Essay Online

The world of publishing is about to change. It’s an exciting time to be an Independent author. This long ignored group is beginning to organize and establish an entirely new marketplace for selling books. A community introducing voices never heard and stories never told to the world.

What they need is an on-line destination created for Independently published writers to promote and sell their books.

It is difficult to be an Independent author. The term “self published” is often used and misunderstood because major components of the publishing industry, including the six largest publishers, have been successful in attaching “poor quality” to the term “self-published.” The term Independent author best describes the decision many writers have made to publish on their own.

The fact that someone decides to become an Independent author does not mean their writing is not good. It means they have made the decision to publish Independently and remain in control of the work creatively and financially. Being an Independent author is hard, doors slam and there are plenty of “do not enter” signs, which is the reason many Independent authors give up in their quest to sell books.

Many Independent authors feel strongly that their pay-for-printing publisher does not care whether they sell a single copy of their book. The printer’s profit is made in the printing itself, not the final sale of the book. These authors cite instances where messages are sent proclaiming, “Buy this service and you will sell books,” only to find the statement hollow and without merit or success. In the end the only thing the Independent author has is an extremely fragmented market.

The hope for increased sales of Independent books is through banding together as a single community speaking from a single platform, authors helping create their own market for readers looking for new voices and interesting stories. As an Independent writer and author, trust in the fact that this community will be an opportunity to sell books and gain respectability in the marketplace we so richly deserve.

The dynamic of the market for book sales is about to shift and the Independent author is in the right place at the right time to take full advantage. There has never been a better time to be an Independent author. Countless opportunities are opening that offer more exposure to a wider audience than ever before.

Strength is in numbers, so we need to have a gathering place for writers and authors, a community where we will be heard by readers searching for voices never heard and stories never told. The world of traditional brick and mortar publishing is struggling, over the course of the past fifteen years the market has been shrinking. The six largest publishers are forced to push more copies of a handful of authors out into stores each and every month. This is negatively impacting overall sales at a time when book retailers, wholesalers, and distributors are consolidating and demanding change. The problem is that the big companies do not have answers.

They constantly search for new writers but the demands of the business make it harder for them to create successful authors. The marketplace has been structured by their own hand to allow only a small window of opportunity for new authors to make their presence known. Retailers are geared towards instant success and immediate sales, while the system is not in place to allow that to happen. As a result the big publishers are in a quandary.

At the same time, Independent authors are about to make a statement that will surely rock the traditional world of publishing. They are on the verge of making a huge impact never before witnessed in the industry. No longer will Independent authors and small publishers have to struggle in the old ways of selling books. A truly limitless, global audience waits.

Independent writers and authors are about to emerge from the shadows and take their rightful place in the market. This is a brave new world for readers clamoring for voices never heard and

stories never told.

They need a site that will introduce readers around the world to books they might never have found, and provide an opportunity for the Independent author to expand their audience like never before. The site exists, and is welcoming Independent authors and their books.

It is extremely difficult for major publishers to sell all of their titles. What chance does an Independent author have of making a real dent and sell enough copies to warrant continuous shelf space and sizable reorders? Not impossible but not probable either. The future for the Independently published book is sales through the Internet. There are tremendous possibilities in those areas without having to fight and scratch for inches inside a traditional bookstore.

The big six have not figured out how to utilize the Internet to their advantage, but when they do, they will monopolize your opportunities. Beat them to it. Join the new community, the online market for your books. The future for substantial sales of Independently published books is not the local bookstore, but at the independent author’s online bookstore.

So, how much would you pay someone to sift through your email each morning, deleting the garbage and presenting you with the 5 (out of 500) emails you need to respond to? If you already have someone like that, lucky you! But if you don’t, I bet this sounds like a dream. In the age of a constant flood of information, consumers will pay good money for a filter. So if you want to sell books, be the go-to person for your market.

If you’re wondering how to become a filter, give some thought to the filters you may not even be aware of. For example, in the book publishing market I can think of two major ones: Dan Poynter and John Kremer. Both of them are filters. Why? Well, they have zeroed in on their focused market and have become the go-to people for everything publishing and marketing. We have structured Author Marketing Experts the same way: all book marketing, all the time.

While you’ll find filters in different markets, they share a lot of the same characteristics. Filters are out there weeding through information so you don’t have to, and then they are posting their findings on their website, blog, or talking about it in their podcast. Sometimes they’re doing a combination of all of these things to keep their readers informed.

Next, filters are so laser focused in their market that not only can they filter out the “noise” for you so you don’t have to, they can then compartmentalize the noise into sub-filters. These sub-filters become even more significant, and here’s why. Increasingly, we are living in an age of customization. I mean when was the last time you bought an entire CD or read an entire newspaper? More than likely you’re buying your music one song at a time on iTunes, or you’re reading your news selectively or, in many cases, through RSS feeds that allow you to tap into only the content that you want. We’ll put all of this together in a moment, but for now, start thinking about the customized element to what you’re doing.

The tools we have at our disposal (many of them free) make becoming a filter extremely easy. Blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, all of these help us to build our filter and therefore, build our audience. But before you launch headlong into filtering, consider these quick tips:

Becoming a filter requires dedication, but the benefits will pay off in ways you can’t imagine (and many that will fill your bank account). When I talk about dedication, what I mean is *you* must read every publication that’s out there on your topic so your reader doesn’t have to, and more than that, you should read outside of your area of expertise because you never know where the big ideas will come from. Take an afternoon, once a month, and devour your reading material. I read an average of 27 magazines a month. Yes, it can be overwhelming (at times), but the upside is that you are constantly staying dialed into your market. That’s the first step to becoming a filter.

Be crystal clear about what you’re filtering. If you’re sitting in a huge market like, let’s say automotive, you probably don’t want to talk about every single car that’s out there or being developed. Perhaps you want to focus only on hybrid vehicles. Now your direction is clear. Once you have this direction, your website should reflect that. Your website should be the first marketing piece you look at as you’re developing your focus.

Next, ask yourself if your book is a filter. If it’s not, it should be. Being a filter is tougher for fiction authors of course, but you non-fiction folks should have no trouble leveraging this into your books.

Blog, podcast, and write, write, write on trends, reviews, hot new ideas and things that are so-so. I always tell people that I am my own test lab. If you want to try something new in marketing, check with me first. It’s likely that I’ve already tested it on myself. In fact, all of our programs are built from things I tried first. If I don’t like it, or it didn’t work, I won’t sell it. That’s a filter. And I’m not just talking about filtering stuff you can offer to a client, be objective! Be a filter for the competition, too, and by all means, send people to other vendors if they can offer what you can’t. Remember, the customer/reader came to you first.

Make customization your best friend. So, let’s use our car example again. Let’s say you wrote a book on hybrid cars and your site is all about hybrids as is your blog, newsletter and podcast. But now you have built your brand sufficiently, and it’s time to break out into new areas. How about this: ebooks for focused markets. Quick and easy tips, like “Buying a hybrid for seniors” or “Buying a hybrid for families.” The key to remember is that each of these markets has its own specific needs. When it comes to buying a car, the needs of a family are different from those of a senior or single.

What’s your brand? Everyone’s a brand, even Nora Roberts. Becoming a filter will help you brand yourself. Remember that people don’t buy a book, they buy a brand. If you’re clear on your brand, you’ll sell more books. Figuring out your branding doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to be focused. I’m not talking about the kind of branding that requires hours of logo development. I’m not even talking about a brand that’s necessarily original. Yes, you want to be unique, but the key isn’t doing something no one else is doing, the key is doing it better.

So how can you become a filter? What’s your market and focus? Perhaps you’re thinking that you can apply some of these principles, but not all of them. That’s OK! The thing to remember is that being an expert is pass

Have you ever dreamed of selling your book to a large corporation? A sale that would register several thousand copies of non-returnable product on the book sale meter? What’s that? You’ve never thought of it, you say? Well, never fear! It’s not too late to pursue this avenue, especially if you have a book ripe for a particular market.

Before you embark on this project, it’s important to understand the possibilities out there. Start being aware of incentive items you might see and understand how they are used. Many are offered as consumer gifts or incentives while others are used as training tools or morale boosters for employees.

Some examples of premium sales might be:

• Books offered at yearly company sales meetings

• Books offered to consumers at a discount (consumers are usually asked to send in product UPC’s to qualify for these specials)

• Books offered to new customers at financial institutions

• Books offered to new home buyers

• Books offered to new magazine subscribers

To determine the market segment you want to go after, study your book first for obvious clues. If you’ve mentioned or recommended companies or products in your book, those will be the first tier you’ll want to go after. Next, think about the message of your book and how it aligns with particular companies within that industry. Company web sites and ads will offer great clues when trying to match a company or organization up with your book.

If you’re going after the magazine subscriber bonus segment, you’ll have a bit more flexibility. Generally, if the book fits the reader demographic and aligns itself with the message of the magazine, it will be considered. For example, you might offer a home organization book to Good Housekeeping or a fitness book to Self or Redbook. Before you approach these magazines, read them for about three months so you get a good sense of what they’re about and who their audience is.

If you’re going after a particular market and are trying to locate companies within that industry, try doing a Boolean search in Google. Your search should look like this: “your industry and companies.” Another resource is .thomasregister.com. This site will link you to companies nationally and internationally within your industry.

Next, don’t overlook companies in your own backyard. Think about industries, companies and organizations in your area that might work well for your book and begin going after them. Many times, local companies will welcome the opportunity to support hometown authors.

Once you’ve put your list together, you’ll want to contact them and pitch them the idea. Or, in some cases, our company will send them the book and proposal before we even make phone contact. Sometimes the companies you’ve targeted will be on the lookout for incentive items, other times this will be a new (and exciting) area for them. If you’re going after employee incentives, it’s interesting to note (and mention in your sales letter) that employee incentives increase individual performance by 27 percent and team performance by 45 percent.

Be open and creative with your pursuit of premium sales! Many times, companies will want to put their logo on the cover or include an extra page in the book with a letter from the President or CEO. Check with your printer or publisher on whether this is possible for you and what the additional costs will be before you start pursuing the premium sales arena.

So, how long does this process take? We’ve seen premium sales turn around in a week, while others take a year or more to complete. Oh, and the most important part… how many books can you plan to sell? Anywhere from one thousand to several thousand depending on the deal and the company. We’ve even got a deal in the works for a half a million copies of one book.

Discounts and negotiations vary. Often, we’ll negotiate volume discounts of 50 percent to 70 percent on bulk orders. Again, make sure you’ve got these figures ready when you pick up the phone to make your pitch.

With the right book, premium sales are not only a great way to gain exposure of your book, but in the end, they make great “cents.”

When my first book (The Cliffhanger) was published nearly seven years ago, I had high hopes of its success. I mean I am, after all, a PR person &ndash so how hard could it be to market fiction? Granted, up till that point I hadn’t taken on a lot of fiction &ndash well, to be honest I hadn’t taken any fiction. Fiction is tough and everyone knows it. But now I was going to get my chance, and what better way to start than on my own book? When The Cliffhanger hit the #1 spot on Amazon it was no accident, it was a creative push that got it to #1 and ironically, the pitch that prompted this Amazon soar had nothing to do with the book. Curious? Then read on.

When I was first pushing The Cliffhanger I did all the things a good fiction author is supposed to do. I sent out review copies, created a stunning press release, scheduled book events. All of these things were great, but they didn’t give it the momentum the book really needed to succeed. The book signings were good, but a tad boring, the press was interested, but not enough to feature me more than once. I knew I needed to do something, but let’s face it, when you’re writing romance it’s tough to find a pitch that has the stickiness to it to, well, stick. When you’re taking a fiction book to market you need to have more to hang your star on than a groovy story &ndash you need something the media can sink their teeth into, you need grit. That ‘grit’ is the reality piece of your story.

The truth is there’s always a thread of reality that weaves through each piece of fiction. Find your reality and own it, if need be, craft your pitch around it. Let’s say you wrote a book about a woman overcoming domestic abuse. You’ve done your research, you know the stats, in fact, you might even be considered an expert. Why not then turn a portion of your campaign into a domestic violence pitch? The same can be said for just about anything. They key here is to find that grain of reality and see if it’s interesting enough to create a new peg. Once you’ve found your hook, own it. What I mean is become the expert on that hook and familiarize yourself with ever statistic, every study and every new trend.

When The Cliffhanger was released I soon realized that marketing romantic fiction was only going to take me so far, but marketing the method of printing was more unique. Why? Well, The Cliffhanger was one of the first books in the San Diego area to be published via print-on-demand. Hence, that became my story. Until the Presidential race of 2000. Now that was an entirely different story.

No doubt many of you will remember the counts, recounts, chads, and hanging chads, right? Well, one morning I woke up to find our local paper with the following headline: “Cliffhanger.” I knew right then that if I couldn’t find a hook to hang my star on that angle, I might as well hang up my marketing hat forever. It was at 3 a.m. that I woke up with an idea so stunning, I knew it had to work. I raced out to the office supply store the minute it opened to pick up several packs of clear labels. I got out the postcards I had printed with the book cover on them and stuck on labels with the following slogan:

Getting tired of the Presidential cliffhanger?

Try this one.

The Cliffhanger, a novel.

No politics involved.

I mailed 500 postcards out that day while praying the election wouldn’t get called. I mailed these postcards to everyone in the media I’d ever contacted. Ever!

Days after my mass-mailing, I was walking through my living room, when suddenly I spotted my book cover on the screen. I was stunned. The local TV anchor was saying, “This has got to be the best thing I’ve ever seen. This lady wants you to go buy her book. I say everyone should rush out and buy it.” And everyone did. That afternoon my book shot up to the #1 spot on Amazon, where it stayed for three months. It even beat out Harry Potter (which was #4 at that time), yet Harry got the movie. Go figure.

The point is that finding an “anchor” will help you push your campaign. This works for book events, too. If you’ve written a crime book, why not “theme” your event with DO NOT CROSS Police line tape (if you can get your hands on it) or some other prop? The key is to be unique, carry your theme throughout your marketing and hang your star on unique ways to promote your book.

But the second piece of this, the piece that’s become all the rage recently, is the visual aspect of your book. Now I’m not talking about the cover, I’m talking about the movie. Yes, you read right. Your book, a movie. Now I’m not talking about a full-blown two hour motion picture. I’m talking about a movie trailer. Most recently several major publishers have started using book trailers to promote the fiction books they publish. Why? Because we are a very visual society, and if you’re trying to distill the core of your book into a thirty-second elevator pitch, why not distill that same information into a trailer? Studies have shown that book trailers can increase book sales in excess of 30%. This is why most of the major publishers are jumping on the book trailer bandwagon. Still not convinced? Check out this book trailer of Candlewood Lake and see if it doesn’t entice you to buy the book:

.authors-online.com/billboards/drivein/candlewood/index.html

Now here’s a short list of tricks we’ve used to promote fiction:

* For a series of detective novels we worked with, we told the author that instead of pitching the book, we were going to pitch some of the intriguing unsolved mysteries. He became the unsolved mystery expert and when he did a book event, that’s what he talked about. People were enthralled, and it also got him quite a bit of radio, too!

* For a chick lit book last year the author had one of her recipes (for Orgasmic cookies) come to life when she partnered with a local cookie company. The result? We had people writing us for copies of the book just so they could try this fabulous cookie.

* And what better place for a romance reading than a romantic winery? If you live near some wineries, don’t hesitate to stop by there and ask if they’d like to invite you in for a reading.

Have you ever considered partnering with another author who has a similar title? Last year, I consulted with two authors who’d written books about Paris. I decided they might want to meet and partner up for events. They did, and the result was magnifique! Everyone loved the “evening in Paris” they’d created, and needless to say, they got lots of bookings!

The trick is, with all the fiction out there, you have to find a way to be different. Selling the story isn’t always going to sell your book, but entertaining the reader or selling how the story affects the reader or how it can benefit them will. Find your anchor, hook, or story &ndash and you’ve found an audience.

Becoming a marketing story-teller isn’t as hard as some people make it out to be, and whoever said fiction can’t be marketed just didn’t know how to tell a great story.

I came to realize early on in my stay in this beautiful country of Thailand, that Thai women were not only perfectly groomed and gracious, but they were absolutely “svelte.” I mean, how many more attributes do they get? I felt like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.

As a newly-arrived expat in Thailand, I looked forward to seeing everything; from the Reclining Buddha to the gold-encrusted temples. But first, I told myself, I had some serious shopping to do. With the temperature at 100 degrees and the humidity fighting for top billing, I thought the best place to kill two birds with one metaphorical stone would be at an air conditioned shopping mall. Shopping has always had a way of lifting my over-sized spirits. I’d hoped to find a cutesy little sundress that could transform my 38DD bust line and my 30 inch waist into something that looked “svelte.”

But this wasn’t just for me, this shopping business. No, no. I made it a prerequisite to always help the local economy. I was directed by our hotel’s concierge to try Robinson’s Department Store in downtown Bangkok. “Very nice clothes foh you, MaDam.”

Wow, Robinsons? Right here in downtown Bangkok? It took me thirty minutes on a hot tuk-tuk ride in the piercing heat, but I made it, unscathed and ready to spend, spend, spend. As I sauntered into what I thought was the Women’s Department, I stopped short. Oh, no, these must be the teen’s clothes. They’re much too small for an adult. I scanned the racks. Who wears a size 2? Where am I, in the Barbi and Ken Department? I couldn’t get these styles around my thigh, much less my back-side.

I could see someone walking towards me, but she looked like a teenager. Surely she’s not the salesgirl? She stopped in front of me. “Gootmoanin.”

“Oh.” I felt my face get hot. She looked like a sprite. She wasn’t a little girl after all; she was at least in her 20s and obviously the salesgirl in this department. “Uh, I, ah, was… Is there a Woman’s department in this store?”

“Yeth.” She smiled and waited expectantly.

“Oh. Well, I, ah, could you point me to it?”

“Mai kow jai ka.”

I yanked my Thai-to-English conversation book from my pocket and handed it to her. She pointed to a Thai phrase and handed the book back to me.

“Oh! You don’t understand?”

She smiled.

“Okay. Sure. Sorry.” I pointed to my well-fed body, while she watched expectantly. I then yanked on the waistline of my dress and said, “Clothes. For me.”

“Yeth,” she smiled demurely while looking at her feet, “preze foroow me.”

She led me to a small alcove, where some well-fed tourists were grazing about. Sidling up to a rather rotund shopper, I asked if she knew why we were led to this separate area. “Is it because we’re foreigners?”

She puckered up her mouth as if sucking on a sour gumball: “Yeah, honey, it’s cuz we’re foreigner’s all right, larger-than-life foreigners!” She threw back her head and guffawed at her cleverness.

“Huh?”

“The only sizes you’ll find out there,” she cocked her head towards the tiny clothes I’d just left, “are size twos to fours, and honey, that ain’t us.” She had herself another good laugh.

I snuck a peek around the room while she chortled, and realized that every body standing in this room was years past those proportions.

I knew I wasn’t going to like these svelte, tidy little women. They must be bulimic &ndash that’s it. Binge, purge, binge, purge - they’re not fooling me. Dream on, lady.

As I toured and shopped the city in the following weeks, I came to realize that the Thais were also neat and tidy in other aspects of their lives. Every department store I visited in Bangkok was unbelievably pristine. Shirts and pants, towels, linens and sportswear were not only folded and stacked, but actually looked as though folded by automation. All the garments concealed cardboard inserts to give them shape. No pins showing, no uneven edges, just as if it were a picture on display. The dresses, blouses and shirts were neatly hung on hangers according to sizes and colors. Amazing, considering the litter I’d witnessed outside on the streets of Bangkok, where every little nook and crevice harbored some sort of debris.

For us, ahem, larger sizes, I found that anything imported was deplorably high. An imported name-brand in Thailand could be four times higher than one might pay in the States. Paradoxically, Thai clothes are very inexpensive and quite stylish &ndash if you’re less than five feet tall and weigh between seventy and ninety pounds.

I made a decision then and there: Before I left this country I would diet, fast, quit eating, quit breathing; whatever it took to look as svelte as these Thai women.

Another eye-opener I found was that every place I shopped, there were at least three salespeople hovering over me, smiling, waiing &ndash a Thai greeting. So helpful! I’ll be very cranky when I return to the States and don’t get the same service.

But &ndash back to reality. After living in Thailand for a few months, I learned the secret of the segregated clothing. The salespeople have the perfect solution for us larger sizes. It’s called “Won Sigh” &ndash meaning HUGE. You enter the clothing department, and unless you’re built like Twiggy, the sweet, smiling, ever-helpful salesgirls &ndash who all look pre-pubescent &ndashsteer you toward the “Won Sigh” department. This is where you’ll find all the loose-fitting, baggy, beachy, gauzy, hippie-looking outfits, and all claiming to fit ONE SIZE; from size 8 all the way up to Mama Cass. This is their way of saving face - yours. They would never dream to insinuate you were large, fat, obese, or chubby. You just happen to fall into the category of Won Sigh.

As I departed Robinsons in my new muumuu, nearly tripping over the hemline, I got a glimpse of my reflection in the display window. YIKES! Picture Hilo Hattie in strappy sandals.

(Excerpted from A Broad Abroad in Thailand by Dodie Cross, with permission).

Authoring as a Risk-Taking Endeavor

Being an unpublished novelist poses all sorts of dilemmas. Writing is entrepreneurial in nature, more than most people realize, and it is fraught with make or break decisions. Which side of the political spectrum do you show yourself? Do you embellish this or that social issue, perhaps the one most fashionable, or do you hide from them all?

If your goal is publication for its own sake, and you’ve decided to write, say, Gothic romance number 214,386, then you do need to follow the Gothic template. But you also need to make it stand out from most of the 214,385 Gothics that came before. The burden to distinguish is higher for unpublished writers because they have no track record to give their work advanced credibility or benefit of the doubt. Yet if the novice distinguishes herself too well, then her originality may be viewed as too risky in itself.

This need to balance risks even extends to things that look simple and straightforward on paper. Take the question of how good your manuscript should be before you query it. The reference books are all unanimous in urging that your manuscript should simply be the best you can make it before submitting it. But it’s not that simple in real life. First off, many amateur writers don’t know how good their writing is relative to their own potential. This is especially true if you are trying to achieve a literary end that’s new or different, say, push a new frontier in poetry, or achieve new levels of fright in horror.

In my own case, in writing Coinage of Commitment, I was bent on writing a love story unlike any other, a mainstream tale of love at a higher level. That made this project so different that even the style I adopted needed to be distinctive, a vivid way of expression that leads readers through the characters’ souls to glimpse romantic love at breathtaking heights. That’s not exactly stock stuff, making it risky to submit and hard to know when it was good enough to send out.

Not realizing what I was getting into, I polished the manuscript as best I could, then sent it out. Two months of querying later, when on a whim I sat down to reread it, I was shocked to discover that it was not the greatest love story ever written, something I suddenly discovered was important for me to achieve. Important enough that I pulled the ms off the market and sent it to not one but two independent editors in series. Three rewrites and seven months later, I resumed the query campaign. But by then, I wondered about the stability of my improvement progress.

Sure enough, despite best intentions, my writing ability kept jumping ahead of itself. I simply couldn’t keep my hands off the ms for wanting to make it better. That meant that the sample chapters I sent out kept changing. Even after the ms was accepted for publication, I could not quench my hunger for better prose. My publisher, Saga Books, in a fit of artistic benevolence, held the presses for the extra weeks it took me to equilibrate at deciding, finally, that I could not improve a single word.

Yes, I realize that this is an unusual account. But it shows that every publishing journey is bound to be unique. So when you read simple instructions like: submit only your best work, don’t be surprised if the path in execution is more tortuous than you ever dreamed it could be.

You’ve spent hours researching, writing and self-publishing your book. Now, you want to reap the benefits of selling it yourself, but where do you begin?

Here are five simple tips to help you get started.

1. Figure out your market.

“Bookstores are lousy places to sell books,” says self-publishing guru Dan Poynter in USA Weekend . “Find the places where your audience gathers and sell directly to them. If your book is about cats, go to pet stores.”

To start selling your book, take the time to research your target audience. Who will be interested in purchasing your book and sharing it with their friends?

Once you know your target market, look at the places they shop and spend their leisure time. What media venues do they watch, read and listen to on a regular basis?

Create a list of all potential organizations, business and groups. This will give you a good understanding of the online sites and brick-and-mortar locations where you need to focus your marketing efforts.

2. Spread the word.

When you are ready to start selling, don’t be shy. Talk about your book, carry a copy around with you and look for every opportunity to mention it. Also be ready to give copies away to influential people who will build buzz about your business.

If you are a good speaker, try to give presentations to groups catering to your target audience. You can partner with various organizations to promote your appearance and build word-of-mouth. This may include issuing a press release, giving books away during radio or television interviews or getting involved with charitable activities.

“Speaking to local, target audiences is a great way to start building buzz about your products and services,” says Melanie Rembrandt, small business PR expert and owner of Rembrandt Communications, .rembrandtwrites.com. “But in order to build credibility, you need to offer valuable information pertinent to your book’s subject without being sales-oriented. You can always have a book-signing after your presentation to sell your books and meet potential customers.”

Another trick is to leave a copy of your book at your local bookstore or library. If visitors pick up the book and read it, they will ask for a copy of it. Then, the person at the counter may contact you to purchase additional copies.

3. Venture outside your target market.

After you’ve pursued all venues focusing on your specific audience, start marketing your book to other groups outside your target market.

Look for secondary sources that may be interested in purchasing your book as a gift for a friend, co-worker or family member. Perhaps you can partner with a business, charitable organization or hobby-group related to your book-topic?

Think “outside of the box” and try to let as many people know about your book as possible. You can issue a press release, offer special discounts and create newsworthy events to draw attention to your book. And these activities don’t need to cost a lot of money. You just need to think of some ways to stress the unique benefits of your book and take the extra time and effort to plan, coordinate and follow-through with your ideas.

4. Take advantage of business relationships.

If you used an online publisher in developing your book, advertise on their site. If you used a local printer, ask if you can leave a couple copies at their front desk.

Visit all of your local establishments and leave some kind of information about your book. If you are a regular customer, most of these businesses will be happy to help you and the local economy.

And when preparing these “leave-behinds,” think about the benefits for the business and customers. Perhaps you can print up small calendars, checklists, quick tips, bookmarks and other items that advertise your book while offering something of value to potential readers.

You may even be able to partner with various businesses to offer special joint coupons and discounts. Use your imagination, but always keep the benefits for the customer in mind.

5. List your book online.

This may be obvious, but you really need to list your book online to reach the broadest possible market and increase “buzz.” Review your target audience and try to get information about your book posted on all of the pertinent sites they visit.

Also create a simple website. And don’t worry. Today, there are many services that offer cost-effective or free websites to self-published authors. You don’t need to be a technical genius or have a lot of money to take advantage of these services and create an online presence.

However, in your online copy, be sure to stress the unique benefits of your book and provide customer testimonials (for credibility). Also include some information about your background to help you stand apart from others in your genre.

Once your site is up and running, research free, press-release posting sites. Also look for online organizations that may be willing to post reciprocal links to your site to help build search-engine optimization.

These are just a few, simple tips. There are many ways to sell your self-published books. But you can start by focusing on your target audience, work the business relationships you already have and be creative. And soon, you’ll be well on your way to being a top-selling author!

For more tips and information, visit .jexbo.com.

It has become obvious to all but the most unrelentingly stubborn apologists for the oil industry that we now stand at a pivotal moment in the history of our planet. As much fun as it would be to make fun of Al Gore’s pretentious drawl and expanding bald spot, none of us can afford to ignore his clarion call for global change. With humankind’s carbon footprint leaving a catastrophic impact upon Mother Earth, it is the sacred responsibility of every citizen to make a change for the better. We can all agree on that much, but the next question is a lot thornier: How exactly do you start?

As in so many vital areas of life, when confronted by a monumental task it is beneficial to start with something small. In other words, begin by taking a “micro” view of your “macro” problem. Numerous studies have indicated that the more we are taught to respect and even love the tiniest creatures, the deeper connection we will feel to the planet at large. So if you’re looking to address climate change in your own way, you might want to start by picking up a copy of Fables From the Mud by Erik Quisling. This book, simple in structure yet profound in implication, illuminates the plight of Earth’s smallest inhabitants in a style that will make you laugh even as your empathy expands.

The first thing you are apt to notice about Fables is the fluid interchange between illustrations and text. This book has been designed with such a graceful simplicity that you could easily read it cover to cover in a single sitting. Indeed, once you’ve gotten a sense of its sharp humor and cerebral charms, you may be tempted to consume the whole thing while in the middle of a crowded book store.

Try to avoid this temptation, as you will find Fables to be a veritable banquet of philosophical speculation and belly laughs. How in God’s name, you may be wondering, can one book offer such seemingly incongruous rewards? The answer to that question is the secret of Quisling’s triumph. He has crafted three distinct but thematically connected tales,focusing on some of the Earth’s least respected inhabitants: a clam, an ant, and an earthworm. Against all expectation, Quisling turns these lowly invertebrates into heroes of truly epic scale.

By infusing so much ambiguous life and recognizably human foibles into its three-pack of protagonists, Fables allows readers to understand these creatures as reflections of ourselves. Laughable as the clam’s frustration with the emptiness of his existence might seem, is our own periodic despair any less ridiculous? It all comes down to a matter of perspective, which seems to be one of Quisling’s primary lessons.

After reading this timeless book, you may find yourself thinking twice before stepping on the next ant you see crossing the sidewalk. He’s a guest on this ailing planet, just like you. And for all you know, he might be in the middle of an heroic struggle worthy of mention in a book Fables From the Mud.

After a long illness, my mother passed away in June 2006. Even though we all knew she had little time left, her death still came as a shock.

My brothers helped me write the eulogy, and I delivered it. I almost made it through, maintaining my composure and humor right to the end. But, final goodbyes are never easy. With the last sentence, a poignant and personal message to our mother from my brothers and myself, I lost it. To cry at your mother’s funeral is natural and expected. But being an author, and being comfortable with public speaking, I thought I could manage it. I humbly acknowledge grief trumped self-control.

And then there are the relatives and friends, many of which I hadn’t seen in decades. Of course, one must always be polite and gracious when someone offers condolences and a sympathetic hug. But, what do you do when you haven’t a clue who the devil the person is? Years pass, people change. More than once, I had to discreetly ask a trusted relative, “Who is that?” Then, I had to hide my shocked expression when I realized time has been kinder to me than to others of my bloodline, or to my old friends.

We got through it. At the luncheon after the funeral, I said goodbye not just to my mother, but to many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends &ndash some of which I would see again and some I know I will not. It is an odd experience, looking in the face of your own mortality. My father died ten years ago. And now my mother is gone. It becomes a reality check, to do what there is to do while there is still time.

That being the case, I am writing again. I am happily anticipating the release of my second book, Sins and Secrets. And I am thrilled to be an Aphrodisia author. It is a wonderful rush to jump back into the deep end of my life!

My Mother’s Eulogy

Welcome everyone and thank you for coming. We are here to remember and say goodbye to our Mother. She fought the good fight, being as tenacious as a pit bull and never giving up. But finally, after more than thirty years of dealing with various conditions and illnesses, she has found peace.

Mother was the sort of mother who never stopped worrying about her children, no matter what age we were. Were we eating well? Were we getting enough sleep? Were we staying well and not catching colds or the flu?

She kept after our father in the same way, but they were also a couple who enjoyed each other’s company very much. Mom and Dad were best friends as well as husband and wife. They had fun together. They loved to dance together, particularly the polka. They also often took us on joy rides to the local woods, sharing their enjoyment of the forest with us and showing us how to spot deer at sunset.

One of those rides wasn’t as much fun. Mom and Dad took us on an unmarked dirt road, trying to see some deer. Dad found himself down in a gully. He tried to turn around, and couldn’t. We were stranded overnight until lumbermen came to work the next morning and found us. Evidently the road was a logger road, not meant for passenger traffic. As I will explain in a moment, thanks to Mother’s planning, we were OK. It was scary, but it was kind of fun.

Both my brothers and I were all toilet-trained the same way. Mother’s technique was to be with us in the bathroom, run the faucet, and softly say, “Rain, rain, rain.” It worked. In fact, the suggestion has lasted the three of us into adulthood. With all the rain we’ve had the last few days, my brothers and I have needed to stay within easy range of a bathroom.

Mother loved music and sang in the choir. She particularly loved country music, which the three of us hated at the time. The Saturday night ritual was always Country Music Jubilee, then Hee Haw, then the Grand Ole Opry on the radio.

She loved gardening, both for glorious beautiful flowers and for food. Speaking of food, Mother made the best fried chicken. She put the Kentucky Fried Chicken secret recipe to shame. For holidays and family gatherings, she cooked tremendous amounts of food, and still worried whether there was enough for everyone to eat. And while she was cooking, she would sample the food, and at mealtime, while everyone else stuffed themselves, she couldn’t eat much more.

Mother had real artistic ability. One of the times she best displayed it was at Christmas. We always had huge trees and many decorations around the house, but Mother’s crowning achievement was found under the tree. She sculpted an elaborate village there, with mirrors for frozen lakes, pine seedlings, or “crow’s feet” for miniature trees, and boxes and props to create multilevel hills and mountains. She would cover the hills with white sheets and cotton to simulate snow. Her village was like Christmas Wonderland to us. My brother continues this tradition in his home.

Mother was the only girl in her family, and she got into hunting just as much as her brothers did. I’m sure a lot of you recall a character Johnny Carson played occasionally on The Tonight Show. His name was Floyd R. Turbo, American, and he would make silly editorial comments on the issues of the day, but dressed differently from other TV commentators. When Mother was going to go hunting, she would put on a red Woolrich jacket and a hat with ear flaps, the resemblance was pretty amazing. I couldn’t resist calling her Floyd R. Turbo, American. I think she was somewhat amused. Or else I would call her the Great White Huntress. And she was a successful hunter.

Remember what I told you about Mother being prepared when we were stuck on the logging road? Our Mother made emergency preparedness an art form. No matter where she went, she packed for any potential disaster. On picnics, we packed boxes full of food, enough for a small army, the grill, all the lawn furniture and extra clothes in case one of us fell into the water. When she went to my brother’s college graduation, she took the toaster and the coffee pot to the motel. And when she traveled anywhere away from home, we had to lock down the kitchen sink so she wouldn’t take it.

Through it all, Mother was motivated by her desire to do the best she could for us. Every night she would send us to sleep by saying, “Good night, sweet dreams, I love you.” For the rest of her life, she would continue to send us off with those words. So it is only fitting that now we are able to say the same to send her off.

So, Mother, good night, sweet dreams, we love you.

In an editorial several years ago, I described a tree house in the backyard of a local restaurant. I wrote, “The entire structure has been pieced together from recycled lumber, much of which still bears the paint, logos or posters of the original walls from whence it came. The generous platform is ringed by a sturdy fence that includes branches of the tree itself, random two-by-fours, wooden signs, and even a pair of moose antlers. The ‘house’ is more of a lean-to, tall enough for kids (but not adults) to stand up inside, with a screened door and two screened windows positioned so occupants can easily spy on the diners below or out over the adjacent parking lot. A green padded bench that looks like it had once belonged in a diner adequately furnishes the space. Underneath the tree house hangs a rope swing, from which kids can fling themselves into a thick layer of hay on the grass.”

Fast forward to this summer. The restaurant revamped their backyard, including the tree house. The railing now consists of uniform boards about three inches apart. The house is reached not by a ladder and trapdoor, but via a bona fide staircase. The screen door is gone, the windows are covered in glass, and several of the tree’s branches have been pruned back to discourage climbing. But the worst part, according to my 10-year-old, is that the rope swing has disappeared. Matthew declared the whole structure “boring.” In today’s world, kids have far less freedom than in previous generations. Their lives are more controlled&ndashsometimes because of parents’ fears of an increasingly dangerous society, but often because we’ve somehow come to believe that to grow into successful adults, children’s activities must be channeled, scheduled and programmed from infancy.

Danger comes in many forms, from a stranger encountered on the way to school (who may be a neighbor out walking his dog, but you never know), to free time not filled with “enriching” activities. But, in my opinion, kids need a little danger in their lives. They need to test their boundaries, to learn how to climb a ladder and squeeze through a trapdoor. They need to hurl themselves into a pile of hay and learn it’s best not to land on your face. If grown-ups clean up their world too much, kids will never learn how to push themselves. They’ll never have the satisfaction of trying things that are a little scary, a little off their parents’ radar, and accomplishing something that belongs just to them.

One of the few places kids can still push their limits is with books. It’s possible to step outside your safe life with a story, or try new ideas on for size. But many adults want to clean up their kids’ reading choices as well. I know parents who abhor Barbara Park’s perennially popular Junie B. Jones chapter books because the spirited Junie isn’t a good role model, or won’t read Winnie the Pooh because Christopher Robin can’t spell very well. I also know a lot of authors who are afraid to write books that are slightly subversive because they worry editors won’t publish them. But for every parent who insists on only “safe” reading for their child (and it’s every parent’s right to do so), there are at least two parents who believe it’s okay for kids to wade into the danger zone through fiction. I’m not advocating murder mysteries for preschoolers here, just books that might be considered slightly uncivilized, or more entertaining than educational. Let’s look at some popular examples:

When I first saw Walter, the Farting Dog by William Kozwinkle and Glenn Murray, illustrated by Audrey Colman (a picture book whose plot needs no explanation), I was worried that children’s publishing might be sinking a little too low. But as it started winning awards and spawning sequels, I changed my opinion. Let’s face it: farting makes kids laugh. And if your child finds this book hysterical, you should be glad. In order to get the joke, kids need to know that noisy bodily functions are considered impolite. Laughing about them is one of the perks of childhood. Don’t worry, they’ll outgrow it.

A picture book coming out this December that’s already creating a buzz is 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. The heroine utters such statements as “I had an idea to staple my brother’s hair to his pillow. I am not allowed to use the stapler anymore.” She also glues her brother’s bunny slippers to the floor, and shows Joey Whipple her underpants. Both big No’s. This ingenious story should satisfy two camps of parents; those who want kids to see consequences for inappropriate behavior, and those who don’t mind letting their kids live vicariously through a curious, mischievous character. A pop-up book due out later this month from three publishing powerhouses&ndashMaurice Sendak, Arthur Yorinks and Matthew Reinhart&ndashlets young children face the monsters hiding in their closets and come out on top. In Mommy?, a young boy wanders into a haunted house looking for his mother and encounters creatures like a goblin, a mummy, and Frankenstein. Instead of running scared, the boy pulls pranks on each monster, deflating their power and showing how humor conquers fear every time.

Speaking of scary, if you haven’t read any of the enormously popular Series of Unfortunate Events middle grade novels by Lemony Snicket, do so. With titles like The Bad Beginning, The Miserable Mill, and The Penultimate Peril, and cautions from the author such as, “If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book,” these are clearly stories where adults dare not tread. But children brave enough to venture between the covers will find hilarious plots full of nail-biting twists. The intelligent Baudelaire orphans have unusual skills (Violet for inventing, Klaus for reading and researching, and baby Sunny for biting) that make them admirable heroes.

Lauren Myracle enters the private world of teen girl talk in her young adult novels TTYL and TTFN. The titles alone might raise some parents’ suspicions because unless they’re well-versed at IM (instant messaging), they won’t know what the abbreviations stand for. In fact, the entire novels consist of conversations between three high school girls written in emails, text-messaging and IM’s, using the standard computer shorthand that includes abbreviated spelling and quirky syntax. If you’re not an IMer yourself, you’ll find the books somewhat difficult to read. But you and I aren’t the target audience here. And though the format might keep adults from examining the books too closely, the plots are standard upper young adult fare&ndashrelationships, family trauma, peer pressure, even drugs and alcohol&ndashhandled in a believable manner that conveys growth of character by the end of each story.

As an author, if you’re inspired to delve into the slightly dangerous, dark or subversive corners of childhood with your books, feel free to do so. Don’t limit yourself to all that’s bright, safe and up to code. Allow kids places where they can wander away from their parents’ watchful eyes and have an adventure. If the adventure’s in a book, they’ll always come home safe and sound. And if you’re still not convinced, consider this: In the backyard of the restaurant, the tree house now sits empty. But the books I’ve described above are flying off the shelves.

This article excerpted from Children’s Book Insider, The Newsletter for Children’s Writers. More information at write4kids.com