Building a Relationship with Potential Readers

Tell Me a Story - book promotion

In order to maximise book promotion, we are often told to foster a relationship with prospective readers. Fine words. Yet how do we go about it? A lot of writers, me included, are introverts. I could do shy for the Olympics. I’m not really a people person. Socialising is hard work, and to push myself or my work onto people is abhorrent. 

 

I hate book promotion and tend to shut my mind to it, so it’s good when a PR person spells out what I need to do. Here is a list of things to tackle in this extract from an article to build up relationships, by Phyllis Zimbler Miller - best selling author and book marketing guru


List of things to help in building a relationship with potential readers

• Videos – book trailers as well as videos of the author talking to her/his audience
• Blogs – on the subject of a book, on the subject of writing or publishing or whatever the author believes will interest her/his audience
• Articles – submitted to article directories – again on a variety of subjects connected to the target book audience
• BlogTalkRadio show – the subject of the book, other authors, fictional characters
• Social networks – Twitter, Facebook (including a page for the book), LinkedIn, etc.
• Book sites – places such as freado.com where a partial or the entire book can be uploaded
• Book author website – a major strategy in getting in front of an author's target markets
• Online press releases
• PR pitch sites such as PitchRate.com
• Audio recordings of a book
• Virtual book tours

A Tour of Rhodes Old Town - Greece

Tell Me A Story - Rhodes

I thought you might like to take a peep at this short video of Rhodes (Greece). It's mostly around the old town, with a quick trip to the temple of Athena.

Hope you enjoy the visit. Rhodes old town is a unique living monument. Incredibly, most of the ancient buildings are still occupied.

In my opinion, its just the sort of place to get the old brain-juices flowing to stimulate your writing.. ah well. Dream on...

End of Rhodes Old Town

How Do YOU Find New Authors?

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According to a survey instigated by Mark Coker of Smashwords, the most popular way for readers to find eBooks and new authors is through recommendations from fellow readers via online forums, blogs, and message boards.

29% of those who took part in his survey chose authors this way. In contrast, only 4% selected, "Personal friend/family member recommendations." This is interesting, because it infers readers might have more confidence in the collective wisdom of strangers and online contacts than of friends and family. I wonder why this should be?

The second most common answer, "I look first for my favourite authors," came in at 18%. This makes sense. Looking for a favourite author is traditionally the way people choose deadwood books, and probably the way I choose.

For new authors, this is surely useful information; we all want to be discovered. Yet if recommendation from forum members is the best way to be noticed, how do new authors jump on the bandwagon?

It seems to be yet another ‘Catch 22’ situation. Established authors who are popular are recommended most, thus becoming more popular. New authors who have yet to be discovered are not talked about, so remain undiscovered.

How the hell do we break into this world? The only way forward that I see, is to write dozens of books in the hope of chance discovery - and/or offer free books on forums, keeping fingers crossed for a positive response.

Any ideas anyone?

Clarify Those Words

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I don't know about you, but if I read a story where the author uses an incorrect word, it makes me want to toss the book aside. Why don't writers make sure what they say is what they mean - and why, for heaven's sake hasn't an editor picked up the error?

These seemingly comparable words have different meanings. Be sure you’re using the correct one in each pair.

• To appraise is to gauge; to apprise is to let know.
• To be amused is to be entertained; to be bemused is to be puzzled.
• To attain is to achieve; to obtain is to acquire.
• To ascribe is to attach an idea to a source; to subscribe is to hold belief in an idea.
• To be born is to be brought forth; to be borne is to be carried along.
• To barter is to trade; to haggle is to negotiate.
• To borrow is to receive something for temporary use; to loan is to provide something on those terms.
• To careen is to sway; to career is to hurry carelessly.
• To censor is to ban; to censure is to reprimand.
• To criticize is to judge harshly or in a negative manner; to critique is to evaluate.
• To denigrate is to demean; to deprecate is to disapprove.
• To differ is to be distinct from; to vary is to change.
• To espouse is to support; to expound means enlighten.
• To rebut is to argue in reply to another argument; to refute is to reject an argument.
• To wangle is to acquire by devious means; to wrangle is to wrestle.

Publishers Join the Ebook Revolution

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With all of the hype, both optimistic and deleterious, the sheer number of literary agents now delving into eBook-only titles for clients, has brought a new level of credibility to the medium. Respectability has also come in the form of at least one important publishing house releasing the digital rights to out-of-print and author-held rights’ books.

Bloomsbury Publishing, publishers of fiction for children and adults, announced they will begin releasing digital titles of out-of-print works whose rights have reverted to the author or the author’s estate. Bloomsbury Reader debuted this month with an astounding 500 titles in its current list.

Controversy regarding the print publishers climbing into bed with digital publishers originates from agents taking responsibility for converting books and releasing them through eBook distribution platforms.

One thing that agents have insisted again and again in the debates is that industry professionals with any kind of credible reputation for a high standard of ethics will always make the best decisions for their clients.

Whether consumers think publishers are keeping up with the times or selling out remains to be seen. For now, Bloomsbury is resurrecting some out-of-print titles and making them available to a new audience in both digital and print-on-demand formats. That can’t be all bad.

Attitude

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