The Four P's You Should Know About

Elsha Fornefeld

All I can say to you is research, research, research! This word is such a powerful tool that if you were a scientist and tried to print a theory on any study without showing where your work or hypothesis came from, your name and work would be shambles. This is also a number one rule in selling your book and even writing it.

Today I’ll give you a little Marketing 101 that any person selling a product or service should know the four P’s of marketing. They are called Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion. If you have all of these covered then you should automatically have some sort of plan using these four words. There is a lot more than just the use of these words such as how, when and where you utilize them.

Product - The product is of course your book. Let’s take a look at the basics. It is finished? Is your book properly edited? Do you have your cover done? If you took the book to a publisher now would he/she be able to put it on the shelf? You need to get the book as polished as possible, because you only have that one chance for someone to get that first impression right about your book.

Pricing - Now let’s look at how your book is priced. Let’s say that you have your book published on Kindle - is it evenly priced? The best way to look at this is to ask yourself if your book is priced at a fair market value. Although that is real estate comparison in a buyer’s market, the best priced home in a neighborhood is usually the first one to sell. So, check your genre and other books like yours that Kindle might be recommending and perhaps make a little bit of a price cut to your book price so you have an edge on competing authors.

Placement -This is such an important area for anything in sales and sadly this where many of my clients seem to fail because they are unwilling to see their product or company from a different perspective. This can be a real challenge for us ­­­­­­as authors because we put a lot of time and ourselves into our writing. This isn’t what the reader cares about. They just care about knowing if it’s a good read that is worth their money?

Where to place your book would start with knowing your demographic. Is it fiction or nonfiction? What other books are similar to yours? The people that liked Twighlight, were all into facebook and they all had the latest android phones rather than iphones. Also over forty five percent of their fan base were women between the ages of 30-55. The people that prefer your writing may surprise you.  Just because it may not be what you like, think about what the average person who likes your style of books may prefer.

Promotion - Demographic places a large part in this. Now that you’ve determined your demographics, you are ready. Consider the people that like your books; where do they live, how much do they read, what do they buy, and how much are they likely to spend on a book? This will determine how you will promote your book.

If you have an older demographic of people it may be worth investing into printing your book. If your generation is anyone younger than 50 and has adapted to Kindle, then publishing in an e-book form is a good idea. Npw, where do you announce your book? Twitter is used more by adults in more of a business sense, however facebook is used a lot more widely by everyone (especially for socializing and spreading the word of a book).

Keep researching for all the information you can get on your subject. Use these steps to help you launch your book. The more knowledge you have on your subject, the more power you have to help launch your book.

New Video Trailer for The Realm

Lindsey Rietzsch

It's finally here my friends! Yes, the video trailer for The Realm series. It's under three minutes and a little intense. If you find that this trailer intrigues your interest in the book, please share with your friends and family. You can follow The Realm on facebook (released July 2013)

 

Buy The Realm

Book Description

The Realm: Secrets Unlocked - Book 1 of the Realm Series Series Description:

Do angels and demons really exist? Between the ever thinning veil of mortality and spirit world the battle of good vs. evil rages on.

Meet Celeste Day, a beautiful college hopeful who may look like your average girl next door - but in her cozy New England town she’s been harboring a lifelong gift and deep secret that is about to be exposed. Being raised in a church going family where image is everything, her whole world is about to be turned upside down overnight as Celeste decides to take the summer off to "fix herself". When the good looking and mysterious “Ezra” moves to town things only get more complicated as Celeste is confronted by secrets from her past, unexplained phenomenon and dark paranormal forces beyond her control. Saving her reputation and proving her sanity is the least of her worries when she quickly learns she is a part of something much bigger than she could have ever imagined - something that will forever alter her future and change the world…and there is no turning back!

Guest Blogger - Bestselling Author Jason Wright

We want to thank Jason for accepting the invitation to be a guest on our blog!

Bestselling author shares theory – and his cellphone number

Several years ago I appeared on Glenn Beck’s television program to discuss my novel,The Wednesday Letters. Much to Beck’s astonishment, I chose to share my cellphone number on air with his audience. I invited them to call and share their memories on the importance of personal, handwritten letters in their lives.

I will never forget Beck leaning forward and looking straight into the camera with that patented, sneaky look in his eyes. “Please call him at two in the morning.” After the interview ended, we said goodbye and he promised me my phone would ring.

He was right.

I received thousands of calls and answered as many as I could over the span of several weeks. Many left voicemail messages and some asked for a return call. It took a while, but I honored every request.
It was a sweet experience.

I heard the most incredible stories from people whose lives had been changed by the art of the handwritten letter. I spoke to widows and widowers who clung to boxes of letters like life preservers to remember their loved ones.

I chatted with teens that cherished letters from mothers and from mothers who wept at the memory of a letter from prodigal sons and daughters.

I got to know a young woman whose best friend was on board Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001. A treasure trove of personal letters was the salve that helped her heal.

On these many calls we discussed writing, publishing, the books people were reading and what they liked or didn’t about my books and others in my genre.

Many of those callers became readers, but, more importantly, some of those readers became friends.
At the time, the idea of becoming so accessible was highly controversial. Church friends called me crazy, neighbors wondered if I’d lost a bet and even my own family asked what I was thinking.
But to me, the concept was obvious.

If you ask to see someone in the kitchen, servers will usually accommodate you. You might want to raise a concern or compliment the chef.

When you get your car washed, you might give a shout-out to the dedicated employee who polishes that one last pesky spot before opening your door and sending you on your way.

Perhaps you saw a show at your local high school or community theater. It would be quite natural to congratulate the cast or director and tell them what a fine job they’d done.

When visiting a public restroom you might have noticed a sign on the wall inviting you to report unclean conditions to the management. One popular chain of convenience stores even invites customers to call a member of the executive team to report unsanitary conditions at any of their nationwide locations.

The list never ends. Virtually everywhere consumers spend money offers some line of communication back to management, distributors or creators of those particular goods and services.
Why should it be any different with artists?

I once discussed this topic with a loyal reader who also happens to be a good friend. He was lamenting that another author he enjoys reading has a policy about not responding personally to email received through his website. It’s not evident whether messages sent through his online contact form are even read by him and not an assistant.

It’s a shame that any author or artist of any kind would opt to practice their craft behind a digital wall that prevents them from engaging one-on-one with consumers Have we forgotten whom we work for? I recognize that I owe my entire career to hard-working men and women who spend their treasure on something I’ve created.

I don’t work for myself; I work for my readers. The notion that artists are self-employed is a myth. Shouldn’t I be responsive to the market and offer easy lines of communication? Shouldn’t all artists welcome opinions on what they enjoy or don’t?

Of course.

So, if you’ve got something to say about one of my books or columns, I invite you to email me or pick up the phone and call. I can be reached at jwright@deseretnews.com or 540-328-0111.

I can’t promise I’ll answer every call as life, work and sheer volume may sometimes prevent it. But if you leave me a phone number and ask for a return call, you will get one.

Just don’t call me at 2 a.m.

About Jason

Jason Wright is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author.

Jason is a weekly columnist for the Deseret News and Northern Virginia Daily and articles by Jason have appeared in over 50 newspapers and magazines across the United States including The Washington Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. He is the author of The James Miracle (2004); Christmas Jars (2005); The Wednesday Letters (2007); Recovering Charles (2008), Christmas Jars Reunion (2009); Penny’s Christmas Jar Miracle (2009); The Cross Gardener (2010); The Seventeen Second Miracle (2010); The Wedding Letters (2011); and, The 13th Day of Christmas (2012).

Jason is also a popular speaker who speaks on faith, the Christmas Jars movement, the Joy of Service, the lost art of letter writing and many other topics. He has been seen on CNN, FoxNews, C-SPAN, and on local television affiliates around the country.

Jason is from Charlottesville, Virginia, but has also lived in Germany, Illinois, Brazil, Oregon and Utah. In 2007, while researching Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for his novel The Wednesday Letters, Jason fell so in love with the area that he moved his family westward from northern Virginia to the Valley.

Jason is married to Kodi Erekson Wright. They have two girls and two boys.

www.jasonfwright.com

Learning as We Go

Elsha Fornefeld

This article is really a Behind the Scenes truth since I am going to share the truth about three items: how I launched my book the first time, the results, and how it turned out.  I am currently relaunching the same book with some changes.

This summer I launched over seven books for new and upcoming authors, all of them doing fairly well and some of them even becoming best sellers in a few different countries on Kindle. The biggest shocker for me was that my own book did not achieve the same success. To be honest, my book has been out less than a month and some books do need time to grow and become popular. This all depends on your demographics, genre. Then there are several bestselling authors whose first book that they put on kindle did not go very well at all, then with another book or through an agent they were able to achieve success.

I did the $0.99 promotion for the first weekend and sold fairly well selling over 100 copies. After that however, it was slow going only about five to ten sales a day. I really have posted quite a bit on facebook and haven't even bother with twitter nor did I use good reads as much as I knew I could.

I can’t tell you how many people would text, call, IM, or come up and tell me how much they loved my book. So, I would tell them thanks and ask that they put a review on kindle. For some reason I never got very many. Soon I realized two very important things. First, my book is extremely difficult to put into a genre while all my other friends were clearly defined, such as historical romance. Second, is that Kindle may not let your family or friends post a review. There were people having problems posting any sort of review and even downloading my book. So, make certain that Kindle doesn’t have any technical problems on your end.  In the end, I have realized that my fan base has been word of mouth. I've had huge response and people love the book. 

Since realizing this, I have updated my blog, had one of our amazing editors do a complete re-edit to the book, then I stuck in a sneak peek to the second book. Next, I printed off business cards and local businesses have been awesome about letting me leave them there. Overall, I have sold 500 + copies in a month, which is not terrible. Still I know I can do much better. Giving my book a really good edit and now having utilizing all of my avenues to relaunch has already helped things pick up a bit.

In conclusion,  it's important to keep on top of your marketing so your book does not die. When you get it on Kindle make sure that all avenues checked (especially those that are technical) so your fans get the best possible service. 

I really hope this helps you in your publishing venture. 

Now, here is the relaunch and fabulous redoing of The Altar: Timeless Generation.  

http://timelessgeneration.blogspot.com/ 

 

(I should probably use my own blog as a marketing tool as well) If you like the book I would ask that our great followers leave a review of my book on Kindle. I have made sure that Kindle will let you post. Thank you and good posting!

Featured Author of the Week - Kurt Browning

Kurt S. Browning currently lives in Northern Utah with wife Ann M Browning and their children.

Kurt has been in the construction industry for most of his career and in currently studying chemical engineering at the University of Utah. Some of his hobbies are: (of course) fishing, running, and playing with the kids.

We asked Kurt some questions:

Who or what inspired you to write a children's book? 

I went fishing with my cousin and his son.  During the trip, my cousin caught the biggest fish out of our group.  My cousin’s boy kept proudly reminding me that his dad had caught the biggest fish.  While we were gathering our gear to head home, another fisherman walked by and showed us his catch.  Needless to say it was at least 4 times the size of my cousin’s fish.  This didn’t faze my cousin’s boy; he was still proud of his dad and continued to tell me how his dad’s fish was the biggest of the group.

The next day I sat down and wrote this story.  I drew upon some memories of my childhood and looked at the way my children reacted to the things I did.  The story fits the way I felt about my dad and I’m sure many others can relate.

How long did the process take from coming up with the idea to printing your first copies?

 I actually wrote the story 3 years before I ever did anything with it.  It took a lot of prodding from my wife to finally submit the manuscript.  Once my manuscript was accepted, it took about 16 months until I had a final copy in my hands. I never anticipated that producing a children’s book would be such a long process. 

What has your experience been like since release day?

 Writing a book leads to promoting a book.  Since the release date, I have been promoting my book.  This means doing book signings, networking and contacting people.  Because I am a new author, I have been focusing on letting people know about my book.  Selling a book doesn’t happen just by putting a copy on a shelf somewhere. 

Any advice you can offer new authors who are considering writing children's books?

If I were to give advice to someone considering writing children’s books, I would suggest to focus your writing to an audience you know.  For example, I wrote my book with my children in mind.  I thought to myself, “What would they enjoy reading?”  I love reading my book to my children and it makes it much sweeter when they tell me how much they love it.

Do you have another book in the works? Can you tell us about it?

 I currently don’t have any books in the production process.  I am, however, working on several stories and I hope to have a new book out in the next year or two.

Kurt's Book - My Dad Took Me Fishing Today

Who's your hero? Is it someone close to you? Perhaps even your dad? Father, author, and college student, Kurt Browning shows how much a boy's dad can mean to him. My Dad Took Me Fishing is a heartwarming example of the strong bonds between father and son and the everyday activities that can bring them closer together. Explore what it means to look at a true hero through the eyes of a child!


                             Get Kurt's Book

Marketing Your Book Successfully on a Zero Budget

Lindsey Rietzsch

After all that hard work you've made it - you're book is live on Amazon! So, now what?

You can't just stop there and hope that somehow your book will start selling itself. If you take this path then you and your book will quickly be forgotten before you were ever discovered.Can't afford a marketing or PR rep? No problem. Here are eight tried and tested (by myself) suggestions for boosting your book sales and making a name for yourself as an author.

Facebook/Twitter (and Pinterest)- Over the past few years, facebook has replaced the blog! Start a fan page on Twitter and facebook. Yes, this should be separate form your personal account. You can link them so that anytime you post something on facebook it automatically posts on Twiiter as well. I have an author page (since I have a few books) and a separate page for my fiction series. Anytime someone likes my novel page, my book cover will show up on their facebook page for all their network to see. It's a free way to promote my book. Be sure to post something at least every other day if not once a day - to keep fans excited and in the loop. Remember, they are your marketing team so you want to keep them talking about your book.

A great way to keep fans interested is through contests and giveaways. Get creative - have a writing contest where fans rewrite the ending to your book. Do some trivia to see which fans know your book the best. Post updates about books you have in the works. Do a drawing and set a deadline for people who share and like your facebook page. Give away copies of your book or other prizes you think would be enticing. Sometimes you can make friends with other authors through Goodreads and exchange books with each other for giveaway prizes. 

Be sure to post your book on Pinterest as well! Because Pinterest is all about images, this works best if you have a great book cover. Be sure that the image is linked to your amazon page or fan page. 

Goodreads - Make sure your book is listed on Goodreads. If it's not, get it on there quick! If you don't already have a goodreads profile, set one up. It's quick and easy to do. Goodreads is a bookworm magnet. It's where you'll find many of your fans and your target market. Once on there, make yourself a regular. Join book clubs that are in the genre of your book. Start new discussions and join ones that are current. By contributing to the book club scene you'll soon gather a following of friends and fans. Most book clubs have sections just for authors, where you can promote your book and any giveaways you are doing. It's the perfect place to promote your book on release day especially if your book is free or you are doing a special. Just a caution - Goodreads members tend to be a bit more brutal with reviews. Also, don't forget to post reviews on books you have read and seek out new books to read. Don't just be in it for the taking - you need to give a little in order to get back.

Youtube Video Preview -  Take advantage of the power of Youtube! Make a short video under two minutes just through Windows Movie Maker. It doesn't need to be anything fancy or expensive - a slideshow of images and titles with the right music can get people interested. Just be sure that you don't use images or music that is copyrighted unless you have permission or have paid to use them.

Be sure you upload it to Youtube and share it from there. If you just upload it from your desktop to Facebook you do yourself a huge disservice - all those clicks are counting for nothing. On Youtube the more views your video gets the more people will find it and share it. Here is an example of one I made a over a year ago. Yes, it is a bit amateurish I will admit but it did the job I needed it to do. It's under three minutes but most people don't have an attention span of more than two minutes, so keep it short.

Be sure to have your book cover on there and leave the viewers wanting to know more about your book. It's wise to have your facebook page or a link to where people can purchase your book on the video.Once it's ready, begin sharing it on Facebook,Twitter and Goodreads.
 


Become and Expert - Once your book is published and even having a little success people will come to you asking for help so they can publish their own books. Take advantage of this. Post these Q&As on your facebook page, Twitter and Goodreads. Share what you know and become and expert with what you have experience in.

If you write non-fiction you have a greater advantage. You can become an expert on your subject. Look for opportunities where you can write articles and guest posts on your topic. You can get your foot in the door with TV and radio interviews when you have expertise/tips to share with an interested audience. Speak at expos, participate in workshops and local community events. Get someone to film you whenever you speak. Once you have spoken at a couple of events you can set up a portfolio that will add to your credibility.

Give Back (win/win)  - Don't always look to earn cash for your efforts. Most people don't want to pay someone they have never heard of to speak or teach a workshop. Instead offer win/win scenarios. For example, offer to give away 5 free books in exchange for an opportunity to speak for 30 minutes at an event. The event coordinator is happy, the audience is happy and you are happy. Or swap blog interviews. You feature an author/book on your facebook page in exchange for that author promoting you. You can find these opportunities on Goodreads. 

Amazon Reviews - Little reviews certainly won't help with sales. The more reviews and activity you have on your Amazon page the higher your sales rank will be. The best way to drive people to post reviews on your Amazon page is to do a giveaway. As soon as you reach 20 reviews, you give away five great prizes. The odds are good and people will be interested in a chance at winning something. Giving away your book isn't that enticing as your reviewers already have it. Again, exchange books with other authors (get them autographed) and use them as your prizes. A $10 visa gift card is also a great prize and easy to mail. Once you reach 20 you can begin another contest and set another goal.


Blog Tour - Seek out bloggers who are willing to feature your book and interview you. Try to arrange it so that they will all feature you during the same week. Try to get at least 7-15 blogs to feature you especially during release week. This will do wonders to your Amazon ratings, rank and your facebook following. You want to create a media frenzy as big as you can - all at once. Be sure to create a small press kit with your bio, picture, book cover, contact info and links to send to each of the bloggers so they have what they need to make a good post. Never send out mass emails - personalize each email and follow up.

Word of Mouth- If your book really is a great book, this will happen on it's own. Make bookmarks as a form of business card for your book. Business cards may get thrown away but a bookmark has a use especially for a bookworm. Pass them out at signings and other events where you can reach interested readers. Any way you can personalize your promotion efforts the better your chances will be for people willing to spread the word to their friends. Strike up friendly conversations wherever you can. Express gratitude towards your readers and fans and leave them with a positive experience.

Book Signings/Web Interviews - Farmer's markets, craft fairs, boutiques, neighborhood book clubs and small local bookstores are great places to have book signings. Even small ice cream shops may work a deal with you. In exchange for you holding a book signing and bringing people into their shop. They giveaway a free ice cream with every book purchase. You can agree to give them a percentage of each book sale, to help cover the cost of the ice cream. Be sure to promote it like crazy to your friends and family on Faecbook and Twitter.

If your book is only an ebook, offer to do free interviews via Skype. Fans can arrange an interview for their book clubs. They'll get one on one time with you to ask whatever they desire about you and your book. It's a win/win. You can also giveaway a free eBook with each book club interview.

Summary - Overall, there are many ways to promote your book without paying a marketing company to do so. You just need to get creative and get to work! Good luck, and don't forget to post your questions, comments or ideas below.

Ignoring the Sacred Rules of Writing

There are several things we learn in English as we grow up in school that  follow us into adulthood. There are things like never begin a sentence with the word but or and. Also, try not to over use the word and. All these are still very common sins we make, but we know we are not supposed to.

             

 If you’ve ever taken a writing course or workshop they encourage you to expand your vocabulary. Using words like frenetic, intoned, and queried if these are not usual words in you’re writing style throughout the book then you make it sound as if you hit the thesaurus to make you and your book sound smarter (which you probably did). So, keeping words that are common to your writing style and characters personality is probably essential to the style.

              
Try not to begin your story with an alarm clock going off, or end the book with something like a large explosion. If you’re wanting to build suspense for the next book there are better ways of doing this than ending the book with a suicide note.

I am also about to tell you to break the most cardinal rule of writing and they will probably shut down our blog. Don’t write what you know. The stigma that you must write about what you know and what has happened to you held me back for years as all my writing teachers told this mantra. I doubt Stephanie Meyers knew about vampires since Twilight came to here in a dream. Alternatively, Cassandra Clare knew about demons and angels growing up.

Our experiences help us to form our characters since they are such a large part of us in our books. This does not mean however that we are the book, because many people read to escape and to enjoy different experiences that they would never otherwise have in life. So, expand what you know, take experiences from your life, and let your imagination take you to the very limits that you can push. Then read your draft and push the limits some more, J.R. Tolken was stuck in the fox holes of World Word I and this is when he began writing the Hobbit and his whole world of Lord of the Rings. So do not allow yourself to be limited by sticking to just your everyday experiences but rather use them to push your book further. Your imagination is the limit.

-Elsha Fornefeld

This Week's Featured Author - Marilynn Dawson

Marilynn Dawson

Marilynn grew up in a solid Christian home, coming to Christ at the age of 7. She has been actively involved in Church life since age 10, including activities such as joining her Mom and sister in singing special numbers, choir, teaching Sunday School, leading Sunday School open session, planning Sunday School lessons, and more. Marilynn attended both public and Christian private schools growing up. She attended North Island Community College on Vancouver Island and Trend College in Kelowna, BC, obtaining certificates in receptionist work and CompTIA A+ computer repair.

Throughout her life, Marilynn has written poetry and published a few of them in the American Poetry Anthology (two issues). She currently does freelance work for a technical blog in Alberta. She's also written numerous unpublished articles on end-time eschatology and the news, written unpublished short stories, word studies and more.

Marilynn lives with her two teenagers, cat and gerbil, in Kelowna BC Canada.  Her day job sees her fix computers and engage in multimedia for her church.  In the evenings and on weekends she's a soundtech doing various events through the year from funerals to workshops to concerts and weddings.  Marilynn sings in the choir and sang on her church's praise teams for several years.

 

Marilynn's book - Mom's Little Black Book

As our youth graduate high school and head out into the world, many parents wonder if they've done all they can.  Is there one more thing we can do before our youth spread their wings and fly the coop?  Is there one more bit of advice we can offer to ensure that they'll be equipped for the road ahead?  The answer is YES! 

Taken from Idea Creations: Book Review
by Kathryn E. Jones
http://idea-creations.blogspot.ca/2013/05/book-review-moms-little-black-book.html 

"Mom's Little Black Book," by Marilynn Dawson is a short, inspirational read that blends quips, Bible quotes, meditation opportunities and 'light' reading for the teen who is about to leave home to start life on his/her own.  

Divided into 6 subheadings (spiritual, household, personal care, interpersonal, grocery and financial), "Mom's Little Black Book," offers teens exclusive rights to all that Mom knows and is willing to share about living life with spiritual grounding and a super clear focus. 

Consider these helpful hints:

"Help those who are in need. One day it could be you."

"Clouds are very emotional creatures. They cry at special occasions."

"Racism is pointless. Look at the Panda.! He's black, white and Asian, and everyone loves him!"

"You are the only Bible some people will ever see."

"You know you're tired when you put the dishes in the fridge and the milk in the sink."

"Talk to God. He loves to hear about your day and how you feel."

"Remember prayer is a fancy word for communication between you and God. Give him time to respond."

"Don't hoard God's blessings for yourself. You may just be the delivery conduit."

If one of your children is leaving home for college this summer, or getting married, or perhaps they have just decided it's time to live on their own, "Mom's Little Black Book," is for them.

Instead of talking until you're blue in the face about what they should and shouldn't be doing to remain a strong, active Christian, give them this book.

Get Marilynn's Book

Contact Marilyn