Marketing Mondays #5: Gotta Getta Website!

You knew this was coming (and hopefully most of you have already done this): You must have your own website.
Even better is to have a website for yourself as an author, and one for each of your book projects. The URL (web address) for your own site should ideally be your name with “.com” after [...]

Marketing Mondays #4: Products and Promotional Materials

Last week we talked about identifying and reaching out to your niche, or your target audience, and not relying on your publisher to do so for you. Another thing you should not rely on your publisher to do is create promotional materials.
Over the years, we have designed and/or made our own bookmarks, postcards, posters, [...]

Marketing Mondays #3: What’s Your Niche?

OK, it’s not Monday, but the holidays have intervened. That said, let’s talk about niches.
Having a niche means being known as “The Person Who Writes X,” as in “Oh, that’s the person who writes those talking truck books” or “That’s the person who writes those steamy vampire novels.”  When you have a niche, you can [...]

Marketing Mondays #2: Put Your Best Foot Forward

Most publishing houses make acquisitions decisions by committee.  Having been a fly on the wall at a lot of those meetings, as well as having made acquisitions decisions myself, I know that agents, editors and publishers often won’t read past the third page if a manuscript feels overwritten, under-developed, overly derivative or out of touch [...]

“Marketing Mondays” #1: Know the Market!

It’s been said that we all run at least two businesses – the business we’re in, and the business of marketing the business we’re in.  Writers are often daunted by this.  “I’m an artist!” we think, “I don’t know anything about marketing, or sales, or business!”  Roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work.
Step [...]

“But I’m a Writer, Not a Salesperson!” or, Intro to Marketing for Authors

The role of a children’s book author in the marketplace is dramatically different today from what it was even ten years ago. Books are now acquired based as much on an author’s perceived “platform” as on the merits of the book itself.  In other words, authors are now expected to take equal responsibility for the [...]