First Word

  So, you’re ready to publish your book, but you’re not ready to promote it. You may not know what it takes. If you don’t want to promote yourself, you can hire an expert like myself (email me at info@3LPublishing.com ). If you don’t have a promotional budget, here are some things you can do on your own.   No. #1 – Join all applicable social media platforms well in advance of your book’s official release . You can set up your Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook or TikTok accounts long before your book releases. You can begin advanced promotion to attract readers who are ready to buy your book. You also want to ensure you’ve built your following ahead of time, too. Without a strong following, you won’t get the necessary exposure.   No. #2 – Create a blog and start using it . Blogger is free. Write related articles and content for your book’s promotion. It doesn’t have to be specifically about your book, and it probably shouldn’t be. You can highlight m...

No. 1 -- We started as a marketing and public relations firm. Yes, I have a BA in public relations. I began my career working in a public information office. I was the editor of an internal and external magazine, which gave me the experience in publishing. Ten years ago when I became an independent consultant, I focused on marketing and public relations campaigns. I am a marketing specialist who understands the various sales channels. No. 2 -- I am a technical writer and can provide technical writing for white papers in the information technology market. Most people think I am creative, which I am. What most people don't know is that I spent 20 years in the IT marketplace. I was an early innovator in web content when the web wasn't much more than a bunch of hyperlinks. I've authored dozens of white papers for IT marketing support, including papers for UPnP, HPNA, enOcean, 2Wire, and others. I also was publisher of California Computer News for almost 10 years....

I am one of those overly concerned CEOs who somewhere along the way of leadership and success in the middle of it lost her way ... a bit. Over the last couple of years, an eroding of net profit began. Under the idea that it was okay, I began getting too relaxed about collections and ensuring that 3L Publishing wasn't paying unintended costs. Then I noticed something that was eating away at my leadership skills. We'll call it "client guilt". I felt like even though not a single client made a single complaint that our work wasn't somehow measuring up (especially on the public relations side where results are very "airy-fairy"). I felt awesome about the books for sure. Our books are award-winners. But self-doubt and that "guilty" feeling despite all of the efforts going into it, were eating at me -- but MORE important EATING our bottom line and profits as I devalued my time. I devalued myself. Are you identifying with what I'm saying? I bet ...

I don't know why 2014 was the year that authors kept showing up and wanting the "Dollar" Store special. In growing business and facing obstacles, I had more problems with authors who wanted the "fast-food combo deal," super-size it, and throw in a discount, too. The pervasive attitude is shocking. I've had more than one conversation with authors who just didn't understand the value and benefits of working with a professional publisher. The misconception that we're nothing more than a glorified spell-check application has been a challenge to overcome. I've obviously got to do a better job of defining what we do so people understand the benefits and see the value. Just to make you laugh, even a spell-check program required someone somewhere who probably had knowledge, education and expertise to invent it. And just for the record -- even the best spell-checker cannot find the real misspellings or errors. Same applies to grammar programmers. I coul...

What is the best way to market your book? A very good question that doesn't have a one-note answer. Like many products on the market, the best way to market something often depends on: 1. The buying mood of the public. 2. The way to reach the right audience. 3. Experimentation 4. Timing 5. Know when to hold or fold How do you determine the answers to those five things? The no. #3 ... experimentation. With each book (or product for that matter) you have to try different avenues to see what sparks sales. For some books TV appearances generate sales and for others nothing. Book reviews generate sales -- sometimes. Feature stories create interest -- sometimes. To create what we call in marketing "the snowball effect" you have try different things. And sometimes it's not just one thing (a book review and a TV appearance) it's several things combined to create that perfect storm to spark interest. Then there is the last problem of no. #4 -- timing. Sometimes it ...

I am constantly telling writers one key phrase: Nothing sells a book better than the author . So when author Scott D. Roberts, whose forthcoming book Vengeance is Now, suggested we do a sea-level dog and pony show to promote his book, I considered it for all of five minutes and said yes. Why did I say yes? Because of the following points (an authors take note): Before we arrive at each new destination, we will be able to promote the book to the regional media that will be far more inclined to cover a book written by an author who is in town. This direct outreach will give the book more exposure in local media that would have otherwise ignored the author and book, because it lacked a local angle.  We will be able to stop at regional writer's groups to give talks; we will be able to stop at book clubs and promote the book to their members; we will be able to stop at local book stores to promote and leave samples to prompt purchase from our national distributor Baker and Taylor....

If you're an author, I have a HUGE, worthwhile piece of information to share with you this morning. Are you just eager to know what it is? Here we go ... did you know that your book cover can make or break your book sales? Yes, it's true. Does it dishearten you because your prose seem so much more worthwhile -- and isn't that really what the point of a book is? Well, yes of course; but truth in "storytelling," we live in a visual society. Why do you think the TV draws people in or movies are so popular. People buy books based on the cover. As disappointing to the writer as that truth may be, it's just reality. I once heard a rep from Smashwords say that a simple switch of a cover can take a poorly selling book and make it a top seller. True!  So if you're self-publishing or working with a hybrid publisher like my company 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com), you better make that all important investment in a cover and work with a talented ...

3L Publishing has a new book in development titled Vengeance is Now . It's in development so I can't disclose the details of the book, but the author ran the opening chapter by me. When we're closer to publishing it, I will share the very first line of the book, but what I want to say is the author clearly understands how to capture the reader's attention right there smack on page one. New and emerging authors often fail to understand the critical point that you lose your reader (and your chance with a publisher) almost literally on page one. When we evaluate potential manuscripts to publish, the first thing we do is look at chapter one. If you can nail it in the first line of the book -- you are truly gifted. I can't wait to disclose his first line, because it would make it easier for you to understand why I'm so impressed. What always shocks me are authors who submitted their sample chapters with the caveat: the first chapter is the weakest . What?! Your firs...

Many authors come to 3L Publishing with their great dreams to write a NY Times best seller. The truth about publishing is that you're selling books with a small profit margin. So you have to sell a lot of books to make a huge profit. I try to encourage authors to keep their budgets conservative. The chances of writing and selling a NY Times best seller are minimal and could be compared to winning Lotto. When you compare the thousands of newly released titles to the number that actually make the list, well, you can imagine why I came up with the comparison to winning Lotto. With the odds not on the side of being the next Harry Potter, I try to get authors to look at their motives for publishing their books. The best motive is either to get your work out there and read or to use your book for business promotion and development. Authors who got into the book business with an understanding that anything outside of getting their books published or the personal satisfaction or the opp...