Posts Tagged ‘book marketing’Literary Agent vs Publicist: What Is the Difference?November 27th, 2010Many new authors are confused by the different roles of support professionals in the publishing world. It can be a very overwhelming world! So the goal of this article is to shed some light on the basic differences between 2 support professionals who often cause new authors to scratch their heads: Literary Agents and Publicists. Literary Agent Overview: You’ve written a book manuscript and you don’t want to self-publish it…your dream is to land a publishing deal with a major publishing house. Great goal, but what many new authors don’t realize is that nowadays you typically need to land a Literary Agent to represent you FIRST, and then they’ll shop your manuscript to Publishers. Most Publishers won’t even accept a manuscript unless a legitimate Literary Agent delivers it to them. And, quite honestly, finding a Literary Agent to represent you can take quite some time – months and even years. This is a big reason many authors choose the self-publishing route…out of total frustration! But, for the sake of this article, let’s say you are totally determined to land a publishing deal with a traditional publishing house. Here is some general info you need to know about Literary Agents. What exactly is a Literary Agent and what do they do? In general, they are marketing and sales experts who know how to give your manuscript pizzazz. Their purpose is to determine the compelling pitch that (they hope) will make Publishers want to review your manuscript and offer you a publishing deal. Literary Agents also negotiate the book deals for their clients (often with an attorney involved). How do they charge? Like a Talent Agent, they work on commission based on the deal they get for you. So if you contact an agent and they say they will charge a fee to represent you, RUN! That’s a scam. Legitimate agents only get paid if they land you a publishing contract. Here’s a bit more detail from AgentQuery.com about this: Literary Agents charge a commission whenever they sell the publishing rights (and various sub-rights) of a book. Standard commissions range from 10-15% for the sale of domestic rights and 15-20% for foreign rights. Major Publishers pay authors an advance against royalties. A Literary Agent negotiates the terms of the sale, and then collects a commission for their hard work. Publicist Overview: Whether you are self-published or traditionally published, you can hire a Publicist. And their main purpose is to get you, and your book, mass exposure. So a Publicist typically comes into the picture when your book is close to being published (or after it is) and assists with the book marketing. What exactly is a Publicist and what do they do? Basically, a good Publicist comes up with strategic ideas for event promotions, tries to get book reviews, finds opportunities where you and/or you book would fit nicely (like speaking at an event or coordinating a virtual book tour), contacts the media on your behalf to land interviews, and also “cooks up” interesting story angles to grab the media’s attention. Plus, if you’re “famous” and run into trouble that becomes public, your Publicist is there to protect you from bad press OR (try to) address the issue with a positive spin…think Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen and Tiger Woods! How do they charge? Unlike Literary Agents, Publicists do not work on commission. Most of them have an hourly rate or monthly retainer fee. However, there are some who charge based on “pay for placement” (i.e. charging $3000 if they secure you 10 radio interviews), but under those placement arrangements they are not helping with all the other services I mentioned above. And you typically have to come up with the “story angle” yourself to pitch the media and then they contact the media they think will be interested. But, most authors I work with need help with more than just landing a few media interviews. They need help with Marketing, PR, Branding, and Social Media strategies, too. So I assess and strategize all of the elements needed to market the book and the author – and I consider “publicity” just one piece of the big puzzle. Therefore, I don’t just limit my services to being a “Publicist”. I bring this up so you know what to ask a Publicist before hiring one! I know one author who was pitched by a Publicist and for $2500 a month all she was going to do was contact the media. This so-called “Publicist” had no experience with all of the other puzzle pieces needed to successfully market the author or their book, and my (now) client, who was new to the “publicity” world, came close to signing a contract with her. That could have been a very expensive lesson with very little return! Bottom line? If you contact a Publicist and they don’t mention strategies beyond contacting the media (such as conducting a Virtual Book Tour, or assessing your marketing materials, website and positioning), don’t waste your money on their services. In terms of retainer fees, they vary greatly. You’ll see some Publicists who charge $1,000 per month (for a limited amount of hours), and others who charge $25,000+ per month. Most of the “bigger” well-known Publicists I’m aware of won’t take on clients for less than $10,000 per month, and they require 6-month contracts – a pretty hefty price tag for most authors I know. So, there you have it. I hope this snapshot of differences between Literary Agents and Publicists has given you some clarity. They each play very different roles in the publishing world, and (the good ones) can often make a big difference in your quest for publishing greatness! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa  How to Conduct A Virtual Book Tour to Increase Your SalesNovember 13th, 2010Hi All! Book authors are on a never-ending quest to promote their books, sell their books, and increase awareness for them. Yet, many authors struggle with this. I know this first hand because I have a lot of clients who are authors and seek my help with their book marketing. One effective book marketing strategy that most authors do not use is conducting a Virtual Book Tour; using blogs as the vehicle. There are many ways to do one, so this post will give you some general guidelines to follow and you can adjust, alter and brainstorm additional ideas for your tour. And the great thing about Virtual Book Tours is that it doesn’t matter if your book is new or not! There are many authors who have books that are several years old and their Virtual Book Tour brings the book back-to-life, generates interest for the book amongst people who didn’t know about it when it first came out, and ramps sales again. So don’t think this strategy is just for NEW books! And, it doesn’t matter whether you self-publish or not! I know authors who get hung-up on the self-published status of their book, but it’s NOT an issue! 1.) Establish a timeframe for your tour. This can range from one week to one month. And you’ll want to start organizing it 1-2 months ahead of time for effective planning. 2.) Find blogs that reach the audience you want to target for your book, and contact the owners of those blogs. This can range anywhere from 10 to a million blogs! How many blogs involved on your tour just depends on the time you have to do this outreach and how many blogs are the right fit for your book’s topic. 3.) Tell each blogger the tour’s timeframe and what your expectations are when they participate in the tour. This may include: During the tour, they need to write a review of your book that includes the book’s cover linked to your Amazon page or wherever your book is sold; and you’ll provide them with 1-3 articles that pertain to your book’s topic that they will run during the tour as “guest blog posts” (from you) on their blog. And in the articles you provide them, they’ll include your short bio, pic of your book (or of you), and link to your website. You’ll provide EACH of the blogs that participate the same articles and each of them can run the articles in any order they want during the tour. 4.) Send each participating blogger an organized “kit” for the tour (via email). This should include: General tour info (restate expectations, tour timeframe, roll-out schedule, etc.); file of your book cover; file of your headshot; and the articles you wrote for them to use as “guest posts” (as Word docs with links embedded to your website, Amazon page, etc.). Don’t rely on the bloggers to find the correct links to YOUR stuff! 5.) Mail each blogger a copy of your book. Obviously you need to do this so they can read it BEFORE the book tour launches. And, no, don’t ask them buy it! Mail them a free copy! 6.) Offer several copies of your book to each blogger who participates to use as a giveaway item for a contest they can create (or use it as a free gift for something the blogger wants to promote). You may not want to do this with every blogger who participates (if you have TONS of blogs on the tour), but you’ll want to offer it to the ones who have a lot of traffic. This is a good strategy because aside from them writing a review for your book and running the articles you provide to them during the tour, they can create a contest (or promotion) “around your book” which will be additional exposure for your book. 7.) Thank and mention the blogs who participate on YOUR blog throughout the tour, on Twitter tweet the links to the blog posts they do about (and from) you, mention them on your Facebook Fan Page, etc. Doing all of this is critical because you are giving the participating blogs exposure to YOUR social networks, and that’s good business. The bloggers who participate on your tour are doing YOU a favor so giving them some “link love” and exposure is only right. 8.) Consider sending each blogger who participated in your tour a Thank You gift when it’s over. Again, show them gratitude for their time, effort and help in promoting YOUR book! Okay! That’s a general overview of how to do a Virtual Book Tour. Yes, I could go on & on with more ideas for conducting a successful tour, and ways to make it more elaborate (but that can get costly), so this gives you a good starting point. The “basic” approach I provided can get you great results as long as you PLAN ahead of time and connect with enthusiastic bloggers who are excited to participate in your Virtual Book Tour. And if you want help with ideas, planning, and execution of your tour, or need other book marketing strategies, you know where to find me… Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa Cool Online Tools to Reach Targeted Media Interested in Your NewsNovember 01st, 2010Hi All! I wanted to share some very cool tools that can help you reach TARGETED media and industry influencers; who are specifically interested in YOUR news and expertise. By using these tools, you can attract media interviews and get mass media coverage to build your personal or business branding platform, increase your income, and increase the sales of your products (i.e. your book if you wrote one!). AND, I don’t care whether you’re a one-person company, small business, self-published book author, etc. The media (print, broadcast and online) is on the hunt for interesting news and topics 24/7, 365-days a year. So you don’t have to be famous or have earth-shattering news to get their attention! They just want interesting news or segment ideas that will appeal to their audiences. I recently helped an author-client land a featured interview on a popular talk show on Lifetime! And she is a self-published author who just started working with me…getting media exposure rolling CAN happen fast if you make some effort! SO…go for it! 1.) PitchEngine.com Overview: Unlike traditional wire services, PitchEngine enabled users to openly create and share their own content, while including images, videos and attachments at no cost. In 2009, more than 70,000 pitches were shared by 27,000 organizations looking to get the word out to not just journalists, but to bloggers, consumers and other influencers as well. PitchEngine’s “Co-op SEO” concept enables brands big and small to experience exceptional indexing in major search engines. 2.) MediaSyncOnline.com (FREE!) Overview: MediaSync is a free Web-based service from mBLAST that allows Marketers to easily research and use detailed, up-to-date media intelligence on print and online publications, their staff and their areas of coverage. With MediaSync, you can find:
MediaSync allows users to search for the information they need (on their companies, clients OR the competition), refine the results, save their search and receive alerts when new information is available that matches their criteria. They can also upload existing media lists and/or create and maintain new ones, and export it all into a contact list or briefing book. Overview: Check-out my info-packed Learning Guide that outlines the PR & Publicity strategies I help my clients with, and the ones I personally use (which have landed me over 100 media interviews!). This special guide typically sales for $37, but for a limited time I’m offering it for $27. I charge a lot more than $37, let alone $27, for the seminars, workshops and webinars I conduct on this topic…and the info in this Learning Guide is the same as I share in those more expensive events. It covers everything you need to know about attracting the media, pitching the media, writing a killer Press Release, online tools and resources, and MUCH MORE. Simply CLICK HERE for the details of what you’ll learn…it’s on the Products Page of my website. So there you have it…3 very cool tools that can help you reach the media YOU want to reach, and who are interested in YOUR news. Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa How to Find a Literary Agent to Sell Your Book ManuscriptAugust 12th, 2010Hi All! You’ve been slaving over your manuscript forever, it’s done, it’s brilliant…everyone you know says it’s going to be a best-seller (and not just your Mom), and you don’t want to self-publish this work of art. Your dream is to land a publishing deal with a major New York publishing house and see their logo printed on the spin of your book cover. I respect that goal, and I have some clients who pursue it – some successfully, and some not so much. But what I find many new authors don’t realize is that nowadays you typically need to land a Literary Agent to represent you FIRST, and then they’ll shop your manuscript to Publishers. Most Publishers won’t even accept a manuscript unless a legitimate Literary Agent delivers it to them. And, quite honestly, I’ve heard endless stories from authors about how they tried to land a Literary Agent for a long time…and I’m talking 1+ years. This is a big reason many authors choose the self-publishing route…out of total frustration! But, for the sake of this blog topic, let’s say you are totally determined to land a publishing deal with a traditional publishing house. Here is some general info and resources that could help you grab the attention of a Literary Agent who may love your manuscript, and choose to represent you. Some common questions with answers: What exactly is a Literary Agent and what do they do? In general, they are marketing and sales experts who know how to make your manuscript sizzle. They determine the compelling pitch that (they hope) will make Publishers want to review your manuscript, and then offer you/agent a publishing deal. And, a good agent has the contacts you don’t. Do they charge a fee? Yes, but not up-front. Like a Talent Agent, they work on commission based on the deal they get for you. So if you contact an agent and they say they charge a fee for them to represent you, RUN! That’s a scam. Legitimate agents only get paid if they get you a publishing deal. Here’s a bit more detail from AgentQuery.com about this: Literary agents charge a commission whenever they sell the publishing rights (and various sub-rights) of a book. Standard commissions range from 10-15% for the sale of domestic rights and 15-20% for foreign rights. Major Publishers pay authors an advance against royalties. A literary agent negotiates the terms of the sale, then collects a commission for her hard work. I have no connections to Literary Agents, so how can I find one? You can do Google searches to find directory listings. And there are websites like these where they have agent listings: Association of Authors’ Representatives These types of websites also provide loads of great info about how to contact and approach an agent, how to write a query, how to avoid being scammed, and much more. Getting an agent to represent you is not impossible, but it can be very challenging. So if you really want to try to land a publishing deal, be patient and start by finding a great Literary Agent to represent you and your best-selling manuscript! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa 5 Tips to Get You Mass Media Exposure for Brand BuildingJuly 25th, 2010Hi All, I just uploaded my newest video on my “The Promote U Guru” YouTube Channel. In it, I provide 5 effective tips to help you get the media coverage you want to build your brand and business, and increase your credibility as an “expert” in your industry. So, if you’re an author, speaker, small business owner, entrepreneur or solopreneur (coach, consultant, trainer, etc.), check out the 5 tips! The video is short (less than 8 minutes!) and info-packed. You’ll learn: - How to write an effective press release - What NOT to do when writing your press release - Where and how to deploy your press release online - Why creating your own targeted Media List is critical - How you can get more traction for your press release by promoting it through you social media channels That’s all for now… Cheers and Happy Marketing! Lisa 12 Strategies to Sell More Books at EventsJune 23rd, 2010Hi All! I came across this great article written by Penny E. Sansevieri, CEO and Founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. It’s entitled, “12 Secrets to Selling More Books at Events”. It’s filled with great info, so I hope all of you authors benefit from these great tips! Article Excerpt: So you got a book event, great! Now you want to maximize it, right? You’ve heard your writing buddies (or perhaps read online) about the lack of attendance at signings, so figuring out how to maximize the event, regardless of the numbers might be tricky. While I spend a lot of time addressing online marketing, the offline component is one you shouldn’t overlook. If book events are where you want to focus, then bringing in some ideas to help you sell more books is something you should consider. Some years back when I was promoting The CliffhangerI ended up at a book signing in the driving rain. I mean, it was pouring and the store was all but empty. It was amazing I sold even one book, let alone seven. While not a big number, the copies were all sold to people who were seeking refuge in the store from the rain and not there for my event. This signing taught me a lot about events and connecting with consumers in stores. If you have an event coming up, consider these ideas before you head out:
Those are only five of the great tips she shared out of 12…so CLICK HERE to read the other 7! Cheers and Happy Marketing! Lisa Authors: 10 Solid Tips for Selling More of Your Books on AmazonMay 27th, 2010Hi All! I’m a bit behind on by blogging because I’ve been on a much needed vacation, enjoying some sun, ocean and fun. While on vacation I read Brent Sampson’s book “Sell Your Book On Amazon“. And I will tell you it’s worth the $15 (you may even be able to get a used one for less on Amazon). Not only does he list all the strategies to be aware of, but he goes into details about “how” to implement them and provides real world examples (so that you get “why” they are important). There are TONS of strategies to get more exposure for yourself and your book(s) on Amazon, yet most authors I know only know of a few…heck, I’ve written 2 books, and they are on Amazon, and I didn’t even know about many of these tips. OR, I was aware of them but didn’t totally get the “benefit” or the strategy around them. And I will say that Brent states several times in his book that Amazon doesn’t make it easy on authors to find or execute these strategies. That’s why I liked his book! It gives step-by-step instructions for each tip he shares. I won’t go into all the “how and why to execute these ideas” here, because that’s what a book like Brent’s is for (and I don’t want to rewrite his book on my blog). But here are 10 tips (out of MANY) that he suggests, and you can research how and why they are important for marketing and selling more of your books on Amazon. You can also see my video about selling more of your books on Amazon. Click here to view it! And, please note, whether you self-published your book, or published through a traditional publisher, these tips apply. 1. Start and AmazonConnect account 2. Create an Author Profile Page 3. Make sure you upload a professional photo on your Profile Page and make sure you add a caption under it. You can include your name, book name, web address, etc. Use it for marketing! 4. Complete the About Me info on the Author Profile Page, and make sure to write a good “signature”. Your signature will show-up on all the posts you do on Amazon (e.g. reviews of other peoples’ books) so it will help market you. 5. Write “So You’d Like to…” Guides (a feature on Amazon) 6. Make sure you implement the Search Inside feature on your book’s page 7. Check out Amapedia: This is Amazon’s version of a wiki. You can post factual info pertaining to your book and info related to your topic. 8. Write as many reviews for other peoples’ books as possible…even for your competition. But don’t write one to “trash” them! If their book was good, give them a 5 star rating and a good review. And everyone who reads it will see your signature and book title in your review, and this can drive traffic to your book page. Why? Because if someone is reading that author’s reviews, they are interested in his/her topics and may want more books pertaining to that topic! Plus, the more reviews your write, the higher your Amazon reviewer ranking climbs. This all gives you more exposure. 9. Use the Tag This Product feature on your book’s Detail Page. 10. Look into, and participate in, the Listmania feature. OKAY! Those are the quick tips. So do some research on the ones that are new to you and start implementing! Or, if you are like me, and you don’t want to spend tons of time researching, just pick up a copy of “Sell Your Book on Amazon“. Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa 4 Ways to Sabotage Getting the Media Coverage You WantMay 14th, 2010Hi All! I recently wrote a blog about “How to Write a Killer Press Release & Where to Deploy It Online“. This is an impromptu follow-up to that topic, and was prompted by a consulting session I had with a client this week. My client is a (new) book author, so we wrote and distributed her first ever Press Release a few weeks ago. We deployed it online, and it was also sent to a targeted list of specific media we identified (newspapers, magazines, radio/tv shows and blogs). Fast forward to this week…she is very unhappy that her phone hasn’t been ringing off the hook with interview requests. I clearly explained that if it was “that easy” we’d all be featured in the Wall Street Journal or on The Today Show whenever we wanted. It takes effort! Here are the key tips and strategies I told her to do right after the Press Release went out…and as of this week she had NOT done any of them…hence the “not getting much coverage” issue. And, by the way, this is where most speakers, authors, small business owners and entrepreneurs drop the ball when it comes to getting media coverage through their PR efforts (so it’s not just her): 1. They Don’t Follow Up: When you send a Press Release to a targeted list of media, you have to follow up with them. And sometimes you have to follow up quite a few times. The media is bombarded daily with news, so you have to be the “squeaky wheel” to get their attention. Yes, it’s like doing sales calls, and it’s not the most fun thing to do in the world, but unless you have a Publicist to do it for you, it’s a task you must take on. It is critical!!!! 2. They Don’t Share With Their Social Media Communities: Once your Press Release is done, share the link to it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. First of all, you don’t know who may see it and share it. Secondly, you have no idea who are all the followers your followers have. For example, on Twitter, I had someone retweet a tweet of mine about a Press Release. One of her followers is the host of a very popular BlogTalk Radio show, that reaches my target audience, and that person contacted me for an interview. I also was contacted by a reporter from the NY Times, and have been interviewed by her several times, because of a retweet. 3. They Don’t Post On Their Website: When you write a Press Release, create a page for it, optimize it with keywords and phrases, and upload it. Not only can it get found in search results for on-going traffic generation, but it’s important to share the news on your website. And even when the Press Release becomes “old” it can still drive traffic to you and attract media interviews for you. 4. They Don’t Post It On Their Blog: Use your Press Release as a blog post. It’s okay to occasionally promote news about yourself there. And if you’re on WordPress, and have added the All in One SEO Pack plug-in, this will also help get your news found online. So, there is your crash course in what to do AFTER your Press Release has been written and distributed. It takes EFFORT to get media interviews (unless you have truly earth-shattering news or you’re fairly well-known). But, the media is always looking for news, they have a lot of air time or pages to fill, so you can get your share of coverage if you’re consistent and persistent! Cheers & Happy Marketing! Lisa
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