2 Great Sites to Help You Advertise Your Free eBook

Since I am gearing up for book promotion for my new book, The Feast, I thought you might be interested in knowing some of the new things I will be trying.

Photo by: DanieVDM, courtesy of Flickr

With my 3-day Free Promotion with Amazon, I have typically posted the news on this blog and to my social media friends. I have also given out the word to Morgen Bailey, who is always happy to post the free news in her 5 a.m. Flash page. But until recently, I had tried little else to help me get the word out when it came to promoting my eBook during the 3-day promo.

I have since discovered 2 new places that I'll be trying this time around. Here they are:

1) Freebooksy

2) Frugal Freebies (books and other free stuff)

When it comes to advertising, I rarely consider the paid variety, especially when there are so many free ways to get the word out.

Have any of you tried Freebooksy or Frugal Freebies? If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Marketing Your Book on a Budget a Big Success!

Thank you everyone for your support!

At the highest point, Marketing Your Book on a Budget 2013 reached #3 in the Writing Skills arena, and #4 in the Marketing arena of free books at Amazon!

Fantastic!



When one 'window' closes, another opens.
Photo by: pfly, courtesy of Flickr

Did you miss the window?

Don't despair! The eBook is now only $1.99 and the paperback $5.98 http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Your-Book-Budget-ebook/dp/B0094XV6MA

I will also be co-teaching a class on Marketing on April 3, 2013 at the Holladay Library; 2150 E. 4800 S. at 7 p.m. All Utah writers that live in or near Salt Lake City, will want to attend this FREE class!

In the class I will be discussing various elements of Marketing Your Book on a Budget. If you want to know how to get book reviews, interviews, connect in social media, advertise for free, and more, you'll not want to miss this class.

I will also be offering a special deal on my book following the presentation for those who are interested.

I look forward to seeing you!

Kathryn

P.S. Some of you may know that my husband went in for emergency gallbladder surgery last week during my book's release. Wow, that was exciting! So you know, he is doing well and returned to work today. Thanks for all the well-wishes!

Selling Your Book at Christmas

Yes, I realize it isn't even Halloween yet, but you may want to start stocking the shelves for Christmas!

Marketing starts about now--and it comes by a whirlwind just right after Halloween.

What does this mean to the self-published or traditionally published author?

• You may want to purchase extra books to have on-hand in case someone in your area needs a last minute gift.
• You may want to consider setting up speaking engagements at schools if your book is for a younger audience.
• You may want to set up some author signings at retail establishments. A book store or two is fine, but a toy store (for a children's book) or a health food store (for a cook book) is better. Keep in mind that your book doesn't have to relate to the store you choose; what is most important is that you choose a store that is well traveled during the holidays.
• Do some extra advertising online by putting out more guest blogs, interviews, book giveaways and videos. My goal up until Halloween is one promotion online per week. After that I want to at least double that.
• Get involved in Christmas boutiques and other Christmas ventures. You may find that some of these ventures are already filled up--such is probably the case with Simple Treasures Holiday Boutique that I will be November 7-10 in Farmington, but it can never hurt to check. Booths are reasonable as compared to the Dicken's Festival.

• 

• Get together with some author friends and travel the libraries for speaking engagements and signings. Make it a two-day or longer event in which you focus on promoting your books and helping your writer friends to do the same.
• Have a Christmas book signing at your home. Gather all the books you have published for an all-in-one book signing and Christmas feast! Sample food, play Christmas music, make crafts; whatever you want to make the event great.
• Make sure your book is online for purchase especially the day after Thanksgiving. You may even want to offer a special deal on your books. I'm considering offering mine (your choice) for 50% off.
• If you don't have your book postcards yet, now is the time to order! I get mine from Vista Print online, but a local printer can also help you. These cards are great to pass out at any time and offer information on your book(s).

When it comes to selling your books at Christmas, don't stand in a box, get out and try some new things. Talk your book up and be open to ideas that come to you.

Do you have any ideas that you'd like to share here? Please do. Let's help each other out as writers.

Kathryn

What You Should Know About POD Publishing

Since I am now fully emerged in the publishing arena, I wanted to let you in on a little secret. Publishing is HARD work! But it is also rewarding, too. Publishing is one of those things that allows you to see all of the details; it gives you the opportunity to climb into the head of your readers and ask questions like:

What sort of cover will create interest in this book? Enough interest to make a sale, or at least, get the person on the other end thinking about buying?

Did you know that it takes roughly 27 views of a particular book for an individual (that means blogs, posters, book signing events, speaking engagements,social marketing etc.) to be a taker?

That means that the publishing company puts the word out but that the author also needs to put the word out--and truthfully, that means the author does most of the advertising. While a publishing company gets the book slicked up and packaged for the best sales, it is really the author who sells the product. An author just can't afford to sit back and allow their book to speak entirely for them. They must be actively engaged.

What you should know about publishing is that it's becoming more popular than ever to go with POD or print on demand publishing. For writers who are tired of waiting to find just the right publisher, and for others who just want more of hands-on control of their work, they've opted for POD.

Idea Creations Press opened its doors in March 2012

Yes, I run a POD publishing company, and it's taken me nearly 30 years to discover that by not finding a publisher that suited me, the next best thing would be to create the company myself. Publishing, in my modest opinion, shouldn't be about the publisher anyway as much as it should be about the writer who has worked hard on their book. They, not the publisher, should have the most control over what happens to it.

Publishing has finally opened up its doors. For the first time that I can remember an author can choose the route of traditional publishing, they can print the book themselves or they can go though a POD publishing company. And while a big name publisher helps to get the word out, there's something to be said for a POD author who takes his/her book and runs with it.

Surprise! My Book is Out!

Sometimes, surprises come when you least expect them.

Today, my book was released from Amazon! I am still gathering book reviewers, getting the word out, and I haven't even ordered my postcards yet for advertising!

Get my book today!

If you're publishing with Amazon, here's a head's up. Once you get your proof copy finished and you let Amazon know that you're ready by ordering books, look at about 2-3 days before you're up on their site ready to go.

Here's a snippet about my book:

"David gathered 5 smooth stones to meet and defeat Goliath. What did these stones represent and how can you use them to conquer the Goliaths in your own personal quests? Ms. Virginia Bean will show you how. 


Travel with her on her own personal journey. See what she does. Learn how she grows. Discover what she becomes.


Conquering your Goliaths--A Parable of the Five Stones" is for anyone desiring to travel beyond mediocrity, pain and fear. Learn of the great power within you, a power given to you from God, a power that must ultimately be unleashed to conquer the Goliaths in your own life. Come to an even deeper understanding of God and what he wants for you. Come..."

If you'd like a signed copy of my book, let me know, and I will send you a copy directly.

It's a beautiful, exciting day!

Kathryn