Reading : Writing Your Book Was Only the First Step - Marketing Your Book by Making it Known Is the Survival Step Says Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
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Writing Your Book Was Only the First Step - Marketing Your Book by Making it Known Is the Survival Step Says Book Publicist Scott Lorenz
Plymouth, MI (PRWEB) April 10, 2004 -- Writing your book was only the first step. Marketing your book by making it known is the survival step, says book publicist Scott Lorenz, President of Westwind Communications, a book marketing firm. After writing your book, do not hurry it into the market, Lorenz warns authors. With 150,000+ new books every year, the world is not waiting for your book to hit the stores. So take all the time you need to market it correctly.
Lorenz says The key to book marketing is to really know wholl read your book. Ask, What is the overwhelming message your book conveys? Who would be interested in reading such a book? Whether you self-promote or hire a professional, you must identify your audience so you reach them through the marketing campaign.
If you decide to self-promote, I strongly recommend the purchase of MAXIMUM EXPOSURE Marketing System Book Marketing Training Program for Publishers and Authors by Tami DePalma and Kim Dushinski. http://www.MX-TheMatrix.com/westwind.html . This is a very well written resource that teaches authors all about marketing their book. If its not in here its not important, says Lorenz.
Lorenz also recommends that authors purchase John Kremers 1,001 Ways to Market Your Book. This is a collection of techniques and tactics that have been used by other authors in the promotion of their books. Sometimes its better to follow a path created by someone else than to spend time and energy forging a new one, says Lorenz. According to John Kremer, "Eighty percent of all books are sold by word of mouth, but its publicity that primes the marketing pump. Remember that you cannot do everything, so hire the right persons to do the things you can't do. If you're not comfortable doing your own publicity, then hire someone who does it for a living."
You can purchase his book at: http://www.bookmarket.com Lorenz says he does not recommend self-promotion. For the same reason you dont cut your own hair. You can do it, but its not going to be that good. Book marketing and promotion requires special skills and most authors simply do not know how to market a book nor do they have the time or, more importantly, the patience.
At a media conference that Lorenz attended in New York City, the producers of the Today Show and Good Morning America said they each receive about 75 books every day! Lorenz says, With those incredible numbers, unless an author has a PR person trying to get their book on top of the heap for them its unlikely their book will ever get on the radar screen.
One of Westwind Communications secrets to getting media coverage is to create interesting 'angles so the media will be compelled to cover the book. According to Lorenz, I try to find out everything I can about the author using a questionnaire that even asks about fraternities or sorority membership, roommates in college, and other tidbits about them personally and about the book itself. We then use this information to craft a pitch that entices the media to want to interview the author. To me its like going fishing, you use whatever bait you can and keep changing it until you find the one that really works. And, like fishing, the bait that works today may not work tomorrow and thats where most people will give up. With thousands of media
outlets, this is a very time-consuming task. Unless an author has someone skilled in book marketing, their potential best-seller is just one of a million books lost on the shelves of Borders, Barnes and Noble, and in the "ether" of Amazon.com."
Westwind Communications approach to book promotion and book marketing involves the following:
X To successfully market your book, you need to determine who will read it. Once we really zero in and determine who your audience is, we can target the media they read directly.
X We make sure galleys and the finished books are sent to the reviewers at major publications and broadcast outlets. We write and send press releases, pitch letters in an electronic press kit and make follow up phone calls to media outlets encouraging reporters and reviewers to write about our clients book.
X Being reviewed by The New York Times, Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and USA TODAY are major goals. In fact USA Today has 4.3 million readers every day. Furthermore, it gets more notice from the other media than the other four newspapers combined. That's a major reason why we will make a concerted effort to get our authors noticed by USA TODAY.
X We also contact national magazines and others that may be interested in the authors personal story. Sometimes the media is more interested in the author than the book itself and that is just one more angle well use to promote our client's book.
X We contact TV and radio outlets. Every day thousands of interviews are conducted on TV and Radio stations across North America and several hundred are with authors. If you are not trying to get interviewed by the producers of those shows they wont find you because they simply dont have time to look for you. We have developed relationships with many producers over the years and those contacts combined with well-thought-out pitches produce results.
X We attend a national media meeting in New York where we have face-to-face meetings with journalists, editors, writers and producers from top national magazines, newspapers and radio/TV programs. We have successfully pitched such media outlets as 20/20, Prime Time, CNN, People, Good Morning America, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Dateline NBC, The View, Oprah's O magazine, Cosmopolitan, Fox News, Good Housekeeping & Newsweek.
X If you dont have a web site for your book, create one. Well refer media to your site for more information and to download book jackets, author photos etc.
Remember, writing your book was only the first step. Marketing your book by making it known is the survival step.
About Scott Lorenz Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Family Circle, Woman's World, & Howard Stern to name a few.
To discuss how Westwind Communications helps authors get all the publicity they deserve and more call 734-667-2090 or email scottlorenz@westwindcos.com. Lorenz will be attending the Book Expo (BEA) Convention in Chicago in June. To arrange a meeting during the show call his cell phone at: 248-705-2214. For more information visit www.westwindcos.com/book
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