Let's talk about social networking for a minute

It's no secret I am new to the publishing world. I may have been writing now for many years, but actually publishing a book is a whole new realm for me, and I bet it is for many of you out there. Whether you are traditionally published or self, you have to take up a lot of the brunt of actually selling your book.

So, how do you do it?


The starting place for just about any new author is friends and family, but they can't always be counted on to buy a book. (Most of your friends and family will want a copy for free.)

Of course, you can't give all your copies away, you do have to make some money, right?

Step One, get online and make your presence known.
Social networking is crucial to this.

Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, Twitter, just to name a few, are full of groups dedicated to writing, publishing, and promoting. Get out there and start making connections.

Some of my favorite groups are:

Authors Book Review Exchange - Here you can submit your book and work out review exchanges with other authors. Reviews on places like Amazon.com Goodreads.com and Barnesandnoble.com can go far to help sell your book. People like books that have lots of reviews and the more reviews you have, the more likely someone will stop and pay attention.

Amazon Tags Authors Assist - Here is a group dedicated to helping you gain visibility by tagging your book. Tags are the categories your book belongs to. Let's say you write urban fantasy. Your book will not show up in a general search of "urban fantasy" unless it has been tagged as such. Good tagging = good exposure, something every author needs.

Authors, Agents, & Aspiring Authors - A great place to network with others and learn quite a bit. Check it out and surf through the links. Yes, authors do promote books here, but you will also find links to informative blogs as well as meet other authors in various genres.

Authors Promoting Authors - Exactly what the name says!

Ok, those are just a few of my favorites, I have so many that I subscribe to that I could get lost all day searching though them.

If you have some groups and or links you want to share, please do. This is what social networking is all about, cooperative marketing and spreading the word to as many people as you can.

Self-Publishing, Step Four.

Step Four – I have a book, now what?

You’ve done everything and now have a book in your hot little hands, ready to sell.

Congratulations!

Wait, did you think you were finished?

No, no, this is just the beginning.

Now it’s time to market it!

If you thought putting the book together was tough, you ain’t seen nuthin yet!

That is another downside to going it alone, you truly are alone. Who are you going to get to buy your book? Friends and family will only take you so far and many of them are more moral support than financial. Don’t be surprised if only a select few members of your friends and family actually purchase your book. Hey, it happens.

What you need to do is get out there and pound the virtual pavement to push your book. If people don’t know about your book, they certainly won’t buy it. Promote promote promote.

Start off by arming yourself with a few tools.

Put together a press kit.

You will need:

A good quality picture of yourself
Business cards
Promo stuff (bookmarks, flyers, post cards, etc...)
A bio
A good quality picture of your book cover
A summary sheet.
A sales sheet
A media release (to announce your book)
Generic “suggested” Interview questions and answers. (to share with people potentially interested in hosting you)
Approximately 30 copies of your book for giveaways.

These are your basic tools to begin your marketing quest.

Next, (and really you should have already thought of this) you need to target your book market and make a plan for attack. (Think of this in war strategy, where will the enemy be and what is the best method to get to them.)

I’m going to use my book for example.

Immortalis Carpe Noctem
Genre – Dark/Urban Fantasy
Target Market – Men & Women age 18 -40 Fans of Vampires, Werewolves, Shapeshifters, etc...

Now, plan out the what and how and implement it. (Note, you may not accomplish all of these tasks immediately. That’s ok. Putting them down on paper helps ensure you don’t forget them.)

Phase 1 – Internet –Social Network Marketing.

Press Kit
• Set up Press Kit and Rising Sign website. www.RisingSignBooks.com
• Include links to any and all online author or book features such as blog interviews, guest spots, & book giveaways.

Create Main website
www.RisingSignBooks.com

• Optimize main site to capture email addresses and encourage direct sales with free workbook
• Sale of book in multiple media – ebook, audio and print book

Blog Tours
• Signed on with various review sites to gain honest reviews of book.
• Seek out Genre Specific blogs for guest appearances, Interviews and giveaways.

Online Retail Sales

• Add Amazon blog and all testimonials link to main website.

• Add author Info to Amazon profile page.

• Add video to my Amazon page

• Promote sales through my affiliate Amazon Store

Blog and social networking

• Drive traffic to my website and encourage sales through my blog at http://myimmortalstories.blogspot.com/
• Link Facebook Profile with other social Networking sites.
• Link Myspace Profile with other social Networking sites.
• Link Goodreads profile with other social Networking sites.
• Link Twitter Profile with other social Networking sites.
• LinkedIn profile has info on the book as well as the day job
• Channel on YouTube for book related videos
• Profile on AuthorsDen.com


Word of mouth and viral marketing

• Post videos on YouTube with excerpts from the book.
• Add signature file with book free offer and website to all emails

Joint Ventures

Blog Guests

• Invite other authors and business people to be guest blogs or interviews on my blog. They reciprocate and promote me.

Book Reviews
• Target Genre specific reviewers to solicit reviews.
• Participate in book review exchanges with other authors in the Urban Fantasy genre.

Phase 2 – Brick & Mortar sales

Book Launch
• Approach local and independent bookstores to see if they will buy books.
• Donate books to local library and offer to speak
• Sell at fairs and markets in person
• Launch at independent bookstore. Make sure media are aware. Press release before, and after.

Press Releases
• Send press releases for any and all newsworthy items relating to the book, Immortalis Carpe Noctem. Such releases will include events like Author signings, new book format releases (Hardbound, ebook, etc…)

Book Reviews
• Target Genre specific reviewers to solicit reviews.
• Participate in book review exchanges with other authors in the Urban Fantasy genre.
Testimonials and Endorsements
• Link online reviews from respected retailers and social “book review” sites to Rising Sign Website.
• Use social networking sites such as: Mysapce, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc to spread the word about positive reviews.

Book Signings
• Target Major retailers – Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc… Arrange for book signings at various locations locally.
• Target Independent retailers and arrange for book signings.
• Be available for book signings in other cities around the United States.

Stay tuned for more in this Self-Publishing series. Step 5 - Helpful Marketing Tips 3/29/10

Self-Publishing, Step Three.

Step Three – Putting the book together and Proof Acceptance!

Ok, so you have formatted, you have edited, you have a cover design and a layout to match each media format. You have purchased your ISBN’S, and filed your copyright. You are ready to squish it all together and make a book.

This is where the printer comes in.

(Oh I should mention I am working with the assumption you are using a POD model. That is where your printer is printing a copy for each order processed. This means no worries about warehousing.)

If you followed your printer’s instructions, you will have files to upload for each format. This is where the fun happens. All your hard work and effort will finally culminate into something you can physically hold in your hand!

Usually within 48 hours of your upload, you will have the option to generate a proof.

Do not skip this step, no matter how “perfect” you think the book will be.

You need to see that proof. You need to make sure the book looks perfect.

Once you have that baby in your hot little hands, it’s time to go through it with a fine tooth comb.

Once approved, this is what the world will see. It has to be perfect.

Check the spine, make sure it is even. Check the cover design for flaws, Check the pages to make sure there is no fading on the ink. Make sure the page numbers are correct. Verify chapter headings. Look for spelling and grammatical mistakes (I bet you still find a few.)

On my first proof I found so many problems I had to go back for another round of editing.

Note that each round of revisions will cost you, so try to catch everything you can!

You will probably never catch all mistakes. I have already had people point out the mistakes in my new release. Thankfully they aren’t too many. This is one of the downsides to self-publishing. You don’t have a team of people hunting for each and every mistake. Try to make sure your book is as perfect as can be before you approve it.

On to step 4. What to do once it is printed.

Self-Publishing, Step Two.

Step Two – What do you need to self-publish?

So, you’ve decided to self publish, or are curious about what is involved.

Remember self-publishing means you are in charge of every step of the process.

As with all things, research is key. There are many books out there that will instruct you on how to go about self publishing and they will go into way more detail than I will.

(Please note I purchased these books myself and I am not receiving any compensation for mentioning them here on the blog.)

Two of the books I picked up are:

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing – Tom & Marilyn Ross
The Self Publishing Manual – Dan Poynter

These are both in-depth and take you step by step through the process of putting a book together.

But, since we don’t have time to read 1k plus pages of material, here is a short list of the key things you will need to do as a self-publisher.

1) Write the book.

That’s pretty obvious, but hey, if you aren’t finished with this step, you aren’t ready to self publish. Actually, your book should have been through multiple revisions and rounds through a critiquing group before you even consider self-publishing.

Now, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any more editing or revisions, but, like with querying for the traditional route, you want to start with something you feel is 100% ready.

2) Have a Pro, edit the book.

Your book may have been several rounds with a critique group and you may have a masters in English, but don’t send out a book that hasn’t had a pro look at it. Self-Publishing is already looked down on, don’t give reviewers another reason to put a nail in your coffin.

3) Printing and Distribution.

Unless you plan on going door to door with a stack of books, you want a printer who can distribute to the big guys like Amazon.com

(Oh, I should mention I am working with the assumption you are using a POD model. That is where your printer is printing a copy for each order processed. This means no worries about warehousing.)

I chose Lightening Source.

http://www.lightningsource.com/


Now, lightening source is a major POD printer, but they don’t like to work directly with authors. They prefer companies. Here is a spot you might want to think about. Do you set yourself up as a company and deal directly with them? Or do you find other POD services out there?

That is something only you can answer.

If you do choose the company route, I would suggest creating a LLC (better liability protection) or you can do a Sole-Proprietorship or DBA.

You can also use Amazon’s Create Space/Book Surge to have your books put together and distributed. Check with them on what services they offer too.

No matter what you choose, you want to have your printer selected before you move on to further steps in the book process. Each printer will require things to be formatted specifically for them. They will also tell you what trim sizes and paper selections you can use. This information will be extremely helpful when moving on to Cover design and book layout.

4) Book Layout.

This can be done in word, but it is quite a frustrating process. The layout is how you book will look when printed; all of those fun little details like: headers and footers, font, page breaks, page size, margins, etc…

You can hire out for this, or you can look for programs that help you do it yourself. I found one on Self-pub.net that was quite helpful.

http://www.self-pub.net/wizard.html

Now, remember that each different format you decide to put your work into will have different layout requirements (see your printers FAQ’s for specifics). Before you finish this step and move on to the next, you will want to know and have a layout for each respective format.

Ebook
Paperback
Hardbound

As a cost saving tip, I’d suggest dropping the Hardbound version for your first attempt. Ebook and Paperback are plenty.


5) Book Cover Design.

Finding a reasonably priced designer can be a fun venture. Do your research and ask around to find your designers. Social networking sites like Facebook are wonderful for this, there are lots of groups out there with aspiring novelist, they are a wealth of information and leads.

One note to remember here, your designer will want to know some things before they make your cover. I learned this the hard way. Know what your book dimensions will be before this step. Know the page count, know the size of the book, paper or Hb. Do your book layout first.

6) ISBN’s.

Every book has one so you will have to purchase these.

http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp


7) PCN or LCCN.

If you want your book able to be on library shelves, you will need one of these numbers.
http://pcn.loc.gov/pcn001.html

Please note, you will have to send them a copy of the final product after publication.


8) Copyright.

File online! Yay!
http://www.copyright.gov/


Next, on to step 3 – Putting it together.

Self-Publishing, Step One.

Since I started this self-publishing venture, I have had a lot of people ask questions about the process and why I decided to go this route. Over the next few days I will take you through the process and explain some of my reasoning behind this decision.


Step One – Deciding on what you want to do.


Self publishing is often thrown around like a dirty word. Many people think of it as a scapegoat for those of us who cannot get traditionally published.

I tend to think otherwise but, then again, I am a bit biased since I obviously chose this route.

My reasons probably match many of yours. I had a product (a book series) that I worked very hard on. I attempted the traditional route with lukewarm results.

After I was laid off at my old job, I had a lot of free time on my hands and very little new job prospects. After a heart to heart with my husband, he gave me the nudge to “give this a shot.”

Rather than go the Lulu route, I wanted to try and make something more of this so we (my husband and I) started up Rising Sign Books, LLC. This will be the publishing label for my Immortalis Series as well as my Pleasures and Fantasy, erotic stories.



I am not here to tell you what you should do. Each writer must take their own path.

But, (there is always a but) if you choose to go down this path, don’t treat it like the easy way out. The failure of many self-published author is in the lack of effort put in to push your product. Don’t think that by having that book in your hand that you are done. Before you decide on publishing anything you should already have a marketing strategy at least loosely mapped out.

Note: Traditional publishers will want this as well. Know your market and have ideas on how to sell to them no matter what you choose.

Also, please note that to self-publish, successfully, you will do 10x the amount of work that a traditionally published author would do.

So plan on rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty if this is what you choose to do.

While you are considering self-publishing, decide what you really want out of it.

Are your goals just to have a book in hand? Do you want to try and make this a legitimate money making venture? Are you looking for fame? Is this a one time book or a series you are working on? Are you expecting millions?

Sit down and have a real heart-to-heart about what you want and what you expect to happen with this method of publishing.

If you are just in this to have a book in hand, I would suggest going the vanity publishing route. It’s cheaper, in the long run, and will give you exactly what you are looking for. You will have a bright, shiny new book with your name on it!

If you are considering this as a business venture, then I would suggest treating it as such.

Self-publishing means exactly that; you are doing it yourself.

You are in charge of everything that happens from the words that are on the page to the ISBN number that is printed on the back.

There is a lot involved in making a book, time being the biggest thing and money being second to that.

Self-publishing not only means doing it yourself, it also means putting up the money to pay for all the services necessary to make a book and market it.

Once you have decided on what you want to do, we move on to Step 2 – What you need to make a book (besides money).