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Showing posts with the label New York Times

Key Ways to Promote Your Book

Authors often get so caught up in the process of writing and publishing their books that they often forget that the book is only 50 percent of the game. In fact, of equal weight and importance is the marketing and promotion. Truth in storytelling: you can publish a well-written, award-worthy book but if no one knows it exists than what's the point? It will gather dust on the bookshelf. So, here are three mission-critical tips to promote your book: Virtual Blog Tours -- the blogging world has grown exponentially. The book review bloggers are an underground wealth of sales. Diehard reviewers from small one-person blogs to larger blogs such as Fresh Fiction can build a ground swell of interest in your book. I like to call this grassroots attention. You start with the smaller bloggers who like and recommend your book and then you get the attention of the larger blogs. It's like she told two friends and so on and so forth. A virtual blog tour also means you don't leave your ...

Building Your Platform One Day at a Time

Authors whose books aren't selling need to get out an ax and shovel. Time to build from the ground and up. Your book (and this applies to products) requires a platform. What is a platform? Your business or book platform is your viewpoint or message. You build a platform using marketing and public relations practices. What do you include tactically? Your website , blog, social media, newsletters and mass media. Each effort ties to another effort. Your website ties to your blog; your blog ties to your website and newsletter; your newsletter ties to your blog and website; and everything in your media kit and press releases ties back to your website, which ties back to your blog, newsletter and social media. You see it's connected in a circle. Then you get to work. For my brand new book California Girl Chronicles just out on Amazon yesterday, here is what I am doing. 1. I went back to my pre-reviewers and asked them to post reviews on Amazon . The results were amazing and than...

California Girl Chronicles Goes into Production

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California Girl is now in production! Hello Friend-Os! I wanted to share the latest cover mock-up that is pretty much finished for my new novel California Girl Chronicles . I have amazingly began Book II, which "chronicles" Brea's adventures as a screenwriter, Hollywood politics, and of course, her many men. My focus group readers have sent me notes about the cliffhanger, complaining that now they have to read Book II, and come on! That's the point isn't it? I have received few notes about revisions, and so the final proof went to design this week. I am excited to get the Advance Review Copies (ARCs) out to reviewers in wait, which includes Newsweek, NY Times, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Book Review and others. Plans are set in motion to do a major launch party here in Sacramento followed by a second one in Los Angeles where the book is set. I also plan to send my favorite actor du jour  Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd  a copy of the book with the role of Kale, th...