First Word

An often-read post on this blog involves either book marketing techniques or storytelling tips. So I thought I would share what I think is the no. #1 book marketing technique that gives you the most for your investment -- festival participation. Book Festivals : find a book festival near you that specializes in your book's genre. Book festivals are typically hosted by libraries and other nonprofits and sell booth space for as low as $400. Some of the big ones are the LA Times Book Festival (tables though run around $1800 for a 10 x 10); Miami Book Festival (tables cost $400 upward); RT Book Lovers Convention (this year it's in New Orleans); and Tucson Book Festival (where else? Tucson, Arizona). What return on investment can you expect from a book festival? Direct outreach with your audience/readers . You can meet and greet would-be readers and promote your book. Point of sales , you can sell right to your readers and make some money and spread copies of your books in va...

Yours truly surrounded my romance novel cover boys. Post conference reflections and lessons ... here we go. First, you never know the "personality" of each conference. I had author Scott D. Roberts with me who was signing his brand new thriller Vengeance is Now . It was his first book conference, and he learned the valuable lesson, too -- each day of a conference is different. From sitting there one day with books selling like buttermilk pancakes at a Pancake Day to boring quiet, that is how it goes. Last year, the final day of conference was flat and boring with a trickle of sales. This year, we could barely keep up with sales we had so many people stopping and buying. We moved almost 150 copies of both Vengeance is Now and my second book in the California Girl Chronicles series, Brea's Big Break. I have done a number of conferences over the years. If you are considering participation in a conference, please keep these principles in mind. #1 Conference attendan...