Interview with author Sheila Lowe

I think authors can learn a lot from each other, particularly about marketing and promoting their books. Authors with several titles under their belts have already seen and experienced many things that new authors haven't yet gone through, and they have a lot to share. With that in mind, today's post features an interview with Sheila Lowe, the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis, 2nd Edition and a recent novel, Dead Write: A Forensic Handwriting Mystery, published by the Signet imprint of the Penguin Book Group. As a veteran author who writes for a major NYC publisher, I think Sheila has some great words of wisdom for all up-and-coming authors.

1. How much help did your publisher give you in the marketing of your book?

These days, publishers expect authors to do most of their own marketing. My publisher (Penguin) lists me on their site; they sent out notices of my book to reviewers (though this time they did not send out advance reader copies), and they distribute the book many places where books are sold, including Kindle. If I request a review copy for someone who has asked, they will send a book to that person. Apart from that, the success of the book is pretty much up to me.

2. Did you hire a publicist, or did you work on marketing and promotion on your own? If you hired a publicist, what types of things did they do for you?

I do have a very low-cost publicist who handles book sales at my launch parties and some other events, and who also has arranged for some semi-local talks for me, some which actually pay(!). In the past I had a publicist who charged a monthly retainer plus fees for events. However, we weren’t on the same wavelength about what events or bookstores would work best for me.

3. What types of marketing activities did you handle on your own?

I’m active in organizations in my genre, such as Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, as well as professional organizations. I attend conventions where I appear on panels, and meetings where I lecture. I send out bookmarks and signed custom bookplates to readers and to bookstores that want them. I write articles. Drop in book signings, as well as some scheduled ones. Speak at book clubs and guest blog. Because of the nature of my work as a handwriting analyst, I’m sometimes called by the media for comment when there are stories in the news where there are also handwriting samples (most recently, Tiger Woods), so that helps get my name out, too.

4. Which marketing activities have been the most helpful in selling your book?

I’m still trying to figure that out. When I do, I’ll do more of it!

5. Which marketing activities have not worked for you at all?

Scheduled book signings have very limited success, which I hear from other authors, too, even big name ones. Book store sales people have told me that signings don’t often generate more than 1 or 2 sales, and that 5 books sold at a signing is considered a huge success. This is probably less true at small, specialty stores that have a loyal customer base who attend everything they schedule.

6. What was the biggest misconception you had before you started promoting your work?

That my (major) publisher would be helping me sell books. The sad fact is, the large publishing houses have so many authors and so few publicists that mid-list authors can’t expect much in the way of promo. I’ve heard it said that publishers expect their authors to use their advance for marketing, which means you don’t ever break even unless your books sell hugely. When I was with a very small publishing house, there was a great deal of personal help in promotion. Ironically, that’s how I got to move to a big house—the small publisher sent my first book out for review and it got a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, who called it “a dynamic debut.” That got the big publisher’s attention.

7. How vital is social media such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to your marketing?

I’m not sure yet, but I think they are important, at least to some degree. I believe we create readership by selling one reader at a time until a book goes viral. I’ve heard it said that one happy reader represents five more. I don’t know whether that’s true, but if it is, I’d like to precipitate a very big sneeze!

8. How vital is niche marketing to promoting your work? How did you identify and reach out to your book’s niche audience?

For me, it’s important because I’m well known in my field (handwriting analysis) and colleagues around the world read my books. However, the down side is, it’s a very small field. I need to reach out more to people in related fields, such as psychologists and lawyers, as my protagonist is a forensic expert. But then, my fiction books are psychological suspense, so they can be enjoyed by anyone who likes reading mystery.

9. What advice do you have for new authors when it comes to marketing and promoting their books?

Have a marketing plan before you even look for an agent or a publisher. Write it out so they know you are committed to marketing and promoting the book yourself. If you do, you’re far more likely to get a book deal than a writer who expects to sit back while the publisher does everything. These days, that’s not going to happen. It’s probably even more true in non-fiction, but non-fiction is much easier to sell. There are some helpful books on writing book proposals that include great info on how to create a marketing plan.

About Sheila Lowe:

Like her character Claudia Rose in the award-winning Forensic Handwriting Mysteries series (NAL), Sheila Lowe is a real-life court-qualified handwriting expert who testifies in a variety of handwriting-related cases. She’s also the author of the internationally acclaimed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis, 2nd Edition, and Handwriting of the Famous and Infamous, and Sheila Lowe’s Handwriting Analyzer software.

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Five Things You Should Do Before Your Book is Released

Your book is written. It has been edited, gone through layout and is on its way to the printer. Your job as an author is done, right? Not exactly. When it comes to marketing and promoting your book, your job is just getting started.

For some authors, this is where panic kicks in. Writing a book was difficult enough, but now they (and their publisher) have to get people to actually read it. Where does an author begin?

This is perhaps the most common question I get from authors. At Tate Publishing, there is a three month time period between the time the book goes to print until its actual release date. Many authors aren't quite sure what they should do during that period of time.

Actually, this is a great time to "hit the ground running" and get things set up for the launch of your book! In fact, it's a great time to make sales and build word-of-mouth about the book before it's actually released.

Here are five things every author should do prior to the release date for their book:

1. Get a web site. I can't stress this one enough. Every author that wants to be taken seriously as an author should have their own web site. Your publisher may be able to build one for you, or you can hire someone to build one for you. It should look professional, have information about you, your book, your upcoming book signing events (if you have any yet) and a link where readers can place orders for your book. I recommend including a sample chapter of your book somewhere on your web site. This is also a good time to get some promo materials for your book, like bookmarks, business cards, posters, etc.

2. Get social. Now it's time to let your readers know about your web site and your book. You should have accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, at a minimum. Update these at least two to three times per week.

3. Friends and family. You probably have dozens of email addresses for friends, family and acquaintances. These are people you want to invite to your book signing events, and you also want to shoot out a pre-release email letting them know your book is available, or will be available soon.

4. Pre-release events. If you are able to get pre-release copies of your book (not all publishers offer this), you can start generating sales right away. Although you haven't hit your book's release date yet, you can set up consignement events at local independent bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, church bookstores, book fairs and festivals, and during speaking engagements for local civic organizations and book clubs. The more events, the better. You're trying to get copies of your book out there to build some "buzz" before your book is released.

5. Review copies. You'll also want to send out some review copies to book review bloggers, your alumni newsletter, and some traditional media book reviewers. The reason you want to do this prior to the release date is it is competitive to get reviews, and it may take awhile to rack up a few. Also, the reviewers need time to read your book and write their review. Ask the reviewers if they will also post their reviews on your book's listing at Amazon after the book's release date. Most do.

And a few "Don'ts":

DON'T start trying to line up media interviews and articles about your book with your newspapers, TV, and radio. Your book hasn't been released yet, remember? If someone hears about your book from one of these sources before it's released, they won't find it at Amazon or be able to get it from any bookstore. Save this for the release date

DON'T call bookstores and ask them to stock your book. Again, your book hasn't been released yet, and the bookstore can't order your book from the distributor. This is why I suggested consignment sales at the local independent stores.

DON'T forget to keep in touch with your publisher about any events you have lined up for yourself. They can help by sending out press releases to help promote your events and they'll likely post them to their web site, too.

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The Hot Media Source You're Not Using

As an author, you have probably done the usual media contacts: television, radio, newspapers and perhaps a few web sites and blogs. These media sources offer good promotional opportunities, and help an author develop "buzz" and word-of-mouth about their book. However, there is one media source that you may have overlooked, and that's a big mistake.

It is Internet radio.

What is Internet radio? Basically, it's a podcast, or a live or pre-recorded radio show that is strictly available online. We're not talking about regular radio stations that also happen to stream their content online. These are shows developed for an Internet-only audience.

Who listens to Internet radio? I have to admit, back when I worked in radio, Internet radio was considered a fad. Who's going to listen to radio shows on their computer? Of course, this was before IPods and MP3 players. But, it turns out plenty of people listen to Internet radio.

One of the largest Internet radio sites, BlogTalkRadio, has only been around since 2006, yet last year more than 30,000 hosts conducted shows on the site, which were listened to nearly 58 million times. That is some great exposure for an author and their book.

Anybody can host their own show on BlogTalkRadio and other podcasting/Internet radio sites, even authors. Of course, there are plenty of shows already available on the site, and they are always looking for guests to interview, including authors.

Some of the guests who were interviewed on BlogTalkRadio last year include bestselling author Maya Angelou, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Newt Gingrich, Madeline Albright and Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. Bill Cosby even started his own Internet radio show this past year.

Offering yourself up as a guest can pay off. One of the authors I work with appeared as a guest on a number of different Internet radio shows. Each week for about a year, she appeared on one or two Internet radio programs and talked about the topic of her book: the End Times and the Antichrist. These appearances were enough to get her invited to be a guest on the syndicated radio program Coast to Coast AM. That appearance led to her being interviewed for a History Channel series, The Nostradamus Effect. Each time she appears on the show, the History Channel flashes her name on the screen, along with the name of her book.

If you would like to be invited to be a guest on a BlogTalkRadio show, you can either try to contact the host directly through their show page, if they include their email or phone number. You can also offer yourself up as a guest on the BlogTalkRadio Forum or fill out the contact form.
Alternatively, you can search Facebook or Twitter for "BlogTalkRadio" to find hosts and ask to be a guest.

It's best to find a show which fits your book's niche. If you have written a book related to sports, then you would target the Internet radio shows that are about sports.

If you haven't given Internet radio a second look (or a listen) it's worth checking out. With thousands of shows available, there are plenty of opportunities for aspiring hosts and guests.

Have you hosted a show or appeared as a guest on Internet radio?

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Five Ways to Use Twitter to Promote Your Book

Do you currently use Twitter? If you don't, you really should consider it. Those who aren't on Twitter, even at my job, frequently ask me "just what IS Twitter anyway?" Basically, Twitter allows you to quickly send out short messages to your subscribers. The messages are 140 characters or less. That's not a lot of space, so it really forces you to be concise and to the point.

I mainly use Twitter to link to articles and web sites that I think authors would find most helpful. Lately, I have also been using it to connect with members of the media, bookstores and book reviewers. If you think Twitter is a waste of time, consider this: each day, Twitter logs visits by six million different users. That's the kind of exposure authors crave.

So, how can authors use Twitter to their benefit?

1. Give your Twitter readers something of value. If the majority of your Twitter posts say something like "Hey, read my book (Title). It's available now at Amazon!" you're not likely to get much, if any, response. However, if you frequently pass along useful information that can be found in your book, or you update your readers on your next project or pass along the location of your next book signing event, you're giving your readers something other than a hard sell...and they will keep reading.

2. Use Twitter to make connections. I have used Twitter to connect with members of the media, bookstores and book reviewers. If I recently read a book I found interesting, I pass it along to my readers. If there is something going on in the news that relates to a book I'm currently marketing, I mention it on Twitter. Recently, I mentioned I had some new releases coming up and offered free review copies to book reviewers. I received replies from book reviewers that asked me to send copies. That's a lot better than blindly mailing out review copies.

3 Use Twitter to plug upcoming appearances. As I briefly mentioned before, you can use Twitter to plug upcoming book signing events, or your upcoming media appearances, something like "Signing copies of my book (Title) at B&N on Smith Road in Nowheresville this Sat, 1 pm. " If you have a lot of friends and fans subscribing to your Twitter page, you've just notified them all that you have an upcoming event.

4. Schedule a Twitter Chat with your fans. If there are areas of the country you'd like to reach, but can't afford to fly out there for a book signing event, hold a Twitter Chat with your friends. You simply schedule a time to chat with your fans. You can coordinate this with your blog, or another popular book blog. At the scheduled time, you log into Twitter and your fans Tweet questions and messages to you, which you respond to. It's sort of like doing a live Q&A, but you're doing it on Twitter, 140 characters at a time. The best part: it's nationwide! You can even have contests on Twitter, where you give away a copy of your book to whichever Twitter user posts the best review of your book on Twitter.

5. Use Twitter to promote your other social media content. Have you just written a killer blog post that others will find useful? Mention it on Twitter. In fact, I'll be mentioning this post on Twitter as soon as it's written. Not only will it draw readers to my blog, but it may also lead some blog readers to follow me on Twitter. You say you don't have a blog? Tsk, tsk.

Twitter don'ts:

Don't hard sell on Twitter. Just be yourself and pass along useful info that others will find interesting.

Don't overpost. A couple of posts a day is fine. A couple hundred posts a day is not.

Don't get TOO personal. Remember, Twitter is public. If you wouldn't want your boss or your kids to see it, don't Tweet it. Be personable, but not overly personal.

Don't be dull. If you don't have anything interesting to Tweet, don't.

Don't ignore people who send you personal messages through Twitter, unless THEY are getting to personal.

Don't forget to follow ME on Twitter! My Twitter ID is TerryCordingley. I often share info on Twitter that I don't mention on my blog.



Question: Do YOU use Twitter? Has it helped you in your promotional efforts?

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Five Sources for Online Book Reviews

One of the first things an author is looking for when their book is released (or just prior to its release) is a review of their book. Book reviews can be a very helpful way of letting prospective readers know what the book is about, if it's something that would interest them, and if the reviewer thinks it's any good. If a reviewer doesn't like a book, more often than not they will not print a review of the book at all, but that's not always the case. Books can and do get negative reviews. Still, book reviews are more ammunition for authors to use in their marketing arsenal.

Getting a book review from a traditional reviewer, such as one who writes for newspapers, magazines or other publications, can be just as challenging as getting a book published. Producers for network television shows can receive 50-75 review copies per day and they may only feature a book on their programs once or twice a week. One newspaper book reviewer told me he has stacks of books in his office, and he receives about 200 books per month. He is only able to review about six books per month. Most book reviewers only publish reviews by authors they know, or books from particular genres or books from the major NYC publishers. As you can see, getting a book review is not always easy.

But, it can definitely be done. The internet has made getting a book review a bit easier these days, but the author has to realize these reviews won't appear in their local papers. They will mainly be available online. That's OK, because readers are turning to the internet to search for reviews of books they may have heard of, or books relating to a particular topic. With so many blogs and websites online, it has become easier to get online book reviews, although sending a review copy to these sites is still no guarantee your book will be reviewed. However, it is often easier to get an online review than a review published by the "traditional" media. With that in mind, here are five sources for online book reviews that you may find helpful:

1. Midwest Book Review. This is a website operated in Wisconsin, but they do literally dozens of reviews each month. Even better, if they review your book they also post that review to your book's listing on Amazon.com.

2. Blogcritics. Blogcritics.com has more than 2,000 contributors and publishes hundreds of original articles and reviews each month. They are also a source for articles for Google News and Yahoo news.

3. BookReview.com. Although this site also offers paid services, authors can send review copies and get them reviewed at no charge. If the reviewer likes the book, they will write a review. They also post their reviews at Amazon.com, which is a good selling point for your book on Amazon.

4. Christian Review of Books. For authors who have written a Christian fiction or non-fiction title, the Christian Review of Books will fit the bill. They not only write reviews, but they do book giveaways, interviews and even accept articles written by authors.

5. Amazon.com. Have you been getting rave reviews for your book from your readers? Great! Tell them to put their thoughts into words and post their reviews on your book's listing on Amazon.com. Amazon itself doesn't write reviews, but anybody can post a review on Amazon. Don't contact everyone you have ever met and tell them to post glowing reviews of your book. Not only is it not honest, but Amazon customers can see right through that tactic. Do encourage your readers to post honest reviews of your book (after they have read it) on your book's page. If they love it, that will be no problem for them. Pick out the two or three best reviews and include some of the quotes from the reviews in the press releases for your book.

There are many other online reviewers of books, of course. You can find more at The Complete Review.

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