#Book Buying

I heard the funniest comment from a friend last week.  She loves to buy books and on a monthly basis she will spend many dollars in Chapters and other bookstores.  She also has a Kobo and appreciates the value of the "electronic book" especially when going on holidays and being able to have hundreds of books at her finger tips rather than weighing down her case with heavy books.

Having said that, she is not fond of second-hand books.  The thought of grazing through those wonderful second hand bookstores and seeking out those treasured finds does absolutely nothing for her - in fact she finds it very disagreeable!  She then made a wonderful comment that had me laughing out loud, and I quote
"I like to know who my books have been sleeping with"!!!!

It is quite amazing how people see and feel about books and how many different thoughts there are around this.  After she is finished with her books she will willingly pass them along to someone else or give them away to charity but she HAS to have brand new books herself.  She also sits very happily in the middle of the fence loving both the new and useful "electronic book" as well as the "page turning hands on paper version".

I guess the moral of this story is, no matter what new and exciting comes along, there will always be a market for a book...and in her case a "brand new book"!!

www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com

#BookPublishingisWork--but Worth It

We receive many emails from clients who are financially strained, so they cannot afford to go the traditional publishing route. Fortunately, we now have the internet.

Below is my response to an author who is feeling that she should abandon her book project. That's a shame because she will never know how successful she can be if she doesn't try.

Here it is:

"I understand that you are feeling bewildered but we are not in the business of publishing so we cannot purchase your book rights from you.

However, you can publish with very little money if you publish an ebook and market the book online. Other authors have sold millions of copies that way as long as the book has been professionally edited.

 You then market to people who enjoy your book's genre. Search the internet for books like yours and find out where they are being sold. List your book with ebook sales sites. Find blogs and other websites that target your audience. Offer to do joint ventures with them. Start your own blog. Have people sign up for a newsletter on your website.

There are many ways in which to market an ebook and there is no time limit. Get as much publicity as you can by finding online book reviewers, etc.

You can be successful and remember that no one else cares as much about your book as you do."

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com

#Children'sBookReviews

It's hard to find the time and the inspiration to blog while on vacation, but I came across an article in Publishers Weekly that will interest the authors of children's books. Here is the link:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/51989-san-francisco-and-sacramento-book-reviews-start-monthly-children-s-sections.html

If you write books for children, contact your local media and encourage them to do the same.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com

#Mother'sDay&Books

Today is Mother's Day, which is my second Mother's Day this week because I am in Mexico where Wednesday was Mother's Day. What a great place to be!

Did you know that Mother's Day is one of the year's biggest occasions for people to buy books as gifts? Women buy more books than men do so men know that buying a book for Mom always goes over well.

If you are a publisher who didn't know that fact about book sales, take note of it for next year and organize a publicity campaign in advance of Mother's Day. Don't make the mistake, though, that your news release is headlined by "(Your Book Title) Makes a Great Mother's Day Gift". Yours and thousands of other books make great gifts. Make your headline something that is relevant for mothers. Make it something that they care about, or that will make their lives better, or that will solve a problem for them or even will entertain them specifically because they are mothers.

So many publishers make the mistake of sending out a news release that promotes their book. The media don't care. They will tell you to purchase advertising space. You have to give them material to write a story. Their job is to attract readers, not to sell books. Read the past few postings in this blog from Debbie - she will tell you the goods about news releases and media kits.

Happy Mother's Day.

Denise

www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com

#Media Kits - Why Are They Important to Publicity?

A good Publicity Campaign cannot be achieved without a well built Media Kit.  A Media Kit is extremely important to the success of publicity and your book!  Nowadays they are sent electronically which is a god send for the budget of an author, as back in the days of using the post office it would cost around $5 per media kit to be sent through Canada Post, and believe me an author can send many, many media kits out in the course of their books publicity - your publicity budget always had to incorporate a good amount of money specifically for Canada Post.

There are stages with which you need to work with the media.  The first step is always sending out a news release, then the next step is sending out media kits to those interested parties.  If you are using a Publicist or a P.R. company then they will do this work for you, they will put together an electronic media kit that will give all the different areas of the media, all the information they need in order to do an interview with you or write a piece on you etc. 

As we have said before, the "Media" are lazy and the more work you do for them, the more likely they are to write a piece on you, have you in the studio for an interview and/or do a telephone interview with you.  With so many authors out there and so many books - and all wanting the same piece of the media - you need to be able to set yourself apart from the rest. By providing them everything they could possibly need in a well built Media Kit gives you the edge and gets their interest to "interview you" or "write about you".

Some times, especially in print media, when you call back to follow up on sending your Media Kit they have actually already done a piece on you!  This is always a very nice surprise and often happens in this area of the media. 

If you are doing publicity yourself, and even just for information purposes, you need to know what a really good Media Kit looks like. We at Ink Tree Ltd. cover all of this in our Ultimate Book Marketing Kit and are able to help you achieve a really well built Media Kit.

www.inktreemarketing .com

www.publishacookbook.com

 

#The Importance of a News Release

Publicity for your book is vital to it's success!  How can anyone possibly know your book exists unless they hear, see and read about it.  Again it comes down to what do you expect and want from your book?  If you do want it to be a success, out in the main stream and want to make money from it then you MUST get publicity.

There are ways to go about this, you can just go willy nilly to the media, unprepared, asking for them to give you an interview or write about you or just send your book out to each area of the media hoping that someone picks it up and likes it...OR you can hire a professional to do this for you.  If you cannot afford to hire a Publicist, with a great track record who will do all this for you....for a price, then you need to get the good advice or information necessary to do a professional job yourself.

Firstly you need to put together a News Release with a great title or as we like to call it the "Hook"!  Not just a rambling email telling them just how wonderful and marvelous you and your book are - that's going to be filed under "G" for garbage!  You need to get expert advice and help on how to write a News Release this is where the experts at Ink Tree Ltd. and their Ultimate Book Marketing Kit can help you.  We have successfully been there and done this again and again for our clients and know what it takes to put together a great news release.

The media are lazy, very lazy in fact!  If you want their attention then you have to do the work for them, as much as you can so it makes it easy for them.  Always try and find some kind of "hook" that will tie your book into current events, it will open the door for you to get their interest.

It is absolutely vital that you approach the media in a professional and prepared manner.  The first step is a well written News Release, to the correct department and the right person (or their assistant).  Yes, you will have to find out that information...pick up the telephone and make the calls and find out where you need to send your News Release, it takes a little time but along with the News Release - this is where you start to promote your book!


www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com