Authors - Push it Real Good!

Gleeful Review

Who saw gLee last night? Was it not hilarious? I love those shows where you miss something as you are laughing. Thanks goodness for TIVO.

Favorite lines? (Most are from Sue :) and I laughed just writing these.

• Sue: That was the most offensive thing I've seen in 20 years of teaching and that includes an elementary school production of Hair.
• Sue: I took the liberty of highlighting some special ed classes. I'm sure you can find some recruits.
• Mr Shu: Come up liven up - this is Disco!
• Sue: You need 12 kids to qualify for Regionals. You have 5.5 including the cripple."
• Sue - Hey buddy. I was just blasting my hammies. You want an iron tablet, it keeps your energy up while you're menstruating.
• Principal Figgins: The toilets are broken again and they are being fixed. Let me warn you. We have zero tolerance for anyone soiling on school grounds.
• Principal Figgins: I have not seen the student body this excited since Tiffany performed at the North Hills Mall!
• Principal Figgins - I have provided a list of family friendly songs that reflect our community's values. Besides Jesus and balloons, there are also songs about the cirrus.
• Principal Figgins: The dry cleaners here are just as good as the ones in Europe.
• Sue: You remind me of a younger Sue Sylvester. Though you don't really have my bone structure.

In honor of Glee, I am going to do a post for authors on how they can....


Push it Real Good!

So I thought I would get back to doing some marketing posts besides my Marvelous Marketer series on Mondays and my Marketing Roundup on Fridays. I think I've been rambling too much about me lately.

Today, is for authors who has books out in the world or coming soon.

There are many things every author can do to PUSH their book out into the world.


1) The Gab factor-

• Look for any place that you can reach kids or their parents. Bookstores, libraries, clubs, churches, chamber of commerce, schools, colleges, PTAs, writers clubs, workshops, seminars, conferences, book fairs, festivals, conventions, .
• No matter what, provide an experience. Think about ways to get your audiences attention. For example: Christopher Paolini toured middle schools across the country dressed in medieval garbs as his character Eragon.
• The More the merrier - Invite your customers or audience to your speaking engagements. Post them on your web site.
• Do interviews on radio, TV, newspapers, and magazines.

2) The Write Way

• Write an article for a group newsletter.
• Write emails and letters to the media, bookstores, anyone who may be interested, about your book.
• Create your own newsletter and send to people you meet (be sure to get permission and their emails!)
• Write a series. Get a following.
• Blog

3) You can't do it alone

• Work with locals- they are generally happy to work with local authors. Especially libraries and independent bookstores. Personal connections always works.
• Become a joiner. Join and be an active member in the appropriate trade and social associations. Help others.
• Form alliances. Create a buddy system with another writer especially in different locations. Hook up for signings, tours. You can also promise to promote each other's work. For example, when you to a bookstore - you make sure your book and their book is in stock.
• Do it for Charity - partner up with a charity you love and offer X% of profits in exchange for advertising, speaking engagements etc.
• Be a teacher - teach a class at a college. teach a class to kids. Find a way to teach others about your subject.
• Join groups like myspace, facebook, twitter where you can reach a lot of people fast.

4) And the winner is...

• Submit your book to the appropriate contests for awards or honors.
• Awards are listed in the Literary Marketplace and a book called The Writers Resource Handbook.
• Nominations or honorable mentions are just as good as winning.
• Run your own contests. Give away books to the winners.

5) Make it newsworthy

• Get reviews. Not just from from major national book reviewers. Look for local or special interest media that do reviews. Free magazines in Atlanta can get up to 20,000 issues out.
• Use galleys and any copies you buy in A SMART WAY.
• Do not send out books or galleys until you have personally contacted the person and they are expecting it.
• Have a press/media kit ready to send.

6) Repeat!

• Make 5 contacts a day - mail a letter, make a call, send out a press release,
• The rule of 7 - Did you know the average seller has to touch a consumer 7 times in 18months to get a sale. This means your buyer sees an ad, reads an interview, sees a review etc. Those are all touches.

To me, as a marketing professional, if your book is published and has not sold, you are either not marketing it right or not marketing it at all.

Marvelous Marketer - Ron Hogan (Galley Cat)

Hi Ron, before we get started, please tell me
a little about yourself and how you got to
Galley Cat.

Hi Shelli. Thanks for having me. I've been doing websites about books and writers since 1995, when I posted my first author interview to Beatrice. I'd switched Beatrice over to a blog format at the end of 2003 and it promptly gained a whole new audience--but I was pretty much riffing on anything publishing-related, including a fair
amount of industry talk.

Then in the summer of 2005, MediaBistro invited me to take over GalleyCat and write exclusively about the industry side of publishing as opposed to the usual "book blog," which skews more towards the literary side of things.


In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?

For me, it's not so much a matter of "you must use THESE tools to promote your book." It's about having the passion to share your story with the rest of the world, and recognizing that you can't just expect people to stumble onto your book, or count on somebody else to do the marketing for you. If you believe in your story enough to spend all that time crafting it, you should be willing to put the time and effort into persuading people it has something to say to them. How you do that is a matter of identifying your comfort zones and working right up to their edges.

In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads etc.

Social networking can be a very effective tool for convincing potential readers that you are an interesting person who has something meaningful to say. The important thing is that you're there to be social, not just to wave your book in people's faces and ask/tell them to buy it. Get people to like YOU, and then they'll become curious about your book.


Do you feel it is beneficial for authors to team up and promote books as a group? Why?

For the most part, bookselling is not a zero-sum game. Yes, when you look at an individual bookstore visit, it CAN be a matter of buying THIS book and not THAT book, but let's take the long view and think of ALL the bookstore visits that a dedicated reader will make over the course of a year. From that perspective, buying John Doe's books whenever they come out doesn't preclude a fan from buying Richard Roe's books, too. So if John and Richard are in the same field, it makes complete sense for them to encourage their fans to read each other's work. This isn't a race; not only can there be multiple winners, they don't need anybody else to "lose" in order to win.

What creative things have you done to promote a book?

When my book, The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane, came out in 2005, I created my own website for the book and did a slew of interviews with film-related blogs. I also played an active role in arranging the bookstore events; one of the most important things I did was to recruit other people who'd written film books to do those events with me. Not only did it increase the size of the audience, it made the events themselves a lot more fun, as we were able to get some real conversations going.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us today!

Thank you Shelli!

Friday's Marketing Round up

Comment Your Butt off update

As of this morning - just since March 1st!

• 2,748Unique visitors
• 1162 Comments
• 81 people!

Only 5 days left! Don't forget to email me your extra credit by Tuesday night (listed on the left side).

Also - thanks so much to those of you who have downloaded/commented on Amazon Idol. Even if you download, it helps my ranking.

As of this morning, I was ranked #63 out of 500 in the Quarter Finals. You can go and read the first 3 chapters of my YA Suspense, Grace Under Fire here.

Don't forget, Alice Pope (Editor and Author of Children's Writers & Illustrators Market) will be our gurst interviewee on Monday!

Friday's Marketing Round up

Starting a Blog in a meaningful way - Here are the most common goals associated with blogs started by writers seeking publication.

10 Ways to promote your book - There are a number of things that the author can do that will really help so make the move from writing to marketing and take these actions

Top 5 reasons to have a web site - Now, consumers are going online at a much higher percentage. YOu may need to revisit your online strategy.

Blog, tweet update, *sigh* - There's a lot of chatter these days about the sales potential of the internet's social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In or Ning.

Video with Ron Hogan from galley Cat discussing web publicity & online marketing.




Have a great weekend!

Day 5 - Tips for Book Tours

30 Days to Marketing

OK so a month ago - I said I was going to do 30 days to marketing - covering different topics. I got side-tracked with the Comment Contest and some health hurdles.So I am back with Day 5!Here are the first 4 days if you want to review them.

• Day 1: Build Your Author Brand/Platform
• Day 2: Analyze Your Audience
• Day 3: Think about Your Online Presence
• Day 4: EZ Web Sites
  

Day 5: Tips for Book Tours

1. Put your money where your book is? - how much is your publisher going to spend (if anything) and what can you spend. This should all be part of your marketing strategy.


2. Where are you going to go? Is this a regional tour or national. If regional, plan out your trip - is a car cheaper vs a plane. If it is national - stick to larger cities - NY, LA, Chicago, San, Fran etc


3. Who are you going to visit? Make a list of venues. You don't have to just focus on bookstores. You may want to focus on Libraries, Schools, Indies, Large stores, or maybe even art galleries.It all depends on your book. Pick the right market.


4. Find the right partners. Look for events or authors or other artists to pair up with. This can increase the traffic/attendance and help you sell more books.


5. Get the word out. Never leave advertising to the venue. Find out what they will do and do more yourself. Call the local paper to see if you can get a story or contact the local radio station for an interview.


6. Don't forget to use your network. Make sure your friends in other cities know about your book. See if they have any local contacts at schools, bookstores, etc


7. Seek out organizations. What about calling your college alumni contact or your sorority/fraternity? What about other organizations are you apart of?


8. Prepare something. At any signing, you should try and find a way to connect to your audience. Read an excerpt and take questions. Talk about the craft of writing or tell your story. People are more apt to buy your book if they connect to you.
9. Be polite. Always follow up with venue organizer to thank them for assisting you. Give them a small token so they remember you. A table topper for their counter with your book on it. Pens. book bag etc.

Coming up in the series: Blog Tours and Virtual Tours

Feel free to email me with marketing topics you are interested in hearing about.

Friday's Marketing Round up!

Here it is the weekly round up of my top posts on PR or marketing.

Also feel free to read through some of my past posts by clicking on the tag "marketing" or "interviews" to learn more about marketing your books or yourself.

• Twitter isn't stupid - Visit this article to learn more about Twitter. A February 2009 study found that Twitter is the third largest social-networking site, after Facebook and MySpace.
• Are you all a Tweeter? - Tips and tools about using Twitter.
• What's your Online Strategy? What are you waiting for? Some writers think they can't make the leap — and therein lies the only problem.
• Cynsations Interviews Publicist, Julie Schoerke- Founder and Principal of JKSCommunications, Julie Schoerke promotes publishers, authors and books from across the country.
• Marketing on Facebook - Here's 5 Tips for marketers utilizing your Facebook pages.
• A Brilliant Marketing Plan - Hungary Caterpillar. Eric Carle has a brilliant plan whether he meant to or not.
• Eagles or turkeys - what marketing sets autors apart

Have a great weekend.

Don't let the word Marketing fool you!

Marketing Muse
Visit book reviewers and librarians sites. Comment on their blogs. get the name recognition. Ask yourself what can you do FOR THEM. When your books come out - they may remember you :)

It's all Marketing! Don't let it fool you.

What is Marketing?

Everything you do can be called "Marketing" I have gotten tons of comments in the last few days about Pre-published Marketing especially since I spoke at Southern Breeze. Many of those comments are saying that they know of many authors that have NOT started marketing until their book has already come out. That is not true.

Remember: most writers/authors usually only think of Marketing as Book Marketing. They think of running ads or doing book signings and school events.

Marketing is any of the following: blogs, social networking sites, newsletters, speaking engagements, signings, podcasts, interviews, business cards, web sites. Anything you do to get your name out there and meet people is Marketing. ALOT of authors these days do start marketing before they get published.

They just don't know its marketing.

Marketing things you may already be doing and don't even know it!

• So if you are commenting on my blog for this contest - that is Marketing!
• If you are doing a blog - that is Marketing!
• If you have a web site (all together now) - Marketing!
• If you have joined facebook or myspace - Marketing (are you seeing a pattern yet?)
• If you have business cards - marketing (brand identity)
• If you are speaking at conferences on any topic - marketing
• If you have joined SCBWI - Marketing (networking is an informal way of marketing)
• Book signings? School Visits? Do I hear Marketing?
• Podcasts/Blog tours- Marketing
• Commenting on blogs or connecting to other people's blogs - marketing
• Volunteering

Why do marketing at all?

Because you get your name out there. Name recognition and networking are critical in marketing (obviously second to writing a good book)

• Prepublished - if an editor or agent recognizes your name. It may get you a serious look or chance.
• Published - if a librarian or store owner know your name and see your book. They make book you for the signing over someone they have never met.

That is why you want to brand yourself - because you are getting out there anyway. Why not send a consistent message?

Other forms of Marketing

Don't get this confused when people offer "Marketing Workshops" that focus on Queries, Synopsis, and cover letters. This is a form of marketing to - you are marketing your book ideas to agents and editors. That is why they say "have a hook" - this is common term in Marketing.

Make sure if you go to a workshop that is titled Marketing - you read the details on which type of marketing it is.

Do Agents and Editors Market themselves?

This can all be true for editors and agents too. If they get their name out there - they may get better queries. They may get a chance at a specific author. That is why they go to conferences. That is why they go to lunch. That is why they tweet. That is why they mention the books they are working on at conferences or in interviews. All this gets their name, their agency/house, and their new books out in front of people so they are thought of first.

So what are they doing?

Marketing!

We all need to change our view of Marketing - beyond the basics.

So comment here and start your marketing. Start getting your name out.

Now go "market"

Beware of your Shadow Brand!

Contest Update
Whoa - you people are Krazy! Lots of competitiveness out there. I am loving the comments and meeting new bloggers. keep it up. If you are just coming - the contest goes all month. here's the original post. To all you players - lets' see who can keep up this pace all month long! :0)


Beware of your Shadow Brand!

This past weekend, I spoke at an SCBWI conference in Atlanta on Getting past your fear of branding/marketing. I promised I would blog about it as a recap.

Befor eyou decide what your brand is - you need to be aware of the brand you are giving off.

Beware of your Shadow brand - Be aware of what type of vibe you give off. I'm not talking about if you just have a bad day. I mean the "consistent shadow brand" you may be projecting. Are you scared, frustrated, desperate, confident etc. If you don't know what it is - ask your critique group members.

Develop your own Author branding. This is your personal brand as a writer/author. You do not need to be published for your author brand. You only need to know your writing. What do you write? what is special about it? What colors represent you?

What do you need for your author brand?

• Web site ( a must!!!!!). Go for some variation of your name. (yourname.com) If you can't get it throw in your middle name or initials. You want your name as your author web site - it is easier to find that "YAbookauthor.com"
• Blog (Andrew Karre, Editor at Carolrhoda, said yesterday that he prefers active blogs to stagnant web sites.)
• Begin networking - what can you do for other people. Do this where you are comfortable - online or in person.
• Decide on your colors/logo/look - keep it to 2 or 3 colors and figure out your style.
• professional looking biz cards (try to stay away form white and definitely stay away from printing them yourself with perforated edges. You can get printing very inexpensive these days.

Don't be baffled by Book branding. This is the brand of your published books. No one really needs to book brand until they get published. Although your topic appeals to a marketing segment, the book cover also plays a major role in the branding.

What do you need for your book brand?

• all of the above
• develop a marketing strategy plan that is specific (not too generic)
• do have marketing materials - book markers, postcards etc
• If you have a series - you can always start a "book web site" "bookseriestitle.com" like harrypotter.com
• Of course - expand your networking and always follow up!!!

Cheapies to get you started

• Web sites - I prefer godaddy - you can get a good site for under 15$ a month. They also sell domains for about 6$ a year. There are free web sites but they will not show up in search engines and they do not have as much of a professional look.. IN addition, usually your url will have their site in the title. Like srjohannes.googlepages.com.
• Blogs - blogger or livejournal tend to be the most popular ones
• free Blog templates - http://www.templates-blogger.com/ or http://btemplates.com/
• Social networking - free (facebook/myspace/goodreads etc)
• Twitter - free
• Business cards - you can always design them and print them at vistprint.com or iprint.com. keep in mind the design is not totally customizable.
• Other materials - again vistaprint.com allows you to upload documents and print for very inexpensive. (postcards/brochures/flyers).

Should you ever spend money?

I say not if you don't have to. (my hubby and accountant are killing me right now :)

If you ever decide to spend any money on marketing - I would highly recommend hiring a graphic designer to custom design your web site, biz cards, and other marketing materials. You do the copy and printing yourself. If you pay a graphic designer to put it together, be sure you ask and receive the print ready files. That way, you can print inexpensively on vistprint or iprint.

For those who asked - I give 20% off to writers and 30% off to SCBWI members. I will also promise to always beat your other estimates by 10% (assuming their prices are in alignment with the Graphic Artists Guild Pricing Guidelines and Ethics.

Hope this helps!

Marvelous Marketer: Andrew Karre (Editorial Director, Carolrhoda Books)

Comment Your Butt off point updates:

Good questions and I have added some additional points based on your suggestions.

• 2 extra points if you friend me on Facebook (left side)
• 2 points if you become a Follower of my blog (left side)
• 2 points if you follow me on Twitter. (left side)

Email me and let me know when you add me.

Ok funny people!!! if you comment, they cannot be repeats. Remember - your comments need to be meaningful to the post or chit chatty to me! You can do back posts if you like too.

Don't forget it goes through March so you'll have to keep visiting me :) We'll see who can keep it up. Keep in mind - this is for us to find new bloggers and get some to practice commenting. I know the prize is great but keep that in mind when you are posting.

Marvelous Marketer: Andrew Karre (Editorial Director, Carolrhoda Books)

Hi Andrew. Thank you so much for joining us today. Before we get into marketing, tell me a little about yourself.

I’m the editorial director at Carolrhoda, Lerner Publishing Group’s trade children’s book imprint where we publish picture books, Middle Grade and YA. I was previously the editor at Flux, Llewellyn Worldwide's young adult imprint.

Do you/your agency/your house have a website/blog? When did you start it and who manages it?

I started blogging at Carolrhoda.blogspot.com when I started here in October. I provide most of the content.

In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?

a) Be honest with yourself about what you’re good at and focus on that.
b) Do whatever you can to make your local bookstore, library, and school communities aware of your book shortly before it comes out.
c) Make sure you’ve done the basics online well and thoroughly but that you’ve spent no more than a hundred bucks or so, if anything. By basics, I mean: you’ve a simple web site at yourname.com (could be just redirecting to your Blogger or Wordpress blog); you’re networking and commenting on well-trafficked blogs at least as much as you are posting to your own; and you’re reading critically everything you can about what’s going on in your genre or niche.

In your opinion, how important is social networking like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads etc.

They’re very important if you can use them well and if they don’t distract you too much. I am not a fan of MySpace. I don’t think debut authors need to do anything beyond pulling their profile names for later use. Facebook is better, though mostly for networking with gatekeeping adults at first. I find Twitter a useful way to follow news, even though I don’t tweet much. I don’t yet have an opinion on Goodreads.

How important is technology to an author’s marketing plan?

It’s as important as it needs to be. You don’t sell more books because you used the most tech. You might sell more books because you used the right tech for your book effectively.

Technology is an amplifier for your book, but not every technology is a good fit for every book. A flashy, expensive web site can be a very loud amplifier, but if you’re trying to promote your literary YA debut, I don’t think anyone will be listening. On the other hand a free blog as starting point for a disciplined program of pithy commenting on well-trafficked librarian and reviewer blogs can get you out loud and clear to the right people for almost no money.

Bear in mind that almost no one has anything beyond anecdotal evidence of efficacy for any of these strategies.

What other advice do you have for authors/writers regarding marketing?

Don’t waste your time on a generic marketing plan. If you can’t come up with a marketing plan that doesn’t include the words “Oprah” and “book tour,” then you don’t have a marketing plan—and that’s fine. Spend your time getting to know the online community for your genre. I’m vastly more impressed when I recognize a writer as commenter on a favorite blog than I am by a generic marketing plan.

When evaluating whether to take on an author or book, do you ever Google them to see if they already have a web presence or platform?

Yes, always. I’d rather see an active blog than a flashy website any day.

What things do Publishers offer in contracts in terms of Marketing? What does the average author receive or is it different, depending on the book?

In my experience, almost nothing in the contract. It varies hugely, book to book. Keep in my mind, my experience is all with small to midsize indie publishers.

What things do you expect an author to do on their own?

I expect authors to make a sincere effort to make the most of their promotional opportunities. I do not expect authors to spend their advances on freelance publicists or to go into debt. I expect them to be good partners and to tell us honestly what they think they can do (And be willing to stretch that a little).

Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your marketing strategies as an editor!

Marvelous Marketer: Shrinking Violet Promotions (Robin LaFevers)

Marvelous Marketer: Shrinking Violets (Robin)

Hi Robin, Thanks for joining us. Before we get started, tell me a little about yourself.

I am the author of eight books for young readers. My most recent book, Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, (Houghton Mifflin, 2008) was featured on The Today Show’s Holiday 2008 List and appeared on the Winter 2008-2009 Kid's Indie Next List.

My next book, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist (Houghton Mifflin) will be released in Fall of 2009.

Do you/your agency/your house have a website/blog? When did you start it and who manages it?

I actually have two websites and three blogs—yes, that is probably overkill and one of them suffers because of it. My author website was designed and built by Vivian Lund and is perfectly suited to my five earlier books.

However, when my writing switched tones and direction, it no longer fit quite as well so I had her build a "book based website for THEODOSIA AND THE SERPENTS OF CHAOS. We used the artwork from the books to create a very unified look. The other thing I really like about the Theodosia website is that it is built on a Wordpress blog platform, so it is really easy for me to go in and make changes, updates, add pages, etc. myself.

With my author based website, that is not the case so it doesn’t get updated nearly as often as it should. I consider my author blog as sort of an update page for my website. Unfortunately, I didn’t launch my author website until my second book, but that was almost six years ago and I don’t think the web had become quite the marketing force and presence it is now. Now I would definitely have my website up and running by the time my book came out.

Lastly, I jointly run a blog called Shrinking Violet Promotions, which is a blog devoted to the idea of helping introverted authors cope with the extroverted task of marketing their work.

In your opinion , what are the top 3 things every author should and must do to promote their book?

The top three things would be to:
1. Have a website
2. Find a way to build a second, social network on the web, whether through a social networking site or a unique blog, and
3. Really, write the absolutely best book you can.

The thing is, if you write a book that shines, your publisher will get behind it in a big way, and they can do far, far more for your book than you can in terms of getting the word out there. So while it sounds kind of trite to say “write an amazing book,” there is a whole heap of truth in there. Take an extra year, a few more workshops, really wrestle with the craft and voice until it shines.

In your opinion, how important is social networking?

Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and GoodReads can make sense in some cases. Especially MySpace and Facebook. Twitter is fun, but I’m not sure I get how it can help you with the task of marketing, and sites like GoodReads strike me as a bit of a field mind for an author.

It seems to me that you’d have to take your author hat off and really interact on that site as more of a reader, but I may be wrong. It also depends on the age of your readers. My readers are mostly under 13, the age required to log onto any of those sites, so I haven’t participated in them nearly as much as some.

It makes much more sense for a YA or adult author, although I know that bookstores and librarians and reading groups have their own MySpace pages now, so it could be a good method of interacting with them. Basically, you have to choose where you’re going to put your energy, so if those sites make sense for your reading audience, great, if not, ignore them in good conscience.

How important is technology to an author’s marketing plan?

I think technology is an author’s new best friend, frankly. There are just so many ways to reach out to your readers using technology, it puts so many great options at your fingertips, and at minimal cost. Blogs, podcasts, book trailers, videocasts, video conferencing, social networks, reading sites, there are just so many ways to get involved! Honestly, they can form the bulk of an author’s marketing plan.

Do you feel it is beneficial for authors to team up and promote books as a group? Why?

I think it can be hugely beneficial for authors to team up and promote their books together. The most obvious example is the aspect of shared work and rewards. With Shrinking Violet Promotions, Mary Hershey and I take turns posting the material and bounce ideas off each other. While we are both introverts, we also have very different approaches to things and that brings a richness and depth to the joint blog that would be lacking if just one of us was doing it. Mary and I also tend to do joint book signings whenever possible because we find it is much less intimidating for people to approach the two of us, rather than just one of us. Somehow, having two authors sitting there interacting with each other is more socially inviting than having a single author alone at a table, waiting for readers to come along.

Do you have a formal marketing plan or is your marketing more random? If not, why? Would you like to?

I do tend to have marketing plans for my books. I find this helps me stay focused and stay on top of the time line for certain marketing tasks (especially since so many of them have to be done so far out). It’s usually a combination wish list of all the things I’d like to do and a To Do list with all the things I absolutely will do. Although I have to confess it is a lot like a synopsis in that what actually happens doesn’t always stick closely to the original version.

What creative things have you done to promote a book?

Probably the most creative thing I’ve done to promote a book is the extensive Theodosia character blog I did. When I first started it ( Jan of 2007) it hadn’t really been done much before and it was a fun way to begin a teaser stream for the upcoming book, then after book one came out to try to stay connected to the readers until book two came out I’m afraid it may have lost some of it’s efficacy by now however, as it sometimes devolves into a chat room for a few girls, but it was very effective, especially in the beginning.

Thank you for joining us today and sharing some of your marketing strategies!

Marvelous Marketer - Krista Marino (Sr. Editor/Delacorte Press)

Marvelous Marketers: Krista Marino, Senior Editor
Delacorte Press (Random House Kids)

Hi Krista! Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to be with us today. Before we get into your marketing advice, can you tell me a little about yourself and publishing house.

I am a Senior Editor at Delacorte Press—an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Delacorte publishes middle grade and young adult fiction, so I’m only looking to acquire books that fall into those categories. The genres I work on are far-ranging, though. Lately I’ve been acquiring darker projects. I think it’s a reflection on where our world is today. Teenagers just aren’t really looking to read light, happy books--and I guess I’m not, either. One of my upcoming books perfectly encapsulates this world anxiety. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan is a story about hope set in a post-apocalyptic world.

In your opinion, how important is social networking? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, GoodReads etc.

At Random House we’ve found that this is a HUGE part of an author’s success. You can quietly build a solid fan base by keeping (and maintaining regularly) a blog and website. And the more authors you connect with, the better your networking tools become. You can follow Random House . Facebook seems to be the social networking site of choice these days, but a personal blog could be even more useful in creating a feeling of intimacy with your readership.

How important is technology to an author’s marketing plan?

Because teens are on the internet more and more, we’ve really turned our marketing focus toward this venue. I think it’s very important you are out there—that you have a presence—on the internet.

Do you feel it is beneficial for authors to team up and promote books as a group? Why?

Yes. It’s very beneficial. And the more authors you have out there talking your books up the better. Any champion you can get with a venue that reaches the public is useful. The internet seems to be the most cost-effective venue out there these days and there are several groups that are taking advantage of this, organizing online, and pooling money for group marketing projects.

What things do you expect an author to do on their own?

We expect an author to do anything they can to support their book. These days, a website is a basic necessity. Then you can build up from there to Facebook and Myspace and other online communities. Not only for marketing, but for building connections within the industry. Librarians, teachers, other authors—the more people you know, and the more friendly you are, the better off you’ll be. Many of my authors have parlayed their relationships into blurbs for their debut novels. That’s something that goes far.

Thank you again for sharing your marketing advice!

Build Your Author Brand (Day 1) & Writing Lessons from The Office

Build Your Author Brand/Platform (Day 1)

OK I want everyone to go through this exercise with me for the next 30 days. Ill teach you how to start your marketing plan from scratch, aw well as some best practices for twitter, blogging, facebook and more.

This book is a great reference: Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform

Today is about creating a brand/platform for yourself. What is a platform?
The term author platform is popping up all over the place, but what exactly is an author platform? Essentially, your platform is based on your expertise. For nonfiction, this relates to the topic of your books. What about fiction authors? Your platform, obviously, should focus on your genre. It’s even better to focus on a smaller niche. For example, get known for knitting mysteries.

Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you have established, the articles you have published, and any other means. here are 8 things to think through when determining what your platform is.

1) What is your genre? Lets say you are writing a knitting mystery.
2) What experience/knowledge do you bring? (are you a knitter? Do you do arts and crafts? are you a fashion major? etc)
3) Write Down 3 different audiences that your book targets. (Knitters, Fashion, Mystery)
4) Write down 5 ways to reach those audiences. (groups, organizations, web sites, etc)
5) Find out who are the influencers in those groups (leaders, content experts) and introduce yourself. tell them what you are doing. (google google google)
6) Get involved in those organizations now (whether you are published or not). Become familiar with organizations related to your topic or genre. Join those that you feel can help move your career forward through education and/or association. Become known by participating.
7) Create a web site - this is one of the first things to do. Simple 5 pages. (Use a knitting motive)
8) Start building an email database/spreadsheet of critical contacts. (Be sure to keep track of contacts)

Come back tomorrow for Day 2 in our Marketing Journey!

The Office Lessons

After working an an executive at Bank of America, this show is quite funny to me. Sick but funny. Mostly because it is completely sarcastic humor which I am a sucker for.

I love the battle that goes on between Jim and Dwight. Steve Carrell is hilarious but Rainn Wilson cracks me up. And I swear I used to know people like him at work.

It’s silly and stupid, controlled yet edgy. Its totally inappropriate. But believe it or not there are people who actually say and think these things. Sometimes, its the only way to get people to pay attention that this behavior still exists. Even though it is disgusting, you have to laugh at the ignorance of some people in the world and work place. And sometimes, you just have to laugh at that especially when there is nothing else to do. Now I do not approve of any of the behavior but that is what makes it funny. Its exaggerated.

In this show, everyone in the office realizes they’re stuck with each other. And in a way, they love each other flaws and all. It doesn’t matter that their boss, Michael (Steve Carrell) is totally ridiculous. It doesn’t matter if they get insulted. It doesn't matter if they play pranks. In the end, it’s back to life and it's about the sum of parts. And that’s real.

As everything I participate in or watch, I am always thinking about my writing. This show does have its lessons for writers.

• Characterization. Most of all, when I look at the writing, it is great. The characters thought greatly flawed are lovable.
• Story. It tells a succinct story in 30 minutes yet does a great job of creating arching stories that link each episode.
• Dialogue. It does not deliver one-liners. The dialogue is natural and funny. It flows and does not feel forced.
• The scene. The desks, the offices. Their clothes. Next time look at the details. These details matter when I'm writing. The pictures on the desk. The stress balls. The environment gives you a sense of these people.
• The nonverbals. The characters mannerisms, their looks. Those things are hard to capture in a book but it is doable. But they have to be natural.

A few Memorable Moments

Medical Form Scene

• Dwight: Someone forged medical information, and that's a felony.
• Jim: OK, Whoa, all right 'cause that's a pretty intense accusation. How do you know that they're fake?
• Dwight: [reading from a sheet] Uh, Leprosy, Flesh Eating Bacteria, Hot Dog Fingers, Government Created Killer Nano Robot Infection.

Identity Theft

• Jim Comes to work dressed as Dwight
• Dwight: Imitation is a form of flattery
• Jim pulls out a few items he took from Dwight
• Dwight: You know Identity theft is not a joke Jim. Millions of people suffer from it every year.

Spud Gun

• Dwight:I.D. badges are long overdue. Security in this office park is a joke. Last year, I came to work with my spud gun in a duffel bag. I sat at my desk all day, with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?

Please - if you have not seen this show - watch this clip. It is hilarious and I bet most of you will be hooked. If you have, take a moment and enjoy this montage of funny moments to start out your day.

Update: I changed the clip - I swear you will laugh at loud at this. Come on you know you wanna try it.

Sometimes, it's O.K to Mouth-Off!

First Thing First
Huge thanks to Elizabeth Bird at School Library Journal Fuse 8 for the special
"shout out" to my blog. :) Check out her blog for other book business recommendations.

Marketing Tip for the Day
Some of the best Internet marketers in the world are hosting a series of free teleconferences where you can learn a ton of great tips for marketing your books via the Internet.
Upcoming: Wednesday evening: John Di Lemme; Thursday evening: Bob Burg
More speakers next week as well.
You can find out about the entire free teleconference series by visiting:
http://jvAlertLive.com/webcast/default.aspx?id=1889

Mouth-Off! Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM)
Word-of-mouth marketing spreads from one person to another outside of a formalized setting, without push from any advertisers.

A recommendation from someone familiar and trust-worthy is the easiest path to a sale, link or new subscriber. Why? Because recommendations are generally perceived as incentive-free, there is no obvious motivation.

Here are a few Easy WOMM strategies from Marketing Profs:

1.Target Talkers. Focus on Industry Influencers. I said target not stalk. You want to really build a relationship with them with the hopes of marketing through their existing sphere of social influence. Examples of influencers include celebrities, power users on social websites like Digg and popular webmasters or bloggers with many loyal supporters. I am a true believer that when you build relationships, it begins on "what YOU can do for them" not "what can you do for me" attitude.

2. Topic. Find discuss topics that are interesting to your talkers. Think about ways to create a positive response by enhancing your audiences experience in unexpected ways. Make your readers feel like an insider to an unique situation that encourages them to share or recommend your book. This could be to get them talking about special offers, freebies, information.

3. Tools/Technology - Use social networks to spread the word . This can be existing networks you already have (alumni, sorority, clubs or organizations) or joining large online communities. The existing ones you are already a part of are a quick hit. There is already a connection. Joining new ones takes a while to build so its not something that is as easy.

4. Take Part - Join in on message board or blog conversations. Again, contribute to discussions because you want to and because you care. Don't just contribute to use the board for advertising. It will have a negative effect. Also be sure to respond to phone calls, emails and comments on your blog.

5. Track - Keep up to date on what works for you and what doesn't. You only have time to focus on a few great things so don't waste your time with the things that don't work for you. Let them go and move on to something that does work.

Tips:

• More often than not, you will need to kick start some promotional method to initialize word of mouth buzz.

• WOMM can include written testimonials, reviews, resource links, asked for expert advice


• Focus on producing an excellent product -this will greatly facilitate the word-of-mouth process.


• Honest word of mouth marketers live by earning the respect of their customers


• Talk powerfully and naturally about what you do


• Appreciate and acknowledge those who talk about you.


• Treat everyone with respect.


• Anything that breaks trust will backfire.


• Negative word-of-mouth especially on you as a professional or as an author can hurt just as much as positive word of mouth can help.

Marketing Monday - Start off Right in 09

Happy New year! Happy 09!

I hope marketing yourself or your book is on your list of New Year's Resolutions!
It is time to put a marketing plan in place for the new year.

Whether your book was published 2 years ago, last year, or will be published this year, everyone needs a plan and you can never be too late to start marketing as long as your book is in print.


Marketing Plans - here are the basic steps on how to get started:

1) What is your goal? This can be in the # of books you sell or the * of responses you get? You need to set a goal for yourself that your plan will always target.

2) Who is your target audience(s)?
Think about your market. Don't just think of kids as by age. There are other categories you can target with your marketing. Try and choose 3-5 categories. You will market to them differently.

For example: lets say you have a YA historical mystery book that is set in NYC in the 1950s. Your target audiences could be:

• teens


• regional NY


• regional where you live


• any group that promotes anything in the 50s


• historical societies (esp. with a kid section)


• historical museums (esp. with kids section)


• any kids history group/club

3) What are the channels for each? Different markets use different channels to communicate. Think about that for each audience. It might be print advertising, Public Relations, publicity, direct marketing, direct mail, trade show exhibiting.

Create a excel spreadsheet that has a worksheet for each audience you identify. Then Google, Google Google that group and list all the contacts you can come up with. ezines, websites, clubs, organizations...anything you can find.

What is their basic need? How can YOU help THEM?

Then rank them 1 - 5 with 1 being the best mediums and 5 being the lowest.

4) What is your budget? You HAVE to invest in marketing. That does not mean you have to go bankrupt doing it. Maybe it is 10 or 20% of your signing bonus. Whatever it is - use it wisely.

You can be smart about it and there is a lot you can do on your own - making connections, ezine interviews, bookmarkers, business cards, stationary, articles, press releases, blogs Facebook and MySpace.

Save your money for things that matter like high-quality brochures, professional web sites, and ads, book trailers, podcasts, phone calls, etc.

5) What percentage goes where? You need to decide how you want to spend your budget - ads, PR, marketing, speaking engagements?

PR tends to be more effective than ads unless you are totally hitting your target market with your ad. For example: if you wanted to purchase ad in the NYC historical museums newsletters to families. That would be good. But to buy advertising in the New York Post may not be the best way to spend your money.

6) How do you communicate? - how can you contact all these resources? It is always better to do it by email or phone. Touch each contact at least 3 times. Try and make 5 contacts a day. Come up with a Unique Selling Proposition (what you do that is different than other authors in your genre) and the single most important reason you are different What can you offer?

7) Which market/channel is effective? You will have some hits and some misses. Keep track of what works and what doesn't. Revise your plan every year.

Other tips

• Create your own story to appeal to different markets and channels


• When buying a feature, always try and get a free feature.


• If you ever write an article for any ezine or newsletter (etc), ALWAYS ask for a tagline. Promote your book in the tagline (XXX is author of. you can reach her at www.)


• emarketing should be a huge part of your marketing plan


• Follow up! Never assume the answer is No. Keep following up with contacts. At least 3 times.


• Offer discounts. Buy your books and sell them at a discount to beat bookstores.


• Partner with a charity or organization to cross-promote


• Cross promote with other authors

Hope this helps!

Marketing Monday - Place Perfect Press

Today, I will talk about how to write a good press release.

This can be used when you are dealing with media contacts in trying to get placement in newspapers or magazines.

Before, you can use this information, you will need to have/create a story for yourself that you can wrap your press release around. For example: if you are donating your speakers fee and speaking at an under-privilege school about writing. If you are headlining a fundraiser event and giving % of proceeds form your book. You can highlight something in the book that is useful to readers (especially if it is nonfiction).

The goal of a press release is to inform the press of your book and tell the media why you would be a good story to pick up. It is a story that presents your product in a newsworthy way.

Tips:

• A press release can be 1-2 pages. One Page is Ideal.


• This is the first thing a media contact will want to see.


• Remember, a reporter or media outlet is only interested in stories for its reader. It is not really interested in selling your book.


• Decide "what is your story?" Are you doing an event, volunteering, speaking engagement. etc. Come up with a benefit for the reader.


• Place FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE in upper left corner


• Make it newsworthy. Tie into to an event. Tie into hot stories, other products, list awards/prizes.


• Change press release periodically (maybe quarterly)

Key elements:

1. Catchy Headline - You must have a headline that grabs the media's attention so they pick up your story.


2. Lead - first paragraph should cover who, what, when, where and how


3. Book Info. - Provide book information such as ISBN, Publisher, Publication Date, Price, # of Pages.


4. Bio - One paragraph at the end of the press release about you.


5. Contact information - include phone, address, email


6. More information - put media section on web site with easily-accessed information

Steps to get press:

1. Call to pitch story. Best time is 9am-noon.


2. Don't pitch story right away. Ask if it is a good time or schedule a time to talk about a story idea.


3. Practice your pitch until you have memorized it and it is natural.


4. Follow up interest with press kit.


5. Call again to follow up after press kit is received.

Resources:

• Publicityinsider.com has free information on how to do a great press release.


• PR Formats: http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp


• PR Release sites: PRWEB.com or PRnewswire.com

Publish or Perish?

Marketing Tips - Review Copies
Don't be afraid to send out copies for reviews. Beyond the popular ones your publisher may try to get. Figure out key decision makers or key influencers in your market. Query the reviewers first to be sure they will use and consider doing a review. You don't want to waste copies. But for every 100 copies you send out, you will probably get 10 reviews. Those 10 reviews will touch at least 10,000 people (this is on the low end) Budget 5-10% of your first printing as review copies. Overall it is cheap advertising. The PR from a good book review in your target market is priceless.

Publish or Perish
I love books.

I love to write.

So anything that touches, hurts, or catapults the publishing industry - impacts me. One way or another.

The publishers/editors
I am very sad for all you wonderful, brilliant people who have been affected by the difficult times in publishing. Often - I get so wrapped up in my writing, my journey, my agent process and my publishing future, I forget that there is a whole world out there of people just like me who love books, who want to find a great book they love, who do this everyday b/c they love it.

But this week - I have been really thinking about all you people out there scared and impacted - Thought I don't know most of you personally, I feel cosmically connected. I am thinking about all of you affected. Those that may have lost their job before the holiday. Those who know people like that. And those who are scared of being next. I know most - if not all of you- love books to or they would not be in the biz.


The Agents
This must be a scary time for you. I cant imagine how you all are feeling. I know you do this job because you completely love books and you love kids. You all work so hard and get paid solely on commission by busting your butt day in and day out for people like me to have a chance at their dream of writing.

That in itself is so amazing and so commendable. Your job is so risky that I know it must be your passion which sparks my utmost respect.

It must be hard to find a book, love it, and not be able to sell it for whatever reason. It must be scary when announcements come that threaten your livelihood, your connections, your friends.

I get so caught up in finding an agent, I forget to say thank you for all you do to get us writers published and those kids reading.


The Writers
I know this is a scary time. Everyone who writes obviously loves it and wants to positively impact kids. Don't stop. Don't give up. Keep doing it what you love. Even if you don't ever get published, I assume you write because you need to, have to, want to, and love to.

This is one career that no one controls but you. No matter how bad things get - you can always escape to your writing. You can always tell your story. No one can take that away from you.

Books will NEVER go away. Have faith that you are where you need to be (advice I need to use myself sometimes) Your journey is your own, no one controls it though it may feel differently. Please don't let this fluctuating time drag you away from writing and writing what you love, what calls you.

Stay strong. The book world will bounce back and you will be ready. We need your stories. And you each have one to tell.

A special shout-out to Jessica Burkhart - who just signed a 4-book deal!!!! Good news in a difficult time. I believe she did her first one in NaNoWriMo!

Me - the aspiring author
I realized something this week. Someone asked me - "I heard about the publishing layoffs. what are you going to do now?

At first, I said "I have no idea."

But on my way home, my real answer popped into my mind. "What do you mean? I am going to write?"

I will never stop writing. I love it. No matter what happens, I will always write as long as my fingers will allow me. I love it. The market does not affect my story. It doe snot affect my passion. It really only impacts others. Others who may not read it. Others who may not experience my view. And of course my ego of not being on the shelf in a Hardback.

I am keeping my head down and writing. That's all I can do.

When my times come, and I know it will someday, I will have experienced and truly loved a fabulous journey.

An old quote reminded me of this:

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it.

So I wanted to give a hopeful and thoughtful shout-out to all of you. I'm sorry. I'm thinking about you all in some way. And I hope you are OK.

Oh yeah, and if you want to agent or publish my book, I am here waiting...I mean writing :)

Marketing Monday - Guerilla Marketing

Happy Marketing Monday!

I highly recommend Guerilla Marketing for Writers by Jay Conrad-Levinson

The book covers 100 weapons for selling your work range from creating media kits and promotional calendars to appearing at book-group discussions and fundraisers. Each "weapon" is rated by its monetary cost to the author, and well over half are free. This mostly pertains to nonfiction but I think anyone can utilize these strategies.

In addition, Guerilla Marketing covers 15 marketing secrets that you must think through to have a successful marketing plan:

1. Content - first you need to write a great book before you can market it.


2. Commitment - you must commit to creating a marketing plan and then do 5 things for your marketing every day.


3. Investment - think of money you put into marketing as a long-term investment.


4. Consistent - be consistent on the frequency and quality of your marketing messages.


5. Confident - consistency creates familiarity and familiarity creates confidence. Confidence is more important than price or other packaging factors.


6. Patient - Know it will take time to build and execute an effective plan. Follow up to ensure results.


7. Assortment - use many different marketing tools to reach different people. Don't only use only 1 or 2 ways. It will only get you so far.


8. Subsequent - focus on creating readers for life more than you focus on sales.


9. Convenient - make it easy for people to reach you and have access to your books.


10. Amazement - excite your readers. technology has a high "Wow" factor in marketing these days (vlogs, twitter, trailers etc).


11. Measurement - track the effectiveness of your "marketing weapons". Eliminate what fails, continue what works.


12. Involvement - Did you know that it costs 6x more to get new readers than to keep old readers? Stay involved with your readers frequently - web sites, forums, emails, newsletters etc.


13. Dependent - create "win-win" dependencies that enable everyone to achieve goals


14. Armament. - use up-to-date technology to promote your work. Don't get outdated.


15. Consent - by being a source of information, you are silently gaining consent to market to your readers.

Let me know if you have any questions on these secrets to marketing success.

Hope this helps...

Friday Five! Marketing Pet Peeves

My Top 5 Book Marketing Pet Peeves

1) Web site pages as long as Santa's naughty list - Don't make us page down through pages of your bio. The standard web rule is the user should not have to page down more than 2 times. I personally prefer 1. Your web site is an executive summary. You only need something short and sweet. Web sites reflect your writing. If you drone on for pages - I might not want to read your book. If you have the attitude - "Ill just get my web site up and work on it later", its the wrong one. The minute you launch it - people can see it. Keep it simple, professional, and short. Again, you can get help on Godaddy, they even have templates from which you can choose.

2) Business cards, bookmarks, and brochures from The Land of Cheapo. Come on! Nowadays you can get inexpensive, solid quality stuff from various web sites. You really don't want a white business card with your face on it. You really don't need a bookmark that is so flimsy it can be used as origami. Do yourself and your image a favor, invest in high quality pieces or don't do them at all.

3) My only target audience is children between ages of 0-18. Everyone has more than one target audience. Age is not the only way to segment your audience. There are others such as by topic, by regional as well as looking at the type of media, type of reader (library, bookstore, book club etc). Take some time to think through all of your target audiences and all the ways you can possibly reach them - you should be able to come up with at least 3 audiences and 3 mediums for each.

4) Just gonna wing it. Everyone needs a plan. Just like you need a plot for your book before you write, you need a marketing plan before you can market. Some people think that winging marketing is effective. Nope! I'm not talking about creating a 100 page word document. I am talking about a process where you - as the writer - identify your target audiences, key mediums, key timelines, key events - and set up key contacts in advance. Your materials, plans, and contacts should be in place 6 months before your book comes out. Don't wait until your book is out before you think about it.

5) I don't know computers so I cant do marketing. What? If you are selling books to kids, you need to learn computers. Nowadays at least 50% of marketing (and I am being generous, I think its more like 60-70%) is online. You need to know how to blog, how to do a basic web site, how to start a myspace or facebook page, and how to text/twitter. You also need to keep up with the youth trends (Ypulse is good for that) If you don't know how to use all these, they all are set up pretty easily to figure out. Some even have tutorials. This cannot be an excuse anymore - unless you don't want to sell anything.

Marketing and Pr are critical to your overall brand. It is better to invest in a few key pieces than to do a bunch of bad pieces. Take pride in your materials as you would take pride in your book. It is a reflection of you.

In addition to the bigger things, if you are going to deal in marketing and PR yourself, it's still important to dwell in minutiae. so be mindful of all the little things. Like copy, grammar and punctuation. These all make a different on web sites, blogs, and other marketing materials.

So get out there and market or you could always use me :)

If you have any questions, post them in a comment and I will be happy to answer. :)

Marketing Monday - The Importance of Peeps

As I got to thinking about my marketing post, I admit I was a bit stumped today on what I could post about.

As you all know Marketing and PR is based on Networking. Yes you can have ads, yes you can have websites, and yes you can only do so many book tours or school visits.

I tell all my clients - it is about creating a buzz and name/brand recognition (whether it be your author brand or your book brand). In my humble opinion (after an MBA in Marketing from Auburn and over 15 years of experience doing marketing, pr, and communication for companies and non-profits of all sizes), the best way to do this is by networking. BY getting out there and meeting people whether it be on blogs, vlogs, podcasts, radio interviews, conferences, and yes book signings.

I've said 653 times (at least) if you are only doing school visits and/or bookstore signings, you are missing out. Maybe it does it for a few huge authors and maybe some get lucky. But it is not the way to go these days. You have to branch out and expand your reach.

Therefore, PR is the way to go. Marketing is paid for, choreographed, and organized. PR is word of mouth. Networking is good old fashion PR. And I'm sorry to say (b/c I risk writing myself out of a paycheck) PR is ALWAYS best coming from you - not your agent, not your editor and not a PR person (my hubby is kicking me right now!! Sorry honey!) Those people can help you brainstorm and come up with plans. Can even implement some for you (I redeemed myself honey! :) but they (we) only do so much. People like me are better for pr planning and marketing purposes to get your plans started, materials in order, help create a brand. Yes you need biz cards, yes you need a website, yes you need book signings. That's where I can help.

But most importantly, you need to get out there yourself and network. Create a buzz.

When people buy a brand, don't think for a minute, they are not also buying you. Think about it - if you love a book and hate the author. maybe you met her and she was rude. Would you buy her book again? This happened to me and I didn't - no matter how good the books are - they were ruined for me.

PR is making connections and utilizing your peeps!

1) Start out with your current peeps
Once writers get published, they CANNOT forget where they came from. I am not talking about friends and family either. I am talking critique groups, conference participants and organizers, and blogger buddies, neighborhood organizations, PTAs, charities, Playdates, Alumni etc. Sounds dumb but you already have some easy quick hits in utilizing your current connections. I see so many writers who get published that either don't think of their current connections as a market or audience OR worse, they walk away from them.

I will plug a couple key ones that should never be forgotten. The first sin of an author.

• SCBWI -www.scbwi.org. For those of you who do not know about it - is an organization that helps authors writer for the children's market. I feel like alot of published writers that have always attended these conferences and utilized the knowledge and resources that comes from it, forget how much the group helped them by offering access to industry professionals, critiques, and the insight scoop on the publishing world. So if you are published and a member, stay active. Give back to those that helped you get a chance in this industry. Attend conferences, share your story, be a speaker, meet with unpublished authors. This is still marketing and pr. This is your network. This builds your word of mouth. I know authors get busy, but these conferences in your region are only twice a year. Give back as you have been given too.

• Critique Groups - These are the people who helped you get to where you are - if you have a good one. If you get published, help them get published. Don't leave the group b/c you don't have time. This is still apart of your marketing, your networking.

2) Reconnecting with old peeps - Look to the past. Old friends, high school class, college classmates, sorority pledge class, old job mates. Go to Reunion.com or classmates.com. Your past connections (as long as you were nice to them - i do not recommend contacting those you snubbed, broke up with, or backstabbed :) love hearing stories of success. There are alumni newsletters, school reunions, and company events. So look back and recreate your close connections. (in fact, do that now, before you get published! You'll be one step ahead.

3) Make some new peeps. Here are a few great networking groups for Children's Book Writers when they become published (again, you can start these now! In my opinion, give now - receive later.)

• MySpace.com
• Facebook.com
• Twitter.com
• JacketFlap.com
• Goodreads.com
• Blog groups/Kitlitosphere
• American Library Assoc/Yalsa - ala.org/yalsa
• Booksense.com

4) Give back - If you get published, give back. Immediately, help another person in any way you can. It really bothers me when I run into published authors who hound me for marketing advice. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE LOVE LOVE helping other people sell their books. I do so please keep approaching me anytime. (Well not anytime but you know what i mean). It just irks me when authors run around asking "How can I sell....?" "How can I get..." "How can I..." How about giving. If everything you do is about you. I do not believe you will get far. Think about creating a 2-way street.

• Give back to other struggling writers - not necessarily your agent or editors number, just give advice/hope/insight.
• Give back to other published authors. Help them sell a book. Help them connect. Find ways to give.
• Try partnering with a charity event or school to help them Do a signing, giving 10% of profits. You get a signing, they get money, you get exposure.

That's my advice for today.

Market my words!

So, today's challenge - reconnect with an old peep, contact a current peep, and make a new peep. Tell me your story!