marketing your book Archives - Self-Publishing Tips

Self-Published Authors Must Act Like APEs

I had the pleasure of being a beta reader for APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch. It is easy reading, packed with tips, tools, links, actionable steps, and a supporting website (APETheBook.com,) along with warnings of the pitfalls of self-publishing.

Historically, traditional publishers successfully blocked the door to publication for many authors until digital publishing changed the game. With direct access to their readers via platforms such as Amazon Digital Publishing authors can now enjoy faster success and higher profits.

Why Self-Publishing?

Kawasaki turned to self-publishing when he discovered that a traditional publisher could not handle an order for 500 ebooks. He became a convert, and enlisted the aid of Shawn Welch to help him understand the complexities of publishing ebooks, who created and and produced Kawasaki’s book, What the Plus!: Google+ for the Rest of Us

Kawaski strongly believes

“. . .self-publishing enables you to determine your own fate. There’s no need to endure the frustration of finding and working with a publisher. You can maintain control over your book and its marketing, receive a greater percentage of revenues, and retain all rights and ownership.”

But he does not suggest that self-publishing is easy. Without guidance, it can be confusing, inefficient and unnecessarily expensive.

APE makes it clear that to self-publish successfully, you must be willing to don all three hats: author, publisher and entrepreneur.

Becoming an APE

APE begins with four good reasons and two bad ones for becoming an author. The desire to make lots of money is one of the two bad ones since earning great wealth from book sales, though possible, is rare.

Whether you are writing your first book or fifth, APE will enlighten and empower you. It is loaded with details about preparing your manuscript, ballpark costs of self-publishing, publishing options, copyright issues, digital rights management and valuable self-promotion techniques, such as how to pitch bloggers and reviewers.

APE offers us publishing Plans A, B and C and urges us not to get stigmatized when we can’t find a traditional publisher. He chucks out the stigmatized phrase “vanity publishing” and ushers in a new one.

“Self-publishing could change from stigma to bragging point–maybe we could change the term to “artisanal publishing” and foster the image of authors lovingly crafting their books with total control over the process.”

By crowdsourcing the editing of APE, the authors attracted hundreds of writers, coaches, entrepreneurs and bloggers in the field who gave priceless input to help catch errors and build in real-life examples, anecdotes and sources.

You will learn in one chapter details on navigating Amazon and from another chapter, tactical and practical guerilla marketing techniques.

The section on becoming an entrepreneur is the most valuable section for the self-publisher. Here you will learn how to create your profile and platform using the major social media sites, as well as details on creating a press release, virtual book tours and using social networks designed especially for writers and readers.

While APE shows us how to self-publish, it does not discourage traditional publishing, nor harnessing the power of a traditional PR launch.

If you’re looking for a get-rich-quick road to self-publishing, this isn’t it.

If, on the other hand, you want a content-rich, user-friendly, comprehensive and up-to-the-minute guide for navigating the self-publishing waters, get APE today. It’s the new self-publishing bible.

About the Authors

Guy Kawasaki is the author of APE, What the Plus!, Enchantment, and nine other books. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Shawn Welch is the author of From Idea to App, iOS 5 Core Frameworks, and iOS 6 for Developers as well as the developer of several iOS apps. Previously he worked as a senior media-editor for Pearson Education.

He also helped pioneer many of Pearson’s earliest efforts in iPad solutions. Welch has a BS from Kansas State University.

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Are you encouraged to try self-publishing again or for the first time? Share your thoughts.

Filed Under: entrepreneur, marketing your book, publishing, self-publishing, the writing life Tagged With: evergreen

10 Ways to Market Your Book: Think Outside the Bookstore

By Flora 10 Comments

Listen below to me being interviewed by
Lisa Bentson, CEO of LEADs on the topic
“Low to No Cost Ways to Market Your Book, Business or Service”

Listen to internet radio with Lisa Bentson on Blog Talk Radio

Filed Under: marketing your book, the writing life Tagged With: evergreen

Is Marketing Via Press Releases Still a Good Idea?

By Flora Leave a Comment

Press releases (also known as news releases) have been the popular way to get key facts of a news story out since they were invented in 1906 by Ivy Ledbetter Lee.
Considered by many to be the founder of modern public relations, Lee sent out what is believed to be the first press release in 1906 reporting a derailed train in Atlantic City that killed 53.

With the constant pervasiveness of social media many question whether press releases are still a viable way to dispense information to the media. Even though they keep their eye on the Twitter stream, many editorial directors still rely on the press release when it’s created properly.

Press releases are best used to announce an event or the launch of product, brand or company. The most effective press releases

contain the “Five W’s” (who, what, when, where, why–and how) in the first paragraph
avoid jargon, tech-speak and cute metaphors; stick to simple language that we all can understand
reference the specific subject and product in the subject line
give brief background information
list contact information

Once you’ve submitted your press release, you have no control or idea where it may appear. Typically, announcements of local events appear in local newspapers.
Stories that have a broader appeal may appear in national or even international media. However it’s picked up, your story has the possibility of getting in the hands of bloggers, news media, consumers, retailers and anyone else who is intrigued by your story and sees a slant related to their interests.

Since the media may not contact you when your story appears, set up a Google Alert with your name or subject so you’ll be notified when and if it does appear.
When I offered a publishing workshop in my area, the story appeared in a number of local papers, as well as local directories where I had posted it. Since submitting his press release, my client, Dwayne Carl, has seen his story picked up by The Huffington Post where he was interviewed as well. (See his video interview above.) Dwayne’s book, Out of My Second Closet, is available on Amazon and from other major booksellers.

PRWeb is one of the most popular paid press release services because it goes straight to the search engines. Depending on the package you buy, they will also distribute to Associated Press, regional sources, media digests and more.

If you’re strapped for cash, there is a long list of free press release sites. These are mostly directories where your release may be discovered, but won’t be distributed.

Press releases are indeed still a good idea. You don’t have to decide between press releases and social media. Use them all to create the buzz your event or launch deserve.

To discover the best ways and places to market your book, service or company, get my free report “20 Free tips and Tools for Aspiring Authors and Proactive Entrepreneurs” below. It includes the three best free press release services.

Filed Under: marketing, marketing your book Tagged With: marketing, press release

Here's One Way to Let the World Know About Your Book or Service

By Flora Leave a Comment

Every business, entrepreneur, and service provider knows that to succeed you must let people know you exist. The old school way of taking out newspaper ads or buying listings in the Yellow Pages are as ineffective as they are expensive.

Taking a lesson from movie trailers, many authors and others are now creating videos to introduce their work to the world. (See my recent blog post here to get ideas on creating your book trailer.)

When you have the budget and chutzpah to get the public involved in your promotion, however, you can create a promotion that will have legs and go viral on its own. That’s what happened when the TV channel TNT launched in Belgium. I defy you to watch this video below and not laugh as well as tell others about it.

Don’t despair if you don’t have the cast and money to recreate a similar event for your book or service. Instead, use what you DO have to think of a creative way you market that will make folks take notice. Then, when you do, come back and share what you did with us on this blog.

Filed Under: marketing your book, promote your product, video marketing, video trailer