There are a lot of conferences for writers and publishers at the beginning of the year that many of us can’t get to for different reasons. Dan Blank has been to Writer’s Digest, Digital BookWorld and Columbia University Social Media weekend during January 2012. In this interview, he shares some of the information, trends and opinions from the publishing industry.

Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia.com, which provides writers and publishers the strategy and tactics they need to impact their communities and build their legacies. He has worked with more than 500 writers, a wide range of publishers, and regularly speaks at conferences about branding, content strategy, social media, and marketing.

Here’s the audio if you prefer: DanBlankConferences.mp3

In the video, we discuss:

• Writer’s Digest Conference. Last year platform was just coming into the scene. It was still a controversial topic. This year, because of the rise of self-publishing and ebooks, 50% of the conference was marketing focused and also business focused. This is based on the disruption in the publishing world and the success of indies that is being discussed openly.

• Barry Eisler was the keynote and as a hybrid author, he openly shared his views around the responsibility of writers to take charge of their own career. It shows the shift that is happening. Dan did a session on author-entrepreneur – the author as a business which is critical.

• It is hard to sell books – this was even demonstrated by the fact that the line for Barry’s book signing wasn’t that long. Engaging people and selling books is still difficult, even if you have a platform.

• I used PixelOfInk.com for paid advertising for the Prophecy launch. It was used by Darcie Chan for The Mill River Recluse which sold over 400,000 copies. This targets Kindle readers specifically. Obviously Amazon have an amazing eco-system but it is a closed eco-system, so it’s important to be aware of this and be sure to collect email addresses of your fans. You do need to develop your own platform so if the rules change, you’re not dependent on one channel. Authors, build your list – read this to get started!

• Pitch Slam at Writer’s Digest. It’s always popular and it’s very intense. Dan spoke to writers about this and preparing your book for this is challenging but also rewarding. There’s a  huge value in putting yourself out there and you can get over the emotional stuff. It starts the iteration process to improve your pitch. So definitely try it if you go to these conferences.

• Digital Book World. A huge publishing conference aimed at the publishing industry. Writers are allowed but the price is often prohibitive. It’s business focused on the trends in publishing. We mention Barnes & Noble not stocking Amazon books but this isn’t so much the core of the publishing industry. There’s a lot of smart, passionate people in publishing with lots of ideas. They get the change is there but it’s trying to get the publishing industry to move. It’s not an agile market and it’s hard to know how to move the huge ship.

• There was a great panel on what’s working with romance and how it can apply to others. Romance imprints have been particularly forward thinking and have been into ebooks and direct sales for years before everyone else. Also a great panel on self-publishing with Bob Mayer and Bella Andre which showed an author can be a business.

• Columbia University Social Media weekend. A big focus on return on investment. Marketing teams don’t have any more resources so they have to look at scaling and what works. Looking at process and methodology which is the only way we can effectively scale if we have multiple books to sell, which is what publishing is trying to do.

• With all these conferences, it’s interesting to gauge where people are and where the opportunity is. For example, the ‘apps are dead’ argument means there is clearly an opportunity for other companies. It hasn’t been an immediate hit but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It’s a time of experimentation. What are the trends saying about the opportunities between the trends?

• The supposed “slowdown” in the ebook space. The market is stabilizing. In the self-publishing market, 2011 was a boom time but now it’s stabilizing. The big jump in sales can’t be linked to anything specific, but there are forces at work that are bigger than individual authors. There will be a lot more shifts this year. Any market that changes fast will have difficult times. Just focus on building your platform and your market and weather the storm. You also have to experiment with different tactics as we just don’t know.

• Has the stigma of self-publishing gone away yet? Quality is an issue throughout all publishing at this point. It depends on the type of career you are creating. Do you want ugly, cheap and lots of books sold to make money? Or do you want books that last over time? Increasing quality across the board is important. Investing the time in the process is important to create a great book. Barry Eisler talked about the freedom and control for his own career with the hybrid model. It’s up to the writers about the stigma of self-publishing. Do people really want traditional deals? These different types of deals will the future.

You can find Dan at his very useful site, WeGrowMedia.com and on twitter @DanBlank

Did you go to any of these, or other, conferences? Do you have any lessons to share from them?

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Between them, blogging and twitter changed my life.

Seriously. If you’ve been around here long enough, you know I am an evangelist for both. They have brought me friends and peers, connections and speaking opportunities, customers, income and a regular writing practice that has given me the confidence to pursue a fiction writing career. But I have had to put the work in. Today I’m delighted to have Alexis Grant back on the podcast to talk about making your own luck in social media, which is definitely something I believe in.

At the end, I have added a short interview with me about my latest novel Prophecy which you can also view here. I also talk about the Pro Writer Novelist Academy with NY Times bestselling author CJ Lyons – you can sign up for advance notification here.

Alexis Grant is an entrepreneur, social media strategist, freelance journalist and travel writer who now helps other people with building an effective online presence. She has just released a course on ‘Using social media to make your own luck’. [Video at the end of the post]

• How to put your networks in place and make strategic connections so that opportunities to come to you. People say ‘you’re so lucky’ but actually you can make your own luck. The course is an email a  day for a month so you can put strategies into place to build your networks.

• For writers, it might mean meeting an editor, or a literary agent. Or connecting with other authors for peer support or blurbing books, or writing opportunities.

• Alexis was named as one of the bloggers to watch in 2012 on Problogger. I was on that list a few years ago and being on lists like that make a real difference. We both connected personally with the writer of the piece, Jade Craven.

• How Alexis met her agent, Rachelle Gardner through her connections on Twitter.

• Don’t just target the ‘big names’. Start the process with connecting with anyone who is interesting to you as well as people with lots of followers. But people with smaller and more targeted networks are great too. Alexis and I met on Twitter in early 2009 when we had little blogs and no real audience. We’ve both grown our platforms since then but we connected before it all.

• How long will it take to make an impact? It does take a while. You need to be consistent over time and make it a habit. How can you push your networks to the next level.

• Alexis recommends Rapportive as a Gmail plugin. It gives you all the social media links of the person who has emailed you.  [It's awesome - I now use it too] It means you can connect on multiple channels which keeps you in their mind.

• Who are you connecting with? Readers or other people in your industry. Word of mouth is word of mouth and people do share in their networks. Just connect on a personal level.

• How Alexis moved from her day job as a journalist to full time entrepreneur. She creates online products but also works with clients as a social media strategist building communities for people. She does a lot of blogging with start-ups.

• How Alexis uses her writing to make money. Creating content is a full-time job – blogging and tweeting for companies. She also writes creatively including an essay on Salon.com

• Alexis wrote a travel memoir a few years ago. It’s with her agent but the traditional publishing industry moves so slowly. She has published several ebooks since then, so it’s strange to experience both worlds of fast and slow. How Alexis feels about the control aspect of publishing and what she’s planning for her writing. The difficult of selling memoir as indie published. Non-fiction as more lucrative than fiction. Alexis has changed a lot since she wrote the memoir but it’s not her focus at the moment.

• On the lifestyle of an entrepreneur. Alexis is heading off to Nicaragua and Costa Rica in February. She will do some work while she’s there but it’s an experiment in running her business while traveling. I quit my day job a month after Alexis and so we’re both excited about what will change in the next 2 years

You can find Alexis at her site AlexisGrant.com and on twitter @alexisgrant .

You can check out her course at Make Your Own Luck.

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Today is the official launch of Prophecy, #2 in the ARKANE series of action-adventure thriller novels. It currently has 16 reviews averaging 4.5 stars on Amazon.com and has already made the Amazon bestseller lists in Action Adventure and Religious Fiction. I have a whole lot of launch posts coming which I’ll link to below but here’s the blurb and some reviews.

“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Revelation 6:8

The prophecy in Revelation declares that a quarter of the world must die and now a shadowy organization has the ability to fulfill these words. Can one woman stop the abomination before it’s too late?

From the catacombs of Paris to the skeletal ossuaries of Sicily and the Czech Republic, Morgan and Jake must find the Devil’s Bible and stop the curse being released into the world before one in four are destroyed in the coming holocaust. Because in just seven days, the final curse will be spoken and the prophecy will be fulfilled.

Prophecy is now available on the Amazon Kindle store. Coming soon on other ebook platforms.

Prophecy on Amazon.com

Prophecy on Amazon.co.uk

Praise for Prophecy

“Penn…has a background in theology and she employs this to great effect again in this novel. These books are as intelligent as they are gripping. She has also upped the supernatural ante since Pentecost and created a demonic villain (or two) that rise to the spiritual struggle inherent in the book’s premise. The final showdown between Morgan and the forces of evil will stay with you long after you have finished this compelling, page-turning thriller.” Orna Ross, author of ‘After The Rising’

“The action moves swiftly but the suspense never wanes, as Penn uses her vast knowledge to inform and educate the reader in a seamless unfolding of this fast-moving tale. Exotic locations and supernatural artifacts add to the adventure. Pentecost has been described as Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones and there are certainly elements of both to be found in these thrillers. However, I feel Joanna Penn has managed to establish her own voice in this series delivering strong characters and creative, but believable, plots. I’m already in line for the next one!” Patricia Sands, on Amazon.com

“Penn has a degree in theology and her knowledge and research, of ideas and locations, really shines through in these stories…as rollicking thrillers these books are great – perfect for holiday reading.” Alan Baxter, dark fantasy author of Realmshift & Magesign

“Prophecy is a gripping tale, plunging the reader into a race against a shadowy organization and its doomsday plot. Death lurks around every corner as Morgan Sierra and her partner Jake explore ancient ossuaries and dark catacombs in search of a sinister and deadly artifact. Mystery and adventure that is sure to please readers who love a good religious thriller.” David Wood, action-adventure author of Quest, Dourado and Cibola

“If you’re a fan of Dan Brown, then Joanna Penn is the author for you. Like Brown, Penn weaves information about religious art, icons and history with modern-day fears. The result is a face paced read, one that kept me up past my bedtime because I wanted to know what happens next.” Natalie Wright, who also did a great video review here.

“I particularly like the main character, the strong, intelligent, and attractive Morgan Sierra. Joanna Penn uses her academic training in Theology and Psychology to weave an intriguing page-turner in which Morgan must locate an artifact and prevent the Apocalyptic prophecy. I love learning as I read, and this book did not disappoint me. Through it, I learned about the God Helmet, The Devil’s Bible, the ossuaries, and various art and architecture. Joanna Penn seamlessly interlaces the facts with the story, creating a wonderfully vibrant and compelling story.” Jane V Blanchard, Amazon.com 

My inspiration for Prophecy

Psychology, neuroscience and religion are woven together in Prophecy along with some seriously creepy locations. You can read more about my writing inspiration in these posts over at my personal site, JoannaPenn.com

• The God Helmet – can stimulation of the temporal lobe create visions of God?
• The Devil’s Bible - the largest medieval manuscript in the world reveals its secrets
• The psychology of obedience: Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and Stanley Milgram studies in obedience to authority
• Ossuaries, catacombs and the bone church of Sedlec – macabre settings

Guest Posts Coming Soon:

• Print Books: The New Vanity Publishing? On TheBookDesigner.com

• Know Thyself: 7 Truths About Writers. On WriteToDone.com

• Writing religion and gender issues in action-adventure. 8 Questions with Joanna Penn – on Ghostwriter Dad

• The smart person’s guide to quitting your day job and following your dreams. On Courage to Create.

• Setting Thesaurus: On Catacombs, ossuaries and crypts. On Bookshelf Muse.

• Interview with Christian site RevTrev.com on inspiration for Prophecy.

• Tuesday Toot with Alan Baxter

• Review by David Wood, Action-Adventure Author

• Interview with Jim Kukral on Publishing

• Interview with Natalie Wright on Prophecy.

Would you like to interview me? 

I’m always interested in interviews so f you have an audience who might like Prophecy or hearing more about indie publishing, book marketing or writing in general, then please do email me: joanna@TheCreativePenn.com

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I’m always on the lookout for interesting stories to share with you. Adam Croft caught my eye on twitter with the tweet shown left and I just had to ask for more information. Adam is the best-selling author of the Knight & Culverhouse series of crime novels and the Kempston Hardwick mysteries. This is a guest post from him explaining how he did it. 

Publishers will scream and shout from the rooftops that e-publishing is not the way forward and that every writer still needs a publisher. That’s simply not true. I know this for a fact, as I was an unknown author who managed to sell 130,000 books in my first year without a publisher, without a marketing budget, and without any experience. And I’m going to tell you how I did it.

1. Know your audience

It’s the same for any form of art or business (and self-publishing means these two areas unavoidably overlap). A lot of resources will tell you to just write and let the industry decide what genre it is, but so many of my unpublished writer friends keep telling me that their books are rejected by publishers due to not fitting into a pre-conceived genre. Now, I’m all for artistic license and freedom in writing but that’s a story for another day. Even in self-publishing, you need to identify and physically select your genre when publishing, so you need to be sure in your own mind.

2. Be realistic

The fact of the matter is that very few self-published authors become successful. I freely admit that luck played a huge part in my success, but I also openly publicise my goals: originally, it was for someone I didn’t know – a complete stranger – to read my book and tell me what they thought of it. Subsequently, I wanted to top some sort of best-seller chart. My third goal was to make enough money from writing fiction to allow me to do so on a full-time basis. I achieved all of these goals within six months of completing my first book, purely because I had set targets and goals which I knew I wanted to achieve.

3. Utilise your other skills

Self-published authors have to be more than just writers. More often than not, they have to be editors, publishers, PR managers and cover designers. Use your other skills where you can, be it in graphic design or marketing. For me, marketing is not a problem as that’s my professional background. I promoted my books heavily using Twitter and Facebook, both of which are vital tools in the modern day. Free book giveaways are always a great way to attract new interest; one of my most successful avenues was to offer free copies of my book to a set number of new Twitter followers on a given day. Try this, and you’ll find that you get a surprising number of new Twitter followers very quickly.

4. Utilise other people’s skills

If you’ve got a friend who’s a graphic designer, why not ask him or her to design your cover for you? I designed the covers for my first two books (and, looking back, they look pretty amateurish) but by the time I released my third book I’d earned enough money to employ a professional graphic designer for the book cover and a BBC video producer who put together a YouTube trailer. You can only work with what you have, so make sure you utilise it to your full advantage. Friends can also make great proofreaders and editors (providing that they’ve a good standard of English and are keen readers). Send your finished book to a few friends or contacts and ask them to be brutally honest; how can you improve? What needs changing? What works best? Do parts need rewriting? Only by acting on constructive criticism can you improve as a writer.

 5. Choose your outlets

The quickest and best way to get your book available on the mass market is to use Kindle’s direct publishing program. Following that, I’d strongly recommend using Smashwords to get your book into the other major markets as quickly as possible. Initially, I made my books available free of charge in order to generate interest. Now, they sell just as well (if not better) as paid-for books. Amazon’s Createspace program is highly recommended for printing paperback copies of your books at a reasonable price. Once I’d ordered a batch of ‘real’ books, I organised a book signing at one of my local bookshops in order to generate local interest. Local newspapers and radio stations will also more than likely be interested in your story.

6. Tell everyone

Your best (and, let’s face it, only) marketing tool at this point in time is yourself. Tell everyone – your friends, your family, the bloke in the pub – all about your new book and that it has been published. I used to have an annoying habit of accosting people reading Kindles on trains and asking them if they’d read my book. If people have met you, they’ll more than likely download your book. Call your local newspapers and radio stations and let them know that you’ve just written a new book. Often, these local outlets are crying out for some real news and will be more than happy to write an article on you. This helped generate a lot of local interest in my books and was one of my main marketing tools in the early days. There really is no secret, other than effort. Get on the phone and call them!

You can find Adam and his books at his site AdamCroft.net and on twitter @adamcroft

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Tell us a bit more about you and the story behind Frankie

I’ve been on an amazing journey for the last ten years thanks to observing and paying attention to the lessons my dogs have taught me. I didn’t become a writer until my early 40′s which was brought on when my chocolate lab, Cassie was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.  I guess you could say it was my own “awakening” and it made me pause to think about what I wanted for my life. It lead me to becoming a writer and writing about what I love most, which is animals.

Nine months after Cassie passed away, Frankie, my dachshund suffered a fall and ruptured a disc in her back which caused paralysis. She was custom-fitted for a doggie wheelchair and through that experience with her I realized the beautiful opportunity I had to not only bring more positive awareness to pets with special needs, but to also help children see their challenges in a positive way through Frankie’s example.  My book series, Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog was born because of all of this. It was, and continues to be some of my greatest and blessed work.

Can you briefly explain your process for speaking in schools and libraries and how others can go about doing that?

I knew writing my first children’s book in my series that I wanted to share Frankie in-person with children. I knew I could make a positive impact on children and was so passionate about doing just that. I think the most important quality to have when promoting your children’s book (or any other book for that matter) is to be passionate about your book and your message. This goes far in opening doors for authors.

What I did next was study other children’s authors websites and how they went about planning for author visits. Then I began networking with everyone I knew sharing with them what I was doing. I spoke with my local school in my city and asked for the opportunity to share Frankie with the students. I also visited all the public libraries within about a 20-mile radius of my home and donated a copy of my book to their library. It was the perfect ticket into sharing with them that I do presentations, and to ask if I could do one for their patrons.  I also gathered together a mailing list of all the public libraries in my state of Wisconsin, as well as elementary schools and did a postcard mailing to all of them.

I’d have to say the biggest thing that has worked for me is word of mouth. I did a few presentations at the beginning at no charge in exchange for a testimonial. By doing that and doing a good job with presenting teachers and librarians began telling other teachers and librarians. I truly believe word of mouth is your best marketing tool. To date, I’ve done over 325 appearances with Frankie, as well as many via Skype.

What are the pros and cons of live events like this and do the sales justify the costs of time & travel involved?

One of the pro’s of doing live events is being able to connect directly with your target audience. For me personally, because Frankie is in a wheelchair, I don’t travel outside of my home state of Wisconsin with her. So I can’t speak to traveling outside of your local area. I realize this does limit my in-person appearances, but I’ve not let that deter me. Using Skype has been another great option and has paid off nicely as well.

I have seen more book sales from my in-person visits (averaging 20-40% per school visit) than I have in the beginning when I first started using Skype. But I’ve also seen an increase in schools using Skype due to more budget contraints, so I’ve noticed book sales increasing now with Skype visits (average about 20%).

Each author will need to determine their goals for their own book, as well as the time and expense involved in travel to decide if this is the avenue they wish to pursue. Combining both in-person and Skype I truly think is a great option for so many. I’m glad I’ve embraced both. And you never know where one live event or Skype event is going to lead, so being open to both is only going to help get your name out into the world.

Also, as I said, my first few appearances I did for gratis, but then after that I began charging for them as I got more calls from schools/libraries. There is somewhat of a formula in which you determine how to set a fee which I go over in detail in my book, Class Act. But it has to do with how many books you’ve written, credibility, experience, popularity of your subject, and what other authors in your area charge. At the beginning it was difficult to know for me what to charge- and besides I was so eager to get out there I was willing to do them for free!  But we all need to make a living, so feeling comfortable with determining a fee and asking for it, at least for me, took a bit of practice.  Now that I’ve had over 325 appearances under my belt I’m quite comfortable in asking and getting my fee. Though at times I am also flexible depending on the school, their budget, etc.

You’ve also used Skype to appear remotely, can you explain how you approached schools/libraries with that idea?

I began learning more about Skype in mid 2008. I got very excited when I did the research and learned about all its possibilities. Around the same time, I found out about a network that connects schools/libraries with authors who offer Skype visits. It is called, Skype an Author. You can create a profile for free on this website. Teachers and librarians can then peruse this site to find authors who offer this service.

I’ve built a good following on Facebook and Twitter, as well as have two blogs, so I offered ten free Skype visits to the first ten schools and/or libraries that contacted me. It worked beautifully and within a week I had booked ten Skype events. Schools are really beginning to embrace Skype more and more, though libraries are still a bit slow about getting on board. Though I think in time, this will also be an avenue libraries embrace more.

I also have google alerts set up in regards to schools that use skype, skype in classrooms, etc. I then send a postcard introducing myself as an author who does Skype visits.

Do you cold call libraries and schools? or do you have recommendations for others (as I hate doing that!)

I did cold call on my local libraries when I first started. It’s not my favorite thing to do either. But I was passionate about wanting to share my books and Frankie, so that absolutely was in my favor.  I would highly recommend at least touching base with all your local libraries, whether you do that in-person or with an introduction letter or phone call asking if you could stop by with a book to donate to their library. Once there you can then share with them that you offer presentations and ask for an opportunity to do one.

How do you get over the self-published aspect of the book with schools and libraries? Do you find there is still a stigma?

I haven’t encountered this as a problem. I’ve had people ask me who published my book and I simply say, “Joyful Paw Prints Press.” That is the name of my publishing company. Sometimes they will say, “Oh, I’ve never heard of them.” I say, “It’s my publishing company.” Most everyone I’ve encountered and have this conversation with seems more impressed than looks at it as a negative. I’d say the last year or two also has really changed the stigma factor and I don’t find that anymore.

Is the role of a library changing in the US now and has that affected your strategy?

I’ve focused more on schools than libraries to this point. But I’ve done about 25 library visits and all have welcomed me with open arms. I see libraries eventually embracing Skype and ebooks more and more. I also think they will see this as new opportunities for them to grow and expand their patrons. Maybe it’s the optimistic in me, but I truly believe all the changes happening are only going to benefit the publishing industry, the self publisher, the schools and libraries.  There has never been a better time to be an author with so many options and ways in which we can reach our audiences!

How have you blended online activities with your live events and which has been more successful for you?

Yes, I have done both. I’ve had a good amount of success with buidling a blog from my main character, Frankie, who I blog as. I’ve also created a twitter and facebook page for her and she has a nice following. I offer special sales now and then and see a nice increase in my sales when I do that. Social media and a blog is also a great way to share information about your live events and that helps spread via word of mouth.  I think these days an author has to to work all these avenues into their marketing plan in reaching their audience.

Where can people find you and your books online?

I can be found at:

www.joyfulpaws.com and from there you can link to both my blogs.

www.promoteyourbooktoschools.com

www.facebook.com/barbaratechel

www.facebook.com/sellmorebookstoschoolsandlibraries

www.twitter.com/barbaratechel where I tweet more about helping authors with markeing and doing in person and Skype visits

www.twitter.com/joyfulpaws

Do you have any questions about speaking to schools and libraries? Have you found this effective yourself?

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I’ve spent the last 4 years learning about marketing from books and information products. It’s been a real-world education that I use every day, so today I’m thrilled to bring you Jim Kukral who is a specialist in this area, as we talk about book marketing.

Jim Kukral is the author of 5 books and a serial web-entrepreneur, as well as a professional speaker and specialist in internet marketing. His latest book is ‘No Publisher Needed: Crowdfunding your book. How I raised over $30k in 30 days.’  [Note: Affiliate links used in this post.]

• Jim has been in internet marketing for 16 years. He’s been involved in all aspects including web design, affiliate marketing, search, Now he focuses on self-publishing and he loves to produce and market books.

• ‘No publisher needed’ was written after he crowd-funded a series of books called ‘Business around a lifestyle’. The problems of marketing and sales are basically dealt with in this way. Jim thinks that anyone who knows something about something should transform it into a book (or other product). When you learn how to do something, you can teach others.

• I promised to come back to crowd-funding as a question, but I didn’t! Sorry about that. [As I write, the book is free on Amazon Kindle] I read the book and it has some good information on what crowd-funding is and how to go about it. Jim didn’t use Kickstarter.com preferring to use his own methods to raise money. It’s based on the idea that people want to be part of something. The book also has ideas and tips on building a platform, and tackles the main issues people have about it – no time, no money, no knowledge. It then has a step-by-step guide on how to pre-fund your book and the options you can offer people, as well as what to do when the money starts to come in.

• The broader indie publishing perspective. In 2010, Jim had his first Attention . The business of traditional publishing is too slow. You don’t own your work when you’re done with it. Bookstores are dying so the one thing they had is fading away. The royalties are also not great. Jim realized that it was a bad business decision to use a publisher for your book. As an entrepreneur, you can do so many more things when you do it yourself. Jim did earn lots of money from his mainstream book from consulting revenue and the cachet from having a hardcover book.

• The stigma is disappearing and there doesn’t have to be a difference between traditionally published and print on demand books anymore. Jim really believes in self-publishing right now.

• Is crowd-funding and effective indie publishing only possible when you have a large existing platform? Jim understands this objection. But anyone can build a platform. Yes, Jim did start with an email list which is critical for anyone these days. Even a small, targeted list of people who are interested in what you do is good. But the majority of pre-funding came from new people as it was shared with other people. Emotions create reactions and people only share when there is an emotional response. So Jim included emotion and story as part of the campaign. He told a story about why he was writing these books. That’s why it spread. [This is a great idea for all of us - how can you use your own story to sell your books?]

• What are the must have marketing tools? The email list is critical – here’s how to build your own list using Aweber as mentioned by Jim. A great tip is to ask your customers what they want or need. [Yes, The Creative Penn annual survey is coming soon!] It’s also important to have a website/blog which you can have put your list-building on. You drive people to this site through all the other channels. People will find you in different ways. That’s how you build a platform. You need to start thinking like a marketer.

• For authors who might be shy. You can make video without being on camera. It’s screen-casting. Jim talks about his Online Video Toolkit which helps you to learn how to do it. Video is the #1 way to really make a connection with people. You look the way you look. Get over it. Video is so powerful. [Google has also just redesigned YouTube so it is becoming more respectable and not just about comedy videos.]

• The mindset of the marketer. There’s never been a better time in the history of the world to get your work out there. But the trade-off is that you generally have to do it yourself. In the old days, you just paid other people (or the publisher did it) but it’s too expensive and so doing it yourself is the better option. You need to do it when you start your own business, and yes, your book is a business. To be a successful artist, you need to think bigger than being just an artist. You have to decide if you really want success and then decide you want to get into marketing.

• On fiction vs non-fiction for marketing. Jim talks about pricing and KDP Select. For non-fiction, pricing can be higher as that’s what people expect and they see it as an indication of quality. Fiction is different, it needs to be cheaper as people buy more of it. Get into the head of the consumers. Read Influence by Robert Cialdini [I endorse this too, amazing book!] Jim also suggests Consumerology. Start learning about why people buy.

• Book reviews are critical for social proof. Book marketing begins at inception (for non-fiction at least). Write a synopsis, get a cover designed and a page up so people can start signing up for the email list. It’s got to happen right away. Before the book is available, get reviews. You can’t go into a launch without reviews on your landing page. One of the main purchasing decisions is that people look at reviews.

• Creating a product vs. a lot of books on Amazon. You have to price Amazon books cheaper than full multi-media products so authors might consider different options depending on their strategy. Make sure you don’t fall foul to Amazon’s price matching which has affected some authors when they might have run a promotion on it and then Amazon discounts the price. Jim aims to release a lot of books himself over the next few years, and he believes shorter books are the way forward.

• The biggest fail on marketing assuming they are doing it – authors don’t think like marketers. It’s not your fault. You weren’t trained to think this way. But you do need to learn, or you need to pay someone else. The cost of not being a marketer is advertising. Follow what other authors are doing and model their platform building activities. Write a blog about the business of what you do.

• Jim also comments on KDP Select and says it’s a game-changer for non-fiction authors to get noticed. It helps you stand out with your ranking as you can get a lot of downloads and people will start reading it. It’s a great way to kickstart your book marketing. [I'm taking action on this and updating my non-fiction book, How to enjoy your job...or find a new one, and putting it on Amazon KDP. I'll report back!]

You can find Jim at JimKukral.com and NoPublisherNeeded.com and on twitter @jimkukral

His latest book is ‘No Publisher Needed: Crowdfunding your book. How I raised over $30k in 30 days.’

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You might have guessed that I think a website is critical for authors, but few of you will remember how ugly this site originally looked. Before I had a logo designed and de-cluttered the side bar, I used a free WordPress theme that wasn’t at all optimized.

We all have to start somewhere but we also need to improve. So I am pleased to introduce this guest post by James Chartrand from Men With Pens, one of the top copywriting and web design sites.

It’s no surprise that authors tend to be a little old-fashioned when it comes to technology.

Many still write out their books by hand. Some swear by typewriters or nib pens. And when they need a reference, they’ll reach for a heavy dictionary or thesaurus instead of heading to the Internet for the same information.

Many authors are equally old-fashioned when it comes to their website.

Most don’t have websites at all. Others haven’t changed their websites since the dawn of time. Some hacked together a basic website that’s barely functional.

There are well-known writers. Authors of excellent books, whose websites just don’t reflect the level of skill, professionalism, and credibility they clearly possess.  Their websites hurt them despite their renown and reputation.

Imagine what a bad website would do to you.

When Your Work Outshines Your Website

There are hundreds of examples, but here’s one:  Anne Bishop is a well-known fantasy writer who won the Crawford Award for her first work. She’s the author of fifteen books, the most popular being her Black Jewels trilogy. She’s a very successful author.
But her website looks like it was built in 2003.

Ursula K. LeGuin is an astoundingly prolific writer with enormous breadth. She’s best known for her science fiction and fantasy, but she’s sought after for her essays and non-fiction as well. She has five Hugo and six Nebula awards, and she holds the record for Locus awards with nineteen to her name. She is an accomplished public speaker and has been interviewed countless times.
And her website looks like this.

The intention of pointing out these websites isn’t to imply that these authors’ accomplishments are in any way diminished by their lack of a well-designed website. In books, words really do speak for themselves.

That said, there’s a reason the old adage has us judging books by their covers.

What Good Website Design Does For Your Book

These days, every publisher drills this into the heads of authors: the appearance of the book matters greatly in how well it’s sold.

The most exceptional book in the world won’t be read if no one picks it up. And what gets people to pick up a book? As a general rule, the cover is a good bet.
Authors have understood this for some time. Many have gone to bat for their cover art design because what the publisher believes will sell isn’t consistent with the author’s brand, with how they want the book to be seen by the public eye.

Design is important.

But for some reason, many authors stop believing their website design is equally important. It’s as if the website was somehow removed from the books.
It isn’t. Your website can be the most powerful selling tool you have.

Stephen King has a powerful-looking site. It’s clearly a basic modified template, but it’s a good template. It fits his image. It showcases his work. It features modern-day design without any blue links in Times New Roman.

Is it the most brilliantly designed site in the world? No, but it fits him. And it helps sell him as an author just as surely as his book jackets do.

Beyond Branding

Let’s say you have a beautifully designed home page. Your website looks as gorgeous as the cover art of your book. That’s a grand beginning, but good website design goes beyond simple aesthetic – which is where we get beyond branding and into marketing.

A website that reflects your brand helps your readers believe in who you are.

A website that lays out information about you in a way that’s easy to understand? That helps readers show up for you.

When your website features upcoming events or helps readers talk with other fans in a forum, or when your website offers easy links to stores where your books can be purchased, that makes it much easier for readers to engage with you.

If you have a blog, you can communicate with fans directly. The same goes for a newsletter. You can build a huge fan base, like Patrick Rothfuss, by connecting with your readers.

You’re reminding readers that you exist by showing up in their inbox every day.

All this makes it much more likely that readers will be there for you when you ask them to show support for your new book.

There are a thousand ways to leverage a good website, and sadly, most authors don’t make use of them. Some consciously choose not to have a website at all, and that’s an acceptable choice.

But if you’re going to have a website, it should be a good one.

It should look like you. It should look like your books. It should look credible and reflect your talent. And it should make it easy for readers to find you, engage with you, and show their support for your work.

If you want a website design business who understands writing, what it’s like to be an author, and how to leverage the online world to help your book succeed, you’re in very good hands. Owned by popular writer and online business expert James Chartrand, Men with Pens will show you the way. Get in touch with James today.

Top Image: Flickr Creative Commons Thorinside

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Amazon’s list of Top 10 Bestselling books of 2011 was announced last week.

The list combined print and ebook sales and two self-published books made the list. Darcie Chan’s The Mill River Recluse and The Abbey by Chris Culver. I immediately went and bought both of them because I am utterly fixated on how books become bestsellers!

Here are my thoughts on these two books and what we can learn for our own book marketing.

(1) Write popular/commercial fiction.

That isn’t meant to be a judgment. But these books are stories that people can clearly enjoy quickly without too much deep and meaningful thought. People want to be entertained, to escape from their lives for a moment in time. Culver’s in particular is a strange case because the ebook has errors in it which have been pointed out by various reviewers. But he combines a violent crime novel with high body count and some paranormal aspects. Unusually, his protagonist is a Muslim detective which makes his book stand out in the crime genre.

This goes back to my thoughts on what the highest paid authors have in common. Write popular fiction, not literary genius, if you want large sales figures. It’s also backed up by the sales figures of John Locke and Amanda Hocking, neither of whom claim to be prize-winning literary authors. They just want to entertain. You have to decide what you want as an author.

(2) They are both priced at 99c and they are both Kindle only.

I know price is a contentious issue and I personally swing from 99c to $2.99 and then up to $4.99 and back down again as the best price for an ebook. I pay all sorts of prices but certainly as a reader, if I hear of a book/ an author for the first time, it needs to be $2.99 or under. If I read an interesting sample and the book is 99c, I definitely buy it.

An article in the Wall Street Journal points to this strategic pricing as part of Darcie Chan’s success.

(3) Book reviews

If you Google either of these books you will find a huge number of reviews on various blogs. Neither of these authors have a big “platform” in the way we usually talk about it, but it seems like the reviews they received boosted sales significantly.

I also saw a review on Goodreads for Mill River Recluse that pointed to Kindle bargain site Pixel of Ink where it had received some publicity. 99c books are very popular there and you can buy placement for a few hundred dollars.

In the Wall Street Journal article, Chan counts reviews, including Kirkus Indie, as a way to kickstart sales and paid for some as well as soliciting others.

(4) Paid advertising

According to the Wall Street Journal article, Darcie Chan also spent about $1,000 on marketing, buying banner ads on websites and blogs devoted to Kindle readers and a promotional spot on Goodreads.com, a book-recommendation site with more than six million members.

Robin Sullivan in her interview about 6 figure indie publishing also talked about Goodreads and it’s a network I intend to be more active in during 2012.

Conclusion

I am personally convinced that book reviews and an accessible price point are the best sales tactics for selling bulk fiction ebooks, providing the book and cover are good enough in the first place.

These two novels seem to prove the point. The Abbey has 507 reviews on Amazon averaging 4.5 stars and Mill River Recluse has 667 reviews averaging 4 stars. I have seen with Pentecost how Amazon’s sales algorithm kicks in when reviews start to pile up so this should be one of any authors main marketing tactics.

So what’s the point in building an author platform?

Your platform helps you get reviews. It also starts the ball rolling with sales as you have an audience ready to buy the book when it’s available. It’s also support for the journey and a great way to network. I wouldn’t do without my online platform and friends but I’ll definitely be focusing on reviews for 2012. I’ll share my research here as always!

What do you think? Are reviews the key to sales success? What sites have you found the best for getting reviews?

On a personal note, my next novel Prophecy is coming out on or before Jan 1st and I’m keen to start the ball rolling with reviews on Amazon and B&N pages as well as personal sites and Goodreads.

So if you enjoyed Pentecost and you would like to be considered for a review copy of Prophecy, please email me directly: joanna@TheCreativePenn.com

The review copy will only be available in Kindle or PDF format but I really like the stack of books image my cover designer Derek made for me!

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A fellow writer asked me what SEO was the other week and it made me realize that some people are still learning the basics about online marketing. Search Engine Optimization is one of those key areas you have to know about otherwise you will waste time and energy on your author platform. I started a post on the subject but fantasy author Lindsay Buroker already had this great one for you, so I am very pleased to introduce it to you today.

Whether you’re self-publishing or pursuing the traditional route, you’re probably on your own for marketing, and much of that marketing is done online these days. You’re expected to get involved with social media and to have a blog. It’s part of “building a platform,” as they say.

But what if only three people a month visit your blog? No matter how cool your site is, it’s not doing you any good if it doesn’t get any traffic.

That’s where search engine optimization can help.

I know, search engine optimization or “SEO” isn’t the most riveting topic. (I did it for my day job for years before switching to writing full-time, and I never did manage to keep dinner guests entertained by talking about it). It is something, however, that’s worth knowing a little about since it can help bring more visitors to your blog via the search engines. And, yes, some of those visitors might like what they see and go on to buy your books (especially if you have them displayed prominently on your site, eh?). Though I’m a nobody-special, self-published fantasy author, not too may days pass without someone buying at least one of my books through my blog.

Okay, you’re intrigued now, but…

What is SEO anyway?

Search Engine Optimization is the art of convincing Google and other search engines that your website/blog is particularly useful and important in your niche, thus meaning it should rank more highly in the search engine results than the sites of your competitors. (In other words, if someone types in “fantasy author” or “fantasy novels,” I want Google to list my site before the sites of all those other fantasy authors out there.)

When people use a site like Google, they enter search terms or “keywords” (single words or combinations of words). The search engine attempts to deliver the most relevant results by looking at numerous factors, such as…

• How often those keywords are used on a webpage or blog post (you get more “points” if the keywords are used in the title, text, and the web address).

• The overall age, popularity, and “authority” of a site (it’s easier for older, more established sites to rank well on Google).

• The number and quality of links pointing to a page from outside sites, especially links that use those keywords in the “anchor text” (the link-text you click).

Still awake? Dozing off? Go ahead and get a latte if you need one. I’ll wait.

Back? Good. I know this can be eyes-glazing-over stuff, so let’s focus on the basics.

The Basics

The main thing you want to do is start thinking about what terms people may type into a search engine to find your site. For example, if you write medical thrillers, you might find out people look up things like “best medical thrillers” or “medical thriller authors” or even just “medical thrillers.”

You can play around with the Adwords Keyword Tool to get an idea for the popular keywords in your niche or genre. Once you decide which phrases would be applicable to you, consider making an effort to use them on your blog (just focus on one keyword per post, and make sure to use the term in the title as well as the body).

As an example, I have a free fantasy short story that I turned into an ebook for promotional purposes. By tinkering with the Adwords tool, I learned that more people were looking up “free fantasy ebooks” than short stories, and since I’d made ebook files for the story, I figured that counted. I put the information for that story up on my blog, then named the page “Free Fantasy Ebook – Ice Cracker II” (the latter, of course, being the title of the story). If you type “free fantasy ebook” into Google, you’ll find my page.

I don’t get a lot of traffic that way (it’s not a hugely popular search term, in the grand scheme of things, but I do get some, and some of those people go on to download the ebook (and check out my non-free ebooks as a result!).

Simply researching and using the popular keywords in your niche or genre will put you ahead of lots of other authors.

Setting up your site so it’s “SEO friendly”

Now that you what SEO and keywords are, you’re ready for some more advanced stuff.

Keywords in the Web Address

If you haven’t chosen a domain name (a yourauthorname.com address) yet, you may want to work your main keyword into it, especially if your name is already taken. An example might be ToddSmithThrillers.com or JaneSmithMysteryNovels.com.

Don’t go crazy with the keywords or choose anything too long as you want fans to be able to remember your web address.

Keywords in the Title

You’ll want to use your main keyword in the title of your site as well. (The title is what shows up at the top of someone’s browser bar). Instead of something like, “A random writer’s musings…” your blog might be called “Todd Smith Medical Thrillers.”

On the main page of my author blog, the title is “Lindsay Buroker — Fantasy Author,” and, when I have free time (yes, there’s already a lot for authors to do and free time is hard to come by!), I’m working on getting my site onto the first page of results for that term. These things take time, so you have to be patient. (I always have to remind myself of that! Though I make decent money from my books, and even write up tips on my self-publishing blog, I’ve actually been at this for less than a year.)

Note, I didn’t use my keywords in my domain name (since I have a fairly unique name, the .com address wasn’t taken yet). I’d have an easier time ranking for “fantasy author” if I had, but I thought that’d be too much of a mouthful with my name. The final decision is up to you. Do what you feel makes sense and looks good to you.

Getting links to your site

While it’s good to be SEO friendly, what you do on your site is only part of the battle.

In the early days of the internet, you could fill a page with lots and lots of instances of a keyword in order to rank more highly for it. And that actually worked.

The search engines are much smarter these days.

They figure that links to a site count as votes of confidence, so they are factored into how well a site ranks for its keywords. People usually link to things that are useful, so the more links there are pointing to a site, the more likely search engines will consider it an authority (AKA a site worthy of doing well in their results). Also, links from older, more established sites count for more than links from new sites with few visitors of their own.

Try to get people to link to your main page and also some of your individual blog posts.

Remember how I said I was working on improving my site’s positioning on “fantasy author?” That’s part of why I’m writing guest posts (like this one) for other people’s blogs. You’ll notice that I snuck a link to my site in up above (and my self-publishing blog too!), and I made sure to use keywords related to my site for the link text.

Eventually, if you maintain a useful blog (or you’re a great author!), these links will come naturally, but it’s tough getting noticed in the beginning (as with selling books, huh?). Guest posting is a good way to get links. (Click that link to read an article I wrote on the topic.)

How long does this SEO stuff take?

If you start employing some of the techniques I’ve discussed here, you’ll be way ahead of the game, since most authors don’t know anything about this stuff.

It does, however, take time for you to start seeing significant traffic from the search engines. Plan to post to your blog regularly and work on getting links to your site (even if you just blog once or twice a week and try to get one link a week, you’ll be doing great) for the next six to twelve months before things really start kicking in.

I know that sounds like eons, but if you’re an author planning to build a career out of writing, you should be prepared to think long-term. The good thing about SEO is that the things you do today (especially link building) will pay off in the future as well. Five years down the road, someone might find your site on Google, thanks to an SEO-friendly article you wrote today.

Do you use SEO as a writer? Do you have any tips you can share?

Lindsay Buroker has been writing fantasy novels and short stories since she was seven. She’s been finishing them since… well, that’s a more recent development. Originally from Seattle, she’s currently traveling the world and writing from the road. If you’re a fantasy fan, you can check out her free fantasy ebook, Ice Cracker II. (Yes, she even SEOs her author bio!)

Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Jake Bouma

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Last December, this blog was voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2011 and it meant a huge amount to me. Seriously, I was so very proud.

I love working on the blog and the community we have here means that all the time and energy I put in is worth it. My main purpose is to make sure you know all the options available to you and to share what I learn along the writer’s journey in the hope it will help you too. The emails and comments I get suggest that this mission is being fulfilled, at least in part.

There are a lot of blogging awards but this is the one I’m asking for your help with.

If you have enjoyed the articles, videos or audio podcasts here at The Creative Penn, or if you have found it useful in any way, I would really appreciate your vote.

Please add a nomination on Write To Done

Click here to add your vote by adding a comment to the post

You only have one vote, the first in the comment will be counted and you also need to include a reason and this web address, www.TheCreativePenn.com.

[If you have another favourite blog, then of course, vote for them, but please do vote!]

Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it.

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