Hart Johnson's Blog, page 9

U is for Understanding

Understanding publishing seems a bit like this, doesn't it?






As in understanding how all this
works... the systems. Self publishing. Traditional publishing... So
I'm not asking you to explain it all to me, as this ever changing
game is way too big for that, but I am asking for your best sources.







What websites, blogs, newsletters help
you the most to maintain a understanding of this industry—for
knowing the trends, the dos and don'ts, the tricks that help and the
pitfalls to avoid. What helps you understand?

T is for Twitter

So I understand this can do more than I
somehow managed to do... I have a friend who has found requests for
certain sorts of stories... agent wish lists... people network... But
apparently I am a Twit...





Can anybody clue me in how to use this
in a functional way?





How can I use it to network for an
agent or publisher?





How can I use it to sell books.







Because it seems to me I use entirely
too little crack to keep up...










Also THRONES!!!!! TOMORROW!!!!





Tyrion's Trial

S is for Story Bundle and Seismic Crimes

So most of the days this month I am only on something to help with book promo, but today Chrys Fey has also asked if I'd share a bit about her new release, so I am going to do that first...









BONUS S: SEISMIC CRIMES!




Today is the release of Chrys Fey's first novel!





BLURB: An Internal Affairs Investigator was murdered and his

brother, Donovan Goldwyn, was framed. Now Donovan is desperate to prove his

innocence. And the one person who can do that is the woman who saved him from a

deadly hurricane—Beth Kennedy. From the moment their fates intertwined, passion

consumed him. He wants her in his arms. More, he wants her by his side in his

darkest moments.




Beth Kennedy may not know everything about Donovan, but she

can’t deny what she feels for him. It’s her love for him that pushes her to do

whatever she has to do to help him get justice, including putting herself in a

criminal’s crosshairs.




When a tip reveals the killer's

location, they travel to California, but then an earthquake of catastrophic

proportions separates them. As aftershocks roll the land, Beth and Donovan have

to endure dangerous conditions while trying to find their way back to one

another. Will they reunite and find the killer, or will they lose everything?




DIGITAL LINKS:

Amazon / Barnes

& Noble / KOBO / The

Wild Rose Press






ALSO AVAILABLE IN PRINT!








So you should go check that out...



and on today's theme...



I recently had a friend (Allison Dickson, who inspired an earlier post, too... I will have to send Allison cupcakes, or a strip fireman or something...) who had her book included in a Story Bundle... It was $20 for like 9 books, so when about 4 of them looked like YEAH, it started to look like a really good deal. And Allison said she had earned more in that week of promo than any of her other books in about the last year (don't hold me to this—this was a few months ago—but it was good sales). Now I have seen many friends bundle books, but Story Bundle was a formal THING... A real system...













Some of us really love books...

* What I want to know is how does someone get into one of these?



* Do you put together your own set of authors and books? Or do they do it?



* What is the screening process?



* Has anybody ever done this?



* How does it work?



Anything you can share about getting a book included in a Story Bundle and whether it is worth the effort to do so would be appreciated!!!

R is for Reviewers

So supposedly enough reviews really help you sell books, right? I wouldn't know. I've never had enough reviewers to push me into one of these higher sales categories. So I thought I would bring the questions to YOU!!!







How does one IDENTIFY potential reviewers?



Is there any way to incentivize reviews? (like not pay for them—that doesn't seem cool, but to encourage people to read and review)



Are any of the sites that help you find reviewers particularly good?



Do you know specifics on how much X reviews help sales-wise? (like what is the minimum you really need and are there tiers after that?)

Q is for Query Tracker

So I've used Query Tracker to find agents who might be appropriate, but I've never used it for.... you know... tracking... And I'm not sure I'm using it optimally to find agents... I mean I generate names of people who take my genres but still have to look into every person individually to see what they really like (And I believe I have not been particularly good at this).








Some trackers are hotter than others...



So nimble readers...



What tricks can YOU make Query Tracker do?



Have you had any big successes using it?



Are there any shortcuts in this process?



How is the system better than an Excel spreadsheet?



Is there some competing system you like better?

P is for Publisher's Weekly

Is this still a thing? I mean I know it is still a thing because I still get emails from them--the newsletter, but it has been a couple years since I opened said email...





But when I was first blogging and trying to polish that first book this was the MUST DO way of keeping up with the industry... then self-publishing had its honeymoon and there stopped being rules.



Well maybe there were rules, but nobody knew what they were. (Lots of people claimed to, but after about 2 years of chasing them I learned they were ever-changing so there was no point learning them until it was time to apply them).



* So back to Publisher's Weekly...



* Has anyone had success from either following advice, crumbs, or news from this source lately?



* How? What is the best way to use it?



* If not, has anything replaced it as the MUST READ industry source?



* Where do y'all get your publishing news from?





ALSO: I am over on the Parallels blog today talking about my favorite villain: Pharma.

O is for Online Presence

In terms of book promoting, this is a big DUH, but I thought I'd poll all of YOU for which two or three things you find most valuable in term so branding yourself, selling books, staying top of mind... being an author.





It can be overwhelming, eh?

* What online system(s) help you MOST?



* Which ones are the biggest bang for the buck (or rather time—good benefit for the time required)?



* Which have you found to be a waste?



* Any that have big caveats? (good to do but be careful of...)



* Any huge rules for online interaction that you follow? (Any you break?)





And be sure to go visit some other A to Z bloggers!

N is for Newsletter

Do you have any idea how much I hate this topic? If you've been here before, you may know my philosophical problem with Newsletters. Okay, not so philosophical. I don't like receiving them, so I have trouble with the idea of putting one out. See, they stress me out. I feel like I ought to read them, but would really prefer to seek information at my leisure instead of having it arrive in my in box.



But I've been told a thousand times authors need to do this.



So help me.





* Please provide a convincing argument that will make newsletters less painful as a philosophy.



* Any recommendations on which tool is best? (Mail chimp?) Others?



* Are there any chemical aids that will help me find this activity more palatable?



* How does one build readership?



* What is the recommended frequency? Is there a sweet spot?



* What is recommended content?





Anybody have any answers? I'd love to hear them!



Also... we have just crossed the half-way mark!!! w00t w00t!!!





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

M is for Media Kit

Welcome friends! You're HERE to work for ME, yes? Erm... I mean that IS my theme this month... bringing up a topic then asking YOU to tell me something about it...





Really hoping this media kit includes marmosets

So for our M Day, what I have come to is Media kits... I've had friends who have released books and I offer to be part of a blog tour and they say, “Hey, I can send you my media kit” but it is so MUCH that I find this very overwhelming and I haven't managed to analyze what should go in one.





SO....



* What goes in a media kit?

* Who do you send it to?

* Do you sometimes just send part of it?

* Any dos and don'ts?

* Clever out of the ordinary add-ons?





Your wisdom is appreciated!!!



Now go visit some other A to Z Bloggers!

L is for Libraries

Hallo fine peoples!!!



So in line with the theme of the month, we are talking about libraries as a mechanism for promoting our books. They are awesome in all sorts of other ways, but what I want YOU to teach ME is how to utilize libraries to increase book sales.





Now I worked up my nerve once to request the library carry a book I wrote, and they did. It was very nice of them. I felt a little like a beggar doing it, but I know it was a good thing to do. I think LOCAL libraries are often willing, especially if you tell them, “I'd like to be able to tell people who are interested that they can find it at the library”.





But in what OTHER ways can libraries be used to promote?



Have any of you engaged in creative ways with your local libraries?



Has anyone worked up a good system for reaching out to NON-local libraries?



How do you find library events you might get involved with?



Have you ever held your own event at a library? How did you set that up?





Okay.... now go visit some other A to Z bloggers!