Strategies for Promoting Your Book Using Social Networking (part III) by Uvi Poznansky

copyright 2015 Uvi Poznansky

So you have gained some experience promoting your book through Facebook events and would like to take your promotion up a notch. One way to do it is by setting up a multi-author event. In this article I will offer a few tips, beyond the obvious (because you already know about setting up an event in a Public mode, and about creating a killer banner and a catchy title for it.) So prepare to add a few more tools into your toolbox.

The whole idea of joining forces is a potent one. Promotion is bigger than any single one of us, and even for the most successful among us, pulling together may yield surprising results. When each one of the authors brings her audience along, the project starts floating upon a huge pool of readers and listeners, all eager to find new, exciting reads.

But consider this: not every author is willing to share her audience. Why? Because competition is hard. Being an Indie writer is an uphill battle, and many of us have learned a misguided lesson: to survive, we must fight harder, and fight alone. So for many authors, accepting the idea of sharing may go against the grain. They may be prepared for others to share but are reluctant to do that themselves. Put simply, they come in ready to ‘steal’ the pool of readers, without contributing a single reader of their own.

So your task, as the organizer of a multi-author event, is not an easy one: what you must do is pull in the best talent you can find, and more importantly, use your team-building skills to create a cohesive team. Running a single-author event is a tremendous amount of work, as you might have discovered already. Running a multi-author event is beyond tremendous, because you have to deal not only with setting up the program and not only with the responses of guests but also, behind the scenes, with your fellow authors.

So the very first task, and the one most crucial to the success of the event, is to select the right team.

This is what I do, on an ongoing basis (well ahead of setting up an event): When I notice an author (who may be posting in the same Facebook groups I visit) I check out her Amazon page. I go into several of her books, get an impression of her writing (using ‘Look inside’), note the ranking of her books. I check the size of her Twitter and Google following. I friend her and support her posts (liking and sharing them) and her tweets (retweeting them), waiting to see if she reciprocates.

Then, when I plan an event, I send a private message to those authors with whom I have already built a supporting relationship, who write well, and who have a great following.

Your message should include the event date, its name, its theme, and what you expect your team to do: invite, post, and possibly take part in a giveaway. Not all the authors may be able to join (because of date conflicts, for example) so send your message to more authors than your target number of participants.

There are many kinds of programs you can create for a multi-author event: a program where is author is allotted a time slot, a program with no time slots but with a Grand Finale where all the authors announce their winners and sparks fly at the same time, and other programs.

A program with time slots
 
In this program, the event will be set up in advance with a time slot for each author, typically half an hour or an hour, where she is expected to ‘entertain the troops’ for the duration of the time slot.

Discuss the time slot with each one of your authors, making sure they have no scheduling conflicts. Your teammates may come from different time zones, but to keep a handle of things and avoid confusion, use a particular time zone for all slots, for example PST.

You may suggest the type of posts you expect: excerpts, polls, or games.

Announce the list of authors and their time slots (again, using a single time zone) on the event page, by posting it as a text post (which is easier to edit and make changes as necessary, unlike an image post where you have to edit the graphics.)

Remind all your authors of their commitment to post, a day ahead of time.

Create an image for each one of them, announcing her on the event page ahead of time, to draw her readers in. Be sure to ‘tag’ her name so that she and her fans get notified by Facebook.

During the event, set a private message to each one of your authors, as their slot is about to begin.

You need to give some thought what to do if one or more of the authors leave you ‘high and dry,’ neglecting to ‘entertain to troops’ during their time slot. Would you post yourself, or invite one of the others to start posting earlier than scheduled?

A free-flowing program with a Grand Finale

In this program, authors are expected to post any time, they can pop in and out of the event as their schedule allows, up to the Grand Finale, which is when all of them are expected to be there.

You should let the authors know what type of posts are acceptable. For example, if this event has a theme of Valentine’s Day, you may want to suggest that they post excerpts from their books that relate to love, passion and desire.

You can set up a common way of announcing winners at the Grand Finale. For example, you can design ‘announcement cards’ personalized for each author. Such a card may include images of the author’s book (the one she is giving away) over a background relating to the theme of the event. This extra work is beneficial in two ways: it will wow your guests during the Grand Finale and it will raise the level of enthusiasm from your team members.

You can set up an additional event, a ‘Private’ one. In it, authors can practice ‘tagging’ guest names (which is different in Facebook events as compared to Facebook timeline posting) and they can practice posting their announcements ahead of the Grand Finale.

Prepare the guests so they know what to expect during your event, so they come back to attend the Grand Finale. Make sure they know when it happens, and start it by greeting them and offering (virtual) refreshments to get some clamor. When winners are announced, make absolutely sure their names are ‘tagged’ or else they will not be notified by Facebook. If you discover that any one of the authors forgot to ‘tag’ their winners, ask them (behind the scenes) to edit their announcement.

The more distinct winners tagged in your Grand Finale, the more guests will arrive to check out what the fuss is about. So give some thought to the selection of winners, avoiding announcing duplicate names by some of your team members.

Note: Thank you, Uvi, for providing such amazing insight and advice for our authors. We are grateful for the time you took to document this!

***

Uvi Poznansky is a California-based author, poet and artist. “I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” She received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. Uvi writes across a variety of genres: romance, literary fiction, historical fiction, biblical fiction, poetry, horror and children’s books. Among other work she penned two series: The David Chronicles and Still Life with Memories.

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Strategies for Promoting You Book Using Social Networking (part II), by Uvi Poznansky

copyright 2015 Uvi Poznansky

So, you have been promoting your book all over town, day in and day out, shoulder to shoulder with other Indie writers, all competing for attention. It’s time to find a new tool for reaching out to readers.

If you have never set up a Facebook event before, try it! Right off the start, one important thing to know about it is that it is an incredibly potent tool. Every word you utter on your event page, every post reverberates to a wide audience. When a guest likes your post or comments on it, Facebook sends notifications to her friends and friends of friends, and they come in, curious to learn what the fuss is about. I cannot stress enough the importance of bringing as many guests to the event well before its start, because this ‘reverberation’ is far reaching, much more so than anything that happens in Facebook groups.

In fact, this tool is potent to such a degree that it must be used with care. You better not create an event every day of the year, not only because of the considerable preparation you must invest but also because you are testing the patience of your friends. Over time it may thin out, because in their ears this powerful reverberation may have turned to noise. So choose the date of your event carefully, perhaps to announce the release of your new book.

Also, over the course of the event, you must monitor the interest of your guest, by noting how many of them respond to you, so that it peaks at the right moment. You don’t want to reach the point of announcing the winners of a giveaway when your guests have already turned off their notifications from the event. So my advice is: start with a whisper, end with a blast!

In this article I will give you detailed insight, based on my experience, about planning an event. The next level—setting up a multi-author event—is even more elaborate: be prepared to deprive yourself of sleep! In my mind it can become as elaborate as planning a wedding.

But let’s start easy. You have a book release coming up. You want to throw a party and invite your friends. How should you go about it?

• Start early—a couple of weeks ahead of time. Create an event, setting the privacy mode as appropriate for your purpose. This is crucial. To celebrate a family affair, the default mode, Private, is just right. In this case, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas: it will be visible only to the people you invite. But for the purpose of announcing your new book to the world, change it to Public—or else all the rest of your work, to be put into planning, will be mostly in vain.

• Design a killer banner for the event. The dimensions of my banners are typically 1546 × 572. If you have a particular theme, suggest it graphically, so your cover image is over the background of the theme, be it winter, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Love or what not. The lower right corner of the banner will be partially obstructed (by Facebook) by the date of the event and its name, so avoid placing important information there.

• Choose a catchy name that will pique the curiosity of the people you invite, and write a blurb for it, promising fun for all.

• Invite, invite, invite! The time between creating the event page and the actual start date of it will make or break your event. In recent months, Facebook has imposed an upper limit on the number of invitees, so start by choosing carefully: if your book is in French, for example, you may want to invite all the friends you have who live in France and Canada. Only when you have invited all of them, go back and invite the rest, until you hit the upper limit.

• A few days before the start date, post a ‘teaser’ on the event page, letting your guests know what to expect, asking them to invite their friends.

• Prepare your posts for the event days in advance. When you have a complete script, you can adjust things, decide to add or delete a post or two, and interject some fun posts such as offering virtual food and drinks to your guests. Advance preparation will help you on event day, because just being there and responding to guests for hours can take the wind out of you...

• The use of polls, which is a tool you can use in Facebook events, can add excitement. If you plan to give your book away at the end, you might want to ask your guests about their reading habits: kindle, nook, itunes, print, or audiobooks? When they give you this information on the poll, you can make the prizes fit their habits.

• The use of contests can add excitement as well. For example, when I release my poetry book Home I created a contest between the guests, asking them to write their own poem about what home means to them. I posted all these poems on my blog—which was perceived by the contestants as a great honor in itself—and then posted a poll to select the best poem. This caused traffic on my blog to skyrocket. In addition, it set the focus of the event to the joy of writing poetry and to contemplating the subject matter of my book.

• About two hours before the end of the event, prepare your guests for the big announcement, naming the winners of your giveaway. Make sure you ‘friend’ them ahead of time, so they heed your private message later, when you hand the prizes over to them. With great fanfare, announce your winners, making sure you ‘tag’ them, so they get notified by Facebook. Stay around and engage with the winners and with guests who drop in to congratulate them. The more you engage, the more people you draw in, the more attention you bring to your book.

***

Uvi Poznansky is a California-based author, poet and artist. “I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” She received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. Uvi writes across a variety of genres: romance, literary fiction, historical fiction, biblical fiction, poetry, horror and children’s books. Among other work she penned two series: The David Chronicles and Still Life with Memories.

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Strategies for Promoting Your Book Using Social Networking (part I) by Uvi Poznansky

copyright Uvi Poznansky, 2015

We, Indie writers, are an enthusiastic bunch, promoting with over-zealous vigor everywhere you turn: on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, KBoards, and just about anywhere else. This vigor is a double-edged sword, because some readers are turned off by the sheer amount of mind-numbing spam.

So, what’s a writer to do? Ask yourself: How do I stand out of the crowd? How do I reach out to readers and connect with them in a way that does not turn them off, a way that surpasses the competition?

Think of promotion as a way to build relationships with potential readers rather than a simply an advertising platform. Spamming your followers repeatedly with product page links gets boring in a big hurry, yet to my surprise, most writers do nothing else but that. In this article, I aim to give you some additional ideas, so you can find new ways to sing praise to your work, and add them into your repertoire. 

Add a Personal Touch: Your Author Bio and Author Interviews 

Writing your author bio can be a daunting task. Perhaps you are a shy person, one who values his privacy. Or else you may find it a challenge to gain perspective over your entire life and literary achievements, and do so without sounding a bit self- serving. 

Even so, you are a writer, aren’t you? So put pen to paper and come up with a compelling life story that will help readers learn more about you, and about what makes you and your books so interesting. 

Once they love and adore you, buying your books will come with greater ease. Post your bio on your Amazon Author Page and on your Goodreads Author Page. Also, think of crystallizing the entire thing into one signature sentence, a sentence that defines who you are. 

For example, being an artist, author, and poet, my signature sentence is, “I paint with my pen, and write with my paintbrush.” I came up with it quite spontaneously, in an answer to a radio host asking me a question in a radio interview, and sensed that it had an impact, because it is true about me. Since then I use it as a way to introduce myself. So, what are you all about? How would you introduce yourself in a single sentence?

In addition, you can expand the scope of letting your readers know you through blog interviews. Seek out bloggers whose main focus is books, especially books in your genre. How do you find them? 

Easy: note when other authors you see on Facebook are posting an interview. Go to that interview site. Check out its reach, so you know it has a good following. After all, you don’t want to spend all the effort of writing an interview for a very limited reach. How do you check this? Two ways: Plug the site url in Google page rank checker. Plug it in Alexa. 

Then, find out how to contact these bloggers, and ask them to interview you. Once your interview is posted, be sure to drive traffic to the interview site by posting a link to it, with a teaser that thanks the blogger and sings her praises, all over town.  

Add Quality to Your Daily Posts 

The most important tool to bring attention to your books is something that to my surprise, not many authors do, and it is quite simple and readily available to you: excerpts from your writing.

So let’s assume you are a gifted writer. Here is one way to test it: open your book at a random page and throw a dart at it. Quote an excerpt, starting at the paragraph before the place you have hit, and ending at the paragraph following it. If you read this excerpt out loud, will readers be moved? Will they be intrigued?

If so, create a post with this paragraph, and at the end of it add the title of your book, and buy links to it. When readers on Facebook like the post, thank them for it. When they comment, engage with them. It’s as simple as that.

Wish to take it one step further? Having quoted it, do you recall what inspired you to write this passage? Was it a childhood memory? Was it an old photograph, or perhaps a famous painting by your favorite artist? Tell the readers about your inspiration. Add an image of that art that stirred you into writing. 

Your readers will love you for it.

***

Uvi Poznansky is a California-based author, poet and artist. “I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” She received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. Uvi writes across a variety of genres: romance, literary fiction, historical fiction, biblical fiction, poetry, horror and children’s books. Among other work she penned two series: The David Chronicles and Still Life with Memories.

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Top news for what's hot in marketing your book

Kim Smith is the author of The Dread Room, now available on Amazon. You can find more about Kim at her website at http://www.kimsmithauthor.com including news and info on her podcast,

__________

Hey there Murderers, welcome to OCTOBER! wow...where did the year go?

So...over on my blog I am running a survey (CLICK HERE) to get input on my site. If you are interested, be sure to check it out and leave your email address to be in the running for a free copy of my latest, The Dread Room. Very Halloween-ish.

I also have a really cool podcast interview (and video) with Jeanne Gassman, historical THRILLER author. You should check it out here.

And more info about The Dread Room can be found here

Recently, over on my blog, I discussed popular marketing tips. Here it is :
What is working so far as marketing your book is concerned? I can recall a great number of things that used to work and work well. But in reality, book blog tour and Goodreads giveaways for promoting your new release is SO 2011.

They have joined the ranks of things that used to work. Along with a slew of other things, like a constant stream of "my book is free" and "my book is 99 cents" on every site that would allow it.

Now? Not so much. Book buyers are smarter, more savvy, and way way more into mobile apps.

So what DOES work? Well, I am glad you asked.

Here are a few things I have found from Internet searching.

My top 5 things to sell more books.

1. Own your own content. That means buy the domain name and you own it. And that includes every blog post, etc. You can invite readers to read your site info and that's considered pretty harmless promo.

2. Use social media to draw attention to yourself. Your readers want to know YOU. They won't follow a book, but they will follow a person. IF that person happens to be a writer, well cool.

3. BookBub ads. The ad life is hard to break into. Facebook ads work on some levels, for some people, but BB ads seem to be more concentrated in the right niche.

4. Write more books! For crying out loud, you can promote until tomorrow never comes or you can just dig in and WRITE another book. If customers aren't interested in the first one, then it could happen to number two. Haha. I just said number two.

5. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. So many people say that, but few remember it. Now you have been reminded. Getting a book noticed takes a good cover, great editing, and a long while for people to figure out it exists.

Can Social Media Really Help to Promote your Book?

Three Questions That Can Change Your Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media

By

Beth Jusino

 

 I'm delighted to welcome Beth Jusino to MB4. Beth is the book marketing guru over at The Editorial Department. Her new book, The Author’s Guide to Marketing: Make a Plan That Attracts More Readers and Sells More Books (You May Even Enjoy It), is a must read for any author trying to promote a book in today's changing environment. Today she talks about Social Media and the writer. Can it really help to promote your book?

Enjoy!

D.

*****

“I signed up for Twitter because everyone says I have to do it to market my book. But I hate it.”

Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. As a marketing consultant, I spend more time talking with writers about social media than any other channel. Too often, Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest has become nothing but a black hole of dread that seems to suck time away from their writing, without giving anything back.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Social media works only when it’s social—when there’s a comfortable give-and-take between real people. Think of it like a very big cocktail party—if you hover silently in a corner and don’t talk to anyone, you probably won’t get much out of the experience. It’s a waste of time. And if you stand in the doorway and accost every person who passes you with a sales pitch, you’ll do more harm for your cause than good.

But if you walk into the room with a smile and the attitude that people here are worth engaging with, and if you’re prepared with a few conversation topics to break the ice, you might make a new friend or two. You might even enjoy yourself.

Changing your perspective on social media starts with asking three questions:

1.      Who do I WANT to meet?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the depth of the social media pools. There are millions of people here, usually talking about every conceivable silliness. So let go of the idea that you will talk to everyone—and get proactive about finding people who share your interests and passions.

That means your existing readers, of course, but also those people who should read your books.

Don’t wait for those people to find you; go looking for them. Start by identifying three or four general interests that you might share with your audience. For instance, if you write thrillers about a former rodeo cowboy who now solves crimes in Montana, search for people who are already talking about reading* thrillers, OR about rodeos, OR about Wyoming. These are your people. Follow them. Comment on what they share. Be friendly. (But don’t be pushy. Don’t try to sell anything to a stranger.)

* Look for readers rather than writers. I see a lot of authors who use social media to follow and chat with other authors—their coworkers, essentially—instead of their readers and fans.

2.      What can I offer?

No one remembers the wallflower at the cocktail party. For Twitter or Vine or whatever to work as a platform-building tool, you need to say something that others want to hear. Don’t approach social media asking “how can I sell more books?” Ask:

What can I do to help my audience right now?

Think about the way you engage acquaintances and readers in real life, and spin that into your online persona. What do people respond to? (Follow the links for Twitter examples)

·         Information. If your brand is based on knowledge (you’re an expert of some kind), share tips, facts, and links to relevant articles on your blog.

·         Humor. If there’s humor in your writing, bring it to your social presence. If we’ve learned anything from all of those cat videos on YouTube, it’s that people love to laugh.

·         Encouragement. Break through the noise of social media with a quote, a verse, a thought, or a wish that will brighten someone’s day.

·         Links. Become a curator of relevant, interesting content. If you write historical fiction, share photos and stories about the era. If your work has an environmental angle, link to the latest research. If you write romance, share happily-ever-after stories (or pictures of hot men, connecting both humor and links). 

·         News about yourself. Providing value also means sharing what’s happening with your books and your writing. Share links to interviews on other sites, sales, major milestones (did you finish a manuscript, or even a chapter?). This isn’t a channel for hard sales pitches or “buy my book” messages.

And remind yourself to engage. Social media isn’t a one-way communication channel. It won’t work if you broadcast what you have to say and then disappear. Treat social media as a conversation, and the people who are there as individuals who are worth your time and energy. Ask questions, and engage when people answer you. Follow and comment (or share, or like) what other people are posting. This is the chance for you to listen to your readers, and learn more about them—which in turn can help you write better books for them.

3.      What do I want to get?

There’s a lot more to Instagram or Tumblr than people selling books. Venture out and look around; social media might meet some of your needs, too.  

Whether it’s sustainable gardening or spiritual development, encouragement as a parent or research about the Tudors, it’s there. If you’re researching Yosemite National Park for your Work in Progress (or for the next family vacation), you can find people who are curating information about the park. Or if you need to know what the traffic is like at midnight in a particular Seattle neighborhood, there’s someone online who can tell you.

Piece by piece, social media will start to feel less like a chore and more like an extension of a conversation with people you know and care about—your readers.

*****

About Beth Jusino:

Beth Jusino talks more about social media and all kinds of author marketing techniques in her new book The Author’s Guide to Marketing: Make a Plan That Attracts More Readers and Sells More Books (You May Even Enjoy It). A former literary agent, Beth is now a freelance consultant and the Director of Book and Author Marketing for The Editorial Department, guiding traditionally- and self-publishing authors through the modern maze of opportunities. She teaches a Guide to Getting Published class every quarter in Seattle. Visit her at http://bethjusino.com or on Twitter @bethjusino. 

About Dora Machado

Dora Machado is the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, available from Twilight Times Books. She is one only a few Hispanic women writing fantasy in the United States today. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a fascination for writing and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories.

When she is not writing fiction, Dora also writes features for the award-winning blog Murder By Four and Savvy Authors, where writers help writers. She lives in Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats.

To learn more about Dora Machado and her award winning novels, visit her at www.doramachado.com , email her at Dora@doramachado.com, find her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

Working the Marketing Plan – Local Independent Book Stores, by Scott Eder

copyright 2013, Scott Eder

With Knight of Flame coming out on October 15^th, I turned the crank on my great wheel of marketing to the notch labeled—Local Independent Book Stores (LIBS). While a tremendous amount of work can be done online, there is no substitute for, or a peripheral device yet invented that replaces, a firm handshake, and that personal touch.

Building relationships is still important, still relevant, and a great way to garner support at your local independent book seller. It's not a one visit, wham, bam, buy my book, kind of deal. It can be, if your end goal is to see your book on their shelves; but, if you actually want the store personnel to keep you in mind and recommend your books to their customers, it takes a little more time and attention. I learned a lot during my first visit, and would like to share it with you.

The LIBS I targeted is touted as one of the biggest new and used book stores in Florida. They host quite a few author events, as evidenced by the huge array of signed book cover posters along the walls. These guys have been around a long, long time, founded in 1933 to be exact. I haven't been in a store like that in years. The arid smell—of old paper, dust, adventure, and wisdom—filled the place. I loved it.

Now, I've been in tons of bookstores before, but as a reader. This was my first sojourn with more on my mind than picking up the latest release from Brooks, Farland, Anderson, Owen, or several of my other favorites. So, my expectations were low. I wanted to go in, look around, introduce myself, ask how they made stocking decisions, buy a book (I didn't want to take up their time without giving something in return), and call it a successful recon mission with a plan to come back in a few weeks.

It didn't quite work out that way.

I struck up a conversation with one of the guys behind the desk. It only lasted a few minutes, but I got the chance to introduce myself, handed him my business card, and mentioned that I had a book coming out soon. He gave me the owner's card in return and suggested I give him a call. Done. Nothing major, but I was nice, made the initial contact, and gained the information I needed. Mission accomplished.

Free to peruse the shelves, I found the Fantasy section. Being an avid Fantasy guy, most of the other shelves, and there were shelves everywhere, appear grayed out to me anyway. While perusing the new releases, the gentleman I had spoken to, Roger (name changed to protect the innocent), walked over and picked up the conversation where we left off. We talked about some of the different authors, and then changed topics to cover art.

Roger appeared to be roughly my age, give or take, and he'd worked in the store since he was three, THREE, said he started in the comic book room. Based on his confident demeanor, and the comfortable, familiar way he talked about the authors that had held signings over the years, I got the impression he'd seen just about every book that had come out in the last thirty years worth seeing.

We discussed some of the old Frank Frazetta and Boris Valejo covers from the '80s, among other things. Then, in the midst of Roger bemoaning the trend of some Sci-Fi covers being too abstract, I offered to show him my cover art. I mean, what could it hurt? We were in the midst of the cover conversation and he seemed to know a lot about the topic. He said, "Uh, sure." Not overly enthused, but willing to take a peek. (He mentioned earlier that the owner of the store gets at least twenty calls a day from authors asking for him to stock their books. I bet he sees all kinds of covers, all the time. By his demeanor I assume that most aren't all that spectacular.)

So, I pulled my cover up on my cell phone. Did I mention that I love technology?  

Roger's eyes widened. His stance changed. He stared at the cover. "That's a really good cover." His voice sounded deeper, different than it was before the reveal. "You know, every book is judged by its cover. I don't care what anyone says. And yours is really good."

His demeanor changed. I felt he took me more seriously. That great conversation we were having before just took on a new level of subtext.

Still on the topic of cover art, he pulled me to another section in the store, explaining how one particular cover sold well. It was a serious military series with a rifle on the cover. Nothing else. It left no question as to what the story was about. He related that the publisher was concerned that the cover was too serious, and rebuffed some readers who were looking for an element of romance. But there was decidedly no romance in the series. At all. None. Still, they changed that cover, depicting an abstract human torso dressed in a nebulous uniform. It gave no clues as to what the story was about, and the artwork sucked (his words). Sales for that entire series tanked. Roger said that he practically had to force people to check it out. Once they did, though, the story sold the rest of the series. 

Since our relationship had evolved, and we were talking about a series of cover, I boldly took another step forward. I explained the plan for the changing covers in my four-book series. There are three consistent POV characters throughout my series to ground the reader. In each book, there is an additional POV character, typically one of the other members of the Knights Elementalis. I explained that each cover would showcase the face of that new POV character in the same style as my Knight of Flame cover. The next book features the Knight of Air.

Again, he paused for a moment, taking in the new information. Eyes wide, assessing, mulling over the possibilities, he said, "That sounds really cool. That could work well. Very distinctive."

I got the same impression as before, could even see it on his face.   

We talked about a few other things, moseying about the store. He kept track of the work going on around him, making sure the guys behind the counter could handle the steady flow of customers. When we got to the subject of local writers using recognizable settings in their work, I couldn't resist. I mean, he lobbed a big juicy pitch over the center of the plate, I had to swing for the fence.

"Hmm," I said. "Knight of Flame takes place here in the Tampa/St. Pete area. There's an epic battle atop the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and major events take place on the top floor of the Regions Bank building in downtown Tampa. I've got a strong mix of real and fantasy settings in the story."

He waited for me to continue.

"While the first book in the series is primarily local, the next book expands to the west coast, Canada, and Europe as the influence of the Gray Lord is felt on a more global scale. It escalates further from there until things wrap up in book four. My plan was to build a large story that would draw in readers all over the world."

He smiled and nodded as I spoke. "Sounds really good." That's when he told me the process to win over LIBS. I'll paraphrase.

1.     When you go into an independent book store, don't talk about the big retailers like Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. It really doesn't matter to them how much you've sold through the other guys. Focus on the store at hand.

2.     Be nice. Roger called out a number of the authors on the wall, all exceedingly nice people. He mentioned a few others, no posters marking their presence, giving examples of how not to behave.

That's it. The key is to be nice. Got it. Roger that, er…uhm, Roger.

Business picked up in the store, so he excused himself. Not to belabor the issues, or to push my luck, I paid for my selections and left, exhilarated.

I've had a few days to mull this phenomenal adventure over, and I think there are more steps for a successful visit than Roger let on. I lucked out to some degree. I always try to be nice on general principal, and I have no past history with the big book dogs, so there was no way for me to cross the line there. Here's the process I came up with:

1.     Be Professional

a.     Plan the trip – Don't go in on a whim. Set the date and treat it like a business meeting.

b.     Look decent – Look the part. Be the protagonist in your own author success story.

c.     Leave a business card - A good looking, professional business card will enhance their perception of you, and leave a souvenir of your visit.

2.     Be Nice

a.     Courteous

b.     Respectful

c.     Watch language – treat the encounter like it's a professional business meeting.

d.     Get to the point – don't waste their time.

3.     Be Prepared – if you follow the first two points, especially number two, be prepared to take it to the next level. Create the opportunity to sell yourself and your work.

a.     Cover art – my awesome cover art was done by Brad Fraunfelter – www.bradfraunfelterillustration.com

b.     Back cover copy

c.     Story pitch – you're not selling to an agent or editor, but you are trying to interest someone in your work.

d.     Anything else you might be able to use to tell your story

4.     If you have the means, buy a book – the LIBS guys and gals need to eat too, and your to-be-read pile can never be too large.

  

That's it. Simple, right? Now, go out and win over your LIBS.

***

Since he was a kid, Scott Eder wanted to be an author. Through the years, fantastic tales of nobility and strife, honor and chaos dominated his thoughts. After twenty years mired in the corporate machine, he broke free to bring those stories to life.

Scott lives with his wife and two children on the west coast of Florida.

Knight of Flame Blurb

Fire. The most chaotic of the primal elements. When wielded properly by the Knight of Flame, it burns like the sun. Otherwise, it slowly consumes the Knight, burning away his control, driving him towards dark deeds.

Stationed in Tampa, FL, Develore Quinteele, sixth Knight of Flame, waits impatiently for the predicted emergence of the last Gray Lord, his Order's ancient enemy. Hampered by a centuries-old tragedy, Dev knows of only one way to control his elemental power—rage. It broils just below his surface, waiting for the slightest provocation to set it alight.

After a brutal attack by the Gray Lord's minions for which Dev is blamed, he's stripped of his freedom until he learns to control his violent impulses. With the help of his fellow Knights, can he balance his rage and unlock his true elemental potential to prevent Tampa's devastation?

Contact Info

Email – scotteder@verizon.net

Website – www.scotteder.net

Blog - madmuncleforge.blogspot.com/

Facebook - www.facebook.com/knightselementalis

Twitter - @scotteder

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