BOOK PROMOTION NEWSLETTER
Book Promotion Newsletter
Sample Issue 1- March 4, 2003
Editor: Francine Silverman
mail to: franalive@aol.com
http://www.nystatetravel.com
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Book Promotion Newsletter. With your support and input, we can help all writers learn the best ways to market their books. The few how-to guides on book marketing tend to focus on novels and/or general non-fiction but the marketing strategies for these categories don't necessarily apply to guidebooks or poetry.
Book Promotion Newsletter is dedicated to helping writers of all genres promote their books both off and on-line. As author of two travel guidebooks, I want to share with you the promotional experiences of other guidebook authors, as well as poets, novelists, biographers, and all other writers of fiction and non-fiction. This newsletter will feature book marketing tips, helpful articles, advertising services and real life problems and success stories. I hope you will write to me with your questions and comments.
Today's content
1. Feature Article
* Free press release postings
2. Misery loves company
3. Promotional coups from our readers
4. Marketing tips
5. Wonderful websites
* free book marketing articles
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1. Feature Article
Post Your Press Release - Free
By Francine Silverman
The Internet has become a global bazaar with everyone hawking their wares. Freebies are shrinking as we discover more ways to part with our dollars. As author of the 2003 guidebook, Long Island Alive, I was heartened to discover that www.longisland.com accepts press releases when the information pertains to Long Island. Shortly after posting a press release about the publication of my book, a Long Island radio station called me for an interview.
It should always be that easy! What if you’re a poet who wants to get the word out about an upcoming reading but is as poor as a churchmouse? I came across a piece by Marcia Yudkin, a contributing author at www.powerhomebiz.com, which lists nine such sites. Since e-zine articles often lack datelines and can languish at a site for years, I decided to investigate.
Of the five extant sites, I found www.prweb.com among the best. One hopes PR Web will continue to offer free press release distribution. It’s an easy site to navigate and virtually every business is welcome to contribute its news. You choose among a long list of industries and your release is placed with that group – the most recent goes at top. Some categories draw many more releases than others. One time there were 6060 Internet, 1489 education,941 travel,and only 389 environment to weed through. Sometimes it pays to be unpopular! Two words of advice: Register first at Member Login and examine the site carefully before submitting. A scroll-down menu is at the bottom of the release page and is easy to miss.
Remember as a kid you were rewarded with a gold star for good deeds? PR Web awards stars to its financial contributors. One star is placed beside your release for a $10 donation; the bigger it is, the more stars. And the more stars, the higher up the release. As a free site that keeps your release up for a long time (some date back to Nov. 1999), $10 seems fair.
I tried submitting my press release ten times to Press Box, www.pressbox.co.uk, before giving up. The “Timeout” message suggested that “there may be too many people accessing this page.” But when I tried a few hours later, it went through. This is a London-based website “used by thousands of media relations professionals each week,” but it’s hard to know if there are American journalists among them. The site has 20 broad categories, such as sports, finance and health.
Click2NewSites.com, www.click2newsites.com/press.asp, also allows you to post a press release according to your category. If you read some of the releases, you’ll find news about new websites, research findings and promotions – literally everything. Your release appears within 48 hours after acceptance. Readers choose from among headlines that are linked to the author's release, or select “New Sites” and pick a category. The site claims to average 22,400 visitors a month.
www.ideasiteforbusiness.com/direct.htm was the most frustrating, but I was impressed with the support system. After entering my ad (they’re actually releases) and all the required information, the page would not submit regardless of how many times I tried. I e-mailed them and shortly after received an e-mail apologizing that their database was down. The writer, Mary Gillen, asked me to replicate the ad in an e-mail, which I did. She couldn’t have been nicer if I were a paid customer, even e-mailing a thank-you. There are 40 free categories, including novels/poems/plays/short stories, but none for travel, so I chose “Pets/animals.” My book has so much information on pet-friendly lodgings and pet stores that I wrote a press release geared to pet owners and submitted it. If you don’t find a fitting category, think about how you can relate it to an available category. Suppose, for instance, your novel focuses on a character who lives for music. Why not gear your press release to that trait and post it in the category for music/vocals/instruments? It’s worth checking out.
http://books.dreambook.com/profitpoint/pressreleases.sign.html is entitled “Las Vegas Comp Getaway’s Free Press Release Announcement Site.” It’s easy to navigate but hard to know what the site’s all about, except that the host, Dreambook, does web hosting. You get as much space as you need and the releases appear immediately, but I can’t help thinking that no one will read it. For one thing, the releases run into one another. Also, there is no way to edit them or anyone to contact.
Are you an author of a book about real estate, lending or banking? www.mortgagemag.com accepts all types of releases pertaining to those industries.
So how did these freebies pan out? PR Web provides a record of hits to contributors who pay $10 or more. In less than a week, according to the stats, my release was read three times (probably by me); it was picked up by a media outlet four times, forwarded to a third party seven times and printed nine times. Whether these numbers are considered good, or whether my book will sell more copies, is anyone’s guess.
The keyword here is “luck.”
2. Misery loves company
In a poll of authors regarding negative comments about their books, I was happy to find that my fellow guidebook authors, Paris Permenter and John Bigley (www.parisandjohn.com), had the same experience as me. After the book is written, those not included seem to climb out of the woodwork complaining that either their business or their favorite restaurant or inn was left out of the book. Like Paris and John, I write back and thank them for their suggestions, emphasizing that no author can cover everything and assuring them of their inclusion in the next edition.
Brenda Coulter (www.brendacoulter.com), author of the forthcoming romance novel, "Finding Hope" says romance novelists "get plenty" of criticism. "Our genre is still regarded as `fluff' and many romance writers aggressively battle detractors." When she "worked up the nerve" to query a New York publisher and told a friend that she'd completed a romance novel, the woman "blinked" at her and said, 'Oh, please don't tell me you're writing Harlequins!'"
When her first e-book, "Ghost Dancer" (www.arlinechase.com), was published, Arline Chase was surprised by the reaction. A customer who objected to the religious aspects of the work asked for her money back. "I had expected people to complain about the polygamy. Go figure."
3. Promotional Coups
Brenda found that offering several pages on her website unrelated to writing has increased visits. "My `Afternoon Tea' pages are getting huge traffic from the search engines, and I'm finding that many of the people visiting my site to 'have tea' are staying to read an excerpt from my novel and sign up for my mailing list." Like www.bookreviewcafe.com, which rates reviews with coffee cups, this page welcomes patrons with steaming hot tea cups.
To promote her book, Country Towns of Wisconsin, travel writer Ann Hattes (www.home.ix.netcom.com/~hattesn) informed the towns she profiled how they could order copies at a discount. In one case, a town invited her to their special event before Christmas to autograph her books.
Monique Elwell is a travel publicist who knew nothing about self-publishing until her mom, Brenda Elwell, decided to write "The Single Parent Travel Handbook." (www.singleparenttravel.net) "I didn't realize you send galleys to pre-publication reviewers. I didn't know any of that." She relates that her best move was turning to "Jump Start Your Book Sales - a money-making guide for authors, independent publishers and small presses," by Marilyn and Tom Ross. With her public relations background and new found knowledge, Monique helped create a buzz in the parenting and travel communities.
4. Marketing Tips
Tonia Ramagos, a.k.a Calley Moore, takes the themes or characters from her books to create promotional items. She printed fake press passes with a photo of Lindsey, the investigator reporter in her Lindsey Dyson Mysteries (www.atlanticbridge.net), and put her web address and book ordering information on the back. She used the passes in place of a business card and handed them out to newsletter subscribers and bookstores. Tonia also recommends dropping off flyers or brochures at doctor's offices, grocery stores and other neighborhood businesses.
5. Sites for free book marketing articles:
www.bookmarket.com
www.writing-world.com
www.writerswrite.com/books/publicity
www.promotion-index.com
www.bookzonepro.com/insights (articles are geared to
publishing professionals but authors will find the
information useful as well).
http://search.about.com (type in "book marketing")
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Francine Silverman is author of two New York State travel guidebooks, Catskills Alive (second edition 2003) and Long Island Alive (2003-583 pages), both published by Hunter Publishing and geared to every interest, i.e., lodging, dining, wineries, shopping, recreation, museums, parks, wildlife and history. To learn more about her books and for links to hundreds of attractions on Long Island and in the Catskills, visit Fran's one-stop website at www.nystatetravel.com. Book reviews are posted at http://catskills.hvnet.com/guides.htm and www.bookreviewcafe.com/longislandalive.html. To subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank e-mail to: franalive@aol.com or visit: http://www.nystatetravel.com.
PERMISSION TO REPRINT: You may reprint any items from "Book Promotion Newsletter" in your own print or electronic newsletter. But please include the following paragraph:
Reprinted from "Book Promotion Newsletter," a free ezine
featuring articles, tips and promotional coups for generating publicity.
If you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends, clients and
colleagues.
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Francine Silverman
P.O. Box 1333
Riverdale, New York 10471
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