Authors of business books can get a little marketing push from Simon & Schuster…even if they haven’t published through that company.
The publisher is launching a “publisher-angnostic” website devoted to business books. The site will feature 250-word essays based on concepts in business books from every house. The essays will be available via a daily email list as well as on the site.
The site is called 250 Words.
USA Today lists one reporter’s top ten choices for most sought-after books that are no longer in print. Number one is Sex by Madonna, followed by Stephen King’s Rage and My Pretty Pony.
Several years ago, Barnes & Noble launched a program that offers exclusive content to readers. Often the project rereleased books with additional content like author comments that were available only through B&N.
Now the program is really taking flight with exclusive content for teen and tween readers. The extra content extends the storyline, provides more backstory, and answers readers’ questions. The books under this banner are receiving exclusive marketing campaigns and in-store signage and enhanced placements.
The importance of book trailers can’t be understated. Video has proven effective in boosting blog followers and selling products of all kinds. Books can connect with more readers when a trailer is created for that particular book.
They don’t have to be fancy. Even a simple trailer can increase a reader’s likelihood of buying by 5 times. Sales can increase as much as 64%, and 90% of viewers find videos useful when making their purchasing decisions.
For help with your trailer, contact Kristen Eckstein at Imagine! Studios. Tell her Laine Cunningham sent you! She does a fantastic job for all my clients.
This is an amusing list of defintions of common marketing buzzwords by Book Business.
Most ebooks tend to be priced around $3.99 for self-published works and $9.99 for traditionally published works. Occasionally there is the need to price an ebook at a higher point.
The idea is that the information contained in the books is from a specialized arena. Accessing the information requires research and expertise beyond a usual layperson’s reach. Thus the content is worth more when it is compiled into an ebook.
Some examples include Moroccan Math Secrets at $200 and Quay Walls at $247.96. If you’re a public speaker or have specialized knowledge, consider producing an ebook that you can price above the usual market rate for fiction and mainstream nonfiction. The income you generate could be well worth the effort.
No matter whether you plan to submit to a publishing house or product your own book, every author is an entrepreneur. The reality is that you’ll be expected to help market your book even if it’s only by reaching out to your social media. When you’re considering your budget for everything from editing to launch plans, remember that your skin is in this game…your career will be impacted by every decision you make from who edits your book to how much time and money you invest in marketing. Treat your writing like a business and you’ll create the life of a true writer!
The 2014 Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest conducted a survey to determine how self-published authors differ from traditionally published authors and hybrid writers. The results are here, and reveal some interesting points.
–Self-pub authors and hybrid authors thought a book’s quality will be the same no matter what route they took, while traditionally published writers felt it much more likely to happen with a heritage publisher. The reality is that self-pub authors can achieve the same quality if they put together a team of editors and designers that are professionals.
–Distribution was thought to be much broader across the board from traditional publishers. This still reflects the inability of self-pub books to achieve widespread print distribution through bookstores.
–Authors felt it equally likely that marketing efforts could be at least equal to publishing houses, that it was somewhat more likely to be better with a heritage house, and that it might be the same either way. This reflects the necessity of self-pub authors and traditionally published books to be marketed by the authors themselves. Finances are the real issue here, and often self-pub books don’t have the same numbers behind them. Keep in mind that creative efforts can trump investments with digital efforts.
Netflix has been on a roll. Originally considered something of a rube among Hollywood types, the individual responsible for its success has proven that new ways of thinking, and servicing viewer’s desires and needs before any other metric, is the path to success these days.
Netflix did everything “wrong,” according to film’s old guard. It released a full season of episodes all at the same time to allow for binge viewing (which subscribers wanted), it paid top dollar to lease items that others would have taken only if they could own (again to serve their subscribers regardless of the way others would have made a deal), and they bought new concepts without forcing the producers to make a pilot (taking a chance again to give viewers what they want).
Publishers could learn from all this. Release books faster (because that’s what readers want), allow authors to maintain ownership (serve readers no matter what the old deals looked like), and take chances on unproven concepts (because again, readers want unique, fresh ideas from authors who haven’t yet “proven” themselves with big publishers).
Authors, too, can learn from Netflix. Although the company is willing to take risks and try new things, the concepts they’ve bought have had a strong level of professionalism built in. Actors have been sought out who are clear viewer favorites to attract viewers to those fresh concepts. All the deals made have also been for concepts that have fully written scripts, professional people already on board, and “bibles” or dossiers that outline the fictional world’s details in full.
For authors, this means having a full and polished manuscript ready to go, professional assistance from editors or pitch consultants, and a fully developed idea about their audience, publishing trends, and the author’s potential or actual platform (which is all wrapped into a book proposal, the author’s bible).
Yesterday I discussed the latest trends in YA, and noted that everyone is looking for a YA thriller right now.
It seems that Finland has hit the mark. A YA series has come out and the rights have been sold in 33 territories. The first book, As Red as Flood, was released in Feb 2013. Book two came out in August and the third is scheduled for spring of 2014.
Don’t wait! If you’re finished with a YA thriller, get your pitch together now!
We all gripe now and then about how well celebrity bios sell. Well, 2014 is projected to be the year when a different category outsells that standby.
The self-help category is poised for another huge boom. Works that are intellectually “credible,” meaning those that are reflective and offer something readers will find meaningful, will fuel this boom.
If you have something in the works or an idea for a project that fits this category, get cracking! Now is the time to grab for your breakout success.
2013 was a banner year for Goodreads, the reader review site. It doubled its membership again (just as it did during 2012). It now has 25 million members, many of which are interested in fiction much than nonfiction.
Here’s a cool infographic with other tidbits about the site’s activities over the previous year.
Reader reviews are an important to boost book sales. On specific sites, you’ll find lists of top reviewers…individuals who are so prolific with their reviews that they have achieved top ranking on that site.
It might not sound like much but it’s important. Top reviewers have followers…some of them tens of thousands of followers. When one of the top reviewers pays attention to your book, their followers discover your work. Good or bad, the review can introduce you to individuals who otherwise might never come across your stories.
Over the holidays, one of my novels was reviewed by an Amazon Top 50 reviewer. The post is fairly long and detailed, and can be read here. The reviewer is Grady Harp, who commands spot number 41 in the reviewer ranking. I’ll be following the sales numbers and will report back in a month on any developments.
Amazon reported that about 25% of all top 100 Kindle books came from indies. The term indie includes small publishers as well as self-published authors.
Getting your title into Amazon’s top 100 requires that you understand how the algorithms work. If you need help with this or are looking to boost your marketing efforts to achieve Amazon top 100 bestseller status, Writer’s Resource can help. Clients have achieved this goal with a single, carefully selected marketing push!
Make 2014 the year YOUR book hits the bestseller list!
Simon & Schuster launched a new social media community called The Hot Bed for New Adult books, authors and readers. The community will be featured on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. The Tumblr page will feature a hot reads review segment with a chill chart rating the raciness of the content.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 