out my pdf or word file”.  If you have e-books only, get a couple of digital prints (bound) from a copy shop or use one of these espresso book machines, mostly located in big cities, but available online, just add the postage for delivery.

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For US writers: The Midwest Book Review (free!) has contracted with Cengage Learning to provide them with electronic copies of book reviews. Cengage Learning then makes their reviews available to library systems nationwide. Read our former blog post, “How to Find Reviewers for Your Book” where lots of reviewers are listed.
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If you are looking for reviews to use in your books blurb (print or e-book) send out galleys, which can be produced by espresso book machines as well, at least 3 – 4 months before your book’s launch, especially for print books, to be sure to receive it in time.

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/magazine/editorial-submissions (4 months before launch!)
http://bookpage.com/content/submission-guidelines (at least 3 months before launch!)

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Another question is the quality of book reviews, not only on the internet… I think about an extremely unfair review, a good friend of mine has received from a “Librarian” at Goodreads! She wrote about a book that has amassed more than 90 percent 5-star reviews. The “reviewer wrote: “I tried to like the book, really. But I just can’t.” That’s it, this was the whole review! No description what the book is about, no mentioning of the writing style (excellent!), not about the plot, the characters, nothing. And gave it a 1-star. So much for the quality of reviews…  Check out the reviews for world bestsellers and you will find some of them with more than 150 of these 1-star reviews!
And then there are those people who are downloading tons of free books on Amazon – without even checking the content, just because they can get something for free – they are also infamous for writing scalding and unprofessional book reviews. What about the writers’ competition, who could theoretically write an unfair review?  In all these cases, just keep your cool, and work even harder to get more reviews to “bury” those unfair ones.

Take reviews always with a grain of salt. Sure, reviews, and lots of them, are important for writers. But keep in mind, they are always subjective!  And don’t forget to thank a reviewer for their work, no matter if 3 or 3 stars. They will be more inclined to do another review for you when your next book is finished.

Kate McMillian compiled a great number of articles about book reviews, check them out.

BTW: How many books did YOU review recently???

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS      111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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2 Basic Rules To Follow for Your Books Success

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… on Social Media
Are you promoting your book like crazy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook … but nothing seems to happen, no book sales? Are you competing with other writers in “buy my book, buy my book, buy my book… Are you choosing to follow other writers, hoping they will buy your book?

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1. Choose your following very carefully: You want to interact mainly with READERS, NOT writers. The question is: How to find readers?

All Social Media sites have a search function on top of the page. Type in: book bloggers, read, reading, book lovers, book club, love reading, book worm, love to read, mystery book reader, science fiction reader, YA readers, YA book blogger, readers, word nerd, non-fiction book blogger, reading books, reviewing book… and even librarian. Click on “people” or scroll down a lot, as the first names that appear are often publishers and other commercial accounts.

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Another method is to type in the name of a very successful book in your genre and find readers there, talking about this book. Follow those readers that you feel belong to your book genre, based on what they say in their tweets. Re-tweet their posts, engage in meaningful conversation, be funny or refer to blog posts you wrote, but don’t mention your book. They will find out about it soon enough.

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2. Understand the meaning of Social Media – being SOCIAL and STOP talking constantly about your book!
I noticed one writer on Twitter who writes 100% only and only about his book. He seems to use automatic tweets, as he never, ever engaged in any conversation with others. Kind of autistic .. For sure, I was not the only one who un-followed him. Write about interesting things that are happening, give valuable advice or engage in a humerus way with your readers. No one goes on Twitter, FB, Google+ or Pinterest to read constantly about your book. That’s not entertaining or interesting. Many writers don’t buy books from other writers, they want to sell their own. If ALL writers are doing on Twitter, Google+ or FB is self-promoting they are not only NOT attracting readers, but turning them away.

Yes, famous writers may attract attention for what they have to say – not normally related to their books – but rather to their writer’s life or ideas – and they are often interesting or funny. It’s called social networks not selling pages…
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Authors should rather focus their promotional efforts on trying to get people to talk about their books (review them, read and recommend them, give them awards, take them to their book groups, write articles or blog posts about them) instead of trying to get people to buy them. A much better place to do this is on reader forums, such as Goodreads, Shelfari, Bibliophil, Biblio Connection, BookTalk and the like.

So, following these two basic rules: Finding the right followers “readers” and be “social” on Social Media is key to successful promoting your books.

To get more book marketing help, see what we can do for you in individual sessions.

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Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks  http://about.me/ebookPR

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