Author Book Marketing

After a year of marketing research based on three different authors (and their nine different books), their marketing plans, their previously hard-earned money spent (mostly from non-writing jobs), and their overall goals and aspirations, I have come to one very simple truth: Kindle. While most of you already know that Kindle is King for many authors, the overall power of selling on Amazon in digital format compared to actual softbound (Think: Create Space) format is profound. And it doesn't seem to matter what the book genre was. That's what is a bit confusing and strange. But there's a reason: self-published authors aren't any better at getting their books into bookstores today than they were 20 years ago! Still not surprised? I guess I shouldn't be either, but at this point I really can't see the good side of spending the bulk of your marketing and advertising budget on softbound or hardbound book sales, regardless of who prints 'em. Using Create Sp...

Sometimes you've got to throw caution to the wind and plug your own work. No matter how much marketing you have done for your latest book, your own words may be the difference between a successful campaign and a dud. Throwing caution and modesty to the wind, I give you my latest work: Vegas and the Mob . The truth about Las Vegas, unlike the watered-down versions you might have heard elsewhere. Sin City was the Mob’s greatest venture and most spectacular success, and through forty years of frenzy, the FBI watched, listened on phone tapes, and did virtually nothing. Thank goodness for that, because Vegas wouldn’t be what it is today without the Mob! Two of the nation’s most powerful crime family heads went to prison in the 1930’s, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano. Frank Nitti took over the Chicago Outfit while, Frank Costello ran things for the Luciano Family. Both men were influenced by their bosses from prison, and both sent enough gangsters onto the streets to influen...

A virtual book tour can help get the good word out about your latest novel and it can be cheap, quick, and effective. But it’s rare to have all those qualities. Most virtual book tours are centered on book blogs that have little to no readership, little interaction with the blogger, and will require plenty of extra work from you. Don’t expect to pay the fee and be done working! Sure, you wrote the book, but the tour bloggers probably won’t. Ideally, every blogger would read your book, do a quality review of it for their readers, and some of those readers would click the links, check out your site, and buy a copy. That doesn’t always happen. Make sure you ask the who, what, where, when, and why questions. Who’s Doing My Tour? So, who’s going to do your tour, and where are the tour stops? You really need to know which sites are going to be hosting your book. Do they have any readership? Are they going to actually review your book? Are they going to post a question and answer sess...