A Goal Set- And Why Promotion is So Hard

It's good to have goals. Goals keep you moving forward, give you something to strive toward, and provide incentive to work harder. 

The Chicago Cubs made their goal of winning the World Series last year. I think I can give myself a kick and try and achieve something just for me. 

I've been rather lax on promoting my Birth of Saints series lately. It goes against the grain to beg people to read my books, as epic fantasy isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. (Though those who give it a try are pleasantly surprised.) I'm much more comfortable working for other folks and using my contests to try and match writers with agents, or reading and promoting for friends' books. Much easier to speak up for others than for myself. I've been told that's quite a common feeling.

Self-promotion seems like a mixture of bragging and being selfish and we've been trained since forever to put others first. By we, I mostly mean ladies. We're supposed to give, not receive. Take care of others and neglect ourselves. Not shout about our accomplishments from the roof tops. 

But hey, "I GOT AN EPIC FANTASY SERIES PUBLISHED BY A BIG 5 AND IT'S AMAZING!!" (Yes, that was hard to do.)

I'm setting my goal small and manageable in hopes it inspires me to keep going. I want to see if I can get 11 more ratings on Goodreads for GRUDGING by June. That will take the overall number to 100, which is a nice round number.

Just a small goal to help me work toward getting over my reluctance to promote.

Total bonus if the ratings include some honest reviews or get copied to Amazon or elsewhere. Even better if it results in some new fans. You never know, it might help me feel a little better about promoting my own writing. 

So deep breath. Here goes. I'll be checking back in with my progress. Here's the blurb and some links in case you want to help out. And if you have this same problem speaking out and self-promoting, I'd love to hear how you get over that feeling. 

A world of chivalry and witchcraft…and the invaders who would destroy everything.

The North has invaded, bringing a cruel religion and no mercy. The ciudades-estados who have stood in their way have been razed to nothing, and now the horde is before the gates of Colina Hermosa…demanding blood.

On a mission of desperation, a small group escapes the besieged city in search of the one thing that might stem the tide of Northerners: the witches of the southern swamps.

The Women of the Song.

But when tragedy strikes their negotiations, all that is left is a single untried knight and a witch who has never given voice to her power. And time is running out.

A lyrical tale of honor and magic, Grudging is the opening salvo in the Book of Saints trilogy.

Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

  

Speakers Badge

I'll be picking up my first speakers badge on Saturday, March 19th at C2E2. That's in Chicago in case you are as ignorant about cons as I am. I'm on a panel that seems right up my alley called Fight the Power at 12:30 Central time. Here's the description:

Frodo and the Fellowship fought Sauron and his evil horde; a rag-tag group of rebels take down the Empire in a galaxy far, far away. Sci-fi/ Fantasy is full of stories about revolution, a few taking on many, an unlikely hero surmounting incredible odds to achieve victory. A panel of SFF authors will discuss their favorite stories of SFF revolution, and what they like so much about writing books where their characters take on the man and fight the power, no matter what the odds of success are!

Pretty good panel for a girl who wrote a book about a city under siege from a crazy huge army and who loves to read epic fantasy. I think Grudging fits right into that topic. There will be a book signing afterwards and I hope to see some friendly faces!

So help me out. This is my first con. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? What should I make sure to do or see? What should I take for the book signing?  Leave me informative comments about your experience at cons. I'm a trifle nervous about it all.

And also if you're a fan of SFF, how would you answer this topic? What are your favorite books where the characters fight the power? Why do bigger odds and larger consequences make the story more exciting for you?
  

Marketing Your Novel: Promo Tips from a Newish Author

Hi everyone – so I’m a newish author with a YA dystopian book (published by a small press) that’s been out in the market for six months now (has it really been that long already—wow!). Anyway, all I have to say after six months is that if you think writing is hard…well, promo is at least TWICE as hard (at least it has been for me so far).

Now, this post isn’t a “how you should market your book” post. Far from it, actually. I admit it, as much as I’ve delved whole-heartedly into the whole promo thing, I’m still learning the ropes, even after six months. After all, it’s a gigantic topic with an overwhelming abundance of info you can find all over the Internet—it can be exhausting just to try to research and sift through it all.

So…rather than go through an incredibly long list of alllllll the types of marketing/promo you can do for your book (in fact, I’ll list a few of the absolute necessities right now that I’ve heard countless times on industry sites and blogs: have a website, create business cards with your book on it, find the social media applications your readers use the most and interact with them, etc.), I thought it would be fun to list a few things that I know for a fact have led to at least a few sales and/or have expanded my book’s presence in the marketplace.

1. Find Facebook reading promo groups that deal specifically with your book’s genre and post in them about your book (be sure to include the buy link). There are TONS of reading groups on Facebook, but after posting in a lot of them, I found that hardly any sales resulted (very sad, I know). The only exception was when I posted in the very few groups that deal specifically with my genre. Not only did my posting in those groups result in sales, the readers were the only ones who even reacted to my post at all—and they were EXCITED to hear about/read my book. Interestingly, it was the groups that deal with the dystopian genre that got the most response, rather than the age category of young adult (at least for my book, anyway).

2. Locate (or establish if it’s not already) your book on Goodreads, and then start adding it to groups that deal with your genre in the listopia function. If you’re not familiar with listopia, it’s comprised of a bunch of lists of books that anyone can create and that anyone can add books to. Just make sure you read the guidelines of each group before you add your book. Some group creators don’t want outside people (i.e., not them) adding to them, or outline specific things that may not apply to your book (i.e., they want only standalone dystopian novels to be listed versus series, and you have a series). I haven’t been able to tell for sure if this has resulted in actual sales, but it has definitely resulted in people adding my book to their “to-be-read” lists, and thus has resulted in some ratings and a review so far for my book, so I imagine at least some people have bought the book via the listopia function. If not, my book is definitely more visible in the marketplace.

3. Participate in other authors’ Facebook release parties (I would also recommend having a release party for your own book when it comes out). This can admittedly sometimes be hit-or-miss, as it depends on how many readers are attending the party, and that, of course, depends on how popular the author is or how much advertising the author has done for the party, but it can be a great opportunity to do a giveaway of your own book and interact with readers on Facebook. Plus, it’s just good karma—us authors need to help each other out, after all! I’ve participated in a few release parties so far, typically giving away a free e-book copy of my book to a randomly selected reader, and it has always been a fun time at the very least.

4. Making your book free or putting it on sale for 99 cents for a limited amount of time. My publisher told me that 99 cents usually garners the best response from the market, and I have to say it has led to a few sales for me. Of course, you still need to get word of the sale out into the world, but who can argue with getting a book for free or for under a buck? SPEAKING of which, my book is STILL on sale (OK, OK, so this is the shameless plug part of the post; you can find my on-sale-book here: Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/z474hq9 ) for only 99 cents now until February 14.

Anyway, funnily enough, these four things are the only ones that I know for a fact have translated into actual sales, or have expanded my book’s spot in the market at the very least. I still have a long way to go in terms of learning the way of promoting and building a platform, but I’m sure I’ll be employing these four things again down the line—with this book and others down the line. If anybody here knows of any awesome marketing tactics that have worked for them, feel free to drop them in the comments below! Again, us authors need to help each other out! :-)

In the future, no adults exist. Ever since the plague swept the world 100 years ago, no one has lived past seventeen.

Sixteen-year-old Gorin, a collector of curious artifacts left over from the pre-plague civilization, is on the verge of perishing from that deadly epidemic. And his last wish is to find a way to visit the rulers’ reputedly magnificent, off-limits mansion.

Up against the clock, he and his friend Stausha steal into the mansion and discover a secret more horrifying than they ever could’ve imagined—a secret that holds the key to the survival of the whole human race.

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble 

Chris von Halle has had many different lives in many different worlds—the near and distant future Earth, other planets, and even other dimensions—and his books recreate his childhood memories of such outlandish locations. In thisworld and life, he lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and enjoys such extraordinary activities as playing videogames, tennis, and basketball, and writing the occasional comic strip.

Website: chrisvonhalle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.v.halle?fref=browse_search
Blog: http://chrisvonhalle.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @ChrisvonHalle

Experiments in Another New Thing- Thunderclap

Apparently, I'm much braver on the internet than in person. I'm trying yet another new thing. Instead of being related to contests, this one is the new fad in promotion. 

I've heard Thunderclap mentioned by just a very few people so far. It seems it's not really well-known yet. I'm not sure whether this method of promotion by sending out a giant spurt of tweets, tumblr posts, or facebook posts at a scheduled time will become a staple of more people are not. It's sort of unknown at this point whether it will become popular. 

I do know that using Thunderclap is a challenge. Not in signing up. That was easy enough and took just a few minutes. The challenge comes in needing 100 supporters. Without reaching that goal, your campaign won't run. No tweets or posts go out.

With Grudging's release in less than a week, I decided to try it as an experiment about promoting. It's something I could experience and report back about.

My Thunderclap is set to go at 1:00 pm on November 17th  and it would say: 

Happy Book Birthday to GRUDGING. A world of chivalry and witchcraft, and the invaders who would destroy everything (link to Amazon.)

Despite have thousands of twitter followers and many Facebook friends, I'm not sure I can reach the goal of 100. Most people are reluctant to sign up for something unknown. Something they've never used before and haven't heard of anyone using. I can't blame them. I would be hesitant too.

Especially when there are scary permission questions involved. The Facebook and Twitter permissions say something about allowing the app to change your profile and look at your friends or follow people for you, but Thunderclap promises they send one scheduled tweet and nothing else. If they messed with anyone's profile it would be defeating their purpose and giving themselves a bad name. I believe that is just language used by Facebook and Twitter.

Still, I have no proof Thunderclap won't use other permissions.

So if you're a mind to also experiment--Maybe you've heard of others trying this--sign up and we'll try it together. You can use the widget below. 

I'll report back on whether I reached the goal and how it worked. If anyone else has experience or knows something about Thunderclap, please share in the comments. I aim to education more than promote. A large part of me is just curious to see if this works. 

I hope to find out.



Edit: I worked on getting people to sign up for two days before this post went live. I tweeted about it. I posted about it in three or four facebook groups. I mentioned it in several writing forums. From that I made it to 30 sign ups or 30% of the goal.

I feel like the scary terms in the permissions are keeping people away. Several people have declined based on that. Nor do I like having to do a hard sell to get people to sign up. Plus, these are already people who know me. I'm not sure there will be much benefit for them spreading the word. They already know about Grudging.

Seems like ThunderClap expects people to give up and use their advanced options that cost money.

I doubt 100 posts/tweets will be enough to cause a "Thunderclap" of promo for anything. But I'm going to keep on this and report more about what I find.

Edit #2: My Pitchwars mentees have jumped into campaigning for me and taken the link to their mentee group. My numbers are going up again. They are just the best. Hugs to Kat and Alivya! Now at 53%.

Edit #3: In the interest of being thorough, I applied to a Facebook group another writer pointed out. This group specializes in trading support for Thunderclap campaigns. The Facebook group has not replied, making any help from them look unlikely. A strange way to do business, but did I really want my twitter feed filled with other's book promo? It's full enough of my own book promo. :-) 

Edit #4: I posted in my agency Facebook group and the lead agent picked up on my post and shared it. Giving me another boast to 67%. I also posted on my private Facebook. After signing up for a friend's Thunderclap, I realized the permissions ask for access to your friends and followers in order to calculate the reach or number of potential views. I feel a lot better about this campaign knowing there's a reason for looking at friend lists.

Giving myself only five days to reach my goal was probably a bad idea. :-)

Edit 5: I did get accepted into that Facebook group for Thunderclap, at the price of reciprocating. My numbers shot up by 26. Seven more supporters to find and one day left. 

Edit 6: It's the afternoon of the last day and the campaign is at 102. I did manage to find enough supporters but only because of the Facebook group. (For anyone who wants to know the group information for their own promotions, contact me.) I got 70+ supporters on my own. Lesson learned to give yourself much more time than five days.

Not sure if I use this type of promotion again. I'll report on how it goes tomorrow when the Thunderclap actually happens. 

Edit Last: The Thunderclap went out as planned. I saw many of them in my friend's timeline. It was still being RT'ed the next afternoon on my feed. I think it added to all the other things--giveaways, interviews, spotlight posts-- I had going that afternoon and helped with the buzz. Grudging made it into Amazon's top 100 for historical fantasy.  

Thanks to everyone who tried this with me!  

GRUDGING SPOTLIGHT POST

I'm throwing this out there and seeing how it goes. For the last two weeks, I've been filling out interview questions and writing guest posts for the release of Grudging on November 17th. It's time consuming, but sort of awesome when you remember what they are all for! So totally exciting!

I have a book tour, but they can only encompass so many stops.

I've already made a spotlight post for some book bloggers and though I'd offer a copy of it to anyone interested in posting about Grudging around November 17th. Every little bit of promotion helps, no blog is too small. Why not see how many of these can go out there to the unsuspecting public. :-) 

It sounds fun. And I'm all about fun, whether it's contests or book releases.

And in terms of promotion, you never know what might work until you try it.

Anyway, if you'd like to help me out and host a spotlight post, just fill out the form below and put Spotlight post as your subject. I'll send you a copy of the html (for easy cut and pasting into blogger) or a Word file. 




foxyform

Spotlighting Publicists- What do they do?

As I've been working with a publicist lately and didn't have much of a clue what they do, it seemed a topic that needed a post. Luckily, I found just the person to help. Meredith is a publicist with Spencer Hill Press and she will shed some light on the subject. 

What exactly does a publicist do for an author? There are a number of things a publicist can assist with. It’s up to the author and publicist to discuss what’s right for the book and what the author should and shouldn’t do on their own. A publicist can assist with the cover reveal, blog tour and release week activities. They can field ARC and interview requests from bloggers. They can set up bookstore signings (launch parties, regular signings and tour signings), library events and school signings. They can help an author sign up for conferences, or at least guide them through the process. They can also send out book blurb requests and mail out ARCs to professional reviewers.

About how far from the release date do you start planning events and other promotion? Promotion can start as early as a year out, with a big push 3-6 months before release. The sooner you can start creating buzz, the better! Early promotion usually includes the author spending a LOT of time on social media, chatting with readers, bloggers, librarians and booksellers. The goal is to create relationships with them so they’ll be excited for your book. Building relationships with your local librarians and booksellers also helps!

With events, it really depends on the guidelines of each event. Some conferences start planning their author line-up a year out. Bookstores often need 4-8 months to plan an event. Libraries and schools often book events months in advance, as well. Research is key – most bookstores/libraries/conferences have their guidelines on their websites. For those that don’t, you can usually call or email them to ask.

Do you usually wait for the cover art to be ready or are there things you can work on before that? The best time to do a cover reveal is 8-9 months before release. After that, the cover is in the system and online retailers start placing the cover images on the book pages. So if you want to do a big cover reveal to create buzz, you have to do it before that happens. There are still plenty of things authors can do before the cover reveal – including being active on social media – though it’s definitely easier to build buzz when you have a cover and description to draw readers in.

However, you can drop hints and sneak peaks of the cover. You can also put out short teaser quotes and images. Typically, the author coordinates this with their editor, to make sure they aren’t releasing material that hasn’t been copy-edited or that belongs in a scene that was removed from the book.

Does a publicist set up cover reveals and blog tours and do you think this type of promotion leads to sales? Personally, I always help my authors with cover reveals and blog tours if these are things they want to do. Cover reveals can build a lot of buzz, especially if the book synopsis and exclusive content (such as an excerpt) are included. Blog tours seem to be losing steam, but there are other things that can be done instead. For example, a one-week blog tour with unique material each day is a great way to keep things interesting.

  

Does a publicist set up book signings and arrange for authors to visit conventions? Have you ever had an author that just didn’t want to do public events? I’m always happy to help my authors set up signings. But I’ve also had authors who were comfortable booking their own signings because they had a great relationship with their local bookstores. So it depends!

With conventions, it depends on the guidelines. Sometimes, they ask that the author reach out. Other times, the author’s publicist can help them with registration, as well as with panel participation sign-ups.

I’ve never had an author who simply didn’t want to go to signings or events. Often, an author has to pay his or her own travel expenses and convention fees. So it makes it difficult for them to go. And sometimes they live in a small town that doesn’t have a lot of bookstores, so they’d have to travel far for a signing, which isn’t always feasible.

Do you have a set group of places to arrange for author interviews or does it vary depending on the book? It varies. As I’ve mentioned, it’s important for authors to establish relationships with bloggers. So each author might have certain bloggers they’re eager to work with. As for local and national media, that depends on where the author lives and who responds to press releases. There are certain professional reviewers who, upon receiving an ARC, might decide to interview the author, as well.

  

What sort of book swag would an author get the most use from? What would you recommend an author spend the money on? Teaser images? Bookmarks? Postcards? Book trailer videos? Something more unique? This is very book-specific and completely up to the author. I think every author should have bookmarks because they can be handed out at events or sent out as mini giveaway prizes. But since many authors spend their own money on swag, it’s really up to them. From what I’ve seen, book trailers are hit or miss. Teaser images are fun and can be helpful.

My advice is to think about your book. What are some key elements in it? What stands out to you? If that thing can be made into a fun, unique piece of swag, then go for it!

I heard getting reviews is so important to sales. Would you agree with that and what are some tips for getting reviews? Does it matter if they go on Goodreads or Amazon? Reviews are important, but there are other things that help sales, such as word-of-mouth. However, having reviews on Goodreads and Amazon can definitely be beneficial. Book blurbs are great, too. Often, if an author blurbs a book, fans of that author will pick that book up. The logic is this: if an author they love enjoyed the book, they will, too!

As far as reviews, do you use services like NetGalley or Edelweiss? Do you stick with book bloggers? How would you suggest author find book bloggers to contact? With my job, so far we’ve only used NetGalley. Anyone can use NetGalley – from bloggers to media professionals to librarians and booksellers.

When reaching out to bloggers, the most important thing is to read and follow their review policy.  Make sure you reach out to them individually and personalize your request, if possible. Make sure you spell their name right, too! Bloggers love working with authors, but it’s important to respect them and their time.

What type of book giveaways work best? I’ve noticed that readers really love annotated ARC giveaways and signed book giveaways. Giveaways can be done on your social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc) or on your website/blog via Rafflecopter.

  

Is there any type of promotion we haven’t talked about that would be something you recommend? Many authors have street teams. Street teams can be hit or miss, but they can be very beneficial for an author! Street teams allow authors to interact with their readers on a more personal/individual level, as well.

Is there anything an author can do to get more marketing attention? Do larger pre-sales help convince the publisher to spend more money? Or do all your authors get the same amount of help? I know I’ve said this a lot, but it really depends on the publisher, the author and the book. There’s no universal answer. Some authors take on more of the legwork when it comes to promoting their books, others don’t. Pre-sales definitely help an author and pre-sale incentives/giveaways for readers are a great way to get those pre-sale numbers up. Many authors will offer exclusive content with proof of pre-order (the reader needs to email a photo of the receipt, etc).

What is the most rewarding part of being a publicist? Is it cheesy if I say every single part of it is rewarding? Seriously, I love my job and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love my authors and I love promoting their books. That feeling you get when the book publishes, when readers are loving it, when the author is giddy and excited... There’s just no better feeling! Once a publicist, always a publicist!

-----------------------

My name is Meredith. I’m a Senior Publicist at Spencer Hill Press and Spencer Hill Contemporary. I’m also a YA book blogger and a contributing writer for YA Interrobang. I love to read YA, but sometimes I venture out into other genres. I love to write – I’ve been writing since I was in middle school. I prefer creative writing, but I also did journalism for many, many years throughout high school and college.

Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Blog|Twitter

How To Get Your Con On with S. Usher Evans

Before I started this whole author-thing, you wouldn't have caught me dead at a comic book convention. But as a self-published author, I realized very quickly that the best way to get my book in the hands of new readers was to go where the readers were. And as a science fiction/fantasy writer, that meant going to every comic book convention I could find. 

Example of a poster I used to release my second book at Pensacon. So far, I've hit eighteen, and I'm about to hit my nineteenth this upcoming weekend. During that time, I've learned a couple things that have allowed me to sell anywhere from 10 to 100 books in a single weekend. While those aren't NYT bestseller numbers, they're enough to pay my mortgage. I will mention that this post is geared towards comicons, but the lessons can be applied to any convention. Also, since I do own my books, book covers, and book copyrights, I have free use of my images. If your publisher owns yours, check with them on limitations.

Find an Event

First and foremost, find one! Believe me when I say that most every single city across the great US (and abroad, too) has some kind of comic book convention. The trick is to make sure that you find one that is big enough to make your costs, or make sure you're going into it knowing that you'll lose money. And don't do six money-losers in a row like some idiot author who shall not be named. There's pros and cons for going big and the same for going small. Big Cons with Big Celebrities bring Big Numbers of people. But you usually don't get the kind of one-on-one attention that turns passers-by into superfans. Also, they usually cost more, so if the event is a bust then you may lose money. Small cons are inherently riskier, even when you've only paid $50 for a table. I went to one three day convention where the only books I sold were to other vendors and the convention chair's mom. You want to do a little research before you put your money down. If you can't name any of the celebrity guests, don't pay more than $50. 9 times out of 10 all conventions need is your hard earned cash to get a table. Some cons do a little screening of their participants, so be aware if that's the case. The only one I've ever been rejected for was DragonCon, which is a BIG CON. Besides, it never hurts to ask!

Get Yer Swag On

Once you've got a con and a date, it's time to focus on your booth. You'll be pulling people into your booth with your pearly whites and charm and charisma (right?), but you need to make sure your booth set up looks professional. Trad pubbed kids--talk to your publisher. They might even have stuff that they can send you to use and then you don't have to make your own. They can also send you books. For me, I have three eight foot banners that I hang behind my booth. Sometimes I use all three, sometimes just the Razia one and the Empath one.

My booth set-up at a convention. For my Double Life banner, I use quotes from reviewers whereas Empath simply was the dragon. Both banners pique interest from different sets of folks. I got all three from Vistaprint and they cost around $75 to print, including the holder (I made them myself). Don't forget a tablecloth, either. If you want to splurge on a printed table cover,  you can, but for my money, the banners give you more bang for the buck.

How Many Books?

As far as how many books I bring to an event, it really depends. The most books I've ever sold was 183, and that was when I was selling my second book for $5 more. You want to buy enough that you won't sell out (or if you do, you won't sell out at, say 1pm on a Sunday *cough*), but you don't want to waste all of your potential profit on books that won't sell. My own optimistic rule is to bring enough of my first book and standalone to break even (to include books themselves, flight, hotel, food, etc). Sometimes I'm sinking more money in than I could ever hope to make back, and in that case, I stick with at least a box of 40 for each.

The Schpiel

When a person comes up to my booth while I'm talking with someone else and reads the back of the book, I've yet to see them stay. There's simply too much activity going on at a convention for a person to comprehend what a space pirate bounty hunter is. So in order to sell the book, I sell the book. As in I look at them in the eye and convince them why they should give me their $10. I start by saying hello to every single human (and non-human) that walks by. Sometimes they look like I'm going to murder them, sometimes they ignore me completely. But sometimes, they return the hello. Then I ask, "Are you looking for a new book today?" Sometimes, a "No, thanks." But sometimes, that light goes off in their eyes and they come rushing over. Then I say, "I have two flavors: space pirates or anxiety dragons. Pick your poison." Quick and easy topic synopsis so I can gauge which is going to land. Then the schpiel, which I have memorized before the con even begins (but after saying it 10,000 times, I would have it memorized anyway): "Double Life is about a young woman leading a, you guessed it, a Double Life. Subtle title, no? (pause for laugh or eyeroll). In one life, she's Lyssa Peate, planet discovering scientist, and in the other, she's Razia--space pirate bounty hunter (the more interesting one is second to land the blow). Unfortunately, neither life is going very well (pause for laugh). As the bounty hunter, she's one of the least (emphasize) wanted people in the universe and as the scientist, she just got a new intern who is definitely (emphasize) spying on her. Then that intern is mistaken for her hostage by the universal police (pause for effect)." Blah blah, more about the other books, release dates, etc. "Empath is about another young lady with a dragon-sized avoidance problem. She's stuck in breakup hell until she hears a mysterious voice promising an easy escape from her problems. Transported to a new world, she now has the power to feel what others are feeling. Just one small (emphasize) problem: there's a dragon in the mountain that eats people like that, and oh by the way, she may be hearing it in her head, tempting her deeper into her own darkness (pause and add "dun dun dun!")" When I finish a day of a convention, I am physically and vocally drained from doing this bit on repeat. But I know with utmost certainty that when I do the song and dance, I make sales. And I see other authors who sit behind their booth and say nothing, and they don't make the sales that I do.

The Takeaways

You are at the convention to sell books, but not everyone you talk to is going to buy a book. So you want to make sure that you have some kind of something for them to take away. My old standby is a business card (I also keep a stack in my wallet), but I have also seen people flip out for the Empath bookmark. 

Complete with yarn. My Empath bookmark[/caption] I started off with having Double Life on one side, then S. Usher Evans and my website on the other. But after I published a few books, I switched it up to focus the business card on the free download of Double Life and the Razia Series on the back. I don't usually carry business cards for Empath, but I might consider doing that in the future. The other thing that I always do is make sure I have a sign up available for my newsletter. Since I have an old iPad with a keyboard, I keep that out with the Chimpadedoo app from Mailchimp. I may never speak to that person again, but if I have their email address, I can send them a monthly newsletter with all the pertinent information about new releases and general happenings. Consider your newsletter mailing list to be akin to your Facebook Page likes or your Twitter followers. It's not a silver bullet, but it's another tool in your marketing arsenal. Now that I have three books, I've started bringing small brown paper bags with my self-pub imprint stickers on them. Just one more thing to give away that has my info on it.

Care and Feeding

Don't forget to bring a plethora of pens, and I would actually consider bringing something to eat and drink (and your favorite caffeinated beverage). I usually work alone, so I don't get to leave my table but to pee when absolutely necessary. Smoothies are a good option since someone always walks up to the table when you take a huge bite of a peanut butter cracker.

And of course, if you decide to eat this all day long...

Summary

Working a convention is the most exhausting thing you might do as an author, but they also provide the biggest opportunity for making money and meeting new fans. I can't tell you how it fills my heart with joy when a fifteen year old girl runs up to your table and says, "OMG It's you! You're my favorite author!" Squish! Got questions? Need some help? I'm always available on Twitter @s_usherevans. 

About the Author

S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in a small, suburban town in northwest Florida, she was seventeen before she realized that not all beach sand is white. From a young age, she has always been a long-winded individual, first verbally (to the chagrin of her ever-loving parents) and then eventually channeled into the many novels that dotted her Windows 98 computer in the early 2000’s. After high school, she got the hell outta dodge and went to school near the nation’s capital, where she somehow landed jobs at National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, capping off her educational career with delivering the commencement address to 20,000 of her closest friends. She determined she’d goofed off long enough with that television nonsense and got a “real job” as an IT consultant. Yet she continued to write, developing 20 page standard operating procedures and then coming home to write novels about badass bounty hunters, teenage magic users, and other nonsense. After a severe quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided to finally get a move on and share those novels with the world in hopes that she will never have to write another SOP again. Check her out at www.susherevans.com.

Facebook as a Promotion/Marketing Tool with Jean Oram

Jean Oram, author of Champagne and Lemon and now, Whiskey and Gumdrops, is a model for marketing and promotion. Knowing the market for sweet romances was tight, she forged ahead and took control of her own destiny by self-publishing her books and putting the first of the Blueberry series books out free.  I hope she won’t mind my comparing Champagne and Lemon Drops to a cozy mystery, only take out the word mystery and insert romance. She writes the type of cozy romance that makes you want to curl up with her books before a fire, and just enjoy.

Now Jean has released her second book, Whiskey and Gumdrops. To celebrate she put on a grand Facebook release party. I couldn’t help but notice her large following of fans and their dozens of comments to her posts. We could all take a lesson from her.

How long had you been building your Facebook page before your newest book released this month? Would you recommend starting well before you publish?

Oh, ages. But nothing really happened for the first few years with my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/jeanoramauthor). I made it years ago to ‘reserve’ the URL (The ‘jeanoramauthor’ part) even though I felt like a poser calling myself ‘author’—it was while I was still aspiring to make the writer-to-author leap. I ignored the page for years. Then about a year ago I started using it a bit more. With the release of Champagne and Lemon Drops (my first book) last March I started using the page more and making sure I had links to it on my website and in my email signature.

I would recommend writers and future authors start a Facebook page ahead of time. For two reasons. 1) So they can reserve their URL—ideally their name. When you use a vanity URL (such as your name) with Facebook, it makes it easy for people to find your page—and for you to remember.

2) If you use Facebook ahead of time you can enjoy the bumps and spills without a big audience or higher stakes. Made up example: Readers like to friend authors which is really cool (this part is true). But do you want them popping over to your profile and seeing your old college roommate’s posted photo of you with a bong? Does that fit your Christian Romance author image and brand? Not so much. If you play around ahead of time you can do things like start two Facebook profiles or use Facebook features to sort out who sees what on your profile page, etc. Basically, you have time to prepare and figure things out while the stakes are low.

Why a Facebook release party? What can Facebook do that other forms of social media lack?

Everyone else was doing it. Oh, um I mean…

The easy answer is, Facebook is a platform that allows readers to jump to one place and interact and see the whole string of a conversation. It’s easier to interact than, say, Twitter, where using a hashtag can be unreliable (you see the same tweets more than once, or you miss some). In my case, a lot of romance readers are on Facebook. I didn’t use Facebook much before releasing my book, but now that I’ve figured out that is the best place to interact with my readers, it is where I spend the bulk of my social media time.

So, in my case, Facebook provided the platform I needed for the type of celebration/event/party I wanted to hold, and it was also where my audience was. (Or at least a good portion of it.) For the launch party, I created a Facebook event.

As for why a release party…it seemed like a fun experiment. I wasn’t sure what to expect and part way through the 2-day event of 14 hour days I questioned why I was doing it as well as my sanity. (This was coupled by the fact that I had moved house a week prior and was still living out of cardboard boxes and the Internet guy hadn’t arrived yet—meaning I held the event using my cell phone as a hot spot with its 1 bar of service. Oh, and Mother Nature threw in a snow storm which meant my go-somewhere-else-and-poach-Internet backup plan was yanked off the table.)

Anyway, the party turned out well. The readers enjoyed it. They invited friends. People bought my book. Left reviews for book 1 & 2. Downloaded the first book (Champagne and Lemon Drops which is a FREE romance!). And they subscribed to my newsletter so we can stay in touch—a place where they’ll hear about new releases and other goodies that are exclusive to newsletter readers. (By the way, you want to connect with readers on your own turf (like a newsletter) because what happens if Facebook suddenly disappears or everyone scatters to Twitter and Google+ and Pinterest and twenty other new online places? Then where are you for connecting with your readers?)

But most of all…I connected with readers in the launch party. I heard their stories. I know who they are now—and vice versa. We had a ton of fun. And as a nice side effect, I also now I have more Facebook interaction on my page. I didn’t used to. I would post things and nobody would like, see, comment, share, etc. Now I post and people interact! HOLY MOLY. That has been one of the coolest results of the launch party (readers are thinking of me as a friend and are interacting!). It’s something I couldn’t have predicted and could never guarantee as a given result.

Did you also link to other social media, like twitter?

I have connected with readers on Twitter and my blog. But not in the same way I have with Facebook. I do still use Twitter for mentioning giveaways, newsletters, etc., but I find Twitter works best for networking with other writers.

Attracting a large Facebook following is an achievement, but do you have some hints on how you got such an active group of fans?  I posted a comment to one of your status updates and my inbox was full the rest of the day with other people responding also.

Sorry about that. The inbox can be a casualty in all of this excitement. I don’t have a huge Facebook following, but they are, for the most part, people who are genuinely interested in my books or me. I haven’t jumped into ‘page liking’ events as I figure those people aren’t likely to be my real audience. For me, it is about gaining genuine, quality followers rather than quantity (same with my newsletter). (I have 391 likes at the time of writing this. About 100 of those came in the past two or three weeks—with the book launch activities—and the bulk are definitely readers.)

To find those quality readers, I mention my Facebook page in places where readers are—my readers (or potential readers—has to be my genre!). For example, in the signature of my email, in my newsletter, in the back of my book. And I try to post things on my page that would be of value (interest/entertainment/helpful) to my readers. As well, if I am doing cross-promotion with other authors, if it is fitting, when I am saying goodbye to readers I’ll reach out and say something like, “You can stay in touch with me on Facebook by liking my page at www.facebook.com/jeanoramauthor.” You’ve got to make it easy as well as give them a reason to connect that has value for them.

But the big thing is to interact in a genuine manner and show real interest in these really cool and intriguing people, offer them something of value, and then let them know where to find you. They aren’t likely to go looking for you if you don’t know you are there. And it’s all about relationships.

You asked fellow authors to help out with your release. What did you have them do?

Yes. I had 16 amazing and generous authors help me out. I didn’t ask them to promote me. I asked them to come and meet my readers. Hang out if they had time. Hold or sponsor a giveaway of one of their books or other item of their choice. And then I promoted them. I shared a tidbit about them around an hour ahead of their giveaway to make them real to the reader/guest and mentioned whether they had a free book, etc. I tried to always swing it so there was something of value being offered to the reader/guest. Many of the authors popped in to say hi, hold their own giveaway along with a little game or what-not.

I did not ask the authors to promote me. Although quite a few of them did. Readers seemed to enjoy meeting other authors, interacting, and getting free books, etc.

What kind of status updates work best for getting comments?

This depends a bit on your audience and what intrigues them. I’ve found that status updates that readers can interact with seem to work well. Ask them a question. Share a good book and ask if anyone has read it. Posts that not only show you are human, but also what it’s like to be you—the author—and ask them to interact with you seem to work well. Photos can be good too. (Watch out for copyright!)

And reply. If you are going to interact, you’ve got to show up. You can’t throw an update against the wall and run away. Some authors have found certain times of day work best for them or that a certain number of posts work well. Experiment. (It’ll change over time too.)

I noticed you had giveaways of small items, like hand-crafted necklaces. Where did you get the idea and was that successful? What other sorts of items do you believe would work well as giveaways? 

I gave away about twenty necklaces and keychains that sported the cover art of Champagne and Lemon Drops or Whiskey and Gumdrops. They were made by a reader I met in another author’s launch party while I was doing cross-promotion. She was making them for other authors (with their cover art) and I told her they were wonderful and special. They truly are. She—the VERY generous soul that she is—made me a keychain and necklace for myself and my daughter and sent them to me. I was over the moon! In the end, she generously made some for the launch party as well. I can’t take any credit for those little treasures—it was all her and her generous soul.

As for what readers like to take away—I think something unique and special. A gift card for Amazon is nice, but anyone can get one of those. A signed paperback means a lot. As well, little mementos mean more, too. But, it is a funny thing. When I asked my Facebook page readers a few months back if they wanted Blueberry Springs coffee cups they said nope. So ask your audience. But generally, the true love-to-read-and-aren’t-about-the-iPad-giveaways folks love the items that are special. They don’t have to be big.

Did you include giveaways of Whiskey and Gumdrops as incentives also, or is that something you would save for later on in the book’s publishing timeline?

I was holding a giveaway of Whiskey and Gumdrops on a reader’s Facebook page during the launch party, but I didn’t have a giveaway of Whiskey and Gumdrops in the launch party until the very final hours.

Readers did want giveaways of the book.

I wanted sales.

You know… launch the book high and hope for visibility and for it to stick up somewhere good. With the giveaway—because it had been mentioned in the launch party—I heard from some readers that they were waiting to see if they won before purchasing the book. Nooooooo! Did they run out and buy it when they found out they hadn’t won? I dunno. The winners of the giveaway were announced after the hoopla of the launch party when the impetus to hit the ‘buy with one click’ button had been lessened.

If holding a giveaway for the book in the launch, I would do it early on. Really early.

There will be more giveaways for Whiskey and Gumdrops. I am currently holding one this weekend (Nov 15-18^th) on a reader’s blog. I also am planning a paperback giveaway on Goodreads as soon as I can get my act together. Hopefully this week. No promises on that though seeing as a somehow blended a gasket in with my cream soup in the blender the other night. The black bits…not pepper, kids!

Do you include links to your Facebook page in your books and have you any indication that readers actually use them?

Yes, I do include a link to my Facebook page in the back of my books. Do readers use them? I don’t know. But they do sign up from my newsletter using the link at the back of the book and I do have likers pop up here and there on Facebook, so I’m going to say yes. But it isn’t an amazing outpouring of Facebook liking happening. I get more newsletter subscribers.

What’s the most important thing to remember when using Facebook as a marketing tool?

Always direct them home every once in awhile. In other words, make sure you exist off of Facebook (or other forms of online media that are run by others and not controlled by you) in case Facebook suddenly nixes Facebook pages or something equally rash. You are building your platform on someone else’s turf and using their rules. So, be sure to use a belt as well as suspenders (this is your income, after all) and direct readers back to something you (hopefully) have more control over like your website or newsletter as a way to stay in touch.

As well, read Facebook’s rules. Yes, it sucks reading the fine print. But so does having your page removed without warning because you broke a rule—it’s happened to authors. Beware!

Oh, and have funnnnnn! If you aren’t having fun, it’ll show. Make this journey yours. However that happens to look.

Anything you would change or improve for next time?

Yep. I would not launch right after moving house. I would ensure I had Internet coming out the wazoo. I would also likely spread out the giveaways in the launch party a bit more. Hold a book giveaway earlier. And most of all, remember to breathe. ;) Oh, and make sure my books were uploaded way ahead of time on places that are slower. It really sucks to have only 2 of 4 major vendors selling your book at launch. (Again, part of that was the Internet issue which was related to moving…but you get the picture.)

But there is so much I wouldn’t change. And that’s what really matters. J

This is what has worked for me. What’s worked for you and your readers, Michelle?

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BIO:

Jean Oram loves to read and has worked as a librarian--a job that is a serious contender for the best job ever as duties include buying thousands of new books with someone else's money! She also loves the great outdoors and has worked as a beekeeper as well as a ski instructor in Alberta, Canada. She loves to travel and people watch and now puts her experiences to the page with zany characters and a mysterious (very ugly) couch that keeps reappearing in different stories. Now... if she could only get those odd socks to pair up at home!

Jean's first novel (FREE!) is Champagne and Lemon Drops with many more planned in the Blueberry Springs series. She loves to connect on Twitter (@jeanoram) and share lots of great, free romance on her blog (www.jeanoram.com) as well as on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jeanoramauthor) and more writing tips at www.thehelpfulwriter.com. She lives with her family and a multitude of pets.

WHISKEY AND GUMDROPS:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GCDODSE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GCDODSE&linkCode=as2&tag=jeaora-20

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/whiskey-and-gumdrops

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/whiskey-and-gumdrops-jean-oram/1117351986?ean=2940045404792

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/whiskey-and-gumdrops/id728592847?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/373142

CHAMPAGNE AND LEMON DROPS:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B00BR3AT9G  /   http://www.amazon.com/Champagne-Lemon-Drops-Contemporary-ebook/dp/B00BR3AT9G/

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Champagne-and-Lemon-Drops/book-us6xqOGIjE22vLFSq08gew/page1.html?s=666Ff0l2r0ebLx75t7Zetg&r=1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/champagne-and-lemon-drops-jean-oram/1114971937?ean=2940044392212

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/champagne-and-lemon-drops/id725314451?ls=1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/293607

Sony Ereader Store: https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/jean-oram/champagne-and-lemon-drops-a-blueberry-springs-chick-lit-contemporary-romance/_/R-400000000000000990566

Who Needs a Media Sheet?

What exactly is a media sheet and who needs one? 

A media sheets is a brief and concise summary of your book and yourself to provide to reviewers and bloggers when trying to land some promotion for your book. It contains everything needed in one document, so people don't have to scrounge for your information and keep sending emails back and forth. In other words, it makes life easier for the people you want reading your book.

It's a must have for anyone who is self-published or is published from a small press, like me. They are useful to any author who has to do their own promoting and marketing. They make you look professional.

So what goes into a media sheet?

Page 1

  

You'll want to include your bio and all the links to your best social media, along with an author picture. But the centerpiece of your media sheet should be the blurb about your book and its cover art. Links to where it is sold and links to reading sites are also helpful. And don't forget to include a strong excerpt. 

And once you get reviews going, be sure to include short quotes from some of those. I left room for some of those in center box.

I can't claim to have designed my own media sheet. Terri Bruce let me hijack hers and convert it for Kindar's Cure. 

Page 2

  

 It should be both pretty and functional. And hopefully it is enticing enough to get your work out there before the public. 

What about you? What aids do you use to promote?