How "Book Thief" Made Out Like a Bandit

I came across an interesting article today in Publisher's Weekly.  It was about Markus Zusak's 2006 novel "The Book Thief" surpassing more than two million copies sold.  For the author that is slogging away at book signings, two million seems like an incomprehensible number.  So, how did he do it? According to the article, Zusak's publisher, Random House, credits " book clubs, community...

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Guest Post: Holiday Author Events

Holiday Author Events: How to Increase Holiday Book Sales Holiday Author Events: How to Increase Holiday Book Sales By Irene Watson Book sales are typically highest for most authors during the holidays so authors should take full advantage of the holiday season. Many avenues exist during the...

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Guest Post: Start Marketing Your Book Even Before It's Done

Start Marketing Your Book Even Before It Is Done Start Marketing Your Book Even Before It Is Done By Lisa Shultz Ideally, one should plan and implement a marketing campaign many months before the actual launch of your book. Lay the foundation for success early and then be consistent with ongoing...

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Guest post: Increase Book Exposure Through Author Speaking Engagements

Increase Book Exposure Through Author Speaking Engagements Increase Book Exposure Through Author Speaking Engagements By Sarah Bolme One surefire way to spread the word about a book is for the author to embark on a public speaking campaign. Authors who pursue speaking engagements gain more attention...

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Why Authors Should Do Book Signing Events

Photo credit:  YourHoustonNews.com One of the hottest tickets in the author book signing world right now is for rock star Ozzy Osbourne's latest book, Trust Me, I'm Dr. Ozzy: Advice from Rock's Ultimate Survivor.   Each of his book signing events has been met with readers camping out in...

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How to Deal With Bad Reviews

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do. - Benjamin Franklin Every now and then, not often, but a few times a year, I receive a panicked call or email from an author which goes something like this: "I just noticed that someone left a terrible review of my book on Amazon.com...

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Guest Post: What Should Your "Promotional Tagline" Be?

In my role as the head of a PR firm, one of the most common misconceptions I see has to do with the superlatives people choose to describe themselves. Now, I'm not referring to how the media positions someone, but rather how someone seeking publicity...

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Guest Post: 10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours

10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours 10 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Book Tours By Dorothy Thompson By now, most authors know what virtual book tours are or at least have heard of them. They're that wonderful marketing tool that should be a must have in every new book's...

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Guest post: Making Your Radio Interviews Count

Making Your Radio Interviews Count Making Your Radio Interviews Count By Mari Selby One of the quickest and easiest ways for your book to be noticed is to be a guest on a radio show. People still listen to the radio at work, while driving their cars, or as background at home. Most radio interviews...

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Guest Post: How to Optimize Your Amazon Profile to Market Your Book

How to Optimize Your Amazon Profile to Market Your Book How to Optimize Your Amazon Profile to Market Your Book By Phyllis Zimbler Miller Having your book on Amazon is a very exciting prospect. You can tell all your friends "you can buy my book on Amazon." But what about all the people who don't...

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Guest Post: As Easy as 1,3...wait...

Today's guest post comes courtesy of Mark Mingle, who has more than a decade of experience working in the publishing industry. - Terry Working with authors,  it is not uncommon to hear someone new to the industry exclaim that his or her book will instantly "sell millions" and "take the industry...

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Guest Post: How to Know What to Charge for Public Speaking

How to Know What to Charge for Public Speaking How to Know What to Charge for Public Speaking By Meredith Liepelt So you're a business owner who is interested in spreading your message through public speaking. Good for you! Public speaking is arguably one of the best ways to promote your business....

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Ten Things All Authors Can Learn From Amanda Hocking

You may have heard of Amanda Hocking.  She is the 20-something-year-old author from my home state of Minnesota who self-published some novels as e-books and sold more than a million copies.  According to Wikipedia, about 9,000 copies of her novels sold each day earlier this year.  Many...

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Guest Post: Make The Best Use Of The Book Marketing Tools You Already Have Available

Make The Best Use Of The Book Marketing Tools You Already Have Available By Lynnette Phillips Writers aren't usually marketers. Writers want to write and marketing interferes with writing schedules; unfortunately, if want to make a living writing, getting your books seen and talked about is...

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How to Market Christian Books to Churches

Since I work for a Christian publishing company, churches have always been an important marketing and promotional opportunity for our authors.  They can also be some of the most difficult venues at which to market and promote books, despite the message the books contain.  Many authors with...

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Newspaper Book Reviewers on the Chopping Block

It's not just bookstores that are struggling in today's economy.  Newspapers are having a tough time of it, too.  As they look to cut costs, one of the positions they are putting on the chopping block is that of newspaper book reviewer.  According to Publisher's Weekly, the L.A. Times gave the ax to all of their freelance book reviewers.  In addition, some long-standing book review...

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Are Paper Books Dead?

Since the news broke that Borders is closing its remaining 399 stores and firing 11,000 employees, authors, publishers and many in the news media are asking the same question:  "Is the printed paper book dead?" After all, Borders couldn't make a go of selling paper books, and lost market share...

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Have You Really Done "Everything" to Market and Promote Your Book?

Sometimes, authors hit a brick wall when it comes to marketing and promoting their book.  "I have tried EVERYTHING to market my book," is a phrase they might use. But, have they REALLY tried "everything?"  Probably not.  What they really mean is they aren't sure how to move forward.  The author may be out of ideas, may not know what the niche market for their book is or maybe...

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Guest Post: Harry Potter Just Made $476 Million – And How is YOUR Business Doing?

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