Meetups, nonprofits, and gift shops – I’ve got my eye on you!

Day 26 of the 5-Week Author Blog Challenge asks me to consider non-bookstore sales venues. All 35 posts for this Challenge will be focused on writing, publishing, and book marketing. I hope you’ll stick around through all 35 posts. And if you want to take part, come on in – the water is great! You can register here.

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Day 26 writing prompt:

What would be the ideal NON-bookstore venue for selling your book? Why? What is your plan to reach out to such a venue to ask about having them carry your book?

Here I go again, forcing myself to do the work! Well, since Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World is part travelogue, part social commentary, and part fiction, it likely has a home in travel and book club Meetups; with organizations that help the homeless, promote artistic ventures, and have any interest at all in dogs; and in airport, train and bus station gift shops.

The Meetups are easy – start with an email to the organizer.

The nonprofits will take some research to determine whom to approach and how to pitch them. The great news is that these kinds of organizations usually have their own social media presence, existing mailing lists, and a publicity mechanism in place. The key is to find the sweet spot of an offer that benefits both the organization and the promotion of #StanTravels. The last thing you ever want to do when approaching a nonprofit about a partnership is to come at them with your hand out. The goal is to bring a win-win opportunity to the table, if not one where they feel they’re getting the better end of the deal.

Then, there are the gift shops. For those, I will head to their website media rooms, find the names and contact info for their PR folks, and reach out accordingly. This will mean having a professional one sheet for my book ready to go, along with a media kit on my website. Oh, wait – website?!! OK, website.

I’m not there yet, but at least I know the steps I need to take. Time to break out the calendar and make a timeline – especially with the holidays almost upon us!

Where do you (plan to) sell books, other than bookstores?

Please be sure to check in again tomorrow, when I’ll describe the things I am doing to grow my author platform.

And for the record, I’d love your feedback on my Author Blog Challenge posts! And, of course, would really love to have you support all of the bloggers in the Challenge. Find their links here.

Here’s to meeting all kinds of wonderful characters in your waking life!

Laura

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

__________________

If you’re getting ready to launch your book and would like help to put together a successful event, download my free special report: Anatomy of a Book Launch. Then CALL me at 602.518.5376 to schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation. It’s never too early to begin planning!

__________________

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I am now my own client…

Day 25 of the 5-Week Author Blog Challenge inquires about my views on my book as a business. All 35 posts for this Challenge will be focused on writing, publishing, and book marketing. I hope you’ll stick around through all 35 posts. And if you want to take part, come on in – the water is great! You can register here.

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Day 25 writing prompt:

If your goal is to sell books, you must view your book as a business. In what ways do you treat your book as a business? Where could you improve? What resources could you leverage to improve your book business?

Doncha love it when you come up with a clever idea … or blog prompt … and then, when it’s time for you to implement or answer the call, you hem and haw and think of a dozen much more important things that need doing RIGHT THIS MINUTE?

OK – it’s not quite that bad. But I feel a bit of wriggling going on as I sit here to type out my business plan for Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World. I think I struggle because it’s difficult to separate Stan from the rest of my business. And while it is a component of my business helping socially conscious authors write, publish, and market their books, it’s quite different to be in the client chair than the service provider position.

So how would I start with a new client?

I’d find out where they are in the publication process.

• Idea
• Draft in progress
• Manuscript complete
• Book in print

I would assess their goals, budget, and timeline. If they have a $200 budget and want to get their book into print in time for the 2015 holiday season, I might suggest they shift to a more realistic goal.

If they were hiring me on the marketing side, I’d do an assessment of their existing social media footprint. I’d also look at the subject of their book and brainstorm marketing ideas specific to their subject/storyline.

If their goal was hearty and their budget meek, I might suggest a crowdfunding campaign. This could succeed, however, only if they already had a crowd to tap. I would recommend they search out and read/listen to Amanda Palmer’s unbelievably amazing book, The Art of Asking. Here’s what I wrote about it for the group blog for Phoenix Publishing & Book Promotion:

Amanda Palmer is an expert at asking, and she has figured out how to successfully harness the Power of the Group. So much so that she waged the highest earning Kickstarter campaign to date. So much so that she gave a TED Talk that has had 3.6 million views. So much so that she was asked to inspire a group of women programmers/engineers at Microsoft. So much so that she authored the absolutely-must-read book, The Art of Asking. When I grow up, I want to be just like her.

I’m not much of an audiobook person, but recently I’ve been doing a lot of driving. I was at the library, so I decided to explore the audiobooks and came across The Art of Asking. I’d already seen the TED Talk, so I was pretty sure the book would be good, too. Understatement of the year. Best book. Important book. Book that could change the world if everyone would just read/listen to it. I recommend the audiobook version because Amanda is an amazing storyteller. If you just read the words, you’ll miss her nuance, miss her vocal variety, miss her doing her husband’s voice in a British accent.

Did you notice how smoothly I did that, changed the subject from my book as a business to recommending someone else’s book? All well and good in the right time and place – but this is the place where I’ve committed to telling you about my book’s business plan.

First off, a status update. The writing is still in progress, but I’ve made a commitment to have the thing finished before Thanksgiving. It’s been done for a while now, with an ending and everything; however, I’m still filling in gaps in the story. I’ve connected with a very good editor who simultaneously pissed me off and made me very happy with her early suggestions. Yes – this writer’s ego is just like every other writer’s: it wants to think it’s perfect and needs no help. But then I remember that Michael Jordan credited his coaches with making him a great player, and my ego takes a breath and climbs back on the shelf for a while.

As much as I thought a January 8 launch might be possible (my mom’s birthday – and Elvis’ birthday, too!) I’m not sure how feasible that is, following on the heels of the holidays so quickly. Early 2016 is about all I know for the moment.

My budget is flexible – and I’m willing to spend some money to get where I want to go with this book. I’ve got some prompts coming up that will address a few more specifics about the marketing plans. Suffice to say it will be fun – and potentially dangerous – to apply all my own tricks and ideas to marketing my own book.

I will make the book available on Amazon (at least in the short term), as well as Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, BookBaby, and other online channels. This means it will be a printed book and an eBook. And, as mentioned in my October 2^nd post, it will one day soon also be an audiobook.

Crowdfunding for a book tour? I’m all over it! I have a list of 10 potential thank-you gifts to offer backers (things like a photo scrapbook of Isis, Stan’s dog, in all the countries they visit and entries from Stan’s journal), but after listening to Amanda Palmer’s book, I’m rethinking some of those. Make that, thinking BIGGER about some of those. For example, for the grand thank-you, I’d now like to do writer’s workshop and a signing event on an Alaskan cruise!

As many of my co-participants in the Author Blog Challenge have mentioned, finding the time for it all is the most significant aspect. That’s where I’ve got to get disciplined about wearing my client hat when it’s time to work on MY book business. The thought of going and changing my clothes to meet myself for my appointment just occurred to me. Goofy? To be sure – but if that’s what it takes, I’m all for it!

If you’ve got any ideas about how you approach your book business, please share them with us in the Comments section below.

Please be sure to check in again tomorrow, when I’ll describe the best non-bookstore venues for Stan.

And for the record, I’d love your feedback on my Author Blog Challenge posts! And, of course, would really love to have you support all of the bloggers in the Challenge. Find their links here.

Here’s to meeting all kinds of wonderful characters in your waking life!

Laura

__________________

We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

__________________

If you’re getting ready to launch your book and would like help to put together a successful event, download my free special report: Anatomy of a Book Launch. Then CALL me at 602.518.5376 to schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation. It’s never too early to begin planning!

__________________

 

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Book lovin’ globetrotters, a stuffed Jack Russell terrier, and me

Day 24 of the 5-Week Author Blog Challenge asks the participating authors to describe their first book signings. All 35 posts for this Challenge will be focused on writing, publishing, and book marketing. I hope you’ll stick around through all 35 posts. And if you want to take part, come on in – the water is great! You can register here.

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Day 24 writing prompt:

Describe your first book signing – real or imagined.

Well, the plan is for this signing to become real, even though at this moment on this timeline of my life, it is still theoretical, imaginary, yet-to-be.

So Stan travels around the world via many different forms of transportation. Of course, the most common are plane, train, and ship. But there are also bikes (both the motor and pedal kinds), rickshaws, jeepneys, hitchhiking, and, of course, hoofing it. So my goal is to plan book signings in major U.S. cities with each of Stan’s primary means of travel: airports, train stations, and public piers.

Will this require some effort? You bet. Will it be newsworthy? Probably. Worthwhile? Absolutely.

And, ultimately, I’d like to travel to a few of the calmer areas Stan visits to do signings in those countries, too. Just by sheer luck of the timing on this book – he sets out in April 2011 – Stan misses the most significant turmoil to eventually hit the places he goes. His visit precedes the Greek financial meltdown, the Arab Spring, and the violent unrest in Turkey. He sees protests forming, political unrest fomenting, and early rallies in the streets, but none it touches him to the degree that he feels personally endangered by it.

My first signing may be smallish. I’m thinking the Deer Valley Airport with dozens of my closest friends and local authors and artists. I encountered the amazing work of a local artist named Savannah Ashely this weekend – will definitely be reaching out to her regarding her globe art for the event.

OTHER DETAILS

• The menu will likely be determined by the venue’s catering options.
• Favors will include old maps, globe keychains, and vintage airline wings, of course.
• My own Jack Russell terrier is no longer with us – but I’m on the lookout for the perfect stuffed version.
• A slide show with real images from people in the places Stan visits sounds about right.
• Oh – and I’ll read something. A passage I’ve rehearsed … a lot.

Not yet sure of the date of this first signing – but it will definitely be in early 2016. Keep watching this space, as notice will be posted well in advance. If you’re a book lovin’ globetrotter in the Phoenix area (further afield in AZ if you don’t mind driving), I hope you’ll make plans to join me. Pull up a chair. Break bread. And share your favorite travel stories.

Please be sure to check in again tomorrow, when I’ll describe the ways I treat my writing as a business…

And for the record, I’d love your feedback on my Author Blog Challenge posts! And, of course, would really love to have you support all of the bloggers in the Challenge. Find their links here.

Here’s to meeting all kinds of wonderful characters in your waking life!

Laura

__________________

We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

__________________

Learn the steps that will set you apart from 95% of all new authors.

(Hint: It’s NOT too late, even if you’ve already placed your first printing order for books!)

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Maintaining your cool under holiday pressure

In preparation for the upcoming Holiday Author Event, I recently hosted a training, Book Signing Success Secrets. There were 4 parts to the training:

1. Before the Event
2. At the Event
3. The Display
4. After the Event

I was fortunate to be able to bring in two experts to offer invaluable input into the success metric:

Connie Kadansky is an international sales coach and trainer whose underlying message comes back to one thing: the importance of having a success mindset.

Barbara Chatzkel, the Body Language Pro, shared information about the kind of body language authors want to exhibit in a book-signing scenario to indicate interest and attract people to them, as opposed to inadvertently pushing them away.

Connie often writes and speaks on the power of optimism as a sales tool: optimistic people meet more people, make more sales, and generally have more success in all areas of their lives. And optimism is a mindset.

I recently came across a LinkedIn article by Dr. Travis Bradberry titled, “How Successful People Stay Calm,” and found that it coincides precisely with Connie’s thinking and teachings on optimism. I encourage you to read the whole article, but here are the 10 behaviors Bradberry notes that successful people use to remain calm under pressure:

• The appreciate what they have.
• They avoid asking “What if…?”
• They stay positive.
• They disconnect.
• They limit their caffeine intake.
• They sleep.
• They squash negative self-talk.
• They reframe their perspectives.
• They breathe.
• They have and rely on support systems.

I had an opportunity to practice some of these the other day. For last weekend’s training session, I set up a display table with all of my books, products, and accoutrements. Knowing I’d be attending another event where I would be using the same materials this weekend, I left the multitude of boxes in the trunk, figuring I’d just make it easier on myself. Then, the car I was driving went into the shop on Tuesday. Was certainly supposed to be fixed by Thursday, Friday at the latest. Of course, it hit me at 6 p.m. Friday night that since we clearly weren’t going to get the car back that day, I’d need to stop by the garage on the way to my event and gather my things out of the trunk. Perfect plan, until my husband texted: “Sorry. The garage is closed on the weekend.”

Crap, crap, crap!

I was pretty aggravated for a couple of minutes, until I realized that there wasn’t much I could do about the situation, and staying frustrated would get me nowhere. I needed a Plan B. What’s quite humorous about this whole situation is that my Plan B involved the saddest, most pathetic looking little portion of a display table (I didn’t have materials enough to warrant even half a table) at this weekend’s conference. One person grabbed a business card, but that was pretty much the extent of the activity my display generated.

Of course, then, there’s serendipity – as my sad little pathetic display table happened to be immediately adjacent to the lavish display of one Maxwell Alexander Drake. If you’re a fantasy/sci-fi fan, you may have heard of him. If you’ve ever attended Comic-Con, Gen-Con, Origins, Xanadu, Combat-Con, the Las Vegas Writer’s Conference, the San Diego Book Festival, or the Tucson Festival of Books, you may have seen him, heard him present, or had the opportunity to rub shoulders with the man. He has a pretty impressive résumé. And since I now had no reason to babysit my table, I was able to attend one of Drake’s lectures, as well as lunch with him and discuss many writing-related topics (which I’ll touch on in more detail in an upcoming post). Had I been busy with my typical table display, I might very likely have missed out on these intriguing conversations.

I’m not saying I’ve got stress management all figured out. But for as long as I can remember, optimism has been my default, and I tend to stay fairly positive – and calm – even in stressful situations.

Between the book signings and professional events that may be coming up in the next few weeks, and all the chaos of the holidays, it may do us all well to remember Bradberry’s list of behaviors and model them to the best of our ability.

Here’s to calm seas ahead!

Laura

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

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PHOENIX-AREA BOOK LOVERS: Come out to meet me and 50+ other local authors for this one-of-a-kind book lovers’ event. Several first-time authors, award-winning authors, and authors of a wide variety of genres will be on hand to sell and sign books. Genres of all sorts – from fiction to spirituality to leadership to personal finance. The first 200 attendees to register will receive goody bags! Giveaways on the half-hour. Learn more and get your complimentary ticket at HolidayAuthorEvent.com.

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Book launch done RIGHT!

Here’s a bit of encouragement for those of you who may have been working on your book for a while. Sunday marked the launch of Classic Tales from the Firehouse: Firefighters’ Stories of Calamity, Courage, & Caring, more than 22 years in the making. Mother-daughter team of Betty Joy and Rebecca Joy came up with the idea on Christmas morning 1991 when Rebecca’s brother, a Phoenix firefighter, was late to the family celebration because of an odd call: a family reported a noxious smell in their home, and it turned out that Grandma was the culprit! Betty turned to Rebecca and said, “These stories are all so fascinating – we should write them down.”

Rebecca, also a 26-year veteran of the Phoenix Fire Department, had unique access to the storytellers themselves, so she began a mission to collect stories from as many different firefighters as possible. The result is the book, Classic Tales.

My role in the book was multifaceted: editing, page design, marketing consulting, revising the media release, input on the cover design, help with the website. So I am very proud of Rebecca, Betty, and this book.

But what I want to share with you today are all the ways their launch was a perfect one for novice authors to model.

Perhaps the most important thing they did was begin with a really good book!

Next, they chose a great day for the event, planning their launch on May 4th, International Firefighters’ Day.

Rebecca then secured an awesome venue: the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting.

Next, we wrote a kick-ass media release.

The release resulted in an invitation for an interview by KTVK-Channel 3 and an event listing in the North Central News, a biweekly tabloid newspaper!

Rebecca used Eventbrite, Facebook, and the Channel 3 website to promote the launch. *** ***

She ordered posters, bookmarks, and business cards.

On the day of the event, things went almost perfectly. First, she had an acoustic guitarist friend playing in the background.

The first table guests passed offered them the opportunity to “sign in” – the perfect way to collect email addresses, both for sending thank-you notes after the event and for list-building.

Rebecca did something very cool: she had prior version of the book on display so guests could see the evolution of the book through the years.

A second table was set up to disseminate information about Rebecca’s pet project, the Simple Awareness Method.

A professional videographer was on hand, capturing everything for memories, YouTube, and future marketing.

The books were prominently displayed.

Rebecca enlisted the help of her friends from the National Speakers’ Association to serve as cashiers for the event. Each was equipped with a Square, for quick credit/debit card and cash transactions.

In order to keep the line moving as quickly as possible, Rebecca’s friend Jamie gave each guest a sticky note on which she wrote the name to whom the book would be autographed (especially important for those buying more than one book), and inserted a bookmark at the page where they wanted the book signed.

April Warnecke, the weather gal from KTVK-Channel 3 served as emcee – the perfect choice, as her family has a long history of fire service.

Of course, Rebecca and Betty spoke. Rebecca took the opportunity to acknowledge all the firefighters in attendance, including her brother, Cyrus, and her son, Jesse. Every firefighter, both active and retired, received a button that said, “Firefighters Kick Ash.”

Hungry guests were able to purchase snacks of Mexican food from local favorite, El Molino, which had a mobile stand set up right outside the venue.

Rebecca and Betty are donating a portion of all proceeds from the book to the Beyond the Flames foundation, started by retired Phoenix Police officer, Jason Schechterle, after he survived a horrific automobile collision. Rebecca also had volunteers selling raffle tickets at the event for a ride-along with the Phoenix Fire Department to raise more money and was thrilled to present Jason with a check for $500 at the event.

The only thing I might have done differently would have been to provide more seating. The event opened at 1 p.m. to allow guests the chance to visit the museum. The program began at 2 p.m. and ran till 4 p.m. – a long time for people to stand. Rebecca’s nephew, Jared Kolesar, played a set as part of the event lineup. Here’s one lucky seated guest, a long-time friend of Betty’s, perusing the book.

Overall, it was, by far, the best one could hope for in a first-time author’s launch. If you’re getting ready to launch your book and would like help to put an event like this together, download my free special report: Anatomy of a Book Launch. Then CALL me at 602.518.5376 to schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation. It’s never too early to begin planning!

Laura

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

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27 ways to tell your readers you love them

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers. It’s the perfect opportunity to tell your readers you love them. If  your book’s still in progress and you don’t have readers yet, perhaps these suggestions will get your creative book marketing juices flowing for ways to connect with you readers once you publish your book or eBook.

As always, we love your feedback, so if you’ve got other ideas or suggestions, please share them in the comments section below!

1. Share their fan mail on your Facebook page.
2. Hold a Tweet Chat so you can get to know them better.
3. Make a video to tell them what you’re working on next.
4. Write blog posts they’ll love – even if they’re not necessarily things you love writing about.
5. Find a promo product tie-in and give them away wherever you go.
6. Use Rafflecopter to give books away.
7. Do readings at your local bookstore and library – even if it’s a pain in the ass to arrange them.
8. Share photos of your writing space/process on Pinterest.
9. Create discounts so they can share your books with their friends.
10. Reply to every comment on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
11. Find out the causes they value – and get involved.
12. You know who they are, so go where they are – street fairs, quilt shows, NASCAR, university quads, airports, dog shows…
13. Ask them their favorite parts of your book – and create a Tumblr account to share them.
14. Make a video of yourself doing a reading.
15. Use Rafflecopter to give eBooks away.
16. Share single chapters of your book on CDs or Minibüks.
17. Hold a teleconference where your fans can ask you questions.
18. Write thank you notes to those whose addresses you have.
19. Use Authorgraph or Autography to sign eBooks.
20. Do a Q&A with your readers via your Facebook page.
21. Ask their input on your next book.
22. Attend book fairs and speak or sign books.
23. Host a webinar featuring fellow authors or guests on your topic.
24. Share daily quotes on LinkedIn.
25. Ask your readers/fans to name themselves (a la Parrotheads, Dittoheads, Cheeseheads, TroubleMakers, Trekkies).
26. Create a forum for your readers/fans on your website.
27. Offer to pay the shipping on your books for a week.

To a love of reading – and readers!

Laura

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

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Need help creating – or updating – your Facebook Fan Page? At nearly 200 pages, this eBook is chock-full of screen shots and details about how to create or improve your Facebook Fan Page. Includes details about adding a MY BOOKS feature to your page. Grow your Fan Page and grow your list of potential readers! Get Using Facebook Fan Pages to Market Your Book and/or Build Your Business today!

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Traditional Labor Day celebrations offer tips for Savvy Book Marketers

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This post originally ran on September 5, 2011. I’ve updated it for 2012.

Labor Day is an annual celebration of workers and their achievements that originated during the late 1800s at the height of the Industrial Revolution. At the time, the average American worked 12-hour days,  seven days a week, in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines, earning a fraction of adult wages. Workers of all ages faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks. Congress legalized Labor Day as a national holiday in 1894.

The Labor Day holiday is still marked across the country with celebrations like parades, picnics, barbecues, and fireworks. What can a new author trying to market her book take away from these simple celebrations? Lots! Focus especially on the simple part! Book marketing doesn’t need to be expensive or elaborate to be successful. We’ve talked at great length about the importance of relationship marketing, particularly for a personal product created by ONE person: your book!

COMMUNITY EVENTS. A simple celebration like a parade, picnic, or barbecue is the perfect backdrop for a book signing, but you needn’t wait for a holiday like Labor Day to come around. Why not stage your own event – and tailor it to your book? Say you’ve written a book of chicken recipes. How about staging a cook-off or a parade with a “best chicken costume” contest? If you wrote a book of ghost stories, perhaps you could host a bonfire reading as your book launch.

ART DISPLAYS. A second traditional Labor Day celebration involves public art displays. The sky’s the limit when it comes to art events surrounding a book launch, signing, or reading. Every Labor Day weekend, the many artists who live and work in Toledo, Oregon, open their doors to the public for the annual Toledo Art Walk. Several galleries and studios hold special receptions and events throughout the weekend. There’s no reason you couldn’t get some artists and authors together to do something similar in your community!

NICHE MARKETING. The traditional idea of celebrating Labor Day with workers and their families is a reminder to target your marketing to the proper niche and/or industry. Look  for ways to tailor your marketing to specific employees, companies, workplaces, or industry groups,  if appropriate. And remember to work your family into your marketing plan, whenever possible.

SPEECH-MAKING. The last of the traditional ways to celebrate Labor Day includes speeches by prominent people. What better way for an author to get the word out than by speaking in public? First, get comfortable with public speaking; sign up with a Toastmasters club near you if you’re not practiced or comfortable with public speaking. Then, get busy. Community, church, and industry groups are always in need of speakers. Reach out and offer to speak. Plan to give a talk anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes in length that contains informative content on your niche topic. Ask ahead of time if you can bring copies of your book for sale, and offer to sign them at the end of your presentation.

Take a tip or two from traditional Labor Day holiday celebrations and take your book to the people!

MARCIE

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

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There’s still time to get in on our 10-week program: SOCIAL MEDIA FOR AUTHORS. It starts Sept 5 and goes for 10 consecutive weeks. Sign up for single classes or pay for all 10 and receive a 25 percent discount. Week 1: Facebook Fan Pages (9/5/12); Week 2: Twitter (9/12/12); Week 3: LinkedIn (9/19/12); Week 4: Pinterest (9/26/12); Week 5: SlideShare (10/3/12); Week 6: YouTube (10/10/12); Week 7: StumbleUpon (10/17/12); Week 8: Ning (10/24/12); Week 9: Blogging 1 (10/31/12); Blogging 2 (11/7/12).

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If you’d like us to add a link to your writing/self-publishing/book marketing blog, please send us a note. If we think it’s a good fit, we’ll be happy to add you. Of course, we’d appreciate the reciprocity of the same!

Additionally, Marcie would be happy to make a guest appearance on your writing/self-publishing/book marketing blog. Just let us know the theme or your idea (preferably including a 6-panel concept), and we’ll see what we can draft for you.

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Traditional Labor Day celebrations offer tips for Savvy Book Marketers

_____________________________________

Labor Day is an annual celebration of workers and their achievements that originated during the late 1800s at the height of the Industrial Revolution. At the time, the average American worked 12-hour days,  seven days a week, in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines, earning a fraction of adult wages. Workers of all ages faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks. Congress legalized Labor Day as a national holiday in 1894.

The Labor Day holiday is still celebrated across the country with things like parades, picnics, barbecues, and fireworks. What can a new author trying to market her book take away from these simple celebrations? Lots! Focus especially on the simple part! Book marketing doesn’t need to be expensive or elaborate to be successful. We’ve talked at great length about the importance of relationship marketing, particularly for a product as personal as a book written by ONE person: you!

A simple celebration like a parade, picnic, or barbecue is the perfect backdrop for a book signing, but you needn’t wait for a holiday like Labor Day to come around. Why not stage your own event – and tailor it to your book? Say you’ve written a book of chicken recipes. How about staging a cook-off or a parade with a “best chicken costume” contest? If you wrote a book of ghost stories, perhaps you could host a bonfire reading as your book launch.

A second traditional Labor Day celebration involves public art displays. The sky’s the limit when it comes to art events surrounding a book launch, signing, or reading! Nova Hall is the grandson of Donald A. Hall, the engineer who built the Spirit of St. Louis airplane flown by Charles Lindbergh. Nova wrote a book about his grandfather, Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh’s Flight to Paris and is is right now planning a public art event that will display his visual art, as well as pictures and artifacts from his book. “Flying Over Time: The Spirit of St. Louis Experience” will be on display October 21 and 22, at Arizona State University West in the La Sala ballroom in the University Center Building.

The traditional idea of celebrating Labor Day with workers and their families is a reminder to target your marketing to the proper niche and/or industry. Look  for ways to tailor your marketing to specific employees, companies, workplaces, or industry groups,  if appropriate. And remember to work your family into your marketing plan, whenever possible.

The last of the traditional ways to celebrate Labor Day includes speeches by prominent people. What better way for an author to get the word out than by speaking in public? First, get comfortable with public speaking; sign up with a Toastmasters club near you if you’re not practiced or comfortable with public speaking. Then, get busy. Community, church, and industry groups are always in need of speakers. Reach out and offer to speak. Plan to give a talk anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes in length that contains informative content on your niche topic. Ask ahead of time if you can bring copies of your book for sale, and offer to sign them at the end of your presentation.

Take a tip or two from traditional Labor Day holiday celebrations and take your book to the people!

See you Thursday, when we’ll talk about how to put together a professional media kit that will attract attention.

MARCIE

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Please contact us if you’d like help putting together your media kit, media releases, or book proposal. Free 30-minute consultation when you mention this post ($99 value).

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We welcome and encourage your thoughtful, courteous comments below.

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PREVIOUS POSTS

Thursday, August 25 – Create a MiniBük: Fifth of 5 easy ways to give away samples of your writing

Monday, August 22 – Put Your Book on a CD: Fourth of 5 easy ways to give away samples of your writing

Thursday, September 1 – A noteworthy statistic, a question, or both can be the hook that lures a reporter’s attention

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Resourceful authors do book signings at unusual – er, creative – venues

Resourceful authors do book signings at unusual – er, creative – venues

During a recent visit to Las Vegas to attend a conference that had nothing to do with book marketing, I happened upon one of the most creative book signing locations of all time. Carolyn Ahern, author of a children’s book series featuring Tino Turtle, was signing her book, Tino Turtle Travels to Paris, France at the Paris Hotel and Casino. The adorable plush turtles were the thing that originally caught my eye as my husband and I walked past Ahern’s display in one of the casino’s well-trafficked retail areas.

As Ahern was busy chatting with a customer and we were on a time budget, I did not get to ask where she is from. Thought I might glean the answer from her website, but this author’s site is devoid of ANY details resembling an author bio, so I can’t even hazard a guess as to how much money or effort she put into this adventure. Nevertheless, she got some great exposure. I’m here sharing her link with you, right?

Another author, Lennie Ross, is a Facebook friend who recently released a mystery titled Blow Me, which is set in a hair salon. Although she lives in the Los Angeles area, Lennie has scheduled a few signings in my hometown of Phoenix, at least one of which was at a HAIR SALON. She’s scheduling additional signings at southern California salons, as well, and is using Facebook to great advantage in promoting these events. Very nice!

Are you starting to see a theme? What makes your book special (aka, what’s your hook?) and where can you host book signings that are outside the normal bookstore venues?

My client, Amara Charles, is getting ready to release a new book this September on sacred sexuality that includes info ranging from learning how to read and understand your own and your partner’s sexual anatomy types to discovering how to have a full-body orgasm. Where do we want to hold our signings? You’ve got it – intimacy retailers like Fascinations and Castle Boutique! I’m even looking into out-0f-the-way places like the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas.

When it comes to Savvy Book Marketing, the sky is the limit. Get creative. Face the fear. Pick up the phone. And CALL! What’s the worst that could happen – they say no? You’re no worse off hearing a no than you were before you tried. And … what if they say YES?!

Happy book signings!

Laura

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