Avenuesocial - Social Media Moderation and Publishing. The Future of the Book. 17 Digital Marketing Experts Share Their Top Tips, Tricks, and Tools. With the breadth and depth of social media services out there, it’s no wonder that we often find ourselves lost in the vast array of services. Further, those who are seasoned may seem at a loss in the apparent “simplicity” of it all. I took the opportunity to contact some of my esteemed friends and colleagues who are experts in their field and asked for their advice on their favorite little known social media secret and social media tools, including their own if they had them.
Here’s what they told me: Shannon Paul Shannon Paul is a social media manager at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and blogs on social media for business at Very Official Blog. Shannon’s Little Known Social Media Secret: One of my secrets is to be a fierce editor. Shannon’s Favorite Little Known Social Media Tool: One is a WordPress plugin called Editflow. Jason Falls Jason Falls is a social media guy who shares great insights at Social Media Explorer, his blog. David Armano Samir Balwani Adam Singer Kristi Hines. Can We Create The Future Of Indie Marketing & Distribution—Or Is It Already Dead? > Hope for Film. We speak of the need to utilize PMDs (aka Producers of Marketing & Distribution) on Indie/TFF movies these days, but how do these people get trained (not to mention, paid for)? Where do they learn their skill sets? Two or three years into this DIY Indie Movement of sorts, can you name more than three or four people (at best) who do this?
Isn't this the missing piece? How come we all aren't doing more to train these folks? Two or so years ago, Jon Reiss and I developed a pretty extensive proposal for a Marketing/Distribution Lab. On the agency level, I hear the problem amplified. Sundance has made great strides under new Executive Director Keri Putnam to not only recognize that most independent film won't find a traditional corporately-backed distribution home, but also most shouldn't even opt for that. But their lies the rub: are artists willing to take responsibility for their work yet? I encounter the problem with myself. So what is to be done? Writing a Book – Making Money. MMMMMMMM, money. How do you make money writing a book? Earlier posts in this series:Writing a Book – Finding TimeWriting a Book – DisciplineWriting a Book – StructureWriting a Book – Marketing And Promotion So, we’re at the end of the series, kids, but lots of you have asked along the way, “but can I make any money at this book thing?”
Here’s the real answer first: yes, but you’ve gotta work at it. Sorry. Teaching Sells Think beyond the pages for a moment. Speaking Sells Julien Smith and I didn’t exactly buy matching ponies with the money. Selling Bits So why not sell something digitally? Pushing Paper You can make money selling actual books. But in that specific case, you know that you can do the distribution and you know that YOU can put those books in people’s hands. So, Where’s The Money? To me, the money was laid out to you in pretty much the order of best-to-worst money-making. The money for fiction authors? And the Secret Is Last Magazines pay pretty darned well. How to Kickstart Your Book Project. I’ve been called many things in my life. Patient is not one of them. So when I received strong interest for my fourth book from traditional publishers and was told they’d put it out in spring of 2012… Well. Like I said, I’ve never been called patient.
I decided to take control of my own destiny and circumvent traditional publishers – and I’m going to tell you exactly how I raised money, planned my coupe and sped up publication of my fourth book by one full year, so that you can do the same. Antiquated Is In the Past I’m no newbie to publishing, having written three books already. Many publishers cling to antiquated methods. Here’s the catch: People want to read and learn as soon as possible. The good news? Taking Control of Publishing Many first-time authors don’t understand that when they sign contracts with traditional publishers, they’re not writing for readers.
They’re writing for publishers. Your publisher’s editor has final cut. I believe I’ve written a great book. Not on my watch. 2020 Media Futures : DIY Distribution. Digital tools and processes have enabled independent producers and creators to use the Internet as a distribution channel to directly connect with consumers and audiences in the process circumventing some of the cultural industries’ traditional intermediaries. British band Radiohead’s 2007 experiment with self-distribution raised awareness of the possibilities it holds, and also shook up the music industry. The band claims to have distributed 1.2 million versions of the In Rainbows album in the first day of its online availability, though the band’s label disputes this figure as high. While DIY distribution is not a new trend, it has found new life over the last decade with the combination of digital production technologies and globally distributed networks.
Signals: The book industry has begun to take notice of print-on-demand services such as Lulu.com and Amazon.com’s BookSurge, which allow direct printing and distribution by authors. COMICS OR STFU. Writing a Book – Marketing And Promotion. Earlier posts in this series:Writing a Book – Finding TimeWriting a Book – DisciplineWriting a Book – Structure Writing a book doesn’t stop when you’ve handed in the last of your edits. Oddly, most authors think that it’s the role of the publisher to market their book, but this is fairly far from the truth.
I’ve worked with two mainstream publishers and one widely-published-author-turned-publisher, and in all cases, they’re more like “air support.” It’s still your job to be the primary marketer of your book. So, here are a few thoughts that might help you get into the spirit of that. Marketing Isn’t Bad – Bad Marketing Is Bad What we as creators tend to think about marketing relates to the bad stuff we have experienced. Social Media is Your Friend One day, I knew who Greg Pak was, and the next day, we were all kinds of chums. The same super powers are in your possession, or they can be. On Twitter, Search is your friend. Talk about what they’re doing. Blog Shoot Video Offers Actually Help. Making Graphic Novels | reMIND. Promote Your Book Online the Offline Way – Part 1. In the rush to find new and exciting ways to promote our books, let's not forget the tried-and-true.
Inspired by Chris Brogan’s article, Promoting Your Book Online, a post by the way that got just about everybody in the blogosphere commenting on his blog, I devised this piece about adapting offline book promotion techniques to the online world. In the olden days (pre-web), authors had limited personal means of promoting their books. Even if you did somehow get someone to publish your book, it didn't automatically imply that the publisher would spend a dime to promote it, the advertizing budget usually reserved for their award winning authors. So, authors had to become creative. One way authors found to get some buzz for their books was to write practical, hard-hitting articles drawn from the content of their books and submit them to magazines and other publications. If readers found the information valuable, they would be tempted to buy the book to get the additional info.
Promoting Your Book Online. Julien Smith and I are hard at work writing our first book, Trust Agents, about how the social web helps turn relationships into serious business (or some such). We’re still several months off from that book seeing the light of day, but we’re already thinking about how to promote the book. Seth Godin just launched Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, and as part of the mad rush, he set up some bloggers with free copies to give away. He also put out an audiobook version on iTunes for .99 cents (I bought it). He built a social community ahead of the release of the book. In thinking about Trust Agents, and in seeing how different people have used the web to extend and promote and breathe life into their books, I’ve got a few ideas on what we might do. Promoting Your Book Warm People Up With Blog Posts – Some authors blog about their book ahead of time.
Online Events – When the book is closer to coming out, we’re going to have some online events. And Beyond Your Ideas Photo credit, Nate Steiner. Make your own book. Make it great. Tour. How it Works. Goodreads is a free website for book lovers. Imagine it as a large library that you can wander through and see everyone's bookshelves, their reviews, and their ratings. You can also post your own reviews and catalog what you have read, are currently reading, and plan to read in the future. Don’t stop there – join a discussion group, start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. Signing up is simple — you just enter your name, email, and a password. If you are a published author, take a look at the Goodreads Author Program. sign up » How to Start To start using Goodreads you should select books that you have read, that you are reading, or that you want to read and add them to "your books".
Shelves You start with three default shelves (read, currently-reading, and to-read), but you can also create your own bookshelves. Add Your Books To add books to your shelves, search by author name or book title. Sort Your Books Book Editions Personalize Your Profile Widgets. Author Program. What Is the Goodreads Author Program? The Goodreads Author Program is a completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors to promote their books. What Can You Do as a Goodreads Author? Take Control of Your Profile Make your profile a dynamic destination for curious readers. Here are some of the features you can use on your profile: Add a picture and bio. Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans!
Promote Your Books Get the word out! How Do I Join? If you are already a Goodreads member, make sure you are signed in. Who Can Join? The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are in the process of publishing a book. If you are a writer but have not yet published a book, you may want to check out the writing section of your profile where you can post your writing for others to read and review.
Questions? Already joined? Free Book Marketing | Best Book Marketing Tools for Authors. 5 Keys to Promoting Your Book With a Blog By Julie Isaac. I t’s Tuesday and that means it’s time for another guest author who is excited to share her knowledge and expertise with you. Today, Julie Isaac will spend some time with us talking about how to use a blog to promote your book. Before you read Julie’s post, make sure you sign up for my free video tips newsletter. You get how-to videos created to help you with some of the more technical aspects of marketing your book on the Internet. Also, make sure you check out my newest marketing training product, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.
Now, on to Julie’s Post… 5 Keys to Promoting Your Book With a BlogBy Julie Isaac One of the best, and easiest, tools for building an ongoing relationship with your readers is a blog. Blogging regularly (at least three times a week) can be a challenge, especially when added to the 1,001 other tasks that are required of you as a writer, yet it’s well worth the effort. 1) Your Readers First and foremost your blog is about your readers. Create a contest. Tips. Authors Are Blogging, Are You? There seems to be an increase in activity around author blogs. It’s easy to see why. After all, authors are writers first, and blogging is an immediate connection to readers.
Blogging is a powerful way for authors to accomplish lots of things: Experiment with your material, tone, or focus. When you have a blog, you have a chance to find out what your readers are interested in, and what kinds of approaches they respond to. This information is invaluable in finding the best way to present your material. More Media About Author Blogs, and More Resources Just recently I read a number of articles about author blogs, and there have been some new resources coming online as well. 5 Keys to Promoting Your Book With A Blog on Marketing Tips for Authors,How to Become a Blogging Expert Overnight on Book BuzzrWhy Your Blog Should Be Your Book’s First Draft on Author Tech Tips, Authors Who Are Active Bloggers A list of bloggers who are authors would be very long.
If you are an author, do you blog? April L. Hamilton - Indie Author Guide. The Indie Author Guide has been released by Writer's Digest Books in a revised and updated edition. The book is currently available for order on the Writer's Digest, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders websites, as well as being available for purchase in brick and mortar stores. Until the new edition is ready, you can use this handy BookBuzzr widget to read as much of the original edition of the book as you like right here on the site.
Once the book is open in the widget, click on any page to zoom in for a better view. Note that the current edition's chapters on publishing through Createspace and publishing for the Kindle are no longer accurate due to Createspace and Amazon DTP site and process changes. The new edition contains updates to those chapters and more. CreateSpace vs Lulu | Drugstore Books. There are no doubt many more POD providers than I am aware of, but the two main ones are CreateSpace and Lulu. These two companies offer very similar services, but do differ in important ways. Royalties, although calculated differently, will end up about the same (and both provide writers with a higher take when customers buy from them directly rather than through a third-party seller like amazon).
Both companies also have nearly identical paper and binding costs (these go towards the total price of your book), and offer a wide range of book sizes. They will also handle all the shipping for you, and can even provide you with a free ISBN should you need one. Their distribution channels are slightly different, however, and most notably in regards to amazon. Regarding their products themselves, I found that CreateSpace uses a much higher-quality paper, and their covers are slightly better as well. In this regard, with graphic works, I found both companies’ major failing. Indie Author.
Lulu vs. CreateSpace: Which Is More Economical For The DIY Author? At the risk of coming off as some kind of Amazon shill, I'm afraid I've just got to blog about one of their services again: CreateSpace. I feel this is necessary because I keep seeing tweets, posts and Facebook notes from indie authors--especially authors outside the US---who intend to go through Lulu based in part on a belief that Lulu is the most economical choice for the services offered, and in many, many cases, this is simply not true. Still, don't take this post as a slam against Lulu, because Lulu may yet be the better choice for some authors and publishers.
With CS, you deliver a print-ready manuscript file and cover art file, and CS prints your book---end of story. With CS there is no quality control, no one is checking your content for errors, nor even ensuring that you haven't inadvertently left editing marks in your manuscript file. You must be willing to either do all the tasks involved in bringing your book to print by yourself, or hire out for them as needed.
Anyone Have An Opinion on Createspace?. Copyfight: the politics of IP. Jutoh Epub Editor For Mac and PC, Epub Converter For Mac And PC, Epub Software For Mac And PC, Epub Creator For Mac And PC, Kindle Epub Editor Software, iPad Epub Creator Software, Mobipocket Ebooks Editor Software. 10 guerrilla marketing tactics for illustrators. A Newbie's Guide to Publishing. The "New Author Platform" - What you need to know. Writing, Blogging And Platform Building With Justine Musk, The Tribal Writer Justine Musk. The Creative Penn.
Livia Blackburne: Author Blogging: You're Doing it Wrong. About. Kickstartup — Successful fundraising with Kickstarter & the (re)making of Art Space Tokyo. Content Marketing 101: How to Build Your Business With Content. Resources : Janet Goldstein. The Smartest Strategy For Selling Your Ebook - A Product Launch. Everett Bogue, His Next Book, Minimalism, and Money. Andrew Warner the future of publishing. Thom Chambers on Curating & Publishing. Post-Artifact Books and Publishing — by Craig Mod. Why Small Ebook Presses are Thriving And How You Could Join Them.
Best Links for Writers and Publishers (July, 5) How Authors Move Their Own Merchandise | Joanne Kaufman. Great beginners guide to ebooks – a “must see” The keys to epublishing success? Why pay extra for a collectible? Guest column | Tips on marketing your comic. THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Marketing comics by Ken Marcus. Raaarr! Comic Book Marketing. How To Market Your Own Comics The Independent Way: Indy Comic Marketing 101 | The Bottom Line. Hukilau: Digital publishing made easy. Killing the Grizzly: A New Kind of Literary Agency. Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary talks e-comics as business par Dave Baxter - Myspace Vidéo. Killing the Grizzly #1: A Bold New Era. Killing the Grizzly #2: The Long Tail and The True Fan. Killing the Grizzly #3: Life After Diamond. Killing The Grizzly #4: The Digital Comics Business Model. Killing the Grizzly #5: Comics Companies.