Happy Hump Day
By Brenda Nixon
This is Wednesday and as promised I’ll share some uncommon book promotion tips. . . no, not store signings, they’re blase and not a good way to sell bunches of books anyway.
Winnie the Pooh author, A.A. Milne observed, “Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.” Well, I don’t know about the fame part, but I’ve collected money from some maverick promotion methods. Here are a few.
- Rubber Stamp. As soon as my first book was published, I purchased a rubber stamp promoting with, “New book takes terror out of raising tots; Parenting Power in The Early Years by Brenda Nixon, order toll free,” then gave a phone number. I branded every out-going envelope and box with this stamp. I never knew who might read my information while it was in transit. Are you missing opportunities to promote your book by failing to stamp every out-going piece? True, it’s difficult to measure sales using this method, but I believe it works.
- E-mail Signature Line. At the end of every e-mail message, subtly mention your book. It’s simple to go into your e-mail options and add a standard line – the signature – that will be included in all out-going messages. At the bottom of mine I have: “Brenda Nixon, www.BrendaNixon.com. Author of The Birth to Five Book.” Don’t let one e-mail pass without utilizing this stealth promotion technique.
- Join Professional Associations. Writer’s associations are mutually beneficial; you can learn to hone your craft plus network and promote your book. If you’re an author, consider The American Society of Journalists (ASJA), 1501 Broadway #302, New York , NY 10036 ; 212-997-0947; execdir@asja.org; www.asja.org. I’m a member of other professional associations. While promoting my book isn’t my goal for joining, it happens; and I’ve sold some through this avenue.
- Published Excerpts. “I find that writers often overlook the possibility of having book excerpts published in magazines,” says Stuart. “What you get paid for the excerpt is not as important as the exposure you book will receive.” Query a publication to see if it prints book excerpts. Then select a chapter from your book that is on a topic the publication is interested in or meets its editorial calendar. Many times I’ve sold a chapter from my self-published Parenting Power in the Early Years book to a magazine. It is easier to do this with self-published works. If you have a traditionally published book, first ask your publisher the policy about excerpts — since the publisher owns it.
- Think outside the box. Even if you write in the CBA market, you can promote to ABA. Even if you self-publish you can get your book carried in chain bookstores — I’ve done it.
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, creatively think of organizations, groups, and individuals who need to know about your book. Say you write a book about Tuscany. Contact travel agencies about carrying your book in their office to sell to travelers or sell quantities to the agencies to use as an incentive to those who book a trip.
- Finally, do your Independent Reading . We’re all on a learning curve about publicity. I recommend reading Sally Stuart’s Guide to Getting Published (still available directly from her). There’s some information on marketing in her book. But, in my opinion, the bibles of marketing are Carmen Leal’s You Can Market Your Book: All the Tools You Need to Sell Your Published Book and The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days! by Fern Reiss.
Now, chime in with your uncommon book promo stories.
Brenda Nixon, www.BrendaNixon.com
Speaker to parents & professionals who serve children.
Author of The Birth to Five Book (Revell, ‘09) Parenting Power in the Early Years (WinePress, ‘01)
Get a dose of discipline tips at http://www.brendanixon.com/newsletter.htm Co-Author of A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts www.Christmas-scrapbook.info
August 13th, 2008 at 17:58
Ohhh, these are great ideas. Not that I’m published yet, but when and if, I’ll be sure to think outside the box. The rubber stamp thing, that’s great!!! Do magazines publish part of Fiction? I wouldn’t know where to begin considering what chapter I’d put up other than the first one…to get them hooked?
Great Blog today!
August 14th, 2008 at 01:31
Glad you found the ideas helpful sheri.
Yes, magazines publish fiction if written well and it meets their guidelines. What you can do is take a chapter from your novel and rewrite it to meet the publication’s guidelines or write a short story around a character from your book. It is harder to sell fiction excerpts than it is nonfiction or poetry, but with legwork you can find a publication that buys short fiction. Then, on the tagline (bottom bio of the piece) you say something like, “Adapted from the novel bla bla bla.” And that gives your book exposure. Make sense?
August 14th, 2008 at 18:15
Awesome ideas!!!! Never thought of the short story “adapted from the novel …..”
Great!