Quick post to let you know that my award-winning paranormal DRAWN is available FREE in ebook format through a special promo this week only (11/12-11/16) through Amazon worldwide. You can access it for US readers here and for UK readers here.
And special thanks to all the awesome sites who are helping tell the world about this special limited promotion. Sites like FREE KINDLE BOOKS AND TIPS and SNICKS LIST.
Happy reads!
Marie
I have a book signing coming up this Saturday at the beyond wonderful indie bookstore Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, PA. It’s from 1-4 p.m. Stop by if you can! I haven’t really done too many book signings this year, so this got me thinking about all those book signings I have done in the past.
I used to have several a month, sometimes even a few a week. I kept my book signing stuff together in one spot in my office, ready to grab and go. A bag of book plates, pens, fliers, signs, and candy to give away (usually chocolate kisses). But now I feel almost rusty. Since it has been a while, well, needless to say the chocolates are all gone. My fliers are used up or just out of date, missing the most recent reviews. And is that sign seriously turning yellow?
Jeesh.
The last huge book signing I did was back at another beloved indie, Doylestown Bookshop. That was for the launch of DRAWN way back in January. Since then, my books have been for sale at various events where I’ve put in appearances. At these, I’d sign a copy of a novel if someone approached me with one. But I haven’t really done one of those “sit at a table for a few hours and smile” thingees for DRAWN.
Book launches are a blast to do. It’s the first time your book hits the stands, and all your friends and family rally with readers to show up and celebrate and eat cake. At these the author feels an outpouring of love and appreciation. There’s constant conversation. And, as I mentioned, there’s cake. Many books are sold. You head home feeling awesome.
But other signings, well…
I’ve recently talked to a number of new writers all fired up for their very first signing. It’s such a landmark, and such a thrill. I never want to bring them down, but I wish there was some tactful way to prepare the new author for that second signing. Or that third and fourth. Not every signing will sell 100 copies like you did on launch night. If I could somehow make them lower their expectation and view every signing as a success even if not a single book was sold, it might spare them from that sinking feeling of misery. Same feeling you got as a kid when teams were picking sides and the captains argued over who would get stuck with you. Blech.
I’ve been at signings where not one person showed up. I’ve been at signings where someone came up and asked, “Do you people sell rubber bands?” I told them I didn’t work there, and I was the author. ”Oh, really? You wrote these?” So, fine. Lesson learned. I started wearing a tag that said: Marie Lamba, AUTHOR. And I made a giant poster with the book cover, and my picture. And at the next signing someone walked up to me and asked, “Do you guys sell magazines?”
I’ve had people come and talk to me forever about my book, about writing, and then not buy the book. I’ve had people not stop or talk to me at all, which is far worse. I’ve been scheduled to give a talk, and showed up to a space with seating for 100, and only the bookstore person and my daughter came. I gave a talk at an urban Barnes and Noble, and the audience was made up of a sleeping homeless guy, and a woman who sat in that space every day just to knit. No clapping that day.
But you know what? It’s a total crap shoot. I’ve had talks that I thought would surely be a disaster, and when I got there, the room was so packed they had to drag in extra seating. And I sold a ton of books afterwards. I’ve done signings where people flocked to the table, eager to buy. I’ve been at signings where old high school friends showed up and brought their kids. I’ve been at bookstores where fans of my books came and acted like I was a rock star!
You never know. So you lower your expectations to none, and smile. Book signings can definitely keep you humble. You’ve got to remember that not everyone is a reader. That people are busy. That times are tough. That reading is a subjective thing, so not everyone will be interested in what you write about. That some people feel they can’t walk over to talk to you, because if they don’t then buy your book it’ll be weird.
So how can every book signing be a success? Well, I always use a signing as a newsworthy moment. An appropriate time to tell the area about my books through press releases and feature stories that I send out to press, and through announcements on social media. That’s a win. Someone could read about your book and buy it at a later time. At signings, I always enjoy interacting with the bookstore staff and supporting what they do. I work hard to make the event fun (bringing munchies for the booksellers, too), and I’m building relationships with these fellow book lovers. The bookstore also always has me sign the remaining stock, so that even if the signing felt like a bust, the books will probably be prominently displayed and sold.
And then there is the experience of meeting people…something we isolated authors don’t get to do on a daily basis. We can yak about books and writing, and share our book info with others.
So, if I could speak directly to those new authors out there, I would like to tell them to not count the success of a signing by the number of copies sold. To check egos at the door, but haul along your sense of humor.
And you may want to find out ahead of time if the bookstore sells rubber bands!
Wish me luck on Saturday…
Hey gang,
Lots of stuff going on out there…Reviews, news and free stuff, oh my! Definitely update time.
First of all, here’s a freebie for you folks. Today and tomorrow only, August 8th-9th, you can snag your own free ebook copy of my novel DRAWN through Amazon. Just click here.
I’ve received some awesome support for this free promo from a number of sites and people, such as Free Kindle Books and Tips. If you are ever searching for top-rated free ebooks, this is a great place to visit and bookmark. To pop by today’s listing, which features DRAWN (yeah!), click here.
I also highly recommend the site Flurries of Words, which gives top billing to the best ebook deals. They highlighted my novel here!
Another excellent site, Digital Book Today, has just featured an interview with me where I share the moment when I met a ghost in a dungeon, and then…well, you’ll just have to find out for yourself by clicking here.
And props also go out to the awesome review site Night Owl Reviews, who not only gave DRAWN a glowing “Top Pick” review, but also created a banner for the free giveaway of DRAWN just because they are so awesome at supporting authors!
In other news…the fab book review site Book Love 101 just posted this amazing review of DRAWN. The reviewer said: “I loved the passion between the two characters, the forbidden romance, the ever impending mystery that could tear them apart. Loved it all!…We’ve got forbidden romance, time travel, mystery, deception, heart break, and so much more! All put together to make one truly EPIC read! Five stars from me! I’d recommend this read to anyone!”
Zowie! Needless to say, I’m thrilled. If you’d like to read the full review, and check out other reviews by Book Love 101, just click here.
And the very cool review site Supernatural Snark is currently featuring a guest post that I wrote titled, “Catching a Spirit.” I talk a bit about that thin veil between the past and the present, and share an excerpt from DRAWN where Michelle first meets a spirit who is all too real. It’s a bit of a tingly moment, and you can catch it (and tingle?) by clicking here.
Also, the fun review site Romance Bookie was nice enough to feature an interview with me on their site! I talk about my inspiration for the novel, will there be a sequel (?), and offer a bit of writing advice too. Read all about it by clicking here.
I have to say that this is just the tip of a wonderful iceberg of supporters. I wish I could mention every single one. The people who take the time to post reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. The folks who bother to Tweet about DRAWN and post about it on facebook and on their websites. It’s overwhelming in a good way.
My gratitude goes out to you all!
Happy reads,
Marie
How do you feel about hot medieval ghosts? How about a hot medieval ghost in a free ebook? Hey, who doesn’t love free stuff? Today July 11th through Friday July 13th, anyone can snag an ebook copy of my paranormal novel DRAWN for FREE. Yuppers. That’s a free e-book today through Friday only!
All you have to do is click here, snag your copy by purchasing it at the temporary price of $0, and download it to either your Kindle, computer or other reading device ASAP. After Friday, the novel returns to its $4.99 price.
Here’s what DRAWN is all about:
She’s the artist that finds him in her drawings. He’s the medieval ghost that conquers her heart. And their time is running out.
Michelle De Freccio moves to England seeking a normal life, but someone starts appearing in her sketches. Then he grabs her at the castle, his pale green eyes full of longing. She’s immediately drawn to him, but is Christopher Newman real? She’s either losing it, or channeling a hot ghost from the 1400′s. History calls him a murderer. Her heart tells her other truths. Now Michelle faces endless dangers…and a timeless love.
And here’s some praise for DRAWN:
“I was drawn (pun intended) into this book from the first page and couldn’t put it down…so deftly created…It has the perfect amount of romance, and enough action and suspense to keep the most distracted reader turning pages.”–Rated “Best Book” by Long and Short Reviews
“The characters are beautifully written, and the story is witty, charming, and an utter delight to read…This is a fantastic romantic and tender story that will continue to enchant readers for years to come.” –Rated “Top Pick” by Night Owl Reviews
“A fun, historical time travel full of creativity, beautiful scenes, and an engrossing mystery…I fell in love with the entire story…I didn’t want to see it end.” –Rated 5 Stars by The Cozy Reader
“Mysterious and enchanting, DRAWN is a breath of fresh air. If you are looking for a page turner with a unique twist, then look no further.” –TwilightMOMS
“The characters are all wonderful, filling in two worlds with real people and making you feel like you’re there. The main romance is heartrendingly sweet and will curl your toes.” –Clean Romance Reviews
Even though I’ve been getting such great reviews across the board for DRAWN, many people still haven’t heard of this book. That’s why I’m doing this free promotion. To let as many readers as possible find out about DRAWN in the hopes that they will spread the word about the novel to many, many others. Plus all the free downloads over these three days will boost DRAWN’s ranking. That means if we get enough downloads, DRAWN will rise to the top and folks who might never have seen it before will take notice of this book in a big way. That’s why every free download counts so much, so please take a moment to click over and snag a copy!
Want to help even more? Then you can Tweet this free offer and put it on your Facebook.
Here’s something you can cut and paste into Twitter, if you are so inclined:
Get a #freeebook of #paranormal #romance DRAWN by @marielamba today thru 7/13 http://amzn.to/z8azlC
And here’s something you could use on Facebook:
Spread the word! Today July 11 through Friday July 13 only, get a free ebook copy of the paranormal romance DRAWN by Marie Lamba by clicking here: http://amzn.to/z8azlC
My eternal thanks, as always, to all of you! I’ll be sure to report back here to let you know the results.
Happy reads,
Marie
Ready to stock up on your sizzling hot summer reading (including one of my novels) without breaking the bank? Well here’s your chance! Now you can choose from 150 Ebook titles all on sale for 99 cents at Book Lovers Buffet!
This is a limited time offer that is only valid from June 8th through June 22nd. This special promotion includes a huge selection of romance ebooks, including young adult, contemporary, fantasy/sci fi/time travel, erotica, historical, inspirational, mystery/suspense and paranormal. All are discounted just for this sale till June 22nd. So whatever your taste, you’ll find great beach reads at just 99 cents. ALSO, on the sale site there is a page devoted to contests where you can win tons of gift cards, etc. You definitely should check it out.
My novel OVER MY HEAD is available on the Book Lovers Buffet’s young adult page and the contemporary page for just 99 cents with links to purchase my novel through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords… I can tell you that after the sale’s over, the price for OVER MY HEAD will be rising, so now’s your chance to snag it on the cheap.
OVER MY HEAD is the ultimate summertime novel, and a perfect beach read full of romance and longing. This sun-soaked poolside book is about Sang, a high school senior who falls for Cameron, a gorgeous college-aged lifeguard. He’s either the love of her life or a player out to stomp on her heart. Sang teeters with Cameron on the edge of true love. Will she sink or swim?
Clean Romance Reviews says OVER MY HEAD is “full of fun characters and twists…about a teenager figuring out what love can mean in its many forms.” And Stephanie Su of StephSuReads says, “The YA world very clearly needs more books like OVER MY HEAD…Marie Lamba gets numerous kudos for portraying the Jumnal family in such an empathic and rich way…younger readers will most likely find a bit of themselves, their frustrations and their desires, in Sang, and cheer this promising young lady on.”
If you want to snag OVER MY HEAD and a ton of the other 150 titles at Book Lovers Buffet without breaking the bank, you’d better act fast…or these prices, like hot summer nights, will fade away…
If you’ve been following this blog, then you know I believe the Age of the Author is upon us. Are you taking advantage of all the positive changes? In this post I’ll delineate four things I believe all writers should do right now to advance their writing careers and benefit from the current publishing revolution…
This is the last post in my 3-part series on WHY WRITERS WIN. In this series, which is taken from a talk I gave at the Write Stuff Conference, I look at the current industry changes through both my author and my associate agent (at Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency) spectacles, and I like much of what I see.
In my first post, I talked about the publishing revolution and the scary changes it is stirring up for writers, plus the many positive opportunities these changes are bringing to us creative folk. My second post delved into the great opportunities that self-publishing is presenting to us authors, as well as the many terrific changes big publishers are now making to improve their relationships and partnerships with authors.
So here are four things you should do to make this YOUR Age of the Author.
1. Get writing!
Simply put: write the best book you can, and work your butt off to learn your craft and perfect your writing. Sounds simple, but it is the most complex of the four recommendations. Don’t lose sight of this goal. No matter what changes are afoot, this is still the most important thing for you to focus on in your career.
2. Get smart
Plug into what’s really going on now. You’ll discover even more opportunities, ways to take advantage of trends and avoid career missteps as this revolution rolls along. To do this, you simply must attend writers conferences and workshops, and connect with fellow writers and editors and agents to learn from their experiences. I got my first book deal with Random House for my novel What I Meant… by making contact with editors and agents entirely through conferences. You can see how I used these conferences to make it all happen by checking out my article Why Conferences: Or How I Got My Agent and Editor.
Also, please DO consider subscribing to Publishersmarketplace.com. You can share the subscription with other writers, you can subscribe for only a month or two at a time, whatever works for you. It’s a phenomenal resource. There’s a free daily newsletter you can get without a subscription, but it’s nothing compared to the site. Thinking about writing a novel about serfs during the end of the dark ages? Before you dip your toe into years of research and toil, type in some key words into Publishersmarketplace and you’ll quickly know all the major books on your topic that have come out in the past 10 years, you’ll know what overlapping books have recently been purchased but not yet come out on the same subject, and you’ll be able to craft your novel to be unique. You’ll also know all the publishers, editors and agents who dealt with those books…perfect info for submissions. So why aren’t you subscribing to this again???
Another way to stay plugged in is to subscribe to the relevant free newsletters that publishersweekly.com emails out. I always get their general PWDaily newsletter along with their Children’s Bookshelf newsletter, but there are others related to religious books, cook books and comics. Subscribe to whatever you want here.
Also, you simply must join and participate in writing organizations relevant to what you write in order to make important connections and learn! Organizations like The Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America, etc. not only focus on an area that interests you, but also offer phenomenal local conferences, workshops and meetings bringing editors and agents and writers together in an accessible environment. They also have wonderful online communities where you can ask questions, and share your concerns with others in the know. Search for the organizations that encompass your writing interests, and dig deeper to find your fit.
I know, I know. It all sounds like SO MUCH WORK AND TIME. But you will actually be saving time in the long run. You can use all the info you glean to focus your queries, to write books that are best placed for your market, and to move yourself ahead in your career while becoming part of a supportive community. I’d like you to take on the challenge to get plugged in to your business side, and I’d like you to look back five years from now…even one year from now…and see a huge difference in your knowledge and your connections!
Finally, if you are looking for an agent, find one who is right for YOU, and who will keep abreast on all the shifts in the business, in rights, and in the best options for your future career. You want an agent that will represent your CAREER, not just your book. In these shifting times, you need someone with vision, who will also have eyes wide open to all the opportunities the changing publishing landscape presents.
3. Get Found!
Yeah, this is about all that online “stuff.” At the minimum, you should buy a domain in your name (not in your book’s name…titles get changed…you’ll write more than one book…etc.), and set up a webpage that will represent you. I have a paid domain, but this website is free (wordpress.com) and I easily handle all the layout and content myself. No dominatrix webmistress required, and I have complete control, which means I can update whenever I like.
Make creating your website a priority. Think of it as your virtual business card. Yes, you need one even if you haven’t published yet. Here’s what it can include: 1. What sort of writing you do. 2. Your bio and author pic. 3. Brief excerpt of your work (very brief). 4. Later on you can add links to buy your works, and appropriate listings of appearances, etc. 5. Book trailers, videos/vlogs are all fun and cheap to do if right for you and your work. So, with your virtual business card (a.k.a. your website) in place, you can link back to it in posts elsewhere, in your email signature line, etc.
You also want to create a facebook page, and point it back to your website, plus a Twitter account that has a profile which points back to your website, and a LinkedIn page that…oh, you get the idea. And go to goodreads.com to create a profile as a reader. If you’ve pubbed a book, then get that author account, and use it!
Not sure any of this is worth your time? I’m crossing my arms and sending you my most severe scowl right now (which, considering I’m only 5’2″, isn’t all that intimidating, but still…) Google your name in quotes right now and see what comes up. Now Google “Marie Lamba” and check out what pops up. Much of what you’ll see stems from me taking the above steps to “get found.” And when I get submissions from authors and I’m interested in them, guess what I do? Yup. I Google em. Wouldn’t you love for what pops up to be something positive and professional?
I know, I KNOW! Oh the TIME involved in this. Time that should be SPENT WRITING. But it is a business too. Think of all this as free advertising. Think of just how many thousands of dollars you would have had to spend on ads just 20 years ago to reach even a fraction of the people who you could with all this new cool FREE stuff. And once you set it all up, you can just spend 15 minutes per day checking in and updating if needed, or commenting. But remember that whatever you put out there is getting found by a future reader, or editor, or agent, and act accordingly.
4. Get Read
Take advantage of digital and self publishing options to boost your readership for existing and to-be-released novels, and boost your success as a writer! I touched on this a little bit in the second post in this series. I must remind you of two important caveats. Caveat 1: only put out your very best work that is as good as anything that a big NYC publisher would print. Caveat 2: be aware of pre-existing contracts and rights that you are involved in, and keep your editor and agent in the loop.
So…how can self-publishing (let’s call it by its hipper name “indie publishing”) be used as a career building/reader building tool?
Well, you can, of course, release a book yourself to begin to build your fan base. This can work well with genre writing, especially with a series. You can write short stories related to your book, and release these in ebook free or cheap, with a link to your full novel (which will, of course, be at a higher price). You can offer through your website extras like downloadable outtakes from your novel. If you have a niche market, you can indie publish your title and reach the right folk.
So, with the groundswell of change going on, indie publishing is now a cool way to reach readers, which is kinda the reason why we write in the first place. BUT don’t indie-publish a book expecting to get an agent to then take it on and sell it to a big publisher. You need huge sales to do this (we’re talking in the 10,000 range), and you still need to make the agent and then a publisher fall in love with that book. Your rights on that book will be muddied. HOWEVER, say you have an indie pubbed novel that is praised and doing fairly well. Then you approach an agent with a different novel. Well, it can show you have been well-received and have already begun building an audience. I see that as a definite plus.
Determined to go 100% traditional publishing? Cool. But why not have a few related short stories on hand in reserve to help with your traditional book’s promotion? Or some other extras you can offer online as bonus material. Very cool, right? Big publishers are already seeing the wisdom of this, doing stuff like offering 99 cent prequels, 99 cent short stories with a 45 page preview of a related book included…and they are doing these in advance of print releases. It’s advertising, baby.
So open your mind to the possibilities…possibilities to reach readers that we never had before. In the olden days, a print ARC (advance reader copy) cost big bucks to print and mail to advance readers in order to generate buzz. Today? Ebooks cost next to nothing. One FLUX author Linda Joy Singleton gave away close to 70,000 ebooks of a first novel in a series of 5. The rest of her series sold HUGE since so many readers were invested in finding out what happened next.
What can we writers learn from this? Would a free novella ebook be the right way to build your audience? Every author/book is different, but it is worth considering the options. Options that are now at our fingertips.
Yup, boundaries between traditional and indie, between writer and reader are blurring all around us. I see it as a good thing. I want my authors to succeed, to be read. Today there are more ways to publish, to promote…more opportunities to reach readers and communicate with fans, too. Now we can each create books that will come alive for readers, and never ever die.
In wrapping up this 3-part WHY WRITERS WIN series, I want you to fully understand what all of this means. This means you as a writer will never again have to have a brilliant manuscript sitting on your bookshelf never to be seen by readers. People who say that the reason a book isn’t accepted by big publishers is because it isn’t good enough are not 100% correct. Many books are passed over because of the marketplace, because of past sales figures, because they are too niche for a big press, etc. etc. etc. Some of these rejected books are actually fabulous.
Now you have many tools to shape your career. Now you can promote your writing for next to nothing. Now you can write what you LOVE and know that readers will get a chance to see it. So take these four steps. And CELEBRATE folks, for THE AGE OF THE AUTHOR is here.
Happy writing,
Marie
A few weeks ago I gave a talk about the publishing revolution at the wonderful Write Stuff Conference in Allentown, PA. The talk was titled “Claim Your Victory in Today’s Publishing Revolution,” but it could have as easily been titled “Writers Win!” or “Entering the Age of the Author.” This upbeat presentation focused on how, yes, things are indeed changing, and some of these changes may seem scary, BUT many changes are benefiting us writers.
Anyways, since the chat was so well-received and motivating, and since, frankly, we’ve had enough doom and gloom chatter to last us a generation, I thought I’d share my points here with my fellow writers.
Okay, so remember that Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times? Well, we authors are absolutely plagued by interesting times right now. Yes, this indeed is a publishing revolution to rival the printing press. Really, two factors are colliding to create the perfect storm of sorts: 1. Ebooks, and 2. The Economy.
For a LONG time we have plodded along with certainties. And the main truth was that a big publisher = big success. Signing with big publishers meant contracts with great advances, reviews in prominent publications, your book would appear in all bookstores, you’d have tons of publicity and promotion, and you were well on your way to a long CAREER as an author.
Then this “given” started to erode as all the publishing models began to shift. A large number of editors were laid off in 2008. Authors were suddenly expected to do more of their own promotions. Book reviews in many print publications began to disappear. There was no guarantee that your book would appear in the major chains or indies (even before the demise of Borders). And now we hear a lot from authors about low advances, or no contracts being offered on a next book.
Yes, the economy has a ton to do with all of this. And Ebooks have come in at an especially crazy time. We fear they may pose a threat to print books. The pricing of Ebooks is a huge issue. Brick and mortar stores feel threatened by Ebook sales.
And let’s pile onto this, indie publishing, which is on the rise.
All these factors together add to an overall sense of instability in what was once a fairly predictable business model for publishers, booksellers and authors.
So, let’s get it out there…here are some of the scary things that we writer’s fear:
1. It may be the end of print books.
2. Bookstores may go the way of record stores.
3. Top publishers could fail.
4. That we’ll never see a book deal…and even if we did, we wouldn’t get any sort of an advance, or an editor who would have the time to edit, or the sort of promotion that would make us succeed, and so we would be labeled a failure and really NEVER EVER get another book contract, and…
BREATHE, EVERYONE, BREATHE!!!
No. Really. Deep breaths. Head between knees if necessary. See, this is the kind of stuff that feeds into our writerly despair. So knock it off already, guys. Isn’t it time to look at some decent facts that are out there? Walk on the positive side with me for a bit, okay?
1. We are writers! In all of the tumultuous changes, THE constant is the need for writers, for content, for great stories. That ain’t going nowhere.
2. Writing the best book you can is still the most important thing you can do for your career, and ain’t nothing changing that!
Okay, I’ll wait a few minutes while you read these two previous points and let ‘em sink in. Now nod and smile. These are good things.
I’d also like to point out that despite the doom and gloom we writers sometimes share whenever a bunch of us get together and natter, the reality is that book deals are being made, as always. Great deals too! In the past 2 days alone, more than 100 deals were posted on Publishersmarketplace.com. These included film deals, international rights, and book deals in areas including YA, middle grade, debut fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, general fiction, women’s fiction, thriller, romance, memoir, mystery, picture books… There are multi-book deals, significant deals even (which are between $251,000-$490,000). But what about debut authors? I spotted 24 deals involving debuts in the past 2 weeks.
And as an agent myself, when I’m calling major publishers to pitch books, I’m finding editors eager to listen, eager to acquire great stuff, and they have wish lists for me of the types of titles they want to see in the future. Lots of stuff is happening, folks. So feel positive.
ALSO, I feel that this is a great time for more smaller focused presses to start appearing and succeeding big-time. With the changes in technology, books can now be printed on demand (means no warehousing costs), and a small press can now have great access to retail distribution with the aid of online sales. This will equal even more options for writers. At least that’s what my Magic 8 Ball tells me.
So what’s the upside about Ebooks? Well, studies are showing that Ebooks are leading to more readership. Score another one for writers! Some stats suggest readers buy 3 times as many books once they have an Ereader. And sales of Ebooks are climbing. Check out this article by Philip Jones of The Bookseller magazine, where he discusses some UK companies seeing a staggering 500% jump in Ebook sales, and how they expect a similar jump this year. Crazy, right? I’ve also found that impulse buys are a wonderful thing when it comes to Ebooks. A person hears about a book or meets an author at a festival, they click on their phone and ta-da! They now own your book.
Other Ebook thoughts: Young adult readers are poised for huge increases in Ebook sales as teens start to get their own Ereaders. And because of Ereaders, more readers are branching out to different types of books. For example, someone who wouldn’t be caught dead reading erotica in public can now do so discretely on their Ereader. This goes for adults reading YA, for men reading women’s fiction. And we writers? We benefit with a growing audience.
Obviously this Age of the Author stuff is a HUGE topic, so I’m breaking it down into a few posts. In my next post about this, I’ll talk a bit about how Indie Publishing is presenting writers with more opportunities, and how traditional publishers are switching things up to better serve their authors. And in my final post on this subject, I’ll talk about the 4 most important things we Age of the Author writers should be doing right now to build our audience and expand our careers.
Hey, it’s all good!
Marie
Running a blog tour to promote a new novel is an amazing way to connect with a wider audience, to get a concentrated bunch of reviews, and to get your name out there! If you are a subscriber to my blog, you know that I ran my very first blog tour to help launch my new novel Drawn. It was a great experience, and I’m kicking myself for not doing this sort of thing sooner.
So why didn’t I do a blog tour sooner? Well, truthfully this is a fairly new thing in the world of book promotion…something that wasn’t around when I was a Book Promotion Manager for a publisher years ago, or even when my first novel What I Meant… came out through Random House. It felt mysterious, plus I knew authors who paid a ton of money to do a tour where they appeared on just 5 or 6 sites. Surely I must be missing something here… Surely I didn’t understand the nuances of setting up and running such a tour…
So, of course, I decided to go for it on my own! On The Drawn Blog Ghost Tour I made 22 stops in 5 weeks. On tour I did 10 guest posts, 10 interviews, 4 giveaways, and got 9 reviews. Was it a lot of work? Not more than writing a novel. Was it worth it? Oh yeah. Did I make any missteps? Absolutely.
And so, dear author, here are Marie Lamba’s Blog Tour Tips, which I humbly offer to you in the hopes that you can run your own blog tour, and kick some promo butt of your own…
MAKE CONTACT:
Make up a list of the best book blog review sites for your genre, the authors you have relationships with who can feature you, and send out a request for tour stops on writing-related sites you belong to. Then start emailing and planning!
And expect decent results… When I was contacting book bloggers this summer about reviewing my YA novel OVER MY HEAD I got spotty results. Many didn’t respond, others responded but weren’t interested (indie pubbed, right?), and still others DID take it on, giving it a nice review, BUT many of those reviews were slow in coming, some as much as 6 months later. BUT when I contacted reviewers about a DRAWN blog tour, the response was dramatically different.
MOST bloggers that I got in touch with got back to me immediately (knowing that a deadline was involved), and signed on for the tour! Something about the word “tour” makes them respond very positively. The bloggers were eager to take a spot (I gave them a 2 month lead time) on my month-long tour. As I’ve mentioned, I planned for a mix of reviews, interviews, guest blogs from me, and a bunch combined this with book giveaways. I took about a day’s total time to contact everyone and to set up my calendar.
BE ORGANIZED
I kept a folder with a chart so I could track who needed what, what the deadlines were, what the blog stop dates were, and this list included all contact names and emails.
Send out ebook ARC’s and cover images immediately to the ones who want to do reviews. Also turn around any interview questions sent to you quickly (I did this within 24 hours of receiving) just to stay on top of things. And record all actions in your blog chart (you’ll go nuts otherwise wondering what is and isn’t done).
The biggest challenge? Of course those guest posts. You think you’ll have enough to write about but then you find you have to dig deep to do them all and make them high quality. Be careful you don’t over commit on that part.
I worked hard to make sure no two stops were the same. Original interviews or guest posts on every stop, so if someone were following the entire tour, they’d be rewarded with new stuff. No cut and paste answers! I also tried to create guest posts that would fit with a particular blogger’s audience. Like a post about ghosts for Jonathan Maberry’s paranormal crowd, or one about medievel romance in history for The Elliot Review, which is run by a librarian, that sort of thing. The idea is for you to meet that audience on its own terms and make it interesting. Trying not to repeat yourself can be a challenge!
You can check out my tour stops to get a feel for the sort of varied posts, etc. I did by clicking here.
With each stop, make sure they have a cover image, an author image, and that each interview or post includes your bio and book blurb.
BE NICE!
The most important components involve keeping the good vibe going. Be courteous to your blog stops. Thank them. Buzz them well so they benefit from traffic too. I created a page on my website dedicated to the tour, with links updated…and also I created blog tour graphics and widgets that every stop can use and sent them that. I blogged each week about the week’s tour stops, and send out daily updates on my FB and twitter, which were retweeted a bunch. There was a lot to do, but it was all good stuff. Now here, for you, are…
SOME LESSONS LEARNED
1. DOUBLE CHECK: I ran into some nearly missed tour dates. Why? I sent the material well in advance of the date, and assumed it was received. Yes, assume. Ass-u-me. I learned to ask for confirmation that material was sent…and if I didn’t hear back, to email the blogger. And two days before each post, I learned to “check in” with the blogger just to make sure things were on track and to ask if anything were needed. People have busy lives, stuff happens, and so a friendly nudge can really help. *Also, I recommend you don’t have inter-related blog stops where people have to gather clues or anything interconnected like that. That way if one post doesn’t happen, the world will surely go on.
2. INCLUDE LINKS: Put the link to your book sales page in whatever you send to folks. I’d assumed they’d naturally link to the purchase spot and admittedly felt a little obnoxious about typing it into any post I’d sent, but some sites won’t automatically do links for you. Lesson learned!
3. INCLUDE SEARCHABLE MATERIAL: This is a lesson I learned too late. In your guest posts for the tour, etc., be sure to mention within your post those huge popular authors/books most like your own title…And/or an “if you enjoy (fabulous popular title or author), then you will like (your book)…” That’s the sort of searchable material you want to have so that folks will find you online.
4. GIVE THE TOUR A LANDING PAGE on your website, which shows ALL the stops and links to those stops. Set this up before the tour starts, so you can send the bloggers on the tour the link to this page, along with your widgets. Update that page as final details trickle in, such as the actual title/subject of your guest post, and on the day of, replace the general blog link with the actual post’s link so future readers will find you there.
5. CREATE A WIDGET that is simple and legible even as a small button (include your book cover), and then put it up on your own website in a post so that other folks can “grab” it and use it on their pages. I made 3…one banner sized, one half-banner sized, and one button sized.
6. BUILD EXCITEMENT: Once a week, do a post on your website highlighting that week’s stops to build excitement. To give you an idea of how I tried to keep the energy and interest up, you can read an example of one of these posts here.
7. BUZZ IT: Take advantage of what’s popping up each day by buzzing it on your facebook and twitter pages… If there’s a particular theme to your post, highlight that…if you’ve gotten a great review, paraphrase it on your FB and in Tweets… Make those great reviews go the extra mile by either asking the blogger if they will kindly put their review on goodreads/amazon… or if it’s a hot review, put it on your Barnes&Noble.com and Amazon pages under editorial reviews. I was able to add a bunch to these sites, plus some of my tour bloggers posted on Goodreads…and one beautiful 5 star review was posted as a comment on DRAWN‘s Amazon page.
8. HIGHLIGHT ON-GOING STUFF: If you have on-going giveaways going on, then continue to buzz them on your FB and twitter so that people will be reminded there is still time to enter.
9. COMMENT! Visit your tour stops to comment back where appropriate to folks who put in replies. The personal touch really makes a difference.
10. DON’T BE A SHMO: Try to somehow balance your tweets and posts with other news and other people’s news so you won’t be a steady stream of book P.R…. I found this to be a little tough because with jam-packed weeks of booktouring there is SO much news coming at me each day…all different, but all about my book! I made an effort to retweet others in between, and to now and then put up a post on my blog page that wasn’t tour related. You don’t want to weary people with your news… Twitter is nice because you can vary your hashtags (#) to reach different people, but also put keywords within your tweet.
11. SAY THANK YOU! After each stop, take a moment to send a personal note of thanks to your tour stop host. They have used their valuable time to help you, and you want them to know that this matters to you.
Hosting a blog tour is a phenomenal way to build up a quick stable of reviews and buzz about your book. And you can use these reviews as a stepping stone to even more blogger reviews. For example, I made a point of contacting bloggers who listed TwilightMoms.com as one of their favorite blogs they follow, and asked if they’d review DRAWN. Of course I included the rave review from TwilightMoms, and guess what? Those bloggers were eager to give my book a look!
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So is it work? Some. Is it worth it? YES! You want more readers to find your book, don’t you? Can YOU do this? You can.
SO GO FOR IT and start mapping out your own book tour.
Marie
Okay, this is so very cool. Not only will there be a book launch party for my new summery young adult novel Over My Head at Doylestown Bookshop on August 5th from 7-9 pm. And not only will it be occurring during the town’s First Friday celebration. Now there will also be drawings for you to win free stuff from extremely amazing places that are featured in the novel!
Just show up, say hi, and you can put your name in to win. Prizes include a $25 gift certificate from Twenty East Vintage Jewelers, certificates for free pizzas from Nat’s Pizza, movie passes to the County Theater, and tickets for the Mercer Museum and for the Michener Art Museum. Also, since Fanny Chapman Swimming Pool plays such a big part in my book, if you happen to wear any Fanny Chapman gear to the book launch, you’ll get two chances to enter the drawing. Expect more items to be added to this drawing as the date nears!
Hope you can come!
It’s summer. And high school senior Sang Jumnal is in way over her head.
Now you can be too! HUZZAH!!!!! My new novel Over My Head is now officially on sale in print ($12.99) and in ebook ($2.99). To find out how to snag your own copy, just click here.
The book (a perfect beach read if I must say so myself) picks up two years after What I Meant… ends. It’s the start of summer before Sang’s senior year in Doylestown, PA, and nothing goes as planned. Sang definitely doesn’t plan on falling for 20-year-old lifeguard Cameron Cerulli. And she can’t tell if he’s the love of her life or a player out to break her heart. Serious Trouble.
So dive on in for some summertime fun, and enjoy. As for me? I’ll be busy setting up a huge beachy book launch party (details coming soon), and generally working hard to spread the word everywhere. But I just wanted to take a minute (and a deep breath) and share the happy news with you all. My. Book. Is. Finally. Out!
Fist pump. Heel click. Yessssss!
As always, thanks so much to you all for supporting this wacky writer and her work. It really means a lot. <3
Marie
