Beth Jusino's Blog, page 4

Marketing From the Couch: A Writer’s Secret Weapon

This past weekend, I got The Crud that’s been going around Seattle. My officemates have been coughing for weeks. My climbing gym partner had to take a few days off, lest she sneeze on the holds. So it’s not terribly surprising that on Saturday afternoon I took to the couch with a box of tissues and my Kindle, and Ididn’tmove againuntil this morning.

I took advantage of the time, though, to do some serious marketing work.

That is, I read a lot of books.

I left the TV off and sampled popular new f...

The Biggest, Baddest, Book-Killing Editorial Problems

(…and they have nothing to do with punctuation or spelling)

October has been a terrible moth for blogging, because it’s been an awesome month for everything else: lots of speaking engagements, lots of interesting work with clients, lots of beautiful Seattle fall adventures on the back of a motorcycle.

I love teaching at conferences, appearing on panels, and generally talking about words and books in front of rooms of people. And a couple of weeks ago, I got to be part of a panel at the stunning...

What to Do With Your First Negative Book Review

It finally happened. I knew it would.

Somebody panned The Author’s Guide to Marketing on Goodreads.

As an agent, an editor, and a consultant, I’ve walked with a lot of authors through painful reviews and negative feedback. But that’s not the same as seeing someone criticize my own work. Even though I knew better, I still felt the temptation to respond, the natural desire to defend. My fingers itched to hit the Reply button and tell the reader exactly what he was missing, and why he was wrong.

Bu...

6 Questions That Will Help You Launch Your Book Like a CEO

Did you watch the launch of the Apple Watch last week? Hundreds of thousands–probably millions–of people did. Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage and, in dramatic fashion, introduced the next Big Thing in technology. In the days that followed, he gave dozens of media interviews, and probably made plenty of calls to key investors.

Why? Because it’s his job as the CEO to cast the vision for his new product, and to inspire us to be as excited about it as he is. To do that, he needs to know the fact...

Should you publish with a small press?

When most new writers think about “getting published,” they think about landing an agent, who in turn will get them a deal with one of the Big Five publishers in New York.

But that’s not the only way—and for a lot of writers and projects, that’s not the best way.

Did you know that more than half the market share of traditionally published books in America comes from independent, university, regional, and niche press publishers? These are houses with small staffs and smaller catalogs, typically...

Do you need a literary agent?

“It’s time for me to get an agent,” the writer told me. “I’m tired of trying to market my work all by myself.”

While I sympathize with the tired feeling, I had to break it to him that an agent wasn’t going to relieve him of his marketing responsibilities. Whether you have a publisher, an agent, or you’re on your own, making yourself visible to readers will always be your job as the author.

So then why would you need an agent?

If you want to be published by a large or mid-sized traditional publi...

Am I a Marketing Failure?

I didn’t blog at all last week, even though according to my marketing plan, I’m supposed to blog at least once a week.

But it’s not just that. I also haven’t started researching webinar options that I want to try, or reached out to other publishing industry bloggers to see if they want to review my book.

Am I a marketing failure? What a terrible thing to think, if I’m putting myself out there as a marketing expert!

There are SO MANY marketing ideas that I didn’t take advantage of last week. (Or...

Should I Self Publish? 3 Questions to Ask Before You Take the Plunge

These days, the media is full of success stories from self publishing authors. NPR got in on the trend this week, interviewing Michael Bunker, who’s making a fortune self-pubbing Amish sci fi. (Seriously. Check it out.)

There’s money to be made in self publishing, and plenty of voracious readers who are eager for new books. But there are also a lot of writers who are jumping off the diving board without looking into the pool. And their experiences aren’t so good.

So before you take the plunge,...

Look Out, Seattle, Simon Wood Is Coming to Town: An Interview

Publishing is changing fast, as any author who’s been in the business for a few years will tell you.

And if you’re in the western Washington area on August 9, prolific mystery and thriller author Simon Wood will tell you. The Mystery Writers of America, Northwest Chapter, is bringing Simon to Bellevue College on August 9 for an all-day event called:

The 21stCentury Author: How to Connect With the Publishing Industry and Build an Audience

Simon knows his stuff: he’s sold more than 500,000 e-books...

Are publishers keeping too much of book sale profits?

“The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.” -Terry Pratchett

The war of the words continues:

One author is circulating a letter in support of publishers in the Amazon-Hachette dispute.

So another author launched an online petition in support of Amazon.

The Authors Guild jumped in with their own artfully-worded response.

Amazon replied with a zinger.

This British study says that people who write books don’t make much money. Imagine that.

ThisNew York Ti...