Hart Johnson's Blog, page 10

K is for Knowledge Base

This is a bit of a cheat, too, but call it making up for yesterday, as it is exactly the opposite kind. Yesterday I didn't even have a TOPIC. Today I actually might be able to tell YOU something useful for a change. And not about one thing but about MANY things... because what I offer you is a RESOURCE. So useful in fact, that not only have I bookmarked it, but I have permanently put it in my sidebar.





Knowledge from OTHER heads into yours! Easy peasy!

You see, Elizabeth Spann Craig (which starts with a C but it sounds like a K, so bonus points, right?) and a computer engineer friend of hers developed a SEARCH ENGINE of BLOGS... so you can put in a writing, promoting related topic and up will pop blogs on the matter.



It is actually called the WRITER'S knowledge base, but KNOWLEDGE is the key... lots of it, right at your finger tips.



So if you need to know something, go to Writer's Knowledge Base.



And if you need to visit more blogs, which you do, go get the A to Z List.

J is for J is just dumb

*shifty*





Just fiction. the jackalope

So know how I am asking all of you for your wisdom on book promo topics this month? I looked and looked and found THREE J things that all start with “just”. Anybody who has been in the writing business since late this morning knows Just is the word you NEVER use with good writing. Who ARE these people?



I considered Jabberwock, as what marketing plan doesn't require a bit of nonsense, but I spend all yesterday at a summit for work and my sense of whimsy is strained.



And then my computer was jinxed... It died half way through post writing...



So my J day is going to go like this. Do you know a DARNED THING that helps with book promo that starts with J?



If not, I am just going to thank Jan, one of my favorite beta readers...



Now go see somebody with a better attitude...

I is for iTunes

Hallo, friends new and old!



My April A to Z schtik is to bring up publishing topics I don't know much about and ask YOU to fill me in. So there.







Ignorant Iguana needs your assistance

So iTunes...



I've never published on iTunes... Last time I contemplated it a person needed to upload from a Mac or Apple product. Now I have a thousand year old hand-me-down Mac, but it only runs for about half hour at a time before overheating. We've only kept it because it is (was) hooked up to our printer and so the kids used it to print assignments (pulled down from their clouds).



It is not a machine new enough or operable enough to format something I intend to publish. Or so I have assumed. But partly it also is one of those things with a learning curve, so I just haven't taken it on to find out... But I should know more...





Have any of you published on iTunes?



Do you still have to load from a Mac?



How different is formatting? (can I still use my Word doc?)



Are sales worth it?



Does it have any extra perks?





Go on, tell me about your iTunes experience. And then go visit some other A to Z bloggers!

H is for Humility

Breaking pattern a bit today. While I still want all of YOUR advice on where to find it, and how to practice it, I do have a bit of wisdom to add for a change...





So why is humility important to promoting books?



Lemme tell ya...



So yesterday I was on the Facebook (I live on the Facebook) and I saw something about a certain mediocre yet arrogant author... One person was trying to remember his name and gave that description and my friend knew exactly who she was talking about...





But see it almost wouldn't matter if he were talented... it is the arrogance that is grating... people who act like they have it all figured out... because you know what?



Even if they DO the rest of us really don't want to have it shoved in our face.



And this reminded me a bit of the ethos when I was first blogging. I met so many great people, but at the time (2009) there were also a TON of blogs offering writing advice. Not the “here, I learned this thing” but the “do this, don't do that” sort. Making it sound like any deviation from the advice made us WRONG.



I sort of felt like I should join the club, it was so common, but thankfully I remembered I was an entertainment model, rather than a utility model. And over time it occurred to me that all this advice, well-intended though it was, assumed we were one size fits all.



We are not.



Giving a small piece of advice here and there is great. Especially told in a “lesson I learned” way. That is SO HELPFUL.





Scarier than a Sith Lord

A full plan about how every author ought to do every single thing? Not so much.



People may be legitimate experts and they STILL don't have the answer for all other authors. We are different beings who need more of a buffet of ideas to pick and choose from than a frozen dinner plan.





That Said...



As a RECIPIENT of information, we need to humility to let what rings true sink in. ESPECIALLY specific, directed only to us, feedback.



See... we need the humility to not think we have all the answers BOTH as a helper AND as a receiver. So ask for help. Listen to help. But lets do this thing a bit more intimately if we can...





So what do you all think? Any experiences where you learned humility?

Any times you felt someone should have HAD some humility?

Any advice on maintaining humility?





Also, over on the Parallels blog today I am sharing space with Crystal Collier. We are talking about Horror (or favorite horror creature and horror in our Parallels story) So come see us!

G is for Goodreads

So for another tool I use but have no clue what I'm doing...



I present for today's book marketing topic... GOODREADS



I mean I SEE stuff... cover contests... Read wish contests... giveaways...





But how do you get on any of those lists? I haven't figured out how you get connected to the mechanisms for them. Are they nomination processes?



So from each of you I am asking



* Is there some particular thing YOU'VE found on Goodreads that works particularly well?



* How do you get involved with it?



*Any wastes of time to avoid?



* Things that can work but have tricks we should know?





And don't forget to come back and find out what others find helpful. And also go see other A to Z bloggers!

F is for Facebook and Fail

Welcome A to Z Bloggers! As many of you know, I am spending my month putting all of YOU to work! I will bring up a book marketing or publishing topic then ask for YOUR experiences with it. (so be sure to check back later for answers!)



But first, a confession: I had a presentation at work Tuesday and so I've been TERRIBLE getting around to other bloggers—only a few a day. But starting TODAY I will get back to a mix of visiting new and visiting BACK people who've visited me, so hopefully the END of my FAIL.



Now for the topic...







Facebook



Now don't get all “that's old news” on me because I have been on FB since 2007 personally and since 2009 as a writer. But Facebook made some changes last year that made most of the old promo stuff not work. And I have some (well meaning) friends who seem to over-promote (this is more a “missing the mix” thing I think—promo has to be less than 10% of what you do).



But what I want to know from all of YOU is if you've figured out any new tricks to really make it work. Are you managing to drive blog traffic or boost booksales with any new tricks on Facebook?



How do you do it?

What are the new tricks?





Okay, now go visit other A to Z bloggers!

E is for eBookasaurus

HA! Right?!





I should probably introduce my theme first... the theme is I bring up a promotion topic and YOU tell me what you know... (since I know nothing).



And I have a confession for you, since that's what we do around here... I was stumped for an ePromotion, so I went to this site and scanned the ones with the most green checks, but I fell in love with this name... and it looks pretty good in theory, but that is the most cursory glance.



Has anybody used this before?



How does it work?



DOES it work?



Does it have the best name ever? *shifty*



So what do YOU know about eBookasaurus?





Any OTHER promotional stuff that starts with E?





Now don't forget to go visit other A to Z bloggers!

D is for Direct (as in sales)

Welcome A to Z Bloggers! As many of you know, I am spending my month putting all of YOU to work! I will bring up a book marketing or publishing topic then ask for YOUR experiences with it. (so be sure to check back later for answers!)





Her books, her chatskis, and her daughter's art

Today's topic came to me courtesy of my friend Allison Dickson who went to a comic con this weekend and sold a bizillion books! Now she has a series that I think is superhero related, and a PI series not unrelated, but that isn't all she sold. She took her huge supply of MANY of her books (and some cute things she made) and SOLD OUT.





So my Direct Sales Questions to all of YOU...



1) How does a person find these opportunities where ready buyers are already there?



2) How hard is it to get involved? (is it a fee? Or do you have to earn a spot?)



3) Does it pay off?



4) Do you have to talk to people while you do it? Erm...



5) Have you ever done it and what are your experiences?





Don't forget to go visit other A to Z bloggers!

C is for Contests

Each day I am bringing up a tool for book marketing or promotion and asking all of YOU for experiences, knowledge, and ideas.





Oh, to be this badass...

CONTESTS



Contests are something I actually have a bit of experience with. (Not the sort on the left, except in my wildest dreams, but the writing sort) I love them, because they provide deadlines for getting something ready and there is typically at least some level of feedback. But I have NOT done a lot of them because I'm just not sure where to FIND them!!!



Also, the contest I used to participate in regularly (the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) is now defunct. Poof. No more. All gone, bye-bye. (I hate that).



So do any of you know good sources for FINDING contests?



Are there contests that come around regularly that you really like? (what do they cost?) (what genres do they cover?)





So now you should go see some other A to Z participants!

B is for BookBub

No, not Bubba


For anyone who didn't see my theme posts, this month I will be bringing up a tool for book marketing or promotion and asking all of YOU for experiences, knowledge, and ideas.



So what is BookBub?



I learned about it from my neighbor... she asked me if I'd heard of it, then proceeded to tell me about how she would go and get free and cheap books...



FREE BOOKS!



Now we don't want to give ALL our books away, but a high profile site to give away one or two so people want to buy our OTHER ones is a great idea.



What I don't know... what I hope some of YOU might be able to help with, is: 



HOW DOES ONE GET THEIR BOOKS ON BOOKBUB!?  



Anybody know the process? 



How much does it help sales?



Have you done this? How was the experience?





And because this is a group event, don't forget to go visit OTHER A to Z bloggers this month!