I’m sick to death of the parade of authors who hit me with sales pitches to buy their books on Amazon.com on such-and-such a day. And I absolutely refuse to pester the 30,000 people on my email list and let them know about these Amazon campaigns. Full disclosure: When these campaigns were all the rage a few years ago,… Read More
Authors & Publishers
Bad book or music review? Here’s how to recover from it
I was a guest on yesterday’s National Public Radio show “Talk of the Nation,” and the topic was “The Web and the Rise of Rotten Reviews” and how to recover from them, whether you’re a restaurant, an author, a band or anyone who is reviewed by anybody. One of the callers was Debra Fine, author of… Read More
YouTube videos build buzz for raunchy book for men
What’s a publisher to do when the content of a new book is so racy and offensive that newspapers and magazines won’t touch it? Build the buzz online by spending only $10,000 to create three short, risque, sexist videos about the risque, sexist book. Then post them at sites such as YouTube and watch as word spreads to other popular social networking sites… Read More
How to promote a book on people who plan their lives before birth
Robert Schwartz of Ashland, Oregon writes: “I wrote and self-published a New Age book called Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth? “It includes 10 stories of people who planned great challenges for the purpose of spiritual growth. The information about their pre-birth plans was obtained by four of the most gifted… Read More
Author’s blog pulls 32,000 readers, two-book deal
He blogs about poems, and he started out with a pathetic 10 readers a day.Within two months, he had a two-book deal with a major publisher. It’s not easy to attract a lot of traffic—anybody who blogs knows that. Meet Greg Pincus, who used a system of viral marketing to create buzz for his blog, which he… Read More
Book marketing: Pitch high-traffic, niched websites
Here’s a great success story on how authors can get exposure at high-traffic websites by writing a regular column. Mike Archer of Firebomber Publications emailed it to me and I’m reprinting it here. My ‘Firebombers Incorporated’ novels relate the adventures (and misadventures) of a high-tech wildland firefighting outfit that employs a high percentage of ex-military personnel.… Read More
L.A. Times to discontinue book review section
More bad news for authors and publishers who want book reviews in top-tier newspapers. The Wall Street Journal says that sometime this spring, the Los Angeles Times will announce that it’s folding its highly esteemed Sunday book review section, shown at left, into a new section that will combine books with opinion pieces. That leaves only five separate… Read More
Promoting a neuro-linguistic programming book
Roger Ellerton of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes: “I am the author of ‘Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up—NLP and Common Sense for Coaches, Managers and You.’ My book was published a year ago but I want more publicity. “I’ve submitted articles to article directories, donated copies to libraries, distributed press releases locally and will do… Read More
Turn your book into a Hollywood movie
So, you think Hollywood will go ga-ga over your book? Not so fast. Lots of authors think the same thing. And if you want to break through all that competition, you have to take the right steps. Rick Frishman of Planned Television Arts is offering a free teleseminar from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, January… Read More
Embrodiery author needs book marketing tips
Yvette Stanton Sydney, Australia writes: “I am the Australian publisher of a small, but growing range of embroidery books. I am about to launch two onto the U.S. market. I’d love suggestions of how make a big splash in a very niche pond. “The market is predominantly women, many of whom love counted cross-stitch and needlepoint.… Read More