When You Feel Invisible in the Crowded Book Market

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

Over the past few years, the book world has grown increasingly crowded as droves of indies have rushed to publish books. In the last year, we've also seen traditional publishers beginning to experiment with novellas, niche genres, and other markets thanks to the revolutionary nature of ebooks. In addition, established authors are re-releasing backlists as fast as they can.

All of that means that more books are available than ever before.

I think most of us can agree that it's become much harder for any ONE author to really stick out from the masses of other authors. There are just so many of us scrambling to get our books in front of readers, shouting, "Read my book! Read my book!" (Well maybe not literally shouting, but often it feels that way!)

Sometimes we can begin to feel like we're drowning in the sea of all the other books, that we're mostly invisible, that even when we supposedly do everything "right" to spread the word about our books, we still go largely unnoticed.

Recently John Owen emailed me and asked me a question that I'm sure many of us are grappling with: "How do I expand my reach and make aware to the general book buying public the availability of my book?"

When browsing online bookstores, most (non-writing) readers don't look at the publisher as they make buying decisions. So indie versus traditional publication is not a hugely important factor in reader buying habits.

Obviously readers gravitate most to the already established authors. So being a name brand like Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, or Danielle Steele still counts for something.

But readers who are willing to explore beyond the tried-and-true brand names often look for recommendations from other readers, keep an eye on trending books, and gravitate toward the buzz.

They also take into consideration price as well as reviews, particularly leaning toward books with lots of reviews. Sometimes, they even consider the number of books an author has published as a benchmark for reliability.

It stands to reason, then, that authors who are trying to get their books noticed can take advantage of those common reader patterns:

1. Find ways to get others to genuinely recommend our books. Often that takes the form of initially giving away limited copies of our books (like on Net Galley) or to specific reviewers or Influencers. In exchange for the free book, we should make sure the reviewers or influencers know our expectations about promotion or reviews.

2. Try to generate buzz about our books. Obviously it's very difficult to quantify the effect of blog tours, facebook chats, social media sharing contests, Pinterest boards, Goodreads giveaways, taking out ads, etc. Since all of those things are usually occurring at the same time, we can't easily identify which ones are the most helpful. However, every little bit of buzz we create has the potential to get our books in front of a new reader.

3. Look at ways to make the price workable. There are LOTS of theories about how to price ebooks. The general consensus is that ebooks should be priced lower than print books. But beyond that, opinions range all over the place for the "right" price. For multi-published authors, having one on sale (or free) can be a way to hook readers (particularly with a series).

4. Encourage readers to leave reviews. This can be done as simply as leaving a request as well as link at the back of the ebook. "If you've enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at an online bookstore." I usually ask my launch team (influencers) to leave reviews. Book bloggers are often open to reviewing books. We can also look for people who might be interested in the specific topic or message of our books and offer a complimentary copy for the purpose of a review.

5. Keep writing and always look for ways to improve our books. If readers stumble across an author with only one book containing a handful of reviews, the reader will be less likely to take a chance on the book. But if the author has written lots of books that each have lots of reviews, the readers will think the author is more successful/popular and thus more reliable. Whether true or not, that's the reality of the system.

The bottom line is that there are no magic formulas for getting noticed in today's crowded market. My philosophy is to first and foremost continue writing the best books that I possibly can. Then at the same time, I try to be savvy about marketing and trying new things.

What about YOU? Have you ever felt invisible in today's crowded market? What are some ways you've found especially helpful in getting noticed?

Author Marketing: Having Multiple Strategies

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

In today's crowded book market, ALL writers (whether traditional or indie publishing) must participate in marketing their books if they want a chance at getting noticed among the millions vying for reader attention.

Of course there are some differences in marketing for self versus traditional publishing. Traditional publishers often (but not always!) budget some marketing money for each book they publish.

Interestingly, the big name authors usually get the best (most) marketing dollars. On the one hand, it seems more logical for publishers to spend the larger share of marketing money on the lesser-known authors since readers already anticipate and pre-order the big-name releases months in advance. But on the other hand, publishers want to make sure their breakout novelists continue to do well (because those are the authors paying the bills).

All that to say, most mid-list authors don't have an endless supply of marketing dollars budgeted to the their books. So as I said before, that means no matter which venue of publishing we choose, we'll have to put forth our own time and money to market.

But that brings up the question: Which marketing methods are most worth an author's time and money? We obviously don't want to waste either on methods that may not bring enough bang for our buck.

Another writer recently asked me whether having a review on a major website was worth the investment because she was considering having her book reviewed there. She asked: "Could you let me know if you felt the service was worth the cost? As writers, we don't make a lot of money, and I would hate to spend money on something that didn't show a good return."

I'm sure my answer frustrated her. Because my answer is frustrating even to myself. But what I've learned over the past few years of marketing, is that there is no easy way to discover exactly how effective any ONE effort is.

For example, during the span of three weeks in October I was wrapping up a 20 book giveaway blog hop and an enormous contest with an incredible prize package. I had two reviews on major book review sites. Along with that I participated in a huge fiction scavenger hunt that brought hundreds and hundreds of readers to my website. I had a paid promotion ad on Facebook which took news of my book to over 50K. And then I did a five-book giveaway on my blog, which also generated lots of tweets and facebook sharing as contestants tried to earn more points.

All of those efforts together worked to spark interest in my new release. I saw more people adding the book to their shelves on Goodreads, more tweets, more facebook likes, and even some spikes in sales.

But . . . I'm not able to pinpoint which of those things helped THE most. 

In other words, we can't put our eggs all in one basket. We need to have multiple marketing strategies going at the same time.

Of course we want to be wise in what we do with our limited time and money. We can't do EVERYTHING. But what I've done is pick a few new things to do with each book. I try not to get into a rut doing the same-old-same-old, but rather look for fresh and different ways to promote.

There's NO magic formula and NO one thing that works best over every other strategy. At least I haven't landed upon that one way yet!

The key is to think outside the box. Stay relevant. And keep doing a little bit every day.

I hold on to the hope that eventually all of the hard work will pay off!

Have you found any marketing techniques that are especially helpful? Or is it difficult to narrow down what helps the most?

5 Obnoxious Marketing Techniques Writers Should Avoid

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

I'm definitely not a marketing expert. I've made plenty of mistakes. I've tried things that have flopped. And I've likely irritated people with my efforts at times.

But as I've looked around at what kinds of techniques work and don't work, I've realized there are several things that stand out as somewhat obnoxious, things I go out of my way to avoid.

1. Sending a direct message on Twitter (automated or otherwise) to a new follower asking them to go to your website, facebook page, or check out your books.

2. Following someone new on Facebook and then when he or she follows you back, ask them to go Like your Author Page.

3. Gaining a new friend on Facebook and then going right over and posting something about your book on her timeline.

4. Emailing someone you don't know, being friendly, and then ending the note by asking them to go to your website or Amazon page to take a look at your books.

5. Asking followers you don't know well to help "spread the news" about a book or event or to "please retweet" the information.

All of the above techniques are pushy and impersonal. And all of them have happened to me recently.

Such methods remind me of the college kids who used to come to my door every summer trying to sell me children's encyclopedias. The kids were trained not to take no for an answer, and I often felt like they were badgering me so that I'd allow them come inside and explain more about their books. Even if I had been interested (which I wasn't), I didn't want someone trying to force me to make a purchase.

Nobody wants someone knocking on their door in real life trying to sell something. Don't we all cringe when we get those kinds of visitors (or we hide in the bathroom and pretend were not home)?

Well, in the land of social media, cold calls are even more offensive. The old-school technique of hand-selling your books DOESN'T work. In fact, going door-to-door in cyberland and trying to drum up business is just a sure-fire way to LOSE followers. Since most social media works on a mutual acceptance of a following, we feel used when someone "friends" us for the sole purpose of getting us to buy something. As I said above, such techniques are impersonal.

And IMPERSONAL marketing rarely stirs our interest. But PERSONAL connections make all the difference.

When it comes to buying books (or anything) most of us are willing and go out of our way to support our friends. Or we might make a genuine connection with someone via blogging or twitter, and subsequently we're curious to find out more about his or her books. Or maybe we get interested in a book because others are excited about it. In all those cases, we make some kind of personal connection/recommendation which in turn causes us to pursue a book further.

I read a recent article from DBW entitled: Book Discovery Landscape Becomes More Complicated as Reader Behavior Fractures. The article said: "When it comes to book discovery, things are going to get more complicated before they get simpler."

The article had a couple of interesting charts about book buying habits as well as statistics about where books are sold. But out of all of the interesting data (compiled by Bowker Market Research), the most interesting statement was this: Amid all the change in how readers read and discover books, one thing has remained constant: in-person, personal recommendations are the No. 1 way people discover books, no matter who they are or how they read.

So my encouragement to all of us trying to navigate through the complicated maze of book discovery is NOT to get so desperate that we resort to badgering, pushy, impersonal techniques. But instead we need to try to remember that PERSONAL recommendations are what sell books, NOT from us as authors, but from readers who get genuinely excited about our books and then spread their enthusiasm to others.

So it comes back to the basics. The best thing authors can do to generate enthusiasm for their books is to write stories readers can get excited about. Plain and simple. Write books that readers will want to talk about.

What about you? Has anyone ever used one of the above impersonal marketing techniques on you? How did it make you feel? Have you ever bought a book as a result of someone's "cold call"? Are personal recommendations still the number one way you discover books?

When Should a Writer Stop Marketing a Book?

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

As you know, I'm in the middle of launching the release of my third published book, Unending Devotion. It released September 1, and I've been going strong in my marketing efforts for well over a month now. In fact, during the course of yesterday and today, I'll have had a radio interview, 2 book signings, 2 blog tour stops, and a facebook party.

In the cycle of a book's life, the first couple of months after release are generally when the most sales happen. Of course, if the book breaks-out, hits best-seller lists, etc., then sales may continue to grow.

But the average author sells their largest percentage of books during the months surrounding release. That's one of the reasons why we need to take our book-birthdays fairly seriously. We really only have a month or two to shoot off the fireworks. (Here's my latest post about How To Prepare for a Book Launch.)

After that, readers are ready and excited for the next author's newest book that's hitting shelves. The buzz about ours begins to fade, the rankings slowly sink, and the book gets relegated to the back shelves of the bookstores.

Does that mean we should stop marketing once all the hoopla dies down? Do we ever reach a point in the life of a book that we stop promoting it, especially in today's market when our books are available online indefinitely? Does that mean we need to keep marketing them indefinitely?

Obviously no one has the time and energy to let off fireworks all year round every day. So no, we can't keep up the intense type of marketing that comes during the release months. If we tried, we'd find ourselves and our fans burned out.

But neither do we have to give up completely on marketing our books once that initial buzz fades.
We can look for small steps we can take to keep our books and our name alive.

I recently read an article "Marketing 101" by Jeff Gerke of Editor of Marcher Lord Press and author of The First 50 Pages by Writers Digest (thanks to Melissa Jagears for the link!) After observing many novelists, he says this: "The harder a novelist works to promote his/her novel over time, the higher will be that novel’s sales. The corollary is also true: The less a novelist works to promote his/her novel over time, the lower will be that novel’s sales."

He goes on to say that just because we market really hard, doesn't mean we'll see best seller status, but at least our novel will do better than a book that isn't marketed well. He says: "Further, as soon as you stop marketing a novel, it will probably cease to sell."

Cease to sell. Those words are scary enough to send chills up every writer's backbone. We don't want to go to months and months of hard work writing a novel only for it have a shelf life of two months before it begins to collect dust.

Ideally, we'd like our books to keep selling and generating interest, maybe not at the same initial launch level, but at least to a degree.

Gerke has created the 30:1 Rule of Marketing which states: You have to do 30 things to market your novel to get 1 that “works” or gives you some traction or a positive uptick in sales.

He suggests doing one thing every day, no matter how small it might be. Because in the end all of those efforts add up.

There are a thousand different small things we can do to market our books that are inexpensive and not time consuming. And there really aren't any right or wrong ways to go about promoting. What works for some writers might not for others.

The important thing is that we keep doing a little bit of marketing and not to give up our efforts out of weariness or discouragement. (And yes, this is a message I'm preaching to myself!)

Gerke ends his article with this charge: There is a connection between how hard you promote your novel and how well it sells. Work harder and longer on promoting it, and it will sell better. As soon as you stop working it, most likely it will stop selling.

Doing one promotional effort a day sounds manageable to me. Does it to you?

Have you ever gotten discouraged with marketing and given up? What are a few small steps you can take or have taken to keep marketing?

_____________________________________________________________

Hey everyone! My "Fun Secrets" Blog Tour is still taking place. Make sure you don't miss out on the fun! At each blog stop, I'm GIVING AWAY a copy of my newest release, Unending Devotion. Here's where I'll be over the next few days:


Monday, Sept. 17: Secret #10: One of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Diane Estrella’s blog

Tuesday, Sept. 18: Secret #11: The area in my life I’m the most inconsistent. Dawn Alexander’s blog

For a list of all my secrets, check out my Events Page!

How Can Modern Writers Become & Stay Visible?

Otis Chandler, the CEO of Goodreads, recently had an excellent article: Winning the Battle of Book Discovery. (I highly recommend reading it.) He said this: “In an increasingly crowded and noisy marketplace . . . abundance has irrevocably changed the publishing industry, and it has made discovery the central problem facing the book business.” (Emphasis mine.)


Since “discovery” seems to be the central problem, then it stands to reason that becoming and staying “visible” is the solution.

And yet, those of us who’ve put our books out there know that becoming and staying visible is much harder than it sounds in today’s abundant book market.

Otis Chandler goes on in the article to list several book discovery trends. As a fairly visible author, I’d like to not only publicly thank Otis Chandler for his spot-on advice, but also to reiterate his points from my perspective.

Three primary ways for authors to stand out (as mentioned in Chandler’s article):

1. Generate Word of Mouth.

Chandler says: “The most valuable commodity for the sustained promotion of a book is word-of-mouth buzz . . . According to a recent survey of Goodreads members, 79% of them report discovering books from friends offline, and 64% find books from their Goodreads friends.”

When friends get excited enough about a book to start talking about it, that’s the highest praise and offers a huge boost to an author’s discoverability. Of course friends can’t genuinely get excited about a book that’s ho-hum or doesn’t grip them.

So obviously, we won’t start word of mouth promotion without a compelling book.

But when we do have a praiseworthy story, then we need to help facilitate chatter both in real life and online. I wrote a recent post about the importance of online reviews here, so I won’t go into great detail now, except to say, that word of mouth has played a pivotal role in getting my books noticed.

I started to keep a running list of blog reviews readers were posting about The Doctor’s Lady, but eventually I couldn’t keep up and stopped after about forty. Amazon has over 100 reviews. My Goodreads widget in my sidebar shows that readers are posting reviews about my book there too.

Every time a reader chats about a book whether in real life or online, that spreads the scope of the book to his or her circle of influence, giving a ripple effect to our discoverability.

2. Start Pre-Launch Buzz.

Chandler’s article mentions the increasing importance of starting the buzz about a book early in the book’s life cycle. And I can attest to that importance.

Getting our readers excited about our books starts many months before the release. Promoting the cover can often be the first thing we use to generate interest. My publisher got my readers involved in picking the cover of my next book, Unending Devotion (even though it doesn’t release until Sept.). Already 6 months ahead of release, Unending Devotion has been “marked-to-be-read” by numerous readers on Goodreads.

In the coming months, I have plans to help increase the buzz well before the release, just as I did with The Doctor’s Lady. In fact, my brainstorm list is already close to a page long.

3. Build a Tribe.

Chandler’s article says: “96% of [of Goodreads members] say they read books by authors they already know. This is why building a loyal following of readers will pay major dividends for authors when they publish their next book.” (Emphasis mine.)

We have to prepare ourselves for a slow uphill climb in building a loyal base of readers who love our books. Usually we won’t have millions of fans with our first book. But with each consecutive book we publish (by generating word of mouth and pre-launch buzz), hopefully we can continue to pull in new loyal readers to join our ever-widening fan base.

For unpublished or debut authors, the loyal tribe starts with those friends and connections we’ve established through building our web presence. I’ve found that the genuine friends I’ve made along the way to publication have been some of my biggest fans and supporters.

Summary: Even if we do all of the above and then some, we may still have a difficult time getting discovered by readers. As Chandler says, “There’s no one silver bullet when it comes to getting your book discovered.”

I learned early in my writing journey that I can’t hole away in my writer’s cave. I had to step out and get visible long before I published my first book. And I’ve continued to stay visible and to connect with readers after publication.

So my final advice for discoverability is to get out and connect with people. Be real. Be genuine. And be available.

Lots of questions today! Do you mostly stick with authors you already know and trust? Or are you willing to try new authors? What are some things your favorite authors do that help them stay visible? Or if you like their books well enough, do they even need to stay visible? Will you buy their books regardless of what they do?

P.S. The Doctor's Lady is currently ON SALE on Kindle for only $2.99 as part of Amazon's "The Big Deal" through March 25. Snag a copy while you can!

One Important Way for Authors to Get Discovered by Readers

With the growing masses of books hitting virtual shelves, how can the average author hope to get noticed by readers? And likewise, how can readers discover new authors without having to wade through thousands of books?

Writers are trying all kinds of techniques in order to help their books stand out—luring readers with free or cheap books, doing social media blitzkriegs, and desperately trying to find any way to push their book into the spotlight.

Readers are growing frustrated too. They buy cheap e-books only to find them riddled with typos or bizarre stories that aren’t worth their time or money.

Authors and readers alike are struggling through the changes brought about by the growth of e-readers and e-books. Authors who’ve put in the time and effort to learn the craft and perfect their stories don’t want to get lost among the dregs. And readers are looking for ways to find good authors and books without having to sift through the masses of books out there.

So what’s the solution?

Smashwords did a survey back in September of 2011, which netted some interesting results. The questionnaire “challenged readers to select the single most common criterion they follow to discover their next read.”

The most-selected answer was "Recommendations from fellow readers on online message forums, blogs and message boards, with 29% of respondents choosing this.” (Emphasis mine)

The latest Romance Writers Report (RWR) reiterated the growing importance of review sites: “In a blizzard of e-books, readers will look to names they trust for recommendations. Review sites are likely to flourish for the same reason . . . Fewer stores and less shelf space in the big boxes will make online reading recommendations increasingly important.” (Emphasis mine)

I like what successfully self-published author Joanna Penn said in her article Book Marketing Tips From Amazon’s Bestselling Self-Published E-books Of 2011: “I am personally convinced that book reviews and an accessible price point are the best sales tactics for selling bulk fiction e-books, providing the book and cover are good enough in the first place.” (Emphasis mine)

In other words, readers are turning to online review sites to help them wade through the flood of books in order to find authors and books they can fall in love with. 

What does that mean for authors?

1. Your marketing plan should include book reviews. One of the keys for getting your book to stand out is to get it into the hands (or e-readers) of online reviewers.

2. Look for variety in reviewers. Asking your twenty closest writing friends and family members to write reviews will only “stack the deck.” I continually hear readers say that they don’t trust reviews that are mostly 5-stars and with good reason if we as authors are arm-twisting or enticing friends into writing good reviews for us.

Instead, get to know your audience and target them. In a practical article that outlines his success with blog reviews, Tim Ferriss says: “You are not after the biggest audience possible, you are after the right audience.”

3. Give reviewers permission to be honest. They need the freedom to rate our books with as much subjectivity as they want. If we’re barging in and berating reviewers for less than stellar reviews, then we risk losing the trustworthiness of the review system that readers are looking for.

Remember review sites are for readers. I know that seems like a no-brainer. But if authors jump into review conversations, their presence or comments may prevent readers/reviewers from feeling like they can share openly and truthfully about the book.

4. Maintain a level of professionalism. Yes, this will be hard at times especially when we feel personally or unfairly attacked. But if we want the good part of reviews which can help us stand out in the crowded market, then we also have to be willing to take the more difficult aspects of it as well, including negative feedback. Often the most professional thing we can do is refrain from saying anything altogether and just let reviewers and readers enjoy interacting without our interference.

5. Above all give reviewers a book they will truly WANT to review. Enough said.

6. Finally, authors beware of writing reviews. Authors usually take two extremes—being overly critical or overly praiseworthy. I find that I’m much more critical than the average reader. My internal editor rarely turns off. Thus, my reviews will likely be more picky than most readers—which is why I rarely post public reviews.

On the other hand, in efforts not to hurt our fellow writers, we can move to the other extreme of only posting glowing praise (with the ulterior motive of hoping our fellow authors will do the same for us).

As writers, if we can’t find a middle objective ground, then we should probably shy away from writing reviews and look for other ways to support our fellow writers.

What about you? What’s your preferred mode of finding a new book or author? Do you look to online review sites for help? Or do you look elsewhere?

Even Though Free is IN, Don't Forget to Buy Books Too

I’ve noticed lately that “free” seems to be the new “in.”

Of course, as a reader, I like getting free books because I can try new authors I wouldn't normally consider. And besides, who doesn't like getting something free?

As an author, I think offering free books can be a good marketing technique to a degree. Most publishers and authors try to budget in giveaways for a variety of different purposes.

For example, some publishers give free books to reviewers who agree to post an honest review on their blog and with an online bookstore. This helps spread the word about books and can also generate more reviews (and the more reviews a book has, the more 'popular' it looks, even if that's not necessarily true.)

Publishers (and self-published authors) are also testing the waters for giving away e-books to increase the author's exposure. At the release of The Doctor’s Lady in September, my publisher gave away the e-book of my first book for a limited time. When all was said and done, they gave away thousands upon thousands of e-books of The Preacher’s Bride in the span of that month.

Ultimately, their hope (and that of others who give away free books) is that readers will enjoy the free book enough to go out and purchase additional books by that author. Or at the very least, tell others about the book to increase the word-of-mouth promotion.

The question is—does giving away all those free books really work? Does it help an author’s sales on their current release?

The jury is still out for how it’s helped sales on The Doctor’s Lady. My publisher didn’t see a significant boost—yet. But many factors influence the sales of a book during the critical months surrounding its release, which makes it difficult to isolate what really helps and what doesn’t.

Yes, free books are all over the place. At this point, we just don’t know the long term effects this will have on reader buying habits or whether it truly helps an author to build a readership.

However, in all of the book giveaways, let’s not forget ONE important thing: We can’t stop buying books. Writers and readers alike can’t become so enamored with getting free books—either for reviewing, endorsing, on our e-readers, or just because we can—that we forget to actually purchase books.

Most people don’t understand exactly how underpaid the majority of authors really are. Sure, there are the couple dozen authors who are making millions. But the rest of the masses of talented authors are not even making minimum wages on their books.

If we calculate out the months we spend writing, the weeks editing and rewriting, and then all of the time promoting, most authors end up making very little compared to all of the time and effort they put into the entire process.

So . . . at this time of year, at the beginning of the holiday season, I want to encourage us all to remember to buy books. Not only will we be supporting our favorite authors (who truly appreciate it!), but we’ll also be promoting the love of reading (which is something our modern culture desperately needs!).

Here are a few things we can all consider doing this holiday season:

• When giving someone a new Kindle (or other e-reader), purchase a couple of e-books for the person. Erika Robuck bought her mom a new Kindle and then bought The Preacher’s Bride as one of the first books her mom could read on the Kindle.

• For Christmas parties (either at work, with friends, or at church), consider giving a book for a gift exchange. Catherine Johnson emailed me to ask if I’d be willing to send bookmarks to a Christmas party she’s attending. She’s planning do a short reading from The Doctor’s Lady and then give away a signed copy.

• Put books on your own Christmas wish list, particularly of authors that you might not normally purchase.

• Buy books as gifts for family and friends and then ask the author if they’d be willing to send you a personally addressed and signed bookplate (sticker) that you can put into the book. (I know most authors would be as happy to do this as I am.)

• Buy and donate books to a charity of your choice. I recently donated a copy of each of my books to Judith’s Reading Room (as a result of Brigette Booth’s blog tour stop). Check out Bridgette's blog post for a list of other places you can donate books along with a description of each place.

If you love a book and an author, then one of the best ways to support them—so they can continue to write the stories you love—is to BUY their books!

What do you think? Are there too many free books? Is that inhibiting authors or helping? And have you made a point of buying books to support authors?

How To Prolong Your Book’s Exposure

In the life of a book, the several months surrounding the release date are critically important. That’s when the largest percentage of sales takes place. We set off fireworks, generate a lot of interest, and try to draw new readers.

But we can't set off fireworks forever. Eventually the newness of our release fades . . .

The average author doesn’t have long—two, maybe three months—until other hot, new releases push ours out of the spotlight and out of the top twenty list. Usually after the initial hype has died down, sales will dip. And we’ll count ourselves fortunate if our book continues to have slow but steady sales after that point (as opposed to none at all).

My second book, The Doctor’s Lady, has been on shelves for approximately three months. So my book has likely hit its peak in terms of sales. If it follows the same pattern as my previous book, The Preacher’s Bride, I’ll continue to have sales and new readers, but the figures won’t come close to those initial release numbers.

As I’ve watched this pattern with both of my books, I’ve realized a couple of things:

1. We need to take advantage of the release time, capitalize on the spotlight, and do all we can to invest in marketing at that point.

2. We also need to look for ways to prolong the exposure of our books so that they don’t fade into oblivion so quickly.

After spending months writing a book, months editing, and then months preparing for the release (blog tours, book giveaways, contests, etc.), I think every author would like to see his or her books have a much longer exposure than 2 or 3 months. That amount seems so insignificant compared to all of the time and effort we put into the book.

So what can we do to fan the flame of love for our book, to keep it burning so that it doesn’t extinguish altogether? In other words, what are some practical ways that we can prolong the exposure of our books?

Here are a few things I’ve done or am planning to do:

• Do a book giveaway on GoodReads. I like to save this giveaway until after plenty of reviews are posted—then the reviews have the potential to spark even more interest in the giveaway.

• Offer to send signed bookplates to anyone buying your book as a gift for friends or family. This is something I’m doing for anyone purchasing one of my books as Christmas presents for loved ones (or for yourselves!). (Sidenote: a bookplate is a sticker the author has personally signed that you can affix inside a book. If you'd like one from me, please email me via my contact page with your mailing address and the name of the person you would like on the bookplate.)

• Advertise your book on Facebook (which is something my publisher is doing for me). Again, we can wait to do this after we have a lot of great Amazon reviews. Then when people see our FB ad and investigate further, the reviews can help garner interest.

• Occasionally share snippets of praise from reader emails or letters. Recently on Facebook, I shared a sentence from a letter I received from a 92 year old woman who’d read my book.

• Offer to Skype or teleconference with book groups. Last month I Skyped with a couple of different groups about my first book, The Preacher’s Bride. I’ve found Skyping to be one of the enjoyable things I do as an author. (And make sure to get the group’s picture for your website.)

• Schedule interviews, particularly around holidays/themes. Next month I’m doing a couple of radio interviews—one about Christmas traditions. Valentine’s Day is also a great time for romance writers to do giveaways and interviews.

• Enter your book into contests for published authors. Yes, each contest has a fee (usually about $25 and requires several free books). A final can give your book extra exposure, but even if it doesn’t final, you are getting your books into the hands of more readers.

• Offer to speak to local groups. Often such groups will allow you to bring books to sell. I’m giving the keynote speech at a one-day writer’s conference on Saturday. This winter, I’m also scheduled to speak at a library.

As I said, we need to capitalize on the initial hype that surrounds our book’s release. That’s the prime time to attract readers. But, if you’re like me, and you don’t want to see your book stall once you’re past the prime, then we’ll have to continue to look for creative ways to keep the book love going.

How about you? What are some other ways authors can prolong the exposure of their books? What have you seen work well? And does the small window of spotlight at release time disappoint you after all the work you've done?

5 Ways to Take the Ickiness Out of Marketing Our Books

My twin daughters joined a synchronized swim team this fall. As part of the process of trying to reduce the fees, the team has several fundraisers throughout the year.

After the first practice, my girls brought home a sheet of pies to sell (similar to the Girl Scout cookie sheet).

At first, the girls were enthusiastic. They made lists of friends and neighbors they wanted to target. They divided the list, deciding which families each of them “got.” Then they headed out together to sell pies.

I wasn’t surprised when they returned a short while later after going to just two neighbors. One of the families bought a couple of pies and the other didn’t. My more dramatic daughter shuddered and said, “I didn’t like having to ask them to buy something. It felt icky.”

The initial gusto had faded, replaced by the reality of what they were doing.

If you’ve been around the industry a while, then you know marketing our books is not optional. It’s necessary for survival in today’s over-saturated market. We’re competing with a million other writers for diminishing shelf space and ultimately the attention of readers.

With two published books out there, I’ve learned from first-hand experience that my books won’t walk around and sell themselves. I have to go out and knock on doors (so-to-speak). And sometimes that marketing leaves me with an icky feeling.

I recently read an article titled Does Marketing Your Writing Feel Like Prostitution? It starts with this: “So there we writers stand, on the virtual street corner with our computers, wearing sexy sweat pants, hawking our books, articles, and ‘content creation services’.”

Nowadays, authors are searching for THE best ways to get their books noticed. We’re striving for the most creative, the most eye-catching, and the most vocal marketing techniques. But after a while it can begin to feel like we’re standing out on the corner hawking ourselves.

How can we market without feeling icky? Is it possible?

Here are a few things we can do to keep the ickiness out of marketing our books (as much as possible):

1. Don’t send new followers the links to your website or Amazon book page. I can’t tell you lately how many new followers (both on twitter and facebook) have asked me to go “check out” their books. I never, ever go to those links. It feels like they followed me only to make a sale (and they likely did), which is a complete turn-off and will only do more harm than good.

2. Don’t ask people to retweet or help you promote your book unless you already have a strong relationship with them. Asking mere acquaintances for that kind of support makes people feel used. However, when we’ve already developed a relationship, often our friends will be the ones asking us how they can help.

3. Make sure you’re showing up on social media on a regular basis—NOT just when you want to talk about your books. I’ve seen several authors continually promote their books through email loops, on twitter, etc. But I don’t know them, simply because they only talk about their books. I’d be more inclined to like them and buy their books if I got to know them personally.

4. When befriending people, don’t have ulterior motives. I quickly lose my respect for people who are really nice to me and not too long afterward ask me for a favor. Of course, there’s always that unspoken realization that all writers have an underlying motivation for using social media. We eventually want it to help us sell books. But even if it starts out that way, social media has to become SO much more than just a marketing tool. We can't forget that real people are behind the avatars, and they deserve to be treated with genuineness and respect.

5. Engage in meaningful relationships with other people without thought of what we gain in return. We shouldn’t have an air of entitlement and expect people to buy our books or follow us back. I’ve found that over time, many people support me because they’ve come to know me in a real way.

My Summary: I wish my books could just stand-alone and market themselves simply because of the quality. But even with well-written, compelling books, we all have to market our books to help give them an advantage. That’s the reality in today’s market. But honestly, I’d rather NOT make a sale, then make one in pushy and icky way.

What about you? What are some other icky marketing techniques you’ve noticed? How can we take the “ick” out of the whole process? Is it possible or will we always have a bit of that icky feeling?