Nancy I. Sanders's Blog, page 88

Publicists: Author’s Questionnaire

The one other list that was requested on the Author’s Questionnaire that I had to fill out to send my publicist for the release of my upcoming book, Frederick Douglass for Kids, was a list of catalogs, specialty stores, or organizations OUTSIDE the book trade who might be interested in purchasing my book.

Since my book deals with history, this is the place I listed potential museums, memorials, foundations and historical societies that covered my topic. Most of these were places I ran across while doing the research for my book, so once again, I collected these names and their contact info while in the process of writing my book.

I listed them on the questionnaire for my publicist to contact and let them know about my book. And if you don’t have a publicist in the loop, you can contact these types of places for your own book.

Well…that’s it! That’s the type of information that my publicist needed to have filled out on the Author’s Questionnaire so that he can help market my book during the weeks leading up to its release and when it first gets published.

I hope you’ve learned some helpful tips for marketing your own book when it’s launched, too!

Publicists: Author Questionnaire

As I mentioned in my last post, there was an entire section on the Author’s Questionnaire asking for marketing information to help market my new book, Frederick Douglass for Kids.

One of the other lists they wanted me to give them to send to the publicist was a list of websites that might be interested in reviewing or selling my book. They didn’t need the two main websites: Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Those are places most publishers already contact with information about a new book.

In fact, if you’d like to see my new book listed up on these two sites, here’s a peek! (It’s not actually published yet, but you can pre-order it for when it comes out in June!)

Frederick Douglass for Kids on Amazon.

Frederick Douglass for Kids on Barnes and Noble.

My publisher didn’t need these 2 websites, but they did want OTHER websites that I might know would be interested in selling my book.

Once again, I collected these sites over time as I was writing my book.

I included speciality websites with bookstores that sold my other African American children’s books. This list included some small children’s bookstores, book fair sites that sell children’s books at school book fairs, and also a couple of Christian bookstore sites since my books are also often carried there.

If you want to look for sites like these that could be either grassroots sites (really small bookstores) or not as commonly known sites such as school book fairs, just spend some time googling key words such as “online bookstores” or titles of similar books to your book and see which online bookstores pop up.

Publicists and sometimes sales reps like to connect with these stores to get your book in as many relailers’ hands as possible. This helps increase sales!

Publicists: Author’s Questionnaire

There was an entire section on the Author’s Questionnaire asking for marketing information to help market my new book, Frederick Douglass for Kids.

One of the lists they wanted me to give them to send to the publicist was a list of professional societies and organizations that I’m a member OR that would be interested in my book.

Again, since I’ve filled out these questionnaires before, I knew this was coming so I tried to add things to this list over the time I was writing my book.

I didn’t have many entries on this list. Just 3 to be exact. But each topic or each different book you write might have different names on this list.

For example, if you are writing a book about taking care of your pet, different animal societies might be interested in your book. Or if you are writing a book about a special needs character, organizations that support special needs might be interested in hearing about your book.

These groups might even want to endorse your book or sell their book to their own members, so these connections can be a positive influence on sales.

So, keep on eye out for these types of groups as you are researching your topic on the web or writing your book. Collect a list of societies you find and send them to your publicist (or contact them yourself if you don’t have one) and see if a potential connection can be made!

Publicists: Author’s Questionnaire

Another thing the Author’s Questionnaire requested was marketing information to help market my new book, Frederick Douglass for Kids.

First, I needed to fill out a list of names, address, and phone numbers of people who could give a positive endorsement of my book to include on the book’s cover or in advertising.

I wanted to let you know about this because this kind of a list isn’t easy to generate. The first time I ever saw this on an Author’s Questionnaire, I didn’t know who to list!

But since I’ve filled out these questionnaires before, I knew it was coming. That’s why I kept a file folder of potential names for this list all during the months I was writing my book. If I ran across the name of someone else who wrote about Frederick Douglass or found contact information for one of his descendants who is still living, I put their name and info in this folder.

So when it was time to fill out the Author’s Questionnaire, I already had a nice, substantial list of names to provide.

I want to encourage you to do the same. Don’t let this wait until after your book is already finished. While you’re working on it, start collecting this list in a special file folder. You never know whose name you might stumble across while you’re digging up research or exploring your topic, and it only takes a second to jot the info down and slip it into this folder.

This is just something to keep in the back of your mind while you’re working on a new book. Look at it as a treasure hunt and it will be much more fun!

Publicist Interview: Josh Williams

Meet Publicist Josh Williams!

Publisher: Independent Publishers Group is my employer but the publishers I work with the most are Chicago Review Press and Triumph Books.

Web site: www.ipgbook.com

IPG Twitter: @IPGBookNews

Facebook: www.facebook.com/IPGbook

E-mail: jwilliams@ipgbook.com

Bio:

I was born and raised in Madison, WI and after spending two years at the University of Arizona, returned to Madison and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2006, with degrees in journalism and African American Studies. After moving to Chicago in October 2007, I started working for Triumph Books in the publicity department. When Triumph formed a partnership with Independent Publishers group in September 2011, I transitioned over to the publicity department at IPG, where I find myself today. I live in Lakeview in Chicago with my fiancée Kristen and our two insane but great cats, Smash and Bucky.

Interview:

Q: What role do you play in helping get the word out about a book?

A: I begin my work with the author up to six months before the book’s release date, breaking down the publicity process and gathering their input on the project. From there I put together several media and mailing lists – depending on the project – that usually target all forms of popular media: newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, social media, radio and TV. The advanced release focus is on garnering reviews and mentions of the book through the aforementioned outlets and helping raise awareness in preparation of the release. Once the book is out I’ll generally pursue interview opportunities on TV and radio. Throughout the process I also assist the author in their outreach efforts and try to provide them with as many resources as possible to make the project successful.

Q: Describe a typical work day or work week for you as a publicist.

A: We work in two seasons a year, spring and fall. During the downtime, when we’re well ahead of release dates, much of my time is spent creating media lists, writing press releases and generally organizing for the season ahead. Once the release dates near the daily interaction and coordination with producers, journalists and authors increase significantly. This is when I’m actively pitching books for reviews and authors for interviews. Part of this equation also depends on the timeframe of the respective publisher we’re working with. Some provide galleys or advanced copies and expect campaigns to begin several months prior to a book’s release date, while others are much more short-tier oriented and the publicity push only lasts 1-2 months.

Q: Share a highlight of your career.

A: A recent highlight was working with Curtis Granderson, a baseball player for the New York Yankees and high-profile name within the sports world. Curtis released a children’s title with Triumph Books in the fall of 2011 and because of his hectic schedule, our window for publicity was very brief and provided to us with minimal advanced notice. Largely due to Curtis’ good-nature and flexibility we were able to secure some great publicity for the book, including “The Early Show” on CBS and “The Dan Patrick Show,” as well as a couple of very successful book signing events.

Q: What advice can you give to authors on how to help their book get off the shelf and into the hands of readers?

A: Devote as much time and energy as possible – particularly in the six months or so of a book’s initial shelf-life – into promoting yourself and the book. After putting so much time and effort into the creation of the book, it’s easy to sit back and think your job is done. To truly have an impact in sales though you need to see the project through to the end and involve yourself as much as possible in the promotion of the book. With online resources and social media, this is easier than ever, though admittedly the competition for readers’ attention is also at an all-time high. Don’t be afraid to create a website, a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, and promote your personality, which in turn will help promote the book. If you’re working with a publicist don’t hesitate to offer up ideas and suggestions, as you’re more aware of the book’s subject matter and audience than anyone. Most importantly, enjoy the publicity process and you’ll only be encouraged to keep writing new books, learning from each experience and hopefully seeing better results as you go.

Publicists: Author’s Questionnaire

When we were looking at the Author’s Questionnaire in one of my previous posts here on my blog, I explained how I listed some of my published books to give to my publicist, Josh.

Another thing I needed to fill out on the Author’s Questionnaire was a short summary about my book. So I gave this some thought and wrote out the summary. Then I also used this summary on the home page of the website I’ve been building for the release of my new book. You can see the summary I wrote on my site for Frederick Douglass for Kids.

At first, it might seem daunting to write a summary of your book. How can you describe its essence in so few words? But as your book gets published, lots of folks will start requesting a short summary. Go ahead and write up a couple from different angles if you want. Post one on the first page of your book’s website. Send another one to people who want to post your book’s review on their site. Try practicing writing these until it gets easier to do.

Here’s what I like to include in a summary:

The Grab: Start out with something that grabs your reader. I used:

Powerful. Passionate. Majestic.

The One-Sentence Synopsis: Next, tell your reader in one sentence what your book is all about. I used:

Frederick Douglass rose from slavery to become the leading African American of his day, a friend of presidents, and an advocate of the oppressed.



The Description: Finally, describe the nuts and bolts of your book, including a very specific audience who will want to read it. I used:

Frederick Douglass for Kids is a book for middle grade and high school students that offers a fresh perspective of this influential activist for human rights who lived during the Civil War era. Featuring photographs of historic sites from his birthplace to his death, many of these images have never before been seen together in one book. Come walk in the footsteps of this American hero through the pages of this book and learn more about this man, his nation, and his world.

I filled this summary in on the Author’s Questionnaire and sent it in to my publicist, Josh. It was very exciting to actually do this.

And talk about exciting…I’ve got an exciting surprise lined up for you here on my next blog post! Josh Williams, my publicist, graciously agreed to do an interview here on my blog to give you an inside peek into the world of a publicist as well as offer up some tips to help you get your book out there to the world. Stay-tuned and be sure to say “Hi” to Josh and thank him for sharing his expertise!!!

Publicists: Book Reviews

As my publicist, Josh Williams, is busy on his end sending out galleys and making media connections in preparation for the release of my new book, Frederick Douglass for Kids, I’m on a mission!

I’m tracking down and hunting up mega blogs that review children’s books!

Why?

Because these blogs have big followers. 1000 people or more. Their followers are eager to read about the newest children’s books that their favorite blogger blogs about.

I know from experience that when one of my books got reviewed positively at one of these big blogs, the publisher saw sales of my book skyrocket that week.

So, I try to spend a little bit of my time looking here and looking there and networking with my writer friends to try to find these blogging sites. Then I dig around on the sites and look for the contact information for the person who reviews the books.

And then I e-mail the contact information on over to my publicist Josh!

Josh is collecting these in a list of contacts he’ll pursue after the book is published to hopefully land some great book reviews.

So while you’re waiting for your new book to come out, go ahead and go on a search, too. Look for mega blogs that post reviews about the kind of book you wrote. Then either contact them yourself and ask if they’d be interested in reviewing your book on their site, or send their contact info on over to your publicist. It’s a great way to increase exposure for the release of your book!

Publicists: Book Signings

Another opportunity authors have at conventions is to sign their new book. If you are planning to attend a convention the year your new book is being released, be sure to tell your publisher as early as possible so that they can set up a booksigning or other event if that might fit into their plans.

When I contacted my publisher about attending ALA in Anaheim in June, I asked if they might like to schedule a booksigning or other event. To my joy and excitement, Mary, my marketing manager checked around and said…Yes!

So then the question was…when?

Mary checked with the person who is setting up all the details about ALA at the publishing house and that person sent information about the other authors who will be doing book signings at their book as well as a list of times that would NOT be good to schedule a signing because other hugely famous authors were speaking or signing at a main event.

Then I checked with Jeff's and my schedule and sent back to Mary a time that would be good for us. I can hardly wait! Not only will it be exciting to hold my brand new book in my hands, but it will be awesome to share the excitement about my book with librarians from all over the nation!

Publicists: Conventions

If you ever want to attend one or more of these big conventions, whether you have a new book coming out or had one in the past, start contacting your different publishers and see if they can pay for tickets for you to come. Sometimes a publisher has this in their budget and sometimes they don't. In the past years, when our two sons were still living at home, I was able to get various publishers to pay for various members of my family to attend so we could all go together and celebrate the newest books released that year.

One year, we arranged our vacation plans to include ALA in Washington, DC. Other years, we've attended IRA, ALA, BEA and CBA when they've been in Los Angeles or Ontario, CA.

Why are these conventions so important? For one thing, it's a big event in the industry. It's where all the bookstore owners and librarians and people who purchase books go to see what new books are out. These folks often have huge budgets they're working with to BUY BOOKS!

So you really want to connect with the people who are attending these conventions in a big way.

Also, it's a place where you as an author can meet with all the different publishers and lots of editors. You can schedule individual appointments with editors or browse through their booths and see what kind of books that are hot off the press that they're releasing.

And if you've never been to one of these conventions, it's a real eye-opener as to how the book industry works.

These conventions usually also have tickets individuals can purchase at the door either for the whole event or one day. One year, my critique group purchased tickets and we all went together as a field trip. It was an awesome experience!

So, check these conventions out…each and every year. Keep an eye on them. See if you can ever work it out to attend. You'll have a new understanding of the book industry and how it works from the inside out.

And in my next post I'll tell you something else very exciting that Mary, my marketing manager, is working hard to set up to help launch my new book at ALA 2012!

Publicists: Conventions

I'm interrupting my posts about filling out the Author Questionnaire for my publicist, Josh, to give you an update on what else is happening as we're working on preparing for the launch in June of my newest children's book, Frederick Douglass for Kids.

I've been busy working with my marketing manager, Mary, to set up details about attending ALA 2012.

One of the things that happens each year is that there are several huge big conventions that take place where a publisher showcases their new books that are being release that year. The big three conventions include:

ALA (American Library Association)

BEA (BookExpo America)

IRA (International Reading Association)

There are also other big conventions such as CBA (The Association for Christian Booksellers) that target a specific type of bookseller. There are also conventions oversees, too, that are giants in the industry such as the Frankfurt Book Fair.

So when you have a new book coming out, be sure to take a minute and check out where each of these conventions is taking place in the year your book will be released. If the convention is near your home or in a vacation spot, it's great to make plans to attend.

Just the other day, my husband Jeff reminded me to check out the conventions. And guess what! ALA 2012 is happening right in my very back door…at Anaheim Convention Center.

So I alerted my publisher and my marketing manager, Mary, and the gears started working! First things first…Mary had to work to get tickets for Jeff and me to attend. (Thanks a billion, Mary!)

Not anyone can attend these conventions. You have to get tickets and tickets are very expensive.

So when I alerted my publisher about the fact I'd like to attend ALA this year, the first thing Mary did was work out the details with my publisher to pay for two tickets for Jeff and me to attend.