Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts

Thursday, November 4, 2010

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

Friday, July 2, 2010

Dos and Don't When Asking for a Review

Do:


Address your request in a professional fashion - Your email should be short and well written.

Make sure the reviewer is interested in your book category - Read their site and take a few days to really familiarize yourself with the types of books they review.

Mention why you chose a specific reviewer - No one likes to be "played".  Make a point to find something about the reviewer that you like. There should be a REASON you approach one reviewer instead of another. Research the reviewer and be prepared to mention a specific review or blog post on the reviewer’s site that appealed to you

Let them know what materials you have available.  - Don't make them guess or have to ask you if you have hard copies of the book, ARCs, pdfs, ebooks, an electronic cover.... etc.

Mention your marketing campaign. Reviewers will want to know your plans and dates so that they can schedule accordingly.

Provide a brief description of your book. - 75 words TOPS!

Follow the reviewer’s guidelines…exactly. - They are approached by hundreds of publishers and authors a week.  Make sure you don't give them a reason to not pick your book.

Thank the reviewer for his/her time. - Even considering your book for a review takes time. 

Recognize the reviewer might be too busy to review your book. - Over a million books were published last year.  Even if there are THOUSANDS of reviewers, the math is staggering

Stop back by the reviewer’s site on the day a review posts and thank them, again, for their time and review. - Common courtesy is not so common nowadays.  A thank you from the author and publisher is a MUST.

Before, during and after you send your book out for review, comment on other book reviews on review sites. - The book community is not there just for authors to stop in and get reviews.  This is a vital, vibrant community that should be supported.  Authors and publishers wanting to participate in this world need to get in there and really participate before they ask for reviews.



Don’t:

Spam. Ever. - Sending out mass emails with no personalization will be ineffective at best. Sending a generic request to a large group of reviewers will not get you the results you are looking for. The same goes for mass mailing your book to a mailing list without discrimination.

Ask for a good review - A reviewer is being asked for their opinion.  Do not make the cardinal mistake of trying to tell the reviewer what their opinion should be.

Send your book or request to an outlet whose guidelines your book does not meet - Ever heard of the farmer who tried to teach a pig to sing?  It wasted his time and annoyed the pig.  There are enough reviewers out there with whom your book is a good fit, don't waste time going after the ones that aren't.

Call to follow up if they ask for email or snail mail only - Please give them the courtesy of following their requests.

Argue with or challenge bad reviews - While you may not agree with their review, it is their honest opinion, and challenging it is just tacky. No one wants to hear your negative comments about a reviewer if they decline to give a review or give a bad review.  It will only make you look bad.

Send a book unless specifically requested - If you don't hear back from a reviewer... that is your answer.

Send attachments unless requested - In this world of viruses it is common for book reviewers to block any and all unsolicited emails with attachments.

 

Monday, December 21, 2009

Getting Fed by Twitter


This weekend I went looking for Eddie Izzard on Twitter.  I like his world and political ideas and thought his tweets would be a good addition to my feed.  I found that Mr. Izzard has over a million followers and yet only follows 71 people. 

I have had WAY too many conversations with authors and publishers about their "Twitter marketing work" and how they are "putting it out there" on Twitter and Facebook.  I have never thought of Twitter as a way to push myself out there.  I have always seen it as an amazing learning bank. 

There are agents, publishers and industry insiders who generously share their wisdom, pass on news and tidbits and forward fantastic articles that I never would have seen otherwise.  Because of them (and Twitter), I am a more educated, informed person. I would not have ever have gotten the benefit of their wisdom without twitter and I am grateful for their generousity.

There are also a number of industry folks who use my twitter page as a place to promote (read: spew) their latest review, minor triumph or self-serving mention. For them, Twitter is a marketplace, not a place of learning and community.  Okay, I can see that; I can let Twitter be a marketplace on THEIR computer, but not mine.

For me, Twitter is an exchange of information, not a place to sell yourself.  It is a forum where I get to give and take with no expectations.  It is like any other relationship... Those who enter into it wondering what they can get out of it are not good relationship prospects.  The next time an author asks me about the return on my Twitter time investment, I am going to hit him/her over the head with a piece of Church of England cake.

So that leads me to my post next time...  Should I be more selective about who I follow?  Shall I unfollow those who have not turned out to be good relationship prospects?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

THE TRUTH about Amazon.com

I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Barbara Holstein to New Shelves. Dr. Barbara is the author of several books including her latest, The Truth. I asked Dr. Barbara to share with us her experiences navigating the world of Amazon.com.

Over the last several months, Dr. Barbara's book has steadily grown in rank and increased in sales through Amazon. The sales and success can be traced directly back to her efforts on the site as a participant in their numerous discussion groups and using the tools they offer. We could all learn a lot from her.

So, with that, I encourage you to enjoy this short and helpful article about her experiences on Amazon.com:

If you ever want to experience a deep forest with wild rivers and secret caverns, without even leaving home, I suggest you take a trip to the Amazon. That is www.amazon.com .

It is an amazing place. I've been visiting it on and off for more than a year and I am still getting to know my way around. When my newest book came out last January, THE TRUTH (I'm Smart, I'm a Girl and I Know Everything), The Cadence Group suggested that I have a profile page and do reviews of other authors.


Since that time I have created a profile page, have reviewed about 70 books by other authors, and am still doing reviews as often as I can.

I have started a few discussion groups and posted answers to others.

Also, I have tagged my own book, with explanations. When I have been able to chat with someone who may be reviewing my book later, I remind them to make sure to Tag.

All of these steps have taken a lot of time and effort. I don't know which of these steps has benefited THE TRUTH (I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know Everything) the most.

That's the thing-it is a trip into the Amazon, and like any adventure into the great unknown, we don't always know what is working and what is not. But I can tell you, have faith and take the adventure. You will have a lot of fun and for sure your book's Amazon rank will profit. My book was #13 a few days ago in the top 100 for BEING A TEEN. That is a great reward for taking a trip into the unknown!

I wish you great success and happy adventuring.

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein,

http://www.thetruthforgirls.com/ , http://www.enchantedself.com/
Psychologist, Happiness Coach and Author