Take Advantage of Leadership - Read These 7 Tips

If you are a writer, it is likely you don’t want the limelight. You work best in the quiet of your own space. You don’t need people around and you don’t want to be bothered. You are happy working on your book – whatever it may be.

But eventually you have to think about what you will do when the book is finished, published or ready to be read by the public. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just mail the manuscript to someone who would take over and print it, promote it, sell it, and send you a big fat check each month? You could just write and write and never leave the house.

I see many writers who seem to think that is the life of an author. Sadly, that is one of the myths the public has believed for years. In today’s world the author must be seen and heard. The author is the one who markets his/her book.

I want to suggest some painless methods an author can use to reach an audience. Take on a role of leadership. Don’t volunteer for more than you feel comfortable doing, but try the following suggestions.

1. If there is a writing organization in your town or area, join and attend the events.
2. Find ways you can help the organization – lead a critique group, become the helper to the leader, and if there is no job, make one that you want to do, then do it.
3. Offer to do the publicity for your writing group. Write articles on the members and publish them in the local newspapers with your name listed as the writer. Be the one to put your local literary group on the map. Use photos with each article.
4. Join your state literary group. Know the leaders and call them or email them with suggestions of how they might best serve their members. Better—call or email and tell them what a great job they are doing for the members.
5. Become a mentor for beginning writers. 
6. Hold an open mic event in a local coffee shop or book store once a month. Write an article for the local newspapers about who attends and who reads, and be sure the event is on social media with your name attached.
7. As soon as you feel you are ready, volunteer for a major leadership position in a literary organization. When your name is well-recognized, your book will soon follow. Be sure you make as many speeches or appear at as many events as possible where you can mention your book. 

Tell me what you think of these ideas. Do you think they would help you?

Lessons Learned by writing and selling her own books

Read this post by Deanna Klingel for some of the best advice for authors of fiction, non-fiction and especially self-published books although she her books are published by traditional publishers.

Deanna has written and sold a number of books and shares some important knowledge she learned along the way.

She knows how to market her books and that is the business of writing - the hard part.

http://booksbydeanna.com/6/post/2013/06/1.html

From a post by writer and teacher Peggy Tabor Millin

The article below is printed with permission of the author.

Pay It Ahead One day most of us hope to be in print. The longer we write, the clearer it becomes that writing a book is a huge effort. We may not understand that what comes after publication is an even bigger one--bigger because most of us are not publicists or book marketing experts. Now, six months after publication I find myself with a second business. On the left, ClarityWorks at which I teach and scribble a bit in notebooks and on the right Story Water Press, which wants a publicist, a speaker, a workshop leader, a traveler. Oh dear! The book, the baby I birthed, has a great many demands, far more than I had imagined. And, I cannot quit my ClarityWorks job to take care of it nor do I have the resources to hire an army of nannies! The best marketing has legs. You have the potential to be a walking, talking billboard. Here's what you can do as a tribute to your author friends or to any author, whether myself or another, friend or famed, whose book you enjoyed. Buy or borrow the book and read it. Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or other online bookstores and give a review. This can be two sentences or longer. It's more important to be specific with what you liked than to be long winded. Here's a portion from an endorsement Laura Frisbie (www.beat-depression-naturally.com) wrote about my book: There were many pages I bookmarked and highlighted, many gems of wisdom, depth, and inspiration. I can't wait to revisit the book. A friend wanted to borrow mine, I told her to get her own, I won't part with it. Send out an email message to friends or post a note on Facebook, Twitter, or other networking sites. Mention the book and the author to your face-to-face friends too. These are the people you hope will one day be touting your book. Remember that famous authors become famous because they gather an audience. Most have websites and you can send an email note or post a comment on the website. I have a feeling that the more well known an author becomes, the greater the distance between him or her and the reader. Give them a pat on the back; acknowledge that they've worked hard to get where they are. They didn't make it only on luck or incredible talent.

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Peggy Tabor Millin
    Author of Women, Writing, & Soul-Making: Creativity & the Sacred Feminine

Available now through bookstores nationwide and in the UK and Europe
as well as at http://www.clarityworksonline.com/story-water-press

ClarityWorks, Inc.
PO Box 9803
Asheville, NC 28815
828.298.3863
www.clarityworksonline.com

Bragging or self-promoting - Marketing Your Book

All the talk these days surrounds the task of promoting and selling your own book. That is what writers hate to do. We don't feel comfortable singing our own praises. That is a tricky business any way you look at it. Blatant, in your face, bragging is just too much. But we are told in writing magazines, on the web and at conferences that to be successful, the author must promote her own book. Small presses don't have the funds to do it and large publishers only spend their money on those authors who are a sure thing. I read that when a publisher chooses ten books to publish, they put all the money behind one - the one they feel has the best chance of becoming a commercial success. So, even though the author has been through all the hoops, the agent, the editor, the rewrites, etc., he is not likely to get the help he needs. A plethora of information is being published on " how to get your name and your book out there."
I copied these tips from somewhere I can't remember now. I apologize and if these tips come from your blog, please let me know so I can give you credit.
This is just a few of the long list of tips for authors.


(4) Find Local Sponsors to Buy Case Quantities of Your Book
With the economy forcing so many businesses to tighten their belts, this is a great time to be resourceful with your book. The price of a book (usually under $35) makes it a great giveaway for a bank or a business organization.
Banks are eager to attract more small business owners, and business organizations are always looking for qualified speakers – with books.
(I can't see myself asking a bank to buy a box of my poetry chapbooks for give-aways, but a non-fiction book for business owners would probably be a sure thing.)

(5) Connect With Your Local News – Both TV and Radio
This form of marketing is not dead, as some would have you believe. The news editor is always looking for great stories about local people.
Send a letter, with an overview of your book and your press release, and a testimonial from someone of authority. Make it easy for the editor, tell her why covering your book will make a good noon news story. Take the 6 a.m. slot if that’s offered – a lot of people are up watching or listening to the news at 6 a.m.
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In my promotion of the anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, I contacted local TV stations and radio stations. We have interviews planned and hope to have more as soon as I can get myself recuperated from the Cruise from Hell. But that is another story.