We Have Moved

Thank you for your interest in our musings. 

We have moved our blog to:

http://www.newshelves.com

Please visit us there. 

Good-bye and thanks for all the fish!

Amy

Marketing Your Book from Pre-Publication and Beyond

                            “How do I launch a marketing campaign for my book?”

                          “When do I start marketing my new book?” 

“I don’t have a lot of money. What are the must-dos of marketing my book?”

“What’s the difference between traditional publicity and marketing?”

 Marketing Your Book from Pre-publication and Beyond

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about marketing.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text: 330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Bethany Brown
Amy MacGregor

The Cadence Group

Free Advice Friday for Oct 28th

Sorry guys...  We are going to pick up with Free Advice Fridays next week on Nov 5.  It will be a terrific session on selling your books on your own.  We will give you all the facts and tools you need to sell your books to your local retailers, corporations, schools, etc....

See you then!

What Sort of Publishing is Right for You?

Below is the recording of last week's great session about the different faces of Self-Publishing.

We also mentioned some websites everyone should check out before choosing a self-publishing option. These are forums and/or blogs where folks ask questions and provide information about their various experiences with some of the different vanity presses, co-publishing companies, publishers and literary agents.

Here's a list of some links we really like:

http://pred-ed.com/
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/
http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings.php
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/

The Many Faces of Self-Publishing - This Week's Free Advice Friday

Figuring out the Cost 

 

Comparing the Quality 

 

Finding out What is Best for You

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!) 

 

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462 

 

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session geared towards helping you decide which type of publishing is best for you.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

When to be an Author, When to be Publisher

Great Free Advice Friday today everyone!  Here is the recording of our session today!

Getting Your Publishing Ducks in A Row - Free Advice Friday!

“My Publicist says my cover is all wrong”

“My local store says my book is too expensive"

“Reviewers are slamming my editing job and are complaining about typos” 

 What to Do…

                                                  What Order to do it in…

                                What is optional and what is not….

Getting your Publishing Ducks in a Row

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about the right time line for your publishing process.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: http://www.blogger.com/advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

What if I Booked an Author Event and Nobody Came?

We had a great time today on Free Advice Friday talking about Author Events.  Some of the key points from our chat:

1. Book your event at least 60 days in advance
2. Take responsibility for every aspect of your event.  Don't leave anything to chance or the bookstore.
3. Drop by the store 5-6 weeks before you signing and discuss signage, calendar listing, newsletter announcements and invitations with the manager.
4. Don't be shy!  Send out invitations and ask for RSVPs!
5. Print up postcards, bookmarks or flyers for the store to give out.
6. Break up your event with numerous short readings to grab numerous new customers and make the most of your time.
7. Some signings are slow with few attendees.  Don't take it personally.  Keep going!

There was A LOT more, so if you want to hear the entire chat, here is this week's recording.  Enjoy!

Author Events - Free Advice Friday

“I Did an Author Event and only sold 2 books” 

 

“My Local Store says they Don’t Do Author Events Anymore” 

 

Author Events…Are They Worth It? 

 

What is the Best Way to Do One?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about getting and Author Events.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Bethany Brown
Amy MacGregor

Where Did All the Reviewers Go? - This Week's Free Advice Friday

Why Do I Need Reviews?

What Are The Reviewers Looking For?

Where Did They All Go?

How Do I Get Reviews?

What Do I Do WITH The Reviews Once I Have Them?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about getting and using reviews.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Taking a Breather....

Several of our clients have asked that we repeat some of our Free Advice Friday topics. The world goes on vacation and takes 3-day weekends in July and August and a lot of you are missing a chance to pick our brains at the appointed time.

So, we are going to take a 2-week hiatus from Free Advice Friday and start up again on Sept 10th.  Starting in September, we are going to repeat some of our more popular topics and launch into a whole new set.

Looking forward to seeing you then.  Have a wonderful few weeks!

Amy and Bethany

Funniest Thing We Have Seen in a Long Time

PW's Soapbox Just published this flow chart for subtitles. Cracked. Us. Up.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/44159-subtitle-o-matic.html

How Can I Sell Books Myself? - Free Advice Friday, August 20, 2010

I don’t want to hire a distributor, a sales rep or a marketing team.

What Can I do to sell my books on my own?

Can I do my own PR?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about selling and marketing your books on your own.

Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com <advice@thecadencegrp.com>
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Numbers of Sucess and The Numbers of Failure

When I started my business 5 years ago, I spent the first three months reaching out to over 800 publishers asking if they would like more information about my services.

Each day, I sent out 10-15 well edited, nicely designed emails and/or snail mail packets describing how fabulous I was and how much I could improve their profits and lessen their work load. I spent every night compiling the packets and spent every morning send them out.  The afternoons were for follow up.  Every day, including weekends... If I had to miss a day, I doubled up the next day. This went on for three months.


After a time, 7 or 8 publishers said they would like more information.

Eventually, 1 hired me.

800 attempts with 1 success. My business plan stated that I needed a minimum of 10 clients to stay afloat and it took three months and hundreds of hours sending non-mass-mailed outreach letters and painful phone calls to get me 1 client.

It was enough.

With that one client, I now had a job to do.  I worked for Write-Stuff Publishing like my life depended upon it and a few weeks later, Avant Guild Publishing followed. In time, I had more clients than I could handle and had to hire help.  It was a slow, tiring journey, but today, I have an amazing business partner, terrific clients, fantastic employees, a gorgeous office.... we are looking good!

It is hard to remember how I felt at the beginning until I speak with an author or editor who is ready to branch out on their own.  I often hear the following:

"But I've SENT out SO many queries!" or "It's really tough out there.... no one is responding to my requests"

I was reading a great blog at http://www.urbanmusewriter.com/ written by a freelancer who's family is sending her emails filled with dire predictions of her starvation and bankruptcy.  I was cheering her on as I read about her rejection letters and growing panic, but she kept going.  As I read on, she was able to share the BEST part about taking the plunge... some one hired her.

ONE success.  It is enough.  But it takes a LOT of perseverance. What separates those who make it from those who don't?  Lots of things... but the FIRST thing on the list is the ability to not give up.

How To Get an Agent

Please enjoy this downloadable MP3 of last week's Free Advice Friday. 

We discussed:  How Do I Find an Agent?  What Are They Looking For?  What the Heck is a Query? What do I Need to Do?

Free Advice Friday - How do I get an agent?

How Do I Find an Agent?

What Are They Looking For?

What the Heck is a Query?

Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about finding and getting an agent.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Free Advice Friday - How do I market and sell an older book?

My local bookstores says they only take new books.

Reviewers websites say that they won’t review older books

My book is a few years old
What do I do?
Come ask us anything on this week’s Free Advice Friday *
Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time

(* Yup… we really mean it!)

At 12:00 pm EST, please call in to The Cadence Group Free Advice Friday line:

Dial: 218.486.1616
Use Passcode: 1074462

And get your questions answered!

Free Advice Fridays is a weekly session of free consulting and advice from The Cadence Group.  This week we are having a session about marketing your older book.  Feel free to email us your questions ahead of time or bring them with you to the call.  Don’t be shy!

Please email or text at any time during the call with questions you would like us to address:

To email: advice@thecadencegrp.com
To text:  330.219.7108

Looking forward to seeing you there!

May I Have the Name of The Book Buyer?

Today an author whom I do not know called and asked me for the names of my buyers so she could follow up on the presentations with new information. She is concerned that her publisher rep is not pitching her book "properly".  There is a lot of new information and media updates and the rep has already made the rounds to pitch her book.  If she can't trust the rep to send the new info, what is an author to do?  How does an author know that new-late-breaking news about their book is getting to the buyer. 

Answer: You don't know for sure until the orders start coming in.

I know how frustrating it is, but it is a normal part of the process for small presses without direct access to the buyers because they use distributors. 

You can trust your reps to distribute any and all information that will help them sell your book. They want your book to be successful. They are motivated to do a good job selling your book as they move through their territory, meeting buyers and selling the books. The problem comes when an author has 4 updates a week that, while important to them, are not at a "drop everything" level for the buyer. A good rep knows when it is important enough to take a buyer's time with an update. An author does not usually have the experience or relationship to make the correct determination.

So can an author contact the reps and the stores directly?  No.  Nope. Nuh-uh... *
I run only a small distribution company and if I gave out the names of my sales reps, or the buyers to my clients, they would get more calls and emails a day than they could answer. The buyers would be so angry with me that I would not enjoy the same trust and access that I get now. The reps would quit. (seriously)

My reps cannot be getting personal pitches from each author, they have hundreds of books to sell each season. We already guarantee that we sell each book individually, one on  one, one by one... no group catalog pitches.  This is a huge time commitment and if they had to handle minor updates or talk to each author, they would not have any time to actually sell. That is why we have sales meetings, so that they can be taught about each book before they go out and sell it.

I promise, if an update is important enough to increase a book buyer's order I am ALL OVER IT!  But you can trust my judgment.  I know when it is a good time to bother a buyer... and when it isn't.
The book buyers, for the most part, only see who they want. They can agree to see a rep or not… they cannot be dealing with thousands of authors who all believe that their book is special. All books are special to the author… what the buyers need is an interpreter. They want someone who understands exactly how they work and what they need and provides them with some choice to fill those needs. That is where we come in. 

We are often the only way a buyer will ever see a book... my unwillingness to contact a buyer every time an author wishes is the exact reason the buyer will take a look at the author's book when I present it.  We walk a fine balancing act and it is sometimes hard to keep both sides happy.

I know it is hard, but if you work on creating the demand and keep feeding your publisher the press and marketing you are doing, the demand will drive the success of your books. The reps will pass on the key information in the most agreeable manner possible. 

(* the exception being a local author contacting her local store if she has developed a good relationship with the staff there)

EBooks. How to Make Them. How to Sell Them

Last Friday, we had a great session with Emily Gable from http://www.publishgreen.com/

She was great at walking all of us through the process of eBooks and helping us all understand how they come to be and how they come to be profitable.

Here is the recording of our hour-long free consulting session on eBooks.  Enjoy!