Jusino Releases The Author’s Guide to Marketing

Like it or not, marketing has become part of every author’s job. But believe it or not, marketing doesn’t have to make you miserable.

That’s the premise behind The Author’s Guide to Marketing recently released by publishing insider and BPNW member Beth Jusino. The Author’s Guide shows ways to move past the one-size-fits-all formulas and over-hyped fads, and concentrates on how to build a strategy that works with an author’s unique time, talents, and resources.

Available in paperback to bookstores everywhere (distributed via Ingram), and in all ebook channels. More information: bethjusino.com/the-authors-guide-to-marketing/

Early endorsements from Pacific Northwest authors and professionals provided by the publisher:

“This is a book that will help authors succeed. I love it.” Chip MacGregor, President, MacGregor Literary Agency

“Beth provides a refreshingly candid resource. If you want your new book to do more than simply sit on a shelf (real or digital), The Author’s Guide to Marketing should be required reading.” M.D. Grayson, author of The Danny Logan Mysteries

“”If you’re looking to learn about the reality of marketing your own book, this is the gold standard.” –Paul Jarvis, bestselling author of five books, including The Good Creative

“The Author’s Guide to Marketing cuts through the clanging cymbals of today’s one-size-fits-all marketing advice and points the writer toward a strategy crafted around the author’s own strong suits.” –J.L. Spohr, author of Heirs & Spares: A Novel

Guest Article: Book Cover in a Week, Guaranteed

After hearing about Kelly A. Harmon’s experience with 99Designs, we asked her to tell how the process worked for her book. Here’s her article on the website that lets publishers and independent authors put out bids for a cover design via a “contest” structure.

Where can you go to get dozens–or hundreds–of artists competing for the opportunity to design your book cover? 99Designs. Using 99Designs is safe and guaranteed, and you can have your design in about a week.

I highly recommend it. I interacted with many fantastic artists when I held a design contest for my latest novel. And while I could only pick one to illustrate this work, there are several others I feel I could call upon later to make covers for other books I’m writing. Those introductions are priceless.

The process is simple, you choose from a tiered structure how much money you’re willing to pay for a book cover. Then, you complete a “design brief” which gives the artists some idea of what you’re looking for. You start with a description, but can add links to covers your like or even upload a sketch.

Then, the fun begins: you wait for artists to create your vision, and post them to your design contest web page.
You log in to view the entries, and then you rate them based on your vision of the cover design. Here you have the opportunity to rate the artwork from one to five, leave a written comment, toss a design out of the contest immediately, or choose the winner.

This stage is important, and the feedback you leave is crucial. Don’t just eliminate without a comment. Explain what about the image doesn’t work for you. (And don’t say things like, “This is terrible!” Remember, tastes vary. Instead try a comment like, “Your cover is terrific, but it’s not what I’m looking for. I want a realistic cover rather than a manga style.”)

During my design contest, I eliminated quite a few entries up front. The designs were beautiful, but they didn’t match my vision. In some cases, I just didn’t like the artist’s style. In one instance, the cover art was entirely a woman’s face. It was beautifully done, just not what I wanted.

Once you leave feedback for an artist, he or she will update the cover based on your comments–or drop out. You may find that one cover grabs you right from the beginning. Use your comments to request the artist change little details: the lighting, add a necklace to the woman on the cover, change the color of someone’s clothes, etc.

After three days of back and forth, you must choose finalists. I don’t recommend more than three. Designs will flood in at a rapid pace and you’ll need to take time to rate and comment. This is a really exciting time. You’ll have a pretty good approximation of what your final cover will look like. Do the small tweaking now.

When you’re satisfied, declare a winner. I recommend writing a note on the page to thank all the artists who contributed.

But what if you don’t like any of the designs? I was worried about this, too. Since you’re running the contest, you can decide to run it guaranteed or not guaranteed. If you run it guaranteed, you are promising to choose a finalist and accept the artwork. Or, you can choose to run an unguaranteed contest, and walk away from it at the end if you don’t like any of the art–at no cost to you.

I recommend guaranteeing from the very beginning. You will attract artists who would not otherwise join the contest. I waited two days to guarantee because I didn’t like many of the designs offered and got very few entries. I was really worried. Then, one brave, and extremely talented artist, stepped forward with an awesome design. I guaranteed the project then, and within hours I had over fifty designs to choose from.

In the end, I looked at nearly a hundred different designs. It was exhausting to keep up with, but it was only a week.

Once the artist delivers the files in the format you want them in, you notify 99Designs and the artist is paid. Whew! You have a cover.

And 99Designs is so much more than book covers. Do you need a web site? A Logo? They even do T-Shirt designs.

Will I use the service again? Absolutely.

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Kelly A. Harmon switched from newspaper reporting to writing fiction, which she says is much more exciting but lacks the convenience of doorstep delivery, especially on rainy days. You can find her latest projects at kellyaharmon.com.

Tips For A Successful Book Launch

Kelyse Nelson of Writer.ly offers a number of tips here on how to orchestrate your next book launch. And, of course, we agree with her suggestion to check out IBPA and your regional book publishing associations!

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Want to learn more about preparing BEFORE the book is published? Mark your calendar for Book Publisher’s Northwest’s June 19 meeting “Market While You Write” with Beth Jusino! More information can be found under the meetings sidebar on the right.

74th Street’s Naked On Kindle Now

74th Street Production re-issued their popular speaking guide for writers this month. Revised and updated, Naked at the Podium: The Writer’s Guide to Successful Readings takes tips from the actor’s trade to help authors feel more at ease during presentations. This latest edition is now available as an e-book for Kindle.

From the publisher’s description:
This practical book of tips, solutions and exercises was born of a writer’s angst: how to present material in a way that was appealing to bookstore audiences, flexible enough to use in non-traditional venues, and dramatic enough to keep any audience awake and eager to buy. Adapting the tools actors use to a writer’s particular needs cured the angst and made readings profitable and fun. Drama was the key. Filled with trade tricks, professional preparation techniques and survival tips, this book is an accessory that no author should leave home without.

Dot’s So Much Fun, Everyone Said

More than 50 people attended the first 3-Group Social Mingle at Artspace Hiawatha Lofts. The event held by Seattle WriterGrrls, Northwest Independent Editor’s Guild, and Book Publishers Northwest encouraged local writers, editors, and publishers to create some new connections.

Colored dots were placed on badges to identify the primary affiliation of each party goer, and folks started mingling in multi-dot groups long before the organizers introduced the three groups and explained what they do.

With the changes in technology and the publishing industry, members of all three groups quickly found crossovers in skills and interests.

BPNW and the Guild provided wine and light refreshments for the event while Seattle WriterGrrls volunteers helped everyone get their badge and make the most of the mingle.

Like all good parties, folks were reluctant to leave and a mild night encouraged many to continue their conversations on the sidewalk outside the Artspace Hiawatha Lofts.

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BPNW thanks Rosemary Jones of BPNW, Jenny Neill of Seattle WriterGrrls, Andrea Leigh Ptak of Northwest Independent Editors Guild, and Amanda M. Vail of Northwest Independent Editors Guild for their work in organizing this event. Another thank you goes to Seattle WriterGrrls volunteers Jenny Hayes, Brie Gyncild, Madeline Ostrander, and Harriet Cannon for helping at the party.

Here’s how to keep in touch with our co-hosts:

Seattle WriterGrrls: This group operates as a Yahoo Newsgroup. Sign up to ask a question about writing and related technology. The organization also holds quarterly mixers in local bars or coffeeshops.

Northwest Independent Editors Guild: Go to the Guild’s website to find an editor for your next publishing project. The Guild holds an annual conference, Red Pencil in the Woods.

Guest Article: “Something Every Day” Book Marketing Tips

by Wendy Hinman, author of Tightwads on the Loose

You’ve spent months or years crafting that perfect book. Now you need to get it into the hands of readers. Readers read to help them make sense of the world and the struggles they face and to explore what interests them. If your book offers this, they will be glad to learn of it. Effective marketing means finding the people who would be most interested in your book and letting them know about it. It’s like finding the right match, so your story can do what it is designed to do: engage your readers.

Get creative. Brainstorm. Just as you spent countless hours finding clever ways to tell your story, you can be innovative with generating exposure for your work. If you use creativity to make marketing interesting, you’ll want to do it. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Below is a list of ideas for marketing that have worked well for me. Each author and book is different, so do what feels most comfortable for you and your book.

Crystallize your book description and bio into 25, 50, 100, and 250 words. Find that universal truth. These blurbs will come in handy.

Identify your audience and the topics your book touches upon.

Create a professional website to use as your home base (see www.wendyhinman.com)

Add your book title and website address to your email signature line and all materials you produce, so people can find you.

Plan to send periodic newsletters with links to information housed on your website.

Draft a press release. Be sure to include images, such as your book cover and a professional author photo.

Keep in mind what’s in it for the reader and why the media would be interested.

Identify local media/publications in each market where you have a connection (an event, an audience, places you lived/worked/studied/are doing a book event).

Tailor press releases for each purpose or event with addresses, dates, times, and contact info

Use various angles to appeal to specific topics that your book touches upon.

Craft a good story and headline (specific event, timely topic, anniversary) so media can use it without extra work.

Send a release one month and, again, two weeks before an event.

Post book events on local DIY website calendars (Chamber of Commerce websites, local blogs, clubs); Look up officers for local clubs and contact them.

Reach out to your community in a mutually beneficial way.

Share your knowledge through articles, blog posts and public speaking. Make sure each party gets something out of it: audience, attendee, and you.

Libraries, clubs, conferences, schools, stores
Radio and TV need good stories. (Pitch program producers with info from your press release.)

Plan to give away books.

Identify media, bloggers and online publications that are likely to be interested in your book.
Send Advance Review Copies (3-6 months prior to release)
Run ads on Book Bub and Goodreads for discount eBooks.
Auctions, fundraisers where your book is seen by many prospective readers.

Leverage your travel to reach new readers.

Always carry copies of your book or at least promotional materials.

Do something every day

Steadily working at it will produce tangible results and lay the foundation for future success. Think of yourself as an entrepreneur and keep in mind that old saying “If it’s to be, it’s up to me,” because no one is as likely to care as much as about your work as you do. Good luck and happy marketing.

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Wendy’s recommended resources are:

How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead by Ariel Gore
Other authors

A Follow-Up From Kelsye Nelson on Kickstarter

Kelyse Nelson organized the February 24 Kickstarter workshop sponsored by Book Publishers Northwest and Writer.ly. She’s also kickstarting her own publishing project: Book Lush, a pairing of cocktails and good reading. Here’s a few of her follow-up suggestions for those looking to learn more about crowdfunding a book:

“First of all, thanks to Bethany Carlson for donating her time to lead the workshop. You can reach Bethany at www.TheArtistsPartner.com (Bethany’s article for BPNW can be found here).

As a convenient example, my own Kickstarter is ending in just a couple days. You can check it out here.

For those of you who struggle with the concept of asking other’s to fund your projects, here is the very inspiration video of Amanda Palmer’s TED talk about the art of asking.”

Guest Article: Kickstarter for Writers and Publishers

Bethany Joy Carlson recently gave a special workshop on Kickstarter for BPNW members in February. For those who couldn’t attend, she offers the following advice:

Popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has raised over $1Bn for artistic projects, including over five thousand projects tied to publishing. But most Kickstarter publishing category campaigns fail to raise even a fifth of their targets. Since Kickstarter fundraising is all or nothing, this means only a third of book projects launched actually go on to publication. Data nerds like me may want to visit kickstarter.com/help/stats for the full post-mortem. Suffice to say: raising money to publish your book is really hard.

A book project that was successfully crowdfunded by the author.

But it’s not impossible. I have produced successful Kickstarter campaigns for writers, ranging from a gritty New Jersey mob memoir with a ten-pin twistto an adorable children’s picture book introducing entrepreneurship. Their successes were not a coincidence. Despite their very different audiences, their paths to success were similar.

Three of the ten essentials of Kickstarter success that worked for these books were:

Tap into your extrovert and PROMOTE. This is conjecture, but perhaps the reason book campaigns fail disproportionately is because writers tend to be introverts. We want that loophole whereby our work will be found without us having to tell anyone about it. Nope. The Kickstarter campaign is excellent sales boot camp. For both Bowling For The Mob and Camila’s Lemonade Stand, we had a month of promotion prior to the campaign before launch. The goal was to make sure everyone relevant heard about the campaign at least 10 times during the 30 days before launch, through the 30 days up to close.
Map out the money in advance. The occasional Kickstarter campaign goes viral, even books. However, all 136,000 campaigns in the history of Kickstarter have not. In all likelihood, yours will not. So you need to know both exactly how much money you need to produce your book, and exactly where that money is going to come from. After learning the nail-biting hard way on Bowling For The Mob, for Camila’s Lemonade Stand we went through a detailed Kickstarter Estimator process before the campaign launch. This was like a wedding guest list, but with the added columns of how much money the invitees were likely to pledge, and for what kind of reward. Then we applied the 65% rule – because not everyone we invited to the campaign was going to show up (they didn’t). So let’s say we need to raise $6,500 to produce a book. We sit down and tally up all of our friends, colleagues, family, and fans, and what they’re likely to pledge. That comes to $10,000. We multiply by 65%, get $6,500, and voila, this is a campaign that has a chance to succeed. If, on the other hand, we need $20,000 to produce the book, and then we tally up our likely pledges and that comes to $5,000, well… we don’t even need to bother with the 65% rule. This campaign is almost certainly going to fail.
Shoot a decent, short video. Kickstarter makes a big deal about having a video – any video. People want to see and hear from you. Good light and good sound go a long ways towards making a homemade video watchable. For Bowling For The Mob we had Bob sit directly under a skylight and used a microphone and an iPhone propped on a soda cup; for the Camila’s Lemonade Stand video we used a bright floor lamp with the shade removed behind the camera and a Samsung Galaxy phone with a tripod and microphone. Neither of these videos will win any awards, but they are watchable, informative, and they are SHORT. Don’t underestimate how brief attention spans are. Keep it under 3 minutes.

These three tips are the tip of the iceberg. Please feel free to contact me at bethanyjoycarlson@hotmail.com at The Artist’s Partner to discuss your project and how Kickstarter might work for you. If you’re considering Kickstarter to fund your book, it’s hard – but possible. No hocus pocus required.

Bethany Joy Carlson is a co-founder of BACCA Literary, a WriterHouse board member, and founder of The Artist’s Partner.

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Do you provide a service for publishers? Would you like to write a guest article for Book Publishers Northwest? Contact us at bpnwnews@aol.com.

Is Your PR As Good As Kale?

The following article is reproduced with permission of the author.

The Kaling of America: PR for Vegetables

There isn’t a vegetable out there that cares whether it’s popular enough to be eaten. Take kale. Lately there has been an explosion in popularity for this green leafy vegetable. This is an especially important observation because two years ago the consumption of kale was de minimus and now there are mountains of kale everywhere. Kale has become the darling of foodies and celebrity chefs, who are trading recipes across all media points. Some studies indicate kale is now on 400% more restaurant menus that it was before the green explosion. At Trader Joe’s, plastic bags of kale, organic and regular (I can’t tell them apart), vastly outnumber bags of pre-washed romaine lettuce, spinach and arugula, and the lowliest green thing of all, broccoli.

Last week, I was waiting in between meetings and staked a spot at a new healthy fast food eatery called Evolution, where I had a bowl of veggie quinoa soup that was loaded with guess what?? Kale! Soon I found myself in the middle of a marketing event where a detox outreach team showed up to promote colonic cleansing, and handed out little plastic cups of kale juice. Did you know that 1 cup of kale contains sustenance far greater than your daily requirements: 190% of Vitamin A, 90% of Vitamin C, mega doses of B6, Manganese, Calcium, Copper, and Potassium. Studies have shown that kale protects your eyes from the sun and prevents cataracts. The enzymes in kale trigger cancer fighting chemicals that eliminate unhealthy cells throughout your entire body, and when animals with tumors are given a diet of kale, their tumors shrink.

Oh my! Those clever kale PR people! Kale is much more than a vegetable; it’s the holy grail of the 21st century, the fountain of youth and the chief arbiter of world peace. These are just some of the benefits!

When even a vegetable has its own community relations outreach teams, someone has paid a mighty price for an enormous budget dedicated to a full-scale Marketing and PR outreach. Kale is easy to grow, relatively bug and disease resistant, produces a high crop yield and even does well in freezing weather. In fact, a sudden frost actually gives kale a sweeter taste. Why not create a market demand for kale? Behemoth chain grocery stores are getting a higher ROI for selling Kale than for selling other greens. Kale is not alone in its surging popularity. Remember the past campaigns for raisins, prunes and blueberries? If even vegetables need PR, then so do you. People have to create awareness for how well their services and expertise compare to what everyone else is offering. All of which begs the question: What are you doing to create your own market demand? This year, what PR strategy do you have in place for yourself?

–-by Patricia Vaccarino

Vaccarino runs PR for People which provides public relations services for individuals and companies through personal branding, reputation management and media relations. The idea of PR for People came to Patricia in the late 1990s, when she was at Publishing Online, working with individual authors. She organizes the annual Seattle Book Summit for clients and interested author to explore the new publishing scene. The 2014 Summit will take place in April.

Got an article for Book Publishers Northwest? Email it to bpnwnews at aol.com.

New Shared World Tale from Rosemary Jones

Book Publishers Northwest web editor Rosemary Jones recently had another story published in the anthology The Awakened from Dark Quest Books.

“This was a shared world project that will eventually form the basis of a role-playing game,” said Jones. “The game creator, Hal Greenberg, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to underwrite the costs of publishing and then partnered with Dark Quest to complete the project.”

Jones, who is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, has written for Wizards of the Coast, Timid Pirate, and several other “shared world” publishers. “Many people don’t realize what a huge market there is for such fiction,” she said. “Whether it is fleshing out the world of an established game like Wizards’ Dungeons and Dragons or helping create something new, there’s a lot of opportunity for writers to tell stories that people want to read.”

The Awakened is set in a world where people acquire certain magical powers, usually linked to telepathic communication with animals. “Being a city girl,” Jones said, “I used the wildlife that I see outside my window as the inspiration. So it’s sparrows, and thieves, and bit of Dickensian skullduggery.”

Jones currently is working on a second story for another Awakened anthology in 2014. Her other projects and past publications can be seen at her website.

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Author: RosemaryJ