Tag: book marketing

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Writing and Publishing

Seven Marketing Touches Are Required for Success

Marketing experts say it takes an average of seven marketing touches before a consumer buys a product. Advertisers who run a couple of ads and give up are giving up too quickly. As writers with a book (or service) to sell, we need to keep this in mind if we want to maximize our success.

While we can accomplish each of these seven touches via the same promotional channel, we should tap multiple ones for greater effectiveness. What options might we consider?

Start with a press release; it’s not much, but everything helps. Email blasts, assuming we have an email list, are a great way to connect with our readers and potential book buyers. Website ads on destinations our audience frequents offer a third option.

Guest blogging is a fourth consideration, followed by social media mentions and ads, especially Facebook and Twitter. There is also direct mail. Another consideration is print ads, providing we find the right publication.

This is seven options for seven touches, but don’t use every option. Pick the ones that feel right. Regardless of which ones we select, we must have our book highlighted on our own website. This is essential; it is key to success.

When it comes to booking promotion, keep in mind that just because something is available, doesn’t mean we should use it. Carefully test each option before investing time and money into it. While some options have relatively minor cost, there is still the cost of time—time that we can’t spend doing something else.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

7 Reasons Why Books Are Rejected

Having our book rejected stings. Here are seven common reasons why this happens.

1) The Writing Isn’t Ready: Everyone is a new writer at some point. It takes time for our writing to mature, our voice to emerge, and our style to become consistent. Some say this takes 10,000 hours or requires 1,000,000 words before we hit our writing stride. Yes, there are exceptions, but there is truth to these guidelines. Aside from still honing our craft, sometimes our work just isn’t as good as it could be. I suspect every writer encounters this at some point.

2) The Content Needs Improvement: Sometimes the idea or concept (for nonfiction) or the plot or story arc (for fiction) needs more work. It must be expanded, enhanced, or otherwise improved. Sometimes we try to stretch a great article or short story into a book, but there’s just not enough there for it to work.

3) The Work Was Pitched to the Wrong Place: When we pitch our work or idea to an agent or publisher, we need to make sure they are interested in the type of book we have written. A romance publisher will not consider a thriller; a publisher of practical how-to guides will not consider an academic treatise. Agents also specialize in certain genres or types of books. Pitching to the wrong place will insure a quick rejection.

4) The Pitch Fell Short: There are various means to entice an agent or publisher. It may be an elevator pitch, a one-sheet, a query letter, a proposal, or maybe all four. Each one is an opportunity to garner further consideration or a chance to be rejected. Make each pitch be the best it can be. In most instances, we will never get a second chance.

5) The Agent Doesn’t Think He or She Can Sell It: Even when everything aligns, if an agent doesn’t think he or she can sell our book, the agent will not take on the project. Remember, agents only make money when they sell our book to a publisher.

6) The Publisher Already Has a Book Like It: A publisher will not take on a book that is too similar to one they have recently published or an older one that continues to sell.

7) The Author Doesn’t Have a Big Enough Platform: Publishers expect authors to help promote and sell their books. This requires they have a platform or network of sufficient size to do this. A small or nonexistent platform means the author will not be able to move books.

I’ve suffered rejection for six of these seven reasons. Understanding why this might have happened helps us to do better next time and move towards acceptance.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Becoming a Hybrid Author: A Case Study of Author Robin Mellom

Fellow writer and cyber-friend Robin Mellom just self-published her new book, Perfect Timing. I first heard about Robin through Writer’s Digest when they highlighted her as a debut novelist for her book, Ditched, a YA (young adult) romantic comedy. Although intrigued, I figured I was too old to read YA, but soon the compelling storyline wooed me back. Eventually I bought Ditched and read it; then I read it again; then I looked for more of Robin’s work.

Becoming a Hybrid Author: A Case Study of Author Robin Mellom

Alas, she had no more YA titles. Though she did have a middle-grade series, Classroom, I said I wouldn’t read them. Junior High wasn’t a good time for me, and I didn’t want to go back. So I waited for her next YA book—and I waited. Finally, desperate for more of her witty humor, I relented and dove into the first three books in her Classroom series. I’m glad I did!

Her next YA book was written, but her publisher wasn’t interested (shortsighted on their part) and her agent couldn’t find anyone else who would bite (a bad move on their part). She considered self-publishing, and I encouraged her to go for it. It must be many other people did, too, because the next thing I knew, she self-published Perfect Timing as a Kindle e-book. I devoured it in two days. In case it’s not clear, I’m a fan of Robin’s and am even on her mailing list.

She also apparently got the rights back for Ditched, because she just self-published an updated version, retitled as Perfect Kiss, complete with a new cover. I bought and am reading that, too. I’m interested in seeing how it differs from the original version.

However, with these two self-published works, Robin has not made the switch to pure indie author. Instead she is doing what many authors are now doing. She has become a hybrid author, self-publishing some books, while going the traditional publishing route on others.

From a traditional publisher, her fourth middle-grade book, The Classroom: When Nature Calls, Hang Up! is due out in June, and I hear a children’s picture book is in the works. So she’s breaking from another long-held publishing tradition, too, proving an author can successfully write for multiple audiences.

As authors in the ever-changing book publishing world, we need to not fixate on one way to publish our work. We must consider all our options and do what makes the most sense for our careers and our audience—just like Robin.

Check out Robin Mellom’s books:

Ditched
The Classroom (The Epic Documentary of a Not-Yet-Epic Kid)
The Classroom: Student Council Smackdown!
The Classroom Trick Out My School!
The Classroom: When Nature Calls, Hang Up!
Perfect Timing (originally known as Busted)
Perfect Kiss (formerly Ditched)

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Creating Your Elevator Pitch: Don’t Leave This to Chance

I hate asking new authors, “What’s your book about?”

They panic; they stammer; they ramble. Five minutes later, I’m still not sure. Telltale signs that communication is not occurring are phrases like, “Then in chapter two…” or “Oh, I forgot to mention…” or “I haven’t worked this part out yet.” When my eyes glaze over, they become flustered and utter the killer phrase: “It starts out kind of slow but really picks up around page 65.”

In recent posts, we talked about writing back cover copy and promotional copy for our books. A related topic, which I should have addressed first, is creating an elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is a concise and intriguing synopsis of our book. Imagine getting in an elevator and an agent or publisher asks, “What’s your book about?” Before the doors open, we need to have finished answering the question in such a compelling manner that the person wants to know more.

An elevator pitch must be short. Every word must count. We may only have twenty seconds, likely less. Our elevator pitches need to:

  • Grab their attention
  • Make our book stand out
  • Cause them to want more
  • Be memorable

It is usually only a couple sentences.

Prior to getting a book deal, our elevator pitch is the most important thing we will write. Yes, we must write it. Then we must memorize it. Finally we must deliver it flawlessly and with passion. The future of our book depends on it.

Here are elevator pitches for two memoir-style books of mine:

  • “My wife and I visited a different Christian church every Sunday for a year. 52 Churches shares what we learned on our journey.”
  • “God, I Don’t Want to Go to Church shares my lifelong struggle with church attendance, while offering hope to the disenfranchised. The subtitle is “Seven Churches that Pushed Me Away and the God Who Wouldn’t Let Go.”

Now I just need to work on memorization and delivery.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Writing Promotional Copy For Your Book

In five steps to write back cover copy for your book, I acknowledged that most writers struggle producing compelling back cover copy. I also encouraged you to write two versions and to save unused copy, content you didn’t use, and your brainstorming session. Here’s why:

You also need to write promotional material for your book. Yes, if you’re going with a traditional publisher, they may do this for you, but you know your book better than they do and have the most at stake. At the least, you can offer them copy to tweak and be part of the process—or you may opt to do it yourself anyway. And if you’re self-publishing, you need to write this or pay someone else to.

We’ll need to have promotional copy for email marketing, social media posts, online book listings, and other advertising opportunities. The length of the copy depends on the medium, so create multiple versions of different lengths. While back cover copy varies from 150 to 300 words, promotional copy is shorter, usually 100 words or less. I advise four different lengths: 100 words, 75 words, 50 words, and 25 words.

Then, there’s one last item. Make a tweetable version of less than 140 characters, preferably fewer than 120, so followers can retweet it with their comment.

Starting with your back cover copy, try editing it down to fit these different lengths. Do this with both versions Sometimes back cover copy doesn’t scale nicely to shorter lengths. If this happens, return to versions you didn’t use or your brainstorming session. Often these will work nicely for short marketing blurbs even though they didn’t work for a longer back cover copy.

Ideally, you should end up with a couple of versions of each length; they may be similar in concept or completely different. The goal is that any time you, or someone else, wants a promotional copy of a specific length, you have it ready. In some cases, it may need tweaking for the particular application, in which case, make the edits and add the result to your cache of marketing blurbs.

Now you have created a great arsenal of book promotional material. Make sure you do this ahead of time, so you’re not rushed to meet a last-minute request and provide them with less than ideal copy.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Five Steps to Write Back Cover Copy For Your Book

The purpose of back cover copy is to sell your book. It’s essentially ad copy, a pitch to entice people to read your book. You must hook the reader, telling them enough to intrigue them without revealing too much.

If your book will be self-published, you need to write the back cover copy yourself. If you’re going with a traditional publisher, then they’ll do it for you, right? Usually, but who knows your book better than you? Who has the most at stake? You.

That’s why you should write your back cover copy. But writing it for your own book is hard. Although it’s only a couple hundred words, it takes hours to do a good job; don’t rush it. It is an art.

Here are five steps to writing back cover copy:

1) Research:

  • Start at a bookstore or library. Focusing on either fiction or nonfiction, according to what type of book you wrote, study the back cover blurb on lots of books. Note what you like and don’t like. What causes you to want to read the book? What turns you off? Also notice layouts. Some back covers have an author photo or graphic. Others include short endorsements. These elements leave less space for your blurb, resulting in 150 to 300 words to pitch your book.
  • Next, analyze back cover copy of books you’ve read. Compare what the back cover proclaims to what’s in the book. This provides insight into honing your message and hooking the reader.
  • Then, consider back cover copy of books that will compete against yours, especially the successful ones. This will help you home in on what you need to include in yours.

2) Brainstorm: With your research in hand block out time to brainstorm. Record every idea. Don’t evaluate; just write. For nonfiction, you may get ideas from your thesis sentence, introduction, or conclusion. For all books, consider your elevator pitch.

3) Write and Rewrite: Pick the best ideas and write your first draft. Work on a couple of different angles. Over time, rework these ideas, polishing them into back cover gems.

4) Seek Input: Ask trusted friends (who will give you honest feedback) what they think. How do they react? Would your pitch entice them to read your book? Don’t apply everything everyone tells you; discern which advice to follow.

5) Test Your Results: After applying their input, take the best two blurbs and ask people which one they prefer. This will be your back cover copy. (Save the other versions, content you didn’t use, and your brainstorming session. You will need it later for something else.)

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Don’t Be a Generalist: Your Book Will Not Appeal to Everyone

Authors need to know their audience. We must determine who will be the typical reader of our book. Too often writers naively assume— or arrogantly claim–that everyone will like their book. While having the whole world clamor to read our work would be a great outcome, it’s not going to happen; no book has universal appeal.

Trying to write a book that will interest everyone is a futile effort. Likewise, marketing our book to everyone is a waste of time and of money. Not everyone will be interested in our book. While this idea may be disconcerting, it’s a reality we best accept.

So forget about being a generalist. We need to specialize. Becoming a specialist gives us focus, both for our writing and our marketing.

When we specialize, we home in on a particular topic geared to a specific demographic. We write with that idea and reader in mind, and then we market with the same perspective.

However, just because we write and then market to a certain demographic, doesn’t mean we’re limiting our sales to that specific group. Others from outside our target audience will also read and enjoy our book; it’s just that these folks are harder to identify and market to. Sales to our target audience should be our focus. Then when others buy our book, it’s a bonus.

Trying to appeal to all people will cause frustration; focus can remove that frustration.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Platform Building Gurus Should Issue a Disclaimer

The production of books is only the first step of book publishing; the second—and more important part—is selling them. To sell books, whether we traditionally publish or self-publish, we need a platform. This is something most authors struggle with.

Fortunately, many people will tell us how to build a viable brand-building, book-promoting, product-selling platform. Most take their personal experience, package it as a formula, and sell it in the form of a book, a class, or personal coaching.

They will show us how they grew their Facebook likes or Twitter followers or Google+ circles to astronomical heights. Others explain how to develop a huge blog following or compile a gigantic email list or generate enviable website traffic. They generally say something to the effect of, “Look what I did in such a short time. If I can do it, so can you!”

Unfortunately, I suspect that in most cases their formula is not replicable—at least not for the majority of people. When these experts experienced their success, they were in the right place, at the right time, with the right conditions. But as we attempt to follow their advice, we are in a different place, at a different time, with different conditions. With all the variables changing, it’s unlikely to expect we’ll enjoy the same results they achieved.

When they market their platform-building formula, they should include a disclaimer, similar to what is required for investments, such as “Past performance does not guarantee future results.” Seriously, this is critical.

Sure, they can likely point to a handful of success stories, but there are many more failures, of people who paid them money, followed their steps, and missed reaching the desired results. These people aren’t failures who didn’t follow directions, they are people faced with a different situation: in a different place, at a different time, with different conditions.

This doesn’t mean we should dismiss all the platform-building gurus. We can learn from them, and we can grow our platform, but we shouldn’t expect the same results, because “Individual results may vary.”

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

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Writing and Publishing

Seven Tips to Get a Headshot You Can Use

Last week I asked, “Do you have a professional headshot?” and urged you to take care of this now and not put it off. Here are seven tips to have a successful photoshoot, many of which I learned the hard way:

  1. Hire a professional: A friend with an expensive camera won’t do; a professional photographer with experience taking headshots is essential; ask to see their portfolio before committing.
  2. Envision the results: What look do you want to achieve? Will it be professional or casual, an inside setting or outdoors, playful or pensive?
  3. Plan extensively: This includes hair, wardrobe changes, possible props (a pen, coffee cup, glasses), setting (a desk, table, park bench, trees), and ideas for poses. If you see author photos you like, show these to the photographer and discuss how they apply to you.
  4. Prepare to pay: In my experience, cost tracked directly to quality and usability. Yet we must also balance this expense with our budget. As a starting point, expect to pay at least a few hundred dollars, likely more. Consider the cost of senior pictures; our author headshots are more important.
  5. Trust the photographer: A professional will likely twist and contort our body into the most uncomfortable and awkward positions, but usually, the results are good. Be compliant, willing, and flexible; do what they say. Go with it and don’t object; they know what they’re doing. However…
  6. Know when to say no: When a photographer asked me to remove my glasses, I objected. If I’m not sleeping, I’m wearing my glasses. I never take them off, don’t twirl them, or push them onto my head. A shot without glasses may look good to someone who doesn’t know me, but it won’t be me. If I show up at a book signing wearing glasses but my book and publicity shots don’t include them, readers will feel the disconnect.
  7. Relax and smile: It takes a while for a photographer to coax some usable shots out of my non-accommodating self. Knowing that I mentally prepare to be as easy to photograph as I possibly can. (When they say, “Ooh, these are some really great shots,” I know they’re actually trying to loosen me up.)

With proper planning, having a headshot taken can be an enjoyable time and produce great results. Then we can enjoy the process and expect great photos.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.

Categories
Writing and Publishing

Do You Have a Professional Headshot?

In “Every Author Needs a Bio,” I said the best time to write our author bio is now,before we need it. The same holds true in getting a professional headshot. Not only will we need one for our book jacket, but we’ll also need one prior to publication for PR, marketing, online profiles, promotion, and even business cards.

Don’t put this off until the last minute because a good headshot requires planning: finding an experienced photographer, scheduling the photoshoot, locating the right setting, determining what look we want to achieve, and fine-tuning our appearances, such as hair, makeup (for the ladies, but maybe men, too—seriously), clothes, and accessories. While a great photographer may help guide these decisions, many will not; they’ll set a date and start clicking.

Twice, I’ve tapped a friend with a nice camera. Although the results were good, they weren’t good enough for a book cover—both in terms of the quality of the picture (resolution, lighting, and background) and the quality of the pose. While I did use them for social media, websites, and other nonessential situations, they weren’t acceptable for professional marketing.

Three times I’ve hired professional photographers. The results directly related to cost. The one that charged the highest sitting fee produced the most usable shots. These photos had the quality to appear on a book jacket. I used her pictures for several years, but with a change of glasses and a few more gray hairs, I eventually had to update them.

The second photographer, at half the price, produced a couple of usable shots. I used one for my websites, business cards, and book proposals, even for an e-book, but it wasn’t quite good enough for a printed book.

The third photographer, the cheapest of the three, produced no usable pictures. I wasted my money and time. (She did do a few retakes, which I used for online publicity shots.)

Give some thought to having a professional photo taken; next week I’ll share seven pointers in getting the most out of your photoshoot.

Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.