Karen's blog: Bookbaby newsletters

Here are the latest Bookbaby newsletters for my followers to peruse:

A message from one of our trusted partners:

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Saturday, May 19, 2018

I’m still plugging away at answering your reader questions. Not surprisingly a lot of them have to do with book marketing. Here’s a sampling:

Dee Montgomery: “If the market is flooded with substandard books, how will the good books stand out? Will the author need to be a marketing specialist also? How does marketing work with self-published books?”

Ann Everett: “I’d like to know if there are any marketing trends now working? Granted with over 40,000 books published each month, it’s a crapshoot. But still, someone in the industry must have some ideas…right?”

Jill Hughes: “As a new author [Fiction-Crime/Mystery category]…what are the most effective ways of marketing [paid and unpaid] to get an unknown novel and an unknown author some significant traffic/sales/reviews…and realistically how long does it take?”

I’ve reviewed and answered another 25 questions just like these. These messages only reinforce my views on the biggest challenges of self-publishing: Writing a book is hard. Marketing it successfully is even harder!

While most marketing tactics for each book, author, genre, and interest area can vary, I can point to three areas that have been shown to work for many different authors.

Get access to readers. Most everyone has heard of BookBub, the leading book discovery service that showcases books to millions of potential readers. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible for new authors to secure a slot on their service, but there are plenty of other sites like Freebooksy or BookLemur that are more indie author friendly. We updated our list of services on the BookBaby blog a few weeks ago that merits a look here.

Get more reviews. Book reviews are an extension of the most powerful and durable marketing technique: Word of Mouth. Friends don’t let friends read bad books. Everyone wants to know about the next great book, and no one wants to waste their time on a terrible one. How do get more of these valuable referrals? My blog post last summer offered a few ideas. Read it here.

Get educated. Unless you have a huge promotional budget at your disposal, it’s up to each author to be the marketing engine for his or her book. My advice is to learn before you leap into any marketing channel or idea. BookBaby has just introduced four great marketing consultation services to help teach authors how to go about this difficult task. Learn more.

But today may be your lucky day: We’re actually giving away free packages to 31 authors all month long. You still have time to enter the sweepstakes here.

Marketing is indeed a journey, so let’s end this message with a trip to Chengdu and an amazing bookstore that embodies the cultural charm of this populous city in western China. Read more.

All the best,

Steven Spatz
President, BookBaby

Become an Award Winning Author! Enter the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest.

Enter now

Authors, enter your book today!

There is still time to enter this year’s Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest!

Readers’ Favorite is the fastest growing book review and award contest site for authors on the web. Their annual International Book Award Contest receives submissions from contestants that range from first-time self-published authors to New York Times bestsellers like J.A. Jance, James Rollins, and #1 best-selling author Daniel Silva, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey and Henry Winkler.

If you place in the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest, you will become an “award-winning author” with an “award-winning book.” You will also be able to add your Readers’ Favorite Award Seal to your cover and all marketing materials, which will help you grab the attention of book stores, publishers, libraries, and readers!

Enter now

Featured Article:
Imagine the page as you write your book

Visualizing how your words will present on the page as you write your book can make you aware of what you need to create the piece you’re envisioning and devise strategies to get there. Read more.

Vulnerability as a way to establish trust

For business leaders, writers, and everyone in between, allowing yourself to be human, and vulnerable, goes a long way toward establishing trust. That doesn’t make it easy. Read more.

My 20-step plan to writing a book

Writing a book is hard work—it’s easier to quit than finish. When you become overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the task, you might be tempted to give up. The key is to follow a proven, straightforward plan. Read more.

Get your book the attention it deserves. Promote and sell your book with a personalized consultation from Smith Publicity.

Top Stories:

The five emotional stages of publishing a book

Five ways to distill and heighten your writing

Voices silenced: 12 authors who died in 2017

Panic for fun and profit: Submission deadlines and my book series

Joanna Penn to keynote the 2018 BookBaby Independent Authors Conference

Can reading books lead to better health?

100 printed books for as low as $399. Use code SPRINGSALE at checkout.

A message from one of our trusted partners:

North Street Book Prize for Self-Published Books

Have you self-published a book? Searching for high-quality ways to honor and promote it? Enter Winning Writers’ fourth North Street competition, co-sponsored by BookBaby and Carolyn Howard-Johnson (author of The Frugal Book Promoter).

We’ve expanded to five categories this year: Mainstream/Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, Creative Nonfiction & Memoir, Poetry (new), and Children’s Picture Book (new). The top winner in each category will win $1,000, one grand prize winner will win $3,000, and all will receive additional benefits to help market their books. Any year of publication is eligible. Entry fee: $60 per book. Deadline: June 30.

Submit online via Submittable or by mail. Please see our guidelines, past winners, and judges’ remarks at winningwriters.com/north.

No restriction on country or age of author. Judges: Jendi Reiter and Ellen LaFleche, assisted by Lauren Singer Ledoux and Annie Keithline. This contest is sponsored by Winning Writers, one of the “101 Best Websites for Writers” (Writer’s Digest).

Click to Submit

Prefer to Enter by Mail?

Mail your entry and $60 fee to Winning Writers, Attn: Book Prize, 351 Pleasant Street, PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3961, USA. Include your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number. Your payment should be US funds drawn on a US bank, or US currency.

Questions?

See past winners and more contest information at winningwriters.com/north

Featured Article:
The five emotional stages of publishing a book

You’ve finished writing your book! Well, hold on tight because you’re on a wild roller coaster, and while that ride takes you to remarkable highs, it plummets to lows you never imagined. Welcome to the emotional stages of publishing a book. Read more.

Five ways to distill and heighten your writing

Whether you are working on draft material or devising a story in your mind, one element of great writing is cranking up the extraordinary to pack in information, meaning, and creativity. Read more.

Voices silenced: 12 authors who died in 2017

The list of authors, writers, and contributors to the written word who passed last year is too long for one blog post, but let’s take a moment to recognize 12 authors who died in 2017. Read more.

The sooner you market your book, the better.

Top Stories:

Panic for fun and profit: Submission deadlines and my book series

Joanna Penn to keynote the 2018 BookBaby Independent Authors Conference

Can reading books lead to better health?

How to improve your author website

How to solicit and act on feedback from beta readers

Find the rhythm in writing

Take 15% off copy or line editing. Use code BBEDIT15 at checkout.

WIN PRO BOOK MARKETING: Get a personalized marketing consultation—a $499 value—absolutely free.

Enter now

Marketing is an essential part of the self-publishing process. You need to help your readers find you and your books. For many authors, the best path toward discovery means calling in professional book promotional help.

That’s why, throughout May, you’ll have 31 chances to win a professional book marketing consultation from the experts at Smith Publicity.

All 31 winners will choose between four consultation options tailored to their needs:

Book Marketing Planner
Social Media Book Promotion
Maximizing your Amazon Listing
In-Depth Book Marketing Planner

It’s important to promote your book even before you’re finished writing. Give your book its best shot at being discovered with a FREE professional marketing consultation. You only need to enter once to get 31 chances to win. Take your shot today.

Enter now

This promotion runs from 5/1/18 through 5/31/18. Prize includes your choice of one of our $499 marketing consultation packages: Book Marketing Planner, Maximizing Your Amazon Listing, Social Media Book Promotion, or In-Depth Book Marketing Planner. All winners will be contacted by 6/5/18. This offer is non-transferable. Only one entry per person is accepted: multiple entries will be disqualified.

A message from one of our trusted partners:

Two fantastic eBooks: Free for just 48 hours!

Our friends at ProWritingAid have agreed to give you their hugely popular books for free until tomorrow at midnight.

Join over 50,000 writers who have downloaded and used these books to get published!

Click for your FREE download:

Take Your Writing to the Next Level: 20 Editing Tips from Professional Writers

The Novel-Writing Training Plan: 17 Steps to Get Your Ideas in Shape for the Marathon of Writing.

Scroll down for more information about each book.

Take Your Writing to the Next Level: 20 Editing Tips from Professional Writers

Whether you are writing a novel, essay, article or email, good writing is an essential part of communicating your ideas.

This eBook contains the 20 most important writing tips and techniques from a wide range of professional writers. Some focus on the minutia of specific word selection; others focus on the more complex ideas like finding the right metaphor, policing your work for Purple Prose, or figuring out when it’s time to send it off to potential publishers.

Download eBook now

The Novel-Writing Training Plan: 17 Steps to get Your Ideas In Shape for the Marathon of Writing

So you are ready to write your novel. Excellent. Are you prepared? The last thing you want when you sit down to write your first draft is to lose momentum. Have you figured out the key traits of your characters so that you know how they will act (and react) in each scene? Have you thought through the climax of your narrative so that you can lay all the groundwork to get there? Have you researched the setting of your story so you can make it feel authentic?

Use this guide before you start writing to work out your narrative arc, plan out your key plot points, flesh out your characters, and begin to build your world. Then, when you begin your writing journey, you will have a map to follow along the way.

Download eBook now

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Ok, now it’s your turn,

I’m still unpacking from my trips to the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Publishing University in Austin, TX, and the London Book Fair. So, I’m going to request some reading audience participation.

Every Saturday morning for 15 months, I’ve been sending along some of my thoughts about self-publishing. You’ve read them—and responded. All weekend long, my email inbox is filled with your thoughts and questions. I try my best to answer them all promptly. But up until now, these have been personal, one-on-one responses. I think that other readers might be interested in reading some of these responses.

So, this morning I’m putting out the call: Please send me your questions so that I can answer in this public forum. What would you—and your fellow readers—want to know? Your questions can be anything and everything publishing-related.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll provide answers in this space. Fire away! Send your questions to steven@bookbaby.com.

I’ll leave you this morning with a question that I can’t answer: Who was the masked man that would leave three red roses and a bottle of cognac on the grave of Edgar Allen Poe on the author’s birthday? Make your guesses after you read this article.

All the best,

Steven Spatz
President, BookBaby

Featured Article:
How to improve your author website

Your author website is a reflection of you as a writer and your book as a work of art. It pays to make sure it is as enticing as the story you’ve been laboring over. Here are six ways to improve your author website. Read more.

How to solicit and act on feedback from beta readers

You’ve finished your first, second, and maybe even the third draft of your book, and you’re ready for feedback from beta readers. Here are steps you can follow to get and act on the feedback you receive. Read more.

Find the rhythm in writing

Rhythm in writing is a bit harder to define than other elements of the writing craft, but the cadence of your story can go a long way toward pulling your readers in and making the experience enjoyable. Read more.

LAST CHANCE: Essential book marketing and publicity tactics with Sandy Poirier Smith, President of Smith Publicity. May 1st | 3 p.m. EDT

Top Stories:

Realize your best-seller potential: Focus on these five details

You can heal yourself—and others—through writing

“Context, context, context” is like “location, location, location”

Does it matter how you publish or who your competition is?

A Pulitzer Prize primer (and a look at past winners)

Nine manuscript editing software programs you should consider

Literally everything you need to publish your book: The Complete Self-Publishing Package—$1,499.

Webinar: Essential book marketing and publicity tactics

Back by popular demand, Sandy Poirier Smith, President of Smith Publicity, is again partnering with BookBaby to present her insightful, one-hour webinar on how to build buzz around your book and author platform.

Her webinar will focus on four key topics:
• Five key areas where authors make mistakes
• Author website and social media strategies
• Book review strategies
• How to make the news

About Sandy
Since 1997, Sandy has helped promote thousands of authors, experts, and titles from New York Times bestsellers to first-time self-published projects.

Register today
Don’t miss this free, one-hour presentation from a top book marketing publicity expert.

Sign up

NYC Midnight, LLC · 130 7th Avenue #358 · New York, NY 10011 · USA

Promo like a pro: new and improved Marketing Consultation Services.

Get started

Not happy with your book sales? Want to gain more exposure for your title this year? Our partners at Smith Publicity have revised their book promotion services for a more tailored experience that’ll help you effectively get the word out about your book.

Choose one or more of these personalized options:

Book Marketing Planner

We’ll focus on crafting ideas for your overall strategy and tips to establish your online author platform.
Tell me more

In-Depth Book Marketing Planner

Dive deeper into your consultation with one-on-one discussions about these author-led initiatives.
Tell me more

Maximizing your Amazon Retail Listing

We’ll help you learn how you can boost your book’s discoverability on Amazon, build an author platform, and teach you techniques to showcase your book.
Tell me more

Social Media Book Promotion

Learn the ins and outs of book promotion on the world’s most popular social media platforms and how to leverage their respective benefits.
Tell me more

Leave your mark. Custom bookmarks and posters now available for new titles.

Sign up

Featured Article:
Realize your best-seller potential: Focus on these five details

Your book metadata includes your book description, categories, keywords, and your author bio. Delivering this information is where many independent authors fall short. Read more.

You can heal yourself—and others—through writing

Many things can deter us from telling our story, and so often, the driving force is fear. But you can be a messenger of hope and help, and what if writing your book actually helps you heal yourself? Read more.

“Context, context, context” is like “location, location, location”

Words take on their full meaning in the context of sentences, paragraphs, and your entire story. It starts with the first line of your book, as each bit of information sets the stage for what follows. Read more.

This is one for the books. Your books. Early bird tickets now available.

Top Stories:

Does it matter how you publish or who your competition is?

A Pulitzer Prize primer (and a look at past winners)

Nine manuscript editing software programs you should consider

Your book needs editing, design, and marketing (even if CreateSpace no longer offers these author services)

Structural language is the foundation of a great story

The drama is in the details (the humor, horror, and suspense are too)

100 printed books for as low as $399. Save $100 with code SPRING100 at checkout.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Greetings from London, Karen.

I’m representing BookBaby at the annual London Book Fair, meeting with authors, agents, publishers and everyone who has something to do with books. Of all the conferences and shows I attend every year, LBF is by far my favorite. And not because of the tragically underrated British food.

OK, well maybe not THAT underrated.

The UK’s biggest book gathering is an international crossroads. This year’s market focus is on the Baltic States—Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Publishers from France, Poland, Turkey, and China have huge combined stands. While walking through the exhibits, my ears pick up dozens of languages being spoken. The languages may be different from booth to booth, but literacy and reading are the true common denominator of this world.

BookBaby has been an international self-publishing company from day one. Over 20% of our authors hail from somewhere different from the 50 states. Our global distribution programs put authors in every nation’s leading digital bookstores and are a reflection of our commitment to a worldwide publishing platform.

A while ago I wrote about our “books without boundaries” approach to distribution in a BookBaby blog post. Have a look here.

Now you’ll have to excuse me—I’m angling to get on the guest list for a rather royal event later this spring in England.

All the best,

Steven Spatz
President, BookBaby

Karen's blog

Monday, 21 May 2018

Bookbaby newsletters

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