Prepare to Read Your Book!

Reading excerpts of your book to potential readers is a great way to Sell your book. Stay in touch with readers who know you. Introduce new readers to your work. Build word of mouth about your book. Find out what excites your readers and what doesn’t work for them. Let readers hear your literary voice. Establish relationships with local booksellers. Before your first reading: Identify candidate venues Open mic night at restaurant,… Read More

Marketing Wordherders

If we Wordherders were to work together to sell our books, how would we do that? Here are some ideas. Events Organized by Others in which Wordherders Participate Untapped Blues & Brews Three Rivers Folklife Tumbleweed Music Festival Richland Farmers’ Market (e.g. DeeAnna Galbraith) Events Organized by Wordherders Benton PUD Auditorium Bookstores Adventures Underground? Barnes & Noble? Bookworm? Wineries, Breweries Wordherders Subgroups “The YA Survival Tour! Join [Maureen McQuerry, Stephen Wallenfels, and… Read More

Wordherders Marketing 101

Marketing 101: Individual Activities Email Interactions Newsletter(s) Book progress Content specific information Early engagement activities Email management, e.g. MailChimp Facilitate building mailing list Track follower stats Segment interactions Early Engagement Teaser chapters A/B Cover, Title Testing Book Trailer Promotions Giveaways Discounts Ads on Author Webpage Cover Reveal Teasers Book Release Events Reviews Amazon promotions Goodreads promotions? Incentives Gift cards at signings Bookstores Restaurants SWAG Bookmarks Magnets Bracelets Wine rings Key rings Small… Read More

Why Book PR Can Have the Most Impact BEFORE You Land An Agent, by Sharon Bially

From: http://writerunboxed.com/2016/06/13/why-book-pr-can-have-the-most-impact-before-you-land-an-agent The question of how important book promotion is to sales and an author’s career is the subject of continual, heated debate. On one hand, many agents these days urge their clients to hire an outside publicist no matter who their publisher is, claiming that without robust PR and promotion no book (or author) has a future.  On the other hand, many — like WU’s own Donald Maass — stress the greater… Read More

Infographic: Do You Know The Difference Between Literary, Upmarket and Commercial Fiction? by Carly Watters

Excellent break down of literary, upmarket and commercial fiction: Infographic: Do You Know The Difference Between Literary, Upmarket and Commercial Fiction by Carly Watters.

The 5 Basic Elements of an Author Website, by Frances Caballo

In the article, “The 5 Basic Elements of an Author Website,” Frances Caballo offers some unique insights into the design and content of an author’s webpage. The insight that stood out for me is to consider using an infinite scrolling format. She suggests that the format is well suited to authors of picture books and YA, as those audiences are well familiar with scrolling on their electronic devices. An infinite scrolling page may… Read More

Comparative and Competitive Book Analysis, by Catherine Fowler

From: Presentation at Write On The River, Wenatchee, Washington, on May 16, 2009 It is critical that writers understand how their books stack up against the competition in the marketplace. Any good agent will perform a cursory market analysis before presenting a new book to a publisher. In actuality, the writer should do this in advance. It gives: the writer confidence that his/her product will compete well in the market for which… Read More